More Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories - By Lisa Scott Page 0,26

you for it.”

“Of course!”

That earned another shoosh from Debbie.

“Great. But now that your love life is sorted, I do think we should talk some more about your professional life. You could be doing so much more.”

Aubrey stared at the dish of Skittles on her desk, aware of Debbie’s continued glare. “You’re right.”

Diana said nothing for a few seconds. “I am? You’re not going to fight me on this and insist you’re happy?”

Aubrey realized she was shaking her head no. “This whole process has helped me realize I worked too damn hard on finding a guy, but not enough on myself. Maybe I was using my money as an excuse.”

“And the student becomes the master.” Diana laughed and said goodbye.

Still smiling, Aubrey looked up the stairs to the second floor where the HR office was. She asked Debbie to cover for her for a moment, hoping she could trust her with the bowl of Skittles. She suspected Debbie fished out the orange ones when she wasn’t looking. Aubrey straightened her skirt, took a deep breath, and climbed the stairs.

She knocked on Barb’s open door.

Barb looked up. Surprise, she’s frowning.

“Come in. Is everything all right? Do you need more personal time?” Barb asked.

Aubrey started to twist her fingers in front of her. But she stopped, took a deep breath and said, “No. I need to know if there are any openings in the marketing department.”

Barb smiled. “It’s about time. Sit down. Something perfect just opened up for someone who works as hard as you do.”

Mr. Wrong

By Lisa Scott

Diana Hart stared at her computer screen and tried not to panic. When she gave up her therapy practice so she could devote time to writing, she assumed the words would fly—but her mind and her computer screen were blank. Bad news, because she had a lot of writing to do. The publisher had signed her for a two-book deal after buying her first book proposal, The Ex Exit Survey—How to Learn From Your Breakups. Her former client, Aubrey, was thrilled to be the inspiration for that title. But now the second book proposal was due, and Diana was stumped for ideas. What would the publisher say if she didn’t come through? Even worse—what would her mother say?

Diana’s phone rang. Saved by the ring tone, she thought. “Hello?”

“Diana, it’s April twelfth, our deadline has come and gone. The publisher wants the proposal for your second book yesterday.” Her agent, Miriam, did not sound happy.

“I’m working on it right now,” Diana said. Which was partially true. She was trying to work on it. She had to work on it. The advance would carry her for the next year, and her mother was the star of her bridge club now that her daughter was going to be an author. There was no backing out.

“Good, what’ve you come up with?” Miriam asked.

“Well…”

Miriam said nothing for a moment. “Diana, be honest with me. If you don’t have any ideas let me help you brainstorm.”

Diana let out the breath she’d been holding. “I don’t have any ideas. Not any good ones. I’m already focusing on my clients’ stories in book one. It would seem like a rehash to do that in book two.”

“That’s easily solved. Focus on yourself. Your own love life. Part memoir, part advice guide. We could call it From The Hart.” Miriam sighed. “I’m a genius. I love it.”

Diana almost choked. “My love life?”

“Yes. Things you’ve learned along the way. How you’d advise your younger self on the mistakes you’ve made.”

The only mistakes she’d made were not dating enough men. She’d never had a one-night stand. She’d never gone on a blind date. Each one of her relationships had been exactly alike: Same type of guy—professional, conservative, and wealthy; same length— nine months to a year; same result—her walking away because things had become boring. She had no experience with heartache and none of the euphoria of new love. “Miriam, I’m not as experienced as you might think.”

“Well, that could work, too. You could get out there and write about your search for Mr. Right. I want your perspective on the whole thing as a therapist and a single woman. I’ll let the publisher know we’ve settled on an idea, you get me the detailed proposal in two weeks. Sound good?”

Diana froze. A memoir about her non-existent love life? “It’d be more like looking for Mr. Wrong.”

“Even better! A book on the pitfalls of dating and how to handle them. In fact, forget about finding Mr. Right.