Afternoon Delight (9 page)

“I’d like to try the deep-fried mixed fruit, the house-cured anchovies with Parmesan, the foie gras and the yaquina oysters on the half shell, please.” Rei lowered the menu to find both Chris and the waitress staring at her. But she just smiled brightly and shrugged. “I’m trying new things this week.”

He laughed as the waitress left to fill their orders. “I hope you like those appetizers more than you did the tequila.”

As they waited for their lunch, Chris engaged her in a conversation about their favorite books and
movies, keeping everything light and impersonal while he prepared himself. Finally he inhaled deeply, having realized he’d been anxiously holding his breath.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Reaching for Rei’s hand, he rubbed his thumb over the back of it. “The sex has been incredible, you know. It’s never been as good with anyone else as it is with you.” He paused, holding her gaze as firmly as her fingers. “But I want more.”

“You want more sex?”

She laughed but he felt her hand tense beneath his.

“Chris, I don’t think that will be a problem. I’ve made no secret about how much you turn me on.”

“You have other secrets, though. We both do.”

She looked away, taking a long sip of her iced tea. “It’s more interesting that way, don’t you think?”

“It’s easier to control, you mean. I know you didn’t want any complications, but I think the rules need to change.”

Chris paused while the waitress placed the foie gras and anchovies in front of Rei. As he watched, her expression became anxious. She lifted one of the thin fish, sniffed it then took a small bite. After a wince and a long sip of tea, she scooped up a forkful of the pâté.

“You’re trying new things, right? Are you willing to be something more than lovers and strangers?”

“We’re not exactly strangers.” Rei stalled for time by shoving the foie gras into her mouth. He wasn’t sure if the face she made was in response to the topic or the food.

“No, we aren’t.” He drew another deep breath and braced himself for her reaction. “You wouldn’t know this, but I’m named after my father and grandfather. David Christopher London III.”

She stared at him, a frozen expression on her face. Her eyes were turbulent, though, when she jerked her hand away. He could see the wheels turning, saw her making the connections, and suddenly he wondered if he’d just made a huge mistake. But, no, he didn’t stand a chance in hell if he didn’t come clean with her about who he was and what he wanted.

“You’re DCL3. You son of a bitch.”

“I’m sorry. But I had to tell you before we go any further. I had to be honest—”

“Honest?” She glanced around the restaurant then lowered her voice. “You’ve been playing me from the very start. All that nonsense about remaining anonymous while being open and honest. When I think about the things I e-mailed you…”

“Things you wouldn’t have told me in person, things you didn’t trust me enough to share.”

Rei scowled at him. “Well, obviously I was right not to trust you.”

The waitress chose that moment to deliver the rest of their food. The burger smelled delicious but Chris’s stomach was too twisted in knots to even think about eating it. He was a risk taker in sports and in business but not in his personal life. He’d never met a woman he considered worth it before.

Rei waited until they were alone again before she
leaned forward, pointing her index finger at him. “You agreed to the terms that first night at the hotel and then went and violated my privacy.”

He stepped around that landmine and chose to address what he thought was the more important issue. “Yeah, I agreed at first, but I also told you last night I’d changed my mind. When you gave me your number, I figured you had, too.”

This time she was the one avoiding a trap. “How did you even get my Lunch Meetings e-mail?”

He forced himself to meet her gaze. “I own the service.”

She fell back against her seat. “Damn it, I don’t believe you. Is this how you operate? You steal information and manipulate the results?”

“Hey, I know you’re angry but believe one thing. I’ve never done this before. I wouldn’t jeopardize the reputation of my company or expose my clients. But you—I don’t know—you blew me away.” Chris leaned forward, willing her to see his sincerity. “I wasn’t looking to meet anybody and there you were. Then you were gone. When fate brought you into Lunch Meetings, I saw an opportunity and I took it.”

“Why should I believe anything you say? Don’t you see how you’ve betrayed my trust? I thought I was talking to a friend.”

“I’ll apologize again, because I know I misled you, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice, Rei. You wouldn’t let me in any other way. Every time we’ve been together, you’ve shut me out. This still doesn’t
have to be complicated, Rei. We’ll see each other in and out of bed, and you’ll have to learn to say the things you told me online in person. The relationship doesn’t have to end, it just changes.”

She slumped in her chair and wouldn’t look at him. “You lied to me.”

Her voice sounded more petulant than irate and he didn’t want to fight with her, but Chris felt his own anger was also justified. “When did you plan to tell me your real name, ‘Jade’? How long were you going to keep lying to me?”

She blinked several times but didn’t answer. Knowing his point was made and not wanting to push her any harder, Chris backed off and concentrated on his own lunch. Rei would definitely walk away now and he had no intention of begging her to see him again. If it was over, let it be a clean break with some of his self-respect intact.

Rei picked up her fork and toyed with hot Concord grapes and peach slices as the last of her anger evaporated into embarrassment. She was so pissed off with Chris…. However she couldn’t avoid the truth. She was just as guilty as he and, thinking back to their e-mails, he’d offered her several chances to reveal herself.

Rei tipped the oyster and brine into her mouth, then tossed the empty shell back onto the plate and reached for one of the rolls in the breadbasket to cleanse her palate. The slimy feel of the oyster sliding down her throat was not an experience she cared to repeat, despite the supposed aphrodisiac effects.

That was another truth she had to face. What kind of person was she really, to use him just for sex, never wanting to know more about him, treating him like he was nothing more than a sex toy? She’d wanted to get swept up into a passionate affair, but while sex without any personal connection might be passionate, it wasn’t satisfying and it wasn’t right.

Her plan had been to break it off as soon as they went too far and Chris had gone as far as he could to make something more of their liaison. But a personal connection was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Despite what Chris had said about being receptive and taking chances, there were too many negative possibilities once she rescheduled the tests for Dr. Solís.

In the meantime though, he hadn’t asked for a lifetime or any other type of commitment. There was no reason they couldn’t be friends…with benefits. They could continue to be lovers while getting to know each other better. Rei drew a deep breath and apologized.

“I don’t know when I would have confessed who I really am. ‘Jade’ made for such a great shield, you see. With an alter ego I was free to be anybody I wanted, except myself.”

Chris wiped a smear of ketchup from the corner of his mouth. “You’re an attractive and intriguing woman, Rei. Why would you want to be anyone else?”

She heard the interest and concern in his voice and a part of her wanted to respond. However, she still chose to keep some secrets to herself and so told him only part of the truth.

“I wanted to let my hair down, get a little wild and crazy. It’s easier to do that when you’re hiding behind a different persona. I didn’t need or want to know anything about you, except in bed, because that’s the only place Jade existed. That was unfair to you and I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, Rei, if you’ll accept mine.”

She looked up to see hope and understanding in his light green eyes. Smiling, she held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Rei Davis. I’m a commissioner in the Unified Family Court. My interests include travel, romance novels and NFL football.”

He gently gripped her fingers. “Hi, Rei. My name is Chris London. I own a dating service, I like to swim and play golf and go to jazz concerts.”

“This is weird, isn’t it? On the one hand, I shouldn’t trust you because you deceived me. But if you hadn’t, I never would have made a new friend.”

“Now that we’ve been introduced, where do we go from here?” Chris must have seen her hesitation because he reached for her hand this time.

“I’ll have to think about—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll call me.” He dropped her hand in frustration, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ve heard it before—
every
other time you’ve backed away.”

“That’s not—”

“Maybe if you’d stop running long enough, you’d see—”

“Hey!” Rei smacked her fingers on the tabletop.
“If you’d stop interrupting me, I could finish what I was going to say.”

He kept his arms folded and still wore a disgruntled expression, but he was listening.

“I’ll have to think about whether I want to go out with my lover or have sex with my friend. But either way, I’m not only willing but looking forward to spending more time with you.”

His frown lifted to a smirk and the smirk quickly turned into the charmingly boyish smile she adored. Chris uncrossed his arms and pulled her toward him for a quick kiss. His appetite apparently restored, he dug into his hamburger with gusto.

Rei wished she were half as enthusiastic about her lunch. Pushing the salted fish, duck liver, fried fruit and bivalves aside, she caught the attention of their server. “Could you please take this away and bring me a garden salad with vinaigrette dressing? Thanks.”

PajamaPartyGirl is now online

PajamaPartyGirl is instant messaging you

PajamaPartyGirl: How’s it going with the Lunch guy?

JadeBlossom: Good. I mean, we’ve struck up this weird kind of friendship.

PajamaPartyGirl: I can’t invest in the company based on weird friendships. How about the other guys who e-mailed you?

JadeBlossom: Several of them seemed really nice, but I didn’t want to lead them on. I think I’ve found a match and you’ll never guess who it is.

PajamaPartyGirl: The guy who kept asking about your shoes. He sounded hot.

JadeBlossom: Ew. Not him. It’s the guy I’ve been seeing.

PajamaPartyGirl: You mean the boy toy is the one you’ve been e-mailing? How the hell did that happen? I’m confused.

JadeBlossom: So was I. Do you believe in fate?

PajamaPartyGirl: No, and I’m not big on coincidence either. Who is this guy?

JadeBlossom: Chris London. It turns out he owns Lunch Meetings.

PajamaPartyGirl: Oh really. And this doesn’t set off any alarms for you?!? By any chance was he there the day we signed up?

JadeBlossom: Yeah, he recognized me, but he was with a client and couldn’t break away.

PajamaPartyGirl: I’ll bet you’re not the only one he recognized. Think about it, Rei. He’s trying to get money to expand and you walk in with the heir to Hollinger/Hansen, the folks he’s been pitching for funds. I’ll admit it could have been a fluke that you met him at Divas, but how do you know the rest of this wasn’t a setup from the very beginning?

JadeBlossom: I don’t think so, Peej. I’m a good judge of character.

M
ARVIN
C
ARRINGTON LOOKED
like a new man. Sort of.

He’d had his hair cut and styled. He wore new glasses and he looked good in a pale blue monochromatic shirt and tie. But the look in his puppy-brown eyes and his body language were the same. He still came across as insecure and slightly desperate.

“I don’t know what went wrong, Chris.”

“Well, tell me how your date started and we’ll figure it out from there.”

Marvin shrugged. “Tina asked when I wanted to meet. I said whenever it fit into her schedule. She asked where did I want to go? I told her anyplace she liked. When we got to the coffee shop, I ordered the same thing she did.”

Chris kept himself from wincing and instead nodded for Marvin to continue. “How did the conversation go?”

Marvin shrugged again. “I thought I was using open communication. I told her how long it had been since my last date and what went wrong in that relationship. I touched her a lot so she’d know I was sen
sitive and just tried to show her the real me. She didn’t talk much about herself and when I asked if anything was wrong she said nothing, but she kept sighing.”

“Okay, Marvin. I think I’ve heard enough. When a woman says “nothing,” it always means “something.” That’s great that you let her see the real you, but you might have shown her too much you all at once. There are twelve steps to intimacy and you jumped right to step four or five.”

He spent the next twenty minutes coaching Marvin and building his self-esteem and then practically held his hand while he called Tina to ask her for another date. When he left Chris’s office and headed for the front door, he was walking with a more confident stride and a spring in his step.

“You’re in a great mood today, considering all the activity around here today.” Lara paused by the bar on her way past.

Chris looked up from getting a can of his favorite energy drink and shrugged. A team of Hollinger/Hansen auditors and risk assessment specialists had been combing through his files all morning, checking the account books and reading client contracts. “Hey, if this is what it takes, let them look to their hearts content.”

“I thought all they needed were copies of the company’s financial statements and business plan? I don’t think all of this probing is typical, Chris.”

Given Rei’s connection to P.J. Hollinger, he didn’t think so, either. But he wasn’t going to sweat it. “I
heard from Andrew Johnston that the expansion strategy presentation went well. He seemed confident the funding would be approved.”

“Let’s hope so. My husband wasn’t pleased about that private investigator questioning my neighbors,” Lara conceded.

Chris was just turning back to his office when he spotted Grant Bronson. His eyes narrowed when he realized Grant was talking to Marvin. Chris walked up to them just in time to hear they’d be at the weekly mixer Friday night.

“See you around, Grant. See you later, Chris, and thanks again.”

Grant cocked his head toward Marvin’s retreating back. “Is he another one of your personal projects?”

“I told you before, I can’t—”

“Talk about your other clients.” Grant offered a self-depreciating grin. “Sorry, man. I was just curious.”

Chris didn’t like the man’s curiosity and so kept his tone cool. “What are you doing here? We didn’t have an appointment.”

“I just stopped by to check my e-mail. I’ll see you at the mixer, right?”

He held Grant’s too-innocent stare for a second then finally nodded. “Yeah. I’m the host.”

“Cool. Catch you later.” Grant stuffed his hands into his front pockets and ambled into the computer café.

Chris watched him go, uneasiness settling into his gut. What the hell was that about?

Thursday, April 17th

“C
HICKEN SALAD
, huh? That’s not exactly daring.” Chris ran his finger down the menu. The ever-popular Hayes Street Grill was the setting for their date today. “How about the quail salad with grilled figs?”

Rei rolled her eyes at his teasing. “I don’t think so. After yesterday’s lunch, I’m taking a day off from my quest for new adventures. What are you going to have?”

“A cheeseburger. You can never go wrong with a burger.”

“So, before the waiter came over, you were saying something about your plans for tonight?” Elbows on the table, she rested her chin on her hands.

Chris draped his arm over the back of his chair. “Yeah, I’m having drinks with my dad at this sports bar we like.”

“You and your father are close?”

“Dad and I are…friendly. He and my mom split when I was a kid, and I’m a lot closer to her. Until recently, at least. She’s started dating somebody but won’t tell me anything about him. Nothing.” His lips thinned with displeasure, turning down at one corner. “What?”

“Nothing.” Rei suppressed her smile at the look on his face, part concerned man, part disgruntled little boy. “There are a lot of reasons your mom may
want to keep this man to herself for a while.” She shrugged. “She might not think you’ll approve or she might be afraid you won’t get along.”

“She’ll never know until she lets me meet him, will she?” Their food arrived and Chris took a vicious bite out of his cheeseburger.

“Well, maybe things are going well, and she just wants to enjoy his company before deciding where the relationship is heading.”

He cocked his head and arched a brow. “Is that what you’re doing?”

“Yes, but we’re talking about your parents, not us.” She took a sip of her mineral water. “Does your dad know she’s seeing somebody?”

“Yeah, I told him. It was odd how he reacted though.” His brows furrowed. “Dad got kind of tense and flustered and then said he hoped things worked out better for her this time.”

“That was nice of him. I take it they parted amicably?” She chose a nice sized piece of smoked chicken breast from her salad plate.

“Not really. That’s why I was surprised he seemed to care, considering he’s the one who walked out.”

Jennifer had married Rei’s father over twenty years ago, but Rei still remembered with crystal clarity the day she’d become Gordon’s wife. “I acted like I didn’t give a damn when my father started seeing someone, but inside I was horrified at the idea of my mother being replaced.”

Chris eyed her curiously. “Are you sure you
weren’t upset over the idea of
you
being displaced? I’ve been the most important man in my mom’s life for a long time, and it feels strange to know there’s somebody else in the picture now.”

“You’re assuming I had a place in my father’s heart to begin with.” Rei set down her fork on the plate with an audible click.

“I’m sorry.” Chris reached over to touch her hand. “I’ve tried to maintain some kind of relationship with my dad over the years, but he hasn’t exactly been a model parent either. I guess that’s why I’m cautious about the sudden interest.”

“You have your mom though and I had my
sofubo,
my grandparents.” Rei smiled even as her heart squeezed in her chest from missing them so much. “My favorite, most precious childhood memories are of their cottage in Japantown.”

“Yeah? Tell me about them.”

“My mother would take me to have green tea and my grandmother’s tempura and rice balls. I spent hours running curious fingers over her silk screens and porcelain dolls. After lunch, my grandfather would help me to make origami cranes or take me to Lafayette Park to fly
ezodaka
paper kites.”

“It sounds like you had a great time with them, Rei.”

Her
sofubo
and the special times they’d shared, memories colored with tight hugs and plum candies and love, reminded her of what was happening this weekend. “Hey, Chris. Are you doing anything on Saturday?”

Friday, April 18th

S
HE FELT
like a fraud. Everyone else here tonight was genuinely looking to meet new people and hopefully discover that elusive chemistry, which might become a relationship. Since she was already involved with Chris, Rei hadn’t wanted to come to the Lunch Meetings mixer but she’d promised P.J. she would check out the event.

She hadn’t told Chris she was coming, hoping to surprise him. As she walked out of the cloakroom, Lara Voigt suddenly appeared at her shoulder. “Hi, welcome. This is your first mixer, right? Come on, I’ll introduce you to some people.”

“Oh, um, you don’t have to—”

“Don’t be shy. There are a lot of eligible bachelors at the party tonight, and everyone is just as nervous as you.”

In the main dining room, the usual tables and chairs had been replaced with food-laden buffets against the wall. Lara briefly explained how speed dating worked, then left Rei to her own devices. She joined the other people wandering from group to group, sharing rapid introductions and concise information about themselves, before moving on. By the sixth or seventh time she’d said, “Hi, Rei Davis. I’m
a San Francisco native and I work for the court system,” her cheeks were sore from smiling politely.

Her next partner seemed more interested in a hook-up than a date. The good-looking, dark-haired man used his superior height to try and peer down her cleavage, then flashed her a pearly smile. “Hey, beautiful. Grant Bronson. I think you’re exactly who I’ve been looking for.”

Before she could retort, Rei suddenly felt Chris’s familiar and very welcome presence by her side.

“That’s too bad, because she’s been looking for me.” He slipped a proprietary arm around her waist and smiled down at her. “Hey, beautiful. You look incredible.”

Grant took a step back and raised his palms. “Sorry, man. I didn’t realize she was the one.”

“It’s cool. If you’ll excuse us?”

Chris’s voice was friendly enough, but Rei saw the cold look in his eyes and she was certain Grant had also. “Why don’t you just club me over the head and drag me into the nearest cave?”

“In that dress? Don’t tempt me.”

He led her around to the bar, where a number of people were chatting in groups or dancing to the club music the dj was spinning. Chris caught the bartender’s attention. “John, this is Rei. Whatever the lady wants is on the house, okay?”

“Sure thing, boss. What will you have, ma’am?”

Chris grinned at her. “Anything but tequila, right?”

She took a minute to scan her eyes over the vast
display of bottles on the glass shelves behind the bar. “I think I’ll try a Skyy Blue martini, please.”

While John made her drink, Chris leaned against the gleaming brass rail and gave her a slow once-over. “Have I told you, you look absolutely amazing tonight?”

Rei pretended to pout at the compliment. “Only once.”

“Well, it bears repeating. I love what you did to your hair and I really love that dress.”

After work she’d gone to the Crocker Galleria near Union Square. At the pricey salon P.J. had recommended, after a lot of deep breaths and assurances from the stylist, she’d had six inches cut off her hair. It now had lots of layers and fell just to shoulder length. Her head felt lighter and she loved the way her hair swung when she moved, but it was strange not to feel her hair against her back.

While she was at the shopping mall, she’d gone into one of the exclusive apparel stores and splurged on the lavender silk cocktail dress. Triple spaghetti straps crossed one shoulder, leaving the other bare, while the fluted hem brushed the middle of her thighs. Rei slid onto an empty bar stool, careful to keep her knees together.

She took a sip of her cocktail. The heated kick of the ice-cold vodka, combined with her new haircut and first bikini wax, made her feel edgy and warm and daring. “I’ll tell you a little something about this dress.”

“What’s that?”

She leaned close, brushing her lips against his cheek as she whispered her naughty secret. “There’s nothing underneath it except an itty bitty pair of thong panties.”

His light-green eyes darkened with desire and he groaned softly. “Don’t tell me that now. I have to work the crowd and keep them encouraged and entertained.”

Rei slid her calf along his pants leg. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to distract you from your work. You run along and I’ll just sit here and wait for you.”

He glanced around then stroked his fingers along the underside of her thigh. “I’ll be back. Soon. Very soon.”

She twisted sideways on the bar stool and scanned the crowd. The overly enthusiastic dj was cajoling people to get up and sing, but no one exactly leapt at the chance. “Come on, guys, I know some of you dreamed of singing lead for a 1980s hair band. No? Ladies? Are there any divas in the house tonight? Come on, I find that hard to believe.”

Maybe it was the word divas, reminding her of the night she met Chris, or maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was just her inner bad girl spurring her to risk embarrassment and stage fright while crossing another item off her Life List. But Rei found herself raising her arm.

“I’ll try it.”

After quickly thumbing through the list of karaoke tunes, she chose “The Greatest,” one of her all-time favorite songs. Then it was time to take the stage and
Rei suddenly regretted that martini. She stood nervously in front of the microphone while all eyes in the room seemed to be watching her. As her stomach did an anxious somersault, she closed her eyes.

Pretending she was a girl again, standing in PJ’s pink bedroom crooning into a hairbrush, Rei listened for her cue. She was no Whitney Houston, that was for sure. But as the music started, she gave it all she had, from the first line about believing children are our future to the last long-held note about finding strength in love. Grinning widely, she opened her eyes as the crowd cheered and took a dramatic bow.

“That was great!” Chris was clapping loudest of all. He handed her down the steps then gave her a hug. He drew her away from the stage and leaned close to murmur in her ear. “You’ve never looked more vibrant, and I’ve never wanted you more.”

The proof of his admiration was nudging her leg, but she shook her head. “It’s your party, we can’t leave.”