Cinderella Screwed Me Over

by Cindi Madsen

  I put my hand in the crook of Jake’s elbow—the one the salesgirl wasn’t plastered against. “I want to show you something.” I shot Miss Perky a tight smile. “Thanks for your help, but I think we’ll just wander around a bit. If we have any questions, we’ll let you know.”

  “No problem.” She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Jake. “Take this. That way if you have any questions later, you’ll know how to reach me.”

  Just because Jake and I didn’t have a label on our relationship didn’t mean I wanted to watch a girl throw herself at him. I tightened my grip on his arm and led him toward a mock living room with a rug you could lose a zebra in. “Wow, that girl was all over you. Does that happen everywhere you go?”

  The corners of his mouth turned up. “Why? Are you jealous?”

  “Of course not. I just don’t think it was very professional. Unless her real profession is an escort. She is kind of dressed for it.”

  “You’re the one who said you were my interior designer.” Jake hugged me into him, a smug expression on his face. “How much do I owe you, by the way?”

  “You couldn’t afford me.” I glanced around, looking for where to go next. When I saw Miss Perky watching us, I grabbed Jake’s shirt and pulled him in for a kiss—the kind of kiss I don’t normally do in a public place.

  Jake moved his lips to my ear and whispered, “I’m going to have to bring you here more often.”

  While he was obviously amused by my jealousy, panic was winding through me, mixing in and making my stomach clench. This level of jealousy scared me because it burned more than it should.

  Because it was the way I usually felt after I’d already fallen for a guy.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “They delivered the furniture and everything else,” Jake said when I answered my phone. “So whenever you’re free, I need you to get up here and tell me where to put it all. I don’t want to do it wrong.”

  For a couple of days I’d kept busy, keeping my contact with Jake to a text here and there. I was better now. A little jealousy could totally happen pre-fall. Besides, I was his interior designer; I had to do my job, right? And if the thought of seeing him to do my job sent excitement zipping through me, that was an added bonus. “I’ll be right there.”

  I moved to my closet, scanning it for my sneakers—not what I’d normally wear to see Jake, but they were the best option when it came to moving furniture.

  “I didn’t mean you have to come now. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see you, but I know you go to work earlier than I do. It doesn’t have to be tonight.”

  I tugged on one sneaker, then switched the phone to my other ear and put on the other one. “It’s not that much stuff, so it won’t take us very long. Besides, this is my favorite part. ”

  “I’ll see you in a few minutes, then,” he said.

  I hung up and tossed the phone onto my bed, already planning the layout of Jake’s living room. He’d bought a coffee table and matching entertainment center. Unable to help myself, I’d pointed out a few other things that would pull his room together. I’d convinced them to knock 20 percent off Jake’s purchase, got my lamp for next to nothing, and got them to throw in free delivery. Jake said he was impressed by my mad bargaining skills.

  A short elevator ride later, I arrived at Jake’s, toolbox in hand.

  “I have tools,” he said.

  “Well, you never know.” I set the box down on the floor. “First the rug, then we’ll get everything set up around it.”

  Over the next forty-five minutes, we positioned and rearranged the room. Once I got started, I liked to go until I was happy with it.

  I stepped back and looked at the finished project. “What d’ya think? Personally, I really like the black-and-white landscape picture there, but if you don’t agree, let me know. You can be honest if you hate it. Any of it.”

  “I like it. It’s homey.” Jake grabbed my hand. “We better try out the couch.”

  “The couch is the same.”

  “But it might feel different now.”

  “It’s late, and I’ve got to be up early for a meeting.”

  Ignoring my protest, he tugged me toward the couch. He sat, pulling me with him, reclining back against the arm. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss to my temple. “It definitely feels better.”

  I kicked off my shoes, tucked my feet up, and leaned my head against his chest. “It is pretty comfortable.”

  “So, is this about what you do with most of your clients?” Jake asked.

  “Cuddle afterward?”

  He laughed. “Yes. That’s exactly what I meant.”

  “Usually people who hire me want big remodeling done. We build shelves or knock down walls—I hire people to do it, anyway. New paint, flooring, lots of decorations and knickknacks. Some people prefer textures and patterns. I tend to keep things simpler with clean lines and comfort in mind.”

  “At least now I have a place to rest my food and feet.”

  “Yeah, those together don’t really sound like a good idea.” I lifted my hand and ran it along his jaw. Strange how dark prickly hair could look so hot on a guy. “You give up shaving?”

  “Lazy one day, slept in the next. I swore I was going to shave it today, but Lindsay—my sister—called. I hadn’t talked to her in forever, so I left the house again without shaving.”

  “You and your sister are close, then?”

  “I’d say we’re pretty close,” he agreed. “We used to fight some growing up, but as we got older, we got closer. My niece, Addie, is going through the terrible-two thing. Lindsay’s always calling to tell me something funny Addie did, or to tell me about the huge messes she makes.”

  “And you said your sister still works with your dad, right?”

  He nodded. “She loves it. Her husband’s an illustrator, so he works from home and takes care of Addie. She draws next to him while he works, and then he works a couple more hours when Lindsay comes home.”

  Jake ran his fingers up and down my back, his touch relaxing me so much I had to fight to keep my eyes open. “I was surprised when I first met Cameron,” he said. “He was the opposite of who I pictured Lindsay with. But they work well together. My parents are really good at that, too. I think first you’ve got to find the right person, then you have to work hard to keep the relationship going strong.”

  If I wasn’t feeling so drowsy, I might’ve lifted my head and told him I wasn’t sure I agreed. Instead, I decided to change the subject. “You think you’ll ever go back to New York and open a restaurant there?”

  “The restaurant market in New York is much tougher. Vegas is really competitive, too, but we set up in one of the newer hotels and it’s been doing really well.”

  I’d been dumped for the city of New York once before, so I wanted to know how likely it was that Jake would be going back. Even if it involved a little bit of breaking my rules and talking about the future. “Do you ever think about going back there and doing something else? Maybe someday you’ll want to be back behind the desk.”

  “I’d never say never, but right now, I’m very happy where I am.”

  I wasn’t sure whether he meant with the restaurant or this moment. I was going to make a joke about it, but talking seemed like too much effort. Suddenly, I found it hard to form words or even keep my eyes open.

  …

  Nothing seemed right when I woke up. My neck and back ached, and after a confusing moment wondering where I was and what was going on, I realized that instead of being in my bed, I was sleeping against Jake. He groaned as I untangled myself from him.

  I searched the room for a clock but couldn’t find one. Note to self: get Jake a clock.

  My phone wasn’t in my pocket. I tried to remember when I’d had it last. I think I left it in my bedroom.

  Stifling a yawn, I stood and stretched. The sunlight coming through the windows seemed brighter than normal, but I figured it was because the windows in his place were
so big. I stepped toward the kitchen and looked at the oven clock.

  “Is this right?” I asked, panic filling me. “Tell me that isn’t set to the right time.”

  Jake sat up and squinted against the light. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s eight thirty.”

  “No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not today. Any day but today. I’ve got to meet my boss at nine. If I didn’t live two minutes away, I’d be screwed.” I stepped into my shoes, not bothering to tie them. “Even then, I don’t know if I’ll make it. She’s huge on punctuality, and I really, really hate being late. Today, it’s just not an option.”

  Jake stood and ran his hand down my arm. “You’ve got some time.”

  “I’m not a guy. It takes me a while to put myself together.”

  “You look fine the way you are right now.”

  I waved him off. “Don’t start with the sweet talk. I’ve got to go.” I grabbed my keys off the coffee table and rushed out the door.

  The elevator chose this morning to run slow, and I couldn’t cross the short distance to my place fast enough. I hurried inside, took the quickest shower of my life, and threw my hair in a wet bun. I ran a coat of mascara over my eyelashes and rushed out the door, praying I’d make it in time.

  Of course traffic was thick and the stoplights all red. I was muttering swear words under my breath as I half ran, half speed-walked to my office. I scooped up my trusty binder and slid into the conference room at 9:01.

  My boss shot me a look that meant she noticed, and the meeting went downhill from there. Twenty minutes in I was scrambling through the contents of my binder, looking completely unprepared for the day, much less the meeting.

  Patricia frowned at me. “Do you have it or not?”

  “I know it’s in here somewhere.” Not only could I not find what I needed, I was blanking on everything. The one day I really needed to be on top of my game, and I was totally off.

  Nadine handed a sheet of paper to Patricia. “Here it is. I know they’ll work with us if we do a large order like we did on the condos. Darby’s the one who got them to agree to it last time.”

  Patricia arched an overly filled-in eyebrow at me. “Do you think you can manage to do that again?”

  “Tell me what you need and I’ll get on it.” Normally, I got to pick and choose my clients. Occasionally, though, we got a company-wide account—like we did with the building I lived in. Patricia was working on a presentation for a new hotel renovation, which meant she’d tell everyone else what to do for it.

  “I hope you haven’t been getting lazy. This deal with The Lion Inn is big for us. You’ve got to be a team player sometimes.” Patricia clicked a button on her laptop, changing the slide being projected onto the front of the room.

  After going over the rest of the layout of the Red Lion Inn, Patricia dismissed us.

  I hurried out of the conference room, toward my office. A person could work her butt off impressing Patricia and never get more than the tiniest acknowledgment. Screw up once, and she remembered it forever.

  “Everything okay with you?” Nadine asked, stepping next to me.

  “I didn’t get up early enough to organize all my notes, and my mind just wasn’t working as fast as normal,” I said. “Thanks for stepping in back there.”

  “Of course. The only reason I had the information was because you’d given it to me.” Nadine stopped in front of her office door. “Barbara wants to know if she should put you down for one or two tomorrow night.”

  One or two? It took me a moment to figure out what Nadine was talking about. “Right. Barbara’s party. In all the excitement last night, I forgot to ask Jake.” I wasn’t sure if I even should ask him to go with me. “Fridays are usually busy nights for him.”

  “You know that she’s going to be setting you up all night if you don’t have a date.” Nadine shrugged. “Maybe there will be some interesting guys there.”

  “Yeah, interesting like they have money and one to three ex-wives.” I sighed. “Let me call him and I’ll get back to you.”

  I walked the rest of the way to my office and tossed my binder on the desk. It slid off the edge and fell to the floor. When I bent down to retrieve it, I noticed it had opened to the page I couldn’t find earlier. “Figures.”

  After how bitchy I’d been this morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jake avoided me for a few days. I definitely I owed him an apology. And I’d much rather have him at the party with me than deal with the men Barbara would try to set me up with. I grabbed my phone and called him.

  “Hey, how was your meeting?” he asked.

  “Awful. I was disorganized and my boss called me out on it. Basically, it was my worst meeting ever.” I sat in my chair and scooted it closer to my desk. I’d never been great at apologies and my nerves were twisting around in my gut. “Look, I’m sorry about this morning. I was stressed and late. I really hate being late. But I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

  “Meet me at Blue and we’ll have lunch. End on a better note.”

  “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ve got to fast track my current jobs and draw up a proposal so my boss doesn’t think I’m incompetent. I do have a question for you, though…” I picked up my pen and started doodling on my notepad. “There’s this party tomorrow night. The client with all the ex-husbands is throwing it, and I’ve got to go. I know it’s last minute, and that Fridays are really busy for you. I’m also sure it’s going to be boring. Anyway, if you can’t go, I completely understand. But if you don’t come with me, I’ll be forced to meet rich, eligible bachelors who may or may not have all their original teeth and hair.”

  I bit my nail as I waited for his answer, trying to prepare myself for the possibility he couldn’t go.

  “You’re not really giving me much of a choice,” Jake said. “Not when I know you’ve got a weakness for bald men with dentures.”

  I grinned, getting that tingling-tummy sensation that flirting with Jake always brought. “The money eases those minor flaws. I’m really shallow like that.”

  Patricia walked past my office window, slowing in the way that meant she was coming in. She always saved the meanest comments for when she sat down for a one-on-one meeting.

  Apprehension replaced my momentary happiness. I had a feeling my day was about to go down in flames.

  …

  Only a few people remained in Blue, finishing up their meals. In five minutes, the place was closing for the night. After working late, going for a run, and pacing my apartment, I couldn’t get over my horrible day at work. I wanted to talk to someone about it but kept getting halfway through a number and hanging up. Steph was stressed enough with all her wedding stuff, and Mom would just tell me to do whatever I felt was right. So I decided to go for a walk around downtown.

  After wandering in and out of a couple stores in the area, I’d ended up near Blue. I walked past once. Then doubled back. Then decided to go in.

  Sitting across from Jake, picking at the chocolate-lava cake, I was getting more and more fired up. “Patricia’s made good money off jobs Nadine and I do all the work on. And I’m the one with the good rapport with all the vendors. Whenever they call, they request me. I’ll admit I wasn’t the most prepared for the meeting this morning, thanks to certain events…”

  “That’s why I brought the chocolate.” Jake took a bite of the rich cake, then slid the plate back toward me.

  I swirled the fork through the thick syrup. “I don’t even like doing the commercial jobs. They’re so plain and impersonal. Then to get yelled at about it, when I’m the one who has all the contacts in the first place, was really infuriating.”

  “Have you ever looked at going into business on your own? Or with Nadine?”

  “I considered it about a year ago,” I said. “But that was more of a relocation thing.”

  “Where were you going to move?”

  “I toyed around with New York for a while before coming to my senses.” I didn’t w
ant to get into that, so I kept talking before he could ask why. “The thing is, I got my start at Metamorphosis. I’ve worked there for eight years. All my clients signed contracts with me through the company, so they’d be considered Metamorphosis’s clients, not mine. I only keep them if I stay with the company.”

  “But how many of them are going to need their places redone again? If they refer someone else, I’m guessing they refer them to you, not the company.” Jake set down his fork. “I could crunch some numbers and set up a business plan if you want me to. It’s kind of my specialty, you know.”

  I took another bite of the cake and pushed the plate back to Jake. “The only time I really have to deal with Patricia is when I do the commercial jobs. I can power through it, like I did last time. I just wish they didn’t take so long.”

  “Lots of people get comfortable with where they’re at and are too afraid to change, so they settle with what they’ve got.”

  “Sounds like my stance on relationships.”

  “Well, in any relationship,” Jake said, meeting my gaze, “including your business ones, you have to decide if you’re going to put in the effort to make it work.”

  I slumped back in my chair. “Great. Not even a job I love has a happy ending.”

  “You decide the ending. If you don’t like something, all you have to do is find a way to change it.”

  “It sounds like a good idea and all, but I know better.” That awful sense that my life was about to get more complicated burned away at my gut. “Things never end the way you want them to.”

  I knew that better than anyone.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Barbara’s party had a good chance of being boring, but at least it gave me an excuse to wear my new silver-and-black print dress. I twisted my hair into a loose bun at the base of my neck, then pulled out a few face-framing strands. After looking over my collection of shoes, I decided to add some color with my plum heels. Dangly purple earrings completed the look.

  There was a knock on my door, and I went to answer it. Jake stood in the hall wearing a black suit and looking like a million bucks. He leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Hey, gorgeous.”