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“Drink your water,” she said as she walked out of my office.
I was going to hate not having her around. I hated change. I just knew things were going to be in disarray while I trained a new assistant. There were things I liked done a certain way. I liked my coffee in the morning followed by a Coke. Mrs. Mabel knew everything. She knew how to schedule my day and practically read my mind. I wanted her to enjoy retirement, but damn I was going to miss her.
I checked the time and quickly wrapped up my day. I had season tickets for the Giants. I was looking forward to watching some baseball. I felt like I should remind Mrs. Mabel I did have a little bit of a life.
When I got there, Dane was already sitting in one of the seats with two beers and some popcorn.
“I thought you were going to miss it,” he said.
“Hell no.” I shook my head. “I’ve been busy with launching the new line. And I have to find a new assistant.”
“What? Why? Is Mabel okay?”
“She’s retiring,” I answered.
“Damn. That’s the end of an era.”
“I know. It sucks. I hate that she’s leaving, but I want her to enjoy the golden years.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“Hire another assistant,” I said, shrugging. “What can I do?”
“Get a hot one this time,” he said.
“You know how my dad felt about that,” I replied. “His ghost is going to be watching.”
“And what’s he going to do? With as much time as you spend at work, you should hire someone fun to look at. It will liven up that place. Those late nights would be a lot better if you had someone to pass the time with.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I’m not mixing business with pleasure. That’s a recipe for a lawsuit.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t look,” he said, grinning.
“Why is everyone trying to get me to hire a young woman?” I asked with a sigh.
“Everyone?”
“Mabel,” I said. “She thinks I need to spice up my life.”
“She’s not wrong. You are always working.”
“You know that’s not true,” I said. “We went out last week.”
“I was thinking something a little steadier,” he said. “You have a revolving door. Don’t you think it might be a good idea to settle down with just one? I’m not talking marriage, but just one regular lady.”
“I have no intention of settling. Ever. I’m good. My life is just fine the way it is. I’m at work to work, not get laid. Besides, I think that would be distracting. I don’t want to be hard every time my assistant pops in. I’m looking for a mature woman that knows the job and will keep things running smoothly. I don’t want or need any temptation.”
“Eye candy is just that,” he said, grinning. “You don’t actually have to take a bite.”
“And you know damn well that’s next to impossible,” I replied.
To that, he laughed. “You know you’re going to end up with some sweet little piece of ass sitting outside your office all day.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “I’m going to stick to my guns on this one. It’s a rule. A rule I don’t mind following. I’d rather keep things clean. Don’t shit where you eat.”
He didn’t seem convinced. Truthfully, I didn’t trust myself to be around a woman all the time and not fall for her. After the Vegas run-in, I was worried I would fall in love with just about anyone.
That was why I chose to keep every woman I met at arm’s length. I couldn’t risk a repeat of the Vegas encounter. That was the way I remembered it. An encounter to never be repeated. With the one-nighters, it was easy to walk away. I walked into every encounter knowing exactly what was going to happen. Sex. Goodbye. Just like that. I never stayed the night with a woman, and if by chance a woman made it back to my place, she was kindly given a ride home after we got what we wanted.
