Read Werewolves of New York: Nathaniel for Free Online Page A

Chardonnay, one of Michelle’s delicious favorites.
    “We have that by the glass.”
    “Two, please.” Laura turned on her bar stool and crossed her legs. “So, what have you got for me?”
    The women talked about marketing for the boutique at first, but as they were halfway into their first glass they were laughing so much that business was soon forgotten.
    “Yes, you should have seen his face!” Laura mimicked her ex-husband’s reaction, lowering her voice. “ 'Do you know how many clothing stores there are in New York? You might as well throw money into the Hudson !’”
    Michelle laughed, “Once I was dating a guy who told me that because I was a woman, corporations wouldn’t take me seriously! There was no way I’d get anywhere big with my business. Can you believe that? In this day and age? I mean, he’s right that sexism is still alive and well, but as if that ever stopped us!”
    Laura rolled her eyes. “Don’t they know we woman have been fighting for everything we’ve gotten since the dawn of time? Look at Eve! She wasn’t going to just sit in that garden looking pretty. She made a deal with the devil to get what she wanted.”
    Michelle cracked up, shaking her head. “I guess you’re right!”
    “Well, I knew when he told me that, he would never take me seriously and didn’t know who he was married to! You have to find someone who helps you keep your sparkle, and that man wasn’t him.”
    They clinked glasses in a good-riddance toast. “I can’t believe you were already married. I haven’t found the guy yet.”
    “Well, apparently neither have I!” Laura glanced over as a couple of men sat down on barstools to their right. They returned her look, but she wasn’t impressed and gave all her charismatic attention back to Michelle. “Is there anyone in your life?”
    “I met someone last weekend, but…it’s not going to go anywhere. He was a little strange.”
    “Strange good or strange bad?”
    “I’m not sure yet. And now I’ll never know. I don’t even know his last name.” A rueful smile flashed on lips that had lost their lipstick from all her nibbling. “Should we get some food?”
    “I had lunch, but I need a snack.” Laura leaned toward the bartender, catching his eye. “Could you give us a couple menus, please?”
    He reached beside the cash register where plastic folded menus lay waiting. As he brought them to her, he asked, “Another round?” Laura and Michelle exchanged mischievous looks and both nodded at the same time.
    While he got them, Laura shared more of herself easily in a way that Michelle found very refreshing. She was really growing to like this woman and already considered if she and Rose would get along, or if they’d be separate friendships. Mixing people together was like making a good soup, and both women had enough fire to cause a potential explosion. “I married Matthew early, and he wasn’t a bad man, but he just had too many rules set for himself. Those included having a wife who stayed a couple steps behind him. That wasn’t me, but it took me a little while to realize that.”
    “You always knew what you wanted, didn’t you? That you were going to design fashion?”
    A nostalgic smile lit Laura’s face and she shook her head. “No. At first, I thought I might be a housewife. Matthew made good money, but when I thought of having kids with him, it didn’t feel right. And I had this inspiration eating at me that I couldn’t ignore.”
    They thanked the bartender as two new glasses replaced their fingerprinted, empty ones. Michelle waited for him to leave before she asked, “He was competitive with you, then? Is that why he didn’t like the idea of you owning a shop?”
    “At first he thought I couldn’t do it. But then when I got the loan, found manufacturers I could afford to have create the designs, found a graphic designer who created my logo, all the beginning foundation pieces, etc., and it was moving forward, that’s when