Page 26 of Analysing Her Assets

Gideon unleashed Shemesh and sat on the same bench he had shared with Tamar the day before. Meir Park, of which the dog park was a part, was a tranquil green oasis. The water lilies in the small pond had opened their pale pink petals in response to the benevolent winter sun. He sipped the excellent latte he had bought from the Gay Center’s café, which on this Saturday morning mostly catered to parents with small children.

What a deal she came up with. At first, it rattled him that she didn’t want a serious relationship, expressly not with him. That she had only offered it because they were in direct competition. His initial gut response was to be upset with her, but it shouldn’t have. He had no reason to act like a scandalized prude. Once his common sense kicked in, he’d agreed to her offer because it made perfect sense. He was physically attracted to her, and she to him. It was an excellent arrangement for both of them, keeping them emotionally safe, and a month from now, unattached as well.

She was such a lovely kisser, absolutely melted in his arms. He couldn’t recall ever having a woman respond to him so completely. This morning he jerked off unashamedly to images of Tamar.

He sighed. He procrastinated long enough. Taking his mother’s manuscript out of his backpack, he straightened the printed pages on his lap. Naomi had always maintained the author was separate from their story. “Don’t think of me as your mother when you read my draft,” she’d always ordered him. But giving him erotica to read—that was truly stretching this premise.

“Eva had never seen so many red-headed women in one place. The huge turnout was disheartening, her own number in line was 613. She would have left, except she had nothing to go back to.”

The opening scene was clearly inspired by Conan Doyle’s “The Red Headed League.” Undoubtedly one of the finest detective stories ever written, but Gideon wondered at his mother.

“A hush fell, and the red sea of women parted, making way for five imposing men. They were all tall, well-built, and they had a certain resemblance Eva couldn’t put her finger on—perhaps the way they walked—an arrogant strut that swallowed the distance.”

“Hey, neighbor.”

“Hey Tamar! Hey Giddy!”

She looked fresh, with her dark luminous eyes and rosy, round cheeks. She walked away with Giddy and let him loose in the playground. After mutual sniffing, Shemesh, Giddy, and one other dog scattered and Tamar came to stand by the bench. She pulled down her large, zippered hoodie which reached her knees, covering her ass and thighs.

“What are you reading? Is it something to do with your project?” she asked. He grinned at her, thrilled that she was here, wrapping him in her exotically scented presence. He removed his backpack from the bench and she sat next to him, crossing her legs, pulling the hoodie to cover her knees.

“No. I try not to work on the weekends. And I think our deal should include no discussing our projects.”

She nodded. “Agreed.”

If he was about to sleep with Tamar, he owed it to her to be honest about his family. He knew her well enough by now to trust her to keep it to herself.

“My mother is Naomi Negev, and you should know that my original family name isn’t Sela.”

“I knew it! I couldn’t find anything about a Gideon Sela online! Your original name is Negev?”

“Negev is my mother’s maiden name. My real name is Berdichevsky. You should also know that my family owns Berdiplast.”

“Oh! That’s a listed company! I did a paper on it years ago. Wait...”

She fiddled with her phone, reading about his firm, the dark eyelashes flickering as her eyes moved.

“Hmmm, your share’s liquidity isn’t too bad. You also have a convertible, not so far out of the money, the share only needs to go up 20% for the note to convert.”

“Yep. I helped set up the terms three years ago. Obviously I wanted it to be converted and not end up as debt.”

He had been proud of it. The issuance, back then, was a rush of adrenalin. It was the main reason he chose to be a financial analyst.

“Neat. You’re loaded.”

She stated it as a fact. He’d scrutinized her face earlier, when he’d made his reveal, searched for that gleam of greed. It often showed when people found out he came from a very rich family.

He didn’t find it in Tamar’s eyes.

“So, why did you change your surname?”

He wasn’t going to answer her.

“My mother is an author, Naomi Negev, she’s a fairly well-known one.”

“I think I’ve heard of her.” Tamar furrowed her brows, and Gideon hid a smile. She lied, being polite.

“I’m her first reader. That means I read her books, her drafts, before anyone else does. It’s our thing. I’ve been doing that since I was sixteen years old,” he continued, his agitation growing. “But now, she wants to publish her next book under a different name. She wants...she wants to write shifter romance. Erotic romance,” he concluded, waiting with trepidation for her reaction.

---