PeakExperience (7 page)

The place was a bore and, sadly, it reflected in many ways
how she was managing her life. Everything here was controlled, orderly and
functional. When she thought of what she noticed in Daniel’s space, it was
clear they were living very different lives. Living close to the excitement was
not the same as participating.

Walking over to the portrait and looking at it closely,
which she hadn’t done in a long time, she was moved by the fairy girl her
mother made her into. The original photograph her mother worked from was shot
when she was around sixteen and already her younger brothers were taller than
she was. Although she always loved the picture, she never saw herself as the
pixie her mother depicted. By that age, she had turned her back on the magical
world her parents inhabited. She wanted to be taken seriously no matter what
she did.

Most especially, she wanted to be taken seriously as an
artist. She studied for and planned a career in which her work would be in
demand by a large but choosy audience. Back then she didn’t want to have any
part of what she thought of as poster-art, those who created images for the
college dorm room crowd.

When it was time for her first show, over thirteen years
ago, she sweated for months over her exhibition choices. She wanted them to
show her versatility and range. She selected her favorites but also ones she
believed important because of their complexity and drama. She didn’t ask for
assistance from her family and turned down the input her husband offered. She
wanted to be a success on her own terms, without help.

“I thought your collection for the show was great,” her
mother said after the critics panned her work claiming she had no voice or
focus and patrons showed their agreement but not buying her works.

“Clearly not, did you read the reviews?”

“Of course, but that doesn’t mean I agree with them.”

“That’s because you’re my mother.”

“I’m also a fellow artist, and I would never lie to you by
saying something was good when I didn’t think it was.” There was a pause. “If
anything was wrong with the collection it was that the magic was missing.”

“What are you talking about?” she angrily asked her mother.
“I don’t do fantasy images. These were abstracts. What has that got to do with
magic?”

“Darling, if you have to ask, then you’re not going to
accept the answer.”

Lena had slammed down the phone and didn’t speak with her
mother for nearly six weeks, a record for them, and when they did start talking
again Lena refused to discuss art, no matter how many attempts Janice made. She
had to give her mother points for tenacity. Besides, by that time her marriage
was showing serious cracks and there were other things to discuss. By the
summer both her marriage and career were over.

Today, with the afternoon light coming into her living room,
she stepped closer to the image of her in the picture and really looked at it,
possibly for the first time. In this girl she saw the joy of youth and the
beginnings of adult awareness, but more—she saw magic. Her mother captured a
light and liveliness Lena could recall experiencing when she was younger. And
rejecting later because although living that way could bring great joy, it also
made her vulnerable, which she didn’t like.

To avoid future vulnerability and to prove she could still
make good choices for herself and be a success, she enrolled in graduate
school. That was where she met Michelle and the idea of starting their own
business was born. A little more than five years after they graduated the doors
of Crane and Fulton opened, pairing Michelle’s business savvy with Lena’s creative
genius. It was one of the greatest days of her life. Finally she wasn’t the
family screw-up.

But all that would change if they lost the company. The idea
was unbearable and sent cold shivers through her. She’d poured so much of
herself into the business. There was no way they would lose it. She
would—could—not fail at this.

* * * * *

On Monday morning Lena spotted Michelle in the break room
almost as soon as she arrived. “Do you have a minute?” She didn’t wait for her
friend to answer. “Good, I need to talk to you. Could you come to my office as
soon as you’re done?” Within minutes, Michelle was sitting across from her. She
brought Lena a cup of coffee along with her own.

“This must be good. You forgot your morning mug. You looked
all glowy when you left the gallery on Friday. I’ve been dying to talk to you
all weekend, but I was—occupied. Can I assume you got lucky?”

Lena shook her head. “Does bad luck count?”

“Not usually, but I’m confused. I thought a major hunk
followed you out of the building.”

“He did. As you suggested, I let myself get carried away. We
went back to his place and had absolutely mind-blowing sex. Remember those
multiple orgasms you said I should have? Well I did. It was amazing.”

“Hah,” Michelle said. “I knew it.”

“Until the next morning.”

“You stayed until the morning? I would have thought you’d
leave as soon as you could. Hell, you don’t usually spend the night with men
you’re dating. I never imagined you’d stay with someone who picked you up at a
bar.”

“Gallery,” Lena said.

“Not the point. Was it that good?”

“Actually, it was better than good, and afterward I was so
exhausted I thought I’d rest before leaving. Instead, it was the next morning
before I woke.”

“Yikes. He turned out to be a complete creep in the
daylight?”

“Worse. He turned out to be someone I know.”

“You lost me. How could that happen? He didn’t look familiar
the night before?”

“No, because when I knew him he was fifteen.” Michelle spit
out her coffee in an attempt not to choke. This was a first in their
friendship. Usually it was Lena being surprised by Michelle’s actions or
situations.

“Okay, you really need to start at the beginning.” Lena
explained her connection to Daniel. Michelle winced. “Well, at least you had a
good reason for not recognizing him.”

“Thanks for the understatement. It goes well with my
coffee.”

Michelle smirked. “Nothing wrong with a younger lover. It’s
very popular these days. Hell, there’s a sitcom based on it.”

“I don’t think guiding my life around popular trends in
television is a wise move. Besides, this felt more like a bad episode of
Jerry
Springer
than something from must-see-TV.”

“So much for a simple night of pleasure.”

“No kidding.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

This time it was Lena’s turn to choke on her coffee. “Are
you kidding? I snuck out of there as quickly as I could, and I assume he’s
smart enough to know I want to leave the night as a memory. Nothing more.”

“Are you certain? I mean, if the sex was incredible, maybe
it would be worth it to see him again.”

“Completely certain. As certain as I am that I need to
concentrate on finalizing things for the Jaffe account or the trip on Wednesday
will be a waste of time and money none of us can afford.”

“But…”

“No buts, Michelle. Until the company is back on its feet, I
don’t want to think about men or sex.”

For the next two days, Lena kept her focus where it needed
to be—on work. If her thoughts as she drifted to sleep were of a well-built,
gray-eyed man who knew exactly where to touch her, she chalked it up to
exhaustion and either ignored it, or used her favorite vibrator to help her
relax. She tried not to dwell on the fact her fantasies all featured Daniel,
and it was his name on her lips during her solo orgasms.

On the nights she didn’t masturbate to thoughts of him, she
dreamed about him. One night she woke drenched, tangled in the sheets, her
pulse racing. In her dream he was licking her until she came then forced her to
come that way a second time before he fucked her passionately. He was tireless
and insatiable, and his desire made her feel the same way.

It was maddening. She needed to forget him. If time could
make bad memories fade away, she assumed—hoped—it would do the same for good
ones.

Chapter Five

“Welcome back,” Michelle said as she walked into Lena’s
office before Lena had her coat off.

“Thanks. It’s good to be back to the familiar.” Returning
after travel was always hectic. Lena would have preferred to have her first
hour alone, but clearly it wasn’t an option as Michelle sat down and made
herself comfortable.

“I know you don’t love business trips, but from your last
email it sounded as if everything went smoothly.”

“Very. I’m glad Gary was there. We made a good pair
presenting the work the teams created. Jaffe was so pleased he took us to
dinner with a colleague of his on our last night. I think we have a good shot
at a new account with them.” Lena sank into her chair and sipped at the
cinnamon coffee she brought from her favorite café. Under her desk she traded
her commuting flat shoes for one of the three pairs of black pumps she kept at
work. As she turned on her computer she looked over at Michelle. Her friend had
a familiar ask-me-before-I-burst look on her face. “Okay, spill it. What’s on
your mind this morning? New man? New apartment? New flavor of Ben & Jerry’s?”
She knew it could be anything.

“Well,” Michelle said, dragging the word out, “I have a
surprise for you.”

Lena cringed. “I hate surprises.”

“No you don’t. You love them.”

“
You
love them. I dread them.”

“Oh, that’s right. Well, never mind. I have one for you
anyway. You and Gary may have landed a new account, but if it comes in within
the next month you’ll need to hand it to someone else to lead, because you’re
going to be point person on a different one instead.”

“There’s a new account in the company?”

“There may be.”

“That’s wonderful news.” During the trip Lena worked to keep
the undercurrent of desperation out of her presentation and meetings, but she
couldn’t completely forget jobs were on the line if she didn’t do hers well.
“So, tell me about the client.”

“I got us a meeting in just over two weeks with Golden
Cosmetics. We’re the last agency they’re looking at.”

“You’re kidding. That’s amazingly wonderful,” Lena said.
They had not had success breaking into the more fashionable and glamorous
markets, which usually gave their business to large, not boutique, firms.
Golden Cosmetics was a local company that hit big thanks to a blitz on a home
shopping channel and opening small, well-staffed kiosks in the mall. Lena heard
the rumors about them looking for a company to help them with marketing as they
grew, but didn’t think they stood a chance. “How did you manage that?”

“I found them an artist who intrigued them and who is
working exclusively with us.”

“Who?”

“Daniel Royer, the artist from the gallery opening the other
week.”

“Royer,” Lena said, her stomach falling. This could not be
happening.

“Yes, that night is turning out to hold several unexpected
surprises.”

“No kidding,” Lena said flatly. Her friend didn’t know the
half of it. She’d never mentioned to Michelle the name of her young lover.

Not noticing Lena’s expression, Michelle continued. “I was
searching the call for proposal sheets and when I saw Golden, I thought of him.
I used the postcard you left on your desk to get in touch with his agent who
arranged a meeting for the next day. He wasn’t sure at first—I don’t think he
thought of his work as being commercial in the literal sense—but ultimately he
agreed. I couriered his work over to the cosmetics company’s offices, and they
got back to me in hours. His work is so original they were immediately curious.
We have an official presentation with them in less than three weeks. That’s all
the time they would give me. Daniel starts work this afternoon.”

“Great,” Lena said flatly.

“I know. Everyone is buzzing.”

“I’m sure they are, but I can’t do this.”

“The hell you can’t. You know how big this company and the
industry are. If we get in, we’ll tap into a huge market of clients. It could
change everything for us.”

“Michelle.” Lena raised a hand to stop her friend. Lena
couldn’t let her go on. “Daniel Royer is the man I slept with a little over a
week ago.”

“Oh…shit.”

“Hitting the fan,” Lena agreed.

“I hate to say it, Lena, but regardless of what happened
between you two, we need this account, and they want to see a campaign with his
work.”

“I know,” Lena said, and she did. The truth was she would do
anything to save her business. Even if that meant working with Daniel.

“So,” Michelle said after they sat in silence for a few
minutes, “I guess this means you’re surprised?”

“Completely.”
I hate surprises.

* * * * *

For the rest of the morning, Lena did the only thing she
could—she avoided everyone by staying in her office behind a closed door and
reviewing the research Michelle had done on Golden Cosmetics. By the time she
walked into the conference room a few minutes before two o’clock, she thought
she was ready, but when she saw Daniel sitting there her resolve slipped.

Anticipating his presence didn’t stop her heartbeat from
racing at the sight of him and when he smiled, her mouth went dry. When his
eyes met hers she knew she hadn’t imagined her initial attraction to him. His
appeal wasn’t due to the alcohol she drank. Unfortunately, this new knowledge
wasn’t helpful. It didn’t make her any less nervous to work with him.

“Hello, Ms. Crane, or can I call you Lena? It’s good to see
you again.”

She chose a chair on the opposite side of the table and a
few seats down. She was being childish, but she wanted to have as comfortable a
distance as possible between them. Sadly, she admitted to herself, that would
require her to be in another building at least, another state at best. “Under
the circumstances—all of them—I think Lena is fine.”