“No. Michael Jones and Bob Gershon, my campaign manager, will also ride with us. I’m taking the limousine.”
“Oh. Okay then,” she said trying hard to keep the lilt going and the disappointment from creeping into her voice.
Why had she assumed this was going to be a date or something? Silly girl. When would she get it? The man was her boss, and that was all he would ever be.
“I’ll just go to the ladies and freshen up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
~*~*~*~
Pulling his cell phone from its holster, David watched Ronnie walk away and told himself that his invitation was in no way inappropriate.
And just to convince her and himself that this was the case he had made the split-second decision that they wouldn’t travel to the launch alone.
Bob Gershon answered on the second ring.
“Bob. Let’s carpool tonight,” David said.
“Carpool?” Bob Gershon repeated scornfully as though David had suggested that they go skinny dipping.
“Sure. No sense in us both driving when we’re going the same place, and you’ve got to pass my office to get there.”
“I suppose…”
“Super.”
David then called one of the senior partners, his cousin, Michael Jones, and invited him to also accompany him to the event.
It was all set, and David felt quite proud of himself. A minute later, though, he began to feel discomfort as the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he was treading the thin line between being dishonest and not sharing all the information.
David groaned. Maybe he needed to confess to Ronnie that he had invited the other two after he had invited her out and not the other way around.
He decided that upon Ronnie’s return he would confess about his carpooling invitation.
Fifteen minutes later, David heard a noise and looked up. Ronnie was standing before him and whatever he thought of saying to her went clean out of his head. All he could do was stare.
The severe black jacket she had worn that day was gone, revealing a white silk top that was mesmerizing against her beautiful olive skin and a straight red skirt. And that hair, that silky, lustrous hair she insisted on wearing hidden from him in a bun or some other pinned-up style each day, was now flowing all around her face and down her shoulders.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Huh?” he said, a moment before he caught himself. “Uh…yeah…yes…the car is downstairs. Let’s go.”
They took the private elevator just adjacent to his office. It led straight to the garage bay where he normally parked his SUV. But tonight he selected First Floor instead of Basement because that was where his chauffeur, Julio, awaited them.
When they reached the lobby, Bob and Michael were already there, waiting.
David observed Bob’s face immediately light up like a Christmas tree when he saw Ronnie. The man was just eating her up with his eyes. David fought the illogical desire to drape his arm around her possessively.
“Hi, guys. Ronnie is coming as well. She worked on the Ferrari account.”
Bob smiled. “Hi, Ronnie.”
David was momentarily stunned. It was the first time he had seen a smile on Bob Gershon’s face.
Julio stood by the opened car door as David gestured for Ronnie to precede him. Then he climbed in and sat next to her. He reasoned that the other two men could draw whatever conclusions they cared to, but he wasn’t about to allow either of them to occupy the seat of choice.
A few minutes into the drive, Ronnie turned to David and her hair brushed against his shoulder.
“There was something I wanted to run by you, David.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I spent the whole day looking for a file,” she complained.
“Sorry to hear that. Did you find it?” he said soothingly, distracted somewhat by how good she smelled. He recognized it as the same perfume she had worn that night he had taken her home after the bar fight.
This train of thought instantly reminded David that a relationship with this woman spelled trouble. He needed to keep his head on around her.
David eased across the black leather seats, putting distance between him and Ronnie by several inches.
“Eventually I did...” She paused. “Is something wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“You moved away.”
“I felt as though I was crowding you. You were saying.”
“Umm…right…the trouble is that this firm is still conducting searches largely through a paper-based filing system, which is odd for a business that prides itself on being so progressive.”
That particular filing system was a sore point for David.
“There is legal document management software installed on the system,” he said dismissively.
“Yeah, and it’s useless because it needs updating.”
“The IT manager is otherwise engaged right now,” he said in a tone meant to halt further discussion.
She seemed unfazed by his disinterest.
“It doesn’t need the IT manager. As you said, the software is already there. It’s a simple matter of upgrading it to include email management, then having it updated with missing information, and instituting a policy where it is updated at the end of each day. Also, we would need to train staff, company-wide, to ensure they have the necessary skills to utilize the system effectively.”
“I’ll assign someone to look into it,” he said, annoyance creeping into his tone.
“I volunteer.”
“You?”
David turned to look Ronnie full in the face.
“What time do you have to do that? It will mean additional work and stress for you, especially with your current work schedule.”
“It’s important. In the long run, it will make all our lives easier. In fact, it could move us towards a paperless office environment. No more hours spent searching for hard copy documents. Besides, Tracey told me that part of my role as your assistant is to ensure that processes are implemented to improve efficiencies. I’m simply doing my job.”
He turned around to face the front again.
“Suit yourself. That’s not a priority for me. I expect the deadlines for my priority matters to be met.”
“Don’t worry. They will be.”
They no longer conversed. She seemed to have picked up on his sour mood and did not try to engage him. In any case, they soon pulled up at the event.
David was quickly ushered into the green room and was joined there by three other prominent persons. He wasn’t sure who all of them were, but he recognized at least two. One was a NASCAR driver and the other a pop singer. He eventually found out that the third guy was the CEO of the Chicago branch of ExxonMobil.
“Who’re you? You look really familiar,” the pop singer asked as she sank down next to him in the overstuffed white chair with a drink in her hand. She was a skinny blonde, with too much eye makeup and wearing a form-fitting purple dress that left little to the imagination.
“David Jones,” he said. With a polite smile, he offered his hand.
She took it and seemed reluctant to let go.
She asked, “Did you star in that movie the other day…the one with Will Smith?”
“I think you’re confusing me with someone else. I’m not an actor. I’m a lawyer.”
She looked disappointed and a minute later got up to sit next to the race car driver.
David checked the time. He wondered where Ronnie was and why she wasn’t with him.
“Where’s Ronnie Dickson?” he asked the young man who had escorted him into the room.
“Who?”
“The young lady who came with me. Tall, slim, brunette. White blouse, red skirt.”
“She’s on the outside.”
David didn’t respond. But his blank facial expression probably said what he was thinking which was, ‘Well, obviously she’s on the outside if she isn’t on the inside, duh.’
; He was about to ask the man to fetch Ronnie when he was greeted by the CEO of Ferrari Maserati of Chicago, Giorgio Fabrizi, who proceeded to introduce all the guests to each other.
When he got to David, he said, “This is David Jones, CEO of Jones Law and the congressional nominee for the Sixteenth District.”
David smiled and nodded at the other members of the group. He noted that the pop singer’s interest seemed renewed. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was aware he was CEO of Jones Law or that he was running for office.
Soon after that, the short speeches were given by David, the CEO of ExxonMobil, and Giorgio Fabrizi. The car was test driven by the race car driver, the pop singer sang her rather formulaic song, and cocktails began.
“This is the mid-engine V-8 segment of the Ferrari line-up,” Giorgio was saying of the car. “It’s the sports car that’s ready for the track or the drive to the office. It provides a sense of exhilaration. You need to get this car, David. I will set you up. Special deal for our lawyer.”
David smiled and tried to stay engaged in conversation, but his eyes kept searching for Ronnie.
“It’s a beautiful car, Giorgio. No doubt about it. But sports cars just aren’t my thing. I’m a big man. I like big vehicles, like my Lexus LX 570. It’s both rugged and refined.”
He shrugged and continued, “My assistant, now, she’s really into sports cars. In fact, she drives an Audi R8…”
As David said this, his searching gaze landed on Ronnie. She was standing in a corner sipping a cocktail and chatting with Bob Gershon.
“Your assistant…?” Giorgio said, one eyebrow raised. “How much money do you pay your assistants?”
David chuckled. “She’s from a really wealthy family. Probably doesn’t even need to work for a living.”
“Really?”
David could almost see the wheels in Giorgio’s head turning. Giorgio followed his gaze.
“This is her? Your assistant? The girl in the red skirt with the long dark hair?”
David nodded.
“Oh, my!…she is…quite…exquisite, no?”
“Is she? I didn’t notice.”
Giorgio’s head snapped around, and he stared at David with a mixture of incredulity and skepticism.
David maintained a neutral expression as he sipped his drink and watched Ronnie and Gershon interact.
Suddenly, Giorgio burst out laughing.
“Of course you didn’t notice. I get it…so you will introduce me, please? I am a dealership. If she likes the fast cars, I would like to strike deal with her.”
David sighed, regretting he’d mentioned Ronnie to Giorgio Fabrizi, notorious womanizer.
Giorgio reached out and stopped an employee. He issued a few instructions.
A minute later, the employee was speaking to Ronnie.
“Uh…this rich family. Anyone I know?” Giorgio asked.
“No.”
David saw Ronnie’s head come up and she looked straight at him. She excused herself from Gershon and came over to them.
“Hi,” she said smiling broadly.
Her eyes lighted on him first, and then on the handsome Italian.
“Ronnie, I’d like to introduce you to Giorgio Fabrizi. He owns this dealership. Giorgio, this is Ronnie Dickson, my legal assistant. She worked on the Ferrari account.”
Ronnie held out a hand. Giorgio snatched it between his own and then bent his head and planted a kiss there.
David was not pleased by the gesture nor the fact that Ronnie giggled and exclaimed, “Oh!”
“A pleasure to meet you, Ronnie. I understand you like fast cars,” Giorgio said.
She grinned. “Guilty.”
“You must love the Ferrari then?”
She nodded. “Very much.”
“The 488 GTB is quite a treat. I was telling David earlier that approximately 85% of the car is brand new.”
“Really? That’s remarkable. Is it true it’s gone to turbo power?”
“Si. It was our biggest challenge, though.”
“Why is that?”
“There was fear that a turbo-charged engine wouldn’t perform as crisply as the naturally aspirated V-8 found in the 458 and that it wouldn’t sound as good under acceleration.”
“From what I heard tonight I’d say those fears were allayed.”
“Si. This is true. You are very observant–”
“Excuse me, Mr. Fabrizi.”
Giorgio looked around at his attendant who spoke softly into his ear.
“I have to go,” he said reluctantly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a card. “But call me, please,” he said to Ronnie. “I would wish to have more discussion with you on this matter. Si? I work out special deal for you. Please, do you have a card?”
Ronnie smiled as she took Giorgio’s card.
“I didn’t bring my cards with me, I’m afraid.”
David sighed in relief as Giorgio walked away. He had been sure for a moment that he and Ronnie were going to talk about that Ferrari all night.
Ronnie took a slow sip of her drink and watched him. His gaze was riveted to that red mouth on the rim of the glass.
“Where did you disappear to after we came in?” he asked. “I was looking for you.”
She shrugged. “I figured they were interested in you, not me. I decided to observe from the sidelines.”
“The next time I bring you out please stay by my side, young lady,” he chided.
“Oh. So there will be a next time?” she asked, eyes twinkling.
“Yes. Your job as legal assistant includes attending social functions with me, as necessary,” he replied, careful to keep a straight face.
She didn’t seem to know if he was being facetious or not.
Eventually, she said, “Hmm. What else is included in my duties that I didn’t know about?”
“Sometimes I need a massage. You know on stressful days,” he teased.
Her eyes widened.
“But you…the other day when I…I got the impression you…” She took a couple deep breaths and placed her hand on her chest.
“Ronnie, relax. That was just a joke,” he said drawing out each word precisely.
He felt like kicking himself for his faux pas. How could he have forgotten the other day when she had attempted to massage his shoulders, and he had stopped her? She would not know the effect her touch had had on every single nerve in his body. He had felt as though he had been struck by an electric charge. Even grabbing her wrists had almost been his undoing. When his palms had come into contact with her satin smooth skin it had taken every drop of self-discipline he possessed not to drag her into his lap and kiss her until they both stopped breathing.
As he sipped his drink, he watched her gather her composure. A minute later they were interrupted by two acquaintances of his. He hardly knew them but had never been happier to see two people in his life.
After the limo had returned to the office, David escorted Ronnie down to the garage.
“Thanks for the invite. I had a great time,” she said.
“I’m glad you did.” He hesitated. “Umm…”
“Yes?”
How could he admit he’d invited the other two after inviting her without her assuming he had an interest in her? No, best to leave well enough alone.
“Nothing. Have a good night.”
Chapter 10
Ronnie spoke with the IT manager, and he agreed to have the software upgraded. That completed, the next task was to have the information in the system updated. She wondered who she could enlist to assist with this task. Who did she know who was both IT savvy and had too much time on their hands?
The next day Ronnie found Lei Randall in the cafeteria picking at a salad.
She pulled up a seat in front of her.
“Hi, Lei.”
Lei almost choked on an olive. She viewed Ronnie with suspicion.
“Have you got a minute?” Ronnie asked.
“Apparently I do,” Lei said, car
efully putting down her fork.
“There is a project I’m working on that I need your help with.”
Lei raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow.
“And why would I want to help you?”
“Because you’d be helping yourself.”
Lei didn’t speak, so Ronnie continued.
“There is a database that I need to populate with filing information to make our lives easier. No more hours spent manually searching for files. With a few clicks of a mouse, we would be accessing information.”
“I’m listening.”
“The system is already there. The problem is that it’s not up to date. We need to add information to it. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, however, and I already give ten of those hours to Jones Law. So I was thinking that if you partner with me, we can coordinate a project that will make this work.”
“How?”
“I want to get it up and running in two months. That means that we’ll need to get some interns to populate the database and one or two assistants to double-check their work. You will supervise the entire team.”
“And you?”
“I’ll manage the project. Provide guidance and advice. Interface with you whenever I need to. The team will report to me every two weeks to track progress.”
“I don’t mind researching files manually. I’m handling my workload quite well.”
Lei seemed intent on looking bored with the idea and resumed eating her salad.
“Did I mention that this project has David Jones’ support? I’m certain he would be very impressed with whoever makes this a reality.”
Lei sat up straighter. “What did you have in mind?”
“You’ve worked here longer than I have...”
“You got that right.”
“…so you’ll know the best two assistants to help. I’ll contact the University of Chicago Law School and ask them to recommend a list of students looking for summer internships.”
“Will the assistants and I get overtime?”
“I’ll speak to David about that, but I don’t think it will be a problem.”
“I suppose I can give it a try. But be warned, if it’s infringing on the quality of my work I’m done.”
“Don’t worry. Your role will strictly be supervisory. Once you identify the best assistants your job should be pretty easy.”
A Case For Love (Royals Series Book 3) Page 10