9 1/2 Days

by Mia Zachary

  Danny kept talking. “I know you’re upset about what happened, but I think we can—”

  She checked her rearview mirror for traffic, then stomped on the brake. Danny jerked forward before the safety belt slapped him back against the seat.

  “I do not want to talk about this, Danny. You’re more than welcome to walk the rest of the way.”

  He held up both palms in acquiescence so she put the car in gear and started off again. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered out the window for the next few blocks, but apparently the silence got to him.

  “You’re being unreasonable, Jordan. You made an honest mistake. No one’s going to hold that against you, least of all me.”

  She jerked the steering wheel toward the curb and hit the brakes again. Ignoring the blare of horns behind her, she twisted in her seat toward him and pointed. “Out.”

  “Oh, come on. Let’s be adult about this, okay? We had sex. It’s not the end of the world. In fact, I thought it was pretty damned good.”

  “Out!”

  Danny returned her glare for a moment then scowled. “Fine. You don’t want to talk, we won’t talk.”

  “Thank you.”

  Having finally gotten the message, he stayed quiet for the rest of the ten-minute ride. He made one last effort before he closed the door to the Honda.

  “Can I call you later?”

  “What for?”

  Danny just looked at her for a moment, then nodded his head and got out of the car. She pressed the automatic door locks and sped off. When she glanced into the rearview mirror, Jordan saw him standing on the sidewalk, watching her leave.

  She managed to get to the law firm only a half hour late. She pushed through the glass double doors to Chase, Behr’s lobby, her heels clicking on the polished slate tiles. The receptionist greeted her with a thorough once-over and a raised eyebrow.

  “Whatever it is, it must be bad.”

  She stopped, taken aback by the amused tone of voice, and looked at Charlie. “What makes you say that?”

  “Honey, look at you. I’ve never seen you in a ponytail before.”

  Jordan smoothed a hand over her hair. “I was running late.”

  “Okay, that explains the lack of eyeliner or lipstick, but your suit jacket is buttoned wrong and you’re wearing two different shoes.”

  Jordan dropped her focus and, in the harsh glare of the fluorescent lighting, saw that one pump was indeed black and the other was navy. Damn. It was a good thing she didn’t have a court appearance.

  “I was sort of distracted this morning.”

  Charlie nodded sagely. “I’ll say.”

  Jordan fixed the buttons on her turquoise jacket as she continued through the lobby past the conference rooms. After dumping her briefcase by her desk and changing into the extra pair of black shoes she kept in the file cabinet, she headed straight for David’s office on the other side of the building.

  He looked up as she barreled into the room. “Hey, good morning—”

  “No, it really isn’t. Why didn’t you tell me, David?” She closed the door to give them some privacy. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re gay?”

  He put down his pen and set the papers he was working on aside. “So you did know.”

  “Not until this morning.”

  His brows drew together. “How did you find out?”

  “Never mind that right now.” Jordan sank into one of the guest chairs across from him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  David rubbed a hand over his face. “I needed time to sort out how I feel about everything. Us, the partnership, my future. I swear, though, I never meant to lead you on or hurt you.”

  “But I am hurt. You lied to me.”

  “I was lying to myself, about how I feel and who I am. I care about you more than any woman I’ve ever known. You’re a good friend and a wonderful person and I thought I could make it work.”

  There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice, the remorse in his eyes. Jordan sighed and offered him a little smile. “I guess this explains a lot. We’ve been together for almost a year and all this time I blamed myself for the lack of intimacy.”

  David stood up and came around the desk. “I’m so sorry, Jordan. It never occurred to me that you would think it was anything but my fault.” He reached for her hand. “After that one night we were together, I realized I couldn’t keep denying my homosexuality, that it wouldn’t be fair to keep dating you. Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course, I do.” Jordan stood up to return his hug. “In the back of my mind, I must have suspected, because as much as I care about you, I knew something was missing.”

  David let her go and sat down in the other guest chair. “So, what happened this morning?”

  She gave an exaggerated sigh while rolling her eyes. “I’ve got to start listening to that little voice in my head. Then the whole seduction idea could have been avoided.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re not going to believe what I’ve done, David. It all started when I came up with this grand scheme to seduce you into doing me a favor.”

  He stared at her with a bemused expression. “What was the favor?”

  “My family thinks we’re getting married. When I picked out this ring, I let them think it was for an engagement instead of a birthday present.”

  “We had the same idea in mind. I figured if the partners thought we were engaged…”

  “Exactly. We both had an image we wanted to maintain. Well, the problem is, my family’s arriving today for the week leading up to my grandparents’ anniversary party. And they all expect to meet my fiancé.”

  “That’s not a problem. I can leave the office early a few nights this coming week. But I already have a trip scheduled for the weekend. Can you tell them I’m out of town on business until Monday night?”

  “Oh, David. Thank you! It will just be for a couple of dinners and the anniversary party. Then a week or so later, I’ll tell them we broke up.”

  “Okay, give me a copy of the schedule and I’ll do what I can.” He smiled at her. “See, you didn’t have to seduce me after all. And I think we both would have felt pretty awkward if you had.”

  “Actually, what I feel is humiliated. Because I did go through with my plan. Only… I, um, kidnapped your brother by mistake.”

  “What?” David choked out a sputtering half-chuckle.

  Jordan twisted her mouth in annoyance. “Go ahead and laugh. I’m glad one of us can.”

  David settled back in his chair. “This ought to be good.”

  Haltingly and with some embarrassment, she explained to him about the night before. She left out the more intimate details, though, and said nothing about the elevator or about how she felt about the whole situation. She hadn’t sorted that out yet.

  David grinned at her. “So you and my brother really hit it off? Didn’t I tell you you should get together with him?”

  “Get together, yes, for coffee or maybe dinner. Not an all-night session of—” Jordan broke off abruptly.

  “The sex was really hot, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  “You can’t embarrass me any more than I already am, so don’t bother trying.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

  Just then the telephone rang. He excused himself and reached across his desk to answer it. “David Navarro… Hey, Dan. Perfect timing.”

  Her eyes widened, then she vigorously shook her head.

  “Yeah, I talked to Jordan. I told her the truth and she forgave me. What’s that? Hang on.” He held his palm over the receiver. “Do you want to talk to him?”

  She jumped to her feet, mouthing the word no and waving both hands in front of her as she backed toward the exit. David had a funny little smile on his face as he watched her retreat. He spoke into the phone again as she yanked the door open.

  “Sorry, bro. My secretary was just reminding me about a meeting this afternoon.”

  She fled back to her ow
n office before she overheard anything more.

  SHE WASN’T SURE she could win the Susan Brandywine case.

  She’d spent the past few hours reading through the Code of Maryland Regulations and searching Lexis for supporting court decisions. In one case she found, Craft v. Metromedia, Inc., the court of appeals held that “evidence showed a particular concern with appearance in television and that reasonable appearance requirements were obviously critical to the KMBC station’s economic well-being.”

  The question was, what was reasonable?

  An additional problem was the wording of Susan’s contract. Clause XIII stated that “if there is any material change in the physical appearance of performer, then employer, at its option, may refuse to pay performer compensation during the period of such incapacity, impairment or change.”

  Despite the fact that Susan was more than qualified to do the job as a television news anchor, it all came down to looks. Jordan intended to keep searching for a strong defense on the age issue. Maybe there was something in the box of Responses to Requests for Production of Documents the other side had delivered yesterday she could use against them.

  But on a personal level, she wondered why Susan chose to sue on the weight issue. Losing excess pounds wasn’t easy—she knew that from experience—but it could be done. Jordan pushed back from the desk and stretched her arms above her head. The tension across her shoulders reminded her that she’d missed her run this morning and why.

  If she put her embarrassment aside, last night had been absolutely fabulous. Because of the fantasy, she’d been able to let go of her inhibitions and truly enjoy herself. And, now that she knew the truth about David, the weight of insecurity had lifted.

  Since she’d calmed down, she felt badly about the way she treated Danny this morning. None of this had been his fault. In fact, she would always be grateful to him for showing her that, with a little imagination, she could have normal, utterly satisfying sex. She should probably call him to apologize. Then again, given his reputation, he’d be over her and already dating a new woman by dinnertime.

  Speaking of time, she looked at her watch. Due to the new antiterror policies, she’d have to leave now to get through the vehicle inspection and security checks in time to meet her relatives’ flight. After putting on her suit jacket, she checked the buttons, grabbed her purse and headed for Baltimore Washington International Airport.

  TWO HOURS AND FORTY-FIVE minutes later, Jordan stood outside of the security checkpoint for Concourse C, anxiously waiting for the plane from Atlanta to disembark. Her relatives had taken vacation time to get reacquainted prior to her grandparents’ anniversary party. She hadn’t seen Uncle Matt and Aunt Celeste in almost four years.

  She’d have happily waited another four to see her cousin Keisha. She had never understood why her cousin was so antagonistic toward her. Keisha had always been slim and beautiful, while Jordan had been shy and dumpy, but even when she visited a few months ago, Keisha never missed an opportunity to take a stab at her.

  Her anxiety increased when she saw Aunt Celeste glide down the gangway, resplendent and wrinkle-free in a hot orange tunic and pants. Not a silver hair was out of place and her makeup was flawless. Uncle Matt was dashing in a golf shirt and khakis, looking decades younger than his sixty years.

  And then came Keisha, sauntering into the waiting area as if it had red carpeting. She had on stonewashed hipsters with a U-neck knit top and stacked-heel sandals. Gold hoop earrings peeked out from the riot of ringlets that framed her heart-shaped face. Keisha looked confident and sexy and Jordan despised her on sight.

  Of all the days not to look her absolute best. The Atlanta branch boasted the thinnest, most graceful limbs. And, even though she’d lost a lot of weight, they still managed to make Jordan feel like the trunk of the family tree. She suddenly felt fat and plain by comparison. And she was hungry.

  What was it about her cousin that made her want to devour an entire pint of Godiva white chocolate raspberry ice cream? Jordan smoothed her palms down her suit, wishing she’d had time to run home and fix herself up.

  Aunt Celeste rushed toward her, arms flung wide. “Oh, my goodness! Nibbles! You look wonderful, sweetheart. Doesn’t she look wonderful, Matt?”

  Jordan returned the embrace but mentally cringed at hearing the hated childhood nickname again. “Hi, Aunt Celeste. Welcome back.”

  Matt nudged his wife aside in order to offer his own hug. “Girl, you were always pretty on the inside but I have to say, you do look fine. You must have lost, what, sixty pounds?”

  She held back a sigh at the unintentional insult. When you were heavy, people always assumed the worst because they never really looked at you. “Um, actually, it was only forty—”

  “Well, you look just wonderful!”

  As her aunt and uncle continued to marvel about her weight loss, Jordan glanced over at her cousin. She pasted on a smile and reached out to hug her. “Hi, Keisha. How are you?”

  Her cousin’s gaze was dark and decidedly unwelcoming. A flicker of unease crept over her. For a second she truly believed her cousin hated her. Jordan dropped her arm and her smile at the same time.

  “Keisha,” Aunt Celeste admonished. “Come on over here and greet your cousin properly.”

  She came forward, eyes intent as they roamed Jordan’s face. She bared her teeth and lowered her voice. “You know, some blush along your jawline and more concealer on your neck would go a long way to defining your chin.”

  Even though she’d been braced for it, her cousin’s words stabbed straight through her. Jordan knew she’d never be as beautiful as her cousin, but leave it to Keisha to make the point in her own nasty way.

  Unaware of the hostility, Celeste linked her arm through Jordan’s left elbow then suddenly grabbed her hand. “Good gracious! Would you look at that diamond! Oh, honey, it’s gorgeous and I’ll bet the man who gave it to you is, too!”

  Uncle Matt grinned at her. “So, when do we get to meet your David?”

  “Yeah, Nibbles, where’s this fiancé of yours?”

  Jordan ignored her cousin’s sarcastic tone with difficulty and answered her aunt’s question instead. “Oh, he had to go out of town on business. But you’ll get to meet him later.”

  “Uh-huh.” Keisha smirked.

  “Well, we should probably go to baggage claim and get your luggage.” She was just about to guide them in the direction of the escalator when she heard her name called.

  “Jordan? Jordan?”

  She turned toward the voice and her brows shot up in surprise to see a tall, broad-shouldered man striding down the concourse. Beside her, she could almost hear Keisha licking her lips as she struck a pose.

  What was David doing here? He must have broken some speed records to have had time to change into jeans and a casual shirt and meet her family’s plane… Wait a minute. David never wore jeans…

  “Sorry I’m late, baby. Traffic.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist with a warm smile and pulled her to him. Well aware that her family was watching every move, she started to turn so his lips would brush her cheek. However, his idea of a hello kiss left her completely breathless. Jordan just stared at him, unable to form words.

  The spell was broken when a disgruntled Keisha loudly cleared her throat. She glanced over to see Aunt Celeste grinning with unconcealed delight while Uncle Matt’s brows shot toward his receding hairline. Danny squeezed her hip as he held out his right hand to Matt.

  “Hi, I’m David Navarro. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  7

  JORDAN STOOD under the atrium of the Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel with her aunt and uncle, waiting impatiently for Keisha and “David.” Her cousin had insisted on riding in his Jeep when they left the airport. She watched them through narrowed eyes as Keisha laughed gaily at something Danny said while he helped the porter unload the luggage.

  Uncle Matt patted her arm. “Now you just get that look off your face, girl. You’re the o
ne wearing his ring.”

  Jordan gave him a little smile but said nothing. What did she care if Danny flirted with her sexy, skinny cousin mere hours after leaving her bed? She didn’t. Not at all.

  When Danny and Keisha finally joined them, Jordan led the way inside the cool expanse of the hotel lobby. Aunt Celeste marveled at the elegant marble-tiled walls and huge floral arrangements while Matt went to check them in.

  Keisha sent Jordan a mischievous look then smiled at her mother. “I was just about to ask David to recommend someplace we could all go for dinner and maybe dancing afterward.”

  Over her dead body. Jordan wasn’t about to spend the evening having to watch Miss Thing wiggle her little butt all over her “fiancé.” Aunt Celeste saved her from being the one to protest.

  “Not tonight, darling. It’s been a long day and I think your father just wants to go up to the suite.”

  Keisha widened her smile. “That’s okay. Now we can go on our own and not worry about how late we get back.”

  Danny stepped closer to Jordan and shook his head. “Sorry, but we already have plans, don’t we, baby?”

  Jordan found herself oddly comforted when he draped his arm across her shoulders. The heat of his body penetrated her side despite the cold air wafting through the lobby. But that didn’t let him off the hook. She batted her eyelashes and cooed at him as he kissed her cheek.

  “Yes, we do. I’m sure you can find some other way to entertain yourself, Keisha.”

  When Uncle Matt came over from the reception desk, they said their goodbyes and followed the porter toward the bank of elevators. As soon as her family was out of earshot, Jordan shrugged out from under Danny’s arm.

  “What in the world do you think you’re doing, ‘David’?”

  Danny looked around and lowered his voice. “Can we go somewhere and talk about this?”

  “Fine, Shula’s Steak House is right there across the lobby.”

  “No, I think we need more privacy. Let’s go to my place. It’s in Mount Vernon.”