Better Than Chance(3)

No one groaned aloud but surely everyone’s internal reaction must have been similar to my own “You’ve got to be fucking kidding, right?” I didn’t say a word, though. I took copious notes and thanked my lucky stars when I saw that I had been paired with Melanie Martin for my portion. Mel was very bright and a hard worker, but she was blessed with a wicked sense of humor, which was more than I could say about a few of those assembled around the table. Everyone was very serious and determined to make a good impression. I was ready and willing to work hard also, but I could never understand why people tended to lose their ability to laugh at work. In my opinion, that’s when you needed it the most.

I soon realized that this supposed elite project I’d been assigned to would eat up practically every waking minute of every day, including my weekends for the next two months. I had to find some glimmer of humor to get through the grueling schedule in the weeks ahead. At that very moment, I came up blank. One bright spot was that at least I’d be treated to the regular dose of eye candy that was our handsome leader. Damn, Rebecca was right… he was fine.

I watched him carefully as he stood and drew our attention to the PowerPoint presentation behind him. His expensive charcoal suit jacket hugged his broad shoulders in all the right places. I wondered if he played sports when he was in high school or college. Maybe football. He had the build of a football player for sure. I could just see him in those tight pants and….

“Mr. Reynolds?”

Oh shit. I looked up to see Peter giving me a curious but somewhat dangerous look. He had obviously caught me gawking at him and wondered what the hell my problem was. I quickly refocused and gave what I hoped was a professional nod before asking him to repeat the question. I saw Mel hide a small grin, but otherwise I kept my eyes on the whiteboard and not on Mr. Morgan’s ass. This was going to be harder than I thought.





MY CELL phone vibrated on my desk later that afternoon. I had been in meetings all day, either with the entire team or with Mel. Tomorrow, each team would meet with Mr. Morgan to brief him on our initial plans for the project. Mel and I had divided our duties and would meet in the morning to collaborate before presenting our ideas to the boss. I had a long night ahead of me and all I wanted was to go home and curl up on my sofa watching reruns of Will and Grace. I checked the caller ID and smiled. Aaron always cheered me up.

“Jaybird, tell me all about your day. Is your new project worth the hangover you must have? I am suffering! Tell me I’m not alone.”

“You are most assuredly not alone.” I lowered my voice, although I was in my office with the door closed. “I’m not sure it’s going to be worth it, though.”

“Oh, honey. Want me to make you dinner? You can tell me all about it.”

“I wish. I’m going to be here for a while yet.” I filled Aaron in, and not for the first time, I found myself wishing we were attracted to each other.

Aaron was beautiful, smart, funny, and sexy as hell, but there was no spark between us. We were just too similar. Physically we looked nothing alike. Aaron was a little height-challenged at five foot eight. He was Puerto Rican American and blessed with gorgeous olive skin, dark hair, and pretty hazel eyes.

In contrast, my ancestors came over on the Mayflower. No joke. My dad loved to talk genealogy and would happily bore anyone who even pretended to be interested about the harsh conditions our forefathers braved back in 1620. Like everyone else in my family, my three older brothers, younger sister, and parents, I was taller than average with dark-blond hair and blue eyes. I knew I was considered good-looking, but I always thought my looks were more “boy next door” than pretty like Aaron’s.

Although we were night and day in the looks department, we loved all the same things. Techno-pop music, romantic comedies, shopping, dancing… we were perfect together. Except, he was my best friend only. As lovely as he was, I didn’t want to have sex with him. We kissed when we first met and ended up laughing our asses off. That’s when I knew I’d met someone special. If you can’t laugh, you cry. It’s easy enough to find someone to spend a night with, but someone you trust, admire, and want to shop with… not so easy.

Aaron listened and made all the right comments about “poor little Jay.” I felt a little better when I hung up, but I could have cried when I looked at my computer. I had so much to do and I didn’t know where to begin. I rubbed my hands over my face, stared unseeingly out my window for a minute, and then shook my head. So I wouldn’t see my friends or family for the rest of February, March, and half of April. My days and nights would be filled with spreadsheets and boring meetings. No partying. No fun. Oh well. I would survive. I hoped.