Shutting the computer, Zoe moved to deposit the empty wine glass in the kitchen sink and walked to her living room window. Her place might be small but she had a great view of Manhattan, and she saw the cityscape spread before her. Knowing she was prepared for tomorrow’s visit to the United Nations, Zoe relaxed a bit and leaned her head against the glass. There was no more work to distract her from thinking about C J. She smiled as she remembered that first night at the restaurant when her hand had landed on his thigh accidentally. She would never have imagined what was to come twenty-four hours later in C J’s home. Zoe had not experienced sexual arousal and satisfaction like this morning since Jean had made love to her last. Starting to pace back and forth in front of the window, Zoe reminded herself that she was used to being alone. She could manage without C J or any man for that matter. The question was, did she want to?
Zoe gave herself permission to not answer or contemplate that question and headed into the bathroom. No shower tonight, she decided. Taking a bath would be relaxing and less likely to revive memories of Jean or C J. While the water filled the bathtub, Zoe started putting away the items she had unpacked earlier this evening. I know what to do, she thought; think of something or someplace that fills me with delight. At least this had been the tactic her mother had taught her to use as a child when she was afraid or upset. Undressing and stepping into the bathtub, Zoe immediately thought of indulging in hot chocolate at Angelina’s on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Now that was pure ecstasy, she told herself, and possibly better than sex. Well, I took that train of thought in the wrong direction she mused as the word sex conjured up a vision of C J naked in his shower this morning with a hard on the size of… Ok, rewind back to Angelina’s and hot chocolate, Zoe admonished herself. Across the street are the Tuileries Gardens, which connect to the Louvre, housing a great collection of naked Greek statues, bringing me back once again to C J’s naked ass in the shower. Hopeless, Zoe mused as she closed her eyes and soaked.
The bath had been relaxing, Zoe admitted as she slipped into her bed. No way was she going to think about no warm body next to her or the smell of C J‘s cologne on his skin. Aqua de Gio, that was it. Zoe knew she recognized his cologne but it had taken her this long to put the name to the fragrance. This line of thinking was definitely headed in the wrong direction and she knew it. Willing herself to fall asleep, Zoe started to relive her day backwards. With any luck she would be asleep by the cab ride if things occurred as usual. Unfortunately, Zoe made it back to Houston and realized that she was treading on dangerous territory. After all the day had started with sex in the shower with C J. Zoe did finally fall asleep but her last memory was of C J naked, water dripping down his body and his hands caressing her breasts.
ℓ
C J had trouble falling asleep that evening too. He had finished his swim, headed inside and gone online to check his calendar and determined he could rearrange meetings over the next few days. He then headed over to Matt’s for a dinner meeting. Caroline and Matt were considering some upgrades to the restaurant, which required C J’s input because of the financial implications. The moment C J walked in the office he knew Matt was thinking about more than restaurant business.
“So I have it on good authority that the crayfish boil was a rousing success last night,” Matt said, smiling while trying to look innocent.
“Yeah, I would say it was a good crowd and we enjoyed the food and company,” C J answered matter-of-factly.
“It seems you and Ms. Alden were tired and had to leave early. I have never known that to be your style,” Matt said.
“Well, Ms. Alden changed her plans and had a flight back to New York today, so she needed to make an early night of it,” C J answered, thinking he had the perfect excuse.
When Matt leaned forward, a mock-innocent look on his face, C J knew he was in for it. “Oh, I guess that’s why you two were seen leaving your house late this morning with Ms. Alden carrying half of her clothing. Shit, C J, it’s me you’re talking to. No need to make up some story. As if you care about your reputation,” Matt shot back.
“Who the fuck saw us leaving my house this morning,” C J asked quickly?
“Don’t get so upset. It was just Logan. She had planned to see if you wanted to get breakfast but just kept driving. She and Caroline were talking about the situation with Jack earlier today, and the subject of you and Ms. Alden made it into the conversation.”
Despite Matt’s best efforts to pry over the next hour, C J did not divulge any information on the evening and morning spent with Zoe. C J was not one to talk about his sexual exploits, and he felt doubly protective of Zoe. For some reason he had sensed that their sexual encounter was not business as usual for her. C J was glad the restaurant was busy and Matt became distracted. This let him sit quietly at the bar and eat. When he left the restaurant, C J felt mentally tired. Matt’s efforts to get the “scoop” on the situation, as he put it, had been exhausting. C J called Logan from his car, but all he heard over the speaker was the sound of the phone ringing, meaning he would have to catch her later and make sure this story went no further. Feeling the need to protect Zoe from gossip was a surprising idea to C J, but he was adamant about it. After all, she was a well-known business journalist, and tarnishing her reputation on the verge of his interview being published was not good for her or Marshall Petroleum.
Son of a bitch, C J thought to himself, walking into his house. This was going to make him rethink the plan to head to New York next week. It might look better to wait a few weeks and have the visit appear to be a business trip after all. He was a direct person and the fact that he was going against his instinct, which was to be with Zoe ASAP, made him edgy. C J tossed his keys on the kitchen counter and felt annoyed. As he headed past the living room and into his office, he sat down, turned on Sunday Night Football for noise and then pulled up his calendar again. Before C J knew it he had immersed himself in several hours of work reading contracts. Now, heading down the hall to his bedroom, he felt exhausted and frustrated.
“Just let it go,” he said as he pulled his clothes off and left them in a heap on the floor.
Damn it all, he thought a few minutes later as he stepped out of the shower, briefly rubbing a towel over his body. Naked and hair dripping wet, C J reached his bed and fell into it. His last thoughts were of Zoe’s naked body astride him that morning and the feel of his hands caressing her breasts.
ℓ
Monday morning, Zoe stood in front of her mirror and turned, checking her appearance. The suit was blue and she wore cream silk with it but was the look too austere, even for her? Zoe thought, to hell with it, and opted for austere but at the last minute grabbed a long paisley scarf to wrap around her neck in case the morning was still cold. Ambassador Rostanov did not often give interviews, so Zoe knew he had an ulterior motive. Stay cool and don’t blow this, she admonished herself. Grabbing her leather bag and securing it over her shoulder, Zoe stepped out of her apartment and searched for her keys. She noticed the light blinking on her phone, and her heart lurched a bit thinking it might be C J. Nope it was just the magazine’s driver texting her that he was outside waiting for her. You’re being ridiculous, Zoe chided herself with another reminder to pull it together and get to work.
“Morning, Joe,” Zoe said as she got into the back seat of the car, and it took off down the street, squeezing between two honking cabs.
“Morning, Zoe,” Joe said. “How was your trip to Houston?”
“It went well. These two interviews back-to-back are keeping me busy and should create a buzz for the magazine.”
Joe started to answer but his attention was drawn by a bicycle messenger darting in and out of traffic. Instinctively, Zoe reached for the cup of coffee in its holder and noticed that Joe had included a bagel in case she was hungry. She sipped the hot coffee and felt its warmth run down her throat. Caffeine should help me focus. As she took a bite of the bagel, Zoe waved it in the air in a gesture that she knew Joe would understand
as a thank you. He smiled, nodded his head and then fixed his eyes on the snarl of traffic ahead of them.
Zoe arrived at the United Nations with no more than twenty minutes to check in, pass through security and find her way to the conference room set aside for the interview. A press pass was no ticket to fast entry in this building; reporters and journalists practically camped out here. The security guard just stared at her dully as he asked her to empty the contents of her bag into the plastic bin and to remove her shoes before they slid through the scanner. No southern gallantry in sight at this establishment, she mused. As she walked through the security scanner, she stepped on something sharp. It was all Zoe could do not to scream out in pain or have her eyes register any emotion. Not a good idea here, she thought to herself as she limped up to the conveyer belt and started putting her belongings back in her bag. Leaning against the wall to put her shoes on, Zoe found a small rock embedded in her left heel. Flicking it off, she noticed the security detail staring at her to see why she was loitering in their area. Crap, what a way to start my f’ing day.
As it turned out, the conference room was within the offices of the Russian delegation, which was at the end of the hall when Zoe exited the elevator. Walking slowly down the hall in an effort to keep pressure off of her sore heel made her feel like a target. The huge guard at the delegation door followed her every step. This same guard showed Zoe to the conference room a few minutes later, where she waited for the ambassador to arrive. Ambassador Rostanov, a stern faced older man in a black suit, spoke English well but with no inflection. By the time the interview was over Zoe would have loved to pinch him to make sure he wasn’t a cyborg. That would have been a great twist to the interview, which, in Zoe’s mind, had been nothing but a shout-out to the world to stop battering Russia’s oil industry and choice of allies. Anytime she had injected a question about another subject to broaden the interview the ambassador had deftly stonewalled her, but Zoe wasn’t surprised. Riding down in the elevator, she couldn’t help but wonder what C J would have to say about Russian oil interests. What had he said to her? “Global politics are a big part of the oil industry.” Zoe started to brighten as she thought of a possible connection between the two interviews.
Standing on 42nd Street, waiting for Joe to pick her up, Zoe slid her phone out of the inner pocket of her bag and noted she had new emails. Might as well read through these while I hang out curbside, she thought. One in particular caught her eye, so Zoe thumbed down to it and waited impatiently for the text to appear:
Zoe,
My schedule is not going to lighten up for a few weeks. Will let you know when I can get to NY.
Best,
C J
Zoe unconsciously chewed on her lower lip as she tried to decipher a hidden meaning in the message. Hell, not much of a message to decipher at all. It was short and to the point. Zoe decided to take it as C J’s polite way of saying thanks for the sex, so long. Why was she surprised? By the time Joe pulled up to the curb, Zoe was brushing a tear out of the corner of her eye and inwardly fuming with herself for expecting more from C J.
“OK, Zoe?” Joe asked as she entered the car’s back seat.
“Sure, Joe, the wind kicked up some trash and blew it into my eye. Will you head to the office? I have some things to talk over with Jeff,” Zoe said.
“No Problem, Zoe. Any stops along the way?” he asked.
“No thanks, I can call for take out later if I get time to eat. Lots of work to finish up today,” Zoe replied, and not much else to distract me, she thought. Reaching for the coffee cup she knew would again be in the cup holder, Zoe did decide to send C J a reply:
C J,
No problem. Am swamped with work and travel plans. Let me know if your schedule clears.
Best,
Zoe
The moment she hit send, Zoe wished she could take the message back and erase the last sentence. I hope to God I don’t sound pathetically hopeful with that last bit. Shrugging as she reached into her bag to search for an elastic band to pull her hair back, Zoe decided then and there to have no regrets. Go forward, no looking back, she told herself as the car pulled to a stop.
“Thanks, Joe, have a good afternoon,” Zoe said over her shoulder as she exited the car and headed to the skyscraper’s lobby without glancing in his direction.
ℓ
C J’s Monday had been one meeting after another because he had rearranged his schedule and everyone else’s to fit his travel plans. Now no New York on Thursday echoed in his head as he sat down at his desk to sort through emails and figure out what else he absolutely had to get done today. He had to admit the back-to-back meetings had accomplished a lot in short order and he might employ the strategy in the future. C J scanned his inbox and found what he was looking for, [email protected]. Swamped with work and travel plans. What the fuck was that supposed to mean, C J thought? Standing abruptly, he forced his chair away from his desk so hard it collided with the credenza. C J didn’t even notice as he walked across his office to peer out the window into the darkness. Yes, his message had been brief this morning but, shit, he was amazed he sent that before noon. Maybe he should have waited until he could explain the delay, or maybe she just didn’t care. After all, Zoe’s invitation was extended to him as she was already mentally on the plane and onto her next assignment.
With fatigue and hunger setting in, C J couldn’t think well. He grabbed his coat and tie while shoving his phone to his ear after autodialing his sister, Logan. Before C J had made it to the elevator Logan answered the phone, and he asked if she wanted to get something to eat.
“What? It’s almost 10pm. Are you crazy?” she shot back. “C J, are you just leaving work?” Logan asked.
“At this moment I am on my way to my car, so that’s a yes,” C J shot back.
“Who the hell crossed you today, and why are you taking it out on me?” Logan shot back just as forcefully.
“Sorry, Logan, it’s been the classic try to do something right but it ends up shitty kind of day.”
“Are we talking work or personal?” Logan asked.
“Personal,” C J answered reluctantly.
“Get over here. Food will be waiting and I can listen to this problem you have created.” Logan said.
Before C J could say he didn’t create the problem, she had already hung up. Figures, C J thought to himself. Logan wasn’t known for being sympathetic. True to her word, Logan did have food waiting, and the sandwich tasted damned good to C J. Between mouthfuls of the sandwich and a cold beer, C J gave a very brief description of the problem as he saw it.
Logan listened and didn’t say a word until C J abruptly stopped and said, “Well?”
“First thing,” Logan said, “I am no expert at relationships or I wouldn’t be thinking about patching up one of my own but seriously your issue is easy. You had an agreement. You changed the agreement with no discussion and now you can’t understand why the other party isn’t thrilled. Think of it this way, C J, you just broke a contract. How do you fix it? You either abide by the original terms or renegotiate and hope you don’t lose out.”
C J smiled, “So you and Jack are talking about getting back together?”
“What the hell? No way, C J, we are not discussing my relationship or lack thereof with Jack. That is off limits until I say otherwise,” Logan said sternly.
“Ok already”, C J said, smiling broadly, “I get your point and I am out of here Thursday headed to New York for a long weekend.”
“It will be interesting to see what Zoe does with this surprise or do you plan to clue her in?” Logan asked.
“Surprise is my plan of attack. I need to get things back on track with no second guessing by Zoe,” C J answered.
Logan frowned then asked, “Why are you doing this C J? Is it because this woman doesn’t seem to be falling apart without you or because she’s something special?”
C J was quick to answer, “She’s special. Zoe doesn’t need me but I ne
ed her. I want to be with someone who lights up when they see me but will also tell me I’m a jackass when it’s true. Right now she fits that description.”
“You can be a jackass. What’s amazing is that at this late hour you have come up with a great plan. Now you can leave because I have my own business to take care of before I head to Africa on Wednesday,” Logan said starting to lead the way out of the room.
As C J walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer of the condo, he heard noise coming from down the hallway.
Grinning he turned toward Logan and said, “Goodnight Jack.”
From down the hall a familiar voice called, “See you, C J, and good luck.”
C J turned to face his sister and saw her blue eyes rolling in disbelief. “Don’t say a word, C J. I was nice and let you come over so no brotherly advice or I swear I’ll…” Logan’s words were cut off as C J hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
“You know what to do. Just decide what you want. After all, you set me straight,” C J said as he exited the door. Jack and Logan possibly a couple again, C J thought to himself as he walked outside. Holy shit, let the fireworks begin.
After the Interview Page 7
