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  As I moved, she swiveled her hips. The shift in pressure brought me to a new level. And then she reached between her legs and grabbed me. The unexpected motion made me gasp. It was so… exciting. I couldn’t hold back. I pushed forward and stilled as I released. She moved forward and turned to kiss me. Her lips were urgent like it was the last time she’d ever kiss me. Her eyes seemed panicked. She was afraid.

  I registered her emotion. “Hey, hey. What’s the matter?” I cupped her chin in my hand and stared into her eyes.

  “I… I just don’t want to lose you.” A tear slid down her cheek.

  “Lose me? I’m not going anywhere, especially not after something as wonderful as that. Why would you say that?”

  She looked down. “It’s just that things have been happening so quickly. I don’t want you to freak out and leave.”

  I pulled her to my chest and kissed her hairline. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to be with you. I told you, I love you.” I held her as she cried into my chest.

  Twenty minutes later, she told me she was fine. It was just the culmination of all the stress, plus this new stomach bug.

  I nodded. “See? You need to relax.”

  We cleaned up the dishes and she went to sleep, while I read some submissions in bed next to her.

  Tuesday morning, Rebecca took Rose and some of the staff to the two considered locations for their opinions. The employee morale was high since they were included in the choice. “Your opinions are important because you’ll be working in the space and I want you to be happy,” Rebecca said.

  When we returned to our present office, we organized in the conference room and discussed the pros and cons of each space over lunch. With a majority of the employees choosing one space over another, Rebecca agreed and said she’d call the real estate agent. The next step was to hire an architect and design team to come up with a décor.

  “I’m sure Preston knows someone,” Rose said. “He knows so many people.”

  “Good idea,” Rebecca said.

  Donovan tried calling several times, but Rose never put any of the calls through. I heard her tell him that she’d give the message to Rebecca, but when she hung up, there was never anything written anywhere that he had called.

  Rose looked at me. “She doesn’t need his crap. Best not to even tell her he called.”

  I agreed.

  Rebecca walked out just as I was nodding. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Rose and I said in unison. It made us sound like we were hiding something.

  “Tell me,” Rebecca snapped.

  Rose and I exchanged guilty glances. Rose’s shoulder’s dropped. “Donovan’s been calling, but I haven’t been giving you the messages. I keep telling him that you’re not interested in talking to him.”

  “Don’t you think I should know who’s calling? It is still MY business.” She stomped off toward the lady’s room before either of us could protest her rant.

  “I’m sorry, Rose. She’s been feeling crappy with this stomach thing. She said she’s fine and the doctor said she’s fine, but I think she’s hiding an ulcer.”

  Rose nodded her agreement.

  When Rebecca came back from the bathroom, she was in a much better mood, but Rose and I kept a low-key approach to her for the rest of the day.

  With another day down, Rebecca and I went to my apartment. I cooked some spaghetti and frozen, pre-cooked meatballs from a pouch. She told me she was impressed with my culinary skills. I smiled and accepted that as a compliment.

  “So, my parents are coming this weekend, but because it was such short notice for each of their jobs, they’re coming on Saturday and can only stay until Monday afternoon.”

  Rebecca bounced in her seat. “I can’t wait. Tell me about them so I don’t make a fool of myself when they get here.”

  “You could never be a fool.” I gave her a quick kiss. “And, they will absolutely love you.” I entertained her every question and assured her that my parents were happy so long as I was happy, and I was very, very happy.

  “But tell me something wonderful about them,” she insisted.

  I thought for a while. “Um, okay, well they met at a high school dance. Cliché, right?” Rebecca smiled. “My mother had moved to the town, from another rinky dink town two years earlier and never went to any of the school functions. One of her friends insisted she go to this dance. It was Halloween and she wore a costume. She was an angel.” I looked at Rebecca and pointed my finger. “Now, keep that in mind, it’s important.”

  She nodded.

  “So she’s standing in the gym, near the locker room door and her friend gets asked to dance. She didn’t want to leave my mom, but Mom, being the incurable romantic that she is, insisted that her friend go dance with the guy. That left her standing alone. She’s not there long when some obnoxious guy, dressed like a cowboy, walks up to her and tries to make small talk.”

  Rebecca interrupted. “Was that your dad?”

  I shook my head. “No. Just some incredibly annoying jerk who thought my mom was pretty.”

  “Sorry for interrupting then,” she smiled.

  I smiled back. “So Mom is trying to politely give this guy the signal that she’s not interested when my dad walks over with two cups of punch, or whatever it was they were drinking. He turns to my mom and says, ‘Sorry that took so long. The line was almost out the door.’ Then he gives the jerk the eye to move on. He was rescuing her.”

  “What was he dressed as?”

  “I think he was a 50s Greaser.”

  Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Did your mom know your dad then?”

  I shook my head again. “No.”

  “Awwwww.” Rebecca had one of those girl-in-love expressions. “What happened then?” She was eating this up.

  “They talked and danced. My dad asked if he could see her again.”

  “Of course she said yes, right?”

  “At first, she said no. She had never dated anyone before. She was kind of shy. But my dad didn’t let up. He stopped by her lunch table every day at school after that and asked her out each time. Finally, she said yes just to get him to stop asking. Now, remember what I told you?”

  Rebecca nodded. “She was an angel.”

  “That’s right. Dad always said he found his angel at a dance. Still calls her that. Two years after that dance, they were married and almost two years after that, I was born. But then Mom had to have surgery. They found out she was pregnant, but it was ectopic. When they went in to remove the problem, the doctor found out there was a bunch of things wrong with my mom’s insides. Back then medicine wasn’t what it is today. He was forced to do a hysterectomy.”

  Rebecca was quiet.

  “She couldn’t have any more children. So, I’m their only one.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her large, brown eyes were brimmed with tears.

  “Don’t be. I have the greatest parents in the world. They love me and have always supported everything I’ve ever done, whether my choices were good or bad.”

  The smile returned to Rebecca’s face. “They sound so special.”

  “They are.” I was proud of who my parents are.

  We cuddled on the couch while we watched television. Then we cuddled some more in bed until we fell asleep. I was happy just to be with her. Who knew cuddling could be so good?

  The days flowed faster and faster. On Thursday, Mrs. Richards came to the office. I left her and Rebecca alone so the two of them could talk. I sat with some of my co-workers in the break room. It was the most relaxed the office had ever been in the four years I worked there. No one referred to Rebecca as the Book Bitch. In fact, they came up with a new name. They now called her Book Boss. It was nice to hear all the positive things everyone was saying about her. But I was on edge about the conversation that might be going on between Rebecca and her mother. I knew that Rebecca didn’t need any more stress. My frequent calls to Rose from across the office to make sure Rebecca was okay, started to get on R
ose’s nerves.

  “It’s quiet behind the door. I’m guessing they’re working things out.”

  I tried to immerse myself in the goings on of the office. One girl, Amber, was surrounded by a bunch of others. I walked over to see what the fuss was about. Amber held out her left hand. “My boyfriend proposed.”

  “That’s great,” I said. “Congratulations!”

  “Thanks.”

  At that moment, a thought entered my head. I told Rose I needed to run out for a little while, but I’d be back before lunch.

  At the end of the block and around the corner was a small jewelry shop. Even though it was the middle of the day, the tiny store was packed with people. I pushed my way to the counter, where an attractive blonde woman about my age appeared wearing a smile. “Can I help you find something?” she asked.

  “I’m looking for an engagement ring.”

  The woman’s smile widened. “What kind of stone did you want?”

  “Um, a diamond.”

  “Yes, I know that, but did you want a round, square, marquis?”

  “Um, I don’t know.”

  “Well, what kind of a woman is she?”

  “She’s fantastic! She’s strong, charismatic, intelligent, beautiful, unique…”

  The saleswoman held up a hand. “Okay, I get it. Why don’t I just show you a few and you can chose what you like?”

  I nodded. As she reached into the showcase I realized that I had never seen a ring on Rebecca’s hand in the years I worked at Stratford Literary, and certainly not in the past few months when I spent the most time with her. What if I made the wrong choice? “Excuse me. What if I pick something and she doesn’t like it?”

  “You can exchange it within thirty days, provided you haven’t altered the ring in any way.”

  Good. I felt better about that.

  I looked at four rings. When the saleslady pulled out the fifth choice, I knew it was the one: a two-carat, emerald cut, in a platinum setting. It glittered in the light. “Yes, that’s it.”

  “Very good, sir. I’ll write it up.”

  When she walked away, I wondered if I could afford it. I’d never made an impulsive decision in my life… until I met Rebecca. It seemed as if all of my thoughts centered around her now. It didn’t matter. My hope was that she’d liked it, and wouldn’t think I was acting too quickly. But I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I wanted to be with her all the time. I didn’t want to lose her. Now I had to wait until Friday.

  When I got back to the office, Mrs. Richards was leaving.

  Once the elevator doors closed behind her, I peeked into the office. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yes. We’re working on it. She decided to file divorce papers. She did it yesterday. They had a prenuptial agreement. Missy and Chip are over twenty-one so she can’t claim child support, but she’ll get a nice chunk of alimony. She’s going to ask for the house in Queens. He’ll give her whatever she wants. He can’t afford more negative attention, not after what I’ve done to him.” Her smile was sinister. I loved that about her.

  “Say, I’d like to take you out for dinner tomorrow night. To celebrate everything that’s been going on.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Finally, it was Friday. I sneaked out to Rose’s desk to call the restaurant three times to make sure my reservation was set for seven. Good thing the maître d didn’t really know who I was because I think he would have killed me when I finally got to the restaurant if he did. I tried to focus on the day’s work and was glad that Rebecca was distracted with Preston’s interior designer so she wouldn’t notice how nervous I was.

  Nothing got past Rose though. She could tell I was hiding something.

  “Spill your guts,” she whispered to me after she chased me into the break room.

  I looked around to make sure we were alone. “I have to have your word.” She crossed her heart with an index finger and then held up two crossed fingers. “I’m going to propose tonight.”

  Her face lit up. “I knew you two would be great together. She should have listened to me when I first told her my thoughts about you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told her three years ago that I thought the two of you would make a great couple.”

  “I guess she didn’t listen,” I said.

  “She kept worrying about how unprofessional it was to date a co-worker, and that she couldn’t trust anyone or let someone in. It took forever for her to listen to me about promoting you to her protégé. I was running out of ideas on how to get the two of you together. I’m glad that’s finally over with.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Now I don’t have to wonder about who will love her.”

  ‘Wait, why did you think it would work?”

  Rose tilted her head and rested a hand on her hip. “Alex, we only have four men working here, in a sea of women. It’s hard not to notice you, particularly how handsome you are. No offense to the other guys, but you’re definitely something worth staring at. And you’re pretty smart. You have a good eye for talent.”

  I blushed.

  “See? Even us old ladies can appreciate a good man.” She narrowed one eye and pointed a finger at me. “Anyway, I’ve been watching you. You were everything Rebecca needed. Intelligent, strong, well read, attractive, but not flashy. From conversations with you in the break room, I knew you were caring and protective, but not overbearing. And, I knew you were selective with whom you dated.”

  I felt my forehead crease. “What makes you say that?” Was I offended? No, I don’t think so.

  “You only spoke about a couple of women who had been in your life. It pained me when you told me how shallow and superficial they were. You always seemed like such a sensitive and attentive young man. I was glad when you stopped dating them. Rebecca needs a man like you, and you need a strong, sophisticated woman.” Her hands pushed away air. “Ach, but until she finally agreed to promote you… I thought I’d be retired a decade before she made a move.”

  I smiled. “Well, I appreciate your persistence. Don’t say a word. You’re the only one who knows. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I’m taking her to dinner tonight.”

  She nodded, then used her hand to pretend lock her lips before she walked away.

  The day dragged until five, then everyone left. I knew Rebecca would never leave before six, which is why I was glad the reservation was for seven. At six-thirty I asked if she was ready to go.

  “Yup. Just have to shut my computer down.”

  I waited while she did that and then she collected her purse from her bottom drawer and stood up. It was a good thing I was at her side because she wobbled into me.

  “Whoa! Have you been drinking?” I joked.

  She giggled. “I just got up too quickly.”

  “Did you have lunch?” I asked. “You haven’t been eating right lately.”

  “I’m just not hungry,” was her excuse.

  We hailed a cab and made it to the restaurant with ten minutes to spare. We were shown to our table. Being a Friday, it was crowded. In the dim lighting, Rebecca looked ethereal. The way her brunette waves framed her face enhanced the shape of her eyes as she considered the menu. I could look at her for the rest of my life and never tire of her. In that moment, I knew I was doing the right thing.

  After a few moments, the waiter brought us a couple of goblets of water and took our order. “Would you care for some wine?” he asked.

  I was about to say yes, but Rebecca held up a hand. She looked at me. “I’d better not, not with how I’ve been feeling lately.” The waiter nodded and disappeared.

  “When will the construction begin on the new space?” I asked, procrastinating until my nerves settled.

  “There are a few things I asked him to change, but it looks as if they will start in two weeks.”

  “That’s great. It’s so exciting.”

  She looked up at me. Her eyes sparkled. I was about to begin the speech I had prepared for two days when
she interrupted my thought. “Speaking of exciting, are you looking forward to your parents’ arrival tomorrow?”

  “Yes. I am. I can’t wait for them to meet you. I know they’re going to love you. Speaking of love-“

  She cut me off. “I can’t wait to meet them either. They sound like wonderful people. And I hope they approve of me. I wouldn’t want to disappoint them.”

  “Oh, I seriously doubt you could disappoint anyone. So, since I-“

  The waiter walked over with our appetizers. I waited for him to leave. But Rebecca spoke before I could. “I thought you might like your own office. I told the architect to have two doors put in; a regular one and one between us so we could steel brief moments.”

  “But I like being in the same room as you.”

  “What if you want to have some private time?”

  “I only need private time when I’m with you.” I looked down. “Unless you don’t want to spend time with me.” My nerves spiked. A heated sweat broke out on my forehead. What if she said no when I asked her?

  “Oh no. I always want to be with you, but if you’re going to be Senior Editorial Agent under me, you’ll want a private office to entertain your clients.” She smiled.

  “Wow! Senior Editorial Editor?”

  “Uh huh. Do you like it?”

  “I do. Thank you.” I leaned across the table and kissed her.

  “You’re welcome. You deserve it.”

  I collected my courage again. “Speaking of things I deserve, I’d like to talk to you.”

  “Of course, I plan on giving you a raise.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  A menacing figure appeared at our table. Rebecca’s body stiffened. “What do you want?”

  “Becky, please…” Donovan loomed over her. I stood to challenge him. “You have to forgive me. Your mother won’t take me back unless you do.”

  “Donovan, I will never forgive you. Neither will my mother, or this industry.” She glared at him. “You’ve no one to blame for this but yourself and your undermining greed. You proved how deceitful and unworthy you are of being in this business. I’d look into another line of work, if I were you. I hear sanitation pays well. You’re better suited to be around garbage. You’re done in this city.”