May

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle this job?” Hailey, May’s personal assistant, asked.

May nodded, her eyes still glued to her computer. “I can handle anything for what I’m about to get paid.”

“But what about Erik Clayton?”

“What about him? He’ll either shape up or lose everything. I, on the other hand, will be getting paid my normal asking rate for simply showing up, or triple my rate for a job well done.”

Hailey let out a snicker. “Do you even know who Erik Clayton is?”

May paused to look up from her screen. “Yes. Erik Clayton is a twenty-seven-year-old socialite who barely graduated from college and who seems to have no drive for the future. In a nutshell, he’s an entitled rich boy who spends his days entertaining women rather than caring for a business his father so graciously entrusted him with. A business that, by the way, employs over three hundred hard working people who need the company they work for to stay afloat.”

Her assistant shook her head. “Oh, May, he’s so much more than that. They call him the ultimate charmer, the city’s number one playboy, the man who can break any girl’s heart.”

“And?”

“And aren’t you worried?”

“About what?” she asked with genuine confusion.

Hailey, who was almost five years younger than May, brought her seat a little closer to May’s desk. “Aren’t you worried that you’ll get distracted if he tries to make you fall in love with him or something?”

May snorted. “Ha! You’re funny.”

“I’m being serious!”

“I know. That’s why it’s funny.”

Hailey raised one brow. “You can’t tell me that a girl like you, who hasn’t dated anyone in over three years, isn’t tempted by the idea of Moment magazine’s sexiest man of the year asking her out on a date!”

May rolled her eyes and went back to her computer. “What’s so sexy about a man who doesn’t know how to take care of his responsibilities and who thinks only about himself?”

“I see. You’re more attracted to the predictable, boring type, eh?” Hailey asked with a scoff.

This wasn’t the first time May had heard comments like this directed her way. She wasn’t spontaneous or in a hurry to try new things, so of course she was often labeled boring. But the truth was that she didn’t find anything boring about sitting home on a Friday night with her best friend, watching a movie or singing karaoke, without stressing about guys or crying over a broken heart. In fact, nothing was more boring to her than listening to friends complain about their boyfriends over and over again!

“To be honest, Hailey, I’m not really attracted to any type,” May said, using the same response she would give to nosey relatives who could never help but ask when she was getting married.

“So, you’d rather be alone?”

This type of comment was also common, and just as irksome as the first.

“Why does everyone assume that a single woman, no matter her age, is destined to be alone just because there’s no man in her life?” May asked, feeling slightly irritated. “Single women still know how to have friends and maintain family relationships, you know.”

Hailey’s face paled. “Ah, sorry. That’s not what I meant…”

It was what she meant. But May was used to it.

May turned to her assistant. “Look, Hailey, I’m not saying that romance is bad, but I also don’t think it’s for everyone. What’s wrong with living life to the fullest on my own?”

Then she paused with a small laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out to prove anything. Everyone has the right to do what makes them happy, and being single and focusing on my own problems and my own success is what makes me happy. I see no reason to be ashamed of that.”

Hailey nodded, though her eyes held some skepticism. “But what about kissing?”

“What?”

“Don’t you miss things like kissing?”

“If kissing is the only thing you’re suggesting I need a man for, then again, I’ll pass.”

“All I’m hearing you say right now is that your old boyfriend obviously wasn’t a great kisser.”

“Hailey.”

“Fine, fine, suit yourself. But if Erik Clayton tries to ask you out, make sure you give him my number as a decoy.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

Her assistant shrugged. “Maybe you’re too proud to accept a ride on a luxury boat and a romantic dinner for two, but I’m not.”

All May heard Hailey saying just now was that she had obviously never been on the bad end of a breakup, which was not exactly surprising.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good enough for me!”

And with that, Hailey promptly stood up and left May’s office. Well, it wasn’t really an office as much as it was the spare bedroom in the apartment she and Julie, her best friend for the last twenty years, leased together.

After working for a consulting company for two years, May decided to go it alone using the reputation she had built for herself. That way, she could save more of the money she made, even if she only got to work on smaller jobs. There was often a lot of paperwork involved, so she hired Hailey right at the beginning of her venture to help keep the operation running smoothly. It was a pricey expense, but one that led to more efficiency, which led to better opportunities, like working for Mr. Clayton.

May tapped one finger on her desk as she re-read the interview of Erik Clayton at last year’s fashion gala event. He sounded even more arrogant than she previously imagined. Although, there was no denying how incredibly handsome he was.

Of course, a nice face and charming smile were no replacement for a good personality or strong morals, two things that Erik Clayton clearly seemed to lack. Which meant, he was already her least favorite type of person.

“I’ve sure got my work cut out for me this time, don’t I?” she sighed.