Come Back To Me (11 page)

"Hey before you leave, I
just wanted to make sure you are okay..."

"Sure I'm fine. Why wouldn't
I be?"

"Well it just seems like you
were distant this week, that’s all."

"Seriously I'm okay. No need
to worry."

"If you say so. Look if you
ever need to talk, know I'm all ears."

I didn't yet feel
comfortable enough with discussing things like this to him. He was
my boss and that was it. I wasn't sure if he expected me to have
tea, or get pedicures with him but that wasn't my style. Personal
shit needed to be left at the office door, not dragged all over for
everyone to judge me.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." I
smiled.

I walked out of the building
and dreaded going home. My self-esteem had taken a nose dive, and I
knew it was dangerous for me to be alone. Taking my emotions out on
a pint of ice cream sounded heavenly, but I had the Gala on
Saturday. I sure didn't want to show up in my Dior gown busting at
the seams.

I chose instead to walk off
my frustration. Exercise always helped clear my head, and hopefully
today would be no different.

Twelve

Saturday
morn
ing I woke up and felt like
hell. I knew I had to get my shit together because of the
fundraiser that evening. It would be horrendous to have the chair
person, looking like a crazy hung-over sorority sister.

I showered, and left my
building around eleven, and proceeded to the salon where I was
scheduled for a major overhaul. Hair, Nails, Face. "This should
make me feel better." I mumbled to myself as I entered the modernly
decorated spa.

I checked in at the front
desk, and was escorted back to the Spa area.

After spending several hours
in the hands of the professionals, I looked and felt like a new
person...on the outside at least. I made my way back home and
decided to get myself dressed for my evening.

The stunning Dior gown was
waiting my closet. It was an amazing work of art, black, floor
length, cut to fit all of my curves, but flared out just at the
knee in a mermaid style. It was perfect. I slipped it on with ease,
put on my new jewelry, and shoes, then stepped in front of the
mirror.

I had dressed up so many
times before, but this was different. I actually felt beautiful.
Like a fairy tale. "It's a shame that all the princes are actually
frogs." I laughed.

Around Six I went downstairs
to meet the limo that was picking me up. I strolled off the
elevator where Harold and Gary were waiting. Their eyes followed me
and I stopped to say hello.

"Miss Emily, I must say you
look wonderful." Harold stated.

"Y-yes, you do look great."
Gary chimed in.

"Thank you both, well I'd
better be going. Have a good night."

I could feel both their
gazes on me when I left the lobby, but it in no way creeped me out.
They were great.

Arriving at the Plaza was
sort of surreal. Of all the elegant places I had ever visited, I
had never had one take my breath away like this one. It wasn't like
it was crazy fancy, but the charm of it was stunning in its own
right. I could just imagine the people that stayed here, or the
happy couples that decided on this place for their day of wedded
bliss. It made my heart pound, just thinking about all the emotion
that these walls have seen over the years. I was sure that there
was a fair share of love and tears were embedded in the
architecture of this building. And it made its charm that much more
inviting.

I was immediately
bombarded when I reached the ballroom that housed the Event.
My Event
. I was proud to see it had all come together, I hadn't had
much of a hand in it, but it was perfect. The tables were draped in
white linens, and the towering centerpieces of crimson roses were
creating an ambiance of sophistication and elegance. The band was
playing some great jazz tunes, and people were mingling, and taking
advantage of the open bar. If I knew one thing, it was that drunken
rich folks gave their money more freely than sober ones. I planned
on taking full advantage of that tonight. I scanned the room for
someone that I knew personally, and couldn't spot anyone just yet.
I was nervous, and I could feel bile rising in my throat. A drink,
that's what I needed to calm myself down.

I stood at the bar and
ordered a cranberry/vodka. It wasn't very strong...thank god. I
sure didn't want to be giving my big speech for the night and pass
out or vomit on the podium.

After gulping down my first
and only drink of the night I decided on perusing the room a
bit.

"Oh Emily! You look
absolutely divine tonight!" I heard from a few feet
away.

As I scanned around me for
the face to the voice, I found Mrs. Waverly. She had always been a
generous contributor to the cause, and had friends in high places.
I made my way over to her.

"Mrs. Waverly, thank you so
much for coming." I politely answered.

Waving around the room she
said "This is absolutely amazing. You should be very proud of
yourself Emily."

"Yes, very proud indeed.
Although I can't take full credit, I have been busy moving and
unpacking lately."

"Yes of course, how is your
new place? You Mother told me that she helped set it up? She was
always great with things like that."

"It's wonderful. And yes she
is quite the interior designer." I chuckled.

"Well that's just great.
Well look dear I'm sure you have a ton of people to talk to so I
won't keep you. It was so nice to see you again."

"Thank you again for coming
Mrs. Waverly. I hope you enjoy yourself."

And with that she was off,
probably to the bar would have been my guess. I so wanted to head
that way too, but made myself a promise that one drink was
enough.

I found myself standing at
the edge of the dance floor, just glancing around. I turned toward
the entrance of the ballroom and froze in my stance. My heart began
to flutter out of control, and I was sure that it might end up on
the floor in front of me. My palms became sweaty, my knees knocked,
and my chest became tight. All I could do was stare; I didn't
notice anything else in the room, just the person that
entered.

Jake.

Thirteen

As Jake entered the ballroom
of the Plaza Hotel, he first noticed the grandeur of it all. The
chandeliers, the band, the flowers. It was a sight to behold in his
eyes. People were dressed to the nines, women in formal floor
length gowns, and men in tuxedos. Sure he had been to a few formal
events in his life but nothing like this. It made him feel small.
Although the goal of finding Emily here made him feel as tall as
the Empire State Building in retrospect. She was here, and he
needed to find her before his chest exploded.

His glances went from each
side of the room, from the bar, to the stage where a podium was set
up, and then he drew his focus toward the dance floor, situated in
the center of the room. Standing there was a woman with her back
turned. She wore and black dress that hugged her slight curves and
flared out at the bottom. Her hair was put up loosely with tendrils
streaming down her back. The sight of just the back of her made
Jake forget about Emily, and made his manhood begin to throb. He
stood there for what seemed like an eternity, and then she began to
slowly turn toward him.

"Oh. My. God" He
gasped.

"Dude what's wrong? You look
like you've seen a ghost.” Gabe said.

Jake forgot that he had come
with Gabe, his wingman.

"That's her." He nodded
toward the blonde.

"Holy shit dude, she is
H-O-T!"

Jake couldn't
even manage a sentence, let alone a word to respond to Gabe's
comment. Yes she was hot, but even more she was
Emily
. The fact
that he was standing in the same room with her after all these
years made him weak. He considered himself a strong person, but in
the presence of her, he was reduced to the likes of
pudding.

She held his gaze, and it
was all he could do to put one foot in front of the other and
approach her. "I can do this." he thought to himself.

He mustered up enough
courage to walk toward her, and felt his mouth go dry with every
step he made. God she was beautiful. Even more so than in college.
She had grown into a sexy, drop dead gorgeous female, which would
make any man lose his wits.

As he neared her, he caught
the scent of floral and peaches. Emily. Stepping close to her was
like setting foot on the sun, she burned every nerve, and made his
brain take a hiatus. Words escaped him just as he opened his mouth
to speak.

"Jake?" She
whispered.

"Emily." He said
breathlessly.

"Jake. What, I mean, how are
you?"

"I'm good, how have you
been?"

"Wow. Yeah, I'm good too."
She said nervously.

"You look amazing
Emily."

"Thanks, so do
you."

Just having this small
conversation with her made Jake realize how much he missed her. She
was a fixture in his life in the past, but now she seemed like this
unattainable creature of myth. She was perfect. Perfect for him he
thought.

"It sure has been a long
time Emily. I see you have been busy." Jake motioned around the
ballroom.

Emily Blushed "Oh yes this.
Well it's a great cause, and I couldn't stop myself from creating
the foundation."

"It really is great, I'm
very proud of you."

He could see the joy in her
eyes at his compliment. It made her shine, just like he always
remembered.

"So I hear you have a law
firm here in New York?" She asked.

"Uh yeah. It's going great,
how about you? Aren't you some big shot lawyer now too?"

He could see her expressing
drop. What did he say wrong?

She laughed. "Not so much
Jake. You know I never really was into studying."

"Oh?"

"Yeah well, it just didn't
work out. I just moved back here to start a job
though..."

"That's great! Where are you
working?" he questioned.

He could see the hesitation
in answering his question. Was it something she was embarrassed
about? Surely she didn't move here for an exotic dancing
position?

"I actually work at Brewster
& Carlton. I'm uh...I'm a secretary."

Relief strung through him.
"Yeah I know both of them, very reputable firm."

Ugh why did he sound like
"all business"? This was Emily for piss sake, his best friend from
way back.

"Thanks, it's going great. I
just started on Monday, but so far so good." she
laughed.

"I'm happy to hear that.
Look I'm sure you have better people to talk to than me, I think I
will go find a drink."

"It was good seeing you
again Jake." She softly said.

"You too, Em."

Jake gave her one more once
over and headed for the bar. Gabe was already there chatting up
some leggy brunette.

"Hey man, so...how'd it go?"
Gabe smirked.

"Fine." Jake said
bluntly.

"Must have been more than
fine, you look like a fucking dog in heat." Gabe
chuckled.

"I don't know man, Emily
seems different."

"Women are crazy creatures,
they change with the seasons. Why do you think I try and keep away
from them as much as possible?"

"Yeah okay mister, fuck them
and leave them. Why don't you lecture me on women?" Jake
sarcastically stated.

"Whatever, I may be a
player, but at least my heart will never get stomped on by a
stiletto." Gabe winked.

"It's like she is the same
Emily, but something's off. Like she is hiding something. Maybe
not, I don't know." Jake said bleakly.

"Dude, you are so fucking
paranoid. She's hot. Case closed. Now get over there, get her
number, fuck her brains out in the coat closet and be done with
it."

"Gabe, you are a piece of
shit. I really hope someday you understand that."

"Yeah well, you say piece of
shit, I say I'm a realist. The last thing I ever want is for some
broad to tie me down; I'd rather have my dick in a meat
grinder."

Jake threw back his head and
laughed. "Nice metaphor jackass."

"Thanks man, coming from you
that means a lot. Now if you will excuse me, I need to find a piece
of ass for the night."

"Good luck." Jake
snorted.

He watched Gabe leave the
bar in his mission for his nightly dose of pussy. How depressing it
was to watch his best friend do this every weekend. Gabe never had
the inkling to settle down, he just wanted to play. Jake was the
polar opposite. He wanted the picket fence and babies
eventually.

Fourteen

I couldn't believe that Jake
was there, I must have sounded like a complete idiot when he talked
to me. My answers were short, and I was pretty sure I stuttered and
slurred my words. He was the last person I expected to see when I
turned around, but I was also surprised at my body's reaction to
him. God, he had turned out to be such a handsome man, my blood was
on fire. Standing there in his tux, oh it made every nerve in my
body sing. Jake was the same, but so very different. His ocean blue
eyes were so captivating, and his broad shoulders made me think of
so many dirty thoughts. I was fairly certain some beautiful model
would have snatched him up, but I didn't see a wedding ring gracing
his left hand.