by M. Malone
She mentally cut off that line of thinking. That was Don’s voice in her head telling her that she wasn’t cut out for much else and one of her New Year’s resolutions was to get that critical voice out of her head. Child care was a skill and she did have years of hands-on experience, just not in the field Bennett needed it in.
Damn, he really did need her help, didn’t he? If he couldn’t even update his employee paperwork before hiring someone new, then he hadn’t been kidding about saying his office was a mess. Just metaphorically.
She would have to tell him, she decided as she shoved the paperwork back in the envelope. Katie wasn’t the type who could sleep at night while taking advantage of someone. Although it was hard to believe he’d paid that kind of salary to his prior assistant. He’d described him as a graduate student so it seemed a little unbelievable that a student could command that kind of salary.
Maybe there’s a reason the salary is so high, she thought. He’s probably the boss from hell. Maybe the reason his prior assistant left was because he wanted to escape.
She shook her head. Her crazy imagination was always getting her in trouble. The job hadn’t even really started yet and she was already imagining all the ways it could go wrong. She needed to just give it a chance and approach things with an open mind.
Considering that the alternate was losing her home and her pride, how bad it could it be?
♥
It was a disaster.
Before today, Bennett wouldn't have thought there was that much damage one person could do in his lab. After all, he liked to think he ran a logical operation. Everything was in its place and well-labeled so as to reduce confusion. His prior assistant hadn't experienced any trouble following his written notes.
Katie, it turned out, had no aptitude for science. None.
"Sorry!" she called out as she swept up the pieces of the petri dish she'd dropped.
He'd handed it to her and asked her to transfer the contents to the small aquarium on the east wall. Apparently he was supposed to warn her when a sample contained insects or worms.
"I really am sorry. You work with plants so I guess I should have known there would be at least some creepy crawlies involved. And you'd think I'd be better at this after helping Ri plant so many things. I just wasn't expecting it to look right at me!"
Bennett lifted his head from the paperwork he was filling out. "It looked at you? The worm looked at you?"
She huffed slightly. "Well, it looked like he did."
"He? Earthworms don't have gender, per se. It's actually quite fascinating. Even though they're hermaphroditic, having both male and female sex organs, they usually still need a mate to reproduce—" He stopped talking at the horrified look on her face. "Although I suppose that isn't relevant right now."
"No. Not really." She knelt to position the dustpan to collect the mess. A second later, a soft giggle floated up from the floor. "I can't believe you know about the sex life of earthworms."
Bennett wasn’t exactly sure why that was funny but he was glad she didn’t seem offended by his random aside. He knew that was a particular failing, becoming intrigued by some side point and then losing the thread of the current conversation. Katie seemed to find it amusing rather than annoying at least.
“Well, I’ll make sure to keep any live specimens I’m using away from you from now on.”
Katie leaned the broom against the wall. When she came back, she rolled up her sleeves and reached into the box containing the rest of the soil samples.
“Wait, Katie, you don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I’m your assistant. If looking at earthworms is part of the job then I’ll just have to get used to it. That’s the job, right?” She walked carefully over to the table across the room and placed each sample in a row where he’d indicated they should go earlier. The table was positioned to get only a certain amount of sunlight per day, mimicking the exposure the soil would receive if it was outside. When she got to the last one, Katie let out a soft sigh of relief.
“There. All done.”
“You’re a very hard worker.”
She shrugged. “I was raised to be. My mom was a seamstress and she worked around the clock, especially after my dad died.”
Bennett looked up at that. “I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“Yeah, it was a hard time. My mom loved him so much and for years afterward she just wasn’t the same. It’s almost like he took a piece of her with him when he left. It’s one of the reasons I love visiting your parents. The way they look at each other— that’s how my parents were, too.”
“My parents are pretty special. Not everyone could raise four sons who are as different as we are without making any of them feel like they didn’t belong.”
Katie tilted her head quizzically. “Why would your parents think any of you didn’t belong?”
“Not the others. They’re all the model sons you’d want. Jackson and Nick especially were the popular, good-looking types that everyone else wanted to be like. Eli was more of a loner but he had the bad boy thing down pat.”
“What about you? What was high school Bennett like?”
He couldn’t hold back a soft snort of disgust. “Not that different than current day Bennett, unfortunately.”
Her lips plumped up into a pout. When had she moved closer? Bennett thought.
“You know what? I think high school Bennett must have been pretty awesome. You’re so smart. I wasn’t like that. I mean, you can probably tell.”
Now he was the one who was shocked. Katie was well-liked by everyone and she’d caught on to everything he’d shown her so far. When he was explaining the rationale behind why he tested his fertilizers on so many different soil samples, she’d immediately guessed that it was to mimic the many different soil conditions out there so his product would work anywhere in the world. He’d gone to school with people who wouldn’t have understood that concept without it being explicitly explained.
“You’re very smart, Katie.”
When she didn’t look convinced, he put his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes connected with his and Bennett was moved by how vulnerable she looked.
“I’ve been throwing technical jargon at you all day and you’ve kept up just fine. Other than your, um, interaction with our flirtatious earthworm.”
She smiled then, slow and tremulous, and the sight of it sent a spark of heat that arced straight through Bennett with all the heat of a flaming arrow. He’d noticed that she was pretty the first time he’d met her; he was a man, after all. But her smile took her from merely pretty to knock out stunning.
“Oh, that’s inconvenient,” he whispered.
“Sorry, what?”
Now she looked hurt. Before he could even respond, she stepped back slightly and squared her shoulders. He’d seen her do that before, it appeared to be her way of getting herself together when she felt unsure. Oh god, had he made her uncomfortable by touching her shoulder?
“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better, Bennett. I’m cool with who I am. I wasn’t a straight-A student but I’ve always been great at keeping things organized and keeping up with details. Which is perfect since that’s what you need!”
She finished with a bright smile that didn’t even remotely resemble the first one she’d given him. This one didn’t make her eyes sparkle or bring that slight flush to her cheeks.
It was a surprise to Bennett that he missed seeing the real one already.
“Believe me, I’m not the most tactful person out there. If I didn’t think you were smart, I wouldn’t say it. Hell, I’d have probably already told you the opposite without even meaning to.”
That made Katie laugh and even though it was partially at his expense, he was happy to be the butt of the joke if it took that wounded look out of her eyes.
“You’re blunt, that’s true. But at least you tell the truth. Which reminds me, I meant to tell you that you made a mistake on my employment paperwork.”
She blinked. “Well, yes. You didn’t change the salary number. I figured you’d want to change it to reflect my experience.”
“You’ll be doing the same job so why shouldn’t you be paid the same thing? Once you see how absentminded I really am, you’ll probably feel you’ve earned every penny.”
“Thank you, Bennett. I really appreciate it.”
She sighed again and leaned closer. Suddenly the soft scent of her perfume was in his nose and the only thing Bennett could focus on was how soft her lips looked. She didn’t wear lipstick, just some sort of shiny stuff that made it look like she’d just licked her lips. Then she actually licked her lips and he almost groaned aloud. Was she staring at his mouth? Her breath wafted against his cheek which was shocking enough to bring him back to reality. They were in the middle of the lab and she was likely unaware of the reaction her close proximity was causing.
Also he had an erection. Blushing, he pulled the sides of his lab coat together.
He had to get it together.
“I’m going to go upstairs and change. I think I got some … um, soil on my clothes earlier.”
Her face fell slightly. “Probably when I dropped the petri dish. I’m so sorry about that—”
“It’s fine. Just finish notating in the log which soil sample is in which aquarium. Then you can leave early. We’re done for the day anyway.”
He almost knocked over his stool in his haste to get away from her. She nodded quickly and then turned toward the table with the soil samples but not before he saw the confused look on her face.
Bennett didn’t blame her. He was in charge of his behavior and he didn’t understand it either.
♥
“So, how was your second day?”
Ridley had waited until after dinnertime to call, which was showing considerable restraint for her friend. She’d called on her first day of work too and Katie had managed to get out of the conversation but she wasn’t going to be able to put her off much longer. Ri was tiny but she was unrelenting when she wanted to know something.
Katie scrubbed at the same spot on the counter while trying to think of a tactful way to get out of the conversation. Once she’d gotten home, she’d been focused on getting her kids through homework and dinner. Seeing their sweet faces had calmed her a little bit. Her children were the only pure and real things in her world. Nothing else mattered.
But now talking to Ri was bringing it all back. The embarrassment and then the abject fear that she’d screwed up the best, the only, job she’d been able to find. Plus, it was frustrating to admit to Ri that she’d already screwed up by hitting on her boss.
She immediately thought back to the warm weight of Bennett’s hand on her shoulder and how gorgeous and shapely his lips were. It had been a long time since she’d been on the receiving end of such intense concentration from a man. Even when she and Don had been dating, he’d never made her feel like she was the only thing on his mind. He’d always been slightly distracted, like there were so many more important things he had to get back to.
Bennett had made her feel like, despite all the important things he had going on, he hadn’t wanted to be anywhere but there with her.
Matthew tugged on her sleeve so she balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder so she could lean down to hear him.
“Mommy, can I have a popsicle?”
She nodded and pointed at the freezer drawer. He skipped off happily.
“Sorry, Ri. You know Matthew and his sweet tooth.”
“I don’t blame him. Popsicles were a lifesaver when I had morning sickness.”
“How is Jackson doing?”
Ridley was quiet for a moment. “Ok, what’s going on? The first day you dodged my questions saying it was too early to tell. Now you’re just changing the subject. I guess that means you don’t like working for Bennett.”
Now Katie felt bad. Ri was a meddler but she always had genuinely good intentions. It wasn’t her fault that Katie was a perv who was having dirty fantasies about her boss.
“Oh well, it was probably a long shot anyway. I know he’s a little eccentric.”
Katie frowned. She hadn’t thought Ri would be one of the people who made Bennett feel like an outsider. It was easier now to see what he’d meant. She’d never noticed before how quick people were to label you if you didn’t conform to society’s social norms.
“He’s not eccentric. He’s brilliant and watching him work is fascinating. It’s just a little intimidating.”
“So you like it? That’s great. I’m sure Bennett will teach you anything he needs you to know. He’s such a sweetie so that’s why I was hoping that you guys could help each other out.”
Katie gave up on keeping her cool and let out a sigh as she gave up on cleaning and just leaned against the counter.
“He showed me how he tests his fertilizer and soil. I had no idea what a lot of it meant but he didn’t mind explaining things again when I had questions. He didn’t even get mad when I dropped his earthworm.”
“Wait, his what? Is that a euphemism? Because being as tall as he is I’d expect it to be bigger than that.”
Katie sputtered. “Ridley Alexander, I’m surprised at you!”
“No, you’re not.”
“Okay, no I’m not. But I’m talking about the earthworms he uses in the soil samples. He wasn’t angry that I was a little squeamish about them. He even offered to do that part himself. That was really nice of him.”
“Sounds like you like him.”
“I—I almost kissed him today.”
“Whaaaat? When did this happen? Tell me everything!”
Katie laughed at Ri’s excited squeal. It reminded her of when she was in high school and would stay up late whispering on the phone with her girlfriends after their parents had gone to bed.
“It was a total mistake. He looked horrified and made an excuse about needing to change.”
Katie cringed, remembering how quickly he’d run off. She wasn’t even sure how that had happened. They’d been talking and then suddenly she’d found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. She’d probably scared the poor man with her intensity.
“I’m sure he wasn’t horrified,” Ridley protested. “Maybe just a little surprised. Bennett has always been shy.”
Right. He was shy and she’d almost climbed him like a tree right in the middle of a workday. Katie sighed.
“He’s just really handsome. I’ve always thought so.”
“Is that right?” Ridley said.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t know that. You’ve been dying to find a way to push us together. You aren’t fooling anyone, Ri!”
Ridley harrumphed. “Everyone talks down on my meddling but the way I see it, I’m two for two so far on putting people together with their perfect match. I’d go so far as to say I have a gift.”
The thought of being a perfect match with Bennett made Katie lightheaded. He was so … she couldn’t even categorize him. He was more than just his achievements, despite what he thought. Even though he didn’t socialize much, he was actually funny in a wry, understated sort of way. Sure, he tended to just blurt things out but he was a man who felt things deeply. She’d seen that when she’d told him about her father’s death.
“I don’t think we’re a perfect match, Ridley.”
Suddenly Katie was angry at herself for indulging in girl talk. This was how she always got herself in trouble, spinning romantic fantasies around everything. That was fine in the past when she was too young to know better but she was a grown woman now with very serious responsibilities.
“He’s just a nice guy and I’m just a nice girl who really needs this job. Hopefully he won’t fire me for inappropriate behavior.”
After reassuring Ridley that she was fine, she got off the phone so she could start the long process of supervising the boys’ b
ath and bedtime ritual. By the time she took a shower and climbed into bed herself, she felt like she’d just run a gauntlet.
That was when she noticed the red flag on her phone. She had a voicemail message.
Katie sat up, immediately curious. No one ever left her voicemails anymore. Everyone just texted these days. She hit the button and crossed her fingers it wouldn’t ask her for a password since she didn’t even know what it was anymore.
Katie, it’s Bennett. Can you bring groceries when you come in tomorrow? The standard restock list is on the shared drive. The instructions to access it remotely are in the employee policies and procedures packet. Thanks.
Once the message ended, Katie played it again, not even fooling herself that she needed to hear the information again. No, she was just shamelessly enjoying the deep rumble of his voice. Because that was exactly what she needed to hear right before going to bed alone.
He didn’t sound angry about the almost kiss at all. In fact, from the sound of his message he apparently hadn’t even noticed that she’d been insanely attracted to him.
Disgusted with herself, Katie turned the light off and then punched her pillow until it was the shape she liked. It had taken a while for her to adjust to sleeping alone and while she wasn’t waking up in the middle of the night anymore, it was still strange to sleep all alone in the king-sized bed Don had insisted on. She blew out a breath and then flopped over to stare at the ceiling.
Sixty seconds later, she grabbed her phone and played the voicemail message again.
CHAPTER SIX
♥
Something was up.
Katie finished organizing the mail that had come in the prior day and wiped down the stainless steel table that Bennett had just finished working on. He hadn’t asked her to assist this time and she thought it was really sweet that he was taking the effort to try not to give her anything that would scare her.