“Kit Cat?” He set the pizza on the kitchen island. The pre-game blared from the living room, but neither of them appeared.
Finally, after Dylan had helped himself to a beer and pulled out some plates, Josh appeared from the hall to his bedroom.
“Did I interrupt something, bro?” He gave Josh a conspiratorial elbow to the ribs, but he didn’t react.
“Nope. Cat will be out in a minute.” Josh got a beer for himself, then he opened a can of ginger-ale, pouring it into a glass, and carried it all into the living room.
Dylan followed with three plates of pizza. He took the armchair, leaving the couch for the newlyweds. “So, we have to talk a little shop,” he said.
He’d been dreading this conversation. He’d glossed over the whole job thing for Dani, some macho part of him not wanting to let her see how heavy his mind had been over it, but this was more than just a tough sale. Something about this client eluded him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. Not only was every line he used met with a skepticism that he was starting to take personally, but he couldn’t seem to get a handle on what exactly the Jansens were looking for so he could start tailoring his approach. For the first time ever, he felt out of his depth.
Of course, he wasn’t going to say any of that to Dani. I had a shitty meeting with a guy I need to impress. I’m scared I’m losing my touch, and it’s kind of all I have.
His forehead got damp just thinking about admitting that out loud.
“This doesn’t sound good,” Josh said.
Dylan cleared his throat and took a piece of pizza. “It’s the Jansen building. I met with the owner, gave him my standard pitch, but this guy’s tough.” As he was explaining, Cat came out of the bedroom in a pair of pajama shorts and a baggy t-shirt, barefoot with no makeup. She looked like shit, which he had to admit was difficult for her to achieve.
“What happened to you?”
Instead of giving him her usual spunky reply, Cat’s face fell and her eyes got all watery like she was about to burst into tears. He shot a what the fuck glance at Josh, who held his arm out to her.
“She doesn’t feel well.”
“Sorry, Kit Cat,” he said, making a mental note to share this clue with Dani. “I got you extra veggies on your pizza, just like you like.”
She wiped the corner of her eye with her t-shirt and took a plate from Josh. “Thanks, Dylan.”
“So, anyway. Like I said, the guy is old-school. He’s not exactly falling for my charming personality. He wants me to come to some big gala they’re hosting there to woo the historical society, but I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feel from him. I’m thinking I need to take a different approach.”
“That invite sounds promising, though.”
“Yeah, but it’s this old dude and his wife. He’s got grandkids. None of my usual topics of conversation are in this guy’s wheelhouse.” Usually he wined and dined his targets. He took them out on the town, and after a few scotch and sodas, gave them the Dylan Pierce closing argument. Not Jansen, though. This dude probably owned some of the swanky restaurants he used to impress clients.
“You’re telling me you don’t know how to sell a guy because he’s a few years older than you and he’s got kids?” Josh asked.
“I’m just saying he’s stuffy.” There was another piece, though. One Josh wasn’t going to like. “At the end of the meeting, his wife told me to bring my girlfriend to the event and… I might not have corrected her and told her I didn’t have one.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I just got the sense she was feeling me out, seeing what kind of guy I was, and that it mattered.”
Josh ran a hand over his chin, that line on his forehead reappearing. “What are you going to do now?”
Dylan glanced at Cat who picked at her slice of pizza, looking like she was being forced to eat garbage. It wasn’t his best idea, but the only women he knew who would be able to hold their own at a thing like this were in the industry. He didn’t want to tip his hand at how hard he was trying to win this job. “I thought maybe I could borrow Cat for the night,” he said.
Josh laughed. “You thought what?”
“Just schmooze him with a pretty girl on my arm. One I know won’t say anything stupid.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” Josh replied with enough amusement that Dylan felt a little jab of offense.
“Why not?”
“Because, asshole, if you win us this job, there’s going to be a lot more meetings and events that I’ll have to attend too. You’re not borrowing my wife for the next year and a half while this project gets press.”
Right. He hadn’t really thought of that. Usually he got in and got out, but a building like this would require some extra face-time from both of them.
“Why don’t you ask Dani?” Cat said.
“Dani?” Dylan coughed, nearly choking on his beer.
“I’m sure she would do you a favor,” Cat said. “Free food and drinks. She likes getting dressed up. Plus she boosts peoples’ images for a living. She’d be good at this. Want me to call her?”
“No!” The last thing he needed was Dani thinking he’d asked Cat to ask her. But Cat had a point. Why not? They were still friends even if they were the kind who were secretly sleeping together. Would he have thought twice about asking her if Cat had suggested it before? Probably not. Besides, he didn’t hate the idea of spending the night with Dani in a pretty dress. This might be one of Cat’s best ideas yet.
“Okay, Kit Cat. Thanks. I’ll ask her.”
Showing up to Sunday brunch hungover was another thing New Dani was determined to put in the past. After her wedding, Emma had instituted the once a month tradition to ensure that no matter what direction their lives went in, there would always be scheduled “girl time.” Emma did stuff like that—scheduled fun and used terms like “girl time.” Although, when Old Dani had been feeling a little under the weather on brunch days, she could admit she was glad that all she had to do was roll out of bed and show up to a perfectly-executed morning.
Today she was feeling great, having had a full eight hours of sleep after Mike had dropped her off at a respectable eleven-forty-five p.m. The date itself had only been so-so, the music was weird, and Mike turned out to be one of those guys who tried to sing along to all the songs to prove he knew the words. She hated that. That’s what you’re paying the band to do. But the fact that she had at least six more tries already guaranteed had kept her from finishing her night feeling like a failure. She’d even hydrated and taken off her makeup before bed. New Dani was so responsible.