First Class to New York Read online

  If he makes a move, I’m going to let him stay. Yes! I am going to let him stay! Janie inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, feeling firm in her resolve.

  The car came to a stop in front of her hotel and Ray jumped out and raced around to get her door. She stepped out of the car and Matt met her with his outstretched hand. They walked in silence, hand in hand to the elevators and remained in silence as they rode upwards to her floor. As they reached her room, Janie turned and smiled at Matt. She pulled out the room key from her clutch and handed it to him. He cautiously took it from her and pushed it into the door lock and the green button lit up. He opened the door and Janie walked in and clicked on the lamp. The door clicked shut and she turned to see Matt standing looking at her, an expression on his face she couldn’t read.

  “It was been a truly wonderful evening, like a fairy tale. Thank you Matt.” Janie smiled and placed her clutch on the desk.

  Matt took a couple of steps toward her and then abruptly stopped. His eyes bored into her and she felt completely caught in his gaze. She took a step toward him, not breaking eye contact, and she caught a slight wrinkle of his brow. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms. She willingly accepted his embrace, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. He tilted her chin up towards him and took her lips in his, gently pressing them together. His lips parted and the kiss deepened. She tilted her head back further, giving him total access to her mouth. She felt his tongue on the inside of her bottom lip and she was instantly aroused, feeling it in her breasts, her stomach and in between her legs.

  Her tongue responded to his and they were locked in a passionate, heated kiss that seemed to build an aching in her that she not experienced before. Her head was light and her knees weak and anticipation flooded her mind.

  Matt withdrew his tongue and kissed her gently once more before pulling away, his eyes half closed, the desire obvious. “You were the belle of the ball,” he whispered.

  Janie smiled. “Thank you for taking me, my prince.”

  Matt chuckled. “You’re welcome. Good night Janie. Sleep well.”

  WHAT??? WHAT????

  Matt had already opened the door.

  DON’T LEAVE? WHERE ARE YOU GOING???

  *****

  “Home Sir?” Ray asked as Matt climbed into the backseat of the car.

  “The office, please. And then you can head home. I’ll walk when I get done.”

  Matt rubbed his forehead and leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. What a fucked up night it had turned out to be.

  First of all, he didn’t even think about Beth being at the fundraiser. Ever the socialite, she made sure she hit every event where there would be cameras and rich men. She just hadn’t even crossed his mind. In his defense, they had been divorced for over 5 years.

  And then there was the Chicago almost-fiasco. Why Ben hadn’t taken two seconds to call before the sellers threatened to pull the plug on their deal, he’ll never know. Fortunately, Matt had penciled out all possible scenarios when putting the offer together, so he had been able to tighten up the deal before it completely unraveled.

  And then, of course, there was Janie. What a revelation that turned out to be! Widowed with two sons? How the hell had that not come up in conversation?

  Ray pulled in front of the high-rise office building centered in the financial district. Matt said goodnight and headed into the massive glass building.

  The security guard wasn’t surprised to see Matt arriving back at the office on a Sunday evening at 11pm. Matt was here all hours of the day and night, every day of the week. He was a workaholic. He prided himself on his success and it had not come quickly or easily. It was true he had been born with some advantages; his parents were still happily married after 50 years, they had been financially secure because of his father’s work ethic and a knack for selling insurance, and he had received an excellent education at a private Catholic school and then at Duke University.

  But Matt had worked three jobs after college and scrimped and saved to get the down payment together for his first real estate investment and he continued to do so until his hard work started paying off. That first brownstone had sold 5 years later and he had almost doubled his investment. Now here he was 18 years later purchasing sky scrapers in Chicago and Buenos Aires and on every other continent.

  He opened the large door to his office and left the room dark. He sat behind his desk and swung to look out over the city. It was an amazing sight at night. He should bring Janie up here. Janie! And Matt was back to the problem at hand. He had resolved to show her a good time while she was here in New York, and he would have a good time in return. But that was all different now. He hadn’t known she was a widow.

  Rubbing his forehead again he wondered why that bothered him. Would he feel the same if she was divorced? Matt shook his head, not being able to answer that question. He moved on to the next revelation; that of her sons. Matt openly acknowledged his two ex-wives on the plane but Janie had not even hinted of having kids. Are all women really just the same deep down? No, that wasn’t fair. He had been the one pursuing her. She didn’t have to tell him anything. She owed him no explanations.

  Well it didn’t matter now. He didn’t think there was any point in seeing her again. He was still attracted to her; to her eyes, her hair, her smile, and the way she chewed on her cheek. And he definitely wanted her physically. He couldn’t think of anyone he would rather have sex with, but she was off limits now. It was all he could do to leave her hotel room this evening without ripping off her dress and giving her a night she would remember. But he had left her alone, well, except for that kiss which he had to take. He needed to taste her. It took more will power than he knew he had to walk out and leave her standing there with that look of disappointment on her face. But he just couldn’t sleep with her, not now! It would be violating her emotionally, and that is something he just wouldn’t do.

  6.

  Monday came and went without a word from Matt. Janie kept herself busy all day at the Museum of Modern Art. She wandered through the galleries, in awe of what she saw. It was unbelievable to her that all of this amazing art was housed under one roof, right at her fingertips. She tried to keep her mind off Matt but it was difficult.

  Sunday night had been spent tossing and turning, trying to come to some kind of understanding as to what had happened, both at the fundraiser after his business call, and back in her room when she was putty in his hands and he had just left. No matter how long she dwelt on it, an answer hadn’t revealed itself.

  Janie stopped at a little deli on the way back to the hotel and sat at the table by the window and watched the hustle and bustle all around her as she fiddled with her pastrami on rye. She usually had a healthy appetite, but she didn’t have any desire to eat. The sandwich seemed tasteless and she found herself just playing with the food on her plate. After quite some time, she gave up on dinner and headed back to the hotel.

  *****

  Tuesday was bleak. She awoke to grey clouds and rain. The weather seemed to match her mood. After her shower and consuming several cups of coffee, there still had been no contact from Matt. Janie knew that it must be her; she must have done something, said something. Beth’s image appeared in her head and Janie had a fleeting glimpse of the problem. Beth was every man’s fantasy and Matt had been married to her. How could Janie ever think to compete with that standard? Well, obviously I can’t!

  After walking around her room for the umpteenth time, Janie decided she may as well just head out into the weather and head to the Guggenheim, one of the must-see’s on her list, where she could stay dry. Dressing in tan linen slacks and a light blue sweater, she headed off to take her mind off the man who didn’t seem to want her.

  Janie had walked for what could have been 10 minutes or 2 hours, she wasn’t paying attention, when a sign in a window caught her eye; ‘Say it with muffins’. Janie stopped and looked at the display. There was a basket with muffins and a bag of coffee be
ans; one with muffins and a cheese assortment; and one with muffins and a thermos, that boasted being “spill-proof”. Janie smiled as an idea formed.

  Twenty minutes later she was hailing a cab and giving the driver the address her phone said housed MEL Holdings. They drove through all kinds of insane traffic and Janie now understood why Matt had a driver. She vowed never to complain about the congestion on the I-5 again!

  It was almost 45 minutes before the cab pulled up in front of an extremely tall glass building that the driver assured her was the address she had given him. She handed him an insane amount of money and walked towards the building, a muffin basket in her arms. Making her way inside, Janie looked around, trying to find a clue as to where she would find Matt’s office. She didn’t want to see him, just drop off the gift and a card and be on her way. Realizing she would have to go to the security desk to get the needed information, she began crossing the marble floor.

  “Janie?”

  She turned in the direction of the voice and heard her name again. “Janie!” She turned her head to the left and was met by Maureen Lathem.

  “What a wonderful surprise seeing you here!” Maureen was smiling and pulling Janie into a hug.

  “Hi!” smiled Janie. “I was just dropping this basket off for Matt, as a thank you for the other night.”

  Maureen’s eyebrows raised high and she mouthed an O.

  “Oh,” Janie blushed. “For taking me to the dinner. On Sunday. Where I met you and Mr. Lathem.” Janie was rambling and Maureen chuckled.

  “Let me take you up to his office. I was here to see one of my other sons, Mark, but I am always happy to stop by and surprise Matthew.”

  “Oh no!” exclaimed Janie. “I can’t go, I mean I can’t interrupt him. I just wanted to leave this for him.”

  “Of course we can interrupt him! I’m his mother!”

  “No, no. I uh, don’t have time. I was um, on my way, to um, and appointment, so I can’t stay.” Janie tripped over her tongue, desperately trying to avoid seeing him.

  “Well, dear, if that’s the case, I’ll take it up and deliver it for you. I wouldn’t want you to be late for your, er, appointment.” Maureen held out her arms for the basket and Janie handed it to her, the card perched on top.

  “Thank you very much. Well, I have to be going. Thanks again.” And Janie turned and all but sprinted across the lobby to the door and out into the wet air.

  *****

  Matt was on the phone as his door whipped open and his mother flew in. She marched directly to stand in front of his desk and all but slammed a wicker basket down on the folder he had open. The cellophane made a loud crinkling noise and Matt mumbled an apology to the person on the other end of the phone and hung up.

  “Well hello mom. What brings you here with…muffins?” Matt looked surprised.

  “What did you do to her?” Maureen’s voice was low and controlled but Matt could tell she was livid.

  “What? Do to who?”

  “To whom,” corrected Maureen. “To Janie! How many other women are there?”

  “What? Mom, what are you talking about?” Matt was truly confused.

  “This is from her.” Maureen pointed at the basket, doing her best Vanna White impression.

  “So you think, what, because she got me a muffin basket?” He really wasn’t following at all.

  “Oh, Matt. You didn’t see her! She was standing in the lobby looking scared to death when I saw her. When I offered to bring her up to see you, I thought she was going to wet her pants right there! She made up some ridiculous excuse about not wanting to interrupt you and then something about an appointment, which obviously wasn’t true, and then ran out of the building after I’d offered to bring it up like some frightened animal.” Maureen had known the instant she saw Janie that this was not the warm, open, sweet girl she had met two days before. “So, what did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Matt rubbed his hand across his forehead and remembered back to their last encounter, in her hotel room and the kiss that nearly undone him. But he’d left before he’d had the opportunity to play with her emotions. He’d left for that very reason! “Mom! I swear!”

  “Be careful Matthew! She’s nothing like Suzanne and Beth, those twits you married. She’s a sweet girl who has been through a lot and doesn’t need some big city playboy coming in and carelessly toying with her.” Maureen’s teeth were almost gritted as she spoke.

  Matt was totally taken back by his mother’s outburst. He really did not have any idea what she was talking about. “Mom, let’s sit down and talk about this calmly, shall we?”

  They walked over to the two black leather sofas and he held her hand as she sat in one corner and Matt in the other. He twisted and lifted his right knee and rested it on the soft leather between them. His hand went back to rubbing his forehead, lost in thought, trying to remember what he may have done.

  “Don’t think I don’t know about ALL the women, Matthew.” His mother was looking him square on, but her voice had softened. “I know those two women did a number on you and so you just think that one night stands are the way to get what you need and not let any emotion get in the way.” Maureen used her fingers to make quotation marks as she spoke and Matt rolled his eyes at the thought of discussing his sex life with his mother!

  She went on. “Janie has suffered an enormous loss and is probably just coming to terms with that. She’s fragile Matthew.”

  “Yes, well, she told you about her loss, didn’t she?” Matt was irked. “But she didn’t bother to give me that piece of information!”

  Maureen’s eyes flew open! “You didn’t know?”

  “Nope! Heard you guys talking and looking at her pictures.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yep, always the last to find out the important stuff.”

  Maureen could see the pain Matt was trying to hide. “Matthew, not all women are like your ex-wives! Please don’t condemn us ALL because of them?” She wished she could say something that would help. “Suzanne desperately wanted to hang on to you and she should have told you about the miscarriage straight away. That was wrong of her. And Beth? Well, Beth was just a gold digger and at least you figured that out sooner rather than later. You just managed to let the two worst women in the city con you into marrying them. You’ll know better next time. And your father and I have decided to approve all engagements first from now on. For all you boys!” Maureen smiled, hoping to lighten the mood just a little.

  “Marriage isn’t for me mom. I tried it twice, for a total of 29 months. That doesn’t say much for my ability as husband potential.”

  “Don’t let them get to you. You learnt a valuable life lesson from them, and if you don’t know what that is, come for dinner one night and your father and I will tell you!” Maureen smiled and Matt couldn’t help but chuckle. “And forgive Janie for not telling you about her husband. She must have gone through more grief than we can imagine and for her to still be such a sweet girl says a lot about who she is in here.” Maureen put her hand over her heart. “Besides, your father is an excellent judge of character and he thought she was marvelous!”

  “Okay, but what about her having kids?” Matt questioned his mother.

  “They aren’t kids anymore. They are almost 21. And handsome boys. They look just like her.”

  Matt said nothing so Maureen continued. “Suzanne really messed with your mind, didn’t she?”

  “Hmph! Why would you say that?” he sneered. “She got pregnant on purpose so that I would marry her and then we lost her…” Matt’s voiced trailed off. Maureen could see the hurt in his eyes. “When she miscarried, she didn’t tell me for 5 weeks! Five goddamn weeks, Mom! She was my daughter too, and Suzanne just used her as a part of her big plan, just like a chess piece.” Matt’s grief had turned to anger. “I will not bring a child into this world so that they can be used like pawns.”

  “I don’t agree with you Matthew. Children are a glorious blessing. I should kno
w; I have seven blessings.” Maureen smiled with all the love she had for her son. “But I do understand how you might feel that way. But that has nothing to do with Janie. She got married and had her boys over twenty years ago, on the other side of the country. What on earth does that have to do with you?”

  Matt shrugged, acknowledging his mother was right.

  “You like her,” she continued. “You like her a lot. I knew that the minute I saw you on Sunday. You couldn’t take your eyes off her.”

  *****

  Matt,

  I wanted you to know that I had a really nice time at the fundraiser the other night. It was very kind of you to take me, as I know you are an extremely busy man. I had never dreamed of being able to attend anything quite like that, as my life is obviously very different from yours. But now I can cross that off my bucket list, so thank you again.

  I also wanted to thank you for dinner and the carriage ride. It was kind of you to take pity on a naive nobody like me and let me glimpse a part of ‘your New York’. It wasn’t on my to-do list, but I am certain that it will end up being one of the highlights of my trip and certainly an experience I will remember fondly in years to come.

  Please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude, and please use the thermos so you might spare any more unsuspecting victims in airport lounges. J

  Goodbye,

  Janie

  Matt folded the card and placed it back in the envelope. He was totally baffled by Janie’s meaning. Kind of me to take her? Obviously very different from her? Take pit on a naïve nobody? Goodbye?

  Well, he would give her naïve. She really was, but in a sweet, refreshing way. And yes, their lives were probably very different. But it wasn’t kind of him to take her. He had wanted to be with her, anywhere! Hell, he went to one of those horrid benefits where everyone puts on a show and gives air kisses, for God’s sake, just as an excuse to see her again.