In Your Eyes (Man of the Month 6)

"That's so great."

"I know, right? After the weirdo I dated in LA, I thought..." She trailed off, not wanting to let Carlton-the-prick into her thoughts. "At any rate, let's just say that Austin's been very good to me."

"Excellent," Mina said.

"Talk about reaping the rewards," Taylor added. "First you screw him with the flyer, then you end up getting screwed right back. Only in the best possible way of course."

Megan tossed her napkin at Taylor. "Crude, much?"

"But true," Taylor said.

And since Megan couldn't actually deny it, she just shook her head in mock exasperation.

"Do we want to catch a movie after this?" Taylor asked.

"I'm in," Mina said, but Megan shook her head.

"I need to run by work first, and then I have to do laundry and change the cat boxes."

"You really know how to have a good time," Taylor said.

"It's because she's having a good time that she's avoided all those things," Mina quipped.

Megan laughed, then batted her eyes innocently. "She's not wrong."

"So why are you going into work?" Taylor asked a few minutes later when the waitress delivered their food. "I thought you were off for the next couple of days."

"Technically, I am." She had a few makeup gigs lined up, so she'd pulled back on her schedule at The Fix. "This morning was supposed to be a bridal shoot, but they pushed it back a week--I guess the dress isn't ready. So I thought I'd pop in and run something by Jenna and Tyree."

"Yeah? Tell."

"I was thinking that since Tyree's releasing the cookbook with the calendar later in the year, maybe we should do a big, fancy food fair. The Fix could sponsor it, but we could invite other bars and restaurants. A community building thing, but also great promo. Because the other bars would have flyers at their locations, too, and the flyers would all prominently feature The Fix, what with us being the main sponsor."

Taylor and Mina exchanged glances.

"What?" Megan asked, a little paranoid.

"That's a really great idea," Mina said.

"You'd need to do it someplace other than The Fix." Taylor said. "Neutral territory, you know?"

"Hmm," Megan said. "You're right." She was silent for a minute, then sat up straight. "That guy who Parker introduced me to the night of the Mr. June contest. Darrin or Derek or something. He's some big shot hotel dude."

"There you go. Ask Parker for an introduction."

"I will." She dug into her breakfast, moaning in ecstasy because the gingerbread pancakes really were like a slice of heaven. "But first, I'll make sure Jenna and Tyree like the idea."

Megan was so psyched by the idea that she finished the meal in record time, then actually left her friends before they even got the check, tossing enough cash on the table to cover her share and then some.

She hurried to The Fix, dragged Tyree and Jenna into the office, and was thrilled when they both thought the idea was fabulous.

Giddy, she walked home, planning to ask Parker for an intro that evening.

She was still smiling when she reached her building. And even the fact that some annoying person had used their bike to prop open the pedestrian gate didn't spoil her mood. But she had to wonder why people went out of their way to make secure properties insecure.

She was slipping inside, beside the bike, when a woman in leggings and a helmet hurried toward her, apologizing as she grabbed the bike. "Forgot my water bottle," she said, then gave Megan a wave as she headed off down the street.

Megan rolled her eyes and started walking the few yards to her entrance, only to see someone waiting on the single step up to her door. A man, sitting with his head down as he tapped out something on his phone.