Familiar - Part VII
Serialized Fiction
This is part seven of a series. If you have not read the first six parts, please start here:
As Dani returned to the chair she had occupied during the meeting, Todd asked her to take a seat closer to him. This made her feel like a child, but she complied.
“Hey,” he began. “I just wanted to follow up with you after that discussion.” Dani’s nerves were getting the better of her, and she folded her hands to keep them from shaking. Todd continued, “I know I came across a little passionate. I want you to know, though, that our efforts to attract female talent are intentional and sincere.”
Todd held Dani’s gaze, waiting for her to respond.
“I’m sorry I said they weren’t earnest,” Dani said. “I am also passionate about the subject, and I should have been more careful with my words.”
Todd nodded and smiled. “I appreciate that. I appreciate your passion, too, and I want to encourage it.”
Dani was stunned that she wasn’t about to be annihilated.
“Let’s meet next week to discuss strategies. Bring your best ideas, and we’ll work on them together.”
“Thank you,” was all Dani could say. She was overcome with relief and renewed excitement.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for caring.” Todd held out his hand, and they shook. Dani thought it was a bit over the top, but she was so relieved not to have hung herself that she would have chest-bumped him if he’d wanted.
“Will you set it up on the calendar?” Todd asked. “Same day and time as today’s meeting.”
“Yeah, of course,” Dani agreed.
When she got back to her office, it was just after eleven. She pulled her phone out of the drawer and saw she had two missed text messages. One was from Jason and had arrived right after she shut the phone in the drawer. It was a crying-laughing emoji in response to her telling him she was putting him in there. Dani smiled to herself. The other text was from Stephanie.
John just came through here saying we should all prepare for your funeral. What is going on???
Dani smirked, fucking John, she thought. The man was a gossip as well as a playful dickhead. She looked forward to his reaction when he found out Todd had held her back to encourage her ideas. She texted back.
If he’s still over there, tell him he should prepare to be disappointed. I’ll fill you in later.
Dani set down her phone and looked toward her monitors. The astronaut looked back, now wearing a heart on his chest, drawn and colored in red marker. A smile played on her lips as she imagined Jason sneaking into her office while everyone in her area was in the meeting.
A calm had settled in her chest, and she let out a long breath. The chaos was in check for now, and things were looking promising at work. She didn’t need to think about whatever was between her and Jason. That would all take care of itself in time. For now, she could relax and focus on something that was important to her. A little attention from him was a bonus, but it shouldn’t take center stage.
Dani worked through the to-do list she had written that morning, then began outlining her vision for attracting women to the trades. She knew she would have to balance some of the old standards with her more aggressive ideas if she was going to win Todd over. Let him have the annual job fairs at the convention center and the local university. She would help with those, but her primary goal was to actively recruit women already in the trades to launch an internal mentorship program for other women who are new to construction or less experienced.
She envisioned advertising strategies that highlighted attractive wages and benefits. Hydra offered great benefits, and if she could post their recently increased pay scale for skilled tradespeople, she felt certain she could attract women who might be underpaid where they were. Surely some were mothers with families who depended on them. The most important thing would be how well an opportunity enabled them to provide for their dependents.
The next thing she knew was going to be about culture. The field eats its young. Even men have a hard time getting through the “initiation” phase of breaking into the trades. They are thrown into the fire without much direction because the people who know the most are stretched so thin and are relying on guys who know a little to oversee the new hires. This is one of the big reasons so many don’t show up again after the first few days.
Dani would need to find the bravest, most knowledgeable women to team up with her and create a space other women would want to join. She knew they were out there, but they would be hard to find. She was ready to work for it. The idea excited her far more than the prospect of a promotion to senior PM. She was more than excited. She was inspired.
***
It was just after five o’clock when Stephanie walked into Dani’s office. The rest of Dani’s team had gone home, but Dani was still working on her outline and research for the presentation she would give to Todd the following week.
“What are you still doing here? It’s past five.”
Dani looked up from her monitors. “Is it?”
“Yeah, dude,” Stephanie said, gesturing around the room.
“I guess I lost track of time,” Dani smiled.
“What happened with Todd today?” Stephanie asked.
Dani smiled at her and filled her in on the details. She couldn’t hide her excitement as she began showing Stephanie what she had compiled so far.
“Damn,” Stephanie sounded impressed. “This is awesome! You’re really excited about this.” She looked at her friend with admiration.
“I really am.” Dani’s smile widened.
“What brought this on?” Stephanie asked. “I mean, besides the obvious issue of there not being enough tradespeople?”
“Remember the wolf from the dream I had about us renovating Stephen King’s house?” Dani waited for Stephanie to look at her as if she were crazy.
“Yeeaah,” Stephanie was curious.
“He showed me last night in another dream,” Dani explained the symbology of the dream to her.
“Your wolf boyfriend have any friends?” Stephanie teased. “I could use a mystery dream wolf-man to bring me some winning lottery numbers.”
“I’ll ask him,” Dani said with a smirk.
“Well, I’m going to get out of here.” Stephanie started to leave, then spotted the astronaut on Dani’s desk and pointed. “That from Jason?” She didn’t wait for Dani to answer before rolling her eyes, smiling. “Be good,” she warned as she walked away.
Dani sighed, then bookmarked her notebook and put her computer to sleep. Her phone chimed.
Jason: Molly’s?
Dani sighed again. She imagined meeting up with him, flirting over drinks, then ending up at her apartment. No. She could not let that happen. She thought about how to respond. Part of her wanted to engage in this, but she knew better. What could she say that wouldn’t sound like she was shutting him down forever?
Then again, hadn’t she already told him how it needed to be? Why was he pushing her? Because he wanted her. Dani knew that, and of course it felt good. But he also knew how she felt about the situation, and he should respect that. She texted him back.
Dani: When you’re separated.
The typing indicator came up immediately.
Jason: We can still be friends. Friends hang out with each other.
Dani wanted to give in to this. It was true, wasn’t it? They were friends. Had been for years. Why couldn’t they hang out as friends? But the truth was too obvious to deny.
Dani: That is not very honest.
Jason: I’ll behave. I just want to know how your first day went.
Dani: Fine. I’m leaving now. Be there in 40 mins.
She immediately regretted it. “Shit,” she said out loud, then gathered her things and left the building. As she walked to her car, she was contemplating canceling on Jason. This is stupid, she thought. The fact that she had said yes when she knew better made her angry with herself. Even worse, she’d folded so easily. She was muttering to herself when she looked up and saw Jason standing by her car. She smiled and shook her head.
“What?” Jason’s grin was Cheshire. He was handsome, though not devastatingly so. Dani had a rule against dating anyone prettier than she was because she wasn’t a bird, and from her experience, those guys usually cheated. She laughed to herself at the irony now. Dani was usually attracted to dark-haired men, but Jason’s hair was light. He was tall, which she liked. From some angles, he resembled Patrick Wilson.
“You know what,” Dani said, lifting her chin to indicate that he was the “what.”
Jason chuckled, raising his hands. “Just friends, I swear.” He put his right hand over his heart, then opened her car door with his left.
Dani tossed her bag into the passenger seat, then got in. She looked up at Jason. “This is a bad idea. Also, what are you still doing here?”
“I had a late meeting,” Jason told her. “How about you?”
“Working on something.” Dani looked up at him, and something about the proximity of her body to his from below turned her on. She saw him grin, then turned away and put her key in the ignition. “Two beers. Three, max,” she told him, then started the engine.
Jason shut her door, saluted, then walked to his truck. She watched him, shaking her head. “The fuck are you doing?”
Forty-five minutes later, they sat at the bar, pints in hand.
“This is where Steph and I usually sit,” Dani said to Jason.
“I was at that table by the restrooms the last time I came here.” Jason pointed toward the back of the bar. “The only time, actually.”
Dani thought about the late-night text message but chose not to bring it up.
“How was your first day?” Jason asked, and Dani told him about the meeting and what she planned to bring Todd next week. Jason whistled. “You went hard for day one.”
Dani chuckled. “Yeah, it kind of just happened. I didn’t exactly plan it that way. I’m just glad Todd is open to it. Even more glad he didn’t fire me.”
“I’m glad, too.” Jason turned his barstool to face her. “This sounds like it’s going to be a big project. Sure you’ll have time for it?”
“I’ll make time,” Dani said, then sipped her draft. “It’s that important to me.”
“I see that.” Jason smiled at her and squeezed her hand. Dani smiled and squeezed back. “I’m proud of you. Am I allowed to say that?”
Dani nodded, still smiling. “Yes, and thank you for that.” Then she pulled her hand away. An almost imperceptible flash of disappointment crossed Jason’s face, but he recovered so quickly that she thought she might have imagined it.
The two chatted on about work, but when the third round was served, their inhibitions had been slightly lowered. Enough to broach the obvious topic.
“Jason,” Dani began.
“Dani.” Jason teased.
“I don’t want things to get messed up between us. What happened last night shouldn’t have happened, and I don’t want to get into a messy situation where we have to hide from people and feel guilty about anything we do.”
“You regret it, then?” Jason watched his left hand twirl his glass, then looked at Dani.
“I regret that it happened too soon,” Dani offered. “You’re important to me, and so is our friendship. I don’t know how I can be here for you as you navigate this situation with Kayla. With your wife.” The word landed like a gavel in Dani’s ears and she knew she needed to hear it as much as Jason did.
“Look, Dani girl.” Jason reached for her hand again, and she let him take it. “I hear you, and I get it. But I don’t think you understand where I’m coming from. Kayla and I have been on the outs for so long that it’s already been over for a while. The only thing left now is logistics.”
“Logistics matter, Jason.”
“Let me finish,” Jason squeezed her hand firmly, but not hard enough to hurt. “You and I have been quietly building something for a long time. Last night was just the first time we said it out loud. I don’t want that to fade while things get sorted with Kayla and me.”
“With your marriage,” Dani corrected.
“With the paperwork of a marriage, anyway,” Jason countered. “She’ll be moving back to Iowa in two to three months, and then we’ll finalize the divorce three months after that. It’s all basically done, and I have waited a whole year in purgatory. A loveless, sexless marriage. All the while, being so close to you but unable to touch you or even say that I wanted to. Now that I have, how can I just put that back in the box?”
“So, it’s certain?” Dani asked. “I thought you said you were discussing it.”
“It’s decided,” Jason told her.
Dani felt the dizzying fog of want begin to envelope her, headfirst. Jason slowly lifted her hand, uncurling her fingers so he could press them to his lips. The tiny receptors in her fingertips felt the soft flesh and sent a slight convulsion back up her arm and through her body. When she moved her gaze from his mouth to his eyes, she saw she was about to be devoured.
“Take me home with you, Dani girl.” It was almost a command.
Dani’s phone chimed, and she reached to pick it up.
Stephanie: I see your car and Jason’s truck. I’m coming in.
Dani felt ashamed of her disappointment. Stephanie lived nearby. Was she checking up on her?
“It’s Steph,” Dani told Jason. “She’s here.”
“What?” Jason let out a short laugh.
“I guess she saw my car and decided to stop in,” Dani explained.
“Huh.” Jason grabbed his pint and tipped it back.
Dani looked back toward the front and watched as Stephanie walked toward them, smiling her big, sexy smile.
“Hiii, Jason,” she said, in a playful, bratty voice.
Jason smiled at her. “Hi, Steph.” He stood to hug her, then offered her his barstool as he finished his beer.
“Are you leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, I need to get home,” Jason said apologetically, then turned to hug Dani. “Call me later,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. Dani watched him as he walked away, waving.
“Girl, what are you doing?” Stephanie confronted Dani.
“I don’t know,” Dani confessed. “He invited me, and I said no, but then he said he’d behave and still wanted to be friends, and here I am.”
“Did anything happen before I got here?” Steph drilled her.
“No.” Dani half smiled before taking a drink. She swallowed and said, “You successfully cock-blocked me.”
“Fuckin’ GOOOD!” Stephanie emphasized, pretending to be mad. “Now buy me a fuckin’ beer.”
“Aye-aye.” Dani saluted and signaled the bartender to bring Stephanie a draft.
“So, no more meeting Jason alone. Got it?”
“Got it.” Dani nodded, then leaned over and kissed her friend’s cheek.
Stephanie nodded in approval. “Now, we need to talk about the holiday party. It’s only three weeks away, and you’re going to need a date.”
“I don’t need a date,” Dani protested. “I’ll just hang out with you.”
“Ah, no,” Stephanie corrected. “I mean, you will, but you’re not going to third-wheel Kyle and me all night.”
“I thought you guys liked it when I watched.” Dani faked her most offended look, and Steph chuckled.
“We do, you pervert, but only on actual holidays that fall on the last day of February in a leap year.”
“That’s right. I forgot.”
***
Dani walked into her old high school gymnasium. Balloons filled the ceiling, trailing ribbon below them, over her head. Round tables covered in black linens lined either side of the wood-floored hall, and a stage sat front and center. A band was playing a song she recognized from the radio, though she didn’t know the artist.
She walked to the right of the stage and went into the restroom to check her outfit. She could not see what she was wearing without a mirror. After several turns down long hallways and checking multiple locked doors, Dani found herself in a dressing room, standing before a floor-length mirror. She was delighted with what she saw.
She wore a blood-red satin cloak and a 1940s-cut black halter dress beneath it. The neckline was low, and the waist hugged her body. Her shoes were high-heeled wedges in the same red satin as her cloak. Dani leaned in and applied red lipstick to her reflection in the mirror, and somehow it transferred to her own lips. She straightened, pressed her lips together, and moved toward the door.
She walked out into the night and saw that the entrance to the hall was ahead and to the right, but several tall hedges obscured the path and kept turning her around in the wrong direction. She asked others who were also on their way to the holiday party, and they gave her directions, but when she tried to follow them, she forgot what they told her, or they led her to another dead end.
She decided to climb over the hedges in the direction she knew she needed to go, rather than keep trying to find her way around them. When she finally got over the last one, she spotted Jason standing beneath the front overhang, which had an old movie marquee announcing Hydra’s holiday party. Dani ran over to him, excited. He took her hand and led her into the hall.
Dani couldn’t wait to dance with Jason, but he was busy saying hello to people she didn’t know. Then he wanted to eat, then get a drink. Dani looked longingly out at the dance floor as couples danced together to the music. Finally, she pulled on Jason’s arm and said, “Dance with me.”
Then they were dancing slowly. Dani’s body was pressed tight against his, and they swayed back and forth, turning in slow circles together. She looked up, but she couldn’t see his face. He wasn’t Jason anymore.
“Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood,” Wolf said to her in his low register, and Dani squealed with joy, then hugged him tight.
“I guess I dressed appropriately if you’re my date,” she told him, and he approved. “But my, what great, big teeth you have. Should I be afraid?”
“Wolves are loyal and trustworthy,” Wolf told her. “But you’ve been messing around with a fox.”
“I wanted to dance,” Dani told Wolf, and he pushed her hood back off her head.
“Then you should take this off,” he told her.
Dani untied the cloak and let it fall to the floor. “What do you know about dancing?” she asked him, and he grinned at her with his wolf head.
“Oh, Magpie,” he told her as he stepped in close and took her hand. “I can dance.”
With that, the band became the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and they started playing Zuit Suit Riot. Wolf spun Dani around, sending the skirt of her black dress flying in a circle around her before he pulled her back in and they moved together. Swing had always been Dani’s favorite dance, and she was good at it. Wolf was even better.
The crowd of people she didn’t know now surrounded the dance floor, watching Dani and Wolf slide, dip, tuck turn, and boogie back. Wolf deftly lifted and flipped her, stunning and delighting Dani and the audience alike. She laughed and gasped with joy until the song ended and the music slowed. Wolf pulled her into him, and her laughter softened as she held on, swaying with him.
She found herself aroused and wanted to be alone with him. She thought of the dressing room and led him by the hand toward it. When they were inside, they began to kiss and grope, but it was Jason now. He lifted her onto a vanity table, and she wrapped her legs around him, then pulled back, confused. “Who are you?”
Man… you are really nailing the dialog here and the shockingly realistic PM life, knowing this from my previous life. A swing dancing wolf needs to adorn many more stories! I can’t wait to read what comes next!!
intrigued
intrigued
intrigued