Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
You could’ve heard a pin drop after my statement. I look around the table and see that both of his parents have stopped eating, and Anthony can barely contain his laughter.
I hear a slight cough coming from Claire, so I look in her direction. “Do you mean, like, a prostitute?” She says this calmly and without judgment. Her eyes are staring directly at me.
Anthony bursts into a full belly laugh while I’m left speechless. Claire’s eyes move slowly to look at her son.
“No, Mom, she’s not a prostitute. She attends social functions as a platonic companion. It’s a great service to use when you need a date that doesn’t expect dinner and flowers. I saw her at the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival, and I knew I wanted to date her. We went to Damon’s cancer research fundraiser together. I asked her out, but she said she wouldn’t mix business with pleasure, so I fired her. I was no longer a client, and she was free of her conflict. The rest is history.”
“That will be an interesting story to tell your kids,” David says as he puts another forkful of meatloaf in his mouth. At the mention of kids, my eyes dart to Anthony, and he is still beside himself, laughing.
“I love interesting stories, but I have to say that this one tops them all for me,” Claire comments. “How did you ever get started in that business, Emma? It’s not your average career.”
“It’s a long story, but the short version is I lost my mother at a young age. I had an absentee father, and at eighteen, I had to support myself.” I take a sip of wine and continue. “My mom always told me to make sure I could take care of myself. I remember her telling me not to let any man take away my options. I met a nice man at a coffee shop, and he needed a date for a holiday party—the rest is history. In hindsight, I was careless in going out with a stranger, especially since he was so much older than me.” My eyes meet with Anthony’s as I say the word “older.” “I was fortunate. He turned out to be a nice man who ended up being a lot of help to me. All of my clients have come from that initial meeting. I only escort people who are referred to me. I don’t date people I escort.”
“Are you still in the escort business?” Claire asks.
“No, I quit after the first date with your son. I work for Anthony in the marketing department of Anthony Haywood’s.”
“She does an amazing job in our marketing department. Now that Ahz has opened, things have slowed down. I’m afraid she may get bored and want to leave me.” Anthony looks across the table at me.
“Since you brought it up. Kat says they will be hiring a public relations representative for Ahz, and I’m thinking about applying. I like working at Anthony Haywood’s. However, fetching coffee and checking print ads isn’t quite as fulfilling as I’d hoped it would be. It’s not why I spent four years in college.” I see Anthony is not happy with this information. He knew I was getting bored, or he wouldn’t have mentioned that he was afraid I’d leave him.
“I think it’s great you went to college, and you’re chasing your dreams. In my day, women were breaking free of the traditional wife and mother roles. I was more of a traditionalist. I loved staying home and taking care of my boys––Anthony and David are my world.” She smiles warmly at her husband and then at Anthony. “I would’ve entered the workforce as a secretary if Anthony didn’t sneak in there.” She looks at her son with pride.
“My mom was the same. She was a stay-at-home mom until she passed away.”
“We’re so sorry to hear you lost your mom at such an early age. Aren’t we, David?” Claire asks. David stops eating his meatloaf long enough to nod his head.
“Oh… Emma,” Anthony says. “We’re going to the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival in a couple of weeks. I kept meaning to tell you, but I always forgot. Will you go with me?”
I love the way he says we are going but then asks if I want to attend.
“Of course, I’ll go. You’re talking about food and wine, two of my favorite things. There’s no way I’m missing it.” They have the best food and wine available. Who would pass that up?
“How is Damon?” Claire asks as she cuts her meatloaf in small bites as she waits for one of us to answer.
“He’s great. He just got back from Hawaii.” Looking up, he winks at me. “He’s engaged to marry Emma’s former roommate, Katarina. No date’s been set, but I don’t see Damon waiting too long.”
“Oh, my goodness, he’s engaged? How exciting.” Claire claps her hands together. “I can’t wait until the day my son comes home and tells me he’s engaged.” She looks straight into Anthony’s eyes. “You’re not getting any younger, and neither is your father and me. We’d like some grandchildren someday.”
Now it’s my turn to bust into a full belly laugh. Anthony’s mouth drops open in shock.
“On that note, I think it’s time to clean up and get on the road. Em, and I have work tomorrow.” He stands, picks up a few dishes, and heads to the kitchen.
We help clean up the dinner mess and gather our things so we can leave. Claire bags up some cookies for us to eat later. She clips a few yellow roses and then wraps the stems in damp paper towels and foil.
“It was such a pleasure to have you for dinner, Emma. My boy is pretty crazy about you.” She gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for having me. I’m pretty crazy about your son.” I look up into the face of the man that has stolen my heart. Our eyes connect for only a minute, but that’s all I need to see that Anthony Haywood loves me.
We walk hand in hand down the walkway and enter the car for the short drive home.
“Are you thinking of changing jobs?” He puts the car into gear and hits the accelerator.
“Yes, I think it would be a good position for me. I love talking to people, and I think I’d make a good ambassador for Ahz. It would also give me more time to see Kat. I rarely see her, and I miss her.” I look to my left and see the grim line of Anthony’s mouth. He doesn’t want to share me with anyone. “You’re going to have to learn how to share,” I tease.
“I’m an only child, Emma. I have never had to share.” The tension in the car is palpable. Who would’ve thought that considering a transfer would cause such a kerfuffle?
“Well, you’re thirty-four, and it’s time you learn that you don’t always get your way.” He’s pissing me off.
“Why are you being so bitchy? I want you to be with me. Is it so hard to be with me? Things have been going well.”
“Yes, things are going well, but I will not give everything up for you. I said I’d move into your house. I gave up my job for you. I’m making a lot of sacrifices.” My voice seems to get away from me. “I can’t put all of my eggs in your basket, Anthony. Everything about my life is about you right now, and that scares the shit out of me. What happens if we have a fight and one of us says that’s it?”
“We’re fighting right now, Emma. You’re sitting here, yelling at me. I’m not ready to throw in the towel, are you? If you are, then you’re not the girl I thought you were.”
As the tears pour from my eyes, we pull into the garage of his house. He throws the car into park and exits in a huff. I sit in the passenger seat and weep. What the hell just happened? We had a lot of fun at his parents’ house, and at the mention of me applying for a transfer, the entire night turned to shit. I sit in the car alone for what seems like an eternity. I pull out my phone and text my friend.
Trouble in paradise. Can you meet for lunch tomorrow?
Yes, let’s meet at the taco shop on Sunset Blvd. at noon. Will that work? Are you okay? Do you need me now?
That will be good. I’m okay and no, stay home. I’m heading to bed soon, anyway.
Hang in there. See you tomorrow. Love you.
Love you too!
As soon as I push send, the lights in the garage turn on, and I see Anthony standing by the door.
“Are you coming in or what?” he growls.
I open the door to the car and step out. Wiping the residual tears from my eyes, I breeze past him and head straight for the bedroom.
“Wait up, Em. Let’s not do this. I’m sorry. I don’t know why we had this fight. I love you, babe. Please don’t be mad at me anymore.”
“I love you, too, but if you squeeze a chick too hard, you’ll crush it to death. You have to understand that I have been on my own since I was twelve. I spent a lot of time with Kat’s family, but I spent more time by myself than anyone else. I’m not used to this. I love you, but I need time to be me as well.”
“I don’t know where all of this came from. You’ve been pulling away a bit lately, and I’m feeling insecure. I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was suffocating you.”
“I’m having a tough week. I’m sorry, too. I love you, and I’ll try not to be so bitchy.”
“I’m sorry about that, too. It looks like I’ll be trading in some of those brownie points that I’ve collected.” He gives me a timid smile.
“Let’s just go to bed,” I say as I tug him toward our room. All the tension seems to have disappeared, and we are back to ourselves. Our first fight, and we came out relatively unscathed.
“Make love to me, Em. I need to feel you in my arms now more than ever.”
I fall into his embrace. I love the feel of being wrapped in his arms. The first heated kiss sets off a frenzy of activity. All the tension from the day is waiting to be released at this moment. We quickly remove each other’s clothes and climb into bed.
“I was expecting punishment sex, but makeup sex is going to be even better,” I pant as he sinks himself deep inside me.
“Oh, you’re going to get punished, all right. I’m going to take you hard for making me feel old today. Then I’m going to make love to you because I love you so much that it almost hurts me. If you’re still mad at me after that, then we’ll have makeup sex. By tomorrow morning, I want our minor disagreement to be a long-lost memory.”
“For the record, I’m not mad at you, but I’ll pretend to be to get the makeup sex. I hear makeup sex is the best.”
He pulls me into his arms and begins an evening full of punishment and pleasure. It’s hours before we fall asleep.