by Mimi Barbour
“She just stepped out for a minute.” Annie didn’t feel comfortable explaining her assistant had gone to make her tea. She glanced down at her watch, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush she could feel coating her cheeks.
Rather than leave, he moved closer to her desk. “I’m Sergio Ruiz. Number One salesman for the last four years.” His accent sounded pure South American, and he smiled with such charm she found herself smiling back.
Holding out her hand, she replied. “Ola! I’m Anna Hynes.”
His smile revved up a notch, showing flawless, white teeth, the kind you see on a television toothpaste commercial. “You speak my language.”
“Only a very few phrases. I took a couple of Spanish lessons last spring. They fizzled out after the second occasion when the professor showed up drunk and couldn’t remember his verb conjugations, or his English.”
Sergio laughed and shook her hand, holding it in both of his. “It would be my pleasure to teach you how to speak Portuguese, which is the language from my country. And I can promise to stay sober.”
She extricated her fingers from his and skedaddled to the large window to collect her thoughts. He frazzled her, standing so close.
Flustered nerves forced her to babble. “I’ve never worked downtown in Manhattan before. The place is crazy with all the kamikaze yellow cabs and the overflowing rivers of people going in every direction. Walking from the subway this morning felt like a marathon of hope.”
He moved to stand too close beside her. He wasn’t as tall as Tyler, but his larger build contrasted her short stature. They both gazed at the tinker-toy cars and mini-people forty stories below. “Hope for what?” he asked, his tone flirtatious.
“That every light would change before I got to it. That the crowds wouldn’t close in, or the hordes all decide to turn at once.”
His laugh bellowed out as he one-arm hugged her to him in the manner one friend would do to another—except he was a stranger.
She jerked back and he dropped his arm, his smile wiped away by her instinctive move. He recovered immediately, trying to conceal his presumption.
“Sorry! Feels like I’ve known you forever. We Brazilian men forget ourselves around beautiful women.”
The noise of a throat being cleared had the two of them whipping around to face the door.
“Here’s your tea.” Sara stepped to the desk and put down a small tray, which carried a couple of cookies and a large mug painted with brilliant blue birds.
“Sergio, were you here to see me about something?” Sara turned to him, a hint suggested by her raised eyebrow.
“Yes, senorita.” He grinned at her and then looked at Annie. “I shall return to find out how you are coming along, Anna. If you have need of my help, please don’t hesitate to call me.” He smiled and passed her a card extricated from an elaborate leather holder. “I’m not always in the office, but for you, I’d return anytime.”
Sara crossed her arms in front of her, before turning to Annie. “I’ll assist Sergio while you take a minute to have your tea and get settled in. Then I can brief you on the day ahead.” Her aloofness, solidly back in place, made Annie stare. What’s up with that?
Sergio stood waiting at the door for Sara to precede him. He swiveled, and winked audaciously at Annie behind Sara’s back. Cheeky devil! He made Anna nervous. A man like him could have any woman he wanted, and if he set his sights on her, she’d be in deep trouble. A ripple of shivers made her back teeth clench. She shook off her misgivings, set her mind to the work overflowing the in-tray, and slowly sipped her tea.
***
It would be the last break Annie was to have for the next few days. Between meetings with Hugo, with her own small staff, and then with managers from all the various stores, to the district, regional and division people, life was hectic but fun. Everyone she met had ideas of how her area would benefit, changes they thought necessary. Many were succinct and indisputable.
She also had a few tricks up her own sleeve to make her department more accessible to the lower level employees and not just the hierarchical types. She talked to each person individually, spending many hours to discover any ideas they might have. It helped her to make a chart listing the important to the trivial, checking with the administrators regarding their preferences for hiring and the on-site treatment of their people.
Everyone proved helpful, and none more so than Hugo. He still called her sweetheart, but then he called most of the girls on that floor by the same endearment. Made her wonder sometimes if he had a bad memory for names and covered his problem by this small eccentricity.
He’d gotten into the habit of checking on her progress each day, encouraging her to take on the tough challenges she faced. He even stood up for her during the few episodes when she’d stepped on intractable toes or insisted on unpopular but necessary changes.
Annie got the distinct impression he came not only to visit her. More often than not, with Sara working in the same office, he’d light up and become friskier when she was in the room, engaging her in a teasing byplay that would have them all laughing. Many days the girls resorted to pushing him out the door so they could get on with their huge accumulation of e-mails and paperwork that needed to be cleared.
Sara, as well, became a shining beacon in the fogged-up, misty tunnel of life as a new employee. With so much to learn and understand, her invaluable advice saved Annie from huge errors and a whole lot of embarrassments. As in most businesses, the office politics at Montaro’s were annoying but also a fact of life. With help from her assistant, Annie found it easy to correlate and not become involved. Friendship grew between the two women as they adapted their individual styles to becoming a team.
Annie missed Tyler every time he popped into her thoughts. He phoned and left messages, ones she hadn’t found the time to follow up on. Guilt rode her hard, but by the time she’d get home either it was too late or she’d be too tired to place the call. Many nights she and Sara were heads down, slogging away in their niche. And the evenings she wasn’t in the office she had to attend endless boring dinner parties for those retiring, or make presentations of one kind or another, all geared for management.
Her intentions to return Tyler’s calls each morning left her guilt ridden as she slipped into bed every night, having procrastinated yet again. Since she’d started her new job, hours and then whole days had a way of disappearing. Each one ran into the next, and before she knew it, she’d been at Montaro’s for over a week, going on two.
Shame and Celi finally caught up with her. “You can’t put it off any longer. Call him and remember to thank him for the flowers.”
Go figure! Celi was a stickler for the conventions. Deciding there was no time like the present, she picked up the phone and chose his number, not needing Sara’s help to place this call.
“Hi! Tyler Jones here.” His tone implied he was smiling.
“You sound happy today.”
“I am, especially now you’ve called. I was chuckling over a note I received from Tommy Kinder. Remember him, the kid with the dreadlocks he’d made with peanut butter?”
“You mean the one whose head we had to shave, because of the bugs building subdivisions in his hair?”
“That’s the one. You’ll be happy to hear he’s passed all his courses and has just been accepted into a program to become an MRI Technician. The kid’s flying without wings, or so I gather from the sounds of his letter.”
“Hopefully without drugs, also.” Her tone was dry.
“He’s clean. He swears it, even put it in writing. Says he saw the light after spending time with us. I guess our helping him was what made him turn around and straighten out. I want to celebrate. Whaddaya say—dude?”
She smiled. “You are such a mimic. I could swear it was Tommy himself talking. No wonder you two got along so well. Actually, I called about us getting together. First, before I forget, the roses you sent were beautiful. My nose loves you. They still smell superb, and they put me at
ease as soon as I walked into my new office, which by the way, you’ll absolutely hate when you visit. A huge glass cage describes it perfectly, although I am starting to get used to it now. Even the view doesn’t wow me so much anymore.”
“You have a view? What floor are you on?”
“The fortieth. Look, dinner’s on me tonight. I want to tell you all about my new job.”
The silence lasted a few seconds, and waiting even that long speeded up her heart rate.
“Sure, sounds great. I’ll pick you up at seven, and we can bus it to our restaurant. We’re blessed with a warm evening, and after today, I can use some fresh air.”
“Me too, and I’ll pick you up, since your floor’s lower than mine.”
“Harsh, honey, is that a dig?”
“Quit joking around. See you later.”
“Right. Bye now.”
She sat holding the phone in her hand, contemplating the call. At the end he’d sounded distant, sort of upset. Probably just one of his cases bothering him. Anticipation swept through her at the thought of being with him in a few hours. While she fantasized about the coming evening, delight swamped her, followed by giddiness, and then longing topped up the emotional morass. Showing off could be considered unbecoming, but so what. She couldn’t wait for him to see the new confident Anna.
Chapter Seven
Annie returned home late, leaving herself only a few minutes to get ready and pick up Tyler. Tasks at the office had a way of snowballing towards the end of the day. Then, just as she was about to leave, Sergio made a cameo appearance and begged her to have dinner with him. He’d been a constant drop-in to her office since she’d started, but his flirty ways still unsettled her. The guy did tend to take things for granted, she thought.
“I’m sorry, Sergio, I have plans for this evening.”
“Queridíssima, I tried to call you sooner, but I only arrived back in town this morning. I’m leaving again on another sales trip tomorrow and won’t be back until Saturday. Are you certain there’s no possibility for you to come with me tonight?” His smile promised a reward.
“None whatsoever. I’ve arranged to take a friend to dinner. I’m sorry, Sergio.” She tacked on the last words when his face fell comically, making her laugh.
In the end, Annie compromised and agreed to go out with Sergio the day he returned. Dating him worried her somewhat. His charisma overwhelmed the shyness she barely hid while at work, and she knew he was an experienced seducer. A woman senses such things. Oh well, maybe it was time for her to be seduced. No doubt working amongst the sophisticated elements had lessened her strict views from many of her earlier naive opinions, but what she accepted for others still didn’t mean she was ready to act similarly.
She hurried into her apartment, dumped parcels here and there, then bumped into the bar stool, and grabbed it before the blasted thing crashed to the floor. With a glance at her watch, she opted to take a few minutes to freshen her makeup and switch out of her businesslike attire to a new pair of low-riding jeans and a filmy lilac blouse showing way more than she’d ever have been at ease with previously. It had become as comfortable to her now as her bikini underwear.
Common sense warred with the giddy creeping-crawlies in her stomach at the idea of spending all evening with Tyler. After soul searching most of the day, she’d come to a realization. Cutting herself off from him had been on purpose. She’d decided that hiding her feelings, especially after the kiss they’d shared, would be difficult. Best to stay away from temptation. Not forever, she couldn’t bear that, but the less time they spent together, the less chance there would be of her breaking down and admitting her foolish fantasies.
She’d die of embarrassment if he found out her feelings for him had changed. He’d made it plain from the first day they met that he had no interest in pursuing a romance—with anyone—and she’d never had the nerve to try to change his mind. Still didn’t. Couldn’t. Up until lately, horror at being intimate with any man had held her back. Plus, his being a woman-hater stopped him from seeing her as anything other than a pal.
Phrases like “give it up” and “stop wishing for the moon” popped into her mind. The same ones she’d controlled herself with since way back when her feelings had undergone a transformation from a friend’s to head-over-heels.
“Go ahead. Wish for the moon—and the stars, little girl. And quit being so defeatist.” Celi, voicing her opinion, had a habit of popping in at the most incongruous times.
“Easier said than done, Celi. If you knew why I’m so scared, you’d understand why it’s impossible for me to have a normal relationship.”
With a droll tone, Celi answered. “I’m an angel, Annie. I do know. And I do understand. But maybe it’s time for you to let go of what happened in the past. Think about it, my dear. You’re not getting any younger. And if my memory serves me right about the pleasures of uniting physically, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
Annie chuckled, just as Celi intended. “I will. I promise.”
One thing she knew for certain. She wouldn’t give up Tyler or his friendship. Just visualizing the emptiness of her life without him made her queasy. Okay, no matter how he acts, don’t read anything into it. Her thoughts flew every which way while her feet flew down the two flights of stairs. She rapped on the door with their special knock and stood stunned when it opened within a few seconds.
“Were you guarding the peephole?” Annie laughed, not because it was an especially funny remark, but more because happiness overwhelmed, even if he did have his cell phone glued to his ear.
He waved her in, pointed at the receiver, and stalked over to the other side of the room. “Look, Lea, leave the poser. How many ways do I have to say it? He’s not good enough for you. He hurts you, and you won’t stop him.”
Annie watched the expressions rioting across Tyler’s face—anger, puzzlement, mainly frustration. He listened to whatever Lea had to say, then cut her off. His words indicated his need to get through to her.
“No, Lea! Don’t hang up. Please, I promise we can help, if you’d just give us—me—the chance. Talk with me, or better still, Annie’s here now, do you want to talk to her?”
Annie walked over, motioning towards the phone, but he slapped it shut and threw it on the oversized coffee table before she got there. Shaky hands raked through soft waves and stopped at his neck where his fingers intertwined. His head dropped, his chin rested on his chest, and he took huge cleansing breaths. The attitude of dejection had her itching to put her arms around him, but shyness and preservation instincts held her back.
“Is he beating on her again?” Annie figured so, but she asked to give him a lead in, to see if he felt in the mood to talk.
She knew the lowdown on the life Lea had chosen, and she felt very sorry for the pathetic sixteen-year-old who looked and acted more like a broken thirty. What that—that child had seen and done in her few years most women never encountered—ever. Her twenty-five-year-old boyfriend, Doug, manipulated and terrified the poor girl to the point where she didn’t feel she had any options at all. Whatever he wanted from her, or did to her, she accepted. And the shameless exploiter had her believing she deserved exactly what she got.
Tyler broke into Annie’s recollections. “Beating on her, pimping her, you name it. She came into the office today with a black eye and fear choking her so badly she couldn’t talk.” He held his hand up towards her with his thumb and first finger almost touching. “I was this close to talking her out of returning, but then her cell phone rang. From four feet away I could hear him screaming obscenities, and she ran out before I could do anything. I yelled after her to call me later or I’d check out their place.”
“She’s just getting back to you now?”
“Uh-huh. I’ve been waiting, and had pretty well decided we’d go there before dinner if she hadn’t telephoned. She says he wasn’t there when she got home, but he’d left a note, which told her not to leave the place again or he’d kill her.�
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“My God! He’s getting worse. Last time she stayed with me, he was threatening to beat her, but he hadn’t yet gone that far. If he’s at the point where he’s started controlling her with physical force and fear for her life, there’s no telling what’ll happen next.” Annie plunked down on the luxurious brown leather sofa, rested her elbows on her knees, and sagged her worried face inside her open palms. “I can’t see why we can’t call the police and charge him with any number of crimes. She’s underage and he’s nothing but a lousy pimp. There are laws to protect from those kinds of horrors.”
“Annie, I’ve told you before, the minute they see a cop, they’ll run. Both of them! And we’ll lose her for good. It’s happened to me before, and I can’t let it happen to Lea. The best way we can help her is to be there when she finally decides to leave him.” Tyler stomped from one end of the room to the other, barely missed knocking over his golf bag, then turned in a full circle. “I swear, Annie, if he touches her again, I’ll pull out all the stops.”
“What about your cousin on the police force? Wouldn’t he help out if you asked him?”
“He’s fed up with my ‘do-gooder’ deeds. He’s gone out on the limb for me so often I don’t want to use him again unless there’s no other way. I’ll come up with something, don’t worry. In the meantime, if she comes to you, let me know. If we gang up and both try to get through to her, maybe we’ll be able to do an intervention—talk her into leaving him, save her from wasting another precious day on that lowlife bastard.”
Annie nodded, and her sighs snapped him out of his funk.
“Okay, honey, enough misery; no more worrying. We’re getting out of here and having fun for a change. Chuck off the doom-and-gloom stuff. I’ll just get my wallet, and we can leave.”
On the bus, they caught up on each other’s various newsy items with an obvious reluctance on Tyler’s part to open the discussion concerning Annie’s new job.
