A Perfect Life?. Dawn Atkins

smile. A definite man-woman smile. “So, how’s my mentee doing so far?”

      “Just great.” Well, except for that broken heart, ruined life thing. “I was hoping we could get started on some strategy for me,” she said. “Maybe over lunch. I’ll buy.” Paying for lunch was a power move, she’d read.

      “You’ll buy, huh?” Isn’t that cute? his smile said. “For now, why don’t you have a seat and we can get to know each other better.” He patted the chair kitty-corner to his desk, tugging it closer to him.

      Oh, ish. Claire sat delicately on the edge of the chair, then pushed it back a couple feet.

      “You settled?” he said, resting his hand on her arm as if to steady her. Gross. The man was hitting on her.

      “I’m fine.”

      “So, tell me about yourself,” Ryan said, leaning forward.

      She pushed back a bit farther. “There’s not much to tell except I want to get ahead here.” She would make sure he knew she wasn’t interested in putting in any couch time to get there. “I want to prove myself through my work, of course. On my own merit. But I hope you can advise me where to concentrate my efforts. My work efforts.” That couldn’t be more clear.

      “Sure, sure,” he said, smiling. “We can talk all about that over lunch. How do you stay in such good shape?”

      “How do I…?” Blech, puke, retch. She had to nip this in the bud. “Tae Kwan Do,” she blurted. “Black belt, with a specialty in self-defense.”

      “Oh, really?” Ryan’s brow lifted in surprise.

      “Absolutely. I can make a guy walk lopsided for the rest of his life.”

      “Well. That’s impressive. I guess I know who to take with me when I cross a dark parking lot at night.” He seemed to find her amusing, not life-threatening.

      “So, how about we start with your top ten tips at lunch?” she said.

      “Sure. Sounds good,” he said, smiling. “But I’ve got the first tip for you right now?”

      “Really? What is it?” This was a good sign.

      “Quit dressing weird. You look like a hooker dressed as a schoolgirl.”

      “Check,” she said, pretending to make a mark on a pad. Yet another fashion expert had weighed in on her style statement. “So, I’ll meet you out front at noon for lunch and more tips?”

      “Sounds good,” he said, his words tinged with man-woman energy, despite her hint that she could cripple him. Why did everything have to be more complicated than it seemed?