Chapter 69

The last day of the week dawned rainy and far chillier than June weather should be. Phil took one look at the gloomy weather and burrowed deeper under the covers. Hailey wished she could do the same but she had a report due for Beth that afternoon. Phil was still awake and reached out to caress her bottom as she pulled on her underwear.

“This is one of those days when you should be allowed to stay in bed,” Phil told her.

“Every day should be that way,” Hailey replied. “I love just lolling around with you all morning.”

“Mmm,” Phil said. “Let’s make tomorrow a day when we sleep until we wake up.”

“I wish I could,” Hailey said. “We’re all going to the salon in the morning. Can I use your car tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Phil said. “You should tool up to the conference in a Mercedes, not a Saturn. You’ll knock them dead tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Hailey replied, sitting down on the bed to pull her pantyhose over her calves. The thigh high stockings were only for Phil, she’d decided. In fact, she found that she was dressing every day to impress Phil. She leaned over to kiss him.

“What are you going to do tomorrow?” she asked.

“Terrence, Scott, Dad and I are going to hang out at the park if the weather is nice,” Phil told her. “There is supposed to be a free concert tomorrow afternoon. If it’s shitty, we’ll just hang out and talk about our sex lives. There is a baseball game tomorrow night. I’ll keep myself entertained.”

Phil stayed in bed while Hailey grabbed a quick breakfast and an umbrella. She was still eating a bagel when she stepped out of the lobby and unfurled the covering over her head.

“You should have worn a jacket,” a handsome man said from beside her. “Would you like mine?”

He gave her a winning smile that had melted the hearts of millions on movie screens worldwide.

“No,” Hailey said in a flat voice.

“It’s no trouble,” the guy replied, pulling his overcoat off to show he wore a $2,000 Armani suit.

“No thank you,” Hailey said again as she stepped to the corner. The Walk signal came on and she crossed, Ryan Boatwright trailing in her wake.

“Can I share your umbrella?” he asked hopefully.

Hailey looked at him and frowned as she stepped into the vestibule of the Barton Building.

“Keep it,” she said, folding it and passing it to him. “I have another.”

She turned to enter but the guy didn’t give up. He followed her into the building. She walked past security and the large man stepped in front of Boatwright to block his path.

“Is he with you, Miss Warren?” he asked.

“Absolutely not!” Hailey said firmly. “If he has no appointment here, escort him out, please.”

“Hey, wait!” Ryan said. “I was just trying to be nice. How about a phone number?”

“I’m trying to be nice, too,” Hailey replied in an icy voice. “I didn’t suggest that Carl just tossed you out on your butt. See, pure politeness. If you will excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Don’t you know who I am?” Boatwright yelled as Carl took his upper arm and turned him away.

“I recognize you,” Hailey assured him. “Your ego can remain intact. I simply have absolutely no interest in learning anything more about you than your name. I already know that so my life is utterly complete now.”

She ran her keycard through the reader and the doors closed. Ryan Boatwright stood with his mouth open at the rebuke as Hailey disappeared. She let out a long breath when she felt the elevator ascending. Ryan Boatwright was just as handsome as he appeared to be. His teeth somehow gleamed despite the fact that there was no sun around. Six months ago, she would have left a fresh puddle at his feet if he’d approached her – this one dripping from between her legs.

She walked into her office and closed the door. Her legs had stopped shaking by the time she unpacked her computer. Ryan Boatwright had just hit on her. The star of “Gossamer Dreams” had just offered her his coat and chased her into the building. She blushed at some of the thoughts she had about the guy when she was in her mid-teens.

Hailey closed her eyes and relived some of those fantasies in her mind. When she opened them, she was greeted by her screensaver and she smiled automatically. She knew Phil was still in bed but she doubted he was sleeping. Either way, he needed to know that a major movie star had just tried to put the moves on her. The security guard down front was sure to mention it to Beth when she came in.

Phil had been asleep, she realized, when he sounded groggy when he answered.

“You are not going to believe what just happened!” she said.

“You have been promoted to COO and Mom has retired,” Phil offered.

“What?” Hailey asked distractedly. “No, of course not.”

“OK, I’ve got nothing,” Phil answered. “Tell me what just happened. We just saw each other 20 minutes ago.”

“I ran into Ryan Boatwright outside of the apartment!” she said. “He walked me to the office and followed me inside. Isn’t that cool?”

“I guess,” Phil said. “Who’s Ryan Boatwright?”

“Seriously?” Hailey asked.

“Uh, I don’t think I know him,” Phil confessed. “Is he from school?”

“No he’s not from school!” Hailey told him. “He’s a celebrity. He’s an actor, probably one of the most famous actors in the world.”

“He can’t be too famous if I haven’t heard of him,” Phil pointed out. “I guess we’ve both got someone famous on our radar.”

“Oh fuck!” Hailey spat. “He wasn’t interested in me. He was in two movies with Courtney Hollings. She’s making a run at all of us.”

“You sound disappointed,” Phil said.

“I, uh, not really,” Hailey said. “I mean, I shot him down. I had Carl escort him from the building. But it was flattering. Geez, he’s a great-looking guy. When I thought it was an accident, I thought it was cool. Now it sort of pisses me off. Aren’t you flattered that Courtney Hollings is interested in you?”

“She’s not interested in me,” Phil told her.

“Don’t be so sure,” Hailey said. “Uh, you said something to her on the phone. You said one of the students at Heilman has ties to a movie studio. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“Mom,” Phil said. “I mean, it’s not really Barton Holdings, just Mom and Dad. Grandpa bought 33 percent of Lambswool Productions about six or seven years ago. I was 12 when we flew out there – Mom and Dad and me. We had dinner with a couple of movie stars and we went to Disney. I was such a little prick. It was a lot of fun but I was too cool to let them know that. I should probably mention how much fun I had that week. Oh, and the movie stars were a lot more famous than Courtney Hollings or Ryan Boatwright. Mom usually flies out there once a year or so. Barton is one of their major sources of funding and she bought the stock from Grandpa because he didn’t want to fool with it any more.”

“Lambswool is the studio that did Courtney’s last two movies!” Hailey said excitedly. “Christ, you should just call the studio and have them reel her in.”

“It might come to that,” Phil agreed. “I didn’t mean to sound, I don’t know, so shitty about the guy chatting you up.”

“I shouldn’t have sounded so excited about it,” Hailey said. “I wanted to tell you before Carl called – or told your mom. I probably should have thought through the circumstances. I can’t believe how cool you were with Courtney Hollings. I tried to be that way with Ryan – my mind knew it was OK to be flattered but it wasn’t worth losing you over, I think. My knees were shaking. I don’t know if I was nervous or excited but at least my brain was still working.”

“There is nothing wrong with being flattered,” Phil said. “I should have thought before I spoke.”

“Were you flattered?” Hailey asked.

“I didn’t know I was out with a movie star,” Phil replied with a laugh.

“Now that you know, are you flattered?” Hailey pressed.

“Not really,” Phil told her. “She was pretty. I saw her at the pool earlier in the day and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. I mean, there is some sort of perfection that only a lot of money can attain. I think that’s what drew my attention.”

“You didn’t tell me that you were attracted to her at the pool,” Hailey cut in.

“Uh, yeah, I didn’t think that was a good idea,” Phil admitted. “Once I talked to her a little bit, the aura of perfection was gone. It was sort of like you. When I saw you walking into the orientation you were like this unattainable goddess. Then you sat beside me and we talked. You were still a goddess but I came to think that you were not some impossible dream. I was wrong, of course, but it wasn’t because of some measure of perfection. It was the same with Courtney. Once she knocked on my door and asked if I knew a place for her to eat, she wasn’t anything special. She certainly wasn’t as special as you are – or at least as you’ve become.”

“You thought I was a goddess?” Hailey inquired in a soft voice.

“I still do,” Phil told her. “Physically I think you’re more attractive than Courtney Hollings.”

“Really?” Hailey asked incredulously.

“Absolutely,” Phil confided. “To me, you’re perfect. You have a wonderful form, perfectly proportioned. You look just as lovely in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt as you do in an evening gown. Courtney is pretty when she is trying to be pretty but she is incredibly average when she’s not putting effort into it. You’re never like that.”

“She was acting,” Hailey said. “She purposefully downplayed her looks.”

“I’m not sure,” Phil disagreed. “I think the girl I took for pizza is who she really is. I think she was acting when she got all sexed up in a bikini for the pool. Does that make sense?”

“I suppose,” Hailey told him. “The thing is, from the conversation on the phone, I’m not sure she has any idea of who she really is. In that respect, she is no different than me. I had no idea of who I was until I met you. Maybe you should try to help her the same way.”

“You just want to have a shot at your dreamboat,” Phil laughed.

“Shit, Baby,” Hailey said saucily, “my dreamboat is going to rock my world as soon as I get home from work.”

“It’s OK if you close your eyes and pretend I’m someone else,” Phil joked.

“Not on your life,” Hailey told him. “I’ve got you and I’m going to keep you.”

David, Phil, Terrence and Scott all let out low whistles when the eight women emerged from the back bedroom at the apartment. It was almost four o’clock on Saturday and the high-powered (and soon to be high-powered, maybe) women were preparing to head to the convention center to listen to a corporate CEO, a U.S. Senator and a college basketball coach discuss the changing roles of women in male-dominated fields.

The women weren’t wearing eveningwear. They weren’t dressed for an evening out; they were dressed for an evening of learning and networking.

They wore a mix of tasteful skirts and pants but all wore blouses and matching suit jackets. Their high heels set off their legs but were tasteful.

“Wow!” Scott said, looking at his fiancée. Lisa was wearing a dark pantsuit and matching heels. The suit came from Tiffany’s closet and the heels from Beth’s stash.

“I’ll say,” David replied.

“Doggone,” Terrence offered. “You all look fantastic.”

“Can we get a picture?” Phil inquired. He had rarely used the camera on his phone before the last week or so but he’d decided it was stupid to have it and not utilize it.

“Oh, that would be great!” Hailey said brightly. “Can we do it on the deck?”

Phil bit back a retort about waiting until she got back but nodded instead. Hailey gave him a slight headshake and a wide grin because the phrasing hit her when Tiffany stifled a giggle.

The women lined up in a semicircle and Phil sighted in the now ubiquitous background of the city’s skyline behind them. It was overcast so the sun wasn’t an issue and all the guys took photos with their phones.

“You guys are great for an old woman’s ego,” Beth said, giving all the males a kiss on the cheek before leading the way out. It set precedent so all of the women gave the guys a short peck on the cheek as they headed for the elevator. David’s BMW was pressed into service because Phil’s car wasn’t suitable for anyone to ride in the backseat. Lisa, Tiffany and Molly joined Beth in her Cadillac and Tara, Katelyn and Jackie rode with Hailey in David’s car.