Advertising for Love (3 page)

“Aisha! So glad you could make it,” Jennifer squealed from across the table. Despite the emotion in her voice, Jennifer’s face barely moved. She must have spent the day in her plastic surgeon’s office getting a few touch-up injections. “And who’s your handsome date?”

“Oh, this is Greg. Greg, this is Jennifer.”

Greg extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Jennifer.”

She clasped his hand with both of hers. “Oh, no, the pleasure’s all mine.” Jennifer’s eyes remained glued on Greg. “No fair, Aisha. You’ve been holding out on us.”

“Ha. Funny.” Aisha quickly glanced around and spotted the nearest vacant corner. “Okay, we’ll talk to you later.” With a wave of her hand, she headed out of the crowd and retreated to a quieter spot.

Greg followed her to the corner of the room and stared at her for a moment before speaking. “You don’t particularly enjoy these things, do you?”

Aisha rolled her eyes. “Is it that obvious?”

Greg smirked. “Yes. Yes it is.” He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the overcrowded dance floor. “Then why go? Why not spend the night at home or go out with your girls instead?”

“Because.” Aisha glanced around Greg. She caught a glimpse of her boss dancing a bit too closely with the head of IT. “I have to be here. To show my face. To be a team player. I’m up for a promotion, and well…it’s better if I attend these things.”

Greg nodded. “Shall we get a drink?”

“Yes, please.” He took her arm again and graciously led her through the crowd to the bar.

“What would you like?”

“A glass of pinot grigio.”

Greg turned to the bartender. “One pinot grigio and one glass of soda water please.” The bartender poured their drinks. Greg handed Aisha her wine. “Salud.” He lifted his glass and touched hers.

“Salud.” She smiled and took a sip. Greg did the same. “So.” Aisha pointed at his glass. “You don’t drink?”

He smiled. “Not while I’m working.”

Aisha laughed quietly and lifted the glass to her lips, enjoying the dry, smooth taste as it slid over her tongue. “Hey, you know, I just realized I don’t even know your last name. What is it?”

“It’s Williams. And yours?”

“Anderson.”

“Anderson.” He paused. “Aisha Anderson.”

She held up her hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. AA. I’ve heard all the jokes. Hey, AA, you working the twelve steps?”

Greg laughed. “Actually, I was going to say that I like your name.” He took a step closer to her. “Aisha Anderson. It’s very alliterative.”

Aisha’s heart beat furiously in her chest. Their eyes met. She averted her gaze back to the dance floor. “Thanks,” she mumbled and took another sip. The lead singer of the band made the dinner announcement, much to her relief, and she and Greg pushed their way through the crowd to find their assigned table.

“Carl. Mandy. Good to see you,” Aisha greeted her coworkers at the table as she sat down.

“Hey, Aisha.” Mandy leaned in and gave her a quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re sitting next to me. We have to catch up. It’s been forever. You remember my husband, Doug? I can’t believe the numbers I’ve been seeing from your team. Unbelievable. I know Phil must be shitting in envy.” She tilted her head back and gulped down the last few drops of her red wine. “Hey, who’s your date?”

“This is Greg. Greg, this is Mandy. She works in accounting.”

Greg leaned across Aisha and extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mandy.”

“Greg.” Mandy shook his hand. When he sat back in his chair, she whispered to Aisha, “He’s gorgeous. Who is he? Where did you meet him? Why haven’t I met him before?”

“Well…”

“Excuse me, ladies.” The waiter placed their salads in front of them. Aisha exhaled. She hadn’t come up with a cover story. “Shall I refill your glasses?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Mandy winked at the waiter. “Red, please.” The burgundy liquid swirled around the glass.

“White for me, thanks.” The waiter poured Aisha’s wine and gave the bottle a twist when he finished. “So how are things down in accounting?”

Mandy picked up her fork. “Oh, you know. Same old, same old. We had to cut two admin assistants, and everyone’s biting their nails over who’s next.” She took a bite of her salad. “So I hear you applied for Vicki’s job.”

“I did.” She lifted a wilted piece of lettuce drenched in dressing and skeptically took a bite. “What else have you heard?”

“Well,”—Mandy glanced at her—“you did hear the rumor about why she quit, right?”

“Yeah, something about not feeling like the other vice presidents took her ideas seriously. So she got an opportunity at another company where she thought she could really contribute. We only had a brief conversation in the hallway about it.”

“Well, it was a little more than that.” Mandy took another sip of her wine. “You know Eva and Vicki are friends, and Eva told me Vicki said that when all the vice presidents get together it’s awful—dirty jokes, sexual innuendo, that kind of stuff. Not directed at her. Not anything too blatant, but enough to make her feel very uncomfortable.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You know she’s the only woman VP. Or, at least she was.”

Aisha exhaled sharply. “Yes, but I had no idea that kind of stuff was going on.”

“But I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Mandy said with a wave of her hand. “You’re no push-over. I’ve seen how you handle the toughest clients. It’s damn impressive. Plus, your only competition is Phil, and no one can stand that perv. Have you seen him tonight?”

“Thankfully, no.”

“Stay away. He’s hitting on every woman in the place and generally embarrassing himself and being an ass.” She took another sip. “As usual.” Aisha chuckled. “So…” Mandy leaned across Aisha, almost ending up in her lap. “What do you do, Greg?”

Aisha almost choked on a tomato. “He…uh …”

“Well, I used to be an investment banker,” Greg answered calmly. “But you can imagine how far that career took me.” Mandy laughed. “So after I left that field, I decided to go to culinary school.”

“Oooh, so you’re a chef?”

“Yes, although currently a chef with no restaurant. I’m in the process of opening my own.”

“Aisha!” Mandy nudged her playfully. “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend is a chef.”

“Uh…he’s not my—”

“Excuse me, ma’am.” The waiter reached from behind her, took her uneaten salad and placed in front of her a chicken breast swimming in sauce. Two dried-out potato wedges and a spring of something that may or may not have been rosemary sat on the corner of the plate.
 

“Wow. Looks delicious, huh?” Mandy said sarcastically. Aisha attempted to cut into the chicken. She struggled to get the knife through. Mandy held up a withered potato on the end of her fork. “I know most of the money from the tickets went to the homeless shelter, but you’d think that dinner could have been halfway decent.”

“Classic catering mistake.” Greg took a small bite of the chicken. “Chicken is tricky. It has to be well done, or else you risk some serious gastro-intestinal distress. And when serving chicken to a group as large as this one, you really have to be careful because mishandling food could lead to ruining your reputation at best and a lawsuit at worst. So some caterers think the only way to ensure food safety is to cook the hell out of it. Although,”—he scooped up a bit of the sauce with a spoon and tasted it—“the sauce isn’t bad. But I would’ve used a chardonnay instead of a moscato. It’s less sweet.” He tasted it again. “It could also use more lemon and salt.”

Aisha stared at him, unable to speak. He flashed his perfect smile at her and winked. At a loss for words, she simply shook her head and took another sip from her glass. She then remembered Tanya’s insinuation that a little after-hours action could also be purchased, and despite her earlier reservation, Aisha began to consider the possibility.

“Aisha,” Mandy said a bit too loudly, her most recent glass of wine apparently kicking in. “Where did you find this guy?”

Aisha took another drink, furiously trying to come with something. “I…uh…”

“Oh, we go way back.” Greg slipped his hand underneath the table and gave her knee a firm squeeze. “We’re old family friends.”

Aisha felt the warmth from his hand resting on her lap. She had the urge to take it and guide it upward to between her legs. The wetness grew between her thighs as she looked at him. His brown eyes, full lips, perfect smile, smooth skin—everything about him radiated intelligent, sexy confidence. Greg read the expression on her face. He raised one eyebrow slightly and slowly moved his hand up her leg.

“Well, thank God for family,” Mandy yelled. “Speaking of, you wouldn’t happen to have any brothers, would you?”
 

Greg continued to stare knowingly at Aisha before turning his attention to Mandy. He also removed his hand, much to her dismay. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”

Mandy banged her hand on the table, causing all of the plates to rattle. “Isn’t that always the way? I’ve got a single sister, but the good ones are always taken.” Aisha glanced over at Doug, who disappeared more and more into his chair as his wife’s volume increased. He also signaled the waiter to bring him another beer.

“How is Alison, by the way?” Aisha attempted to redirect the conversation.

“A mess. You know she lost her job, right? So she had to move back in with my parents out in Palos. Oh, and her car got repoed. And the day they came to get it she had been in an accident and…” Mandy continued her rambling tale, but Aisha wasn’t really listening. She couldn’t stop focusing on Greg’s touch. Where he had placed his hand pulsated with energy. She wanted his hands to touch her in other places. His mouth too.

A bland and unfulfilling dessert concluded the meal, and when the presentation part of the evening began, Aisha gratefully turned her attention to the CEO. He presented slides outlining the company’s achievements over the last year, which included donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to charitable organizations, launching a green initiative and securing several new, lucrative clients.

“…and she doesn’t know I’m about to do this, but I would like to acknowledge the woman who helped to ensure Hansen Advertising stays ahead of the competition—Aisha Anderson.”

Aisha’s hand froze while in the process of bringing her glass to her lips. Her face flushed as everyone clapped for her.

“Stand up, Aisha.”

She set her glass back down on the table and reluctantly stood, quickly acknowledged everyone with a slight wave of her hand, and then sat down. The room felt twenty degrees warmer.

“Congratulations,” Greg whispered in her ear. He then put his hand on her shoulder, squeezed it gently and slowly rubbed her back. Aisha leaned into him.

“Thank you. I had no idea he was going to do that. I’m so embarrassed.”

“You handled it well.” His face mere inches from hers, Aisha had the urge to kiss him, to feel his soft lips and his warm, wet tongue. She held his gaze for a moment before forcing herself to turn her attention back to the CEO. Greg put his hand back on her shoulder and pulled her into him. With his leg pressed firmly against hers, she found it impossible to concentrate on the remainder of the presentation.

Once the CEO finished speaking, the band retook the stage. Mandy gave Aisha an awkward, off-balance hug and tripped her way to the dance floor, pulling a reluctant Doug behind her.

“So.” Greg’s eyes twinkled. “Single-handedly responsible for the success of Hansen Advertising.”

With his arm on the back of her chair, he slowly stroked Aisha’s bare shoulder. It gave her goose bumps. “Well, maybe not ‘single-handedly’, but perhaps double or triple-handedly.”

Greg chuckled softly. The deep, sensual sound made her want to rip his fine tux right off him. She forced her hands to remain in her lap. “Hmm. Smart, successful, beautiful and funny.” He brought a hand up to the side of her face and stroked it. He leaned into her.

“Hey, Aisha.” Phil’s voice tore her gaze away from Greg’s approaching lips.

She sighed. “Hello, Phil.”

Phil glanced at Greg before turning his attention back to her. “Congrats on all your good work this year.”

“Thanks.” She flashed what she hoped passed for a genuine smile. “But you know, we all made our contribution.”

“Hmm.” Phil nodded slightly in response and then again looked at Greg.

After a moment, Aisha said, “Oh, this is Greg.” Greg got up from his chair. Aisha did the same. “Greg, this is Phil.”

 
“Nice to meet you, Phil.” Greg was several inches taller, and Phil shrank back as Greg shook his hand.

“Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too.” He shifted from one foot to the other and then took another sip from his beer. As he did so, he stared at Aisha’s breasts from over the rim of his glass. “Um, Aisha, I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you look beautiful tonight.”

Aisha’s eyes narrowed as she watched Phil’s dirty mind devour her body. Before she had the chance to say anything, Greg slipped his arm around her waist and hugged her close. “I was just telling her the same thing.”

Phil’s gaze left Aisha’s body and snapped up to meet Greg’s glare. Greg said nothing and simply stared at him in quiet confrontation. Phil swallowed hard. “Um, yeah, well, congrats again. I’ll see you later.” He then scurried off.