Prettiest Girl in the Room

She didn't feel any impact and kept on going. It was only her third day at work and she was going to be late.

The unlit neon sign heralding the bank, was now in view. She waited to make sure the way to the onramp was clear, pausing hard with her brakes, giving the driver behind her a heart attack for the second time.

She slowly inched into the parking lot, careful to keep her eyes peeled ahead of her. She didn't want to risk drivers suddenly pulling out in front of her. She made sure not to make the same mistake she'd stupidly made the first day by parking in bank manager Doherty's spot.

This time, just like yesterday, she had the presence of mind to find her own spot and slide in, breathing a sigh of relief as she turned off her engine and listened intently to the sound of water crashing on her hood.

She grabbed her umbrella and summoned the courage to flip open the door. The rains were like a waterfall. Her hair was going to get at least a little wet no matter what she did. She braced herself, knowing her hair was about to enter frizzy hell.

The mood seemed tense when she stepped inside the glass double doors.

Mable, Doherty's secretary, nodded 'hi' and asked her how she was getting along. Candice tried to play the politically correct game, manufacturing an appreciative smile out of thin air and saying that things were going well.

The mortgage broker, Helen, flashed an equally fake smile and told Candice she had a box of half price donuts on her desk if she were interested.

Daphne and Sandra, the other two loan officers who had been trying to mentor Candice, didn't notice her from their chatting at the water cooler as their black counterpart slipped on by.

Candice frowned. Was everybody on time except her? How was it possible that the rainiest day of the year didn't produce any tardy casualties except for herself?

She rounded her corner, shaking her umbrella and unbuttoning her coat as she suddenly noticed the dozen red roses sitting in a vase of water on her desk.

And then came Rachel, the missing front desk lady, muttering a "how's it going" query as she fluttered back to her desk from a trip to the ladies room. Then she paused. "Couldn't help noticing Brian coming into your office half hour ago with those roses. Getting your boss to bring you flowers after just two days on the job? I guess it really does pay to be the most beautiful woman in the room."

The phrase slugged Candice like exploding dynamite. She had spent her entire life being 'the most beautiful woman in the room.'

"It's going just fine," Candice answered, glaring at the roses. Everyone passing by her office would have noticed them through the wide open door. The thought of fellow workers wondering what was up with the flowers now drove Candice nuts. The last thing she needed was the office rumor mill churning out predictions. She was certain Rachel had surely spilled the beans to everyone at the bank that the handsome and charming Brian was hand delivering flowers to the new woman of his dreams.

"Wish I could get Brian to bring me flowers," Rachel spat out playfully, unable to supress the twinge of jealously that was attached to her voice.

"I'm sure they're just a friendly gesture to wish me luck on the job."

"Yeah well just make sure you've got eyes in the back of your head so he doesn't try to drape you over your desk and pull up your skirt when you're not looking."

"That kind of talk is inappropriate for an office environment, don't you think?" Candice asked, trying her best to sound agitated. The last thing she needed was the loud mouth Rachel blabbing to everyone that Candice was either thinking of humping Brian, or had already humped him.

"You needn't get sore," Rachel replied, almost angrily. "The guy is a certified hunk, and, despite the bullshit gay rumors, really is flirty and nice most of the time. That's the trouble with you over the top hot looking babes. You don't have to work even a tenth as hard as the rest of us girls to get dates. You got men dropping at your feet like flies. And you're stuck up as shit."

"I am not stuck up, for your information I-"

"Yeah, right. Whatever," Rachel retaliated, marching off in disgust.

Candice glared a second time at the roses. What was it with men and roses turning up unexpectedly at her door? She sat down and started fishing for a card. There was none. She now rolled her eyes at the worn carpet. Why would Brian be bringing her flowers to the office? Was he brain dead? Didn't he know that the rumor mills and office grape vines would be churning overtime? And besides, it wasn't like they had even shared so much as a kiss. He had taken her out to dinner as an act of repentance for getting into a shouting match with her. Had she known he was going to be showering her with flowers publically and backing her into an embarrassing corner then she would have told him not to bother. Why was it that men were so fucking stupid? Why couldn't he simply had them deliver the flowers to her home instead?

"A penny for your thoughts?"

The sound of Brian's voice jolted her away from her thoughts. She wasn't sure if she had been talking to herself or not. She didn't like looking weird. It turned men off.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

Brian had a quizzical look on his face. "I just got here, why?"

"Why were you asking what I was thinking?"

"Cause you looked deep in thought is all. By the way, Doherty cancelled his eight o'clock meeting with you."

Candice felt her heart slip into the disciplinary abyss. That was where the hearts of all very late loan officers went when they missed meetings with their bosses because they were not on time.

"I hadn't realized I had a meeting scheduled for this morning."

"You didn't. Doherty received a call when he stepped into his office this morning. It was from Eric Holding's publishers. They just wanted to say thanks for how you were handling his loan application. It really made Doherty's day. He just wanted to tell you to keep up the good work, is all."

Candice felt her spirits soar. "For Eric's publishers to call like that it would have to mean that Eric asked them to do it."

Brian nodded up and down in agreement. "That would be my assessment also. He must really like you."

"It's strictly business," Candice protested.

Brian laughed. "Yeah, right, and if you believe that then I have some swamp land in Florida I can sell you."

Candice freaked out. It was bad enough that the rumor mills in the office were undoubtedly churning overtime about her and Brian, but if they should hear that she had gotten under the skin of the world's greatest romance novelist, what then?

"Thanks for the flowers, by the way," Candice whispered, "although I would have preferred if you had of given them to me in secret. And as for Eric calling, I hope you're not going to say to anyone that Eric had his company call the manager to compliment me. There are enough wagging tongues around here as it is."

Brian sighed and shook his head from side to side. "In the first place, nothing would please me more than to be bringing you flowers in secret to your house, especially since, by your employment application, I know exactly where it is. But I didn't give you those flowers. They came by courier to the bank's front door. Seeing as how you were not here, I signed for them. The delivery man said they were from Eric Holding. And in the second place, Mable is Doherty's secretary as you know, and nothing gets by her. She's probably already told everyone that cared to listen that Eric's publishers were singing your praises."

"Oh Damn. I wish I had a rock to crawl under."

"No need to hide," Brian shot back. "Hold your head up and live in the sunshine. You should be gratified that the entire office is going to be extremely jealous of you from here on in."

"Yeah and wagging their fucking tongues at my expense. Next thing you know they'll all be watching my tummy, checking for baby bumps, making up ridiculous stories about how you and Eric are talking turns trying to make me pregnant with interracial babies."

Brain shrugged. "A tempting thought. But no need to be uptight. So they all love to chat and speculate about possible love lives? It is what it is. Enjoy your flowers."

"Damn," Candice whispered as Brian waved goodbye and walked away.

Then suddenly, he was back. "By the way. What did you do to your hair? It looks a little different. You tease it or something?"

Candice flipped. "My hair is exploding. With all the water tap dancing on my head today my perm will be coming apart at the seams."

"I didn't say it looked bad, just different," Brian protested.

"I'll leave telling me it looks bad to all the fucking jealous ladies in this hell hole," Candice blurted out, almost shouting.

"Why are you angry? No need to get sore," Brian said. "And by the way. I had a great time at dinner last night. I know I'm probably facing stiff competition with Eric Holding in the picture, but my brother works for Winfield Stadium over in Richmond County. James Taylor is having a concert there Saturday night. I don't like going to concerts alone, soooooo-"

Candice waited with baited breath for Brian to finish his sentence but he didn't. It was almost as if he were asking her to fill in the blanks.

She started to breathe heavily at the wave of confusion now hitting her. Flowers from Eric...a concert invitation from Brian, and the Lord only knew what might be coming at her around the corner from Gerald.

She wanted to tell Brian to get stuffed, but she fought against staying angry. Bad decisions were often made in the heat of rage or passion. Tossing three balls in the air at once only worked if you didn't let any of them fall to the ground. She needed time to think, and to calm down, although she wasn't about to take any man in her life for granted.

She could feel her heart start to wince. Feelings beginning to formulate for someone perhaps? And which someone? She steeled herself to the task at hand. Unless and until she knew for sure what her heart was trying to say, she was determined not to leave any of the three by the wayside. Brian was a super handsome and super fun guy. Although he came with rumors attached. Still, Brian was intoxicating to be around. Like Eric, just being in his presence really got her juices pumping. As long as the rumors were false, Brian would seem to be the number one horse, but only by a nose.

"Fine, I'll go. I like James Taylor," she answered honestly.

"Pick you up Saturday at six," he said, flashing a brilliant smile.

He then walked away, leaving her to stew in her own confused state of mind.

"What is up with this weird and wacky day," she managed, adding, "it's raining everything from cats and dogs to frizzy hair and men!"

She was suddenly all alone, with nothing but the dissipating echo of hastily spewed words that mirrored her frustration. She was not getting any time to catch her breath. Still, she knew from experience that guys could be persistent, but not always. If she had of blown off Brian, he might have concluded that she belonged to Eric. The whole thing was maddening.

She began to scour her mind to put her 'to do' list in action. The first for her to do was to make some kind of contact with Eric. He had phoned her twice the night before, and apart from a simple one line text, saying she was sorry she'd missed his calls but was going to bed exhausted, she had not contacted him since. The result? A dozen roses to solidify in her mind that he was really pushing the envelope and trying to get her front and center in his life, or was it just his bedroom?

It was so hard to know where a guy's head was, especially a guy who was a multi-millionaire. For all Candice knew it could have been some paid publicist sending the flowers on Eric's behalf. Still it was time to speak to him on the phone. That was obviously why he'd sent the flowers, because she was avoiding him and looking for time to think things over. Eric didn't want her to have any time. It was either play his way and by his rules, or maybe watch him start to obsess over someone else.

It also didn't escape her attention that he had let her know he was a power broker by making her manager feel proud of her and happy about her performance. Eric had a lot of juice with the powers that be and had shown her by his actions that he could be a blessing or a curse to her career. He hadn't come across as being vindictive, but she was sure, that given half the chance, he would be if he could. Still, that wasn't making her like him any less. She was blown away by how gorgeous and buff he was. He was also very well spoken, charming, intelligent and romantic. He possessed all the magical qualities that could make her swoon and drool. When she added to that, the fact that whoever married him would be swimming in countless millions, then it made the decision to phone him and say hi, a no brainer

She sat her cell phone on her desk, scrolled down it then tapped his name.

Her phone began to ring, which meant that his phone had begun to ring also.

"Candice?"

"The one and the same."

"Hi hon."

She pondered over his use of the word 'hon.' Wasn't that word reserved for married couples? Or at least couples engaged to be married? Or at the very least to couples that were dating?

"Sorry I missed your calls last night, but as I said in my text, I was just so tired that-"

"I heard you went out with Brian last night. I didn't want to phone, but I needed to chat about when the loan would be released. The workmen have to know when they should be free to start the work."

"Who told you I went out with Brian?"

"Does it matter?"

She began to tremble. For all she knew, he may have been having her followed. Was he really that controlling?

"It matters to me," she said bluntly.

"No big deal," he assured her. "When I phoned the bank to ask for you, Mable, Doherty's secretary, she told me you had gone to dinner with Brian."

Candice rolled her eyes upward. That damn Mable! Well, at least that got Eric off the hook.

"I see. Well, Brian dropped me off home and then I got some sleep. I had a big day ahead of me today."

Candice could swear she heard the sound of a voice breathing down the phone. She surmised that her reassuring words that Brian hadn't been allowed to spend the night, made him feel relieved.

"I see, so you and Brian are not dating then?"

His words floored her. Hadn't she just alluded to the fact that it was an innocent date where nothing happened? And why was it his business to ask such a personal question anyways, unless...unless...she now braced herself for what she was certain was going to come next. Eric was turning out to be so predictable and so adamant about not letting the grass grow under his feet. If he wanted something then he was just going to go after it until he got what he wanted.

"Why would you ask me that?" she said, already knowing the answer but wanting him to spit it out plainly and in simple terms.

"I'm asking because if you're not seeing anyone right now then I'd like us to start going steady, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend."

She fought over the words to a possible reply. A lot would be riding on what she said next. He had been just as nice and thoughtful to her as he could be, but he wanted to nail down a relationship with her before someone else like Brian or Gerald could beat him to the punch. He had seen Gerald and Candice flirting in the line at the book signing, and had run into the hot looking Brian at the bank. He was also smart enough to know that a spectacular and very nice woman like Candice wasn't going to remain on the shelf much longer if other men had their way. Right now she was fair game, but if he waited too long? And if she jerked him around without giving a definite answer?

"Let me take you out to dinner tonight and we can talk about it," he begged.

She gave herself a mock pinch. Obviously she wasn't dreaming. What she was doing, was being placed into a situation where it was going to be sink or swim with the sharks. Still, just like how it had rained so hard today, she knew that with men it likewise never rained but poured. Men were either all over her, or nowhere to be found. Right now they were coming to her. She fought to remember her dead mother's words. "Strike while the iron's hot."

"Fine, I'll meet you tonight at six sharp at the same mall restaurant we ate at in the mall."

"I guess you don't want me to swing by and pick you up at the bank because Brian will see us together?"

"I don't care what Brian sees," she lied. "But the office girls here can talk up a storm. They all want to know my damn business and I'm trying to run away from their spying, prying eyes."

She sounded convincing enough for him to buy it. "Fine, I'll see you there at six. Don't be late. I have a present for you. Bye."

"Wait, what's the present? Hello?"

It was then and there that he had already hung up. Her heart was now a minefield of worry. Obviously his present couldn't be something as obvious as an engagement ring. They had, after all, just met. Surely such a gift would not be offered for months. She kept on thinking. A friendship ring perhaps to commemorate the start of them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend? She wondered. But then again it would be presumptuous of him to assume that she would even agree to become his girlfriend, unless of course he had never been turned down by a woman before?

Or maybe it was as innocent as some kind of painting or knick-knack that he felt she might appreciate and cause her to think of him whenever she looked upon it? Or maybe he only wanted to thank her for looking after his loan papers? Her curiosity was running amok. Whatever it was, he certainly wasn't saying, and she wouldn't find out until she went to meet him at the restaurant. Unless of course he was going to tell her she would have to come to his mansion to see it? She wondered about that too. Men and their bags of tricks. She resolved within herself that if he did try and invite her over to his place after dinner, she would tell him no. If he wanted to date her, fine. But she wasn't about to start showing off her backside just because he was rich enough to toss a few gems her way, even if they might be very expensive gems.

"Candice, sorry to disturb you. Are you free?"

The voice startled her. But it was a voice she had heard dozens of times before. Gerald?

She looked up. Yes. Gerald.

"Damn, it really is raining men around here, isn't it?"

"Pardon? What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Forget I said it. If you've come to ask about the status of your loan, Brian tells me he okayed it and that our bank manager, Mr. Dohorty, signed it as well and that it all went by courier to head office. They would have received it yesterday afternoon."

"And rejected it by early this morning," he lamented, sounding like a wounded puppy dog.

"What?"

"Well not actually rejected. But their loan approval office was asking about my collateral. They think the numbers I submitted on my application for my assets are somewhat inflated."

"Darn. It really shouldn't have mattered. I was told that once our bank manager signed it that head office would rubber stamp it."

"So you told me already. But my understanding is that the auditors are in, and so for appearances sake they've been following a stricter protocol. They glanced at my application but apparently they are asking for appraisals to be done on my two properties."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What do you think the appraisals will show?"

"Honestly," Gerald conceded. "I think, with the real estate market depressed the way it is, that the appraisals will show my properties already heavily mortgaged in terms of what the real value might be."