Page 71 of Dirty Little Secret
I hadn’t thought about him even once during my whole makeover. “Do you think he’ll fire me?”
“If you do your makeup closer to what you usually do and then pull your hair into a messy pony, you might fit in. The uniform would not look right on you if you kept up this subdued look that you’ve got going on right now.” She sat up, looking me over. “Yeah, just cake on makeup and mess that hair up and you’ll keep your job.”
But I didn’t want to go back to that look. I wanted to stay the way I was. I felt more comfortable than I’d ever felt before. “I can’t. I’ll have to let Rob know that I’m looking for a new job. But I won’t cake on the makeup or do my hair any differently.”
“Bye, then,” she said with a snarky tone.
Taking a long drink, I wondered if I’d just made a big mistake. Had I jumped into something before I was ready?
I knew I was ready to make this change in my life—I wanted to make it more than anything. And that included changing my job. But I didn’t have a new one yet, and it wouldn’t be good to lose it before I found something else. Maybe I’d moved too fast.
When my cell rang, I checked the screen and saw that it was Kane. “Oh, I’ll take this in my room.”
“Why, you two gonna have phone sex and you don’t want me to hear?” she joked.
“No. He’s decided to treat me like a lady, I’ll have you know.” I closed the door behind me then answered the call. “Hi there.”
“Hi, baby. How was the rest of your day?” he asked me with that smooth, deep voice.
“Good.” We’d had a wonderful breakfast together at his place, Fox, Kane, and I. “You make a mean ham and cheese omelet. Thanks for making breakfast. If you ever let me sleepover again—”
“Which I will,” he interrupted.
I felt my body heat up. “Well, then I’ll make breakfast next time. I’ve been watching cooking shows onYouTubeall day long. And I even watched some videos about all those gadgets in your kitchen and found out how they work. So I just might surprise you guys next time.”
“That sounds like a great idea.” He paused then went on, “I know you’ve got work tomorrow night, but I was wondering if you could call in or something so that I can take you out on a real date. I really meant it when I said I want to show you that I care about you before we do anything sexual.”
That was a great reason not to go into work the next day. And that would give me at least one more day to try to find another job so that I wouldn’t have to worry about going back to Mynt. “That sounds nice, Kane. I would love to go out on a real date with you.”
He sounded relieved, as if he’d thought I might’ve said no or something. “Good. So, I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“That sounds good to me. Should I get all decked out, or just wear something nice and simple?” I asked, secretly pleased I’d done all that work on myself just in the nick of time.
“Um, well, let’s see. This was supposed to be a surprise.” He seemed to be stumbling around his words, which wasn’t like him. “Well, I’ve made reservations at Circa 1886 for us. I’ll be wearing a black suit and tie. So, can you dress accordingly?”
Now I was really glad that I’d had my hair done and bought some appropriate clothes. “I believe I can.” I tried to picture what he’d look like in a suit and tie, and my blood rushed through my veins. “A suit and tie, huh? I can’t wait to see that.”
“I clean up all right,” he said with a chuckle. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
I could not wait to see his face when he saw me the next evening. “I just might surprise you, Dr. Price.”
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope you do.”
I took a drink of the wine, trying my best not to get offended by what he’d said, but I had to admit that it did sting a bit. “I know I don’t look the part, Kane.”
“I don’t want to tell you what to do, Zandra.” He huffed. “I just want things to be as good as they can be for us. For all of us.”
“And that means I need to have a respectable job, drive a respectable car, and look respectable too.” I knew what I needed to be for him and for Fox.
“Image is kind of important in our world. At Fox’s school and at my work,” he said. “It may seem like an arrogant thing to say, but it’s true, Zandra. If I had green hair and a Mohawk, how many patients would I have?”
He must’ve thought I was being sarcastic, but I wasn’t. “I understand, Kane. I agree.”
The sigh he let out told me more than his words had. He needed me to be more. He needed me to be mature, responsible, and he needed more than just my words to reassure him that I was on the same page. Most of all, he needed me to not be an embarrassment to him or our son.
And that was okay. I was ready.
