“Isn’t Finn Johnson a famous golfer? I swear I saw him on the television two weekends ago and you texted me and said,” I pause to scroll up. When I find the message, I read it aloud, “‘Since when is Finn a popular name? I thought your parents were the only ones dumb enough to name you Finn’ and then I replied, ‘That’s rich coming from someone named Rydell.’”
A deep, long-suffering exhale blows through the phone. “This is why I am your only friend.”
“I thought it was actually because people are afraid that if they talk to me I’ll become interested in their company and want to take it over.”
“That, too. Since we have established that I am your only friend, because I am a good and kind person and out of the bigness of my heart–”
“Is bigness a word?” I interrupt to ask.
“We just went over that I’m your only friend. Do you really think it makes sense to question my word choice?”
“Wow. Wow. Wow,” I reply in mock alarm. “I can’t believe that me caring about how you look in front of possible donors and grant recipients is deemed offensive.”
“Did you call me to bust my balls or for some other reason?”
“Can’t it be both?”
Rydell’s response is drawn-out silence. I give in because he is one of my closest friends and because I’m in desperate need of advice.
“Remember the woman from the restaurant?”
“There are so many women in restaurants these days that want to be Mrs. Finn O’Hare. Can you be more specific?”
“The one who slapped me.” I tap my cheek in remembrance.
“Ah, yes, the brunette in black. She is my favorite person, you know.”
“Good. Bring two dozen pink flowers to my office.”
“This response triggers so many questions.”
I can tell he’s intrigued. “She works for me now.”
Rydell’s laugh is so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. When he finally stops for a breath, I interject, “So you see my dilemma.”
“How many times has Monica told you to keep your hands to yourself?”
“Only once verbally, but I was given a gigantic book on all the dos and don’ts of office romance. For the record, there are five thousand and ten don’ts and one do.”
“What’s the do?”
“Do be mindful of your actions at all times. It starts out the tome, in fact.”
This sets off Rydell again. While he gasps for air, I page through the notebook again. On the second page there are some hearts, but they are crossed through. I don’t find any skull or crossbones, which I find encouraging. My gut tells me she’s interested despite the slapping, the water pouring, and her general tendency to avoid me in the office as much as an assistant possibly can.
“You have the girl of your dreams but she’s an employee so you can’t do anything about it,” Rydell says when he’s done heaving his lungs out at my expense.
“Yes.”
“What’d you call me for again?”
I slap the book closed. “I think she’s interested in me in return, but she hasn’t acted on it and until she makes advances to me, I can’t do anything. My hands are tied. I can’t ask her to go out to dinner while I’m at work as that’s considered a violation. I can’t show up at her apartment or wait outside the building as that’s considered stalking and thus not an employer approved activity. Gifting outside of regular bonuses is frowned upon.”
“You can’t take her on a work trip, either, because those are the most dangerous times for an employer,” Rydell muses.
“Precisely.”
“You make her jealous then. It’s the only way.”
“I’m listening. Go on.”
“There are hundreds of women in the city who would be glad to go out to dinner with you or just have their picture taken next to you. Find one of those who wouldn’t stab you with her stilettos when you don’t call again and use her to make your girl jealous.”
“This sounds like it could blow up in my face.”
“Or you can do nothing and wait until your woman gets cherry picked by another man.”
A chill runs down my spine. “I’m thumbing through my contacts as we speak.”
Chapter 12
Lucia
He hasn’t been out of his office all day. My eyes drift back to his door for the millionth time. There’s no more of him walking past my desk every ten minutes. This could only mean one thing. He saw my notepad and now he’s avoiding me. Probably thinks I’m a crazy stalker.
Worse, it’s driving me insane. How do I go from trying to avoid him to getting irritated that he’s not making up a reason to talk to me or swing by my work area? I’ve gotten so used to him being around that I miss him, which doesn’t even make any sense.
I try to get back to work and keep myself busy, knowing that the day is almost over. I clear out the rest of my emails and go to check the calendar for tomorrow. My eyes freeze on today when I see that someone has made a change to Finn’s calendar.