Page 38 of The German's Guilty Pleasure
Mutterstood and smoothed out her skirt. “But of course, Serenity. I am here for no other purpose. I hope you do not mind that I took the liberty of ordering some lunch. It should arrive in thirty minutes.”
Serenity rubbed her tummy and glanced my way. “That should give us just enough time to show you the display room we have for potential clients.”
They hooked arms and walked down the hallway, chatting about the dinner last night while I brought up the rear. I felt unneeded, which surprisingly was a feeling I did not mind. I liked that Serenity was able to handle a woman who was challenging to manage at best, and she did it with gusto.
I swiped open the door, since we were the only two with keys, and held the door for them to enter.Mutterwalked around the room while they discussed what aids were selling best, what aids needed a fresh new look, and how to repackage and design some of our oldest aids to make them modern and improved.
“We have a beautiful dynasty here,”Mutterproclaimed. “I am in love with this room. It displays what we do at Kontakt in the best possible way.”
“It was all Lars,” Serenity said immediately. “When he showed me, I agreed it was the perfect way to hook potential distributors.” She took Gretchen’s arm and walked with her back down the hallway while I locked up. When we arrived back to my office, lunch was waiting, and we sat, each of us opening a box filled with overwhelming scents of deliciousness.
“Würstchenfrom the best little German place down the street. It was nice to see I could get a meal like home in my home away from home.”
I swallowed and winked at Serenity. “That was a mouthful,Mutter,” I chuckled. “Serenity, you were mentioning some new ideas that you had?”
She set her sausage down and nodded, wiping her mouth and lifting a folder from her briefcase. She tapped the folder. “Since you’re here, I wanted to discuss with you an idea I had to further the catalog. What I am about to suggest would only be offered in the U.S. catalog to start.”
Mutterand I both tipped our heads in confusion, but I spoke. “If it is a good idea, then we should not limit it to only the States. Our company prides itself on being the frontrunner in new technology.”
“I agree, but in this case, Gretchen may prefer to keep it here to test the market first.” She flipped the folder open and tapped the paper inside. “I want to create a subset of sensual aids made specifically for the LGBTQ community.”
Mutterpushed her chair back and stood, her finger pointing angrily in my face. “Two days! You promised not to tell anyone, and yet, you have known for two days, and you already tell people I amlesbisch!”
I stood instantly and held my hands out. “Mutter, I did not tell her!Ach du lieber Gott!”
She sat instantly. “Oh my God is right,” she said, her shoulders deflating and her head in her hand, something I never thought I would see in my life.
Serenity sat at the end of the table, her mouth partly open, and her eyes searching mine.I’m sorry, she mouthed before she stood and graspedMutter’sshoulders in her tiny hands. “I’m sorry, Gretchen. I can assure you, Lars never said anything to me. I have been putting this idea together for quite some time. I meant no disrespect.” She closed the folder and tucked it back in her bag. “Let’s forget about it and finish our lunch.”
She squeezed her one more time and then sat, taking a bite of her sausage.Muttersat up and discreetly wiped her eyes. “I overreacted. I am sorry. I do not do that.”
I patted her hand for comfort, knowing she would see anything else as weakness. “It is okay. Life is weird right now. Serenity is nothing if not discreet. You do not have to worry about her outing you.”
Serenity swung her head wildly as she chewed. “Absolutely not. As I said, I understand the culture in Germany. I thought since this is Miami, and we have such a large LGBTQ community here, that we could have an extremely successful line if we geared it in that direction. I started working on them the first month I was here. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Gretchen nodded and pulled the folder from the briefcase again. “I agree with you, but I was afraid. I am afraid. I worried if I brought it up, someone would find out my secret.”
“Mutterjust told me a few days ago,” I explained to Serenity, and her eyes grew as she chewed. “I never knew.”
“These are good,”Muttersaid, laying out the pages with computer-generated images on them. “These are really good. These have serious potential.”
I stood behind her and eyed the photos while nodding. “Classy and astutely marketed to the right demographics. Made from stainless steel, some of these would be considered high-end to the big names.”
I glanced up to get Serenity’s feedback. “Serenity?” I asked, staring at her wide-open eyes and the food falling from her lips. “Serenity?” I yelled frantically as I ran to her. I shook her, and she coughed until more food fell out of her mouth.
“Is she choking?”Mutterasked, pushing her chair back.
“I do not know! Call an ambulance!” I shouted as the woman I loved passed out in my arms. I did not know what scared me more, the idea that she was out cold, or the idea that I had fallen in love and never saw it coming.
Fifteen
Serenity
I wrapped myself in the darkness of the night and rested my chin on my knees. Miami’s skyline was awash with light, and I let my vision go out of focus until the lights blurred into a beautiful patchwork of colors. It had been a long day. I should be in bed, but the drugs they pumped into me to open my airway still had me buzzing. It turned out the restaurant used a fish additive in their sausage, a fish I’m allergic to. I now have epinephrine injectors that I have to carry with me at all times. I’d have to start being more careful. I live in a rough city for a seafood allergy. When I came to in the ambulance, an astute EMT realizing quickly what the problem was, Lars was nowhere to be seen. When I was released from the hospital, it was Gretchen who brought me home.
She had settled me into my apartment and stayed with me for several hours to make sure I was okay. I finally insisted she leave when she couldn’t keep her eyes open. We’d talked about a lot of things, but the one thing we didn’t talk about was Lars and where he was.
I swiped my cheek on my shoulder to wipe away the tear that fell. I thought after what we’d shared the last twenty-four hours that he would be the one at my side. How wrong I was. The only thing that made my day slightly okay was the way Gretchen had embraced my ideas for the new catalog line. We had talked about it for a long time tonight, but I let her do most of the talking.
