One Night With You
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“Are you sure it’s all right, Jack?”
“It isn’t something we would normally do, and I want to encourage you to tackle unusual jobs. It’s good experience. By the way, Connerly and I have decided to change your title from assistant architect to architect. It makes more sense.”
“Does it carry more pay?”
“Sure. A lot more. I’ll ask the accountant to send you a note, and you’ll get a personnel action sheet in a day or so.”
Reid thanked him. He didn’t do it profusely, knew he deserved the title and pay. Nonetheless, he had a better feeling of his worth as an architect and as a man. “You’re a straight shooter, Jack, and I appreciate that.”
“It’s only just, Reid.”
Reid thought for a minute, then changing to a light subject he said, “If I’m going to live here, I want to be a part of the community, but I can’t seem to find a niche.”
“We have a great theatrical group that’s extremely popular. Ever do any acting?”
“Not since undergraduate school.”
“They’re all amateurs. I’ll tell Iris to give you the address and telephone number. This has been a productive lunch, Reid. Let’s do it again real soon. Oh, and what we’ve discussed here is between you, me and Connerly. My architects do everything to get an assignment, except fight duels.”
“You bet.” He pointed his right thumb to his chest. “What happens here stays here.”
He didn’t know how he got through the remainder of the afternoon, for it seemed that he would burst with happiness. At a quarter to four, a messenger brought him a letter from the company accountant. He tore it open and stared at its message until the words blurred before his eyes. That promotion nearly doubled his salary. After his first month’s pay, he’d have the means to retain a lawyer, and he’d soon be able to buy a car.
All the wonderful things that happened to me today, and I don’t have anyone with whom to share it, he thought as he walked home. But he could share it with Kendra, couldn’t he? Doing so wouldn’t imply anything. After all, hadn’t she shared her news with him?
What the heck! It was too good to keep to himself. He walked into his apartment, kicked off his shoes and pants, loosened his tie, dropped himself on his bed and used his cell phone to dial her number.
“Hi, this is Reid. So much has happened today that I have to dump it on somebody, and I don’t know anybody here but you.”
At the next words in her low, sultry voice, he nearly jumped off the bed. “Hi. Hang up, Reid. Then call me and say, ‘You wouldn’t believe the day I had. Can we get together so I can tell you about it?’”
He lay back down and stretched out. “What’s wrong with the way I put it?”
“You said it as if you’d tell somebody else, but you don’t know anyone else in town.”
“Well, that definitely is not what I meant.”
“So, what did you mean?”
He sat up. “Don’t ask me a question unless you want the answer. I want to see you.”
“Uh…where?”
“In the middle of Albemarle Heights. I don’t give a damn, Kendra. I’ll put on a jacket and tie, and we can have dinner someplace, but that would be three whole hours from now.”
“Well, since you haven’t bought a car, let’s ride in mine. I’ll put on a pretty dress, you put on that tie, and you be over here in an hour. How’s that?”
“Woman, you move fast, but that suits me to a T. I’ll be there.” He’d almost added that he wanted a kiss when he got there, and it surprised him that that was what he needed from her most of all. He wanted her to rejoice with him, but what he needed was to know that she thought him worth her affection.
He showered, dressed in the Oxford-gray suit with a white shirt and yellow tie. He put on his gray Chesterfield-style overcoat, a remainder from his affluent days, and gave thanks that, in his lowest moments, he hadn’t sold it or exchanged it for a hot dog. He’d been wearing it when he’d met Philip. A glance at his watch told him he had thirty-two minutes. He made it to the florist in eleven minutes and cooled his heels while the florist chatted with a neighbor. Vexed, though he knew it was the way of life in a small town, he turned to leave, and the man asked if he could help him. He bought an American beauty rose, had it wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red velvet bow.
He felt like a teenager about to take his girl to his first prom. What had happened to his resolve to stay away from her, his concern that associating with her might jeopardize his case against Brown and Worley? I can’t help it, he said to himself. Right now, I need to be with her.
If Reid was able to rationalize his way out of his dilemma about Kendra, she had no such success, but admitted her strong attraction to him and the trouble in which it would one day land her, and figured that she would have no choice but to take it on the chin when it came. She hoped he’d be worth the price she had to pay.
She looked through her closet and pushed aside the sedate business suits and tailored dresses she wore to work until she found the red silk sheath that fit snugly until it passed her hips and then flared out sassy and flirtatious. Its low-cut bodice promised a delicious tidbit if she let him get that far. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. What was she thinking when she bought that advertisement for sex? No wonder she’d never worn it.
What the heck? He wants me, and I want him. Might as well be an adult about it. She combed out her hair and brushed it until it curved under at her shoulder, put on a pair of gold hoops, dabbed perfume in strategic places and took a deep breath. Did she dare wear those spike-heel sandals in weather that was below freezing? And could she drive while wearing them? I can kick off the right one, she said to herself and slipped her feet into the shoes just as the doorbell rang.
She opened the door and, to her delight, his eyes lit up and his long, sharp whistle made her heart sing. He stepped inside, closed the door with his foot, and she’d never seen a happier look on a man’s face than when he gazed down at her. She felt her tongue rim her lips, and then his big hands were on her seconds before he lowered his head and she rose on her toes to meet his mouth. He came down hard on her, but she didn’t care because she felt his need of her.
“Open up to me, sweetheart. Let me feel myself inside you.”