Dr. Rosen will show our
clientele every possible courtesy. I trust you will not have any
trouble making yourself understood.”
“No,” Cooper replied timidly, “no
problem.”
“Excellent, I’m so glad we see eye to eye.”
Sparks ended the call on that note. He replaced the cell phone in
his desk drawer. He waited a few seconds before turning off the
music, savoring the last few bars of Jobim’s exquisite composition.
He stood and went to the door because he was compulsive and
neurotic. He opened the door and looked around to make sure no one
had been loitering about. The corridor outside his office was
quiet, but at the farthest end, he saw a young woman enter the
reception area. They had never met in person, and his angle was
poor but he knew who it was from her general appearance and the way
she moved—he had seen her on a video recording. They only made eye
contact for a split second before he disappeared into his office
and closed the door.
~~~
Emilio Bolan heard a knock on his door, which
he knew to be the light rapping of his secretary. “Come on in,” he
said. The door opened immediately. His secretary was an
extraordinary combination of beauty and poise. She was dressed to
meet her boss’s expectations in a tightly fitted black dress that
was cut well above the knee. Her name was Delfina, but Bolan rarely
addressed her by her proper name. “You have an unscheduled
appointment, Emilio.”
Bolan was focused on his computer screen. He
scribbled a note on a legal pad and then redirected his gaze toward
her. “I’m pretty busy, Del. I really don’t have the time.”
Delfina paused momentarily while she
considered Bolan’s instructions. “It’s the young woman you arranged
flowers for the other day by way of her attorney, Mr. Gelfman. I
thought under the circumstances you might—”
Bolan smiled. “You’re holding out on me, Del.
I’ll need a few minutes to freshen up.” Bolan stood and walked
toward his private bathroom. He stopped just before he entered the
bathroom and turned toward Delfina. “You’d better stop being so
coy. You knew I’d want to see her.”
Delfina responded with a smile as she walked
out the door to welcome Bolan’s visitor. She was outside his office
and beyond his gaze when she took a brief pause—she would not greet
Emilio’s guest with a melancholy expression. Her admiration for
Bolan was more than professional. God I’m so jealous , she
thought. I hope he didn’t notice. She took a deep breath,
put on a smile, and went out to the reception area to greet Bolan’s
visitor and make her feel welcome.
Seventeen: Dinner Date
I don’t know what made me do it, but I
became Allie once again so that I could pursue a relationship I
should have let die. I don’t know why I couldn’t let it go.
Oh hell, I knew why. Bolan was absolutely
gorgeous, and chivalrous, and everything I had ever wanted in a
man. Perhaps it was the yellow roses that had pushed me over the
edge, doing what I knew not to do, doing what I knew would
infuriate Ax. Perhaps it was the somber day I had spent with Gabi,
or the syringe in the head, or the off-putting hazel eye, or the
50K in the bank, or perhaps it was none of the above. Perhaps it
was just me being me, Lexa the flake, doing what no one else would
do, assuming another girl’s identity and living my life as Allie
instead of living life as myself.
Bolan’s office was in Manhattan and was
located in an impressive building on 63rd off Lexington, where you
had to be photographed and registered before you were allowed past
the lobby attendant to the elevators. He was a partner in a large
law firm. The firm name, Bolan and Mendes, was stenciled on
the glass entranceway doors. His secretary told me that Bolan only
saw clients by appointment, but I knew he would see me. I felt that
we had made a connection in Gelfman’s office, the connecting of
Allie’s hazel eyes and his extraordinary eyes of turquoise. They
say the eyes
clientele every possible courtesy. I trust you will not have any
trouble making yourself understood.”
“No,” Cooper replied timidly, “no
problem.”
“Excellent, I’m so glad we see eye to eye.”
Sparks ended the call on that note. He replaced the cell phone in
his desk drawer. He waited a few seconds before turning off the
music, savoring the last few bars of Jobim’s exquisite composition.
He stood and went to the door because he was compulsive and
neurotic. He opened the door and looked around to make sure no one
had been loitering about. The corridor outside his office was
quiet, but at the farthest end, he saw a young woman enter the
reception area. They had never met in person, and his angle was
poor but he knew who it was from her general appearance and the way
she moved—he had seen her on a video recording. They only made eye
contact for a split second before he disappeared into his office
and closed the door.
~~~
Emilio Bolan heard a knock on his door, which
he knew to be the light rapping of his secretary. “Come on in,” he
said. The door opened immediately. His secretary was an
extraordinary combination of beauty and poise. She was dressed to
meet her boss’s expectations in a tightly fitted black dress that
was cut well above the knee. Her name was Delfina, but Bolan rarely
addressed her by her proper name. “You have an unscheduled
appointment, Emilio.”
Bolan was focused on his computer screen. He
scribbled a note on a legal pad and then redirected his gaze toward
her. “I’m pretty busy, Del. I really don’t have the time.”
Delfina paused momentarily while she
considered Bolan’s instructions. “It’s the young woman you arranged
flowers for the other day by way of her attorney, Mr. Gelfman. I
thought under the circumstances you might—”
Bolan smiled. “You’re holding out on me, Del.
I’ll need a few minutes to freshen up.” Bolan stood and walked
toward his private bathroom. He stopped just before he entered the
bathroom and turned toward Delfina. “You’d better stop being so
coy. You knew I’d want to see her.”
Delfina responded with a smile as she walked
out the door to welcome Bolan’s visitor. She was outside his office
and beyond his gaze when she took a brief pause—she would not greet
Emilio’s guest with a melancholy expression. Her admiration for
Bolan was more than professional. God I’m so jealous , she
thought. I hope he didn’t notice. She took a deep breath,
put on a smile, and went out to the reception area to greet Bolan’s
visitor and make her feel welcome.
Seventeen: Dinner Date
I don’t know what made me do it, but I
became Allie once again so that I could pursue a relationship I
should have let die. I don’t know why I couldn’t let it go.
Oh hell, I knew why. Bolan was absolutely
gorgeous, and chivalrous, and everything I had ever wanted in a
man. Perhaps it was the yellow roses that had pushed me over the
edge, doing what I knew not to do, doing what I knew would
infuriate Ax. Perhaps it was the somber day I had spent with Gabi,
or the syringe in the head, or the off-putting hazel eye, or the
50K in the bank, or perhaps it was none of the above. Perhaps it
was just me being me, Lexa the flake, doing what no one else would
do, assuming another girl’s identity and living my life as Allie
instead of living life as myself.
Bolan’s office was in Manhattan and was
located in an impressive building on 63rd off Lexington, where you
had to be photographed and registered before you were allowed past
the lobby attendant to the elevators. He was a partner in a large
law firm. The firm name, Bolan and Mendes, was stenciled on
the glass entranceway doors. His secretary told me that Bolan only
saw clients by appointment, but I knew he would see me. I felt that
we had made a connection in Gelfman’s office, the connecting of
Allie’s hazel eyes and his extraordinary eyes of turquoise. They
say the eyes
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