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“Rachel.”
She braced at her name, thinking Hailey was back, but it was just Alice.
“Lunch?” her friend asked, holding up a bag.
She pushed away from her desk. “Let’s go.” Opening her bottom desk drawer, she plucked her lunch and purse from inside, slipped her shoes on, and followed Alice out of the office.
It was a nice day, so they sat in the courtyard in front of the building, at the edge of the fountain. There were a few other people in various forms of business attire sitting around the fountain and on nearby benches.
“Everyone’s excited about the Threshold account,” Alice said as she unwrapped her ham sandwich. “How’s it going?”
She shrugged. “The presentation looks good.”
Her friend glanced at her. “You don’t sound enthused.”
Because she was completely sidetracked with thoughts of Jamie in various stages of undress. “I’m just tired. I started work early this morning.”
Alice looked at her askance. “You aren’t usually cranky.”
“I’m not cranky.” She had an excess of sexual energy—it was different, even if the result was the same.
The fountain splashed her, as if trying to cool her off. She’d need to dunk her entire body in there to make a difference. She wished she could take her shoes off and put her feet in.
Sighing, she returned her attention to happier subjects. “Alice, I wanted to ask you if you’d take a look at Chris’s books and see if there’s any place he can trim or tighten to help him get through the next hump until business becomes stable.”
Alice froze, her eyes big. “Does he know you’re asking me?”
“Of course. I ran the idea by him first. He was open to it.” She made her voice as nonchalant as she could.
Her friend frowned. “Well,” she said after a moment, “if he’s okay with it.”
“Are you sure? Now you don’t seem enthusiastic.” The last thing she wanted to do was push her friend into something she didn’t want—the work or Chris.
“I’m sure.” Alice pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. Then she frowned. “Didn’t the speed dating make money? There were a lot of people, and everyone was drinking.”
“It did do well, but it was one afternoon. Chris needs consistency to make it work.”
“You should have more events like that. It was fun. I think you had fun too.”
She thought about Jamie and she wondered what he was doing right then. “Lottie certainly did.”
Alice laughed. “Lottie was the belle of the ball. Didier thought so too.”
“Speaking of Didier…” Rachel raised her brow. “You two seemed chummy.”
It was Alice’s turn to blush. She ducked her head. “He was nice to me,” she murmured.
“Would you date him?” Rachel held her breath, waiting to hear the response. She liked Didier too, but the thought of Alice and Chris getting together made her happy.
“Is it dating if you go out for just a couple weeks?” Alice frowned suddenly. “Actually, a lot of the guys I’ve dated haven’t lasted that long. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t go there because of that, but then the other part of me thinks ‘why not?’ If you only have one moment in your life where you can experience something, shouldn’t you do it? Especially when it could be great?”
“True.” That washow she felt with Jamie.
“I’ve been waiting for someone really”—Alice searched for the right word—“wonderful. I don’t get asked out that often, but when I have been, I’ve turned them down because it’d be nice in the interim, but in the end I can’t see myself with them long-term. I haven’t wanted to sell myself short. But then I see Didier, who’s going to go back to his life and the supermodels he must date, and I wonder if I shouldn’t just enjoy it while it’s here.”
Rachel frowned. “You think he dates supermodels?”
Alice rolled her eyes. “He’s so hot. He’s got to. He said he models sometimes.”
