by Glazer, J B
When we get back to our room, Jake produces a small, wrapped present. My heart momentarily stops beating, but I realize it’s a ridiculous thought. I unwrap the paper to reveal a blue Tiffany box. I open it and see a heart charm bracelet, just like the one I lost. “This is perfect! I’ve been so upset because I lost mine.”
“It is yours. I’m sorry I took it, but I wanted to have it engraved as a surprise. I know it’s special to you.” I hold it up and see a big cursive “L” on the charm. There’s also a second heart with a “J” engraved on it. “Turn it over,” Jake says. I look, and the inscription reads, “You have my heart.” I’m so touched.
“I absolutely love it. Now I can always have you close to me,” I say, studying the charm. I don’t say it out loud, but what am I going to say if people ask me about it? It’s an interesting gesture for someone who wants to keep our relationship private. I guess I won’t wear it to work for now. “So where are we going for dinner?”
“How do you feel about French food?”
“I like it.”
“Good, because I saw a really cool French restaurant here at the hotel.”
For a moment disappointment courses through me, but I quickly push it aside. I’ve heard it’s a very cool, modern restaurant, but I know he has an ulterior motive; he doesn’t want to risk anyone spotting us. I assume mostly tourists eat there.
We freshen up then head downstairs. “Welcome to Café des Architectes,” the hostess says.
“Hi. Reservation under ‘Hartman,’” Jake tells her.
She glances at her computer screen and says, “Ah, right this way.”
I look around as she leads us to our table. The dining room is very chic, with long red banquettes, sleek red-and-black chairs, and glass-topped tables framed with a mirrored border that reflects the nightlife from outside. Large artistic pendant lights hang from the ceiling, and decorative black-and-white vases filled with fresh flowers adorn the room. We look at the menu, and I decide to order a martini. They have a nice selection of cheeses, so we agree on a flight to start. After we put in our drink and appetizer order, Jake asks me what my favorite birthday memory is. “And you can’t say today.”
“Hmm, I guess it’s my sweet sixteen. My parents threw a huge party at our house. They set up a tent in the yard and even brought in a sand volleyball court. They invited all my friends, and we had a huge barbecue followed by a bonfire, complete with s’mores. But my favorite part was at the end of the night. I was helping my parents clean up, and my dad asked me to take the garbage out to the garage. I opened the door and saw a shiny, red Jeep with a big bow on it.”
“I knew sweet sixteens were a big deal, but I’ve never heard a story quite like that.”
“What about you?” I ask him. “Were birthdays big at your house?”
“Not really. My mom made our favorite meals, and she’d let us eat dessert before dinner.”
“That’s a big deal when you’re a kid.”
“I guess,” he says. “Speaking of, how about we order you a birthday dessert?”
“I would, but I feel so full. Not to mention I had the Portillo’s cake earlier.”
“Come on. You have to have dessert on your birthday.”
“Fine,” I relent. “You choose something. I’ll be right back.” I go to the washroom, and when I come back, Liv and Jason are seated at our table. “What are you doing here?” I ask in surprise.
“I invited them for dessert,” Jake says, as the waitress approaches our table with a small cake complete with a candle. They all sing to me, and Jake tells me to make a wish. “I will,” I say, “but it already came true.”
After we finish dessert we head to the bar for drinks. We end up hanging out until well past 2:00 a.m. Normally I’d be exhausted, but I’ve been running on adrenaline. I’ve had way too many martinis, and for once I think Jake is drunk too. He’s not usually one for PDAs, but he pulls me onto his lap and kisses me in front of Liv and Jason. “I think that’s our cue,” Liv says. I laugh and give her a hug.
“Thank you so much for coming out,” I tell her and Jason.
“Thanks for inviting us,” she says to Jake.
Once they leave I turn to Jake. “Thank you for inviting Liv and Jason. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.”
“The night’s not over yet,” he says with a heated expression.
“Aren’t you exhausted?”
“For you? Never.”
Later that night, Jake and I are lying in bed, and I turn to him and say, “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies, smiling. “That’s a big compliment considering your sweet-sixteen story.”
“That was different. Everything you planned today had a lot of thought behind it.”
“That’s because I love you.”
This is the first time he’s said it since the trip. I want to respond, but I can’t bring myself to say the words.
On Monday morning, Simon stops by my office. “How was your big birthday weekend?”
“It was good. You were very convincing.”
“I’m glad, but I still owe you a birthday drink.”
“I won’t turn you down,” I tell him. “Do you want to go out one night this week?”
“Actually I had something else in mind. You’ve been bugging me about meeting Lance, so I’m having a small dinner party.”
“Oh?”
“Are you and Jake free the Saturday night prior to Halloween weekend?”
“I’m sure we are, but let me check with him. I take it no one else from work will be there?”
“Would I ask you if I were inviting anyone else? Besides, you’re one of the few people I deem worthy to associate with outside of the office.”
“I guess I should be honored. Will it have a Halloween theme?”
“Yes. You’ll need to come dressed as your favorite couple.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as being into the Halloween spirit.”
“I’m not,” Simon says, “but Lance is. I do it for him.”
“How noble of you.”
“OK, enough chitchat. I have work to do.”
“You’re the one who stopped by my office. I’ll talk to Jake and let you know.”
Jake is in San Francisco, but we talk later that evening. “Simon stopped by today to invite us to a dinner party the Saturday before Halloween weekend.” Jake is quiet, so I add, “We’d be the only ones from work there.”
“Do you want to go?”
“Yes. I’d love to meet Lance.”
“OK. We’ll go then.”
“It’s a costume party. We have to go as our favorite couple.” More silence. “I take it you’re not into Halloween?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Come on,” I tell him. “It’ll be fun.”
“Fine. Think up some costume ideas, but I get the final say.”
That night, while I’m lying in bed, I brainstorm some options. I immediately dismiss all the thoughts that pop into my head; I don’t want to go for the obvious. Hoping something will come to me, I decide to sleep on it.
The next day I’m in a meeting when my cell phone rings. It’s Eric, so I excuse myself to take his call. “Hi, Eric. How are you?”
“Great, Lexi. I wanted to let you know that our senior management has approved our mass cosmetics line. Of course they want to get in market early next year, so we need to move into high gear. How soon can you meet with me?”
“I can be on a plane tomorrow.”
“That’s great to hear,” he says, “but I’ll come to you.”
“Just name the time.”
“How about Friday at ten thirty?”
“That’ll work fine.”
I give him our address and tell him I look forward to seeing him. Then I e-mail Simon and Morgan that it’s show time.
On Friday at ten fifteen, I receive a call from reception announcing Eric’s arrival. I go to greet him and spot h
im before he sees me. I take in his familiar features and reflect that it’s weird to have a part of my past standing here in the lobby.
“Lexi, it’s so good to see you!” he says, giving me a hug.
“You too. You look great.”
“Thanks. I’ve lost ten pounds.”
“I can tell. I remembered how much you love deep dish, so I was going to offer to take you out for pizza, but maybe you’d prefer somewhere else.”
“I’d love to join you for lunch,” he says, “but I’ve tacked on other business, given I made the trip out. Another time if that’s OK.”
“No problem.”
I lead him to the conference room where Simon is waiting. I make introductions, and then Simon gives Eric a brief overview of his background. “So tell me about this new line,” I say, prompting Eric to take the lead.
He gives us an overview of the brand, its positioning, and their distribution strategy. Based on what he’s disclosed, I cue Simon on which work to share. It’s a very good discussion, and Eric seems to be jibing with Simon. “Are you going to put out a request for proposal?” I ask Eric.
“I’ve thought about it,” he says, “but to be honest, I think an RFP would be a waste of time. We’re very happy with The Studio, but we can’t use them because we need to have a separation of responsibilities between the brands. I like what I’ve seen here, and I have the utmost confidence that you know the business. I’d like to give you an initial project, and if things go well, we can look into a more permanent arrangement.”
“We’d welcome the opportunity,” I tell him. “Are you prepared now to talk about what the project entails?”
“Yes. I’ve brought a brief for the first project, but I still need to work through our long-term expectations. As I mentioned on the phone, this all has happened so quickly.”
I can’t believe he’s already prepared a brief. He walks us through it, and Simon and I ask a lot of questions. Once we have a good sense of our deliverables, I tell Eric I’ll get him an estimate. “Sounds great. Thanks, Lexi. I look forward to working with you again.” He turns to Simon and says, “There’s some beautiful work here. I’m excited to see where we can go.”
Simon and I walk him to the elevators, and when he leaves, Simon picks me up and twirls me around.
“I think you’ve just landed us our first cosmetics assignment!”
“I believe I have, with your help of course.”
I go to Morgan’s office to share the news.
“Congratulations!” she exclaims. “That’s wonderful news! I’m very impressed with how you sensed an opportunity and figured out the right way to navigate it. I’ve seen great things from you since you started here. I also called Natalia to get some informal feedback, and she had nothing but positive things to say. I’d like to elevate your role, Lexi. If this Aura opportunity comes to fruition and becomes a retainer piece of business, my plan is to promote you to vice president and have you oversee all our beauty accounts.”
“Wow. I’d be thrilled to take on the challenge,” I tell her. “I appreciate your confidence in me.”
“Well, you’ve earned it. I realize it may not happen for a few months, so I’ve put in a request for a spot bonus. I’ll let you know once it goes through.”
“Thank you, Morgan. I really appreciate it.”
“Thank you. Now go out and celebrate.”
I leave her office feeling elated. I get back to my desk, and I’m about to call Jake when I see that he texted me.
Looking forward to seeing you tonight. Let’s have dinner at your place. There’s something I want to run past you.
I debate about sharing my news but decide I’d rather do it in person.
Sounds good. I have something to discuss with you too. See you later.
Jake comes over a little after seven with Chinese takeout.
“Hi,” I say giddily.
“Hi. You’re in a good mood. I hope it’s because you’re excited to see me.”
“I’m always excited to see you,” I say, leaning in to kiss him. “Come on in.” I hum as I take out the cartons and set them on the counter.
Jake looks at me suspiciously. “OK, what’s the deal?”
“I do have news, but isn’t there something you wanted to run past me?”
“Yes, but you go first. I’m curious to know what’s inspired this mood of yours.”
“OK, Eric basically handed us a cosmetics project without even soliciting an RFP.”
“Lexi, that’s amazing! You recognized the opportunity and obviously went about it the right way. He must have a lot of confidence in you, considering he doesn’t have any other ties to the agency.”
“Thanks,” I say, pleased that he’s excited.
Then he adds, “I think it’s safe to assume we’re a shoo-in for the rest of their business.”
“I hope. He’s looking at this as a test, but I can’t imagine it won’t go well.”
“We have to celebrate.”
“Wait, there’s more. When I told Morgan the news, she said that if the business comes through, she wants to promote me to VP!”
Jake looks at me with a funny expression. I know he’s not jealous of my success, so I can’t read why he doesn’t seem happy about it. He quickly changes his expression into one of pride and engulfs me in a hug.
“Lexi, I’m so proud of you. It’s so well deserved, and I’m glad you’re getting the recognition you’ve earned.”
“Thanks,” I say, smiling into his shoulder. “Now let’s celebrate.”
“Do you have any champagne?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll go buy a bottle,” he says.
“Jake, that’s ridiculous. I have wine in the fridge. A toast is a toast.”
He agrees and retrieves two wineglasses from my cabinet. He pours us each a glass and says, “To a promising future.”
“Cheers to that,” I say.
I wake up later that night and discover Jake isn’t in bed. I get up and find him lying on the couch watching TV.
“Sorry. Did the noise wake you?”
“No, what are you doing up?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Come back to bed.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he says.
“Is everything OK?”
He sees my worried expression and says, “Everything’s fine. I just have a lot going on at work.”
I get back in bed, but now I have trouble falling asleep.
The next morning, I wake up before Jake, so I go out and get us bagels. I leave him a note, but he’s still sleeping when I get home. I wonder how long he was up last night; he’s usually an earlier riser than me. Finally he emerges at close to eleven.
“Bad night?”
“I guess so.”
“I got us breakfast, or should I say brunch?”
“Thanks. That was nice of you.” As I’m toasting the bagels, he says he came up with an idea last night. “How do you feel about planning a long weekend in San Francisco?”
“I’d love it. We haven’t been there together since the pitch.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Although it’ll be hard to top that weekend.”
“I’m up for the challenge.”
I laugh. “Actually I’ll agree to it on one condition: We have to go to Napa.”
“I know I promised you we’d do Napa, but I didn’t get to show you around the city last time you were there. It might be hard to do both if you only come for the weekend, unless you want to extend the trip.”
“Things are so busy—let’s start with a long weekend. Then I’ll have a good excuse to come back. We can look into taking a longer trip after the holidays.”
“I was thinking sooner than that,” he says.
“Things are a bit crazy with work between now and the end of the year. It would be hard to find time to get away.”
Jake looks disappointed. “You’d
just need to take a Friday off. Surely you can find one between now and the end of the year.” I hesitate, and he adds, “All I’m asking is for one weekend, just you and me.”
I want to tell him it’s always just the two of us, but instead I say, “I’ll check my schedule.” He seems satisfied with that. I decide to change the subject. “I’ve narrowed it down to two options for our Halloween costumes. I want you to be the deciding vote.”
“What are your ideas?”
“Danny and Sandy from Grease or Ken and Barbie.”
“Ken and Barbie is something different, but what would we wear?”
“I looked online. I can order a retro Barbie shirt and pair it with a mini skirt and a blond wig. You wouldn’t have much of a costume. We can order you a Polo-type shirt and have ‘Ken’ monogrammed on it. You can wear it with khakis or jeans and part your hair to the side.”
“A costume that isn’t really a costume—I’m sold. And I like the idea of you in a mini skirt.”
I smile at him. “Barbie and Ken it is.”
On Monday, Jake texts me to see if we can set a date for my visit to San Francisco. Clearly it’s important to him, so I pick a date. I call him, and he answers right away.
“I checked my schedule,” I say. “How about the first weekend in November? It’s before your sister’s due date, and it really seems to be the only weekend that’ll work.”
“I’ll book your ticket today. I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with just the two of us away from the office.”
I tell him I am as well, but in the back of my mind, I can’t help wonder what the urgency is. At least a weekend getaway will give me the chance to talk to him about why he’s been acting off recently. I tried bringing it up during our past few conversations, but he brushed off my attempts then resumed acting normal. This time I plan to pin him down. He will talk to me, whether or not he likes it.
Work is really busy now that the holidays are approaching. Natalia and Paul basically will be unavailable come December, so we’re trying to cram two months’ worth of work into one. Simon stops by my office and asks if Jake and I have decided on our costumes.
“Yes, but it’s a surprise.”
“It’d better be good,” he says. “There’s a prize for best costume.”