The Decent Proposal (Trust In Me) (5 page)

* * * * *

By quarter ‘til eight, Ana had already showered
and prepped the chicken for the broiler. There was a leftover sweet potato in
the fridge she could use to make some fries and plenty of salad goodies. Giving
some thought to lighting a few candles, she ultimately decided against it.
Too romantic
.
Don’t want to scare him away just yet.
Setting her phone on the iPod
docking station, she streamed some tunes from her favorite smooth jazz station.
It played the perfect blend of easy-going music.

The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy,
so she made herself a weak rum and coke. Maybe if she wasn’t indulging in
thoughts of him spending the night, she could actually complete a thought
process that didn’t involve him pinning her against the wall, tearing off her
clothes, pressing himself up against her, slipping inside her—

Knock, knock, knock!

Another fantasy, murdered in cold blood. It
happened several times at work the other day. Stupid customers. As Rob entered
her apartment, she detected a hint of cologne. Or was it some intoxicating
combination of soap and deodorant? No. Whatever that smell was, it was not
purchased at a dime store. It was, however, sending a signal to her brain that
it was time to cuddle and mate. Damn, she was so easy. And was that another chocolate
meringue pie he was carrying?

“You’re so evil. Where’d you get this?”

“If you must know, I have connections. I could
tell you, but then I’d have to… well… kill you.” Laughing at his own joke, Rob
seemed much more relaxed than last Saturday. She could speculate that he was
glad to have her all to himself, but that probably wasn’t the case.

“It smells great in here. Can I ask what you’re
making?”

“You can. And I could tell you, but then I’d
have to kill you.”

Smiling, Rob looked at Ana and said, “If you do,
at least wait until after I eat because I’m starving.”

“It’s a deal. And it should be ready in about
ten minutes.” Ana took the pie and put it in the fridge. “You want some wine or
a beer?”

“Ah, a beer would be great.” Setting down the
bottle of Merlot he had brought, he glanced at a painting that hung on the wall
of her kitchen. It was an abstract blend of oranges, reds, and yellows.

“I love the painting. Is it one of yours?” he
asked.

Ana twisted the top of his beer, letting out a
quick hiss and handed it to him. “A friend of mine did that one. We liked each
other’s work a lot, so we traded a couple of pieces. She’s got a lot of her
work in a gallery downtown if you want to go sometime.” Ana liked how she
slipped that potential third date in there. She also loved the way she was
feeling much more at ease with him tonight than the first time around.

“I’d like that. My cousin has some stuff spread
out around the galleries in L.A., too.”

Within thirty minutes, they were finishing up
their dinner when Rob asked her about the shitty news she mentioned the other
day.

“If it’s none of my business, you can say so.”
         

“No, it’s fine. It’s just one of those wrinkles
that might take some time to iron out. I still don’t know how I’m going to
handle the whole thing.”

Ana got up from the table and cleared her place
while Rob helped put everything else away. He asked if there was anything he
could do to help.

“I doubt it. Not unless you know the winning
lottery numbers.” She let out a nervous laugh. Why was money such a big deal
anyway? If money doesn’t make the world go round then how come poor people were
always stuck in one place while the wealthy moved in circles?

Rob seemed to understand. “Ah, money problems.
Boy, you weren’t kidding about that the other day, huh?”

Ana blushed and turned her head, recalling the
text she accidentally sent him. “No, I mean the text was a joke, but I am in
the midst of a financial crisis right now.” She fell on the sofa, wanting to
change the subject.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Rob said. “I remember
being so broke in college I convinced my roommate to let me use his meal card
just so I could eat three squares a day.” Ana looked at him in stunned silence.
Was this guy for real?

“Seriously! My parents could barely afford to
put me through school. I told them I would take care of food and books if they
covered the tuition and boarding. One year I didn’t save enough working over
the summer, and all I could afford was the one-meal-a-day plan. So I would go
to the cafeteria for breakfast and get enough take-out for two meals, then my
roommate would let me use his card for dinners. Not every day of course, but he
had money to burn, so he ate out with his friends all the time. If it hadn’t
been for him helping me out, I’d have been eating noodles and crackers seven
days a week.” Rob paused. “I guess my point is I know how rough it can be.”

But did he really? If that was as bad as it got
for him, he had no idea how rough it could be at all. But Ana let that one
slide. Every good man deserves a free pass here and there. If not for his damn
good looks and infectious, seductive laugh, he’d have used up all his free
passes on that comment alone.

“Yeah, it can be rough, alright. Not to make
your situation seem trite, but I wish this was only about food. I lost my
scholarship. It was a good one, too. Paid for my tuition plus gave me extra
income for living expenses. With that gone, I don’t what I’m going to do. My
job at the campus bookstore helps, but it’s not enough to pay the rent and
utilities...”
 

Whoa… Ana realized she was heading into
dangerous terrain. Here they were on their second date, and she was already
belting out a sob story. Well, he might as well know what he’s in for.

“Are there other options you could look into?”

“As far as scholarships, not anything I’m likely
to get. I can apply for a Federal Loan, but it will barely cover a third of my
college expenses. Believe me, I’ve done the research. It looks like I’m going
to have to try to find a second job or a better paying one. Getting a roommate
isn’t really an option here, and I’m locked into a lease for the next year. Either
way, I won’t be able to take any classes next fall, so everything is getting
put on hold indefinitely. It genuinely sucks.”

Rob stood up and went into the kitchen to get some
more wine while Ana waited, contemplating her options: either slowly spoon-feed
him her life story over time, or let him bite it off in large, delicious
chunks.

“Chocolate makes everything better,” he said,
sliding a plate of pie across the coffee table to her. “Again, maybe none of my
business, but do you have some family who could help?”

Large, delicious chunks
it is!

Ana decided to go ahead and let him have it. At
least he had been spared the info dumping on their first date. While she spoke,
she entered an abstract world, bouncing between fuzzy reminiscence and
indignation. Some memories were too deep and others, unbearable to recall.

She began with her parents. They were killed in
a car accident when she was only eight months old. Ana’s mother, Jackie, had
been an only child and had lost both her parents at a young age as well.
Jackie’s only grandmother had raised her, and she passed away several years
before Ana was born. Ana’s father was much older than her mother and apparently
had a very strained relationship with his aging father. If there was any
surviving family when Ana’s parents were killed, other than her elderly
grandfather, she didn’t know about them, and they sure didn’t come forward to
take care of her.

She ended up in foster homes right away. The
first family that took her in had a house full of kids. She stayed with them
until she was about four, at which point they had taken in an older, special
needs boy who had violent outbursts. Because the younger children were not safe
around this other child, the state decided to remove them from the home. They
figured this would be easier that trying to re-home someone violent. Ana’s
foster parents were the only people willing to take on a kid with problems of
such epic proportion. Ana, needless to say, was among the children removed. It
was the only normal, loving home she ever knew.

Every foster home that came after that was bad,
or sub-par at best. When she was about ten, she had to share a bedroom with her
foster brother, who was about a year older than her. When he made an attempt to
touch her inappropriately, she kicked him in the nuts. He went screaming and crying
to his mother, and within two days, Ana was moved again.

She learned over the years to keep her head down
and her mouth shut. She had a few decent families here and there, but it seemed
like whenever she would get comfortable with a set of nice foster parents, she
would have to leave. She decided enough was enough, and almost five years ago,
at the age of seventeen, she had herself emancipated. With a full-time job and
an apartment ready for her to move into with Beth—who was already
eighteen at the time—it was a no-brainer for the courts. They lived as
roommates for a couple of years before Beth met Rich and moved in with him.

After hearing of her childhood ordeals, Rob set
his glass down and leaned over to hug her. She felt a warmth and understanding
emanating from him that she had never felt from another man before. His hands
stroked her hair, and she felt as though she could melt into him.

“I’m so sorry you had to grow up like that. Man,
I really take a lot of things for granted.” Rob appeared to be genuinely moved
by her story.

“We all have things we take for granted. That’s
just human nature. In a lot of ways I’m pretty lucky. It could have been a lot
worse, but ultimately, it taught me some righteous survival skills. Well, I
call them survival skills. Beth calls them trust issues. No matter what you
call them, I managed to get out with my sanity intact.” Ana sucked down the
last of her wine then poured another glass. She desperately wanted to change
the topic. She couldn’t remember the last time she had shared that much about
herself with anyone other than Beth, and it left her feeling cold and empty.
Despite her displeasure with the subject, she gave Rob extra points for being
the first guy she would share her history with who listened. Really listened.
And that flooded her with a warmth, filling the deepest, darkest parts of her,
making her feel not so cold and empty anymore.

They spent the rest of the evening chatting a
little bit about his work, and she showed him some of the art she was working
on. Before he left, he asked her if she wanted to meet for breakfast.

“Yes, and I know the perfect place—that
little diner on Slate Road. They have the best omelets and homemade biscuits
you’ve ever tasted.” Ana knew all the good restaurants in town as she used to
eat out for every meal before she started cooking.

“Sounds perfect. How’s eight o’clock?” Rob
asked.

“I’ll see you then,” Ana replied.

Seven

It had been a long time since Ana had
carbo-bombed at breakfast, so the next morning she cut loose. Ordering a cheese
and mushroom omelet with a side of bacon, hash browns, and pancakes, she
wondered if her eyes were bigger than her stomach.
NOM, NOM, NOM
…
I must look
like a pig.
As Ana drowned her pancakes in syrup, Rob stirred his coffee,
watching her closely. “I don’t eat like this every day, I swear,” she said,
half kidding and half serious.

“I can tell,” Rob joked. “No, I was just
thinking… I spent a lot of time contemplating your situation last night, and I
might have a solution.”

“Really? I’m all ears. What you got?” Ana
expected him to offer her a job at Signify. If he did, she would take it in a
second, even if it meant brewing coffee and fetching some schmuck’s dry
cleaning. A big company like that would definitely take her places she had only
dreamed of going.

“It seems that you and I both need something.
Something that we happen to be able to give each other.” Rob paused, pushing
the eggs around his plate.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Ana came up with three
things off the top of her head she could give him, and one thing in particular
she wanted from him. It involved lots of sucking, licking, biting, and
sweating.

“Well, you need money for school, and I want
someone to… um… to accompany me to formal events, dinners, fundraisers, things
like that. Now before you get offended, please understand, I’m not asking you
to do anything inappropriate.” Ana let her fork fall slowly to the plate. He
had her attention.

“I’d be willing to… reimburse you for your time…
attending these events with me.” Rob looked at Ana, she supposed, to try and gage
her reaction. As she sat there silently listening, she cocked her eyebrows in
hard suspicion, wondering if he was serious. He certainly appeared to be. A
small part of her felt as though she should be a little insulted. Was she?
Wasn’t he interested in dating her? And why pay her?

“It would be a simple business arrangement. Of
course, I’ll handle any expenses. And in case you’re wondering, I’ve never done
this before, never even considered it. I just hate going alone, and I’m not
interested in jumping into another relationship just to have the occasional
dinner date. I don’t think that’s a good reason to get involved. And I don’t
want to ask anyone on a date for that purpose alone. That would be misleading.
I actually felt guilty about doing that to you. Not that I didn’t have a great
time or that you’re someone I wouldn’t date, it’s just… I don’t want to get
heavily involved right now. And you’re beautiful, smart, classy, and for some
reason, I completely trust you, which is why I think you’d be perfect for this.
Does that make sense? Am I rambling?”

He was rambling, but Ana absorbed every word. She
was disappointed with his revelation that he wasn’t ready to get involved. Well,
what the hell were they doing then? And why is he just now telling her this? Feeling
a bite of anger towards the woman who broke his heart, Ana responded.

“So let me get this straight. You don’t want a
relationship right now, and you don’t want to mislead anyone. But you want to
have a partner who will go out with you to business events so you won’t look
like a loser who can’t get a date. And you’re willing to pay me to do all this
for you, or with you. Does that about cover it?”

“That covers it perfectly. You said it much
better than I did, by the way. Except for the loser part. Not really worried
about that,” Rob said before finally taking a bite of his eggs.

“To tell you the truth,” Ana said, pushing her
plate away and folding her arms across her chest. “I’m a little surprised. I
kind of thought we had a nice thing starting here.”

“I know. We did… we do. I just… I’m just being
honest about where I stand at the moment. Right now. I’m sorry. I should have
said something sooner. It’s just that I didn’t realize it myself.”

“No, no. I get it. But just so I’m clear, before
I say yes or no, exactly how much money are we talking about here?” Ana wasn’t
going to give him the satisfaction of giving an answer right away. As desperate
as she was for the money, she had her pride to think about. Giving it some
careful consideration was crucial, although she really didn’t think this was
any type of indecent proposal. On the contrary, it was a decent proposal. She
knew he wasn’t asking for sex out of the arrangement. It seemed he really wanted
someone to hang out with—a high-class escort, so to speak.
 

“Let’s just say that money is no object,” Rob
replied. “I mean, I have limitations, but I get paid very well in my position,
so I’m sure we could come up with an amount that would make you happy. And it
would definitely be enough that you could quit your job at the bookstore. I
want you to be at my disposal, with the exception of your class schedule, of
course. I know that’s a priority for you.”

Ana nodded her head slowly. When all was said
and done, she really wasn’t that surprised. What would a guy like Rob want with
a girl like her, anyway? He was far beyond her reach. Still, she would prefer
to have the chance to do the horizontal hokey pokey and show him what it was
really all about. But she was going to be able to spend a lot of time with him,
too. Who knew where it would lead? Essentially, her life was about to get a
hell of a lot easier. She could stay in school, quit her job, and maybe even
travel some. How could she say no to this decent proposal?

“Tell you what,” Rob said. “The next time I need
a date, I’ll give you a call and we can try it out. That way you don’t have to
make a decision until you know exactly what you’re getting into. By the way, I
really want you to enjoy this. If you don’t, it’ll show and neither of us will
be happy.”

“It sounds like it could work. I’d like to give
it some thought, though. When do you think you might call?” Ana was suddenly
anxious to know how long she would have to wait.

Rob smiled. “Trust me, it won’t be long.”

Ana swiped a napkin, wrote down her meager income,
and gently slid it across the table. “This is my bookstore salary, but my
scholarship alone was an additional ten thousand a year.”

Rob stared at the napkin, expressionless. “My
God. How do you pay your bills?”

“One at a time,” Ana replied.
Finally… someone who understands.

“Wow. Just… wow. Anyway,” Rob crumpled up the
napkin and tossed it aside. “I can definitely match that. No worries.”

Ana’s eyes widened.
How much money does this guy have?
She would have to be careful
now. If she played her cards right, Rob might turn into the sugar daddy she’s
been waiting for, minus the sugar. Or was it minus the daddy? Which part of
that phrase meant romantic involvement and which part meant money? Doesn’t
matter. She didn’t need to get into any Freudian shit right now. Besides, she
had a class to get to, so she finished off her coffee while Rob took care of
the check.

“I’ll call soon, okay?” He walked with Ana
across the parking lot. “I’ll try and give you plenty of time to prepare so you
can take off from work if needed. And Ana, just so you know, I really
appreciate you considering my offer. It means a lot. I wouldn’t ask just anyone
to do this.”

Ana smiled at him before getting in her car.
“And I wouldn’t consider it with just anyone either. I hope you know that.” As
she drove off, she thought about all the opportunities that lie ahead of her.
But she also had that nagging voice inside her head again. That voice that
reminded her she better not get too comfortable because as soon as she does,
that’s when the rug gets yanked out from underneath her, sending her face down
in the dirt.

* * * * *

When Rob arrived at his office, he powered up
his laptop and began sorting through his email. It was a typical morning
routine for him. But ever since Stephanie had asked him to lighten his load and
be available for her, he found his mornings to drag out more than usual. It had
been a week since Stephanie had spoken with him about this person he might need
to investigate, and she knew he didn’t do well when he had too much free time
on his hands. He recalled an occasion several years ago when things were a bit
slow for him at Signify. He visited one of the managers he supervised and asked
him to send some accounts his way.

“I think I’ve over-delegated,” Rob had told him.
“Let me help you catch up on some things. I don’t care which account it is.”

When Stephanie found out what he had done, she
went ballistic. “Don’t ever tell your staff you’ve over-delegated! It makes you
look unprofessional. Come to me if you need more work. I’ll be glad to give you
some additional assignments.” Stephanie could be quite intimidating when she
was frustrated, but she didn’t have that effect on Rob at all. At the time, he
found her behavior endearing. It showed an incredible drive and need for
success. Of course by then, they had been seeing each other for several months,
and Rob’s position as head of accounts wasn’t much older than that. But now,
Rob’s respect for Stephanie was slowly dwindling away.

As he stood up to head to the kitchen for some
coffee, Stephanie popped her head into his office. “Do you have a sec? I want
to speak with you,” she said.

“Sure. I hope you have something for me. Ever
since I put Eric on the Spaulding account, I’ve been waiting—”
 

“I know.” Stephanie closed his door and sat down
on the small sofa, motioning for him to join her. “I’m ready to put you to work
on this job. You’ll have to do some digging on someone. As I told you last
week, Signify is in jeopardy, and I know a way to stay ahead of this situation.
There’s a young woman, she’s the daughter of William Ross, and I need as much
information on her as you can get. With this threat looming over our heads, as
well as the company’s, we need to have the upper hand. And the only way to
accomplish this is by knowing as much about her as our competition. It’s the
best way I know of to protect the company. Ridley Global will stop at nothing
to get what they want. And when I say nothing, I literally mean nothing.”

Rob was confused. “Okay… so does she have some
sort of controlling interest in the company?”

“You don’t get to ask questions about this, I’m
afraid. Your job is to simply supply me with as much ammo as you can. And keep
an eye on her, too. I need to know everything—where she shops, where she
banks, what her favorite color is, who her friends are, right down to what kind
of soap she uses. Do whatever it takes, but do it discreetly. She has no idea
who her family is, and we can’t have her getting suspicious.” Stephanie pulled
out a slip of paper and handed it to Rob.

“Here’s her name and last known address. I’m not
sure if it’s still correct, but she attends UCLA, so I’m sure you won’t have
any trouble tracking her down. I want my first report on her ASAP.”

He took the piece of paper and glanced down at
the name she had written:
Anabelle Marie
Ross
.

“Ana Ross? Are you serious?” he asked.

“Yes, why? Is there a problem?” Stephanie seemed
put off.

“I know her,” he muttered. Could it be? The same
Ana? If this was the same Ana Ross he knew, his life was about to take a
bizarre turn. Their conversation the other night came flooding back. Ana’s
parents had been killed in a car accident when she was eight months old.
William Ross had met the same demise about twenty-one years ago. It had to be
the same person. But Ana had made no mention of her father starting the company
that he worked for. Could she really not know who her family was? This was
getting weird.

“Good. Then this should be easy.”

“Any reason why she can’t know about this?
Wouldn’t it be easier to—”

“Rob, trust me. I know what I’m doing, and I
have a plan of action that will save this company. And as far as Ana is
concerned, this will benefit her in the long run.” Stephanie stood up and
walked to the door before turning back to Rob. “And by the way, this is a top
priority for you. Your job is on the line here. I hate that it has to be this
way, but like I said, the fate of this company rests on the information you
provide me. So make sure you don’t screw this up.” She walked out of his office
leaving her words hanging in the air.

Your job is on the line
here…

No matter how stressful it was—and it
was—he had always loved his job. But recently, Stephanie had turned into
a real bitch. And what could she possibly need from Ana? He didn’t know much
about her, but it appeared that she was the heir to a major multi-billion
dollar corporation, and she had no idea. Would he be able to keep this a
secret? For now, he would have to. Job security meant everything to him. He
tucked the paper in his pocket and went for that cup of coffee thinking he’d
rather have a shot of whiskey.