I Want Candy Read Free

feel Quentin’s eyes on her. She glanced his way out the corner of her eye and saw him clapping. She watched him purse his lips and whistle. She blushed again, making sure he didn’t see her looking his way.
     She picked up her cocktail and listened to the remaining speeches that evening, watching gleefully as some of her uncoordinated coworkers and managers tried to cut a rug to the tunes of an eclectic jazz trio. Occasionally she glanced down at the fading mark on her left ring finger, a steady reminder that a “Mr. Right” once existed, but now the only trace of him was her two-tone finger. Still drizzled in the freshly laid praise she had received, her appetite was tempered. Waiters floated past carrying beautifully presented layers of Kobe beef with fresh mint, shrimp rolls, slices of white cake drowned in fudge, and lady fingers with whipped cream, but she didn’t bat an eye. She looked down at her purse, then her shoes, and yawned. Suddenly someone was standing next to her. She looked up, and there was Quentin, still nursing a beer.
    “Do you mind if I sit here?” he asked.
    “Uh, no. I don’t suppose Mandy will be back soon. She seems to be having too much fun dancing right now,” Candy said as she pointed to a rail-thin woman dancing almost robotically as the alcohol in her body made her do things she would not recall in the morning.
    “Wonderful,” Quentin said as he pulled out the chair. “My name is Quentin – Quentin Evans. I’m from the Illinois branch office. I designed our global website.”
    “Oh, it’s nice to meet you! It’s good to put a face with a name. I see your name in company announcements sometimes and hear people say, ‘Call Quentin!’ regarding the website.” Candy laughed.
    Quentin smiled. “Yeah, ‘Call Quentin’ is said more than I’d like to hear. I’m bombarded with messages about what needs to be added and deleted – you name it. I love it, though. A lot of people don’t understand how much work goes into it.”
    “I bet!” Candy acknowledged.
    “I think what you achieved this year is fantastic, Candy. You’re an innovative thinker. I like that. I’ve always professed that the way to get money is to give money, and you seem to understand that concept completely. The first thing people want to do during a recession is pinch their pennies. That’s the wrong thing to do. This is the time to use what you have and make it grow. Invest in people during hard times, and you’ll see results, as long as they’re the right people. This is the time to buy stock and start that small business. We have an incredible opportunity in the midst of this crisis.” Quentin smiled, then finished off the rest of his beer.
    “I totally agree. I didn’t feel that the Sales & Marketing team was motivated anymore because there wasn’t anything new to put a pulse in their veins. They hadn’t been reasonably compensated either. We needed them to sell in order for us to get out of this, and I’m glad they didn’t make a fool of me!” Candy laughed.
    “No they didn’t – but enough about business. I want to know a little about you.” Quentin leaned in closer. Candy smelled the mild, soapy fragrance of his skin, his musky cologne, and subtle aftershave.
    “Well,” Candy smiled, “what would you like to know?”
    “What do you like to do? What are some of your favorite things? May I take you out for dinner sometime?” Quentin grinned. Candy smiled, then laughed.
    “What?” Quentin smiled, “Too forward?” he asked, his dimples digging deep.
    “No, no. Well – I like to cook. I like to read. I love to travel, so coming here was nice. I’ve never been to Canada before.” Candy crossed her legs and took a sip of her dirty martini.
    “And what about my last question? You probably have a man, right?” Quentin asked, feigning a sad expression. Candy shook her head “no.”
    “No, you don’t have a man or no, you won’t go out with me?” he asked.
    “No, I’m not