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She considered my question, her eyes darting to the ceiling as though recalling her night with the guy. “I guess that depends on how you look at it. He talked, alright. It’s just that he didn’t really have anything great to say. He spent the first half of dinner whining about everything that had gone wrong in his life that led to him losing his job instead of him just sucking it up and doing something about it.”
“Well, isn’t he doing something about it? How recently did he lose his job?”
Kasey popped a third cookie in her mouth. “Five months ago.”
Steph and I exchanged concerned looks. “And he asked you out on a date? How is he earning any money?”
She shrugged. “I guess he’s currently still living off his unemployment income, hoping it leads him to his ultimate plan.”
“Well, that sounds promising.” I lifted my sandwich to my mouth and prepared to take a bite. “What’s his plan?”
“To find a sugar mama,” Kasey deadpanned, another whole cookie landing in her mouth.
I gasped as Steph’s eyes nearly fell out of her head. “He told you that?”
If I hadn’t been so shocked by what Kasey had just shared, I might have confessed my concern for the fact she’d just nearly annihilated half a row of Oreos.
She shook her head. “Of course not. But it wasn’t difficult to figure out when he began his line of questioning. Atfirst, he asked about what I did for a living. But after I told him, he went on to ask how well it paid and whether I owned my own home, or if I rented. As soon as he learned that I had my own home, that was it. The questions kicked up another notch, him prying for more information about my financial status. I could only imagine what he would have thought if I were like you, Iris. Think about it, you got the promotion to marketing director not even a year ago, and you learned on Friday that Robert intends to promote you to VP of Marketing at the start of the year. You would have been this guy’s absolute dream.”
I could think of nothing I wanted less than someone like Kasey had suffered through this horrible date with showing interest in me. “Oh, that’s awful, Kasey. I’m sorry it didn’t go well,” I lamented.
Again, she shook her head, this time with frustration, the disappointment plain as day. “Thanks. I mean, I get that you won’t catch me at the gym first thing in the morning like you, but I have some ambition in my life. This guy seemed to have not an ounce of it. I think my plan to accept dates from anyone who asks is a bad one. Maybe I need to have some standards before accepting.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Steph reasoned. “What are you thinking?”
Kasey finally stopped reaching for more cookies. “Uh, well, for starters, I think they’re going to need to have a job. It doesn’t necessarily need to be anything fancy, but the guy’s got to have some ambition. Some drive. I want a man who’s successful in his own right and can take charge. He can’t just sit around all the time feeling bad for himself or the position that he’s allowed himself to be in for far too long.”
She was close to spiraling out of control completely. I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I’m sure you’re going to find him. There’s nothing wrong with anything that you said. In fact, I think that’s the least that anyone should expect in a partner.”
Kasey groaned and dropped her head to the table. “Ugh, where is he?”
My eyes met Steph’s, and both of us laughed. Steph placed her hand on Kasey’s back. “I’m sure he’s out there. Maybe he’s waiting for you in the cookie aisle.”
Our friend lifted her head and sent a pained expression our way. “I don’t feel so good now.”
“I had a feeling that was coming.”
“Tell me about your weekend, Steph,” Kasey begged. “I need something that makes me feel happy. Did you and Sam spend all your time playing pickleball?”
Steph’s face lit up. “Well, notallof our time.”
Kasey and I both groaned, our eyes filled with longing.
Steph went on to tell us about her weekend with her guy, and I had to admit I felt some small pangs of jealousy. Though I hadn’t quite reached the same level as Kasey had over it, I could understand where she was coming from when it came to the desire for a romantic relationship. I couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be to have a guy like Landen to spend some time with outside of the gym.
By the time Steph had finished, I glanced at the clock on the wall and noted the time. There were less than ten minutes remaining for our lunch break. “I’ve got to go.”
“Lunch isn’t over yet, though,” Steph noted.
I nodded and stood. “I know. But Robert came into my office this morning. They’re having a meeting this afternoonwith a consultant, and he wants me in on that. I guess as part of my preparation for the promotion, I need to start sitting in on this kind of stuff.”
“Oh, that sounds thrilling.”
“Ah, I don’t think it’ll be so bad.” I reached out, opened Kasey’s package of cookies, and pulled out two of them. “I’ll talk to you both later.”
As they said goodbye, I strode out of the room and back to my office to prepare for the meeting, doing it while feeling frustrated for my friend and myself at the same time.
SIX
