Tabitha was silent, hoping maybe Rick would get the picture and go away. But he didn’t.
“Listen, maybe it’s best we just don’t see each other anymore. When you have time to make and receive calls via landline and invite your supposed friend back to your place, drop me a call. Until then it’s sayonara.”
“Excuse me?”
But Tabitha was already gone; just one week and two days after their first phone call.
For five seconds she stood there, feeling incredibly proud of herself. There, she had finally told him how she felt. She had made it clear she wasn’t prepared to put up with his hoopla. Ha!
Ha, ha, ha! This was so funny all Tabitha wanted to do was laugh until she cried. And cry she did, first quietly like one does when watching a comedy show, until gradually it built to that embarrassingly level, where one’s chest begins heaving, nose gets clogged with snot and eyes get red with spider-veins. Oh my - the only thing was by then it wasn’t so funny anymore; Tabitha felt as if she was drowning in a flood of horror and despair.
“I don’t have a boyfriend anymore!” she blubbered, “We just broke up! Rick and I just broke up and I’m going to be alone FOREVER…”
Now that Rick was gone, Tabitha wanted him back more than anything. So what if he had strange calling habits and didn’t invite her home. Some people would think that was great…he wasn’t trying to rush her into bed. Plus having his cell number meant she could contact him anywhere, anytime. Some men hid their cell number from their partners, in lieu of mistresses.
Oh my, what had she done? She was so pathetically overdramatic.
Her cell phone went off again and this time Tabitha picked it up with hopes it was Serena. I know, I know, the chance of Serena calling right now were about a trillion to one. But a chance was a chance; sometimes only a girl can understand the problems of another girl.
“Hello?” Tabitha said expectantly.
“Tabitha?” it was Rick again and he seemed surprised to have caught her sane. “Look can you please listen to me for a sec? I just want to apologize for being rude to you before and giving you the wrong impression. I don’t think you’re a rent-a-friend or whatever you called it. You’re special… a really special girl and…” He stopped to take a breather, after rushing into his well-rehearsed piece. Or maybe he’d forgotten what came next. Either way Tabitha waited for Rick to continue, too shocked to provide backup assistance.
“I’d like to make it up to you, if you’ll allow me.”
“Of course I’ll allow you,” Tabitha replied promptly, ignoring the Rules book.
She vaguely sensed this response went totally against the chapter on delay tactics but so what? Weren’t the authors of The Rules both divorced? Wasn’t anyone who even purchased The Rules book a sad case?” Tabitha decided as of now she’d try out a different experiment - do everything opposite to the Rules. Let’s see where that led her.
“So tonight can I pick you up at seven o’clock?”
“Seven’s fine.”
“There’s only one thing.” Rick paused. “How do you feel about packing an overnight bag?”
Tabitha smiled.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely, not that we’ll be doing anything other than talking”
“Of course,” Tabitha replied.
Though inside she was thinking never underestimate a good talk. This Opposite Rules game was already working.
If Markie thought he was going to get intelligent feedback regarding the takeover from Rick then he was in store for a rude awakening.
But why be surprised? After all, his partner was acting like a secret agent spy. Nowadays Rick regularly took hush-hush calls in the privacy of his office and at night, more and more often he disappeared into no-man’s land dressed to kill. Whenever Markie pressed him with unsubtle questions like “So where are you going?” Rick would grunt and saying nothing except:
“A man has his right to his privacy you know.”
Which was true, Markie hardly disagreed with having a bit of privacy. But to act weird and strange and extraterrestrial-like in this process, well that was screwed. Totally screwed.
On Thursday Markie decided enough was enough. He already had a sufficient amount of his own crap without having to deal with James Bond too.
“Listen I think we need to talk,” Markie asserted, waltzing into Rick’s office once the coast looked clear. He noticed that Rick jumped up automatically, the remaining hairs from his second haircut in a fortnight standing up on their ends. “It’s important.”
“Can’t it wait till tonight?” Rick huffed, “I’m about to run out to a lunch meeting.”
“No it can’t,” Markie insisted, fed up with the entire BS. “Can you not for one second just pull that rod out of your ass and sit down?”
Rick glanced at his watch and back at Markie. He look worried, an expression which never skirted on the old face Markie once knew and loved. That Rick didn’t know worry any better than he knew calculus.
“By the way, where are you going anyway? We have a meeting with the magazine sales team in twenty minutes.”
“I thought you could cover for both of us…” Rick’s face was now strained.
“You thought wrong; your presence is required. I’d love to know though who or what you gave precedence to.” Markie put his hands on his hips.
“Nothing important.” Rick shrugged. “Just a friend.”
“A friend!” Markie’s eyes lit up. Now this was a clue. “Perhaps a male friend? It would sure as hell explain why you’re acting like a closet case.”
“Absolutely not!” Rick fumed. One could tell Markie had hit that homophobic nerve. “As a matter of fact, it’s a woman that I’m meeting, my new sort-of girlfriend actually.”
“You have a girlfriend?” Markie asked, raising his eyebrows.
As much as it seemed like a perfectly good explanation, too many things did not fit into place. For starters, if Rick really did have a girlfriend why would he be hiding the fact? It was more his style to throw a show-off celebration party. Look, see how cool I am, I am capable of maintaining a reasonably committed relationship.
The only reason Rick would keep a real live chick to himself was like Markie said before: she was either dog ugly or dog ugly…but he was too superficial for that. Rick wouldn’t go out with someone less than eight out of ten any more than politicians could give a speech without a few white lies.
“Who is she then?”
“Like I said, it’s no-one important.”
Rick went to ignore Markie by walking to his cabinet and reaching for the Product X file. Oh well it was nice to know he at least remembered which client they were to be dealing with next. Just as he pulled the folder down and began flicking through its pages, Rick’s cell phone went off. Markie glanced at the silver apparatus, vibrating away on the table like a centipede on speed.
“Here you go,” Markie volunteered, picking up the phone to pass to Rick.
“No!” Rick squealed suddenly, dropping the folder so that important sheets went flying everywhere. “Let me get it…” He reached to grab the phone, just as Markie spied the name flashing away in blue.
“No way…” Markie muttered quietly, dropping the phone like a hot potato into the pile of paper.
But it was too late, he’d seen the name and it burnt like on a hotplate in his mind.
TABITHA, Rick was going out with Tabitha!
Chapter 27
The moment of truth arrived later that day. It would’ve been nice if Markie and Rick could have right then and there laid everything out on the table but they had a client to attend to and in business, the client always came first. They would talk Tabitha and business takeovers once their client’s needs and concerns were fully satisfied.
Rick, realizing what a wanker he was, decided to spill the beans on Tabitha. Yes, they were sort-of dating. Rick called it sort-of because they hadn’t as of yet made it to the sack.
“Maybe there’s
a chance tonight,” he explained, “Seeing as I asked her to pack her an overnight bag. I was about to pop out and buy some nibblers and good champagne for the occasion when you came into the office.”
“So the day time rendezvous was a lie then?”
“Yes I lied. We usually meet in the evenings.”
“But why didn’t you say anything?” Markie tried to keep the bewilderment out of his voice. So maybe a few times he said less than favorable things about Tabitha, maybe a few times he questioned her sanity and intelligence. But that didn’t mean Rick had to keep his love for her a secret. They were friends for God’s sake and friends understood that sometimes you make bad choices.
“You don’t like Tabitha, man,” Rick confirmed, “so I thought why open my mouth if you’re just going cut her down.”
“But I don’t hate her!” Markie bellowed, “She’s Serena’s best friend.”
“Bull crap,” Rick laughed, shaking his head. “You go on and on about how the sight of Tabitha makes you want to gouge someone eye’s out. How a bull terrier would make a better prom date. I thought if I saw her privately at first and she was as bad as you said she was then I could keep the whole episode under wraps. But I don’t know man…” He stopped and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Tabitha’s something else but not in the way you think.”
“I’m sure she is,” Markie insisted, speaking through gritted teeth. “Maybe I’ve only ever seen her on an off day. Look how about you invite you over one night for dinner and that way I can fall in love with all her wonderful attributes as well.”
Rick lowered his head and frowned.
“Are you pulling my leg?”
“Never, I swear I’m serious,” Markie replied, swallowing hard. One dinner couldn’t possibly kill him and it was the least he could do for a friend. “If the two people closest to me are absolutely rapt by Tabitha, then I want to be in on it too.”
“Great…I’ll plan it for sometime soon.”
Ideally Rick would’ve been just as enthusiastic about the Ad Palace takeover news. But he wasn’t. In fact Rick was furious as hell.
“You mean to tell me you received an offer from Harry Sangster and never told me until now?”
“Hang on,” Markie bellowed over him, “I told you already, the meeting only took place three days ago and I tried to mention it but you were busy acting like an Entourage star all over town.”
“So?” Rick exploded. “I sure as hell would’ve stopped what I was doing for a few million dollars.”
“If we decide to accept it; I still haven’t made up my mind if I will.”
“What?” Rick spat out. “Are you crazy? There’s no ‘think’ or ‘I’ in this equation. We’re going shopping for our new wetsuits this afternoon.”
Markie sighed. Try and explain the meaning of silent partner to Rick at a time like this.
“Let just consider all the pros and cons before making a hasty decision. Moving to L.A. is a big step and it doesn’t involve just you Rick but everyone here in the company and their families.”
“Screw their families,” Rick muttered, crossing his arms defensively. But at the same time the dollar signs in his eyes dimmed out a bit. He was beginning to understand that one doesn’t just click their fingers and get a million dollars. The move would take lots and lots of hard work.
“When do we need to come up with a rejoinder by?” he asked, this time with a bit more tact.
“In three weeks would be perfect, four weeks max. As soon as we know the answer, there's no point keeping Sangster hanging on.”
Rick nodded.
“I think this calls for a drastic after-work meeting. No point in stalling.” He got up to leave but then as if remembering something important, he stopped and changed his mind. “Actually its better if we wait a few days before spilling the beans, gives us a chance to get our bearings.”
“Okay,” Markie grinned, waving Rick goodbye.
Of course he’d be getting more than his bearings on his dinner date with Tabitha tonight.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
Tabitha stood in the middle of her clothes-strewn, nerve-infested room and pulled harder at her hair. How in the world did she decide what to wear tonight? Not only did the outfit need to be sexy and stylish (to please Rick), it had to say demure and serious as well - in order to pass the best friend test.
Yes, she was going to be getting a Markie sighting finally.
Then if all went well, she’d be paying Serena a visit tomorrow (completely bypassing the futile telephone step). Even if the cow was still playing hard to get, she’d do whatever she could - break into her house, beg, scream, cry, demand – to have Serena make up with her. No doubt her acting capabilities wouldn't be tested though because Serena was guaranteed to melt at the peace offering - the handing over all of Markie's vulnerabilities on an open platter.
Tabitha reached down to her hip and adjusted the tiny Dictaphone attached to her briefs so that it sat more comfortably. Then she flicked it back onto voice-activated record and walked around picking up various items of clothing while saying: "testing one, two, three. This won't do and neither will this." In the end Tabitha settled on a jade green wraparound dress which showed a lot of cleavage (a plus) but was made acceptable by being loose everywhere else. She could have the atomic bomb strapped to her waist and the boys would have been none the wiser.
Twenty more minutes and Rick will be here, Tabitha hummed to herself. It would be another sleep over of course but this time she didn't need to carry a bag because everything was there already. Her nightie, her toothbrush, her facial wash and emergency makeup bag had all already found their special spots back at Casa Rick. Somewhere near the condoms, Tabitha chuckled to herself.
She and Rick had first-time sex a week ago, following their tiff on the telephone. If she had to rate it out of ten, Tabitha would've given it a three, because the occasion itself was sabotaged by pressure, fear and high expectations. You see, it was one thing to go somewhere and totally not expect to intertwine with a strange body and another thing to see it coming. That was the minor difference between mind-blowing events like winning the lottery or hitting the jackpot in comparison to childbirth, blood tests, and colonic irrigation.
The sex was getting better though. Now that Tabitha had her temper under control by keeping her teeth on her tongue, Rick's confidence as a partner was rapidly escalating. For example, on the first night they had stuck to the fairly boring missionary position, while now the pair - move over Hollywood porn stars- were agglomerating new moves, some of which were even illegal. This gave them at least an eight out of ten, with bonus points for kinkiness.
But that’s just between me and Rick, Tabitha smiled. It wasn’t like Markie, the boy whom she wished to impress, knew about any of this. All he knew were the basics - that Rick and she cared for each other, that they were a fresh couple and maybe, just maybe from the way Rick scanned her body tonight and tried to envisage it naked, he might guess they had been physical.
What a slut, was the first thing that ran through Markie's mind as he offered his hand and a kiss to Tabitha that night. After all it was one thing to sleep with a man and another altogether to do things involving a few holes at the same time.
On second thought these skills would probably make Tabitha a very rich woman at a sex club. She'd most likely pull in a couple of hundred grand a year for part-time work, even more with video distribution, offering Rick exactly the comfortable lifestyle he was after. Rick didn't need Harry D. Sangster, Markie realized, but he was not about to mention this exciting information to his best friend.
Because all day Rick had been saying one thing - "be nice to Tabitha, be nice to Tabitha" - and Markie couldn't risk offending him now. It was safest just to lay low, answer questions when spoken to and smile at all appropriate instances etcetera. Like now...Rick was pulling out a chair for Tabitha to sit in and of all things it was opposite Markie. Markie was kind of hoping she could sit at the hea
d of the table; not only because she was the guest and guests always scored the best spot...but because it would mean he didn't have to stare straight at Tabitha's mug all night
"You're looking good," Tabitha told Markie, once she settled the napkin in her lap. "Must be all the exercise you're getting." She winked.
Markie looked to Rick for an explanation.
"Ah what Tabitha meant to say is..." Rick paused, throwing her a questioning look, "is that I told her about um....a marathon that you and I were gonna be running in...the one I haven't mentioned to you yet...."
"Oh." Markie smiled. "Well we better get cracking with training soon then. Say tomorrow five a.m.?" As predicted, Rick looked aghast. That'd be the day...Markie thought, Rick getting out of bed before seven. His best friend enjoyed cross country running about as much as he enjoyed ironing.
For the next ten minutes, the trio chatted about weather and politics while the roasted octopus risotto warmed up in the oven. Then when the bing went off, Rick, the gracious host, jumped up and excused himself, leaving Markie and Tabitha alone for the first time ever, in his life.
"So..." Tabitha leant toward, smiling deviously. It was a smile which hinted that she had been waiting for this moment all of her life. "Tell me Markie, how have you really been the past few months. Missing Serena much?"
Markie did his best to stay composed. So that’s what the exercise comment was all about before. He wasn't entirely sure whether Tabitha was serious or not, whether she was asking about his supposed gang-banging out of friendliness, just to make conversation or outright nosiness. He suspected it was the latter.
"I've been okay. Of course Serena is never far from my thoughts." Chances were the gossip would be running straight to Serena so why not insert a few good words when he had the opportunity?
"How about Serena? Is she well?"
"Serena?" Tabitha responded sounding rather flustered. "Yes I guess she is."
They sat there twiddling their thumbs until Rick waltzed in with the roast octopus risotto and a second tray piled with pumpkin, potatoes and long green zucchinis slathered with extra seafood gravy.
The Numbers Game Page 27
