Big Shot(9)
After being with Mitch for a year and a half in what she believed was a committed relationship, she would have thought that he’d be man enough to talk to her about the issues he had with her career or whatever “needs” weren’t being met to his satisfaction. If he’d been that unhappy, he should have broken things off with her instead of f*cking another woman on the side for the last three months they’d been together while still sleeping in her bed. Who knew how long he would have cheated on her if Connor hadn’t caught him feeling up a woman in a bar who clearly wasn’t his girlfriend.
Enough time had passed for her to think of Mitch as an * and a whiny man-child, and while her brain knew she was better off without him and his womanizing ways, at the time, his deceit had been a blow to her self-esteem and had definitely made her more cautious where men and her heart were concerned. Did she still believe in love? Absolutely. One day, she wanted the kind of passionate marriage her parents had, even after thirty-one years together.
So, in the meantime, while she was waiting for her Prince Charming to arrive and sweep her off her feet—which could be months or it could be years—it made sense to focus on her career. There was no telling how long it would take to find a guy who was secure enough in his own masculinity and career that he didn’t feel threatened by her being a strong, successful woman in her own right.
Now, after a year of experience with Maxwell Real Estate, she was ready to dive into deeper waters. She was tired of treading her way through the shallow end of the company pool and getting overlooked, despite her recent successes. Selling the listing she’d chosen for her bet with Wes would not only be a really nice feather in her cap but would justify all her hard work the past year. Oh, and it would also get her hired on at Premier Realty, she thought with a smile, which was her end goal, after all.
She took another step forward toward the barista taking orders and glanced around the cafe. Finding Richard sitting in a cozy nook area with two overstuffed chairs next to each other, she gave him a quick wave to let him know she’d arrived and would be right over. The customer in front of her moved away from the register with his pastry bag and hot coffee, and Natalie took the guy’s place.
“Hey, Penny,” she said, greeting the younger girl who worked most mornings at the coffeehouse. “I’ll take my regular.”
“You got it,” Penny replied as she rang up her order. “A medium vanilla latte and a lemon scone coming right up.”
Natalie paid for her morning indulgence, dropped a generous tip in the jar on the counter, and a few minutes later, with her breakfast in hand, she was heading toward the quiet alcove where Richard was waiting for her. He had his laptop open in front of him, and he was staring at the screen while he drank from his paper cup with the Espresso Shot’s logo on it.
She parked herself in the chair beside his and set her purse on the ground by her feet and her beverage and scone on the table between them. Since she was wearing an above-the-knee brown fitted skirt, she crossed her legs to keep the material from riding up on her thighs, then glanced over at her colleague, who still had his eyes on his computer screen.
“Anything interesting happening this morning in the industry?” she asked as she reached for her latte and took a drink of the warmed milk, espresso, and vanilla flavoring.
He finally turned his head to look at her, his light green eyes peering at her from behind a pair of black-framed designer glasses that made him look incredibly sexy. Especially when paired with his fitted navy suit and silk tie.
“Nothing earth-shattering,” he said with a grin that revealed perfectly straight white teeth. “But it’s early yet.”
“So true.” In this business, things could change on a dime, but she enjoyed that spontaneous aspect of her job. Every day was a different adventure. Sometimes exciting, sometimes frustrating, but always exhilarating.
“So, you ready to put a game plan together to take down Mr. Big Shot?” he asked with enthusiasm.
She returned his grin as she broke off the corner of her lemon scone. “Let me enjoy my breakfast before I have to think about my nemesis.”
Richard chuckled and went back to whatever he was doing on his laptop, giving her a few minutes to finish her latte and biscuit before they talked business.
Last night when she’d gotten home from the Popped Cherry, she’d called Richard as she’d promised she would and told him all about the bet. Her co-worker had started at Maxwell right around the same time she had, and they’d formed a close friendship. He was apprised of her antagonistic relationship with Wes because Richard was always the one who seemed to get the brunt of her rants about something Wes had said or done to annoy her.
Natalie had plenty of girlfriends, but Richard was her best guy friend. They met in the mornings for coffee, hung out together after work quite a bit, and had even gone to dinner and movies together a few times. He was gorgeous and charming and currently single. He was a good listener, as well as funny and supportive, and he even brought her chocolate cake when she was moody and it was that time of the month.
The man was perfect boyfriend material for any woman . . . except for the fact that he was one hundred percent gay. To look at him—from the sharp, impeccable way he dressed to the deep, rich timbre of his voice, to his very masculine mannerism—he was all male. It cracked Natalie up the way women fawned over him, outright propositioned him, and even sent appreciative glances and smiles his way, which he always handled tactfully.