by Beth Rinyu
“I’m going to be honest with you. My last two assistants didn’t even last a month,” he confessed just as we were finishing up lunch.
“Oh, why’s that? Was the work too hard?” I played along, knowing exactly why they didn’t stick around.
He shook his head and smiled, revealing two perfectly placed dimples on each cheek. “It’s just...” He looked away, like he was trying to conjure up the right words without scaring me away.
“Just…you like things done a certain way and don’t like to deviate from those ways. You’re a perfectionist and you expect the same of your employees.”
He leaned back in his chair and intertwined his hands behind his head, carefully taking in my every word.
“People find you difficult to work for due to your lack of flexibility and in turn end up quitting on you.”
He cocked his eyebrow, appearing impressed with my keen observation of him.
“Am I right?” I asked.
“Since I like to be as brutally honest as possible even when it comes to my own flaws or what others perceive as such...yes.”
“Well, Mr. Samuels, since we’re being frank, allow me to tell you a little about me. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m far from perfect. My chaotic life is a testament to that. I’m a single mom who puts her car keys down someplace and a minute later spends two hours looking for them. My breakfast sometimes consists of Teddy Grahams scattered among the seat of my car and a half drank juice box that’s been sitting in the cupholder for days. I can recite most Disney movies word for word and find myself relating to a different character on a weekly basis. My biggest challenge in life right now is parenting a very precocious, headstrong five-year-old and hoping I’m getting it right. And at the end of most days, I wonder how I ever managed to get through it.”
He shook his head and flashed me his charming grin once again.
“But, I work hard for the things I care about. First and foremost, my daughter, and I promise you I will do my best to work hard for your company. So, if you can deal with my faults, I promise to deal with yours.”
Flecks of gold spotted his hazel eyes as he cast a strong gaze upon me, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many women had gotten lost in them. “I think that sounds like a fair deal, Ms. DiNatale.”
“Oh...and one more thing, please just call me Faith. Ms. DiNatale sounds too much like my mother.”
“Deal. As long as you call me Gabe.”
“Not a problem. If you ask me, formalities suck anyway.” I smirked, taking one last sip of my water. I knew it was going to be a lot of give and take on both our parts, but something deep within the back of my mind told me this could be the start of a very beautiful working relationship.
***
“How’d your first day go?” Sylvia asked as I entered her place to pick Joey up.
“Really good...and what about yours?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Oh, we had a great time! Didn’t we, Joey?”
I poked my head in the kitchen to find Joey sitting at the table coloring a picture and eating a cookie. “Joey, you’re going to spoil your dinner,” I scolded.
“But I already ate dinner,” she said before taking a big gulp of milk and wiping away the remnants of her liquid white mustache with the back of her hand.
“You did?”
She nodded. “Mmm hmm…we made tatoe kisses.”
“You made what?” I snickered.
“Potato knishes,” Sylvia corrected her.
“Oh…Sylvia, you didn’t have to feed her dinner.”
“Why not? It’s nice to have someone to eat with. I have plenty left over. Would you like to try one?”
“No, actually I had a very late lunch, so I’m full.”
“Oh, was that because your boss is a slave driver and wouldn’t let you to lunch on time?” She took a seat next to Joey and raised an eyebrow at me.
“No, actually just the opposite. He took me to lunch at Waterfords.”
“Wow! Waterfords!” She nodded in approval, as impressed as I was over his upscale restaurant choice. “Wow! He must have class.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know, but he sure does have money. You should see the car he drives.”
“I wonder if he’s single.”
“Oh, I haven’t a clue, and that’s not my concern anyway. He’s my boss.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of mixing business with pleasure?”
“Nope! And besides, he and I are total opposites.” I looked over at Joey to make sure she wasn’t paying attention. “Plus, I’m sorta, kinda in a relationship…remember?”
“What do you mean you’re total opposites?” she asked, skirting over my being in a relationship remark.
“Well, even I’m not too proud to admit when someone is out of my league. He totally has his act together. Has a great job, probably a gorgeous home, and who knows, maybe even a gorgeous wife.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Ask him what?”
“If he was married?” She was persistent.
“No! That’s not an appropriate question to ask your insanely handsome boss on your first day of work! And even if he isn’t, I’m sure he has the women falling all over him.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know...he sounds like a good catch to me!”
I smiled at her tenacity. “I’m sure he is for someone else.”
She started up once again, but I shut her down.
“Who isn’t already in a relationship like I am!”
“Okay, but you’re not married. You can still continue to sample other merchandise,” she mumbled.
I chose to ignore her last comment and focus my attention on Joey. “That’s a pretty star you’re coloring there,” I complimented.
She looked up from her paper, deep in thought, tapping the blue crayon she was holding against her temple. “What kind of star is this again, Sylvia?”
“It’s the Star of David.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” She giggled and began coloring once again.
“Why don’t you start packing up so we can head home?”
She nodded and began to clean up her crayons and pack up her backpack. “Sylvia, I’m gonna finish this at home and I’ll bring it back to you tomorrow so you can hang it on your frigerator like Mommy does with all of my pictures.”
“I’d love that!” Sylvia replied, turning her head in the direction of the man who’d just walked into the kitchen. He was older than me and younger than Sylvia. There was no denying he was handsome even though he was old enough to be my father.
“Jacob!” Sylvia threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “Faith, Joey, this is my little boy, Jacob.”
Joey’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. “But, he’s not a little boy!” she exclaimed.
He shook his head and laughed. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to me.
“You too.” I studied his dimpled smile, trying to figure out where I had seen it before.
“And you too…Joey?” He creased his eyebrows in confusion.
“It’s actually Joelle,” I intervened. “But everyone calls her Joey.”
Joey crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. “Everyone but the mean, old nuns in school…and Nona.”
“I think Joey fits you well.” He grinned. “I’m sorry to interrupt your visit.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. We were just heading out. Thank you again so much, Sylvia.”
“I told you, it was my pleasure. See you again tomorrow at the same time, Joey.”
“K, and I promise I’ll have your picture finished.”
“Are you babysitting now?” her son inquired with a raise of his eyebrow.
“Yes, I am. Faith just started a new job today and—”
“Oh, where at?”
“GS Software.”
His eyes widened. “Oh really? So you must—”
“Jacob, come sit. Joey and I made some delicious pot
ato knishes,” Sylvia interrupted, pushing him over to the table.
“Okay, okay. What’s the hurry?” he asked. “I was just going to see if Faith—”
“Shh-shh…enough talking. It’s time to eat.”
I was a little confused over her bizarre behavior, assuming maybe she just wanted some one-on-one time with her son.
“It was really nice meeting you, and we’ll see you tomorrow, Sylvia.”
“Yup, yup, yup!” She ushered us out the door with her son looking equally perplexed over her strange behavior.
***
“Hey, I thought you had a late class today?” I asked Cole, who was lying on the couch watching television, looking half dead. Joey ran over to him, smothering him in kisses.
“Oh, yeah, I had a headache, so I decided to blow it off.”
I gave him a curt nod and let out an annoyed huff. Funny how he could blow off class for just a headache, but not for emergencies pertaining to his daughter.
“What?” he snapped, astute to my frustration.
“Nothing.” I brushed if off, not much in the mood for arguing with him in front of Joey.
“Joey, I’m gonna get your bubbles ready in the bath, so go grab your jammies.”
She jumped off the couch and patted Cole on the head. “Daddy, don’t forget…trick-or-treating tomorrow.”
Oh shit. How could I have forgotten? Joey had only been doing the countdown for the past six weeks. Her costume was at my mother’s house, which meant…UGH!
As Joey skipped off to her bedroom, I finally directed my attention to Cole. “I’m really gonna need your help tomorrow with getting her together for Halloween.”
“Okay, and what is it that you’re going to need help with?” His words were dripping with sarcasm.
“I need you to pick up her costume from my mother’s house when you get done with class tomorrow.”
“Ah, Deenie! Fuck that!” he shouted.
“Excuse me?” I shouted back.
“Your freakin’ mother hates my guts. She always mumbles under her breath whenever I’m around her. I don’t feel like going to her house and being subjected to that.”
“Oh, man up and deal with it, Cole! You’re subjecting yourself to it for your daughter! I would do it, but I have a job now…which by the way is really great, since you didn’t even bother to ask.”
“When did I even have time? You came flying in here with an attitude, questioning why I didn’t go to class. Then you start barking out orders about this stupid Halloween costume!”
“Mommy, why are you and Daddy fighting?” Joey came out of her room with the grin she was sporting just moments ago now replaced with a frown.
“We’re not fighting, honey.” Cole directed his attention back to the television after receiving one last frustrated glare from me.
“Let’s go get those bubbles going.” I took her hand and led her into the bathroom, trying to ease the tension.
After bath time, bedtime snack, and reading Joey a half a dozen books before she fell asleep, I was ready for bed myself. It had been a long day, and I just wanted to put it behind me. And that was exactly what I had planned on doing until I walked into the kitchen to find a sink full of dirty dishes that Cole had left. I told myself to just ignore them and let them sit or wait until he got out of the shower and make him do them. But what if he didn’t do them? As unorganized as I was, my OCD would kick in on certain things, and dirty dishes in the sink was one of them. Sucking in a deep, cleansing breath, I tried to chase away my annoyance, grabbing a sponge and getting to work on the dishes.
“Oh, I would have done that.” Cole appeared in the kitchen with water dripping from his hair and a towel wrapped around his waist. He reached around me to grab his ringing phone from the counter as I overzealously dried the last plate and slammed it in the cabinet. My irritation was mounting even more when I heard bits and pieces of his conversation as he walked back off to the bathroom. “Yup…I’ll see ya in a few.” His voice trailed off.
I stormed into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. What the fuck? This was the third night in a row he was going out. Did I even have a right to be angry? I wasn’t even sure where I stood relationship-wise with him. Maybe to him we were just roommates who had sex. Maybe I was the one reading more into it by actually thinking we were more than that. But that still didn’t excuse the fact that in the past week of him being here, he had done absolutely nothing to help out, including pitching in with Joey. So here I was, cleaning up after his lazy ass, making sure Joey was taken care of before bedtime and being the responsible one who went off to work every day. While he still went out partying like he had just turned twenty-one and then bitched about what little responsibility I would throw his way. So for that, I did have a right to be angry. I sat on my bed and began to undress from my work clothes, grabbing a T-shirt from my dresser and covering myself up when Cole entered the bedroom.
He smirked and shook his head. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”
I totally ignored him and dug through my dresser drawer for a pair of sweatpants.
“Okay, are you gonna give me the silent treatment forever or are you gonna tell me what’s pissing you off?”
Why? Why did he have to ask me that question as he stood just inches away in just his boxers, with the scent of his shower gel I found so irresistible filling the air, and his rock hard chest at eye level? Snap out of it, Faith, don’t fall into that trap…again! That’s what got you into this mess in the first place.
“I don’t know, Cole. If you can’t figure out why I’m a little annoyed then that in itself is a problem,” I responded as I pulled my pants up.
“Deenie, I’ll go pick the costume up from your mother’s house. Okay?”
I could feel my eyes welling with tears. I was PMSing big time and this was only adding to my inexplicable emotional outbursts, which would happen once a month.
“Hey, why are you crying?” He grabbed my arm and led me over to the bed, taking a seat next to me.
“Because I think this may have been a big mistake.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
“What is?”
“Us moving in together. We got along great before we started having sex again and now all we do is fight.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who’s fighting.” He placed his hand under my chin, forcing me to look at him. I felt like such a fool for crying over this. “I really want to make this work, Deenie, and it’s gonna be a big adjustment for both of us.”
“I just need your help with things...mainly Joey.”
“Okay, and I promise I will be of more help.”
I wanted to believe he was being sincere, but that little voice in the back of my head was telling me to be on guard.
“I get done with class at four tomorrow. I’ll swing by your mother’s, get the costume, and be back here with it by the time you get home from work.”
“You promise?”
He pressed his forehead into mine.
“I promise,” he whispered. “But I know something else is bothering you.”
“Well, yeah, actually—” Oh God, do I tell him I need more clarification on exactly where we stand as a couple? “What about us?”
He scrunched his face up in confusion. “What about us?”
“Are we a couple or just roommates with benefits?”
He rubbed his hand down the back of his neck, letting out a deep breath. “Deenie, I told you before and I meant it. I want to try and make a go of our relationship. I love Joey…and I—” He paused and pulled in his lower lip. “I love you.”
I stared at him blankly. That was the first time the L word came out of Cole’s mouth when it came to me. “Wow, I wasn’t excepting that. I just needed to know if there was a chance of a future for both of us.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why weren’t you expecting it? You’re the mother of my daughter.”
Was he mistaking having a respect for me because I was the mot
her of his child with love? Why did I always have to second-guess everything? Why couldn’t I just go with it?
He skimmed the side of my face with his thumb. “I’m gonna ask my parents to take Joey next weekend. I want to take you out for a nice romantic dinner. I want to prove to you that what I’m feeling is more than amazing sex and the fact that we have a child together.”
He inched closer, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead, and my insides turned to mush. I was patiently anticipating some of the amazing sex and was jarred back to my senses when he stood up and started to dress.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s Kevin’s birthday. A few of us guys are meeting him for a drink.”
“Oh.” I tried to hide my displeasure. I had to give a little. After all, he had just told me he loved me and that he was going to prove it to me. That should be enough to make me believe he was really trying...right?
Chapter 12
Gabe
“Thanks for standing me up for lunch today,” Phoebe said as I opened the door and she walked in.
“Just come on in….” I mumbled under my breath.
“Is it really that hard to return phone calls, Gabe?” she snapped as she flopped down on the couch.
“Umm…it is when you’re busy with work.” I took a seat next to her.
Phoebe and I had been seeing each other for the past few months. It wasn’t really serious, but I wasn’t sure if she viewed it differently than I did. She was a trainer at my gym. She was hot as hell, that was for sure. Killer body, big tits, long red hair, and even longer legs.
“I’m pretty busy too, but I try and make what little time I have for you.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t.”
Her eyes bulged. “W-what are you saying?”
I threw my head back and looked up at the ceiling. “Look, Phoebe, I like you a lot….”
“Oh, God, here we go.” Tears pooled in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I just like to be honest.”
“Yeah...too honest!”
“My job comes first right now. You knew this when we first met. All I’m saying is, I can’t drop what I’m doing to have lunch, and you don’t need to come over here bitching me out because of it.”
