the door.
Mary pushed it the rest of the way open. “Are you kidding me? You look like a brick house!”
“And that, I suppose, would be good?”
“Better than good.” Mary shot her an encouraging grin. “I say, go with it.”
As they stood in line for the cash register, Mary spoke as nonchalantly as she could. “So, what’s the deal with the driving instructor?”
“You mean Jason?”
“Richard’s personal assistant, yeah.”
“That one’s super organized, let me tell you. Richard calls him the master scheduler .”
Mary casually studied her nails. “Do you think you could get him to pencil me in?”
Ventura turned toward her with a grin. “I can’t believe my ears. Are you actually asking me to set you up?”
Mary met her eyes sincerely. “Something strange is happening to me. I’m worried I’m losing my touch. Guys used to be all over me. And now… Well, I don’t know. Do you think it has something to do with my horoscope?”
“What about Ed? The one who works at the White House? He took you on that private tour, remember?”
Mary huffed. “Yeah, me and whole team of cheerleaders from Nevada.”
“Oh!”
“And Reginald?” Ventura asked.
“The Republican intern?” Mary lowered her voice confidentially. “Got his boxers in a bunch because I said the Dems do better fashion. I mean, really,” she said rolling her eyes. “Think Jackie Kennedy.”
“What about George? The one from the deli?”
“Said he got tired of waiting and started dating some cappuccino girl.”
“You make coffee.”
Mary pointedly raised an eyebrow.
“All right. I’ll ask about Jason. And you know, you might just have a chance.”
Mary’s face brightened. “What? Did he say something?”
“Yeah. He wanted to know where you get your mud masks.”
Mary slapped her arm. “Ha-ha.”
The next morning on the Metro, Ventura questioned Mary’s hot idea. The bra pinched so much, she ached each time she moved. Plus it made her much too large for this complementary cobalt blue silk blouse. Richard had asked her to take the train today because he had an early teleconference and Jason was busy helping him get ready. Ventura didn’t mind the Metro-to-bus connection. She was happy to do it if it helped Richard out and almost felt spoiled having had a personal chauffer her first few weeks at the new job.
She shifted in her seat, checking her smart phone. It was cool to have a gadget that allowed her to surf the Internet and scan the latest job postings. Not that Richard wasn’t a dream to work for. He was the absolute best boss and far too easy on the eyes. This only complicated matters, since Ventura felt awkward about becoming attracted to her supervisor. But maybe that was normal, a crush-on-the-teacher sort of thing that could happen to any girl. The good thing was she had Charles to focus on. Charles was an eligible guy and someone who was clearly attracted to her, which was a fun new turn of events. Ventura hadn’t felt longed for since… Well, she guessed, she’d never experienced that feeling at all. And it was great. Really super. Everything it was made out to be in all those romantic songs.
While Ventura was settling into her job as a nanny, it wasn’t something she aspired to be forever. She had bigger plans in mind, plans concerning her writing and making her literary mark in the world. In the meantime, Richard’s kids seemed to be getting easier to manage. Now that she knew Elisa collected baseball cards and Ricky loved chocolate peanut butter ice cream, she had a handle on how to get their cooperation. Ventura looked up from her phone, noticing other people on the subway car were staring at her. She couldn’t for the life of her fathom why, until she felt the brisk burst of air at her chest. Ventura looked down with a start to see her too tight blouse had burst open, exposing her sexy push-up bra. She quickly tugged it shut, furiously searching her seat and the floor for the missing
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