Angela fussed with my collar. “You’re on as soon as this
speaker wraps up. He’ll introduce you.”
“Your lips are the sweetest I’ve ever tasted,” I said, looking
her in the eye.
She moved closer, and for a second, I thought she was going
to kiss me. I puckered up.
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Robin Alexander
Angela’s eyes narrowed as she looked into mine. “Her pupils
are the size of baseballs. What the—”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome—”
“That’s me.” I pulled away from Angela’s grasp. Her voice
was shrill and Marvin’s was even higher as they argued. I just
kept on walking.
Angela, Marvin, and I sat around the sitting area of our suite.
Angela held an ice pack to her head. Marvin was drinking gin
straight from the bottle.
“Well, she did it,” Marvin said with a spacey gaze.
Angela groaned. “It could’ve been worse. We could have
done without the laughing and pointing, though.”
They talked as though I weren’t in the room. Frankly, I wasn’t.
I was floating on a cloud of serenity.
“You have to admit she had the room laughing right along
with her. The rest of the speakers were duds.” Marvin took
another healthy swig.
Images of Hailey undressing me and putting me to bed
flashed through my mind. I reached for her, but she pushed my
hands away. “Drink this,” I heard her say as something cool was
pressed to my lips. Her voice didn’t sound the same.
“You’re always pushing me away,” I said, reaching for her
again.
“Go to sleep.” I felt her pushing me down onto the bed.
“Please stay,” I said. “I just want to be with you.” The words
seemed heavy as they left my lips. The bed was pulling me in
deeper.
I felt a hand softly stroke my brow and words whispered. “I
will.”
1
Pitifully Ugly
Chapter 21
Homecoming of uncertainty.
I awoke the next morning alone with the gnawing feeling that
I’d forgotten something. My mouth tasted like I had been licking
a car tire. After brushing my teeth twice, I wandered into the
sitting area. Marvin was asleep on the sofa with an empty gin
bottle clutched in both hands.
“Hey.” I gave him a nudge, and he opened one eye and looked
at me.
“What day is it?” he rasped.
“I have no idea.”
He looked at his watch and cursed. “We’ve missed our flight.”
“It’s Monday then.” I took a seat on one of the chairs.
“Do me a favor, please.” Marvin sat up and rubbed his head.
“Call for room service and I’ll call the airline.”
I did as he asked and ordered lots of coffee to go along with
breakfast. I was about to take a quick shower when I heard a
knock on the door. Through the peep hole, I could see Angela
standing in the hall. Her hair was down and slightly damp. She
looked comfortable in a pair of jeans and an untucked button-
down shirt. She was also wearing a huge smile. I wrapped my
robe tighter around my body and let her in.
“Good morning,” she said as she planted a kiss on my cheek
and walked past me. “I was afraid I would miss you.”
“We missed our flight or you probably would’ve.” I gestured
for her to take a seat.
“You feeling okay?” Angela asked.
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Robin Alexander
“I’m a little unclear on last night…parts of it fade in and out.”
“You put on one hell of a show. Everybody is talking about
your speech.” Angela smiled up at Marvin as he walked back into
the room. “Mr. Mays says he enjoyed your speech above everyone
else’s. He was very pleased to hear how highly you touted our
products and service. I think my job is pretty secure.”
“I hope mine still is.” Marvin elbowed me in the ribs.
“I called Kalen first thing this morning.” Angela wrinkled
her nose. “She’s thrilled. I left out a few parts, though.”
“Thank you,” Marvin and I said in unison.
“I must really thank you both. I know the past few days have
been hell.” Angela focused on me for a moment. “It wasn’t fair of
me to put so much pressure on you. I was so nervous after the last
set of meetings when a few of my fellow reps were laid off that I
got a bit self-centered.”
“You’ve been good to us, Angela. I’m glad we were able
to help you out. Although…I wish one of you would fill me in
on what I did. I remember everything until I walked up to the
podium. I think I blocked it all out.” I looked over at Marvin, then
at Angela. They were both grinning.
Marvin held up a hand and started counting off each incident.
“You drooled, accosted a woman in the elevator, and made up
your own speech that nearly made me wet myself.” He cuffed
me on the shoulder. “But when it came time to deliver, you did
it…perfectly, minus the giggling.”
“I giggled through the speech?”
Marvin and Angela nodded. “It added some levity to an
otherwise dull evening.” Angela glanced down at her watch. “I
need to go help with the packing up.” She gave Marvin a hug, and
I walked her to the door. She turned and looked at me before she
stepped into the hallway. “You’re a great kisser, and that’s a lot
coming from a straight woman.”
“I’m sorry about that. Blame it on the Stanky Leg.” I looked
away in embarrassment.
“I’m not mad,” Angela said with a smile as she moved into
my line of sight. “Maybe now Zoe won’t hit on me so much when
I visit her salon.”
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Pitifully Ugly
“I seriously doubt that,” I said with a grin.
“Oh, I put your jewelry in your cosmetic bag.” Angela tucked
her hair behind her ear. “I put you into bed last night. Marvin
didn’t seem comfortable with the idea.”
I felt a flush wash over my face.
“I hope your girlfriend won’t mind.”
“I’m sure she won’t,” I said with a sigh.
“Maybe I’ll see you next time I’m in town. It might be kind of
fun to tell Kalen that story.”
“Fun for you, yes, but I’ll hear about it for the rest of my life.”
“Take care of yourself, Shannon,” Angela said as she walked
away.
“I’m so glad I don’t have to work for the next few days,”
Marvin said as he sipped on a Mountain Dew. “When this plane
lands, I’m driving you straight home, then I’m going home to
sleep for the next twenty-four hours.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the five hundred-
dollar emergency cash that I hadn’t had to use and pressed it
into his hand. “Whatever bonus my sister promised you was not
enough. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Marvin looked at the crisp one hundred-dollar bills and tried
to hand them back. “I can’t take this. Even though you made me
want to pull my hair out, I had a blast and met a really cute guy.”
“Keep it then as hush money,” I said with a grin. “All Kalen
needs to know is that I gave her speech.”
As we walked through the New Orleans airport, I felt relief. I