He had to be sure she'd be nice and quiet when he took her out of her apartment. Hitting her over the head would work, but that might give her a headache and she wouldn't be so ready for sex when she came to. He wanted her to be really ready for sex, once she realized he was the one who'd carried her off.
So far he hadn't seen her this morning. He might have to wait until lunchtime, but that was okay. Starbucks was warm and it smelled good in there, lots better than his house.
His house smelled bad because Louise smoked. Well, so did he sometimes, but not like Louise. Whenever he wanted excitement, he'd hide her cigarettes and watch her go crazy. That was Louise—either completely boring or foaming at the mouth.
Maybe this afternoon he'd take her carton of cigarettes out of the refrigerator and put them in the freezer. Then he'd act like she'd done it, like she was losing her marbles so much that she'd put her cigarettes in the freezer. Even better, they'd be frozen, and she'd have to thaw one to smoke it. He wondered what would happen if you put a cigarette in the microwave. Maybe—
Oh, cool! There was Amanda, heading for the drugstore. He left his coffee right where it was, along with the Enquirer he'd bought to read, and his scarf over the back of the chair. You could do that in Starbucks, leave your stuff to save your seat. And they had the greatest gum at Starbucks.
On Valentine's night, before he went to Amanda's apartment, he'd chew some of that gum so she'd have extra fun kissing him after she came to. He knew exactly where she lived. The Internet was good for stuff like that. Maybe he'd look up ways to make a person temporarily unconscious. You could find anything on the Internet.
A copy of the Wall Street Journal tucked under her arm, Amanda walked into Starbucks and inhaled the scent of roasted coffee beans and sugary baked goods. Then she had an idea. Why go back right away? Why not scan the newspaper here while she drank her coffee and devoured carbs?
Gloria was in a session right now and wouldn't care. Amanda couldn't deliver Gloria's latte until the session was over, anyway, and the answering machine would pick up any calls. Yes, the work was stacking up on her desk, but when a girl gave up the prospect of more kisses from a guy like William, she deserved a treat.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd allowed herself the luxury of sitting in a coffee shop with the newspaper, a steaming hot cappuccino, and a banana-nut muffin. She would have preferred the Sun-Times. In point of fact, she really would have preferred a roll in the hay with William. But she'd take coffee, a muffin, and the Wall Street Journal.
By the time she had her order, all the tables were filled except one. A coffee mug and a copy of the Enquirer sat on the table, and a red wool scarf was draped over the back of the chair. The cup was still half full, so the person could be in the bathroom. Or they might have absentmindedly left all this here.
She glanced at a college-girl type sitting at the next table. "Do you think this person left?"
The girl stuck a finger in the crease of her book to mark her page. "You know, I thought I saw him go out the door. I'd take the table if I were you."
"Thanks. I think I will." Moving the cup and tabloid to the side, Amanda sat down with a sigh of pleasure. Someday she'd be financially secure, with a career she could be proud of, time to relax, and maybe even a man in her bed once in a while.
For a moment she imagined coming in here with William and the thought was definitely appealing. Too appealing. With a different sort of sigh, she opened the newspaper and began looking for an article that Gloria could use to shore up her nerd status.
This had to be Harvey's lucky day. He'd managed to go into the office and leave his valentine without anybody knowing. Dr. Tredway's door had been closed, and Harvey had stood outside it for a little while listening to the therapy session.
That had been kind of fun. He couldn't be sure without opening the door to look, but from the wheezing sounds he thought Dr. Tredway's clients were doing it right there in the office, maybe on the love seat or on the floor, or even propped up against the wall. Dr. Tredway had told him and Louise they could do that whenever the urge came upon them, and she'd be available to coach.
Harvey might have done it, except he hardly ever got the urge anymore with Louise. He had to really work up to it. If Dr. Tredway had said he could do Amanda in the office, that would be a whole different story. Maybe once he and Amanda got together, she'd have a key to Dr. Tredway's office and they could sneak in there at night to watch videos and play with the toys.
But now he had to get out of the office and out of the building before anybody saw him. If anybody did see him, he had an excuse. He'd say Louise asked him to stop by for a tube of flavored lubricant. But that would only work once, and he had more valentines to deliver.
Once he was on the street again, he breathed easier. The wind had picked up, though, and cold, wet snow flew into his face. Checking for traffic, he jaywalked over to Starbucks. Fortunately he looked in the window before walking in, or he could have been in deep shit. There was Amanda sitting at his table. What were the odds?
He couldn't go in there until she left. Zipping his jacket up to his neck, he shoved both hands into his jacket pockets. He could sure use the scarf right now, but he'd left it to hold his place. If anybody besides Amanda had taken his table, he'd march in there and tell them off. But Amanda could have his seat, no problem. He just hoped she wouldn't be in there too long.
To get out of the wind and avoid having her see him, he ducked into a recessed doorway. Standing still like this, he could feel his feet starting to get cold, so he stomped them to keep the heat going. He didn't know how the street people made it, living outside with nothing but cardboard and newspapers.
Some of them didn't. Without Louise's money, he could be looking at being a street person. Harvey reminded himself of that all the time.
After what seemed like three hours but was only fifteen minutes according to his watch, Amanda stepped out on the sidewalk and jaywalked across the street just like he had. Two peas in a pod. He wished he had a camera hidden in her office that would take a picture of her face when she opened his card. He'd had to go to a special store to find it.
Once she'd crossed the street, he left the doorway where he'd been huddled and walked quickly into the warmth of Starbucks. His nose tingled from the change in temperature. His coffee was cold, but his seat was warm. As he sat there thinking about Amanda's ass planted right on the very same wooden chair where his was now, he got an erection.
Maybe she'd known he liked to sit there. Maybe she'd picked up his vibes, like they talked about in those woo-woo movies, and she'd been drawn to this chair by his sexual potency. He could believe that.
The person sitting at the next table spoke up. "I wasn't sure if you were coming back or not. I told someone she could sit there."
Harvey smiled at her. "That's fine. She's my girlfriend." He liked saying that. Amanda was the kind you could be proud of, not like Louise.
"Oh?" She looked as if she didn't believe it.
"I mean, she will be by next week. Right now I'm her secret valentine."
"Oh." She stared at him a moment longer. Then she picked up her stuff like she was in a big hurry, put on her coat and left Starbucks.
Amanda walked into the office as Gloria was bidding the Driscolls goodbye. The couple, both in their fifties and slightly overweight, looked flushed, but they were smiling. Amanda couldn't very well disapprove of a method that seemed to make people so happy. She set Gloria's latte and the newspaper on the desk and walked back to the coat rack to take off her jacket.
Once the Driscolls were gone, Gloria came over to pick up the latte. "You can cancel the Driscolls' appointment for next week." She popped the lid off the coffee. "I talked them into spending time at a Jamaican resort I like that has a nude beach."
That statement coming from Gloria was typical, but she'd never delivered a line like that while wearing a nerd costume. Amanda struggled not to laugh. "I hope you told them to wear lots of sunscr
een."
"You know, I didn't mention that, but they should be able to figure it out, don't you think?" She blew across the surface of the drink before taking a sip. "Although now that you mention it, I remember one guy down there who put it everywhere except on his tally whacker. For the next three days he looked like an X-rated version of Rudolph. The peeling stage was pretty strange-looking, too, like a snake shedding its skin."
"Now there's a visual."
"Supposedly he was ready for sex by then, but his wife couldn't stop laughing long enough to participate." Gloria picked up the Wall Street Journal. "So are these the articles you think I should use for nerd bait?"
Amanda had circled two. "Take your pick. The problems inherent in leveraged buyouts or how natural disasters affect the prime interest rate."
"They sound so utterly fascinating that I'll never be able to choose." Gloria rolled her eyes.
"Believe it or not, they're both pretty interesting." Amanda had learned quite a bit during her Starbucks break, and if she ever had coffee with William, which she wouldn't, she'd ask him about both subjects.
"I'm not surprised they're interesting to you." Gloria handed her the paper. "Pick one and write me a short report. I have a free hour this afternoon and I'll drop by William's office then. I'll transition from discussing the article to us having dinner together tonight."
And if she succeeded in her goal, William wouldn't be quite so available to haul Justin out of Geekland, should another rescue be needed. The prudent side of Amanda hoped Justin had recovered from his grief, but the reckless side wanted William to show up at the bar looking the way he'd looked last night.
Gloria glanced at her watch. "Send the Irvings in when they arrive. I'll be in my office straightening up the furniture and wiping down the surfaces."
Amanda gulped. "All right." She should keep a journal about this internship and get it published as a memoir. Assuming anyone believed it, the thing could end up selling millions of copies.
"The Driscolls got a little wild, apparently due to my prim little nerd outfit. I never dreamed dressing against type would inspire my clients to be even naughtier than normal." Carrying her latte, Gloria walked into her office and closed the door.
Time to get some work done. Amanda settled into her desk chair and opened her bottom drawer to put away her purse. That was when she discovered a large heart-shaped sugar cookie frosted with cherry-colored frosting lying on a Starbucks napkin.
Had Will done this? She found it hard to believe. The guy she was coming to know wouldn't keep tucking things in her desk drawer and denying he was doing it, would he? She picked it up, napkin and all.
Good thing she'd had the muffin or she'd be tempted to eat the cookie, and no telling what was in it. About that time she noticed the pink envelope that had been lying under the napkin.
Checking to make sure Gloria's door was still closed, she took the envelope out. For a long time she gazed at her name printed in block letters on the back and tried to remember what William's printing had looked like on the fax. Without having it to compare, she couldn't tell if the two matched or not. Gloria had kept the fax.
Slowly she pulled the card out of the envelope. The front was a cartoon of a guy with his arms outstretched. The message below said, Valentine, I have something special for you.
She opened the card, which turned out to be the pop-up variety. But instead of roses or a heart, this one featured something different. What flipped up as the card unfolded was a pink, anatomically correct paper penis.
ELEVEN
When William picked up the phone, Amanda was the last person he expected to find on the other end of the line. He thought he'd permanently blown his chances by kissing her the night before.
He hated that, because awkward as the kiss had been, he'd loved every second. She might not have felt the chemistry, but he'd been bowled over by it. He'd thought of little else since then, and his mind was filled with schemes for making another kiss happen, a smoother, more seductive kiss.
If she was calling him, all might not be lost. "It's great to hear from you," he said. "I—"
"You asked me to lunch a couple of days ago." She sounded agitated.
"Yes, I did. But you said you didn't have time, and I respect that."
"I'm going to make the time. Can you meet me at noon?"
"Today?"
"Today."
"Sure!" He had no idea what had made her change her mind and if the kiss had something to do with it. Maybe it wasn't important why she had decided to go to lunch. "Is the Loaf and Leaves okay with you? It's across the street, about a block down on the right."
"I've seen it. I'll be there at noon."
"I'll go ten minutes earlier. That way Gloria won't be as likely to see us together."
"Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Okay."
Something was wrong. Otherwise she wouldn't have forgotten to be careful. "Anyway, I'm glad that you—" A click told him she'd hung up. "I'm glad you think this is a good idea," he said into dead air. "Your enthusiasm overwhelms me."
He replaced the receiver and stared into space for a good two minutes while he tried to figure out what this was all about. Only one thing made sense. The valentine jerk had struck again.
On impulse he dialed her number. When she answered, all he said was "Did you tear it up?"
"Not this time."
So it was the valentine. "Save it."
"Don't worry. I'm not only saving it, I'm bringing it." Then she hung up again.
He took a deep breath. It must be some valentine.
To say the morning dragged after that would have been a gross understatement. He printed out a sample of his handwriting again on Cooper and Scott letterhead, folded the sheet of paper and tucked it in his suit jacket pocket. Then he made calls to clients, calls to prospective clients, more calls to prospective clients, and obsessively followed the stock market trends.
None of it took his mind off Amanda. Did she still believe he was sending those valentines? Because he knew he wasn't, he was getting worried about her. Maybe the sender was a clueless guy from Geekland or somebody she had a class with at DePaul.
William wanted to believe that the person was harmless, but his instincts told him otherwise. One secret valentine was harmless. Three secret valentines were more likely the sign of an unbalanced person who wasn't harmless at all.
At twenty minutes before noon, William left the office. He wanted to be at Loaf and Leaves ahead of the crowd so he could stake out a table in the back. No point in taking a chance that Gloria would walk by and see them through the front windows.
Loaf and Leaves was a trendy little place with small oak tables and chairs, lots of hanging plants, and a menu of salads, soups, and sandwiches served cafeteria-style. Most of the customers arrived after noon, so he had no trouble getting a table in the far corner away from the bank of windows along the front of the restaurant.
As he waited for Amanda, he became aware that he was breathing too fast. Sinking back in the chair, he drew in several deep breaths. Anyone would think he'd never had a lunch date before.
Well, he wouldn't have one now if Amanda hadn't received another valentine. He wondered what she'd do once he'd convinced her he wasn't the culprit. He'd love to help her find out who it was, but she might not let him do that. If he had even the slightest chance of helping her, he'd have to forget about that kiss and concentrate on the problem at hand. That wouldn't be easy.
The minute she pushed open the front door, he could feel the anxiety radiating from her. Her quilted jacket, which still had a coffee stain down the front, couldn't hide the rigid set of her body. Her full mouth, the one he longed to kiss all over again, was a slash of repressed emotion, and a deep frown had settled into the space between her eyebrows.
She marched over to him, pulled an envelope out of her purse and put it on the table. "If this is you, you are one sick puppy," she said. Then she pulled something else from her purse and put it down next to the envelop
e. "This came with the valentine."
It was a heart-shaped cookie from Starbucks. "Was it cracked when you got it?"
"No, I broke it when I dumped it back in my desk so Gloria wouldn't see it."
"Good thing you didn't eat it," he said. "It could be laced with something."
"I know. And as much as I hope it is you so I don't have to be scared, I'm even more afraid it isn't you."
"Maybe we should cat lunch while we talk about this."
"I'm not here to eat. I just want to know whether or not you sent this valentine, and then I'll be on my way. I have work to do. And if you didn't send this, then I probably should contact the cops."
He decided against mentioning how ineffective that would be. She wasn't even being threatened by this person, so it would be difficult to work up any interest among Chicago's finest.
"You don't think they'll care, do you?"
So she was able to read him. "No, I don't think so. They have murders and drug lords to worry about."
"Then I'll... I'll think of something."
And he wanted desperately to help with that. "Let me take a look at what you got." He picked up the envelope. "And by the way, I brought a sample of my printing to compare with this." He opened the flap.
"Take it out under the table." She glanced around the restaurant as if making sure they hadn't been recognized.
Because they'd attracted a few curious stares, he did as she asked, although he thought that would only make them more conspicuous. He put the envelope in his lap, pulled the card out and read the greeting on the front. Then he opened it. And closed it very fast.
"Amanda, I'm sorry." Shoving the card into the envelope, he laid it on the table.
"Not as sorry as I am."
"I'm sure. I hate that you were subjected to that." He pulled the stationery out of his jacket pocket and spread it out on the table next to the card. "Please sit down. Let me prove once and for all that it isn't me."
Her gaze focused on the page where he'd printed her name, then swung to the envelope. Turning both the envelope and the Cooper and Scott stationery to face the chair opposite him, she sat down, but she didn't take off her coat.
My Nerdy Valentine Page 11