Page 44 of It's Not PMS, It's You
“Good point, even though I prefer to pick the restaurant. Wait, what’s his name? If it’s anything like Barney you can cancel the date immediately.”
Dee hesitated. “His name is Elmer.”
“Cancel the date.”
“Mortimer.”
“Cancel.”
“Wilbur.”
“Cancel.”
Dee laughed. “I’m kidding. His name is Max.”
I studied her for a moment. “Is itreallyMax?”
“Yup.”
“I like Max, even though I know five dogs with the same name. As long as he isn’t Mad Max. Were there any signs of him being unhinged, psychopathic, or someone who launched a personal vendetta against a gang in Australia because they killed his wife and only son?”
Dee laughed. “No, no, and no, mate. My first impression of him was a good one. And you’ll be happy to know he’s just the opposite of Barney when it comes to talking. He doesn’t dominate the conversation. He’s direct and to the point.”
“I like that.” I let out a sigh of relief.
Oddly enough, I had a better feeling about this date than the one with Mr. Bagel Man. But everything would be null and void if he had the personality of a turnip.
Chapter Ten
RUTH
My first day off in years had come and gone and I was back to work early the next day in my home office, so early the sun had barely begun to peek into my backyard. I felt energetic and confident I was going to have a productive day.
I took a sip of my first cup of coffee and eyed my to-do list for the day, which included a conference call with my boss and a video conference with Dee since she wasn’t working from my place today.
There was too much to do, which was why I never took a day off in the past, but I wasn’t going to obsess about that now. I had a plan to meet a man and I was sticking to it. I just hoped things would get better after that disaster with Barney.
I decided the best thing to do would be to break up my day into two parts. Things to do before my lunch with Max, and the things I would do after lunch. As long as there weren’t any major interruptions or surprises, I was confident I could get everything done.
My phone vibrated and I checked the caller ID.
It was my boss, Gary Stansfeld, managing partner at Stansfeld Investments, and the man I would be replacing in the not-too-distant future.
I answered the call. “Good morning, Gary.”
“Good morning, Ruth. Congrats again on the Amsterion deal.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re having a banner year. Do you think you have one more deal in you this year?”
“I’m working on two at the moment and should have an update in the next couple of days.”
“Great. Because I’m ready to retire, although you didn’t hear that from me.” He chuckled. “Anyway, we’ll need to go over the details on restructuring Amsterion. We need to have everything in place and ready to go.”
“Of course. Sorry, but did I get the time wrong today? I thought we were going to talk at two.”
“There’s been a change in the plans and that’s why I’m calling now. I need you to come down to the office today.”
