The Job Proposal

by Wendy Chen

  He leaned into her. “Nope.”

  “Me either.” He was a decent kisser, this ‘Will,’ and knew where to put his hands, considering they were in a crowded bar. On her hips, squeezing them a little. She couldn’t stand when a guy started trying to run his hands down her ass or up her shirt in a public place. Oh, but now he was maybe a bit too eager, or just a bit too drunk. She did not enjoy being slobbered on. As luck would have it, she peeked out of the corner of her eye and spotted Adam. She was never so relieved to see him, to have an out from this guy who was starting to remind her of a golden retriever with his eagerness.

  “Adam,” she called out, but he had already spotted her and was scowling as he made his way through the crowd. Maybe he wasn’t into this kind of bar scene. She went over to meet him. ‘Will’ still had his arm around her waist while she brought Adam over to their little group. “My friend Adam from Michigan,” she introduced. “Oh, you probably say you’re from California now, don’t you? San Francisco or San Jose … one of those, right?” she said back to Adam. She babbled when she was drunk, she knew, so she just took another sip of her drink and whispered to Cass, “See? Not hot.”

  “Not everyone would agree.” Cass pointed her drink behind Kate. A petite brunette was smiling at Adam and engaging him in some small talk. Quick work; she didn’t waste any time, Kate approved.

  “Suppose he’s a catch for somebody,” Kate murmured to Cass. “Just not for me.”

  They stayed for a few more drinks, a couple more shots, until the crowd had really thinned. Adam seemed to be laughing and having a good time, and Kate was glad she invited him out. ‘Will’ gave her his number, which she pretended to put into her phone. The brunette wrote something on a napkin and slid it into Adam’s back pocket. Did he ever wear pants that weren’t denim?

  Kate and Adam put Cass in a cab before walking together back to ‘their’ building.

  “These fucking shoes,” she scowled. “Either I’m drunk or my heel is loose.”

  Adam laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’s the former.”

  “It has been a while since I drank that much.” She tottered and he put his arm around her waist to steady her. “You always were my rock.”

  “Do you want to wear my flip-flops for the rest of the walk?”

  She turned to glare at him, and he just smiled bemusedly. “Just walk slowly and keep your arm around my waist.”

  She poked an index finger at his stomach. “You’re a rock all right. Your abs are like a rock.” Was she starting to slur?

  “You’re drunk.”

  When they got to their building, Adam wanted to make sure she got to her apartment OK, and Kate didn’t protest. “I’m spinning,” she said after she flopped onto her bed. “Is the bed spinning?”

  Adam brought her a glass of water and sat on the edge of her bed next to her. “No.”

  She held onto his forearm. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  The next thing Kate knew, there was sunlight streaming through the window right onto her face. Her arm was thrown over the chest of a guy who was breathing softly next to her. Did she bring someone home? Oh, it’s Adam. Right, he brought her home. They were fully clothed and on top of her blanket. How drunk was she? What time was it? At some point she remembered her alarm going off, but then it stopped, and she thought it was a dream. She remembered thinking she was too comfortable where she was to get up. She looked at the clock and bolted upright. 7:05 a.m.

  “I’m late for work,” she said loudly, a bit too loudly from the pulsing in her head. She held a hand to her forehead as she rushed into the shower. When she came out, Adam had rolled over onto his side, with his back toward her. “Don’t turn around, I’m getting dressed,” she said to him, just in case he was awake. He grunted in acknowledgement. She was fully alert and over her headache now—a five-minute shower could sometimes work wonders. “Did you turn off my alarm?”

  “Didn’t think you’d be in any shape to run today.”

  “I still need to get up for work,” she said testily, pulling on the nearest dress that had recently been cleaned. She skipped the pantyhose and started on her makeup. There was no time to put her hair up as usual, so she just pulled it back into a tight, high ponytail on her way out the door.

  Chapter 8

  On the morning of “the big dinner,” as Kate had taken to calling it, she was a bit more tense than usual. She had already spent a good part of the weekend emailing and texting Alberto, coaching him. Her stress showed in her run, Adam thought. Her pace was more regular, her posture rigid. Even her facial expression remained stoic. She didn’t look around at all to enjoy the beautiful day, just straight ahead, thinking about how to make sure this “engagement” remained believable. When they got back from the run, she spoke of nothing else.

  “If he says something that’s off, I’ll just chalk it up to translation. English isn’t his first language, so I’ll pass off any blunders … Any shop talk, anything about business, Alberto is a star.” And so on. If Adam didn’t have the patience of a saint, if he wasn’t half in love with her, he’d be irritated as hell. It was irritating enough that some other guy would be known as her husband-to-be.

  After Kate got dressed in one of her usual uniforms and left for work and Adam put her discarded clothes into a laundry basket as had become his habit, he jumped in the shower himself. A nice, long shower was a relaxing way to end a run, and today he found it was a good way to clear his head. How would it be once she went public with Alberto? The dinner was only for work, he knew, but maybe it was her nerves about it that made Adam feel like this dinner made the engagement a big deal to Kate as well. That maybe it felt more legitimate in Kate’s mind once she stepped out on his arm.

  Adam dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist while he went to get himself a bottle of water. It really was a lot more comfortable to hang out at her place—he was still living with an air mattress and almost no other furniture while he figured out how long he would be in New York. The guest lecturer gig at Cooper Union was not a long-term project. And, well, if it didn’t work out with Kate—and Adam hated to think of that possibility—there was no reason for him to stay.

  The front door opened while Adam stood in the kitchen drinking his water.

  “Forgot my ring,” Kate explained, exasperated, almost to herself. “Of all the days—” She stared at him for a moment then, surprised he was half-naked, or surprised he was still in her apartment? He saw her swallow and did she flush ever so slightly? It was the former, he concluded satisfactorily. “You’re showering here now?” she asked, clearly trying to cover her reaction.

  “I like your smelly soaps,” Adam deadpanned, not breaking her gaze.

  “I’m late,” she said.

  Adam nodded.

  He chuckled as he locked the door behind her. He’d get her yet, he thought; he would get under her skin as she had done to him. In her haste to leave, Adam noticed that she left her iPhone behind when she put it down to put on the ring. He paused for a moment. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t resist. He picked it up and, of course, it prompted for a pass code. He paused for a moment. What the hell, it’s worth a shot. He punched in “1111,” the kind of code Kate would use as the easiest four digits to punch in. The phone unlocked. He let out a breath. Note to self: talk to Kate about secure passwords.

  Well, there was no turning back now. She left her phone here—she never did that. Fate had dealt him a good hand, and he wasn’t going to waste it. He easily navigated to the latest text exchange between Kate and Alberto. Dinner is at Del Posto at 8 p.m. Kate had texted.

  Adam quickly tapped out a message:

  Just found out, dinner cancelled. You’re off the hook.

  He didn’t hit the send button just yet. Was he really doing this? Just then his own phone rang. Caller ID identified a 212 area code number that he didn’t recognize, but he picked it up anyway. “Adam, it’s me. Did I leave
my phone at home?”

  Adam swallowed guiltily, “Umm, let me check. Uh, yeah, it’s here by the door.”

  Kate sighed, “Oh good, for a second I thought I lost it. Will you just keep it with you in case Alberto calls or something? My passcode is 1111 if you need it to check for messages.”

  “Uh, yeah, OK. You know, that’s not very secure—”

  “Just call me here at work if Alberto calls, OK?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Adam exhaled after they hung up. She practically handed this opportunity to him, he told himself.

  He hit the send button on the text to Alberto and then deleted the message history. 8 p.m. That gave him plenty of time.

  After meeting with his former professor and mentor and sitting in on one of the undergraduate classes in the Engineering school, Adam headed uptown, to Fifth Avenue to do some shopping. It had been a while since he treated himself or even had any occasion to do so. It felt good, he had to admit. He could understand why Kate was so into getting dressed up to go anywhere, though he found her just as attractive when she was in her pj’s as when she was dressed to the nines.

  Adam arrived at Del Posto at five minutes to 8. He hadn’t told Kate about the change in plans, knew she’d arranged to meet Alberto at 7:45, and didn’t want her to have time to think too much about the switch. She’d sweat it out a little, but she’d be at her best if it happened naturally, if she didn’t have time to prep herself or him.

  She saw him right away, since she was nervously waiting for Alberto’s arrival. She looked confused, of course, but Adam swiftly took her elbow before she could say anything and kissed her lightly on the lips as he whispered, “Slight change in plans.” Then, in a normal tone in case any of her colleagues were around, he said, “Is everyone else seated already? We’re not late, are we, darling?”

  “N-no, we’re not late,” she stammered.

  “You must be the fiancé!” Adam heard behind him. Kate introduced him to a woman named Rachel and her husband Dan, and just like that, there was no time for questions, just as Adam had planned.

  As the four of them were escorted to their table, Kate leaned into him and whispered, “You look … perfect.”

  Adam suppressed his smile. He had a role to play, after all. “Armani always fits.”

  Chapter 9

  It wasn’t like Alberto to stand her up. Something big must have come up. And then of course there was the matter of her forgotten phone. He must have called or texted. She would have been more annoyed if Adam hadn’t come to the rescue. He certainly looked the part that he needed to play. My God, she almost hadn’t recognized him with his hair styled back from his forehead (it was styled!). His blue shirt set off the color of his eyes and gave them an intensity that was disarming. And that suit. It fit him perfectly. Clothes didn’t make the man, but they could certainly make him—what? Hot? Kate shook her head. This was Adam, and she was thinking he was hot just because he was wearing an Armani suit? Just because she felt an unmistakable jolt when his lips brushed hers? It had been barely a whisper of a kiss, but her knees had buckled slightly at his touch. It was just the shock at seeing him, she told herself. She looked at his feet, not expecting his flip-flops, but certainly not expecting Prada. Was she imagining it or was he taller? She looked up at him quizzically, wondering just who this man was. And since when did he have such a strong jawline? He smiled at her like an adoring husband-to-be. She let out a breath. He’d play his part well enough.

  Kate introduced Adam to the others—there were only ten of them since her boss liked to keep things “intimate.” She began to relax as pleasantries were exchanged and no one seemed to think anything was amiss. And why would they? Adam looked exactly like the kind of guy a vice president in asset management would be with. Confident, successful, polished.

  “Mr. Kate,” her boss boomed, “sit here by me. I always like to make sure to get to know the newcomers.”

  Kate was relieved that she’d already told Adam about how her boss insisted on referring to spouses as “Mr. or Mrs. Employee First Name.” Jim’s wife, Claire, had attended dozens of company dinners and functions, their boss’s kids’ christenings and birthdays, and she was still “Mrs. Jim.”

  “So how did you two meet?” the boss asked. “In business school, did you say, Kate, at NYU?”

  “Actually, it was in high school,” Adam responded easily. “We rediscovered each other when I was in New York for business. It’s been long distance since then, but not for too much longer.” He looked at Kate and smiled warmly then. God, he’s good. Adam then went on to engross the boss with talk about his businesses in California, the state of the technology industry, all things that Kate knew vaguely about from their sporadic emails, but didn’t know until then that he was quite so … successful.

  The rest of the table managed to chitchat among themselves while the boss seemed engrossed by whatever Adam was saying. But before long, Kate realized that they were just killing time until the boss moved on to the next item on his mental agenda. Kate had heard that he had a formula for these dinners, that he always asked the same kind of questions. She hoped that Adam overheard enough about how she prepped Alberto to follow the script.

  Apparently he hadn’t, but what Adam came up with was better. When the boss moved on to leisure topics, he was obviously impressed by Adam’s familiarity with private jets and Pebble Beach golf courses. By the time they finished the appetizer course, Kate was relaxed enough to actually enjoy the great wine that had been ordered. She tried to keep herself from staring at Adam too much. His appearance tonight still boggled her mind. He was so—confident, cocky even. He was talking about the gaming industry again—that hot new game that just came out was developed by a company that he started? Was that a Rolex on his wrist? Kate wasn’t sure what to make of this Adam, wasn’t sure how much of this he was making up. She wasn’t sure she liked this Adam.

  But it didn’t matter because her boss sure liked him. “What about kids?” she heard her boss ask Adam. She had not been prepared for that question, and half expected Adam to start choking on his bite of lamb. It was just like her boss to switch from one topic to another, trying to catch people off guard with their answers. “Are you going to get our Katie knocked up right away and take her out of the office for months?” Everyone at the table seemed surprised at the brashness of the question—everyone except Rachel, Kate noticed, and she felt an unexpected rush of sympathy for her.

  Yet again, Adam didn’t miss a beat. “Kids are great,” he said diplomatically, deliberately looking at Rachel and then back at their boss, “for some women. For others, just a distraction from life. They aren’t for Kate and me.” This was clearly the right answer for her boss, and if anyone else at the table felt offended, they dared not show it.

  “That’s a beautiful ring,” Rachel said, clearly trying to get in on some conversation while changing the topic. “What is it, two carats?”

  “Thanks,” Kate responded. “Yes, it’s something like that …”

  “I actually wanted to get something bigger,” Adam stepped in, “something really special. But Kate here is just Ms. Practicality, you know.”

  He sounds like such a jerk. Kate smiled meekly at Rachel as a form of apology for Adam. She felt better when the boss made some “atta boy” comment to Adam, though, and said something to him that no one else could hear. Did he really just pat Adam on the back? Kate had never seen him do that to anyone.

  By the end of the meal—no dessert or coffee since no one wanted to prolong the dinner for any longer than necessary—Kate had declared her engagement debut a complete success. Alberto’s no-show was a blessing in disguise—there was no way he would have done as well as Adam. Her star was on the rise in her boss’s eyes, and any of her colleagues who may have dismissed her as a contender for senior VP had better look out. It didn’t matter that it was all Adam’s doing or whether or not anything he said tonight was true. Kate knew how thi
s game was played, and she was going to do whatever it took to win at it.

  Each of the couples immediately took off in their own directions upon leaving the restaurant—the boss in his black town car, the other couples by taxi or on foot. Kate waited until she and Adam were out of earshot from anyone else before she unleashed her excitement.

  “Oh my God, Adam, you were—”

  “An asshole,” he said, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her.

  She laughed, “The perfect asshole! You were brilliant! I’ve never seen my boss like anyone before.”

  “Glad you’re happy. That was the point.”

  Kate knew he had never been entirely on board this plan of hers. She stopped him on their walk and looked up at him. “Thank you,” she said in all seriousness. This was the first chance she’d had to really look at him that night. His expression had softened since they left the restaurant, and she recognized the old Adam, her Adam underneath the polished look he prepped for tonight. The look he prepped for her. “I owe you big,” she smiled.

  “This job is really important to you. You’re important to me,” he replied. “You’re welcome.”

  Kate started walking again. This wasn’t the first time he’d commented about the importance of her job. “It’s not a great firm,” she started.

  Adam huffed, obviously waiting for an opening to tell her what he really thought. “Tell me about it. That guy’s a total jerk. And a moron!”

  “I know, I know,” Kate went on. “It’s just not a great time to be in finance. It’s not like I can just turn around and find something else!”

  “Have you tried?”

  “I’m so close to becoming a Senior VP; I can’t start over someplace else,” Kate defended. She wanted to make him understand, needed to make him understand. “When I got this job, Linda was so excited for me. She had no idea what it is that I actually did—she still has no idea. She just knows that it pays me well and that I won’t get stuck like she did.” This wasn’t something that Kate would tell just anyone. But Adam knew her, and he knew her mother. He knew that Linda’s one mantra to Kate all her life was that above all else, she needed financial security. Money doesn’t buy happiness, Linda would say, but you can’t be happy if you’re hungry. Sure, Kate was a far cry from going hungry, but her own ambitions, her own desire to be somebody meant that she was going to put her all into whatever career she decided on. She wasn’t going to get stuck at some mid-level, like those who were mommy-tracked. It was fine for them, but kids were so far off in the horizon of her own life that they would probably be a biological impossibility. “Linda didn’t get tenure for a long time because of me.” She halted him when he was about to correct her. “I know it’s not my fault. I know she loves me. It’s just a reality that she had to be a parent over being a professor for a while. I don’t have any personal reasons that should hold me back from my career.”