Chapter 7
Chapter 7
I SAT IN MY car a few days later, clutching a contract firmly in my hand. I let out an excited squeal. They had signed! After all this time, after all the legal to-ing and fro-ing, I had managed to get Nettco to sign on the dotted line, giving us their business for the next three wonderful years. I stomped my feet on the floor as my heart pumped in my chest. Yes!
With this account won, I had now officially met my annual sales target. No, scratch that: I’d exceeded my annual sales target! I let out a deep long breath as the adrenaline rushed around my body. I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. I was in serious bonus territory now and had positioned myself very nicely indeed for my interview with Laura for the Regional Manager’s position.
I liked Cloud Nine. I was Parker’s Cassie, I’d signed the deal, and I’d made my targets. This had been a good week, a very, very good week.
I picked up my phone and pressed Parker’s number. It went straight to voicemail. I hung up. I might be his Cassie, but this sort of news deserved more than to be told in a voicemail. I turned the car over and pulled out of the Nettco Head Office car park, happier than a kid at Christmas.
Once back in the office, I burst into Will’s office and slapped the contract down on his desk in front of him. He looked up at me, startled. Good .
He furrowed his brow. “What did that poor paper ever do to you, Dunny?”
“Nettco signed with us. For three years.” I beamed at him, triumphant. Even Will Jordan’s stupid nickname for me couldn’t put a dent in my euphoria today.
His face broke into a grin, his eyes dancing. “Really?”
I could barely contain my excitement. “Yes, really ! They’ve agreed to all the terms and want us to roll ‘The Sheldon’ out as soon as possible.”
“That’s amazing!” He bolted out of his chair and around his desk. With his long legs, he was at my side in two seconds flat. He reached out to me. For a moment, I thought he was going to collect me up in a hug. Instead, he stopped short and patted me on the arm awkwardly. “Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. What, no “You couldn’t have done it without me”? Was Will Jordan’s famous arrogance slipping? I couldn’t help but beam at him. “Thanks.”
He brushed past me toward his door.
I watched him, puzzled. “Where are you going?”
“We need to ring the bell.”
Most sales organizations like to recognize a new big deal when it’s signed. For AGD that recognition came in the form of a large brass bell on the wall outside the Regional Manager’s office. Will grabbed a hold of the rope and gave the bell a loud ring, grabbing everyone’s attention.
When all eyes in the room were on him, Will announced in a loud voice, “Dunny . . . I mean, Cassie , just signed the Nettco Electricity deal!”
Everyone clapped, some even cheered. I grinned at the sea of faces, even giving them a little bow. I thoroughly enjoyed the moment.
Marissa came over to me and gave me a hug. “Awesome work, Cassie.”
I breathed in her perfume. “Thanks.” I grinned at her, my pride surging. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to stop smiling today.
After pats on the back and congratulations from my fellow salespeople, I sat back down at my desk. I picked up my phone and pressed Parker’s number again. This time, he picked up after a handful of rings.
“Hi, you.”
A smile spread across my face at the sound of his voice. “Hi.”
“How’s your day going?”
“Well.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I just signed—”
“Hold on a sec, will you, Cassie?”
I could make out a voice as he muffled the phone. I waited patiently. I knew he was a doctor. I knew he was busy. My news could wait.
“Sorry, Cassie. Look, I have to go. Call you later?”
Despite my rational brain telling me it wasn’t personal, I deflated like a punctured balloon. “Sure. That would be nice.” I hung up and sat stock still at my desk. I would get the chance to tell him later when he called back. And he would be thrilled for me. After all, I was his Cassie.
“Dunny.” I was so lost in thought I didn’t notice Will until he arrived at my desk. “We need to celebrate this win.” He turned to face the team. “Drinks are on me!”
The sales team erupted in cheers.
“Five o’clock at O’Dowd’s.” He looked back at me. “See you then,” he added with one of his cheeky winks
“Sure,” I replied, my balloon inflating once more. “And . . . err, thanks.”
Five o’clock rolled around, and the sales team arrived en masse at O’Dowd’s, the lively local Irish bar a stone’s throw away from the office. Even though technically Paige isn’t part of the team, it wouldn’t feel right not to have her there, so Paige, Marissa, and I stood with the assembled masses in the bar as Will made sure we all had a drink in hand.
“Attention, everyone!” Will raised his bottle of beer as heads turned his way. “I’d like to make a toast. To closing a big deal and showing us all how it’s done. Cassie Dunhill, known as Dunny to her closest friends.” There was a ripple of laughter among the team. “To Dunny!”
“To Dunny!” everyone echoed, raising their glasses and grinning in my direction.
I smiled and nodded back at them, all the while devising how I was going to murder Will Jordan for sharing that repulsive name with the team. “Thanks, everyone. You’re awesome!” I ensured my tone was bright and positive. “It’s always great to get a big win. And thanks to . . . err, Will for his help with it, too.” I knew I had to thank him, even if it riled me to do so. “Cheers back atcha!” I raised my glass of white wine to toast them all. My short-but-sweet speech over, the crowd returned to their conversations and I turned to Paige and Marissa. “I’ve got some other news.”
My phone vibrated in my suit jacket pocket. “Hold on.” I pulled it out and noticed it was Parker calling.
“You can’t do that to us!” Marissa complained.
“It’s Parker. Be right back.” I rushed out of the bar to the relative quiet of the city street outside.
“Where are you? It sounds rowdy.”
“I’m outside a bar. We’re celebrating my big win.”
“What did you win?”
“A big deal. I signed a contract with a customer today. It’s kind of a big deal.” I swelled with pride.
“That’s amazing. Well done.”
“Thanks.” My future husband, Mr. Supportive-Of-My-Career. I remembered what Paige had said about having Parker on my stomping ground, to show him I was more than a jazz virgin and girl who got barstools caught on my dress. “Hey, do you want to go to a Pilates class with me?”
“Pilates? Is that where you lie down on the ground and do lots of breathing?”
I laughed. His ignorance was both endearing and encouraging: I could totally shine in front of him at a class. “Sort of. It’s a bit harder than just that. I go quite often. There’s a class on Saturday morning at my studio in Herne Bay. We could go to it, and then grab some brunch afterward?”
“I’d love to but I have golf that day.”
My heart sank. I remembered he’d told me he played golf every Saturday morning and that he was a little obsessed with beating his friends. “Oh. No matter.”
“Actually, do you know what? I can skip golf this week. I can lie down and breathe in Herne Bay. Let’s do Pilates.”
My happiness threatened to brim over. “It’s a date.”
Back in the bar, I found Marissa and Paige in the same spot.
“So?” Paige asked, her face expectant.
“So, we’re going to my Pilates class on Saturday.”
“Perfect,” Paige proclaimed.
“And what was your other big news?” Marissa asked. “You really left us hanging there.”
I shrugged. “My future husband was calling.” There should be no need to explain further.
Marissa smiled, shaking her head.
Paige stomped her foot. “Tell us!”
With a surge of excitement, I shared the news of my pending interview for Regional Sales Manager with them. I’d played it close to my chest up until now, not wanting to jinx it in any way. But, with the way things were going in both my love life and work life, the Regional Manager’s job seemed totally within my reach.
“Oh, my gosh, Cassie! Everything is falling into place,” Paige said, nodding her head, her eyes huge.
“Oh, no. Don’t you start with that goddess stuff again,” Marissa warned.
“It’s just what Cassie does now is so important for us,” Paige protested, shaking her head. “The fact that things are going so well with Parker, she won the account, and now she’s got this interview has to mean something.”
“Yeah, it does: she’s a lucky cow.” Marissa nudged me, and we both laughed.
“And it’ll be our turn next,” Paige added, a look of quiet confidence on her face. I noticed as she glanced over at Will. He was propping up the bar with a couple of my beat-your-chest, he-man team members, laughing at something one of them had grunted. Probably “Me make fire; you get woman.”
She blushed when he looked over at us and raised his eyebrows.
“Hey, didn’t you say Will helped you win this deal?” Marissa asked. She drained her glass.
I looked back over at him. He was drinking a beer and laughing at something one of The Cavemen had said. “Yeah, he did.”
“Why didn’t he boast about that, then, do you think?” Marissa asked.
I wrinkled my brow. Why indeed?
I set my alarm early on Saturday morning, and it pulled me out of a deep, dreamless sleep with a terrible shock. I hit the “snooze” button and rolled over, determined to catch another few minutes of precious sleep when my eyes pinged open: I had my Pilates date with Parker this morning!
Despite the chill of the morning air—and the fact it was dark and miserable outside—I threw my blankets off and bounded out of bed, heading straight to the bathroom. I had set my alarm extra early today to allow enough time to look super Pilates cute for Parker. And that took time, people! Sadly, I was not one of those women who rolled out of bed looking well rested and beautiful. Oh, no. My hair was usually flattened on one side of my face and all bird’s nest-y on the other, my eyes puffy, and for reasons known only to some mysterious force, my nose actually looked bigger. Still, it was nothing a shower, hair straighteners, and a touch of makeup couldn’t fix.
Sometime later, I was dressed in my cutest top and yoga pants, my socks with special grips so I didn’t slip over and embarrass myself in front of Parker again, and sneakers. My hair was freshly straightened, my makeup perfect. I glanced in the mirror as I collected my keys from the kitchen counter. Yes . I looked just right.
We’d arranged to meet at the Pilates studio a few minutes before the class. As I pulled up, I saw Parker, dressed in track pants, sneakers, and a sweatshirt, reading something on his phone outside the entrance. I jumped out of the car and walked over to him, my mat rolled up under my arm.
“Good morning, handsome,” I chirped.
He looked up from his phone, and his face broke into a wide grin. “Hey, Cassie.” He took me by the hands and pulled me in for a kiss.
“Ready for this?”
He shrugged. “How hard can it be?”
I grinned. “You’ll see.”
Once inside the studio, I greeted a few of the regulars and Parker and I found a spot toward the back of the room where I rolled out my mat.
Parker looked at it down on the floor, concerned. “I didn’t bring one of those.”
“No worries. I’ll get you one.” I wandered to the front of the class and picked him up one of the studio mats. I placed it next to mine.
Parker crooked his finger. I took a step closer to him.
“You look really cute in your Pilates gear,” he whispered in my ear with a smile.
I blushed. “Thanks.”
“So, what do we do?”
“See the woman near the front? That’s Monica. She’s the instructor. She’ll get the music going, and then start the class.”
“Music?”
“Not jazz.” I laughed. “More regular stuff. You know, the sort of thing you’d hear on the radio.”
Someone approached us. “Hi, Cassie. Who’s your friend?” It was Nancy, one of a gaggle of super fit, middle-aged, stay-at-home mothers.
“Hi, Nancy. This is Parker. He’s my . . . ah . . .” Do I say boyfriend? Man of my dreams? Future husband? My tummy did a flip. Definitely can’t say the last two.
In the end, I didn’t need to put a label on him—Parker did it for me. “Hi, Nancy.” Parker extended his hand. “I’m Cassie’s boyfriend.” He gave me a sideways glance and grinned at me.
Heat radiated through my chest. I smiled so much my face could have cracked in two. I was Parker’s girlfriend. Parker’s girlfriend! We were Parker and Cassie. Cassie and Parker. I wondered what our celebrity couple name should be. Passie? Ah, no . Carker? Yeah, I’ll need to work on that.
“Oh!” Nancy’s eyes got huge. “This is news. Cassie?”
With great reluctance, I tore my eyes from Parker’s. “Umm, yes. Parker’s my boyfriend.” Like a magnet, my eyes were drawn immediately back to Parker’s now glowing face. He reached across and took my hand in his. It was warm and reassuring, adding to my bliss.
Nancy clapped her hands together. “Well, don’t you two look a picture.”
“What’s this?” One of the other gaggle’s interest had been piqued. Nicole, a larger woman with thighs of steel who could outdo us all with her impressive lower abdominals, joined our group.
“This is Parker, Cassie’s new boyfriend ,” Nancy declared.
I knew I was blushing. I didn’t care.
Nicole raised her bushy eyebrows, not-so-subtly sizing Parker up. “Well, you’re quite the strapping young man, aren’t you?”
“Err, yes. I guess,” Parker replied with a laugh.
I squeezed his hand.
Nicole grabbed him by the upper arm. “Not bad. Do you work out?”
“Yes, I do. I go to the gym three times a week, run, and play golf.”
“Well, golf isn’t going to do that for you, honey,” Nicole scoffed. “What do you do for a living?”
And so began what we would later refer to as The Great Interrogation of Parker. He held up well, answering their questions with aplomb, never once letting go of my hand. When Janice and Claire got in on the action, Parker began to look a little overwhelmed. And who could blame him? Four menopausal women poking and prodding him like he was a piece of prime cut steak, quizzing him mercilessly about me, about his life, about anything they wanted to know, really. At least no one had asked what his intentions were toward me, although they came pretty close.
I was relieved for both of us when Monica addressed the class. “Hello, all. Welcome, welcome. Let’s all start with a few warm-up exercises, shall we? Get those bodies moving on this cold Saturday morning?”
We went through a series of movements as Parker and I stole glances at one another, sharing a smile whenever our eyes met. It was a great feeling. The best! He was able to keep up with all the exercises, despite grinning his face off during the “bridge” position—in which you lie on your back with your feet by your butt and push your hips up into the air to work on those “buns”—and making me giggle. At one stage, Monica shot me a look—the first time that’d ever happened in all my years of coming to this class. But I didn’t care. I was having a wonderful time with Parker, my boyfriend, sharing something I loved with him.
And, what’s more, I didn’t fall over, say something wrong, or come across as an idiot. I was poised and in control the whole time. Other than the giggle, that is. But that was neither here nor there.
Parker, on the other hand, struggled through the more advanced abdominal section, flopping in a heap on his mat. I persisted, shooting him a supportive smile, all the while enjoying the feeling I was better at something than him. Paige was right; Pilates was a great idea.
Afterwards, Parker suggested we go to Alessandro’s for brunch. Although I’ve never been a fan of its high ceilings, endless chrome and glass—too cold and sterile for my liking—I agreed, and we drove the short distance into the city.
Alessandro’s was heaving, and we were lucky to get a small table near the huge coffee machine, which was in constant use, squirting and steaming and generally making a racket. We both chose eggs benedict, coffee, and juice. I smiled to myself, another thing we had in common.
“So, how did you like your first Pilates session?” I asked between bites. “This is so good.”
“I told you! You’ll learn to love Alessandro’s, trust me.”
I scanned the café, my mouth full of the delicious combination of egg, ham, and hollandaise. It was a very chic place and clearly popular with a mixture of the city’s well-to-dos and hipsters alike. I could see why Parker liked it. But it wasn’t the Cozy Cottage.
“Pilates was all right,” Parker said, bringing my attention back to him. “Those ab exercises were a little more intense than I’d expected. I do crunches at the gym, but not hundreds with my legs flailing about in the air like an ant.”
I laughed. “Your legs didn’t flail. You looked good.” My eye twitched as an image of him in a collapsed heap on the mat sprung into my head.
“You were watching me, were you?” He smiled, looking at me through his lashes.
“Maybe a little.” I smiled back. We were doing a lot of smiling at each other today. It was beyond wonderful.
Oh, yes. I could get used to being Parker Hamilton’s girlfriend.