As if on cue, a familiar face stepped through the door of the restaurant—two, in fact. Jack and Gretchen stood near the host stand, waiting for a table. I tried to hide behind my hand, but it was too late. Jack’s waiter led him directly toward our table. As they approached, Jack’s face screwed up into a scowl. He paused as the waiter passed by.
“Fancy seeing you two here. Some important work meeting I missed the memo about?” Jack’s words were slung at us in an accusatory manner. I felt my cheeks burning and rubbed the back of my neck, not knowing how to answer. Parker took care of that for us both.
“Actually, Jack, last week, Haley and I were involved in a car accident out in front of the building during that snowstorm. I needed some more information from her for the insurance to move the claim through, so we are doing just that—exchanging information.” Parker’s diplomatic tone made me feel odd, as if he were either very good at lying or not as interested in me as he'd just claimed to be.
“Over dinner? Seems like this is something that could be handled in the breakroom at work.” Jack glared down his nose at us, and Gretchen scoffed and walked away, trailing behind the waiter.
“I choose to keep my personal life separated from my work life, which is something you seem to be challenged at doing.” Parker drove the point home. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I was just asking Ms. Spencer how she is feeling following the accident because if I need to pay for any doctor visits to ensure she is taken care of, it is my responsibility.”
Jack walked away rolling his eyes, and I shook with anxiety. I waited until he was far enough away that he couldn’t hear us and said, “See! This is what I was afraid of, the exact thing. He’s going to start rumors now.”
“Haley, let him talk. First of all, he knows nothing. Second of all, if he did know, I wouldn’t care. When someone comes into your life and changes it, you want the world to know. And that’s how I feel about you. Now, can we enjoy our dinner as friends? We can discuss what else there could be another time when we have more privacy and you feel more comfortable.”
I let my shoulders drop. Parker was right about one thing. He’d come into my life and changed it, and I loved the change. I was just terrified of some of the negative consequences of that change. I was nearly twenty years younger than him. I had so much to lose by appearing as the floozy who used her body to rise to the top. But I liked him, a lot. I was falling for him hard, and I couldn’t stop. More than ever, I needed Rachel to smack me silly and make me wake up from what was obviously a fantasy.
Rich, billionaire CEOs didn’t fall in love with no-name, entry-level employees. I didn’t want to end up like Gretchen, used and tossed out. I didn’t think Parker would do that, but I knew what my coworkers would do if they caught wind of the affair. That was a consequence I dreaded.
10
PARKER
The small red ball bounced around the court, then back in my direction. With a swift, decisive swing, I sent it hurtling back toward Adam. His fast footwork had him rushing across the square to swing and miss. The ball sailed past him, bouncing in the far corner of the court, and he stumbled into the wall. I chuckled, hoisting my racquetball racket into the air in victory.
“I told you, you’re getting old.” Our trash talk before the match had gotten us both riled up for the contest, but I had come out the winner, making Adam have to eat his words. We played once a week during the winter to keep our skills up, and when spring came, we’d transition outdoors to the tennis court.
“Yeah, well you play dirty,” he said as he jogged over to the ball that had rolled to a stop next to our jugs of water. He stooped to pick his up and laid his racket down.
“All is fair in love and war.” I snickered as I joined him in a drink. The cold water was refreshing after that intense game. My heart was pounding, and I hadn’t even hit the indoor track yet for my run.
“Speaking of love, you have to have love in order to play fair. What gives, man? You’re going to end up a lonely old miser if you don’t find a woman in this world who will put up with you.”
Adam and I had been good friends for more than a decade, and in that time he'd made it a point to bring up my relationship status at least once a month. It was all in good fun, though I knew he cared about me. It was just something guys didn’t really talk about unless they had something to talk about—like Haley, who actually wasn’t on the agenda for discussion quite yet. I didn’t want to jinx it.
“Why don’t you worry about upping your game so I don’t destroy you every time we play ball?” It was my usual answer to his taunts, to deflect and change the subject, but this time, Adam was out for blood. Maybe it was because I had really played a little dirty today.
“Why don’t you at least go to the street corner and pick up a little something that can help you relax a bit? A street honey might just help your knickers get untwisted.” He gave me a playful push on the shoulder, and I chuckled at his absurd attempt to insult me.
“Why is it that you insist I need a woman to make me happier? Does Becky really make you that happy?” I knew she did. Adam had met Becky and married her almost instantly. They had so much in common, and it had really taken Adam a while to adjust to being married. He only just recently got back into the habit of our weekly racquetball or tennis sessions.
“I don’t think I need to answer that.” He took a huge swig of his water. “You know how much I love her. I just watch out for you, that’s all. You talk about having kids one day and you’re not getting any younger, you know?”
“I know…” I sipped my own water, pretending his words didn’t make me think about how time was ticking by. A lot of men my age had adult children or teenagers. I had a chance along time ago, but it wasn’t a good fit. Since then, I’d focused on my job. Nothing more.
My phone rang, so I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it, dodging any more lectures from Adam. “Hello, Parker Danvers here.”
“Uh, hey, Parker. So, I just got a call from my insurance agency.”
“Oh, hey, Haley. Good to hear from you.”
Adam’s eyebrows rose, and he smiled at me with that knowing look, and I turned away from him so I didn’t have to see his taunts while I talked to Haley.
“So, they are saying my car is totaled. I guess the hit caused damage that cost more than sixty-five percent of the value of the car. They are writing me a check for the car’s value and I have to find a new car. I don’t know how long I’m going to need this rental for now.” She sounded nervous, as if I were going to be upset by the fact that she had to keep the rental longer or that it would cost me more money.
“Don’t worry about it.” I knew this would happen, anyway. I had told the insurance agency that if it was even close, to write the vehicle off. I could have just had it fixed, but I saw that it was an older car. She was likely having issues with it and things had started breaking down. Maybe not, but if it was anything like my experiences with cars, she was putting as much money into keeping it on the road and safe as would have cost her for a new car, anyway. And I had a plan.
“Well, I’m not sure how long it will take me to find a vehicle I can afford. I will have a great down payment, but cars are expensive.”
I figured she’d say that too, which is why I had prepared my next answer. “Well, I have decided to offer you a bonus in the form of a company car. It would be yours to use for any purpose,and we can work out the details about how long you can use it for. How does that sound?”
