"Oh please," he smirked. "You're not a package carrying bitch on a mission in high heels."
"No, but I may want to go on a shop-a-thon. How often do I get to the Big Apple?"
"By all means, take a day. Oh hell, take two and shop until your feet fall off. I don't care as long as we close the deal and help Mason Kilpatrick save his business from bad overseas investments."
"That's the easy part. The hard part is finding a pair of shoes to match the new suit I bought so I can wear it." She appeared dead serious before laughing hysterically when her Uncle looked like his niece had been abducted by the department store aliens. Caylen liked to shop and wear nice clothes, but she was a simple patron of the clothing stores. She'd go in and get what she was looking for, and then be on her way. She did in two hours what takes most women two days.
~
Caylen could barely keep her eyes open in the hotel. She'd spent the entire day going over the business plan that she put together for Mason Kilpatrick. The man was by no means stupid, but he made her repeat herself close to twenty times. She was sure he was going deaf, either that or English wasn't his first language. She had simple color coordinated business spreadsheets on her laptop and she plugged in various scenarios to show him all of the different angles of the investment plan to save his business.
By six o'clock that night, the light bulb went off and he finally signed the papers. Then, she had to endure another two hours with him and his business partner Lyle Covington while they ate a six hundred dollar dinner. The jetlag was killing Caylen and she couldn't be happier when the men decided to call it a night after dinner. She was sure they were going to traipse all over New York City until her entertainment funds ran out. Thankfully, they were both older and tired easily.
Her plane was taking off at seven Eastern Time, which meant four Pacific Time. Caylen never could sleep in the air, but she was sure going to try this time. Besides, what else was she going to do for six hours on an overcrowded airplane? At least she was in first class and would have a little more room.
~
"I don't know how you do it," Margo said as she sipped her beer. Caylen sat across from her with bags under her eyes. "You look like hell."
"Gee, thanks. Next time, lay it on thick for me. I want to know how you really feel," Caylen said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, you just look really tired."
"I am. That stupid ass old man wore me out." She shook her head. Her normally short hair were very unruly, she was starting to look like Rod Stewart with brown hair.
"At least you closed the deal."
"True, but I was starting to think he'd rather lose his business than pay me to put money back in his pocket."
"I know what you mean. I have people all the time that are up to their ears in debt and want to refinance their homes, but they're scared to death to pull equity out of their houses to pay off their debts."
"If I was up to my ass in bills and someone came to me and said for 'X' amount of money I'll make all of that go away, I'd sign on the god damn dotted line. Twice if I had to," Caylen said.
"Uh huh, me too."
Both women ordered another beer when the waitress came by. Their shared plate of chicken wings was long gone, but neither woman was ready to call it a night. Caylen had already called her secretary to tell her she'd be an hour late in the morning because she needed to run an errand. She was actually going to get that mess on the top of her head cut off. She normally wore her hair short enough for a man, but it was cute on her.
"When are you seeing Jasmine again?" Margo asked.
"Probably this Friday night. Why?"
"Just asking. You've been dating for a few weeks now and still haven't slept together." Margo shrugged her shoulders. "It's kind of odd."
"I don't know. It's not like we haven't had the chance. I'm attracted to her and she's let me know a few times that she'd like to go to bed with me."
"Okay? Why don't you then? I'd be all over that."
"Honestly, I guess I don't want a relationship right now and if we start sleeping together we're headed in that direction."
"Hmm…"
"It's too late to sleep with her and then call her a few weeks later and do it again, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah."
"Margo, she doesn't even know what I do for a living, where I live, anything like that. I'm scared to tell her."
"Well, it's not serious so technically she doesn't need to know. Although, I'd find it a little weird if I was dating someone and didn't at least know where they lived or worked."
"She knows I'm in banking and live at the beach, but that's it. She flipped out over the Bentley. I was honest and said my father left it to me when he died, but I'm sure she thinks my family is loaded if I inherited a two hundred thousand dollar car."
"I see your point. I guess you'll know better than anyone when you're ready to settle down again and be truly honest about yourself."
Caylen finished her beer and contemplated ordering another. "I should probably go home and get some sleep."
"Yeah, me too. I have an early meeting tomorrow with my staff of piss ant consultants. I have to put on my bitch hat that goes with my everyday power suit."
"That sounds like fun. I could definitely borrow that hat. I think that's why Uncle Herb doesn't let me head the meetings with our account managers and consultants. I would probably fire half of them."
"No shit. I feel like doing that most of the time."
"Me too, especially when I have to fly all over creation to fix their fuck-ups."
"I hear you."
~
Caylen felt like her usual self on her way to the office. She ran her hands through the recently cut, short hair and felt normal again. She smiled. Sara was waiting with a stack of messages for her when she walked into the office. The pale yellow blouse that Caylen was wearing under her black business suit contrasted nicely with her bright blue eyes.
"Ms. Jarrett, I sent all of your phone calls to your voicemail, except for a few that preferred to leave a message with me." Sara handed her the three pieces of pink paper. "This one was a walk in on Wednesday. Her name is Tanner Bryce. I told her you were in New York on business and asked if she wanted to leave a message with me or on your voicemail, but she said she'd come back."
Caylen wrinkled her eyebrows. Anyone that came to see her had an appointment. She'd never heard of this person before. The only Tanner she knew was the dancer from Texas, and that woman had no idea who Caylen was. "I'm not sure who she is Sara, but if she comes back I'll talk to her. In the meantime, can you check a listing of our accounts and let me know what company she's from? Thanks." Caylen went into her office and closed the door.
She had three backed up days worth of paperwork to take care of. What she really wanted to do was call Margo, or maybe Jasmine, and go lay on the beach. Even with the weather slightly changing to fall, not that it mattered, Santa Barbara had pretty much monolithic temperatures year round. The air was a little cooler, yet still warm enough to lay on the beach.
~
Caylen spent her entire lunch sitting in her uncle's office going over her trip to New York and the deal she closed with Mason Kilpatrick and his business partner. Then, she spent the rest of her afternoon returning voicemails and emails. She thought the day would never come to an end.
It was Friday night and she was sitting in a restaurant with Jasmine enjoying unbelievable lasagna and a bottle of white wine.
"Long week?" Jasmine asked.
"Yeah, too long. What about you?"
"I think everyone is out shopping for a new wardrobe this month. I've been going crazy. I had to fire one girl for stealing. I wanted to choke the life out of her. Here I am heading into the holiday season and I don't have time for interviews and training a new key carrier."
"That sucks."
"You can say that again. After tomorrow I will have put in close to seventy hours this week. That really sucks when you only get paid for forty and the
shitty quarterly bonuses don't even equal a single paycheck."
"Is there room for advancement with the company?" Caylen asked. She'd never worked anywhere but JFC.
"Yes, I'm in an advancement program to become a District Manager. I'll be in charge of about fifteen stores, but I'll have to relocate probably when I finish the program in a few months. My boss told me there may be a district opening up in Northern California and his wife really wants to move so if he takes it then I may have a chance to get this district."
"That'll be good for you."
"Yeah, I'm not looking to move. I've thought about getting out of retail all together, but I've been doing this since I was fifteen, so it's close to thirteen years. You'd think I would've left by now." She smiled and shook her head.
"Here's to the future and good luck." Caylen raised her glass for a toast.
An hour later, they were walking along the shopping strip where the restaurant was located. Jasmine grabbed Caylen's hand and squeezed.
"What's going on with you?"
"What do you mean?" Caylen raised an eyebrow. Oh no.
"I keep getting the feeling that you don't want us to go any further."
"No, it's not that…"
"Who is she?"
"What?"
"There's another woman isn't there?" Jasmine asked.
"No." Caylen shook her head. There really wasn't anyone else. "I've been through a lot in past relationships and I guess I'm reluctant to get involved again."
"I can't wait forever." Jasmine smiled and kissed her lips softly before pulling away. "I've had blue clit for over a month. I mean I knew it was going to go slow at first, but we've been doing this dating thing for almost two months now."
Caylen laughed. "I know, I'm sorry."
"I don't want to pressure you. Let's do something fun tonight. I'm closing the store tomorrow so I don't have to get up early."
"I'll call Margo and see if she's going to One Up. There's usually a pretty good crowd on Friday."
"That sounds like fun. Are you sure she's okay with me?"
"Yeah, she asks about you all the time, actually."
Caylen called Margo and talked her into meeting them at the bar. A half hour later, they were at a small table ordering a round of drinks and watching a guy butcher a song with his horrible karaoke voice. A few couples danced anyway. That was the neat thing about the bar, it was considered straight, but a few gay men and a lot of lesbians usually filled the place up. Caylen sipped her whiskey and watched in amusement.
"Did C.J. tell you she likes to sing karaoke?" Margo asked Jasmine. Caylen shot her an eat shit look.
"Really? You do?" Jasmine asked with raised eyebrows.
"No! I do not. Margo thinks it's funny to bet me to do stupid shit and one night she bet me to sing so I sang. But, I do not do karaoke! So, don't try it." She finished with a hard tone in her voice but a smile on her face.
"Too bad, I'd like to see you sing." Jasmine shook her head.
"Get her drunk." Margo joked.
"You know, I invited you because I used to think you were my best friend, but right now you're gaining leverage on my shit list." Caylen cocked her head to the side and shot a mocking pissed off look at Margo, but she couldn't stop the smile from tugging at her lips. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be mean to Margo.
"Uh huh, you can't even lie to me." Margo shook her head.
The three of them spent the rest of the night drinking and dancing off and on while making fun of the karaoke singers.
Seven
The following Monday morning, Caylen was sitting at her desk replying to emails and going over a business plan for a new account that the Director of Sales sent to her.
"Excuse me, Ms. Jarrett." Sara buzzed the intercom.
"Yes."
"You have a guest in the lobby. Ms. Tanner Bryce is here to see you."
Hmm…the mystery woman from last week. She had to be a referral of some kind from a past client. "Go ahead and send her up." Caylen closed the window on her computer and waited for the visitor. She swore she could hear whistling when the door opened.
Tanner was standing in her doorway wearing a black skirt suit and heels. Her hair was darker, more like rich mocha than honey, and much longer. It hung a few inches past the middle of her back in natural waves. Her gray eyes sparkled when she smiled. The first word Caylen thought of as she looked at her was, stunning.
"Hi," Tanner said stepping further into the room. Caylen flew out of her seat and walked around the large desk. Tanner stood a couple inches taller than Caylen in her high heels, although they were roughly the same height. Tanner stuck her hand out. "Tanner Bryce."
"Caylen Jarrett." Caylen felt the spark of electricity as Tanner's warm hand grasped her own. "How…how did you…"
"Those men you were with came back into the club about two months ago and I asked them who you were."
"And they told you, just like that?" Caylen raised an eyebrow.
"No, I had to give both of them a free dance." She shook her head. "But, they finally gave me your first and last name. I googled you after that."
"Wow. I…What are you doing here?" Caylen was at a loss for words. She never thought she'd see this woman again. And if it were possible, she looked even more beautiful than she had six months ago.
"I guess you could say I'm on vacation." Tanner smiled. Her perfectly white teeth shined under the fluorescent lighting.
"Wow."
"I guess you never thought you'd see me again, huh?"
"Yes, no…hell, I don't even know what to say." Caylen's heart was beating a hundred miles an hour. "You're just as beautiful as I remember you being. You changed your hair."
"Thank you. I went back to my natural color and let it grow out. You look just like I remember you." Tanner held her arms out. "This is a surprise though. I read a lot about you on the computer. I'm impressed."
Oh no, please don't let her be here gold digging. "This…" Caylen spread her arms mockingly, "is my job, my family's company. This office, this place, it's not who I am."
"That's good, because I don't remember you being a stuck up rich bitch." Tanner laughed lightly.
"Please, have a seat." Caylen went back around to her side of the desk. She watched Tanner sit professionally and cross her legs. Her natural olive complexion looked way sexier than any pair of pantyhose. "How long are you in town for?"
"Years, I hope," Tanner said.
"I thought you were on vacation?" Caylen raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I was last week until I went on my second interview Friday. I start my new job in a week."
"What? Here in Santa Barbara? Where?" Caylen was extremely confused.
"I guess we didn't really get a chance to talk much when we were together." Tanner grinned.
Talk much? We didn't talk at all, except for begging each other for pleasure. Somebody pinch me. Am I dreaming? "You're right, we didn't. I still see you as ‘Candy' the dancer. And now you sit in front of me as Tanner Bryce, the businesswoman. I guess I'm in shock."
"I kind of expected that. I wasn't sure if you would even see me. I didn't know if you were possibly married or even a lesbian for that matter."
"Well, as you said, we didn't really talk. And no I'm not married and yes I am a lesbian. What about you?"
"No. No relationship at all right now, and I'm a lesbian. Although, I'm not really ‘out' to many people."
"I see. So, what brings you to California?"
"Well, I was in my last semester at the University of Houston when I met you. I graduated a few months ago with a B.S. in Computer Science." She let out a deep breath. "I've been through more interviews than I can count. It wasn't until I ran into those guys a while back and asked about you. I guess that made me decide to start looking at companies out of state. One thing led to another and I came here for an in-person interview with Intelitech Communications." When Caylen raised an eyebrow, Tanner continued.
"It's a large software co
mpany that was looking for someone on the business side to help install the software remotely and run the help desk information center. After my phone interviews went well, I decided to take a small vacation and go on the face to face interview here. They offered me the job on the second interview and I couldn't pass up a six figure income and an actual career. I was only dancing to pay for college. I called and quit the day I accepted the job here. I've already signed a short lease on an apartment and I sold my car to a friend at the club so I just bought myself a new car too."
"Wow." Caylen was speechless. "I…congratulations. That's a hell of a job you have ahead of you."
"I love computers and I decided to make a career out of working with them when I had to quit my first love." She shrugged. "I got into the University on a gymnastics scholarship with no problem. I graduated high school with honors and was a gymnast all of my childhood. My freshman year I tore my ACL and MCL and went through hell trying to recover. Then, I finally started competing again and broke my ankle in a car accident and after that I gave up on my passion." She paused.
"I took some time off to mourn the loss of my gymnastics career. My family couldn't afford my tuition when I finally changed my major and went back to school. I couldn't live at home and go to school because I'm from Abilene. So, I took a job as a dancer at Steers. I was there just over four years. I didn't make six figures obviously, but my tuition and living expenses were easily attainable working four nights a week." She crossed her legs the opposite way. "I feel like I'm rambling."
"No." Caylen shook her head and smiled. "I'm just…well…this is a big surprise. I still can't believe you're here. I'm happy for you."
"Thank you, that means a lot to me coming from you. I had no idea you were this successful. I mean I thought maybe you worked for those guys that you were with. I've seen them in there before and they usually spend some money. Hell, I know you guys spent at least two thousand that night you were there with them."
"Yeah, I spent about eighteen hundred in the club. They are clients of ours. I signed a business deal with them that day and they wanted to go out for entertainment afterwards."
One Night Page 4