A Trade For Good (8 page)

Deb had been telling Sera about the
earplugs she bought to wear when she tried to calm Emma down. She
also tried the contraption that Sera had designed to keep Emma's
pacifier on. Sera called it the muzzle, although it was more like a
plug. Em liked the soothing feel of a pacifier in her mouth, but
with her mouth fully open in a wide wail all the time, it was hard
to keep the pacifier in place. So after careful thought and many
sleepless nights, Sera found some elastic thread and tied it to the
little holes in the front of the pacifier that help keep the
pacifier from creating a permanent suction and suffocating the
baby. The elastic went around Emma's face like the type of elastic
that goes around the head on a mask, but when Emma wailed, the
elastic allowed the pacifier to pop out, but not far enough for her
to lose it completely.

Deb said that this had worked for a
while, but the earplugs she bought were the real godsend. They were
wondering how Marion was faring, but Chad said his mother had
insisted on taking Emma and it was her own damn fault if they took
a little longer and truly enjoyed the evening. The good news was
that Emma was about to start her 'resting' period. The bad news was
that by the time Sera picked her up, she'd be starting her
screeching period again.

The owners of the restaurant were
always in and out of the kitchen, but had come out to ask Sera how
the children were doing. They had met Peter once and, and just to
be polite, asked about him as well. Sera told them he was
traveling, which was true, and she wasn't sure when he'd be back,
which was also true. She wasn't ready to tell the world her husband
was A.W.O.L. and had dumped not only her, but his own
kids.

The waitress had also asked, but she
didn't seem as interested in hearing about him, as much as making
sure she didn't have to place another table setting for him if he
showed up. Interestingly, when they saw Jeff and offered for him to
join them, she was quick to offer and bring his plate and utensils
immediately.

Deb saw him first. Chad had been busy
looking at his menu when Deb elbowed Sera in the ribs and whispered
into Sera's ear "Check out the hottie over there," as she fanned
herself to make a point.

Sera laughed at her very much in love,
but not blind, sister in law and looked to where she was pointing,
and blushed. Without a doubt, that was Jeff, her boss.

He was wearing black jeans and a red
polo shirt, and she had to admit, he looked very good. She saw he
had the hostesses full attention, and he hadn't just caught her
sister-in-law's eyes, but seemed to have gotten the attention of
several of the women in the room.

He was busy talking to the hostess and
they were both laughing at something he said. She wondered if he
was flirting, but it didn’t look like it.

Jeff and the waitress were deep into
conversation, so Jeff had no idea Sera was there. Sera would have
kept it there, but Deb had other plans.

Chad caught Sera and Deb looking at
Jeff and asked his gawking wife if either of them knew the
man.

Deb laughed and quickly told Chad "No
honey, but Sera here just pointed him out and can't take her eyes
off of him." She winked at Sera and smiled to her husband
sweetly.

Sera ignored the wink and said, “As a
matter of fact, I do know him. The man over there," she stopped and
looked pointedly at her sister-in-law, "is none other than the
reason for our celebration today. That's my new boss Jeff
Mason."

Deb's voice was too funny for words.
If she was gawking before, the look she gave Sera was
priceless.

"You said he was nice, you
never said he was
that
nice."

Sera and Chad both laughed at
Deb.

"Oh my God woman," Deb continued, "how
could you not notice that man is absolutely gorgeous? What is your
problem?"

Chad cleared his throat.
"In case you haven't noticed
darling
, I'm still here. Should we ask
him over?"

His wife looked thrilled and clapping
her hands she said, "Oh yes honey, let's do, let's do."

Sera laughed at the exchange and
wondered why she had never felt this much at ease with her own
husband and then reminded herself that rolls reversed, when Peter
looked at a woman, there was a chance that he actually would go
after her when Sera turned her back.

"Do you mind if he joins us?" Deb
asked her.

Sera looked at her boss and wondered
how she actually felt about having him join them. He was a really
nice guy, but she couldn't overlook the fact that he was hot when
they were away from the office. She didn't know much about him, but
had found out that he was single, and that his partner Mitch was
married to Jeff's older sister.

Would it be uncomfortable to sit next
him? Probably, but then again she wouldn't mind as much if getting
to know him was on her turf, and with her family by her
side.

"If you guys don't mind, I
guess..."

Deb didn't waste any time and flagged
their waitress over before Sera could change her mind.

The waitress told them she knew him,
that he came mostly by himself, and that he was a great guy. She
said he brought a girlfriend with him a couple of times, but they
hadn't seen her for a while and they were all crossing their
fingers that he had dumped her. Then as the waitress looked at Sera
probably remembering that they had also talked about how they
wished Sera would dump her arrogant husband, she quickly changed
the subject and told them how he was always kind and occasionally
even brought nieces or nephews for dinner all by himself just to
give his siblings a break.

The young waitress was thrilled to be
able to join such nice people at her table and secretly hoped Sera
was also single now and could join up with this great guy. The
waitress was Italian and loved romance; she couldn’t wait to get
the ball rolling!

The waitress ran off to talk to Jeff
who had just seen Sera and looked confused. Sera began to wonder if
this was a good idea after all, Jeff looked slightly uncomfortable
to her.

Leave it to Deb though.
Sera looked at Deb and saw her smiling and waving Jeff over their
way, and just when Sera thought Jeff was going to point to his
watch, pretend he had a previous commitment, or yell out
Fire!
and start running
out the door, she saw him smile and start walking over to their
table.

Chapter 9

Deb was quite pleased with herself by
the time Jeff reached the table. To the point where Sera kicked her
under the table a little harshly.

"He...
ou-llo."
Deb said reaching her hand
out to Jeff and rubbing her shin while aiming a piercing look at
Sera.

Sera turned her attention to Jeff who
was looking even taller than his six feet plus from where she was
sitting. "Hi Jeff, I'd like you to meet Deb and Chad Sinclair. Chad
is my husband's brother."

Chad extended his hand and said, "I
wish I could say there is no relation as far as my brother goes,
but yes, this lovely lady is indeed married to my brother Peter,"
and lowering his voice, "but we don't like to talk about
him."

"It's very nice to meet you both," he
said, and lingering his eyes on Sera a little longer than
necessary, he added "you look beautiful tonight."

Sera had definitely not expected that
remark from her boss, and judging by the awkward silence that
followed, nobody else, to include Jeff, had expected it
either.

Jeff laughed. "I'm sorry, that was
awkward," which seemed to put them all at ease, "but the only times
I've seen you has been at work, and you just look very different.
In a good way," he added quickly. Then, "not that you didn't look
good before..."

Chad laughed and saved the moment by
saying, "Please sit down and join us. Tell you what, if you screw
up again I'll kick you under the table just like Sera kicked my
wife before you got here."

They all laughed at that and Deb said,
"Yes, and it still hurts," rubbing her shin a little harder and
more obviously than before.

"Tell you what," Jeff said as he took
a seat in the booth next to Sera, "I won't ask what that was all
about if we can forget my comment."

“Thank you," Sera told him looking at
him shyly, "but I rather liked the compliment, so I won't forget it
that easily," and then bit her lip. That really sounded like
flirting, and she knew she was out of training and too rusty to
try; aside from this being her boss!

The waitress showed up with the menu
making Sera's comments a little less awkward, this time for Jeff.
Sera couldn't believe she had said that, but remembered her husband
had done far worse, so … so be it.

It wasn't like she was trying to
flirt, she was a married woman and the mother of four young kids
struggling to make ends meet. No, flirting and dating was the last
thing on her mind, but the restaurant with its low lights, the two
couple situation, and having Jeff sitting next to her and so close,
made her forget for a few seconds about everything else, and wonder
what it would be like to not be in the bind she was in. Not to
mention the fact that she was with Peter's brother, but
surprisingly that was a non-issue. The way Peter behaved made it so
Sera's happiness and that of her children's, was more important to
Peter's family than Peter, or his whereabouts.

Jeff knew exactly what he wanted to
order and the waitress still looked thrilled to have them all
sitting together at her table as she left them to place his
order.

Deb jumped into the conversation
immediately after the waitress left and told Jeff that it was
actually quite appropriate that they had run into him. "We're here
to celebrate Sera's new job and hopefully new
beginnings."

Jeff looked at Sera and once more
lingered a little longer than necessary as he took in the long hair
wisping down her neckline, the eyes that were framed with the
slightest of make-up but looked stunning, and the red top Sera was
wearing that didn't hide the many attributes Jeff had imagined, but
had tried not to think about.

"I'm glad we met up too. Sera, I
realize my hiring was done a little rashly," he laughed shaking his
head, "but I've got to say, in the last few days you've made
changes I never even thought to make and everyone is more than
happy to have you around." Then looking down at her blouse again,
"I just ask that you never wear your hair down or this great
looking top to work, or I'll lose total control of my guys who are
already pushing their luck with me."

They all laughed as Sera squirmed
uncomfortably in her seat while turning a deep shade of
pink.

Jeff asked Chad what type of job he
did and then Chad asked Jeff about some of his work and their
clients. Chad told him he had actually heard of some of the jobs
Mason Landscaping had completed and was impressed with the work. He
asked him if they did a lot of work for businesses or mostly for
individual homes because his company was moving to a new location
and would need to revamp the building and its gardens. Chad was in
real estate and knew of several people who could use a 'flip' of
their home - inside and out to add the curb appeal before putting
their homes on the market for a better selling price.

The men exchanged business cards and
looked satisfied at the women, having taken care of business
matters first.

Sera was all smiles and looked at Jeff
proudly as if she had had something to do with what had just
happened. "I love the work you do. Some of the jobs aren't that
impressive, although they all look wonderful," she added quickly,
"but others are a work of art. The one Mason Landscaping did on
Melody Court should have been submitted to Landscaping World
Magazine. It was a work of genius." Then, almost embarrassed by her
excitement, "I'm sorry, but I saw the before and after shots and I
couldn't get over the fact that it was the same place. It looks
like something you’d find in the garden Eden."

Jeff laughed at that trying hard not
to imagine Sera in a skimpy Eve outfit running around the Melody
Court gardens. "I did that one. They gave me free rein on that job.
I had done their previous home and the wife," Jeff paused and
laughed at what came next, "the wife told her husband to butt out
this time and just let the professionals do their thing. They gave
me a budget to work with, but the vision I had for the garden
didn't require as much money as it did work. That's a job I was
really happy with. Someday, if I ever have a home I can look
forward to coming home to at night, I'd love to do something
similar. Although honestly, I don't think my dream home will be
that easy to do, I just have too many ideas."

"What kind of ideas?" Deb asked,
genuinely interested.

"Well, I have ideas going in two
directions. One would be for my old man bachelor pad, and the other
if I ever marry, would include a large area for the family to play
without having to worry about stepping on the tulips or getting a
rose bush thorn stuck in their feet."

Deb looked pleased at that and added,
"I'd love to have our home re-done, but Chad is talking about
moving to a bigger place soon."