Just a Little Faith (2 page)

Pax continued to watch the men through the front office window as they spoke to each other in the parking lot
before
quickly
turning
to face Tori. “By the way, do you notice anything in my teeth?
”

“What? I don't see anything.
You're
just being paranoid.”

As Pax retraced her steps to her office, she told Tori, “Well, I think his agent makes the decisions in all he does, so satisfying his questions seemed to be most important. I think I accomplished that
,
at least.”

With a sigh of relief she sat behind her desk. She should go and give Michael an account of the meeting
,
but she needed a few moments to go over things in her mind first. Yes… she felt good about how the discussion had gone with Mr. Thompson. He seemed pleased with everything presented.

Pax
grabbed her water bottle off the desk and started to head over to Michael's office when her phone rang. She leaned over the desk and grabbed the handset putting it to her ear.

“Yes, Tori?”

“Um, Pax… Mr. Quinn would like to know if he could have a minute with you in your office?”

“
Sebastian
Quinn?” Pax's heart rate rose with every
syllable
.

“Yes ma'am. Can I send him back to your office?”

“Um…Of course send him on back.”

She placed
the phone back in the cradle
and
sat down in shock. What could have happened in the last two minutes that would have caused him to want to speak with her?

A few seconds later
,
she heard a light tap on the door. She looked up to see Sebastian standing in her doorway with his hands shoved in his pockets and a sheepish smile on his face. A stark difference from the imposing presence Pax noticed earlier.

“I, uh…hate to bother you. But I was wondering if I could speak to you a minute?”

Pax put what she hoped was a bright smile on her face. Her thoughts
were
spinning in twenty different directions.

“Sure
.
What can I do for you, Mr. Quinn? Did you have some more questions
?”

More questions? This would be his first question, the first instance of opening his mouth.

“Please
,
call me Seb
.
I
,
uh, I didn't have a question about the presentation. I, well, I'm curious if perhaps you might like to go and get a drink sometime?”

Pax worked hard not let her mouth fall open. Did she just hear him right?
Sebastian Quinn was asking her out on a date?

 

Walking with Jim to their cars, Seb's thoughts remained on the earlier business meeting with Paxson. When he arrived at
LLS
, he
hadn't planned
to ask one of the office staff out on a date
.
But once he
'd
looked into Paxson Taylor's electric blue eyes, he couldn't help himself. From their depths exuded calmness inexplicable to him. Her nervousness pulsated to him, but her quiet confidence gave her an aura of peace. Something about her spoke to him
,
which rarely
,
if ever
,
happened. Attractive, but not in a
c
over
g
irl model kind of way, Paxson's taste in clothes, makeup
,
and hair style were simple but becoming. Intrigued best described his thoughts at the moment.

Sitting through the entire meeting, he tried to figure out what he found so appealing about her
, b
ut he couldn't quite put his finger on it. While she and Jim discussed
his
possible charity
work
, he occasionally looked around her office. Prominently displayed were championship pictures and souvenirs from the University of Alabama and the Cardinals.
So, she likes sports.
Y
et, from what Sebastian could tell
,
Paxson wasn't a tomboy by any stretch of the imagination. The way she moved and spoke, the gentle way she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, she was feminine in e
very respect. Seb
had
also noticed no wedding band on her hand
. This thought gave him more joy than he realized. The marital status of a potential
liason
hadn't mattered
in the past. Why now?

Jim's voice interrupted his thoughts.

“So, do you want to grab some dinner and look over your schedule for the next few days?” Scrolling through the calendar on his phone, Jim didn't notice Seb's attention focused elsewhere. “I was thinking…”

Seb put up his hand, stopping him midstream
.
“You know what Jim
?
I just thought of something I need to take care of
.
Can I call you later?”

“Um, sure. Okay.”

“Thanks. I'll get in touch with you tomorrow.”
Seeing Jim's puzzled expression, Seb lightly patted him on the back. “Really. Go on and enjoy a quiet evening with
your
good
wife
.”

“
Well, if
you're
sure
,
Seb.
You don't have to tell me twice!” Jim opened the door to his vehicle and
,
giving Seb a wave, pulled out of the LLS parking lot.

Seb walked to the office door he just exited, his heart racing. He'd asked out plenty of women in his life
, b
ut in recent years, Seb
hadn't had
to do the asking. With game winning homeruns and
nightly sportscast
highlight reels, girls saw him as some sort of prize. Flattered, he went along for the ride
, b
ut today, everything seemed different
.
Paxson seemed different.

The whoosh of the door closing behind him caused the receptionist to look up from her desk. “Mr. Quinn! Back so soon? Did you forget something?” The tiny, red-headed receptionist smiled brightly and Seb returned it in kind.

“Uh
,
no. I need to speak to Ms. Taylor if she's available.”

“Sure. Let me give her a call.”

Now
,
Seb waited outside Paxson's door, heart rate quickening at the long pause after
his question, his body warming at her smile.

“Um... Have drinks with you? I appreciate the invitation but I don't drink.”

He swallowed hard again.
Doesn't
drink?
That's
unexpected.
Intriguing quality number forty-four...

“Okay. How about coffee? You drink coffee? Maybe just some coffee then?”

I'm rambling. This can't be good, and about coffee of all things.

Paxson's eyes lit up. “I like coffee. In this type of career, coffee is what keeps me on task. Well, that and Tori
—
the receptionist out front.”

Finding her wit attractive, he smiled. This was what, number fifty on the list by now?

“Well, coffee it is
,
then
.
How about we meet tomorrow or Thursday?”

“Tomorrow should work out fine. Let me check my calendar just in case. I know Thursday isn't good because I have a standing appointment elsewhere.” Pax clicked the mouse on her desk.

Hoping she didn't have plans for every night this week, he clicked his fingers against the doorframe nervously while she confirmed the date on her calendar. The prospect of spending time with her sent his pulse racing, knowing he would find more about this woman and things to add to his “Fascinating Qualities of Paxson” list.

“Tuesday seems to be clear. You name the time.” Pax's turquoise eyes shone as she looked up from her computer.

“I'll come by here tomorrow around 5:00
p
.
m
.,
and we can decide where to go from there, if it's okay with you.”

“That sounds great, Mr. Quinn.”

“Hey, it's Seb remember. Only my Dad is Mr. Quinn.”

She grinned. “I mean, Seb. And please, call me Pax. I look forward to tomorrow then.”

Reaching forward he shook her hand
.
“It's a date then.”

Exiting the office, he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Pax's bright eyes and smile were contagious.

****

Pax waited at her desk for several minutes until she figured Seb had left the building.
What
had
she just agree
d
to? Here a
well-known
lady's
man had just asked her out
,
and she
'd
not on
l
y
said yes,
she seemed excited about it.
She tried to dampen her surprising
feelings of euphoria
and
walked down the hall to Tori
,
sure
her feet didn't touch the floor. Tori jumped from her desk, hurrying to Pax before she reached the lobby.

“What in the world happened? You look like
you're
in shock
.
”

“I think I am. You won't believe what he wanted. I still can't believe what he wanted. I almost need you to pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming.”

“Ouch!” She rubbed the side of her waist
after Tori did just that
. “I said I
almost
need you to pinch me.”

“Well, if you would get to explaining, I wouldn't have to pinch you!”

Grinning, Pax raised an eyebrow. “He asked me out for drinks.”

“What?”

Grabbing Tori by the shoulders she gently shook her emphasizing each word. “He. Asked. Me. Out. For. Drinks.”

“You don't even drink!” Tori's voice carried over the entire span of the office. Pax's hand covered her young friend's lips.

“Shh! I know. And Seb knows now. He said we could go out for coffee instead.”

Brushing Pax's hand away, Tori smiled. “Oh. He is definitely interested in getting to know you better. Something must have happened in the meeting you never told me about.”

Pax crossed her arms over her chest.

“That's just it, Tor, I don't have a clue what led him to come back in and ask me out. From what I could gather, he seemed bored the entire meeting. He never opened his mouth. I don't know what in the world was going on in his head. But I can assure you
,
as far as I could tell
,
asking me out was
not
one of them.”

Pax collapsed in one of the front lobby chairs,
and
Tori joined her in the adjacent one.

“Well, I guess Michael will be pleased when he hears this.” Leaning over toward Pax, Tori cocked her eyes. “It's one way to win a client.”

“Oh man! I was on my way to Michael's office to tell him about the meeting when you called. I better go and give a summary of how it went. But don't you think for a minute I'm going to tell him about Mr. Quinn,
Seb
. Nothing will come of it
,
and it won't be worth mentioning.”

Somehow
a tiny little part of her wondered if maybe she was wrong.

 

The thought of meeting Seb for coffee excited Pax
,
yet gave her a sense of dread. Dating didn't happen much for Pax in her teens and early twenties. She was always the one guys wanted as a buddy or a pal. Her married friends
back home
welcomed her to their parties and get-togethers, but to have any one
-
on
-
one time with a guy was a rarity.

Time alone
with Seb. Her stomach twisted almost as if this was her first date
ever
with a boy. Of course, most girls' first dates didn't include going out with someone who was a world-renown
ed
athlete
,
so Pax supposed she should be allowed at least a few butterflies.

The previous evening
,
she
'd
spilled her fears in a phone call with her sister Jessica.

“Jess, what if there are awkward silences? I hate awkward silences. I don't know what to do when those happen!”

“Pax. Don't stress about it. Have some questions ready if you feel like you'll need them. But I doubt you will. You can talk sports with anyone
,
especially a player on your favorite baseball team.”

“I know Jess, but I don't want to appear like some crazed stalker because I know all about the Cardinals.” Curled up in the loveseat in her living room, Pax sorted through the pile of mail
,
when suddenly she stopped. “But wait, Seb asked me out. It isn't like I'm sneaking around following him in an unmarked car with a camera and a telephoto lens.”

“Exactly Pax. Just be yourself.”

“If you say so. Being myself hasn't ever attracted members of the opposite sex before. I'm not sure what's happened in the last twenty-four hours to change that.”

Jessica's laughter carried through the phone line. “You'll be fine.”

Now
,
sitting at her desk stifling the fluttering in her stomach
,
she tried to put her sister's advice to heart.
Jess is right. He asked me out for a reason. I don't know what that reason was
,
but he did. There's nothing to be worried about. Sure. That's the ticket.

A sudden gurgle erupted from her stomach. Her eyes widened. She rushed to the ladies
'
room for the one hundredth time
,
praying she could keep her breakfast down, her nerves once again getting the best of her
.

Returning to her desk, Pax tried to refrain from constantly looking at the clock. She wondered if the skirt and blouse she picked out this morning looked okay
,
and if the flared chocolate brown skirt and forest green sweater were suitable. She knew the color of her top made her eyes pop.

But still, at times like this, her old worries of self-doubt struck. Her memories took her back to middle school days. Pax could still hear the taunts of her classmate
s
about her size and lack of fashion sense.
Determined
to push those thoughts out of her mind, she did what always brought her back to a sense of peace… Pax took a few minutes and bowed her head and just prayed for calmness in the wake of the storm raging in her mind.

Dear Lord, only you know
why
this man asked me out. Please allow me to show myself in a way that will reflect you and your Love for me. Please keep me from saying things I might regret later. May my words and actions only serve to better serve You.

And, by the way Lord, if you get an opportunity, could you tell the butterflies in my stomach to maybe revert back to their cocoonish way of life?