don’t the two of you look cozy…Second
honeymoon?” Startled, they turned to the source of the caustic
comment. Sarah winced. Oh crap! It was Cecilia, Joe’s boss’
wife. Sarah couldn’t stand her. She always made barbed remarks to
Sarah wrapped in fake smiles. If Sarah called her on her
bitchiness, she acted hurt like Sarah had misunderstood her. Ugh,
they were having such fun. Why did they have to see her? Pasting on
a fake smile Sarah said, “No honeymoon, just kids out of town so we are
enjoying our alone time.” “ Mmmm ….Stan and I
were thinking of calling you to see if you’d like to get together for dinner
some night. Would you like to meet tonight? Seems like a
perfect opportunity with the kids out of town.” With this statement, she
smiled a big toothy smile. “I know Stan would love to see you Joe.
We’ve also invited the Johnsons.” George Johnson was another VP at the
bank and was notably ambitious. Joe looked at Sarah and then at
Cecilia. “Uh, sure, we’ll join you. Where are you meeting?” “ At the Crabhouse . Afterwards
we figured that we can walk over to Salty’s and play
some pool. Sound good?” Cecilia tilted her head archly.
“Sure, what time?” Joe inquired. “How about 6 PM for dinner?” Joe
nodded his head. “Sounds good…see you then.” Grabbing Sarah’s hand,
Joe led her away. Unfortunately, their playful mood was totally
ruined.
Sarah was
subdued as they got ready for the evening. She’d decided to wear a
sweater dress with high heeled boots and tight leggings. Joe had
re-inserted the plug after she’d showered since she was basically wearing
pants. Noticing her quietness, Joe grabbed her shoulders and made her
look at him. “Why are you so quiet?” “Cecilia is not one of my
favorite people. I don’t look forward to dodging her snarky comments all
night.” Sarah looked up at him mutinously when making this
statement. Joe’s fingers dug into
her shoulders. “I know she can be a bitch. Unfortunately, her
husband holds my job in his hands and more importantly, I like him.
Please try to dodge her comments when you can. I know it is difficult but
I have faith in you.” With these words, he pulled her to him and kissed
her forehead. “Do you have the chain on?” Smiling softly, Sarah
lifted her sweater dress to show him the chain draped around her waist. “Beautiful baby.” He crooned and pulled her in for
another hug.
As they
walked into the Crabhouse , Cecilia made a big show of
waving them over to the table she and Stan were already sharing with George and
Brenda Johnson. George Johnson had the ultra white grin and over coiffed hair one would
usually associate with a televangelist. Seeing Sarah and Joe walk up, he
jumped up to greet them, pumping Joe’s hand enthusiastically then kissing
Sarah’s cheek. Brenda Johnson was a petite doe-eyed woman with light
brown hair and violet eyes. Though she was quiet, she had a natural
beauty that was really startling. Sarah had always liked her.
Gesturing to the seat next to her, Brenda invited them to sit down.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Sarah scooted in next to her in the large circular
booth. “Brenda and George, it is so nice to see you.” Sarah
smiled at them. Joe nodded to the other occupants of the table.
“Cecilia, Stan it is nice to see you outside of the office too.” Stan
smiled and nodded his head. With light blonde hair and startling light
blue eyes he epitomized Scandinavia to Sarah. His coloring was in stark
contrast to his wife’s black hair and brown eyes. They made a
striking couple. Taking a sip of her martini, Cecelia looked Sarah up and
down. “You look great darling, have you lost weight?” Sarah looked
at Joe and back at Cecilia. “I’ve been walking more and I’m doing weight
training two days a week with Joe. I may have lost
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