Page 3 of Don't Lie to Me

He said nothing as he held the door opened for us, waited in the doorway until the elevator came, or before he shut it when we stepped inside. His silence left me more rattled than his words and my head spun in circles trying to figure out what had just happened.

I almost hated Macy for setting me up on a blind date with Dean. My lip curled in mock disgust for the hundredth time since I agreed to go out on this date. Dean. It was an arrogant, cocky name. The name sounded like he’d be some guy who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, a trust fund the size of Texas, and spent his days hanging out at the country club, golfing, playing tennis and hitting on the various Chicagoan socialites.

I didn’t know any of this for sure, but based on the fact that Dean and Macy met at the golf club where her parents were members, I didn’t think my assumptions were too far off. Ironic that most of the closest people in my life enjoyed the same type of lifestyle. Macy grew up in an extremely wealthy family in Chicago. She just never lived like it, or even admitted it to anyone really. Maybe I was being too judgmental of this Dean guy.

I sighed and set down my mascara. I didn’t even know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I was desperate. Five years of being a single mom, dropping out of my first year of law school and a full time job as a personal assistant slash housekeeper and cook for business mogul Jack McMillan didn’t allow much time for a personal life.

I sighed again at the mere thought of Jack and the unsettling way he spoke to me the night before. I had yet to figure out what caused all the tension between us, I only hoped it was gone by Monday.

That was a total lie. If I was honest with myself, I would totally admit that if there was one person I wanted to be on a date with tonight, it was Jack.

Brushing the pointless thoughts of Jack McMillan out of my head, I finished getting ready for my dinner with Dean. Maybe Macy was right and I needed this.

There was no point in trying to get out of the date anyway. If I did, Macy would kill me and an angry Macy was someone no one wanted to see. She may have looked innocent and naïve with her just over five foot stature, but I laughed silently remembering all the guy’s asses she verbally kicked when they tried to take advantage of her, or the way she stood up and defended me after Marcus took off.

The very name sent shivers down my spine and not in the pleasant way it did when I thought of Jack. Shaking off my anger at the mere thought of his name, I smoothed out my short black skirt, made sure the red belt on my silk blouse sat perfectly around my narrow waist, and tossed my blonde hair over my shoulder.

I looked good. I’d rather be playing UNO Attack and lounging around in my yoga pants with Logan for the night, but dinner, wine and Dean would have to do.

I wrinkled my nose again at the name, slipped on my grey peep-toe pumps and headed out to kiss my boy goodnight.

“Hey kiddo,” I said as I leaned down to give the most perfect little boy a kiss on the nose.

“Mo-om….” He moved out of my reach and added an extra syllable to the word, expressing his severe disinterest in my public display of affection. I chuckled to myself before ruffling his mop of blonde curls.

I pointed my finger at him with a smile on my face. “Be good for Macy, okay?”

Logan simply nodded before going back to his Legos. The kid could build houses and cars from his Lego sets for hours, which was incredible, except for when I stepped on a lone one that hadn’t been put away. Those tiny pointy toys hurt like hell.

“And make sure you clean your toys up tonight.”

After fishing my keys out of my purse, I narrowed my eyes at Macy and pointed my key fob in her direction. “If this sucks, you’re never going to hear the end of it.”

She simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. “He’s great. And fun. Trust me, if you can relax, you might actually enjoy yourself.” She looked quite pleased with herself as she sat on the couch, scrolling through the screen on her smartphone. Her short jet-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her designer clothes were replaced with my preferred clothing – yoga pants and tank top.

I doubted it, but I didn’t bother telling Macy that. She’d just roll her eyes and explain, again, how good it would be for me to get out into the dating world again and find something to do just for me. Apparently, ogling Jack and playing infinite games of UNO didn’t count as a successful personal life to her.

“Then you date him,” I said teasingly.

“Yes. Tate would love that.” I laughed with her. Obviously, her fiancé wouldn’t like it.

“So what do you know about him again?”

“He’s been working in DC for the last few years and just moved back to Chicago. And Tate likes him.” She smirked at me victoriously.

If anyone was more protective of Logan and me than she was, it was most definitely Tate. He was great with Logan, always taking him to baseball games in the summer, the parks, and even coached his little league soccer team last fall. Which was hilarious considering he didn’t know a thing about soccer, but it had been a great six weeks watching him take the time to be so devoted to a boy he wasn’t related to at all.

Tate was awesome, and had come to be like my brother in every way that mattered ever since he and Macy got serious last year.

So he had Tate and Macy’s approval. Maybe he wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“And what did you tell him about me?”

“That I had a sexy friend who needs to get laid because she’s way overdue for a night of hot lusty sex.” Her face was completely serious, but her dark brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

I looked down at my sleeveless grey silk top that didn’t allow for a single inch of cleavage. “Perhaps I’m overdressed then?” I asked with mocking sarcasm. “If I’m playing the easy slut I should probably change.”

“Shut up. You look great. I told him you’re beautiful, intelligent, and you work too much and need to get out for a night of fun.” She glanced down at her watch. “And you need to get going or you’re going to be late.”

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