Ken restrained a whistle. "It's a good thing everything else is off my plate. I can see some late nights with this baby until I'm up to speed." Then he remembered what he had just been thinking, about Allistair, sabotage and spying, and warned Jo.
"That occurred to me," she said, nodding. "It's too bad you're too nice a guy to grab every chance you can to zap him."
"Thanks. At least, I think that was a compliment."
The music of Jo's laughter remained in the office for the rest of the afternoon. Ken didn't care if it was sappy to be so glad that she thought he was a nice guy.
* * * *
Mrs. Myerhausen came into the office half an hour before her husband expected her, at the end of the day. She was struggling with a dozen shopping bags. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and her eyes sparkled with mischief that matched the snowflakes gleaming on her scarlet beret.
Jo leaped up from her desk and hurried to take most of the bags from her.
"Oh, thank you, dear. Is the old bear in his den?" She winked as she settled down into the closest reception chair.
"Out doing his afternoon walkthrough, right on schedule. Where does all this go?" Jo hefted the bags.
"Any place you can hide them." She fanned herself, overheated from her shopping expedition. "He's like a little boy, when it comes to Christmas. I buy twice as many presents as he deserves, just so he'll have something to open on Christmas day that he hasn't already gotten into. He'll drive himself mad, trying to find where I hid his presents at home." Mrs. Myerhausen giggled like a teen. "And all the while, they'll be here, right under his nose. You're a positive genius, dear, suggesting I hide them here."
"My Aunt Myrtle was the same way," Jo said. She blinked rapidly to fight the threat of tears. After eight months, it still hurt to think about her dead aunt. "I worked midnight shift dispatch for a towing service, and my boss let me hide her presents at work. She was so thrilled that I finally outwitted her, she didn't care that they smelled like a garage."
She crossed the office to a wide wall of filing cabinets, all dark wood to match the office décor. Jo had explored the room top to bottom her first two days there, just to figure out where everything was. Nearly two-thirds of the filing cabinets were empty. Her new friends gleefully informed her of all the evil deeds of Felicia-the-unlamented, and speculated that she had destroyed records to protect herself. That didn't matter right now to Jo, except that she had lots of space to offer Mrs. Myerhausen.
Her employer's wife chattered about the shopping and the weather, and how different shopping was when she was a child. Back before the super malls and shopping strips, it was a grand event to go Downtown Cleveland and spend the day at the major department stores. Mrs. Myerhausen's mother and aunts and cousins all dressed up with fancy hats and sturdy shoes. They took the Rapid into the Terminal Tower, enjoyed the window displays at the May Company and got lunch at the soda fountain at Woolworth's. If there was time, they took a trolley car down Euclid Avenue to see the grand, beautiful houses of Millionaire's Row.
Jo listened and asked questions and packed away the store-wrapped presents as quickly as she could. Mr. Myerhausen was no fool, and if he couldn't find his presents at home, only two weeks before Christmas, then he would know his wife was up to something. If he came into his office and things didn't look quite right, he might suspect her of hiding presents there, because he had encouraged her and Jo to become friends.
She paused a moment to knuckle the tears from her eyes. After feeling alone and helpless for so long, buried under Aunt Myrtle's bills, it was still a bit overwhelming to have double the salary, and to be treated like a niece by her boss's wife. All because Angela had teased her into coming out to help decorate the tree, and because Ken had heard her wish for a new job.
Angela, Diane and Holly at Divine's had been her only real friends, but Ken was becoming--what was he becoming? Jo wasn't quite sure, but she prayed there wasn't anything in the company rules against it. After all, she wasn't anything like Felicia, and he wasn't anything like Allistair, right?
"Something on your mind, dear?" Mrs. Myerhausen asked, when Jo shoved the last drawer closed and turned around, dusting her hands off against each other.
"Me?"
"You looked a little distracted when I first came in. I don't like seeing that frown on your pretty young face. Is the old bear giving you too much work to do?"
"Oh, no, not that." Jo laughed. It was too easy to spill the whole story, from Ken coming in for the meeting to Allistair blowing a gasket after the two of them came back from lunch.
"That one isn't going to get away with his dirt for much longer, let me tell you." She nodded for emphasis. "Take a piece of advice, dear. Business or sports or playing soldier, it all boils down to the same thing with most men. A chance to pound their chests and make a lot of noise in the hopes of impressing each other. And their women, of course. Arthur knows exactly what that Somerville brat is up to. That's why he didn't give the vice presidency to Ken this summer. Flagstaff was in the works, but very hush-hush. Arthur hated hurting Ken, because that boy deserves a promotion ten times over, after everything he's done for this company. But if he promoted Ken back then, that Somerville brat would have been next in line when it came time to start work on Flagstaff."
"It's like keeping your best player on the bench until the big push during the last three innings," Jo muttered. She wondered if she could or even should tell Ken what Mrs. Myerhausen had said. After all, it wasn't as if he had whined to her about Allistair stealing his promotion, or gloated that he finally got rewarded.
"You like him, don't you?" Mrs. Myerhausen laughed when Jo couldn't answer right away, startled by the question. "Arthur said Ken asked you to the Christmas party. I'm so glad. You do have a good pair of dancing shoes, don't you?"
"I don't know how to dance." Jo blushed, hating to admit that lack. There had never been time to learn to dance, or the pretty clothes to let her go out dancing.
"Well, let's hope Ken does. As long as he knows what he's doing, you have nothing to worry about. Except for finding the mistletoe, of course." Mrs. Myerhausen's mischievous little giggle put all sorts of ideas into Jo's head.
* * * *
Ken braced himself for some nasty, last minute interception from Allistair at the end of the day. He stowed all the paperwork Jo had given him on Flagstaff and followed his own advice, keeping all the files related to the project on disks instead of saving it on his computer. He put everything Jo had given him into his briefcase, to take home for safekeeping. It was too bad he had to resort to such tactics to protect his job and the company. He was glad Mr. Myerhausen seemed aware of the nasty little tricks and political games being played, but why didn't the company's owner do something about it?
"Not your problem," he told himself as he reached to turn off his computer.
His gaze landed on a few crumpled pieces of paper in his wastebasket. He had scribbled some ideas for Flagstaff while he read through the dossier. It was a given Allistair had a spy in Maintenance, who would probably sift through his wastebasket tonight. Sighing, he retrieved the papers, flattened them, and pulled the small portable shredder out of the bottom drawer of his desk.
He left the drawer open as he settled the shredder on top of the wastebasket and made sure all the Flagstaff notes were destroyed. His gaze landed on the photo frame lying face down in the drawer, and for a moment his mind blanked. What had he put that in there for? Then he pulled the frame out and turned it over, and realized it was a picture of Brittney. The first photo she gave him. How had he ever deluded himself into thinking that bundle of sticks in designer clothes was beautiful?
Maurice popped in amid a shower of silver sparks and settled on his shoulder while he puzzled over that period of stupidity in his life.
"What are you doing with that still hanging around, buddy?" Maurice asked.
Ken put the frame face down on his desk and pried the back off. It was a matter of moments to slip Brittney's ph
oto in the shredder.
"He shoots and scores!" Maurice turned somersaults through the air while Ken unplugged the shredder and put it back in the drawer.
The photo frame went into his briefcase. He considered getting a photo of Jo with him at the company Christmas party, to put in the frame. The more he turned the idea over in his mind while he put on his coat and locked the office door behind him, the more he liked it.
Unfortunately, friendship between him and Jo would be seen as a conspiracy to deny Allistair more power. That meant Ken would have to look after Jo as well as covering his own back. He didn't doubt Allistair would keep trying to rope Jo into helping him as Felicia had done. The question was whether Allistair would pretend to be repentant and charm her, or try to scare Jo into cooperating. Or maybe even drive her into quitting her job.
"Hey, maybe you should make sure Jo gets out of the building okay?" Maurice asked as he landed on Ken's shoulder.
Ken remembered Jo didn't drive. Over lunch, she had told him about a funny incident on the bus ride home yesterday. The walk to the bus stop left her vulnerable. Ken didn't think Allistair would physically attack her, but there were dozens of subtle ways to hurt her.
Or seduce her.
He felt sick at the thought of Allistair or one of his suave, well-dressed friends making friends with Jo for the sake of getting that inside track in the company. Jo seemed like a common-sense type of girl, but she hadn't been in the company long enough to know how to protect herself.
"Not her job," Ken muttered, and strode down the hall, heading toward Myerhausen's office. With every step he took, he prayed Jo had left for her bus already. He should have checked the bus schedule. He should have offered to drive her home.
"If you call lunch all business, then you can get away with asking Jo out tonight," Maurice said cheerfully. "But be careful, don't make her think you're too eager. Girls like to think they're the ones doing the chasing." He grinned and patted Ken's shoulder before leaping up into the air. "Have fun, buddy." Then he vanished in another shower of sparks.
Allistair stood in the hallway, filling the doorway of Myerhausen's office so that anyone who tried to get past him would have to squeeze up against him.
"This is really something that can wait until tomorrow," Jo said, as Ken got close enough to look past Allistair.
She stood in the office, coat on, a large canvas bag over her shoulder, snow boots on her feet, arms crossed, five feet away from Allistair. Ken silently applauded her for being smart enough to stay out of Allistair's reach.
"Now is that any way to treat a fellow worker? If I don't get that job done for the old man first thing in the morning, it could affect three different departments. Domino effect, you know?"
Allistair was using his I'm just one of the gang, let's be reasonable voice. It had stopped fooling Ken when they were in junior high.
"Could get the old man really upset. Don't want to do that to him this close to Christmas. Especially when you haven't been here long enough to earn that Christmas bonus the rest of us are looking forward to. I hear you really need it, too."
Jo's impassive face twitched, just long enough for Ken to see dismay and a little fear. Anger predominated. He was glad to see that, even as he understood the implications of Allistair's words.
Allistair had researched Jo and knew her financial situation. He had three underlings to foist work onto and blame if something wasn't done on time. The only reason Ken could see for Allistair showing so much concern now, at the end of the day, was to inconvenience Jo.
"My day is over. You should have thought of your report an hour ago," Jo said. "Which makes me think you're deliberately keeping me from leaving on time."
"Can't blame a guy for wanting to spend a little time with the new girl, can you?" Allistair took a step into the office.
"After your little performance, what makes you think I'd want to spend any time in your company?"
"Hey, we're all one big happy family at Myerhausen. I just wanted to make up for coming down so hard on you. You aren't to blame at all, sweetheart."
Jo's chin went up and her mouth flattened into a hard line.
Ken silently cheered.
"No, see, the guy to blame is Ken. He comes across as a good old boy, harmless, but he can get really nasty. He's a player. I don't want to see him playing you for a fool. I like you."
"Only because you know Mr. Myerhausen likes me." Jo gestured at the door. "Now, are you going to get out of my way, or do I have to call security?"
"Come on, sweetheart. How are you going to explain the big fuss, when all I want to do is talk?"
"I'm going to miss my bus."
"I'll drive you home."
Allistair's maneuvering gave Ken an idea. He backed up about ten steps and came down the hall again, making his steps loud. He pretended surprise when he came to the doorway and found Allistair there, looking over his shoulder.
"Jo, sorry I'm late. I bet you thought I forgot I was giving you a ride home tonight." Ken gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "There's a big storm in the forecast. Wouldn't want you to get caught outside when it hits. You ready?"
"Ready. Yes. Thanks." Jo took two steps toward the door and looked pointedly at Allistair, who scowled and stepped backwards, out of the way.
For good measure, Ken reached in and pulled the office door closed, making sure it clicked and locked, then held out his arm, like an usher at a wedding. Jo blushed a little, just two bright spots in her cheeks, and hooked her arm through his. Neither said anything until they were out in the parking lot and they were sure Allistair hadn't followed them.
"My hero," she breathed. "You have no idea--"
"Yeah, I do, actually." Ken reluctantly let go of her arm so he could unlock the passenger door. "I heard a little bit of what went on in there."
"Umm... Why didn't you interrupt sooner?" She stayed perfectly still, not moving when Ken pulled the door open for her.
"I wanted to see if you were as smart as I think you are." He was more relieved than he liked to admit when Jo grinned. He managed to get his own grin down to a reasonable level by the time he'd walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in. "Big question. Where exactly do you live?"
On the way home, they didn't talk about Allistair or the situation at the office. Ken preferred to leave all those problems and concerns behind. Jo seemed to feel the same way. They talked about the Indians and the decorating party at Divine's Emporium and discovered a few mutual friends in Neighborlee.
"You know," Ken said, when he pulled up in front of Jo's little house, "you're only five blocks away from my apartment."
He glanced at the white clapboard with the peeling paint and the flowerbeds buried under snow. The sidewalks were neatly shoveled, and he imagined Jo was just as careful with her flowerbeds and the rest of the house, inside and out. There were just some jobs too big for her, all alone. He hadn't snooped--at least, not the degree that he knew Allistair and others would--but he had found out Jo had no one except her elderly aunt, who had died last year. Something ached inside when he realized there was no one to help her hang the lights outside. Then he wondered if she even had any outdoor lights to hang.
"That's nice." She offered him a little smile and put her hand on the door latch, but she didn't hurry to get out. That encouraged him.
"I mean... I hate to think of you racing to catch the bus in this weather. How about if I pick you up in the morning?" What felt like a heavy, sharp-edged rock lodged in his chest when her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "You don't have to if you don't want to--"
"No. I mean--yes. I'd love to--I'd really appreciate a ride. Riding with a friend. That's great. Thanks." She blushed so bright a red, he thought he could feel the heat from her skin as she slowly climbed out of the car.
"I see you don't have any decorations up yet."
"I know. Aunt Myrtle was so into Christmas. We would have the lights out on the day after Thanksgiving and the tree up by
Saturday and we wouldn't take anything down until February. I just can't seem to get up the energy to do it this year."
Ken swallowed hard. "I could come over and help."
"You're serious?" Her smile lit up the inside of his car.
"How about Sunday?"
"You don't have to--but I'd really like that. A lot."
"Great. Then it's a date. After our date on Friday."
"It's a date."
"It's a date." He took a few deep breaths, fighting the urge to break out in adolescent giggles.
"Um... I'd better close the door and let you go home. I know you have a ton of work to do." She didn't make any move to step back and shut the passenger door.
"Yeah. A ton." Ken wondered if this was what people meant when they talked about drowning in someone's eyes.
"Tomorrow then? What time?"
"Time? Oh. Right. What time am I going to pick you up? Um...eight?"
"Sounds great." She stepped back and shut the door, and waited while he pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street again.
Ken looked back and waved. She waved, and then he was at the corner and had to turn.
He discovered two things when he got home. First, Jo had left her canvas bags with her shoes in his car--but that was all right, since he was picking her up in the morning. The second thing he realized was that he hadn't learned enough about her to get her a nice Christmas present. He definitely wanted to get her one. He hadn't thought he would want anything to do with Christmas this year. Thanks to Jo, and the wishes they made at Divine's, this Christmas was going to be nicer than he could have hoped.
* * * *
Maurice shivered in an icy gust that threatened to yank him out of the semi-sheltered corner on Ken's apartment balcony. He grinned despite his blue nose and fingers. Another point for him. It had been a big risk, whispering those suggestions to Allistair to investigate Jo. Normally, Allistair didn't think about anybody but himself.
He was relieved that he hadn't had to nudge Ken to protect Jo. The man showed a lot of potential. He had a lot of White Knight in his character. Maurice couldn't wait to get back to Divine's and report to Angela.
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