A Cold Wife, Sweet Husband

The next morning when Jessica appeared at the top of the steps, she said, ―Let me do it for you. Good morning, Jessica. You look beautiful this morning. Why, thank you, Leo. Good morning to you too.

She walked down the steps. ―Then you'll extend your arm to me and ask to escort me to breakfast. She reached him and wrapped her arm through his and waited. He smiled. ―You called me Leo this morning. She blinked.

―Haven't I been doing so?―No. Usually, I have to remind you to call me by my first name or you call me Mr. Monroe.―Really? I hadn't noticed.

He studied her for a moment. It suddenly occurred to him that she wasn't aware of how she was gradually opening up to him. He decided to ask her the same question he had asked her the past two days during breakfast.

―Will you have lunch with me today? To his shock, she agreed. When he didn't comment, she wondered, ―What's wrong? Was I supposed to say no?

―You have been saying no every time I asked. ―You keep track of what I say with amazing accuracy. He shrugged. ―It comes with years of dealing with clients. He turned to her and pulled her close to him and kissed her.

―I don't think of you as a client, but a good memory sure does come in handy. I'm glad you'll be having lunch with me today. He let go of her and held her hand on the way to the dining room.

Unfortunately, his victory in getting her to agree to lunch was short-lived for a half-hour before he was supposed to pick her up for lunch, his uncle notified him that Mr. Tyndall, one of the more notable clients at their company, had to meet with them in fifteen minutes. ―He's considering going with the Grants, his uncle concluded.

―But I promised Jessica I'd take her to lunch in half an hour, Leo protested. He sighed. ―Mr. Tyndall is a difficult man but he also has a lot of connections in town, and where he does business sets a trend for others to follow. I'll give him a call and see if he'll agree to just meet with me.

Leo nodded as his uncle left his office. A couple of minutes passed before his uncle returned. By the look in the older man's face, he already knew what he was going to say. ―He's adamant that you must be there, Jonathan solemnly informed him.

―His son is your age and will be joining us. He wants you to talk to his son while I talk to him. I explained the fact that you are a newlywed, but he refuses to budge. He even threatened to meet with the Grants instead. Leo g.r.o.a.n.e.d and threw his pencil on the desk. ―And if he goes with the Grants, then he'll take a third of our clients with him.

―If you want, I'll call Jessica and explain how important this particular client is and that he told us to meet him for lunch at the last minute so you had no idea this was going to happen. ―No. I'll call her. His uncle nodded and left the office.