Mid Life Love (27 page)

I leaned back in
the seat and shut my eyes, thinking about “us” once again. I was starting to
believe that this thing we had might actually go somewhere—even though I was
still afraid to completely embrace it. I was starting to believe that—

“Claire, stop
it right now.” Jonathan got back in the car and I opened my eyes.

“Stop what?”

“You know what
you were doing.” He handed me a small carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream
and a pink spoon. “I figured this would help cheer you up a bit. It’s going to
be a long drive and you might get hungry on the way...”

I smiled,
shocked that he’d actually remembered my favorite comfort food. “Tell me the
truth. Do you really record our phone conversations?”

“No, Claire.” He
revved up the car. “I just have a good memory. It’s also pretty hard to forget
anything
about you.”

He drove away
into the night and I savored every bite of that ice cream; it always did make
me feel better.

As the car
cruised out of the city, I started to wonder where the hell we were going. We
weren’t anywhere near a movie theater—or civilization for that matter. There
was nothing but open fields of grass everywhere I looked.

I thought about
asking him where he was taking me, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me. I looked
over at him and he placed his hand on my thigh, gently caressing it as he
drove. 

I started to
shut my eyes, but the car came to a sudden stop in front of a huge white
billboard.

“Did you run out
of gas or something?” I stretched my arms up. “Do we need to start walking?”

“No. Get in the
back seat.”

I didn’t move. I
didn’t understand why I needed to get in the backseat for him to drive the rest
of the way to the movies, didn’t understand why he’d changed our plans from a
night at the theater to random car sex.

“
I swear
...”
He pressed a button and the top of the convertible folded down. He stepped out
of the car and moved to my side, picking me up and placing me in the backseat.

He slid in next
to me and began fiddling with a black device.

I was thinking
of something smart to say, fixing my mouth to ask a myriad of questions, but
out of nowhere, a projector light flashed onto the blank billboard, and the
opening credits of
Anastasia
began to play. The sound seemed to be
coming from all around us, but I couldn’t see where the speakers were.

“I figured that
since you’re still hesitant about being seen in public together, we could watch
the movie this way.” He kissed my cheek. “Plus, the chairs here recline a lot
further than they do in the regular theater...” He tapped a button and our seats
slowly set back. He slid closer and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I’m
sure we’ll take advantage of them after our dinner gets here.”

I snuggled up to
his chest and kissed him. “Or we could take advantage of them now...”

J
onathan

“I think that
went rather well,” my mother said as our therapist left the office.

“It did...” I
wasn’t sure if it was because we were actually sorting out our issues, or if
being with Claire so much made me calmer, but my mother and I had completed
several therapy sessions without blowing up on one another.

She pulled a
purse over her shoulder and stood up. “Did I tell you I got a raise last week?”

“No...You have
a
job
?”

She nodded. “I
didn’t want to say anything until I was past the probation period, but—”

“You don’t have
to work.”

“I know, but I
need something that’ll occupy my time and keep me on the straight and narrow. I
don’t want to fall back into my old habits.”

Jesus...She really
is trying to stay clean this time...

“Would you like
a ride? I can have Greg take you. Where is it exactly?”

“No, I’m fine.
I’m in a buddy program; my ride should be here in any second. It’s a small shop
near the eastern docks. It has the most
amazing
view of the ocean.”

I stepped around
my desk and gave her a hug. “I’m proud of you...” I wanted to say more, to say
that I would meet her down there some time for lunch, but I couldn’t bring
myself to say it.

I couldn’t let
myself hope that she would actually change for good; she’d let me down way too
many times for that.

My secretary
buzzed my intercom. “Mr. Statham? I have—”

“I thought I
said absolutely
no interruptions
today.” I groaned. “I told you I
was going to be
extremely
busy and can’t afford to—”

“It’s
Miss
Gracen
, sir.” 

“Oh...I’m sorry,
Angela. Send her in please.”

I let go of my
mother and noticed that she was raising her eyebrow, looking as if I owed her
some type of explanation.

“Who is she?”
she asked.

“Who’s who?”

“The woman who
clearly has more privileges than I do...I’ve been turned away numerous times with
the ‘Mr. Statham isn’t available for any unscheduled meetings today’ line. Why
is this woman so important?”

I sighed. “She’s
my girlfriend.”

“Really? Can I
meet her?” Her eyes lit up. “Please?”

“You can say
Hello
,
and then you can say
Goodbye
.”

“Jonathan, I—”

“We’re not there
yet. Don’t try to force it.”

She gritted her
teeth. “Fine...”

Forget it. She
doesn’t deserve to meet Claire.

I reached for
her hand so I could walk her out, but the door to my office had already opened.

Claire sauntered
in wearing a fitted navy blue dress and a light beige jacket, with matching
high heels that made her legs look even longer.

She smiled, and
just like that, I forgot all about my annoying mother and the hectic day ahead.

“Good
afternoon.” I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “You look
amazing
...”
I led her over to my mom. “This is my mother, Denise Statham. Mother, this is—”

“Claire,” my mom
interrupted as she reached out for Claire’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to
finally
meet you. You’re absolutely gorgeous... Jonathan’s very lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, Mrs.
Statham.”

“I’ll see you
next week, son.” My mom gave me one last hug and headed towards the back walls
of my office, towards the private elevator.

I pulled Claire
into my arms. “Is something wrong? Are you sick? It must be something
fatal if you came up here during the hours when people might actually
see
you.”

She rolled her
eyes. “We just wrapped up the
s
Tablet so Mr. Barnes is letting us go
home early. My phone died, so I figured I’d come tell you that before you
thought I was ignoring you.”

“Good decision.
I would take you out to lunch to celebrate, but I’m booked with meetings until
six. Dinner? There’s a new bistro down at—”

“Mr. Statham?”
Angela’s voice came over the intercom once more. “I hate to bother you again,
but Miss Griffin is here with an
emergency
. She says it can’t wait
another second.”

I sighed and
stepped back. “Wait here. Don’t go anywhere.” I pulled out a chair for her and
walked out of the room. “This better be an emergency, Vanessa.”

“It is. I don’t
use that word lightly.”

I followed her
down the hall into a conference room and sat down. “What is it?”

“The Noracorps
transaction was approved by the board and we were about to fax it off to the
bank, but we’re missing your signature on several documents. It’s kind of the
most
important one,
don’t you think?”

“Oh.”
That
definitely would’ve been a disaster...

I took the
folder from her hands and pulled out a pen, initialing every necessary blank,
reading over highlighted paragraphs here or there.

“Do I need to
sign off on these C-18 forms too?”

She batted her
eyes. “Yes...”

Ugh, god...
I started
signing the blanks faster, purposely avoiding her flirty glances each time she
cleared her throat.

Ever since she’d
gotten upset with me after that late night meeting, I’d put some serious
distance between us. I still spoke with her after meetings, still laughed at
her witty jokes, but I never allowed myself to be alone with her for too long.

“You’re really
not going to tell me your new girlfriend’s name?” She placed her hand over the
documents.

“It’s none of
your business.”

“I’m dating
someone new...”

“That’s great.”
I smiled. “I’m happy to hear that.”
Ecstatic to hear that...

“His name is
Paul Jordan and he owns a chain of mid-scale hotels. See? I told you his name
now you can tell me hers.”

“What does the
name of the woman I’m dating have to do with our acquisition of NoraCorps
tomorrow? I thought signing these documents was the reason why you came up
here.”

She sighed. “It
was. Don’t forget that they’re going to be here in the morning. They want to
get official copies of the bank’s approval forms. I think this may be the
second best investment we’ve ever made.”

“Me too.” I
stood up. “I’ll get here early tomorrow. I’ll have the chef make something
for—”

“Is it the
redhead who works in Marketing?” She grabbed my hand. “The director who did all
that work for the
s
Phone blue?”

I raised my
eyebrow.

“I saw you two
holding hands in the garage late last night...She’s really pretty—
stunning
even...I
just...” She shook her head. “All these years that I’ve been here, I’ve tried
getting close to you, and you’ve always pushed me away...
Why
? Why am
I
not good enough for you?”

I couldn’t
believe she was trying to pull this emotional bullshit with me. I remained
stoic; I needed to choose my next words very carefully.

“I’m not like
Audrey...” She reached up and ran her hands across my chest, making my skin
crawl. “I’m not trying to use you or push you over the edge to get your money.
I’m your
friend
and you can’t deny that we have
undeniable
chemistry...I’ve looked out for you ever since my father invested in your
company. I even sat with Hayley through some of her skin grafting surgeries
when you couldn’t be there...I’m not a dimwitted bimbo, a gold-digger, or a
divorcée with kids whose trying to live out her cougar dreams and get you to
marry her so she can run off with all your money after she divorces you. I’m
not like —”

“
Excuse me
?”

She bit her lip
and traced her fingertips along my mouth. “I’m just saying that I wouldn’t take
advantage of you like some of the women you’ve been interested in. And even
though I’m dating someone else now, whenever you come to your senses, I’ll—”

“Okay.” I
grabbed her hand and moved it away. “Since you clearly don’t understand what
the word ‘no’ means, let me help you with the exact definition: I am not
interested in you. I will
never
be interested in you. I don’t give a
damn what you think about whoever you
assume
I’m dating, but if she
happens to be a divorcée with kids, she’s ten times better than you would ever
be for me. I’m aware that me canceling the employee fraternization policy left
you feeling confused about your imaginary status of “us,” but sexual harassment
goes both ways and
that policy
is still in effect. Are we clear?”

I took her
stunned silence and dropped jaw to be a yes.

“I’ll see you in
the morning.” I turned away from her and walked out.

I headed to my
office and took a deep breath. I was going to have to limit my interactions
with Vanessa to business only until she got a grip on herself—maybe even avoid
her completely.

I walked inside
and pulled Claire to her feet. “I’m so sorry about that. What was I saying
before?”

“Dinner...”

“Right. There’s
a new restaurant down at Fisherman’s Wharf and I’d love to—”

“Rain check? I
promised the girls I would make pasta tonight. Maybe we can—”

“I like pasta.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll
bring the leftovers to work tomorrow. Do you want me to pack parmesan cheese
with—”

“I can’t come
over and have dinner with you and your family?”

“Um...”

“
Um
?” I
narrowed my eyes at her. “What type of answer is that?”

“You want to
meet my daughters?”

“Do they know I
exist?”

She nodded.

“Then what’s the
problem?”

“Nothing...” She
looked surprised. “Dinner is at seven.”

––––––––

I
pulled up to
her house ten minutes early. I’d bought three custom bouquets of spring
roses—one for Claire, one for Ashley and Caroline, and a large bottle of
sparkling apple cider to share over dinner.

I walked up the
steps and pressed the doorbell, smiling at the memory of the first time I’d
done that in January.

Within seconds,
one of her daughters opened the door. She tilted her head to the side, causing
her wavy red hair to fall with her, and she blinked several times. She was the
spitting image of Claire, only she had more dominant freckles on her cheeks and
her eyes were a much paler green.

“Mom! It’s that
guy you told us about!” She called behind her shoulder. Then she stared at me.

“Are you going
to let me in, Ashley?” I smiled.

“
Whoa
.
How do you know my name already?”

“Your mom told
me a while ago, but you’re still wearing your name tag from work.”

“Oh yeah...” She
stepped back and let me in.

Her other
daughter—Caroline, came down the steps and stood next to Ashley. Then they both
stared at me, blinking in unison.

They were
dressed in the same work uniform—white collared shirts with khakis, and all
their freckles were in the exact same places. I wasn’t sure how anyone could
ever tell them apart.

I handed them
the rose bouquets, hoping they would lead me to Claire, but they simply said
“Awwww” at the flowers and continued staring at me.

“I guess he’s
hot after all. Mom did a really good job.” Ashley nodded. “I like his tie.”

“I like his
shoes.” Caroline tapped her lip. “Do you think he dresses like this every day
or he’s dressing like this to impress her?”

“Probably just
to impress her. He can’t afford to dress like that every day...I bet he got these
flowers at the discount stand down the street.”

“Or maybe he
works
at the discount stand down the street.”

“Yeah...He’s
probably a salesman—a
hot
salesman though.”

Do they not
realize that I can HEAR them?

“What’s his name
again?”

“
Jonathan
,
ladies.” I smiled. “Where’s your mother?”

“Dining room,”
they uttered in unison.

Okay...

I realized that
they were never going to lead me in the right direction, so I walked around
them. I saw Claire setting the table and handed her the last bouquet.

“Thank you.” She
smiled. “I don’t think the hundred I receive in my office every morning are
enough.”

“I’ll be sure to
increase the amount. Do you need any help with dinner?”

“No, thank you.
It’s already done.” She set down a stack of napkins. “Ashley! Caroline! Dinner’s
ready!”

The next few
minutes that unfolded were like a scene out of a fifties television sitcom:
Ashley and Caroline rushed into the room and took their places at the table.
They passed around the plates and bowls, laughing at nothing at all. Then
Claire set down a huge bowl of pasta and the girls took turns spooning out huge
helpings.

They talked
excitedly about their day at school—a second successful bake sale with the
cheerleading team, an A they both received in Physics class, and some “lame
loser” who liked Ashley but couldn’t tell her apart from Caroline.

I’d only seen
this type of behavior in movies or on TV. I didn’t know this actually happened
in real life.

“So
Jonathan
—wait,
we can call you Jonathan right?” Caroline passed me the breadstick basket.

“That’s
perfectly fine.”

“Great! So,
what’s it like being a flower salesman? Do you get good tips? Do you cut your
own stems?”

I laughed. “I’m
not a flower salesman.” I wondered why Claire hadn’t told them that. “I’m the
CEO of Statham Industries.”

“
What
!”
She gasped. “You’re
the CEO
of mom’s company?” She pulled out her phone
and scrolled across the screen. She raised her eyebrow and hit Ashley on the
shoulder. “Ashley, he has his
own Wikipedia page
...Wait, why isn’t his
picture on here?”