Spying on the Boss

by Janet Lee Nye

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “WHY ARE YOU so nervous?”

  Sadie frowned at Molly. “What? I’m not nervous.”

  “You are. You’re running all over this kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off.”

  Sadie pointed at the stove with the knife in her hand. “I’ve got three different spaghetti sauces going. I’m trying to chop up this stuff for salads. I’m not sure if we have enough noodles. And we haven’t even started dessert yet.”

  “Yes? And how is this different from any other Friday Feast? You’re about to vibrate out of your skin.”

  Sadie scowled and returned to slicing tomatoes. “You’re imagining things.”

  Truth was, she was nervous. Wyatt had called to let her know Julietta was very excited to come to the dinner and see Jack again. Now she was acting like a geeky high school girl who had the captain of the football team coming to her house. And she hated it. Hated the out-of-control feeling that left her both scared and hopeful. Wyatt was an employee, and her giddy little heart needed to wake up to the fact.

  “Are you slicing those tomatoes or slaughtering them?”

  The beautiful locally grown beefsteak tomatoes she bought at the farmers’ market were now a goopy mess on the cutting board. She put the knife down. “You do it. I’ll get the bread ready.”

  Molly hip checked her away from the counter and began to salvage larger bits of tomato. “Maybe you should go sit down with your jelly-bean jar for a little bit.”

  “Ha-ha. So funny.” Sadie began opening bags of French bread.

  Molly looked up from the tomatoes. “Remember, we need slices, not bread crumbs.”

  “You’re killing me with your razor-sharp wit today, Molls, killing me.”

  “Come on. Spill it before the guys start showing up. It’s Wyatt, isn’t it? You two could short out a power grid with the sparks flying off you.”

  Sadie froze. No. It wasn’t noticeable. But Josh had noticed. Now Molly. This had to stop. She was setting a horrible example. If she couldn’t control herself, what authority did she have to tell the guys to control themselves? Rule number one: no fooling around in word or deed. None. Not even in jest. She took in a deep breath and let it out. Wrapped her jangly nerves up tight and pushed them deep down where she kept her fears and tears. Don’t act the fool. She stood up straighter.

  “He’s an employee. One of the guys. There are no sparks.”

  Molly opened her mouth, but Sadie held up a hand.

  “Rules are rules.”

  “Some rules should be broken.”

  Josh came in through the conference room. “What rules should we be breaking?”

  “No rules should be broken. But I did want to ask you something before everyone gets here. Wyatt’s bringing his niece. She’s eight and her mother died recently.”

  Molly let out a little sound and brought her hands to her lips. Sadie hoped she would keep it together when Julietta got here, but then, Molly cried at TV commercials. Josh leaned against a counter, crossing his arms. His eyebrows went up and she scowled at him.

  “Eight. Wow. That’s tough,” he said. But he held her gaze for a long moment. You were eight, too, his expression said, when your mother walked away. Are you going to be okay with this?

  She ignored it. “Should I say something to the guys when they get here? So they don’t ask?”

  Molly returned to the salad, deftly dicing a cucumber. “Did Wyatt say anything about it?” she asked.

  “No, at first he told me he wasn’t sure how she’d do around so many strangers, but then he said she was excited about it.”

  “Then I’d let him handle it. He knows what’s going to be best for her.”

  Sadie nodded. It sounded reasonable. She had been torn about telling. She didn’t want the guys walking on eggshells, but she also didn’t want an innocent question to upset the girl. Molly was right, it was Wyatt’s responsibility. Not hers. She ached for Julietta. Their situations weren’t exactly the same, but she knew the fear in realizing your world wasn’t permanent.

  Josh gave her shoulder a squeeze. You okay? She tilted her head to touch her cheek to his hand. Yes. Wasn’t she always okay?

  The guys began filtering in, and everyone went about setting up the table in the conference room. They ate family-style at these dinners: a table full of food and a room full of laughter. It had started a few years prior when Sadie realized a couple of her college guys either weren’t going home or had no real home to go to over the holidays. She had them come to her place for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It had morphed into a monthly affair from there. She loved the ragtag family they’d become.

  She was doing a final taste test of the spaghetti sauces, one meatless, one with ground beef and one with super spicy sausage, when the skin at the nape of her neck felt as if it had been brushed by a feather. She turned, and, sure enough, Wyatt Anderson stood in the doorway. Staring at her. He wore jeans and a dark green shirt that brought out his eyes. The sleeves were turned up over those amazing forearms. Her heart skittered in her chest. You’re insane. You can’t feel a look. Her insides turned into a slurry of hot and cold mush. For a long beat, they held a gaze. Sparks. Molly’s words echoed in her mind.

  “Hey, Ms. Sadie! Where’s Jack?” Julietta asked.

  Grateful for the distraction, she smiled at Julietta. She was so darned cute with her dark hair pulled up in a ponytail bouncing off her shoulders. She wore jeans and a T-shirt with a picture of a princess on the front. Above and below the princess were the words, I’ll save myself, thank you. It made Sadie laugh out loud.

  “Jack’s upstairs. I love your shirt.”

  She looked down at it and smoothed the front with a hand. “My mother had it made for me on the computer.”

  “It’s awesome. I might get one for myself.”

  She glanced at Wyatt and raised her eyebrows. He showed no reaction to the mention of her mother. He lifted a shoulder in a slow shrug and smiled, making those dimples pop. Sadie turned back to Julietta before she could hyperventilate.

  “What can we do to help?” he asked.

  “Not sure. I’m waiting for these pots to boil so I can start the pasta. Then we’ll toast up the garlic bread. Check with Josh. He’s in charge of the drinks.”

  “Can I go see Jack?”

  Wyatt put his hand on her shoulder. “Not right now, Jules. Let Ms. Sadie get dinner finished.”

  “After dinner,” Sadie promised.

  * * *

  DURING THE DINNER, Wyatt couldn’t keep his eyes from straying to Sadie. She’d about taken his breath away when he’d walked into the kitchen. She wore a sundress, exposing her arms and legs. And they were mighty fine arms. And the legs, well, he couldn’t continue those thoughts while a guest at her table. She had her hair piled up in a haphazard bun at the back of her head. Several of the curls had escaped and one swayed against the nape of her neck, taunting him. He wanted to brush it aside and press his lips to the tender skin below it.

  He looked down at his plate and sopped up sauce with a bit of bread. And you are a lying, deceitful spy who has no right to even think about her. Pretty soon, he’d “quit” and move on. She’d never know. The idea of hurting her made him feel like an even bigger jerk. Julietta reached up and tugged at his sleeve. He smiled down at her. She was having a good time. The guys, Josh especially, had taken to her and were treating her like a pampered baby sister. Since she’d mentioned Maddie at the park, the mentions of her mother had begun to trickle out. The therapist said this was a very good sign. It was the breakthrough they’d been waiting for. A major step in her healing process.

  “What’s up, Jules?”

  “Can I go play checkers with Josh?”

  “Of course you can.”

  She scampered off as people began to rise
from the table and take their plates to the kitchen. He started to get up, also, but DeShawn and two other guys, Cody and Eric, he thought, sat down next to him.

  “Hey, guys, what’s up?”

  “I was telling them about your having been in the National Guard,” DeShawn said. “Cody’s thinking about enlisting, too, and Eric wants to join the Guard. Can you answer some questions for us?”

  “Uh, sure. Let me take this plate...” A hand came over his shoulder and he turned to see Sadie’s smiling face.

  “I’ve got it. Convince my guys to not get blown up.” She took the plate from him.

  “We aren’t going to get blown up, Mom,” DeShawn said, rolling his eyes.

  Wyatt answered their questions. He detailed his two trips to Afghanistan and tried not to glamorize it. While he did, he noticed people were drifting through the rooms, talking, laughing. This was a relaxed, family atmosphere. His admiration for what Sadie had built here grew. When their questions finally came to an end and he’d answered them as thoroughly as he could, he stood. “I’m going to check on Julietta,” he said.

  She wasn’t in the kitchen. Molly pointed to an open door that led to a staircase. “Sadie took her upstairs to see Jack.”

  He hesitated on the staircase when he realized it led to Sadie’s living quarters. The door at the top was open, and when he reached the next to the top stair, he called out. “Hello? Jules? You up here?”

  “I’ve got her,” Sadie called out. “Come on up.”

  The door opened into the living area. She’d done some serious renovating up here. There was a large open living space. Off to his left was a hallway he assumed led to the bedroom. There was little furniture. A couch sat centered on a rug of swirling earth tones. On either end of the beige couch there were end tables, one pine, the other oak, with lamps that also didn’t match. A cherrywood coffee table. A small dining room set. She didn’t entertain much, he supposed. The garage-sale-collection look of it intrigued him. Why? She was so thorough and organized in her business, why did her home look so temporary?

  “Uncle Wyatt, look!”

  He approached Julietta. She sat on one end of the couch with Jack beside her. Sadie was holding a bottle of nail polish.

  “See what Ms. Sadie did? Pink, purple, pink, purple!” Julietta pointed to each of her freshly painted fingernails.

  “Very pretty,” he said.

  “I hope it was okay. I should have asked, I guess,” Sadie said. She dipped the brush back into the bottle and leaned forward to take one of Julietta’s hands. She pursed her lips and blew on the wet polish. “Let it dry, honey, or it’ll smudge.”

  “It’s fine,” he managed to choke out. He couldn’t take his eyes off her gorgeous mouth. Stop it.

  “She’s got tons of them, Uncle Wyatt. All kinds of colors.”

  He managed a smile. “Wouldn’t have taken you for the nail-polish type.”

  She lifted her leg and wiggled her foot, encased in a ballet type slipper, at him. And the urge to take the shoe in hand and pull it off to see what color those toes were sporting roared up out of nowhere. And then, he’d skim his hands up those legs that went on forever and find out what color panties she was wearing. His body reacted to his thoughts and stirred to life. He jerked his eyes away.

  “Okay. Uh. Okay. I’ll be downstairs.”

  He fled the room, clomping down the stairs two at a time. He needed a minute. He didn’t get it.

  “Are you okay? You seem a little flustered,” Molly said. She was packing up leftovers in little Tupperware containers and lining them up on the counter.

  I bet I do. I wanted to throw my boss down and rip her dress off. I’d say flustered is about the right word for it. “Probably from running up and down stairs on a full stomach. That was awesome spaghetti. Are recipes available?”

  Molly laughed at him, so he went back to the dining room. Most of the guys had left and the others were getting ready to go. They were young, single guys and it was a Friday night. Of course they wouldn’t be hanging around. They descended on Molly and containers were quickly claimed. Sadie came downstairs as they began shouting their goodbyes.

  Molly picked up a bag from the counter. “Okay, then. Sadie, the pots are in the dishwasher. You need to finish up the plates and silverware. Everything else is done, so I’ll see you Monday. Y’all have a great weekend. Bye.”

  Sadie put her hands on her hips as Molly scooted out the door. “Well, bye.” She turned to Wyatt as he walked into the kitchen. “She could have said she didn’t want to wash the dishes. Sheesh!”

  She went to the sink, began to fill it with hot water and poured a generous dollop of dish soap over the plates stacked there. “Julietta is reading Jack a book.”

  “Guess I’m on dish duty with you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I want to. Owe you for the dinner.” He stepped to the double sink. There were two dish racks on the counter. “Wash or rinse?”

  “I’ll wash. I hate rinsing. It’s boring.”

  They stood side by side, washing and rinsing. He could hear Julietta’s voice lilting in a singsong as she read to Jack. He was overly aware of Sadie’s body next to his. The brush of her shoulder against his arm and the accidental bump of her hip sent ripples of heat through him. She handed him a plate and their fingers touched so he held on for a moment. She looked at him, her eyes wide and blue, her lips parted. God, she felt it, too.

  Her head swiveled back to the sink. “I hope it was okay I painted her nails.”

  “It’s fine. But I may have to hire you for girl-stuff lessons.”

  She smiled and shook her head, making a tendril at the side of her neck sway. The urge to push it aside and press his lips to the tender spot at the base of her skull went through him. Then he’d work around the column of her neck to that spot where her pulse was fluttering. And then... He tore his gaze away from her neck and shifted against the growing pressure in his groin. You gotta stop this.

  “I’m probably not your best bet for that kind of stuff.”

  “No?” He tugged a plate from her fingers and playfully bumped his shoulder against hers. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to see her blush. “What are you my best bet for?”

  She drew in a sharp breath and peeked up at him. He got his blush and resisted a smile. He leaned in. One kiss. Just one. So he could go on with his life with the knowledge of how those lips would feel against his. As his mouth approached hers, she turned to him and tilted her face up to his. He let his hand touch her waist, ready to pull her closer.

  “We can’t do this,” she whispered.

  He stopped and let his hand fall away. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. But we can’t.”

  She couldn’t do it because she believed he was an employee. She wouldn’t break her own rules. He shouldn’t do it because when the truth came out, it would hurt her even more. Jack’s nails clacking down the stairs gave them a moment to step apart before Julietta burst into the kitchen.

  “Uncle Wyatt? Can we get a dog? I’ll walk it and play with it and everything!”

  “Getting a dog is a big responsibility. We’ll talk about it.” He grinned at Sadie. “Thanks a lot.”

  Her laughter made him feel a little better. He let out a shaky breath. It was going to be a long week.

  * * *

  THIS WAS NICE. Wyatt stretched his legs out in the grass and leaned back in the lawn chair. The sun was almost gone, the mosquitoes were few and the cicadas were loud. Best of all, his friends had brought beer and meat. The bottle of beer felt good in his hand and tasted even better. The scent of charcoal and beef filled the air.

  “Been too long,” Adam said.

  “True. A lot going on.”

  Adam laughed at the understatement. Adam was his former par
tner on the police force. Scott leaned over to snag a beer. Scott was a lawyer, a district attorney whom Wyatt had worked with for years before leaving the force. The backyard barbecues and Saturday afternoon basketball games had been a weekly ritual for the three of them until life intervened. Wyatt was beginning to find a new normal with Jules. Adam had a three-month-old at home and Scott was freshly divorced with custody of his two teenagers.

  “How’s Jules doing?” Scott asked.

  Wyatt glanced to the rear of his property, where Jules and Scott’s thirteen-year-old daughter where stalking fireflies in the marsh. “Better. Much better.”

  “How about you, man?”

  “I’m good. I’m...”

  His words trailed off. What was he? The overwhelming sense of loss had faded to a dull ache. He and Jules had settled into a comfortable routine. But still, he felt a nagging sense of...restlessness. He thought back to last night. Washing dishes with Sadie. That moment when he’d looked into her eyes and saw his own desire reflected back at him. Probably a good thing she’d come to her senses. He wasn’t entirely sure he would have been able to stop with a single kiss.

  “Missing Victoria?” Adam asked with a smirk. He’d clearly never liked her but had the restraint to have never said so while they were together. Nor had he done the “I told you she was awful” thing once they’d broken up.

  “Oh, hell no.” He bit back a few other expletives. He had nothing to say about her that he wanted Jules to overhear. He ran a hand through his hair and got up to look at the steaks. “Just keeping busy. This current investigation is taking a lot of time.”

  “Yeah, you told me you were doing undercover. How’s it going?” Scott asked.

  “It’s a bullshit job,” he said as he returned to the lawn chair. “I knew there wasn’t anything to find the first day. But the guy who hired me wants me to stay at least two weeks.”