I Wanna Sext You Up Read online

  Lorie’s lips pressed together until her puckered face resembled a duck’s. She said nothing but grabbed the extra binders off the table and tucked them into her bag, then turned to her phone.

  Liza: Noooooo……waaaaayyyyyy better than that!

  Whoa, that was a lot of very excited vowels, but aside from them dancing across her screen, there was nothing else waiting on her phone. Lorie sighed inwardly. Surely it was an innocent oversight that she hadn’t received the text from Kate and Allen, too. She wouldn’t worry about it. Not right now.

  Lorie: Hmmmm…you got a cat?

  Lorie pulled the guess out of her ass, based solely on the heart-eyed cat emoji from Liza’s earlier text.

  Quinn giggled, scrolling through his phone.

  “What’s so funny?” Lorie asked.

  “James. I swear, he’s going to get me fired if Durden ever asks for my text records.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s been blowing me up all morning. Apparently, he really likes the way I look in this suit.”

  “Are you sexting on company time?” Lorie accused, playfully teasing with a wink. “I’m shocked!”

  Quinn looked at the time. “I’ve got one minute before the workday begins.”

  “You’re awful!”

  “You should try it. Great way to pass the downtime between calls.”

  “Only I would have to have someone to sext with.” Lorie tapped a finger on her cheek, thinking. “Men aren’t exactly lining up for the job.”

  “Dressing like a blond Wednesday Addams isn’t going to get you any more applicants, either. Would you be open to a makeover?”

  “I purposefully dress like this. In my experience, men’s brains don’t work as well when boobs are involved. And sadly, most of our doctors are male.”

  “You look like Victoria.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Quinn’s attention turned to the door when it whisked across the floor.

  “Lorie!” Victoria’s voice was warm and charming, coaxing an immediate smile to her face. Lorie looked up to find her boss, arms outstretched, eyes smiling from behind the chic blue-framed glasses she always wore. The way the jewel tone contrasted against her dark skin made Victoria unforgettable. Despite her monochromatic black suit.

  Realizing she’d been greeted first, Lorie grinned over Victoria’s shoulder at Quinn as if to say na-na-na-boo-boo. Yes, they were totally childish in their rivalry, but wasn’t that the point? “Look at all you’ve done! I hope this isn’t all for me.” Victoria released Lorie and walked around the table to greet Quinn.

  Why a blush crept over Lorie’s cheeks, she wasn’t sure. She loved praise. She damn sure didn’t mind the spotlight. But because of Quinn’s comments she second-guessed herself.

  Is it too much?

  She turned back to her phone, letting the flush subside. Only to find something that hopelessly blew any refuge she could have possibly found. Instead of a text reply from Liza there was a picture. One that stopped Lorie ice cold in her tracks and forced a small sound from the back of her throat.

  Liza’s hand came into focus first…followed by a big, sparkly diamond perched right beside her left pinkie. The blood drained from Lorie.

  Surely it’s a joke.

  “Let’s get down to business, shall we? You guys need to get in front of your doctors and sell some drugs today.” Victoria adjusted her glasses, taking the seat beside Lorie and flipping through the stack of reports.

  “Yes!” Lorie snapped back to action, smiling through her shock on autopilot, welcoming a distraction from the image she’d just seen, even though it was branded on her eyeballs like she’d stared too long at a light too bright. “I’ve pulled the current sales volume reports for Lampalin compared to where the territory was this time last year and also cross-referenced these numbers with the overall potential market volume across the entire class of…of…of…” Lorie stumbled over her words, forgetting the rest of the presentation she’d spent hours rehearsing. That so wasn’t like her. “Ummm…” She wiped a sweaty palm over her forehead, frantically flipping pages and trying to find her place. But it was gone. All she could see was the diamond on her friend’s hand. All cognitive thoughts racing through her mind like wildfire on a windswept field. Details. Facts. Sales numbers. Diamonds. Too many to grab hold of just one.

  “Are you okay?” Victoria placed a reassuring hand on Lorie’s forearm. “You’re pale as a ghost.”

  “Am I?” Lorie laughed breathily, focusing on Victoria’s hand, shaking her head like it wasn’t anything.

  “Uh-huh.” Victoria’s brow made a deep V behind her blue glasses.

  Lorie turned across the table to Quinn whose eyes were suddenly wide, too, registering the change in Lorie.

  “I…ummm…” Again, Lorie shook her head, trying to find her focus. She rolled her shoulders. It didn’t help.

  “Why don’t you run to the restroom, splash some water on your face. We’ll wait.” Victoria stood to help Lorie from her chair.

  Lorie did as she was told, clutching her phone in a damp palm as she made her way to a single-stall bathroom down a back hallway.

  Before the door closed, she was dialing.

  “Liza?” Why was Lorie’s voice shaking? This should be one of the happiest phone calls a lifelong bestie could ever share. Only, for Lorie, it so wasn’t.

  “You got my text?” Liza squealed.

  “Yeah.” Lorie’s answer was slow, measured. “I’m assuming that ring is from Jay?”

  “Yassssss! Who else?” Liza’s giggle was high and tight, both delighted and guarded. Of course, it was guarded.

  “Liza, you guys have only been dating for a few months. Are you sure he’s The One?”

  “I know, but we’ve known him our entire life, so that’s not really a valid time frame.”

  Lorie dragged a hand down her face. Jay Baxter ate boogers and blew spitballs into their hair throughout grade school. He was hardly marriage material for her best friend.

  “Liza, Jay used to annoy the shit out of you. You couldn’t stand him.”

  “I know. He was so annoying. But guys mature in their mid-twenties. He’s totally different now.”

  Lorie had no rebuttal for that argument. She rarely made the thirty-minute drive to her hometown anymore, and she certainly didn’t hang out with Jay Baxter when she did. Still, it felt like her BFF was settling. And given Liza’s impulsive nature it had always been Lorie’s job to make her see reason.

  “He’s still Jay Baxter. He couldn’t have changed that much. I just…I’m sorry. It’s so soon. I can’t wrap my brain around this.” Lorie circled a hand in the air, as if Liza could see it. “You didn’t even fess up to me that you guys were dating until a few weeks ago. Understandably, this seems really rushed to me.” Lorie moved to the sink basin, gripping one hand over the cool porcelain, needing something strong to ground her. Not wanting to be a total bitch, she pulled the phone away from her mouth to release the breath that had been building in her chest since the diamond crashed into her phone screen.

  When she returned it to her ear, there was nothing. Silence. Not even excited breathing.

  “Liza?” Lorie checked to be sure she hadn’t lost the call. Her friend took an audible breath on the other end. A really slow one.

  “I probably shouldn’t have texted you,” resignation hung heavily in Liza’s voice.

  “Liza…no…”

  “I realize you don’t approve. I realize it’s asking a lot of you to come back home. And I did think, for one minute, that with all the drama maybe you wouldn’t want to be my maid of honor…”

  The accusation hit Lorie harder than the diamond had, again sending her brain into a sprint.

  “Liza, please…no…” Lorie backpedaled best she could, pushing away from the sin
k and standing up straight. “No, no, no. I’m so sorry. I am being ridiculous. You’re right. Of course, I’m going to be there for you. I will always be there for you. I’m still in shock. I’m still processing…”

  “I understand.” Only Liza’s tone didn’t sound very understanding. Which Lorie could understand. Liza was calling with her happiest news ever, and Lorie was throwing all sorts of shade at it.

  “Listen, I stepped out of a meeting with my boss to call you. Can we get together this weekend maybe? Coffee?”

  “I’m actually in Atlanta today.” Liza’s tone changed. “Dress shopping.” She giggled. “Can you meet me?”

  “Not this morning. I’m slammed. But if you’ll be in the city this afternoon, I could meet.”

  “Perfect. Text me when you’re free and I’ll tell you where.”

  “Liza, if you’re happy, I’m happy for you.”

  “Me, too. Text me.”

  Lorie slid the phone back into her suit coat pocket. Gripping the sink again, she looked into the mirror.

  “Shit, they weren’t lying.” Lorie wiped her fingers under her eyes, pushing up her cheeks and then pinching them to bring some color back. She ran a hand under the cold water and flicked it on her face. She didn’t wear much makeup these days. Years ago, her looks opened lots of doors. And then one day every one of them slammed in her face.

  It was a mistake she wouldn’t make again. Her success would have nothing to do with her sexuality. She would use hard work and merit to open future doors. If Victoria had climbed the Durden ladder in five years, Lorie could, too.

  “Well, that’s better.” Victoria welcomed her back to the table with a glass of ice-cold water. “I hope you didn’t miss too much sleep preparing for this meeting.” Victoria glanced across the table at Quinn, exchanging a look Lorie didn’t like. What a tattletale, Lorie thought. “I glanced over these reports last night,” Victoria continued. “I know exactly who we need to target in order to win the top sales award for this year, too.”

  “Oh, my distraction isn’t a lack of sleep. These were a breeze.” Lorie waved a hand over the table, thinking on her feet. Luckily, words rarely failed her when she really needed them. “No, I’m sorry to bring up my personal life—I know that’s unprofessional—but my best friend just got engaged and she was calling to tell me. That’s why I’m so distracted. I’m sure you understand.”

  Victoria closed her eyes and nodded with a sympathetic smirk.

  “I thought my best friend was going to skywrite it. So, yes, I understand.” Victoria’s eyes widened with empathy, and she turned back to the reports. Lorie shot Quinn a snide side-eye and sat down. Several pages into the document, Victoria took a highlighter and circled one name. “This guy.” She laid the papers on the table, turned so they could see it, and pointed to the marked area. “Dr. Saam Sherazi. He’s new. He’s got incredible volume, but it’s all for your competitor. If you earn half of that business for Lampalin, and keep your other numbers tracking where they currently are, you guys have a great shot at winning this year, too.”

  Lorie pushed away from the table, her cheeks warming at the name.

  Quinn rolled his eyes and scooted back in his chair, already accepting defeat.

  “That man is a stone wall. We’ve all tried to move him. He’s not budging.”

  “What exactly has been done?” Victoria crossed her hands over the papers.

  “Well, Kate set up two meetings with him. He’s been a no-show for both. Allen has talked with him—once—but you know how pushy he can be.” Quinn frowned before he continued. “Dr. Sherazi permanently banned Allen from the office. I can talk sports till I’m blue in the face, which usually establishes some rapport with our male doctors. Dr. Sherazi stares at me like he doesn’t even know a touchdown is six points.” Quinn shrugged and crossed his arms over the table, leaning in and reading the paper again.

  “What do you think about him?” Victoria’s blue-rimmed glasses turned to Lorie.

  “Ummm…Sherazi won’t talk to me, either.” Lorie stared at the table, thinking, and deciding against sharing the uncomfortable encounter from earlier. “I’ve got a great relationship with his partner, Dr. Dukes.” Lorie paused long enough to flip to Dr. Dukes’s prescribing data, proving the claim. “I love their staff. But like Quinn said, Dr. Sherazi is a big nothing-burger for us.” Quinn snort-laughed at her terminology, burying his face in his shoulder to muffle it.

  “Does he talk to your competitors?”

  “No.” Quinn continued to chuckle. “He doesn’t talk to anybody. He just stares.” Quinn leveled a Voldemort stare across the table and Lorie nodded. Yep, that was pretty spot on. Minus any eye contact.

  “Well, then you guys need to find a way in there. What do we know about him?” Victoria sat back in her chair, arms crossed. Waiting. Refusing to budge on her choice of doctors. Challenging them to do their job.

  Nothing but blank stares studied the yellow highlighter marks on the white page. Did she dare?

  “Well…” Lorie wrinkled her face as she thought further.

  Victoria’s brow raised and both she and Quinn turned to listen.

  “He was here this morning.” Lorie started talking with her hands, pointing to the spot where customers retrieved their coffee. The very spot where she’d been shot down. “They got his order wrong, and he was understandably angry about it. He had patients to see. He couldn’t wait for them to fix it. What if I got his order right? It might serve as a starting point for something.”

  “But we can’t offer doctors coffee,” Victoria corrected, reminding Lorie of the company guideline that prohibited such gifts.

  “Could I offer it? If I bought it with my own money?”

  Victoria’s eyes smiled, and she bit the inside of her lip.

  “I didn’t hear that,” she said with a wink, leaning back into the table to retrieve her stack of papers. “Okay, so that’s it. Lorie’s going to work her magic with Dr. Sherazi. See if she can get him talking, and we’ll go from there. Baby steps. He’s fresh out of med school. Maybe he needs to be shown how these relationships work.”

  “Aw. A baby doctor,” Quinn joked.

  “Do you have a better idea?” Victoria shot across the table.

  “Baby doctor it is. Lorie, this one’s on you.”

  “Batter up…” Lorie smiled, settling back in her chair. She loved a challenge. She loved second chances. She also desperately needed a distraction.

  Liza and Jay Baxter…really?

  Chapter 2

  Lorie

  Large dirty chai latte in hand, Lorie prayed for a miracle. Breaking the rules, buying a doctor coffee—even if her boss had given her the wink-wink-nod-nod go-ahead—cut against her grain. The man better be worth it.

  She needed to know what made Dr. Sherazi tick. He wrote nearly twenty-five prescriptions for her competitor last week alone. The new sales potential was staggering. And the responsibility for cracking him was now hers—thanks to a single chance meeting that had gone every way but well. She fired off a text for reinforcement.

  Lorie: Pray for me. Meeting with Dr. Sherazi in 5.

  Quinn: If anyone can crack that man you can!

  Yes. She absolutely could. And would. Five years. Victoria had moved from sales rep to sales manager in five years. That certainly didn’t happen because she backed down from hurdles like this. Lorie took a deep breath, grabbed her stuff, and squared her shoulders. After all, she had exactly what he needed…caffeine.

  “Lorie!” Ashley, the receptionist, welcomed her with a smile. “Dr. Dukes will be so happy to see you.”

  “Hey, Ashley,” Lorie said with a smile. “I’m here to see Dr. Sherazi today,” she continued, taking a pen to sign the office log for drug reps. “Would that be possible?”

  The receptionist’s eyes rolled ever so slightly. “Why would yo
u want to do that?” she whispered conspiratorially.

  Lorie looked over her shoulder to be sure their secret would remain one.

  “He’s killing us,” Lorie returned the whisper. “I need to know if he hates Lampalin or if he just doesn’t know about it.” Lorie leaned farther into the counter. “And I brought a bit of a bribe that’s getting colder by the second.”

  “Dirty chai latte?” Ashley read the cup’s scribbled order and nodded like she was impressed. “Smart girl. I’ll let him know.” She reached for the phone on her desk. “Good luck, though. He’s in a mood today.”

  “Isn’t he always in a mood?” Lorie nodded sympathetically, still whispering to keep the conversation between them.

  Ashley sighed, pursing her lips as she thought about how to answer tactfully. “He’s just…antisocial maybe? But amazingly, our younger patients love him.”

  “Then he must have at least one redeeming quality. Right?” Lorie winked at the lady.

  Ashley shrugged but didn’t offer her opinion on her employer’s redeeming qualities.

  “Dr. Sherazi’s office is at the end of the hall. I’ll tell his nurse you’re here…with coffee.”

  Lorie found Dr. Sherazi’s office door open and slipped inside. The peace and quiet was nice.

  Still, she was nervous. It wasn’t like their encounter at the coffee shop had gone particularly well. Definitely not an interaction to build on. The meeting could very easily blow up in her face, too.

  On autopilot, Lorie set down the coffee and went to work pulling stuff from her bag. Only she was so distracted by mentally replaying her earlier meeting with Dr. Sherazi she wasn’t paying attention as she ripped open a box of Lampalin samples.

  “Ouch!” she hissed through her teeth, sucking at a paper cut that sliced through her cuticle. Cardboard paper cuts were the worst. Shaking her head, she put the samples back in her cooler, arranged her sales aids, and pinched the cut to stop the flow. And then prepared to wait until the doctor could see her.

  Elevator music piped through a speaker in the ceiling. The kind of lyric-less easy listening where you knew the song but couldn’t quite place it. Growing up in pageants, singing was Lorie’s talent. For someone who loved to sing, not being able to place a melody was maddening. She could hum along to the tune overhead but couldn’t find the words. Frustration did nothing to ease her nerves.