Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“We’re still trying to find a venue,” Romy told her. “We don’t really want something on the Strip, because that’s not my Vegas. There’s not much to choose from in my old neighborhood, though. We thought about my mom’s bar, but we need more space than that.”
Aleksei texted just then, asking if he could call me. I excused myself and returned to the cheerful white and yellow kitchen as I sent a reply. He called a moment later and said, “I’m sorry to say I have to cancel our plans for tonight. I got roped into a conference call, so I’ll be stuck in my office. Since he’s one of my biggest clients, I couldn’t really say no.”
“What time’s the call?”
“Eleven p.m.”
“That’s odd.”
“The client is in Russia, so that’s first thing in the morning for him.”
“That explains it,” I said. “Will you be alone in your office?”
“Yes. The cleaning crew will be done by then, and none of my staff stays past seven. I insist on it.”
“Because you want them to have a life outside of work?”
“Exactly. And yes, I do realize I consistently fail to take my own advice,” he said.
“Yeah, I was just about to point that out. Since you’ll be alone, what do you think about me visiting you at the office before your call? I could bring us some dinner, and then you can have me for dessert.”
“That sounds incredible.”
“Then I’ll be there at eight.”
“Perfect. You have all the information on the business card I gave you. Just check in with the security guard in the lobby when you get here. I’ll give him your name.”
“Will do, and just so you know, I’m going to bring something outside your comfort zone for dinner. I’m trying to decide between my favorite Ethiopian, Persian, and Laotian restaurants.”
“I’ve never had any of those cuisines, but I promise to approach whatever you choose with an open mind.”
“That’s all I ask.”
I figured he’d be in a hurry to end the call and get back to work, but instead he said, “It’s been hard to concentrate. I keep thinking about our conversation last night, and then I start to get turned on.”
“I’ve thought about it a lot, too.”
“I don’t know if I‘m ready for all of that,” he said. “Making it a reality when we’re together, I mean. It was incredibly erotic, and I loved that whole scenario you described. But this is still all so new to me.”
“I know, and it’s fine. You set the pace, I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Right. But I wouldn’t want to set up certain expectations and then have you end up disappointed.”
I asked, “That’s what you’re worried about? Disappointing me?”
“Yes, because…”
His voice trailed off, and I asked as gently as I could, “What were you about to say, Aleksei?”
“This is a difficult topic for me, disappointing people. When I was a kid, that was the biggest message I got from my dad, what a constant disappointment I was. My mom wasn’t much better. Throughout my life, it seemed like no matter what I did, it was never enough.”
“But you’re a huge success! What did she want from you?”
“Just…more. I know she loved me, and that was her way of pushing me to be the best I could be. It just got to me after a while.”
“I can see why.”
After a pause, he said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”
“Don’t apologize. It means a lot that you trust me enough to open up.”
“You didn’t sign up to be my therapist, though.”
“Seriously, Aleksei, I love hearing what you have to say. Please don’t hold back.”
“Thanks for being so nice about it,” he said. “Now, I should really get back to work, but I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me, too.”
After we ended the call, I picked up a tray of cookies from the counter and rejoined my friends. “Spill the tea,” Nana said, as we passed around the dessert. I wondered where she’d learned that expression. “Who’s your new man, and when do we get to meet him?”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. We have an arrangement, not a relationship.”
“Call it whatever you like,” Romy said, as he and his fiancé leaned against each other and held hands. “But your face totally lit up when you saw he’d texted you. I’ve never seen you react like that.”
“I like this guy.”
“But instead of dating him, you made some sort of arrangement.” Romy looked confused. “Why is that, exactly?”
I shrugged and told him, “It’s just what made sense for both of us.”
“Is there more to it than that? Are you afraid to try again, because of your last relationship? You’ve never really told me what went wrong there, but I know it ended badly.”
“I don’t even know what went wrong, or why. It started off great, but then we began arguing, all the time, about the most trivial things. It felt like living in a war zone, so I broke it off after a few months. He acted like I’d totally blindsided him, which I didn’t understand. To me, it was really obvious that it wasn’t working, and I assumed he knew it, too. But he was devastated, and I felt like a monster for hurting him like that.” I tried to push down the bad memories that started to rise up and muttered, “Anyway, this isn’t exactly my favorite subject, so can we please talk about something else?”