It took her awhile but after a couple of unsuccessful tries, Carla stifled her laughter long enough to speak. “You think Mary Allison…” Her words trailed off as she dissolved into another fit of giggles before regaining her composure and squealing, “Donnie’s gay!”
“Say what?” Holden’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened?
“Gay! Donnie is super gay…like so far from being into women…at…all.” Carla smirked, looking as if she another fit of laughter was an inch below the service.
Unbridled horror filled Holden’s thoughts as he backtracked through all his misconceptions. He dropped into his seat and put his elbows on his desk before he held his head in both hands. He took a couple of deep breaths and waited for his heart to stop pounding. “Am I having a stroke? Is this happening?”
He looked up at his two co-workers, and even Mark Melton, the looniest fucker he had ever met, looked embarrassed for him. His face burned. “No fucking way! He doesn’t look gay.”
“How does one look gay, Holden?” Mark raised an eyebrow. “Some people say I look gay and I’m not. Marley doesn’t look like the kind of chick you would find at Comic-Con but we know better.” Holden held his forehead while he endured the annoying scolding. Mark stopped speaking abruptly and looked at Carla. “Wait…did you say Donnie Mac?”
“Yeah, you know him?” Holden glanced at Mark.
“If he’s the guy I’m thinking of, yeah, he’s definitely gay.” Looking toward Carla, he asked, “He owns a woman’s clothing shop, right?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “He’s a designer too.”
“And you know all of this…how?” Holden eyed Mark.
“Donnie has a side business making custom costumes. He had me come by his store for my final fitting.” Mark didn’t appear to think his statement needed any further explanation even as Holden lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head.
“Wow, what? Wait, no, I don’t even want to know what kind of costume you had him make for you.” Holden rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Hey! It was just a period piece for a renaissance fair, and the point is that Donnie is not an obstacle to you being with Marley.”
“Are you sure he doesn’t like girls too?” Holden looked at Carla for an answer.
“Yes, do not pass bi, do not collect two hundred dollars.” Carla laughed with a snort.
“When I met him, he was doing an awful lot of flirting with a guy who came by to get alterations to his drag outfit,” Mark replied.
“Damn it!” Holden tapped his fist against his desk. “This means I’m a stupid, paranoid, jealous wanker. How am I going to get her to forgive me?” He groaned.
“Ugh! You can start by never saying the word wanker again.” Mark crinkled his nose.
“You don’t have time to worry about coming up with something elaborate. You need to go now,” Carla replied ominously.
“Go?” Holden turned his head toward her.
“If you leave now, it will take you about an hour and a half to get there. They’ll have already finished eating but it will still be pretty early in the evening. I think you might get there in time to stop her.”
Holden’s eyebrows knotted as he pushed his lips together. Bloody hell, what’s she rambling about? “Stop what? What are you going on about?”
“Geez, sorr-rey.” Carla shot him a fixed stare as she huffed. “I was there when Mary Allison was getting ready to go to her class reunion tonight. Donnie was adamant about her hooking up with her high school crush, and he put a handful of condoms in her handbag. You better get going!”
Holden gasped and threw up his hands. In a short stretch of time, he had learned that Mary Allison was single and he was a total prick. Now he was about to lose out again and he had no clue how to handle the situation. He palmed his face as Mark pulled his sports jacket off the back of his chair and thrust it toward him.
“Put it on, dumb ass! Hurry up!” As if on autopilot, Holden obediently suited up as if he was putting on armor.
“Even though I’m a part-timer, I’m a kickass assistant, so I know how to access all the info. I’ll send the address and directions to your phone.” Carla pulled out her cellphone.
“But…but…I don’t know what to do or say when I get there.” He ran a hand through his hair as he stared off past Carla.
“You’ll have plenty of time to figure it out on the way.” She nudged him toward the elevator.
Holden glanced at Mark. His friend smiled. “Go! Go!”
Carla joined in to chant with him. While staring at them, Holden’s head spun. He jerked away from the two idiots pushing him toward the door and straightened his jacket while shaking his head. “Will you two please shut the hell up! I refuse to be part of a ridiculous, made-for-TV, slow-clap moment. I can’t do this. The entire idea is absurd!” He waved them off.
Carla put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes while lifting her index finger in the air. “Fine, let someone else fuck your girl.” She moved her finger as if she were dotting an I. “Maybe they will run off and get married too.”
Holden’s chin dropped and his eyebrows lifted. His chest heaved as he sucked in a breath and exhaled before grabbing his keys. “Bloody hell! You have my number.”
Chapter Nine
Holden’s phone was vibrating before he even got to the parking garage. One thing was for sure, Carla was right about being a good assistant. She sent him the address, terrific directions, and an itinerary of the event. Once he hit the highway, his drive time seemed to fly by since his mind was occupied with what he would say to Mary Allison. Before he knew it, he was pulling
