“Excuse me,” he said to whoever was on the phone, and looked up at Mandy. “I’ll be off in a minute.” He seemed annoyed at the interruption.
“Take your time. I just wanted to say hello and that dinner will be in about a half hour.” Without waiting for a reply, she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. He was so grouchy lately.
She got busy in the kitchen, heating up leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs and putting a pot of water on the stove to boil the pasta. Once the spaghetti was ready, she fixed plates for the kids and for herself and Cory, and set everything on the table, along with butter and a loaf of soft Italian bread.
She called upstairs to the kids when dinner was ready and knocked softly on the door to Cory’s office. A few minutes later, they were all gathered around the table and had a nice family meal. Brooke excitedly told Cory about her new dance class and Blake announced that he’d made an A on his math test earlier that day. Mandy relaxed and dug into her pasta. Once everyone finished and the kids had bolted from the table, Mandy poured herself a small glass of red wine and offered some to Cory.
“No, thanks. I need to get back to work for a few more hours. That will just put me to sleep.”
“I thought it was odd that you were home so early. I should have known you weren’t done working.”
“There was too much commotion at the office, construction on the floor above us. I’ve actually been home since noon, just working from here.”
“You work too much,” Mandy began. “Isn’t it time that you hired someone that can take on some of the stuff that bogs you down?”
Cory ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “We were just talking about that this morning. Both of us are feeling burnt out and agreed that we need to delegate more. Soon, though. I’m actually heading out to a conference next week for a few days and might do some informal recruiting there, to get the word out.”
“What kind of conference?” Cory had never gone to a conference before, so it was a bit of a surprise.
“It’s an industry networking and strategy brainstorming kind of thing. It was recommended by my old boss at BBH and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to have a few days ‘off’ so to speak.”
“Will you close the office then? How will you manage?” Mandy wondered out loud.
“We’re not both going. Patrick will hold down the fort for a few days and I’ll fill him in on everything I learn when I get back. Plus, it’s in Vegas.” His smile reminded Mandy of an excited little boy. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Chapter 11
Jill ordered a glass of chardonnay as soon as the flight attendant came through the cabin. She’d worked the lunch shift that afternoon, then quickly showered and changed and raced to make a five-thirty flight. She was meeting Billy for dinner and spending the next day at the office. Fridays were usually a quieter day, and Jill knew that her presence would hopefully kick things up a notch. The JetBlue flight from Nantucket to New York was just over an hour and she was looking forward to relaxing and calming her nerves.
She was actually nervous about seeing Billy, which was ridiculous since they were so close, but her new feelings for him were confusing and exciting and terrifying all at once. Billy had never really given her ‘that vibe’ before, the one you get when you know a guy is interested, but she would have thought it strange if he had, given that they were such good friends and business partners. She’d never given him the slightest inclination of interest either, so she knew she had to do this carefully, to test the waters first.
She actually thought it might help that she was working in Nantucket for a while. Having some distance from Billy and the day-to-day environment of the office would give her some privacy and also the necessary time to sort out her feelings. She also hoped that Billy might miss her being around and perhaps be open to seeing things in a new light. The first step in her plan was going to take place that night. She was meeting him for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, Rosa Mexicana, at the Upper East Side location. The restaurant was dark and cozy, and the upscale Mexican food was delicious.
Jill wore her favorite dress. It was a deep ruby red and flattering with a form-fitting cut that was a bit shorter than usual and showed off her legs, and she was wearing a pair of very cute high heels. She’d blown her hair dry just before leaving for the airport and it fell in fluffy, layered waves just past her shoulders. She’d kept her makeup light, just a coat of rich black mascara to make her lashes lush and her eyes pop, and her favorite glossy rose lipstick that had magic lip plumping abilities. She wanted Billy to notice her in a new way tonight.