Chapter 9
Sharla
Sharla normally spent the lunch hour eating yogurt and a banana at her desk while pouring over briefs. But today, Reese had convinced her to meet for lunch at Kendall’s Brasserie in downtown Los Angeles. Sharla had a weak spot for the restaurant’s deviled eggs carbonara.
Knowing Sharla was on a tight schedule, Reese had already ordered. The deviled egg appetizers were waiting when Sharla found her bestie at a booth west of the doorway.
“Thanks for taking a break, Miss Workaholic,” Reese said as Sharla sat down across from her.
Reese practiced employment litigation with a mid-size boutique law firm in Century City. They tried to meet for lunch whenever Reese had a court appearance downtown. Kendall’s was directly across the street from the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“Nicholas told me about your conversation,” Reese said as Sharla reached for a deviled egg. “I hope he talked some sense into you since I couldn’t.”
“Nope. I’m still proceeding with my plan.”
Reese huffed. “I have no idea what I’m going to do with you. With all those men giving you a double take in that red dress, you should’ve walked out of that dance with at least a dozen phone numbers.”
“A lot of those guys were broke-down lawyer groupies trying to find a woman to help them split the bills.”
“So exactly where do you plan to find this guy to have casual sex with?”
“I don’t know. He’ll show up.”
“I saw that hunk of chocolate cake who approached you. He was fine as hell. I can’t believe you gave him the cold shoulder.”
“Frankly, he was too fine. Men that good-looking are too much work.”
“I don’t believe you. Nicholas said you were swooning over him even before he walked up to you.”
“Your hubby must’ve had too many drinks. Nobody was swooning and certainly not me.”
Skepticism glazed Reese’s face. “So what you’re saying is, if you had another chance to connect with him, you’d pass?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, just checking. Now turn around and look over your shoulder.”
“What?”
“Just look over your shoulder.”
Sharla turned to her right and nearly choked on her deviled egg. Marcel Handsome-As-Hell Dennard was standing at the maître d’s stand.
She whipped her head back around and shakily took a sip of water.
“Wow,” Reese teased. “You’re actually trembling. I’ve never seen any man impact you this way before. It’s obvious there’s something there.”
“No, there isn’t. And stop staring at him. Hopefully, they’ll seat him on the other side of the restaurant.”
“No such luck. He’s headed right this way.”
Sharla wrung her hands underneath the table as her panties grew damp.
“Why’re you so nervous, Miss No Emotion?”
Hell if I know.
The hostess led Marcel past their table and Sharla prayed he would be seated with his back facing them. The second he glided into the booth, he looked in her direction and their eyes connected. Once again a lustful jolt of electricity shot through her. She quickly averted her eyes, trying to pretend that she hadn’t noticed him.
Marcel jumped to his feet.
“He’s coming over here!” Reese gushed with the enthusiasm of a sixteen-year-old about to get an invite to the prom.
Sharla watched him stride toward them, confidence flowing off of him like a Superman cape. She wasn’t just wet, she was drenched.
“So we meet again, Sharla.” Marcel’s voice was deep and playful. “It must be fate.”
When Sharla failed to respond, Reese took over. “Yes, it is. Are you eating alone? Would you like to join us?”
Sharla nudged Reese with her foot underneath the table.
“I wish I could, but I’m waiting for a client,” Marcel said. “I have a court appearance after lunch and we need to discuss a few things. How about a rain check?” He pulled a business card from his breast pocket. “I’d love it if you’d give me a call sometime. Or if you’d like to give me your number, I’d be more than glad to call you.”
Marcel placed his card on the table in front of Sharla.
“Thanks,” was all she could manage to muster.
“And I didn’t get your last name at the dance.”
“Ratliff,” Reese volunteered before Sharla could figure out a way to avoid answering his question. “Sharla Ratliff.”
“I hope to hear from you, Ms. Ratliff.” His sexy baritone gave her a queasy feeling. His crotch was at eye level and she could tell he had a huge package. She wished he wouldn’t stand so close.
“You will,” Reese said. “You’ll definitely be hearing from her.”
As Marcel walked back to his table, Sharla glared across the table at Reese. “You set this up! I can’t believe you did that!”
“No, I didn’t. I swear.” Reese raised her right hand, palm out. “I don’t even know him. Girl, this is fate.”
“Fate my ass. And why’d you tell him I’d call him?”
“Because you are going to call him. If I was going to have casual sex, I certainly wouldn’t mind experimenting with that big hunk of chocolate.”
“Are you sure you didn’t set this up?”
“I swear I had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
Sharla eyed her friend, still uncertain whether to believe her.
“They say the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Reese said with a gleam in her eyes. “If this isn’t a sign that the guy might be worth checking out, I don’t know what is.”