Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“Mira, do you think I should go? I mean, this is pretty crazy if you think about it.”
But my pretty brunette friend won’t let me get away so easily.
“You have to, Megs, because this is the opportunity of a lifetime! How many girls really meet Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome after getting ditched at a restaurant? This is your chance, girlfriend. Go for it!”
I bite my lip, heartened once more. The truth is that I’m dying to see John again, and now I have my opportunity.
8
Megan
* * *
I begin my walk along the loop in Central Park. This time the sun is high in the sky, shining brightly on the grass. Also, this time I’m stone-cold sober. In short, much more capable of managing the pot-hole ridden trail on my own.
I’m walking to the spot where John and I made love just earlier this week. This will be the first time that I see him since our spontaneous night together. All I have to go off of is the note he left with the flowers he sent to my office. I’m ecstatic that he reached out to me, but I’m also nervous about meeting this man in full daylight. Maybe when he sees me, he’ll think I wear too much make-up, or that my clothes are weird. Or even worse, maybe our connection was a one-night buzz, and our spark will fizzle away in the reality of broad daylight.
Suddenly, I round a bend and see John sitting on a blanket underneath a big oak tree. My heart leaps. He’s gorgeous with deep black hair, a strong profile, and broad shoulders. He has a bottle of champagne open next to a picnic basket and a bouquet of flowers identical to the ones I received just two days prior. He looks even more handsome than I remember.
I make my way over and smile shyly. He grins at me, his smile dazzling.
“Why hello, stranger.” I giggle a little and kick off my shoes before lowering myself onto the checkered blanket. “This is quite the set up,” I murmur. “You really went all out.” Truly, I’m impressed that he went to the trouble.
John grins, looking at ease in jeans and a casual white shirt.
“Well, I can’t take all of the credit. I did have my staff pack the picnic for us.” I feel myself blush at this statement. Staff? He must be extremely wealthy if he has employees jumping at his beck and call.
Then, I go momentarily quiet. I wonder if he realizes how big the gap in our social status is. I mean, I’m not poor by any means, but I definitely am not wealthy. I’m only working an entry level job and have rent, bills, and a whole heap of student loans to pay off.
He senses my hesitation and says in a lighthearted manner, “But I did pick out the flowers all on my own. I did some of the work, sweetheart.” This brings a smile to my face and eases the tension.
He pours us each a glass of champagne and we get to talking. Strangely, the awkwardness falls away, and I feel like I’ve known him forever.
I tell him more about the advertising firm I work at, and open up to him about some of the clients I am working with. The clients can be difficult, and I try bouncing some ideas off him just for fun.
To my surprise, he’s perceptive and insightful, and gives me good answers. It seems John has quite a bit of experience managing people, and I smile at him gratefully.
“Wow, you have a knack for this! I’m going to put some of your advice to work, definitely. My boss will be blown away.” He grins again.
“You mean, that douchebag you were with the other night?”
I roll my eyes.
“Oh my god, don’t even remind me. But yes, even Brian has to acknowledge that these suggestions are genius. He’ll see, trust me.”
Something flickers and darkens in John’s eyes, but then it disappears and he smiles once more.
“I’m happy to help, sweetheart,” he says. “We haven’t known each other long, but I can already see that you’re an intelligent and creative woman. It sounds like you give your all to your work. In my humble opinion, any firm would be lucky to have you as an employee.”
I feel myself begin to blush again. But enough about me. I ask him about himself, moving the focus of the conversation. John smiles, but he’s strangely evasive.
“My job is nothing too interesting. I’m an exec at a firm downtown. We do a lot of things, from consulting, to producing some of our own products, to managing various matters for others.”
I’m dumbfounded.
“Well, it sounds like your company has a lot of different businesses going.”
John laughs.
“That would be an understatement because yes, we basically have our fingers in multiple pies. It pays to diversify,” he says.