Paul decided to take one last shot at it on his way out. “From everything I know about your grandfather, he was never afraid of change, and always willing to try innovative techniques. You won’t be failing him if you take on an investor. Give it some thought,” Paul urged her.
“I have, and I won’t,” she said, her expression set in stone. He left her office a minute later, hoping that what he had said to her would sink in over time and she’d agree. She was too smart and too good in business not to see things his way eventually. They needed to expand to stay viable in the market, and the only way to do that significantly was with someone else’s money. There was no doubt in Paul’s mind. Nor in Spencer’s.
When Spencer left for the day, she put Paul’s disturbing suggestions out of her mind. She was having dinner with Bill Kelly that night. She didn’t want to be upset when she saw him.
He usually took her to a neighborhood restaurant, and they went back to her place afterwards. The boys were having a sleepover at a friend’s, since it was Friday night, which was one of the rare times she’d let Bill stay late or spend the night. Between her work and her sons, there wasn’t a lot of room for him in her life, and he didn’t clamor for more than he got. She was careful not to involve him with her children, except very superficially. He saw them occasionally but had never made a big effort to get to know them. Neither he nor Spencer saw the relationship as long-term, and it had already lasted longer than they’d expected. They’d been seeing each other for two years. He was a nice guy but not a deep person. He enjoyed being a bachelor, and was gun-shy about marriage, and so was she after Bart. The relationship with Bill was just something that had happened, and never went too far. He knew how important the store was to her, although he assumed that she’d get tired of running it one day, and either sell it or find someone else to run it, which showed how little he knew her. He thought of it as more of a hobby for her, not a lifelong passion.
They both kept things light between them, and saw each other about once a week, outside of advertising meetings for the store. He was handsome, and the right age for her, but there was always something missing between them, probably because Spencer knew she didn’t love him, and neither did he love her. It was just easy, and nice to get out to dinner once in a while. She worked so hard at the store that she had very little social life or interaction with other adults, except at work. It was nice being out with a man occasionally, even if it wasn’t serious. They had always kept their relationship undercover and discreet, because of his connection to the store through the ad agency where he worked. It met their needs for the moment, but there had never been any pretense of a future, and she had recently begun to think they were reaching their expiration date. He had started to bore her. But she had no great desire to replace him either. He was familiar, and she hadn’t met another man who interested her since her divorce. Sometimes she thought that Bart had cured her of love forever. He hadn’t been a heartbreak, but he had been a major disappointment. His profound disapproval of her running the store had stayed with her for a long time. She didn’t want another man in her life who would try to force her to sell the store. She shuddered at the thought.
Bill came back to the apartment with her after dinner. They had perfunctory sex, which was less satisfying than usual. It had been fun in the beginning, but had become less so and more predictable over time. He didn’t spend the night, and she didn’t ask him to. She was sorry to notice that she was relieved when he left. She liked the idea of spending the night alone in her bed, and having a quiet morning to herself the next day before she went to work. She always worked on Saturdays, although she went in a little later than during the week. Francine was going to pick up the boys at their friend’s house that afternoon. She left for her day off on Saturday evening when Spencer got home, and Spencer had the boys to herself after that and enjoyed that too. She felt like a real mom when she was alone with them, until Francine returned late Sunday night, after spending her time off with her boyfriend. Their arrangement had worked well for seven years.
On Saturday, after playing tennis, Mike decided to go back to the store to buy the brown suede shoes he’d seen. It was in the back of his mind that he might see the young manager again. He didn’t see her, but he bought the shoes, a gray cashmere sweater, and an English tweed jacket he liked, and was pleased with his purchases when he got home. Renee and Jenny were right. What Brooke’s carried wasn’t cheap, but it was of the finest quality, and he loved what he’d gotten, and would wear it a lot. Nothing they carried was too odd or too trendy or would go out of style.