What They Deserve

THIRTEEN

Willow walked in to find a frantic April. She took caution as she placed the cup of coffee she’d brought for her on the desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

“That won't be a problem. I can take care of it.” April stated, holding her hands together in a gesture of thanks to Willow. “Okay. Yes. Thank you. Have a good day.” 

Willow watched as April placed the receiver on the cradle and looked up with a gigantic grin. “I just got asked to present the plans for that homeless shelter you campaigned for.” 

“That's great.” Willow cheered.

“Yeah. I'm stoked.” April's face was red from excitement. She grabbed the coffee and took a sip before sitting in her own chair. She made it spin as she let out an uncontained squeal. “I have to admit, I would have loved to land the Beijing account. But this is still great.”

Willow was delighted with April's enthusiasm. Sure, it wasn't anything like going to Beijing, but it was all up to April to get things going for the conversion and it was the first time she was in charge of an account. They talked for a few more minutes before she left to go to her own office so that she could dive into the stacks of new proposals on her desk.

The day whizzed by and before she knew it, Willow was walking home. She didn't feel like another night of doing nothing. If she wanted to find Mr. Right, she needed to be out looking. Even if Lucas did turn out to be “the one”, there was no sense in sitting around and waiting until then to find out. 

After a quick shower and dressing in skinny jeans and a flowing top, Willow made her way to Hoke’s. She wasn't much for going to bars, but she wasn't sure where you went hunting for Mr. Right.

The air was heavy with cigarette smoke and the smell of spilled alcohol invaded her nostrils when she entered the building. Willow took a seat near the center of the bar and asked for a light beer.

She realized that she was hoping to run into the mystery man, thinking those chances wouldn’t be too slim since she’d seen him much more often than expected. But she also hadn't had any success in catching his attention, so she let her hope slide away. Sipping on her beer, she listened to the two women at the far left end debate the benefits of some miracle product meant to make you look younger.

She turned in her seat to see the rest of the place, which wasn't much. There were several booths on the other side of the building with a decent-sized wooden dance floor separating them from the bar. A couple danced with little space between them and a look of lust in their eyes. They weren’t bashful about where their hands moved on the other one’s body. 

Willow wondered if they were a couple or a fling. After a few minutes of watching the way they moved and their lack of conversation, she decided this would be a one night stand.

Before she turned around, she noticed an attractive man sitting in one of the booths. He had noticed her too and motioned for her to come over. She gave him a small shake of the head before turning back around.

Silly man. I don't go to you. You come to me.

After several minutes, the heavy smell of cigars invaded the space. The man slid onto the stool next to her and offered her his hand.

“Lincoln Branx.” His voice was deep with the sound of self-assurance.

“Willow Mayes.” She accepted his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before taking a small sip of her beer.

“What brings a beautiful woman in here all by herself?”

Willow knew he was baiting to find out if she was indeed there as a single woman or if he was overstepping some boundaries. “Boredom.” 

“You must have an exciting job then.”

“What makes you think that?” The smallest frown formed on her face.

“Just a guess.” His broad smile gave him a boyish charm that Willow found pleasing.

“You’re wrong. I have an unglamorous office job.” They each took a sip of their drinks. “However, I do love what I do.”

“Something with fashion?”

“You’re not very good at guessing.” Willow burst out laughing.

“Well, it got a laugh out of you, so I’ll go with it.”

His voice was soothing to her and his eyes stayed on her face. Willow found that she had missed this during her short hiatus. She fell into her game and talked to him until closing time.

“Could I take you out sometime?” Lincoln asked as he hailed a cab.

“I don't know if you could handle my exciting life.” 

“Let me be the one to decide if I can.” He took a step closer to her, invading her personal space.

“Okay. How's Friday?” She purred, meeting his challenge and placing a hand on his left shoulder, sliding it down to where his heart was beating at a rapid pace. 

She gained a shudder of pleasure from him. 

“Perfect.” He flashed a grin at her and reached into his jacket pocket. Willow saw a flash of silver as he opened the object and produced a business card before sliding it into her hand. As he tucked the holder back into the pocket, he kept his eyes on her. “Make sure you call me so that I know where to pick you up.”

Willow nodded and watched as his cab took him away. She threw the card in the trash as soon as he was out of sight. “What an idiot.”

She shook her head, not sure if she was chastising Lincoln or herself. She had spent hours with him and only noticed the pale mark around his ring finger when he had handed her the card.

She trudged into her apartment telling herself that's what she deserved. “You said you wanted to be serious. And you were so trying to lead him on. Stupid.” Willow muttered to herself as she changed into pajamas and fell into bed.