Chapter Eight
Artimus
After tapping on the door between our offices, Julia came into mine carrying a cup with steam coming off the top of it. “I’ve brought you heaven in a cup. You’ve got to try this. Our little Nina was a barista before gracing us with her presence here at WOLF.” She handed me the cup, then watched me as I took a sip.
I wasn’t into fancy coffees, or at least I thought I wasn’t. When I tasted that creamy perfection, though, I became a changed man. “My Lord, this is delicious” I took another sip and knew if it had been even a few degrees cooler, I’d have chugged it down like a cold beer on a hot summer day.
“I know, right?” She was quite pleased with herself. “Lila invited me down to her office to have some coffee and chitchat with her and Nina. They’re so nice. The minute I tasted it, I knew you’d love it too. I’ll make sure to grab you a cup each time I visit her office.”
“How nice of you.” I watched her as she leaned over my desk to open the laptop. Her body stretched across the space, the curve of her breast drawing me in.
If I could only touch her.
I closed my eyes, pretending to be enjoying the coffee instead of trying to cool down my throbbing cock.
“Look here, Artimus.” Her sexy voice forced me away from my endeavor. She pointed at the computer screen. “The ratings are high for all the news shows, with the exception of the afternoon news.”
“I think that’s to be expected. There aren’t many viewers wanting to watch the news at noon.” I placed the cup on my desk and tried to ignore how great she smelled, her nearness making her scent hover right next to me.
When she leaned down, her face inches away from mine, I looked at her bone structure, which I often caught myself doing. With her dark hair and tall frame, I’d often wondered something about her.
She stood back up and tapped her chin with her finger. “We need to come up with some ideas to bring those ratings up.”
“Can I ask you something, Julia?” I wasn’t sure if my question would be considered rude or not, but I had to know, for some reason.
“Sure.” Her smile did it to me again, made my heart swell.
I tried to ignore that too. “Do you know if you have any Native American blood flowing through your veins?”
She laughed as she nodded. “I happen to have a good amount of Cherokee in my veins. My mother’s mother was a full-blooded Cherokee. She married an Irish man, and my mother was their firstborn. She tells me all the time how much I look like my grandmother.”
“I’d love to meet her and your grandfather.” I’d had no idea that was going to come out of my mouth, but it had.
She turned away from me, her head bent a bit. “I wish you could. They’ve both been gone for some time.”
How stupid of me.
I got up, feeling bad for bringing up something that would make her sad. “I’m sorry, Julia. I didn’t mean …”
She turned back with that smile on her face again. “Don’t be sorry. They lived long and good lives. I’ll see them again when it’s my time to join them.”
She was remarkable. “You’ve got a different outlook on life, don’t you, Julia?”
Her head tilted to the right as she ran one hand through her long hair, which she’d left free that day. “Different? I don’t know. I’m sure there are many others who see things the same way I do. I’m not so revolutionary.”
“I get the feeling you’re pretty religious?” I shook my head. I shouldn’t have said a thing like that—religion was never a great thing to bring up with coworkers. “Ignore me, Julia. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I have no right to pry into your personal life so much.”
She laughed, a light and happy sound. “I’m not worried about answering anything you want to ask me. And the thing is, I’m not religious at all, but I do consider myself very spiritual. My beliefs run deep. And I believe we all go somewhere when our bodies no longer function. Grandma and Gramps are where they’re supposed to be now. Wherever that is.”
I was impressed again by her. “So, you find no reason to be sad when a loved one passes on then?”
“What is there to be sad about?” she asked me with a serious look on her face. “Are you sad when a baby is born?”
“No. But death isn’t the same thing as birth.” I had no idea why she was comparing the two.
“When a baby is born, it makes a transition from one plane to another. Do you think the spirits on the other plane mourn the loss?” She looked at me with wisdom in her eyes that went well beyond her years.
How could someone so young hold that much wisdom in them?
I had to be honest. “This is all a bit over my head. I’m not a spiritual man. Mother made us go to church when we were kids, but when I got old enough to do what I wanted, I didn’t go anymore. I don’t believe in reincarnation, which it sounds like you do. I do believe in heaven and hell, and I think my parents went to heaven, and I hope I’ll see them there. But I do feel sad about losing them from time to time. I definitely miss them not being in my life any longer.”
She seemed to be pondering something as she rocked back and forth, her arms crossing her body as if she was hugging herself. “Do you ever dream about them?”
“At first I didn’t. And then one night, about a year after their deaths, I did. And now I dream about them from time to time.” Pushing my hand through my hair, I thought about the last dream I’d had about them. They were both in it, and there were bright pink flowers everywhere. We were in the middle of a meadow. I had no idea where, but I felt happier than I’d ever been, and they were there with me.
“Some people believe that when the dead come to you in your dreams, they’re visiting you. I dream about my grandparents all the time.” She sighed and sat on one of the sofas, looking as if she was recalling something. “The night before I saw the job listing for WOLF, I had a dream, and both of them were in it. I was running in a field covered in pink flowers. They were waiting for me on the other side of that field. All of a sudden, there was a pack of wolves running along with me. The leader was big and had thick black fur and piercing blue eyes.” She looked directly into my eyes. “Eyes like yours, actually.”
I had no idea what to say to that. The girl was intuitive, that was for sure. But was she more than that? I had to admit it was a bit scary, but far more intriguing. “And when you saw me for the first time, did you recall that?”
She shook her head. “I just remembered that right now. Funny, huh?”
Or maybe just projecting.
“Guess so.” I looked at the computer screen, at the numbers she didn’t like for the afternoon news, and wondered what we could do to spice that program up.
Suddenly she was right there next to me. “How about this idea? We bring in local heroes each day and bring their story to life. For instance, a firefighter who saved a boy in a burning building; we can ask what happened to him just before he did the heroic deed. We bring on a different New York hero each afternoon, making it all about that one person. We’ll make the afternoon news extra local.”
She’d done it again.
Lights went off in my head and I was immediately excited about it. “I say you’re one hell of a smart young woman. That’s a great idea.”
She nodded. “Good. I like it a lot too. And we can really do it in a way that’s different than anything else out there.”
“We should really work on this as soon as possible. But that can’t be right now, because we’ve got two video conferences to do, and then it’ll be the end of the workday.” I had a great idea. “Can you come to my place after work tonight?”
Julia nodded. “I am at your disposal, boss.”
I liked the way she thought. “Good to know. Then I’ll take you to my penthouse once we’re done with the conferences. We’ll have some dinner, then you and I can map out a real plan for the big change in that program.”
“I’m in.” She looked happy and satisfied. “I’m glad you and I think alike. It makes this so much more fun.”
“I’m glad you have great ideas. That makes things so much easier.” I got up and went to grab my cell from the breast pocket of my jacket, which I’d hung up earlier. “Now tell me what you want for dinner and I’ll have my chef make it.”
“I’m easy. I’ll eat anything, so don’t make anything special for me. I usually just eat a salad most nights.” She ran her hand over her flat stomach, and I recalled the tiny amount she’d eaten the other day at lunch. And I hadn’t been able to get her to go eat after that first day either. She always claimed she packed her lunch.
What she didn’t know was that I checked the fridge in her office to see if she had anything in it. And it was always empty. I’d get the girl to eat if it was the last thing I did.
My chef knew how to make exceptional food. It would take more willpower to turn down her food than it did to turn down greasy burgers or pizzas.
“I’ll tell her what to cook for us then, since you don’t want to.” I tapped in a text to the chef, telling her I wanted lobster and some salad of her choice to go along with it. I let her know I had company coming and that I wanted one of her best meals. I also asked her to relay to the housekeeper to make the small dining room an intimate and lovely experience for my guest.
I was about to show Julia how the other half lived. And I was determined to introduce her to healthy foods that she wouldn’t feel bad about eating. She was not going to be starving herself—not on my watch. But I knew better than to talk to her about it just yet. I’d ease her into eating better without her realizing it.
“Do you drink wine, Julia?” I thought I should ask before telling the chef which wine I wanted with the meal.
“I’m not opposed to it. But I’m not a drinker by any means. One glass is about all I ever drink.” She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from my desk drawer. “Ready to head to the conference room to get things started?”
I was ready to get at least one thing started, and that was Julia on the road to feeling good about her body.