8:53 a.m.
J: Veronica, I had a really good time yesterday. I know you were upset when you left. Call me so that we can talk.
11:26 a.m.
J: Veronica, I hope you’re having a good morning. Call me. I’m at practice so if I don’t answer, leave me a message.
01:09 p.m.
J: Hey, it’s me again. Is everything okay? Please call me.
03:20 p.m.
J: Okay, I’m thinking maybe you’re ignoring me. Call me so that I know I’m wrong.
She tossed her phone onto the desk and then tried to concentrate on work, but it was unsuccessful. She finally gave up and called Steph, needing a little moral support.
“Veronica, what’s wrong?” Steph asked.
“Why do you assume something’s wrong?” Veronica asked.
“You’re calling me in the middle of the workday, something you’ve never done before. Ever. Spill it. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Joel.” Veronica shared with her about the helicopter ride and then seeing the invoice Joel signed. “I can’t hope to measure up, and I don’t want to even try.”
“Then don’t. Has Joel said anything that makes you think he wants you to measure up, as you put it?”
“No, but...you’ve seen the pictures of him and various models in the tabloids.”
“So, he didn’t take them for a helicopter ride over the city; he took you. I think you’re making too much out of this.”
“Am I? I just can’t help thinking...”
“About the past and, well... the jerk whose name I promised never to say again. He’s the one who convinced you that you needed to be something else. Not Joel. Don’t confuse the two of them,” Steph advised her.
“But what about the fact that there is no way I can ever reciprocate...”
“Veronica, you called me, so I’m guessing you want to know what I think. You’re spending too much time and energy worrying about whether or not the scales are going to be even. Joel knows you don’t have lots of money to throw around. You need to live in the here and now and stop letting yourself get beaten down.”
“You’re probably right?” Veronica agreed. “I just want to feel like I’m on equal ground with him.”
“You just need to let that go,” Steph advised her.
“Thanks. I knew calling you would help. Guess I should get back to work.”
“Probably. Talk to you later?”
“Sure.” Veronica hung up the phone, glanced at the message counter, and then put it facedown on the desk. She was missing Joel, more than she’d thought she would, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not yet.
*****
Later that day…
Veronica was not answering his text messages, neither on her personal cell phone nor through the dating app. Joel was confused and growing more anxious with each passing day that she didn’t respond to his messages.
He replayed her last words to him and realized that the helicopter had been a little bit too much, as had calling her out of work on a fake emergency. He was perfectly willing to apologize for both, but he needed her to talk to him to make that happen.
Somewhere in their conversation, she had told him about having to forego her nightly ritual with her best friend at a nearby bar because she had a big project she was working on. He’d offered to take her to dinner on the nights she was working late, and she’d informed him that there was a wonderful food truck just across from her office and that she normally grabbed food from there and took it back to her desk when working late.
Not knowing how else to get ahold of her, Joel put a baseball cap on his head and headed downtown. He found a seat on a nearby park bench where he could see the food truck and, hopefully, Veronica when she came down to get some dinner. He watched as the five o’clock hour came and went. People poured from the buildings like ants on a mission, most of them heading for the subway or the parking garages scattered around the downtown area.
An hour later, people continued to exit the buildings, many visiting the food trucks before heading back to their offices. But Veronica wasn’t one of them. Still, Joel didn’t give up, and he continued to wait. Shortly before seven o’clock, his patience paid off. Veronica emerged from the Statehouse building and she headed for the food truck. He waited until she’d placed her order and then stepped forward and made his presence known.
“Hello, Veronica.”
She spun around, and after identifying him, a huge smile split her face. “Joel! What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you. You weren’t returning my calls, and I wanted to see you again. To apologize for going a bit overboard a few days ago.”
“I’m sorry…,” Veronica told him softly, looking very sad.
“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’m so sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. I never meant to do that.”
“I should have answered you…”
“I’m sorry I lured you out of work early. I promise I won’t do that again. I just wanted to spend time with you, and I couldn’t think of another way to get you to meet me. Can you forgive me?”
She nodded, and then he was there, taking her in his arms and brushing her hair back with his hands. “I’m sorry.” He lowered his head and gently touched his lips to her own and Veronica knew it was the most heartfelt, tender kiss she’d ever received. There was so much emotion in such a simple action, and then the world intruded, and he broke their kiss.
The food truck man was eyeing them with a scowl on his face and a metal spoon in his hand. “Sir?”
Joel cleared his throat and then met the man’s gaze. “Yes?”
“Are you eating?” the man behind the food truck window asked.
“Sure. I’ll have whatever she’s having.”
“You don’t even want to know what I ordered?” Veronica asked him with a raised brow.
“No, I trust you to make good food choices.”
“I hope you like tacos, then,” she told him.
“I love tacos.”
“Here you go, Miss.”
“Thank you.”
“Want to eat with me at that bench over there?” Joel asked.
Veronica glanced to where he pointed and then shook her head and pointed to the opposite side of the truck. “I want to eat there.”
*****
There turned out to be a small grouping of picnic tables and chairs. Veronica waited for Joel to agree, so glad he’d sought her out. She had missed him. A lot. She’d been lying to herself these last few days. She did have feelings for Joel, and they couldn’t be ignored. She’d been dreaming about him at night, and each time she woke up and went back to sleep, they became more intense.
Joel received his food, and they carried it over to the tables. After getting settled, he took a breath and said, “I really do want you to know how sorry I am for pulling you away from work the other day. I just wanted to impress you.”
“I know. I might have overreacted just a bit. I’m not used to anyone going to such great lengths to spend time with me,” Veronica told him.
“Well, if it helps, I’m not all flashy and don’t act rich most of the time. There’s a side of me that most people never get to see, but I want you to get to know.”
“Don’t we all have a secret side to ourselves?” she asked.
“Yes, but I tend to do things, not really thinking about how they might look to others. I promise never to make you feel like that again. I just need you to promise me that you’re going to keep letting me see you. I’ll earn your trust, but you have to let me in.”
Veronica listened to his impassioned speech and knew that the feelings she had for this man weren’t going away any time soon. She had fallen for him despite their differences. Seeing him waiting for a reply, she nodded and found herself once again enclosed in his arms and being kissed. Something she could definitely get used to.
“So, we’re good?”
She nodded. “We’re good. Er…well, you might not be.
I think you have some fans who aren’t buying the baseball cap disguise.”
A small group of fans had gathered a few feet away, and when Joel smiled and removed the cap, they surged forward.
“Joel, could you sign my hat?” one of the boys asked, taking a pen from his mother, and extending both to Joel.
“Sure thing, buddy.” He signed the hat, several shirts, and even one boy’s arm.
Veronica watched him interact with the people, and some of her misgivings about him dropped away. Joel acted just like an average person, not some celebrity, and even though people were asking for his autograph, it didn’t seem to affect his demeanor at all.
They finished their food and tossed the papers in the trash. “Are you heading back to work?”
“No. I’m finished for the night; I just didn’t want to cook when I got home, and I really like Julio’s tacos.”
“They are amazing,” he agreed.
Veronica glanced at her watch and then frowned. She’d taken the subway to work this morning, not wanting to fight the traffic, but she’d have to wait almost twenty minutes now before the next one came along. She glanced at Joel, “Thank you for dinner.”
“No problem. If you’re not going back to the office, can I walk you to your vehicle?”
“I didn’t drive this morning. I was running late and didn’t want to lug the box of papers I’d brought home with me several blocks after parking the car. I took the subway.”
“Then let me drive you home,” Joel told her quickly.
“You don’t need to do that,” she assured him.
“I know I don’t need to; I want to. Besides, I’m heading home now anyway, and I would love to spend a few more minutes with you. My truck is right over there.”
“Are you sure you’re heading home?” Veronica asked him.
“Positive. Let’s go.” He led her over to the truck and then opened the door for her, making sure she was seated comfortably before shutting her door and jogging around to the driver’s side.
They arrived at her apartment in record time, and Veronica found she wasn’t ready to go inside and leave Joel. She turned toward him, but he had already scooted toward her.
“Joel…”
“Shush,” he placed a finger over her lips. “I want to kiss you.”
“Why don’t you?” she threw back at him.
Joel smiled and then cupped her neck, kissing her gently at first and then more passionately as the minutes rolled by. Veronica kissed him back, permitting herself at this moment to let go and just enjoy the feelings moving through her body. Her stomach was aflutter, her pulse had sped up, and she was getting warm in all the right places. He really turned her on, and that was why she needed to get out of the truck. Right. Now.
She broke the kiss with a soft smile, “Thank you again.”
Joel smiled and brushed a thumb over her cheek. “Thanks for eating with me. I’ll wait here why you get inside.”
Veronica nodded. “I’ll see you.”
“You most certainly will. Answer my text messages this time.”
She grinned at him. “I will. Goodnight.”
She hurried inside, closing the door and her eyes as she leaned against the front door.
Chapter 10
The next day…
Veronica had struggled all night with the concept of online dating apps. Since seeing Joel the day before and spending some time with him, she’d come to realize that she might have over-generalized the dating apps. Joel didn’t seem like the type of guy to take advantage of her or have any ulterior motives on his mind when he was with her. He was just a guy who happened to be using the dating app, and he found her.
With that in mind, she decided she probably needed to let the senator know that she might have been off-track where the online dating apps were concerned. She waited until shortly before the senator was ready to leave the office for the day and then knocked on his door.
“Sir? Do you have a few minutes?”
“Veronica, of course. Come on in and have a seat.”
“Thank you. I just wanted to give you an update on the online dating situation.”
“Oh, good. How’s it going? Are you getting any closer to having enough information to move forward?”
Veronica tried not to squirm as she admitted she might have been off base. “Sir, I have done some research, but I think it might not be the actual online dating apps that are the problem.”
“How so?” the senator steepled his hands and gave her his undivided attention.
“Well, I think the real problem here is how they are regulated, and their inability to only give the right people access to use them. They need more stringent criteria to keep the predators from creating accounts and going after unsuspecting women. Also, it would be helpful if people stated upfront what they want from dating and decided never to ghost anyone again — which is way too easy in big cities when meeting through an app and having no friends in common — but I guess you can’t enforce moral rules,” she laughed.
The senator lowered his hands and smiled at her. “I’m delighted to see you’ve done some research and have identified a specific problem area. Intelligent people can change their minds when presented with facts.”
“Yes, sir,” she nodded. “I guess I’m wondering where I should focus my attention next?”
“Keep digging. If stricter regulations are needed, you already know the kind of data I’ll need to make a valid case for such on the senate floor. Keep at it and keep me posted.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do that. Thank you for your time.” She left his office, and she spent the next hour at her desk jotting down a few ideas, but nothing concrete came out of it. As it approached the five o’clock hour, she got a text from Steph telling her she couldn’t meet for their nightly drink.
Normally, that would have left Veronica feeling slightly depressed, but tonight it allowed her to do something different. Something unexpected and just for herself. She texted Joel and invited him to dinner. At her place.
He at once accepted, almost as if he’d been on his phone when her message had come through.
V: Are you allergic to anything? Dislike anything?
J: No allergies that I know of. Dislike plums, but that’s about it.
V: Plums? LOL!
J: Planning to go exotic tonight?
V: No, just a family recipe. See you at 7?
J: Sure thing. I’ll bring the wine. What color?
V: White. Maybe a Chardonnay?
J: Perfect. I know a great one out of California. I’ll bring it.
V: Sounds good. See you then.
J: Can’t wait.
Veronica made a quick list of the items she needed from the store, and exactly five o’clock, she headed out the doors of the office. She made it to her vehicle in record time and was on the freeway headed home before ten minutes had passed. There was a neat little grocery store with lots of fresh produce and natural products just a block from her apartment, and she stopped there before heading home.
She picked up the ingredients for her mother’s clam chowder, cheese biscuits, and a quick Caesar salad. She was in her kitchen putting everything in motion twenty minutes later. She got the soup on the stove, all except the final addition of the cream, and cut up enough salad for two people. She left the dressing off so that the lettuce wouldn’t get soggy and slipped the bowl into the fridge.
The biscuits couldn’t be done ahead of time, so she headed for the bedroom where she changed into a black velour jumpsuit and pulled her hair up into a haphazard bun on top of her head. She freshened up her makeup and then headed back into the kitchen. The soup was bubbling nicely, and she turned it down to a simmer and added in the cream and adjusted the seasonings slightly.
She then whipped up the cheesy biscuit batter and dropped it by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet. She popped them into the oven and then tossed the salad with the dressing. She pulled the biscuits from the oven at the same time her doorbell rang, a
nnouncing Joel’s arrival.
“Hey, come on up.” She didn’t need to ask who was downstairs, as this apartment complex took their tenants safety seriously and had installed video doorbells on each unit for Christmas the year before.
“Okay.”
Veronica got down two plates and two bowls but waited to dish them up. She met Joel at the front door, opening it just as he was stepping off the elevator. She watched as he walked down the hallway toward her, admiring the way he prowled when he walked, almost like a big panther. He had on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that stretched across his muscles; no shoes or socks, just bare feet. His casual look was a huge turn on, and Veronica didn’t even try to hide that fact from him.
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