Portrait of Love

by Debby Mayne

  “How about the places where you love to shop?” Mandy said.

  “I’m not so sure about mixing business with pleasure.”

  Mandy couldn’t help but laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with selling what you love.”

  Christina’s eyes lit up, and a wide smile broadened her face. “I’ll start with that electronics store!”

  “You might want to—”

  “It’s perfect, Mandy! I’ll walk up to that cute, geeky guy and ask if he’s the manager.”

  “But he’s—”

  Christina held up her hand. “Don’t tell me anything about him. I don’t want to lie.”

  Mandy settled back in her chair. She might as well accept Christina’s scheme, so she smiled back. “Okay, so start there, but don’t limit yourself.”

  “Oh, trust me, I won’t.” A smile played on Christina’s lips. “Ideas are popping into my head all over the place. This job search thing might be fun.”

  “Whatever you’re up to, remember that your main goal is to find employment.” Mandy paused and gave her sister a serious look. “Not a man.”

  “Well, that’s all fine and good, but if the Lord gives me an opportunity to meet a man, who am I to turn Him down?”

  “Since you put it that way, you’re right.” Mandy opened her hand. “Mind if I take a look at your new résumé?”

  Christina opened the envelope and pulled out a stark white sheet of paper with bulleted lists, just as Mandy had told her to do. “I still don’t understand why I shouldn’t use fragranced pink paper.”

  Mandy studied the new résumé and was impressed. “Very nice. You did everything I recommended.”

  “I’m not stupid,” Christina said. “I might be better than you with fashion, but you have it all over me in the business department.”

  “If you keep this up”—Mandy thumped the paper—“you’ll be a business whiz, too.”

  Christina’s eyes crinkled as she grinned. “Thanks, sis.”

  Mandy knew the Lord was working in their lives, but she wasn’t sure what He was doing. She watched Christina put the résumé back in the folder. As flighty as her sister seemed, there actually was some depth to her. The biggest problem was that no one ever expected much from her. Or maybe that was a good thing.

  ❧

  Tony heard the buzzer on the door, so he hopped out of his chair and left the manager’s office. It was Brent, the guy he’d met the day before when he stopped by the electronics store across the street for a new phone charger.

  “Hey! How’s the new job?” Brent asked.

  “It’s going great.” Tony leaned against the counter. “What can I help you with?”

  Brent pointed toward the street. “Who was that hot-looking girl I saw Mandy leave with?”

  “Her sister, Christina,” Tony replied. “I thought you were interested in Mandy.”

  “I was, but now that I’ve seen her sister, I think I’m in love.”

  “With Christina?”

  Brent snickered. “Yeah. Think you can arrange for us to meet?”

  Tony barely knew Brent, and he was fairly certain that Christina was a Christian. He didn’t want to participate in anything that might backfire. “Why don’t you talk to Mandy?”

  “That would be weird. I’ve been trying to get a date with her for months, so she might not understand.”

  “Yeah, that could be awkward.” Tony fought the urge to ask Brent why he’d change his mind, since Mandy was just as pretty and obviously an amazing woman. He spotted the sisters slowing down in front of the electronics store. Mandy said something then waved as Christina entered the store. “Don’t look now, but I think you have a customer.”

  “That’s okay. Matt’s there.”

  “So is Christina,” Tony said. “And Mandy’s on her way here.”

  Brent shuffled around in time to face Mandy as she entered the studio. “Hi there, gorgeous!”

  Mandy’s face reddened. “Uh, hi, Brent.”

  “Gotta run,” he said. “Can’t keep the customers waiting.”

  After he left, Tony pondered how much to tell Mandy. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to lay it all on the line. “Brent came here to ask about Christina. He wants to meet her.”

  Mandy smiled. “Christina thinks he’s cute, so this should be interesting.”

  “Not to be nosy, but what do you know about Brent? Do you think he’s a decent guy?”

  “I think so—just a little unpolished and slightly annoying, maybe, but he’s sweet and harmless.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t want Christina to get herself in a bad position with someone.”

  Mandy tilted her head and gave him an odd look he couldn’t decipher. “Why would you be so concerned about my sister?”

  Tony couldn’t answer that—even to himself. He was the manager of Small World, not a bodyguard. He couldn’t let on how he felt about Mandy so quickly, or she’d think he was taking advantage of his position.

  “I just like to see men respect women, that’s all,” he said.

  She narrowed her gaze to study him, then she nodded. “Okay, sounds honorable. I need to set up for the next appointment.” With that, she disappeared around the wall separating the lobby from the back, leaving him alone, pondering what was happening.

  From the moment he first laid eyes on Mandy Pruitt, he couldn’t help but notice the combination of beauty, grace, professionalism—and skepticism toward him, which he found intriguing. Some of the resentment for having to take a job at studio level subsided as he got to know Mandy. The reaction to Christina’s presence by Brent and a couple of other men who worked in surrounding stores had amazed him. They were all in awe of Christina, overlooking the sister Tony found more attractive.

  Tony shook himself. He needed a swift kick to the back-side for even thinking thoughts like that. Mandy was his employee, and he had no business thinking of her in such an unprofessional way.

  He had to leave soon, so he made sure Mandy had what she needed. She barely glanced at him when she nodded.

  “You know I’ll be fine.”

  “Sorry if I insulted you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  Except his heart that wouldn’t slow down when she met his gaze. He looked away. “Good. I’ll have my cell phone on vibrate, so if you need me—”

  “I doubt if I’ll need you. Go on, or you’ll be late.”

  Rather than argue anymore, he took off toward the parking lot. He’d barely gotten past the electronics store when he heard his name. He spun around to see Christina running to catch up.

  “Did you meet Brent?” he asked.

  She tossed her hair over one shoulder. “Yes. So how’s everything going back at Small World?”

  “Great. Your sister is a dynamo at running the place single-handedly.”

  “She has experience.” Her tone instantly changed.

  “Does she. . .” He caught himself before asking a personal question about Mandy.

  Christina laughed. “Does she what?”

  “Never mind.” Tony slowed down, and Christina glanced at him before meeting his stride. “Are you upset about some-thing?” he asked.

  “No,” she said quickly. “But I have to admit, my sister deserves to be the manager.”

  “We have other plans for her future.”

  “Other plans?” she said with sarcasm. “They better be good ones, or I’m sure another company will snatch her right up.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” He certainly didn’t want to lose Mandy.

  “Good.” She laughed. “Fortunately for you, Mandy doesn’t hold grudges like I do. She says I need to move on and not let other people get me down, but I can’t help it, no matter how much I pray about it.” When she stopped talking, he glanced over at her in time to see her chew on her bottom lip. She blinked before looking back at him, then smiled. “You’re a Christian, right?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I have been all my life.”

  “Us, too. Our parents said the
y couldn’t always give us the things we wanted, but they fed us, made sure we had plenty of love, and took us to church every Sunday.”

  He wanted to ask more questions about Mandy, but this didn’t seem like the right time. “Your family sounds quite a bit like mine,” he said as they reached the parking lot. “I gotta run, but maybe we can resume this conversation at another time, okay?”

  She nodded. “Don’t tell my sister I blabbed so much. She hates when I can’t keep my mouth shut.”

  That was a good thing to know for the future—in case he couldn’t find out about Mandy on his own. He offered what he hoped was a reassuring grin. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  ❧

  The rest of the afternoon and evening were busy beyond any-thing Mandy had ever experienced. She had one appointment after another—a couple of them even overlapping. Fortunately, she’d juggled a busy schedule long enough to not get rattled.

  After her last client left, and she was closing out the register for the night, Brent walked in. “You sure have been slammed,” he said. “I kept waiting for things to lighten up over here to talk to you.”

  She wished he’d waited until tomorrow, but she didn’t want to be rude. “So what can I help you with, Brent?”

  “Oh, nothing,” he began as he glanced around the room before turning back to face her. “Okay, I might as well come clean. I met Christina today, and I’d like to get to know her better. I thought you might give me some helpful hints.”

  “Just be yourself, and you’ll do fine.”

  “You sure that’ll work? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the smoothest guy in town.”

  “There are other, more important things than being smooth,” Mandy said. “If being yourself doesn’t work, then it’s not meant to be.”

  “Are you almost ready to leave?” he asked. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “Sure, let me finish here and I can go.”

  As they walked out together, he asked some questions about her sister. Mandy explained that Christina was looking for a job.

  “Yeah, she told me. We have a full staff, so I wasn’t much help. However, Tony said he was hoping to add some people to Small World. Is there a nepotism policy with your company?”

  “I doubt it, but I’m not so sure she’d want to work with me.” They stopped when they got to her car.

  “So will you put in a good word for me?” he asked.

  “Even better than that, why don’t you call her?” Mandy suggested. Brent was nice enough—just not someone Mandy would be interested in. Her sister, on the other hand, seemed smitten.

  “If you’re sure she won’t mind.”

  Mandy dug in her purse for paper and a pen. She jotted down her parents’ house line number and handed it to him. “My mom or sister will probably answer.”

  He took the paper, folded it, and stuck it in his pocket. “Thanks, Mandy. You sure are being understanding about things.”

  “What do you mean, Brent?”

  “You know, after it didn’t work out between you and me.”

  six

  “Between you and me?”

  He nodded. “We were just starting to get to know each other, but when Christina came into the picture, that was it for me.”

  Mandy had to squelch a giggle. Mandy had never been attracted to Brent, so if he liked Christina, that was a good thing—and a relief.

  Well, wasn’t it? Protectiveness toward her sister overtook the relief.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

  “Ya know, Brent, I don’t really know that much about you. Do you go to church?”

  He shuffled his feet and looked down at them before meeting her gaze. “I used to, back when I was a kid, but I have to admit, I haven’t been in a while.”

  “My family is committed to our faith,” Mandy said. “Christina might not agree, but I think one of the reasons she came back to West Virginia was to reconnect to family and get her Christian bearings again.”

  “Wow.” Brent looked happier than she expected. “She’s not only a looker, she’s a nice Christian girl! I hit the jackpot with this one.”

  The guy was clearly missing something. “How do you figure that?”

  “Look at her,” he said. “Maybe it’s hard for you to see this since you’re her sister, but she’s gorgeous. The problem with that, though, is the pretty girls aren’t always the ones you want meeting your family.” He paused and gave her a conspiratorial look. “Know what I mean?”

  “I think so.” She forced herself to suppress a groan at his assumptions.

  “She’s smart, too.”

  Mandy was surprised at that last comment. She agreed that Christina was smart, but not only did she not often show it, most people couldn’t get past the pretty face.

  “Just remember that my sister is still trying to find herself, but she’s not going to do anything to compromise her Christian faith.”

  Brent held up his hands and gave her a serious expression. “Oh, I wouldn’t ever ask her to do that. By the way, where does your family go to church?”

  She told him the name and location. After they parted ways, she laughed. Looked like their church was about to experience some sudden exponential growth.

  The next morning, Tony frowned at her as she approached the studio door. “You weren’t scheduled until noon,” he said.

  She was so used to opening every day, she forgot to check the schedule. “Oops.” Stopping in her tracks, she tried to figure out what to do now.

  Tony’s frown turned to a sympathetic smile. “Look, I have some stuff to do. If you’d like to swap mornings, I’m fine with it.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Not at all. In fact, having you here now makes my life a lot easier.”

  “What day do you want me to come late?”

  He glanced over the schedule then looked up. “How about tomorrow? My sister and her kids are coming to town in the morning, so if you work later tomorrow, I’ll be able to spend some time with them.”

  The fact that he was a family guy made him likable, but she tried to stifle the thought. But she had to admit, her first negative internal reaction to him was long gone by now.

  “How many children does your sister have?”

  “Two,” he replied. “A girl and a boy—both in elementary school. Any ideas for activities they might like?”

  She thought for a moment then remembered where some of her clients took their kids. “How about the Children’s Museum?”

  “Where is it?”

  After giving him the address, she added, “It’s small, but our customers seem to enjoy it.”

  “Thanks, Mandy. You really are special. I can’t imagine this place without you.”

  “Thanks, Tony.”

  “You’re good at everything—with kids, keeping this place running, your sister—everything.”

  “Not everything.”

  “Everything that matters.” Tony reached out and lightly touched her arm then pulled back as though he thought he’d made a mistake. Then he put away what he’d been working on and walked toward the door as he cleared his throat. “I’ll have my cell phone on, so if you need anything, just call.”

  Mandy swallowed hard and nodded. She bit back the automatic response that she’d been handling everything just fine without him.

  “Oh, Mandy, before I forget, I wanted to talk to you about some things that came up during the management con-ference call. We need to schedule a meeting—like when we’re slow around here, or I can bring in a part-timer to handle the front desk. There’s a lot of information that I think pertains to you.”

  She couldn’t imagine what, since she’d been overlooked as manager. Unless. . . Uh-oh. “There is?”

  He nodded. “Yes, and I think you’ll like it.” Tony pulled on his jacket. “We’ll discuss all that later. If I’m going to get this stuff done and be back so you can leave early, I gotta run.”

  “That’s
okay. You don’t have to—”

  “One of the things we talked about was working too much. We want you to take some time off.”

  “Oh.” Mandy lowered her head.

  “See ya.”

  After he left, she rested her elbows on the counter and buried her face in her hands. Tony’s take-charge personality left her feeling out of sorts.

  The phone rang several times, one of the calls being her mother. “Have you thought about a place where Christina can work?”

  “Mom, I know this is important to you and Dad, but give her some time, okay?”

  “She listens to you,” her mother said.

  Mandy disagreed, but this wasn’t the time or place to argue. “I’ll keep my eyes open, but if you really want to help her, maybe you can advise her to call a temp agency to line her up with a temp-to-perm job.”

  After she hung up, Mandy finished organizing the files. She only had one photo session before Tony returned. He brought lunch.

  “I thought that since we were slow, we could talk today. We can use the front office, and I’ll leave the door open so we can see if anyone comes in.”

  Right when they sat down, a woman walked in with a pair of toddlers. Mandy jumped up and headed straight for the desk, with Tony right behind her. Tony offered to work the camera, but Mandy insisted she could handle it.

  “What if I promise to keep my hands off the props?” he whispered.

  “And candy?” she countered with a playful grin.

  “That, too.”

  “Well. . .” She glanced around, pretending to ponder, then directed her gaze at him. The second their eyes met, her insides lurched, and she wished she hadn’t looked at Tony. “Um, sure, that’s fine.”

  An hour later, when she was finished, she went to the front desk and pulled up the company order forms on the computer. A message popped up, alerting her that the page no longer existed. She marched straight to Tony’s office.

  Tony was on the phone. “Sure, I’ll do that. . .yes, that’s right.” He glanced up and pointed to the chair across from him. When she didn’t sit, he frowned but glanced away. He wrapped up his conversation in less than a minute then looked back at Mandy. “What’s up?”

  “I just tried to order some supplies, but the company order form is no longer there.”