by Chanta Rand
The three cracked up laughing. Despite Mark’s somber mood, it felt good to fellowship with his brothers. He missed the times when life was simpler, and they used to pretend to be WWF stars. His only worry then had been how to get out of the half nelson Dane put him in. Living in different time zones, they rarely got to see Cayson, much less talk to him on the phone. He was a successful attorney who still lived in the same city where they’d grown up, a block from his parents’ home in St. Louis.
“It’s so weird I caught both of you together,” Cayson’s eager voice filtered through the line. “Is there a party I don’t know about?”
“Mark’s got woman trouble.” Dane volunteered.
Mark shot him a look of annoyance. Thanks a lot, he mouthed.
“You know this is my area of expertise,” Cayson offered. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Mark groaned. Cayson had women lined up. Whereas Mark had been looking for his soul mate his entire life, Cayson was looking for an easy hook-up.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Cayson said, reading his mind. “But I can be compassionate where women are concerned. How do you think I became such a chick magnet?”
“Probably too much iron in your blood.”
Dane laughed. “Yeah. All that metal pulls ‘em right to you.”
“Hah hah,” Cayson dodged the barb. “I’ll have you know I’m friends with all of my exes. The breakups were very amicable. They still want me, Bro!”
Mark broke down and gave Cayson the abbreviated version of what happened with Kendra (minus their mind-blowing stunts in the sack). He never shared intimate details about his sexual escapades. Besides, nothing he’d done could top Cayson’s wild adventures into the land of sexual gratification. When Mark got to the part about Kendra kissing Carl, renewed feelings of anger and frustration bubbled inside him. The incident was still too fresh in his mind.
“You don’t want to end up stalking her,” Cayson warned. “You should back off and keep it on a professional level.”
Mark propped his feet on Dane’s oak coffee table. Like his brother, the wood was sturdy and dependable. “You don’t understand. There’s no way I can go back to the way things were.”
“I’ve never seen you this deep into a woman. She must be something special.”
“She is.”
“My advice is to ignore her.”
“What? That’s your best advice? The Ladies Man of Upper St. Louis can’t come up with anything better than that?” How could he ignore Kendra when every nerve ending in his body screamed to touch her? He missed her sense of humor. He missed her little mewling noises when he pressed kisses along her soft skin. He missed talking to her. He felt…empty.
“Women hate to be ignored. They love the chase just as much as we love doing the chasing. I’m telling you, she’ll respect you more if you don’t act like a weak-minded fool.”
“He might have a point,” Dane agreed.
Hadn’t he thought the same thing only moments before Cayson called? Kendra had no shortage of suitors. Apparently, both he and Carl were chasing after her. Was she loving every minute of it? Had she been intimate with Carl? Mark couldn’t stand the thought of another man’s hands on her. When had his attraction gone from a mild interest to an unhealthy obsession?
The minute you had sex with her!
“You know what you need?” Cayson’s voice barreled through Mark’s thoughts. “A vacation. Come home. We’ll hang out for a few days. I’m in between women for the moment.”
“Oh, how will the women of St. Louis live without you?”
Dane clutched his heart. “The city will have to declare a State of Emergency.”
“Yeah,” Cayson agreed, “but only for a day or two. After you leave, I’ll be back to business as normal.”
Mark grinned. “What sacrifices you’re making for me. I’m touched.”
Dane and Mark exchanged glances, shaking their heads at their baby brother’s audacity. From the time Cayson was ten years old, and they caught him spying on their babysitter and her boyfriend, they knew he was going to be trouble.
“I’ll introduce you to some women who can make you forget about Kendra,” he said.
“Any woman who could do that has one hell of a job on her hands.”
“In fact, you remember Estella Porter?”
“Stella Potty-Mouth Porter with the big boobs? The one I went to high school with?”
“Yep. She’s temping at the law firm now. And guess what? Her boobs are even bigger!”
“Impossible,” Mark refuted. “That girl was all skin and bones–and tits.”
Dane piped up. “She was already a double D in twelfth grade!”
“She’s a grown woman now,” Cayson advised. “She asked about you, Mark. She wanted me to give you her number. She has a sister too. Maybe we can double-date.”
Mark hooted with laughter. “That would be something. You and me on a double-date.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Mark laughed again. “You would!”
“At least think about it.”
“I already did. And to take a page from your book, court is in recess on that one. But thanks for making me laugh, Bro. You don’t know how badly I needed that.”
“I’ll talk to you two boneheads later. Don’t forget about Mom and Dad’s party.”
Dane disconnected the call. “So, what are you gonna do?” he asked. “Cayson doesn’t always have all the answers, but he does know what he’s talking about when it comes to women.”
Mark swallowed the last of his beer. “I guess even a stupid reaction is better than no action. Operation Ignore Kendra is in full effect.”
Chapter 9
Kendra sat at her desk, cradling her cell phone between her shoulder and her ear as she talked on the phone and typed an email. Multi-tasking was her specialty, made easier by the advances in technology. Lord, she didn’t know how she’d functioned in life before texting and email came along. One day, she was sure her cell phone would be able to read her thoughts and translate them to text. Now, if only she could read Mark’s mind.
“Other than to say ‘Good Morning’, Mark hasn’t spoken one word to me in days,” she told Tatum who sat patiently on the other line.
“Kendra, can you really blame him? He thinks you are doing Carl.”
“I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Put yourself in his place.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on your side, always. I’m just playing Devil’s Advocate.”
“No, you’re playing Mark’s Advocate.”
Tatum laughed. “I sorta like him. I think he’s a good guy.”
“I’m serious about my career. I don’t want to be just a notch in the boss’s belt.”
“It’s a little too late for that, girl. And if the sex was as earth-shattering as you told me, you’re not exactly a victim here.”
“Hey, you’re the one who told me to break it off with him.”
“Whoa! I didn’t say that! I encouraged you to get your freak on with him, but not to get too deeply involved. I said you should just have a good time. I mean, you only go around once.”
Kendra sighed. “That’s the problem. I had too much of a good time.”
“Okay, now you are trippin’. I’m not even gonna tell you how many women never achieve an orgasm, much less three in one day! Yet you want to kick Mark to the curb for fulfilling your wildest fantasies.”
Kendra reclined in her chair, crossing her black, thigh-hi leather boots at the ankles. “I had to, Tatum. You don’t understand. I barely understand it myself.”
“I think all that good loving scared you.”
Kendra remained quiet. Her best friend had hit the nail on the head. She’d spent five blissful days with Mark, indulging in every hedonistic whim they could think of. A generous lover, he’d lavished kisses all over her body. She felt totally uninhibited with him. Nothing was shameful. Nothing was f
orbidden. And that man’s tongue…well, it should be classified as a weapon of mass seduction.
“I didn’t know how to handle the intensity of his affection,” she admitted to Tatum. “I kept asking myself, ‘where do we go from here?’.”
“That’s your need to have everything perfectly structured. Stop over-analyzing and go with the flow.”
“Can’t.” Kendra shook her head. “That’s too far out of my comfort zone.”
“So, now what? To keep from getting too deeply involved, are you going to subject yourself to guys you have no chance of falling for, like Carl?”
“Hell no!” Kendra curled her lip just thinking about the disastrous dinner date. No, she wouldn’t give it the honor of calling it a date. She’d call it an episode–like something out of a soap opera. Things had gone south from the moment she’d sipped her chardonnay. The episode was over and done with, never to be repeated. Carl hadn’t called since, and she was grateful.
“Hold on, Kendra.” Kendra heard muffled noises in the background as Tatum put her on hold. After a lengthy pause, she was back. “Shit. Kendra, I gotta go break up a fight between two trainees in the ladies room. I’ll call you later.”
Kendra hung up, shaking her head. At least she didn’t have to work with a bunch of crazy, hormonal women in a call center. She glanced at the ceiling. “Thank you, Lord for making me see that I’m not the only one with problems.”
Two days later, the Escape with Cupid team sat around the conference table as they waited for Alfonse to connect from the Paris office. Kendra wished she could be in France at this very moment. In fact, she’d rather be anywhere than closed in a room with Mark. It would be different if he would at least acknowledge her. Sure, he said ‘Good Morning’ each day when she walked into the office, but that was it. No other pleasantries. No conversation. It was torture looking at him dispense his cheerful smiles to everyone else.
At last, Alfonse joined the call. He wasted no time delivering the news. “A month ago, I tasked this team with creating a strategy to increase sales. It’s no secret zee Houston branch has been steadily losing money for zee past four years. When I hired Mark, it was my hope that his expertise could help turn things around.” Kendra held her breath, waiting for the bombshell. Her eyes flitted from person to person around the table, noting the looks of apprehension on each face. Alfonse continued, “I’m pleased to say my expectations have been met. Félicitations! Congratulations on a successful campaign.”
A loud chorus of cheers and clapping emanated from the group. Marge turned to Kendra and hugged her. Caleb and Lonnie fist bumped. Kendra’s eyes flew to Mark, seated at the head of the table. She had a ready smile for him. But he was busy giving Banta high five.
“You can all pat yourselves on zee back,” Alfonse said. “If not for your hard work, I cannot say for certain that we’d be celebrating today. As a result of zee Escape with Cupid campaign, we’ve doubled quarterly profits. An astounding number of bookings resulted–almost ten thousand. At fifty dollars each, that totals five hundred thousand for the quarter. Not to mention zee commissions on the vacation packages and the fees we generated. That is phenomenal! Even better than the original Denver promotion. Our winner will be announced tomorrow. Merci. I am indebted to you for all of your hard work.”
Kendra choked back a mixture of relief and regret. She was proud to have contributed to such an important endeavor. But now that the project was coming to an end, she would not have the opportunity to work as closely with the six team members. They would all go their separate ways, pausing only to briefly speak on the way to their own important meetings. She had to admit, she’d enjoyed this assignment more than she thought she would have.
“Let’s have a party,” Mark suggested. “Our other employees should get to celebrate this with us too.” Kendra couldn’t keep her eyes off him or his peach colored shirt with the onyx cufflinks.
“I’ll be there with you in spirit,” Alfonse declared. “Before I end this call, I have more news to announce. Since Mark put this team of superstars together, and led zee effort for zee most successful campaign in the history of the Houston office, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. Mark, I want you to join me in the Paris office as V.P. of Corporate Operations for all zee branches.”
Marge gasped. “Oh my God, Mark! That’s such great news. Congratulations!”
Lonnie jumped to his feet and gave Mark a congratulatory clap on the back. Kendra watched in a daze. Mark was leaving? Going to Paris of all places. Her eyes flitted over his broad shoulders and biceps as he shook hands with Banta and Caleb. She suppressed a crazy impulse to rush over and embrace him. But would he welcome her affections?
“Wait a minute,” Alfonse interjected. “Mark hasn’t accepted my offer yet.”
Mark nodded as he loosened his monochromatic, red tie. “I would feel better accepting if I knew who would be taking my place here. I don’t want to leave my team alone.”
“I should think that would be obvious. Kendra is zee perfect replacement.”
Kendra was as shocked as the other five faces around the table. This was too much to handle. Mark leaving and her being promoted in the same breath. Her heart beat so loudly, she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.
“Kendra,” Alfonse continued, “I’ve been impressed by your dedication to the agency and to this project. You came up with the name for the promotion, and more importantly, you and Mark worked together as an incredible team to secure the Maldives resort as our sponsor. Despite the agency’s declining performance, you’ve been instrumental in securing lucrative vendor contracts over the years. One client in particular is on the Board of Directors for a charity that our CFO shares. You know Carl Winters? He couldn’t stop singing your praises. You made quite an impression on him.”
Kendra’s eyes bulged at the mention of Carl’s name. She couldn’t believe he’d put in a plug for her, especially after their episode a few days ago. Maybe the fact that she’d sent him a thank you card along with an order for thirty edible arrangements for Tatum’s company banquet had something to do with it. She placed a palm over her chest to calm her raging heartbeat. For years, she’d burned the candle at both ends and now her efforts were being rewarded. She didn’t do it for the accolades. She did it because she had a passion for her work. But it felt good to be noticed by the CEO. This was a dream come true. So, why wasn’t she happy?
“Well, what do you two say?” Alfonse asked.
Kendra was at a loss for words. This time when she sought Mark’s gaze, he looked directly at her. She was pulled in by the long lashes that framed his crystal blue eyes. How many times had she gazed into those pretty blues comparing them to the tranquil waters of the Maldives? The thought that she might never see him again sent spasms of anguish through her. As their gazes held, she wondered if he was thinking about their hedonistic week together. Of course he was. He’d told her she was the only woman he desired. He’d told her he wanted a relationship. And she’d practically spat in his face. She should speak up. She should clear the air between them.
This is why I don’t do relationships–I’m no good at it!
She opened her mouth to say something, but instead of words coming out, she was gripped by a fit of coughing. She reached for the bottled water near her. She took her time sipping, but the moment was lost. Mark looked away, but not before she saw the hesitation mirrored in his glance. In an instant, he was back to his smooth, composed self. A confident smile slid into place as he broke the silence. “Thank you for your confidence in me, Alfonse. I gladly accept your offer.”
Kendra’s heart sank. She hadn’t expected Mark to answer so soon–or so enthusiastically. But his reaction made sense. There was nothing holding him here. All eyes turned to her. No pressure. What was there to think about? She was getting a promotion. Still doing what she loved. If she turned it down, would the opportunity ever present itself again? She didn’t want to live with shoulda wouldas. She had to make a decision. It had been a
long time since she’d been this fearful and excited. “Nobody can fill Mark’s shoes,” she praised, “but I’m elated to have the chance to follow in his footsteps.”
“Bien! Good,” Alfonse cheered. “I’m glad that’s finally settled.”
Kendra mustered enough energy to paste on a smile she didn’t really feel. Alfonse’s statement hit home. Unfortunately everything with her and Mark was definitely settled.
********
Mark walked past Kendra’s office a few hours after the conference call with Alfonse ended. It took him that long to extinguish the embers of anger that simmered inside him. Just hearing the mention of Carl Winters putting in a good word for Kendra made his blood boil. Oh, Kendra deserved the accolades, for certain. The fact that the praise had come from Carl led him to question the man’s motives behind it. What had Alfonse said? Kendra had made quite an impression on Carl. It made Mark wonder if there was more to their relationship than Kendra was admitting? Why would Carl go to such lengths to make his feelings known?
He bit back a twinge of jealousy. For days, his mind had conjured all kinds of scenarios with Carl and Kendra. He knew it was unhealthy, but it was damn hard to control his runaway thoughts. Kendra had vehemently denied any involvement with the cocky chocolatier. After finding them lip-locked, Mark found it hard to believe that nothing else happened. He should have kicked Carl’s ass that night. Thrown a punch. Something. At the time, he thought he’d acted with rational common sense. That was the problem. He didn’t feel rational when it came to Kendra. He felt unrestrained and out of control. He just couldn’t help the fire she ignited in his blood whenever he saw her.
To make matters worse, Cayson’s advice wasn’t working. He’d been ignoring Kendra–and she seemed fine with it! There’d been a moment during the conference call when she’d looked at him, and he thought for a fleeting instant he saw yearning in her eyes. Then, he realized it was only the shock of Alfonse’s announcement. Anything he mistakenly assumed he had with her was a figment of his imagination. That was part of the reason he’d accepted Alfonse’s offer. There was no way he was sticking around and jumping through hoops like a circus performer trying to get Kendra to return his affections.