Larger Than Lyfe by Cynthia Diane Thornton Page B

minutes later, Terrence buzzed Keshari back.
    “Keshari, I’ve got Mars Buchanan on the line.”
    “Thanks, T. Put him through.”
    “Well, hello, Keshari Mitchell. What can I do for you?”
    “Good morning, Mr. Buchanan. I received your flowers. They’re beautiful. Thank you. But you really didn’t have to do that.”
    “It was the least that I could do to compensate for our initial meeting…and since you liked the flowers enough to call and thank me for them yourself, perhaps I can persuade you to have dinner with me…tonight.”
    Keshari was already backpedaling away fast from her impulsive notion to call him.
    “I don’t think that that would be a good idea,” she said.
    “I strongly disagree…unless you’re married or otherwise involved. Are you married or otherwise involved?”
    “I don’t think that my personal life is any of your concern, Mr. Buchanan.”
    “Please…call me ‘Mars.’ ‘Mr. Buchanan’ is my father. Is seven o’clock a good time to pick you up? And would you prefer if I pick you up at your home or at your office?”
    Keshari laughed. “Mr. Buchanan…Mars…random drug testing of the legal counsel over at ASCAP might not be a bad idea. But, on a serious note, I really don’t think that it would be a good idea for the two of us to go out. I only called to thank you for the beautiful flowers that were delivered this morning.”
    “Why don’t you think that it would be a good idea for me to take you out?” Mars asked. “I’m a good guy.”
    “I’m sure you are.” Keshari smiled. “I just have a lot on my plate, that’s all, and I hardly have the time for any…entanglements.”
    “I expected that you would have a full plate, Keshari, but even the most powerful people have to set aside little blocks of personal time to eat. Look, I met…by accident…an extraordinarily beautiful woman last night and I want to get to know her better and, just for a split second, I saw a little glint of something in your eyes, felt a tiny bit of chemistry, giving me the impression that you might like to get to know me, too. You and I both know that you didn’t call my office just so you could thank me personally for the flowers I sent to you. Your assistant could have left that ‘thank you’ with my secretary or mailed me one of those generic ‘thank you’ cards and we both could have gone on with our respective days without a moment’s direct contact. So, stop fronting. You like me. Admit it.”
    Keshari smiled to herself. She had to admit that she was both intrigued and amused by the relentless and extremely attractive attorney.
    “You really don’t give up, do you?”
    “Not when it counts,” Mars answered. “Come on. Have dinner with me tonight. If we don’t click…which, in my belief, is highlyimprobable…you will never have to be bothered with my presence again. My word is bond.”

    Keshari didn’t say anything.
    “HEL-LO?!” Mars said, loud enough to cause Keshari to hold the telephone receiver away from her ear. “Give me an answer. I feel pretty damned certain that you’ve closed major business deals in less time than this.”
    Keshari laughed. It felt good to laugh like that.
    “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll have dinner with you tonight.”
    She could feel Mars smiling triumphantly through the telephone.
    “So, how are we gonna do this?” she asked. “I’m really not in the mood to do the…you know…the ‘public’ thing. I’ve had a tremendously busy week…plus the party last night…and I’d just like to kick back and relax. Why don’t you drive up to my house and I’ll have my cook put something together for us?”
    “Nah, tell you what,” Mars said. “If you don’t want me to take you out for dinner, why don’t you come to my apartment and I’ll cook for the two of us?”
    “Oh, you cook, do you?” Keshari asked, impressed.
    “I dabble a bit,” Mars answered.
    “That settles that, then. We’ll have dinner at your place. I have