Professional Boundaries (3 page)

In fact, I think we turned out better than alright, especially Amanda. She was the best mom and wife ever. My brother-in-law and dentist, Zane Culver, hit the jackpot. Honestly, he was great too, but no one held a candle to Manda Panda, as I endearingly called her.

As I pulled into the drive of her perfect suburban home, I realized I had several missed calls on my phone. First, it was Boss, then Delfia, then a number I didn’t recognize, but I did recognize the area code as being from Colorado. I could only guess who that was. It didn’t matter; the only person I wanted to talk to shared my DNA. It showed too. As we got older, we’d frequently been asked if we were twins. I wish we were twins, the identical kind, because Amanda was gorgeous inside and out.

I completely turned off my phone and threw it in my satchel. It felt weird because, to me, it was like an extra appendage and I wasn’t used to being off on a weekday, but turning it off was also kind of freeing. Too bad I liked to eat and pay bills and be a responsible adult. Thankfully, I had a good amount in savings. I had never touched the life insurance money I received from my Dad’s passing either. I was saving it for a house one day. Amanda frequently bugged me about buying instead of renting, but to me, buying a house now was saying I was planning on being single forever. Like a schoolgirl, I imagined I would be picking out my first house together with my husband as we talked about what rooms our kids would eventually have. And, honestly, I just didn’t want to live in a big house all by myself; it would only remind me more of how lonely I was sometimes.

I hurriedly walked up to the front porch and retrieved my key. “Manda Panda, are you home?” I yelled out as soon as I opened her door.

“Come on back, Kelli Jelly,” I heard her yell back from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and grinned. Maybe someday we would have to come up with new nicknames. I threw off my heels and walked back to the kitchen to find my sister, Betty Crocker, baking away. It smelled like homemade bread. Perfect, I needed a carb coma.

My floured, apron-clad sister looked over at me from the oven. “Who died now?”

I couldn’t help but cry again. Suddenly, the full weight of my on-the-spot decision really hit me.

“Oh my, did someone really die?” she asked as she came over to wrap her arms around me.

“No, just my career.”

She stepped back and looked at me. “What do you mean, honey? Gary would never fire you.”

“He didn’t,” I responded. I told her the whole ridiculous story. She had never met Ian, but she knew what he had meant to me and how devastated I was when he broke up with me.

“Well, that’s quite the story. Are you sure he knew you worked there?”

“Positive.”

“Hmmm.”

“What does that mean?”

“I just find it interesting, that’s all. Is he married?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You don’t find it weird that your ex-boyfriend just all of sudden shows up after how many years and becomes your boss?”

“You don’t know Ian, this has nothing to do with me. It’s purely business for him. He’s an opportunist.”

“I bet he is,” she responded.

“Seriously, sis, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She shrugged her shoulders and led me to her kitchen table. We both sat down.

“So you’re really going to let this guy take what you’ve worked so hard for?”

I laid my head down on her table and moaned. “What else can I do?  I can’t possibly work for him. I used to make out with him, and I told the guy I loved him and he told me that was a complication and never talked to me again, until today.”

My sister grinned evilly. “Was he a good kisser?”

I slowly lifted my head up. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s all in the kiss, right?” She smiled toothily.

“You have no idea.”

“That good, huh?”

“Best ever. You see why I can’t work for him?”

“Are you kidding me? Show this guy who’s boss and what he missed out on all these years.”

I tapped my fingers on her perfectly cleaned table. “I don’t know, sis.”

She stood up, looked at my pathetic figure, and took off her apron. “I say we go shopping and get our nails done while you’re contemplating.”

I wiped the tears out of my eyes. “You really are the best.”

She winked. “Tell me something I don’t know, Kelli Jelly.”

Chapter 3

I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but a day of shopping and pampering with my sister was medicinal, to say the least. She really was the best. Not only was she my sister, she was my best friend. All day she kept encouraging me to go and get my job back, but I still wasn’t sure. Even though in my head I had completely gotten over Ian, there seemed to be some murky water under that bridge in my heart. To this very day, he was the only man I had ever loved. I’d tried to be in love again on several other occasions, and I’d even had men tell me they loved me, but I just hadn’t met anyone who made me feel like Ian had.

I’d thought, on occasion, that maybe I was defective and that I could only fall in love with men that would never love me back. Or maybe I had trust issues because my mother abandoned us and the first person I expressed my love to also abandoned me, but Amanda said I was just making something out of nothing. “Look at your life—you’re the most trusting and open person I know. You just haven’t met the right guy yet,” she said.

Easy for her to say; she met Zane when she was eighteen and was married at twenty-one. I wouldn’t say I was jealous of her; it was more like holy envy. Is there such a thing? I don’t know, but what I did know was that I wished on many occasions I was married and had children. I would have traded in deal making and conference calls for PTA meetings, soccer games and diapers in a second. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job, or at least I used to love it. I kept forgetting I didn’t have one anymore.

I just wanted more. No, that wasn’t it. I think I just wanted more personal fulfillment. Belly dancing could only give me so much, no matter how good my butt looked.

By the time I arrived back at my apartment, the sun was just beginning to set. I unloaded my haul for the day. I looked over the plethora of bags and thought maybe I shouldn’t have shopped like I was still gainfully employed. Oh well, you only live once, right? Besides, it was for medicinal purposes, and I if had to look for a new job, I needed to look my best. Or if I didn’t find a new job soon, I needed to look good lying out by the pool; my new swimsuit would do the job nicely. Maybe I would have to eat ramen for the next week or two, so what?

With my heavy load I was thankful, once again, to live on the bottom floor, but like my sister reminded me again today, it would be more convenient to have a garage to pull into. I told her I would think about house shopping … maybe. I looked longingly at the pool again.
Soon
, I thought. It was then I noticed a man in a suit sitting on one of the poolside chairs. My first thought was,
Wow, someone who wants the pool to open more than me
, but that was before I got closer and noticed who it was. Then I thought, well … some words I shouldn’t say out loud. My next thought was,
You’ve got to be kidding me
!

As soon as he noticed me, he rose and walked my way. I just kept walking toward my apartment, ignoring him and hoping he would accidentally fall in the pool, or better yet, go back to Colorado or wherever he came from. I just assumed Colorado, because that’s where he had grown up and that’s what his license plate said, but who knew. I for one didn’t care, just as long as it wasn’t here.

“Kelli!” he called out after me.

I didn’t respond. I just kept walking to my door. I really didn’t have anything to say to him. I made it to my door and dropped my bags to retrieve my key and punch in my security code. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take a hint and he met me at my door.

I looked over to him. “I feel like I keep saying this to you today. What are you doing here? Better yet, how do you even know I live here?”

He ran his fingers through his hair.

Lucky fingers,
I thought dumbly.

“Well, maybe if you answered your phone, I wouldn’t have had to track you down.”

“I still want to know how you know where I live,” I fired back.

“I have access to all the employee files.”

I glared at him. “Well, I’m not an employee anymore.”

He sighed heavily. “Come on, Kelli, can you give me a break here. It’s been a long day.”

I smirked. “And I should care, why?”

I could tell he was ready to lash back, but he stopped himself and took a breath and thought before he spoke. “Kelli, I’d like to talk to you about rescinding your resignation.”

He sounded sincere.

“Fine, you have two minutes. Go.”

I think his lip twitched like he was going to smile. “Can’t I come in?”

I shook my head. “I don’t let strangers, especially of the male variety, into my apartment.”

He crossed his arms and narrowed his gorgeous brown eyes at me. “Kelli, you know me.”

“Isn’t funny how sometimes the people we think we know the best are the ones we really don’t know at all,” I said with glee.

He stood there and stared at me for a moment. I didn’t budge. I was serious about not letting him into my apartment, and I was serious about not knowing him. After he broke up with me that was one of the hardest parts for me to reconcile. I thought I knew him so well, but in reality I didn’t know him at all, because my version of Ian may have freaked out a little bit about the whole love thing, but he never would have treated me so harshly.

He bravely stepped toward me and softened his tone. “I have a feeling I’m going to need more than two minutes to convince you. Can I take you to dinner?”

I stared into his deep brown eyes. I noticed he had some subtle lines around them now, and I even noticed a gray hair or two in that dark hair of his. So much had changed in thirteen years. Thirteen years ago I wouldn’t have even given his invitation a second thought, but now I needed a third and even a fourth thought.

While I was mulling over his invitation, he smiled at me. “Will this impose on your belly dancing class?”

I half smiled and shook my head no. I was still so embarrassed about the butt incident this morning.
What do I have to lose?
I thought. “Fine, wait here.”

He visibly relaxed.

I opened my door and hauled all my bags in. I found my lazy tabby cat, Charlie, lying on the top of my couch just waiting to be adored. I stroked his head several times until he purred. He was such a diva. Then I freshened up a bit. I smiled to myself to think of him standing out in the cold. Maybe that was rude, but the guy did break my heart once upon a time and he stole my job. And if memory served me correctly, he enjoyed cooler temps. After I took my own sweet time, I walked back out to meet him.

He was walking around the pool area looking around. When he saw me, he walked back my way. “Great, you’re ready.”

We proceeded to the parking lot, and he tried to make small talk. “This is a nice complex, do you like living here?”

I shook my head yes. “Yes. For apartments they’re great; a little pricey, but worth it.”

“Hmm …” he said. “Should I drive?” he asked as soon as we made it to the parking lot.

“I was just planning on following you in my car.”

He raised his eyebrow at me. “You won’t ride with me either?”

“You know what they say, stranger danger,” I said without apology.

He tried to compose himself before he spoke. “I forgot how willful you were.”

I smiled in mock delight. “So, where are we going?”

“Why don’t I follow you, so you don’t think I’m luring you anywhere?”

I smiled toothily. “Perfect.”

He just stared at me and shook his head. I let him get in a few more looks before I walked away, smiling to myself for throwing him off his game. I honestly wasn’t worried about Ian taking advantage of me. Heck, I had to practically throw myself at the guy when we first started dating. Our spark was undeniable, but boy did he try and fight it. Looking back, I suppose he was right to; I was awfully young at the time, but the heart wants what it wants, and boy did my heart want him.

He followed me to my favorite restaurant, Alicia’s. I personally knew the owners, Alicia and her husband, Jose. They were my first account as a junior account manager at Chandler Media. That was seven years ago. They still used the logo and ad designs I created for them. The design had an old world feel—we used an old world map of Mexico as the back drop. I’d since offered to touch it up or create a new one for them, but they’d become very attached to it.

Ian had no trouble keeping up with me. I kept wondering what he was thinking about as he followed me. I was surprised he was going to all the trouble; I thought he would’ve been happy to see me go. Funnily enough, my sister thought otherwise. She’d predicted he would ask me to come back. She believed he had ulterior motives for coming to Chandler Media, but I’d told her she was crazy. “Crazy like a fox,” she responded.

Alicia’s parking lot was almost full; that was a good sight for me. They deserved the continued success. I had never met harder working or kinder people, and their food was to die for, especially their smothered burritos. My mouth was watering just thinking about it.

Ian found a space next to my car and parked, and then we met each other on the sidewalk. He looked up at the place. I forgot, this probably wasn’t his style; he was more of the quiet café type, or at least he used to be. Oh well, if he wanted to talk to me, he was going to have to do it on my turf.

“I hope you like Mexican.” I knew he did, but I was treating him as if I didn’t know him it all. I could tell it bothered him, but I wasn’t sure why.

He looked at me oddly. “Of course,” he replied.

So I led the way to the entrance. There was a bit of awkwardness when we got to the door; we both reached for the door at the same time and our hands touched. Naturally, I backed off and let him open it. I had no problem with men opening my door, and normally I just assumed they would, but I was making no assumptions with Ian, now or ever.