Sticks and Stones (18 page)

            Emily
crossed her arms over her chest. “Those women know what they’re getting into
when they sleep with him,” Emily snipped.

            “Yeah,
I suppose we do,” Grace replied sadly, turning to leave.

*          *          *

            Ratman
stood in the shadows and watched the flames from the candles dance slowly as
Janice recited the love spell. Very soon Janice’s dreams would be fulfilled,
then later his dreams would be too.

*          *          *

            Since
they met, Rick woke thinking of her and fell asleep the same way. He rubbed the
back of his neck and paced in front of the floor to ceiling window. Fuck! It’d
been two days since they last talked. Did she think of him at all?

            Absently,
he picked up a shot glass from the kitchen nook and slammed it down. Fuck the
glass! Instead, he unscrewed the cap from the Jameson bottle and took a healthy
swing.

*          *          *

            Grace
looked at the wadded up sheets of paper that littered the floor in her office
and sighed. She couldn’t concentrate and had a bad habit of looking at the
phone perched on the table next to her.

            Lifting
her chin, she began to sketch out a floor plan for the parlor, again. She’d
nail it this time! She dug through the clear box of colored pencils and began
sketching.

            Deep
into her work an hour later, Chewy began swatting one of the many wadded up pieces
of paper, breaking Grace’s concentration. Her eyes unconsciously darted towards
the phone. She jumped in her seat when it rang.

            On
the third ring Chewy mewed at her, as if encouraging her to pick up the phone.
Grace took a deep breath and answered.

            “Hi
Grace,” his deep voice murmured.

            She
bit back her disappointment and responded with enthusiasm she didn’t have. “Hi
Jack, how are you?”

            “I
just got back into town and want to meet you. I’m free tomorrow for lunch, if
you are. Just name the time and the place and I’ll meet you there.”

            Grace
pulled out her appointment book and flipped through a few pages. “How about one
at Carlo’s?”

            “I
look forward to it,” Jack replied, before disconnecting the call.

            Grace
placed the phone on the desk and glanced at Chewy’s disapproving face.

*          *          *

            “Good
morning Grace!” Zee sang out. “And don’t you look stunning today in your
dress!”

            “Ugh,
what’s good about mornings?”

            “Well,
you’re livin’, aren’t ya?” When Grace removed her sunglasses Zee gasped. “Girl!
Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

            “I
tossed and turned all night and look like shit today.  I chose the Perthro
stone this morning and I have my first official lunch date with Jack and this
is how I look!” Grace moaned, waving a hand over herself. “With these dark
circles he’ll think I’m a zombie.”

            “I
have concealer we can use on those,” Zee called after her.

            Grace
placed her tote bag on her desk, along with a freshly brewed large coffee from
the Beanery. “Ah, no thanks Zee. If he doesn’t like me at my worst, then he
doesn’t deserve me at my best.”

            “Now
you’re talking! Where ya going for lunch?”

            “Carlo’s,”
she shrugged. “It’s right down the street.”

            Zee
sat, cocking her head. “What the hell is a Perthro stone?”

            Grace
took a long draw from her coffee. “Only the worst effing stone you can pull
from the bag!” She rubbed her forehead. “It means chaos, basically. No matter
how well I think I know the situation, there are other factors that are beyond
my knowledge.”

            “I
don’t understand,” Zee muttered.

            “Exactly!”
mumbled Grace, pulling her appointment book from the canvas bag.”Hey, has Kat
Wise called? I’ve left her several messages and she’s not responding.”

            “No,
she hasn’t. Olga, the witch from hell called though. She, um, has decided to
take her business elsewhere.”

            Grace
stared at Zee blankly. “Hm. Well, good riddance. Any other calls?”

            Zee
nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Becky Martin called. She’d like to meet with
you on Friday afternoon to discuss the auction.”

            “Auction?”
Grace murmured.

            “Yeah.
Remember the day when Chase Storm came in and she called? You told me to tell
her whatever she wanted, you’d be there for her?” Zee reminded.

            “Oh…vaguely.
So, she wants me to auction my services?”

            Zee
giggled. “Well, you could say that.”

            Grace
lifted her eyes from her appointment book and stared at Zee. “Is there more to
this?”

            “Yep!”
Zee snickered. “It’s a bachelor-bachelorette auction.”

*          *          *

            Chase
Storm glanced through the wallpaper swatches scrunching his nose. He wasn’t
crazy about wallpapering the demo houses, but if it created the right
atmosphere, he’d give it a try. A soft knock at his door tore his attention
away from the large book.

            “Sorry
to interrupt you, Mr. Storm, but a Ms. Janice Weinberg is here to see you,” his
assistant, Darcy, mumbled apologetically.

            Chase
glanced at his schedule for the day. “She’s not on my calendar.” He glanced
back again and blinked. “Well, she wasn’t a few minutes ago. How the fuck did
that happen?”

            Darcy
lifted her shoulders. “She wasn’t on mine, either, and then she was.”

            “Fine.
Send her in,” he snapped.

*          *          *

            Janice
tapped a number into the phone and waited patiently for him to pick up the
call.

            A
gruff voice answered. “Hello?” he snapped.

            “Just
a heads-up. Grace’s world is going to crumble around her today. It’d be a good
idea to see her later…help her piece her miserable life back together and get
the love spell working.”

*          *          *

           
Wow
,
Jack thought, when Grace entered the restaurant. She looked so much better in
person than in her profile picture.

            He
watched as she talked to the hostess. Her long auburn wavy hair fell past her
shoulders, down to her breasts. She wore a loose, white cotton t-shirt and a
long grey cotton skirt. Very casual, but very stylish. He’d know, since he
photographed many models.

            When
she turned, their eyes met. She flashed a smile and walked towards him.

            Jack
stood and met her half-way, with his hand extended. “It’s nice to finally meet
in person,” he grinned.

            “Yes,
it is,” she agreed.
Firm handshake, nice smile, tall. Sparkling blue eyes,
but his hair color matches my skirt.”

           
He
pulled out a chair for her and held it as she sat.

            She
placed her large purse on the floor next to her feet and glanced around the
place. It was somewhat empty for a Tuesday, but she supposed that wasn’t too
bad. At least when they talked they’d hear each other. “Have you been waiting
long?” she asked, turning her attention back to him.

            “Nah.
Got here a little early since I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going. You look
fabulous, by the way.”

            “Thanks.
Back at ya,” she smiled.

            Jack
blushed. “Um, is red wine okay?”

            Grace
glanced up at the waiter. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

            “Do
you come here a lot?” Jack asked, perusing the menu.

            “Often
enough. It’s fairly close to my office.” She opened the menu, but didn’t look
at it. She already knew what she’d order. Instead, she looked him over,
thoroughly. He was thin and not as muscular as…she closed her eyes and mentally
berated herself for thinking about
him
. Also, Jack seemed older than his
profile stated. He looked more into his fifties than his forties.

            “You
know,” Jack said softly. “You’re the first women I’ve met since signing up with
Dutch Lunch.”

*          *          *

           
Janice
Weinberg’s a total nut job
, Chase thought as he traveled down Michigan
Avenue. Wanting him to dump Bewitching Designs and allow her company, Charming
by Design, to decorate the model homes for Sunset Ridge. How Ben chose her over
Grace was a mystery to him.

*          *          *

            Rick
double checked his appearance in the mirror before leaving. Today was
the
day.
He’d go to Grace’s office and work his magic.

*          *          *

            “Um
hm,” Zee cooed softly, staring into Chase Storm’s eyes. She imagined him
wrapped up in her red silk bedding with hooded eyes, staring lustily at her.

            “Zee?”
he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Have you heard a word I said?”

            Zee
sat up and coughed slightly. “Yes, of course, Mr. Storm. You like the large
floral pattern and have marked it with a sticky note.”

            Chase
shook his head. “I said I prefer the small floral print.”

            They
both turned their attention towards the door when Rick entered.

            “Chase!
What a surprise!” Rick said.

            “Hey!
I’m dropping off books that Grace wanted me to check out.”

            Rick
glanced at her office and frowned when he saw she wasn’t there. “Where is she?”
he asked Zee.

            Zee
pursed her lips. “Lunch date. Carlo’s, with that dude she met from Dutch
Lunch.”

            Rick’s
jaws flexed. “Date, huh? We’ll see about that,” he growled.

            “Shit!”
Chase hissed, rolling his head onto his shoulders.

*          *          *

            “Look,
all I’m sayin’ is don’t do anything stupid, man. Remember who you are!” Chase
urged.

            Rick
snarled. “I’m pissed off! How can she go on a date after the other night?”

            Chase
gripped Rick’s shoulder, stopping him on the sidewalk. “Look, Grace saw Emily
the other day and basically said that she was just another puck bunny to you.”

            Rick’s
eyebrows lifted. “What? Why the fuck would she think that? I
told
her it
wasn’t like that for me!”

            Shrugging,
Chase replied, “I don’t know, but don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”

*          *          *

            Janice
giggled as she penciled in another appointment into her book. “How sad. Grace
only had seven clients and I took six of them.” She tapped the eraser of the
pencil against her lips and frowned. Storm Design Group would’ve been a great
accomplishment, but she wouldn’t dwell on it too much. She still had time to
concoct a special spell for him.

*          *          *

            Grace
listened to Jack talk about his profession and found that he was interesting.
He seemed genuinely interested in hers as well. Especially when she mentioned
designing the model homes for Storm Design Group.

            “I
bet Chicago magazine would be interested in covering that! I wonder if Storm
has considered allowing the press to do an article on his subdivision?”

            Grace
shrugged, “I’m not sure. It’d be great publicity, that’s for sure.”

            “I
freelance for the magazine. Maybe I can put a bug in the editor’s ear if you
could do the same with Storm?”Jack replied, shoveling a forkful of salad into
his mouth.

*          *          *

            “Keep
your cool, man,” Chase pleaded when Rick pulled the door to Carlo’s open.

            Rick
glanced to the right and ignored the hostess when they entered.

            “I’m
not sure if we’re staying,” Chase muttered apologetically to the perky hostess.
“Give us a minute.”

            Chase
spotted Grace first and nudged Rick with an elbow. “Dude, she’s with her dad!
Relax!” Rick turned and looked into the direction Chase indicated.

            Rick
snapped. “
That’s
not her dad!” They heard Grace’s shrilly laughter from
the far corner, causing Rick’s eyes to narrow and Chase to mutter, “Fuck.”

*          *          *

            Grace’s
laughter caught in her throat when she saw Rick standing next to her.

            “Holy
shit! Ricochet! You’re my favorite player!” Jack beamed, standing to shake
Rick’s hand.

            Rick
glanced at the extended hand. Hesitantly he took the man’s proffered hand and
grasped it, tightly. “And you are?” he replied snidely.

            “My
name’s Jack Hoff,” Jack grimaced as Rick pumped his hand harder.

            Rick
smirked and released his hand. “Jack Off?”

            Jack
flexed his hand several times. “Hoff. I’m a freelance photographer. Hey, maybe
I could do a photo shoot of you…”

            Rick
cut him off. “Not a chance.” He turned his attention to Grace and she flinched under
his gaze. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t form words. Instead, she
turned her chair away.

            He
spun her chair so she was facing him and brought his face level to hers. “Let’s
get something straight, sweetheart. You are the loveliest woman I have ever
known and even that’s an understatement. I told you the other night that it
wasn’t just a roll in the hay for me.”