Like Jazz

by Heather Blackmore

  And I’d do anything for a future with Sarah.

  “As for your propensity for bad behavior,” Sarah said as she gently bit my lower lip, tugging it slightly before releasing me, “maybe you could enlighten me with further examples.”

  “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “Not for food,” Sarah said with a glimmer in her eye.

  Like I said, I wasn’t a morning person, but somehow I was coping.

  *

  After my vivid memory flashed through my mind, I responded to Caitlin. “It’s true that the cat is off trying to woo the CEO of Pipeline Technologies,” with whatever means necessary, I thought unflatteringly, with a pang of jealousy. Although Sarah had unassailable integrity when it came to the Foundation and would never purposefully scope out a personal distraction while entertaining a potential donor, she’d met her former fiancé at a Foundation fund-raiser. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility—hell, it might even be probable—that while working, without any intention on her part, she could meet someone else who intrigued her as much as her fiancé once had. She spent a significant amount of time at fancy country clubs, dining at fine restaurants, and entertaining at various cultural events. In these travels, she was bound to stumble upon one eligible bachelor after another, many of whom could offer her any number of things I’d never be able to: wealth, celebrity, connections.

  Though I knew she was working tonight, I still experienced an occasional proprietorial flare-up, however inappropriate, when thinking about the company she kept. I certainly had no claim to stake. After all, Sarah and I never talked about any kind of future together and never broached the subject of monogamy. We spent much of our non-working time together and communicated well enough. But certain aspects of my job required secrecy, and, likewise, I assumed Sarah didn’t tell me everything. I was happy to get whatever time with her I could, and my acceptance onto the Foundation’s board freed her up more nights because I could stand in for her at functions like these, allowing her to concurrently court prospective donors instead of taking extra nights to do so.

  “So you’re stuck with me,” I said to Caitlin.

  She delivered a mock sigh. “I’ll suffer through.”

  “Excuse me a second,” I told her before gently grabbing the arm of a middle-aged man passing by with his female companion. “Mr. Crawford.”

  The man turned to me with a practiced semi-smile.

  “I wanted to introduce myself.” I held out my hand. “Cassidy Warner.”

  His face relaxed as recognition dawned, and he shook my hand. “Ah, Miss Warner, I thought that might be you. It’s so good to finally meet you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the last board meeting in person. I’m very pleased you’ve decided to join us.”

  “Please, call me Cassidy.”

  “And you must call me Alan.” He nodded to the attractive redhead on his arm. “This is my wife, Marianne. Marianne, this is Cassidy Warner, our newest board member.”

  His wife extended her hand and I took it, both of us exchanging pleasantries. I turned to Caitlin, prompting her to move forward. “And this is Caitlin Winters, one of our—”

  “Hello, darling,” Marianne kissed Caitlin on the cheek. “We know very well who this is,” she said with amusement as her husband gave Caitlin the same greeting. Marianne delivered a mock warning to me with her index finger. “Be careful with that one.”

  Caitlin touched her fingers to her own chest and offered a feigned “moi?” gesture.

  “Seems you have something of a reputation,” I said to Caitlin, pretending I didn’t know she was a shark amid chummy waters.

  She smiled. “I’m happy to let you find out for yourself whether it’s deserved.”

  “She likes to keep all the pretty, unattached women to herself,” Alan said teasingly while pulling Marianne a little closer.

  Caitlin scowled, which I wasn’t sure related to his statement or to his keeping her away from his wife.

  “Without Sarah in attendance, I appreciate you stepping up to play hostess. I’ve been noticing you for the past hour and you seem pretty comfortable with this rather unofficial aspect of your board duties,” Alan said.

  “Thank you. I’m certainly not as adept at it as Sarah, and definitely not as charming, but I’m trying.”

  “Well, we’ve been fortunate to have her with us since she was a teenager. She’s grown up in this environment and has had lots more practice.”

  “The Foundation’s just as fortunate to have one of our nation’s most notable philanthropists on our board,” I said, indicating Alan with an upturned palm. “You and your wife are an inspiration for children’s hospital foundations around the world, and it’s an honor to meet you both. I’m very much looking forward to working together.”

  “Ah, and you’ve done your homework, too.” Alan grinned. “I’m impressed.”

  Marianne threaded her arm through his elbow and smiled at Caitlin and me. “Before my husband’s head swells to the size of Sacramento, we’re going to continue to mingle. So nice to meet you, Cassidy. Great to see you again as always, Caitlin.”

  I turned back to Caitlin after the Crawfords were out of earshot. Her normally flirtatious smile had dissolved into a slight frown.

  “Don’t they know you’re together?” Caitlin asked.

  “Who?”

  “You and Sarah.”

  The question confused and surprised me. I pondered it a few moments, unsure how to answer. Caitlin had been one of the first people Sarah told that we were seeing each other, but I was pretty sure Sarah had merely wanted to keep Caitlin’s hands off me rather than make some sort of declaration that we were a couple. Of course, no woman, spoken for or single, gay or straight, was off limits in Caitlin’s mind, but she held a certain respect for Sarah. Despite her unrelenting flirtation, she would probably never take her overtures with me to another level.

  “Well, first of all, it’s not at all relevant to my duties as a board member. And second, I’m not sure we’re quite at that level,” I said honestly.

  “You’re not sure you and I are quite at the level of talking about you and Sarah, or you’re not sure you and Sarah are together?”

  “The latter.” Then I thought about it a little more. “Both, I guess, because she and I don’t even have those conversations. But I’d be thrilled if you were right.”

  “Trust me, honey. I’ve never seen her regard anyone as possessively as she does you. You are definitely off the market, which I personally find greatly annoying.” Caitlin arched an eyebrow before grinning widely.

  Before I could respond, Caitlin’s eyes flicked past my shoulder to the ballroom doors and widened. When I saw what had captured her attention, the wolf whistle she let fly could have just as easily come from me. I was in wholehearted agreement.

  “Holy good God,” I think I said aloud, without meaning to.

  Sarah entered the room, commanding the attention of nearly everyone in the immediate vicinity. She wore a stunning number that balanced elegance and sophistication with dazzling sensuality. It was a black, one-shoulder satin dress pulled in over her right hip, its fabric cinched up to highlight her curves, the cinch affixed with a rhinestone brooch matching the one on her shoulder. A thigh-high slit cut toward the brooch exposed the toned, sun-kissed leg beneath, and her wavy auburn hair fell loose behind her shoulders. But what put her outfit over the top, almost literally, were the five-inch heels that made her tower over nearly everyone in the room.

  Everyone except her date.

  Sarah was linking elbows with an incredibly attractive man in his mid-thirties. He was impeccably dressed in a black tuxedo. Instead of a bow tie, he wore a dark-gray patterned tie with matching vest and handkerchief. Classy. He had thick dark hair that seemed made for a woman to run her fingers through. His blue eyes were a few shades darker than Sarah’s, and he was tall, at least six-five. He was gorgeous. And seeing him walk in with Sarah disrupted my heartbeat. She wasn’t supposed to be here tonight, yet
here she was with a black-haired version of Captain friggin’ America.

  But damn it all, when my eyes refocused on Sarah seconds later, I couldn’t help but smile. No wonder she’d decided to show up. Would any man or woman be able to deny her if she asked whether he or she might consider contributing to the Foundation’s latest efforts? It seemed doubtful that Mr. tall, dark, and handsome would be able to. They were both beaming with delight—the picture-perfect couple that may as well have just been joined in holy matrimony and turned to walk down the aisle as husband and wife.

  “I thought she wasn’t coming tonight,” Caitlin said.

  I blinked several times before pulling my gaze from the pretty couple. “Guess she got an offer she couldn’t refuse.” I regretted the comment instantly. I had a job to do, which didn’t include speculating about Sarah’s unexpected arrival. After gulping, rather than sipping, my beverage, I affected a serenity I wasn’t feeling and returned to the safer ground of Foundation business. “That is, I’m sure whatever brought her here must mean good news.” By practicing with Caitlin, maybe I could believe it myself.

  At that moment, a man in a gray suit walked up to me. “Pardon me. It’s Miss Warner, isn’t it?”

  I nodded, noting his MANAGER lapel pin. “Is there a problem?”

  The man seemed hesitant to respond, as if he didn’t know precisely what to say. “Not exactly, ma’am, but I was told to contact you in case any, uh, issues arose with the guest accommodations.” It took me several seconds to understand he was referring to the block of rooms the Foundation had booked for out-of-town guests wishing to stay overnight. “Would you follow me, please?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I said, with more confidence than I felt. What did I know about it? And how could I fix anything better than this gentleman could?

  “Right this way.” He offered Caitlin an apology. “I’m sorry to interrupt, ma’am.”

  I shrugged to Caitlin and handed her my glass. “See you soon,” I told her, and followed the manager.

  As we walked toward the elevators, the man introduced himself as Henry Beldon and issued more apologies for hijacking my evening. During our ride up to the 53rd floor, the second from the top, he vaguely explained he was in an unusual situation and needed to sort things out with a Foundation representative. He said he typically dealt with Miss Perkins on such matters, but she had informed him to contact me in her absence. Having noticed her, I thought briefly about telling him he could take the matter up with her, but silenced myself. After all, I’d offered to be here and expected to take the reins from Sarah tonight, and it shouldn’t matter that she’d changed her plans. Only if it turned out I couldn’t handle the situation would I have Henry contact her.

  I followed him to one of the few-and-far-between doors, thinking the suites on this floor must be huge, having noticed the brass placard indicating suites 5301 and 5302 to the left, 5303 and 5304 to the right. Once he used the key card to suite 5303, he pushed the door open and held it for me. As I walked into the spacious, beautifully appointed room, he flipped a switch that lit up the wall sconces. I took in the large living room, full bar and media section. I peered into the bedroom and stood amazed by the dark, rich wood with a highly intricate pattern on the king-size bed frame and nightstands. Next to the bed, a small rolling cart held a champagne bucket with a bottle of Dom Perignon. Was this how the Foundation would be greeting all its overnight guests tonight? I walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows and gazed down at the city lights below. Considering there was apparently some kind of trouble I had to deal with, I was surprised by Henry’s silence. I faced him and shook my head.

  “Henry, this is spectacular. What could possibly be the trouble?” My confusion grew as he backed out of the suite.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Warner.” He gave me a slight bow once he reached the door. “If you will allow me a few moments, it will all be clear soon enough. I promise. Stay, please.” Then he departed and the door clicked shut behind him.

  This is so bizarre. It felt strange to be suddenly standing in an expensive hotel suite, waiting to discover some major problem. Was it the plumbing? Had one of our guests been caught smoking in a non-smoking room? Had the Foundation reserved too few rooms and it would fall to me to inform the unlucky folks and find them accommodations elsewhere? Wasn’t Henry experienced in handling such matters?

  I wandered back to the bedroom to peek into the adjacent bathroom. I flipped on the lights and stared at the large Jacuzzi tub, double sinks, and eight-showerheads shower. Nice.

  As I eyed the numerous massage spray settings, an image of a naked Sarah and her dark-haired companion lathering one another with soapy caresses—their lower bodies masked behind a Captain America shield painted onto the glass shower door—abruptly popped into my head and made me flinch in horror.

  I swiftly turned off the lights and returned to the living room. Normally imperceptible, my uncertainties regarding my relationship with Sarah were suddenly conspicuous and manifesting themselves in bizarre ways. I needed to get a grip. I rid myself of the unsettling vision by wondering what Henry was up to.

  Hearing a soft knock at the door, I called out, “Come in,” appreciating Henry’s courtesy in not simply using his master key again. Moments passed without any sound. There was another soft knock. I walked to the door and opened it, catching my breath at the sight of Sarah, all ten feet of her (or so it seemed), standing in the doorway, smiling shyly down at me. In reality, with my own heels, the height difference was only a few inches, but her bared leg somehow accentuated it.

  “Hi,” she said. “Can I come in?”

  “I…uh, hi. I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m supposed to let anyone in. I don’t even know what I’m doing here,” I said dumbly with my hand on the doorknob.

  She raised an eyebrow in amusement.

  Then it struck me to ask, “What are you doing here?”

  She smiled, more broadly this time. “I heard you were here. I think it’s okay if I come in. The Foundation does a ton of business with this hotel, so they know me around here.” She winked.

  I moved out of the way to let her in and she brushed by me, taking a few steps into the living room before turning around. I closed the door and stood facing her. Gawking at her, really. Just because my imagination was running wild didn’t mean I couldn’t admire this very real, glorious woman. I licked my lips and shook my head slightly.

  “You look…” I couldn’t think of words adequate to describe her magnificence. “Wow,” I said, displaying astounding command of the language.

  Her gaze unhurriedly roamed my body. “Wow, yourself. Definitely digging the new dress.” She took a step toward me.

  “Wait.” I held up my hand, continuing to appreciate the loveliness before me. Compliments still didn’t come easily to me, but if ever one was called for, it was now. “Wow doesn’t do you justice. You’re the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’m…I’m completely blown away by you right now.” It was the truth.

  Sarah looked down at her dress and back to me a little sheepishly. “Thank you, sweetheart. I thought you might like it.”

  The term of endearment thrilled me. She’d used others, like “beautiful” or “sunshine,” but none quite so intimate. It made me want to tell her I loved her, but once again I held back, trying to keep things light, mindful not to force the issue or make her feel obliged to respond.

  Instead, I eyed her shoes. “And I see you’re wearing my favorite designer: Nine-one-one. Which is who you’d be dialing if I tried to wear those.”

  Sarah chuckled, encircled my waist, and pulled me to her.

  “Before you kiss me, I should confess I’m expecting a man named Henry to come into this room at any minute, which I’m going to find difficult to explain,” I said, putting my arms around her shoulders and enjoying her strange height.

  “I know.” Sarah made me weak in the knees with the way she kissed me then. When she stopped, she regarded me with incredible tenderne
ss. “I asked him to ask you up here. I was hoping we might have something to celebrate tonight,” she said before again claiming my mouth with hers, causing delightful fluttering in my abdomen. She pulled back and scrutinized me. “What’s wrong? You look…” She cocked her head slightly. “You look wary. Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Just happy.”

  “That’s happy?” Sarah studied my face.

  It was highly unnerving how well she could read me. She was right: what with the disheartening imaginings besetting me, happy was probably overstating it.

  “I’m happy you’re here,” and not with Captain America or anyone else. I was trying to focus on the fact that Sarah was indeed here with me—me—and had even roped in an accomplice to arrange it. And I’d spoken in earnest. No matter my brain’s conjurings, I was happiest when I was with Sarah. Time spent in her company was easily my favorite.

  Changing subjects to avoid further examination, I asked, “What are we celebrating?”

  She took my hand and led me to the bedroom. “Depends. Ah, good, it’s here.” Dropping my hand, she removed the champagne from the ice water and wiped it with the towel that lay atop the cart.

  “Depends?” I asked as Sarah started to open the Dom Perignon. “I would hope it’s something a little more definitive if you’re going to open that.”

  “Oh, we’re definitely celebrating. The question is whether we’re celebrating one thing or two.” She jimmied out the cork, causing the delightful popping sound that foretold the delicious bubbly action we were about to enjoy.

  “Okay. I’ll bite. What’s the thing we know we’re celebrating?” I asked as she began to pour.

  She finished filling the glasses, grabbed both flutes, and handed one to me. She took my other hand and gently tugged me toward the window so we could take in the city lights. After several moments of silence, she drew a deep breath and spoke quietly toward the window.

  “The Kindle Hope Foundation is officially going to be one of only three organizations that Pipeline Technologies will support next year as part of its one-percent-of-profits giving program. And unless their program charter changes, we can expect the relationship to last well into the future.” She turned to me with an expression of satisfaction and gratitude.