Page 13 of Reclaiming Love

Chapter 8

They sat across the monochrome table in uncomfortable silence waiting for Heather.

Zoot was filling up quickly with sharp-dressed, happy people looking for a liquid buzz at the end of a work day.

“How much longer are we going to wait?” Irritated, Matt threw back his coke. He didn’t drink during the weekdays owing to his strict diet and fitness routine during the week. He let up a little on Friday and Saturday nights. He’d looked at her with disapproval when she’d ordered her a daiquiri.

Scratching her neck, she looked around yet again. Come on Heather. Melissa swore in her head. No sign of her.

“She’ll be here soon. She’s got farther to come,” Melissa reminded him. She let her fingers trail around the tip of her glass. She’d been looking forward to going out tonight, until the encounter with Ethan. Now she wished she hadn’t arranged this evening at all. It would have been easier to go home alone.

She had a lot of things to think about and quiet time at home would help clear her head.

Because sometimes, lately, single life appealed.

She couldn’t take on another person’s mood swings; it had been far easier to handle her own low points. But Matt was something else. She wasn’t used to dealing with behavior so menacing, so crass, so cruel.

What had once seemed wild and daring now threatened her.

She glanced at her watch again, letting out a sigh. So far she was only about half an hour late, something that shouldn’t be too much of a problem, not for two people who were supposed to enjoy each other’s company and would have ordinarily relished the time they had alone together.

“I can’t stay long. I’m missing out on my run.” He made it sound as though she’d asked him to do some painful chore instead of meet a friend for a social drink.

“Are you coming to the gym tomorrow?” he asked her, his frown indicating that he didn’t expect her to. The gym wasn’t too bad, she realized suddenly—it was his presence that she had begun to dread. His sullen voice started to annoy her, like an itchy scab that needed to be picked: hard to ignore but there.

She shook her head. “I’ve got heaps of stuff to do for Nadine.”

“Shouldn’t it be calmer now that she’s back?” he asked, for once expressing a bit of interest and losing the miserable face for a change.

“You’d have thought.” She tried to smile, but his expression turned cold and pissed off again, wiping what little smile had begun to form. So she gave him only the facts. “She’s in charge of a lot of high-profile accounts here.” Things in the department had been getting busier. It wasn’t only Nadine who felt it, or Mitchell and Sandra, who also felt the pressure. Lower down, the administrative staff were starting to become overwhelmed too.

And with all that was going on, Mr. Zimmerman was spending more time in Europe. Rumors had it that the company was going to downsize in the US and expand further into Europe. She’d need to speak to Nadine to get the lowdown.

Matt’s glass of diet coke was almost finished and she herself needed another drink. She’d guzzled the first one down fast. As she looked over to the crowded bar, she saw the shock of tousled blonde hair that stood out a mile away. She’d arrived. Turning, her friend found her. Their eyes met and Melissa waved. Relief settled in.

Matt looked over his shoulder. “About time, too.”

“Sorry.” Heather gaped, looking first at Melissa, then at Matt. She beamed a wide smile, and Melissa watched, analyzing her friend’s reaction.

“Hey,” Matt managed a smile.

“At last, we finally meet!” Heather took off her navy woolen coat and settled into her chair, making herself comfortable. She gave Melissa a quick knowing wink, signifying Matt’s hotness and her seal of approval.

“Let me get some more drinks. What would you like, Heather?”

Her friend giggled, then flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “Whatever Melissa had,” she said, looking at her iced long-stemmed cocktail glass.

“Same again,” Melissa said, when he looked her way and thankfully he didn’t bat an eyelid. He was on his best behavior now.

“I busted a gut to get here. Sorry, I didn’t think it was going to take this long. There was so much traffic.”

Melissa wasn’t interested in traffic conditions. “What do you think?”

Her friend propped her arms up on the table and steepled her fingers, grinning at Melissa. “He’s hot!” Heather ducked her head down, close to Melissa’s. “And he looks pretty fit, too. Great body.” Luckily the noise in the background damped down their conversation. She nudged her friend. “I totally get why you’re always over at his place. Heck, if I had a guy who looked so hot, I’d spend most of the day in bed, too.”

“We do not do that,” replied Melissa, embarrassed.

“Don’t be shy, hon.” Heather slapped her playfully. “You don’t have to apologize for it.”

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