Page 20 of The Sexy Part
I slowly shift to get my new laptop. Felix jumps off my lap, annoyed. “Sorry, I’m taking care of business.”
I boot up the laptop and log into my backup service, which apparently I haven’t uploaded to in a month because, you guessed it, too busy with work and the wedding. I backup manually because one time the automatic backup screwed up the files and overwrote stuff I needed. Now I double-check everything before backing up. All is not lost. I can recreate anything I need, or maybe I’ll find what I need in email.
Hope fills me for the first time in days. I have all my client contacts here. I’ll just get in touch, tell them I’m a solo operation now as…the Sanders Agency. Butterflies dance in my stomach. Dave was the face of the company who brought in new business. He’s great with charming people. I work best on strategy and implementation. I confess to a teensy bit of doubt about running the business solo. I’m not great at networking and closing the deal.
Okay, I’m not starting from scratch. We have clients already.
“This can work,” I tell Felix as he gives his privates a bath on the floor nearby. He doesn’t bother to look up.
I do a blind cc email to all of my clients and tell them the good news is, I’m back early from vacation. And also operating solo now. They don’t need all the nitty-gritty details.
I wait for a response, hitting refresh obsessively. Okay, it’s a Monday; they’re busy. Understandable. I’ll just go for a walk, and by the time I’m finished, surely someone will have gotten back to me. Right?
I get my purse from the front room and head out the door. I halt on the porch, suddenly realizing I don’t have a destination. I could take a walk down Main Street, but I can only window-shop. I need to be frugal until I get that deposit back. I still owe a lot for the wedding too.
I settle on the porch swing. Oh, I know what to do while I wait. I have a book on my phone I can read. I tap over to my reading library and find my latest read, a book on taking your business to the next level. Look at me already working toward improving my business.
After an hour, I stand and stretch. Time to check email. Fingers crossed.
There’s an email from Nikki. My breath catches as I read her email:Sorry, Dave offered a sweet deal to move over to Endeavor Media, so I’m with them now.
The breath whooshes from my lungs. That’s his cousin’s company. Dave used to work there before he met me and we decided to start our own agency.
Clients are free to go at any time, of course, but isn’t there a law against an employee taking the business with them somewhere else? Yes, I’m aware that’s what I was hoping to do, but come on. After what Dave put me through, I should at least get to keep my job.
I shoot back an email to Nikki.What was the sweet deal?
No reply, but two more emails come in from other clients saying they’re with Endeavor Media now. Adrenaline rushes through me. I race down the steps and to the sidewalk, running as hard as I can with no idea where I’m going. I just run in a straight line, passing houses, a dog park, more houses.
I hear footsteps pounding behind me and turn to see who else is running as hard as I am. Cooper. My rescuer from what I thought was a hellish day. Now being a jilted bride seems like a picnic compared to the devastation Dave has wrought.
“Hey, out for a run?” he says, not even winded. He’s in a snug T-shirt that emphasizes the swell of his shoulders. His arms are corded with muscle. His legs too, which I have a good view of in his basketball shorts. I can’t believe I even notice his good looks, but there you go. Lust works even when your life is falling apart. Guess that’s what keeps the human race going.
He winks. “Silly question. You’re running, so obviously you’re out for a run. How’re you doing?”
It’s not just lust that draws me in. It’s goodness. Cooper’s a good guy. I think. Oh, what the hell do I know? I thought Dave was a great guy for the two years we were together. He was easy to live with, easy to work with, though it occurs to me I did the lion’s share of work both at home and at the office, so of course he’d like that. And then he hopped in bed with his waxer lady. It sounds so ridiculous I’d laugh if I could. The sting in my eyes tells me it’s a matter of seconds before I sob all over Cooper’s shirt. Oh God, I don’t want to cry in front of him again.
“Rowan?”
“Sorry, I’ve got a lot going on,” I say in as calm a voice as I can muster. “Bit distracted.”
He nods. “I was just on my way home. Want to come in for a drink?”
And because I’m feeling desperately alone at the moment, I hear myself say, “I’d love that.”
“Should we run there? It’s a few more blocks straight ahead.”
“Sure.” I start at a slow jog, and he keeps pace.
“Heard you were still in town. Did you get your stuff from your ex’s apartment?”
I slow to a walk. He does too. “Not all of it. I have to rent a truck and get it this weekend. Dave says his new girlfriend’s moving in.”
“What an ass. Need some help?”
I do a double take. “You want to help me move?”
“Sure. I’ll get my brother, Finn. He’s in college in the city, so he can stop by.”
