Next Stop: Love (8 page)

“I think I’m going to head home now,” I announced, rising slowly from my seat. “Are you two coming?”

But they shook their heads. “No way,” Aileen said. “This is the party of the year, and I don’t want to miss it. Take a taxi home, though, okay?” She gave me a good-bye hug.

I nodded and left the festivities.

A HARMLESS RUN

Luca was away from the office for a few days after the party; of course, as his executive assistant, I’d known in advance he was going to be out. He was at a conference with the other fourth-floor managers, so we secretaries had nothing to do except apologize to their callers and schedule meetings for after their return—leaving us plenty of time to chat about the party and make fun of the people who’d had a few too many. Mary was remarkably quiet, content to simply ignore me rather than bombard me with snide comments, which was perfectly fine by me.

On the third day, Lisa picked me up from work so that we could go shopping together; just as we were driving home and I was thinking what a relaxing day it had been, my mother called.

“And now this?” I groaned, rejecting the call.

“What’s up?” Lisa asked, her eyes on the road.

“My mom! After three weeks she’s finally noticed that her daughter has disappeared,” I sneered as I put my phone away.

“Answer it! The sooner you talk to her, the sooner you have it over with.”

I gave her an admonishing look. “You just want to listen in,” I said in an accusatory tone.

She only nodded, grinning, and when my phone vibrated again, I reluctantly took the call. “Hello?” I asked, although I knew perfectly well who was calling.

The line was silent for a moment, as though she was surprised that I’d even picked up the phone, but then she started barking at me. “How dare you run out on me like this? Do you know I had to lie to our neighbors to explain your sudden disappearance?”

“But lying is your specialty,” I replied, unmoved. Once upon a time, I would have shrunk in terror from her loud voice and stern tone, but those days were over. I wasn’t afraid of her anymore—which seemed strange somehow, so different from when I was a kid. Children see their parents as the highest authority figures, and I had done everything I could to avoid incurring her wrath. Now, I could finally see that she was just a person, too, and not nearly as terrifying as I’d thought.

My mother gasped in outrage, but then launched into her usual tirade. “What did I do to deserve such a thankless child? I get you an education and a secure job, and you just up and move to Berlin with no warning! What’s gotten into you?”

I knew she’d find out sooner or later. “We both know that you only did those things for yourself. I never wanted to study law, and you know it. And in case you’re interested, I’m working as a secretary at an event company now, and I’m having a fantastic time.”

“Bah! Secretaries! Everybody knows that their only job is to roll around on the desk with the boss. You might as well have become a stripper,” she snapped, but her words flowed off me like water off a stone. I couldn’t have cared less what she had to say. She couldn’t hurt me anymore, and it was driving her crazy.

“What else can I do for you?” I asked. “Otherwise, I’d like to go back to living my own life.”

There was a moment of silence. Then she said, “I want you to come back, Sophia. You are going to see reason and kindly do what I tell you. I will not permit you to dishonor our family and leave me here all alone. You get back here this instant!”

“It was nice talking to you. Bye.” I hung up. “She actually wanted me to come back.” I shook my head, pocketing my cell phone.

“She’s not going to take this lying down,” Lisa remarked as she parked in front of our door.

“Maybe not, but what is she going to do about it? Have me kidnapped and dragged back? She’s furious, but that’ll pass. Eventually she’ll forget that she ever had a daughter,” I predicted as I hopped out. I was glad that conversation had finally happened. Now I could focus on the future.

Luca and the other senior managers were back after three days, and as he walked past the secretaries with his morning greeting, I hurriedly grabbed my notebook and followed him. I would neither think about nor mention his embrace at the company party. Everything was the same as ever. Nothing had happened.

He left the door open so that I could slip in and close it behind me. As always, he started by opening the window. Then he set down a large gym bag and removed his jacket. “How are you? Did you get home all right that night?” he asked as he hung it over the back of his chair and sat down across from me.

I leaned in across the table to pour him some chamomile tea from the thermos I’d brought in half an hour before. “I did, thanks,” I said. “I don’t know what was wrong with me, either. It must have been from all that spinning around. Where did you learn to waltz, anyway?” I asked while sitting down. I’d wanted to ask him that evening, but I’d been a
tiny
bit distracted.

“My mother taught me. She loved it,” he said, and something about his nostalgic smile told me that she was no longer among the living.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” I said timidly. I should have never asked.

“What, that she immigrated to Italy?” He furrowed his brow at me.

Italy? “Oh, so she’s still alive?” I asked, relieved.

“Of course.” He gave me a somewhat bewildered look. “Why do you ask?”

“Sorry,” I said with an apologetic wave of my hand. “It just sounded like she died.” Almost immediately, I started wondering just what the hell we were doing here. I mean, was this conversation really appropriate? I was his assistant, so I knew a few details about his private life, but I didn’t want things to get quite
this
personal.

He, however, did not seem to share that sentiment. “No, she’s not dead,” he said, “but she’s been in a wheelchair for five years. She always loved to dance, and she went dancing quite a lot before her accident. She even took part in competitions regularly, though she never won.” He smiled dreamily, as though recalling an amusing situation. “Then she had the accident, and my father . . . Well, she ended up moving in with her sister in Italy,” he finished hurriedly, as though
he
had suddenly realized that the conversation was getting a little too personal.

“Did you work out before you came to the office?” I asked, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction. “I’ve been looking for a gym to join.” That was true. Lisa, who worked out regularly, had been nagging me for over a week about finally doing something good for my body. Not that I thought I was overweight or anything, but nobody was getting any younger here, and it was important to keep up my fitness and stamina.

He followed my eyes to his gym bag. “I go running every Wednesday and Sunday; I shower when I get to the office on Wednesdays,” he told me. “On Sundays my dog joins me.”

“You have a dog?” I pricked up my ears. “What kind?”

“A sheepdog. Kira,” he said, surprised at my sudden interest. And possibly misinterpreting it, because after a moment of consideration, he suggested, “You can come with us this Sunday. We start at ten o’clock.”

Uh, what? Me, go jogging with him? “Isn’t that sort of . . . inappropriate?”

He rolled his eyes. “Sophia, you’re acting like I’m asking you on a date! We’re talking about running here. You sweat, you pant like crazy, and you get ridiculously sore muscles. Does that sound in any way romantic to you?”

I had to laugh. It occurred to me that, somehow, this guy always knew just what to say to clear up my doubts.

“So can my girl and I count on you?” he asked.

“Your girl?” I echoed in surprise, feeling a slight pang. Had I misunderstood him or something? Surely he didn’t want me to watch him jog around happily with his girlfriend while I, his assistant, traipsed along behind them? Not that it bothered me that he had a girlfriend. It didn’t, right?

“My dog, Kira,” he reminded me with an amused twinkle in his eye. Crap, he’d seen my reaction.

I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to play down the awkward moment. “Sure, why not.”
Why not? Because he’s your boss, goddammit!
I chided myself.
Surely you don’t want to see him in skintight running clothes!
But I wanted to show him—and above all, show myself—that it didn’t bother me to meet up with him. It was a harmless little run, nothing more. And he was right: there wasn’t anything inappropriate about working out together.

“Okay, let’s get down to business,” he said, flipping his laptop open.

Half an hour later, once I’d gone through every appointment and inquiry with him, I said, “I absolutely need Wednesday off next week. My roommate has an important doctor’s appointment, and I have to stay home, because they’re laying new pipes in our building.”

“Next Wednesday?” he echoed.

“I know the shift schedule’s already finished, but it’s a really urgent appointment that she can’t change, and someone has to be home for the pipe maintenance.”

He regarded me appraisingly, massaging his chin with one hand. “What are you offering in exchange?”

I shrugged. “I’ll work an extra shift?”

“Hmm . . . What if, instead of that, you started calling me Luca?” he suggested.

“Two extra shifts,” I countered.

That drew a laugh out of him. “You would actually rather work overtime than call me Luca? That’s pretty hurtful, you know that?” When I only shrugged in reply, he went on, “What about the other department heads? You call them by their first names.”

I had to laugh, because he sounded like an insulted child. Even so, I replied, “But you’re my boss, Mr. Marcs.”

He gazed at me for a long moment, and I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. He was determined to find a way to change my mind, and I was flattered that he was racking his brain so hard. What he said next, however, nipped my growing appreciation in the bud: “Well, Sophia, in that case, I have no choice but to transfer you to another department.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re bluffing.”

“Not at all,” he replied, pulling out a folder full of paperwork. “There are still plenty of managers on the sixth floor who could use a good secretary like you.”

“And what are you going to tell them when they ask why you’re transferring me?” I felt my knees going weak. He
was
just bluffing, wasn’t he? I didn’t want to leave. I’d settled in so nicely, and working for him wasn’t exactly the most horrible fate. To be honest, in fact, he was the nicest, most easygoing person I’d ever worked for—apart from his occasional attempts at flirting, but so far they’d been harmless and didn’t really bother me, anyway. No, I definitely had zero interest in moving to another department.

“I’m a senior manager, in case you’ve forgotten,” he reminded me with a devilish smile. “I don’t have to tell anyone anything. So, how do you want to do this?” He gave me a self-satisfied grin because he knew I would cave in. He was the best boss there by a mile; even the other secretaries envied my position—and not just because Luca was good-looking, as I’d learned over the past few weeks. Mary’s boss, for example, was a mega-bitch if she hadn’t had her morning coffee, and the guy Anne worked for apparently couldn’t stand women. So I was going to accept Luca’s offer, and he knew it.

“Okay, fine, you win . . . Luca,” I said, practically forcing the “Luca” through gritted teeth. It simply went against my nature to use first names with authority figures, especially when they held as much forbidden appeal as this one.

Luca offered to pick me up on Sunday, but I refused, preferring to meet him at the edge of the park. I certainly didn’t want to give him the impression that we could end up friends or something. Besides, I didn’t want him to know where I lived, even if he’d almost certainly seen my address in my employee records at some point. I was having a hard enough time calling him by his first name, and jogging with him was personal enough—I wasn’t about to permit even
more
intimacy.

Although I did think that was a bit of a shame a few seconds later, when I saw his perfect body. He was standing with his back toward me, wearing blue knee-length shorts and a tight T-shirt in the same color. And if I needed any more proof that it was him, there was also a large sheepdog frolicking around him.

As though sensing my presence, Luca turned around and beckoned me over. “Shit,” I murmured to myself when I saw his athletic figure from the front. Those strong arms! Those washboard abs! Those long, muscular legs! How was I supposed to ever stop staring at his body? It wasn’t like he was a gym rat—actually, he had a pretty thin build—but his height and his defined muscles made him a breathtaking sight. What I needed to do was turn around and flee from this demon.