Just Three Words (Soho Loft Romances) (11 page)

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like my guest services navigator to sit in on our meeting.”

“We don’t mind at all,” Mallory said as she pulled her laptop from her attaché.

Sam shrugged. “The more navigators, the better, I always say.” The levity was greeted with a serene smile from Eleanor. Maybe not the place for whimsy after all. The door behind her opened, and yet another tall, blond woman entered. Was height and hair color an employment qualification at this place? Could she see the application? But Samantha didn’t get beyond the musing as the new blonde broke into a smile when she saw Sam and,
oh my God—Tanya?

Seriously, universe?

How was this fair?

“Samantha? Oh my goodness. How
are
you?” Tanya said, showing off her flawless smile and perfectly tanned skin.

“Great. How are you, Tanya?” Her brain worked furiously to understand the series of events. Tanya was here. At Serenity. Which she guessed made sense as Tanya worked in massage therapy and—lucky her—she’d apparently stumbled into the very spa Tanya worked for. What a fantastic coincidence!

“Busy day,” Tanya said, pulling up the chair next to Samantha. “Our new memberships are keeping me on my toes. Lots of intakes to navigate. What about you?”

“Oh, I’m having quite a day, too. Maybe a little less navigating on my end, though. I could probably use some,” Sam said quite honestly, because running into the perfect-looking girl Libby left her for was her nightmare scenario. Happy Monday to her. She owed the powers-that-be a gift basket.

Mallory seemed to pick up on something and looked between them before an element of understanding crossed her features. She made brief eye contact with Sam and offered a confident smile. That helped, because though she felt the need to hyperventilate and run from the room, Mallory had her. And when Mallory was in control, all was well with the world.

“Shall we get started?” Mallory asked.

And they were off.

Mallory ran through a series of print, Internet, and TV options including Brooklyn’s commercial spot concept. Samantha listened, admiring Mallory’s charisma, her polish, as she delivered the very detailed pitch. There was a reason she landed them account after account. When she finished, Eleanor raised a sculpted eyebrow.

“I like it. I think we might want to incorporate a few more of the Serenity principles, however. There are ten, you know. Each one very important to Serenity and what we stand for on the planet.”

“I didn’t. I’d love a list,” Mallory answered.

“I’ll make sure our receptionist gets those for you.”

“Excellent. I’ll now pass the proverbial baton to Samantha, who will go over some of the financials we should agree upon before we sign.”

Samantha sat up a little straighter in her chair.

Oh, that was her.

Right.

She opened her leather-bound folder and pulled out the first budget. The one that afforded them the funds they needed to do a bang-up job, with a touch of wiggle room for error. No way Serenity would agree to hand over the amount of cash she was about to ask them for. They’d shown themselves to be rather protective of their funds in prior meetings, but this big number would be a jumping-off point for negotiations. She had a second and third budget prepared, in which they’d cut Savvy’s fee beyond what she felt was fair and gone with a smaller budget for the TV spot.

After handing a copy to everyone, Samantha began to explain the need for each line item and the cost associated with it. She was already picking up hints of disdain from Eleanor: a well-placed sigh, rubbing the back of her neck, and let’s not forget the appearance of a crease between her eyes that, earlier, Samantha wouldn’t have guessed possible before it appeared. Did serene people crease?

When she finished, Eleanor didn’t hesitate. “I’m not sure this is a figure we can commit to at this point. It may be a tad ambitious. What else can you do?”

Sam paused. Totally predictable. “I understand. Let’s look at some other options.” Tanya was staring at her with a mixture of regret and sympathy. Oh dear Lord. She didn’t need this woman to feel sorry for her. She was fine, damn it.
Fine.

“Wait,” Tanya said. “Eleanor, Samantha knows what she’s doing. And I, for one, trust Savvy’s expertise. I think ambitious might be the way to go.”

“You do?” For whatever reason, Eleanor looked conflicted, as if Tanya’s opinion carried weight. And hey, maybe it did. Samantha didn’t really have an organizational chart for attractive blondes at a spa.

“I do,” Tanya said. “I say we give Savvy everything they need to take this place to the next level.”

Eleanor seemed to mull this over. “I suppose I made you guest services director for a reason.” She turned to Mallory. “Let’s put it in writing.”

Well, that was a fast turnaround. Was this actually happening? They were going to pay Savvy their full rate because Tanya felt bad about stealing Sam’s girlfriend? Somehow the victory felt less than sweet.

Mallory produced the necessary paperwork. “Just need a few more minutes of your time and we can begin strategically placing Serenity on the lips of every woman in New York City.”

“That’s what I’m banking on,” Eleanor said smoothly. Ah, the robot-like calm had returned.

Tanya stood. “Eleanor, while you and Mallory sort out the details, how about I take Samantha on a tour? Show her around?”

Sam balked. Alone time with Tanya was so not necessary. “Oh. No. I’m sure you have things to do. You just said it was a busy day.”

“I think it’s important for our advertising agency to know what we’re all about,” Tanya said, blinking back at her with a quiet intensity. She wasn’t getting out of this.

“Perfect,” she squeaked. Mallory stared at her helplessly. It would be bad form to refuse.

They started in the secondary waiting area. Excuse her, secondary waiting
station
. Soft music flowed and the aroma of oranges hung in the air. Again there were pitchers of fruit water available in the corner.

“This is where our journeywomen begin their experience,” Tanya said, walking into the room.

“Oh, you call them journeywomen?”

“We do. How about a glass of lemon water?”

“Nah. I’m good,” Sam said, feigning intense interest in the room and its décor. Spending time with Tanya wasn’t wildly uncomfortable at all. Nope. She squinted. Was that Gwyneth Paltrow on the wall?

“Have you recognized water as a necessary part of your existence, Sam?”

Okay, how does one answer that, exactly?
“Well, I need it to live. So I’m going to go with yes.” How had she not realized Tanya was a bit of a fruit loop when she’d spent time with her previously? Apparently, context was everything.

Tanya poured her a glass of water anyway and extended it to her. “It’s more than that. Water is fundamentally transforming. It cleanses and purifies from the inside out. It can heal and nourish. I have a feeling you need more of it in your life.”

“More water?” Sam took the glass she’d already declined. “Who knew?”

“It’s true. Once you embrace water, you’ll harness your glow. That’s what’s missing, Sam. Your glow.”

“Missing?” Tanya thought she was missing something? Well, join the club.

Tanya sighed and met her eyes. “I feel horrible about how things went down with Libby. Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that we’re meant to be together, in life and celestially, but I feel badly that your feelings might have been bulldozed in the process. I want to find a way to make it right.”

“I’m fine, Tanya. I’m glad you guys are happy.” Not exactly the truth, but there was no way she was letting Tanya know how devastating the whole scenario was for her. How she still felt it on a daily basis: the rejection, the humiliation, the sinking feeling that she’d be alone forever.

Tanya placed a surprised hand on her heart. “Really? I’m so glad to hear that. Libby will be, too. You know, I’ve always thought you were this awesome girl who could really pop given the right assistance.”

Sam stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“I can help you.” Tanya beamed. “Pop.” The accompanying hand gesture caused Sam to jump. “You know what? I’m going to set you up with Serenity’s all-encompassing Journeywoman Membership—on the house, of course. And before you know it, you’ll have to beat ’em off with a stick.” Just then, yet another tall blond person entered the room. Tanya turned. “Naomi, don’t you think Samantha could be a knockout? We just need to find her glow.”

“And pop,” Sam supplied quietly.

Naomi-of-the-Glamazons strode toward her with the wide stride of an Olympic gymnast and looked down at Samantha as if she were an insect under examination. “Definitely.” She placed a hand on Samantha’s cheek. “I see such potential in you. Have you found your way to water?”

Sam held up her glass weakly and gestured with it toward Tanya. “We’re working on the water thing.”

“What about a series of facials?” Tanya asked Naomi.

“Would definitely tighten up those pores.”

Oh, snap. They did not. Samantha placed a hand over her face. “Thanks. But I think I’ll be fine.”

Naomi nodded at Tanya as if Sam hadn’t spoken. She was here, wasn’t she, in the actual room? She glanced around to be sure. “And maybe a spray tan,” Naomi added. “You’re exceptionally pale. We offer twice-a-month spray tans with all of our journeywomen memberships.”

“Which she now has. She’s a journeywoman. A full one,” Tanya said with reverence and a triumphant smile.

“I feel we also may need to work on integration,” Naomi said.

Sam looked from Naomi to Tanya. “What does that mean?”

“It’s the search for self.” Well, at least they were speaking to her again. “The relationship between mind, body, spirit, and environment. You seem to need it, and we can help with that.” Naomi pulled a multitude of brochures from her burgundy coat pocket and handed them to Samantha.

Suddenly feeling like a glowless klutz with Grand Canyon pores, Samantha decided it was time to get the hell out of there. She handed the water back to Tanya, forcing a smile, because her mother brought her up right. “I appreciate it. I do. The advice. The uh…transformative water
et al.
But I’m not feeling very well, so maybe we could postpone the rest of the tour?”

Tanya’s eyes widened. “Of course. And I’ll set that membership up for you right away. You’ll be on your journey in no time.”

“I’d better pack. Thanks. It was nice meeting you,” Sam told Naomi as she headed blindly for the door. She’d walked into Serenity with a shred of self-worth and walked out feeling wildly inadequate yet again, as if all the progress she’d made over the last three weeks had been wiped clean.

Hunter loved her guitar. She just never quite came up with enough time to play it. But when she did, it was an easy and welcome place to get lost after a long day at work. As far as guitar playing went, she had potential; at least that’s what her instructor once told her at the lessons her mom agreed to pay for when she was a kid. But as with a lot of things, she’d lost focus when puberty hit and pretty girls demanded to be stared at, attended to. That was also around the time when she’d gotten a lot of attention for her keen compositional eye in art class. As a result, the guitar fell by the wayside.

She lamented that now, but had done her best to self-teach along the way.

Alone in her room, she strummed away at her own adaptation of “Blackbird,” loving the melody and adding her own classical guitar flavor to the chorus. It filled her up, playing music, though she’d never been a performer or played in a band. She played for herself, and that was enough. She lost herself in the outro and closed her eyes as the last note lingered.

“That was beautiful,” Sam said from the doorway.

Hunter looked up abruptly and smiled, shaking her head, her face now heated. “I had no idea you were home. God. Now who’s the embarrassed one?”

“Maybe it’s our thing, showing up unexpectedly.” Sam, still dressed from her meeting with Serenity, leaned her head against the doorjamb. “And don’t be embarrassed, please. I’ve never heard you play before. I knew you could, but I’d yet to experience it in person until now. I wonder how we’ve missed that step after knowing each other for—what? Almost ten years?”

“It’s not something I show to people. Ever. It’s just a hobby for me around the house. Helps me unwind, drift away from the daily grind.”

Samantha nodded thoughtfully. “I love that song you just played. ‘Blackbird.’ The lyrics have always haunted me. I don’t know what Paul McCartney was trying to say with them, but to me that song has always been about being on the outside looking in, and the painful distance that comes with it.” The way Samantha said the words struck something in the center of Hunter’s chest, and she didn’t like it.

“You’ve felt that way before?”

Sam smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. “I’m sure we all have at one point or another, but yeah. I have. In high school, I was salutatorian, and though I had a few friends, I was never a part of the In Crowd. Never invited to the cool parties, you know? I secretly wanted to be. I’d fantasize about it all the time.”

While the memory sounded like a horrible one, Hunter couldn’t help but feel something else was going on. Samantha was missing her normal upbeat, fun energy. “Did something happen today? Mal said the Serenity meeting went great.”

Sam straightened. “Not my favorite day, no. But we sealed the deal on the account, and that’s something.”

Hunter breezed past the work talk, because in the scheme of life, it didn’t matter. “Tell me what happened. You seem off-center.”

“You know what? Let’s skip it. I’m in need of unattractive, comfortable clothes and some self-pity.” She pushed off the doorjamb and headed to the living room, but Hunter wasn’t done. She set her guitar down and followed right behind Samantha.

“If I were Brooklyn you’d tell me.”

Samantha grabbed some eggs and bacon from the fridge and tossed them onto the island. “Nope. And you’re just as much my friend as Brooklyn is.”

“But you confide in her.”

Sam blew out a breath. “Yeah, I do. But she’s not around so much these days, so…”