A Gigolo for Christmas (6 page)

“Sorry about that, I could have
sworn I put the thing on vibrate this morning.”

“I believe our interview is now
concluded.”

“Because my cell phone rang?”

“Indeed.”

“I do apologize for the
interruption, but I can’t control other people calling me.”

“I concede the point, but the
very fact that the phone rang shows that you are either inobservant enough that
you did not notice the sign prominently placed in our lobby proclaiming this
building a cell-phone free zone, or you are arrogant enough to believe that
such rules do not apply to you. There are valid reasons that cellular
telephones are prohibited in the building.

“I was about to offer you the
position, however, we do not need employees who are inobservant or those who
are arrogant. Therefore, I bid you a good day, and wish you every luck in your
job hunt.”

He turned away from her, opened a
file on the side portion of his desk and began to read.

Sheila had noticed the sign, but
as it had read “cell-phone free zone” rather than “cell-phone free building”,
she had assumed it referred only to the lobby, and not to the whole building.
Because she had thought her phone was on vibrate, she had not bothered to turn
it completely off.

She rose and left his office,
silently retracing her steps toward the bus stop. Nearly a week gone, and she
hadn’t managed to get a job yet. She had no more interviews scheduled today.
Tomorrow would be entirely eaten up with a stop at her former workplace in hope
of getting her final pay check, and a stop at the unemployment office that
would likely take several hours even though she had an actual appointment. She
also had a few leads on apartments she hoped would be affordable. In addition
to hunting a job, she now needed to look for a place to live.

She pulled her phone out to find
out who had called during the interview. A warm tingly feeling filled her from
head to toe as she saw Anders’ name on the screen. Could you fall in love in
only five days? Sheila decided that you could, and it felt good.

She punched the screen with her
fingertip to call him back.

“Sheila, thanks for calling back.
Did I call at a bad time?”

“I was in the middle of an interview.
Sorry I had to just cut you off like that.”

“No problem. How did the
interview go, do you think you got the job?”

Sheila laughed, knowing Anders
had no idea.

“No. As a matter of fact, he told
me that he’d been about to offer me the position when the phone rang.
Apparently they have a very strict no-cell-phones rule for their whole
building. Even vibrate isn’t enough, the phones have to be turned all the way
off. And somehow, my phone had switched itself from vibrate to ring.”

“Oh, geez, I didn’t mean to mess
you up like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, you
couldn’t have known. What did you need?”

Anders tone brightened.

“I was hoping we could go out
Monday night? I’ll be off, and I’ve got an idea that might help you in the job
department.”

“I’d like that. What are the
chances of us getting together before that? I’ve been officially evicted, and
the sooner I get a job, the better.”

“Can’t, sorry. I’m booked all
weekend.”

“That’s all right. What time
Monday? And what should I wear?”

“Five o’clock all right? And wear
your Denny’s best.”

Sheila laughed.

“Five it is. See you Monday.”

The phone gave the beep it made
when a call disconnected, and she punched the menu buttons to close the phone
app and turn the screen off before she returned it to her purse. She’d once
left the app open, and something in her purse had dialed an international phone
call and then kept the line open until the phone ran out of battery power.
International calls weren’t covered on her plan, and it had cost her a goodly
amount of money that month. She didn’t care to repeat the experience.

When the bus came, Sheila was
more than a little glad to climb into its warm interior and stare out the
window all the way back to her apartment.

Sheila was ready and waiting when
Anders’ knock came at the door. She swung the door open and stepped out,
directly into his hug. She loved that he was open with his affection, and not
shy about expressing it in public. He ushered her down the stairs, and then
they linked arms as they walked toward the parking lot.

To her surprise, they walked
through the parking lot and out onto the street.

"I didn't think there were
any Denny's-level restaurants within walking distance," she said.

"I don't know if there are,”
he chuckled. “We're actually going to a place I know clear across town. It's a
little hole-in-the-wall deli, that has the most divine ham and cheese in a
tomato and basil wrap that you've ever tasted."

"Across town? We're not
walking clear across town are we?"

"No, silly, we're taking the
train."

They arrived at the bus stop with
two minutes to spare before the bus arrived. They found seats together on the
very back row and settled in for the ride down to the transit center where they
would get on the train.

Sheila enjoyed looking out the
bus window at the Christmas lights decorating all the shops on Main Street.
Even though it never snowed here like it had where she had grown up, she still
loved all of the beautiful lights and decorations.

Anders put his arm around her shoulder,
and she leaned against him while continuing to watch the Christmas lights out
the window. He started drawing designs on the leg of her jeans with his finger.
The spiral designs he drew seemed to uncoil and flow throughout her body,
filling her with warmth and desires that were best pursued after marriage.

She turned her head to tell him
to stop, but found he had been waiting for her to do so. As she faced him, he
claimed her lips in a soul-shattering kiss. Sheila's mind went blank. The only
important thing in the world was Anders, and the way he was making her feel.
She held tightly to the open edges of his jacket, pulling him as close as she
could manage.

Sheila gasped for breath when
Anders finally broke their kiss.

"Now I know why you wanted
to take the train," she said. "If you're not driving, you can be busy
doing other things."

Anders chuckled in her ear.
“Actually, I just didn’t want to mess with downtown traffic. However,” he
brushed his lips across her cheek, “there are certainly some other benefits to
not driving.” He nibbled on her earlobe, biting it gently and flicking his
tongue across the bottom edge.

Sheila tipped her head at an
angle to give him better access to her ear and neck. None of the boys she’d
dated in high school or college had made her feel this way. She’d always given
them a polite kiss or two, but had never wanted to give – or take – more from
the relationship than that. This was the first time she’d been tempted to offer
a man everything, or had a desire to take everything in return.

Anders’ mouth returned to hers,
devouring her as though he was a starving man. She was delighted to share in
the feast. They were both breathing hard at the end of the kiss, and Sheila
wasn’t quite sure how she had ended up sitting in Anders’ lap. However she’d
got there, she really didn’t mind remaining in place.

She snuggled closer to him, and
felt the changes in his body pressing against her leg. He was apparently as
affected by their kisses as she was. She considered that a good thing.

The bus came to a halt at the
transit station, and Anders helped Sheila to her feet, then followed her from
the bus. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist as they walked to the
train platform and boarded. The warmth from his body penetrated her thin jacket,
and she welcomed it. There were certainly a lot of benefits to having a
boyfriend who wasn’t afraid to hold more than her hand in public.

As the train pulled out of the
station, Sheila had a sudden thought.

“Anders, the bus route that goes
past my complex quits running at eight.”

“I know.”

“We’re going to have to eat in a
hurry, if we’re going to back on this side of town by then.”

“There’s no hurry.”

“No hurry? It’s an awful long
walk from the transit station to my place.”

Anders laughed. “I know. That’s
why I parked my car at the transit station’s park-and-ride lot. The train runs
almost all night. After dinner, we simply take the train back to my car, and I
run you home in that.”

Sheila warmed inside at his
careful and thoughtful planning. The train took them into the next town, right
past the huge town Christmas tree which had been decked out with oversized
lights and plastic ornaments that fit the scale of the tree. They crossed the
river, where lights from office buildings and boats twinkled on the surface of
the water.

When they reached the busy
downtown region, Anders finally stood and they exited the train. Before they
left the platform, however, he walked her all the way to the far end, showing
her the artwork that had been placed there.

“Every station has artwork, all
from different artists. It’s pretty cool, really. I spent a whole day once,
getting off at each station and looking at the art. Some of it’s pretty
strange, but most of it is beautiful.”

The deli was only a short walk
down the street from the station, and Anders had been right about the ham and
cheese “sandwich” wrapped in the tomato and basil-flavored tortilla. It was
heavenly.

As they left the deli, the
conversation turned to her current difficulties.

“Have you found a new apartment
yet?”

“No. No one will rent to me
unless I’m employed or on welfare. They want a guaranteed source of income.”

“Well, I can understand their
position, even though it makes it harder for you. Most people aren’t unlucky
enough to lose their home and job in the same week.”

“No kidding.”

They entered a small park which
stood between them and the return train route. The one-way streets in the
downtown area forced the train tracks to split and run a block away from each
other. The park full of sculptures offered an easy path between the stations
that was relatively well lighted.

“How goes the job search, or dare
I ask?”

“It doesn’t. The place I just got
fired from is really the only job I’ve had since I left college. I can’t give
them as a reference, obviously, because Miss Jacobson is conducting a one-woman
campaign against me. When I went into the office Friday to get my final
paycheck, Miss Jacobson wouldn’t give it to me. I finally ended up forcing my
way into the owner’s office and threatening to bring a wrongful termination
suit against the company before they would pay me. Apparently Miss Jacobson
hadn’t told them she fired me. She didn’t say anything, and when I didn’t show
up for work three days in a row, they decided that I had quit in shame over
what had happened at the Christmas party.

“When I told them I hadn’t come
in because she’d fired me Sunday night, they called her into the office and she
denied it. She said she couldn’t possibly have fired me on Sunday night,
because a Christmas party gone wrong, while sadly disappointing, wasn’t grounds
for firing someone. They believed her rather than me, because she’s been with
the company forever. Of course, I had no proof she’d fired me, since no one
else heard her say it, so we ended up that they gave me the wages I’d already
earned, and I agreed not to sue for wrongful termination.”

“That’s terrible!”

“It is, but without proof, I
can’t really take them to court anyway, where it would just be my word against
hers, and she’s already showed she’ll lie about it. So I took my money and got
out of there. I cashed the check immediately, before they could put a
stop-payment on it.”

“Good thinking.”

“You told me Thursday that you
had an idea for me.”

“I do, but I’m not sure you’ll
like it. Do you have any dressy clothing?”

Sheila laughed. “The velvet
pantsuit I was wearing Sunday is the dressiest thing I own, and between the
blood and the punch, it’s ruined.”

“Hmmm. Well, that puts a damper
on things, but still, there’s likely to be some dressy clothing you can pick up
cheaply at Good Will or other second-hand stores.”

“Why would I need dressy
clothing?”

Anders stopped and pulled her
toward him, sharing another kiss.

“I’ve been absolutely unable to
get you out of my head. You’re such a beautiful woman; you’re kind and gracious
even when others are rude to you. I saw that at the Christmas party. Everyone
there treated you unkindly and made snide comments about your home and your
beautiful home-made Christmas decorations, and ignored all the effort you went
to in hosting the party. You didn’t even go crazy when that girl attacked you
after the punch spilled. You didn’t say anything about the broken television,
and I know you haven’t got the money right now to replace it.