“Oh . . . Work related?”
Wonderful.
Why would he ask me that?
Now, I had to decide if I was going to lie to my boss or not.
I opted for the truth.
“No. Personal things.” I winced, waiting for his response.
“Okay, okay . . . I must say that this isn’t like you, Ruth. I hope it’s important.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “It is. Very important.”
“Very well then. I expect an update ASAP.”
“You got it.”
I disconnected the call, set my phone on the desk, and sat back in my chair.
“What?” Dee asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know . . . I just got the weirdest feeling in my gut.”
“Your gut has always been right. What kind of feeling?”
I shrugged. “It’s just . . . I have been busting my ass for ten years and have gone above and beyond what was expected of me, and this was the first time ever that I . . .” I sighed.
“You did this to yourself.”
“Thanks for your support,” I said.
“But it’s true. Hear me out . . .”
“The stage is yours.”
“Here’s the deal . . . You let them know years ago, before your first day, during your interview, actually, that you were willing to have no life to get to the top. And you didn’t just say that to get the job. You backed up those words with actions. You’ve been clearing the exact path you wanted your career to take. You knew the company well when you started working for Stansfeld. They hire people who have no problem giving up everything for their careers.”
“Yeah, but—”
“It’s not wrong, because you signed up for this life. But the truth is, it’s only going to get worse. When you become managing partner, you’re going to have to account for yourself, plus everyone under you. That’s a lot of people. And it’s a lot of pressure and a lot of responsibility that the average person wouldn’t come close to being able to handle. I have no doubt in my mind that you can do it, because you’re the toughest, hardest-working, take-no-prisoners, kick-ass woman I have ever met in my entire life. The question is, are you going to be happy? Because that’s what it comes down to. Will you be happy?”
“Now, you sound like Nick.”
She smiled. “See that? Nick’s on your mind again.”
“I’m serious. He says I’m a workaholic.”
“You are.”
“He also said I get to choose exactly how I want to live my life and if that’s my preference, if that’s what makes me happy, more power to me.”
“He’s right again. The question is, will you be happy?”
I shrugged.
“Well, only you can answer that. And you need to be honest with yourself. Now, back to the most important topic at hand, the speed dating event.”
“Yeah, that.”
“You can skip the speed dating—”
“Make up your mind!”
“You didn’t let me finish. You can skip the speed dating if you have a thing for Nick. It’s nothing to be ashamed about. You keep telling me he’s not your type, but I see something happening between you. Something changed. It’s in your physiology when you talk about him. And the bottom line is, you can’t choose love. Love chooses you.”
I laughed. “Love? Seriously? Give me a break. Like it’s that easy and I’m just going to find love in my own backyard.”
“Sometimes it is that easy.”
“I think you’re confused. Just because I may think a man is attractive, or because I enjoyed a few laughs with him at the sushi restaurant does not mean it is anywhere close to love.”
“You laughed with a man?” She sat back in her chair. “You didn’t tell me this. That’s amazing. It’s unprecedented.”
“I’ll give you that much and it could’ve been a fluke. It doesn’t mean anything. And to prove it. I’m going to the speed dating event.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Dee stared at me again, but I forced a smile right back, letting her know I was making the right decision and would prove to her that I wasn’t interested in Nick.
But if I were being completely honest, I needed to prove it to myself first.
Chapter Eighteen
RUTH
After visiting Byron at Caltonic and confirming that everything was a done deal, I called Gary to update him, and then I walked into the Mexican restaurant where the speed dating event was being held. I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised that women were already seated in their places, ready to go, while the majority of the men were hanging out in the bar.
I had the sudden urge to eat chips and guacamole but decided against for fear of having something stuck in my teeth during the dates and not finding out until I got home.
Luckily, the women stayed seated in the same place while the men would rotate around the room to each of the tables when the buzzer or whatever they used sounded to signify the date was over. Dee told me that each date lasted only three minutes.
I checked in and the host gave me my name tag that said RETH.
Seriously?
I mentioned the mistake and she let me know that the name tags were pre-printed since the event was sold-out, but that they would try to get me another one.
Until then, my name was Reth.
I squeezed through the men at the bar, grabbed a Heineken from the bartender, and waded back through the sea of testosterone, noticing that there were easily ten to twelve sets of eyes watching me as I made my way to my assigned table.
Could they be anymore obvious? What a bunch of horn dogs.
I sat and took a swig of my beer, waiting.
Lively Latin music was playing, and I couldn’t help tapping my toes to the beat, waiting for the event to start.
A man grabbed a microphone from the sound booth and walked to the center of the dance floor, smiling. “Welcome to our speed dating event this evening. Are you happy?”
Cheers and applause filled the bar.
Oh, joy. I’m ecstatic.
Okay, maybe I needed to change my attitude because I paid a lot of money for this event. I didn’t want to come off as a snobby bitch who thought she was too good to be there because we were all in the same boat.
We were all looking for love.
“We’re glad you could make it!” the man continued. “Odds are, you are going to meet someone tonight. Will they be your soulmate? Only time will tell. Just a few quick rules. You get three minutes per date. When you hear the bell, your date is over and then the men will move to their right to start a new date at the next table. Mark your scorecards in between dates, so we know if you would like to see that person again. We’ll send you an email tomorrow with contact details of the other person, if you both expressed the same interest. You’re all business professionals here. Do not talk about your jobs. Talk about your interests outside of work, your hobbies, favorite foods, places you’d like to travel to, you get the idea. No business talk, got it?”
“Got it,” everyone answered together.
“Are you ready? Let’s do this! Your first date starts now!” He smiled and rang the bell.