One Last First Date

by Kate O'Keeffe

  “Fine.” I smiled at them both.

  Laura and Hugo shared a look. “Care to elaborate?” Hugo asked.

  My mind raced. I had avoided working directly with Will, preferring to manage my own tasks and responsibilities and not have to deal with his know-it-all confidence. “Well, I . . . I think we’ve worked well together. He and I tend to deal with different aspects of the project. I believe our time is more effectively utilized that way.”

  “I see.” Hugo nodded. He resumed scrawling in his notebook.

  Laura furrowed her brow. She picked up a pile of papers that had been lying facedown on the coffee table in front of us. She scanned a page. “Some in the project team have mentioned you have a tendency to dominate proceedings at times.” She looked up at me. “What do you think they mean by that?”

  Dominate? My palms began to sweat. My mind darted to the numerous times Will had decided on a point and I had overridden him or raised something that rendered his point moot. I did it so the team would see me as their leader—and not Will. Irritating him had been simply a fringe benefit. “Well, at times I’ve felt the direction Will has wanted to take the project hasn’t been quite right. I want to deliver the work on time and in the best shape I can, so sometimes I feel I need to step in.”

  An image of Will helping me at the golf driving range flashed into my head. I swallowed my unease. Hugo crossed his arms as he sized me up. I tapped my foot. I had no idea members of the project team were reporting back to Laura. What else had they said?

  “What about teamwork? It is important to lead but equally important for the Regional Sales Manager to be able to work with others in a consultative way,” Laura said.

  I furrowed my brow. Consultative? “What do you mean . . . exactly?” I didn’t like where this was going.

  “How well do you think you and Will work as a team? Is it going well, are there areas to work on? Take us through it.”

  My heart rate picked up. Will and I as a team? “Err . . . pretty well? I mean, we have different styles, but I don’t see how they can’t complement one another.”

  “I see.” Laura nodded at me.

  I swallowed as Hugo wrote yet more notes in his notepad.

  Mercifully, Laura changed the subject to something else, and we moved on. For the rest of the interview, I couldn’t shake the feeling me dominating Will in the project had directly impacted my chances of winning this job.

  After almost an hour of answering questions and asking a few of my own, we three stood up and shook hands.

  “Thank you, Cassie. Hugo and I aim to make a decision once this Marketing project is delivered. We’ll be honest with you, we have eliminated all options other than you and one other candidate.”

  Will Jordan.

  I shook her hand. “That’s . . . good to know.” Was it? “Thank you, Laura. And you, Hugo.”

  I walked out of Laura’s office with a sense of disquiet in the pit of belly. Yes, for the most part the interview had gone well. Yes, I was one of only two candidates for the job. But had I self-sabotaged? Had trying to outsmart and out-lead Will damaged my chances?

  And, I realized with a start, had I been unfair to Will?

  * * *

  “Morning, ladies,” Bailey called with a bright grin from behind the counter. “Only two of you today?”

  “Paige is going to be late. How are things?” I explained. I listened absentmindedly as Marissa and Bailey chatted about their weekends. Having come straight to the Cozy Cottage Café from my interview, my mind was too full for small talk today. That and the not-quite-I-love-you calamity from the weekend.

  “How about you, Cassie? The usual, I assume?” Bailey smiled as she pushed a plate with a slice of flourless chocolate and raspberry cake toward me on the counter.

  I looked down at it as though it were a moon rock. “Yes, sure,” I mumbled.

  “Okay,” Bailey replied uncertainly. She and Marissa shared a look.

  “Come on, you. Let’s grab a table and debrief.” Marissa pulled me by the arm over to our usual table by the fireplace. I noticed it wasn’t lit as it was a mild spring morning. With a pang, I wished it was. I could do with the comfort of a fire about now.

  “Spill,” Marissa instructed in her matter-of-fact way.

  I didn’t know quite know where to start. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. This was an extremely rare occurrence for me.

  “Is it the interview? Parker?” Marissa’s voice was soft.

  I let out a long breath and pushed my hair behind my ear. “The interview, I guess. Parker’s . . . Parker wants me to meet his parents.” My smile was weak, to say the least.

  “That is so exciting! Big step in the right direction.”

  “What is?” Bailey asked as she placed our order in front of us.

  Marissa smiled up at her. “Parker wants to introduce Cassie to his parents.”

  “Oh, my. Cassie, that’s fantastic news.” She pulled a chair out from the table and plunked herself down. “Tell me everything.”

  I took a deep breath. I told them about my fantastic first shot, the case of the flying golf club, and Parker’s almost-proclamation in the car. I left out the fact I’d blurted out the L-word without it being reciprocated—I didn’t want to dwell on that. And anyway, it felt good to concentrate on something positive.

  Bailey scratched her chin. “I have to admire you, Cassie. You set out to marry the next guy you dated and now look at you. You’ve gone and fallen for the next guy you dated.”

  I smiled at them both as I ignored that persistent sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “You’re right. It’s all working out to plan.”

  “Give me enough warning before I need to buy a hat, though,” Bailey added.

  “Oh, I don’t think we’re in that ballpark just yet,” I replied quickly.

  “You will be. I give it a couple of months.” Bailey grinned at me.

  “Oh, you know, it could be a lot longer. I mean, we haven’t said ‘I love you’ yet or anything.” Which was, strictly speaking, true. We hadn’t said it. Just dumb old me.

  “But you’re about to meet his parents. Guys don’t do that unless they’re serious about someone,” Marissa affirmed.

  Bailey nodded in agreement.

  “You’re right,” I replied, a hint of a smile spreading across my face as hope rose inside me. Why would he introduce me to his parents unless he thought he might be falling in love with me?

  “Which is why I need the warning. I’ve got a few pounds I could do with losing.” Bailey patted her belly.

  I sized my friend up. Sure, she was no anorexic stick insect—she had thighs and breasts and all the things a woman was supposed to have—but she was voluptuous and gorgeous just as she was. Why do we women do this to ourselves? “Don’t you go losing anything. Promise? And anyway, how could you not eat all these amazing things you bake? If I had your cooking skills, I would be the size of a house.”

  “An apartment block,” Marissa confirmed, nodding.

  Bailey stood up and pushed the chair back into the table, a smile on her face. “You girls are the best.” She looked over at the counter. “Gotta go. Customers are calling.”

  Once Bailey was back dazzling her customers with her sweet treats and beautiful smile, Marissa leaned in conspiratorially, as though the café walls had ears, which would be a really freaky thing if they did. “So, did you hear about Will?”

  My heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. “What?”

  “Apparently, he broke up with his girlfriend because he’s in love with someone at the office.” Her eyes danced.

  My breath caught in my throat. “He is?” I squeaked, giving my best Minnie Mouse impersonation as my breath caught in my throat.

  Why does this matter to me?

  Marissa nodded, her mouth forming a thin line. “Mmm-hmm. And we all know who that has to be.” She shot me a meaningful look.

  My banging heart was almost deafening. “Who?” My voice came
out in almost a whisper.

  Marissa regarded me as though I was some sort of idiot who’d been living under a large rock. “Paige, of course! Who else could it be?”

  I forced a smile. Paige. “No one. Paige. Yes, it has to be Paige.”

  “It all makes sense. He must know how she feels about him, and over time, he’s developed feelings for her, too.”

  I swallowed. Paige is an awesome person. She’s single, available—hasn’t declared her love for anyone else in a parked car at the side of the road lately—and thinks the sun goes out when Will sits down. He could do a lot worse than Paige Miller.

  I played with my coffee cup. “How did you hear about Will?”

  “Being in love with Paige? I put two and two together. Apparently, he went out for a few drinks on Friday night with The Cavemen, had a few too many, and admitted he’d broken up with his girlfriend because he wanted to be with someone else. Cassie, it has to be Paige.” She leaned back in her chair, satisfied with her conclusions.

  “But he didn’t actually say that.”

  She shook her head.

  Cogs whirred in my brain. “Does Paige know?”

  “I thought I’d tell her the good news when she gets here. She is going to be so excited, you know how she feels about him.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, she will.”

  As if on cue, I spotted Paige closing the café door. I waved at her, and she waved back. A few moments later, she arrived at the table, her order placed with Bailey. She sat down next to us in a cloud of Dior. “Sorry I’m so late. Princess Portia droned on and on for what felt like a lifetime. I’m in serious need of coffee or I’m at risk of falling into a coma.”

  Marissa and I watched her intently. Once she noticed, she narrowed her eyes at us. “What?”

  Marissa glanced at me, a smile teasing the edges of her mouth. “Should we tell her?”

  Paige’s eyes darted from Marissa to me and back again. “Tell me what?”

  Neither of us said anything—Marissa because she enjoyed the suspense, and me? I couldn’t quite work that out.

  “Come on. You guys are freaking me out.”

  I shrugged, nodding at Marissa. “She’ll tell you. It’s her news.”

  Marissa’s face broke into a full-blown grin. “I think Will’s in love with you.”

  Paige’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes got huge. “Wh . . . what?” The color drained from her face. She looked like she might bolt for the door at any second.

  Marissa grinned at her. “It’s all coming together for you, Paige. He loves you.”

  Paige’s eyes whizzed from Marissa to me and back to Marissa. She swallowed hard.

  I tried to temper her confusion. “What Marissa’s trying to say is she’s heard Will has feelings for someone at work.”

  “He does?” Her voice was so squeaky it beat mine hands down in the Minnie Mouse stakes.

  “And it’s you.” Marissa was so confident in her summation it was hard for me not to believe her—let alone confirm everything Paige had ever hoped for.

  “But he . . . he hasn’t said anything, and I only just talked to him before coming here.” She looked like she might cry. “Are you sure?”

  I bit my lip.

  “Who else could it be? It has to be you, Paige. We’re so happy for you, aren’t we, Cassie?”

  “Yes, yes we are,” I replied.

  Paige’s flushed face broke into a grin that would put Julia Roberts to shame. “I could ask him out, couldn’t I?” She bit her lip. “Will could be my One Last First Date.”

  “I know!” Marissa’s excitement was almost a match for Paige’s.

  I nodded, trying to join in. But I couldn’t help thinking Marissa was making a big leap with this. I hoped she was right, for Paige’s sake. Otherwise this could all blow up in her face. And that was never pretty.

  Chapter 16

  THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, I sat with the project team around a large table in the Marketing Department, discussing the project’s status and upcoming action points. As I listened to Will making suggestions as to how we could approach our next milestones, I watched as others in the room listened intently to him, nodding along, occasionally interjecting with ideas of their own. Will listened respectfully to everyone in the room, and when he disagreed with someone, he got his point across gently but firmly.

  Since Laura’s suggestion I wasn’t working well enough with him, Will kept popping up in my head when I least expected it. Like out to dinner with Parker when one of us ordered a burger. Or doing squats and crunches at Pilates class. Even when I was in the bath! He totally ruined my soaking zen, that was for sure.

  Every time he waltzed into my thoughts, an unpleasant sense of guilt hung in the air around me. I had been so intent on making sure I looked good to the project team, a much better leader than Will, I’d ended up damaging my chances at the Regional Manager’s job. And been unfair to him.

  Then, there was Marissa’s assertion he was in love with Paige. I don’t know what it was, but something told me he wasn’t, that Marissa had put two and two together and come up with a banana.

  I chewed the inside of my lip. It was obvious to me Will was a decent guy. He’d had a tough time in childhood, but he’d come through it and, in his own words, turned out great. He treated people well. He led people well. What’s more, he’d helped me out with my short-lived golfing career without me even having to ask—potentially putting his life at risk as I inexpertly wielded a golf club. That had to mean something.

  Sure, he could be a total know-it-all and a complete show-off, and then there was that weirdness with his friend, The Joffster, that night. But doing what he had done for me was going beyond the call of duty. At his core, Will Jordan was okay.

  I swallowed. His favorite café is my favorite café.

  “Anyone want to add to that?” Will asked, surveying the faces in the room.

  I put my hand up. “I would.” All eyes turned toward me. I was certain I detected a moan from someone in the room. I ignored it. “I just wanted to say . . . that is, I believe wholeheartedly . . .” I cleared my throat, nervous. “What I’m trying to say is, I for one think what Will has said sounds really great.” I smiled and nodded at him encouragingly. “Don’t you think, everyone?”

  The others in the room shot me looks ranging from agreement to puzzlement to downright hostility.

  Will furrowed his brow. “Which part, exactly, Dunny?”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “All of it! Don’t you think, you guys?” I looked around at the faces in the room. “Will has such good ideas. I think we should definitely go with these ones and consider revisiting some decisions we’ve made in the past, too.”

  Will leaned back in his chair and regarded me through narrowed eyes. “You want to revisit past decisions?”

  I looked at him, my eyes bulging. “I do! I’ve reviewed some of my input and I have come to believe, in the best interests of the project, we should have gone with a few more of your suggestions, Will. You see, I’ve been thinking lately I can sometimes dismiss your ideas too quickly. And I want to change that.” I stood up, pushed my chair back, and started to pace the room. I was getting into the swing of things now. “In my mind, leadership isn’t all about being the person who makes the decisions. It’s about making the right decisions and working successfully as a team. From here on out I want to be more”—I searched for the word Laura had used—“consultative. Yes, that’s what I want to be. More consultative. With you, and with everyone.” I opened my arms in a dramatic gesture to show just how very consultative I planned on being.

  I looked at Will, awaiting his reaction. He tried and failed to suppress a smile. “Is that so?”

  “Yes, yes it is. I believe we can all work together and achieve great things.” I was unwavering in my commitment. If Laura wanted me to show leadership through inclusiveness, then I was going to include the life out of each and every person in this room. Starting with Will.

  “Sure, that s
ounds . . . reasonable,” Simon, one of the project coordinators, said hesitatingly, looking around at his colleagues.

  “Yes. Being consultative is . . . err . . . a good thing, right?” said another, looking at Will for confirmation.

  As I sat back down at the table, I noticed Melanie typing something into her phone. I narrowed my eyes at her. So, she was the mole who’d told Laura and Hugo I didn’t work well with Will! An image of Melanie with a long, pointy black nose and whiskers, burrowing happily in the dirt, flashed into my mind. I had to work hard to suppress a rising giggle.

  “Okay. Great.” Will was still looking at me as though I was speaking in tongues or something. “Consultative Cassie. It has a ring to it.” His smile was quizzical. After a beat, he added, “So, to recap, you’re happy with changing the date for phase four to the twenty-first, despite your protestations at our last meeting?”

  “Yes. Absolutely. Bring on the twenty-first, I say.” I punched the air.

  He nodded at me as if in slow motion. “And you’re happy to work with me and Design Zoo on the final graphics?”

  “If that’s what you think best, Will, then yes. Of course.” I smiled and nodded at everyone in the room. They were all watching me closely.

  I turned back to Will. He raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Will, what matters here is teamwork. Leadership, yes, but teamwork first and foremost.” I turned and looked directly at Melanie. “I don’t need to be in charge. It should be shared.”

  Melanie flashed me a weak smile and shrunk in her seat. Good. Scuttle back to your mole hill where you belong, missy.

  Will eyed me for a moment, clearly trying to work me out. “All righty then. It looks like we can wrap this thing up for the day. We’ve all got our actions, Cassie more than others, it would seem.”

  I nodded at him and smiled, happy with the new me. Consultative Cassie.

  “Shall we meet up again on Friday at nine?” Will continued.

  Everyone around the table pulled out their phones to check their calendars. There was a chorus of “Sounds great,” “No problem,” and “See you then.” People stood up, collected their things, and filed out the door. I was about to follow the others when Will asked, “Can I talk with you for a moment, Dunny?”