The VIP Room (31 page)

Lauren clicked off and jumped up to get her laptop from the kitchen counter. Sure enough, there was a new email from Derek Holmes. She opened it and quickly scanned through all the photos. She didn't even look at the estimate. She'd pay whatever he asked.

Lauren closed the laptop and took it and a notepad with her as she exited the kitchen. She turned off all the lights on the first floor and headed upstairs to her bedroom. She tossed the computer and pad on her bed and opened her nightstand drawer, perusing the assortment of sex toys laid out before her.

She rested her hand on the big black cock, but then moved over to the rabbit, her true favorite. This model had a short extension at the base of the unit that worked her clit while the dildo penetrated and vibrated inside her. She pulled off her shirt and slipped naked under the covers. She had about forty-five minutes until Derek called back, and she was going to use some of that time to come up with some intelligent questions about his proposal so he wouldn't think her a total twit, especially after what she had done earlier in the day.

After filling one side of the notepaper with bullet points and questions, Lauren leaned back on her pillow. She had set her phone, the rabbit, and a set of nipple clamps out. She closed her eyes and contemplated her next steps. It was easy to get excited thinking about Derek. She started to review their brief meeting in her mind. The part where she sprayed him was funny, and she laughed.

Then two less amusing images flashed in her mind. One was the caller's face she saw on his phone. The pretty blonde. The other was the image of how Lauren had looked to him, the way she saw herself in the mirror after he left.

What was she thinking? A gorgeous guy like that would never be interested in a plump frump like herself!

In disgust, she tossed the rabbit and the clamps back into the nightstand drawer.

Why was she even fantasizing about him, anyway? It wasn't like she had ever looked twice at a man like him.

Maybe because men who looked like that didn't look at her, or maybe it was because she rarely had contact with any males outside of school or work. Most of the guys she dated or had been set up with were professionals or on track for a professional career.

Derek was the first man who wasn't a white-collar dweeb that she ever gave a second thought. Maybe he wasn't for her, but the idea that she could date someone who wasn't rich or on the way to becoming rich appealed to her. Even better, a guy like Derek who met her now wouldn't know about the family fortune. If she were lucky enough to have some man interested in her, it would be for herself, not the money.

Her cell phone rang. It was the same number as before.

"Hi, Derek. I hope you're sitting down someplace where it's quiet. I have a ton of questions for you."

U
sually Lauren relished sleeping
in on Saturday mornings, but not today. Today she was up with the sun to get ready for Derek's arrival with his crew to work on her landscaping. Ditching her regular morning routine of a five-minute shower, she luxuriated the process and soaped up with scented moisturizing gel, shaved her legs and underarms, and applied a special coconut conditioning rinse after her shampoo that promised to tame the frizzies and split ends.

Instead of pulling her wet hair back with a clip and letting it dry on its own, Lauren used a blow dryer and brush, coaxing her rich brown tresses into soft waves that framed her face and cascaded over her shoulders. She drew the line at applying makeup, but she did slick a shiny pink gloss across her lips.

She slipped into a new matching strapless bra and panty set, a birthday gift from her friend, Samantha, that Lauren had never worn or thought she would. But today she wanted to feel beautiful.

She was surprised when she caught her reflection in the full-length mirror on her closet door. The new lingerie suited her and seemed to emphasize her assets while diminishing the appearance of the muffin-top that her regular underwear created. Normally, she paid little attention to her undergarments, usually purchasing whatever she found in her size that was on sale.

She turned, examining herself from all angles.
Maybe Samantha is right, and I should spend a little more time and money on things that make me feel good instead of settling for whatever is available.

Lauren selected a pretty floral sundress with narrow shoulder straps. The bodice was snug, but not too tight, and the full skirt draped gracefully from her waist. The style sported a retro look, and Lauren thought how well she might have fared if only she had been born in the age of Doris Day and Marilyn Monroe, when a woman's curves were revered instead of mocked or eliminated in Photoshop.

She glanced at the clock and gasped. It was almost eight. She quickly slipped on a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals and headed downstairs to brew a pot of coffee and pop a batch of blueberry muffins in the oven.

The doorbell rang just as she placed the first tray of muffins on a cooling rack and the second one in the oven. Lauren checked herself in the hallway mirror before she opened the door to make sure there weren't any embarrassing streaks of blueberries or flour on her face. She took her lipstick from the pocket of her dress and smoothed the gloss over her lips.

The doorbell rang again, followed by a loud knock. Lauren swung the door open. Derek stood there, arm raised as if he were about to land another knock at the door.

"Sorry, it took so long," she said. "I was getting something out of the oven."

Derek stared at her and said nothing.

Lauren panicked. What was wrong? She had checked herself ... oh God, she hadn't checked her teeth! What if she had blueberries stuck in there or purple stains on her teeth? With her mouth closed, she ran her tongue over her teeth in an attempt to remove any offending particles.

Derek recovered quickly.

"Good morning! I wanted to let you know we've arrived." He gestured behind him.

Lauren looked over and saw a crew of four men jumping down from Derek's truck. Parked behind them was a SUV with the company logo. The men were all wearing tee shirts with his company name, like the one Derek wore the other day.

She glanced back at him. He was wearing khaki trousers, a navy blue collared knit shirt embroidered with his logo, and brown loafers. Although he looked sexy in the snug-fitting clothes, he certainly wasn't dressed for yard work.

Lauren stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her. Her eyes traveled to observe the four workers unloading equipment, bags of fertilizer, trays of flowers, and the shrubbery they were going to plant from the truck.

She turned to him. "I thought you'd be doing the work."

"I have a few appointments this morning, but I'm here to supervise the set up and make sure the crew knows exactly what to do. And I'll be back later to make sure everything gets done right."

"So, you're not going to be here while they work?"

"The first few hours, they'll be pulling out the dead stuff, digging the beds, and laying the fertilizer and new soil. I'll be back before any of the planting is done. I promise you have nothing to be concerned about."

Lauren tried to keep the disappointment out of her eyes. She nodded.

"Of course. I'm sure it will be fine. That they'll be fine." She heard her inner voice screaming in her head.
Shut up and get back in the house before you make a complete fool of yourself.

"I guess I'll see you later then," she said, turning to open the door for a quick retreat.

The smell of blueberry muffins wafted past her as she stepped inside.

"That sure smells good. Are you baking in there?"

She turned around in surprise. "Yes, I made some blueberry muffins. Would you like to come in for some? Or I can pack a few muffins with a cup of coffee to take with you, if you're in hurry to get to those appointments."

Derek's eyes lit up. "I have a little time. Let me first check on my guys, and then I'd be grateful to you for a little breakfast. It's not that often that I get to eat anything home cooked any more."

Lauren heard bells. It was her timer, reminding her she still had a batch in the oven. "I'd better get that. Come around back and knock on the kitchen door when you're ready." She closed the door without waiting for his answer and ran to the kitchen.

The table was already set, so all she had to do was put the muffins in a basket and pour two cups of coffee. It seemed like only seconds had passed when she heard his knock at the back door.

He was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her when she opened the door, like he was an old friend dropping by. As he stepped into the kitchen, she had the urge to urge to kiss him as if he were her lover, a soldier returning from war, and this was their reunion after several years.
No, that's the romance novel you just read, idiot,
she silently admonished herself. Still, he looked awfully handsome, and it felt right having him in the kitchen with her.

"Please sit down." As she motioned to the table, his cell rang.

"Hello." A pause and Derek looked at her with guilty eyes. "Uh huh. All right. I'll be there in five minutes."

He put his cell back in his pocket. "I'm sorry to have put you to so much trouble, but I'm not going to have time for breakfast after all. My first meeting got moved up."

Lauren repressed a sigh. "Don't be silly. It's your business."

She opened a drawer and pulled out a small paper bag. "Here, let me wrap up a couple of muffins for you."

Before he could object, she wrapped two muffins in napkins and stuffed them into the bag. She poured his cup of coffee into her travel mug, which was sitting on the counter and within reach. She handed both to him and opened the back door.

"I'm not going to take no for an answer, as you can see. You can return the mug when you come back later to check on your guys."

Derek looked a bit rattled, but he took the bag and mug from her. "Wow. Thanks. I guess I'll see you later." Before he closed the door, he turned and smiled. "I really am sorry."

Lauren waved him off. She tiptoed to the window to watch him as he walked away. His trousers hugged his butt, and she fanned herself as a wave of heat flashed through her.

"I must have forgotten to turn off the oven," she said aloud and went to check. But she knew her sudden warmth wasn't caused by the room temperature at all.

A
little more than two
hours passed, and Derek had yet to return. Lauren got tired of straining her ears for the sound of his car or the doorbell. She took one more look through her curtains and scanned up and down the street, but there was no sign of an oncoming vehicle. She decided to start working on some of the tax prep work she had brought home to complete for clients.

No sooner than she had sat down at the small antique secretary she had in the living room, the doorbell rang. She saw Derek's SUV parked out front.

"Figures," she muttered as she headed to the door. Even though she knew it was Derek on the other side, what she saw startled her.

Derek was dressed in work clothes, and he stood holding her travel mug in one hand and a bunch of wild flowers in the other.

"You've changed!" she said, and wanted to smack herself in the head.
Duh!

"And ready to get to work." He grinned and held out both hands. "Here's your mug back. And some handpicked flowers to show my appreciation. That was one fine breakfast, even if I did have to enjoy it on the run."

Lauren smiled broadly and accepted his offerings. "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed." She put the flowers to her nose and inhaled. "These are so pretty. Where'd you get them?"

"On the way here from my last appointment, I took some back roads to save time and saw a patch of grass with them growing along the side of the road, so I stopped and snipped a bunch."

"Well, you've managed to arrange them quite nicely, too. All ready to be placed in water. Thank you!"

They stood looking at one another, seemingly unaware of anything else around them.

"Hey, boss," one of the men shouted from the bed of the truck. "We're ready to plant the hibiscus and ixora."

"Coming," Derek called back to the worker without turning around.

"I'll check back with you once it's all done," he said to Lauren.

"I've got to get back to work, too. I've brought some paperwork home from the office," Lauren said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing my yard when you're all done. Oh, by the way, I put out pitchers of water and lemonade on the patio table for your men. Help yourself, if you're thirsty. No muffins left, though."

"I'm not surprised--about the muffins, that is. Thanks for being so thoughtful. I'm sure the guys appreciate it, too," Derek said.

Lauren watched as he turned and walked to the truck. She heard him directing the men as to where the place the plants as she closed the door. Once she put the flowers in a jar of water and set them in the center of her kitchen table, she returned to the living room and placed her desk chair so she could look out the window and watch Derek while he worked without being obvious about what she was doing.

It was rare that Lauren couldn't focus on her work, but today it was useless to even pretend she had anything on her mind besides the handsome, muscular Derek working in her new gardens. She noticed he was totally absorbed in the job at hand and that he spoke to his crew with authority but in a kind way.

When the work continued into her backyard, Lauren decided it would be a good time to go into the kitchen and clean up the mess from the morning's baking. Standing at her sink gave her another excellent view of yard, and she found herself at the sink long after the dishes were washed.

It appeared the work was finally done, and she watched as the workers started to clear away their tools. She heard them in the front again, loading the equipment and any remaining bags of mulch and soil that weren't used. She didn't venture into the living room to watch from the window because she didn't want to be discovered or thought to be spying on them.

The sound of a motor starting and the truck pulling away sent her into despair. Had Derek forgotten his promise to show her the final product? Lauren headed toward the living room, but before she could see the yard, she heard the doorbell ring again.

"All done?" she asked when she opened the door, relieved to see him.

"Yes, Ma'am. Want to come out and take a look?"

"Oh, yes!" she said and joined him on the narrow front porch.

"Let's start out by looking at the yard from the street. That will give you the best idea of how you increased the value of your property by improving the curb appeal of your home."

They walked the short distance to the street and turned around. Lauren gasped. He was right. Replacing the scrawny hedges with new, flowering shrubbery improved the appearance of the small home. The beds of flowering plants along the short walkway made the entrance far more inviting. Her house no longer looked like just another row house on the street of homes with similar exteriors.

Lauren looked up and down the street. "What a difference the new plants make! I'm sure when my neighbors see this, they'll want to know what service I used. You better leave lots of cards for me to pass out!"

"Sure, but let's walk around the back and see the rest of it before you make such a generous offer," he said with a smile.

As they walked, he pointed to every item they had planted, named it, and explained why he had chosen it. "I used plants and shrubs that will survive with little maintenance, but I recommend that you run your sprinklers every day for a week, and if you have time, hose down the flower beds daily, too. After that, you can cut back to three or four times a week with the sprinklers, depending on how rainy it is. I checked all the heads and reset them so they're properly aimed and not clogged."

"You certainly were thorough."

"No extra charge for that, Ma'am."

Lauren stopped walking. "Oh, I didn't mean to imply I was concerned about the price. I mean, of course, I'm concerned about price, but I'm impressed at what a good job you've done." She groaned inwardly and wondered what it was about him that kept her sounding like an idiot.

"Well, we're almost to the backyard. Let's wait until we turn the corner to see if you still think that."

Lauren stopped in her tracks once she saw the backyard. She had a far better view from here than the limited amount she could see from her kitchen window.

"If anything, seeing the back doubles my initial opinion of your work. You've made a remarkable difference out here!"

"I'm glad you're happy. You know, you can easily maintain this yourself, or we can set a schedule for us to keep everything looking good for you."

"Oh, I'll definitely leave that to you. Not only don't I have time, but I don't have much of a green thumb, either."