The Proposal (3 page)

"Thanks for
everything," whispered Kiera. Nadine hugged her tightly, "Have a
wonderful time and call me when you get there." She hesitated, 
remembering that Kiera would now call Edward in times of need or trouble and
not her anymore. Kiera nodded, trying to remain steadfast, even though she knew
the tears were nearly brimming over.

"Treasure her
Edward," said Nadine, looking fondly at her sister.

He nodded in
acknowledgement. "Always," he replied, gallantly.

Pursing her lips
together, Nadine nodded at them both before making her way back to her hotel
room.

One more night and
tomorrow she would be back in the peace and quiet of her own home.

Sandra Donnelly was on
Nadine's back like a rampant rash.

Each time she finished
one piece of work, she wouldn't have anything encouraging or complimentary to
say to Nadine. Even though the work Nadine produced was top notch. What she
would have though, is another task for Nadine to complete. She was relentless.

The week after Kiera's
wedding, Nadine found herself working late nights almost every evening. 
As one of the executive creative directors for the parent American company of
the Zimmerman Group, she often found herself coordinating meetings with the
subsidiary offices in Europe to make sure that the company mission and branding
were all in synchronization with each other.

Sandra had her completing
the designs and checking the brochures for the new company image.

"Very good,"
said the older lady, when Nadine had shown her the proofs that the marketing
team had come up with. It had taken a lot of coordinated effort working with different
creative teams and as creative director Nadine had played an instrumental
part.  Sandra looked at Nadine’s efforts coldly, her straight bob and
square fringe giving her a clinical look which was only fractionally brightened
up by her thin, brightly painted matte red lips.

"Don't forget, we
have the annual convention with all the other international people next week in
Sacramento. Bring your partner."  She looked hard at Nadine before
turning to her computer screen, signaling that the meeting was over.

"Right, yes, I
know," Nadine managed to get the right words out before leaving.

Back at her desk she
skimmed through her emails trying to locate the one about the forthcoming
marketing convention. Kiera's wedding and hen night preparations had
overtaken all of her life for the past ten days and pretty much everything else
had taken second place.

Nadine located an email
that looked as though it might be to do with the convention and read it with a
sinking heart. It clearly stated:
Partners welcome.

She breathed out slowly
then turned around and looked out of her expansive window which overlooked the
vast sprawling city of San Francisco.

"Anything
wrong?" asked Melissa, Nadine's secretary. She knocked at the door and
walked in. She had been the secretary of Tanya Braun, the woman who had
recently departed from the Zimmerman Group and into whose high profile shoes
Nadine had recently stepped into.

"Hey Melissa,"
began Nadine throwing the young secretary a warm smile, "Is the marketing
convention always with partners? Is it important?"

"Yes, kind of. I
mean, they say it isn't but Tanya, always used to go with her partner. Before
her husband, she'd go with her boyfriends. I think she had two maybe three
different boyfriends. She'd been here a long time, you have to remember."

Nadine winced then nodded
her head in understanding. Tanya Braun had left because news of her affair with
the head of accounting, also a married man, had come out.

"How important is
it, to take someone?" She asked discreetly.

What if that someone
significant not only wasn't available but didn't really exist?

"Mr. Zimmerman
attends these events and he likes to get to know all the partners of the
management teams. He says it makes for more rounded, able people. He's kind of
old fashioned like that."

"Thanks
Melissa."

That was all that Nadine
needed to hear. If Michael Zimmerman was looking for management people in
proper, stable and well rounded relationships, well, she would have to produce
one such relationship out of thin air.

And soon.

Totally inundated with
Sandra's relentless demands at work, Nadine wondered how much of her boss's
work she was doing herself.

"Is she always like
this?" she asked Melissa one afternoon, when Sandra had delegated yet
another meeting for Nadine to attend in her place. Melissa nodded, reluctantly.
"Tanya would have eventually left at some point, if news of the
affair hadn't come out. She hated Sandra."

Sandra Donnelly was
in her late forties and had two young children of school age. She also had a
nanny, a cleaner and a cook, all of which were fairly normal things to have
when a career minded woman wanted to have a career and a family and knew that
she couldn’t do both without any help. Nadine admired Sandra for these things
but as time went on, she began to realize that while the nanny, cook and
cleaner were helping Sandra to run her home, it was the extra work being piled
onto Nadine that was helping Sandra in her career.

It didn't seem fair.

"So we'll all get to
meet your boyfriend then?" asked Melissa one evening  when they had
both stayed late to check and sign off the new delivery of printed corporate
brochures for an upcoming sports supplies company.

"Of course you
will," said Nadine, flicking through a leaflet and admiring the new colors
they had decided on.

"What’s his
name?" asked Melissa eagerly. She was kneeling on the carpet in Nadine's
office, and boxes were strewn everywhere. There were piles of brochures and
leaflets lying in neat rows around her. When Nadine pretended to be busy admiring
the paper in her hand, Melissa persisted, "His name, Nadine, what's his
name?"

“Ethan”, said Nadine. It
was the first name that came into her mind.  She spun around and looked
out of her huge window, gazing out at the now midnight blue screen before her,
dotted with lights and flashing colors of cars and other vehicles in the late
evening.

What had she just
done?

"I'm looking forward
to meeting Ethan," said Melissa, struggling to get up whilst balancing a
pile of brochures in her hands.

"Mind your back
Melissa. Could you please close the door on your way out. Thank you."

Nadine fell into her
chair and placed her elbows down on each side of her chair. She tilted her back
and gazed at the ceiling.

What had she done? And
how come his was the first name that had popped into her head? She sat and
thought about the crazy idea that swirled around in her head.

It was important for her
five year plan and her goal of getting to vice president level.

It was imperative that
Michael Zimmerman saw her in the best possible light. While her career record
and work ethos would not let her down, she knew that her personal life might
not cross all the i's and dot all the t's (if indeed this is what Michael
Zimmerman was looking for). 

She searched on her cell
phone for the number of the dance group she had booked for Kiera’s hen night.
It was a crazy name, Dream Boy Dancers or something. She searched through her
list of contacts, found it and dialed the number. She heard it ringing and
braced herself. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to say or ask for.
But she was in a tight corner and she was going to have to get herself out of
it.

The call went to
voicemail.  So she left a message. "Hello, this is Nadine Stefano. We
had a booking for my sister's hen-night party on...on," she flicked
through her desk calendar, "on June fourteenth.  I'd like to rebook
one of the guys please. Umm, his name was….is ….ummm……..Ethan. Please could you
have him call me back?" She hung up in a hurry before realizing that she
hadn't left her number. But it would probably show up on the caller’s phone
anyway. Or would it? She thought about it. What if it didn’t? Time was already
running out. The convention was just over a week away.

She rang back, apologized
for ringing again and left her number. 

Then she waited for Ethan
to call her back.

By the time Nadine got
back home that evening, it was late. Ethan hadn't called her back and she was
annoyed.

Time was running out and
Melissa was expecting to meet her fabulous boyfriend called Ethan. Michael
Zimmerman would be looking for the other half of a stable relationship. Well,
she certainly planned to give them both what they were looking for. 

Totally exhausted, she
fell into a heap on her huge, cream couch. She needed to send out a few emails
about the new brochures for they were good; very good. And she was proud of
them. But first, she would eat. And before that, she would take a little nap.

Sandra had worked her
like a mad woman this week and Nadine wasn't looking forward to spending much
time with her at the convention next week. She was relieved to hear that
Melissa would be going although for the junior members of staff, no partners
were allowed. Drifting in and out of a light sleep, with her stomach rumbling
away, Nadine heard in the distance the sound of her cell phone going off.
Shaking her head to waken herself and sending her strawberry blonde curls
tumbling down her shoulders, she fumbled around for the cell phone with one
hand and rubbed her eyes with the other.

"Hello?" it was
a young sounding almost boyish voice at the other end.

"Hello?" Nadine
questioned. "Who is this?"

"You left a message
regarding the Dreamboys Dancers ma'am. You had a booking for Keira
Stefano's hen-night three weeks ago? I'm just returning your call. How can I
help?"

Struggling to find a way
to phrase her request, Nadine blurted out, "Thanks for calling back. Yes,
umm - one of the guys who came, Ethan I think his name was, is…I'd, we'd - like
to speak to him about a possible rebooking please.” Nadine hoped that this
didn’t come across as too unusual a request. Heck, why would it be unusual?
This was a perfectly, normal, if slightly desperate, request for a service that
this company provided. When the young man at the other end didn't say anything,
Nadine wondered if he was laughing at her.

The thought that he might
be, annoyed her greatly. "Hello? Are you there?” her tone was slightly
agitated.

"Sorry, I was just
looking for Ethan's number.  Let me get him to call you back. Would that
be alright?" 

Taken aback by his
helpfulness, Nadine replied, "Of course. Uh - could you do that right away
please? I've left it all a bit late. Thank you."

She hung up and found
herself eagerly anticipating his phone call.

It had been over three
weeks since she last saw him but she had been thinking of him on and off during
that entire time. Not withstanding the fact that he had been almost naked here
in her living room, or the fact that he had a beautiful body, or the fact that
he had seemed so polite and nice and easy to talk to, she had found herself
mildly attracted to him. And he piqued her interest.

And, really, he was not
at all how she imagined a hot and gorgeous stripper would be like. Perhaps it
was precisely because he had been in her thoughts on and off these past few
weeks, that his name had come hurtling out of her mouth the minute Melissa had
pressed her for the name of her boyfriend. 

How would she ask him to
be her ........partner? Her escort? Her make believe boyfriend for the annual
business convention next week? 

She didn’t want to think
about how he would take to this news or how he might respond to her request so
she busied herself making a spinach, mushroom and mozzarella omelet. It smelled
heavenly. She took a bite and it melted in her mouth. She closed her eyes and
enjoyed the taste of it. But the sudden and harsh ringing of her phone made
her heart jump. Instantly jolted from her pleasant tasting experience,
Nadine at her cell phone and saw an unrecognized number showing up.  She
knew who it was right away.

"Hello," she
attempted an unrushed and calm voice, putting down her fork quietly.

"Hey. I hear you've
left it all a bit too late. What's up?" he asked. So easily, just like
that. As if they had been talking like friends for ages. All at once, she
pictured his blue eyes seeing through her. Nadine swallowed. This wasn't going
to be easy. "I was wondering if we could hire you again for next
weekend."  She waited with bated breath.

"Uh-huh. For the
same act?" he asked, innocently enough. She pictured his lips, the way
they curled up at the ends whenever he asked a question. He made things seem
like halfway between a question and a statement.

"Not quite,"
she said slowly at the same time that he said, "Because that's not what I
do."  Realizing that their answers overlapped each other and didn't
make sense to either one of them, he said, “Excuse me?"