Josie

by Beth Gildersleeve

  “We can share a taxi or Uber if you want,” he suggested. The words were barely out of his mouth when he switched into story mode. “One time a friend of mine found a suspicious looking package in a cab.”

  If I have to listen to you one more minute, I swear I’ll go insane.

  “Ryley!”

  She heard Amanda’s voice behind her and turned. Thank God!

  “There’s my ride,” she told the man. “Enjoy Minneapolis.”

  His eyes slowly skimmed over Amanda before he moved on.

  “Sorry I’m late. I fell asleep on the couch in the middle of an episode of the Kardashians,” Amanda said. She pressed the trunk button and went around to the back of the vehicle.

  Riley wagged her head. “It doesn’t matter. It was a long flight with that loquacious idiot.”

  “He was on the flight?”

  “Yes. And a real pain in every sense of the word. Enough about him. Please, just get me home.”

  “Okay.” Amanda took one end of her friend’s heavy suitcase. Ryley took the other end and they both grunted as they hoisted it into the trunk. “You must have bought a few souvenirs.”

  “The way it feels, maybe a few too many.”

  “Did you meet any interesting men?” Amanda asked as they merged onto the interstate.

  “No. But I really didn’t plan to. If you remember, I went there with four of my BFFs from college.”

  “Yeah, but did anyone meet any hot French guys?” Amanda smiled.

  “Sounds like you’re not going to let up on that,” Ryley commented. “Do you want to come in for a glass of wine? I’ll fill you in on some of the details.”

  Minutes after they lugged her suitcase up the steps of her townhouse in Minnetonka, Amanda went to the refrigerator to open a bottle of Chardonnay while Ryley changed into a comfortable T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants. The two friends sat on the couch in the living room and viewed some of the hundreds of pictures on Ryley’s phone.

  “Was ‘le gai Paris’ as charming as they say?” Amanda asked.

  “Oh yes, the city was wonderful. The Eiffel Tower at night was magical … and all the museums, the architecture, the quaint coffee shops …” Ryley blissfully recalled.

  “And did you see the tribute to passion and love by Rodin?” Amanda asked.

  “Yes. We toured the Musée Rodin and saw ‘The Kiss.’”

  “Didn’t seeing one of the most famous make-out sculptures of all time inspire you and your friends to go out and find love?”

  “Actually, it had a different effect. We left the museum and went to a place on Rue des Boulangers and started talking about men. It didn’t take long to discover that all of us have been burned at least once. We bought a few of bottles of wine and continued our conversation back in Emma’s room in the hotel.”

  Amanda wrinkled her brows. “And …”

  “We sat out on the balcony and talked until the sun rose!” Ryley remembered how it illuminated the whole city in a spectacular pink hue.

  “What did you talk about all that time?”

  “What we want in life. Where our lives are right now. What’s held us back all this time.”

  “Held you back? Wow! You’re doing an amazing job at Coulter & Company. And everything you’ve told me about your friends from college sounds like they’re on top of their game, too.”

  “Thanks, but there’s always another glass ceiling for women to break through in the working world. Anyway, each of us made a list of what we want to accomplish in this life, and where we want to be when we meet again next year. We made another list of possible reasons why we haven’t arrived there yet and discovered one common factor.”

  “What would that be?”

  “Men,” Ryley said with certainty.

  Amanda laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Yes. I am. We concluded men have an agenda like us, but their agenda always seems to take precedence over ours. Not to mention all the crap we’ve taken from them.”

  “I can’t say I completely agree, but what’s the plan to remedy the situation?”

  Ryley let out a deep breath and proudly announced, “We realized that if we are to succeed in this world, we need to free ourselves from men.”

  Amanda laughed. “You’re joking, right?” When Ryley didn’t answer, she added, “I know what happened with Drew wasn’t good. Finding him with that skank, Jessica, from receiving had to be the worst thing ever. But really? Totally giving up men?”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. By letting him into my life I gave him the power to hurt me — ergo — it negatively impacted my career. The girls couldn’t believe how foolish I was to get involved with a guy from work in the first place. I promised to never make that mistake again.”

  Amanda’s face lit up. “I think you may get the chance to test your will power.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You won’t believe the beautiful hunk of man Mr. Coulter hired a few days ago. He’s what the French call ‘Ooh la-la!’ I heard his first day is on Monday.” Amanda’s smile was mischievous. “Some of us girls in the media department took an early break to stand around the water cooler when we heard he was finished with HR and was heading in our direction.”

  “Oh? John hired a new intern himself?”

  “No. He’s starting as an executive. His name is Matthew Kantor. He’s got blonde wavy hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. And what a body. I hope he wears a tight T-shirt at the company picnic next week.”

  Ryley didn’t say anything. Girl, you’re truly man crazy.

  “Well, I better get going. I know you must be tired.” Amanda stood. “See you at Fresh Perks before work on Monday?”

  “My first day back after two weeks. I may have my caffeine injected intravenously. I’ll be there for sure. Oh, and thanks for the ride from the airport.” Ryley reached for her small purse and took out a few bills. “Here, take some money for gas.”

  “No, that’s alright. You get the lattes on Monday,” Amanda told her.

  “That sounds like a deal.”

  A few minutes after Amanda left, Ryley lay in bed and thought about that game-changing night in Paris when she vowed to her friends — and herself — that she would be the next executive director at C & C. The position had been on her radar since she started seven years ago. Her goal was undoubtedly in reach after she had successfully executed two seven-figure accounts earlier in the year. It was more than anyone currently employed there had achieved, except for Mr. Coulter himself. She planned to take things to the next level with her third multi-million dollar account — the Benson Outdoor Clothing line. Last month she had pitched and landed the colossal account and it was time to do what she did best — deliver an award-winning advertising campaign. With the Benson project safely in her grasp, who else could possibly be more qualified for the director’s position?

  Most of Ryley’s weekend was filled with doing laundry, posting photos and paying bills. The rest of the time she mulled over ideas for the Benson account. By Sunday afternoon, she was dying to get out of the house and went for lunch.

  Her mother, Diane, was seated at a table when she arrived at Zalo’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Seeing her only child, Diane stood and the two embraced before they sat at the elegant table.

  “You look great.” Diane’s hands lovingly rubbed her daughter’s back. “That rich French food put a little something on those skinny bones of yours.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Every girl loves to hear they’ve gained weight,” Ryley told her, slightly annoyed.

  “You were getting way too thin.”

  The server came to the table and brought them each a glass of white wine, then took their food orders.

  “Well, tell me all about all your exciting adventures in Paris. And I’m dying to hear about what the girls are up to. It used to be so much fun to visit when you and your friends were all at the U.”

  For the next several minutes, Ryley told her mother
the latest and greatest things about her friends and what they did in Paris, but neglected to mention one little detail — that they had unanimously decided to give up men.

  “Did anything exciting happen on the vacation? I mean … did any of you girls run across a special someone in Paris?”

  Here it is. “No. We didn’t.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. None of you are getting any younger. My friend Nancy’s daughter, Melissa, is expecting her second child. It’s a boy. Their daughter, Harper, is such a little cutie.”

  Good for Melissa and company.

  “I’m sorry,” Diane said. “I can tell by your expression that isn’t what you want to hear.”

  “No. But I can be happy for whatever others decide to do with their lives.”

  “But that’s the point. They’re happy. Ever since you and Drew broke up, you’ve changed. It’s like you’ve got this hard shell surrounding you that no one’s going to break open.”

  “Mother, Drew cheated on me. Did you want me to be with a cheater?”

  “Of course not, darling.” She found her daughter’s hand. “I just want you to be happy. And someday — hopefully — give me a grandchild.”

  I don’t want to give up my career to have a child like you did.

  Diane was famous for bringing the focus of the conversation back to herself. Once she was on the grandchild warpath, there was no stopping her. In previous conversations this topic made Ryley feel defensive, but not today. She let her mother talk and studied her instead. Maybe she was the one who needed to find a companion.

  OMG! Ryley stifled a giggle. Maybe she was more like her mother than she’d thought. But Diane wasn’t a realist like herself. Being a single person in the most romantic city in the world hadn’t only changed her, it had empowered her. She was finally taking the initiative to run her own life and refused to let others dictate the outcome. Life was short, and she wasn’t going to waste one more second on a quest to find that perfect, mythical man.

  Ryley’s romance is just getting started.

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