“It’s been that long, huh?” Nigel Benoit raised an eyebrow. Hands stretched out across the back of the couch, worry lines wrinkling his dark face, he reminded Marcel of his late father. Hit with sadness, he looked away.
“You need to meet someone new. Sarita isn’t coming back, and furthermore, she wasn’t the right girl for you,” he announced. “Didn’t it ever bother you that she was constantly on her cell phone? I mean, who goes out to dinner and spends the whole night texting her stupid friends? I would have left the table, except her parents were there and I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Uncle Nigel, you’re not being fair.” That was a lie, but he didn’t want his uncle to know that Sarita’s self-centeredness had been the source of many arguments between them. “All that really matters to me is that the woman I’m dating has a great personality and a good heart.”
Nigel snorted. “That’s a load of B.S. What man doesn’t want a hot chick on his arm? I know I do, and so do you. You just haven’t met the right kind of woman yet.” He winked suggestively. “After we wrap up here, I’m taking you to the strip club!”
Marcel checked his watch. “It’s only eleven-thirty in the morning.”
“I know.” His uncle broke into a grin. “Centerfolds opens at noon, so once my meeting’s over, we’re good to go!”
“Forget it, Uncle Nigel. I have a lot to do this afternoon. I need to send out more résumés and track down the job recruiter visiting the university this week.”
“Have you given more thought to what you’re going to do after graduation?”
“I’m hoping to get a full-time position, but if that falls through, I guess I’ll just have to go back home.”
“Your father’s dream was for you to come to the United States and make a successful life for yourself here,” he reminded. “Have you forgotten that you have family depending on you?”
Lowering his head, Marcel rubbed his hands across the side of his jeans. Whenever he thought about his visa situation, he broke out into a sweat. But what more could he do? He’d applied to every engineering company in the city—and even a handful throughout the West Coast. Maybe he was thinking too small. Maybe it was time he expanded his search—made it nationwide. Feeling better about his decision, he continued to listen to his uncle Nigel discuss his newest business venture. “You’re opening a clothing store in New York? Maybe I should forget engineering and come work for you!”
“Just say when. I’d love if you came to…” Eyes wide, he trailed off into silence. He slipped off his designer sunglasses and leaned forward in his chair. “Now that’s the kind of woman you should be searching for. She’s a beauty, and she’s obviously successful, too.”
Raising his head, he followed the path of his uncle’s gaze. Dominique stood behind the counter, pointing at a computer screen, quietly instructing the young, blue-eyed clerk. What was Dominique doing here and looking so authoritative no less? Her yellow blouse added a feminine touch to her sleek business suit. Her deep brown eyes were fringed with dark, curved eyelashes, but what Marcel loved most about Dominique was her hair. It was long, thick and full—perfect to play with and caress. “Her name’s Dominique King.”
His uncle’s jaw dropped. “You know her?”
“Yeah, and she’s a real snob.”
“She has every reason to be. Look at her!” Nigel peeled his eyes away from Dominique and turned to his nephew. “You don’t expect a woman wearing Cartier diamonds to talk to every Joe Blow who approaches her, do you? Marcel, if you want to date a sister of that caliber, you have to come correct.”
To set the record straight, Marcel told Nigel about meeting Dominique at the bachelor party and Sunday’s tutoring session. “We were supposed to have coffee after it wrapped up, but I couldn’t find her.”
“Well, here’s your second chance. Go over and invite her to lunch,” he proposed. “And don’t take her to one of those Asian joints that you like so much. Take her somewhere classy like the Chef’s Quarter.”
“The Chef’s Quarter! The entrées start at fifty dollars.” Before Marcel was finished checking Dominique out, she turned and walked into one of the back offices. “Dating a woman like that will leave me broke, and I have no intention of touching the money in my trust fund, so don’t even suggest it.”
“Tell the maître d’ you’re my nephew, and he’ll give you the best table in the house.” Nigel reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. “I’ll call and tell the manager to charge everything to my expense account.”
“Uncle, I can’t do that. I don’t have the money to blow on a fancy lunch. Furthermore, I don’t want to misrepresent myself. If a woman doesn’t like me for me, then forget her. There are plenty of fish in the sea, right?”
“You’re right, nephew. There are a lot of women out there but few who look like her. If you’re too proud to accept my offer, then use some of that inheritance money and show Dominique a good time.” He made a point of adding, “Before someone else does.”
“Uncle Nigel, you know I can’t do that. That’s my emergency cash. It’s not for wooing high-maintenance women.” Growing tired of the subject, Marcel lifted a magazine off the table and began flipping through it.
“Smart businessmen operate under one basic rule. Sometimes to make money you have to spend money, and you’ll have to go all out for a woman like Dominique King. Spoil her, charm her, buy her expensive gifts. She’s worth it, Marcel. Trust that I know what I’m talking about.”
Nigel’s cell phone rang, and when he answered it, Marcel sighed. Now he could have some peace and quiet. Summer vacation was over, and it was back to the daily grind, but it wasn’t term papers or exams that filled his thoughts. It was a certain woman with dark, hypnotic eyes.
The deadening routine of his academic life threatened to do him in, but seeing Dominique rejuvenated him. And he wasn’t just attracted to her physical beauty. She had a good head on her shoulders, a witty sense of humor and a sultry voice. It was so thick and so provocative that he could hear it now, falling over him like a sweet morning mist.
“Marcel?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. Standing there, looking like a runway model, was the woman who’d dominated his thoughts for the past week and a half. Wondering how long she’d been calling his name, he smiled broadly and rose to his feet. “We have to stop running into each other like this. The next thing I know you’ll be hiding in the bushes outside of my house!” she joked.
Don’t tempt me, he thought with a wry laugh. “Does Destination Wellness know that you’re moonlighting as a bank teller?”
“You mean a bank supervisor,” she corrected. “I only work at Destination Wellness on the weekends. It’s just a part-time job, you know, something fun to do that gives me a little extra pocket money.”
“I understand. This recession’s kicking everyone’s butt.”
“Tell me about it. Several of my clients lost their homes last week, and we’ve been forced to cut back hours around here. The economy has taken a lot of hits in recent years, and everyone, from the executive director to the small business
