Cindi Madsen - Cinderella Screwed Me Over

“That’s why I brought the chocolate.” Jake took a bite of the rich cake, then slid the plate back toward me.

I swirled the fork through the thick syrup. “I don’t even like doing the commercial jobs. They’re so plain and impersonal. Then to get yelled at about it, when I’m the one who has all the contacts in the first place, was really infuriating.”

“Have you ever looked at going into business on your own? Or with Nadine?”

“I considered it about a year ago,” I said. “But that was more of a relocation thing.”

“Where were you going to move?”

“I toyed around with New York for a while before coming to my senses.” I didn’t want to get into that, so I kept talking before he could ask why. “The thing is, I got my start at Metamorphosis. I’ve worked there for eight years. All my clients signed contracts with me through the company, so they’d be considered Metamorphosis’s clients, not mine. I only keep them if I stay with the company.”

“But how many of them are going to need their places redone again? If they refer someone else, I’m guessing they refer them to you, not the company.” Jake set down his fork. “I could crunch some numbers and set up a business plan if you want me to. It’s kind of my specialty, you know.”

I took another bite of the cake and pushed the plate back to Jake. “The only time I really have to deal with Patricia is when I do the commercial jobs. I can power through it, like I did last time. I just wish they didn’t take so long.”

“Lots of people get comfortable with where they’re at and are too afraid to change, so they settle with what they’ve got.”

“Sounds like my stance on relationships.”

“Well, in any relationship,” Jake said, meeting my gaze, “including your business ones, you have to decide if you’re going to put in the effort to make it work.”

I slumped back in my chair. “Great. Not even a job I love has a happy ending.”

“You decide the ending. If you don’t like something, all you have to do is find a way to change it.”

“It sounds like a good idea and all, but I know better.” That awful sense that my life was about to get more complicated burned away at my gut. “Things never end the way you want them to.”

I knew that better than anyone.

Barbara’s party had a good chance of being boring, but at least it gave me an excuse to wear my new silver-and-black print dress. I twisted my hair into a loose bun at the base of my neck, then pulled out a few face-framing strands. After looking over my collection of shoes, I decided to add some color with my plum heels. Dangly purple earrings completed the look.

There was a knock on my door, and I went to answer it. Jake stood in the hall wearing a black suit and looking like a million bucks. He leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Hey, gorgeous.”

Just like that, the stress filling me melted away. I put my arms around him, soaking in the way he looked, smelled, and felt. Then I tipped onto my toes and kissed his freshly shaven cheek. “You look nice.”

My cell phone rang and I groaned. Since Patricia had been calling nonstop, I’d programmed a special ring for her. “I’ve got to get that.”

“Where’s my report?” Patricia asked the second I answered.

“In your inbox. I stuck it there before I left.”

“I’m not going to the office tonight. E-mail it to me.”

Working to control my voice, I took a deep breath. I’d wanted to e-mail it in the first place; she was the one who’d insisted she wanted the large printout. “I can’t. I’m on my way to Barbara’s party and the files are on my work computer.”

“I thought you were going to be a team player. Now you can’t do it because of a party?”

“A party for one of our high-paying clients. It’s a great chance for me to network. I’ll e-mail you the information first thing tomorrow morning.”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before she snapped, “Fine. You know this is a big account. We can’t afford to screw it up.”

“I’ve got all the groundwork laid already. You just need to make the final decisions, then we’ll present it.”

“I expect it to be in my e-mail first thing tomorrow morning.”

“It’ll be there.” I let out a breath, frustration burning through me. Getting to choose my clients over the past year had spoiled me. Already this hotel thing was becoming a big headache.

When I ended the call, Jake was standing at my window, pouring a glass of water into my mostly dead plant. “I thought you said watering it was a waste of time,” I said.

“At first I thought you should put it out of its misery, but it won’t give up and I admire that.” Jake glanced around. “Where’s the other one?”

“It gave up.” His I-knew-it expression caused me to add, “I swear it wasn’t my fault. It was already on its way out when I got it here.” I tossed my keys and cell into my beaded clutch and hooked my hand in his elbow. “Now let’s go party.”

…

Waiters circled the large room, handing out champagne and appetizers. Nadine walked through the crowd, up to Jake and me. “I’m glad you guys are finally here.”

“That bad, huh?” I asked.

“I’ve been introduced to two different men who are about the same age as my grandfather.”

“And how’s Barbara tonight?”

“In top form. I think she’s got her eye on a new man. She’ll probably have husband number five before I’ve even had one.”

“That’s because you and Barbara have different criteria when it comes to husbands.” I glanced up. “Here she comes.”

Barbara greeted me with a couple of air kisses. “Good evening, darling.” She raised her eyebrows as her appraising gaze ran over my date. “And who’s this handsome gentleman?”

“This is Jake Knight,” I said. “Jake, Barbara Covington.”

Jake extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Covington.”

“Call me Barbara.” She placed a hand on his forearm. “Darby, I’m going to steal your man and introduce him around the room.” She indicated a table in the corner. “My friends over there want to meet my fabulous decorators. After I showed them what you ladies are planning to do for me, several of them are thinking of remodeling, too. You should go introduce yourselves.”

Jake released my hand and followed Barbara, leaving Nadine and me standing alone.

“What now?” I asked.

“I guess we go try to land a few clients,” Nadine said. “Even though we won’t have time to do another job for months. I hate these commercial projects. Most of the year, you and I bring in our own clients and make Patricia a ton of money. The minute she gets the commercial jobs, she treats us like idiots.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to take turns working on our current projects and power through. Then we’ll get back to the fun ones.”

We put on our game faces and approached Barbara’s group of friends. Twenty minutes of talking about the many options and styles of decorating later, I started to worry about Jake. I glanced around the room and spotted him in the corner, several men and a few women around him. Barbara stood off to his left, talking to an impeccably dressed older man with a shiny bald head.

“I’m going to go reclaim my date,” I whispered to Nadine.

Nadine leaned closer. “If you see any guys under the age of forty-five, fifty, send them my way, will you?”

I think she was only half kidding. Setting my sights on Jake, I crossed the room. His back was to me as he spoke to the people around him. I squeezed my way into the group and put my hand on his elbow.

He glanced down and put his arm around me. “It was nice meeting you all.”

A couple of the men shook his hand before letting us go.

“What was that all about?” I asked, keeping a tight grip on him as we wove through the crowd. Finally we got to a fairly open space where we could stand without people bumping into us.

“When Barbara tried to feel out my financial stability, I told her I ran a taco shack,” Jake said.

I laughed. “You did not.”

“I teased her for a bit before telling her about Blue. Apparently it wasn’t impressive enough. She wanted to introduce me to a few people who might be able to help me find a better job. She said that if I wanted to be with a girl like you, I needed to get serious about providing you with all the luxuries you deserved.”

“I think she means well. I just don’t know why she insists you need to be in a relationship to be happy.”

Jake gripped the sides of my waist and drew me to him. “Well, there is something great about being with someone who knows how to cheer you up.”

I ran my fingers up his arms and hooked them behind his neck. “Or someone who will go to a boring party with you when you need him to?”

That irresistible smile of his spread across his face. “See, you’re finally getting it. Relationships aren’t all bad.” His hands moved to my back, pressing me against him. “Some of them work.”

I swallowed past my suddenly dry throat. I was having a hard time not focusing on his lips and thinking about what I wanted them to do to me. “I never said they were all bad.” My heart picked up speed, hammering against my rib cage. His gaze ran down me, burning everywhere it touched. Passion lit his eyes, leaving little question what he was thinking. It wasn’t just passion, though; there was tenderness there, too.

I could feel the threads forming, from my heart to his. Threads that would become strings, until I was all wrapped up in him and couldn’t separate myself from him without feeling like half a person.

Oh, shit, I’m in over my head. Panic squeezed my lungs, stealing my breath. I’d been here before too many times, and the last couple of relationships had nearly crushed me. They’d messed with my job, my sense of self—everything. I have to do something before it’s too late. I can’t do this to myself again. I won’t do this again. I took a step back, and the space between us felt wrong and torturous—another sure sign that this was getting too serious.