Not His Type (7 page)

A little while later Cathy’s mind was racing and her
nerves were shot as she slipped into warm bath water. She
hadn’t been on a date in eons and frankly, she wasn’t sure if
she remembered what to do or how to act. Despite not
admitting to it in public, she’d glanced at the tabloid headlines, even read a few articles about Marcus’s love life. How
could she help it? The man was a sex symbol and a baseball
icon. Sure, Cathy sashayed with the best of them but she
knew she wasn’t the norm for him. Marcus dated a parade
of rail-thin beauties whose pouts added three pounds to
their frames. Cathy fidgeted as the floodgates of insecurities
over her size rushed over her. Then she got pissed with
herself. After all, she’d fought hard to gain self-esteem and
to finally love herself, weight, warts and all. In the past she’d
never gone on a date with any expectations, so she’d
avoided disappointment. Yet this date was different; it actually mattered. When she stepped out of the tub she knew
all her calculated plans of self protection had gone down
the drain with the bath water. Today she ran the risk of
having her hopes dashed on the bleachers. Her heart
betrayed her when it started to care about the outcome.

Cathy beat her insecurities back long enough to get
ready. She slipped into a sexy lace black bra and panty set
with her
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
full black slip. She wouldn’t
go bare-legged; instead, she put on a pair of thigh highs and
topped them off with a pair of strappy sandals. She held up
two Marilyn Monroe type dresses against herself.

Anna said from the doorway, startling her.
“I’m not.”
“So why do you have those two dresses out if you’re not

going somewhere?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going out.”
Anna stopped eating cereal out of the box. “You have a

date?”
“I’m going to the Yankee game if you must know.”
“When did you get tickets for the game?”
“I didn’t get tickets. “ She turned and held up both

dresses. “Which one?”
“The blue one.”
“I thought it was a good choice too. Thanks.”
“You’re not answering my question. How are you going

to a game if you don’t have tickets?”
“Anna, I don’t have time to sweat the small stuff. I have
to get cleaned up and ready by the time the car gets here.”
“By the time the car gets here? What car?”
She tried to escape to her bathroom but Anna’s long legs
were no match for her.
“I said, what car?”
Cathy was a bit peeved to have to share. “The car
Marcus is sending for me.”
Anna let out a scream.
“Damn, girl! My ears!”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t hear from him. When
did he call?”
“Last night after the game.”
“Will wonders never cease?” Anna said rhetorically. “So
did you guys make small talk or did he get right to the
point?”
“It was late but we talked for a little bit. Then he asked
me about coming to the game.”
Anna took a closer look at the blue dress Cathy planned
to wear. “He must be taking you out afterwards; this isn’t
your usual Yankee game gear.”
She had a point. Cathy’s usual game gear consisted of a
Yankee tee shirt, shorts or jeans and naturally a Yankee
baseball cap.
Cathy let out a heavy sigh. “As a matter of fact he is.
Now, Anna, if you really want to see what happens you’re
going to have to let me get the rest of my toiletries from the
bathroom.”
She stepped out of the way. “I wouldn’t want you to
miss this.”
“Thanks.”
Cathy debated over whether to wear perfume. She’d
gotten a gift set of Dolce and Gabanna’s Light Blue for her
birthday in August. She’d joked it was the closest she’d ever
get to Dolce and Gabanna anything, but the perfume was
the perfect fit.
Soft and sweet, she stumbled into her dress. It was ninefifteen. She had to move on to makeup.
Anna opened the door. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”
She buttoned the front of the dress. “I’m just a little off
my game.”
“What time is the car coming?”
“Ten-thirty or possibly earlier.”
“Then we have to get the lead out. Sit down. I’ll put the
rest of your makeup on.”
Cathy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I already put
my moisturizer on.”
“How made up do you want to be?”
“Enough so I’ll look good without too many reapplications.”
“Can do.”
Anna put a towel around her neck to protect the dress.
Neither of them believed in a lot of makeup so it only took
Anna 10 minutes and she was done.
“There you go.” Anna stepped back to admire her
work.
Cathy looked in the mirror. “Looks good. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. What are you doing with your hair?”
“I think I’ll wear it down. Or do you think up is
better?”
“What I think is you’re really nervous and you need to
calm down.”
“You’re right. I just have to breathe.”
Cathy didn’t want it to seem that she was trying too
hard, even if she was. She wore her hair down. It was the
least fussy thing she could do. She looked at her reflection
in the full length mirror. The dress accentuated her curves
in all the right places. Even though Cathy called it her
Marilyn Monroe dress, at 40DD she had the upper body of
Jayne Mansfield.
Her stomach in knots, Cathy tried to eat at least a piece
of toast. She decided to forgo her usual, a large mug of
coffee. She didn’t want to be running to the ladies room
every five minutes.
Anna peered out of the living room window in between
pacing the floor. Pacing was a Chambers family trait.
Whether on the phone or waiting to go somewhere, they
were pacers. Just as Anna peered out the window again,
Cathy walked in.
“Don’t you have an audit this morning?” Cathy was
puzzled.
“Yes. It’s local. I can be there in 10 minutes.”
“Oh.” Cathy paused to watch her go to the window
again. “You know a watched pot never boils.”
“Gee, thanks for telling me, Mom,” she said sarcastically. “Wait. I think I see a limo.”
“He’s not sending a limo. It’s probably just passing by.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “Ha! I told you! It’s stopping right
in front of the house.”
He sent a limo
, Cathy thought. “I need to make one last
check of my bag.” She quickly grabbed her pocketbook.
“Hurry up, the driver’s getting out of the car.”
She rummaged through her bag to make sure she had
all the essentials: breath mints, spasm medication, Advil
and her Blackberry.
Anna opened the door to a stately looking African
American gentleman with silver hair. “Good morning. I’m
here to pick up Ms. Chambers.”
“She’ll be right out.”
“Thank you.”
She checked herself again in the hall mirror. “So do I
look all right?”
“You look great. Now go. Enjoy yourself,” Anna said.
“Thanks.” She took a deep breath. “I’m off.”
Cathy walked out to the waiting car. The driver held
the door open for her. “Good morning, Ms. Chambers. My
name is Louis.”
“Good morning Louis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No, thank you.” Cathy eased herself into the car.
“See.” Thankfully her dress was long enough for her to
scoot into the seat without any ‘I see England, I see France,
I see Cathy’s underpants.’
“Very good then. Just be comfortable we’ll be in the
Bronx in no time. I hope.”
He closed the door.

After breakfast Marcus got ready to head over to the
stadium. It was an early afternoon game set to start at one.
Knowing he wanted to take Cathy out after the game, he
took his Jag.

Just as he neared the stadium his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Fox? It’s Louis. I just wanted you to know that I

picked up Ms. Chambers and we’re on our way in.”
He smiled. “Good. How’s the traffic?”
“We’re on Northern State and so far, so good.”
“I guess you have to wait until you get closer to the

city to see what traffic is really like.”
“It looks that way.”
“Okay, Louis. Good job. Thanks.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Fox.”
Marcus pulled into the players’ lot. He breathed a sigh

of relief to see there weren’t many tabloid reporters. Then
out of the corner of his eye he spotted Lisa Spellman.
Does
this woman ever get tired?
he thought to himself. Lisa, a
freelance reporter, had been the bane of his love life’s existence almost from the moment he signed with the
Yankees. One of her biggest scoops had come at his
expense when she witnessed the scene where he and a
former girlfriend broke up. She hadn’t been far away
since. However, he’d learned to live with her presence.
One could even say they were friendly.

Hoping Marcus wouldn’t see her Lisa quickly ducked
behind an SUV.
Marcus laughed softly. “Hello, Lisa. No use in hiding,
I saw you.”
She stepped out and tried to be nonchalant about it.
“Hi, Marcus, how are you?”
“Fine, thank you. How are you?”
She kicked the ground playfully. “Not bad. Is there
anything new happening?”
She walked with him to the door.
“No.”
She smiled. “Not that you would tell me if there was.”
“You’re probably right about that,” he said with a wry
grin before he opened the entrance door. “How’s Stanley?”
“He’s good, thanks.” She backed off as he was about to
enter. “Have a good game.”
“Thanks. Tell Stan I said hello.”
She saluted him. “Will do.”
Marcus always wondered why on earth such an attractive and intelligent woman worked for gossip rags. It just
didn’t make sense.
Cruising through the hallway, Marcus saw Mark
leaned up against the wall talking on his cell.
Mark closed his phone. “How’s it going, man?” They
gave each other a pound. “You look like you’ve just seen a
ghost or something.”
“Lisa Spellman isn’t a ghost, she’s more of a shadow I
can’t get rid of.”
Mark nodded his head. “I have to give it to her for
persistence. She’s like a pit bull with a bone.”
“Don’t I know it?”
“You’re the reason she’s got such a name in gossip.”
Marcus looked agitated. “Listen, you don’t have to
remind me. I lived through it.”
Mark backed off; he knew that look all to well.
Melvin Cain, one of the luxury suite attendants,
approached them.
“Hey Melvin.”
“Hi, Mr. Fox. How are you?”
“I’m not too bad. And you?”
“I can’t complain.” He stopped. “Mr. Bradford tells
me you have a guest today for the Hall of Fame Suite.”
“I certainly do.”
“Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll take good care of her,
I promise.”
“I appreciate that.”
“But I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you want me to bring her to the clubhouse to see
you first and then take her up?” It was an honest question
and one Mark was eager to hear the answer to.
“No, that’s okay. Just take her up to the suite.”
“Why?” Mark asked.
Marcus turned to Mark. “Don’t you think that’s a little
much for a first date?”
Mark scoffed. “Well, let’s see. You had a car pick her
up, you set her up in the Hall of Fame Suite and you have
dinner reservations at Chanterelle. So you tell me, what’s
one more thing?”
Melvin had the good sense to retreat to a corner.
“So you think I should bring her to the clubhouse. It
will probably scare her to death.”
“Come now, Marcus, have faith. Besides, she’s an
agent. They don’t scare easy.”
Marcus turned to Melvin. “Okay, Melvin, bring her to
clubhouse first.”
“Sure.” Melvin had the good sense to make a quick
exit.
Mark patted Marcus on the back. “Now that wasn’t so
hard, was it?”
“No. Ask me again tomorrow.”

The celebrity treatment had its good and bad points.
While she loved being chauffeured, it gave Cathy too
much time to think. At least if she were driving she’d be
distracted by construction delays and idiot drivers. Now
she was stuck in the backseat with her own thoughts and
expectations. It would be so easy for her to build up this
afternoon into more than it was and for Cathy that
spelled trouble.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure
, she told herself as she administered the ultimate antidote, work. She dialed the office.

“Good morning, the Chambers-Stevens Agency.”
“Hey, Sylvia.”
“Hi, Cathy.” She heard another line ring. “Could you

hold on for just a second?”
“Sure.”
“Sorry about that. The phones are going crazy here

this morning.”
“That’s okay. Is E.D. available?”
“Sure. I’ll put you right through.”
“Thanks.”
She was on hold for a minute. “Hey, Cathy,” E.D. said

cheerfully.
“What’s going on, E.D.?”
“Not much at the moment. The phones are busy with

status calls.”
“It’s September. Every client comes out of the wood
work now.”
“Tell me about it.”
“In the meantime you have to check on Laurel
Matthews, Janet Roberts and Lisa Todd. All three of them
have projects in final editorial review.”
“That’s right. I’ll have Sylvia pull their files to get the
editors’ names.”
“Do you have a pen, E.D.?”
“Yes.”
“Write this down. Laurel’s gift book proposal is with
Wendy Miller. Her number is 212-555-8742. Janet’s busiWendy Miller. Her number is 212-555-8742. Janet’s busi
555-9632. And finally Lisa’s cookbook is with Barry
Stein. His number is 516-555-7855.” She rattled off. “Do
you need me to repeat any of that?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Are there any fires to put out today?”
“Not yet, but it’s early. That might change.”
Just then the limo was cut off and the car stopped
short. She dropped her cell. Louis leaned on the horn.
“Are you all right, Miss Chambers?”
“I’m fine, Louis.”
“Damn idiots on the road,” he grumbled.
“Tell me about it.” She picked the phone up off the
floor.
“You still there, E.D.?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
“I’m on my way to the Bronx.”
“The Bronx? You mean Yankee Stadium, right?”
“Yes, it’s in the Bronx.”
“You are obviously not driving yourself, because if you
were…”
She cut him off. She knew where he was going. “I’d be
cursing like a sailor.”
“Right. What gives?”
“I got a special invitation from Marcus Fox to come to
this afternoon’s game.” Cathy attempted to sound
nonchalant.
Silence.
“Are you still there, E.D.?”
“When did you start dating Marcus Fox? Hell, when
did you meet him? Scratch that. When did you start
dating again?”
“I
met
him yesterday at Keen’s. We are not dating.”
“What happened to lunch with Jim?”
Cathy rolled her eyes. “You’re not serious, are you?
Answer that for yourself.”
“He met a new woman.”
“Right. I had lunch by myself.”
“Don’t try to duck the subject. How did you meet
Marcus?”
“He bought me lunch. Only I didn’t know he had
until he came over to my table.”
“And then?”
“We talked for a little while, he asked for a business
card and my home number. End of story.”
“There’s no way that’s the end of the story. Did he
invite you to the game at lunch?”
She looked out the window. It figured they’d be stuck
in traffic so she had no way to avoid answering such
pointed questions.
“No. He called me after yesterday’s game.”
“That game didn’t end until after ten.”
Cathy was shocked. E.D. didn’t follow baseball. “How
did you know the game ran over?”
“I was channel surfing. Now don’t change the subject.
He called you after the game, right?”
“Yes.”
She knew the wheels were turning in E.D.’s head “It’s
not a big deal and it’s not a date. Maybe he wants to write
a book or something. I am a literary agent.”
“Now who’s kidding who? If he wanted to write a
book he would have his sports agent get the ball rolling.
He certainly wouldn’t call directly and he definitely
wouldn’t call after hours. The man likes you.”
“Why are you trying to drive me crazy? I can’t let
myself go there.”
“Why not? Is it so hard for you to believe he could be
interested in you?”
She glanced at Louis and lowered her voice. “I’m
going to say to you what I said to Anna: I’m not his type.”
“You’re a woman, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re his type. You need to feel as confident as
you look, Cathy.”
She looked up and saw there was a dead zone ahead.
“Listen, I’m probably going to lose you in a minute. Just
remember to check with those editors.”
“I will. But you…”
The phone cut off. She turned off the ringer.
While Cathy was busy checking her makeup in her
compact mirror, she realized they hadn’t stopped at any of
the entrance gates. Confused, she looked at Louis.
“Louis?”
“Yes, Ms. Chambers?”
“I don’t mean to sound silly, but I’ve been to Yankee
Stadium countless times over the years and I have no idea
where we’re going.”
She saw Louis grin in the rearview mirror. “We’re
going to the players’ parking area.”
“Oh. Okay.” Like a child on a school bus, Cathy’s face
was practically pressed up against the car window.
God, it’s
practically a luxury car lot
, she thought. When the limo
came to a stop, Cathy reached for the door handle but an
eager young man beat her to the punch and helped her
from the car.
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re quite welcome.”
Louis handed her a pass for a luxury suite. “Here you
go. Enjoy the game.”
“You’re not coming with me?” Catherine looked like a
little girl on the first day of school.
He was amused. “No, Ms. Chambers. This nice young
man here will assist you.”
“Oh. Well, thank you for the nice ride in.”
“You’re quite welcome.”
She turned to the attendant. “I guess I’m putting
myself in your capable hands.”
“I’ll take good care of you. By the way, my name is
Melvin.”
She shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Melvin. I’m
Cathy Chambers.”
“Well, Ms. Chambers, if you would, please follow
me.”
“Sure.”
He opened the door. “After you.”
“Thanks.” She walked in.
A strange sense of déjà vu came over Cathy as she
followed Melvin down the hall.
Now I remember, I came
this way for a stadium tour with Alex and Andrew a couple
of years back
. She breathed a sigh of relief . At least she
wasn’t losing it totally. Suddenly a chill went up her spine
when the realization hit that they were headed for the
Yankee clubhouse.
Please God, don’t let me make a fool of
myself in front of all the Yankees
, Cathy prayed, her heart
pounding.
“Would you excuse me a moment, Ms. Chambers? I’ll
let Mr. Fox know you’re here.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Cathy waited nervously. She might
have geared up for the game and dinner, which was a big
deal, but she wasn’t prepared for a detour to the clubhouse.
Still nervously awaiting Marcus, Cathy wanted to pace
but she figured that would make her look nuts. She
turned and faced the wall to get her composure back.
With her back turned Marcus got a good look at her
rear end and beautiful hourglass shape.
She looks good
coming and going
. He smiled.
“Hey there, Cathy.”
“Hi.” She turned around.
Marcus closed his eyes and breathed in her sweet
perfume as he hugged her. Her sweet smell and soft curves
hit just the right note, almost overwhelming his senses.
He pulled away from her gently. “Don’t you look pretty
today? Is this for me?” He pointed to the dress.
“I wanted to look good today.” She grinned.
“Well, you’ve succeeded.”
“Do I get to meet this young lady, too?” Mark asked
as he walked over.
Marcus was a little startled. “Oh, I didn’t hear you
walk out.”
“That’s because you were hugging this lovely woman.”
He turned to Cathy with his hand extended. “Hi. I’m
Mark Vasquez.”
“
Mark, this is Catherine Chambers,” Marcus said.