Ray of Love (Lifestyle by Design Book 3) (3 page)

"So, Faye, how did your date with Kevin go last Saturday?" Clarise asked as they settled in the intimate and comfortable environment of the restaurant they selected. Yes, the food was pricey but the atmosphere was so much more conducive to a private conversation.

"He didn't take it too well when I told him I'd like us to see other people."

"Oh, I thought you liked him."

"Sure, kind of. But he was getting too serious. That's why it's time to start dating other men."

Kevin was a genuinely nice guy Faye met on a speed date a couple of months ago. After four dates, she could tell he was already more than halfway in love with her and was keen on officially being her boyfriend. The thought didn't excite her.

"You didn't want to continue giving him a chance? You might develop something deeper for him."

"No," Faye responded.

"Still wanting to play the field to test yourself to make sure the guy's really 'the one' before getting serious?" Victor asked.

"Yes. As you know, I'm taking a different tack this time."

"What if someone you're really into loses his patience and won't wait for you to be ready for something more serious?"

"Well, if I don't run after him, then that means I don't want him enough. It was like how I knew Steve wasn't for me. He had to move interstate and I didn't want to follow him. I thought we loved each other enough but when the test came, it became obvious it wasn't the case," Faye explained with a shrug. "All I know is I got this crazy idea in my head that to find 'the one' I have to date casually for a while."

"So this means it's time for you to find a new date then, huh?"

"Actually," she answered as she traced the flower pattern on the placemat with her finger, "I bumped into this guy in the food court last week —"

"It's Ray!" Jessa gasped.

Faye's head snapped towards Jessa in shock. She didn't think any of her best friends knew she had lunch with Ray.

"Sorry for interrupting, Faye. I just saw Ray enter. I don't think he's seen us yet," Jessa continued as she looked towards the doorway.

They all turned their heads, and Ray had indeed entered the restaurant with another man who made Faye groan softly.

"What?" her friends asked in unison.

"That guy with Ray is a bit of an asshole," she hissed. "He was a client of ours and I used to work on his account. I remember telling you guys about him before. He was the dirty, egotistical pig I almost reported for sexual harassment. I hope they sit far away from us. Don't attract their attention," she pleaded, not only so she wouldn't have to say two words to Ray's friend but also so she could get control of her reaction to Ray. Her heart was already galloping and she could feel the temperature of her body rise with the knowledge he was around.

"Uh-oh, too late," Clarise whispered.

"Hello, ladies and gentleman, fancy seeing you here." Ray had a warm smile for all of them with his greeting. His smile disappeared when his companion spoke.

"Hello, Faye, fancy seeing
you
here. If I was a betting man, I'd bet you knew I was going to be here and you followed me," the pig drawled with a sleazy grin. He ignored the rest of the people on the table and planted himself right next to Faye.

Faye's eyes slitted. "Arnold, you know how preposterous your statement is."

Arnold laughed. "I'm just kidding around with you, Faye. How've you been?"

"Good, thanks," she responded tersely.

"Oh, I'm glad to see your ring finger is still bare. That means you're still free to have your way with me, just like you've always wanted to," the pig said with a wink.

That's it. This man just has to have it.

"Oh, this finger," she said sweetly as she lifted her left hand with her middle finger sticking out, telling Arnold with that universal gesture to fuck off. "I've always wanted to give you this," she smiled calmly at him.

Arnold's face burned with either embarrassment or anger and he excused himself to go to the restroom.

"Sorry, Ray," Faye apologised. "I didn't mean to embarrass your friend in front of everyone."

"He's not a friend. He's a potential client."

Faye's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry," she replied, horrified. "That was so unprofessional of me. I hope you don't lose him."

"Are you kidding me? After seeing that little exchange, I don't think I'd want him working with any of my staff."

"Phew, thank God," Clarise piped in. "That was the client you mentioned I could be dealing with, wasn't he, Ray?"

"Yup."

"We definitely wouldn't want him. Faye almost reported him for sexual harassment when she worked with him."

"What?!" Ray's face grew red with anger. "What did he do?"

"Oh, nothing," Faye hastily tried to placate him. "It was all words. Sexual innuendos. In the end my boss put him on the banned client list."

"Well, that's exactly where I'm putting him, too. Excuse me while I speak with him."

They watched as Ray intercepted Arnold on his way back from the restroom and escorted him out of the restaurant.

Their food arrived but Faye couldn't fully savour it. She was worried about Ray. She hoped Arnold wouldn't kick up too much of a fuss and make things difficult for him. Arnold threatened all sorts of things to her boss when he was banned before he finally went quiet.

"So, Faye, getting back to our conversation before I rudely interrupted," Jessa reminded, "you were saying you met someone last week?"

Faye smiled at the unlikely sequence of events concerning Ray. "Yes, I bumped into this guy last week at the food court near our building. He was someone I already met before through … work. I wasn't that interested in him in the past but for some reason, I'm so very attracted to him right now."

"Oooh, what's his name?" Clarise asked.

"John."

"Have we met him before?"

"No, I don't think so."

Faye wasn't happy with the little while lies she was spouting to her friends but she assured herself they'd understand when she eventually told them the reason why.

"When do we get to meet him?" Victor asked. "And what does he look like?"

"Easy, darling. We haven't even had a proper first date yet," she replied with a mysterious smile. "And he is absolutely gorgeous," she added with a sigh.

"So when do you go on your first date and is he as hot as Will and Rob?" Victor prodded.

"I'm going out with him on Tuesday night and yes, he is just as hot as the men our chums here are marrying."

"Phew! You girls snagging all these hunky men." Victor made a gesture of fanning his face as he spoke.

"Don't forget we also have the most gorgeous gay man for our best friend," Clarise added.

"Thank you, sweetie," Victor beamed.

"Hey, John's not my boyfriend, you know," Faye interjected.

"No," Victor agreed. "But knowing you, Faye, if you want him he'll be yours in no time."

"Oh, look, Ray's back," Jessa announced from her unobstructed view of the restaurant's entrance.

Faye scrutinised Ray's expression, wanting to assure herself he was okay after dealing with Arnold. His face didn't give anything away. When he reached their table, she asked with concern, "Did Arnold give you a hard time, Ray?"

He smiled at her soothingly. "He tried to scare me by saying he'd tell everyone how undesirable it is to do business with me. But I told him I can contact your boss to discuss his various misdemeanours and since I run a magazine, it wouldn't be hard to release an article here and there. That shut him right up. I told him if he ever bothers you again, or any of my staff, he knows what he can expect."

Faye's face shone with gratitude. "Thank you. I'm still sorry it ruined your lunch, though."

"Don't worry about it. I was going to join you guys but it looks like you're almost done," Ray said as he eyed their plates.

"Yeah, unless our boss says it's okay to have an extended lunch break today," Clarise quipped with a twinkle in her eye.

In response, Ray pulled up a chair and motioned for a server. When he finished ordering he dialled the office to let his PA know that Clarise, Jessa and Victor had joined him for a lunch meeting.

"So what's this meeting about, Ray?" Victor asked, tongue in cheek.

"Ask Clarise. She was the one who called it." Ray grinned at Clarise's bemused look.

"Well, okay," Clarise said, "since you kindly agreed to meet with us here, it may be a good time to let you know when Jessa and I plan to take time off for our weddings and honeymoons."

"Great meeting topic, Clarise," Jessa acknowledged.

"Okay. Fire away."

"Will and I are getting married in five months, on the second of February. I'd like to ask for six weeks off, starting a week before the wedding, so I can get ready. When I come back from leave, there will be seven weeks that Jess and I are at work together before she takes hers."

Jessa nodded. "My wedding date's on the twenty-seventh of April. I'd also like six weeks off, Ray, if that's okay."

"That sounds all right. I'm quite relieved actually. The way Rob and Will were talking during your birthday, Jess, I was scared you guys were planning a double wedding and the two of you would be away from work at the same time."

"Yeah, we toyed with the idea," Jessa chuckled. "It would have been fun to organise one big wedding but we tossed the idea out pretty quickly. It would be harder all around for everyone. Rob actually wanted to get married earlier - in March - but Clarise and I planned it to a T. Seven weeks between our leaves means we can minimise the disruption with client interviews and things shouldn't be so bad for Mark while one of us is away."

"Who's Mark?" Faye asked.

"Mark Reed, our other senior writer/editor, remember?"

"Oh, that's right."

Ray gazed at Faye. "Do I have the most considerate staff, or what?"

"Yes, you do. And they happen to be my best friends," she said fondly.

"I know," Ray replied, his eyes warm as he looked at her.

The server arrived with Ray's food. Faye was glad for the distraction. She wanted to drown in Ray's deep blue eyes. If it wasn't for the server, she could still be staring at him right in front of her friends. She glanced at her watch to take her heated eyes off him and was startled by the time.

"Well, I hate to miss the rest of this meeting, especially since I'm the proud co-maid-of-honour for both brides, but I'm afraid I have to head back to work."

"Already?" Ray asked with disappointment.

"Yeah. I have a client meeting coming up."

"Enjoy the movies tomorrow night, Faye," Victor called as she prepared to walk out of the restaurant.

She gave them another goodbye wave and grinned as she thought of how intrigued Ray would have become upon hearing what Victor had said. She was sure he would want to know what she'd told her friends about her date - their date.

She still couldn't believe how her attraction for him had blossomed into something so compelling almost overnight. What brought it on? She shrugged, not really caring at this point why things had taken a turn the way they did. All she cared about was that she was going out with him tomorrow night.

Her heart swelled at the memory of Ray's interaction with her best friends. It had been a long time since Ray had joined their gang for lunch, and she had forgotten how warm, open and trusting her friends' relationship was with him. It made her more committed to not letting them know about whatever was going on between her and Ray. There was no point upsetting the great relationship the three had with him if she and Ray didn't work out.

CHAPTER THREE

Ray waited for Faye outside of her building, still arguing with himself if he should have brought her flowers. Since they were going for a quick dinner before heading off to see the latest James Bond movie, he didn't think she'd want to be carrying a big bunch of flowers with her. But thinking about it now, he would have carried it for her.

He laughed at himself. He was acting like a teenager out on his very first date. He'd send her flowers to her work instead. That was a much better option.

He couldn't wait to see her again. He knew Faye well enough to know she had intimidated many men who were interested in her. He could see why. But for him, her sassiness was a turn-on, just as her stunning looks and self-confidence were. He chuckled at the memory of her giving Arnold the finger in the restaurant.

He liked the fact that she'd told her friends about this date they were going on. Of course, they thought it was with someone named John, but it must mean it was important and exciting enough for her to have mentioned it to them.

"Hey, handsome," a voice purred from behind him, startling him out of his heart-warming introspection to stare at the flesh and blood woman who occupied his thoughts.

"Hey, gorgeous," he responded as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. His heart thumped harder as she slipped her hand into his. It felt good.

"Let's go," Faye said, "but do you mind if we walk a little slow? These aren't my highest heels but they're still not made for any brisk walking."

He chuckled. "Did you really think I'd make you walk more than ten minutes in those heels? We'll drive to George Street and park near the cinemas."

"In this peak hour traffic? It will take us longer to get there if we drive."

"Probably, but not by much. And it will save you walking back here in those heels."

Faye looked indecisive.

"Come on." He gently pulled her towards the car park.

"We're really driving there, aren't we?" Faye murmured as she followed him.

"Why do you find that hard to believe?" he asked with a laugh.

"It just seems so indulgent and crazy in this traffic."

He stopped and faced her. "Would you really rather walk?" he asked softly.

"No, I'd really rather be driven there and save my feet from agony. I'm just commenting on the fact that it seems indulgent and crazy. But most of all, sweet."

As long as Faye gave him that lovely smile and thought of him as sweet, Ray knew he'd drive her anywhere, near or far.

"Well, far be it for me to make your feet suffer," he said huskily as he continued to lead them to his car, holding her hand tighter. If he didn't keep walking he'd do something rash like sweep her up in his arms and kiss her with all the suppressed passion he had for her, right outside her office building. That would derail his well-laid plans.