He was like watching a little boy on his birthday. His obvious happiness brought a deep joy that settled around her heart like the gathering of rain clouds in a drought. And with it came hope, solid and true, like an object she could hold in her hand. There was something new and exciting in her life, and her world was on the verge of change. She could feel it. She was excited and scared… and so ready.
„And you were right this morning,“ he said, being generous in return. „I was unreasonable – you ignore someone long enough they get that way, you know. But you were right. This isn’t the best time to drop the business ball and run off willy-nilly to play Barbie Gets A Makeover.“
„Barbie?“
„Your transformation isn’t going to happen overnight anyway. It shouldn’t. We want to feel comfortable with the changes we make, one at a time, grow into the new you. There’ll be plenty of time for that and to get the business settled again. Together, there isn’t anything we can’t handle, given a little time and a good attitude. Right?“
„Right.“
„Right. We’ve already seen what all work and no play has done to you. All play and no work would make Charlotte… poor… and anxious and desperate. Depressed and frightened. Did I mention poor?“
She smiled and a woman walking toward her on the sidewalk smiled back.
„Besides, this is all about balance, isn’t it? Yin and yang. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Work and play. You and me. We’re a team. You listen to me, I listen to you, and together we build a new, well-balanced, well-dressed, well-groomed, considerably more attractive and confident businesswoman with a social life. How hard can it be?“
Did he want an answer to that? She looked up at him and he winked at her. Her breath caught and she swallowed, hard. She felt a little lightheaded.
„Piece of cake,“ he said, seeming not to notice the effect he had on her. „A pumpkin-and-ground-oatmeal bundt cake with rum-plumped raisins and a spiced-sugar glaze made from scratch, maybe. But cake nonetheless. And there’s so much to think about.“ He threw his arms wide. „Clothes. Hair. Makeup. We need to call that stylist in Bellevue right away, the one from the newspaper article. He probably has a waiting list. What about joining a gym? All this walking is fine but a little upper body workout wouldn’t hurt. Oh! Let’s take that trip to Victoria like we always wanted. And what about revamping the apartment, too, while we’re at it? It’s yours now, so you might as well claim it. And shoes… for both of us. We should make a list of the hot spots in town, see where people go to meet people. There’ll be plenty of dating tips in those magazines. We’ll ask around a little and…“
Charlotte listened as he mapped out a new life for her. She’d never known anyone like Mel before, no one whose sole purpose for existence was… her. Her life, her fulfillment, her dreams. She’d never been the epicenter of anyone’s universe before, the full focus of their energies. It was heady. Pleasing in a completely selfish way that she could easily get used to.
Mel saw her potential. He knew, as she had often wished, that there was so much more to her than a mind that was good with numbers and an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and duty. Her body and soul were starving for attention, and Mel planned to put both on a weight-gaining diet.
She planned to let him.
Six
Days slipped by and while the April weather remained wet, naturally, it also grew warm enough to shed her long, black wool coat for her old, tan trench coat.
„Halloween is six months off, Charlotte.“ Mel’s expression was bland, his tone dry, and when she frowned in confusion, he held his hands out toward her coat and added, „This is your best impersonation of Detective Columbo, isn’t it?“
„This happens to be a perfectly respectable Worthing-ton raincoat. These kinds of overcoats never go out of style.“
„Says who? And even if they didn’t, they still lose buttons and get worn until they look threadbare and ratty. Much like this one.“ The phone rang. „Give it to me. I’ll throw it in the trash.“
„No,“ she said, backing up toward the phone, clutching the front of her coat. „Not until I have something to replace it with, and then it’s going to someone who could use a perfectly good six-year-old coat. Along with everything else I own. Don’t you like anything I have? Hello?“
„Charlotte Gibson? This is Axel Burton. I hope I’m not disturbing you.“ The baritone voice in her ear caused a slight hitch in her breathing. The deep, dark, purely masculine tones shivered along her nerve endings, as if she’d been touched. „Hello?“
„Yes. I’m sorry. What?“
Mel’s thoughts were still in her closet. „I like that old, really soft flannel nightgown with the little pink bunnies on it. The long one? It feels so good when we’re sick.“
She tapped her closed lips with her index finger, listening intently.
„Is this Charlotte Gibson?“ The man put a heavy inflection on the Char part of her name; it made her heart flutter.
„Yes. I was… distracted. I’m sorry. What did you say your name was?“
„Axel Burton. I’m calling from Chicago but I’m planning to be in Seattle later next week. Henry Chancellor said you might be able to turn me on to a couple of jobs coming up in the area.“
„Henry? Oh.“ Memory kicked in and her stomach sank to the floor. „Right. You’re his wife’s sister’s cousin’s nephew or something. I remember. Henry seemed very fond of you.“
He gave a soft laugh that made her want to weep with regret. It just wasn’t fair that the voice belonged to the very nice, quiet, single, young, unemployed, miserable, boring loser Henry told her about. Money isn’t everything? To a CFO? Get real.
And come to think of it, Axel?
„Actually, my mother’s sister divorced Henry’s wife’s brother. But before they did, Henry and I got to know each other pretty well. At the family reunions. On vacation. Things like that. Henry’s a good man.“
„Yes, he is. And because he thinks so highly of you, I’d be happy to recommend you to the clients I’m dropping from my practice. I don’t know if Henry explained the situation to you or not, but my – “
„Yes. He did.“ He spoke quickly to spare her the pain of explaining. „I’m sorry about your father.“
„Thank you. So you know that these companies are in transition, or permanently fixed in the 13 percent of all businesses that have between twenty and one hundred employees and no longer qualify as a small business?“ She winced. She was talking like… like an accountant.
„Yes, but I was hoping you might agree to meet with me next week to discuss all this. Friday evening maybe, for drinks or dinner. I could explain briefly what I’m looking for, you could give me a short run down on what you’ve got and then we could discuss where you think I might fit best… if at all.“
Oh, sure. Like she couldn’t smell a blind date buried under a business meeting from a mile away.
„I’m sorry. I have plans for next Friday. In fact, the next few weeks are going to be crazy busy for me, and I know you’re going to want to find a job fairly soon, so why don’t you give me an email address or a fax or even a street address and I’ll send you an overview and declaration of each company. You can take a few days to look them over and let me know which ones you’re interested in. Then I’ll write you a letter of introduction. How does that sound?“
„Like a lot of extra work for you, I’m sorry to say.“
„Not at all. It’s all right there on my computer. It’s no problem at all.“
„All right.“ He agreed and gave her his email address. „Maybe once we both get settled we can have that drink together anyway. Henry says, and I quote, that you’re ‘a pearl the oyster divers have somehow overlooked.’“