J. McKenna - Wanted - Kept Woman

“Yes, in a way. But this sounds like just the kind of gold-digger that you say you don’t want. You know—some woman who is willing to be bought off. If you ever ran out of cash, she’d be gone.”

“It’s a fine line, I admit,” Brian paused, and then blushed. “I’m looking for a woman who expresses certain attributes. I want a, um, demure woman.”

Suzanne understood his point. She loved strong men, but most of the strong men she knew were arrogant jerks or control freaks like Sam turned out to be. Could Brian be different?

“What do you think about that?” he pressed.

“I guess I’m a little worried that you’ll be very controlling. That I’d lose my sense of self.”

“No, that’s not what I want at all. I’m going to a lot of trouble to find the right kind of women for me—I don’t want her to be a simple, um, love-machine. I want a full-functioning, honest, earthy woman who really cares for me and not just my money.”

“And you haven’t found that so far? I imagine you’ve been dating quite a while.” Idly, she wondered how this man could’ve avoided a serious relationship before now. Was he too picky?

“Yes, I’ve been dating for about twenty-five years. And no, I haven’t found ‘Ms. Right’. Now I find myself tired of the ‘hit-or-miss’ efforts of hoping the next lady I meet in a bar or social event will be well-suited for me.”

“I know what you mean. I don’t seem to have had much luck, either. In fact, when I met my so-called ‘Mr. Right’, he turned out to be Mr. Wrong.”

Brian asked her about her relationship with her ex-husband and she gave him the barebones explanation. She didn’t tell him Sam was in jail for assaulting her, only that he had become abusive and she had divorced him. Why go into the grisly details? she thought.

“That’s what scares me now—that I could’ve been so wrong about somebody. How can I trust my own judgment?” She bit her lip, afraid she’d said too much. But she was just being honest.

Brian absorbed that for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was subdued. “No, you’re right to be cautious. Hell, this probably won’t work,” he said, waving his hand in the air. “What the hell. I’ll probably end up marrying some daughter of a polo pony-owning patron of the arts who feels it’s her birthright to get suntans and spend her husband’s money.” She could hear him sigh.

Marriage? Who said anything about marriage? Suzanne thought.

As if they both felt they had skirted too close to some sensitive subjects, they steered away toward more innocuous chatting. She found out he owned a cat named Charlie, which had surprised her because he seemed like a dog person.

“Nah. I like dogs too, but I travel a lot so I can’t keep one. Cats can fend for themselves for a few days if you leave them plenty of food and water.”

They stayed on safer ground until the time was nearly up. “Well, we’re about out of time. Do you have any other questions before we go?”

“Um, well, let’s see…” Suzanne’s mind locked up. She had one question she’d failed to ask so far and it burned in her. But how could she ask it?

Brian seemed to sense her hesitation. “Why don’t you ask the one question that’s forefront on your mind?”

His directness caught her unaware. She blurted it out before she could stop herself. “Okay, why me? What made you pick a slightly overweight brunette out of a crowd of thin, beautiful blondes?” Suzanne felt the prickly heat of embarrassment flow from her chest up to her cheeks. She was sure he could see the red flush, even through the TV. She held her breath, waiting for the answer.

“Good question. Of course, you’re assuming that I only like thin blondes. I’m not quite that shallow.” He laughed and shook his head ruefully. “I liked the answers you gave and you’re a very pretty woman. You looked very real to me, if that makes any sense. There was something about your smile. Enigmatic, perhaps. Like Mona Lisa. I had to learn more about you.”

Wow. She felt her blush deepen. He was starting to make her wet. She squirmed uncomfortably. She felt faint. No one had said something like that to her that before, not even Sam.

“By the way,” Brian said. “You look terrific in that dress.”

She blushed anew. “Thank you. I just got this the other day.”

“For this?”

“Actually, no,” she lied. “I got it to go with my new haircut and, um, diet.”

“Well, you look very nice. I really enjoyed talking to you.”

“Goodbye, Brian. Good luck on finding the perfect woman. I mean…”

“I know what you meant.” He seemed ready to say something else then stopped himself. “Rebecca will be in touch. Goodbye, Suzanne, I really enjoyed meeting you.” The screen went dark.

Shakily, she got up from the table and managed to get out to her car without fainting or throwing up. She was on her cell phone before she put the key in the ignition.

“Wen? Hi. Just got done.”

“Well, how’d it go? Is he nice?”

“Veeerrry nice. Too nice.” She described him and some highlights of their conversation.

“Holy shit!” Wendy exclaimed when she was finished. “He sounds like a dreamboat. Rich, handsome and he likes you.”

“How can you say that?! It’s way too soon.” But secretly, she hoped Wendy was right.

“Oh, come on, you can tell, can’t you? All women can tell when a man’s interested in them. I say you scored big points!”

“You really think so?”

“Just you wait.”

Rebecca couldn’t help but notice the smile on Brian’s face when he came out of the conference room.

“That must’ve gone well. I don’t see you smiling that often after your video interviews.”

“Yeah, I like her. She’s…um, quiet and smart and real.”

“Good. I was hoping you’d put her on the short list.”

“Really? Why? You didn’t listen in, did you?”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t—that’s private. I’m just saying from my talks with her, she’s intrigued. And she seemed a good fit for you.”

“So you think she’s…”

“Submissive? It’s all right, you can say the word out loud. Yes, I’d say she is, definitely. Look at her answers! She’d be a good fit, I think.”

“Really?” Brian mulled that over. “Good. She intrigues me as well. There’s just something about her I can’t explain…some X factor.”

“I think it’s a mutual attraction. You guys are both checking each other out. You really need to go on a date with this woman, just to see.”

“Yeah.” His eyes drifted off for a minute. Then he shook himself. “Okay. Who’s next?”

Later that evening, Brian sat on his couch, a chilled martini in one hand and mulled over his meetings that day. Of the eight women, six were forgettable—not that they weren’t lovely people in most cases, but simply because he felt no chemistry with them. One woman in particular, Diane, had seemed overeager and had reminded Brian of the obsequious hangers-on who would sacrifice their souls to live the life of luxury. He shuddered involuntarily. Sorry, Diane.

The two that interested him, Barbara and Suzanne, were as different as night and day. Barbara was the sunny blonde, carefree and savvy. Suzanne was the dark horse candidate, shy and cautious, yet with a smoldering sexuality that couldn’t be hidden. Of the two, Brian felt the strongest visceral attraction to Suzanne. There was something about her that appealed to him. It wasn’t just her sexiness, it was her honesty. She clearly had been nervous, yet curious. After they had talked for a few minutes, Brian felt the connection that he’d been searching for.