"Bob." She nodded, breathing out slowly. Bob could probably claim it as a tax deduction. Although she'd like to see his accountant's face when he presented him bills for women's clothing.
"We'll take them," Zack said to the assistant as he skittered past. "And a pair in red."
"Red? That's a little extravagant isn't it?" Annie said.
He shrugged. "Red shoes look sexy on a woman. I think you should have a pair."
Annie frowned but said nothing as she slipped on her own pair of scuffed black mules.
The assistant looked down his long nose at her and sniffed. "Perhaps you would like to wear your new pair and I could pack those away for you. Or burn them."
She was about to shake her head when Zack answered "Yes." She agreed, but only because the new shoes looked really cute.
Outside, the heat sucked away their breath. No one in their right mind would go traipsing up and down a shopping strip on such a hot day. Annie watched all the mini-skirted girls giggling and pointing at Zack as they passed and decided none of them counted—they definitely weren't in their right minds.
"Zack!" cried a passing woman. She stopped and placed a hand on his arm. Her fingernails had small palm trees painted on them and she wore at least one ring on every finger. She tipped her blonde head and accepted his kiss on her cheek with grace. "Darling, what are you doing here?"
"Shopping."
"I can see that, Darling, but what's come over you? I thought you hated shopping."
"I do. But I've made an exception today." He held up the bag with Annie's new black pair of shoes and her boring old ones. "Annie needed shoes."
If her face glowed, Annie decided that was okay with her. She deserved to bask in the glory of Zack's familiarity, especially in front of yet another blonde with br**sts the size of satellite dishes. It seemed Zack had a thing for surgically enhanced women who resembled their poodles.
"Annie?" The fluffy head turned in her direction and traveled critically from her loosely tied hair to the new red shoes. The woman, age indeterminate, attempted a smile. But it didn't pass the fake test. She couldn't manipulate her rubbery bee-stung lips into anything more than a smirk.
The woman glanced back at Zack and it was obvious she was waiting for an introduction. He didn't give one. "Well," she chirped too sweetly. "I need to keep moving. Shopping to do. Toodles."
Annie waited until they were alone then she turned on him. "Why didn't you introduce me?"
He shrugged. "I couldn't remember her name."
She doubled over with laughter. "If I ever bump into you and you don't introduce me to your companion, I'm going to make you squirm, Zack DiMarco."
He placed his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I'll never forget your name, Annie McCallum."
She froze until he let her go. Something about the affectionate way he kissed her brought up a dim memory, something to do with the night before. She shook her head. She wouldn't worry about that right now. Last night was probably way too embarrassing and best left forgotten. Whereas his action just now was definitely memorable. Her skin where he'd pressed his lips still tingled.
With her strappy red shoes clicking along the sidewalk, she followed Zack into one shop then another. They bought a tight-fitting little black dress, a pair of black hipsters, knee-high boots, two short skirts with death-defying side splits and three tops in assorted colors. Everything was skimpy. And pricey. And the smaller the outfit, the more it cost. Annie shook her head at the prices but Zack didn't blink an eye as he paid for them with plastic—the gold variety. He assured her Bob had promised to reimburse him.
Next they purchased a heavy leather jacket for riding and a lighter, three-quarter length one to wear with her new outfits on cool evenings.
"I'll look like a prostitute with this jacket and those skirts."
"Good. That's exactly the look all the young things are trying to achieve these days."
"I'm nearly thirty!"
"Not until Dug-E leaves town, you're not. I think you could pass for twenty-two."
Great, another blow to her already fragile ego, although the shopping expedition had helped inflate it somewhat. Not only had Zack put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, but when she tried on a pair of tight leather pants, his eyes had glazed over.
"They look great on you," he said huskily as he studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. She blushed and turned around so she couldn't see herself, then realized too late that she was giving him a perfectly good view of her rear end in the mirror. She blushed again and raced into the changing room. The sooner she got the pants off the better.
Obviously Zack liked the sort of women who wore tight leather and skimpy outfits. She never wore them. And when this was over, never would again. He wouldn't want to know her then.
But she bought the pants anyway.
It was five o'clock by the time they finished purchasing makeup and handbags and Annie wished she'd gone with her safe practical shoes instead of the red ones. She ached from her toes to her back. All she wanted to do was flip the shoes off and bathe her feet in a soothing tub.
"Hey, Zack," someone called. Annie groaned. Here we go again.
All day women had stopped him to say hi. Most he introduced her to, others he didn't—at those times she tried not to laugh. Sometimes she was even successful.
This one, a brunette in tight black pants similar to the pair Annie had just bought, rubbed herself up against him.
To his credit, he subtly put some distance between them then placed his arm around Annie's shoulders, pulling her to him. The brunette got the message and moved off, her nose in the air and br**sts thrust forward like weapons.
"You know," said Annie innocently, "giving these women the impression we're dating isn't good for your reputation."
"I know. Nor is it good for my love life."
Now she was intrigued. "So why are you doing it?"
"Pretending you're my girlfriend?" He shrugged. "I'm taking the week off."
She thumped him on the arm and he smiled.
But then his face straightened and he gazed directly ahead. "Don't worry. I'll make sure everyone knows we're not an item."
"Oh," she said, returning to reality with a thud. So that's how it was. She was nobody. That stung, more than she cared to admit. But she should have seen it coming. Of course she was an embarrassment to him considering the women he dated—beautiful and buxom with confidence oozing from every de-toxed pore. She was a mousy bore who never went to parties. No competition. Not even close.