Barry White declared in soulful tones, ‘I just wanna hold you, run my fingers through your hair…deeper and deeper in love with you I’m falling.’
David flipped the station and groaned silently as Marvin Gaye started singing I want you.
He changed the channel again, and this time James Brown hollered, “When I hold you in my arms, I know that I can do no wrong…”
David gave up and turned off the radio.
“If you like Soul so much you should try listening to Gospel Soul. It might be better for your soul,” Ronnie said.
David glanced at Ronnie. She had actually spoken to him. She was still staring out the window, but the fact that she’d addressed him was a good sign. He had been a little rough with her that evening. Perhaps it was time to hold out the olive branch.
“I hope that guy didn’t unnerve you,” he said gently, as his eyes continued to stay between her and the road.
“No. But you did. At what point did I say I needed to be rescued, Mr. Jones?” she asked, annoyance dripping from every syllable.
He turned to stare at her in shock and almost swerved off the road into a ditch. He caught himself just in time and righted the vehicle. Of all the ungrateful!...
“Well, excuse me for trying to help.”
“I never asked for your help. I had the matter well in hand, Mr. Jones,” she spat.
“Really? It didn’t look that way, with you quivering in a corner.”
She sputtered in outrage.
“I beg your pardon. I was not quivering in a corner. I’ll have you know I had my pepper spray halfway out of my bag when you sauntered over there.”
“Pepper…?”
David saw Ronnie lift a small can out of her handbag. He hoped she wasn’t entertaining any notions of using it right then.
“Well, next time I see some guy about to attack you, I’ll be sure to pull up a ringside seat and wait to see what tricks you’ve got in your bag.”
“You do that, Mr. Jones.”
There was silence in the car as he stopped at the red traffic light and seethed. Pigheaded woman.
“So where did you learn to fight like that anyway? Walker Texas Ranger reruns?”
David’s eyes widened. He turned to look at Ronnie and found her lips twitching. Dumbfounded, he stared until a horn blared behind him. He looked up and realized the light had changed to green.
Releasing the brake, David gave an incredulous laugh. Then Ronnie started laughing too.
Minutes later, they arrived at her building. Shaking his head, still laughing, David parallel parked in a free space beside the building and turned to Ronnie.
“Can you tell me what happened tonight? From the beginning?”
She looked down at the handbag in her lap for a second then looked back up at him.
“Anne invited me out on a blind date with this guy she had met a few weeks ago and his cousin. We were having a pleasant evening until he began drinking a little too much. I told him maybe he needed to lay off. But he ignored me. When he suggested that we go somewhere more lively, I told him no thanks, I would call a cab to go home. That’s when he began to run his hand down my arm and said he would let me go if I gave him a little kiss first. I think that’s when I yelled at him.”
She smiled weakly.
“I was going to spray him. But I was scared. He had me boxed in so it wasn’t like I could spray him and run. I was so relieved when I saw you. You don’t know how relieved. Anyway, thank you.”
“You kind of owe me now, though.”
Ronnie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Oh?”
“Yeah. So here’s what you can do for me. Stop acting so cold when we run into each other at work.”
“Is that what I’ve been doing?” she asked, now all wide-eyed innocence.
“Do you deny that you were deliberately cold and standoffish on the two occasions we crossed paths?”
She pursed her lips.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings at the airport,” he said.
She turned to look out the window again.
“What made you think you’d done that?”
“I just need to be careful about my relationships with females at work. I can’t be seen as applying a policy to other staff members that I’m not going to abide by myself. I’m sure you understand.”
She looked down at her lap and nodded.
“So will you stop giving me the cold shoulder when I see you? A smile can’t hurt you know.”
She smiled. “That can be arranged, Mr. Jones.”
“And that. Stop that!”
“What?”
“‘Mr. Jones’,” he mimicked. “Do you know how irritating that is?”
“Isn’t that your name? What else would I call you?”
“Let’s see, Sire, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness can all work.”
She laughed. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”
“David is just fine, Ronnie.”
She sobered and met his eyes. “David, thanks for the ride. Have a good night.”
And with that, she alighted from his vehicle.
David watched Ronnie disappear into her building and ignored the voice that whispered to him that he was in big trouble.
Chapter 6
Two Weeks later
“David, do you have a moment?”
David looked up from the brief he was reading to his executive legal assistant, Tracey Shaw.
Tracey had been with him since he had been made senior partner five years ago. Instead of promoting one of the legal assistants he had decided to hire fresh blood. Tracey had come with a wealth of experience, having been an executive legal assistant to a Solo Estate lawyer who had just retired. It was hard to think of a better fit for him. She was thorough, efficient and hard working. He didn’t know what he would do without her.
“Of course, Tracey. Have a seat.”
“Your father left a message for you to call him about your recommendation to have a business process review done. He says he needs clarification on some aspects.”
Sighing, David said, “I already answered his questions about that. You mean he’s got more?”
“Just delivering a message from the chairman, Sir.”
“Message received.” He noticed how wan she looked. “Hey, are you feeling any better?”
“Actually, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
David leaned back in his chair and waited.
“I’m pregnant,” Tracey said.
Those had not been the words David had expected to come out of Tracey’s mouth. For a moment he was stunned. At 45, she was not the ideal candidate to be a first-time mother.
“Oh! Congratulations!” he said, recovering quickly.
Tracey had once confided in him that since they got married twelve years ago, she and her husband, Tyrell, had been trying to have a child. David was genuinely pleased that they had finally succeeded.
“Tyrell must be ecstatic,” he said.
She gave him a tired smile. “He is. But I think he’s also concerned. He’s never seen his wife so listless. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but for the last couple weeks I’ve been really struggling to complete assignments on time.”
He had noticed, but he hadn’t wanted to pressure her, especially since he had thought it was the effect of some brief illness.
Tracey continued. “I’m not functioning at my full capacity. I’m behind on a few things. I hate to admit it, but I need help. I was wondering if one of the junior legal assistants could be assigned to assist me. I could train that person to help me, and then when I go on maternity leave if he or she has proved their worth, they can continue until my return.”
Rocking back in his black executive leather chair, David asked carefully, “Do you have any particular person in mind?”
“No. I’ll need to ask HR to send me a few possible candidates so I can interview them and identify the best fit.”
“Let me handle
it,” David said abruptly.
He saw surprise reflected in Tracey’s large dark brown eyes. “You? Oh. Okay.”
Half-an-hour later, David made his way over to Cheryl Yancey’s office. She was the human resources director.
Cheryl was a plump, attractive blonde in her early fifties. David wasn’t sure why, but she had always seemed to be overprotective of him, even running interference for him with his father or giving him the heads up when trouble was brewing. He had always seen her as an ally when he was an associate and his father was chairman and CEO. She had been the one director he could always depend on to back up his proposed policies.
David pulled back the chair in front of her desk so he could sit and stretch his long legs in front of him.
“I need your advice, Cheryl.”
“What’s on your mind, Boss?”
The title ‘Boss’ was a running joke between them. The day before his father had announced him CEO she had said to him, “Today is the last day I call you David, from tomorrow you’re Boss. If I come over to your house for a social function, you’re David. Here you’re Boss.”
Remembering this conversation now, a corner of David’s mouth lifted in a smile.
“What’s so amusing?” Cheryl asked.
“Just remembering how I got my moniker.” He sobered and launched into the reason for his visit.
“Tracey is pregnant.”
Cheryl’s raised her brow in surprise.
“That’s unexpected. I knew she had been sick a few times over the last couple weeks, but I’d never have guessed that. Based on her age I mean.”
“Me neither. The thing is, she hasn’t been rallying too well thus far. I know it’s early days yet, but she’s concerned she’s dropping back on the workload. She suggested that I assign one of the legal assistants to help with her work while understudying her in preparation for her maternity leave.”
Cheryl was thoughtful. “That actually sounds like a good idea. Does she have anyone in mind?”
He shook his head. “She suggested that HR recommend a few people for her to interview.”
Cheryl turned to her computer and clicked her mouse a few times.
“Let’s see. There are a few possible candidates. Theresa Vincent…Charlene Temple…Joy Haven...”
“How about Ronnie Dickson?”
Cheryl furrowed her brow and tapped a few keys on her computer.
“You mean Ronalda Dickson?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze flickered over to his for a minute then returned to the screen.
“She scored high on her appraisals…but she doesn’t have a lot of experience. She’s only been here a little over a year and before that she worked for two years at Alistair & Kauffman as their executive legal assistant. I was part of the interview panel who recruited her. I was impressed by her intelligence and ability to think on her feet. The panel recruited her in spite of her experience, not because of it.”
Cheryl swiveled her chair back to center and leveled her gray eyes at him.
“How did her name come up?”
“Don’t recall.”
“So, you want her to work with Tracey and then continue when Tracey goes on maternity leave?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Hmm.”
David met Cheryl’s searching gaze unflinchingly.
“What?”
“She’s one of the most junior assistants. This is going to be a promotion. How do you justify choosing her over her peers?”
“I’m moving away from this philosophy of promoting people based only on years of service.”
“What’s the criteria in this case then? It can’t be based solely on merit because there are a few other assistants who work equally well with more experience.”
“How about instinct?”
“Instinct?”
“I’ve interacted with her before, and I’m impressed with how her brain works. As you know, Tracey does more than your typical legal assistant. I think she’d be a great replacement for Tracey.”
Cheryl sighed deeply. “Permission to speak frankly, Boss?”
After several beats, David gave a short nod.
“Like I said, I interviewed Ronalda Dickson and apart from her intelligence what also struck me were her looks. She’s gorgeous.”
“What’s your point, Cheryl?” David asked, his eyes boring into hers.
Cheryl was the first one to look away.
“I’m sure you are aware that your name is a by-word in these halls. From the time you came on here as junior associate fresh from passing the bar the women here couldn’t get over your looks. Most of the ones who’ve been here for a while probably have gotten used to how you look by now, but every time we hire a new female it’s the same thing, she goes gaga over how you look.”
Cheryl stopped for a second to let him process that information.
“I never told you this, but I only supported Tracey as your executive legal assistant after I had interviewed her and saw she had a level head and did a background check and found she was happily married and very professional.”
She paused. “After what happened six years ago I was not taking any chances.”
“Let’s not talk about that,” David said in a quiet voice.
Cheryl blinked rapidly. “You said I could speak frankly.”
David blew out a quick breath and sat up in the chair. “That situation was very different. It was a mistake. One I won’t ever repeat.”
“It’s not necessarily you I’m concerned about. She’s young, and you’re…David Jones,” she sputtered, gesticulating in his direction as though the epitome of manliness was summed up in those two words.
“The last thing you need is the drama of some starry-eyed young girl falling for you and not being an effective assistant.”
David shook his head. “Be assured, Ronnie Dickson is not some giddy-headed young girl. She is a very sensible, accomplished woman. And the more I think about it, she’s the only one I want to assist Tracey.”
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind then.”
“I have.”
“So, is there any need to have Tracey interview the other assistants?”
“No. That won’t be necessary. Just inform Ronnie Dickson of the changes.”
“To take effect from…?”
“Give her ‘til the end of the week to tidy up things at her desk. Then let her report to Tracey on Monday.”
“Not you?”
“Not me. Tracey. She’ll be reporting to Tracey now. Until Tracey goes on leave, she’ll technically be her assistant. Understood?”
“Of course, Boss.”
~*~*~*~
“I understand you’re moving upstairs.”
Ronnie glanced up and saw Lei Randall leaning against the entrance to her cubicle with her arms folded over her chest and a pout on her lips. She was a legal assistant. Hawaiian by descent, she had long, straight, black hair and a beautiful figure which she emphasized in clothing as tight as the dress code would allow.
“So they tell me,” Ronnie replied, keeping her tone light as she continued to fill a box with her things.
There was no love lost between Lei and Ronnie. From the moment Ronnie had set foot in the offices of Jones Law, Lei had appeared to view her as a threat. She seemed to find ways to irritate her. She would stand around at the copier when she had things to copy, and Ronnie could almost swear she would mysteriously hide her files. She could not figure out what Lei’s problem was. The dark-haired beauty seemed to be quite competent, and the three junior associates she assisted were always singing her praises. Ronnie was convinced Lei didn’t have enough to do since she found it possible to drop by too often to Ronnie’s cubicle to make catty remarks as she sipped her latte.
“With David Jones.”
Ronnie ignored the woman and focused on clearing her drawers.
But Lei Randall had never been one to take a hint.
“You are one lucky
dog. I swear. How did you do it?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Ronnie said as she dropped some textbooks along with the employee handbook into a box.
“Oh, puh-leeze. In the four years I have been here, no junior assistant gets to work for David Jones. Cheryl protects him like a she-bear. Each time Tracey goes off on vacation she gets one of the older executive legal assistants to fill her shoes. Like women in their seventies or something.”
Ronnie was trying not to listen, but she couldn’t ignore that one. She burst out laughing.
“No one that old even works here. That’s past retirement age.”
“Whatever. All I’m saying is that the whole thing is very suspicious. No one can convince me you are the best junior legal assistant around here. Why you’ve not even been here a year yet.”
“Actually I have.”
“And you are nice looking to boot. Cheryl looks for the ugliest, fattest, oldest women around here to assist him.”
“You must know why that is.”
They both looked up at Bernadette Piper.
Ronnie groaned inwardly. She always tried to be civil to everyone, but this particular woman, the secretary to one of the senior partners, gave her the heebie-jeebies. She was a middle-aged brunette who would perhaps have been pretty if she didn’t always look as though she was sucking a lime.
“Legend has it that once upon a time there was this handsome prince who came into his kingdom, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed from law school. But one of the fair maidens of Jones Law set her sights on him from the start. She was a clerk. She was smitten, and eventually, she made her way into his bed. When he got tired of her and attempted to break it off, she stole information and sold it to an opposing firm. Well, the king found out and not only fired her but went so far as to have the chief of police, his buddy, issue a warrant for her arrest. She had to skip town. And hence the strict policy against management and subordinates was put in place.”
Lei’s eyes opened as big as saucers. “Is that true? Because that explains a lot.”
Bernadette kept staring intently at Ronnie.
“You could easily fall for a man like him. But nothing will ever come of it. He may sleep with you, but when he gets bored, you’ll be sent back down here.”
A Case For Love (Royals Series Book 3) Page 5