It�s an absolutely beautiful April afternoon, so Rick, Phillip, Harley, and I choose an outdoor table at the Country Club. The sunshine is warm and glowing, and I�m glad that I�m wearing a short skirt and tank top. Suddenly I remember walking out of Danny�s office, and I can still feel his eyes on me, sliding over my body.

Halfway through lunch, Rick and Harley are doing their normal thing � arguing over some silly little thing, while Phillip and I just look at them, shaking our heads. Phillip and Harley have been trying to keep Rick busy, since Abby left eight months ago. Harley has become a master at distracting my brother, something she�s demonstrating yet again, right at this moment.

I take advantage of their argument to have a private conversation with Phillip, wanting to find out more about Danny Santos. Insulted or not, I must admit that I�m curious as to why he is working at Spaulding Enterprises, when he already has a rather lucrative, albeit shady, lifestyle As my brother and Harley continue to harmlessly hurl insults at one another, I lean closer to Phillip.

�I had a run in with one of your employees earlier,� I say quietly, emphasizing the words �run in�.

�Really, I can�t imagine that anyone at Spaulding would be stressed these days,� Phillip says sarcastically. �Who was it.�

�Danny Santos,� I answer.

�Ahh, Santos, now why doesn�t that surprise me?� Phillip sighs.

�I couldn�t find your office this afternoon,� I begin. �I went down the hall where it used to be, and found an empty office. I thought it was yours, so I went inside to wait.�

�And Danny found you there,� Phillip said smirkingly.

�Yes, and he wasn�t very cordial,� I say, as Phillip chuckles. �Why is this so funny?�

�Danny�s a little bit of a punk from time to time, but he�s really all right. He�s got a good head on his shoulders, and I�m sure he�s going to prove to be quite an asset to the company.�

�Asset?� I question. �I can�t imagine why he�s even working for you.�

�I�ve had my eye on that kid for a while now,� Phillip says. �When he was still working for his family�s business, it was obvious that he had a flair for business, so when he gave his mother notice a couple of months ago, I made him an offer.�

�He gave his mother notice?� I ask.

�That�s right. Flat out told her that he wasn�t going to work for her anymore. Said that he wanted to make a name for himself in the �real world�. He�s a grown man, obviously, so she didn�t have much choice but to let him go.�

�And you believe he was sincere?�

�Sure do, Michelle,� Phillip replies. �When he was working for the Santos family, there was more legitimate activity than there had been in the past twenty-five years. I guess his mother just got in his way one too many times, and he�d had enough.�

�So what�s his mother doing now?�

�Carmen, well she pretty much hung it up after Danny left. Her oldest son, Mick, died about 4 years ago when he overdosed. Danny�s little sister lives in Europe and has never had anything to do with the family business, so Carmen was alone. She �diffused� the Santos family business and moved to Europe with her daughter. The woman made enough money to last three liftimes, so I figure she�s enjoying herself.�

�Wow,� I say. �I can�t believe he just stood up to his mother like that.�

�Danny�s got a lot of integrity, even though it�s hard to tell sometimes. I have to reign him in on occasion, because he does tend to get defensive easily. He�s still living with the Santos reputation, and because of that, he�s got a pretty big chip on his shoulder.�

Rick and Harley finish their little argument, and Phillip and I cease our private discussion. The conversation at the table returns to normal, but my thoughts wander back to Danny�s office, as I considered going to see him again.

+++

It�s been two days since my encounter with Danny Santos. Two days since his eyes met mine, and held them in a place so intangible that I can�t describe it. Two days since I felt the heat of his glare as I walked out of his office.

I look at my watch, and realize that my class will be over in twenty minutes. The wheels already turning in my mind, I decide that I�ll go straight to Spaulding. It will be early evening by the time I get there, but if Danny�s as ambitious as Phillip says he is, then he�ll still be there.

When I pull my Mitsubishi Montero into the Spaulding parking lot, I instinctively pull down the visor and open the mirror. Before I know what I�m doing, I�m powdering my nose, applying lip gloss, and fixing my hair.

�What am I doing?� I ask myself. �I�m not trying to impress him.�

Still tying to convince myself of that, I get out of my car and head into the building.

He�s there, just like I expected him to be, sitting at his desk, rifling through some sort of computer print-out. He doesn�t see me, and so I simply watch him for a moment. He seems completely immersed in his work, something that I suddenly realize is very attractive to me. He�s obviously frustrated about something, and I begin to wonder if I�ve come at a bad time.

�Damn,� he mutters under his breath, as he spins around in his chair and catches sight of me.

He doesn�t say anything. He just looks at me, and my head starts to swim, exactly the way it did the other day.

�Mr. Santos,� I say, as nonchalantly as I possibly can. �Have I come at a bad time?�

He smiles at me, and my pulse quickens. �Not at all. I was just enjoying the view,� he says mockingly, reminding me of my words to him. �You can call me Danny if I can call you Michelle.�

�Fair enough,� I answer. I quickly start in on the speech I�ve been rehearsing all day. I don�t want to let him get the upper hand in this conversation. �Look, I realize that we, uh� didn�t start off on the right foot the other day, and I wanted to come by and apologize to you for my part in what happened.�

�Apologize?� he says, as if he�s surprised. �You are apologizing to me?�

�Well, yes,� I say. �It wasn�t all your fault.�

Now he�s smiling again, that devilish smile that is so mysterious. �So, you don�t think I�m rude and thoughtless anymore?� He asks, again mocking my remarks from our previous confrontation.

I don�t want to admit that he�s not rude and thoughtless, so I choose an ambiguous answer to his question. �I think I took you by surprise when you walked into your office and found me here, and I wasn�t very nice to you after that. And that�s really unlike me. I just didn�t want you to think that I was like that all the time.�

�Like what?� he asks, as he stands up from behind his desk. �You mean you�re not always feisty and independent.�

Dammit. Why won�t he just accept my apology?

He�s leaning on the front side of his desk now, his entire body in plain view. The gray suit and orange tie might have been a strange combination on another man, but on Danny the result is striking.

�I�m not always so blunt and short-tempered,� I answer. �I came here to apologize to you, and I�ve done that, so I�m just going to leave now, and let you get back to your work.�

Again, just like the other day, I turn to leave his office and feel his eyes on my body. The last time I invited him to look with my snide remark to him, but this time, I can sense that he�s looking because he wants to. I cannot understand why he gets to me this way.

�Michelle,� he says, stopping me in my tracks.

As I turn around to look at him, he continues.

�You came here today hoping that I�d apologize to you too, didn�t you?�

Anger flares up inside me, but I stifle the urge to yell at him again. �I didn�t come here with any expectations, Danny. I just came here to apologize.�

�I suppose I should apologize, as well,� he says, shocking me.

�Really?� I ask.

�Well, I was rude and thoughtless, as you put it. I was not a gentleman at all, and I�m sorry.�

His eyes are locked with mine and I detect a very small hint of kindness. He must know that I�ve seen it, because he quickly diverts his gaze from mine.

�Apology accepted,� I say.

�Are you busy?� he asks.

�Why?�

�Because I need a break from all this paper work, and I�d like to talk to you.�

�I�m finished with classes for the day,� I answer.

�Well, then have a seat, and let�s get to know one another better,� he says, gesturing toward one of the chairs sitting in front of his desk.

I sit down, thinking that he�ll resume his position behind his desk for the duration of this conversation, but instead, he remains standing, leaned up against the front of his desk, directly in front of me.

�This is one arrogant SOB,� I think to myself, as I realize that I�m now at eye level with what medical students would call his �reproductive organs.�

Parts 4-5

Home