Going Nowhere (A Romantic Comedy Novella) Read Online Free Page A

with you! No way am I missing this. I don’t have anything to do without Sam being here, anyway.”
    “Do you have all the details of his cruise?”
    She nodded and starting typing. “It’s all right here.”
    I read the screen from over her shoulder. “Seven-day Eastern Caribbean. This is going to be fun. It’s not sold out, is it?”
    “Doesn’t look like it,” April replied, with a flick of one tennis bracelet-covered wrist. “Write down your credit card number and I’ll book it.”
    Taking a deep breath, I did as she asked. Too much online shopping meant I had my MasterCard number memorized, including the expiration date and security code. After I handed her the paper, I turned away. “I have to get back to my desk.”
    I heard her typing away. “This is going to be great.”
    I sure hoped so. I wished I could be as optimistic as she was, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that I was taking matters into my own hands. Instead of waiting for the partners to decide my fate while I sat quietly with my fingers crossed, I was going to try something.
    If nothing else, it was better than nothing.

    When the morning of the cruise finally arrived, April picked me up and, for once, she was on time. I heaved my two suitcases into the trunk of her BMW as soon as she pulled up. With all the occasions I had to be prepared for, it was a miracle I’d been able to pack so lightly. There were casual clothes, pool clothes, formal night clothes, and all the uncomfortable “sexy” clothes that squeezed me in the right places so that I looked good but could no longer breathe.
    I slid into the passenger seat and smiled. “Well, here goes nothing.”
    April peered at me from above a pair of silver Chanel sunglasses. “You need to work on your enthusiasm.”
    “You’re right. That is another one of my flaws.” I looked out my window at the storefronts we drove past on Alton Road on our way to the Port of Miami. “Enthusiasm: check.”
    April turned onto Fifth Street and made her way west, toward Macarthur Causeway. “Fake it ’til you make it.”
    “I feel like a new woman. I feel like I can accomplish anything.”
    “You’re welcome.” April changed gears so roughly that I thought she might break the damn thing off.
    I bit my tongue, trying not to say anything. “You can’t take all the credit.”
    “True. Going on this cruise was your idea. You’ve got balls, that’s for sure.”
    The smile disappeared from my face. “Why? Do you think I’m crazy for even attempting this?”
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    “I’m practically stalking him, aren’t I? What if the first time I run into him, he tells me to go away and leave him alone? What then?”
    April patted my rapidly quivering hand, which unfortunately required her to remove one hand from the steering wheel. “Sam doesn’t have a girlfriend, and have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re a hot chick.”
    The smile returned. “Only in a funhouse mirror.”
    April rolled her eyes while turning a sharp corner. “Did you take my other advice?”
    A vein in my forehead started to pulse as we almost took out a mailbox. “Do you think you could you slow down a bit before you start running down pedestrians?”
    With a scornful look on her face, April slowed down. A bit.
    I rolled down the window, hoping the cool bay air would combat my nausea. “Yes, I took your advice. Most of the stuff I packed is cleavage-baring.”
    She nodded and lit up a cigarette. “Good. And you also have me as your secret weapon. I can come up with all sorts of excuses to see Sam. Actually, when I told him I’d be on the same cruise, he acted like I’d still be around to fetch him things.”
    “Don’t play, April. I remember the time the CIO tried to steal you away to be his assistant and you turned him down. I think you appreciate Sam’s quirks.”
    “Don’t think so.” April tapped the ashes from her cigarette into the ashtray on the console. She