I got up from the couch and shook their hands.
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“Allison is Callie’s new therapist. She is going to join us for dinner tonight.” Bettina smiled.
“It’s great to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand to greet them and then quickly returned to my seat next to Callie on the couch.
White Christmas played softly from a cd player.
Bettina brought her friends into the dining room, as I continued to wonder who would be arriving next. There were two addi-tional place settings. My heart started to pound as I thought about the fact that it could very well be Cedric and Karyn. That would be so incredibly awkward.
The doorbell rang. My heart pounded faster.
Bettina clicked her heels as she rushed from the dining room to the front door, which was off of the living room.
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“So glad you could make it!” Bettina shouted.
I couldn’t see who was coming in because they were lingering and it sounded like they were wiping snow off their boots.
Relief consumed me as I saw an older man who also looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies walk in the door.
“Allison,
this
is
my
friend
Bruno…Bruno, meet Allison, Callie’s newest therapist.”
Bruno walked toward me and startled me when he grabbed my face. “Hello, sweet, Allison. My goodness if I were fifty years younger.” He winked.
“That is very sweet. Great to meet you,” I said and sat back down.
Bettina grabbed the bottle of wine that Bruno carried in and they both disappeared into the dining room.
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“Allison, why don’t you join us with Callie in here?” Bettina shouted from the other room.
This Christmas now played on the stereo as Callie and I entered the dining room.
Callie went straight for the chips.
When I spotted her licking the salt off them and sticking them back in the bowl, I immediately stopped her.
“Allison, can I get you some wine?” Bettina asked as she opened a bottle of red.
“Oh, no, thanks. I am on the job.” I’ll help myself to some soda later, Bettina.” The guests picked at the appetizers that sat on a buffet table at the corner of the room. I counted the place settings again and thought to myself: Bettina, Callie, Me, Bruno, Maria, Kurt…and one more.
I would likely not be able to relax until the last person arrived, so that I could be sure it wasn’t Cedric.
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A half hour passed, as I sat with Callie while she ate a plate of appetizers that I gathered for her to deter her from attacking the chips.
Bettina began setting some food that had come out of the kitchen on the table: a roast surrounded by potatoes and carrots, French style green beans, salad, a rice cas-serole and a chicken fettuccini alfredo dish.
Then, I jumped as the doorbell rang.
My heart started pounding furiously again.
“Allison, would you mind answering the door for me? I think that’s my son,” Bettina shouted from the kitchen.
Oh God.
Oh God.
Oh God.
Without having time to think or prepare, I got up from the chair, took a deep breath and slowly walked to the door and opened it.
CHAPTER 12
CEDRIC
Peggy-Rose Kim was an aspiring news reporter, a few years out of Columbia University’s journalism school. Her father was the general manager at one of the stations I consulted for in Chicago. Peggy-Rose lived in Boston now and as a favor, I agreed to a coaching session after hours at the agency, where I would meet her, look at her resume reel and critique it.
When she walked into the office, I was immediately drawn to her exotic look.
Her mother was Korean and her father was Caucasian. But she used her mother’s maid-en name—Kim—on her resume.
Her vanilla perfume was really strong.
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“Hi Cedric. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You have quite the reputation,” she said flirtatiously holding out her tiny hand.
“Peggy, the pleasure is mine,” I said as I shook her hand, not exactly sure which reputation she was referring to.
She batted her eyelashes. “I brought my demo disc; it’s mostly stuff I did in school and footage I was able to put together while interning at one of the Boston news stations.
I have no real experience on-air. That’s why I am hoping for your advice, so I can land my first real job.”
I nodded, staring her up and down.
“Ok, Peggy…let’s get to it.” I closed the door, then slid the disc in-to the machine and we both stared at the screen.
The video started with a shot of Peggy in front of a building talking in an uncomfortably high pitched voice: ‘ This is Peggy-221/727
Rose Kim reporting live from the scene of a fire on Broad Street.’ It then cut to a clip of her reading the news from what looked like an amateur college TV station news desk:
‘ Police are investigating a homicide in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood...’
If I could have chucked the video into the garbage then and there, I would have. In the second clip, Peggy was actually smiling on camera when talking about the murder.
She sucked ass.
I stopped the DVD abruptly and turned to her.
“Peggy, I am friends with your father which is why I am here now looking at your reel. If I were a news director, that is as far as you would have gotten. Do you realize you were smiling in that footage while you were talking about a murder?”
Peggy looked at me dumbfounded.
She said nothing, looked down, and then looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I am 222/727
sorry. I should have never come here. I know I am not ready to be showing a big agent my tape. I needed your advice, but obviously I am way out of my league,” she sobbed.
Aw, shit. I grabbed a tissue from my desk and handed it to her.
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa…come on. It wasn’t that bad. I was just trying to make a point, that there is a lot of competition out there and you do have a great look; you just need to work on your voice and presentation.
You get ten seconds to wow a news director before he shuts off your demo. But you have potential.” I put my hand on her shoulder as I lied through my teeth because I felt like shit for making her cry.
“You think I am pretty?” she asked.
“Yes, I think you’re gorgeous, Peggy.” I immediately regretted my use of that word.
She was gorgeous, but that was inappropriate under the circumstances.
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Before I could clarify what I said, Peggy stopped crying, looked me in the eyes, grabbed my tie, pulling me toward her and kissed me suddenly and fiercely.
I froze, but didn’t stop her. We continued to kiss for about thirty seconds, when I pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, huffing and puffing.
I wiped my lips. “Nothing, Peggy…I meant what I said, but this isn’t right. Your father would kill me.” It was the truth. But I hadn’t been this close to a woman since Karyn and felt conflicted.
She grabbed my tie again and we continued kissing. Just as I was about to push her off me, she kneeled down and started to unzip my pants. I had to stop this, but my brain and my body were on a break and not speaking to each other.
Should I let her do it?
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She pulled my boxers down and my decision got easier as I noticed the desperate look on her face, which made her less and less attractive and my dick less and less hard by the second.
I abruptly pulled my pants up. “Peggy, this is not right.”
“What my father doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” she said grabbing at my pants again.
This time, I was saved by the bell, as my cell phone rang. I stood up with my pants still hanging down and moved away from Peggy.
“This is Cedric,” I answered hoarsely, my breathing erratic, as Peggy continued to try and kiss my neck.
I covered the receiver. “Please, stop,” I whispered to Peggy.
“Cedric, it’s Caleb. I need to talk to you. I am at Mom’s.”
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Why was he at Mom’s and why was he whispering?
“Is everything ok?” I panicked.
“Yes, it’s not an emergency, but—”