by Ashley Blake
I checked out a few more companies at the Expo and got a lot of information to look over. On the way back to my booth I stopped to see Carrie.
“You will never guess who I saw.” I was practically beaming.
“Who?”
“Mark, mysterious guy.”
Her eyes got wide. “No way!” She feverishly looked around and I couldn’t help but look too. “Is he still here?”
“I don’t think so, he stopped by about an hour ago.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. He basically stopped by to get some water and wished me luck with networking and then he left. It was weird.”
“That is strange, but this isn’t really a place where he can talk to you and you were working. Maybe he didn’t want to get you in trouble. I bet you’ll see him again.”
“I don’t know that I want to see him, Carrie. He’s just not the person for me.”
“I say never say never.”
Carrie was a hopeless romantic so I just smiled at her. “I better get back to my booth. I’ll see you later.”
The Expo was packed the rest of the day which helped the day fly by and before I knew it, it was time to pack up. I was putting the few beverages that were left in a box when I heard that voice again behind me.
“Well, was it a success for you today?”
I turned around and had to wait a beat before I said anything. He was so beautiful. “A success?”
“Yes, did you accomplish what you wanted today?”
“Yes, I did. I was able to make it to quite a few of the vendors here and I picked up a lot of reading material.”
“Sounds like you used your free time wisely. What are you plans for the evening?”
Why did he want to know that? I had no interest in spending time with him so I told him I was busy.
“I have plans with my girlfriends.”
He leaned against the table and his eyes held mine, and for a second I couldn’t breathe.
“Break them.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“I can’t do that.”
His gaze was steady. “Yes, you can and you will. I want to take you to dinner and spend time with you, Eva. I will meet you out front in 20 minutes.” With that, he walked away.
Were those butterflies I felt in my belly? I tried to get mad at his arrogance but the truth was, as much as I wished I didn’t, I found him intriguing. I rushed over to Carrie’s booth to tell her I wouldn’t be going home with her.
“Mark is still here and he asked me out to dinner!”
She was so excited you would have thought she was the one he was taking out.
“What? Oh my gosh, Eva! You totally have to tell me everything tomorrow!”
“I don’t think I should go, Carrie, he likes to play games and I’m just not into that.”
“Are you crazy? From what you told me he is gorgeous and sexy and probably rich…if you don’t go, I will!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. How bad can it be, right? At least I’ll get a free meal out of it.”
She rolled her eyes at me and I could tell my comment annoyed her.
“Just go and try to have a good time, Eva. It’s been how long since you’ve been out on a date? Live a little!”
She was right; it had been a while since I had been on a date. I would go and try to have a good time.
“I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know how it goes.”
“I’ll be waiting!” She gave me a huge smile and I giggled as I shook my head at her.
I really wanted to go home and freshen up but I didn’t have time so I did my best in the bathroom at the Expo. I brushed my hair and touched up my makeup and didn’t look too bad for having worked all day. Even though I was annoyed at first about having to wear a tight black dress all day, I was happy that I was wearing it so I would at least look decent at whatever restaurant we went to.
Mark was standing against his car, looking sexy as hell, waiting for me, and butterflies fluttered away in my belly as I walked toward him. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure it was real that such a gorgeous specimen of a man was there for me. As much as I tried to fight it, I was happy that he showed up that day and even happier that he asked me out. The excitement grew as he slid into the car next to me and the door closed behind him.
He looked over at me and his smile nearly made me melt. Being there in the car with him felt like a dream and I didn’t want to wake up, but something was nagging at me. I turned to him and carefully asked my question.
“Were you at the Expo all day?”
His sparkling blue eyes searched mine and for just a couple of seconds I forgot what I had asked him.
“No. I had a few things to take of this afternoon but I came back to see you.”
I felt my cheeks flush as the reality of his words sank in. He came back for me. At first, I was flattered but then my eternal cynicism kicked in.
“Really? Why is that? I am sure you have your pick of women so why would you come back for me? You don’t even know me.”
He looked thoroughly amused and it was starting to piss me off. The whole ‘this is a game to me’ thing wouldn’t leave my mind and I couldn’t tell what he really wanted.
“Eva, when I saw you at the masquerade party I wanted to know more. I still do. It’s that simple. Can we please just enjoy the evening? I have been looking forward to this all day.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “All day? You didn’t ask me to dinner until this evening.”
“Yes, but I knew I would be spending the evening with you when I saw you this morning.”
“You did, huh?”
His look was unwavering. “I did.” Before I knew what was happening I felt his soft lips on mine and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck. Nothing else mattered but the two of us in that moment. Everything I felt for him the first night I met him came flooding back and all I could think of was how good it felt to be in his arms.
He pulled away from me and softly stroked my hair as he took a deep breath.
“You’re going to be trouble for me.”
“I hope you mean that in a good way.”
“In the best kind of way.”
We pulled up to a cute little house and his driver opened the door for us. Mark casually linked his fingers through mine, and it felt so natural like we had been doing it or years.
“I hope you like Italian.”
I looked at the house and gave him a curious look.
“This is a restaurant?”
“Yes, it’s the best Italian in the city.”
We walked in and I felt like I was in someone’s home. It was so intimate and beautiful and smelled wonderful. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I smelled the delicious food. There were only eight tables in the restaurant and we were seated in a corner away from everyone else. It almost felt like we were the only two people in the place.
As Mark settled in his seat, his eyes rested in mine and he held my gaze.
“It’s really good to see you again, Eva. I want to know everything.”
“Everything?”
He leaned in slightly, his eyes steady. “Yes, everything. Start at the beginning. Where did you grow up?”
“I grew up in the city in Lakeview with my mom, dad and my younger brother. I had an amazing childhood and have the most awesome family. We still live in the house I grew up in and I am dying to get my own place so my best friend Carrie and I are going to get a place together next month. You already know I just graduated and what I want to do with my career. That’s pretty much it.”
“Hmmm, I think you left out something very important.”
I gave him a curious look. “I did? I think I covered all of the important things.”
“You gave me a very brief and high-level overview of your life leaving out what many call the most important part.”
“What part is that?”
“Love. No boyfriend?”
“I think you ask
ed me that the night I met you and I answered you.”
“So you did. Your status has not changed?”
I almost laughed out loud. Of course my status had not changed. I had just seen Mark two weeks before.
“No, it has not changed.”
He looked at me intently. “Good, because I want you all to myself.” I thought he was being playful but the intense look on his face told me otherwise. I decided not to dwell on it and changed the subject.
“It’s your turn. What’s your story?”
He looked at me and smiled. “My story. It’s kind of complicated.”
“I can do complicated. I’m all ears.”
“I would love to tell you everything but right now I have a few more questions for you. So you told me you love interior design. How did that start?”
And just like that he was able to change the conversation back to me and I didn’t have a chance to learn anything new about him. I probably should have been annoyed that he seemed to be avoiding offering information about himself, but I wasn’t. We talked for a long while. I liked that he was so interested in my career and I got so caught up in talking about it that I didn’t realize that the restaurant was closing until our waiter gave Mark the bill, and I noticed that we were the last people there.
When we stepped out into the warm night air I felt a sense of happiness and calm that I had not felt in a long time. I turned and looked at Mark and gave him a soft smile.
“Thank you for dinner, it was a nice surprise.”
He looked genuinely touched, his eyes sincere. “You are very welcome. I couldn’t think of a better way to end my day than being with you. Speaking of the end of the day, I know you have had a very long one and I should get you home. I would love to see you again, Eva. Are you free for dinner Tuesday night?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes.”
“Okay, great.”
His driver dropped me off at home and Mark got out of the car and walked me to the front door. His eyes held mine and he hesitated for a couple of seconds and I could see that he wanted to say something else. He took a step toward me as we stood under the streetlight, and his eyes searched mine. “I promise you I will tell you my story on Tuesday.” He gave me a quick kiss goodnight and told me he’d pick me up Tuesday at 6:30.
I didn’t understand why he looked so serious but I didn’t dwell on it, I practically floated into the house and couldn’t wait to call Carrie.
“Well? How did it go?”
“Oh my gosh, Carrie, I had the best time. He took me to this really cool tiny Italian restaurant and there were only eight tables in the whole place. I don’t think I have ever tasted better Italian food.”
“Okay, enough about the food, tell me about him! I wish I could have seen him, I don’t even know what this guy looks like.”
“Gorgeous does not even begin to describe his looks. He is easily the most beautiful man I have ever seen. He was so sweet and it was so easy to talk to him.”
“What did you guys talk about?”
“He wanted to know all about me so I ended up talking most of the time.”
“What did you find out about him?”
“Hmmm, now that you ask me that, I don’t know very much about him at all. He told me his story is complicated and he is going to tell me all about it when I see him again.”
“What does he do?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Eva, do you know anything about this guy?”
“I know that he has a mansion on Astor and he has a driver so he must be successful. I don’t get any kind of bad vibe from him at all; I feel totally safe with him.”
“Okay, good. So when are you going to see him again?”
“Tuesday night. He asked me out to dinner.”
“Oh cool, keep me posted. What’s going on with the job interviews?”
We chatted for a few minutes and then I was ready to crash. It had been a really long and exciting day and I was exhausted. I drifted off to sleep thinking about Mark.
Chapter Five
Monday morning as I was getting ready for work, my phone rang around 8:30.
“Ms. Steele?”
“Yes.”
“This is Sarah Stevens from Locke Designs.”
I literally froze in place as my mouth went completely dry. I didn’t know what to say.
“Hello?” She sounded a bit concerned.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to put a few words together.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“We were very happy with your portfolio, your interview and your tenacity at the design Expo on Saturday so we would like to offer you a position with Locke Designs. An offer package will be emailed to you this morning. Take some time, look over the offer and let me know if you have any questions. If everything looks good to you we would love to have you on board.”
It took everything in me not to jump up and down and scream like a child. I just got my dream job!
“Thank you so much Ms. Stevens!”
“You’re welcome and I will speak with you soon.”
My parents had already left for work and my brother had stayed at a friend’s the night before so I called Carrie and left her a message. She usually left for work around 7:00 a.m. because she liked to get into the office early. The finance world was no joke.
“Carrie! I got the job! Call me during your lunch break!”
Carrie’s lunch break was usually about 20 minutes long so I would have to just give her a brief run down of what had happened. I picked up the phone to call Mark and my hand froze in the air. I didn’t have his telephone number and he didn’t have mine. I had been with him a couple of times and it never occurred to me that I did not have a way to contact him. He had always made contact in person. It felt so strange to feel so close to someone only to realize we really were not that close and I barely knew anything about him. I was annoyed as I put down the phone and decided that I would make a point to make sure we exchanged information on Tuesday.
I had to be at work at 10:00 that morning so I sat at my computer and refreshed my email a million times until I had to leave at 9:30. Still no offer email so I was literally glued to my phone refreshing the screen as I rode the bus to work. After a couple of bus stops it finally appeared and I swear it looked like it had an angelic glow around the subject line.
I nearly missed my stop as I read the offer. They wanted me to start in two weeks and my starting salary was way more than I had imagined. With that kind of salary I would be able to quit the banquet hall part-time gig and I’d be able to afford my own place in a nice neighborhood. I didn’t think I would be able to live like that for at least five more years. I couldn’t wait to tell my parents and my brother when I got home that evening.
When I got off of the bus I decided to call Ms. Stevens and accept the job. I would have been a fool not to. After I spoke to her I went straight to my boss’s office when I got to work and gave my two weeks notice. She was not surprised and was happy for me, which was a relief. Ms. Braeburn had always been supportive of my love of interior design so she wished me luck and told me if it didn’t work out I always had a job at the boutique. It was very sweet.
I was on cloud frickin’ nine and I sailed through the day which, thankfully, passed pretty quickly. When I got home my mom was making dinner and I ran up to her and gave her a big hug from behind.
“Mom, I got the job!”
She turned around and gave me a hug and held my face in her hands.
“Oh Eva, that is so great! I knew you would get! I am so proud of you!”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Your father is going to be so happy when he hears about this. When do you start?”
“Two weeks. Ms. Braeburn was really nice about it and even told me if things didn’t work out I would always have a job with her.”
“She’s a nice woman.”
“Do you need help with anything?”
“Why don’t you set the table
? Your father and brother will be home soon.”
“Okay.”
My dad and brother were excited for me and we chatted about everyone’s day and had a nice dinner. Carrie face-timed me later that night and when I told her I might get my own place she looked a little bit sad. I instantly felt bad but I was pretty excited about living on my own.
