Drulisa was sitting across from her mother at the circular dining room table at her favorite restaurant. She had her plate of veal parmigiana and a side salad in front of her. Her mother had even ordered a tiny celebratory Italian cream cake for them to share after they’d completed their meals.
Sonia smiled over at her daughter. Then she reached across the table and gave her child’s hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm really proud of you, Drulisa. I really am."
"Thank you, mama. You being proud of me means a lot — even though I am grown."
Sonia Johnson shook her head. "Oh no, sweetheart. No matter how old a child gets, a child is always hoping their parents are gonna be proud of them. I'm fifty-one, and it still tickles me when your Grandma Sarah tells me that she's proud of me for something." Then she let out a little chuckle. "And no matter how old I get, I'll always be proud of my little girl."
"Even if it takes me another ten years to pop out those grandchildren you’re hoping like the dickens to have someday?"
Sonia laughed again. "Uh...that my dear daughter, I'm not so sure about. Ask me that particular question in a couple of years — you know, after you’re wildly successful with your cupcake business. Then I’ll tell you exactly how I feel about all of that."
Drulisa grinned. "This contract with J. Forrester Enterprises is really gonna make a big difference in my future, mom. I can tell."
Sonia nodded her head. "I know, sweetie." Then she lowered her head and began speaking in a slightly lower octave. In fact, she started to sound a little secretive. "From what I hear, Joshua Forrester is a real hottie. Maybe you'll get to meet him. Who knows, maybe the two of you will hit it off."
Drulisa hadn't told her mother all of the details of her meeting earlier that day. Therefore the elder Johnson didn't know that Drulisa had actually met Joshua Forrester.
Drulisa shrugged her shoulders. "I've met him already, Mama."
A look of surprise made its way onto Sonia's face." You have? When? How? Where?"
“Wow, mama. Slow down with the questions will you?” She smiled. “Now as for the when...it was today. The where...it was at the J.Forrester Enterprises Building. Now the what...Mama, this part is gonna tickle you. He interviewed me.”
Drulisa went on to share everything that had happened to her that day with her parent. By the time she was done, Sonia had a part-the-way shocked, part-the-way happy look on her face. “Wow, that could’ve turned out really bad for you, honey. You were really lucky. That Joshua Forrester must be a genuinely good type of guy.”
By this point, that’s pretty much what Drulisa was thinking, too. She was thinking that Joshua was an okay type of person.
Sonia frowned. Her cell phone had begun ringing for the third time in five minutes. She picked up her purse and pulled out the device. “Oh my goodness. It’s Mr. Buchanan. He texted me, too. He said it’s an emergency...something to do with needing me to help him with his books for tomorrow.”
“I think you should head on over there right now, mama.”
“But we’re not even half the way through with our celebration meal.”
Drulisa shook her head. “But he’s your best client. You can’t do anything that may jeopardize you keeping him on your roster.”
Of course Sonia knew that her daughter was right. Drulisa made a shooing motion with her hand. “Get on outta here, mother dearest. I’ll take your leftovers home in a doggy bag.”
Sonia stood up. Then she bent down and gave Drulisa a quick little peck on the cheek. “How’d I get blessed with such a beautiful, understanding daughter?”
Drulisa basked in the compliment. “Goodness sakes...now I’m blushing. Get a move on, mama.”
Seeing that she'd decided that she wanted to finish her meal there in the restaurant, ten minutes later, Drulisa was still at the table her mother had vacated. Some women were afraid to eat alone. But it didn't bother Drulisa in the least bit to be dining by herself. In fact, she somewhat enjoyed the peace and solitude.
"Good evening, I'm by myself. Mind if I sit here with you for a while?”
Drulisa knew the owner of the voice before she even looked up from her half-eaten veal parmigiana. Since she’d had her iPad with her, she'd been surfing the web while pecking at her food. She didn't have anywhere to be that evening, so she’d been biding her time until it got closer to the hour that her favorite television reality show came on.
A smile instantly lit up her face. “Mr. Forrester. Of course you can share my table. If you haven’t ordered yet, the veal parmigiana is to die for. It’s what I’m eating. I can slice you off a piece if you’d like to give it a try.”
For the briefest of seconds, she’d had the thought that offering the man a taste of her half-eaten food from off of her fork had been a little too direct...a little too personal . But when he chuckled and said, “Okay, lay it on me”, she knew that everything was okay.
Joshua grinned as the food disappeared into his mouth. “Um...yeah. This is definitely what I want to have. It’s excellent.”
The waitress appeared at their table at that moment as if by magic. As the girl took Joshua’s order, Drulisa could tell that the blonde was jealous of her for being with a hottie like Joshua Forrester. The man obviously commanded respect and attention wherever he went. Drulisa had been mad at him when the police officer had taken their accident report that morning, but she could tell that the officer had respected Joshua. And not just because he’d been driving an expensive car. It was more to it than that. Way more. It was an air that Joshua Forrester had about himself.
Joshua pointed to the cake with the single candle in it that was still on the table. “Is it your birthday?”
She smiled. She shook her head. “Nope. My mother was having dinner with me before you came over...well she actually treated me to dinner.” Then she pointed to the takeout tray on the table. “That’s her doggie bag right there. She bought the cake for me. We were supposed to share it. We were having a celebration of sorts...you know, a celebration of me receiving the contract with your company.”
A slow grin made its way onto his face. “Your mom sounds like a really nice lady. You’re lucky to have her.”
“Yep. I think the very same thing at least once per day. My mom’s an angel.”
They spent about an hour and a half together laughing and talking over dinner. Drulisa barely noticed the time slipping away. Before she knew it, she’d almost missed her reality tv show. But she didn’t mind. Her current company was plenty enough entertaining.
Joshua smiled. “It was nice talking to you this evening, Ms. Johnson. You’re a very entertaining woman.”
She decided to crack a joke. “I bet you didn’t think so earlier this morning.”
He didn’t allow his smile to falter. “Like I said, I was in a bad mood of sorts earlier today. I really do apologize for all of that.”
“Yeah, you did didn’t you? Apologize that is.”
“Certainly. Tell you what, let me make it up to you. The civic center in Norfolk is having a winter solstice food vendor expo. How about I take you along as my guest. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for you to find more clients there. You can find plenty of more business."
Drulisa actually had been wanting to attend that event for a couple of years. The problem was that tickets were a thousand dollars per pop. She'd maxed out her credit cards on getting her business up and running. And she honestly didn't have a grand just laying around to throw away on something that had the possibility of not even panning out.
Sensing the reason behind her hesitation, he smiled and said, "The Civic Center actually sent us — the J.Forrester Corporation that is — a dozen or so tickets for free. My extra ticket is just gonna go unused if you don't accompany me there.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “In fact, I wasn’t even gonna go myself. But I figured you could use the ticket — that’s why I changed my mind about going. If you don’t want to go with me, I’ll give you my ticket and an extra one, too. Maybe you want to take someone besides me with you.”
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I wouldn't take both of your tickets from you like that. I don't mind going with you at all. It's this weekend...right?"
He smiled. "Yep...on Saturday. I'll pick you up from your home at ten. You know it starts in the morning."
She nodded her head. "Ten will be just fine. Let me give you my address."
He accepted the business card that she whipped out of her tiny purse. He inspected the front of the tiny piece of paper. Then he flipped it over and inspected the back. "Very nice, Ms. Johnson. Very nice, indeed."
She’d just gotten the business cards printed up earlier in the week. Her friend, Lexi, had been on her about getting some made up for almost a year. According to Lexi — who was consequently doing a great job of running her very own donut shop – the cards would come in handy as far as promoting her business was concerned. For once, she was ready to admit that maybe her bestie had been right.
She flashed Joshua a smile. “Oh thanks for the compliment. And on that note, I think I’d better get on out of here. I wasn’t supposed to have stayed in here so long, but the time just slipped away from me somehow.”
"I completely understand. Time flies when you're having fun. I certainly had a good time talking to you this evening. I was supposed to get my meal as a carryout. But I'm happy that I didn't. You were exceptional company, Ms. Johnson."
"You were too, Mr. Forrester."
His lips turned up once again in a grin. "You say that as if you’re genuinely surprised. Like you didn’t think I’d be good company."
"Oh, no. That's not the case at all."
"I was just kidding with you, Ms. Johnson."
She beamed as well. “I’m glad that you decided to become a businessman instead of a stand-up comedian. You suck at that.”
He chuckled. “That’s the same thing my mother told me...and my grandma...and my brother...my sister, too.”
“Well, now I don’t feel too bad saying it. It seems as if I’m in good company with my comment.” She stood up from the table at that time and collected her mom’s doggy bag. “See you Saturday, Mr. Forrester.”
“See you Saturday, Ms. Johnson.”
*****
Drulisa had almost made it to the front doors of the restaurant when she ran into Lexi.
“Hi, Lexi. What are you doing here? I thought you said you were gonna be working at the shop all evening.”
“Yeah...I am. I came in to pick up a carryout tray. But the real question should be why were you just sitting in there having dinner with Joshua Forrester?” She pointed an accusatory finger. “I thought you texted me and said your mom was taking you out this evening to celebrate you winning the contract.”
Oh, rats. Lexi has eyes like an eagle. I should’ve known that she wasn’t gonna miss a thing. She gave her bestie a tiny smile. “Oh, my mom and I did eat here this evening together. She had to leave to deal with Mr. Buchanan. I was at my table alone and Joshua...I mean Mr. Forrester showed up. He asked me if he could share my table with him. I said yes.”
Lexi winked her eye. “Oh, it’s Joshua, huh? I heard what you were gonna initially say.” Then she giggled. “Are you and Joshua Forrester on a first name basis now?”
“Lexi, please honey. You’re a mess. You’re always reading stuff into things that just aren’t there.”
“Wow, Drulisa. I was just kidding.” She grinned. “But based on the way you literally just jumped down my throat, I’d say that there’s definitely something to what I was saying. I think you like him. Go ahead. Admit it. You like him don’t you?”
“Uh, no, Lexi. I don’t. Now if you keep talking like that, we’re not gonna be besties anymore. And I’m sure you’d hate losing the likes of myself as a friend.”
Lexi chuckled again. “You’ve been threatening me with that ever since we were in kindergarten, Drulisa Johnson. I didn’t believe you then and I don’t believe you now. We’re besties for life. We’re gonna be old and gray and lovingly bickering like we always do.”
Drulisa, of course, knew that her friend was right. So she just smiled and said, “See you later, Lexi.”
“See you later, Leese.”
Then from behind them, “Ms. Johnson. I’m glad I caught you. You left driver’s license on our table.” Joshua flipped the piece of printed plastic over. He smiled. “Nice picture by the way...much better than mine. I thought I’d give it to you now instead of waiting until our meeting tomorrow or our date at the Civic Center on Saturday.”
Oh, shit. I’m sure I’m never gonna hear the end of it from Lexi now.
Joshua handed Drulisa the card. Then he finally noticed Lexi standing there. He smiled. “Hi...um...I’m sorry, I don’t know your name. But I know you’re my favorite donut girl.”
Lexi stuck out her hand. “It’s Lexi. Lexi McNamara. I’m also Drulisa’s—,” she turned around and winked her eye at Drulisa real quick, “—I mean I’m also Ms. Johnson’s best friend.”
Drulisa ignored her bestie. She gave Joshua a tiny smile. “Thank you for bringing my license to me. I really do appreciate it. I’ll go ahead and make my exit now. See you guys later.”
Joshua nodded his head. “I’ve already handled my bill. I was on my way out, too. Let me walk you to your car.”
She wanted to protest, but she knew that would’ve been just plain silly. They were both going the same way. She smiled. “Okay, Mr. Forrester.”
Lexi waved at both of them. “I’ll see both of you guys tomorrow.”
Joshua waved back and in a friendly voice said, “Yep. Can’t miss my favorite donut now can I?” Drulisa simply gave her bestie a friendly little eye roll instead of waving.
Less than a minute later, Joshua had opened Drulisa’s car door for her and she was settled behind her steering wheel. Once again, she was hoping beyond hope that her car would start. Please don’t embarrass mama, Diana. You have to start. Be a good girl...a good little car.
She turned the key in the ignition, but no luck. Then she tried it again. Still nothing. Come on, come on.
After her fifth try, Joshua knocked on her car window. She of course rolled the window down for him.
“Pop your hood, Ms. Johnson. Let me take a quick look.”
Skepticism was written all over her face as she ran her eyes up and down his person. “You have on an expensive suit and you want me to pop my hood?”
He peeled off his suit jacket and laid it on the roof of her car. Then he began rolling up his sleeves. He smiled. “Now I don’t have on an expensive suit. I used to like tinkering around with cars. Humor me.”
She shrugged her shoulders and did as he’d requested. Ten minutes later, her car’s engine was gently purring.
Joshua grinned. “There you go, Ms. Johnson. You’re back on the road again.”
Drulisa was grateful for what he’d accomplished. At the same time she couldn’t help but think how downright sexy and virile he looked standing out there with a smudge of grease under his left eye and his sleeves rolled up revealing a pair of muscular biceps.
“Thank you, Mr. Forrester. I really do appreciate what you just did for me.”
He nodded his head and began wiping his hands off on a white handkerchief that had been in his pocket. “Oh, you’re welcome.” He then grabbed his suit coat from off of the top of her car. “See you Saturday.”
“Yeah, Saturday.”
A few seconds after she’d driven away, she glanced back in her rearview mirror. “Yep...Lexi’s right. He’s damn sexy. A real lady-killer.” She couldn’t fight the moisture that had begun to dampen her panties just from thinking about how good-looking he was.
She took her eyes off the road for a millisecond and took a quick glance between her thighs. “Calm yourself down, Sicily. Calm yourself down. The man’s not interested in me. I’m probably not even his type. We’re not sampling any of that.”
As he revved his replacement car’s powerful engine, Joshua had to will his still swollen manhood to calm down. He was attracted to Drulisa Johnson sexually...in a big way. He was happy that she hadn't appeared to have noticed his erection as he'd worked on her vehicle. He had a sense of respect about himself. He would’ve been embarrassed if she'd noticed that.
As he merged with the traffic on the interstate he began thinking to himself that not only was he attracted to Drulisa sexually, he was also attracted to her mind. He was attracted to her feisty attitude. He chuckled. He'd known her less than twenty-four hours, yet she’d had an effect on him.
Maybe you should ask her out on a date, his subconscious suggested. He shook his head. "Nope," he whispered under his breath. "I have a rule...no dates with employees or business associates. That never works out very well." Then he frowned in regret. He sighed. "It never works out."