There was no present boyfriend, and Sheryl currently preferred it that way.
“You’ve known me a few years,” Meka said. “Have you ever seen me as happy as I am with Ty?”
“No.” The two lovebirds were cute together, even if their evident love for each other was occasionally nauseating. “But that has nothing to do with me.”
“You’re unhappy. You’ve been so stressed—”
“Brad is paying lawyers money he should be spending on other things.” Darting a quick glance around the theater, she lowered her voice. “Do you realize what could happen to us if, heaven forbid, the case actually goes to court and we lose? Of course I’ve been stressed!”
“But even before that Mathers woman claimed Hammond stole her story, you seemed unhappy. I want to see you happy, Sheryl, and I think the right guy would help with that.”
“Maybe, but the right guy is going to have to wait until a better time.” And Sheryl didn’t just mean the work stuff.
Other people, such as her family, her co-workers and roommates, had often taken center stage in her life. Boyfriends who, though not all as emotionally draining as Brad had been, cut into what little time she might have had for herself.
“I figured you’d say that,” Meka said. “Which is why I’ve decided not to take no for an answer.”
Sheryl laughed. “What, you’ve decided to find me the right guy against my will?” When her roommate bit her lower lip and said nothing, Sheryl scowled. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Not making eye contact, Meka sipped her own five-dollar soda and stalled.
Warning, warning. Red alert. “Tameka!”
“Look, it’s nothing big, just that Ty isn’t coming straight from work, he’s coming from a squash match with a co-worker…. And he’s bringing the co-worker with him.”
“You set me up on a blind date? You set me up on a blind date and didn’t tell me!” Ouch, Sheryl thought, rubbing one hand against her ear. When had she turned into such a shrill soprano?
“Don’t think of it as a date so much as four people who all wanted to see this movie. Coincidentally at the same time and location.”
“I can’t believe this. I should leave right now on sheer principle.”
“With Ty and Jonathan already on their way? Besides, I know how much you like the lead actor. You’re not going anywhere after you’ve already bought your ticket.”
Sheryl drummed her fingers on the purple plastic armrest between her and her supposed best friend. “I suppose you or Tyler told the guy—what’s his name?”
“Jonathan Spencer. He’s an accountant at the firm with Ty.”
“So you guys have briefed Jonathan on me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Yet you didn’t bother to mention any of this to your own roommate,” Sheryl grumbled.
“If it makes you less mad at me, we made you sound terrific. I wanted to date you by the time we finished describing you.”
Sheryl laughed grudgingly. “As long as neither of you described me as having a ‘good personality.”’
“Never!” Meka grinned, obviously knowing she was safely away from the edge of the thin ice. “We told him the truth, that you’re sarcastic and opinionated on a good day, and downright unbearable if you haven’t had enough coffee.”
Grabbing her purse, Sheryl rummaged for something small to throw at her friend. Although bigger would work, too.
“Relax,” Meka said, “we told him you had great legs and an impressive job. Men secretly yearn for powerful women. And we’ve still got time before the guys get here for me to fill you in on Jonathan’s vital statistics.”
“Well, okay then. But you’re never going to blind-side me like this again, right?”
“I won’t need to, now that you know The Plan.”
“The Plan?” Oh, boy. “You don’t just mean Jonathan, do you?”
“Only if Jonathan miraculously turns out to be The One. But it’ll probably take more than one guy—”
“Meka! How many men do you and Tyler have lined up and waiting in the wings? You can’t just trot them all out and ask me to pick one.”
“Clearly you don’t watch reality TV. The networks seem to think that’s exactly how people pair up.” Her friend made a disdainful noise. “Look, I know love happens in its own time, but to fall in love with a guy, you gotta actually spend some time with a few.”
Since Sheryl wasn’t convinced she wanted to fall in love, she said nothing.
Meka wisely switched tactics. “Okay, even if you don’t find your Ty, you’ll have a selection of potential escorts for holiday parties and stuff like that. Besides, wouldn’t it be fun to double date occasionally? Between the time I spend with Ty and your working late, I hardly see you anymore. I know you want your own place, but I don’t want us to completely drift apart!”
Sighing, Sheryl conceded defeat. “Oh, all right, so I’ll agree to a few harmless double dates.” Put like that, it didn’t seem she had anything to get riled up about.
Besides, maybe there’d be some chemistry between her and one of these bachelors, a spark that would prove she could have a powerful reaction to someone besides Nathan Hall.
3
WHY DIDN’T SHE HAVE one of those headsets like the one Denise had, Sheryl wondered on Friday. It had to beat scrunching the phone between your shoulder and ear while you tried to get some work done. By eleven, Sheryl felt as if she’d already talked to a hundred people.
Of course, she’d had three calls in the past hour from Mom alone. First, she wanted to remind Sheryl about the family dinner the weekend before Christmas in addition to the actual gathering on Christmas Day, then she called back to ask if Sheryl had made any headway in her shopping, or if her mother should pick up gifts for the kids in the family and put Sheryl’s name on the tags. Feeling somewhat diminished by the suggestion she couldn’t be trusted to shop for her nieces and nephew, Sheryl had of course lied and said her holiday shopping was well under control.
Then Mom called one final time because she’d forgotten to ask what Sheryl herself wanted for Christmas. So, ha, obviously Sheryl wasn’t the only one not quite finished with shopping. Not quite finished, hadn’t bought so much as the first present or the paper to wrap it in—all depended on how you looked at it.
Too bad Mom knew her direct extension, or Sheryl could instruct Denise to run interference at the main switchboard and claim Sheryl had left for the day.
Luckily, most of the other calls had been pleasant and productive. Two years ago, with Brad’s wholehearted approval
