Seduce Me (8 page)

A few minutes was all it took to get him hooked. The opening scene was more ominous and gripping than anything he’d seen in ages. The only thing missing was popcorn, and wait, he had some microwave bags in the kitchen.

It took him twenty minutes to find a place he was willing to pause, and as he pressed the magical popcorn button on his built-in microwave, he thanked whoever had invented the DVR.

Then he thought about Natalie again. About how he’d gotten off to the memory of her doing that crazy little dance for him. And how he’d felt when her legs had wrapped around his waist.

The microwave beeped, and he didn’t bother with a bowl, but he did grab a beer. It would have been fun to watch the movie with her. He considered calling her, but that wouldn’t be smart. Not in the long run. She was actively looking for a husband, and he didn’t want to mess with that.

He’d been an experiment and now she was back in her own orbit. The end. Pity, though, because he’d enjoyed her company. He didn’t have many people in his life he could say that about. Not anymore.

On the other hand, Natalie was a grown-up and she could make her own decisions. He might call her, although not this minute. Maybe after the movie. He wouldn’t mind watching it a second time with her.

The popcorn was good, but it wouldn’t hold him. Max left the movie on pause so he could order takeout curry from Spice Thai on Astor. Just as he picked up his phone, it rang. It was his cousin Paula. He’d left her a message on Saturday about the mix-up with the cards.

“I’m so sorry,” she said after they’d exchanged hellos.

“It’s okay. It turned out fine.”

“This shouldn’t have happened,” Paula said. “The woman who runs the printing company has already made new cards—with the correct pictures this time—but listen, how would you feel about me preemptively setting you up with someone? I really think you’ll like her, and vice versa. She’s not in the market for a relationship, she’s hot and she’s smart. She looks a little like Rihanna. You know, the singer?”

“Yeah, I know the singer. You’re not messing with me, are you?”

“Nope. Her name is Gabbie and she’s joining the Trading Card group because she wants someone who won’t turn out to be a whack job. So if you do this thing, you’d better be on your best behavior.”

“I’m always on my best behavior,” he said.

Paula’s laughter was kind of insulting, but he let it pass. Because this was the real beginning of the buffet he’d been promised. Rihanna was smokin’ hot, and Paula wasn’t the type to exaggerate.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll give her your cell number. She’s set Tuesday night aside, so you’ll just have time to make a reservation. Someplace good.”

“You want to come over and pick out my clothes, too?”

“Ha-ha. Just remember, this one’s going to be the last one until the next meeting, which isn’t for almost a month.”

He smiled at her concern and wondered if she’d mentioned the trading-card business to Mike, or her folks, because yeah, this was the kind of thing that could end up in his aunt Ellen’s Christmas newsletter if they weren’t careful. “I’ll buy you lunch next week. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re right. Call me.”

He hung up, figured he’d get moving and go to Spice. Despite the lack of structure in his life, things were going pretty damn well. He’d just received an invitation to a cocktail party at one of the top twenty law firms in the country. Which was a very big deal. Then there’d been the date with Natalie, and that had turned out to be great. Now this.

He hoped Gabbie turned out to be as advertised, because it might have been an error, but Natalie had set the bar pretty high. At least he knew that his next date wouldn’t want anything he couldn’t provide.

8

M
ONDAYS
AT
O
MNIBUS
Film Archives were always busy, but with two back-to-back tours and an afternoon screening of Buñuel’s
L’Age d’Or
for a class of film students, Natalie would be lucky if she got any kind of a break at all.

She’d had to fight the urge to daydream about Friday night, but both her coworker Veda, and her boss, Rick, had given her funny looks, so she knew she wasn’t exactly winning the battle. Of course she wouldn’t even give them a hint as to her thoughts. Everyone who was on staff, all dozen of them, knew that she’d been with Oliver for three years, and Natalie hadn’t told anyone they’d split up.

It was a friendly group, constantly busy because they could have used at least a dozen more full-timers, with a budget that barely paid the ones they had. So they hired interns and part-timers, almost exclusively students from colleges and universities around the city.

Their days were packed and they traded workdays and hours, especially evenings and weekends when they held screenings, fund-raisers and classes. When the staff socialized, they tended to talk shop. There wasn’t much gossip at Omnibus. This morning’s tour was part of a program offered by the American Association of Retired Persons. There were also a few other people taking part, including Elizabeth Carter, a PhD student who researched there often. Elizabeth loved the tour, but mostly she liked to play Stump the Librarian when Natalie was leading the group, which was fine because Natalie enjoyed the game, as well.

They were standing outside the basement lab at the moment, crowded around the large window to watch the work going on inside. Once all eleven people on the tour were as well situated as possible, Natalie began her spiel. “Sadly, movies aren’t made to last. Almost all old films were made of perishable plastic, which decays within years if not properly stored. Only twenty percent of U.S. feature films from the 1910s and 1920s survive in their complete form. We make sure that movies will be here to be studied and enjoyed for years to come.”

As always, she met the gazes of as many people as she comfortably could to keep the conversation engaging even through the technical parts. But a motion from down the hallway caught her attention. At first she thought she saw Max, but that wasn’t possible. A second look proved her wrong.

Whatever she’d been saying was lost as she watched him approach. He wore jeans, a dark blue polo shirt and a smile. She wondered if she’d forgotten something at his loft.

By the time he reached the group, everyone was staring at him. His smile dimmed and his step faltered. “I was told I could join the tour even though I’m late. Is that okay?”

Now all eyes were on Natalie. She opened her mouth and then stood there mutely as she tried to get a grip. Finally, she nodded. It took several more seconds for her to say, “If you’d like to, that’s fine. We were just talking about film preservation.”

“Great,” he said. “Thanks. Sorry for the interruption.”

Natalie tried to force herself to focus on the task at hand and scrambled to reconnect with her core eleven. “Saving films is expensive. In, uh, 2011, no 2010, it cost almost twenty thousand dollars to remaster a seven-reel black-and-white silent feature. That’s not counting any special restoration work. Creating a digital video for public viewing adds another three grand to the total. Preserving a movie with sound can cost—uh...”

She knew this. She’d given the same talk at least a hundred times in the two and a half years she’d worked there.

“From fifty to one hundred thousand dollars,” Elizabeth said, making her way toward Natalie. When she got close, she whispered, “If you need to speak to your friend, I can take over.”

“Oh, no. He’s just... I don’t... I should...”

“Go. I promise I won’t screw up, and this’ll look good on my résumé.” Elizabeth turned her attention to the group. “Do you mind if I fill in for a bit? I’m doing my PhD on film preservation, and though I’ll never be as accomplished as Natalie, I promise not to make things up.”

The tour group responded with gentle laughter and seemingly approved, so Natalie nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be back soon.” Then she turned to Max. He looked as if he was about to bolt. She gestured for him to join her, and they didn’t speak until they arrived at the elevator that led to the lobby and her office. When the doors closed and the old Otis began its journey up, he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry I interrupted.”

“It’s okay. Really. Elizabeth is very capable of leading the tour. She’ll probably end up working here.”

Upon exiting the elevator, they were greeted by old movie posters that dotted the brick walls of the lobby. The building’s high ceilings carried the sound of their footsteps as they walked down the long hallway to her office.

“I won’t keep you,” he said as he looked around her office and then at her. “I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea to walk in without calling first. I was just down the street—”

“It’s fine,” she said and took a seat in one of the guest chairs while he sat in the other. “Honestly. I don’t mind at all. But I am curious as to why you’re here.”

“I saw
M
last night. The Fritz Lang movie.”

“Really?”

“You’d mentioned it, and there it was on TV. It was great. Really great, and creepy as hell. I liked that it was in black and white. The shadows. Man. I wanted to talk to you about it. Maybe over dinner tonight?”

Natalie’s heart had been racing since she’d caught sight of Max, but now it was trying to pound out of her chest. He wanted to take her to dinner. She hadn’t dared dream of such a thing.

“I know I’m breaking the rules,” he said, studying her closely.

“Rules?”

“Yeah, the one-night thing?”

“Oh, right.” She shrugged and gave him a shaky smile. “It’s okay.”

“Good.” He exhaled. “Because I looked up some stuff about Lang on Wikipedia, and that got me interested in seeing more films like that, and since you’re an expert, I thought we could talk about it over some food.”

“Huh. That’s great. It’s always a thrill when someone gets turned on like that. To old movies, I mean. It’s such a rich field of study. You mentioned dinner?” She doubted she’d ever been this awkward before. “What time?”

“Six?”

“It’s going to have to be closer to seven—” The buzzer on her desk sounded like a foghorn in the small room. Had it always been that loud? “Excuse me.”

She picked up the phone. It was Rick. “Why is there a student taking our group on a tour?”

“It’s only for few minutes, and she knows the spiel by heart.” Natalie turned toward the wall, but in the mirror above her chair, she could see Max stand. Behind him was her mint-condition framed print of Betty Grable as a pinup girl. The sight made her blush. “I had an unexpected visitor.”

“Okay,” Rick said. “Just wondering.”

“I’m wrapping things up right now.”

Rick gave his standard goodbye grunt.

Max was already at her door. “I’m off. I’ll text you later, okay? We’ll work out the details.”

“Please don’t be concerned. My boss was just checking. He’s a great guy, and he doesn’t care so much as worry that everyone’s okay.”

“Good,” Max said. “Tell him I won’t make the same mistake again. Next time, I’ll call first and join a tour for real.”

Next time? She tried to keep her cool and succeeded for the most part, although her grin might have given too much away. “I’ll walk you out.”

“That’s okay. I promise to go directly to the lobby.”

“I have to walk there anyway.”

His chin dropped to his chest. “Good thing I’m a savvy New York attorney or I’d be embarrassed about this.”

She laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, all you’re doing is evening the score.”

He bumped her shoulder, a now-familiar gesture that filled her tummy with butterflies as they walked. “You know what? It does. Thanks.”

At the elevator, he didn’t linger, and she didn’t have to wait, so the goodbye was short. At least the ride back down was private and slow, so she could freak out without being seen.

A second date! Who would have imagined? She’d been so certain he wouldn’t want to see her again, and here he’d walked to her office and sought her out in person. And that was after watching a film she’d recommended. She settled for a squeak instead of shouting as the elevator bumped to a halt. Then she stepped back into tour guide mode. It worked...until she got within two feet of the tour group and remembered the polka-dot panties. Tonight she would take no chances. After work she’d go to a real lingerie store and make sure she not only matched, but looked as fabulous as she could. She knew just the place.

* * *

W
HEN
M
AX
ARRIVED
home, he figured he should probably pick up his dry cleaning from the place around the corner. Lord knew it had been awhile since he’d dropped it off. After Max paid his bill, the owner of the cleaners, Mr. Nadeau, warned him that if he used their business as a storage closet again, Max would be banned for life. It was the third or fourth time he’d received the warning, and he hadn’t meant to leave his suits and shirts for so long, but his life had gotten so out of control that even something as vital as laundry got skipped in favor of sleep.

Hopefully, this next step in his career would afford him more access to interns. It was an evil system, using those college kids for every kind of grunt work. Back when he was the one sent out to pay parking tickets, stand in line for theater tickets, pick up everything from flowers to jewelry to new curtains, he’d sworn he’d never support that kind of slave labor. The last three years had made him rethink his stance on the practice.

His hypocrisy rankled for a minute before disappearing at the sight of a beautiful woman walking toward him on the busy street. She was exactly his type. Tall and willowy, but not skeletal, her confidence shining as brightly as her hair.

As they passed each other, she gave him a nod of approval, and he returned her acknowledgment with a wolfish smile. A variation on the secret handshake that was just another part of his charmed life. On any other day, he would have turned around and asked her out for coffee, but he didn’t want to be late meeting Natalie.

He’d gone through a phase of feeling guilty about his luck. He’d been born to a middle-class family, inherited his good looks and a relatively high IQ. But it hadn’t made sense to feel rotten about it. He could only be responsible for what he did with his good fortune, not for having it in the first place.

At the corner of Delancey and Bowery, he pulled out his cell phone and called Natalie. He still didn’t understand why he’d made such a mess of things earlier. Why he’d thought it would be okay to barge into her work like that. Maybe because the building was open to the public? Or maybe it was his nerves. He had that cocktail party to go to at nine, and he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave his firm. He honestly didn’t think it was complacency on his part. It was a simple matter of needing more time to figure out what was best for his career.

For now, though, all he really cared about was that Natalie had agreed to have dinner with him. They would eat and get involved in what he hoped would be a fascinating discussion. In fact, he was counting on it. That way, he would not only forget about the cocktail party, but seeing Natalie again, without tonight being a date, per se, could be the beginning of a friendship.

“Hello?” she said, before the third ring. It was noisy on her end as well as his own, the sound of the city an unmistakable soundtrack.

“Hey,” he said. “How about trying again at Lviv? I feel like I missed out on something interesting when we bolted.”

She didn’t answer straightaway. When she did, she sounded hesitant. “Sure. That’d be fine. You do realize the family will probably be annoying.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t. But if you’d prefer to go elsewhere, that’s okay. I should warn you that I have to be somewhere at nine, so if we could stick to the Lower East Side or midtown, that would be good.”

Again, there was a sizable chunk of ambient noise before she spoke. “No, Lviv is fine,” she said finally. “In fact, I’ll call ahead. Let them know we’ll be there at seven, but we need to be out of there by what, eight-thirty?”

“Yeah, around there. You sure it’s okay with you? Seriously, I don’t mind a change of venue.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure you get to try some of the more interesting dishes.”

“That sounds perfect,” he said, but had to practically scream at this point because of a siren. “I’ll see you at seven?”

“Yes,” she shouted back. “Bye.”

That accomplished, he was free to think about the cocktail party after. It was the first of four he’d been invited to, all held by partners in rival law firms. Tonight, he’d be meeting with Beckingham & Quail, who’d won more tort cases than Latham, Kirkland and Jones. The gathering was ostensibly for the firm’s fifteenth anniversary, but Max had been assured that he was going to be the main attraction.

His recruiter, Stella, had given him a rundown on what would go down at Parlor, a private club, and who the main players were. He was as prepared as he could be, given the stakes, but he didn’t want to overthink the situation.

That was why seeing Natalie beforehand was such a great idea. She’d ground him. Make sure his head was on straight before he was seduced by promises that may or may not come true.

* * *

T
HERE
WASN
’
T
A
candle on the table this time. Natalie had called ahead and explained to her aunt Hanna that tonight would be a brief dinner with a friend. Nothing more.

She’d thought about changing out of her new underwear after she and Max had talked. But the truth was, there was no one else to wear it for anyway, Thinking about how much money she’d spent on the stupid lingerie, she sighed, and kept watching for Max. He’d be walking through the door any minute, and she had to quit obsessing over the fact that she’d been so wrong about things.