by Katy Kaylee
I didn’t see hurt or disappointment tonight though. I didn’t actually see much at all, except an aloof woman who couldn’t seem to get away from me fast enough. So maybe she was mad still. After five years?
I paid the cab driver and went to my apartment. I poured another vodka, this time without tonic. I took it to the window which I opened to the Juliette balcony. I sipped my drink as I looked out over the park. I wondered about Sofia and her life here. She was a pastry cook, which meant she was moving toward her dreams. Her spark was one of the things that had drawn me to her. A spark I didn’t see tonight. Were her dreams not what she thought they’d be? It would be a shame for her to give up and return home.
I wanted to see her again. Maybe I could help her. Who you foolin’, Dunne? You’re still attracted to her. It was true. A lack of spark in her eyes notwithstanding, she was stunning tonight. I was jealous of that red dress hugging her luscious curves. Her hair was longer and thicker, her eyes darker and more exotic than I remembered.
If I was going to be forced to wait for partnership, maybe it was time I got out and had a little fun. Sofia looked like she could use some fun too. Wasn’t that what Gina had said?
She’s Tony’s sister. Ah, fuck. Still off limits. Why was it the first and last woman to make my blood pump hot was the one I couldn’t have? I couldn’t have the woman or the career I’d worked so hard for. How the fuck was that fair?
I downed my drink, closed the window and put my glass in the sink. I went to my room, took off my suit, considered a shower but then opted to just go to sleep.
I woke the next morning with the image of Sofia in her red dress on her knees sucking my dick. At first, I was annoyed at the reminder of what I couldn’t have. But then I decided to make the best of it. I got into the shower, gripped my dick and worked that fantasy until my cum hit the tiles of my shower wall.
I knew I did the right thing by not seeing Sofia again five years ago, but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t regret not being able to spend more time with her. If she was a virgin like I suspected, there would have been so much I could have taught her. Like how to give a blow job. I wonder what lucky fuck got that opportunity.
There was no sense wasting time on what could have been or what I couldn’t have now, so I pushed it aside and got ready for work.
I arrived at work thirty minutes before everyone else, as usual, and immediately started on a trademark infringement case I’d gotten earlier in the week. Forty-five minutes later, I decided I wanted another coffee, so I headed out, planning to go down to the java place a block up the street that served the darkest coffee in the city.
As I headed through the main office, I noticed Gina at her desk. If anyone knew about Sofia, it would be her. I strode over to her.
She smiled brightly when she saw me. “Mr. Dunne. Is there something you need?”
“You and Sofia are friends?”
She nodded. “That’s right. For two years now.”
“Is she doing okay?” I sat on the edge of her desk, hoping I appeared friendly but not nosy. I wasn’t sure it worked as Gina frowned as if she was wondering if she should be telling me about Sofia. “It’s just that she seemed more subdued than I remembered her being when I knew her before. I know her dream was to be here in New York, but she didn’t seem very happy last night.” Then it occurred to me that women tended to share stories. What if Sofia had told her about me and what I’d done?
“She loves it here. She’s just having a hard time because she has to move and hasn’t found a place yet.”
“Why does she have to move?” I didn’t do housing law, but there were plenty of people here who did. If she was having a landlord issue, maybe I could refer a lawyer to her.
“Her building was sold and it’s going to be turned into condos.”
Oh. I couldn’t help with that.
“She’s running out of time and stressing a little bit.”
That made sense. It was surprisingly hard to find affordable housing in New York, and while I was sure she was doing okay as a pastry cook for a global hotel like the Worcester, chances were she still needed to be frugal when it came to housing.
“She still planning on opening a bakery?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. She has a little online business now, but she wants to expand that. But like everything in New York, it takes more money than most people have.” She cocked her head to the side. “So, what was she like growing up?”
“A smart ass.” I winked.
She laughed. “Yep, that sounds like Sofia.”
“I’m heading out to get come coffee. Can I bring you back something?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thank you though.”
The coffee got me through the next few hours. I contacted George Lipman, but after a brief call, my confidence at bringing his business to the firm wavered. It felt like he was stringing me along. If I had any chance at partnership before I was thirty, or hell, thirty-five, I needed his business.
Late morning, Val summoned me to her office. I didn’t have any hope that she was going to deliver good news, so it was probably related to one of the two cases we were working on together. One could be going to court soon if the other side didn’t make the wise choice to settle.
“You needed to see me?” I said, poking my head in the door.
“Yes, Jake. Come in.” Like usual, she got us both a drink. I sat on the couch and her in the chair. “I wanted to let you know that I reached out to Gordon about your partnership.”
Why? He’d pretty much had the same response the other partners had. I needed to have more experience and be more settled. “I got the feeling the other partners had gotten to him. He repeated practically verbatim what you said the partners had.”
“Yes, well, I wasn’t sure he knew the work you did,” she said.
If I was here, did that mean good news? Had Gordon been impressed with my work?
“He says you remind him of your uncle. He’d said your uncle single-handedly kept this firm afloat in the beginning because of his ability to bring in clients.”
“I learned a lot from my uncle and you.” I waited; my breath caught in my chest as to what this news could mean.
“Unfortunately, he’s going to side with the other partners.”
Fuck. I looked down at my drink. And then downed it. I should just take the day off and get drunk.
“I’m sorry, Jake. But you have to know, for most people it takes ten years at least to make partner. You’ve been here five.”
“I’m not most people, Val. If you took my years out of it and instead lined up my work over the last five years with anyone else in this firm, I’d be ahead.”
She nodded but her eyes were sharp as she said, “Careful you don’t get too big-headed and cocky. No one doubts your work, Jake. But no one wants to work with assholes either.”
“We’re lawyers. Being an asshole is part of the deal.”
She inhaled a breath. “You’re going to be a partner, Jake. Just not right now. Gordon said the same thing the others did. He told me a story about how your uncle; while he grew the firm to solid ground in the first years, he nearly tanked it with one ill-conceived night with a woman who was a client’s wife.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sleeping with my clients’ wives.”
“I’m just saying that it could be where the idea came from. Gordon went on to say that he’d been a little wild too, but then he met Martha and she settled him down. His words.”
Frustrated and dejected, I left Val’s office. My choices were to bide my time or get married. I walked back to my office, passing Gina. For a minute I considered propositioning her. She could help me get my partnership and I could help her get through law school. I laughed at my own desperation.
“Oh hey, Mr. Dunne. Did you try one of Sofie’s macarons?” She held out a box with pastel-colored cookie sandwiches in them.
Out of politeness, I took one. “Thank you.” I went into my office, shutting the door. I sat at
my desk and for the first time in a long time, an obstacle had taken the wind out of my sails instead of firing me up. The problem was, there was nothing I could do, so what could I get fired up about?
I looked at the little cookie and then took a bite. My limited experience with macarons was that they were too sweet, but this one was the perfect amount of sweet. It must have been because the chocolate filling leaned toward dark instead of milk chocolate.
I’d always liked Sofia’s sweets she’d make when she was in high school, but if I was honest, they hadn’t tasted much different from other confections. This macaron, though, showed her training and experience. I hoped the hotel was paying her well.
I popped the rest of the cookie in my mouth and remembered that she was about to be homeless. At least that was what Gina made it sound like. Sofia needed a place to live. I needed to show stability in my life. It was a ridiculous idea. It would never work. But ten minutes later, I was in a cab heading toward the Worcester Hotel.
5
Sofia
I had just finished putting the final decoration on the four-layer red velvet cake when the pastry chef came in.
“Sof, there’s a man outside to see you.” Maxine was in her late fifties but was probably the coolest woman I knew. She sported spiky purple hair, which she hid under her chef cap if she thought the hotel manager was lurking. She’d been trained as a pastry chef in France and could do incredible things with sugar to tantalize the taste buds.
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know. Says he’s an old friend. Is that cake done? I’ll take care of it. You’re off now anyway.” She shooed me away from my cake.
“Old friend” can really only mean one thing. Jake Dunne had hunted me down. But why? “I can finish this.”
“Go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She studied my cake. “You’ll have my job before long, Sof.”
I smiled. Praise from Maxine was about as good as it got, as far as I was concerned.
I walked out of the kitchen and into the restaurant. Jake had been sitting at a table but stood when he saw me. Good golly, did the man ever have a bad day? He looked like a million bucks. Two million next to me in khaki capris, slip-on memory foam shoes and my chef’s coat.
He grinned when he saw me. “A real chef. I love the coat.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here?”
He motioned for me to sit. “Can you join me for a minute?”
“I’m off. I’d prefer to change and meet you somewhere else though.”
“Okay. Where?”
“What’s this about?” I couldn’t imagine why he needed to talk to me.
“It’s complicated.”
I studied him. I hadn’t seen him for five years and now, out of nowhere, he needed to see me about something complicated?
“Let’s just say, I might have a solution to your housing problem,” he said.
How’d he know about my housing problem? I didn’t remember telling him. Gina.
Because I did have a housing problem and couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth, I said, “There’s a coffee place one block up. I can meet you there in ten minutes.”
He stared at me. “You’ll be there, right? You’re not going to try and ditch me again.”
He was one to talk about ditching. “I’ll be there.”
“Great.” His gaze scanned my outfit again. It wasn’t the same way he’d looked at me five years ago in my bra and underwear. Just as well. I had no need for Jake Dunne anyway.
I went back to the staff room. I changed into floral flats and took my coat off. Underneath I had a plain white button sleeveless shirt. He wouldn’t be impressed by this outfit either.
Ten minutes later, I entered the coffeehouse. Jake was leaning on a support column, waiting for me. “You made it.”
“I said I would.”
“What do you want?” He nodded toward the board listing all the drinks.
I chose a cold mocha drink and he ordered a regular coffee.
“The biscotti here are good,” I said. “They go well with hot coffee.”
He shrugged and ordered one. I got the feeling that if I told him to hop on one foot and pat his head he would. What was going on that he needed something from me? Something complicated?
We sat at the only two-seater table available at the window.
“So, what’s so complicated that you decided you need to see me?”
He sipped his coffee and then sat back in his chair. He smiled uncomfortably. “You’re going to think I’m nuts.”
“I already think you’re nuts.”
He turned his head to look out the window. Whatever it was, he was having a hard time telling me.
Finally, he turned back. “I’m here to see if you’ll marry me.”
Thank goodness I hadn’t any of my drink in my mouth as I would have spit it all over his expensive Italian suit. “What?”
He held his hands up. “I know it’s crazy but hear me out.”
“Jake, seriously? Are you fucking with me?” I stood, not wanting to be the butt of some joke. Hadn’t he already humiliated me enough?
“Please, Sofia.” He reached out and put his hand on my arm. “I’m not fucking with you. I’m being serious.”
“You are crazy.”
He nodded. “I know. Just hear me out.”
I sat, but I was ready to bolt at any moment.
“I understand you need a place to stay, and I have a place. I need to look like I’m settled to get my partnership. You can help me with that by marrying me. It’s a win-win.”
“You want me to marry you so you can get a promotion?” He really had gone off his rocker. “I don’t need a place to stay that bad.”
He closed his eyes. “Look, I know how this sounds. I really do.”
“Then you won’t be surprised when I say no.” I started to stand.
“Okay, name your price then.”
“What?” I stared at him, wondering if this was really Jake Dunne.
“What would it take for you to marry me?”
“You mean besides love and devotion?” I scoffed.
He sighed. “Yes. I can give you a place to live. Your own room. Just so we’re clear. This marriage would just be on paper. There wouldn’t have to be any intimacy.”
Somehow, I took offense at that. I figured I knew now how he felt about our last encounter. It had been bad enough that he didn’t want any sex in this marriage plan. “A marriage of convenience?”
“Yes. If a place to live isn’t enough, what would be?”
I shook my head. “I can’t think of anything that would be enough to marry for anything but love.”
He looked down and his eyes seemed to catch his biscotti. “What about a bakery?”
That got my attention and I sat back down. “You’ll buy me a bakery?”
He shrugged. “Maybe we start by renting space and getting you set up. I’ll finance it.”
“If you have that kind of money, why do you care about a partnership?”
“The money would be from an inheritance from my uncle. The partnership is something I’ve earned and I’m tired of the partners dicking me around on.”
I studied him, wondering how a partnership could be so important that he’d marry someone he didn’t love and finance a bakery.
“I know it’s crazy, Sofia. But for you, it’s a win. You’ve always wanted to open a bakery in the city. I’ll help you do that.”
I was tempted. Really tempted. “Jake, I can’t take your uncle’s money.”
“It’s my money now, and think of me as an investor. I’ll want dividends. Perhaps brownies.”
I pursed my lips. “I feel like I need to call your mother.”
He laughed. “I’ve already admitted to this being insane. But think of it. You’d have a place to live for the next six months or so, giving you time to find another apartment. And I’ll help you open your bakery. All your dreams come true. Just for a few months of marri
age.”
“And what happens after that? Tony will kick your ass for marrying me and he’ll bury you for divorcing me.”
“No one at home needs to know. New York is like Vegas. What happens here stays here.” He had an answer for everything.
“What else would I have to do?” I asked. Surely this would require more than just marrying him.
“Just make me look good. Settled. Stable.”
“Stable?” I burst out laughing. “What you’re doing here shows you’re not stable.”
“Chasing the dream, Sofia. Whatever it takes, right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re not punking me, are you?”
He reached out and took my hand. I’d forgotten how large his palms were. His long fingers wrapped around mine. “This is no joke.”
It was ridiculous. I needed to say no. “I need to think about it.”
He nodded. “That’s fair.” He looked at his watch. “I need to get back to work. You’ll let me know soon?” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a gold box and pulled out his business card. “Here’s my contact info.”
I looked at the fancy lawyer card and then to his handsome face. “Why me?”
“Why you what?”
“You must have a girlfriend or a friend with benefits that would help you with this.” I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a woman in his life more willing, better-suited and less expensive who would do this for him.
His jaw tensed. “I work sixty to eighty hours a week. I don’t have time for any of that.”
“So we’ll be married but I won’t see you?”
“I’d think, based on your current attitude toward me, that not seeing me would be a perk. But to answer your question, I chose you because you want something I can help you get. We can help each other achieve our dreams.”