When I woke again, Dennis was long gone.
Even that faint trace of his cologne had faded from the room, as if last night had only been a dream.
My phone rang, shrill and insistent.
I looked. Twenty-some missed calls, all from coworkers.
"Barbie, why aren't you at the office yet?"
"The rural Midwest project wrapped up clean, and today's the day headquarters officially names you department manager. Did you forget?"
"I'm on my way."
I tossed the phone down and rushed to the bathroom to get ready.
But when I went out the door, the little car Dennis had once given me wouldn't start.
He'd brought up giving me a car more than ten times, and every time I'd turned him down.
Until the day a downpour trapped me out in the suburbs and I couldn't get a ride, so I missed my next meeting slot with a client and cost the company over a million dollars.
He used that to make his point, and after a lot of thought, I finally agreed.
But I had conditions. I got to pick the brand, and the price range.
In the end I chose a Nissan, around ten grand.
Cheap. Good on gas.
Dennis wasn't happy about it, said I'd gone too low, but he couldn't argue me out of it, so he let me have my way.
I never thought the man would leave and the car would die right along with him.
There was no time to feel anything about it. I just had to head out and flag down a ride.
But at that exact moment, right in the middle of the morning rush, there was simply no ride to be had.
Then Dennis's black company car eased to a smooth stop in front of me. "Get in."
I refused on instinct and turned to keep walking, meaning to flag something down on the other side.
His brow furrowed. He let off the gas and trailed slowly along beside me. "You won't get a ride this time of day."
"Unless you want to be late."
I…
I hesitated a couple of seconds, then got into his passenger seat after all.
The whole way I didn't look at him, even turned pointedly toward the window, as if that alone could sever any tie between us.
The car stopped a few yards short of the office.
"Dennis, we shouldn't see each other anymore."
