Chapter 8: Mixing Business with Pleasure
After hanging up the last of the ironing, Maxine took her e-reader with her into the living room, pushed the cats to one side of the loveseat and settled herself in for a read. She had her phone with her, in case anyone — she refused to think Ev — wanted to talk to her. She was feeling strangely antsy and she hoped that reading would distract her from whatever was making her feel so out of sync.
When her cellphone rang, she had just gotten to a critical part of the erotic romance thriller, but she picked it up automatically and said, “Hello?”
“Good morning, Maxine.”
The sound of Ev’s voice made her shiver, and whatever had been sitting on edge inside her seemed to settle. “Good morning,” she replied. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
A pause, then, “Is it? A pleasure, I mean? Do you find pleasure in speaking with me, Maxine?”
Way to ratchet up a conversation from zero to a hundred in six seconds, Ev!
“You’re not shy, are you?” she asked, chuckling instead of responding to his question in any way.
“And you’re not answering, are you? I can tell an evasion as well as the next man, Maxine. So answer me, or I’ll take your evasion as a yes.”
He was in some kind of masterful mood today, it seemed, and the part of her that wasn’t annoyed with him for being pushy was aroused by the idea that he wanted her to be happy talking to him. She’d not been in any relationships with men where she had been simultaneously relaxed and cautious before. Everett Morgan confused and unsettled her, and yet she felt herself drawn to him as to a fire on a winter’s night. Even now, just listening to him wait for her answer was a kind of excitement she had never had in her life before with anyone.
“Yes, I like talking to you,” she admitted. “Satisfied?”
“Immensely,” he replied at once. “And the feeling is mutual.”
“So now will you answer my question?” she asked, again not addressing his statement. She still wanted to know why he’d called, even if she was happy he liked talking to her, too.
“Would you believe me if I told you I wanted to hear your voice?”
He didn’t sound as though he was teasing her, but she would act on the assumption that he was, because she couldn’t see his face, and it was probably safer that way.
“I would be…skeptical,” she said.
“Despite what I just told you? Have I given you any reason so far to think I would prevaricate?”
“No …” How could she explain her mistrust without sounding like an uptight old maid?
“I don’t know what you’ve experienced before in your relationships with other men, Maxine, but I can promise you that the one thing I will not do with you is lie to you. Whatever I say to you will be true. ”
This time, there was no mistaking his sincerity. Max didn’t know how to respond to his declaration, so she remained silent and waited to hear what he would say next.
“There is another reason I called, though, in addition to wanting to hear you.”
“And what is that?” She squelched the disappointment that that had not been his only reason. She was too damned old to get sucked in to such romantic thinking. It was fanciful at best, and useless at worst. She had no time for either at this point in her life.
“I wondered if you had seen the Sunday papers.”
“No. Why?”
“There are a couple of articles in the Lifestyles section in which you and I feature. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
She bit her lip. “Were they that bad?” What could people possibly find to say about them after just one sighting?
“They weren’t bad, per se,” he told her. “Just skirting the edge of suggestiveness. I know you’re not yet used to the limelight, so I thought I’d give you fair warning.”
“Well, that’s very sweet of you,” she said. “Thank you. I’m sure if you don’t think they’re anything to worry about, then it’ll be okay.”
She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “I appreciate your faith in me.”
She laughed, and he laughed with her. The sound of their shared amusement wrapped around her like a warm cloak, and the intimacy felt much greater than a shared laugh would do in other circumstances.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked, and she wondered if he were about to ask her out again.
“No plans. I’ve done my chores for the day and I’m curled up in the sofa reading. What are you going to be doing?”
“Accompanying my son and his nanny to the Children’s Museum,” he said. “We’re about to leave now. Enjoy your restful day. Another day we can talk about what you like to read. And about dancing.”
“Dancing?” She frowned. When had they even mentioned dancing in any of their conversations?
“Dancing,” he said. “Speak soon, Maxine.”
“Bye, Ev.”
She fell asleep on the sofa and woke with a crick in her neck. It was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to go down. She got up, fed the cats and tried to find something to eat for dinner. While she prepared a stir fry, she munched on an apple, because she had managed to sleep right through lunch. Then she sat at the table with the aromatic meal and the rest of the wine she had opened. The food was tasty, and the wine was a great accompaniment to it. Immediately her thoughts went back to dinner the previous evening, and the way in which the different dishes they had sampled had been beautifully paired with the right wines to bring out the flavor of the food, or to cleanse the palette for the next course.
And that’s when it hit her. She was lonely. In that moment, sitting cross legged on the chair at her kitchen table, eating her delicious dinner alone, she wished she had a companion to share the simple meal with. She wished she was sharing it with Everett Morgan. It must be because he was the first man to pay her any special attention in a very long time. She could find no other reason for her sudden obsession with him. But no matter how she explained it, she would have preferred to be sitting across a table from him just shooting the breeze or flirting than to be sitting alone at her kitchen table eating a savory but solitary meal.
It was still too early for bed after she cleaned up her dinner mess and tidied the kitchen, so she went back to the sofa and curled up with her e-reader, losing herself in its pages. She didn’t go to bed until she had finished the book and scanned the others in the series. She knew if she started to read the next one, she would end up going to bed late and tomorrow would be a disaster. So she queued it to be read next and went to bed an hour earlier than she normally would.
She was up and at the office way too early on Monday morning, and when Jen arrived, she was already on her second cup of coffee. She had sent the email to Ev about the two candidates, and asked when he’d like to meet them. She included the times when she would be able to see him, should he need to speak with her about them, or need her to be there with them. Then other things took up her day, and she had no time to think about him again until she was walking out of her office towards the elevator. Her cellphone rang.
“Maxine Cousins, good afternoon!”
“Good afternoon, Maxine! How was your day?”
Ev’s smooth, rich voice in her ear settled inside her, warming her as she stood waiting for the elevator.
“The usual,” she said, “and thankfully over now. How was yours?”
“Endless. I had to be a good boy and wait all day to call you.”
The elevator pinged and the doors slid open. No one was in it when she stepped in, and she hit the first floor button gratefully, hoping no one came in so she keep the feeling of intimacy that his words had unleashed. She smiled as she said,
“It’s a wonder you were able to get any work done, then,” she quipped playfully.
He laughed. “Minx!”
“So you’ve said,” she replied, laughing with him. “How can I help you today?”
“I got your message about the women you’ve lined up for me to interview. Would you or they be available for a late afternoon meeting on Wednesday? That’s the only time I have free, and I can actually do it at home, so I can gauge how they are with Danny while we talk.”
“I’m going to the car now,” she said, “so I can’t get my hands on my calendar immediately. Is Wednesday afternoon on my list of possible times?”
“It is. So, can you arrange for them to meet us there?”
“Are you easily accessible by public transportation?” Neither woman had a vehicle and it wouldn’t be sensible for them to even try for a job they couldn’t get to without a hassle.
“Yes. They’d only need to walk a block from the main road to my development, and then another to my house. The train is faster than the bus, but the walk would be longer.”
“Send me the particulars and I’ll get it to them,” she said.
“Will do.”
He paused as she unlocked her car and slid into the driver’s seat. She fastened her seatbelt, started the engine and put the phone on Bluetooth, setting it on its stand, before he went on.
“When can I see you again, Maxine?”
She sat in the car, her brain frozen for a few seconds. Then she said, “It’s really up to you, Ev. I spend my evenings poring over work stuff, watching mindless television, or reading. You’re the one with a toddler, and a life.”
“Then will you stay for dinner after the ladies leave on Wednesday? Jeff and I will cook for you, and you can bring dessert. Bake something, since you like to bake.”
It melted something inside her that he remembered she had said she liked to bake. No man had ever paid her the kind of close attention that Ev was paying her, and while she reveled in it, a secret part of her was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had been really young when her parents had divorced, but she remembered the arguments, and the sensation that she was sitting on a powder keg that was going to explode. She wouldn’t have known that that was the feeling she was having then, but as an adult she had been able to identify it for what it was…an unsettling waiting for things to erupt.
“If you like, I can bake it there, as well,” she said. That way she wouldn’t have to carry anything into or out of the office and raise any questions.
“That’s an even better idea. So, about five on Wednesday? Have the ladies come, I’ll do the interview, explain my needs, and maybe we can even make a decision immediately.”
“We?”
“I trust your judgment,” he told her.
“Even after the way we met?” Max couldn’t credit it.
“I think I know you just a little better now,” he said. “There are layers to you. That’s just one.”
“A pretty ugly one, though, you have to admit.”
“If you’ve read about me, I think you’ve also seen a pretty ugly side of me. I think we’re even.”
She knew he was talking about the playboy persona, and she had to admit it wasn’t his most appealing side. Nor did it inspire trust, which is what she would need to have in order to do more than be his friend.
“I can hear the wheels turning from all the way over here,” he said. “Let’s just take it one day at a time, yes? You’ll be seeing me for dinner after work on Wednesday. We’ll enjoy a family meal in pleasant company without the possibility of paparazzi, and we’ll decide from there what happens next. Okay?”
She put the car in gear and said, “Okay.”
“Drive safely,” he said.
He hung up and she drove home in a kind of daze, wondering what she was getting herself into. She had had only one serious relationship with a man, mostly because she didn’t trust that they wouldn’t all turn out to be like her father…smooth and urbane on the surface, but brimming with negativity and anger below it. After her mother’s death, Max had been forced to live with her dad, whose standards had been exacting for a girl just coming into puberty, who had no defined sense of who she was or where she fit in the world. The last two years of high school had been difficult for her, and she had made herself invisible. She hadn’t even had friends, just girls she spoke with in school. She had never encouraged any intimacy with them, because she knew her dad would not approve of them.
My God! She had been lonely all her life, she realized, and after the fiasco with Dave, once her relationship with her father went south, she had just folded in on herself. Her reactions to Ev were likely the result of being with someone who had friends, who lived a full life, who let himself be who he was without apology. She may not agree with how he chose to handle his personal relationships, but at least he had pulled himself out of mourning and back into the world. She was still mourning the loss of her mother, who had been her only buffer against her father, and berating herself for her lapse in judgment with Dave. Ev was right about one thing…she needed to take things one step at a time. Instead of anticipating a bad outcome and adjusting her mindset to that, she would let things happen as they would. It surely wouldn’t hurt to be more relaxed and open to others.
The next two days flew by. A new government grant was available for Hope For All if they could write the winning proposal. She sat in meetings with the grant writer brainstorming ideas for inclusion, and had scheduled a meeting with the woman the following week to check on her progress. The timeline for submission was pretty tight, and she didn’t want to miss the deadline. She called and made arrangements for the women looking for a job as a nanny to meet her and be taken to Ev’s home for their interviews. She explained that they would have to find their own way home, and told them what he had said about the choice between the bus and the train. Before she knew it, it was Wednesday afternoon. She managed to sign off on two big contracts for services before it was time to freshen up and head out.
She had chosen to wear a dove gray tailored pantsuit with a mauve silk cowl-neck shell and a single strand of pearls. Pearl knobs in her ears, and mauve pumps finished her outfit. She looked like the director of Hope For All. And in her secret heart, she hoped she looked good enough to make Ev take a second look. The women arrived in her office just as she had retouched her lipstick.
“Ladies, I’ll be with you a minute. Ann, meet Cathy. Cathy, Ann.”
She made the introductions quickly and then finished closing down her laptop and tidying her desk. Then she ushered them out, stopping by Jen’s desk to say,
“I’ll see you in the morning. Make sure we have all the notes for the board meeting, okay?”
“Yes, boss.” Jen grinned and Max laughed and waved a hand as she led the women to the elevator.
The ride to Ev’s house took almost half an hour, and by the time they turned onto the long driveway, she could almost feel the tension rolling off the two women. Ev lived in a very fancy development, but it was not what she had expected. He was a billionaire, after all, and she had assumed he would live in an exclusive neighborhood. But Shirley Heights was just a very high-end gated community. Still, the homes were impressive, the lots large, and the air of affluence unmistakable. She turned as they parked and said,
“Mr. Morgan is very approachable, so try not to be too nervous. You’ll be meeting his son, like I said, as well as the long-term nanny, so be prepared for some interaction there. Any questions?”
They both looked slightly panicked but shook their heads no.
“Let’s go, then. We don’t want to be late.”
She rang the doorbell at precisely five o’clock, and almost at once it was opened by the young man she had sent Ev’s way a week and a half ago. He smiled and gestured for them to come in.
“Hi! I’m Jeff. Please come right this way. Mr. Morgan will be with you shortly.”
He led them into a large sitting room and showed them the side table laden with goodies and drinks.
“Ladies, he’d like you to help yourselves, please. I’ll bring Danny round in a few. Dr. Cousins, please come with me. He’d like to see you for a moment first.”
Max followed the young man along a short hallway to an open doorway. He knocked anyway before walking in and announcing her.
“Dr. Cousins is here, Mr. Morgan.”
Ev stood up from where he had been sitting at an imposing desk and smiled. “Thanks for playing butler, Jeff. I appreciate it. Take Danny in to the ladies, please. I’ll be with them shortly.”
Jeff nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Immediately, Ev moved around the desk and walked towards Max. Somehow, she felt like she was being stalked, though his expression was carefully neutral.
“Good afternoon, Maxine. Lovely to see you.”
He walked forward until he was in her personal space, and then walked around her. She stood still trying to work up some anger at the way he was looking at her, as though she were a slab of meat in a butcher shop. But that was not really what it felt like. There was nothing salacious in his looks, only admiration and a kind of happiness, as though he was glad to see her.
“You look fantastic,” he said, coming back to stand in front of her. “These colors are so elegant and directorial.”
Max laughed. And just like that, he eased the tension that had begun to build in her shoulders.
“Directorial? Is that even a word?” she chuckled.
“It most definitely is,” he said, leaning in, “and you look the part to perfection.”
Then his lips touched her cheek and he inhaled before moving away. “Thanks for coming.”
Max locked her knees so she wouldn’t fall over. The simple caress had undone her even more than his gentle humor, and now she was scrambling to think clearly about anything other than the wish that he had kissed her lips instead. She cleared her throat, hoping it would clear her head.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’d like you to bring the first candidate in now, if you don’t mind.”
Max blinked. He was back at his desk and his demeanor had undergone a subtle change. No longer was he the seductive man who wanted something more with her. Now he was Everett Morgan, businessman, about to interview a candidate for the position of substitute nanny for his son. She envied his control.
“Of course. I’ll be back shortly.”
She turned and opened the door, forcing herself not to look back at him, though she could feel his eyes following her out the door. The women were sitting with Danny on the largest sofa, and he was regaling them with some kind of story that they seemed to be highly amused by. Jeff sat across from them in a leather recliner.
“Mr. Morgan is ready for the first interview now. Ann, please come with me.”
The older woman put down the plate she had been holding and stood up, following Max down the hall to Ev’s study. They walked in together, and she introduced her.
“This is Ann Carter. Ann, this is Everett Morgan.”
His eyes lit up with the smile that curved his cheeks, and Max watched as the woman before him visibly relaxed. She sighed and took a seat where Ev indicated. This would probably not be so bad, after all. He was relaxed and friendly, not intimidating as she was sure the women had assumed he would be. She waited for him to begin speaking, and was shocked at the first words out of his mouth.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Carter. I can appreciate how difficult it must be for you. I hope that if you are hired, my son will help to ease some of your hurt. How was he just now?”
Ann teared up, but sniffed and held them in. “He is quite a lovely little boy, Mr. Morgan. And thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.”
“Do you have any grandchildren, Mrs. Carter?”
He already knew the answer, but Max saw that he wanted her to tell him. When she nodded, he said, “Tell me about them, please. How old are they? What are they like? How often do you see them?”
Max looked at Ev as he asked another question he also knew the answer to, and her admiration for him grew a little more. He was testing Ann’s character as surely as he was setting her at ease. If she tried to hide anything from him that he already knew, Max was sure he would not choose her. She settled in to watch him work, happy that she had taken the time to choose the women carefully. These interviews were about her as much as they were about the women he was vetting, and she was glad that she had repaid his trust in her.
“Well, thank you again for coming, Mrs. Carter. You will hear from me in a day or two. “
Max blinked. She had zoned out of the conversation, confident that Ann could handle herself, and now it was time for the second candidate.
“I’ll just bring Cathy in,” she said, when Ann left.
His eyes held hers for a moment, and then he smiled and said, “I’ll have to reward you for your hard work later, after dinner.” When she stared at him confused, he said, “Never mind. Go get the other lady.”
The second interview went more quickly than the first, and Max was not surprised. Cathy was younger, and though she was respectful, she didn’t appear to be as interested in Danny as Ann had been. She said the right things, but even Max could tell she was just making the motions. It was clear Cathy had decided that she didn’t want the job, or wasn’t cut out for it, and so she was subtly sabotaging her chances by her offhand responses. Ev ushered her out of his office, asking Max to wait for him while he showed her out. When he returned, she was standing by the window behind his desk looking out over his garden.
“I think Ann is the right person for the job, don’t you?”
She turned and looked at him where he stood a foot away from her. “Yes, I do. I got the sense that Cathy had lost interest. I’m sorry I wasted your time.” She felt mildly upset with the woman for making her look like a fool.
“You didn’t. There was no way for you to know she would change her mind. Anyway, I got the feeling from some of her answers that Jeff might have spooked her a little bit, because he’s so good with Danny and she might have supposed I would expect her to be like him.”
He stepped closer. “I’ll call Ann tomorrow and give her the good news. And she can start on Friday, because Jeff has a session that day.”
“She’ll be very pleased,” Max said. “And will you call Cathy to let her down?”
“I will.” He stepped closer. “I hope you won’t be too upset with me…” he began, and then leaned in and kissed her lips.
It was a slow, tender meeting of lips, at once innocent and erotic. It held the promise of more and better kisses, if she didn’t freak out. When she didn’t move away, he raised his hands and cupped her cheeks, pulling her face closer to his and sipping at her lips with soft, butterfly touches before deepening the contact. And just as she was about to fall apart from the sweetness of it, he let her go with a muffled groan.
“Later, Minx,” he said, smiling at her. “Let’s go finish making dinner.”