MissManaged

I looked up and found them both watching me and waiting expectantly but I struggled to form the words.

Did I start with how much I’d looked forward to meeting him in person, and how much time I’d spent trying to look pretty but still professional?

Or did I describe the farm and how beautiful it was and how I’d actually hoped that one day, maybe, I could spend some time there with Tobin?

I could have told them those things first. But I didn’t.

“He tried to spank me!” I blurted, then grabbed my drink again.

“What?” Mellie said, looking appropriately shocked. “Why?”

“That’s so hot,” said Grace at the same time. “What was it like? I bet he has strong hands from working on the farm.”

“Well, I didn’t think he worked on the farm so when I got there, this rough-looking man in coveralls and a baseball hat almost knocked me over. And I was startled, so I was kind of rude. And snippy,” I explained.

“You were rude and snippy?” Mellie asked. “Charlie, that doesn’t sound like you.”

“I might have a slight problem with men who try to tell me what to do,” I admitted. “I don’t react very well.”

“I can see that,” Grace said. “You didn’t like it when you found out that Dixon spanks Mellie when she’s bad.”

“Grace! Would you keep your voice down?” Mellie whisper-shouted and smacked Grace on the shoulder. “The whole restaurant doesn’t need to know about that.”

“It doesn’t matter, Mellie,” I said ruefully as I refilled my glass from the pitcher and took another long drink. “Apparently everyone around here does ‘that’.”

“So, what happened after you were rude and snippy? Did he just bend you over his knee right there and give you a smack?” Grace asked, getting back on topic.

“No! Of course not,” I replied. “He didn’t tell me who he was until after I was more rude, and judgy. Then, when we got to his office, he sat behind his desk and told me to get over his lap. Like I’d just waltz over and lay across his knees and let him punish me because he said so!”

“Wow,” Mellie said, her eyes wide. “He’s definitely got some balls. What did you say to that, Charlie?”

“I told him there was no way that was happening and that I wasn’t comfortable working with him anymore. Then I marched my unspanked ass right out of there, went home, returned the deposit he’d already paid me, and ate a pint of ice cream.” I took another drink and realized I was a bit tipsy when I banged my glass onto my plate instead of the table as I tried to set it down.

“That is so freaking hot, Charlie!” Grace practically squealed.

“Grace,” Mellie interrupted sternly, “it is not hot. Charlie was there for a business meeting and what Tobin did was completely unprofessional.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have been rude,” Grace shot back.

“It doesn’t matter how rude she was, that doesn’t give him the right to assume he can spank her,” Mellie retorted. “Who does that?”

“Everyone in Walker’s Grove, and you know that, Mellie. All the old families are like that, and Charlie should have known that Tobin would be, too.” Grace gave me a smug look that I wanted to smack off her face.

“I didn’t think that was true,” I protested, even though the ladies in book club who’d grown up in Walker’s Grove had insisted it was very common. “I just thought there were a few like that.”

“You just didn’t want to believe that your smart, sexy, farmer was like that,” Grace corrected, and boy was she annoying when she was right.

Not having a response, I took another drink.

“I hope the food comes soon,” Mellie said to Grace as she helped me set down my glass without breaking something. “She’s going to pass out in her seat if it doesn’t.”

Tony appeared at that moment and set a steaming plate full of fried potatoes and a ham and cheese omelet in front of me. I didn’t bother waiting for my friends to be served before picking up my fork and digging in. Mellie was right, I needed some food in my belly.

“Oh, that stinks for you, Charlie. I knew you had a crush on him and were hoping to get to know him better,” Mellie said in between bites. “And you lost a client who could have been your ticket in with the other local businesses.”

“Well,” I started, “he showed up at my apartment this morning.” I took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “Of course, I was still in my ratty sweats with my hair a mess.” After Tobin left, I glanced in the mirror and shrieked at what a wreck I looked like.

“What did he say? And why are we having to drag this out of you?” Grace asked, pointing her fork at me as she spoke. “It’s very annoying.”

I ignored her comments and continued, “He apologized thoroughly and asked that I reconsider my position on working with him. That he really liked my ideas and didn’t want to have to find someone from the city because they wouldn’t understand farm life. Not like I really do, either.”

“You’ve been here for over two years now, Charlie. You know what life is like in Walker’s Grove,” Mellie said. “Everyone pretty much knows everyone or knows someone who knows that person. People smile and say hi when you see them around town. The countryside is beautiful with mountains and farmland and trees that change color in the fall.”

Everything Mellie said was true. Walker’s Grove was all those things, and I loved living here now that I was used to it.

“And everyone spanks their wives,” Grace added with a smirk.

“Grace,” Mellie cried, smacking her shoulder again. “Why’d you have to ruin it?”

Ugh. Why indeed?