Love's Last Chance (24 page)

“Ya think?” John cocked an eyebrow at him.
“It’s almost the same as being married.”

Gunther put up his hand. “Okay, okay. I get
it. She’s yours. You win. Take good care of her.”

Dorrie kissed him on the cheek, but he
brushed her aside. “Amy! Amy! Where the hell are you?”

The mousy assistant hurried into the room.
“Amy, we were missing the audience projections for the first
thirteen weeks. Dammit! I told you we needed those.”

“Yes, Mr. Quill. I’ve got them here.” Her
hand shook slightly as she handed the papers to her boss.

“It’s about time!” Gunther’s face grew pink
as he glowered at Amy. The girl seemed to shrink right in front of
their eyes.

“Gunther,” Dorrie warned, putting her hand
on his sleeve. But it was too late. Amy burst into tears and fled
the room. Dorrie shot him an angry glance.

“All right. I know. I’m a vicious beast. I’m
firing that girl. Probably doing her a favor. She isn’t up to this
job.”

“Who will you hire? Attila the Hun?”

“There must be a bright, young, attractive
woman out there who is competent, intelligent, and efficient.”

“How will you manage between the time you
fire Amy and you hire Superwoman?” Dorrie asked.

“Oh, I’m not going to fire Amy. Like I told
you before, I’m going to tell her we’re looking for an assistant
for her. Then, when we find the right women, I’ll fire Amy, and the
new girl can take over.”

Both Dorrie and John gasped at the same
time. “You’re going to make Amy find her own replacement?”

“That’s cold,” Johnny commented.

“If you put it that way, it sounds bad.”

“That’s the way it is. What other way could
you put it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I can’t be without an
assistant, even for one day. So this will have to be the way it is.
If that makes me evil, then so be it.”

“How could you ever consider marrying this
guy?” Johnny asked.

Dorrie made a motion for him to be
quiet.

“I heard that. I’m not deaf, you know.” He
cocked an eyebrow at Johnny.

“Gunther, go apologize to Amy.”

“Are you in your right mind? Apologize?
Me?”

“Do you want her to quit?”

“Oh my God, no! Okay, okay, I get it. Amy!”
he called as he left the room.

“I’m insulted that you even considered him
over me,” Johnny said.

“I never considered him over you. It’s all
in his mind. Gunther is…a unique individual.”

“Thank God there aren’t more of him.” John
shook his head.

Dorrie laughed then kissed him. “Come on,
let’s go home.”

“Home, with you. Sounds great.” He smiled
and took her hand.

“We’ve got to plan our wedding.”

Johnny stopped. His stomach cramped for a
second. “Wedding plans?”

“Of course. We
are
going to have a
wedding.”

“If you say so. Vegas and eloping was
beginning to look pretty good to me.”

“I want to stand up in front of our friends
and the world when I become Mrs. John Flanagan.”

He beamed. “Mrs. John Flanagan. Sounds
great. Whatever you want.”

“I thought you’d see it my way.”

He drew her close, slipping his arm around
her shoulders, as they headed for the parking lot and their new
life together.

* * * *

Epilogue

“Did we get any responses to our ‘help
wanted’ ad, Amy?” Gunther asked as he flipped through the day’s
mail.

“A few. I’ll take them home and weed out the
bad ones.”

“Remember, I’m looking for someone smart.
Preferably a girl who went to a fancy, private college. Like Smith,
Barnard, or Wellesley. No state school chicks, please.”

“Chicks? You’re not going to call them
chicks, Mr. Quill, are you?”

“Of course not. Just to you. Get the best
pedigree you can and discard the rest. I don’t care if we only
interview a few, if they meet my qualifications.”

“Fine. Do you want me to interview them
first?”

“Of course. Then you can weed out the
actresses. Be sure not to ask them directly. Hint at it. Do they
think acting is fun? Would they ever want to be in a movie? I
definitely don’t want any actresses in here!”

“Why not?”

“Wannabe actresses come in here thinking
they can make a bunch of contacts, use me as a stepping stone to
further their career. Fuck that. I want someone who wants to make a
career of being my right hand.”

“Okay. Got it. No actresses.”

“And pretty, too.”

“You’re skirting very close to sexual
harassment.”

“Why? Because I’d prefer to spend my day
looking at a pretty girl than a…not so pretty one?”

Anger at his insult burned in her chest.
You don’t have to try to hide it. I know how you feel about me,
and that you think I’m ugly. You’ve made it very plain.

“Just find me the perfect girl, Amy, and
there’s a five-thousand-dollar bonus in it for you.”

“Five grand?” She shrugged.

“Not big enough?” His glance turned
cold.

“That’s very generous.” Amy shuffled her
feet and cast her gaze to the floor.

“All right. Make it ten. But this girl had
better be a star…I take that back. No actresses. She’d better be
damn good.” He strode out of the room.

Amy ground her teeth.
Why can’t you ever
leave a room like a normal person? You always have the last
word…the last laugh. But not this time, Mr. Gunther
‘full-of-yourself’ Quill.
A small smile graced her lips.
I’m
going to have my revenge, and you’ll never even know it.
Amy
packed up a fistful of applications and resumes into her briefcase
and left the building. She stopped at the liquor store to buy a
bottle of Moscato before returning home.

While waiting for the clerk to wrap up her
purchase, Amy texted her roommate.

Home soon. Be ready to celebrate.

Amy stretched her arms up before getting in
her car. The tension was gone. Relaxation mixed with revenge
created a heady cocktail.

When she first arrived home, Amy toed off
her ridiculously high heels that Gunther insisted she wear to work.
Sinking down on the sofa, she sighed. Her roommate, Erica Wheeler,
brought in two glasses. Amy poured the wine.

“He’s going to fire me.”

“Really? How do you know that?” Erica
asked.

“He’s stupid enough to ask me to hire an
assistant
who will work for me and thinks I haven’t figured
out I’m hiring someone to take my job. ‘Lighten my load’ he said.
Hah, liar! Hire my replacement is more like it.”

“Oh, no! He wouldn’t do that, would he?”

“Gunther Quill? I doubt there’s anything he
wouldn’t do.”

“He can’t be that bad.”

“You’ve heard me complain about him for a
year. And you still ask me that?” Amy raised her eyebrows.

“I know you’ve never liked the job. It’d be
perfect for me.”

“I thought you had a modeling gig?” Amy held
the glass to her lips.

“I did until the photographer grabbed me. I
quit.”

“Wonderful!” Amy bolted upright, her energy
renewed. “You’re right. You’d be perfect for the job.”

“Oh, no. Not me. I’m going to be an actress,
not an assistant.” Erica shook her head.

“You’d make all the contacts you need, and
more, to land a great movie role. Trust me.”

“But you said he’s a monster.”

“He is. Do you want to act?”

She nodded.

“Then his office is the place to be. Gunther
is going places, and you’d go right along with him.”

“When can I interview?”

“Two problems. He won’t hire an actress, and
you went to Kensington State, not Smith.”

“Oh, he’s one of those. Needs a fancy
school, does he?” Erica raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. But we could fake your resume.”

“That’s lying.”

Amy turned to face Erica and placed her
hands on her shoulders. “Do you want to act or not? Not everything
is honest and above board in life, Erica. Grow up. That’s one thing
I’ve learned, working for Gunther.”

“Fake my resume…I don’t know.”

“And for God’s sake, don’t tell him you want
to act.” Amy rolled her eyes.

“Lying…twice? I don’t think I can.”

Amy stared at Erica. “You can. Trust me. You
can. He’ll lie to you, so it’s only payback.”

“I haven’t even met the man.”

Amy rubbed her hands together and shot an
evil grin to her roommate. “You’ll be perfect.”

“What if I can’t handle him?”

“Lower your neckline, and he’ll be eating
out of your hand.”

“Amy!” Erica laughed.

“Consider it the ultimate acting job,
Erica.” Amy smiled. “Sort of like playing a Katharine Hepburn role.
You can do it.”

“How do you know I’ll even get the job? What
about other applicants?” Erica brought her glass to her lips.

“You mean these?” Amy took the pile of
resumes lying next to her on the couch, ripped them in half, and
tossed them in the nearby wastepaper basket. “Done.”

Erica gasped, her eyes wide. “What did you
do?”

“Threw out the competition. For once,
someone’s going to get something out of working for that evil man.
I’m happy it’s going to be you.”

Erica frowned. “I’m not sure about this,”
she muttered.

“We’ll dress you in a navy blue suit. Put
glasses on you. Hair in a bun.”

“Why do we have to do that?”

“If he gets a look at you now, you won’t be
safe. He’ll be chasing you all around the office, trying to make it
with you.”

“Horrors! Did he do that with you?”

“He’s not attracted to me. But you’re
another story.” Amy looked over her roommate with a critical eye.
“Definitely have to hide your…assets.”

“I don’t think I can pull this off, Amy.”
Erica shook her head.

“You’re a fabulous actress. Pardon me, but
you’re nobody from nowhere. Do you think you’re going to get an
equal chance in the movie business? Think again. You have to take
every advantage you can.”

“You have a point.”

“You’ve been a great friend to me. I’m happy
to see you build a career, using Mr. Gunther Quill as your first
stepping stone.”

“I don’t know, Amy. It’s so dishonest.”

“What can happen? You get fired. That’s all.
Go for it, Erica. You never know when a chance like this will fall
in your lap again.”

“Okay. What have I got to lose?”

“Not a damn thing.”

Amy raised her wine to toast.

“To outfoxing the fox. He’s all yours,
Erica.” Amy clinked her glass with her roommate’s and grinned.