Maya

 

 

I know it's impolite to stare but whoever coined that phrase has never seen Julian Bishop in a light gray two-piece suit with a black dress shirt underneath. He's not wearing a tie, which means a sliver of the skin on the top of his chest is visible.

I'm going to add that to the mental images I have of him, so when I go home tonight, I'll have fresh material for my fantasies.

"Maya?" Charlie's voice breaks through my thoughts. "My dad was asking if you grew up in New York."

I turn to look at Charles. He's a more distinguished version of Charlie with salt and pepper hair. If I was into men old enough to be my dad, I might have reacted more favorably when he tried to play footsie with me under the table. Instead, I scooted closer to Charlie, which sent the wrong message to him.

I'm essentially trapped in the middle of a Warton man sandwich and I haven't even ordered my entrée yet.

The only thing that isn't making this night a complete disaster is the fact that Julian is sitting in my direct line of sight. I just wish that I knew who the blonde across the table from his is. It's definitely not Isadora.

"I grew up in San Francisco."

"I've always wanted to go there," Hazel, Charlie's current stepmother, pipes up. The woman has barely said two words since we sat down to join her and her husband for dinner.

I admit that I had no idea what to expect when Charlie told me that Hazel was his father's third wife. I assumed she'd be closer to my age. I know more than a few twenty-five-year-old women married to men who are decades older than they are.

When I worked primarily in handling rentals, many of my clients were middle-aged men on the market for a rental for their much younger lover. A good percentage of those relationships turned into second or third marriages and vacancies when the man would invest in an apartment with a view for his new wife while trying to navigate a messy divorce.

My short lived rental agent career taught me more about the dynamics of marriage within the ranks of Manhattan's elite than it did real estate.

"I think you'd like it." I look at Hazel. Her blue eyes are rimmed by the signs of age. Kindness lives in her smile. She reminds me of my own mom, which makes me feel even more out of place.

"We should go." Charles pats her hand. "Our third honeymoon. You'd like that sweetie, wouldn't you?"

That brings more brightness to Hazel's face than the first glass of wine she had did. "Maya, you'll help me plan the trip, won't you?"

If it means I can sell their apartment for them, I'll take them on a personal tour of the City by the Bay and I'll even carry their luggage.

"First things first." Charles reaches to cover my hand with his. "Let's talk about young love."

Let's not.

  "They're so adorable," Hazel says quietly as the server approaches. "I'm ordering a bottle of champagne so we can toast to love."

"To love?" I ask tightly.

"Look at you two." She nods her chin toward Charlie and me. "You two remind me of…"

"We work together," I interrupt.

She turns her full attention to me. "Maybe you don't feel it yet, Maya, but it's plain as day. You and Charlie are more than co-workers. I know love when it's right in front of me."

Charlie reaches his hand to fish for mine under the table. I pull back and toss him a warning glance. I'm not about to offer him any false hope born from the skewed view of what these people think they see.

"Maya's different than anyone I've ever met, "Charlie says as he looks into my eyes.  "Our relationship is new but I'm hopeful.  Maybe one day we'll be as much in love as the two of you."

I almost roll my eyes at that. The entire taxi ride here, Charlie complained under his breath about having to see Hazel. One cocktail later and she's apparently his new favorite stepmom.

"Maybe after Maya sells our apartment, the four of us can fly out to San Francisco to meet her folks, son."

I ignore the comment Charles just made about meeting my parents as I turn in my chair to face him. "Does this mean you're going to list the apartment with me?"

"Of course I am. Was there ever any doubt?" Charles arches a brow as he tosses me a playful wink. 

Within the span of ten minutes I've landed the listing for his apartment, he's jumped to the conclusion that I'm crazy about his son and he can't stop flirting with me. This seems like the perfect time for me to excuse myself so I can freshen up in the ladies' room. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night.