Unstoppable: A Sweet Romance (Jersey Girls Book 2) Read online

  “I’m surprised, Ron. I didn’t think you would be the type of man to involve himself in the rumor mill. I certainly don’t.”

  “Well, of course, I don’t, but you know the visibility of this project: these reports go straight to the board. If anything, and I mean anything goes wrong, it’s my reputation on the line—although not as much as yours. If I take this girl on, you can be sure I will make it very clear that she was your pick. If anything happens, I’m throwing you straight under the bus, no offense. I like you Satish, but I like my career better. Are you sure you want to stake your career on this girl?”

  Satish considered how unfair Telco had been on Maureen in the past few years. They had ignored an obvious repeat offender and put him in the position to take advantage of an insecure, young girl, and they had allowed him to keep her oppressed and underutilized after he had dumped all over her. It was true that Maureen lacked in confidence, dangerously so, and it was also true that she had been a bit emotionally unstable in the past. He knew that was behind her now though, and he wanted to do this for Maureen and for Claire.

  He could never forgive himself for the way he had questioned Claire’s intentions, instead of recognizing what was going on with that disgusting man, Nick, but he could try to make it up to her. Maureen was one of Claire’s best friends, and although it had taken him all summer, he may just be about to succeed in doing something great for her. It would make Claire smile.

  Satish stood from his desk and reached to shake Ron’s hand. “Yes, I am sure,” he said. “I’m happy to stake my reputation. Maureen is the right person for the job.”

  Ron eased slowly out of the chair with a grunt and grasped Satish’s hand. “Okay, then you’re on. Send the girl to my office this afternoon.”

  Satish walked Ron to the door and closed it behind him. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he smiled when he saw it was from Claire. She was probably just leaving for her boutique. He hated that she had to make the drive to Hoboken every day, but they had tried the opposite and Satish just couldn’t make it from her tiny studio in Hoboken all the way to Bridgewater with traffic. Claire had a much later start, but even so, Satish insisted on a text when she left and a text when she arrived. She’d laughed at his hovering and he didn’t tell her it was just that he liked to see her name pop up on his phone every morning—it always made him smile. His smile faded when he read the following words, though.

  Forgot to tell you Phil broke up with Maureen. She’s a mess. Be especially nice to her today.

  Damn.

  4

  Bitches Are Back

  Maureen sat on the closed toilet lid, gripping her knees and taking deep breaths to steady her nerves.

  You can do this, Maureen. You can be Magnificent Mo. You will go into Satish’s office and demand that he give you a better assignment.

  She checked her watch: ten more minutes until the appointment. She was hiding in the bathroom because she couldn’t deal with another person right now. One sideways look and her flimsy facade of resoluteness would crumble. Could she hide in here that long without being obvious? The door to the bathroom creaked and voices rushed in. She quietly pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her knees.

  “I heard he even banned her from the luaus!” There was a sharp cackle and Maureen recognized the laugh immediately: Annie, the Bitch Clique queen.

  The Bitch Clique, made up of the administrative backbone of Telco in the form of secretaries, personal assistants, and assistants to assistants, hated Maureen. They held immense, but mostly unrecognized power through the manipulation of access to their bosses and the strategic leaking of classified information they collected during minute-taking and "forgetting" to hang up after a phone call transfer. The situation with Nick had brought down one of their own: the previous queen, Nadia. Although they had reveled in her downfall and Annie had quickly stepped into the gaping hole, they had never forgiven Maureen for what they considered an act of treason.

  “Aw, I feel sorry for her, Annie. I mean, what kind of girl gets dumped by Phil? I heard they found mice droppings in his cube—can you believe that?”

  Maureen dropped her head between her knees. It wasn’t mice droppings—it was raisins. But still.

  Annie spoke up again after a brief mumble. Maureen guessed that she was touching up her bright red lipstick, an inheritance from the notorious Nadia. “Mhmm… Phil convinced Satish to give her that promotion, so he could guilt her into sleeping with him." Maureen heard the click of the lipstick cap going back on. "She’ll be back with us before the day is out.”

  “You think so?” There was a loud throat clearing from Betty—Maureen recognized her post-nasal drip.

  “Absolutely. I mean, I don’t see her doing anything of value here. Do you? She’s more or less been Satish’s gofer for the past few months and I heard he’s trying to figure out how to get rid of her. You know how Ron needs a new secretary? Well, he was in Satish’s office for an hour this morning.” Maureen heard the clatter of plastic and a zipper closing on a make-up bag. A clacking of heels headed toward the door, and Betty gave a little giggle.

  “I mean, can you imagine her leading a project, Annie? That girl's so mousy!”

  Maureen lowered her feet to the floor and swallowed back her tears. The magnificence had drained out of her as Annie and Betty prattled on. Here she was, about to demand a position, when it sounded like Satish was planning to demote her.

  She looked at her watch. Oh well, it was time to face the music.

  5

  Oh, Satish

  Maureen sat stiffly in the chair opposite Satish, waiting for him to finish an email. She was trying very hard to hold it all together, but Mousy Maureen was in full control of the wheel. Was Satish about to demote her to Ron’s secretary? Except for the billing project he had asked her to work on, she had basically just run errands for the past few months. Why, when she had so much to offer, was she not getting the opportunity to prove herself?

  Magnificent Mo, Maureen thought. Magnificent Mo! The self-talk wasn’t helping much.

  Satish turned in his chair and gave Maureen such a look of concern that she immediately felt tears spring to her eyes.

  For God’s sake, hold it together! The self-yelling didn’t help much, either.

  Satish picked up a pen and twirled it in his fingers. He didn’t speak and seemed to be scrutinizing her, waiting for her to react. Could he tell she was upset? She tried a smile, but felt a grimace, instead.

  “I’m glad you came to see me today, Maureen. I have something I need to discuss,” Satish smiled warmly. The smile looked legit, but surely that statement couldn’t mean good news. Everything Annie had said was true: he was going to demote her and maybe even fire her. Oh God, how would she pay her rent? She shouldn’t have let Claire and Sally persuade her to move to Hoboken.

  If ever she needed Magnificent Mo, it was right now. She steeled herself. “I’m glad I came to see you, too, Satish. I have something I want to talk to you about.” It didn't come out of her mouth as firmly and confidently as she had intended. In fact, it sounded like she was making fun of him. Satish frowned, but maybe she could fix it. “I mean, I’m not making fun, or anything. It’s good you have something to talk about and I have something to talk about—if you have time to talk to me, of course.” Nope, she couldn’t fix it.

  Satish looked confused, but he leaned forward in his chair, giving Maureen another one of those concerned looks. “Maureen, if this isn’t a good time, we could discuss things at a later date. I am very sorry to hear about your break-up with Phil, and I’m sure it must be causing you some emotional distress. We could chat again when you feel better?”

  Phil! He thought she was upset about Phil? She had most definitely screwed this entire thing up, already. The tears spilled over, and she was mortified to hear a small sob escape her lips.

  Awesome, Mo! Truly Magnificent.

  Satish looked as though he would like the floor to open and swallow him. He reached a
cross the desk and awkwardly patted her hand. “Um, I’m sure that you and Phil will work it out, Maureen. After all, I thought you were a perfect match.”

  A perfect match! If Satish thought Phil was her perfect match, she was doomed. Maureen’s next sob burst forth, along with a slightly hysterical laugh. Her elephant impression was coming along nicely.

  Satish stood quickly and reached into the cabinet behind him for a box of tissues. He handed them to her. “Okay, please don’t be upset. I have some excellent news for you about Ron Lakin. He has a position open that I believe would perfectly suit your skills and talents. Can I set up some time for you to meet with him today?”

  Maureen halted in the middle of a strident nose-blowing effort and looked up in astonishment. Really? A secretary position was a perfect fit for her skills and talents? Is that what he thought of her? She might as well move back home and follow her mother’s advice of looking for a husband.

  "I'm sorry, Satish, but what have I done..." she stopped. Why was she apologizing? She had a great deal of respect for Satish, but this treatment was inexcusable—even a mouse could see that! She stood up quickly, her tears disappearing in an instant. Mousy Maureen cowered in the corner as, surprisingly, Magnificent Mo roared forth.

  “No, Satish, you cannot set up a time for me to meet with Ron. In fact, I believe I need some time to consider my position here. Perhaps Telco doesn't have my best interests at heart. Perhaps my talent and skills would be better off elsewhere. I quit.”

  Maureen noted the shock evident on Satish’s face, pivoted on her heel, and marched out of his office.

  6

  Here Comes Sally

  Maureen knew it was dangerous to be driving this fast with her vision impaired, but she had to get to Claire as quickly as possible.

  What had she just done?

  Not only had she quit her job, but she had also been rude to Satish! She’d freaked out. She could hear her mother’s voice in her head saying, "Not very nice, Maureen! Not very ladylike."

  Seriously, why did she think she was equipped to judge her own skills and talents? Maybe she was only good enough to be a secretary. Just because she thought she had more to offer didn’t mean everyone had to agree. Phil was right: she had to pay her dues. Satish was her boss, so he knew what was right for her and the company.

  Maureen eased her foot off the accelerator. She would take a day off to chill out and then she would go back to work and tell Satish she would happily take the new job. She would take the crappy position and work for Ron Lakin because she owed it to Satish to respect his wishes. She'd just have to work her way up again. At least then she’d have a chance to prove herself, instead of being bored out of her skull.

  Just as she pulled up in front of Claire’s boutique in Hoboken, a car pulled out of a spot in front of the shop window. Well, there was a stroke of luck. She decided to take it as a message from the universe that her new decision was the right one. She shoved her laptop bag under her seat, locked the car, and rushed through the front door of “Claire’s.” There was no sign of Claire, but Sally was sprawled across the velvet divan outside the dressing room, eating a bag of marshmallows and reading a magazine.

  Maureen put her purse on the granite counter that separated the workshop from the store. “Seriously, Sally? Marshmallows? Claire would have a fit if she saw you near the clothes with that stuff. Where is she?”

  Sally put down her magazine and made a show of opening her mouth wide, inserting a marshmallow, and chewing loudly. Maureen could see the gooey mess in her mouth and tried not to smile—it would only encourage her.

  Sally was Claire's other best friend, and although she and Maureen had had a rocky start, they were now all on the same team. Sally had changed when she’d finally given in to Tod's overtures and found out he happened to be her soul mate. With Tod supporting her, Sally had softened and found her groove as an art promoter and the manager of Tod’s gallery. Maureen considered Sally a good friend, now, but that didn’t mean she didn’t intimidate her. Sally was so sure of herself. It also didn't mean Sally had stopped acting like a royal brat sometimes, like right at this moment.

  When she had swallowed the giant marshmallow, she said, “Claire’s not here. She went to Satish’s.”

  Maureen frowned. “At four o'clock?”

  Sally rolled the top of the bag of marshmallows and walked to the counter to shove the bag underneath. Maureen wondered what other forbidden treats she kept under there.

  “Yep. She said she was making dinner tonight and had worked late all weekend, so she wanted to be home for him. I told her I’d watch the shop until Tod is finished painting for the day—he is in genius mode and I don’t want to disturb him.” She came back around to the divan and picked the magazine up from the floor. “He is prepping his latest collection for some guy we have coming around for dinner tomorrow. Apparently, Tod knows him from Princeton, and he’s loaded. He’s looking to buy some art for his investment clients. Tod seems a little nervous, so he must be a big deal.”

  Sally threw the magazine on the counter and looked closely at Maureen for the first time. “You’ve been crying. What’s up with you?”

  Even Sally's mild and distracted concern set Maureen off. She gulped against the instant lump in her throat and tried not to tear up again. She then spilled her guts: the whole story, from yesterday at Phil’s pool to today in Satish’s office. Sally just stood there, shaking her head.

  “I quit my job, Sally, the only thing I had that made me feel better about myself. Do you think I’ve upset Satish?” she asked hesitantly, feeling the tears come on again.

  “Upset Satish?” Sally grabbed Maureen’s arm and pulled her down to sit next to her on the divan. “Maureen, screw Satish and screw Phil! You need to start sticking up for yourself, girlie. Do you want to be Mousy Maureen forever?”

  “No, I don’t,” she sniveled, wiping her nose on her blazer. Great, a dry-cleaning expense she couldn’t afford. “I don’t want to be Mousy Maureen. I want to be Magnificent Mo.”

  Sally burst out laughing and almost toppled backward off the divan. “Magnificent Mo? That’s awesome! Where’d you get that from?”

  “Claire said it when I was telling her about Phil. It was what gave me the courage to go see Satish, but it was awful. I chickened out of everything. I suck at Magnificent Mo.”

  Sally went quiet and then stood and started pacing, her forehead creased in concentration. She looked like she was hatching an idea, and Maureen felt nerves tickle her tummy. She had been on the end of Sally's ideas in the past and it hadn't gone well.

  She was tapping her finger against her chin when she pivoted in Maureen's direction. "Maybe, just maybe, you didn't have the right tools."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, you don't go into a renovation project without any tools, do you? You can't just gut a room and expect a magical new one to suddenly appear."

  Maureen was getting even more worried. "What's house renovation got to do with me?"

  "It's a metaphor, dummy." Sally pulled Maureen to her feet. "You know what you need? You need a designer, and you just happen to know one."

  She was getting the gist of Sally's train of thought, but she didn't like where this train was headed. "Oh no. Thanks, Sally, but I don't think I want to be magnificent, after all. I’ve changed my mind and I think I'm quite happy being Maureen. Honestly, I tried it today and it was awful."

  "Oh, be quiet and listen to the master." Sally was getting excited, and she ran over and jumped on the divan, pulling Maureen with her. Claire would have been furious—first marshmallows and now dirty feet! Maureen resisted the other woman’s tugs and tried to brush off the spots where Sally's feet had left dusty prints.

  Sally gave up and instead thrust her fist into the air and lifted her chin. “You will be Magnificent Mo,” her voice bounced around the room and Maureen winced at the volume, “but not in that outfit and not with that hair. Come on, we are going shopping, my treat. I have a plan.�
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  7

  Meet Misty

  Claire was lounging in front of the fireplace in her pajamas with a glass of red wine sitting untouched in front of her. She’d forgotten her drink, way too interested in gazing into the flames and daydreaming. It had been a crazy day at the boutique, which was a good thing, but she was happy to be sitting and enjoying the quiet luxury of Satish’s apartment. She would have never had a fire, having no idea how to light one, but the housekeeper had started it before she had left.

  Claire had insisted Satish no longer needed a housekeeper and that between her, Nandita, and Satish, they could surely handle a three-bedroom apartment. In typical Satish fashion, however, he had talked about Louise’s loyalty and kindness and had refused to let her go. It didn't take Claire long to adjust to the luxuries of readily-ironed outfits hanging in her closet and freshly-baked bread on the counter. She had bonded quickly with Louise who, she quickly realized, had distinctly maternal feelings for Satish. Now that she was on the scene, she found herself being mothered, as well.

  Louise would be embarrassed to witness the daydream playing out in Claire's head at this very moment, though. Images of last night were dancing in the flames: Satish hovering over her, a gentle smile on his lips as he lowered himself to kiss her sweetly. His wide back under her palms, his skin dark and glistening. He wrapped around her body as they tumbled into satisfied sleep, so closely entwined with legs and arms fitting into seemingly predefined slots, like they were a jigsaw puzzle—you couldn’t fit a blade of grass between them.

  Claire still couldn’t believe he had picked her, a quiet, dorky, Plain Jane. She had barely even had a relationship when he’d appeared and swept her off her feet. Now she couldn’t imagine her life without him.