I Can Make You Love Me. Karen White-Owens

shutting the door. Helen didn’t function well until she had her first cup of morning coffee.

      “Mornin’.” Helen slipped the glass coffeepot in place to catch the last drops of the brew.

      “Good morning.” Wynn strolled across the room to her door, entered her office, deposited her briefcase on the corner of her desk, and opened it. She extracted several folders and arranged them on her desk surface before flipping the calendar to Monday’s date. She sank into her chair and pulled it closer to the desk.

      Helen stood in the doorway, silently watching as she stirred her coffee. “I know you didn’t think you were going to get away without telling me about Saturday night.” The older woman moved farther into the room and took the guest seat next to the desk. Helen took a long swallow of coffee before placing the mug on the edge of the desk. “How was your date?”

      Wynn tried to control her smile, but she lost the battle miserably. Surrendering, she shrugged, grinning like a fool. “Real nice.”

      Nodding, Helen stretched her legs in front of her and then crossed them at the ankles. “Tell me more.”

      How much did Wynn want to tell Helen? If she excluded anything, Helen would know. Sometimes she was like a bloodhound on the trail of an escaped convict. She always knew. “What do you want to know?”

      “Did you go to Seldom Blues?”

      Silently, Wynn nodded.

      “Nice dinner?” Helen queried, eyebrows lifted.

      Nice everything, Wynn thought, but answered, “Yes. Did you know there’s a private dining room at Seldom Blue?”

      “Really.”

      “Umm-hmm.” Wynn leaned back in her chair, visualizing the room. “It’s called the River Room. Intimate. Almost seductive. I must say, it was quite the perfect experience.”

      “It sounds like Adam went all out to impress you,” Helen surmised, bringing her mug to her lips.

      “He did,” Wynn admitted, remembering the hungry way Adam devoured her lips and how passion had flared between them. “I had a great time.”

      “What else did you two do?”

      Boy, was that a loaded question. “After dinner we stayed for the show. Richard Elliot performed with Alexander Zonjac.” Wynn’s smile grew larger and brighter. “I really had a wonderful time.”

      “What time did you get home?” Helen asked.

      “Near midnight.”

      “Ohh! Very nice.”

      “Actually, it was nice to go out without the kids and have the full attention of a handsome man.” Adam’s gorgeous face appeared in Wynn’s mind. “Yeah. I enjoyed myself.”

      “You don’t get many opportunities to escape your kids. Who had them this weekend?”

      “Jim.”

      “Ooo!” Helen’s face scrunched into a mask of disgust. “Couldn’t you find anybody else to take care of them? Somebody with some sense. Hell, you could have called me.”

      Laughing, Wynn answered, “No. Besides it was Jim’s weekend.”

      “I know,” Helen said. “But your ex-husband is such an ass. You are too nice a person to have married a fool like him.”

      Wynn sighed and rested her chin on her fist. There was no love lost between Jim and Helen. The kids’ father was the one person Helen refused to make any effort to be civil to.

      She shrugged. “It’s an old story. I fell for the football captain. I did my best during my marriage. It’s a time I don’t want to revisit. Now it’s over and I can move on with my life. All of that was over a long time ago. I try to get on with him for my children’s sake.”

      “That’s exactly what you should do, and Adam is a perfect place to start.” Helen took another long swallow of coffee.

      Groaning, Wynn shook her head and opened the folder in front of her. Here comes the lecture.

      Helen pushed the file shut. “Did Adam make a second date?”

      “No.”

      “Wynn?” The older woman’s eyes narrowed. She gave Wynn a second more thorough onceover. Wynn squirmed under the intensity of Helen’s gaze. “What aren’t you telling me?”

      “He sent flowers.”

      “Excellent! What kind?”

      Grinning, Wynn thought of the beautiful bouquet. “Roses. Eleven yellow long-stem roses and one red rose.”

      “A man with style. I like that. He’ll call,” Helen said confidently.

      “Maybe.”

      “Definitely,” Helen stated. “You need to think about what you’re going to say. Actually, you should call him. Thank Adam for the flowers.”

      “I don’t want to do that.”

      Frowning, Helen examined her boss. “What’s going on in your head?”

      Wynn fidgeted with the edge of her file. “There’s issues.”

      “Yeah. And? Life is full of problems. That doesn’t stop most people from doing what they want to do.”

      Wynn felt all of her insecurities and worries rise to the surface. “Come on. Look at me. I’m not sweet sixteen.”

      “Well, that’s for sure,” Helen agreed. “Neither is he. What’s that got to do with anything?”

      “There’s thirteen years’ difference between us. Do you believe someone like Adam could truly be interested in me?”

      “Absolutely. That means the boy will have a lot of stamina.”

      Shocked, Wynn gasped. “Helen!”

      “Come on. You’re a beautiful woman. Lots of men have been after you. Some of our clients ask about your personal life. They want to know if you’re married or seeing someone.”

      Wynn hissed. “It’s none of their business.”

      “Whoa! Don’t get huffy with me.”

      “Sorry. My life is complicated enough without this.”

      Helen frowned. “How so?”

      “Adam’s a VP at Gautiers. There’s a lot of life ahead of him—”

      “And you, too,” Helen inserted, swallowing the last of her coffee.

      Ignoring her assistant’s comment, Wynn said, “What do I have to offer him?”

      Shaking her head, Helen added, “Girl, you have officially lost your mind.” She put down her coffee mug, ticking off items on her fingers. “Number one. Stop worrying about the future. It’ll take care of itself.”

      “I have to worry. I’ve got kids.”

      “Number two,” Helen continued, “everyone gets first crack at you. The boys, your parents, and Nursing Solutions, even that old stupid ex-husband of yours.”

      “Not all of the time,” Wynn defended.

      “Jim gets too much of your time. What does Wynn need? Do you ever ask yourself that? When was the last time you did what you wanted? Put yourself first? I can answer that. Never.”

      “I have to be careful. Anything I do can affect my children.”

      Helen waved a dismissing hand at her boss. “Please. Your kids are fine. They’ll be great no matter what you do. Think about yourself for a change.”

      “I don’t know.”

      “Here’s a bit of advice. Enjoy Adam. Let him enjoy you. Don’t worry about the future