So, let’s see if anyone wants to chat and get to know Andy, I think, and hit enter.
In the meantime, I decide to take a look at the available women. I scroll through endless profiles and pictures. Whatever you want, really. It’s a smorgasbord of ladies all looking for their soulmate.
Blondes, brunettes, redheads.
Young, middle-aged, mature.
Some looking for a serious relationship, others a fling.
It’s kind of exhausting and just as I’m about to sign out, a picture of a blonde in a red dress catches my eye.
Leigh.
Wow. I’ve always been partial to leggy blondes, but this girl takes it to a whole new level. My gaze moves down to read her bio: “With me, it’s the little things that make me happy. Strong, black coffee from the cafe by my place. A bouquet of daisies from the farmer’s market. Binge-watching my favorite show and that includes anything that involves organizing. I’m kind of a neat freak. My guilty pleasures are mint chocolate chip ice cream and pizza. My friends would say I’m fun, passionate, a bit of a loner and horribly addicted to ketchup. I put it on everything and I’m not even kidding. If you’re nice, maybe we can share some fries. As long as they’re drowning in ketchup.”
I let out a long, low breath and before I even realize what I’m doing, I’m sending a message to Leigh.
I’m ready to shake things up and this might be the perfect way to get out of my slump.
Chapter Five
Ashley
“Leigh, honey, can you hand me that pot holder?” my Mom asks.
It’s Sunday so that means dinner with my Mom and brother. It’s a weekly tradition that’s been going on ever since I can remember. It’s one of the reasons I look forward to the last part of the weekend so much while everyone else probably dreads it because that means Monday is right around the corner.
I hand her the pot holder and she takes a vegetable casserole out of the oven. “Your brother said he might be a little late. He’s been working so hard lately.” My Mom swipes a loose strand of blonde hair from her eye and I still think she is so pretty. She could have been a model in her younger days.
Instead, Eileen Monroe and her high school sweetheart found out they were going to be parents at 18. They married and after my brother was born, things didn’t last. I don’t think anyone expected it to since they were so young.
So, suddenly my Mom was a single mother struggling to raise a child all by herself. And, she did a damn good job. Then, when she was 25, Eileen met John Monroe, my Dad and the love of her life. They married and I was born a few years later. Everything was wonderful until cancer took my Dad when I was only five and my brother was 15.
My Mom misses my Dad and sometimes I worry that she’ll grow old alone, but she says she’ll never marry again. John Monroe was her one, true love. Then, however, she likes to tell us that she is open to dating eligible men her age.
You’re a corker, Eilene. A real corker, my Dad used to say, referring to her family’s Irish heritage. And, she really is. An absolutely excellent and astonishing person.
I set the table and my Mom starts to bring in the food. Looks like my brother is going to be late after all. As we sit down, I fill her in on my upcoming job interview. “So, Laurel’s Dad helped me get an interview tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s great, honey. Where?”
“Carson Industries.”
She tilts her silver blonde head and frowns. “How do I know that name?” She taps a finger on the table then her eyes light up. “Isn’t that the company run by that billionaire? What’s his name?
I feel my cheeks flush as a vision of his tall, lean body enters my mind. “Drew Carson.”
“Right! He’s always in the society section and on TV and in all the magazines. Quite attractive, but what a playboy. Every time I see him, he’s with a different woman.”
“Well, I don’t want to date him, Mom, just work at his office.” Even though I say that, my mind conjures up his midnight hair and blue eyes. He reminds me of someone…
David Gandy, I realize. That ridiculously beautiful male model.
“Honestly, the company is so big that I’d probably never see him anyway. HR will tuck me away in some office to crunch numbers.” But, if I’m lucky, maybe I’d see Drew Carson on the elevator or walking down the hallway.
It was silly to even think about. I didn’t even have the job yet.
“How are my two favorite girls?” a warm voice asks.
I look up and see my handsome brother walk in, kiss my mom on the cheek and then plop down in the chair next to me. There’s a huge bruise on his face.
“What happened?”
He raises a dark brow.
“To your face?” I clarify.
“Oh, um…” He runs a hand along the scruff on his jawline, but it’s not enough to cover the black and blue mark. “It’s nothing. Just a silly accident.” He flashes me a dazzling white smile, but his gaze says “end of conversation.”
Maybe he doesn’t want to say anything in front of Mom, I think. I’ll ask him later, in private.
Tall and tan with dirty blond hair and sea-colored eyes, James looks like a typical California surfer. I smile back, but my look says “you are going to tell me later.”
Even though James Douglas and I have different fathers and last names, we never refer to each other as being a “half” brother or sister. Though ten years apart, we’re extremely close and he’s as protective as any big brother.
“Sorry I’m late, ladies, but there’s a lot going on at work,” he says, and reaches for a piece of baked chicken. James is the owner of a very successful technology company that he started all by himself. It’s only a few years old and relatively small still, but this past year it has really taken off. If I knew anything about technology, I’d go work for my brother, but it’s not my niche.
James is also extremely laid-back and easygoing, yet possesses a keen intelligence which makes him the perfect boss.
I only hope Drew Carson will be as good a boss as my brother. If I get the job at Carson Industries.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“It will be,” he says and butters a roll. “But, no shoptalk at the table. What I miss?”
“Laurel got engaged,” I announce. I don’t want to talk about Carson Industries anymore. Or, think about Drew Carson, my potential, hot future boss.
“It’s about time,” my Mom says. “Haven’t they been living together for the past two years?”
Leave it to my Mom to be brutally honest. “Yes, but they wanted to take their time and finish school. Get more financially stable.”
“Hmm. Well, good for them. Hopefully it lasts,” she says.
James bursts out laughing and I just shake my head.
“What?” Eilene asks, all innocence. “Everyone knows half of marriages end in divorce. It’s no secret.”
“Oh, Mom, you’re such a romantic,” I tease.
“I’m a realist, honey. And, if it took him two years to propose, that’s not a very good sign.”
“Mom!”
“All I’m saying is most people know right away.”