by Sherri Hayes
She lay down on the soft grass and continued to talk to her parents. They’d been close once. Before she’d married Jared. She had many regrets in her life, but letting her relationship with her parents slip, that was perhaps the biggest. So for the next hour, she gazed up at the sky and told them all about her new life. She only wished they were able to respond.
Over the next two weeks, Elizabeth found herself looking forward to work. Chris still didn’t talk to her much and overwhelmed her with his presence, but he didn’t use his size to gain a situational advantage. He also hadn’t snapped at her since she’d started working for him. She’d observed him interacting with Terry, his foreman, and some of the other guys on the crew, and they all seemed to like and respect him. She was beginning to relax. A little.
He also hadn’t brought up replacing her. Although he’d insisted that her job was temporary, he hadn’t asked her to schedule one interview, and except for his employees, nobody else had come through the office.
Then one day a woman showed up. Her long, blond hair looked as if it had taken hours to style, and her dress revealed a little too much.
As the woman marched past, Elizabeth asked, trying to be polite, “May I help you?”
The woman stopped, turned, and glared. “Who are you?” Her voice had a nasty sneer.
Elizabeth’s eyes widen with shock. “I’m Mr. Daniels’s assistant. Did you need to see him for something?”
“What happened to Tara?”
Something about this woman bothered Elizabeth. She didn’t like her one bit. In fact, the woman reminded her of the ladies she’d met at the parties Jared used to drag her to—gold diggers who chased after men who could spend the most money on them.
“Tara no longer works here,” she said, delivering the standardized answer.
The woman snorted as she turned toward Chris’s door and barreled her way through without knocking.
Elizabeth immediately followed her, ready to apologize to Chris for the woman’s intrusion, but when she entered the office, she found a very different woman than the one she’d just encountered. Gone was the holier-than-thou attitude. In its place was the picture of an attentive and flirty female. The woman leaned seductively against Chris’s desk, showing more of her leg than was decent.
He looked up at the new arrival with an irritated expression on his face. “It’s okay, Elizabeth.”
“Do you want me to—”
“No. Please, stay. Carol won’t be here long.”
The woman glared at Elizabeth over her shoulder before turning flirty eyes back to Chris.
Who was this woman? Carol made her interest in him clear with the open flirting. That thought brought with it an unpleasant feeling in the pit of Elizabeth’s stomach.
“What do you want, Carol? I have work to do.”
Carol feigned offense. “Can’t I just want to see you, Chris?” she said seductively.
Ugh! This woman was making her sick. Elizabeth had seen this game played many times and by women who had skill.
He frowned as he pushed away from his desk and away from her. “No,” he said. “You can’t. You gave up that right three years ago.”
She pouted, but his determined expression didn’t change. Then she sighed, pushed away from the table, and leaned on the arm of his chair, showing more of her physical attributes. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. “I thought maybe—”
“You thought what?” he said in a hard voice.
“I thought maybe you’d like to take a long lunch.” She ran her finger in a seductive line from his shoulder down to his arm.
He caught it and pushed her away from him. “Leave.”
She tried pouting again, but he wasn’t swayed. “Okay. I get it. You’re busy right now,” Carol said, strolling to the door and shooting daggers at Elizabeth the entire time. “Another time, then.” She walked out with her nose literally up in the air.
“Not likely,” Chris said under his breath.
They both remained silent until Carol opened the front door and left. “I’m sorry about that,” they said at the same time, causing them both to chuckle. It was the most comfortable she’d ever felt with him.
He sighed. “That was my ex-wife, Carol. I should have warned you about her, but she hasn’t showed up in a while. I thought she’d given up.”
“You’re ex-wife?” Her voice broke.
He smiled wearily. “Yes, unfortunately, she’s a force of nature when she wants something.”
“I can tell.” Her dislike for the woman was growing by the second. Then, thinking she should probably change the subject, she said, “I guess I’ll get back to it. There’s still a lot to do.”
Chris seemed relieved. “Okay then, thank you.”
Aside from the difficulty Chris had keeping his hands to himself, things were going remarkably well. Elizabeth was good at her job. She kept things in order and stayed out of his way. She also got along great with the guys. Too well, in his opinion. He’d started to notice it last week.
There was rarely a reason for any of his crew besides Terry to come into the office, but they did anyway. First it was Mark wanting to know if she had some extra pencils, then Chad saying he was going to pick up some lunch for the guys and wanted to know if she’d like some. Yes, it was nice, but he’d never done that for Tara. None of them had. And it didn’t escape his notice that it was all of the single men on his crew.
He didn’t like it. He knew there was no logical reason, but it didn’t change the facts. Every time he heard one of his guys at her desk, he wanted to punch them. Not exactly the best reaction for a boss to have, but there it was.
He contemplated what was happening to him. Elizabeth was beautiful, but beyond that, he realized she was nothing like Carol. When he’d offered to have them drive separately to work since he’d be putting in long nights, he hadn’t expected her to offer to stay and help. They’d even had a few pleasant conversations during their late nights. It had surprised him.
Carol had been all about what was most convenient for her. It was one of the many reasons his business hadn’t picked up until she was out of his life. Every time he would need to stay late, she’d find some way to make him leave. It was a never ending fight, and one he always lost. She was a master at getting what she wanted, one way or another.
Elizabeth was different; so much so that he found himself letting his guard down with her, and that wasn’t good at all. Even if she was different, and even if she was the sexiest thing on legs he’d ever seen—
There was a soft knock on his door and Elizabeth came in. “I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a Mr. Jacobs on the phone. Says it’s urgent.”
Bryan Jacobs was the lead architect on a project they were about to start. The plans had been finalized months ago. He’d also been one of Chris’s best friends in high school. They’d kept in touch over the years and sent jobs each other’s way when they could.
“Hello, Bryan. What can I do for you?”
“I just found out something and wanted to call you right away since I knew you were starting construction on the Tanner project.”
“We marked the foundation today and if the weather holds, we’ll start digging tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. I caught you in time then.”
“Caught me in time for what?” Chris asked with dread. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this.
“Mr. and Mrs. Tanner came tearing through my office about an hour ago with a designer they hired, insisting that all the plans had to be redrawn because the current ones didn’t provide the correct flow,” Bryan said in a way that told Chris that Bryan was rolling his eyes.
This had to be more extensive than just an addendum to the plans. “How much do they want changed exactly?”
“Everything.”
“Everything? You can’t be serious.”
“Unfortunately, I am. And given the time frame, I was hoping you could come to my office tomorrow so we can all sit down together and get
this hammered out in one session. It’ll be a long day, but I figure it’s best to get everyone together at once than trying to piece it together through e-mails and faxes. Besides, you owe me a drink, remember?” Bryan said. The attempt at humor didn’t work.
Chris rested his face on his hand. This is not happening, he thought, just as I’m starting to get caught up.
But it was happening and a part of owning a construction business. “My assistant and I will be there about nine thirty tomorrow. Will that work?”
“Perfect,” Bryan said, exhaling loudly. “I’ll see you then.”
As soon as he hung up, Chris looked up hotel information and made a reservation for two rooms. He had no idea how late things would go tomorrow, but he was certain that he wasn’t going to feel like driving home after the meeting. Besides, if Bryan wanted to get a drink after the meeting, who knew if he’d even be in any condition to drive.
Chris had summoned her to his office. Once she’d taken a seat, he said, “Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”
Elizabeth was beyond perplexed. “Uh, no,” she said tentatively. Her fear of him had subsided over the last month, but that didn’t mean she felt entirely comfortable around him either. Every nerve in her body seemed alive when he was around, and that scared her even more. Her reactions weren’t normal. They couldn’t be.
“Good. I need you to go to a meeting with me tomorrow, and it will most likely run late, so I’ve booked us rooms at a local hotel.”
She swallowed nervously. “Okay.”
“I’ll pay you overtime, of course, and I’ll be driving us to and from. I just need you there to take notes and keep in touch with Terry during the day to make sure all is well here. I doubt I’ll be leaving the meeting for much more than bathroom breaks.”
“Is everything all right?” she asked, concerned that he seemed distressed.
“No. A client has decided to completely change their layout. We’re going to have to sit down and begin again on everything.”
“Does that happen often?”
“No, thankfully. Minor changes are common, but not like this. Even with this meeting tomorrow, it’s likely to set the construction schedule back at least two weeks. That reminds me, I’ll need to let Terry know.”
Elizabeth bit the inside of her cheek. She didn’t know how she felt about their little trip. Then Chris stood and she followed.
As he strolled toward the door, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“Bryan Jacobs’s office in Columbus.”
Columbus!
Thankfully, Chris didn’t see all the color drain from her face or her death grip on the back of the chair in order to remain standing on her now less-than-sturdy legs.
Tomorrow she would return to the place she’d hoped to never see again. She was now thinking that Springfield might not have been far enough.
Well that was interesting.
Over the last month Elizabeth had been working for Chris, they had found a good balance, and he was seriously considering offering her the job permanently. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was making great strides to replace her.
He still wanted to ravish her on his desk. Often. But she’d lost that wide-eyed look she used to give him that did funny things to his instincts. This morning that look was back.
The moment he’d picked her up at her door, he’d known something wasn’t right. She was paler than normal, and she kept tugging at the hem of her blouse. On several occasions he’d asked her what was wrong, trying to get her to talk about it, but she would just mumble that she was fine and look out the window. It was infuriating!
Before they got out of his truck, he asked one more time. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She swallowed nervously, seeming to have trouble focusing on him, as if waiting for someone or something to jump out at her. “I’m . . . fine,” she said meekly, yet again.
He hadn’t believed her the first ten times she’d said it, and he sure didn’t believe it now. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to coax it out of her. They had a meeting to get to.
They walked side by side into the tall gray building that housed Bryan Jacobs’s office. Chris had been here many times, but it never ceased to amaze him. Originally built in the late eighteen hundreds, the building had lost all vestiges of its original beauty thanks to the previous owners. It had become Bryan’s mission to restore it, and the result was nothing short of magnificent.
Bryan’s office was on the tenth floor where his assistant Karen greeted them. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Daniels.”
“Likewise, Karen. Is Bryan ready for us?”
“Yes,” she led them down a long hallway. “Everyone is in the conference room.” She stopped, nodding toward a closed door. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”
“Water would be good, thank you,” Chris said, then looked over at Elizabeth, who was even paler than before. Her lips looked almost purple. He wrapped his fingers around her arm, just above her elbow, pulling her just a little closer to him. “For both of us,” he said before guiding them both into the room.
He made sure she wasn’t going to fall out of her chair before turning to address everyone else, including the Tanners’ new designer. “Good. You’re here,” the person who had fueled this meeting said in a somewhat snarky tone. “Now we can get to work fixing this joke of a blueprint and get my clients into their dream home.”
Chris chose to ignore the designer’s comments, and concentrated on the papers in front of him. “Yes,” Bryan said. “Well . . . let’s get started then.”
By the time they broke for lunch, he was even more worried about Elizabeth. Okay, worried had left the building about two hours ago.
Since he’d known her, he’d never seen her like this. Every sound made her jump, and every time someone spoke to her, she tensed as if preparing to defend herself. He wanted to get her alone and make her tell him what was going on, but that just wasn’t possible. Bryan had offered to take them out to lunch, and it wouldn’t have been right to refuse.
The restaurant was close, and the day was nice, so they decided to enjoy the sun and walk. Chris held onto her arm the entire way there, stealing covert glances. She didn’t look like she was going to fall, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
After the hostess seated them and their orders were placed, the two men fell into an easy conversation. Since they had gone to high school together, they always had fun reminiscing when they got together. It was hard to believe almost fifteen years had passed.
They were just finishing when there was a loud gasp. He looked up and saw a blonde with long hair, staring with wide eyes at Elizabeth. When he glanced at Elizabeth, he saw shock and possibly fear on her face.
“Liz? Is that you?”
He stared at Elizabeth and her muscles tensed as if ready for fight or flight.
“Hello, Stephanie. How have you been?” Her voice was controlled and emotionless, more so than he’d ever heard it before.
This woman obviously knew Elizabeth, but how? It didn’t look like she was all that happy to see this Stephanie either.
Stephanie smiled. “Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Don is taking me away in a couple of weeks to New York for some shopping.” Elizabeth didn’t comment, but it seemed to go unnoticed by Stephanie. “So, are you back? I’d heard you’d left town,” she said, the last two words coming out in an exaggerated whisper. “I was rather disappointed. I thought we were friends, and you just disappeared without saying a word.”
For the first time that day, he recognized sadness on Elizabeth’s face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m . . . I’m not back. I’m just . . . visiting. I just thought . . . well, I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”
Stephanie waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Don’t be silly.”
Elizabeth seemed to relax. “I’ll call you?”
This got a large grin out of Stephanie. “You’d better. I’d hate to have to track you down.” Then she g
lanced at her watch. “I’d better get going.” She leaned down and gave Elizabeth two air kisses. Elizabeth stiffened but plastered a smile on her face.
“Call me,” Stephanie called as she strutted away.
The entire walk back Elizabeth was lost in her own thoughts. She knew Chris was trying to get her attention, but she just couldn’t deal with it right now.
Stephanie was her best friend. Or had been, anyway. Before.
But after that night, she had closed herself off. She’d encountered a few of her old acquaintances sure, and none of them had been pleasant. She’d even received a few less-than-pleasant phone messages calling her every name under the sun and that they hoped she burned in hell. After that, she’d cut off contact with everyone except the police. Stephanie was in Europe at the time, traveling with her husband. By the time she’d returned, Elizabeth had isolated herself completely.
So when she saw Stephanie at the restaurant, she’d been sure that a cold shoulder or a slap in the face would be her reception. Did Stephanie still consider her a friend? It appeared that way.
She was distracted for the rest of the day, so she wasn’t paying as much attention as she should have been. Chris placed a hand on her shoulder, and she nearly fell out of her seat.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s almost five. Can you call Terry again?”
“Sure,” she mumbled before excusing herself.
The phone call to Terry didn’t last any longer than the other three she’d made earlier. Everything was fine. No need to worry.
She closed Chris’s cell phone and was about to go back into the conference room when she noticed Karen walking toward her with a tray full of coffee, so she opened the door for her. Karen smiled politely and thanked her, but it there was something else there too. Elizabeth just couldn’t figure out what.
The meeting didn’t wrap up until after seven, and she was surprised to see Karen still behind her desk when the group dispersed toward the elevators. Chris lagged behind with Bryan, so she waited over to the side for him.