First Class to New York (5 page)

Clarity appeared across Angela’s face. “Oh yes, sir. I did
speak to her. You want her phone number?”

Matt turned back to her while opening the large door into
his office and nodded.

“Well, I’ll have to call IT and see if they can locate it.”

“I don’t care how you do it, just get me the number.”

*****

Janie had already consumed a giant pretzel, a hot dog and
some kind of meat on a skewer. She was thoroughly enjoying the food carts! And
walking in the sun was heavenly. It was still a little grey in Portland, as the
winter hadn’t quite shaken its hold on the Pacific Northwest, so this was a
welcome change. There was lots of green grass with children running and
laughing, dogs and their owners playing Frisbee, and young couples sharing a
picnic lunch. She had even walked by the skating rink and remembered the movie
Serendipity and the magical scene where snowflakes fell on John Cusack and Kate
Beckinsale. 

Janie purchased a coke and made her way to an empty bench.
Popping the top of the can, she leaned back on the wrought iron and sighed. 
She had walked and walked and she was sure she had only seen a fraction of the
park. She pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped through the pictures she
had already taken; fountains and water and trees and rocks. It really was a
beautiful park.

Focused on a picture of the lake with toy boats floating
across the smooth surface a text flashed before her eyes. ‘Hope you’re having
fun Mom! Make this a trip to remember. Luv ya’

It was from Tyler. A big smile appeared as she read the text
again. Tyler and Adam had certainly grown into amazing young men. Her twin boys
had arrived into the world four weeks early and had been tiny, spending almost
two weeks in the NICU before she and Robert could take them home. She was
barely an adult when they were born and in many ways she and the boys had grown
up together. Now they were both over six feet tall, Adam playing on the
baseball team for Oregon State and Tyler a wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks.
Neither was planning a pro sports career after college. In fact Adam wanted to
go to Medical school and Tyler was looking at an MBA. But they still had
another year of college to go before they had to figure out how to finance more
school.

Janie’s forehead wrinkled as she thought about the cost of
more schooling. With scholarships and their college savings, the boys would
make it through college with only a small amount in student loans. Janie had
offered to pay those loans with money from Robert’s life insurance, but the
boys had both been adamant that they were more than capable of taking care of
their loans themselves. She was so proud of them both. They were her biggest and
best achievement. There would be enough money to pay for a graduate degree and
maybe med school if she went back to work.

She tilted her face up towards the sun and closed her eyes
and sighed. Work! A job! She didn’t want her trip to be interrupted with that
unwelcome thought. She hadn’t worked since Robert had been diagnosed. She had
quit her job at the hospital three days after that dreadful day. At times she had
missed the day-to-day routine. She had been an executive assistant to the Dean
of Medicine, often a demanding job, but also enjoyable. Dr. Rodriguez had been
wonderful to her and her family, and she knew if she wanted to go back he would
make sure it happened. But she didn’t want to think about that now. Now was time
to sit in the sun on a wrought iron bench in the middle of Central Park
drinking an overpriced Coca Cola.

*****

Matt sat at his large glass desk staring at a spreadsheet on
his laptop. It was the same spreadsheet he had been trying to work on yesterday
on the flight back from Portland. But he had been distracted and couldn’t
concentrate; reading words and numbers over and over again, forgetting them
immediately. At first he attributed his lack of focus to being tired, although
he rarely slept more than five hours a night, so that really was just a lame
excuse. It was that woman next to him; all hair and big blue innocent eyes.
Yes, Janie was the distraction. He was horrified at the memory of dumping his
ice water all over her, but seeing her wet, breathing heavily, looking like a
frightened animal had given him an immediate erection, and the sight of her
breasts clinging to her t-shirt flashed before him every time he closed his
eyes. 

Matt chuckled as he recalled her expression when he sat down
next to her on the plane. That had been a complete coincidence, one he was
greatly pleased about. She really was adorable, so self conscious and
guileless, nothing like the women who were constantly throwing themselves in
front of him, like the hostess at the restaurant last night, shoving her tits
in his face like that really pissed him off. He didn’t even have to work for
it; women just handed themselves to him on a silver platter. There just wasn’t
any sport in it anymore.

Janie Anderson was not like the women he had dated, or
married, before. She didn’t appear hardened or cynical or a gold-digging social
climber, like many of the female population he’d had experience with, and there
were a lot of women in that group. Matt knew he was nice to look at, he was
very aware of how women reacted to him. It was something he had dealt with
since his teenage years. So at the age of 40, he was well-versed in the female
persuasion. But Janie was like a breath of fresh air, not throwing herself at
him, and Matt grinned at the memory of her total embarrassment trying to
untwist her sweater to cover herself. He had wanted to reach over and touch the
exposed skin with his tongue but had the fortitude to refrain. She had looked
so peaceful sleeping in her seat, childlike even. He had guessed they were
around the same age and had felt a wave of relief when she’d said she wasn’t
married. Offering a ride had been a desperate attempt to give him more time to
talk to her, to watch her chew on her cheek, a telltale nervous habit. There
was just something about her that intrigued him, which made him want to see
more of her.

Matt returned to the spreadsheet, trying to find the focus
he needed, and waiting for IT to get him her phone number.

*****

Curled up in the corner of the plush sofa in her hotel room,
Janie gazed out the window at the darkening sky. She had enjoyed a most
excellent day wandering through the park and now she was content to spend the
evening relaxing, dining in and flicking through the channels on the TV.
Picking up the remote control, she pushed the power button and the bright light
of the TV filled the room. Stopping on the USA channel, Janie immediately
recognized the show and grinned; Law & Order SVU. Benson and Stabler were
questioning a suspect in the grim interrogation room and she threw her head
back and laughed loudly.

He was the perfect gentleman
, thought Janie.
IS
the perfect gentleman.
Her mind wandering back to that perfect kiss earlier,
so mesmerizingly gentle and it had certainly left her wanting more.

Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it off the coffee table.
Reading the number displayed, she didn’t recognize it, but it said ‘New York,
NY’. There were only a couple of places that Janie had given her number to, the
hotel was one of them. She pushed the button and said hello.

“Hi. How was your day?” The smooth silky voice on the other
end was instantly familiar.

“Oh! Hi! Um, it was nice.” Janie tripped over her tongue
trying to spit out the words. “How did you get my number?”

Matt chuckled at Janie’s suspicious tone. “You called my
office and we have caller ID.”

“Oh,” came the reply.

“So what did you do today?” he asked.

“I spent the day in the park. It was such a pretty day so I
thought I would explore. It really is big isn’t it?”

Matt could hear her relax as she spoke. “I guess it is. I
don’t spend much time there. I am usually in meetings or on a plane.”

Janie frowned. “That’s too bad. You’re missing out.” She
remembered the expanse of grass and the lakes and the fountains. “I thought it
was amazing. To think in this massive city of bricks and concrete there is a
huge oasis right in the middle. What do you do that keeps you in meetings or on
a plane?”

“I am a real estate developer,” he said. “I buy land and
build on it, or I buy existing buildings and remodel and lease, or sometimes
re-sell.”

“Houses?” asked Janie, genuinely curious.

“Commercial mostly, although I have been known to buy an
apartment building or two. In fact the very first building I bought was a
brownstone that I converted into 4 apartments.”

“And that keeps you on a plane?”

“My company owns property all around the world.”

“Oh.” Janie really didn’t know what else to say.

“Well I am glad you are enjoying my city,” Matt smiled. He
was going to have to walk through the park again. It really had been a long
time.

“I am.”

“Er, Janie?”

“Hmm?”

“There is a charity fundraiser on Sunday evening that I have
to go to. They’re usually quite boring but everyone dresses up and usually a
famous singer or two perform and the food is pretty good.” Matt grinned as he
recalled Janie’s rapture with a plate of ravioli. “Would you come with me? As
my date?”

Janie’s mouth gaped open and she was totally speechless.
Holy
shit! He’s asking me out on another date!

“Janie? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

“So… will you come with me?”

“It’s a formal event?” she whispered.

“Black tie.”

A black tie charity fundraiser in New York City with
famous people!
“Thank you Matt. I’d LOVE to go!” Janie couldn’t contain her
excitement.

“Wonderful. I’ll pick you up at 7. Thank you Janie.”

*****

Matt replaced the receiver of the phone and leaned back in
his leather chair. He spun around to look out at the view from his office. The
sun had set and night was beginning to fall. The lights were beginning to
flicker through the darkness. He wondered if he should have called her and made
another date. Was that smart? She was only here for two weeks and he didn’t
want to screw with her “once in a lifetime” trip. He shouldn’t have kissed her
this morning. She tasted so sweet and it took every ounce of control not to
throw her on the bed and take her then and there. He wanted to feel her
writhing under him, to taste her neck and those voluptuous breasts she kept
letting peek out. And then she’d rubbed her lips after their kiss and she
looked so beautiful. He was like a moth to a flame.

Angela interrupted his thoughts as she opened the door to
his office. “Do you need anything else this evening before I head home?”

Matt turned from the window back to his desk. “Big plans for
the weekend Angela?”

“No, just the grandkids coming for a sleepover tomorrow
night. Once a month we take the girls so Liz and her husband get a Saturday
night out. I think we enjoy it more than they do. Did you need anything Mr.
Lathem?”  Angela smiled brightly. She always did when talking about her
grandkids.

“Yes. You know that fundraiser dinner on Sunday I declined?”

Angela nodded her head.

“I need two tickets.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Angela smiled,
“Seeing as though you are one of their biggest donors.” Angela turned and
headed back to her desk.

Matt needed to remember to thank his mother for making him
choose an animal rescue organization as his company’s main charitable cause. “I
like horses. Dogs too.” Matt grinned from ear to ear as he recalled the words
of one Janie Anderson.

If there was a city made for shopping, it was definitely New
York. Janie spent all day Saturday wandering block after block, in and out of
boutiques and department stores. By mid afternoon she had found the perfect
dress to wear to the upcoming black tie dinner and the anticipation was
mounting with each additional purchase.

Janie had entered a small boutique that had the most
exquisite beaded dress in the window. It was a pale shade of blue and the
detail was amazing. Of course it only came in sizes 2-6, so that dress was off
the possibility list. The chicly dressed sales girl, Ruth, about the same age
as her sons Janie guessed, had given her the once over and taken her to the
“bigger” sized dresses.
Since when is a size 10 considered BIG?
Janie
had wondered, but after looking at several dresses with Ruth she came upon the
dress now hanging in her hotel room closet. It was a dark shade of blue, with
an empire waist. It was made of soft silk with a taffeta lining. The bodice was
snug and there were small gathered straps that went over the shoulders, so that
you could wear them small and skinny, or pull them so that they covered a
little more skin. The skirt, falling from just below her bust line, was
straight but not tight, so that she could still sit and be comfortable. Janie
envisioned it something Elizabeth Bennett would have worn to a ball with the
elegant and dashing Mr. Darcy. The zipper was under the left arm and wouldn’t
be a problem zipping up herself. One of the many things she missed about Robert
was not having him to do up her zippers, or unclasp a necklace.  She had tried
on the dress and Ruth assured her that the dress was positively perfect; it was
simple, yet dressy enough to pass even Tim Gunn’s inspection.

At Bloomingdale’s she had found a pair of silver sling back
shoes and a small clutch that looked like they were made to go together. But
Janie had almost choked when she handed the clerk her credit card and charged
$983 to her Visa. She took the shopping bag and walked out of the store
suffering from a strong case of buyer’s remorse.
That’s almost a mortgage
payment!
she had thought. In fact it wasn’t far off their old payment.
Janie and Robert’s house had been paid off when he died, thanks to an additional
insurance policy Janie never even knew existed. He had taken care of them when
he was alive and well, he was still doing it now after he had died. He had made
sure that Janie and the boys would be financially healthy after he had gone,
and for that she was grateful. But a twinge of guilt surfaced knowing that
Robert probably didn’t have this in mind; a dress, shoes, clutch, and jewelry.