“Nothing.”
“What? Why?”
“We haven’t been hired to do anything about him.”
“So, do you think we will be hired for anything?”
“Doubt it.”
I didn’t bring the subject up again until we were at the gym working up a sweat. Black cut me off, saying it wasn’t our problem.
This wasn’t good enough for me so when we got home I went directly to White’s office.
Gabriella was in her seat so I spent a short amount of time visiting with her. She had fresh, long stemmed roses on her desk. Her new man was true to form. He’d spent a fortune on another date. I pictured myself on a date with White. He came to my door and escorted me to the car and held my chair at the restaurant. Everything a gentleman would do. Then I was abruptly pulled from my daydream by Gabriella’s voice.
“What’s wrong, hon?”
“Oh,” I realized I’d been staring into White’s office. “Nothing. I’d just love to go out on a date like that. Just once.”
“You need to get out. Take some time off,” her voice trailed off. “Would you be interested in a double date?” She asked suddenly with a twinkle in her eye.
“Uh,” I fumbled. At least she hadn’t noticed where I’d been staring. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll get it set up. Don’t make any plans for tonight.” She beamed at me.
“Gabriella, I don’t know. I don’t know what White wants me to do,” I tried to get out of it.
“I’ll take care of everything. Now get in there and find out what he’s got planned for you and tell him you’re busy tonight.”
I tried to object but she was very insistent as she shoved me toward White’s office.
“I’m glad you stopped by,” White greeted me as I stumbled in. “I want you to spend some time with Red before we leave for Alaska.”
“Okay. Why?” I wasn’t expecting this. I’d thought he might have a job for us concerning Dimitri.
“It won’t hurt for you to get a little more formal training in leadership. Plus he’ll help you go through the records to set up some teams.”
“Fine, but what about Dimitri? Has my dad or Colin said anything to you about him?” The double date had left my mind.
“Nope and I doubt they will. Not yet anyway.”
“They haven’t even talked to you about anything?” I was bothered about being left in the dark over such a serious matter.
“No,” his voice was slow and steady. “They won’t either. That’s none of our business unless they choose to hire us for something. We got more information than they expected though, so I’m sure they are happy with last night’s job.”
“Fine.” I understood where he was coming from. My curiosity didn’t fade but I decided to let it drop for now.
Gabriella stopped me on my way out, reminding me of the date she wanted to set up.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to do it,” I started to say when she interrupted me.
“It’s all set. You can come home with me after work and get ready at my house. It’ll be so much fun,” she gushed. “Us girls, going on a date. I can do your makeup…” she went on like this for several minutes before ushering me out the door to go find a suitable outfit. She informed me she’d be up to check my choices after work so I better have some set out.
I’d never had a girl friend before and this was all so different. Colin had never wanted to do my makeup or nails. He had pointed out some guys to me, but only in fun. He’d never actually set me up with anyone. I didn’t know how to react to all of this so when I got back to my apartment I gave him a call. I wanted to talk to him about Dimitri anyway.
I started the conversation with questions about Dimitri but he quickly put a stop to it. He said they hadn’t even gotten the DNA tests back and even if they had he wasn’t sure what they were going to do. I tried to argue with him but he wouldn’t budge so I changed the subject.
“It’ll be good for you,” he said after I explained my plight. I thought he’d be on my side. “Anthony never treated you right and it’ll be good for you to have a man treat you to dinner.”
“I don’t even know who these men are,” I protested.
“I doubt Gabriella is dating a murderer with that kind of money.” He laughed. “Here’s what you do,” he explained. “Hack into the system and look up the men Gabriella is taking you to meet. If you find them, maybe you should steer clear. If not, take your chances. If nothing else, you’ll have a night out,” he paused. “How long has it been?” I could hear the villainous grin through the phone.
“You’re no help,” was all I could manage.
I went to my closet and started rummaging. I didn’t want to go slinky for a first date and I didn’t want to go too conservative either. Three dresses lay on my bed before I became aware that I was enjoying myself and was actually looking forward to meeting someone new.
Pulling myself up short, I sat on my bed with my head in my hands. I knew I wanted to go on a date and be treated like a lady. Move back into the land of real people instead of the land of White and Associates. I really loved my job but I did need a break, some time for me to do something different. Going on a date was certainly different to me. Part of me wished it were with White but a wave of panic swept over me with that thought. This might be best, I told myself. White was the perfect man, as far as I was concerned, but I wasn’t ready for the perfect man, yet.
I started trying on the different outfits and was scrutinizing myself in the mirror when a knock at my door startled me. A tiny squeak escaped as I gave a slight jump. I looked around guiltily and thought about changing back into my daily clothes but then my doorbell rang.
I opened the door to Red who was keenly taken aback by my appearance. I felt myself blush as he walked past me into my apartment.
“Uh, White asked me to get together with you.” He was very uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coming. Gabriella wants me to go on a double date with her tonight,” I explained my dress.
“Oh.” He’d been turned away from me but turned toward me obviously relieved with my statement. “You look very nice.”
“Thank you. But I’m going to go change now.” It hit me why he’d been so rattled. He thought I’d dressed up for him. As if.
I was redressed in my ordinary clothes in record time and found Red sitting at the bar in my kitchen.
“Better?” I asked, peeved that he was so put off that I might want to look nice once in a while.
“Less startling,” he said. “You do make an impression in a dress. So, you have a date?” He saved himself.
“A blind date,” I shrugged. “Gabriella kind of side-swiped me.”
“She does have a way about her. Lets go through this, shall we?” He indicated the file folders he’d brought with him and had laid out neatly over my counter top. All talk of my date ended and we poured over employee records. He had a file for each specialty. We put together teams of the best we had with at least one of each skill.
“These men will be cross trained,” Red explained as he started gathering his paperwork. “Most of them have had some type of cross training but we are going to go into more depth now that we have teams set up.”
“How will we know if they work well together?”
“You’ll do some interviewing but the only way to know is to put them on a job.”
“Do we really want to take that chance? Shouldn’t we test them first?”
“You’re learning,” Red smiled. “Yes. We will test them. White will set that up but in the meantime you will be going around to interview the men. We can force them into these teams but would rather give them the opportunity to join them willingly. It’ll be your job to convince these men to be promoted. It is a promotion so it should be easy enough, however, some might need some convincing.”
I nodded my understanding and stood from my chair to see Red out. He glanced toward my bedroom, seeing my dresses on the bed.
“May I?” He indicated my room.
“I guess.”
“I don’t want to be pushy, Alex. But, I know what goes on in this company and I know you’ve been with us for over a year now and have not had a single date. If you don’t mind, I do have a little insight on a man’s mind. Plus I do also know a little about human behavior.”
“Okay,” I was still reluctant as I followed him to my bedroom.
He gave the dresses on the bed a once over and asked where we were going.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know the name of Gabriella’s boyfriend, let alone the name of my date.”
“Call Gabriella and find out. You can’t decide what to wear if you don’t know what you’ll be doing.”
I did as I was told and came back to him with my information.
“Dinner at the Maddison Hotel. I guess Gabriella’s date, Martin, owns the place. I’m going to be set up with his little brother, Leland. Then we are supposed to go dancing afterward.” My stomach flipped as I relayed this to Red.
“Sounds like fun. Okay, you need something that invites a man’s eyes but not his hands. Something upscale for the Maddison and something you can move in for dancing.” He might know what he was talking about after all. This might not be so bad.
Red dismissed the dresses I’d already chosen and went straight for one of my favorites that I had never worn because I’d never been anywhere I felt it would be appropriate. It was a dark blue that made my skin look very pale.
“You don’t think this color would make me look sickly?”
“Hmmm,” he considered. “Try it on real quick.” He left my room, shutting the door behind him.
Again, I did as I was told and glanced at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look as bad as I’d remembered. I’d gotten some sun these past few months I guess. When I opened the door Red nodded his head in approval.
“This is nice,” he reached for me and stopped his hands just before he made contact. “The neck is high but the shoulders are exposed. Having the neck covered is a good way to say that you are not accessible and mix that with exposed shoulders and it says ‘Look but don’t touch.’ Am I getting your mood right?”
“Yes. I don’t want some guy I don’t know fondling me.” I felt my cheeks color at my outburst. It had never been my intention to tell Red anything personal, ever. He and I had a rocky start and had never recovered. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be having these conversations with Red. He was a psychiatrist after all and I didn’t need him analyzing my sex life.
“Well, it’s decided then. Get your bag and I’ll walk you to the office. Gabriella is off in about five minutes.”
“She was going to meet me here,” I reminded him.
“Do you want her to make you change your clothes? Or spend an hour up here trying to pick out what you should wear after you’ve already done it?”
“I see your point. I’ll meet you at the elevator.” Red might not be as bad as I thought.
The elevator ride was slightly strained as we both stood stiffly in the car. My demeanor had softened a little toward Red but my nervousness for my date put us both on edge.
He held the doors while I exited and followed closely behind me as I sashayed into the office. It was unintentional but the dress required a certain walk.
Gabriella gave out a squeal and White looked up from his desk. I saw his jaw drop and felt the heat of his eyes on me as he slowly rose from his desk to come see what the fuss was about.
“You are beautiful!” Gabriella raved and pulled my attention from the slowly advancing White. “What am I supposed to wear now? I don’t have time to go shopping.” She was visibly torn between admiring me and cursing me for showing her up.
“Red helped me pick it out.” He was still standing behind me so he didn’t see my raised eyebrows.
“Red, you dog! Why do you want to do this to me?” Gabriella chided him.
“Alex deserves a night out.” I had moved to see Red’s face. His reply was clearly meant for White as well as Gabriella.
“Why so dressed up, Ms. Grey?” White interrupted.
I turned back to see him sizing me up from his doorway. My internal temperature skyrocketed but I was able to keep the flush from my skin.
“Gabriella talked me into a double date,” I said a little sheepishly.
“She’s been pining over my date descriptions so I thought I’d do her a favor and get her out there again,” Gabriella hadn’t felt the tension. “Dinner and dancing,” she went on about how much fun we were going to have and I didn’t hear most of it because of White’s eyes. They were a mixture of amusement, bitterness, hunger and anger, if I was reading him right. I adverted my gaze and put all of my attention on Gabriella as she grabbed her things and led me out of the office, still jabbering about the impending date.
The two of us entered the elevator and her tone changed immediately.
“Did you see the look on White’s face?” Her one-eighty surprised me.
“No?” I played dumb.
“Come on girl. You don’t really think I’m that dense do you?” She leveled a serious look at me.
“No. I don’t think you’re dense,” I was going to continue to play dumb.
“Then don’t think I don’t know what’s going on between you and White.” Thankfully the elevator doors opened and she led me to her car in the parking garage.
I was dreading the conversation after we got into the car and wasn’t disappointed.
“This will be good for him too,” she informed me. “I see the way the two of you look at each other and he needs to make a move. If he sees you moving on with your life it might just knock some sense into that boy!”
I was flabbergasted and sat in the passenger seat trying to keep my mouth in a closed position.
“You do need a night out anyway,” she reached over and moved the hair out of my eyes, almost motherly. “Don’t think about White tonight. Lets have fun!” She cranked up the radio and started singing loudly.
‘Don’t think about White tonight.’ Who was she kidding? With the looks I received in the office and her cornering me on my feelings for him, how could I think of anything else? Was I really that obvious and if White was that obvious why didn’t I see it? He’d told me before that he was interested but I just couldn’t believe he was interested in more than just the physical. Gabriella had warned me away from him right away. Now she was making moves to make him jealous. I wondered what had changed.
I tried to bring the subject up while she was painting my nails an appropriate color for my dress and she waved it away. “I said not to think about White tonight. Tonight is for you.” She started to brag up Martin and I got lost in her descriptions again and White eventually moved to the back of my mind.
“Are you nervous?” she asked as a limo pulled into her driveway.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I’ve never been on a real date before and never a blind date.”
“Well, I don’t know Leland at all so you stay close to me and Martin. Unless you want to be alone with Leland,” she wagged her eyebrows at me and I found myself grinning back at her.
“Shouldn’t we go?” I asked as the limo came to a complete stop in front of her garage.
“Are you kidding? They need to come collect us. Besides, I want to meet Leland on my own turf before I let you go out on a date with him.”
Shortly after her comment her doorbell rang. She instructed me to sit down and look bored while she went to the door.
Martin gave her a soft kiss and then introduced Leland to her. She allowed them inside so I assumed Leland was to her liking so far.
Martin stepped in first. He was semi paunchy and balding but he had an alluring twinkle to his eyes. Upon first glance I liked him. He stuttered a soft hello to me as Gabriella introduced us then introduced me to his younger brother Leland.
Leland was similar to his brother without the extra weight and slightly more hair. However, he lacked the friendly twinkle in his eyes. I
nstead he wore a shrewd look. Martin seemed taken with me but Leland was strangely aloof, as if I might not be good enough for him. I became even more worried about the rest of the evening.
The men escorted us to the limo and let us climb in first. Gabriella sat opposite me so she could be near Martin and I near Leland. She gave me a questioning look as we drove to the restaurant. She and Martin had been talking while Leland and I sat quietly on our side of the limo. Leland had been staring out the window at the passing scenery.
Thankfully the ride was short. Before long the four of us were being seated for our meal.
Things lightened up some as we ate and drank. Leland actually told a couple of stories and smiled three times. The food and wine was some of the best I’d ever had and I forgave Martin for ordering for the whole table.
Gabriella said she needed to powder her nose and gave me a look that said I needed to as well. The men rose from their seats as we did and remained standing until we rounded the corner for the restroom.
“So?” Gabriella pointed to a lattice wall. I looked through it and saw Martin and Leland at the table talking.
“It’s going okay,” I shrugged as I looked back at her.
“No, silly. What are they saying? I know you can read lips. Hurry up, don’t miss anything.” She physically turned me back around and practically pushed my face into the lattice.
“She’s okay,” I saw Leland say.
“What do you mean? Okay? What does that mean, Leland? Mom is worried about you. You need to find a girlfriend.”
“I don’t know if she’s my type.”
“How are you going to know if you don’t give her a chance? Look at me. I didn’t know I was going to fall for Gabby the way I have.”
“What are they saying?” Gabriella whispered loudly in my ear from behind.
“Leland isn’t sure I’m his type and Martin said to give me a chance because he didn’t know you were perfect for him until he gave you a chance.”
“Really? Marty really said that?” I could hear the emotion in her voice and I grinned. At least Gabriella had found someone worthwhile.
“You can’t tell me she’s not pretty enough,” Martin continued.
Reflections of Grey: Book Three of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles Page 5