Dan realized he couldn’t do the e-mail and talk at the same time, so he brought up his solitaire game. That he could practically do with his eyes closed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve fallen for her. Three days out of the gate, and you’re in love.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not in love.”
“You are. And she’s going to break your heart.”
“She is not.”
“Aha!”
“Don’t aha me. She’s a very bright, very insightful woman, and she’s illuminating the subject in a way I never anticipated.”
“Which means,” his mother said, her voice dropping an octave, “that you’ve stopped asking questions and are just having sex as often as humanly possible.”
Dan opened his mouth to protest, when it occurred to him that his mother was right. He hadn’t asked Jessica anything for what, twenty-four hours? “Shit.”
“Oh, honey. What can I tell you? Your intentions are always so good, but when it comes to women…”
“What?”
“Let’s just say that famous scientific detachment comes unglued.”
The solitaire game forgotten, Dan leaned forward in his chair. “You don’t understand, Mom, she’s different.”
“Right.”
“No, really. She’s doing a bang-up job on this marketing campaign. She’s focused but not obsessive, and she’s been unbelievably honest with me. That’s why it seems like it’s moving so fast, because we’re smashing through all the typical getting-to-know-each-other bullshit.”
“I understand.”
“I know that tone of voice,” he said, getting a little fed up. “You’re assuming a hell of a lot.”
Silence on the other end of the line. Then finally, just as he was going to apologize, his mother did.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I have no business judging you like this. For what it’s worth, sweetheart, I hope she’s everything you ever dreamt of.”
“I’m not saying she’s that,” he said, hating the defensiveness he heard in his voice. “I’m just saying she’s, you know, great.”
“Good. And when am I going to see you?”
“After it’s all over. Next weekend, I guess.”
“So your cat will have every opportunity to pee in all the rest of my shoes.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I also trained her to pee in your sock drawer.”
“Daniel!”
“I love you, Mom. Talk to you soon.”
He hung up to the sound of her sputtering. His smile didn’t last, however. He stood up, went to his window and stared at the street below. Was he rushing into this? Was he making Jessica into something she wasn’t? Or was this excitement that he’d felt since that first day something real, something he could count on?
So he hadn’t asked any questions. That was just a matter of timing, nothing more. He’d ask. He had by no means abandoned his project. On the contrary. Knowing her this well was a stunning revelation. Hadn’t he been spot-on about her fear after that first time? By giving her space, she’d come around by the next morning. That proved that he was starting to understand women!
And he also understood that he’d better get his ass in gear if he wanted to get dressed and make it out to the boat by five.
MARLA SIPPED her mocha Frappuccino noisily as she hit bottom. For the last forty minutes, she’d been talking a mile a minute, telling Jessica every last detail about her and Shawn. Jessica had never seen Marla so animated, so over the moon. There simply wasn’t a way to stay passive in the face of so much happiness.
And still, Jessica couldn’t help wondering what was going to happen when the week was over. Shawn was a famous man, with a whole world full of women to choose from. While Jessica thought Marla was one of the best, brightest, and certainly sweetest, did Shawn Foote really want her for keeps? Watching Marla talk, with her extravagant gestures and her totally unique vocabulary, all Jessica could think was if Shawn hurt Marla, she would chase him down and cut him where it hurts the most.
“And he said that he wants me to come with him to Montana. He’s thinking about buying the ranch that’s right next to Harrison Ford’s. I mean, can you imagine? ‘Uh, Harrison,’ she said, lowering her voice in an approximation of no one in particular, ‘May I borrow a cup of sugar? Or maybe an Oscar?”’
“Did Harrison Ford win an Oscar?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think we’ll be borrowing it anyway.”
“True.” Jessica sipped her plain old coffee. “Montana, huh?”
“What’s not to like?” Marla said. “I mean, trees, horses, cows. Woodland creatures. Bunnies!”
“Right. Deer.”
“Bambi!”
“Oh, does Shawn hunt?”
Marla looked stricken, but only for a moment. “Don’t know. Can’t imagine. He’s too sweet to shoot anything. I think he fishes, though.”
“Fishing’s okay.”
“Yeah. As long as, you know, you eat them.”
“Right.”
“And you don’t have to look into their eyes.”
Jessica nodded, understanding completely. In fact, she understood a lot about what her assistant was feeling. More than she liked to admit.
What Jessica had that Marla didn’t, however, was her plan. Even though she hadn’t stopped thinking of Dan since this morning, that wasn’t because she was getting all “gooey” about him, as Marla would say. She was simply reacting to the novelty of such great sex.
“Aha!” Marla said, pointing straight at Jessica.
“What?”
“I knew it. You’re also sharing this wonderfulness with your handsome Dan. It’s happening to us both!”
“Wait a minute,” Jessica said, feeling her cheeks heat and fighting the urge to bolt. “It’s not what you think.”
Marla’s eyes widened and Jessica realized what she’d almost admitted.
Marla leaned forward. “He’s not really a boyfriend from college, is he?”
She kept her expression completely neutral, despite the blush she couldn’t hide. “Of course he is.”
“Oh. I thought he was someone you brought to get Creepy Owen to back off because, well, you not having a life and all.” Now it was Marla’s turn to blush. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“It’s okay,” Jessica said. “I’m not offended. I work hard at maintaining that image.”
“Why?”
“Because personal lives get so messy.”
“Hmm.”
Jessica hated it when Marla did that. Got all quiet and wouldn’t look her in the eye. “Come on. Out with it.”
“Well, it’s only my opinion.”
“Yes?”
“Doesn’t it make your happiness dependent on your job? And wasn’t it you who told me, early on, that companies have no loyalty to anything but the bottom line?”
“My career doesn’t depend on one job.”
“True, but it does depend on some job. And that’s not very comforting, is it?”
“Marla? Go buy yourself another Frappuccino, would you?”
“Okay. But then we have to go get dressed. It’s boat time tonight.”
“Yes, it is,” Jessica said, amazed she hadn’t blown it. At least not completely.
