TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (25 page)

But then, he might just change his mind when he saw what she was wearing. In all the years he’d known her he had never seen her in a dress or skirt above the knee, without leggings. This one was short but the leggings she was wearing underneath wouldn’t make the shortness all that noticeable. Women dressed in outfits like the one she was wearing all the time. But he’d never seen one like this on her.

She glanced in the mirror. The one thing she really liked about this particular hairstyle was it versatility. With a few twirls of her fingers and a hair clamp, she had pinned it on top of her head in a sexy hair-do. One Jen claimed complimented her neck. Moving quickly to the bathroom she brushed her teeth and reapplied her lipstick.

She glanced at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. This particular outfit was new and was one that Jen had helped her pick out. She had to hand it to her best friend, when it came to hair, fashion and style she was on top of her game.

She was slipping into her sandals when she heard the knock on her door. Looking one last time into the mirror she quickly left the bedroom.

* * *

Orin glanced down at his watch. It was almost ten but he knew for some people, namely the partygoers, New York City was just waking up at this hour. He had never considered himself a partier, not even when he was a hell of a lot younger. He’d gone to college on a football scholarship and it had been hard trying to play while keeping his grades up. And then when he’d decided to go to law school, he’d been just as determine to graduate at the top of his class.

He’d been successful at pulling it off, but that meant he hadn’t had a social life. Unlike his roommates who partied and was happy to barely get by with their studies, he’d wanted the honors since he knew that meant the ability to demand a better salary down the road.

And then, the first night he had gone out to party, after being hired at his dream job at a prestigious law firm in Atlanta, he had met Susan. It was love at first sight, or so he thought. He hadn’t known until later that she’d deliberately gone fishing that night, had thrown out the bait and he’d gotten caught.

Less than nine months later Duan had been born and with a wife who hadn’t wanted to be a mother, their marriage had been one argument after another. He hadn’t had a clue she was involved with another man, and was just as dumbfounded to discover the man had been his business partner and friend. A man he’d met at the law firm where he worked, and the same man who convinced him it was time they struck out on their own and open a firm.

He still wasn’t sure today just how long the affair had been going on before Susan had packed up one day and before walking out the door, proudly proclaimed the name of her lover and let him know she wouldn’t be back and he and his brats could kiss her royal ass. She had better things to do.

Unfortunately the man she ran off with also had a wife and daughter. The woman took her husband’s betrayal hard and ended up committing suicide and taking her little girl with her when she deliberately stalled her car on the train tracks and waited for a train to come.

Orin shook off the feelings of regret and despair whenever he thought about the lives Susan’s selfishness had destroyed. Even now she was still out there going from man to man, husband to husband. He’d heard she’d been married five times now.

“Who is it?” the voice on the other side of the door interrupted his thoughts by asking.

“Orin.”

He heard the chain slide from the lock and then the door slowly opened. He was very much aware that when she opened the door completely his jaw dropped at the same time he felt a deep stirring in his midsection.

His administrative assistant, the woman he’d been attracted to for years; the same woman for whom he’d been so determined to hold back emotions that tried overwhelming him whenever they were together, was standing there wearing a very sexy outfit. His gaze traveled from her head to her toes.

He liked the way her hair was done up on her head and the way her dress curved her figured in an alluring way but not overly provocative, although it definitely paid homage to her high, firm breasts, small waist and curvy hips. And then there were those leggings that complimented her short dress and the sandals on her feet.

“I hope you think I look okay,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.

His gaze moved from her feet to her face. Did she honestly think that he didn’t? And she had planned on wearing this outfit out tonight alone. It didn’t matter to him that she was forty-eight instead of twenty-eight, Cathy looked good and she was a woman any man would appreciate.

“You look great,” he said and meaning every word of it. He was used to seeing her dressed professionally, but there was nothing professional about this outfit. It looked good on her and she looked good in it. And it was the perfect attire for what they would be doing, which was walking around Times Square.

And for that reason he felt his jeans, polo shirt and a pair of walking shoes fitted the occasion just fine. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He stepped back when she closed her hotel room door and together they walked toward a bank of elevators. She smelled good. His heart began pounding in his chest and he felt a deep inner throb in his groin. He was amazed that such a thing could take place just from the scent of a woman.

Orin was fully aware and had been for some time that he was attracted to her. He could now admit to sitting in his office sometime with idle time and thinking about her; and then making up any reason to summons her into his office just to look at her.

He’d known that just like him, she wasn’t dating anyone either. But he’d found out last Saturday night at the rodeo how it felt to know the woman he’d always assumed would be there for him, might not be. Because someone else could recognize those same admiring qualities in her that he did. That thought bothered him.

It didn’t take long for the elevator to arrive and he moved aside for her to step on and couldn’t help noticing how the outfit she was wearing clearly outlined her small waist and flaring hips. His gaze moved appreciatively over her body before joining her in the elevator.

He glanced over at her. “Any particular place you want to go?”

Cathy smiled over at him. “Times Square.”

He chuckled. “I know. But is there any specific block in Times Square or noted landmark you want to check out first?”

“No.”

“All right, then, we’ll just walk around a while.”

She smiled again. And he thought she had a beautiful pair of lips. “Okay, Orin.”

By the time the elevator made it to the bottom and they stepped off he wondered if his world would ever be okay again.

* * *

By the time they reached the heart of Times Square, there were people everywhere. Some were walking quickly as if they had a particular place to go, while others, like she and Orin, strolled at a leisurely pace.

Cathy thought the square was just as she imagined and couldn’t believe all the digital advertisements on display. It was a beautiful June night and the number of cameras flashing indicated most of the people walking around were tourists. Everything was lit up brightly, and a number of street vendors lined various streets.

“Would you like some cotton candy?”

Cathy glanced over at him, surprised he remembered. “Yes, thanks. Even after eating dessert earlier, I still want some cotton candy. Isn’t that pathetic?”

“No, that’s enjoying something you like.”

They stopped for her cotton candy and for the next several hours they strolled all through the square and back. They then decided to catch a cab to Harlem when Cathy admitted she hadn’t been there either.

“I know just the club for you,” he said after they got out of the cab and watched the driver pull off.

“Will we have to compete for a place to sit with a bunch of twenty-something kids?” she asked when they walked through the doors where the letters C and S were huge and brightly lit.

He threw his head back and laughed. “I doubt it. Most young people who are in that age range won’t enjoy this type of music. Few will but most won’t.”

The inside of the club was dark and they were shown to a table near the stage. Orin glanced at his watch. “It’s after midnight and usually they have another show before one a.m.”

“Umm, sounds like you know a lot about this place.”

Orin smiled over at her. “I used to work here as a bus boy while attending Columbia University Law School, so I’m familiar with the area.”

“I never knew Columbia University was so close to Harlem,” she said, glancing around and glad to see most of the people looked to be in the late forties and up age range.

The show began moments later. It was the first time Cathy had been to a jazz mixed with Old School music show. The music was lively, the musicians extraordinary and she couldn’t believe how many numbers the group performed before finally taking a break. A lot of the songs brought back memories of the days when she would listen to the music herself on the radio or she’d heard it while her parents were listening to it.

She felt comfortable being out with him this way mainly because she was used to going places with him. But before it had been strictly business, where now it was on a personal level and she felt good about it.

“You didn’t date much after your husband passed,” he said, restarting conversation between them. “Why?”

She shrugged before taking a sip of her mixed drink, the one she’d asked the waiter to add very little alcohol and she could tell from the taste that he’d followed her instructions. She looked up at him. “Mainly because of my sons. Maverick had just turned seven and Shandon was two. I decided they needed me and I wasn’t ready to share my time with anyone else.”

Orin nodded. “I know what you mean. Duan, Terrence and Libby were all I had. I was all they had. A few of my friends suggested I start dating right away, just to meet someone because they needed another mother figure in their lives. I couldn’t see doing that. The boys were okay. They were old enough to do a lot of things on their own. The only one I worried about was Libby since she was only three when Susan left.

He smiled. “I dreaded the day when I knew I was going to have to tell her about all that girl stuff when she became a teenager. Other than covering the basics with her, I didn’t have to go into a lot of details and always wondered why. I only found out recently that it was because of you and I want to thank you for that.”

He took a sip of his drink and then said, “A few months ago she admitted to going to you whenever she needed an older female to talk to.”

Cathy nodded. “You don’t have to thank me Orin. Libby was a joy to have around, and a welcoming change from two rough and tough boys. I’m just glad I was there and that you didn’t oppose our relationship.”

He lifted a brow. “Why would I oppose it? I could tell she liked you a lot. She respected you. And since she would come to the office after school and wait for me to get off, I knew you saw a lot of her and she spent a good amount of time around you.”

Cathy took a sip of her drink and said, “I’m sure it was hard for you when your wife left.”

He shrugged. “Yes, but not for the reason a lot of people think. Susan had begun being unreasonable about a lot of things, and I figure now she was doing so in order for me to break things off, ask for a divorce, so she wouldn’t look like the bad person when she left. But no matter how much hell she gave me, I was intent on making my marriage work – because of the kids. I didn’t know she wanted just the opposite. When I didn’t play into her hands, she decided she didn’t care what anyone thought and made a move to leave anyway.”

He paused a moment. “The hardest thing I had to endure was not her leaving but the scandal surrounding her leaving. Not only was the other man my business partner, but he and his wife were members of my church, they lived within the same neighborhood and we knew most of the same people. After Susan left it seemed like I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the whispers, the looks of pity in so many people eyes. I wanted to tell them it was okay. My kids and I would do fine. We would make it.”

Cathy reached out and touched his hand and smiled. “And the four of you did make it. You did an awesome job in raising them, Orin.”

He returned her smile. “Thanks, and so did you, with your boys.” He paused a moment and then said. “It’s a big day tomorrow. I need to get you back to the hotel.”

Orin checked his watch and seeing the time was later than he’d thought, he added. “If the Apollo hadn’t been sold out I would have taken you there.”

Cathy thanked him for being thoughtful anyway. It wasn’t long before they stepped outside to catch a cab back to the hotel. During the cab ride they chatted about various sights they passed.

“I hope you enjoyed your time in Times Square and the CS,” he said, once they had gotten back to the hotel and were standing in the elevator.

“I did but you didn’t tell me what CS means.”

He grinned and then said. “Club Spectacular. While I was in college the man who used to own it ran a contest, offering a thousand dollars for anyone who came up with a name he liked. Club Spectacular was the one he picked and I’m glad the new owners kept it.”