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“Jake, my boy, so glad you made it,” Bill says jovially while taking my hand and enveloping me in a quick hug. “And who is your date? I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Lana reaches out to shake Bill’s hand, but he takes it and brings it to his lips instead. She smiles and says, “I’m Lana. It’s so nice to meet you. But I’m not his date. I’m his assistant.”
Bill laughs. “Jake, you must be losing your touch if you need to pay an employee to come with you to my party! At least you chose a pretty date, though. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Amanda that you were here with another woman.” He has the gall to wink at Lana with that statement.
Bill’s wife joins our group, shaking her head at her husband. “Oh, Bill, stop it. You’re going to embarrass Lana.”
I look over at Lana, and sure enough, her face has a slight red tinge to it. She does appear to be embarrassed. It’s actually kind of cute. She seems to shake off the embarrassment quickly and addresses Bill’s wife.
“Don’t worry. I don’t get embarrassed easily. You must be Mrs. Jeffrey. I’m Lana,” she says smoothly.
Mrs. Jeffrey grabs Lana’s hand in both of hers. “You must call me Angela. I’m sure we will see a lot of each other. Jake and Bill have a lot of boring business dealings. He is sure to drag you to all of those meetings.”
It’s true. Bill and I do have a lot of business together. Not only is he a longtime client of my family’s business, but he is also a close friend of my father. Over the last several years, Bill and I have developed a close relationship and a type of partnership. Sometimes, Bill is our client. Other times, he helps to broker deals with other clients for a percentage of the profits.
“Speaking of meetings,” Bill cuts in, “I was able to set up a meeting for that proposal I spoke to you about last week. Are you interested in coming to San Francisco on Wednesday with me?”
“Absolutely. I need to be a part of that meeting.” I pull out my phone to look at the calendar. “I can meet you there Wednesday afternoon. I’ll have Lana send your assistant my itinerary.”
“Good, good. Now let’s get you two some wine. Dinner will be served in about forty-five minutes. We have music playing outside, so why don’t you two have a drink and relax out there? I need to make my rounds here and visit with everyone.”
After Bill and Angela walk away to greet their newest arrivals, Lana and I head outside. Once on the veranda, I realized that the music we were hearing came from a string quartet set up right out here on the deck below. Bill and Angela really outdid themselves this time. As a server walks by, I grab a glass of red wine for myself and another for Lana.
Lana stops by the railing and stares out over the small lake behind the house, her expression thoughtful. I stop, too, and just watch her. Her golden skin glows in the fading sunlight. Her perfect features shine with a beauty that almost takes my breath away. I have to stop my hand from reaching out to touch her.
“Let’s have a seat,” I suggest gruffly.
She turns and focuses on me. When she smiles, I feel caught up in her spell.
We find a table toward the end of the long veranda and have a seat. The quartet starts on a new song, a slow song. Over Lana’s head, I can see the faint glimmer of stars beginning to come out. The wind softly blows her hair. Instead of making her hair look tousled, it’s mesmerizing, and I can’t take my eyes off her as she slowly sips her wine.
Feeling the need for something stronger, I signal to the waiter and ask for a bourbon. I turn to Lana, wanting to hear her talk. She’s been pretty quiet so farthis evening.
I flounder for a topic. “So, you’ve been here a week. How do you feel about everything?”
Lana looks at me over her wine and takes a sip. She focuses her gaze on me and takes a second to answer.
“So far, so good. Liz is fantastic, of course. I’ve been studying the client list and feel prepared on that end. I’ve also been looking at some of the pending contracts on deals that are about to be closed. Liz mentioned that you have quite a bit more in the works but that I won’t have access to those files for a while.”
“Yes, that’s correct. All of our business is of a highly confidential nature. Right now, I will have you focus on the closing documents, and we’ll slowly work into some of our other deals. Also, I wanted to see if you would be available to travel with me on Wednesday? Bill and I are in the beginning negotiation stages with a new client, the one he just mentioned.”
“Of course, yes, I can go with you,” Lana says. “Liz gave me the information for the travel agent. I’ll contact them and get it all set up.”
The waiter drops off my bourbon, and I immediately ask for another. I hand my untouched wine to Lana.
“Here, I won’t be needing this. Don’t let it go to waste,” I tell her with a half smile.
“I’m not sure I need two glasses of wine on an empty stomach,” she says.
“Hey, we’re off the clock and don’t have to drive. Enjoy yourself a little. Besides, dinner should be ready soon. Why don’t you tell me about yourself while we wait? After all, we are going to be working together. Might as well get to know each other.”
Lana hesitates before responding and casts me a sidelong glance before looking down, her finger tracing the faint lines on the table. “Not too much to tell. I grew up around here and never left. Put myself through college on an academic scholarship. Let’s see. I’m an only child, so no siblings. Both of my parents passed away when I was younger. That’s basically it. How about you? Do you have family here?”
She manages to sum up her entire life in a few short, concise sentences. Lana’s very brief answer fires up a curiosity in me. She answers the question with as little detail as possible and shows no emotion whatsoever, almost like she is on autopilot. It seemed like she was giving a prepared speech that she had told many times. I decide to play along for now, but I know there is much more to learn about my reluctant assistant. I can’t shake the feeling that she is hiding something.
“I also grew up around here. My family has owned the business since its conception. My father grew it from a small start-up, and I worked alongside him for a good part of that process, starting as a teenager. Our company now does business all over the globe. When my father retired a few years ago, he passed the reins over to me and also to my two brothers, Dax and Ethan.”
“I haven’t met your brothers. Do they work in the office?”
