by BrettJ © 2013
For the first time in years, I am going back to revisit some characters from my early work on LIT. Those who are new to my work my want to read the stories "Library Loving" and "Reward for a Job Well Done" to get a full understanding of this story, although I think it stands on its own. As always, thanks for your support. ~~BrettJ
Arleigh Madison tried to keep from crying as everyone wished her good luck on her new job and said her good-byes. She had been at the library for almost ten years and it was her home. Still, there was no sense in denying that it was time to move on. There were some lovely memories here and there were some sad ones as well
Martina Warner walked her to her new car, one of the many perks of Arleigh's new job. She looked at her friend and felt so many pangs of regret. Arleigh was moving on to better and brighter things, yet Martina thought of her younger friend as family. "You're sure?" She asked before giving the perky blonde a big hug.
"Positive," Arleigh sighed. "If I don't move on now, I never will. One failed relationship and one shitty, brief failed marriage. It's an omen, sweetie. The money is good at the new job, almost triple what I make here, I'll have my own staff over which I get full hiring approval and essentially, I'm already trained for it, doing research."
Martina nodded and started tearing up. It was hard for her to believe that she had hired Arleigh over 10 years ago. She still didn't look a day over 23.
"Oh stop with the waterworks, I'm only an hour's drive away," Arleigh told her friend as she leaned against her new Jaguar. "It isn't like I'm moving to Moosejaw or something."
"Arleigh Madison in Moosejaw," Martina said, breaking into a fit of giggles. "You wouldn't survive 3 months – or Moosejaw wouldn't, it'd be hard to guess which."
The job offer had come at a good time. Brant and Associates had sent a headhunter after her, one thing she still owed her ex-boyfriend. She had thought Gerry would be a "forever" and all indications were heading that way. Then, eighteen months ago, his company shut down local operations and moved everything to Chicago. Gerry had to go, he would be giving up too much seniority and Kevin, his son, needed the security. He had begged his blonde girlfriend to come with him and offered marriage. She wanted to say yes, but she had too many friends and all her family were in Canada. To this day, Arleigh was second-guessing herself.
Six months later, on the rebound, she married Jeff O'Neill, a friend of a friend. It was a mistake. Because her friend was such a nice guy, she believed that Jeff would be as well. He had been, at first. But once they got married, it all changed. Arleigh was married to a man that didn't want to go out or do anything. Arleigh's friend was still apologizing to her, but it wasn't Dana's fault. Her friend usually did have lousy taste in men, why hadn't Arleigh remembered that? She was able to be free of Jeff in less than 4 months and that's when the job offer came through. Gerry had always done right by her and there were still some pangs.
Martina had just returned to work and she was about to drive away when Danny Williams ran out and caught up with her. Everyone now called him "Danno" because of his shared name with the "Hawaii 5-0" character. Even working in a library, the phrase "Book 'em, Danno" worked as a pun.
"Glad you didn't get away yet Miss Madison, I didn't want to leave without seeing you," he smiled. He had started at the library around the same time as she did, a younger man who had seemed so
much
younger than she back then. There was only 3 years between them and it no longer seemed so much of an issue. "If I don't do this now, I never will – can I please take you out to dinner?"
That came out of left field because she knew that he had once dated Martina, although that was long since over. Martina was dating a much older man and Arleigh had no idea what Danny had done since their amicable split.
"Danny, why do you suddenly want to have dinner with me?" Arleigh asked as she got out of the car. Her skirt rode up a bit and he took notice. "You've only ever had friendly chit-chat with me."
"Because you've always made me nervous as hell," Danny admitted openly. "You were always with Gerry and then with Mr. O'Neill. I was with Martina and briefly single, but you weren't. Then when you got divorced, I was seeing someone. I've had a thing for you since I was 16 and you used to volunteer at the library. I used to come in on Saturdays, just to see you. I decided it was now or never – if I didn't say something today, I never would. I almost got here too late, traffic was murder." Danny only worked part-time at the library now; he was in law school and interning at a prestigious firm. He appeared to have a bright future. He had also grown to be a very handsome young man. His dark, Italian features had only improved with age. Arleigh was sure that this successful young charmer wouldn't be single for too long. Should she give it a whirl? They weren't complete strangers, after all.
"Danny, why do you want to do this?" Arleigh asked him. "You're a good looking young man and there are a lot of beautiful women out there. You seemed to do okay," Arleigh smiled.
The attractive blonde didn't know that every time she looked at him or flashed that smile, it made him melt. He wasn't a speaker, yet he supposed if he was going to be a lawyer, he had better start. He made his case.
"I do okay, Miss Madison, but why shouldn't a man aspire to more? If we don't shoot for the stars, we never reach the moon. I could let this go, but then you'd be off to your new job and life and I'd regret it for the rest of my life. I've had some my regrets in my life, I don't want this to be one of them," he said plainly.
Arleigh stared at him in simple awe. He was going to be one hell of a lawyer and with a few simple, yet well-chosen words; he had made her feel like her ex never had. "That was amazing," she sighed and came over to him. She rested her hands on his shoulders. "You made me feel like the sexiest woman alive."
"You should always feel like the sexiest woman live," he told her. "To me, you are. Does this mean you're saying yes?
Arleigh didn't start her new job for two more weeks and she was already packed up. All but some of her clothes and daily necessities were on their way to her new house. "It means I'm saying yes, where are we going?" Arleigh knew his family owned a restaurant, yet he surprised her by naming the most expensive place in the city. She forgot that he had recently come into a trust fund worth a fair sum.
"Sweetie, I can't let you ..."
Danny made a bold move by putting his finger to her lips. "You aren't letting me, Miss Madison, I want to. You're the best; I want you to have the best."
Arleigh smiled and nodded, then gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "A night out with a handsome man sounds like a wonderful idea, there's just one condition," Arleigh smiled. His heart started doing flip-flops again. "You have to stop calling me Miss Madison, I'm not your boss anymore and I'm only 3 years older than you are. If I'm going out with you, you need to call me
Arleigh
," she told him.
"Force of habit, but okay – Arleigh," he laughed. "I'll pick you up at your place at ..."
Arleigh shook her head. "Uh-uh, I'll pick you up. The company bought me a new Jaguar; I want to have fun driving it."
"I gotcha. I feel that way about my new Mercedes," he pointed to a car in the far corner of the parking lot. Seeing her astonished face, Danny chuckled. "My trust fund was a LOT of money. Pick me up at 8, here's the address." It was in a grouping of condos that cost what Arleigh made in 3 years at the library. "Be prepared to be spoiled rotten, I've been dreaming about this night for years."
The nervous blonde practically broke speed limits getting back to her furnished hotel room. She grabbed a quick shower, checked her messages and tried to figure out what to wear. A lot of her clothes were on their way to her new home. She remembered a very slinky black cocktail dress she had worn to meet her new bosses and it was still in the dry cleaning bag. Deciding to up the va-va-voom factor, she chose sexy lingerie, added stockings and brought out the Louis Vutton stilettos she had bought for herself to celebrate her new job. If Danny had thought she was beautiful before, she hoped that this Arleigh would knock his socks off. It seemed odd to be nervous about going on a date with a kid she had known for ten years, but she was.
She knew why. The confident, smiling young man that had asked her out did not seem like the same kid she had always known. It was as if someone had taken that lovely young man and kicked him up a notch. He was still handsome and gentle and kind, but now he was – sexy? Yes, there was an air about Danny that hadn't been there before. In the last several months, he had matured and now Arleigh was curious to see what lay beneath the new veneer.
Arleigh went downstairs after doing 3 checks in the mirror. She was nervous, which she found amusing. The Jag started with a purr, she loved her new car but – he had a MERCEDES. Danny Williams had a fucking MERCEDES. Arleigh wasn't the type of girl to be impressed by money, but that would do it. She pulled up to his building, it had a doorman. She was about to ask for Danny when he came out and oh my, oh MY!
He came out in a suit that looked so perfect for him that she knew it likely cost a month's pay of her new salary. Arleigh couldn't be sure because she couldn't read the tag, but she was certain that the suit was an Armani.