Wanted: Girl I Once Met Read online

  “Why, yes, he does,” the receptionist said with a slight twitch of her lips. “Did you get hurt, or was there a problem?”

  “No, I’d just like to give him a note. You know, to say I’m sorry again.”

  The receptionist handed her a piece of yellow notepaper and Rane wrote:

  Hi, I’m sorry about this morning. I hope you didn’t get hurt. I guess I owe you. Ms. Schoen

  Short and sweet. If he wanted to read between the lines, he could. Handing the folded note back to the receptionist, Rane turned and drifted over to the set of elevators.

  She wished she’d had been gutsy enough to write:

  Mr. Hunk, I’m glad we bumped into each other. You have a wonderful body. I’d love to see what’s beneath the clothes.

  The thought of that man in her bed made Rane smile as she reached the main level. She returned her visitor’s badge to the receptionist and was informed her temporary employee badge would be ready in the morning.

  They sure worked fast.

  Still unable to believe what had just happened, Rane headed out to her car. She’d done it. It was indeed a very good day. An image of David surfaced but she pushed him away not letting him ruin her triumph. She wouldn’t let the dirt bag ruin her day!

  As she exited out of the parking ramp, a black stretch limo delayed her turn. She was busting at the seams to share her great news with someone. But who could she call?

  Val. No, she was still in New York. Her mother would still be at work, and this was Grandma’s bingo afternoon.

  Part of her enthusiasm dissipated while she drove home. She was alone, which meant she was going to have to settle for a night of Facebook posts or text messages to Val. Then off to bed by herself, no hot-blooded man to warm her bed tonight, but maybe luck was still on her side and she’d have one soon.

  Chapter 5

  The MAC company black limo stopped in front of the company building as a red sports car drove out of the parking ramp. Not waiting for his driver or Philip, Mark opened the door himself, and entered the modern structured building.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Christmenn,” Karen called out cheerfully.

  “Thank you, Karen. I hope you had a nice lunch,” Mark replied with a smile as he passed by her desk.

  “I’ll be fine. Take care of things here and come see me when you get some info,” Mark stated to Philip, who was about to follow him into the elevator.

  Immediately, the most alluring perfume Mark had ever smelled engulfed him. He took several deep breaths and allowed his senses to take in the wonderful aroma.

  Mark’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. He couldn’t put a face to the perfume, which surprised him. He could recognize the perfume of all the female employees. It was his business to know smells. Yet this particular one was new, but not new at the same time. Instantly, as the doors opened, a face flashed before him.

  The blonde. No, he corrected, the stunning blond-haired woman with a light shade of emerald eyes that he’d bumped into earlier. He’d been so deep in thought about his pending lunch meeting with some of the MAC Board members, he’d literally run into the woman as she’d stepped out of the elevator.

  The incident made him smile as he recalled how her breasts had smashed against his chest. It had shocked him how his body had rippled with sexual tension then and was beginning to do so again now. His body ached with longing to hold her again. On the other hand, was it just to hold a woman? Any woman? His reaction reminded him precisely how long he’d been alone.

  Too fuckin’ long, that was for sure.

  Who had the woman been? He couldn’t recall meeting her or seeing her before but he felt as if he should know her. Had she been a salesperson? It was a possibility, because they were actively looking for some new packaging designs for their private label coffee beans. Could she have met with the Marketing Department?

  Curiosity got the better of him and he made a mental note to have Mrs. Weber, his personal secretary, find out who the perfume woman had come to see.

  Before going to his office, he stopped at the executive floor receptionist’s desk and waited for his messages.

  “Here you are, Mr. Christmenn,” Linda said, “Mrs. Weber is still at lunch.”

  She handed him a stack of small pink messages, which were usually solicitors. Linda did a good job of screening his calls for Mrs. Weber.

  “Thank you. Can you tell me who that woman was here to see?”

  Beep, ring. Beep, ring.

  Mark’s question about the mysterious lady went unanswered as he watched Linda take the incoming call. She held up her finger to him, indicating he was to wait. Instead, he smiled and waved as he headed to this office.

  He opened his door, stepped over to the conference table, set his briefcase down, paused, and scanned through the pink slips until a yellow folded piece of paper caught his attention. He unfolded it and read the stylish handwriting.

  Very old school. Who took the time to hand write an ‘I’m sorry’ note, nowadays? Someone with the passion for right and wrong. Now that was a welcoming delight.

  A rare genuine smile deepened on his face. Interesting turn of luck. The face, along with the unforgettable perfume, now had a name, Ms. Schoen.

  The name, however, wasn’t ringing any bells. Who was she, and why had she come to this company? The questions nagged at him.

  Her ring finger had been bare. He always checked. It was a bad habit of his, but no married women for him. He knew all the wives, ex-wives, mistresses, fiancées, and daughters of his executives’ staff. And she hadn’t been any of them.

  She was fair game in his book. There was something about her that he couldn’t figure out. Now that he had her name, all he needed was a phone number. He grinned inward. He could imagine her lush naked body pressed against his naked body, their lips devouring each other’s—

  Ring, ring.

  “Mr. Christmenn, I have Agent Nelson on the line for you. Would you like to take the call?” Mrs. Weber asked.

  “Yes!”

  His erotic fantasy vanished. The phone rang again, signaling the incoming call.

  “Agent Nelson, you’re back from San Diego?”

  “No, I actually wanted to give you a highly important update. Some of Massaro’s bodyguards broke under the pressure. We’ve found out that Massaro placed another hit out on you in a few weeks. We don’t have all the specifics but we’ll keep you informed.”

  “Great! You have got to be kidding.”

  “I’m sorry, but I thought it best you know. I’ll be back Saturday but don’t worry, my teams are on top of it,” Agent Nelson said reassuringly.

  “They better be! In the meantime, I’ll have Philip get ahold of the head of your teams. Does he have their number?” Mark asked.

  “He should, but in case he doesn't, have him call me.”

  Mark hung up and sent Philip a text to come see him.

  “Yes, Mr. Christmenn?” Philip asked as he cruised into the room.

  “You’re not going to believe this. I just spoke to Agent Nelson. He called not to let me know everything is fine, but to tell me that there is to be another hit out on me. Fuckin’ shit! I can’t believe it.”

  “Did he want me to beef up our security?”

  “I’m not sure. You’re supposed to call his teams. When is this going to end? I want to get on with my life,” Mark said as he paced back and forth. He sat down in disgust, racked his hand through his hair, and then winced. The lump was down but the spot was still tender to the touch.

  “What life?”

  The question hung in the air as Philip watched him work through his private dilemma.

  “Should I call Ms. Alicia?”

  Mark sat up straighter. “What? No. If I wanted a quick screw, I’m very capable of gett
ing one on my own.”

  “Just checking.” Philip chuckled and added, “You’re acting like you could sure use one.”

  “Piss on you,” Mark said and stood. He pushed his shoulders back, ground his teeth, and asked, “Don’t you have something you should be doing?”

  “Yea, sure, if you say so. What time do you want to leave this evening?”

  “When I’m good and ready.” Mark ignored Philip’s laughter as he left.

  Philip had hit a sore spot. His best friend was right. He did need to get laid. No, not just laid. He needed to find a woman who’d be his life mate. No one had come close except for his very first girlfriend, Lucy.

  She’d been the typical girl next door with one special exception: they’d shared the same birthday. The two of them couldn’t fight their unique bond. They’d done everything together. Climbed trees, played baseball, and would have campouts in her backyard until they’d gotten older and her parents put a stop to it.

  He could still remember how pretty she’d been even with mud stains on her cheeks. However, all good things always ended. During the summer of their fourteenth birthday, his father had once again ruined everything. He’d sent him away to a school in Europe. The night before he left, he and Lucy had discussed the future and the possibility of getting married. To prove his love, he’d given her a promise ring.

  Four years later, after graduating, he’d returned home to the girl he loved to plan a wedding. The sweetheart he’d remembered, with dimples and ponytails, had turned into a beautiful young woman with a devious and manipulative heart.

  Clearing his head, he realized the past would always haunt him. It still made him sick to think about her but time had taught him to forgive. Lucy, however, had taught him one thing he was grateful for: to be very pessimistic of all women.

  Could he ever fall in love again?

  Love.

  Who was he trying to fool? Love was for the young and foolish. He’d lost faith in love a long time ago, except for the damn picture on his desk. This was the twentieth year.

  What if he showed up and she didn’t? On the other hand, what if she showed up and he didn’t?

  He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, not sure what he wanted to do and felt the folded personal message he’d placed there earlier. Without hesitation, he headed out to ask Mrs. Weber to find out who the woman was, who’d she’d come to see, and to get her phone number.

  Screw Philip.

  Chapter 6

  Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Brake.

  35W, the major Interstate into downtown Minneapolis was a mess. The traffic had loosened up before her exit. If the streetlights were good to her, she'd still be able to arrive early like she’d planned.

  Rane hadn't been able to sleep, so she’d given up and gotten ready for her first day on the job. Thor had ignored her except when she picked up her purse. He knew she was leaving. He’d beamed at her with his wide green eyes and meowed. She’d felt guilty so she left him some extra treats.

  She pulled into the parking ramp with ten minutes to spare.

  “May I help you?” a voice from the speaker asked.

  “Hi, I’m Ms. Schoen. This is, this is my first day. Can you tell me where I need to park?”

  She felt exhilarated to say the words aloud. She was now on her way to being independent. Every month when David’s alimony check arrived, she’d cringed with disgust. The courts had made him pay dearly for his years of abuse and his unfaithful conduct. Thanks to his success, she now had plenty of money. She’d tried over the last couple of years not to need or use what she felt was dirty money, however, something always came up, and she had to dig into the funds.

  The huge ramp door opened and her nerves caused her stomach to act up once again. She turned into her parking space, Number Twelve, as instructed.

  With her briefcase and purse in hand, she slid out of her car and slammed the door shut, secretly wishing David’s face had been wedged between the metal. Her temper cooled with the image of his perfect face bleeding and swollen.

  Ex-husbands! Who needed them! Proving David wrong had become her mission since their divorce, but why, in God’s name, had he’d been so damn good looking? It was one of her downfalls, good-looking men, but she was learning to overcome that handicap with Val’s help.

  A cheery welcome broke through Rane’s surly demeanor as she stepped out of the elevator. Karen, whom she’d met yesterday, was waiting for her to approach. It called attention to the fact she was starting a new job and a new beginning. Determined not to let the past or David dishearten her from her choices, Rane lifted her head a notch higher, fixed her smile, and answered back with a warm “Good morning.”

  As promised, Karen had all the paperwork ready for her to sign and handed her an employee badge, already imprinted with her name on it, and a key. Karen stated the key was for the parking ramp door and reminded her to keep it with her at all times.

  Rane thanked her again for her help and headed to the other set of elevators. As she approached, she saw several other people waiting for the elevators. When the doors opened, the mass of people sauntered in, and it was as if everyone was a contestant on the Price Is Right game show. They began calling out floor numbers as music played in the background. She joined in and called out the sixth floor, since no one else had.

  When the doors opened to her floor, she remembered to keep her head up to see where she was going. She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday morning. Yet, her stomach took several dips as she recalled how her body had pressed up against the man’s and how muscular he had felt. That sensation was imprinted in her mind and she quickly looked around to see if he was anywhere near. She’d gotten a whiff of Drakkar as if he’d recently walked by.

  Not seeing anyone who resembled the hunk, she headed over to the receptionist. Rane kept an eye out for the man, hoping to see him again as she waited for Mrs. Wallen.

  “Good morning, Ms. Schoen.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Wallen.”

  “Please follow me to my office,” Mrs. Wallen said, and turned.

  Rane followed. A tiny smile appeared on her lips. Apparently, Mrs. Wallen didn't like small talk. They walked in silence, which gave her time to glance around and take in her surroundings.

  What she saw surprised her. A modest décor with several offices, conference rooms, and a lot of windows, all which had escaped her attention yesterday. As they neared the end of the hall, an aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

  “Mmm, that smells good. Reminds me of home,” Rane mumbled.

  “Wait until you go on one of the field trips to the processing plants. The smell can be overwhelming at times.”

  Rane raised her eyebrows, “Field trip?”

  “Yes, field trip. It’s in the employee handbook that I’ll be giving you.”

  And then Mrs. Wallen went all business again. They took yet another turn, this time to the left. They’d only taken a few steps halfway down the hall before stopping. Mrs. Wallen signaled for Rane to enter into an office with an open door.

  “Sit down. I hope everything went agreeably this morning when you arrived?” Mrs. Wallen asked, breaking the silence.

  “Yes, it did, thank you. I received my parking space and my employee badge,” Rane replied, holding up her badge like a trophy.

  “Good. Good. I’m glad your first day is beginning without any problems. That’s what I like to hear. Watch for an email scheduling your time to get your picture taken that we’ll add to your employee badge. We can now get down to business. I’ll need to see your driver’s license and social security card,” Mrs. Wallen informed Rane and went over the company policies and benefits.

  Rane signed so many forms she lost count. Next, instead of signing papers, Mrs. Wallen handed her a job description and the employee handbook.


  As she listened to Mrs. Wallen talk, Rane wondered if the woman ever varied from her speech. Smiling and nodding here and there, Rane’s mind drifted.

  Would she catch a glimpse of the man from yesterday? Did he have an office on this floor? He’d been very well dressed, so he could have been one of the VP’s or a Director. Had he found her interesting enough to ask out?

  “Ms. Schoen, are you all right?”

  “Yes, yes,” Rane replied, realizing Mrs. Wallen had asked her a question. What was she thinking? Dating? This was her first day on the job and here she was daydreaming about a man.

  “I'm sorry, the smell just got to me,” Rane replied and scolded herself to stay focused. If she wanted to make a good impression, this wasn’t the way to do it. The hunk was going to have to wait.

  “As I said, you'll get used to it. I’ll give you a short tour of the floor before I take you to your desk. Ready?” Mrs. Wallen asked, then stood.

  Rane followed Mrs. Wallen down the hall into a large room filled with numerous cubicles. The noise level was high but Rane could tell that there was a lot of work going on. Smiling at some of the other employees, Rane couldn’t locate an empty cubicle that was to be her home.

  To Rane’s bewilderment, Mrs. Wallen kept walking through the open area to a doorway on the other end of the room which opened up into yet another hallway. They went down this hallway and to her surprise, they ended up back at the reception area. They’d made a complete circle.

  It was then she noticed all the office doors. Finally, Mrs. Wallen stopped, opened the door, and announced that this was her office. Rane attempted to hide her surprise but ended up stumbling over her words of thanks.

  Never once had she expected this. She took a couple of steps into the huge office that was larger than her kitchen and almost cried. It wasn’t a corner office but she did have a view. She heard Mrs. Wallen say something about someone from Systems and a man named Mr. Adam.