Chapter Four

Nicole loved working for McGraw Advertising, partly because of its small, relaxed environment. Eric McGraw, owner and boss, firmly believed that in order to be successful and have the creative juices flowing, one has to stay calm and relaxed. In addition to the dart board and pool table across from the reception area used to blow off steam occasionally, Eric led everyone in the office in a mandatory five-minute stretch break every day. Crazy as it sounded, it helped keep stress under control.

He also brought his pug, Pez, to work with him. Pez’s scrunched-up little pug face reminded everyone to keep a sense of humor. Pez’s wardrobe made Nicole laugh. Eric always displayed Pez in silly shirts with various sayings on them, like Talk to the paw and Shed Happens—brush it off!

“What do you think?” Eric asked, first thing on Wednesday morning. He modeled his freshly shaved bald head in front of Nicole. Eric had slowly been losing his hair for years. This look was a definite improvement. Very Kojak, she thought, while he said, “Very Bruce Willis, don’t you think?”

Nicole nodded. “Looks good.”

“Note the goatee.” He pointed to the two days worth of growth on his face.

“What’s next? Pierced ear and convertible sports car?”

Eric propped one half of his butt on the corner of her desk. “It’s time for me to get back in the game, Nic. Been on the sidelines too long. Know what I mean?”

She did, and so did everyone else in the office. With regard to business, Eric had it all together, but when it came to his personal life—not so much. Eric had found out his wife of thirteen years had been having an affair for three of those years. They lived through him deciding to stay with her even after that shocking revelation. She became pregnant, and when he discovered it was not his baby, they lived through his divorce four years ago. Even Eric had surpassed Nicole in the emotional recovery department.

“That’s great, Eric. Any prospects yet?”

He rubbed the part of his head where his hair used to be. “I’m thinking of going online.” Eric must have caught her wincing, because he quickly added, “You’d be surprised at how many people find true love on the Internet these days.”

“Well then, play ball.”

“I will. I feel good, positive, as in the glass is half-full, instead of jagged around the edges, ready to slice open my jugular.” He shifted butt cheeks. “Got a call this morning out of the blue from Phoenix Enterprises. Said he heard great things about our agency and was thinking about using us.”

“Why doesn’t Phoenix Enterprises ring a bell?”

Sienna, Nicole’s creative director poked her head into the room. “What about Phoenix Rising, the clothing line?” Nicole’s face still held a blank look. “Urban apparel?” she continued. “Hugely successful street wear with a phoenix logo?”

“I’m sure I’ve seen it,” she said.

“There’s also a kid’s line. Josh doesn’t have any of the shirts?”

Nicole shook her head. She would have remembered buying him something with a phoenix on it. “Why would they be considering us? It’s not our usual type of client.”

“No, it isn’t,” always-dressed-in-all-black Sienna said, now venturing fully inside, “but it would be amazing for us if we landed this account.”

Pez followed behind her in a T-shirt that read, You Lost Me at Stay.

Eric’s eyes lit up with a fire Nicole hadn’t seen in a long time. “My thoughts exactly. I’m going to do some research on the company. We have a meeting tomorrow at eleven. Things are looking up. I can feel it.” He sailed out along with Pez, whistling “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Eric this happy,” Sienna said.

“He told me he’s ready to start dating.”

Sienna nodded. “That explains the shaved head and goatee.”

“I don’t want to see him get hurt again,” Nicole said. “He’s such a hopeless romantic.”

“Yeah, it’s brutal out there.”

She gave Sienna a look of complete disbelief. “This coming from a beautiful woman not even thirty yet?”

“All I want is someone I feel comfortable with. Someone who can watch indie films with me without falling asleep, and eat Thai food without gagging. Why is that so hard to find?”

Nicole sighed. “Hell if I know. I hate to tell you this, but the older you get, the harder it is.”

Sienna played with the silver skull pendant around her neck. “I’m going to do a love ceremony for the three of us tonight.”

“Love? How about starting out slowly by wishing for a decent date?”

She shook her head. “Nope. If you’re going to wish, you might as well shoot for the stars.”

“Didn’t I read that in a greeting card once?”

“Go ahead cynic, tease,” she said, giving Nicole a mischievous smile. “You’ll see.” Sienna turned to leave.

“Do you, by any chance, need a snake for your ceremony? Or for anything…?” Nicole asked.

“No, why?”

“Oh, never mind.”

After lunch Nicole decided to go out and get some frozen yogurt. The yogurt place was within walking distance, so she asked Eric if she could take Pez.

“That would be great. If you really want to be a good auntie, you’d take him to the dog park around the corner for ten minutes so he can run out all his energy.”

She glanced down at Pez who was out like a light and drooling heavily. “Um, sure.”

Eric clapped his hands loudly. “Come on, Pez! Do you want Auntie Nic to take you out for a walk?”

Pez opened one eye without moving.

“Come on, boy, let’s go!”

Pez slowly stood up, stretching every limb of his dog body. Then he let out a big yawn and waltzed over to Eric.

“I don’t know if I can keep up with all his energy, Eric.”

Eric snapped on Pez’s leash and said, “Maybe he has a B-12 deficiency. I’ll have to look into it.”

Once Pez was outside he got some pep in his step. Sometimes lying around an office all day, without seeing the light of day, could wipe a dog out. There had been a heat wave and a Stage 1 smog alert issued the week before. Nicole’s eyes had watered every time she stepped outside, so she was guessing Pez hadn’t done a lot of outdoor activities during that time either. Luckily that day the heat wasn’t unbearable, so Nicole’s frozen yogurt was still intact by the time she reached the dog park. She took a seat on one of the benches and unsnapped Pez’s leash.

“Go sniff other dogs’ butts, Pez,” she told him, and he happily ran off to socialize.

Nicole was finishing off the last of her yogurt when a man strolled over to her.

“Mind if I sit down?” he asked.

He was about mid-forties and fairly decent looking. Since he didn’t smell homeless, she said, “Sure, go ahead.”

“Which one’s yours?”

“The fearless pug that’s trying to play with that large German shepherd.”

“Oh,” the man said. “He’s cute.”

“Yep. He’s a lot of dog in a little package. What about yours?”

“I don’t actually own a dog. I come here to watch them.” He gave her a friendly, easy smile.

Maybe he’s someone I could go out with on a harmless date. He doesn’t seem so bad. If Eric can do it, why can’t I?

“I notice you’re not wearing a wedding band,” he said.

Gulp. Nicole looked down at her ringless finger. “I’m divorced.”

“That’s great. I mean, it’s not great, but it means you’re single, right?”

She laughed, looking into his hazel eyes. They were nice hazel eyes. “Yes, I’m single.”

“I’ve never been married,” he said, leaning back on the bench. “I’ll be turning fifty this August and I’ve never even been in a relationship.”

She turned to him. “Huh?”

“It’s tough to find someone. I’ve been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD. Oh, and severe insomnia.”

Her mouth dropped open. “But you look so…” Normal. That probably wasn’t politically correct to say, because it implied he wasn’t normal.

“Stable? That’s because I’m heavily medicated, although now I have balance and equilibrium problems from all the meds I take and am unable to drive. Which is all right since I haven’t worked in three years.”

She immediately stood to leave and he jumped up. “Other than my symptoms, I’m very healthy and independent. I walk two miles a day. I’ve lost thirty pounds in the last year, although I’m still not happy with the way I look. However, intensive therapy three times a week has made me more accepting of myself.”

Nicole went over to Pez and put on his leash. “Good luck to you. We have to go now.”

“Would you be interested in going out sometime? My panic attacks are becoming less frequent, and as long as we don’t go out at night, I’m fine, really.”

She didn’t know what to say. She certainly didn’t want to hurt his feelings and send him catapulting off a steep cliff.

“I’m leaving for Asia for a month on business. Why don’t we meet here again when I get back?”

His face lit up. “Okay, great.”

“Let’s go, Pez.”

“Wait,” he called after her. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Patricia,” she yelled back, while yanking Pez’s neck for him to hurry and follow her.

When they reached the office, Nicole looked down at poor Pez, who was panting and wheezing from the speed of their sprint back. “Sorry buddy, walks in the park are out for a while, and dates for me are definitely out. The dating cards just aren’t in my favor.”

****

The next morning, Eric, with Pez trotting behind, blew into the office in a whirlwind of frenetic energy. “Meeting in five, everyone. I brought wheatgrass shots.”

There were lots of groans, because drinking something that tasted like mown grass didn’t hold the same appeal as say, a white chocolate mocha. But Eric always brought wheatgrass or ginseng whenever he wanted them alert and focused.

Pez came over and leaned against Nicole’s leg, willing her to lavish him with affection. She scratched him behind the ears and unrolled his curly tail, watching it curl back up again. He didn’t seem to mind. She’d been doing that to him ever since he was a puppy. Today he was wearing a black tank top that said Bad to the Bone on it.

“You’re looking very tough, Pez,” she told him, and he rolled onto his back, with his short legs sticking up in the air, like a dead bug.

Eric snapped his fingers on his way to their meeting area. “Pez, go to your bed,” he ordered, and Pez jumped up, hustling to his padded micro-velvet memory foam bed, leaving behind a sweater of short hairs on Nicole’s black pants.

Once everyone in the office had assembled, and they had taken their shots of wheatgrass, Eric began. “The creator of the clothing line, Phoenix Rising, is coming in shortly. He runs Phoenix Enterprises, and he’s only twenty-five. That should tell you something right there. Background: He started out doing graffiti art on T-shirts in his garage around the time the urban apparel trend started to take off. His company almost filed bankruptcy three years ago. Then he came up with the logo of the Phoenix. His clothing line virtually exploded overnight and his sales jumped to forty-six million that same year.”

Renee, the other account executive in the company and Nicole’s younger rival, raised her hand to speak. “No disrespect intended, Eric, but why would he choose to go with a company of our size, when clearly a larger LA-based advertising firm would be better able to meet his needs?”

Eric cleared his throat. “I’m not exactly sure what his needs are, therefore I can’t answer that question. Are you familiar with the line?”

“Of course I am. You’d have to live under a rock not to know of it,” Renee said.

Nicole rolled her eyes at Sienna.

“Good. Since you’re closer to his age group, your team is probably the best bet to work on the campaign, depending on what he has in mind.”

Nicole felt as if she was back in high school, being chosen last for the basketball team. “That’s what you’re basing the decision on, Eric? Her age as opposed to her skill?”

Renee glared at her. “Who says I don’t have the skill?”

“What I meant was,” Eric clarified, “Renee and her team might be in better touch with the demographics of his target audience.”

“Are you saying I’m too old to work on his campaign?”

“Nicole, for the love of God,” Eric said, holding one side of his head in exasperation. “I haven’t even met the guy. I don’t know what he wants yet.”

Pez let out a small yip as Eve, their receptionist, came in to inform them that Mr. Blanco of Phoenix Enterprises was waiting. “And he’s able to hear every word you’re saying,” she said through her teeth.

Ten seconds later, Wil strolled in exuding all his young, sexy, confident glory. “Mr. Blanco” was Wil Blanco of Phoenix Enterprises.