Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) (14 page)

“Lisa and Tank?”

“Yes.
 
They met the
other day.
 
Instant chemistry.”

“I rather liked your friend when I met her.
 
Very smart and chic.
 
I’d love to dress her.
 
And I absolutely adore Tank.
 
He’s a good man.
 
He’s a catch.”

“So is Lisa.”

“Then set a table for it.
 
Serve drinks with it.
 
Let
the romance begin.
 
Where are you
dining tonight?”

“db Bistro.”

“Your old haunt.”

“I loved it there.
 
They were very good to me during a difficult time.
 
I can’t wait to see everyone again.”

She stood up and smoothed down her skirt.
 
“Then enjoy yourselves.
 
Here’s what I’ve learned in my life,
Jennifer.
 
It’s too damned
short.
 
You and Alex work
hard.
 
Find time for fun.
 
Take one night for each other every
week.
 
I don’t care what you do,
but it can’t be work.
 
Don’t make
the mistakes I made.”

“What mistakes?”

“Where do I even begin?
 
I’m only going to share this with you because you’ve come to mean
something to me, and because I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made
in my life.
 
OK?”

When Blackwell got serious with me, I knew I’d be a fool not to
listen to her.
 
As dramatic as she
liked to be, she was one of the smartest, most insightful women I knew.
 
“All right.”

“In too many ways, I regret how I’ve lived my life.
 
When I look back upon it, I see all the
work, all the late nights, all the early mornings, and all the
accomplishments.
 
But what else is
there?
 
At my age, I should have a
wealth of friends, but I have only a few.
 
I just got divorced.
 
I
haven’t traveled the world the way I promised myself I would when I was
young.
 
I haven’t snorkeled, which
is one of the things I swore I would do before I died.
 
I haven’t even been to Paris,
Jennifer.
 
Yes, that surprises me,
too.
 
Me, of all people.
 
Never been to Paris.
 
The list goes on and on.
 
My life has only been about work.
 
So much so that I know this building
better than I do my own family.
 
And as much as I love my job, I can tell you that giving
myself to it wasn’t worth it.
 
The
only saving grace is my two children, but they’re now grown adults away at
university—both on the West Coast—so I only see them during the
summer and on holidays.
 
We talk
only occasionally because we’re not close.
 
Why should we be?
 
I put my career first.”

“You can turn that around.”

“In many ways, I think it might be too late.”

“It’s not too late.
 
You’re still a young woman.”

“Young?
 
I’m
fifty-five, Jennifer.
 
Fifty-five.
 
I’m not without hope that I’ll find
another man, but I know that the odds are against me.
 
As for my girls, maybe there’s something that can be
salvaged there, but that would mean time away from Wenn.
 
That would mean a life change.
 
Are they worth it?
 
Oh, yes, they’re worth it.
 
They’re all I’ve got.
 
I have so much repairing to do with
them that it might take me years.
 
But I need to do it, so I will do it.
 
I need to be the mother they didn’t have when they were
growing up.
 
At some point soon, I
will start stepping away from Wenn and focusing on what matters—my
daughters and my own happiness.
 
So,” she said, “if you were my daughter, I would give you this advice:
 
Live your life.
 
Enjoy your career.
 
Love Alex.
 
Strike a balance.
 
Love yourself enough to know that all of it matters, not just one part
of it.
 
Don’t make the mistakes I
made.”

“I love you, Ms. Blackwell.”

Her face froze in shock for a moment before she quickly removed
the expression and slipped back into the Blackwell I knew.
 
“First you love Alex, and now you love
me.
 
Have you turned into a
hippie?
 
You know I can’t handle
hearing those words.
 
If I see a
daisy in your hair, I swear to God I’ll rip it out.”

“I mean it.
 
And
I’m not afraid to say it anymore.
 
You’ve done so much for me.
 
When I’ve really needed you, you’ve come through for me time and
again.
 
You dropped the veil and
told me the truth I needed to hear.
 
I only hope that one day soon I can do the same for you.”

“Here’s what you can do for me, Jennifer.
 
Don’t get knocked up before you marry
him, OK?
 
Since you’ll probably ask
me to dress you for the occasion, that’s what you can do for me.
 
I’ve shoehorned you into too many dresses
to count.
 
Do you even understand
what it takes to fit that ass of yours into couture?
 
I can’t be expected to also do a baby bump.
 
It’s not happening, and it wouldn’t be
fair if you did that to me.”

“I wish you’d take this seriously.”

Her expression changed to something less light and
humorous.
 
“A moment ago, I was
very serious with you.
 
And I do
take what you said seriously.
 
We
all have our masks, Jennifer.
 
We
wear them every day to protect ourselves from the world, from friends, from
emotion, from potential disappointment.
 
You wear your own mask well.”

I couldn’t deny that I did.
 
She started to leave.

“Before you go, I want you to know something,” I said.

She stopped at the door and turned to me.
 
“What’s that?”

“I look up to you as I wish I could have looked up to my own
mother.
 
But she never was a mother
to me.
 
I never had that mother
until you came into my life.”

“I was horrible to you when you first came into my life.”

“You were unkind, but not horrible.
 
I can tell you what horrible is—I’ve lived a lifetime
of horrible—and you never were that.
 
So, thank you.
 
Please do yourself a favor and consider taking a week or two off.
 
Go and be with your girls.
 
Show them the person that you’ve shown
me.
 
You’ve given me great advice
today.
 
And have on so many other
days before today.
 
So, welcomed or
not, that’s my advice to you.
 
Go
and be the wonderful mother I know you’ll be to your girls.
 
As someone who never had a real mother
while I as growing up, I can promise you that they’ll be starved for it and
that it will
not
be too late.
 
In fact, while they’re in college, when the whole world seems screwed up
and against them, you might just be in time.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Later that night, Lisa and I chatted as we got ready for our
dinner with Alex and Tank.

“I’m beyond stoked,” Lisa said as she darted around the
penthouse doing whatever the hell it was that she was doing.
 
I sat in the living room and watched
her.
 
I already was showered, hair
pulled back into a neat chignon, and makeup applied, but not yet dressed for
the evening.
 
Instead, I wore a
simple red silk robe that was a gift from Alex.
 
Lisa was showered, but her hair was wet.
 
She wore no makeup and she was in a
simple white cotton robe.
 
I sat on
one of the sofas overlooking the city and all the secrets it held within its
matrix of lights.
 
I sipped my
martini and thought again how lucky I was to have such a view.

“What should I wear?” Lisa asked.

“A cute dress?”

“What do you think Tank would appreciate?”

“Something feminine.
 
Boobs in, not out.
 
He seems
like a gentleman to me—I have a feeling he’d appreciate restraint.
 
So, pretty and sexy, but subdued.
 
Your personality is what’s going to
grab him anyway.”

“What are you wearing?
 
What color?”

“I’m wearing a little black dress.”

“How little?”

“Just above the knee.”

“What kind of shoes?”

“My Louboutins.”

“Which ones?”

“The black ones.”

“Can I borrow the red ones?”

“Take whatever you want.”

“I love you more than good vodka.”

“And I love you more than olives soaked in good vodka.”

She zipped past me, martini in hand, and headed for my
bedroom.
 
She emerged with the red
shoes, dangled them in front of me with a delighted grin, and disappeared into
her bedroom.
 
A few moments later,
she emerged in a red dress that matched the shoes.
 
The dress had a tasteful dip in the neckline that exposed
just enough cleavage to create a mystery.
 
I don’t know what she was wearing for a bra, but her breasts were high
and tight.
 
The dress went to her
knee, so what she would be saying to Tank is that she was no slut.
 
She was dressed properly for a first
date.
 

I was proud of her for getting back into the game.
 
Lisa had only been with two men in her
life—her two former long-term boyfriends.
 
She gave her heart to each of them, and, for whatever reason,
they stomped on it and tossed it back to her.
 
And now, after a couple of years of being on her own, she
was ready to take the risk and put herself out there again.
 
Despite what she’d been through, she
still believed that a good man was out there who deserved her.
 
I admired her for that.
 
But then, I tended to admire Lisa in
whatever she did in her life.
 

When she was finished blowing out her hair and applying the
lightest bit of foundation and eye makeup, she came out of her bathroom and
stood in front of me.
 
“So?”

“You look beautiful.”

“I was going for hot.”

“You also look hot, and in a way that I think Tank will
appreciate.
 
Not tramp hot.
 
Just naturally hot.”

“I almost went for zombie hot.”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

“Tank would.
 
Tank
also digs the undead.”
 
She screwed
up her face to me.
 
“Do I call him
Tank?”

“Don’t you remember?
 
When you first introduced him to your nipples, he asked you to call him
Mitch.”

“I didn’t introduce him to my nipples.”

“You weren’t wearing a bra and the air conditioning was on full
blast when we left the apartment.
 
Let’s just say that you looked as if you’d just stepped out of a
freezer.
 
You and I both know that
you introduced him to yourself and to your nipples.”

“Whatever.
 
Mitch
it is.
 
You should get
dressed.
 
We’ve got fifteen minutes
before he and Alex arrive.”

“One suggestion,” I said as I stood.

“What’s that?”

“Bernie’s been teaching me plenty.
 
So has Blackwell.
 
This is a first date, but at an excellent, formal restaurant.
 
I’d go for a little more eye
makeup.
 
Not much, but enough to
let those blue eyes of yours pop.
 
And maybe a trace of color on your lips.
 
Something to complement your dress and shoes.
 
Just to finish it off.
 
Don’t overdo it.”

“I’m on it.
 
Now
get dressed.”

I got dressed.

*
 
*
 
*
 

In the lobby, Alex and Tank were waiting for us.
 
So were four other men who were standing
away from them and next to the exit.
 
Security.
 
I took a breath
and went with it.
 
What choice did
I have?
 
Alex was my life, so this
also would be my life.
 
Period.

“God, he’s a stud,” Lisa said under her breath when we left the
elevator.
 
“Look at him.
 
Who is even built like that?”

“He is.”

“I totally want to survive the zombie apocalypse with him.”

“Well, then.”
 

I waved at them both.
 
“Hello, boys,” I said.

“Ladies,” Alex said.

“Jennifer.
 
Lisa,”
Tank said.

Alex was wearing dark blue jeans, a white button-down shirt
open at the throat, and a black blazer.
 
He grinned at me in the same way that he had a dozen times before, and
my heart melted a bit.
 
I loved
him.

Tank was wearing a white polo, a brown blazer that looked broad
enough to cover a football field, and khaki pants that were so tight around his
thighs that they looked like they barely could contain the massive muscles
hidden within.
 
I had to give it to
him.
 
He was something to look
at.
 
But what thrilled me was that
he was looking only at Lisa as we crossed the distance between them.
 

The last time he saw her, she wore skinny jeans, pumps, and a
tank top that left nothing to the imagination.
 
Nipple City.
 
But tonight was a game changer.
 
He’d never seen her dressed up for a night out.
 
Lisa always looked pretty because she
was naturally pretty.
 
But he’d yet
to see what she could become with a little effort.
 
It was clear from his expression, which included a pair of
parted lips, that he was taken by her.
 
I felt excited for them.
 
Who
knew what tonight could bring for them?

“You look lovely,” Alex said when he leaned down to kiss me.

“And you look like a dish well served.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Lisa,” Tank said.
 
“You look terrific.”

She took his hand.
 
“Thank you, Mitch.
 
You look
very handsome.”

When he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it, I
felt like saying, “Shit just got real.”

But Alex saw it and he knew it.
 
Of course he did.
 
He squeezed my hand.
 
I
glanced at him, and saw the gleam of mischief in his eyes.
 
Then, I said in a voice that was
unnaturally chirpy, “Shall we?”

*
 
*
 
*
 

Dinner at db Bistro was delicious and nostalgic.
 
I was able to again see Stephen, my
former boss, who brought us a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, one of the many
champagnes he had me try during my brief employment there.

“I remember how much you liked it when I gave you a taste,” he
said to me while he poured each of us a glass.
 
“On the house, of course.”

“Thank you, Stephen,” I said.

He winked at me.
 
“You and your friends are welcome here anytime, Jennifer.
 
The staff misses you.”

“I miss all of you, too.
 
Let me make introductions.
 
This is my boyfriend, Alex, our good friend Mitch, and my best friend,
Lisa.”
 
I caught movement behind
him and said, “Party of six, Stephen.
 
Entering now.
 
They look
front of restaurant to me.”

“You can take the woman out of the restaurant, but you can’t
take the restaurant out of the woman,” Alex said.

“Sorry,” I said.
 
“Reflex.”

“That’s why we miss her,” Stephen said.
 
“Enjoy your meals.
 
I’ll check in a bit later.”

“I like him already,” Lisa said.

“He was very kind to me,” I said.
 
“He was a wonderful boss.
 
And he knows everything about wine and food.
 
I learned a lot while I was here.”
 
I shrugged.
 
“But I’m rattling.
 
I’m just happy to be back, that’s all.”

Alex squeezed my knee beneath the table.
 
“I’m happy that you’re happy,” he
said.
 
“Anytime that you want to
dart out back to say hello to your friends, I think all of us will understand.”

And with that, I kissed him full on the cheek and told him that
I loved him in his ear.
 
“Our food
isn’t here yet.
 
Do you mind if I
sneak back there now?
 
They’re busy
now, so I’ll take just a minute to say a quick hello.”

“Go for it,” Alex said.
 

I stood up and looked at Mitch.
 
“You’ll entertain Lisa while I’m gone?
 
And Alex, of course.”

“I’ll entertain Lisa,” he said with a smile.

He wasn’t joking.
 
Even after I came back, it was obvious that he intended to entertain her
for the rest of the night.
 
Though
we all joined in mutual conversation, there were times when Lisa and Mitch
drifted off into their own conversation.
 
I watched my best friend laugh and flirt, and knew it was genuine.
 
She didn’t tolerate fools.
 
It was clear that she was having a good
time, as was he.

“Looks as if we’ve got something going on over here,” I said to
Alex.

He raised his eyebrows.
 
“Who knew that a couple could be connected by their love of the undead?”

*
 
*
 
*
 

Later, after Mitch insisted that he pay the bill, which made me
even fonder of him, we prepared to leave.
 
Alex pulled out his cell and tapped a few numbers.
 
Within moments, one member of his
security detail discreetly entered the restaurant and stood by the door.
 
The rest, I knew, were waiting outside
for us.

I gave Stephen a hug, said we’d be back to see him and the
staff soon, and then steeled myself as we went out into the night.
 

This stretch of West Forty-Fourth Street was ridiculously busy,
not just because of the restaurant, but also because it housed the Algonquin
Hotel to the right, and the Iroquois Hotel to the left.
 
db Bistro was sandwiched between
them.
  
The Royalton Hotel was
directly across the street, and the Sofitel Hotel was diagonally across from
that.
 
Adding to the chaos and the
claustrophobic feel was that the street itself was only three lanes wide with
parking on both sides, which essentially shrank the street down to
one-and-a-half lanes.
 
Cabs and
cars all crowded around each other as they jostled for the opportunity to press
forward.

Many people were on the sidewalk.
 
A young woman with her dog jogged past us with
music—something by Madonna—blasting out of her earphones.
 
An older man with a clip in his step
snapped into his cell about how rotten his day had been.
 
Bellhops were in the street hailing
taxis.