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That night, with cosmopolitan in hand, I settle into my sofa. As soon as I relax, my cat Dixon joins me. He’s my constant companion. He always greets me at the door when I get home and will follow me from room to room when I'm home.
I adopted Dixon from a local humane society. They told me he'd been found locked in an empty house with no food or water. Apparently, his family had moved, leaving him there alone. Thankfully the realtor went to the home to check it out earlier than expected, otherwise he may have starved before he was found.
My phone rings and Amara’s name pops up. I’d called her after Drake invited me to lunch—I’d needed someone to process the news with—and I’m sure she’s calling now to see how everything went.
“Hello?” I answer.
There’s some talking in the background; it sounds like she’s getting her son, Josiah, settled, so I wait until she comes back on the line. “Miriam, hey! I wanted to see how lunch went.”
“It was amazing,” I gush, running my hand along Dixon’s back. I tell her about how they included me in their conversation and were receptive to my input.
Lunch with the Oakwood Boys was just a tiny taste of what my life could be like when I achieve the success I’ve been dreaming of. Eating at fancy restaurants, working together on projects that have the potential to change lives, finally being taken seriously. I’m already addicted and I want more.
“And how are things with Drake?” she asks.
I try to put my feelings into words. “Drake is still himself.” I sigh. “He’s ridiculously attractive. Did I tell you I saw him only halfway dressed the other day? I almost drooled all over his abs.”
“Girl,” Amara laughs.
“He’s got this streak of honor that is so damn sexy. He can be ruthless about getting what he wants, but he never crosses the line. Sometimes I wish he would turn that attention my way.”
“That sounds like a dangerous proposition.”
“And it will probably never happen. That’s why I’m the one who has to make my dreams come true.”
After we hang up, I reflexively check my phone for any new notifications. Two new emails. One is from my college ex-boyfriend, Chuck. We broke up when I moved to Oakwood City to pursue my career. It looks like he’s getting married. And he’s sending email invitations instead of cards. Lovely. Looks like I made the right decision there.
Even so, a wistful feeling flows through me for a moment. Yes, I’m happy where I am in life. Yes, I have good friends, a good job, and so many things to be grateful for. But sometimes, when I’m home by myself, I wish I had someone to cuddle with. A guaranteed date to the movies. When I go out to eat, someone to make it a party of two.
It isn’t that I haven’t dated. I have. When I first moved to Oakwood City, I went on a few dates. But the guys were “meh” and eventually, I decided to focus my attention on my career for a while. It’s something I have a bit more control over.
With my girlfriends here in the same complex, mostly my life feels happily full. It’s only when I get an email like this that I remember how nice it is to have someone to hold as I fall asleep. Not to mention the exercise my battery operated boyfriend gets in the meantime.
“That’s enough sighing, isn’t it Dixon?” I rub my hand over his soft fur. “I’m not really alone. I have you.”
Wanting to move on from the topic of my sad love life, I open the email from Michael.
“Lovely Miriam, I so enjoyed our time together. There’s a charity date auction in a few days. Would you do me the honor of coming as my date? I know it’s short notice, but be warned, I won’t take no for an answer. Yours, Michael”
Ugh. I never should have had coffee with that ass. Now, I have to navigate a professional relationship with him. He isn’t an Oakwood Boy, but he’s still well known in the industry. Far more than I am. I’m stuck in a corner with this invitation. He could smear my reputation and ruin my career before it even gets started if I get on his bad side. Damn it.
Reluctantly, I reply to his email, confirming my attendance at the event. In order to feel better about the whole thing, I stipulate that I’ll make my own travel arrangements. That way I’m still courteous, but not a complete pushover.
The email with Michael reminds me that I have a couple of meetings with people I met at the investment dinner. Even though lunch today was amazing, I still don’t know if that’s going to be a regular occurrence or a one time thing. I still want to keep my options open.
Now that I know Drake is keeping an eye on me, I’ll have to be a little more devious if I want to keep things private. Fortunately, I think I have a work around.
“I think my plan is going to work out just fine,” I say to Dixon. I’m tempted to add a mwa haha, but I’m not the bad guy here. I’m just a woman trying to figure things out the best way I know how.
With that thought in mind, I lean back, take a sip of my cosmo, and open the latest romance novel by C.L. Cruz, one of my favorite authors.
???
“Hello Mateo, thank you so much for meeting with me.” Mateo Alvaro is a partner at TetraTech. He’s a software engineer with a head for finance, or so the rumors say. Someone there is, because the four partners—Lincoln, Wesley, Dwight, and Mateo—have quickly become movers in the Oakwood City business scene.
We’re sitting in Grinders, the same coffee shop I was in a couple days ago with Michael. It has a very bright and open atmosphere with a minimalistic design, bamboo countertops, and white walls. Small tables with metal chairs line the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the shop. Last time, I’d been nervous and claimed a table as far from the windows as possible. But this time, I don’t mind being seen and am glad to have claimed a table in the front.
“I’m always happy to meet with an intelligent, beautiful woman,” he says. Even though we’re here professionally, you’d have to be dead not to respond to his smooth tones. It might not be too deep, but he oozes the kind of charm you expect from a politician, not an engineer. His thick black hair, warm brown eyes, and tan, muscular body might have something to do with it. Plus, he wears glasses.
