Dana was a small woman, thinner than Kate, which often made her envious. But Dana had often complained about not having any hips or breasts, which made Kate realize that all women probably wanted what they did not have.
Grass-is-always-greener syndrome.
“Asking for your number is kind of strange.”
Dana and Kate sat eating their lunch on break while Phil took on the floor during dead hours. Dana stood with a muffin, munching on it between sipping highly caffeinated coffee that made her seem more wired than usual.
“Why on earth would that be strange?” Kate scoffed, eating her chicken salad.
Dana shrugged casually. “Sometimes men do it to cut off the conversation,” Dana continued. “You know, to end the awkwardness of the interaction.”
Kate rolled her eyes dramatically. “But there was nothing awkward about the night at all,” she said. “He actually seemed to get distracted a few times during the game from looking at me.”
Dana raised her brows, finishing off the bottom of her muffin. “Then who is it that you’re really trying to convince, hmm?”
Kate’s mind was a battlefield with thoughts and insecurity. On the one hand, she could see that he was interested, but on the other, she wondered why, thinking of herself as entirely uninteresting.
Kate stuck her tongue out at her friend sarcastically, and just as Dana was about to come over and tease her more, Phil popped his head into the back room like a gopher coming up for air.
“Did you go on a date with that rich guy yet?”
Dana and Kate looked at each other, the creep factor in the room palpable.
“Not yet,” Kate said. “We were just talking about the event I met him at.”
Phil slithered into the room and stood there with his feeble arms crossed, glaring down at the women like a lizard on a throne. Kate felt like somewhere in Phil’s mind, he thought of himself as a king, maybe even a god, thriving in a place where women didn’t have much of a choice about anything.
“Good, because rich men like that can’t be trusted,” he said, eyes widening and intensifying. “You really should stay on the track for some nice guys, Kate.”
Kate looked back down at her salad, knowing what was coming next. Thankfully, though, she managed to avert another uncomfortable attempt to gain her affection by hearing the sound of the door chime, indicating that a customer had entered.
“Got to get back on the floor,” Kate said, wiping at her mouth frantically and quickly slipping out of the room like it was an Olympic event.
When Kate walked back into the store, she barely had enough time to interpret what she had managed to avoid before seeing that the person who walked in was Devlin.
He was wearing dress pants, dress shoes, and a dress shirt, with black hair that shined under the lights with pristine brilliance. Even from a distance, he was a sight to behold … a tall, dark, and handsome drink of rum on a stormy night.
Kate abruptly felt self-conscious about how she looked, brushing her hair backward anxiously when he caught sight of her.
“Well, hello gorgeous,” he said, teeth glistening.
Kate felt a warmth burst in her stomach from the sound of his voice, his smile, and his presence. It was a little absurd how timid he made her feel.
She crossed her arms over her chest to contain all of her emotions building inside. “What are you doing here?” she said, nearly whispering.
“I want to buy a piece of furniture, of course,” he said, towering over her. “You just talked the place up so much that there wasn’t any way I could pass it up.”
Kate covered her mouth to giggle, then felt the presence of Phil walking in behind her. She felt him stop for a moment, linger, and stare, then return to the register.
Devlin seemed to sense her discomfort, so he motioned for her to come to the front of the store. She followed, her arms still folded over her chest.
“Sell me something,” he said.
“What?”
“Sell me something,” he said, flashing her a cute smirk. “I believe in the power of your sales abilities, so do your worst.”
Kate glanced over her shoulder to see that Phil was definitely watching them. He flicked his eyes away when she looked back, but she could feel him seething anyway. She returned her attention to Devlin, feeling exhilarated and excited to partake in something that seemed flirty and fun.