Conflict of Interest (A Mustang Prairie Romance)

by Jackson, N. D.

  She could never forget the finality of that kiss. It wasn’t romantic but rather frantic and desperate and full of things that she knew, could never be. Thinking about that day, she could still taste the salt on the corners of her mouth that she hadn’t realized until he left her office, were from tears he actually shed over her and their relationship that would never be.

  “Shellie are you even listening to me?”

  “Sorry Al, was just thinking about what you said.”

  “Well good because I’m right. If Noel wasn’t into you he wouldn’t have even given you a small friendly kiss because guess what? Friends don’t kiss!”

  “Or maybe I’m just convenient, you ever think of that Al? Maybe I’m just close and he just got to Mustang Prairie so he doesn’t have to go far to get what he wants. Could that be it?”

  Alexis often found her friend’s lack of confidence infuriating as hell but all she could do is try to snap her out of it. “There’s only one way to find out. You have two choices here, go for it and see what happens or push him away and regret Noel like you regret Charlie.”

  “Yeah Alex, because this is exactly the same as Charlie,” she rolled her eyes, hating that Alexis brought up her failed almost-could-been-great love affair whenever a new man entered the picture.

  “Maybe not yet Shellie, but how long are you going to keep telling men who are obviously into you, that they aren’t?”

  “Until I find a man who is actually into me.” Duh

  Alexis released a contemptuous laugh. “And when exactly will that be? When you find a short, balding man who’s so unattractive that you can believe he might actually like you?”

  “That’s not fair Al, and you know it!”

  “No Shellie, what isn’t fair is that you had a nice dinner that ended with a kiss, and probably more if you’d get to it, and yet you’re already trying to justify why this won’t work and why Noel couldn’t possibly be into you for real. Is that fair? Is it?”

  Shellie sighed heavily. Maybe she had jumped the gun a little bit, but why deny the inevitable? In fact Shellie prided herself on her ability to see the end coming and escape before it became painful. She thought for a moment on Alexis’ question. Was it fair? But fair to whom? “It probably isn’t in the grand scheme of things no, but is it fair of me to protect myself from a broken heart? Absolutely.”

  “Great you’re protected Shellie but if you’re not willing to put yourself out there, you don’t really deserve the beauty of being in love. It’s hard out there to find someone, especially in a small town like Mustang Prairie. Finding a person that you’re compatible with in and out of the bedroom, Shellie it takes time and effort and a willingness to put yourself out there.”

  “I am out there!” Even she didn’t believe the potency of her words. “I mean I try to be out there, Al, you know I do. But am I supposed to believe all these hot guys see something in me that I don’t? Seriously.”

  “Maybe all you see is outer appearances, yours and theirs. They see what I see. You’re just too stubborn to see it.”

  “That’s a lot of seeing,” she attempted to lighten the mood. It didn’t work. “Alex you’re thin and you’re beautiful and wealthy, it’s you who doesn’t understand. We don’t all have men who should be gracing magazine covers pursuing us, that’s your reality.”

  “Ugh, Shellie you’re so scared you aren’t even willing to admit that Charlie loved you. Maybe Joshua didn’t, but Charlie did and yet you only remember that Joshua didn’t. Noel seems into you and I think you should open yourself up to this experience.”

  Shellie couldn’t take stirring up the memories of Joshua with the ones of Charlie still fresh in her mind. “I have to go Al, I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up before her friend could protest.

  She stood for a moment, her finger still on the ‘end’ button but Shellie was staring so far off she didn’t notice her phone had begun to ring again. As it rang, she stared in silence at the indigo and off white tile in her 50’s style kitchen, thinking about her night with Noel and her history with Joshua. And Charlie. She knew that Alexis had a point, but Shellie was not willing to concede that perhaps she had been wrong about Charlie and that she was now wrong about Noel. No, she shook her head, she was certain that Alexis was wrong about Noel. Regardless of her history with men Shellie knew that Noel was using her until he found someone more fitting in Mustang Prairie.

  When the voicemail beeped in her hand Shellie was finally startled back to the present, but still deep in thought. She placed her phone on the island recently installed in her kitchen and reached above her head for a stemless red wine glass in her also new French Country overhead storage currently filled with copper pots and pans. With a glass in one hand Shellie reached for the corkscrew, a bottle of Malbec because tonight was definitely a red wine kind of night and a sleeve of shortbread cookies and made her way to her favorite spot in the house. Through the swinging door and down the hall on her right, Shellie nudged open the door to her home office with her hip walked around her old mahogany desk where she used to watch her grandfather pay the bills and plopped down on the large seated bay window.

  She loved the plush blue cushions that were so comfortable she often found herself unable to walk away for any purpose. She had chosen a more grown up style for these cushions, navy blue with an off white braided border, so that clients would take her seriously when she met with them at her home. But what Shellie loved most about this particular window is that she helped design it, especially the built in wine and cookie table that she insisted be installed despite the insistence of her contractor Terrell that it couldn’t be done. So with her wine and cookies firmly in their place Shellie curled her feet up under her and poured a full glass as she stared out the window. Hoping, wishing, willing herself to find an answer to her relationship problems, or lack of relationship problems as they may be.

  “He’s just one man,” she reminded herself aloud after the first sip of wine. “He can’t have this power over me if I don’t allow it,” she ripped open the sleeve of cookies with a little more force than intended, “and I choose not to allow it.” Biting into the cookie Shellie realized it didn’t taste as good with the line of bull she was feeding herself. Of course he has power over you, he’s gorgeous, funny, sweet and gorgeous. Shit, already said gorgeous. Now I know I’m in trouble.

  She took a long appreciative sip from her glass, letting last night’s events replay in her mind. My goodness the man was a work of art and the fact that he appreciated wine as much as she did, well that was just another bonus. Unfortunately Shellie was all too aware of the fact that she looked good to Noel for one reason only: he hadn’t met any other women in Mustang Prairie. She briefly remembered him saying something about setting up an office for his company in town and she knew he’d soon have dozens of female employees lusting after him, probably waiting naked and willing on his desk promptly at 5 every day. “At least I’ll have that kiss to remember him by,” she thought before finishing off the glass and refreshing it.

  Shellie heard her phone ringing in the distance and instantly recognized Alexis’ ring tone and wondered how the woman had been able to find a Spice Girls ring tone so long after their popularity had faded. She let it go to voicemail with a half-hearted, “Sorry Alex,” into the air, knowing her friend would understand. The phone was still ringing when Shellie heard her doorbell. She couldn’t see who it was because her office faced the backyard but she assumed Alexis refused to take no for an answer. As usual.

  In her haste to get to the door and tell her dearest friend in the world to go the hell away, Shellie found half glass of Malbec down the front of her t-shirt. She hurriedly removed the wine stained shirt as she shuffled to the door in her bra. She swung the door open with the might of all the emotions coursing through her today. “What do you want, Alex,” she yelled with her eyes half closed.

  A smile spread across Noel’s face. “We have got to stop meeting like this.”

  CHAPTER THR
EE

  Noel sat at his new desk inside his new office, as this new chapter of his career got started. Sitting at his desk waiting for his assistant to arrive, she came with him from New York because he paid for relocation for her and her boyfriend, Noel wondered what was keeping her. She was never late. A valuable assistant was difficult to find and he did value Amelia. She was hardworking, downplayed her looks and she protected his privacy as though he were the POTUS himself. Unfortunately he could think of none of that now because all he could think of was how that crisp white see-through bra Shellie was wearing when he stopped by last night, gave him a genuine peek at what she hid under her clothes. He thought about her taut nipples struggling to break free of the skimpy material and the way each cup pushed up her ample bosom to draw his attention to her cleavage. And those freckles, damn those freckles!

  So she hadn’t welcomed in with open arms but instead slammed the door right in his face. She had opened it minutes later when she realized he was still waiting outside her door. Honestly the shirt she wore didn’t provide much more coverage than her bra, but who was he to give out that kind of information? Noel noted that Shellie had been especially distracted during his too brief visit. Much to his dismay since he was hoping to pick up where their almost kiss left off last night. But she seemed put off by him and he wasn’t sure how to remedy it, and fast.

  “I’ll get her a gift, women love gifts,” he thought aloud. “But what to get her?”

  “Cash or diamonds are always welcome, sir.”

  “Amelia! So glad to see you,” he hid the annoyance at being yanked from his thoughts. “Are you and Tam all settled in?” Really, what kind of name was Tam for a guy or anyone for that matter?

  “We’re here but Tam is doing all the settling, honestly.” She paused for a moment noticing an odd look on her boss’ usually stern face. “For whom are we buying a gift this time sir and what should the card say?”

  Damn he loved his assistant. Not only did she keep his life on schedule down to the minute, but she could formulate the perfect card to smooth over any mistake he made in his personal life, large or bigger than large. “I’m not sure about the gift or what I’ve done wrong. Have a seat,” he motioned to the chair across from his desk. He had allowed Amelia to pick it out since she spent more time in it than anyone. His only stipulation was that it had to match his office décor, which she also picked out, ordered and oversaw the placement of each piece of furniture.

  Amelia shuffled across the bluish-gray carpet, the soles of her heels making so much friction Noel was sure she’d burst into flames before reaching his desk. His assistant slowed down a few feet before reaching her destination placed several folders on the edge of the desk closest to her, smoothed her gray wool skirt and pushed up her white horn-rimmed glasses with her index finger before sitting down. Amelia lowered herself to the chair and crossed her legs at the ankle before grabbing the folders and replacing them on her lap. “Ok Mr. Hampton, what can I do?”

  Her eagerness to get the job, any job, done was another trait Noel appreciated in her, and so far he had let her know every year just how appreciative he was with a big fat bonus. Noel took a deep breath and released it as he fell back into his chair as though the sheer weight of his thoughts propelled him back. “So I met this woman, and—”

  “Jesus H! You just got here Mr. Hampton and you already have woman problems?” Amelia shook her head.

  “As I was saying,” he interrupted her brief mumblings to herself. “I met this woman who is actually my landlord, well landlady and we’ve been having a good time together.”

  Amelia peered at him over her glasses, knowingly.

  “No sex. Yet. I hope.” He shook his head clear to get him back on topic and away from thinking about sex with Shellie, “So we shared kind of a moment Saturday night over dinner but yesterday when I stopped by with a gift,” he emphasized, “she was cold and distant to me. I have no idea what I’ve done wrong Amelia so I have no idea what to get her to make it better. Shoot,” he opened his arms wide waiting for her to save him yet again.

  Amelia pursed her lips and looked at the ceiling, making a note that this office would need a paint job, before reaching a decision. “No offense Mr. Hampton but have you ever considered that maybe she didn’t welcome your advance?”

  “What makes you think I did the advancing?”

  Amelia shrugged, “Well if she did it the only reason she would be aloof is because you rejected her, and obviously you didn’t. So she must not have liked it.”

  Noel thought about the lustful look on Shellie’s face and the way her full lips hung open, eager and hungry for more. He shook his head vigorously, “No she definitely welcomed them, I’m sure of that.”

  “Okay then, maybe she thinks you’re just after her for sex. Could that be it?” Keeping up with her boss’ love life was a full time job on its own, Amelia thought to herself.

  “I guess that could be it, but we haven’t even had a proper kiss yet to worry about sex.” And how delicious that proper kiss would be, he thought to himself.

  “What’s she look like,” Amelia inquired very matter of fact.

  Noel looked offended. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well sir, forgive me my frankness but you seemed to have forgotten two important factors. First, you’re a knockout and you need to remember that. Second, and far more important is that we’re in a small town without an abundance of super models in business suits so if she looks like me,” she held up her hand to stop his protests because Amelia was well aware of how plain she was. “If she looks like me she’s probably trying to figure out why you tried to kiss her at all, if you’re not in it just to get into her panties.”

  Noel contemplated this for a moment. Shellie wasn’t like his New York girlfriends, but she wasn’t quite as plain as Amelia either. “And if she isn’t, I mean doesn’t look like you?”

  Amelia laughed at the way his voice went up at the end. She thought it odd he worried about offending her when it was she who often broke up with his girlfriends. She couldn’t even remember how many times she told a distraught woman I’m sorry but Mr. Hampton no longer wishes to see you, or Mr. Hampton has decided that your relationship has reached its inevitable conclusion and wants you to know that he will always remember you time together fondly. Breaking up on his behalf was ok, but telling her she looked exactly what she knew she looked like bothered him. Strange man. She helped him though, because he needed her. “Well if she doesn’t look like me chances are good she sees you as husband and daddy material.” This thought humored her.

  Noel sat back and ran his hands through his hair as he often did when he couldn’t grasp a situation properly. “Jeez Amelia how do I say this?” He took a slow deep inhale, held it and released it just as slowly. “Ok she plays her looks up more than you but not as much as the women I usually date, got it?”

  She nodded.

  “Ok, so what do I do?”

  “Get her something she would appreciate that shows you’ve been listening to her, but not something that in any way says, I want to climb between your thighs and get freaky.” Amelia smiled to herself, wondering what sort of small town woman had her boss so out of sorts.

  Noel thought a moment. He didn’t really know that much about Shellie actually. Her apartment and a lot of his was covered in daisies of all varieties and he knew that she liked wine. A lot. “Ok what I know for certain is that she loves wine and daisies. Can we work with that?”

  “Sure,” Amelia jotted down a few things in her recycled paper legal pad. “Just give me her name so I can find out where to have the gift delivered.”

  “NO!”

  Amelia looked up with her eyebrows raised, startled to see her boss so erratic. He was never anything but the perfect picture of calm coolness.

  “Sorry.” He looked sheepish, “I’d like you to give it to me by the end of the day. I want to give it to her myself. She isn’t the type to be impressed by delivered gift
s. She would say it’s too impersonal.”

  Amelia nodded, happy that her boss might actually have a chance to date a real woman instead of those plastic stick figures he usually dated. “So Mr. Hampton, don’t we have a headquarters or something to set up?” She grinned at him over her glasses.

  ##

  Shellie spent much of Monday morning in a meeting with three different clients. Her goal was to find a way to get the businesses the individual supplies they needed without spending a fortune because they were small businesses rather than large companies. Sitting around what passed for a conference table in her tiny office, three long wooden folding tables with comfortable executive chairs surrounding them, were three clients least likely to rely on each other for success. Shirley Deavers, who insisted everyone call her Shirl or suffer her wrath, owned The Stick Shift, a local tavern where most of Mustang Prairie went for drinks, pool and weekly darts and foosball tournaments. Shirl had plenty of customers but her overhead cut into too much of her profits. If however, she could order a little bit more with each order she could save thousands of dollars each month. Then there was Paul Silverstein, owner and operator of Paulo’s Pizzeria. Paul and Shirl had similar businesses but they were by no means competitors. Both needed supplies without paying too much in order to keep their businesses alive. Paul had the best pizza around and Shellie saw it as her personal mission to keep his pizzeria in Mustang Prairie. Finally, sitting at the farthest edge of the table, away from the other 3 people in attendance was Jacques, owner of the daytime diner in Mustang Prairie, Whatcha Got Cookin’. Jacques did a lot of business between the hours of 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. He had the best Panini sandwiches in the state, but not being open the entire day meant he needed to bring down the cost of doing business.

  Each was were reluctant to attend today’s meeting because what none of them seemed to realize was that they weren’t competitors but rather brothers and sister in arms against big businesses who got discounts they didn’t need simply because they were larger. It made Shellie sick to think about it, and she hoped that she could make them see things her way. She was half way through her pitch when the wheels began to come off the wagon. “So Shirl and Paul, if you place your beer order together each month you can both save more than $1,000 a piece every month, which means an extra twelve grand each year save just for beer. Isn’t that great?”