Serendipity (Inevitable)

by Nissenson, Janet

  “My pleasure,” he said in a deep voice. “In fact, why don’t you let me buy you a drink? You know, to steady your nerves.”

  Julia laughed, but gently disengaged her arm from his grasp. “My nerves are fine, thanks. As for the drink, it’s a bit early in the day for that, don’t you think?”

  The stranger shrugged as they reached the other side of the street. “It’s lunchtime. Barely. Or we could get coffee. It doesn’t matter to me.”

  She smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, thanks. I need to get back to work, I’m afraid. Have a nice day.”

  “Wait.” He grasped her elbow again as she began to walk away. “Can I give you my card at least? In case you want to take a rain check on that drink?”

  Julia hesitated. She normally blew off overly aggressive men like him, but her battered ego did feel in need of some bolstering right now. She took the proffered card. “Thanks again. I really have to go now.”

  She felt his dark eyes on her ass as she walked into the building, and suddenly felt in better spirits than she had for weeks. Maybe she was being an imbecile to keep pining after a man who was already taken but who kept sending her mixed signals in spite of that fact. There were a lot of attractive, eligible, available men out there for the taking, and maybe it was well past time for her to start trying some on for size. Like the hottie who’d just passed her the card still folded in her palm.

  There was an older couple waiting for the elevator when she approached, and she returned the friendly smile both of them gave her. The man – who she surmised to be in his early sixties – looked strangely familiar but she didn’t think they had ever met before. The woman, who was probably a few years younger, looked incredibly well kept for a woman of her years. Both were well dressed and looked fit and trim.

  As they stepped inside the elevator, the woman looked at her admiringly. “That is such a beautiful dress, dear. What a perfect color for you. But you’re such a pretty little thing I’m guessing you look good in anything.”

  Julia warmed to the woman instantly. “Thank you so much. What a lovely thing to say.”

  The man grinned. “You’ll have to forgive my wife. She’s nearly always talking to strangers but she doesn’t mean to be so forward.”

  His wife gave him a playful swat on the arm. “Stop that, Michael,” she scolded. “This young lady is going to think I’m crazy or something.”

  “Or something,” teased Michael, before clutching his arm as his wife socked him again, harder this time.

  Julia smiled at their obvious affection for each other, finding it similar to the easy, close relationship her own parents shared.

  “I see we’re headed to the same floor,” she commented politely. “Are you clients of the firm or just visiting someone?”

  “Oh, we’re here to visit our son, dear,” replied the woman eagerly. “Do you work here, too?”

  Julia nodded as the elevator stopped and the three of them exited. “Yes. I’ve been employed as an interior designer here since January.”

  The woman looked delighted at the news. “So you work for Travis, then? I’ve always said that boy had excellent taste. What’s your name, dear?”

  Julia extended her hand, heedless of the small card that fluttered to the floor. “I’m Julia McKinnon.”

  “Alexis Atwood,” replied the woman with the short, stylish dark blonde bob. “And this is my husband Michael. I’m sure you must know our son – Nathan.”

  Julia was startled at this revelation but managed to compose herself enough to shake hands with both of Nathan’s parents. No wonder Michael had looked familiar – he bore a striking resemblance to his son, though his thick hair was almost completely gray, and his eyes an even lighter shade of blue.

  “It’s so nice to meet both of you,” she told them sincerely. “So you’re here for a visit?”

  Alexis nodded. “Yes, we’re out from Michigan for a week to see Nathan. And our middle son is going to be in town for a few days as well. Did you know Nathan’s brother Jared was a professional baseball player?”

  Julia shook her head, not even knowing until now that Nathan had siblings or that he was from Michigan. They hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time exchanging family histories. “I wasn’t aware, no. You must be very proud of him.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” agreed Michael. “Jared is an outfielder for the Colorado Rockies. The team will be here to play the Giants starting tomorrow. This way we get to visit our two oldest sons at the same time.”

  “Our youngest – Greg – is attending law school in Michigan. The only one to follow in his father’s footsteps,” lamented Alexis.

  So Nathan’s father was a lawyer. Judging from the way both he and Alexis were dressed – not to mention his Omega watch and her stunning gold jewelry – he must be quite successful. Julia was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and down to earth they both seemed, not at all like some of the very wealthy clients she dealt with.

  “Well, you have three very successful sons, then,” commented Julia.

  Alexis beamed. “Yes, and a darling grandson, too. Jared and his wife Brooke have an eight month old. Alas, no girls yet. Hopefully one of my sons will present me with a granddaughter someday.”

  “Well, with Nathan and Cameron getting married next year, hopefully more grandchildren will follow soon,” added Michael.

  Julia’s smile froze on her face at the mention of Nathan’s wedding. And she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, but the beaming smile on Alexis’ face seemed to fade rapidly.

  “One can hope,” replied Alexis quietly. “But I’m not counting on my oldest son giving me grandchildren anytime soon.”

  Julia regarded Nathan’s mother curiously, sensing – or perhaps hoping – that Alexis wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of having Cameron as her new daughter-in-law. But then Alexis quickly changed the subject and quizzed Julia about her own family and background. She was delighted to learn that Julia had a twin, and over the moon when she heard that Aunt Madelyn was the head buyer at Bergdorf Goodman.

  “Well, I can see where you get your fashion sense from, dear,” she gushed. “I love clothes, too.”

  Michael rolled his eyes. “Yes, I can certainly vouch for that. As each of my sons has moved out, Alexis has taken over their bedroom closets. She could open her own department store.”

  Alexis gave him another playful swat. “I can’t help it,” she confessed. “My shopping addiction is a holdover from my modeling days. Oh, nothing major, mostly catalogues and local stuff. And it was a very long time ago, of course.”

  Julia noted Alexis’s tall, slender figure, perfect makeup and hair, and smiled. “You still have the look, you know. I can totally imagine you strutting the catwalk.”

  Alexis was absurdly thrilled at the compliment, giggling like a girl, and giving Julia an affectionate little hug. “You are the sweetest little thing besides being beautiful. How lucky your mother is to have not one but two girls like you.”

  At the sound of heels clicking on the foyer’s tile floor, Julia glanced up to see Nathan heading straight towards them. After the initial look of surprise on his face at seeing her in his mother’s embrace, it was swiftly replaced by an expression Julia couldn’t quite place – annoyance, irritation, maybe even a bit of panic. Whatever it was, he wasn’t pleased.

  Julia gently disengaged herself from Alexis’s arms as Nathan strode into the foyer. Alexis smiled at her son and gave him a hug.

  “Hello, darling. Your father and I were just having the most delightful conversation with Julia. I suppose we lost track of time,” she apologized.

  “I was wondering where you were,” Nathan told her. “I should have guessed you’d be busy making a new friend.” He turned and gave his father a quick hug. “Dad isn’t doing a very good job at keeping you under control.”

  Michael chuckled. “Like I’ve ever been able to do that, son! You know how your mother gets at times.”

  Nathan looked at Julia expe
ctantly. “I hope my parents haven’t been making pests of themselves. They were supposed to have met me in my office ten minutes ago.”

  Julia shook her head. “Not at all. And I’m sure they didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

  “It’s my fault,” exclaimed Alexis. “I was just so taken with this pretty little thing that I kept hounding her for more details about herself. I hope you don’t think me a nosy old lady, Julia.”

  “Not at all,” reassured Julia. “I enjoyed meeting both of you. You should probably be off to lunch, though. Nathan seems a bit impatient.”

  Alexis wrapped a hand around Nathan’s arms and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Oh, he’s no fun sometimes! Indulge your mother, Nathan, you don’t see me all that often.” Her eyes lit up all of a sudden as she beamed at Julia. “I know. Why don’t you join us for lunch, dear? I’m sure it’s too early for you to have already eaten, and I would love to continue chatting with you.”

  Julia was startled at her impromptu invitation and stammered, “Um, I really don’t think –“

  Before she could finish her sentence, Nathan interrupted. “She can’t join us for lunch, Mother, because she has a client meeting with Travis in half an hour. Isn’t that right, Julia?”

  Julia almost recoiled from the terseness of his tone, not to mention the angry expression on his face. “Y-yes, I do. In fact, I need to get some things ready for it, so if you’ll please excuse me.”

  She turned to walk away, but Alexis held her back. “Wait, dear. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed meeting you. Will we see you again during our visit? Maybe we can have coffee together.”

  Julia gave her a warm smile, wondering how Nathan could be such an asshole sometimes when his mother was such a sweetheart. “I’ve enjoyed meeting both of you, too. And I’m sure we’ll see each other again here at the office before you leave.” She tactfully didn’t mention having coffee together, knowing that Nathan wouldn’t like that idea. It hurt her to the quick to realize he didn’t want her anywhere near his parents, and was already pissed off that she’d spent time talking with them. The excuse about a nonexistent client meeting that he’d just invented was just a flimsy way of keeping her away from them.

  Julia blinked back a tear or two as she started walking away, until Nathan called her name.

  “Did you drop this?” he asked, holding out the business card she’d forgotten all about. He glanced at the name, which she hadn’t even bothered to do yet.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to just throw the card away, but she was so hurt and angry at his abrupt dismissal that she reached out a hand for it.

  “Yes, I did. Thank you.”

  Nathan frowned as he looked at the card again before handing it to her. “A client?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s – personal. Someone I’m meeting for drinks later.”

  She was oddly pleased to see the look of displeasure on his face.

  “I see,” he replied tightly. “New boyfriend?”

  She gave a careless little shrug. “Perhaps. It’s too soon to tell. Thanks for the card.” To Alexis and Michael she said, “Enjoy your lunch. It was lovely to meet you both.”

  She walked directly to her office after that, and put her things away, still holding the stranger’s business card. She was almost ready to throw it away before deciding with a sigh that she ought to at least know his name, just in case Nathan asked her about him.

  Tall, dark and handsome’s name was Todd Bryant, and he was the Chief Operating Officer of a hedge fund. Julia stared at the card for long seconds, debating whether to throw it out or throw caution to the wind and call him.

  In the end, she merely tucked the card into her desk drawer, too timid to actually pick up the phone but oddly reluctant to completely ignore the stranger’s invitation, either.

  Nathan glowered when he pulled up Todd Bryant’s detailed profile on Linkedin later than afternoon. He’d committed the fucker’s name to memory after glancing at his business card twice before handing it over reluctantly to Julia.

  He had hoped that the guy Julia was meeting for a drink – and most likely a lot more – was a total loser, someone she’d quickly decide wasn’t worth her while. But it seemed that Mr. Bryant was the exact opposite – quite a catch.

  At thirty-six years old, Bryant was more than ten years Julia’s senior, but judging from the guy’s admitted good looks Nathan guessed that the age difference wouldn’t bother her in the least. The guy was smart as hell, too – undergrad at Harvard, MBA in Finance from Wharton. He’d lived in San Francisco for about seven years, presumably moving out here from New York where he’d last worked to take the job at the hedge fund. The guy was single, and his hobbies included sailing, tennis and skiing.

  ‘Great, just fucking great’ thought Nathan sourly. Not only was Todd good looking, smart, and undoubtedly rich, he had the Ivy League education and years of living and working in Manhattan in common with Julia. There was no reason at all why the two of them wouldn’t hit if off big time. Nathan scowled as he pictured them together – Todd with his dark good looks and Julia with her golden brown hair and creamy skin. Todd’s mouth was probably watering right now at the thought of running his hands over all of Julia’s luscious curves – her hips, ass, thighs, those round, perfect breasts.

  Nathan groaned when he realized he was getting hard again just thinking about her. She’d looked delicious today in that figure-hugging coral dress. He’d longed to cup that sweet butt in his hands, to bend and press a kiss to the glimpse of cleavage bared by the neckline of the dress. Instead, once again, he’d been a total asshole to her, treating her with the cool standoffishness that he’d had to work so hard on sustaining these past months.

  He hadn’t meant to be such a prick to her, but he’d panicked when his well-meaning but interfering mother had invited her to lunch. It just figured, he thought tiredly, that his mother would meet Julia and be so completely enchanted by her. Alexis had continued to ask question after question about Julia during lunch, until Nathan had told her in exasperation that she knew more about the woman than he did. That had finally silenced Alexis, but he knew it hadn’t stopped her fascination with the girl Nathan himself was enthralled with. If he’d allowed Julia to come to lunch with them, he wasn’t at all sure that his wily mother wouldn’t have suspected there was something between them. And that had been his main motivation in ensuring she didn’t join them.

  Conversely, Alexis had never seemed to warm up much to Cameron, at least not like she’d appeared to do so quickly with Julia. His mother was always charming and kind to Cameron, but he’d never sensed even the slightest sort of bonding or friendship between the two women. Of course, a lot of that was Cameron’s fault, for she saw any woman as a threat to her relationship with him – even his own mother. And Cameron was very close to her own mother, and didn’t seem at all inclined to forge a similar sort of bond with Alexis. Cameron always hedged about going back to Michigan to see his family, or to Colorado to see Jared and Brooke. She’d reluctantly conceded to paying a visit with him for a week last summer, but had refused to do the same at Christmas, preferring to remain in San Francisco with her family. It had given him cause for concern for the future, hoping that Cameron would be agreeable to splitting the holidays between their respective families. They definitely needed to get those sort of details ironed out, and sooner than later, before they became an issue in their marriage.

  Nathan and his parents were having dinner this evening with Cameron and her mother and father. Cameron’s father had insisted on dining at the private yacht club he belonged to, and of course Graham Tolliver always got his way. Nathan didn’t have a problem per se with the club, though he didn’t think the food was particularly good and the atmosphere was a little too stuffy for his taste. He couldn’t imagine, for example, his rowdy group of former water polo teammates in such a formal setting. The guys tended to get a bit raucous when they had a few, behavior that would surely be frowned upon he
re.

  As he pulled the Lexus SUV into the parking lot, he remembered to caution his parents. “By the way, don’t say a word to Cameron about meeting Julia today. She, er, doesn’t care for her.”

  Alexis gave a little gasp. “Now how can that be? Julia is the sweetest girl. Why doesn’t Cameron like her?”

  “I’d be willing to bet she’s jealous of her,” observed Michael. “But we’ll do as you ask, son. Alexis, keep that mouth of yours closed, understand? We don’t want to cause any trouble for Nathan.”

  “Fine.” She sighed in resignation. “And I still don’t understand why you rushed her off today, Nathan. I don’t believe that nonsense about a meeting. You just didn’t want her to go with us.”

  “Mom, it’s not that simple, okay? She’s an employee and it’s really not a good idea for her to be socializing with her boss and his parents.”

  Alexis frowned. “I thought Travis was her boss. And it was just a casual lunch, Nathan. I think you’re overreacting, dear.”

  “And I think you’re butting into things that don’t concern you,” retorted Nathan. “Now, come on. Let’s go inside, shall we?”

  It wasn’t the first time that Michael and Alexis had met Cameron’s parents so everyone was relatively at ease during dinner. As usual, Graham dominated the conversation with his deep, booming voice and know-it-all attitude. Nathan didn’t like his future father-in-law very much, especially the way he needed control over everything and everyone in his life. He’d ordered the wine tonight, for example, without asking anyone else’s opinion, and had proceeded to tell everyone at the table what the best entrees to order were. When Alexis had tentatively mentioned ordering the shrimp scampi, Graham had made a loud noise of disapproval, telling her the cook did a terrible job with them here. Intimidated, Alexis had rather meekly relented and ordered the salmon instead.