Page 43 of It's Not PMS, It's You

“I see what you’re doing here. Look—just because your girlie parts twitch when Brandon is around doesn’t mean the same will happen with me and Nick.”

“My girlie parts don’t twitch. They do a happy dance and flutter like a—”

“Can we please move on? Otherwise, I’m going to open my email and start working.”

Dee shook her finger at me. “No work.” She opened her laptop. “Let’s get back to your love life.”

“Or lack thereof.”

“Not for long, if I have anything to do with it. Okay, Barney was a no-go.”

“Barney was ahellno. All the guy did was talk about himself the entire time. And he wasn’t even a chef. He makesbagelsfor a living.”

Dee nodded. “A baker. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Nothing wrong with that if you tell me you’re a baker. Plus, he was just looking for a hookup and that wasn’t going to happen. I would like to meet a man who doesn’t lie, is that too much to ask for?”

“You have nothing to worry about since I already have you lined up for another lunch date tomorrow.”

I crossed my arms. “I thought we decided that you weren’t going to pretend to be me?”

“Not true. You expressed your concern and disapproval, but you never actually told me not to do it again.”

I shook my head. “You’re taking advantage of me because you’re irreplaceable. It’s blackmail, actually. How do you feel about yourself?”

She smirked. “I feel fantastic, thanks for asking.”

I laughed and pointed to her laptop. “Just tell me what he does for a living.”

“He’s director of sales for a solar company.”

I nodded. “Okay, okay. Not bad at all.”

A director of sales had a lot of responsibility, no matter the company. He would have to oversee and manage all aspects of the sales department, hire, train, and inspire a team of salespeople, maintain strong focus on overall customer satisfaction, plus collaborate with other high-level members of the leadership team. There was no doubt in my mind that a corporate man at this level was smart and would be able to appreciate and understand how important my career was to me. Now, hopefully I found him attractive.

“Photo, please.”

“Feast your eyes on this.” Dee flipped her laptop around to show me. “Ta-da!”

Surprisingly, he was another good-looking man.

Even more so than Barney.

“Not bad at all, I have to admit,” I said. “Okay, what’s the plan since you’re the deceptive one and arranged everything?”

“You’re meeting him in front of the amphitheater at Amici Park.”

“In Little Italy?”

Dee nodded.

“Please don’t tell me this is a picnic.”

“No, not at all. He wants to show you something at the park, that’s all. He said it would take just a minute and then you’ll walk around the corner for a bite to eat. He likes casual places to eat. That works well for you since you can get your food fast and make an escape, if you need to. Although Idowant you to go into this date with an open mind. Visualize him being a match for you. Visualize you both having a lot in common and that it leads to a second date.”

“Well, he does have a solid high-level job and he’s handsome. Plus, he scores points for choosing Italian food. We are off to a very good start. I just hope he picks a good restaurant.”

“Have you ever eaten at a bad place in Little Italy?”