Sensational

by Janet Nissenson

  “I’m always in the loop about my daughter’s travel plans, Mr. Rafferty. Lauren is very good about keeping us updated on her schedule. But she also calls us every time she reaches her destination, and then again when she returns. And according to the itinerary she gave us, she ought to have arrived almost twelve hours ago. I even checked the flight status, and the plane arrived right on time. Her mother and I are growing concerned because we haven’t heard from her. Has she or one of her crew contacted you?”

  Ben was so astonished by what he’d just heard that he was speechless for long seconds. It was only when Robert cleared his throat a bit impatiently that Ben hastily replied. “Ah, no, Mr. McKinnon. I haven’t heard from them, but that’s not unusual. I’m sure there’s a good reason why she hasn’t called you yet. Have you tried her cell phone? Email?”

  Robert gave a mildly disgusted “humph”. “I get a fast busy signal every time I try to call her, and she hasn’t replied to our emails yet. I’m sure I sound ridiculously old-fashioned, Mr. Rafferty, but we do worry about our Lauren. I know she’s tougher than a dozen men put together, but she’ll always be our little girl. And when she jets off without a care to some of these godforsaken places you send her to – well, I can’t help but be concerned.”

  “First of all, please call me Ben,” he told Lauren’s father gently. “And second, I share your concern for Lauren and all of my employees when they’re on an assignment. I’ll tell you what, Mr. McKinnon. I’m going to try and get a hold of her one way or another, and tell her to contact you right away. Let’s see – it’s around eight p.m. in Nepal right now.” He made a quick estimate after pulling up a time zone converter site on his computer. “They should be having dinner or just finishing up.”

  “I appreciate it – Ben,” replied Robert. “And I am sorry to have disrupted you at work but Lauren’s usually so reliable about calling us.”

  “Not a problem, sir. Hopefully I can get in touch with her, and have her call you back soon.”

  As Ben disconnected the call, the smile on his face grew wider and wider until he was chuckling, and then laughing out loud. By the time he buzzed Kym and asked her to please bring in one of the satellite phones, he very nearly had tears in his eyes.

  Use of the satellite phones was widely discouraged due to the high cost of making a call. Dutifully, Ben tried calling each of the crew on their cell phones first, and predictably got the same fast busy signal each time. Next, he tried calling the hostel where the crew was staying, but received an automated message that the call could not go through as dialed. Knowing how unpredictable communications could be in more remote parts of the world, Ben resorted to using the pricey satellite phone, knowing a lecture from Nadine about saving money would be sure to follow.

  Each time a crew went out on assignment, they were given a satellite phone to take along, often for occasions just like this one. It took a minute or two for the call to connect, but then, thankfully, George picked up on the other end.

  George sounded surprised to hear from Ben, and even more so when he asked to speak to Lauren. In the background Ben could hear dishes and silverware clanging, conversations being carried on, and the loud hum of what sounded like a generator.

  “Ben?” Lauren’s voice sounded both perplexed and annoyed, and the connection wasn’t the greatest. “What’s the matter? Must be something big for you to break out the satellite phone. Did you get Nadine’s written permission first?’

  “I don’t need her permission. For anything,” he stated. “And the reason I’m calling is because you forgot to call home. More importantly, Daddy is very worried about his little girl.” He wasn’t able to hold back the laughter for a second longer, and was quickly chuckling anew.

  There was silence on the other end for long seconds, and Ben only hoped the tenuous connection hadn’t been lost. But then Lauren spoke, and he realized he’d actually managed to shock her.

  “You talked to my father?” she asked, aghast. “He – he called the office looking for me?”

  “We had a very nice conversation,” drawled Ben. “And he’s concerned because you didn’t call when you were supposed to. He even checked to make sure your flight got in on time.”

  “Jesus, please tell me this is not happening,” she muttered. “How long ago did he call?”

  “Just a few minutes ago,” he replied cheerfully. “So tell me, why haven’t you checked in yet with the folks? Especially when you know how much they worry about their baby girl?’

  “Will you shut up?” hissed Lauren. “And if you dare say a word to the rest of the crew, you will definitely regret it. Big time. And the reason I haven’t contacted my parents is because this charming but bare bones hostel Nadine found for us currently has no power and therefore no internet service. And apparently, even though she was supposed to arrange for an international calling plan specific to this area, something got lost in translation because none of our phones work.”

  “Why didn’t you just use the satellite phone?” Ben asked in confusion. “That’s why you have it, for situations just like this.”

  Lauren scoffed. “Yeah, try telling that to George. He’s acting like the Phone Nazi about it, insisting this isn’t a true emergency and that he swore to Nadine we wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary. God, did you know those two have been dating? Now she has the world’s biggest wuss to do her dirty work for her. You’ve got to do something about both of them, Ben, or there’s going to be a revolt. And I’m going to lead it.”

  He smiled at Lauren’s usual over-dramatization of the situation, and couldn’t suppress a little shudder at the image of George and Nadine out on a date. “Call your parents on the satellite phone,” he told her. “And that’s an order. I’ll make sure Nadine doesn’t give you shit about it.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Lauren worriedly. “I mean, I won’t talk to them for more than a minute or two. Unless you’d rather call him back and tell him what’s going on?”

  “No.” He wouldn’t admit that he had found Robert McKinnon to be more than a little intimidating. “I think one conversation in a day with your father is plenty. Besides, you’re the one he wants to hear from.”

  “Okay, I’ll call them. And, ah, thanks,” she added hesitantly. “Sorry if he bothered you. My dad – well, he worries too much at times.”

  “I don’t blame him. If you were mine – I mean, my daughter,” he stammered, desperately hoping she hadn’t caught his little slip, “I’d worry, too. So don’t keep Daddy waiting any longer and call home like a good little girl, okay?” He hadn’t been able to resist the jibe, or trying to get a rise out of her.

  But all Lauren did was to mutter, “Asshole,” and then abruptly disconnect the call.

  He was still grinning from ear to ear as he turned off the phone, especially since he now knew of an especially effective way to keep Lauren in line in the future. Or at least cause to tease her unmercifully.

  ***

  July

  Lauren ignored both the stares and the catcalls she received as she sauntered in the direction of her office, wishing that she was back in Big Sur where no one would have blinked an eye to see her walk by dressed like this.

  If she hated New York in the winter when it was cold and snowy, then that feeling was only reinforced in the summer months when it was ninety degrees with what felt like two hundred percent humidity.

  ‘I feel like I’m in a sauna that’s in the middle of the Sahara Desert with a heater going full blast,’ she thought as she neared the building. She’d even switched to iced coffee this morning, since the very thought of drinking anything hot only made her sweat more.

  And if she felt a tad underdressed as all of the smartly dressed women in their summer suits and ridiculously high heels passed her by, at least she was cool and not sweating nearly as much as they had to be doing. Fortunately, the dress code at the magazine went way beyond business casual to just casual – and then some. Not that it would have made a whit of differenc
e to her this morning, when it was already eighty degrees at barely nine a.m.

  Her cell phone began to ring with Julia’s distinctive tone, and she quickly fished it out of the blue and white striped canvas bag she was carrying. The thought of hauling her bulky, overstuffed messenger bag in this heat had been quickly dismissed, and she’d dumped what she would need for a day at the office into this smaller, lighter tote.

  “Hey, baby sister,” she greeted. “And why are you awake so freaking early? No, don’t tell me. You’re either on your way to a six a.m. yoga class, or else Lover Boy woke you up for an early morning snog.”

  “Uh, well, both actually,” admitted Julia, and Lauren knew her twin’s cheeks would be flushed a pretty shade of pink right about now. “Nathan just dropped me off at the yoga studio, and my class is going to start in a minute. But I wanted to check in, especially since we hardly got to communicate at all while you were in Nepal.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Lauren grimaced. “You should have seen this dump we stayed at. Half the time the power was out, and I swear the internet worked for maybe an hour a day. And don’t even get me started on the plumbing – or lack thereof.”

  “At least you’re back in civilization now,” soothed Julia. “How is my second favorite city in the world this morning?”

  “Hot as fuck,” replied Lauren crassly. “And if you tell me it’s cool and foggy in San Francisco, I’m going to scream. Loudly.”

  “Okay, then I won’t say a word. I, ah, understand Dad spoke with your boss while you were away. You must have been thrilled to learn he contacted Ben the Bastard to check up on you.” Julia’s voice was clearly amused.

  “Yeah, just thrilled,” she grumbled. “And knowing him, he’s never going to stop ribbing me about it. At least he hasn’t told the other guys – not yet, at least. And I expect you to never mention it again, Jules. In fact, I’m invoking the Twin Clause for this one.”

  “Ooh, this must have really touched a nerve with you,” teased Julia. “You haven’t invoked the Clause for a long time.”

  “Unlike you,” retorted Lauren. “I’ve got way too many of your secrets stashed away, Jules. We seriously need to start archiving some of them.”

  As young girls, the sisters had created what Lauren had dubbed “the Twin Clause”. Simply put, when one of them confided a deep, dark, twins-only secret to the other, they invoked the clause – which meant that they could never, ever betray what had been confessed unless given specific permission to do so.

  “I haven’t told Mom and Dad about Nathan just yet,” admitted Julia. “And they are never to learn that we had a fling in New York last year. There are some things they just don’t need to know.”

  “Got your back, baby sis.”

  The ill-fated one night stand with Nathan – who had been newly engaged to another woman at the time - had been one of the reasons why Julia had left New York last fall. But it seemed that fate hadn’t been quite finished with the pair of them, because Nathan had wound up being the co-owner of the architectural design firm in San Francisco where Julia had started working this past January. They had fought their undeniable attraction for each other for months, and Julia had been miserable and unhappy every time Lauren had talked to her, never knowing the reason why. And then Lauren, who’d realized from the second she’d met Nathan that he had the hots for her twin big time, had made a few intentionally provocative comments, insinuating that Julia was on the prowl for a new man. That was all it had taken to spur Nathan into action and re-claim the girl he’d fallen in love with months earlier. He’d promptly broken off his engagement, and now he and Julia were as good as living together. Lauren, of course, had claimed full credit for getting them back together, and expected Nathan to treat her to a very expensive dinner the next time she was in San Francisco.

  And recalling how miserable her sister had been while pining for a man who was already committed to another woman had only intensified Lauren’s own resolve to keep as far away from Ben as possible. She would never, ever settle for being the other woman, and her surprisingly high moral codes forbade her from even thinking about ways to break up Ben and Elle. Ben Rafferty had had his chance with her five years ago, and had blown it royally. And Lauren rarely if ever believed in giving someone a second chance.

  “I know you do,” said Julia. “And I hope you know it’s the same for me. I mean, you’ve always been the stronger one of us, the one who looks out for everyone else. But if you ever need to talk to me about anything, I’m always here for you, Lauren.”

  Lauren felt an unwelcome shimmer of tears momentarily cloud her vision, and she was thankful her eyes were hidden by a pair of oversized aviator sunglasses. “Thanks, baby girl. I appreciate it. But everything is cool with me as usual. Now, don’t you have to go do sun salutations, or some wacky stuff like that?”

  Julia bid her good-by after instructing her to select a date, and a restaurant, to claim the promised dinner from Nathan. Lauren was smiling as she replaced her phone, genuinely happy to know how blissfully in love her sister was, and tried very, very hard not to be envious.

  And tried equally as hard not to feel guilty. She and Julia had always been close, even though they’d had widely different interests and personalities. Lauren had always considered Julia to be her best friend and confidante – even more so than Angela, her girlhood friend with whom she continued to be close. And yet, she’d never told either of them about Ben, or even hinted that she’d been involved with someone that summer. So far as Julia knew, the Ben she had mentioned from time to time – and groused about whenever she did – was strictly her boss. It had in fact been Julia who’d dubbed him “Ben the Bastard” because Lauren had used the derogatory term every time she’d mentioned his name.

  ‘Not much point in telling Jules anything now, though,’ she resolved as she entered the office building. ‘What good would it do except to make me feel shitty all over again? Besides, Jules is over the moon about ole Lover Boy, and the last thing she deserves is for me to bring her down with my sad little story. Best to keep it sealed up in the vault where it’s been stowed away all this time.’

  The lobby was blissfully cool from the air conditioning, and she breathed a sigh of relief as her white rubber Havaianas flip flopped along the marble floor. She ignored the male stares she received during the elevator ride up, gazing straight ahead and slurping loudly on her iced coffee with complete disregard.

  Most of the office staff had become accustomed to seeing Lauren in various stages of dress and undress over the years – ripped jeans, workout gear, combat boots, plus her sizeable collection of T-shirts that bore logos from places she’d visited, rock bands she’d seen in concert, athletic events she’d participated in, along with both witty and semi-obscene sayings. Once or twice she’d even stumbled in half-asleep wearing pajamas pants and fuzzy slippers.

  But even the co-workers who usually didn’t blink an eyelash when she walked past did something of a double take this morning. And when she walked into the conference room – the last one to arrive as usual – four pairs of male eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as she dumped her bag on the table and pulled out a chair.

  Ben cleared his throat, his jaw practically hanging open. “Uh, what exactly are you wearing?”

  Lauren glanced down and shrugged. “Denim shorts, white T-shirt, flip flops. You know – clothes.”

  At her sardonic glare, Ben flushed and dragged his gaze up from her breasts to her face. “Um, sort of. That’s not exactly what I’d deem appropriate office attire.”

  Chris nudged Karl, and they both snickered. “You’re entitled to your opinion, Ben,” joked Chris. “But I’d say the rest of us can’t find one damned thing wrong with what Lauren’s wearing. Or not wearing.”

  Lauren fished a wadded up napkin from her bag and threw it at Chris. “Pervert. But, really, what else is new? And excuse me, but it’s like a hundred and forty degrees outside, and I’m not willing to sweat any more than I have to. Especial
ly when I’ve got a two mile walk here from my aunt’s apartment.”

  Ben frowned. “Why don’t you take the subway? Or a bus?”

  Chris, Karl, and George all looked at each other in dismay.

  “Oh, boy,” groaned Karl. “Here we go.”

  Lauren arched a brow in horror. “The subway? You’ve got to be kidding. And the buses are just as bad. Not only are they the very definition of claustrophobic, but they’re chock full of weirdos and rude people. The last time I rode the subway I a) got sneezed on, b) had my ass grabbed, and c) stood next to some wackadoodle who alternated between quoting Bible verses and singing Broadway show tunes. So thanks anyway but I’ll walk,” she declared.

  Karl shook his head at Ben. “Now you’ve done it. She’ll be going off for the next half hour on the subject.”

  ***

  Fortunately, Lauren wasn’t in the mood to continue her rant about New York’s public transit system, and seemed more focused than normal on the business being discussed. As usual, she drank too much coffee, kept stuffing junk food in her mouth, and had an opinion about everything – which was more often than not completely different from everyone else’s.

  And, thought Ben as he snuck yet another furtive glance in her direction, she was the sexiest, most provocative, and thoroughly tempting woman he’d ever seen. He was torn between paddling that saucy little ass of hers, punishing her for dressing in such skimpy attire, and ordering the three other men out of the room so he could spread her out on the conference room table, strip her naked, and fuck her raw. He wondered if she’d dressed like this deliberately, knowing full well how the snug, semi-transparent white T-shirt clung to those sensational breasts, and how much tanned, shapely leg was bared by the denim shorts. Her long hair was pulled up into a high, bouncy ponytail, while her makeup free face glowed with health and vitality.

  But even though Lauren flirted a lot, she wasn’t a cocktease, or an exhibitionist, and had more than likely dressed like she was spending the day at the beach rather than the office simply because of the brutally hot, steamy weather outside.