Love Handles

by Candi Heart

  I knew nothing would ever top this. I couldn’t wait ‘til Monday now. I wanted to tell Jenna everything.

  Leaning back, I slowly went over the entire date like in a small cinema recap. His expression when I first arrived. The heated look in his eyes. The waiting on me. The whole thing about him landing on his ass and saying—oh yes! Now I remembered what he’d said. “Now that clears it up. You knocked me on my ass the moment I saw you, and here I am.” Well, maybe not those exact words, but it was a good enough rewording.

  Oh, wow. This had been the dream of dates. He also knew not to push for sex. I rolled my eyes. Like he would have to push! Laughing, I leaned forward and took off my heels, and then sat back again and rested my legs on the couch arm. Still, what should I do? If I dated him, I should not work for him. Then again, if I worked for him, I would want to date him. I mean, being around sexy on a stick would cause Pavlov’s dog to drool like an idiot. The dog being me! I let out a sigh. Nick Tessaro, my employer or my boyfriend? My career would be made if I took up the offer. My own line! Clutches by Swan. Then if I did that, I could not date him. The choice was impossible. Who would have thunk it? Emilie Swan facing this kind of conundrum?

  I closed my eyes and thought of what he would look like nude. I thought of what it would be like to slide against that silky steel of his body and skin. Mmm, he said he loved cherries, and my nipples had appeared in my mind when he did, ‘cause I just knew he meant that. Oh, my... To have him licking and sucking them? I was caressing my nipples as I saw his face, his eyes boring into mine. I would be toast if he made a move on me.

  Easy and sleazy, my mother’s words rang in my mind, effectively killing my fantasy. I sat up and tossed my purse against the wall. “Shut up, Mom!” Then I muttered, “Maybe one night of him would ruin me for any other guy, then I’d have to go celibate.” I truly believed that once I slept with him, he would lose interest. Yes, I had insecurity issues, but I also held myself up to reality. Because there was no question; if he pursued me, I would give in. So, that meant stay at Novak’s for now. Was I really going to pass up all he’d offered with that job, just so I could sleep with him? I sat upright. “You’re insane, Em!”

  Shaking my head, I headed to the bathroom for a shower, then bed. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have any more hot flashes for Nick. Or hopefully I would...

  Damn, I couldn’t make up my mind.

  MONDAY CAME QUICK. I’d spent Sunday cleaning my apartment and trying to work out. Then, since I’d already blown my diet on that dream date, I ate fruit and yogurt in the morning. I felt proud of myself, then blew it again with Chinese food for dinner. I told myself, having it delivered was the reason since I was too pooped from cleaning and doing sit-ups to cook or go out.

  That was yesterday.

  Entering Novak’s Design Studios, I walked in with more confidence than ever and wore a permanent smile on my face. No one could dampen my happy mood, even on the horrid subway. The rehash of loud noise, bad smells, and people pushing past me did nothing to my over-the-top mood.

  “Swan!” Novak yelled from somewhere.

  I stopped and looked around.

  He stood at the end of the hall, looking pissed.

  Oh, no. Does he know I was out with Nick?

  I strode forward, all of my confidence gone. My happy bubble barely there.

  “You’re late,” he sneered.

  I glanced up at the clock above his head. No, I wasn’t.

  “You need to get to the print room. They all need coffee.” A cocky smile hung on his lips.

  I willed myself to stay calm. “Then they should get it themselves.” I stared right into his shocked eyes. “If you would like me to do some real work, maybe I should go in there and do some of the prints.”

  His face went red.

  Oh, here it comes, Krakatoa explodes.

  “Get to your office,” he seethed.

  “Yes, sir!” I saluted and headed down the hall to my tiny office.

  Jenna poked her head out. “That was awesome, Em!” she whispered. “They should get it themselves.” She chuckled.

  I nodded my head, but stifled a nervous laugh. I could not believe I just did that. “I’ve things to tell you at lunch. If I make it alive that long.”

  Jenna giggled. “See ya there.” She shut her door.

  The rest of the morning Novak ran me ragged making me deliver things to every department and not allowing me to even stop to take a breath. Finally, noon came. I gathered my purse and lunch bag then stepped out of my office.

  Jenna stood there looking excited. “Let’s have it in the courtyard. I don’t want eavesdropping.”

  I smiled and followed her out, happy to have a break from Novak. We sat down at an outside table away from everyone else. I pulled out my drink and yogurt.

  “Is that all you’re having?” Jenna asked, indicating my lunch.

  “Yep.” I got out a plastic spoon, opened my yogurt, and looked up.

  Jenna had her arms crossed over her chest. “Spill. It!”

  Casually, I dipped my spoon into my yogurt and realized I’d brought cherry today. “Yes, cherries, bellisimo!” Then I tilted my head back with a huge laugh.

  Jenna stared at my face. “So help me, I’m going to stab you with this if you don’t start talking!” She pointed a white plastic knife at me.

  My laughter slowed. “I called him. He sent his car for me.”

  Jenna gaped at me.

  Nodding, I went on, “I happened to buy a dress that, get this, he designed. He said he told his staff at the time that he’d made it for his perfect woman, and he claimed...” I leaned forward, “that I’m her!”

  Jenna’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Nodding like a fool, I went on, “I arrived at the Palace Hotel in a stretch limo, Jen!”

  Jenna leaned forward. “Wow.”

  “Then I was escorted upstairs. It was mind-blowing.”

  Jenna bit at her lip, looking worried.

  “Yes, that was my thought. It better not be a room.”

  “And?”

  “It was the entire dining room with a full bar, but set with just one table.”

  Jenna’s mouth now fell open.

  “And that is not even the best part. He told the servers to go away and he served me dinner, wine, and dessert!”

  Jenna squealed, “Oh, my goodness!” She began fanning herself.

  “Yes, yes. He kept holding my hand and he said I was a goddess in his dress! It was surreal. Seriously. I keep pinching myself to remind my brain that it really happened. Nick. Me. Dinner.”

  “Get out!” Jenna exclaimed as I pushed her hand away.

  “Then he spooned cherries jubilee into my mouth.”

  Jenna laughed. “This didn’t happen. This is movie stuff. Not real life.”

  “Then, wait for it...” I paused.

  “Yes, yes?”

  “He offered me a job, with my own line, carte blanche, he said!”

  Jenna got up and reached over to hug me. “Oh, wow! So fabulous!” She pulled back, looking sad. “But I’ll miss you.”

  I smiled. “How? I’m not taking it... yet.”

  Jenna looked stunned. “You’d be crazy not to. Did you not see Novak foaming at the mouth today? You’ve gotten nowhere here. He treats you like a slave and he ran you ragged today. I saw it!”

  I took another bite of my yogurt. “But Nick said he also wanted to date me, Jen.”

  “So? That’s just a bonus. I mean I’m not into man meat... but hot damn, he is a fine specimen, Em!”

  Tsking, I shook my head. “I can’t work for him and date him!” It didn’t work in the movies, it wouldn’t work in real life.

  Jenna shrugged. “I say why not? Look, it’s not like you slept your way to the top. You’d already be at the top, then you sleep with him. On top.” She waggled her eyebrows up and down.

  I laughed so hard, I almost choked on my yogurt.

  “It’s true. I say, go for it! Live! Get out of th
at hovel of an office. Have your designs become the trend!”

  I stopped laughing and stared at my friend.

  “I mean it, Em. Do not pass this up. Not for loyalty. Not for anything.”

  Sighing, I wondered how Jenna knew that loyalty was the issue. Then again, Jenna was smarter than she gave herself credit for. And she didn’t miss a thing. “It’s kind of brassy, don’t you think? Jump ship, then sleep with the captain of the competitor ship?”

  “Hell yes, it’s and it’s way overdue!” Jenna exclaimed, looking frustrated.

  That made me laugh. “I’m not bold like that, nor am I jaded enough to do it. What was it Nick said? ‘Unjaded, hopeful, smart, and talented.’ Oh wow, did he actually say that?”

  “Yes, I bet he did. He saw it himself when he visited here. Novak is a mean-spirited ass. If he hadn’t promoted me last month with extra pay... I would’ve quit...” Her voice fell away.

  I snapped my head up, my eyes widening in shock.

  Jenna nodded. “It’s true. I just didn’t want you to know. I mean, he has passed you over five times now!”

  Reaching across, I patted her hand. “I’m still happy for you.”

  Jenna shook her head. “That is not the damn point. I wanna be happy for you for a freakin’ change!”

  “Okay, well I will think on it. It’s a big, bold move.”

  Jenna took a sip of her drink. “You need to be bold and brave, Em. You deserve better. You deserve the hot Italian and the job.”

  Chapter 11

  THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE a living hell. Novak was clearly annoyed with me and seemed to ratchet up the errands and the fetching. I knew I could get through it, but I also kept asking myself—why? Why didn’t I just walk out? I began to wonder if I were afraid of being with Nick and he would break my heart. Or was I afraid that maybe I wouldn’t cut it as a designer on my own? I knew better, but maybe being beaten down emotionally by Novak had damaged me.

  By Friday, I was a wreck. I noticed bags under my eyes and I even thought I’d lost a few pounds, too. No wonder, I literally was running up and down the streets of New York, picking up dry cleaning, grabbing lunch for the print crew, and then running all over the studios. Then when I got home, I would crash without even eating.

  Nick texted me every day with cute little nudges, calling me his ‘goddess’ and kept saying he would see me on Friday. I wondered at this part, as I did not remember us setting up another date. Still, I did not have the time or energy to put much thought into it. I did crack up at the memes he sent me and the cute images of him at his day. One was him shaving in front of his mirror, and damn! The pecs on him... and those abs... as his tanned chest was bare.

  When I arrived at work today, I was early, but it was because I simply wanted to just sit at my desk and mentally prepare for the war zone Novak had probably set up for me.

  “Swan!” Novak yelled when I stepped in.

  No way! Well, he couldn’t say I was late, now could he? “Yes, sir?”

  “You messed up the collages yesterday.”

  I stared at him. “No, I didn’t, I handed them to Pen, and she—”

  “Bullshit! She said you never gave them to her!”

  I’d had just about enough of this. Pen was his pet employee and everyone knew it, they also knew she was a dimwit and would forget her own address if she thought too hard about something. He liked her because she looked like a runway model, and that was the end of her skills, too. I stalked over to him. “Listen. I cannot help it that you keep promoting people who do not know their ass from a sewing machine. I do all you ask, and what do you do?”

  He pulled his head back and opened his mouth to retort.

  “No! This time, I speak and you’ll be shutting the hell up!”

  He spluttered, but no words came out of his mouth.

  “I have a degree from a prominent school. I’ve put in the time on the floor, in the copy room, in the lower stages of every damn department for four years! I’ve created designs that you would not even bother to look at, then the same type of designs come out hot on the market, when you could have led it! And why? For what?” I leaned in close to his face. “Because you’re a bigot, you piece of shit, against women who actually have meat on their bones instead looking like stick people!”

  He looked both pissed and stunned at the same time, if that were possible.

  “And... I stayed here out of some kind of fucked-up loyalty, while being passed over for promotions more times than I can count. You, Mister Pig Novak, can go straight to hell! I quit!”

  The room somehow had filled with people as I had been yelling, and I gazed around at them all. “You all have seen it. You know it’s true. And I’m sorry, but your little Cinderella fetch girl is out of here!” I spun around and stomped over to my little office.

  You could hear a pin drop behind me. Then I heard a few claps. I turned around and four out of the ten employees were smiling at me. Novak had already moved down the hallway and had slammed his door.

  A full-on applause now roared in the front offices. I was shocked to see that most of them approved wholeheartedly of what I’d just said and done. Jenna stepped forward and gave me a big, sweeping bow.

  Swallowing heavily to fight the tears, and shaking uncontrollably with rage and nerves, I went into my office, grabbed a copy paper box, emptied the paper out, and filled it with everything in my desk. Then I grabbed my purse and marched to my door, the box heavy under my arm.

  The offices were empty. Good, I had embarrassed myself enough for one day. I went down the hall and out the front doors.

  When the sun hit my eyes, I almost staggered my way down to the subway as now my nerves kicked in. Did I just do that? Tell him off like that? Oh, and his red face and the spluttering. He had no defense. He knew it was all true. Still, I now felt like a wet dishrag. I hurried home and dropped my box on the floor, then dropped myself onto the couch.

  I kicked my shoes off, let out a long, heavy sigh, and suddenly felt lighter than I had in years. “Score more points for Emilie!” I laughed and I cried.

  After a few minutes, all of it floated away as I drifted to sleep. Despite feeling like a champ, exhaustion had won this round.

  A KNOCKING WOKE ME up. I sat up slowly and looked down at myself. I’d fallen asleep in my work clothes again on the couch. Wait! No, I came back home this morning after I—

  The knocking turned into a sort of pounding.

  “Wait a minute!” I yelled. If this was one of my neighbors coming to poke fun at me, well, they would get the new Brave Emilie! I stomped over and flung the door open.

  There stood Nick. His smile dropped as he caught sight of me. “Are you okay?” He looked concerned.

  I just stared at him. Wow, he was better looking than in my memory. How could that be? “Um—I...”

  “Can I come in?”

  I stepped to the side without thinking. “Yes. No. I mean... sure.”

  He came in and closed the door. “What happened?”

  I shook my head, feeling confused and half asleep.

  “I mean, you’re sleeping at six p.m., sweet Emilie.”

  Gasping with surprise at this news, I looked around at my clock. “Oh, yes I did, didn’t I?”

  He laughed. “Are you sick? I mean we can cancel our date if—?”

  “We have a date?” I was suddenly awake, and a flash of panic bolted through me.

  He shook his head. “Clearly something happened and you forgot the neighbor’s party?”

  “Oh!” I laughed nervously. “Yes, Novak ran me ragged all week, hounding me, and...”

  Raising his brows, he asked, “Yes, and?”

  “I told him off and quit.”

  Nick looked stunned then he grabbed me up in a hug. “Yes!”

  I felt his hard chest meeting with my soft boobs.

  He set me down. “So, that’s why you’re exhausted.” He stepped away from me and headed toward my small kitchen. “What do you usually wake up with?”<
br />
  Her sleepy fog did not seem to clear up any. “W-what?”

  “Coffee, tea or... Me?”

  I laughed as I rolled my eyes.

  “I’m kidding. What do you need?” he asked.

  Sighing, I walked over to where he stood. “Really, I’m okay.”

  “Coffee?”

  I laughed. “At six at night?”

  He shrugged. “Well, you never know, could be a long weekend?” He threw me a wink.

  “Okay, coffee’s in the cabinet. Cream and sugar on the counter, then bottled water sits next to the coffeemaker.”

  He nodded and opened up my cabinets. “You go ahead and get dressed.”

  I shook my head and went to my room. As I shut my door, my eyes widened as realization struck me. Nick Tessaro was in my apartment, making me coffee! Oh, now I was awake. Wide awake. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Oh, crap! No wonder he thought I was sick. My face looked rumpled and my eyes were puffy. And my hair! I divested myself of my clothes and hopped into the shower.

  After probably the quickest shower on record, I toweled off and rushed into my room. A small knock sounded on my door, and I froze.

  The knock repeated. Still, I stood there, those nerves I’d been suffering with had stricken me mute.

  The door eked open and Nick stuck his dark head in. He looked around the room then his eyes stopped on me.

  Dumbly, I just stood watching him.

  His eyes darkened as he stared.

  I gazed down. I was stark naked. My head shot up. “Oh shit!” I exclaimed.

  He raised his gaze to my face. “You’re as beautiful as I imagined.” His whisper sounded shaky. “So, ah, your coffee’s ready,” he spoke fast in a rush. He then shut the door with a small, tight click.

  “Oh... my... freakin’ goodness!” I bit at my lip. He just saw me butt-naked! And he looked like he was going to crash in here and grab me up. Then to say I was beautiful? Oh wow, oh wow. Now my case of anxiety became a full-blown attack of nerves. I rummaged through my underwear drawer and grabbed the first panties and bra my fingers clasped onto. I dressed so quickly, I must have broken that record, too. Grabbing a sundress from my walk-in, I pulled it over my head. I had a man waiting in my living room with coffee for me! And not just any man. A very hot Italian, and what did Jenna say? Specimen of male. And he thought my curves were hot!