and sighed. “This is not one of my candidates as you so enjoy calling them. This is an annoying new client Graham has gifted me.” I added air quotes over the gifted part. “Weirdly, I ran into her yesterday at Pastis. She sat down at my table and basically told me I was rude. At the time, I assumed she had confused me for someone else, but now that she was at Morgan today, I’m wondering.”
“A female called you rude? Does she know who you are?” Eric asked as he dealt the next hand. “Either way, I like her already.”
“I think it’s safe to say that she absolutely didn’t realize who he was.” Otis joked as he poured another glass of champagne. “Is she hot? Are you adding her to the list of nightly candidates?”
“She looks a hell of a lot better when she’s not soaking wet, but no, there is no way I’d consider her for an evening of fun.”
6
Jurnee
Switching my phone from one hand to the other, I tried not to miss a single word of Derrick’s lecture, but as I stopped in front of a building matching the address Soraya texted me earlier in the day, I was awe-struck. An older man opened one of the double glass doors and flashed a friendly smile.
“Hold on, Derrick.” I lowered the phone, “Good afternoon, I’m here to see Mrs. Soraya Morgan.”
“You must be Jurnee. Please come on in. Soraya is expecting you.” He gestured to the gold elevators at the back of the large foyer. “Just press P.”
“Thank you very much. Have a wonderful rest of your day.”
The doorman grinned from ear to ear, “Thank you, Ms.”
Before I made it to the elevator, I remembered Derrick was waiting for me. “This building is gorgeous. Seriously, Derrick, this is way out of my league.”
“Dinner? You’ve eaten dinner a thousand times, at least.”
I rolled my eyes, “You know exactly what I mean. This is a level I’m not sure I can wrap my head around.”
“There is nothing for you to wrap your head around. You already know Avery and Genevieve from their visits to Michigan. Stop stressing. I still don’t know why you stopped for a bottle of wine.”
“Because Derrick, I was raised that you don’t show up to dinner empty-handed the first time you are invited to someone’s house. If you will recall, I brought you a huge basket of baked goods when I welcomed you to the neighborhood.”
“I moved in next door to you, Jurnee. That is something completely different, but whatever.” He finished arguing with me and changed the subject. “Have you heard from candidate number two yet?”
“I’m about to get on the elevator. Call me tomorrow?” I wasn’t ready to schedule the next blind date just yet.
“Okay, but you’re in New York for only four weeks. Your stated goal was to find someone you were comfortable enough to have sex with. Unless you plan on having sex with this Anderson guy, you better let me get on the website again.”
“Let’s not forget that Anderson is a complete asshole. The elevator is here.” I replied into the phone from about a foot away from my mouth. “Call me tomorrow, best friend.”
“You’re not even right.”
Click. I hit the end button, then pressed the P button. The doors closed, and I leaned against the wall of the elevator. Derrick was right. I had come to New York City to sow my oats, and so far, I had only come across a rude, drop-dead gorgeous, cocky jerk.
And you get to work with him. Time to get back on track. Ummmm… you are going into business with Graham Morgan. Why haven’t you told Derrick?
The doors opened, and I stepped into a lovely foyer with a small table and dark cherry double doors. Jesus, this man loves his dark cherrywood finishes. Focus!
I raised my hand to knock as the door opened. A beautiful woman with silky long black hair and dyed pink tips stepped out. I was having one of those moments when you know you’re staring, but you can’t stop—rubbernecking as you drive by an accident.
“Hi, Jurnee. I’m Soraya, but you already knew that.” She gave me a warm smile, and I immediately felt at ease.
“Come in. Come in. Please excuse the mess. My youngest, Lorenzo, is into trains. His father indulges him at a level that would make your head spin. My sole task these days is preventing Graham from purchasing his son a real train.” Her accent reminded me of