[Dating by Design 02.0] Statistically Improbable

by Jennifer Peel

  “I believe he had a client date this morning.”

  A smile spread across her lovely face. “I noticed how well the two of you seem to get along.”

  I busied myself with turning on my laptop. “Like I said, we’re friends.”

  “You know, I’ve known Zander for over half his life.”

  “I did know that.”

  “I love him like a son. And I want him to be happy.”

  “I think he’s pretty happy.”

  “You think so?”

  I met her eyes that were brimming with wisdom. I shrugged. “He seems to enjoy life.”

  “That he does, but . . . happy is a whole other ballgame.”

  “You think he’s unhappy?”

  She pressed her lips together and thought for a moment. “I think he’s trying to avoid some of the same mistakes his family has made, but he’s going about it the wrong way.”

  I tilted my head. “What mistakes are those?”

  She took a seat. “I hate to be a gossip.”

  Why did I think that wasn’t true?

  “His momma and daddy don’t have the best of relationships. His momma is someone we would call a lush.”

  “Lush?”

  “You know, honey.” She pretended like she was drinking out a bottle. “A drunk.”

  “Oh.” I sat back. “That’s too bad.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Charlene Grainger is a good woman, but get some alcohol in her and you never know what’s going to happen. It’s caused some problems between her and Don. And it’s no secret that Don’s had an affair or two.” She waved her hand. “It’s all in the past now, but it wasn’t pretty.”

  I placed my hand across my heart. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Mrs. Marshall wasn’t done. “Then there’s his brother, Quinn. Nice boy, but man alive did he marry himself a devil of a woman.”

  I bit my lip. “That bad, huh?” Maybe Zander hadn’t been exaggerating.

  She shook her head. “She’s something else. She got so fired up at her own wedding that she knocked over the cake. You should have seen the mess.”

  “Why was she so upset?”

  “Who knows what bee flew up her hiney. It could have been anything. But the point is that Zander’s family doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships. I can’t say I blame him for running away from settling down, but I know him well enough to know, someday he’s going to regret it.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Now maybe if he doesn’t date enough women, he might regret that.”

  She leaned forward with a twinkle in her eye. “The right woman can change all that.”

  I pointed to my chest. “You don’t think I’m that woman, do you?”

  Her smile sparkled. “Like I said, Zander’s never brought a woman around.”

  “He didn’t bring me around. You invited me to lunch and the ice cream thing was only because he wanted to get under Kenadie’s skin.”

  “You think so?”

  I nodded.

  “Did you know that he asked if you were coming to lunch before he accepted the invite? And he could have irritated Kenadie without you there. He knows better than anyone how to push her buttons.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I stuttered, “but really, we’re just friends, hardly even that, more like good acquaintances.” Who danced like they knew each other intimately. And so what if I felt warm all over remembering the feel of his arms around me or the way his hand slid down my body? He was a player.

  “Uh-huh.” She didn’t believe a word I said. “All I know, sugar, is that since high school I’ve never seen him with another woman besides Kenadie.”

  “What about Brooke?”

  “I asked him several times to bring her by and he always had an excuse as to why he couldn’t, more like wouldn’t.”

  I didn’t know what to say to her and thankfully I didn’t have to respond.

  Kenadie knocked and popped her head in. “I thought I would find you in here, Momma. I hope you aren’t scaring Meg.”

  Mrs. Marshall waved her off. “Pish posh. We were having a lovely chat.”

  Kenadie looked at me to confirm.

  I had to smile and nod. What else could I do under the circumstances?

  “Okay, well, it’s time for Meg to be measured.”

  “I was already—”

  “I know,” Kenadie cut in, “but Zander suggested that we pretend you weren’t. He reminded me that it might make you uncomfortable if the other ladies knew we had hung out off the clock. I don’t always think about those things.”

  “Look at him watching out for our Meg.” Mrs. Marshall was swooning. She gave me a radiant smile. “I think I’m going to start calling you Annette Bening.”

  Chapter Nine

  I was barely paying attention to my client date during lunch. The handsome business professional was droning on about acquisitions and mergers. All I could think about was Annette Bening, who I promptly googled once the Nanettes were through with me. They didn’t measure me, but Cissy shared the bridesmaid dress design and it was beautiful. The bodice was made of chiffon and the skirt was made of lace. It was sleeveless, with some pretty high cuts in the full-length skirt, but it was classy. I knew I would feel elegant in the champagne colored gown. But back to Annette Bening. She was the wife of Warren Beatty. The woman who snagged the notorious ladies’ man.

  I also read an interesting quote by Warren Beatty, who said, “I wasn’t trying to avoid marriage, I was trying to avoid divorce.”

  I wondered if that could be Zander after what Mrs. Marshall had said about his family. I kind of felt guilty about all the tidbits she shared with me, but I admit I wanted to know what made him tick. Even if I wasn’t going to be pretending to be his girlfriend anymore.

  “How do you feel about marriage?” I interrupted Russell, my client who by admission on his profile was a serial dater not looking for anything serious.

  He took a sip of his ice water and set down his glass before answering. “Marriage is like a hostile takeover.”

  “How so?”

  “At first you think you’re getting a premium deal, above anything the current market has to offer, but after a while you realize the new management wasn’t what it promised it would be, but by that time your stock has plummeted.”

  Ouch. I wanted argue with him, but that wasn’t my job. My job was to observe and take mental notes. It was good he was open and honest, even if I didn’t agree with his cynical and chauvinistic assessment. I wondered if Zander felt that way. Maybe he wasn’t afraid of divorce, he just felt there was always someone better to come. And if he committed, his “stock” would drop.

  Men. Ugh.

  Zander seemed to avoid me over the next few days. We never happened to be in the office at the same time, and if we were, he stayed on his end and me on mine. I guess he, like me, thought the right course of action was to stop the pretend game we had played. He was probably upset I had cost him a cheap night with Yolanda. It was all for the best, except I couldn’t quit thinking about him. Why was that?

  By Friday, there was no avoiding him. We all had to attend the weekly connection meeting. I gathered up my data and photos before heading to the conference room where we would dissect our clients’ lives and then do our best to grant their heart’s desires. The more I thought about it, the more I recognized what a big deal that was. Sure, the client had a say. They could accept or reject our choices, but they were placing potentially one of life’s biggest decisions in our hands.

  Zander was already situated near Kenadie, who sat at the head of the table. I sat as far away from him as I could on the opposite side. But like previous times near him, I could feel his eyes on me. How he did that, I didn’t know.

  I hung my pictures and profiles on the wall before taking my seat. I smiled at each of my coworkers as they walked in, careful not to look at Zander. I almost felt like I was avoiding an ex, which was ridiculous considering we never da
ted, let alone broke up. All I did was tell him I thought he was making poor life choices. He probably thought I sounded like I was trying to be his mother.

  I made small talk with Will and Andy until the meeting was called to order by Kenadie.

  “I’m sorry I forgot to order lunch beforehand.” Kenadie ran her fingers through her hair. “My mind has been elsewhere.”

  “Is it only your mind?” Zander bated Kenadie.

  She gave him the best withering glares. “Anyway. Lunch is on its way, but let’s get started. Eva, why don’t you start us off.”

  Eva started with Dane and named off three women she thought would be good matches with him. It was no surprise that Zander made arguments against each one, even the two he hadn’t “dated.”

  I kept my head down and listened to the heated discussion that soon involved every relationship manager except me. But that wasn’t meant to be.

  “Meg.” His voice excited my insides.

  I had no choice but to look up and across the table at him.

  A hint of a smile played on his handsome face. “You’ve been unusually quiet. Who do you think best suits Dane?”

  Unfortunately, I agreed with Zander that Penelope edged out the three women Eva had selected.

  Everyone was waiting for me to answer.

  I was doing my best to come up with a Switzerland type answer, but neutrality was hard in this case. I took a deep breath. “I think given that this is Dane’s third try, we might want to look outside of the box. Olivia, Holly, and Candace all closely match the two women he’s rejected.” I faced Eva. “It says on his profile that he wants adventure, but he doesn’t seem to pursue it on his own. I wonder if he only said that to make himself look better. Did he seem like an adventurous guy when you took him out?”

  Eva, though clearly annoyed, thought for a moment. “No, he didn’t.”

  “Maybe he really wants someone more like him, and Penelope seems like a good match. What do you think?”

  Eva didn’t have a chance to answer.

  “Thank you for your brilliant insights, Meg.” Zander smirked.

  “You’re only saying that because she agreed with you,” Eva tossed back at him.

  “From the looks of it, you do too.”

  Eva rolled her eyes, but nodded at Zander. For me, it was pinched expression.

  Zander caught my eye and gave me a quick smile. Enough for me to melt a little in my seat.

  The meeting lasted all afternoon. By the time it was over, I was ready to be home. I had statistics homework hanging over my head and a test I wasn’t ready for. Some of the formulas weren’t gelling in my mind. I felt doomed to fail.

  I hurried to send my clients their matches and check on the email I had missed while in the meeting. I was about ready to turn off my laptop for the day and head home when Zander snuck in.

  He stood at the door, grinning like he owned the world. He probably could have, if he tried.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I thought you were avoiding me.”

  He stepped in. “Why would you think that?”

  I closed my laptop. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Besides the fact you’re making our coworkers hate me? Nothing.” I was throwing my phone and lip gloss in my bag. Anything to keep from looking at him.

  “You’re doing your job. Sometimes that means disagreeing with people. And you were right.”

  “You’re only saying that because I agreed with you.”

  “I’m always right, so it’s a good side to be on.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Have a nice weekend.” I grabbed my bag and headed for the door he was standing by.

  His gorgeous green eyes narrowed. “Do you have a date to get to or something?”

  “Yes, with a textbook.”

  He grabbed my arm as I walked by.

  His touch had me taking a deep breath. Why did he affect me like that?

  “Homework on a Friday night? Is this your way of telling me you don’t want to go out?”

  “I don’t need to make things up. I have no problem telling you no.”

  He leaned in. “Is that so?”

  Everything he said had this seducing tone to it. And I found myself falling for it, well almost. I nodded. “I have a test tomorrow. I’m going to fail if I don’t study, or at this rate, even if I do.” Why was I giving him an excuse? I would have said no anyway. I think.

  He let go of me, at least physically. “Is this your statistics class?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m more fun than that.”

  “Says you. Why don’t you ask Eva or Cara to pretend to be your girlfriend?”

  “I hate training new people, but if I have to . . .”

  “Goodbye, Zander.”

  “Don’t be jealous.”

  I walked off to the sound of his laughter. I wasn’t jealous. What was there to be jealous about?

  For not being jealous, I thought an awful lot about who he decided to ask. My guess was Cara. She was kind of like him. She was always dating someone new and she had a killer body. But I could also see Eva. They fought the most in our meetings, but maybe that was pent up sexual tension. She was pretty flirty with him sometimes. And she had amazing curves and flawless dark skin and hair.

  I did my best not to think about it. I had formulas to memorize and practice tests to take.

  My neighbor Aurora was headed into her apartment at the same time as me. She held up a carton of ice cream. “My date for the night.”

  “Looks better than mine.”

  “What about the hot guy who picked you up last week?”

  “You saw him?”

  “And drooled over him.”

  “He’s a coworker; we’re not dating.”

  “Too bad. You can give him my number.”

  I laughed off her silly thought. I wouldn’t be giving Zander her number. For her protection, of course. “Enjoy your ice cream.”

  “Have a good weekend.” She disappeared behind her door.

  I opened my door to find Jasper waiting for me. He rubbed up against my leg. I bent down and gave him a good scratch. “I bet you had a better day than me.” Though I couldn’t really think how mine was terrible. Other than the dirty look Eva threw me in the meeting. Then she and Cara put their heads together afterward. I’m sure they were talking about me. And I hated that. We had always gotten along, but recently they had been treating me differently. Not horrible, but they had been offish.

  I stood up. I couldn’t worry about it tonight. I needed to pass this test, graduate, and then pursue my real career goals.

  I changed into some comfy sweat pants and a t-shirt. I made myself comfortable on my couch with a bag of baked potato chips. I was determined to master linear regression, sampling, and the likes. I situated my book and notepad on my lap, chips on one side, Jasper on the other. I was living the life.

  After an hour, my head hurt and I wanted to cry. I couldn’t even remember what the formulas for standard deviation or variance were, and those were the basics. I wasn’t sure why I was having such a hard time with this. And did I really need statistics for my major? Regardless, I couldn’t afford to fail this class. I didn’t have the money or time to waste retaking it.

  I was about ready to email my professor—which had been useless so far, but I was desperate—when there was a knock on my door. I reluctantly got up to answer it. It was probably Kelsie from downstairs wanting to hit the clubhouse gym. I could use the stress relief, but I would have to decline. Maybe tomorrow, if I wasn’t weeping over failing my test.

  I looked through my peephole as a precaution. That was a good call, because I had definite cause to be worried about the man on the other side. What was he doing here? I looked down at my slob outfit. Oh well. I opened the door.

  Zander stood there, dressed like he was ready for a date in a black sweater that fit him perfectly and jeans that made my insides burn wit
h less than pure thoughts. Not only that, he was holding a pizza box. The delicious aroma hit me as soon as I was done ogling Zander.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He invited himself right in. “I think you need to try again. Something a little nicer, like, thank you for bringing dinner and your brilliant mind over to help me.”

  I grinned and bit my lip. “Thank you.”

  “That’s better.”

  I shut the door, reminded myself to breathe, and that he was a womanizer. I turned to find him smiling at me. “Cara and Eva shot you down?”

  “Who said I asked? Do you want to eat or not?”

  I took the white pizza box with a name I didn’t recognize on the label. “Make yourself comfortable.” I pointed to my couch. “Do you want something to drink?”

  Zander looked at my small couch with Jasper spread out across one side. “I’ll take whatever you have.”

  “Do you want me to put Jasper in my room?”

  “What kind of a name is Jasper?”

  “What kind of a name is Zander?”

  “It’s Alexzander, by the way, and it means defender of mankind.”

  “Wow. I had no idea I was standing in the presence of such greatness.”

  “Don’t forget it.”

  “Sit down. I’ll be right back. Feel free to push Jasper out of the way.”

  I watched him from the kitchen. He eyed my cat before sitting as far away from him as he could. I saw him grin at my bag of chips before picking up my textbook and thumbing through it. I grabbed a couple of bottles of apple juice out of the fridge. “How many slices of pizza do you want?” I called out to him.

  “Just bring the box out. You don’t need to serve me.”

  Huh? I don’t know why, but I kind of liked that answer. Not that I minded serving him, but I liked a guy who could take care of himself. I walked the pizza and juice back and set it on the coffee table.

  Zander was poring over my nemesis. “This textbook is terrible.”

  “I’ve been saying the same thing.” I picked Jasper up and set him on the ground. He looked up at me, put out.

  Zander set the book aside so he could lift open the pizza box. “This is the best pizza you will ever have.”