No Strings

“Should’ve gotten here earlier.” I lift my bag of peppermint-and-chocolate-covered pretzels. “Want some?”

“No.” Ben snorts out a laugh.

“Whatever. Your loss.” I pop a delicious pretzel into my mouth.

“Nice shirt.” He raises his brows to his forehead. “Is that a warning I should heed?”

My shirt reads, Here in the South, we don’t hide crazy. We parade it on the front porch & give it a lemonade.

“I don’t know. You planning to do something that brings out my crazy?” I sass, stepping off the machine. Since I couldn’t sleep, I’ve been walking for a good thirty minutes while drinking my coffee and eating my snack.

I stop at the trash can to throw my garbage away, and Ben joins me. “If you’re not too full from your morning snack, want to go to breakfast before work? We can share a cab.”

“Wow, you’re offering to share a cab and buy me breakfast?” I make my eyes go dramatically wide. “Things are getting serious rather quickly. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this. Will Brody be joining us as a chaperone?”

Ben’s mouth stretches into a wide smile that turns my insides to mush. “Brody gets a ride to school since his private school is closer to where his mom lives, so you’ll have to settle for just me. But don’t worry,” he murmurs, his hazel eyes shining with mirth. “I don’t do serious, ever, so you’re safe.”

“Hmm…” I tap my lips with my pointer finger in mock contemplation. “I guess I could share a cab with you, and I’m sure in a couple of hours, I’ll be hungry again.”

Ben chuckles. “I’ll pick you up on my way down.”

“Sounds good.”

When I’m back home, I take an extra-long hot shower, then focus on doing my hair and makeup until they’re both perfect. Afterward, I go through several outfits, finally deciding on a flowy white blouse and black dress pants paired with my favorite Louboutin heels. I’m not a name-brand snob, but Neil was, and he insisted his fiancée—and later wife—be dressed to impress. At the time, I felt bad for letting him purchase such expensive clothes for me, appalled at the ridiculous amounts people spent to clothe themselves, but now… well, at least I have nice clothes at his expense, which means I’ll fit in at Sharp. How one looks shouldn’t represent how they’ll do their job, but maybe looking the part will give me the confidence to get through my first day. Because the truth is, I’m nervous. While I spent years interning at Neil’s company and then working for him, this is my first real job, and I want to succeed.

I’m checking myself out in the mirror one last time when there’s a knock on the door. Since Ben told me he’d pick me up on the way down, I grab my purse so he doesn’t have to wait, but when I swing the door open, I find not one but two guys standing at my door.

On the left is Ben, dressed in his crisp expensive gray suit that looks like it was tailored for him, and to the right of him is Brody, dressed in a pair of navy-blue dress slacks and a white button-up shirt with a blue, white, and maroon vest, complete with a matching tie. And in his hands is a… “Why do you have a plant?”

Both guys laugh.

“It’s for your office,” Brody says, handing it to me. “For good luck.”

I take the plant from him and hold it close to my chest as Ben takes over. “It’s a money plant. The guy at the store said it’s supposed to enhance the energy of wealth. And since you deal with money…”

“You bought me a plant?” I choke out, suddenly filled with raw emotion. “For good luck?”

They both nod in unison, looking at me like I’m borderline crazy.

“Nobody’s ever bought me flowers… or a plant before,” I explain. “Thank you.” I pull Brody into a hug and then Ben. “This means a lot to me.”

My eyes sting with unshed tears, but I keep them at bay, not wanting to scare the guys away. I’ve learned over the years that men hate women who cry.

“I hope you have a wonderful first day back at school,” I tell Brody a few minutes later as he steps into the hired car.

“Thanks. See you tonight.” He looks at his dad. “Thank you again for getting me back in.”

Ben nods once. “Have a good day.”

Once he’s gone, Ben snags us a cab. We stop in at the deli to have breakfast and coffee and then head into the building.

“You look nervous,” Ben says, handing me my plant. Being the gentleman he is, he held it for me while we were walking so I could finish my coffee.

“I am. I want to be great, and this is all I have left. If I’m not great at this, then…” My words trail off, and Ben lifts my chin with his thumb and forefinger.