Fool Me Once

by Mona Ingram

  “Speaking of losers,” she continued without missing a beat, “did you see who’s sitting in the window?”

  “Who?” Samantha was reeling from her friend’s outburst. Lauren was probably right about Cody, but her point on STDs was more than a little unsettling.

  “Freddie. You remember...Freddie Howard. He was in our class, not that anyone noticed.”

  “Freddie? The guy who was constantly sketching?”

  “Yeah, and he’d never show anyone what he was working on.” Lauren made it sound like a personal affront. “Either that or he was playing those stupid electronic games.”

  Samantha looked at the man sitting with his back to them. “Looks like he’s still doing it.’ Her thoughts wandered into the past. “He wasn’t so bad, though. I remember one time before that girl Stella got expelled. She was harassing me and he stepped in and stopped her.”

  “Freddie?”

  Samantha frowned. “I can’t recall what he said, or even what happened afterward. But I do remember that he stood up for me. She never bothered me again.”

  “Huh.” For a few seconds Lauren was speechless. Then she leaned on the table and lowered her voice. “You know what the guys called him, don’t you?”

  Samantha shook her head. “What?”

  “They called him Tripod.”

  “Why would they call him...?” She caught the look in Lauren’s eye. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Would I kid about that?” Lauren wore her most lascivious expression.

  In spite of herself, Samantha felt a sharp tug of arousal. What was that all about? Besides, Freddie Howard was definitely not her type. “How come I never heard about that?”

  “Would you have wanted to?” Lauren was laughing at her now.

  “No, probably not.” She glanced back in Freddie’s direction. “Was I really that much of a prude?”

  “More.” Lauren started to gather her things. “I think I’ll talk to him on the way out.”

  “No!” Samantha almost shouted it. “Don’t, Lauren. You’ll say something awful.”

  Her friend looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. “Okay then, you do it. Promise me you’ll at least say hello, or I will.”

  “I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Anything to avoid a scene. Who knew what would come out of Lauren’s mouth? “I promise.”

  Samantha breathed a sigh of relief when Lauren left. She had no idea what she’d say to Freddie, or how she’d stop herself from checking out the rumour. Oh, Lord, what had she gotten herself into?

  She glanced at the wall clock. Time to go to work. She took a deep breath and walked toward the door.

  “Samantha?” He slid off the stool and held the door for her. She’d forgotten how tall he was, or maybe he’d grown since she last saw him. She had to look up at him. Dark brown eyes looked down at her through glasses that needed cleaning, but they were friendly and gentle. “I saw you sitting with your friend, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  “I...ah...you remember Lauren, don’t you?”

  “Pretty hard to forget her.” He smiled. “Her height, you know?”

  “Oh, good.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I thought for a moment you were referring to her caustic tongue.”

  He grinned again. “That too, but I didn’t want to sound negative, especially since she’s your friend. So how are you?” He fell in beside her.

  “I’m doing fine. I’m a legal secretary with a big firm in the Bentall Centre.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Not really, no, but the money’s good, and there are worse jobs.” She looked up at him. “How about you?”

  “Oh, I dabble in IT. Nothing too exciting.”

  They walked along in silence. She noticed how he’d moved to the outside of the street. It was a sweet, old-fashioned gesture and she liked it. “So, where do you work?” she asked. A Don’t Walk sign was flashing crossly at the intersection.

  “I’m a few blocks over in that direction.” He nodded toward the east. “I usually bike.” He looked up as it started to rain again and she wondered how he could possibly see out of his glasses.

  The light changed and Samantha stepped down. Freddie pulled up the collar of his light jacket and followed her. “It was nice seeing you,” he said, and a blush coloured his cheeks. At least she thought he was blushing; it was hard to tell. They hustled across the street.

  “You, too.” They stopped on the other sidewalk, a small island of two in a stream of morning commuters.

  He took off his glasses and rubbed them against his jacket. That explained why they were such a mess. His eyelashes were remarkably long. Her gaze was drawn to them as they misted up with rain. No guy should have lashes like that...it just wasn’t fair.

  He put the glasses back on and they immediately slid down his nose. He pushed them back up with an unconscious motion. “Have a good day,” he said, gesturing down the street toward her building.

  She’d been looking at the gold glints in his eyes and it took a moment for his words to catch up with her. “Yeah, right,” she said, embarrassed that she’d been caught staring. “You too.” She turned and walked down the street, wondering what had just happened.

  Chapter Two

  “Morning, boss.” The receptionist looked up from her ultra modern desk as he entered. “You look drenched. “Can I get you a coffee?”

  “Thanks, Chloe, that would be great.” Freddie turned into the open space that housed the staff. Irregular work pods dotted the space; many of them were unoccupied. He didn’t pay much attention to hours worked. Productivity came second to creativity in this business, and the teams competed fiercely to come up with the hottest new games. He made his way to his office in the corner. It was his one luxury. Other execs in hi-tech businesses loved to be photographed in among the staff, pretending to be just like everyone else, but when it came right down to it, he wasn’t like everyone else. He’d built this empire, and the employees were his responsibility. And it was a responsibility he took seriously.

  Chloe placed the coffee on his favourite coaster and put a small stack of messages in the middle of his desk.

  “Anything pressing?” He looked at the stack with distaste.

  A fleeting frown passed over the receptionist’s face. What was the matter with the boss? He usually pounced on the messages like a cat on catnip. Maybe he was getting a cold.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “I’m fine.” He forced himself to smile.

  “Okay then. There was another call from Mr. Zhou in Taiwan, and a writer from Gamer Nation called to ask about an interview. The rest are fairly straightforward.”

  “Thanks Chloe.” He picked up the top message and scanned it; a hint for her to go back to her desk. She left, then stopped to look back after a few steps. He was staring at the piece of paper.

  He didn’t see the words. He saw Samantha’s face, framed by that impossibly curly hair. He wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through it. He shifted in his seat, aroused at the thought.

  Was it only last week that he’d noticed her having coffee a few blocks from his new condo? It had seemed like a lifetime, waiting to talk to her. Within a few days he’d discovered that she went there for her morning coffee. So far she’d met Lauren there every morning...that was a bit of a problem, but if he hung around he could probably engage her in conversation. Okay, okay, he’d like to engage her in more than just conversation, but he could be patient. After all, wasn’t that how he’d built his company?

  He was still holding the message. He dropped it on the desk and looked out the windows. His accountant had cautioned him against buying this old building, but fortunately he hadn’t listened. Its value was now four or five times what he’d paid for it, and from his office on the top floor he could look out over Vancouver Harbour. He didn’t think less of his accountant–the man was great with figures but he couldn’t possibly understand the concepts Freddie had de
veloped ever since he was eleven years old and discovered computer games. The clear vision that had combined the hundreds of characters he’d sketched with the latest technology in the gaming field. It had been a heady ascent, and he’d ridden it to the top.

  But hadn’t got there by daydreaming, and he couldn’t afford to start now. He tackled the phone messages and went on to his stack of mail.

  A cream coloured envelope caught his eye. It was shaped differently than his regular business mail, and had been sent to his parents’ address. They’d been in Hawaii up until last week. He opened it with a letter opener that had been a gift from one of his suppliers...a stylized wizard’s wand.

  Sybil and John Hunter request the pleasure of your company... It was a wedding invitation. He looked for the date and checked his calendar. Two weeks wasn’t a very long lead time, but that was okay, he was free that weekend. Impressive...they were booking the entire boutique hotel, and offering free accommodation for those who wanted to stay over.

  He remembered Ashley Hunter from school; in spite of her privileged upbringing, she’d been a nice girl. He called up his appointments calendar on his pc, and as he entered the info, his heart ticked up a notch. Would Samantha be there? He turned the computer screen aside and caught a blurry reflection of himself. Who was he kidding? She probably had a boyfriend, or maybe even a fiancé, although he hadn’t noticed a ring.

  He stood up and went into his private bathroom. Who was that long-haired, poorly dressed guy looking back at him in the mirror? Had his drive to make his company the best in Canada superseded everything else...including taking care of himself? His gaze went back to the man in the mirror. The answer stared back at him.

  * * *

  Samantha treated herself to a cab ride home after work. She just couldn’t face a bus ride tonight. She and Cody had a date to go down to Chinatown for dinner, but based on his track record the past couple of weeks, she couldn’t be sure he’d actually show up.

  “Hi Babe.” He was seated in the living room, feet up on the coffee table, beer in hand, and watching the NBA finals on television.

  “Hi yourself.” She smiled at the back of his head. His hair was the colour of the sand on the beach at English Bay. It curled around his ears and down his neck and for a moment she was reminded of Freddie. But Cody was nothing like Freddie. He was the top salesman in the most exclusive car showroom in Vancouver, he sailed his own boat in the summer, and skied Grouse Mountain almost every day in the winter. And he could make her weak in the knees just by looking at her. A curl of desire started to unfurl in the pit of her stomach and she walked up behind him and nibbled on his ear.

  “Care for an appetizer before we go out?” His cologne tickled her senses and she slid her hands down his chest.

  “Not now, Babe.” He pushed her away and she staggered backwards. This had never happened before, and she blinked back tears. “This is a tight game. Later, okay?”

  She felt as though he’d slapped her in the face. Actually, a slap would have been preferable. She walked away without a word and poured herself a glass of wine. This required some thinking. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t told him about the wedding. He’d accepted enthusiastically; probably counting the number of new contacts he could make.

  She allowed herself to think back on the number of times he’d disappointed her in the past month. There were too many, and she didn’t believe in co-incidences. And now this. Come to think of it, his cologne was too strong...too fresh. What had he been doing this afternoon? And yet, she had no formal hold on him. She’d always assumed they were seeing each other exclusively, but there was no spoken agreement. She looked down at her ring-less hand, her thoughts churning.

  “Ready?” He was standing on the other side of the counter. “I’m hungry.”

  Samantha looked at her empty wine glass. She didn’t recall drinking the wine.

  * * *

  “I saw someone from school today,” she said, popping a prawn into her mouth.

  “Yeah? Who?” He glanced up, his tone disinterested.

  “Freddie Howard.”

  “And was he your boyfriend?” He gave her a look that said he thought it was unlikely.

  “No, he was just a nice guy.”

  “What does he do?” To Cody, job status counted for a lot.

  “He says he’s in IT.”

  “Him and every other loser who doesn’t want to admit they’re in a nowhere job.”

  Samantha had a sudden desire to stand up for Freddie. “Somehow I don’t think he’s a loser.” Lauren’s words came back to her and she giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” Cody motioned to the server, indicating with an imperious gesture that he should remove the plates.

  Samantha waited until the server was gone. “Lauren says his nickname in high school was Tripod.”

  Something shifted in Cody’s eyes. He was not well endowed, and she knew it bothered him. “So did you fuck him?”

  “Cody!” She looked around the restaurant nervously. “What a terrible thing to say.”

  “So you didn’t.” There was a malicious gleam in his eyes. “But you wish you had.”

  “Cody, that’s enough.” She stood up. “You can either take me home or I can get a cab.”

  He paid and followed her outside. “I’m sorry, Babe.” He brushed a curl away from her temple, his touch gentle. “I’m a jealous prick.” He pulled her into a quick embrace and she looked up into his eyes, startled. He was aroused, and she could feel it. “Know what I’d like to do now? I’d like to take you home and make love to you.” His voice was low and husky, full of promise. “I want to do everything to you tonight, just the way you like it.”

  She wavered, caught on the knife edge of indecision. She should stick to her guns and grab a cab, but he’d apologized...sort of...and the Libra in her wanted to give him a second chance. He nuzzled her neck and the anger that had been building all evening faded away.

  Chapter Three

  “So...tell Aunty Lauren. Did you talk to Freddie?” Her friend was waiting when she got to the coffee shop the next morning, asking the question before she even sat down.

  “Whoa!” Lauren’s eyes widened. “What’s that on your neck?”

  Samantha’s hand went to cover the offensive spot. “Cody can get carried away sometimes.” He’d been almost frantic in his efforts to please her last night.

  “For God’s sake, nobody does hickeys any more. That’s so juvenile!”

  Samantha shrugged. “I’ll dab on a bit more makeup when I get to the office.”

  “Good idea. So back to Freddie. Did you talk to him? Did you check him out? You know, about the nickname?”

  “Yes and no. I honestly forgot to look at his...you know. But I did talk to him. As a matter of fact we walked a couple of blocks together.”

  “So what did you find out? Really, Samantha, do I have to drag it out of you word by word?”

  “There’s not much to tell.” Unless you count the gorgeous eyes and the charming, old-fashioned manners. But there was no way she was going to tell Lauren about that. Not yet, anyway. “He says he’s in IT.”

  “Him and a million other guys.”

  “That’s what Cody said.” Samantha turned thoughtful. “You know, I mentioned him to Cody and it seemed to turn him on. He couldn’t wait to get me home and in the sack. What’s up with that?”

  “Can’t stand the competition, I guess.” Lauren thought for a moment, nodding to herself. “It’ll do him good.”

  “Well he might have been turned on, but it sure didn’t work for me.”

  Lauren toyed with her coffee. “Why do you do this to yourself, Sam? Why do you stay with a guy who doesn’t treat you well? You deserve better.”

  Samantha couldn’t look into her friend’s eyes. She allowed her gaze to wander outside, where people strode by purposefully on their way to work. “It’s my father.”

  Lauren gave her an odd look. “Sorry to break this to you, kid, but your fa
ther died about twenty years ago.”

  Samantha brought her focus back to her friend. “No he didn’t. I made that up and for some reason my mom let me carry on the little charade.”

  “Jeez, Samantha. Why would you do a thing like that?”

  “Because he left us, that’s why. He walked out and left us when I was just six years old.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “He used to call me his princess and then he left me.” She dabbed at her eyes with a napkin, embarrassed to be seen crying in public. “I know now that I was just collateral damage in the fight between my parents, but somehow I never got over the feeling of abandonment. I haven’t had a lot of relationships, but I’ve always gone out of my way to please.”

  Lauren nodded. “So they won’t leave you.”

  “Yeah, and look where it’s got me.”

  “Well I still think a little competition would be good for Cody.”

  ***End of Excerpt***

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