There was a large desk, with my computer already on it, a desk chair that might as well be a throne, a small conference table with chairs near one of the windows, and a big, overstuffed sofa along one wall. "Wow" was all I could say.
"Your stuff's already up here. The boss had me take care of that while you were in the meeting. If you need any books or decorations, let me know and I'll take care of it. I can also get you lunch, coffee, or whatever."
She then handed me a set of keys. "Here are your keys to the building, to this floor, and to your suite. Oh, and the bathroom's behind that door next to my desk." She gave me a mock pout. "Looks like I don't have a bathroom to myself anymore."
"I'll try not to hog it."
"Okay, then. I'll leave you to get settled in, and I'll let you know when Mr. Mervyn is ready to
meet with you."
I had remarkably little to do for someone with such a supposedly important position, but I imagined that was likely to change soon enough. For now, I enjoyed having an office with windows and a door that closed. Even without much to do, the day passed relatively quickly. Merlin had to postpone our meeting until Monday when he got stuck in some tricky negotiations, so before I knew it, it was time to go home, and I had very little to show for my day, other than my new office. "Want to have a celebratory drink?" Trix asked when I passed her desk on my way out.
"I have to get home. I have my first Project Boyfriend date tonight, so my roommates need to make me over."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks. I have a feeling I'll need it."
If I had to meet a guy Gemma was sure was the One—with a capital letter—today was as good a day as any. The day's events had left me feeling bold and confident, which was better than the nervous way I usually approached dates.
Gemma was already home when I got there. She must have taken off early, just for the occasion. "Are you excited about tonight?" she asked.
I didn't have to fake excitement. I just had to fake what I was excited about. "Yeah.
It's already been a great day."
"Get in the shower, and then you can tell me all about it while I do your hair and makeup."
Half an hour later I sat in front of the dresser in our bedroom with my hair up in a towel while Gemma worked on my makeup. "I'm going for a fresh-faced girl-next-door look, so you just look nice, not like you've got a lot of makeup on,"
she said. "That should appeal to Keith."
"He's a guy. If he notices the nuances of my makeup job, he's probably not straight."
She acted like she didn't hear me. She was too busy taking the towel off my head and combing out the tangles. "I wish we'd had time to do highlights."
"If he hates me on sight because I don't have highlights, I don't want him."
Still ignoring my bad attitude, she asked, "So, what happened today that had you so excited?"
"I got a promotion at work. A big one."
"Congratulations! What's your new job?"
"I'm assistant to one of the top executives." I decided against saying I'd been promoted to be the top boss's assistant because that was so big it would raise too many questions. People just didn't rise from being an ordinary administrative assistant to being the CEO's right-hand person in the space of one month.
"That's super! See, I told you that last place you worked didn't appreciate you.
Now, hold still."
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the curling iron and goodness knew what else she was doing to my hair to make it look "natural." Then I reminded myself that I was going through this so I could get to a point where I wouldn't have to go through this as often. That fantasy of wearing sweats and watching an old movie was looking better and better.
Finally, I met with Gemma's approval. Marcia got home from work and gave her thumbs-up. "I still can't believe you're sending me out on my own like this," I complained before they shoved me out the door.
"When you meet in a group, it takes on a just-for-fun atmosphere," Gemma explained. "One-on-one is serious. Now go and be brilliant."
That was easy for her to say. Dating came naturally to her. I could talk easily to the guys at work, but put me across a table from a man in a situation where there were no legal pads or PowerPoint presentations involved and I froze. I couldn't remember the last real one-on-one date I'd been on. I was twenty-six years old, and there were high school freshmen with more dating experience than I had.
