Free There's Something About Her, A Manhattan Love Story by Z.L. Arkadie

on my desk asking me to stop by Vincent’s office as soon as I get in. My heart sinks to my knees. Is he going to fire me due to a conflict of interest?  
    Oh my God! What if he and Robert have been lovers for all these years? That would explain why he’d wanted to know why I was into Robert. The supermodel chick is just a decoy. Men with secrets love getting involved with superficial women. Those women are too self-involved to pay attention to their men’s secrets. Although I can’t tell if his girlfriend is superficial by looking at her, but what if she is?
    I snatch the note off my desk and look around my office. I sigh. Something this good never lasts forever. At least I learned what I always knew—I was born to do marketing. I wave to Linda as I pass her desk.  
    She grins at me. “Good morning, snow bunny.”  
    I crimp my eyebrows. I want to stop and ask what she means by that but Vincent is standing in his doorway waiting for me.  
    “You look nice,” he says.
    I look down at myself. I’m wearing a plain, no-frills cream dress since I’ve already worn all three of my power suits. It’s great that Monroe is bringing more suits over tonight. I’ll have to make sure whatever she tries to push on me is appropriate for the office.  
    “Thanks,” I mutter. He’s buttering me up before he sticks me in the oven? “What’s going on?”
    “Our flight leaves in an hour.”
    I blink. “Our flight?”
    “We have a meeting at noon in Aspen.”
    “Who is ‘we’?”
    “You and I.”
    “Just us?”
    “Yes.” He slams the door to his office. “The car is waiting.”
    “What about Linda or Lena? Shouldn’t one of them go with us?”
    “This is your baby, Maggie.”  
    The scintillating look he gives me makes me forget what I want to ask. I’ve been reduced to nodding stiffly. I widen my eyes as I pass Linda on my way to my office to get my bag and coat.  
    “Have a safe trip,” she says.
    I’m too shocked to say thank you. Then Vincent and I are alone in the elevator. We don’t speak. He’s probably just as nervous as I am. The elevator doesn’t stop once, which never happens in buildings this large. I feel as though I’m in a trance as we walk through the lobby and out into the nippy morning.  
    We’re alone again in the car on the way to Teterboro. Vincent is on the phone with his assistant, booking meetings and confirming his calendar for the next two weeks. I’m too nervous to work on my computer.  
    My eyes keep falling to the bulge in his pants. Sex, sex, sex! That’s all I can think about. It’s Hannah’s fault. I can’t get what she said about him wanting to have sex with me out of my head. I mean, does he? That bulge getting anywhere near me is unfathomable. When my gaze finds its way to his face, he’s studying me with a smirk. I look away. Did he see me gawk at his piece?
    He hangs up. “So how was your night?”  
    “Huh?” It’s time to get a grip. “I mean—it was fine. What about yours?”
    “Fine.”
    I wait for more details or something about me crashing face-first into his best friend and business partner. I want to mention Robert, but Vincent’s cell phone rings.  
    He has a discussion with someone regarding a new app for one of the company’s publications. He asks what seems like a million questions about market viability of the app. He’s considering going digital-only with the magazine if they can’t create a need for the paper version. Apparently, they’ve gone digital on all but three publications, and that has boosted subscriptions. They’re considering on-demand issuance of paper copies.  
    He ends the call as soon as we reach the airfield. “I’ll be back,” he says to me.  
    Vincent hops out of the car. I watch him stride over to the ramp to speak with one of the ground crew. He points up the ramp, nods, and strides just as gracefully back to the car. He opens my door.
    “We can board,” he says.  
    He puts his hand on my waist as