RoseAnn and Gloria have been plotting Barry's future.
I concentrated hard at walking a straight line in the last of the twilight. I wasn't sure what the Santa Barbara police did with underage drunks, since there seemed to be so many of them. But I didn't want to find out. Driven by the afternoon's exercise and the pleasure of being accepted by the cozy crowd of students--most of them nearly naked females--I had carelessly put away far more beer than was wise.
Sher had become more aggressive as she drank, and at one point reached up the leg of my swim trunks and grabbed at my cock. I managed to disengage without humiliating her, explaining that my woman was waiting for me in the next hotel. Which I hoped was still the case.
As I strode down the hallway of our hotel, my feet made no sound on the thick carpeting. What would I find in our room? RoseAnn and Keith doing the nasty behind a double-locked door while I knocked in vain? Or a 'come back in a half-hour' from RoseAnn?
My key worked and the door opened. RoseAnn watched TV, propped up on pillows in her bra and slip. Her dress hung from a hanger in the open closet.
She snapped off the television. "Well, look who finally found his way back," she said. "I was thinking of going out to look for you."
"You wouldn't have found me," I said. I told her about the group of UCLA students, the afternoon of volleyball, and the evening of beer and conversation. Finally, I told her of Sher's aggressive attempts at seduction.
"She grabbed your penis?" she said at the end, laughing. "Were you finally tempted?"
I shook my head. "No. I thought about you waiting for me over here." That was the truth, after all, Keith or no Keith.
"She wouldn't have stood a chance. Only I know where your secret buttons are, and how to push them."
"So how did your day go?" I still didn't know how to approach the subject.
"Well, it's complicated, but we did get the most important items settled."
"Do you still have to meet again tomorrow?"
"There's a million details still to iron out. There's also something I have to tell you."
Oh, oh. Here it comes.
"Meet the new Vice-President of Development for Western Sky, Incorporated."
Expecting a completely different message, I was momentarily disoriented. But she wasn't displaying the joy of achievement I would have expected. "That's great news," I said, faking enthusiasm.
"Not so great," she said. "I'll be traveling all over the US and even to Asia, once production ramps up. I'll be away from home a lot, maybe two weeks a month. Maybe more."
"You could have turned the job down," I said.
She shook her head. "Not really. At my level, turning down a promotion marks you as lacking ambition, a loser. You're expected to focus your life on the company. In any case, it wasn't a management decision. The money men from New York made my promotion a condition for investing. No V.P. RoseAnn, no money."
"Maybe you should have worn a dowdier dress."
She frowned. "That wasn't their reason. They sent consultants to interview some of our employees last week, and I guess they accidentally picked ones who would put in a good word for me. Also, my name is all over the software and patents for our technology. Whatever the reason, the fickle finger fell on me. In return for my soul, at least, I get nearly double the salary and more stock options."
"How is this going to affect you and me?" It was a question I'd normally have feared to ask, but the alcohol gave me courage.
"I was just getting to that. You remember Keith, my boss?" Her face reddened.
I nodded.
Keith the Obnoxious? Keith the Lecher? Yes, I remember him.
"His wife is a jealous woman. Pathologically jealous. When he was about to hire me, she almost left him. He talked her out of it, and she stayed, but on condition that there be no sign of funny business between him and me. Even so, he says she's been making his life hell ever since. She's been telling his family and all their friends that he's been fucking me. She even hired a private detective to follow him.
"When he told her I was about to be promoted, she right away went to her lawyer and filed for divorce. He told me that at lunch."
"So he says."
"It's real. He showed me the court papers. He was served on Wednesday. His lawyer talked her into making it a no-fault divorce. She had to agree because she's got no evidence except her own suspicions. It'll go through quickly."
"You wouldn't be giving me this much detail unless it's going to affect me, would you?" I already knew how.
By now, her face wasn't just red, but blotchy. "Today, Keith told me he loved me."
The scene in the restaurant had prepared me for this. "I guessed as much. And what did you tell him?"
"I said that I didn't love him. Not yet. But I could learn to."
I felt fury rise up in my chest. "A few weeks ago, you said that you loved me." My voice rose. "You also said that you'd waited until you were sure before saying anything. Now you're telling me all it's blown away, just like that."
She looked down at her hands. "I don't expect you to believe this, but I'm doing it for both of us. I've already told you why." A tear glistened on her cheek.
"Yeah, yeah," I sneered. "You want me to find a woman my age, and you want to find someone to grow old with. It's bullshit!"
She looked up at me again. "Bullshit? You're wrong, Barry. The process is already underway. We don't seem to be running the show any more; Fate is. You've got a smart, gorgeous redhead throwing herself at you. She's yours for the asking. I can see the energy between you when you're together. At the same time, Keith turns out not to be a creepy philanderer, but a truly thoughtful and desirable man."
