Seducing Sarah - Book 4: The Player - Kris Read online

  I shrugged. “I’m not choosy. Any of the old classics will be great.”

  “Oh, you like the old stuff. I see.”

  “I like the classics.” I grinned. “There’s a difference.”

  He nodded appreciatively. “All right. I can do that.” He started for the stage, then called back over his shoulder. “Hey, maybe I could buy you a drink again sometime, what do ya think?”

  I chuckled softly, shaking my head as I gazed at his grin. Why was I such a sucker for the flirts? Especially the ones who were so full of themselves?

  “That depends. What did you have in mind?”

  “I’m playing a gig Saturday, in a much bigger place than this. My whole band will be there. It’s a week from now. Why don’t you meet up with me?”

  “Meet up with you?” I raised an eyebrow, teasingly.

  “Well, the band has to be there a couple hours ahead of time, sound checks, setting up, that kinda thing. It’d just be boring for you. But if you met me closer to the time of the show, all that stuff would be over, and it’d be a lot more fun.”

  “Ah, I see.” Hm, a free concert with a guy whose music I liked. I didn’t have to think about it very long. “Okay. It’s a deal.” I gave him my number with a smile on my face and in my heart. I was impressed with myself, truth be told. Here I was, taking another chance in spite of the crap I’d been through lately.

  It didn’t hurt that Kris was good looking and easy to talk to. Plus, I knew I liked his music, so the concert was bound to be a good time either way. Or at least that’s what I promised myself.

  Chapter Three

  “You did a great job with this,” I told Rhonda the following day as we went through the reports. “Your ideas went over famously well. In fact, I wish I’d come up with some of them myself, I really do.”

  Rhonda blushed to the roots of her hair. “Thanks.”

  “Oh, honey, let me be the one to thank you. We’re making incredible progress, and you’ve played a big part in that. I might consider taking future campaigns in the direction you and Ralph designed for the kids’ clothing store.”

  She blushed again. “We did work together pretty well.”

  “I liked your approach and suggestions for focusing more on social media. Your memes and the graphics you came up with to share online were so well-received, the company’s following improved substantially, along with their sales. They couldn’t be happier, which of course makes me very happy, too. I’m already getting calls from some of our other customers who want to jump on the social media bandwagon, and our happy clients have been recommending us to their friends and colleagues who aren’t yet in our network. That means potential new clients. Thanks to you and Ralph.”

  Rhonda literally beamed. I was never one to deny credit where it was due, and it warmed my heart to make my assistant feel good about herself. She deserved it, after working so hard for me for so long. But especially after the success of this unique and innovative campaign.

  I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs with a sigh. “So, how are things going otherwise?”

  Rhonda dissolved from businesswoman to giggling girl in an instant, and my heart squeezed at how happy she obviously was. “Wedding plans are full steam ahead, spring has sprung, life is good. And thank you for believing in me.” Her brow furrowed slightly. “Oh, before I forget, I overheard a few people talking in the kitchen today about the apples you brought in before. They really like them. Maybe you could bring some on Monday, or tell me where to grab them for you.”

  “Good idea, but I can handle it. No problem.” I certainly wouldn’t mind a trip to the Farmer’s Market.

  As Rhonda left, humming to herself, I wondered how much louder she’d hum if she knew I was planning to give her and Ralph the swimsuit season campaigns. Fashion was the perfect area for the sort of social media work Rhonda seemed to excel at.

  With Easter out the door, summer was quickly approaching. In addition to swimsuits, it was time to give serious thought to June weddings, as evidenced by my own secretary’s exuberance. It wouldn’t be very long before the wedding work started rolling in. I wouldn’t doubt we’d start hearing things by the time we returned to the office the following Monday morning. If our current trend continued, our bookings would be up again over what we’d done last year. Especially after the success of the Valentine’s Day and Easter campaigns.

  I smiled, pleased with myself and the excellent work my staff had done. Yes, expansion was a very real possibility—and it might soon become a necessity.

  I glanced over at the clock, surprised to see it was almost lunch time. Then I stood and stretched, trying to decide between the proofs awaiting approval or going out to grab a bite of lunch.

  Last night at The Cellar had been nice. I’d had a great time, and I reminded myself it was good for me to get out of my normal work environment more often. My little pep talk was enough to convince me, and I decided a quick trip to the deli was in order. I’d keep it short, and if I started feeling guilty, I could always bring my lunch back with me.

  But the idea of coming back to eat in the office was put on the back burner as soon as I stepped outside. The weather was exceptionally fine, and I liked the slightly rebellious feeling of going beyond my normal routine to do something unexpected. I snickered, putting my hand over my mouth, feeling like a school kid playing hooky. If I tried just a little harder, I could even make a habit of this.

  The deli was as crowded as I imagined it would be, but the thought of a corned beef sandwich was enough to keep me standing in line. It wasn’t often I ate food like that—salads, green juices, grilled fish, and poultry were more my go-to lunches. But today I felt like something a little out of the ordinary, and my occasional culinary splurge was worth the time spent standing in a simple line.

  I recognized a familiar head of curly auburn hair standing two people ahead of me, and when its owner turned with a drink in her hand, I smiled broadly. “Emma!”

  She beamed, waved, and gestured over to a table she’d already reserved by throwing her things on top. I grinned at her invitation and nodded, then joined her there after I ordered.

  “How’ve you been?” she asked, leaning across the table to give me a hug before I sat down.

  “Very well. Business is booming. Life couldn’t be better.” I felt a little strange, telling her what amounted to a lie, even if it wasn’t a very big one. Business was great—that wasn’t my lie. But here I was, a miserable wreck when it came to my personal life. I liked Emma a lot, and she’d already commiserated with me over the agony I’d gone through with Scott, but we weren’t close enough for me to tell her everything. Besides, would she really care? I doubted it. People usually had enough of their own drama without wanting to take on someone else’s.

  “I’m so glad!” She grinned at me, raising one eyebrow. “And how is life in the Scott-Free Zone?” I almost snorted at that one, remembering that my failed relationship had given me automatic ‘membership’ in that exclusive society.

  “Better than life in the Dreaded Scott Zone,” I quipped.

  “Ain’t that the truth?” She wrinkled her nose as she snickered at my lame excuse for a pun.

  Thankfully, the clerk at the counter called our names, signaling that our food was ready. It was good to have a natural break in the conversation as Scott was the last thing I felt like talking about. I needed to work on letting go of everything in the past, including him.

  Luckily for me, we chatted about other things as we ate. Emma’s life seemed to be on course as well. “Remember the group I told you I work with?”

  “Right, the one providing shelter for abused women.”

  “Exactly. The program’s official name is Women For Shelter, but I just call it the Shelter. And, given you’re a kind of honorary abusee, I thought you might be interested in some of our upcoming events.” She laughed, shaking her head at me. “It’s been crazy, trying to put everything together and keep all the pieces straight.”

 
“You should be very proud of what you’re doing, and that you’re willing to keep doing it. It’s so important. And necessary.”

  “You’re not kidding. I’m really happy to do the work, but it sometimes feels more than just a little overwhelming. It’s like having two full-time jobs.”

  I nodded, understanding how important it was to do good work where it was necessary and needed. We finished up our sandwiches, pushing away the baskets as we sipped the end of our sodas.

  “Why don’t you come to our next event? It’s this upcoming week. I can send a flyer to your office—it has all our upcoming event dates. Now that you’re in the Scott-Free Zone, it’s time to meet some of your fellow ‘zoned out’ members. You might be surprised at how much you have in common, but even more important, how much you have to offer the others.”

  I laughed. “Sure, send me the flyer.”

  As much as I didn’t want to keep treading back over the past, I liked Emma. It was nice to have something to bond over with someone I liked, and in truth, I was more than happy to support her group. I might even end up making a few new women friends. And there was nothing wrong with that.

  Chapter Four

  Monday morning, and I was deep into a pile of contracts when Rhonda buzzed me. “There’s a visitor out here to see you. Says her name is Em, of the… Scott-Free Zone?” I barely stifled my laugh when I heard Rhonda’s obvious confusion.

  “I think I have time to see her,” I said, still grinning when Rhonda showed Emma into the office. I appreciated her perkiness, in a cute spring dress and purse, even if I wasn’t the type to dress according to the seasons. After all, who had the time to be a slave to fashion when they had a business to run?

  “Hey, you. I told you I’d bring flyers over for our upcoming events. Here you go.” She handed over a couple of glossy sheets. I was impressed by how professional they looked. Emma and her friends obviously worked hard to present a solid image to the public.

  “These look great. I’ve been thinking about our conversation. It would be a good idea for me to get involved. I need something new in my life right now.” I didn’t want to go any further into explaining, and to Emma’s credit, she didn’t pursue the topic.

  “Come on. I want to show you the Shelter. It’s not far from here.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’m pretty busy today.”

  “Nonsense. It’s nearly lunch time. I’ll treat. I just want to show you around a little. Come on, you’ll like it.” She was persistent and persuasive, definitely good at getting her way. I shook my head but stood. She grinned in triumph.

  It was a beautiful day, still a little crisp as we moved through spring towards summer. We talked as we walked the five or six blocks to the Shelter, and I was glad to have a little time to breathe the fresh air and soak up the sunshine. Em’s energy was infectious too. I wished I could bottle some for myself, especially for those times when I felt low.

  “Here we are.”

  I stepped back, wondering what Emma meant. We stood in front of an unimposing apartment building.

  “Here?” I asked, looking up at the old structure. I wondered how long it had stood there—and how long it would remain standing. Emma laughed at what could only have been disbelief on my face.

  “Come on. I’ll show you.” She led me up a short flight of steps and through the front door. “There are ten apartments in all, each of which has two or three bedrooms. We try to put one woman in each bedroom, doubling up when there’s a small family so we can keep them together. Then all the folks in that apartment share the living room, kitchen, and bathroom.”

  “That’s smart,” I said as Em showed me one of the apartments which happened to be empty at the time.

  “Leah and her kids just left today to move back in with her mother who lives in San Francisco. We helped arrange for their flights through donations.”

  “That’s great,” I said, looking around. The bedrooms were a decent size. One of them had bunk beds along one wall and a twin bed along another. The other bedroom held two twin beds.

  “We try to pair the women up in the bedroom that will best suit their needs, obviously. Sometimes we have to do a little shuffling around, but it works out in the end. And it’s helpful for the women to have another one or two women sharing the apartment. You know, somebody to talk to, share with. Somebody to sit up with late at night, if they need to. And we don’t advertise being here. Because it looks just like any other apartment building in the area, the women themselves are relatively protected—safe from unwanted harassment from their past.”

  “This is amazing. I’m so happy you shared this with me. It’s a wonderful solution to a very difficult situation.” She’d really sparked something for me. Thinking about what it would be like, being in a situation where I had nowhere to turn. Then, being lucky enough to find shelter in one of these small apartments—with not just me, but my children—well, that put my own life into clearer perspective. There were so many other problems in the world that eclipsed mine.

  On the first floor, they’d converted one of the apartments for board use. The living room had been repurposed to serve as a conference room. One bedroom served as a toy closet, and the other was filled with donated clothing.

  “Great idea,” I said, examining the used clothes. “I’m sold. What can I do to help?”

  “We can always use money,” Em admitted. “And donations. Especially clothes. These women come to us with little to nothing, and they often need professional clothing to help them find a job. Of course, clothing for the children is important as well. But, you know…” Her voice trailed off, and when I glanced at her, I could tell she was deep in thought.

  “What is it?”

  “Well, we have an opening on the board of directors. That is, if you’re really interested in doing something worthwhile.”

  “The Board? Really?” That was an interesting idea. I hadn’t expected anything quite that involved. Would that be too much of a commitment with my other obligations? Emma seemed to read my hesitation.

  “Hey, the more professional women we can get onto the Board to serve as an inspiration to our women at the Shelter, the better. You’re the perfect role model!. Successful, strong, smart. You carry yourself well; you’re even nicely put together. And you own your own business. You’d be a great inspiration.”

  “I don’t feel very inspiring at the moment,” I admitted with a rueful smile as I shook my head.

  “Oh, with your business taking off and all? Whatever it is, it’ll pass. We all have our down days.” She laughed. “But seriously, you are exactly the kind of person we’re looking for. You’d be a great asset for the organization. What do you say?”

  I shook my head again. “Seriously?” There was something appealing about being considered a role model for women who were less fortunate than I was. But still. I wasn’t someone to take on a task unless I was willing to give it my all. “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll tell you what. Check us out. Come to an event or two, then decide. What do you say?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “I say… sure. Why not?”

  “Yeah?” Emma clapped her hands, and I couldn’t help but share her enthusiasm. “We have an event this weekend—a fundraiser. You should come to that one. It would be a great opportunity for you to see more of what goes on behind the scenes as well as meeting some of the other board members. And I promise not to hold you to any promises if you feel like it doesn’t fit for you.”

  I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for, but I liked what I’d heard so far. After all, I wanted a life outside work. And if Emma saw me as a worthy role model, then this might be another step in fulfilling that promise to myself. It wouldn’t hurt to look things over and see how well we fit each other.

  At least, that was my hope.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, Boss? Just a reminder, you have that meeting with Will and the other fella later. What’s his name… Grant Lancaster.”

  “Thanks.�
� I looked up at Rhonda’s slightly impertinent grin. I’d been immersed in my paperwork, so busy I’d nearly forgotten about the appointment. This was the kind of day I loved, when I mowed through work like it was nothing and lost track of time doing what I liked to do best, oblivious to the rest of the world around me.

  I’d agreed to the meeting last week, and it just couldn’t be ignored, even if I’d rather stay in my little bubble. I called Will to get a heads up. “Sorry to bother you. Just wondering if there was anything I should prepare for before the meeting this afternoon?”

  He chuckled. “Nope, nothing for you to do at all. Remember, this is just an exploratory meeting. Two sides getting a look at one another, seeing what the other might bring to the table. Should the two of you decide to move forward, that’s when we’d need to get more serious about records and financials, that kind of thing. But for now, think of it as just a friendly meet and greet.”

  “Any clue about why he’s interested in my company?” I had to ask.

  “None, except that he’s the head of a fairly large conglomerate, and I imagine they’re always on the lookout to expand.”

  “Okay, thanks,” I said as I hung up the phone, my head pleasantly spinning. I’d been thinking of expanding the business, and maybe this was the opportunity I was looking for. I tried not to get too excited. I had no idea who this Grant Lancaster was, or what he wanted. Nothing came without a price, and in the end, I would simply trust my hunches. I was a firm believer that things fell into your lap and your life for a reason.

  ***

  I stepped into the meeting at two o’clock that afternoon, my heart pounding with a mix of excitement and apprehension as I thought about meeting a potential business partner. Would this be it? The meeting that would set it all into motion?

  Grant Lancaster stood by the window, talking to my attorney as I stepped into the conference room. They both turned at the sound of my entrance. Will smiled at me, looking like a doting grandfather, as always—except for the three-piece suit and pocket watch he always wore. He was a throwback from an earlier time, and I warmed to the thought that he looked as charming as ever.