Until she got to the first page of the Business section. DiMarco sells StanCorp, the headline read. The article went on to say that Zack had sold his share of multi-media giant StanCorp for what Annie thought was an obscene amount of money. The writer could find no reason for the sellout as the company was doing well.
"Great. I lose an account before I even get it and he makes a fortune. There's no justice in this world."
The end of the article had a reference to another in the gossip section of the paper. "Typical," she snorted, turning the pages eagerly.
The gossip columnist wrote that she'd seen Zack at Louisa Mondeo's party with "McCallum and Horton agent, Annie McCallum, the hottest girl in town this summer after her recent arrest." Annie's jaw dropped when she spotted the author's name—Melanie Monsoon. A picture of the watermelon-girl herself beamed out from the top left corner of the page. The article mentioned how Melanie had learned from the man himself that he wanted to spend more time on his Montana ranch and scale down his LA-based business.
Annie read and re-read it.
When Bob passed her desk, she stopped him and waved the newspaper in his face.
"Did you read the article about Zack?" she asked.
"Yeah." He frowned. "Which reminds me, what did you do to him?"
"Huh?"
"He only sells an entire company when he's angry or upset. And since you two have been together a lot lately I wondered if it had something to do with you."
"Me? I think you're over-reacting a little. I don't have any influence over Zack's actions at all." Not even close.
Bob humphed. "That's what you think. The guy's smitten."
"Smitten?"
"He called here five times the other day looking for you." He perched himself on the edge of Annie's desk. It sunk perilously under his weight. They needed to sign up Dug-E urgently—the office furniture was in danger of collapsing if Bob ate any more doughnuts. "This article just confirms it."
"Oh," was all she could manage. Her mouth wasn't working properly. Nor was her brain. A mass of thoughts jumbled together to form an incoherent message. All she did know was that Zack told her he didn't want a relationship. There was no maybe about it—he was definite. He wasn't the settling down kind, even if he did like her more than he liked Melanie or any other women he'd dated.
A commotion in the foyer drew their attention. The double doors burst open and the receptionist poked her head through. "Dug-E's here!" she whispered so loudly the entire office heard, including Dug-E who stood behind her looking bored.
"Show time," Annie said, pushing away any thoughts of Zack.
***
The meeting wasn't a complete disaster, if Dug-E's lack of enthusiasm was anything to go by. At least he didn't rant or throw things or even call anyone names. Actually, it could even be called successful when his mother said she'd think about the McCallum and Horton offer.
Annie and Bob left the meeting with the words "Don't call us, we'll call you" ringing in their ears. It was better than an outright no.
"I have to go," Annie said after Dug-E and his mother left.
Bob followed her to her desk, a frown on his face. "I thought we could celebrate with a drink first."
"That's a little premature don't you think? He hasn't signed yet."
He grinned. It was a welcome sight, and a rare one lately. "He will. I can feel it." His smile vanished as he studied her face. "Are you going to see Zack?"
She grabbed her jacket, avoiding looking directly at him. "Never again. He's made it perfectly clear he's not interested."
"Oh." He sighed. "In that case, there's probably something you should know."
She barely heard him as she sifted through her over-sized handbag on her daily hunt for her car keys. "What?"
"I set you up."
She looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "It was one of those spur of the moment things. I'd often thought you two would be perfect for each other and when the opportunity arose I took it." He held up his hands defensively when Annie glared at him. "I'm sorry it didn't work out. I just thought you could be the one to change him. You are perfect for him, you know," he added quickly.
She chewed on her lip as she studied her boss's double chins. What the hell was going on? It seemed everyone was pulling her strings lately, like a puppet in an overly dramatic play. She felt like she'd completely lost control of her life. Who needed coincidence when you had Zack and Bob? "What do you mean, change him?"
"It's about time the boy settled down. I know that, but he doesn't, or doesn't want to admit it. That's why he never dates relationship women."
"Relationship women?"
Bob nodded. "He only dates the sort who just want to party and paint their toenails pretty colors. He avoids the sort of women he should be dating."
"Women like me?" she asked weakly.
"Exactly. You're just what he needs. I thought he might figure that out after spending some time with you." He shook his head and his jowls jangled like a turkey's. "Obviously he's a bigger fool than I thought."
"Obviously."
And obviously Bob had got it all wrong. She wasn't Zack's perfect partner or he wouldn't have tried to turn her into someone she wasn't.
***
Zack leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes. The last two days had been hell compared to the ones before it. He felt restless, miserable, and he constantly snapped at his staff. He needed something more in his life. He needed Annie. Being with her had been fun.
No, that word didn't even begin to describe how he'd felt when they were together. Sure, they'd laughed a lot, but for some reason, just being with Annie made him feel comfortable. Comfortable and accepted. She didn't treat him like other women did, agreeing with him and accepting his decisions. She challenged him, she laughed at him and allowed him to laugh at her. She talked to him as if he were her equal, and he felt like he'd found someone on his own level. Someone he could respect. Someone who brightened his life. Someone he wanted to be with beyond this week.
Whoa. Back up. Someone he wanted to be with. Someone he wanted in his life. Forever.
Zack reached for the phone and dialed five digits then hung up. He paced behind his desk a few times then picked up the phone again. He got to the sixth before slamming it down.
"This is ridiculous." He turned to the glass wall and stared out at the sprawling city below. Somewhere to his left Annie was probably still in her meeting with Dog-E Whats-his-name. There was no point calling her yet. Maybe in another ten minutes...