Six

Gentlemen Need Not Apply

Felicity Day 1

4:19 a.m.

Spinning slowly in my office chair, I twirled the pens in my hands as I tried to not check my cell phone for the millionth time, clicking the earpiece when another call came through.

“Hello, my name is Felicity. How can I help you today?” I said with a fake amount of cheeriness.

“Yeah, if you guys can stop embarrassing the fuck out of me, that would be great!” The women yelled so loudly I had to remove the Bluetooth from my ear for a moment. This was going to suck.

Taking a deep breath, I put a smile on my face. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. Could you please tell me what the problem is?”

“My card! It’s not working. I was in Burberry, trying to buy a purse for my sick grandmother, and the lady said my card had been declined. In. Front. Of. Everyone!” She stretched out each word more angrily than the last. “Which is impossible because my father owns one of the biggest oil ranches in Texas. So tell me, lady, why the hell was my card declined?”

Screw—do not engage, Felicity, do not engage.

“Ma’am, can I get your credit card information, please, so we can work this out?”

She sighed over the phone like I was the one wasting her time with the security questions. I typed quickly, hoping to get this nightmare over with.

“Are you currently in London?”

“I said I was in Burberry, didn’t I? Of course I’m in London, you idiot.”

Clenching the mouse as tightly as I could, I brought up her account information.

“Ma’am, it seems like the reason your card was declined was because of a spending limit that was put in place two days ago.”

“What do you mean a spending limit? Take it off right now!”

“Ma’am, I’m truly sorry you were embarrassed, but the only one who can remove the limit seems to be the account holder, a Mr. Andrew Dallas.”

“You people are useless.” She hung up.

I hate people. 

Leaning back in my chair, I lifted my cell phone, but the only texts I had were from Mark and Cleo. It was funny how different both of their texts were.

Mark: You should call him. You were having fun with him, weren’t you? Two days wasn’t enough.

Cleo: There is going to be party tonight at the bay. Forget him, let’s go.

Between the two of them, Mark has always been the romantic one. He was the only one willing to watch rom-coms with me while Cleo was a hit-it-and-quit-it type of person. Neither of those helped me right now.

“Oh God,” I said as I clicked End so many times I was surprised the phone didn’t fall out of my hand.

I’d tried to call him. Why, Felicity, why? Dear God, the universe, Buddha, or whoever, please make sure that call didn’t go through.

Theo Stopping on the sidewalk, I placed my hands on my knees, trying to breathe. My morning run helped empty my mind of everything, yet I was still annoyed. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Get it together, Theo,” I whispered. I stretched out the kink in my arm as a couple ran past me, laughing together. I could tell the woman was the runner of the two, and she’d slowed down to match the guy’s pace. But I was sure the only reason he was running so damn slow was because he kept looking at her.

Felicity was pretty fit. Does she run? Then again, she doesn’t really have any muscle to her. Between her job and the fact she didn’t eat much anytime I saw her….

“Fucking Christ.” I ran my hands through my hair. I couldn’t believe it. There was something wrong with me, I was sure of it.

Kicking off again, I took the long way home.

Felicity Day 3

2:45 p.m.

He usually shows up toward the end of my shift.

“Felicity, table number three for you,” Rosemary said with two plates and a coffee mug in her hand as she headed off in the opposite direction of the diner.

He’d gotten my call.

Four was his table. I felt the urge to fix my hair. Walking around the counter, I tried to not make it look I was rushing toward him.

“God, I missed seeing you.”

Whatever hope or excitement I had in me disappeared at the sound of his voice. It wasn’t Theo. Instead, it was Petty Officer Lucas Jackson and his shipmates. He had come in here months ago, while their ship was docked. He stood at well over six feet with a perfect smile, a short brown buzz cut, and blue eyes. He was also the king of all cheesy lines everywhere. The first time he saw me, he’d said he hadn’t believed it was really the City of Angels until he saw my face. But he was nice and attractive.  

“How’s it going, sailors?” I smiled politely at them, and they stared at me.

“These are my friends. I told them I’d found my future wife in a diner, and they didn’t believe me.”

“Really?” I poured them all a cup of coffee. “Well, congratulations! When’s the wedding?”

“Anytime after she finally agrees to go on a date with me.” He winked.

He really was sweet, always laughing and cheerful when he came in, but I didn’t feel anything for him. There was no spark. I didn’t see him and want to melt in his arms. I didn’t dream about kissing down his chest or gripping his ass as he fucked me across his couch. He was just cute Petty Officer Lucas Jackson.

I didn’t want cute. I wanted sinful.

“Felicity?”

“Sorry, boys. What can I get you?” I asked, putting down the pot and taking out a notepad.

“You know.” One of his friends leaned forward. “Our boy Lucas here is on the fast track to becoming chief one day soon. I bet you he could sweep you up off your feet. Would you trade the white sand beaches of California for Hawaii?”

“I’m going to get you boys some pie,” I said cheerfully as I turned back to the counter. Rosemary gave me a look, the do you want me to take over look, but I shook my head. They were harmless.

“Hey.”

I glanced up from the pies. Lucas was leaning on the counter. He looked a little embarrassed. “Sorry about my friend. He was trying to help me out, and instead he came off as an ass.”

Felicity, this is the type of guy you should be wanting.

“It’s fine. Congrats on your upcoming promotion.”

He smiled as he leaned on the counter. “Let’s not jinx it.”

“Did you guys need me to bring anything?”

“There’s no way I’m going to get that date, am I?” He looked so bummed. I wanted to say there was a chance, but leading someone on like that was messed up.

“You’re a great guy—”

“But I’m not your guy.”

“In your defense, I have horrible, terrible taste in men.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “That doesn’t help.”

“Sorry.”

“How sorry are we talking about? Like a kiss goodbye sorry?” He leaned in eagerly.

I gave him a look, and he nodded as he got it.

“Guys, we’re going to have to take a rain check on that pie,” he called to his friends, who shook their heads in disappointment as they left the diner.  

“I hope your taste in men gets better, Ms. Felicity Harper.” He put his hat on and turned to leave.

I stood there for a split second before following him. Pushing the door open, I called after him. “Hey, sailor!”

They all stopped and glanced back to me. Walking up to him, I grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him slowly, but before he could respond, I let go.

“I told you I was sorry. I hope you find a girl who likes the beaches in Hawaii way more than the ones here.”

A grin spread across his face. He didn’t say anything, and I waved to his friends. I had gone only a few feet before I heard them cheering. They all jumped him and high-fived each other.

“What an amazing life you have. I don’t even know why you bother working—oh, right, you barely do that,” Manny, my manger, said just loud enough for me to hear as he walked into the kitchen.

“Ignore him.” Rosemary laughed, linking her arms with mine. “How was the kiss with our favorite sailor?”

“Cold,” I replied honestly. Just like I’d expected, kissing him did nothing. I could have been kissing my arm and gotten more of a rise out it.

I wanted….

I was not going there.

Theo “You were so right about this piece. It sets the whole tone for the rest of the work,” Tori said beside me. “It sounds so simple, yet the chords are far more complex. I had to call in a favor to have a friend of mine play it because I couldn’t. Are you sure she never had any formal training?”

“I told you everything I know, Tori,” I replied, watching Walt work through the choreography again with his dancers. But they either couldn’t do anything right, or he was in a pissy mood and was taking it out on them.

“Screw it,” Walt finally snapped. “Everyone take a break and think about whether or not you still want to be dancers for this company, because this is not good enough.”

“What’s wrong with him?” My eyes shifted back to her.

She laughed. “The same thing that is wrong with you: Felicity.”

“What does that mean—?”

“He had a moment with her when they danced. He said it was just like they were speaking a higher language. She got every one of his moves and even knew what he wanted to do next. He hasn’t been so excited to dance with anyone in a long time.”

I frowned, trying not to remember how she’d looked in that moment. “Shouldn’t it annoy you that he raved about another woman like that? You’re his wife.”

“Why does it bother you?”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t know.

“I’m not annoyed or jealous because I know his dancing does not equate to his love for me. Besides, afterwards he was so excited, the moment we got home he stripped me down and—”

“Yeah, let’s not share.” I stood up when Violet eyes glimpsed at me.

“Is she coming back?” Her question took me by surprise. “Whatever happened, don’t you think you should apologize? She could be the secret weapon for Darcy Entertainment.”

“I’m the secret weapon for Darcy Entertainment, and I have nothing to apologize for.” I walked out.

I wanted a moment to think, but apparently I had pissed God off somehow and that was too much to ask for.

“So are you going to keep avoiding me?” Violet asked from behind me.

Ignoring her, I kept walking.

“Theo.”

“You got married, Violet—”

“And divorced.”

“Your personal life means nothing to me, so I have nothing to talk to you about. Please do a good job. This gala is important to the company.” Still moving toward the elevator, I didn’t bother sparing her another look.

Violet Montgomery hadn’t been my problem in two years, and I intended to keep it that way.

Apparently I have the worst taste in women.

Felicity Day 5

3:11 p.m.

It had been five days since I had seen Theo, and I hadn’t thought of him at all. I was totally over it. Moving on with my life.   

That was a lie.

“Excuse me. Excuse me!”

I turned around to a find a teenage girl with blonde hair, the ends dyed pink, holding up an empty Chipotle bowl filled with napkins and other trash.

God, I hated my job at this damn high school.

“Can you throw this away for me?” She held it away from her like it was going to bite her. I stared at the trash in her hands and then the trashcan that was no more than three inches away from either of us.

Really, bitch?

Saying nothing to her, I reached out without even bending over and rolled the trashcan right in front of us. However the girl didn’t drop it in, much to the amusement of her friends. They were holding on to each other, fighting back giggles. One of them even had her cell phone out as if I were some circus attraction.

“My hand is getting tired,” she said.

Sighing, I bit my tongue, snatched the trash from her perfectly manicured hands, and dropped it into the trashcan.

“Thanks.” She whipped her hair over her shoulder and went back to her friends in her five-inch heels. She made the courtyard look like a runway.

“God, I thought about dropping out once, but I would never want to end up like her,” one of them whispered as they took my picture.

“Pretty face and no brain. It’s pitiful, actually.”

“I can’t believe Josh and the other guys think she’s hot.”

“You think she understands English?”

“She’s white, Ashley.”

Wow.

I glanced at them, but they weren’t even ashamed of themselves. They laughed as if I were the one who’d lost my mind.

“I guess she can understand.”

“Ladies, classes are over. Don’t you think you should go home?” I asked, focusing myself to keep calm.

“We’re waiting for the baseball team. And I don’t think a janitor should be giving any type of advice,” the blonde with pink tips snapped as she crossed her arms.

“Sorry. My job is to remove the garbage, and your attitudes are really stinking up the place.”

“Excuse you!”

“Here is a piece of unwanted but necessary advice. Grow up.  This spoiled brat act you’re putting on where you tear down other girls you feel inferior to isn’t going to make Josh or any other person like you more.”

She stepped up as her friends stopped smiling and stared at me in shock. “Do you know who I am? I can get you fired.”

“I bet. But at the end of the day, you’re still going to feel worse than me.”

“AH!” She kicked the trashcan, knocking it over and spreading garbage all over the ground. “Screw you. At least I’m not picking up garbage at thirty.”

“At least I’m not sixteen and throwing a temper tantrum.”

She rammed her shoulder into mine as she stormed off to what I could only guess was the baseball stadium.

Do not engage, Felicity!  That was the number one rule for surviving here. For the most part, it was easy because I worked after classes. Mostly everyone was gone by then. But on game and practice days, shit like this happened.

My cell rang. Removing one glove, I answered without looking at caller ID. “Hello.” 

“You thought it was him, didn’t you?” Mark said.

“No,” I lied.

“You’re lying.”

“Mark, did you call for a reason?”

“Nope. I just wanted to hear your voice get all high and excited—”

“Goodbye.” We hung up, and I placed the phone back in my pocket. I picked up the trash and fixed the dent in the can.

I lasted about two minutes before checking my phone again. That only upset me more.

No texts. No emails. No calls.

Then again, why would he bother after the way I left? I was so confused and conflicted. I was upset with him for not listening to me and upset with myself for being annoyed he hadn’t contacted me. I didn’t understand women. We all did this. I’d thought I was different, yet here I was. Logically it made no sense, but who ever knew me to be totally logical?

 Screw it.

Taking off both gloves, I texted him: Did the background check finally come through?

Before I’d even finished putting it away, he replied. I tried to fight the grin on my face as I held the phone up.

Theo: I was actually supposed to meet someone about that today. He said it was urgent.

Urgh. I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I said nothing at all as I wheeled the trash bin back into the janitor’s closest. Not even a minute later, my phone buzzed as he texted me back. 

Theo: Question: how the hell do you text with that dinosaur phone of yours?

Answer: with my thumbs. I smiled.

Theo: Witty.

I have my moments.

Theo: What have you been doing?

Living the blue-file life. I grinned. Happily, I may add.

Theo: Why do I get the feeling you’re lying to me?

I’m not.

Theo: Then why did you text me?

I didn’t reply, but that didn’t stop him.

Theo: You texted me because I crossed your mind enough for you to finally give in.

Still I said nothing.

Theo: And if I crossed your mind, that means you aren’t happily enjoying the blue-file life. You rejected that life for a reason, so no matter what you do, you can’t go back, Felicity.

I read his lines aloud as I leaned against the door and texted him back: What makes you so sure of yourself? Just because I texted you first doesn’t mean anything.

Theo: You may have texted me first, but I came to the diner today. Rosemary said you were off, and I asked her not to tell you.

“What?” I said aloud.

Me: Why did you come?

Theo: I missed the shitty coffee.

I laughed outright at that, but my smile faded as I wondered what he would think of me once he knew about my past.

Me: Let’s see how much you miss shitty coffee after you’ve found out all my secrets.

There was a pause, and it felt like hours and not minutes before he finally texted me back.

Theo: Tell me not to look at it.

Me: Why? You’ve proven you wouldn’t listen to me anyway.

It came across a lot harsher than I mean it to, so I added, Don’t look at it.

Theo: Where are you right now?

I knew if I told him he would come, and I wanted him to come. 

Me: Monroe Academy High School.

Theo: I’ll be there in thirty.

3:39 p.m.

I had taken the quietest shower of my life in the girl’s locker room, changed out of my overalls and back into dark skinny jeans, a light-yellow shirt, and red flats. There was no brush for my damn hair, so I threw it up in a ponytail. It was ironic how I felt like a high school teenager while rushing to the front of a high school. The first thing I noticed when I came out of the school was the girls giggling and holding on to each other at the top of the stairs. Among them was the girl with pink-tipped hair, clasping the arm of who I guessed was Josh. He seemed more annoyed than anything else.

“He’s so hot.” One of the girls giggled again.

“Sexy. It’s the right word, and he’s totally my type,” another one said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

I knew it even without taking a step forward. I knew it had to be him. Sure enough one of them was gaping at him. Theo wore dark jeans, a button-down shirt, and a leather jacket. He was leaning against a red Aston Martin with the top down, hands in his pockets casually. Grabbing my phone, I called him.

“You always have to make an entrance, don’t you?”

He glanced around until he saw me. “You must be talking about yourself. Those are a lot of stairs. Don’t trip. Everyone is watching, and as adults we need to make this as cool as possible.”

“Oh God, why did you say that! Now I’m going to trip.”

He laughed. “Fine. How about I run up as you run down, and we meet each other in the middle.”

“Is there a dramatic kiss scene too?”

“If I were directing, yes, but since this is a high school and you work here, let’s keep it PG for the time being.”

I couldn’t get rid of the smile on my face. “Hang up, and on three.”

He nodded and threw his phone in the back of the car.

One…

Two…

Three…

We ran, and I hoped I didn’t fall running down the stairs. He skipped every other one, rushing toward me. He made it to the middle before me, and I basically jumped on him and kissed him deeply. We hadn’t talked in days. I wasn’t sure what the hell we were doing. But I still wanted to kiss him if only for a few seconds. I felt it…the desire to kiss him hard, to have his tongue in my month, to do more than just kiss. Sadly, we both broke away before it got to that.

He took my hand, and we ran down the stairs together, not stopping for anything. He opened the car door for me, and I slid in and pulled on the seat belt. That girl and her friends’ mouths were completely hung open in shock and confusion.

“What happened to keeping it PG?” he asked as he started the engine.

“It’s high school. PG-13 is allowed too,” I answered, waving to the girls. One of them even waved back, stunned.

“Where do you want to go?”

I leaned back. “Where do you want to take me?”

“Don’t tempt me, Felicity. I’m trying to be a gentleman.” He held on to the steering wheel tighter.

“A gentleman asked me to follow him to Hawaii two days ago, Mr. Darcy.”

“And?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I? Though I did kiss him.” The small smile he’d had on his face up until it disappeared, and he stepped on the accelerator. I decided to add fuel to the fire. 

“I don’t need a gentleman, Theo. I need an alpha.”

His eyes shifted to mine. He didn’t need to say anything. I knew what was coming. Smirking, I took my hair out from a ponytail, letting it free, and closed my eyes.