He's Got Her Goat

by Christine

  Sterling got to his feet and leaned over her desk. “What are you talking about, Elaine?”

  “That was one of my partners. He’s heard that someone else is putting an offer on Earth Tech. If you don’t move immediately, it will be gone. Didn’t you hear me on the phone? I booked both of your flights for the early afternoon. It will be a push, but I think we’ll have just enough time to get everything done we need to here.” Her chin wrinkled in concern. “I could cancel.”

  Sterling sat down and looked at the floor. Paige could see this meant a lot to him. There might be a solution that would work. “Could I get a friend of mine to oversee the goats on my behalf? I know you’re trying to be fair, Elaine, but if someone who knows me could keep an eye out for them, it would make me feel more comfortable.”

  Sterling straightened. “Who do you have in mind?”

  Paige bit her lip. “He’s a mutual friend. He introduced us.”

  “Austin?”

  Paige put her hand on his. “You don’t know him like I do, Sterling. He’s a genius.”

  Sterling smiled. “I didn’t until this morning. We work together.”

  “Oh.” Paige wondered if there might be some conflict of interest and then remembered who Austin was. No, she wouldn’t have to worry about him. He wasn’t capable of lying.

  “Austin, it is.” Elaine stood and walked to the door. “I’ll contact him immediately and give him an overview before I send him your way. Meanwhile, Sterling, why don’t you take our newest employee to your office and brief her on your research?” Elaine lifted a manila envelope from a lamp table next to the door. “And here are those final numbers you’ve been anxious for. I think you’ll be pleased.”

  Elaine turned the door handle and waited for Sterling and Paige to come to her.

  Before leaving, Paige paused then hugged her new boss. “I can’t tell you how much your help means to me. It’s wonderful to know there are still good people out there willing to make things right.”

  Elaine grinned. “My secretary has some final details to cover with you.”

  Satisfied, Paige hurried out the door.

  STERLING HUNG BACK. He fingered the envelope in his hand. He could have bought everything Elaine said as true, except the push to get to Dallas. A phone call could suspend a competitor’s offer as easily as a face to face visit. A few days here or there shouldn’t make that much of a difference.

  The bigger question in his mind was why hadn’t he stood up to Elaine and given Paige that extra time? His conscience seemed to be butting against the inside of his chest like one of Paige’s goat. He knew his answer. Due to his incognito weekend, he was already on thin ice and didn’t want to risk Paige changing her mind. He hoped Elaine’s reason was that straightforward but doubted it. No, they were both being used.

  He really didn’t mind being a pawn in one of Elaine’s chess games because she always won. As long as he was on her team, he had complete confidence he’d come out ahead. What he did mind was that he couldn’t understand why she was making these most recent moves. He was missing something. Something big.

  The best he could do was to keep his eyes open and play along. Hopefully, things would clear up as the game progressed, and when she decided to sacrifice a pawn, he really hoped it wouldn’t be him.

  Elaine took his hand. “Take good care of her, Sterling. I want you to put her needs even before your own.”

  He noticed she didn’t say before her needs. Nothing came before what Elaine wanted. Now he was certain she wasn’t on the up and up. “How benevolent of you.” He gave Elaine a mock bow.

  She laughed out loud. “Sterling, you know me better than that.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  STERLING LED PAIGE TO HIS OFFICE. As they rounded the corridor, he saw Dotty’s flaming red hair bob above the edge of her high desk. “And who do we have here?” she said.

  His heartbeat hitched for a second which unnerved him. Somehow it mattered to him what Dotty thought of Paige. He had felt the same way in high school when he introduced his first girlfriend to his mother. He put an arm around Paige. “Dotty, this is who I spent the weekend with. Her name is Paige, and she’s a bio-chemist.”

  Dotty focus returned to her desk. “What you do on the weekend is none of my business.”

  Paige stepped forward. “It’s not what it sounds like. I’ve been hired temporarily and will be working with Sterling and you, I assume.” She looked to Sterling who nodded in assent. “I’m Paige Lindon.”

  “Lindon? That sounds familiar.” Dotty got to her feet. Her form-fitting dress was flattering despite her age.

  “I’ve lived in the area most of my life,” Paige offered.

  Dotty inspected Paige, head to toe, not unlike airport security. “Good for you, but that’s not it.” Then she stared at Sterling.

  “Is anything wrong?” He’d never seen her so closed lipped about her opinion.

  Dotty wouldn’t look his direction. “Nothing. Nothing. Welcome to you, Ms. Lindon. If you need anything, I’m sure Sterling will help you.” She went back behind her desk and began clacking at her computer, ensuring that any conversation was ended between them.

  He’d talk to Dotty later about what was going on. She was so temperamental. She could take a disliking to someone for the smallest reason like how they pronounced the word ‘syrup’ or whether their clothes fit properly. Looking at Paige in her sharp navy suit, he knew that wouldn’t be his secretary’s excuse this time. The jacket accentuated Paige’s thin waist beautifully and the pants her long legs.

  He shrugged it off and showed Paige into his office. After placing a stack of several studies and an overview of the industry on the sofa, Sterling bid Paige to sit. As she began reading, he took the prospectus he’d been waiting for to his desk and at last opened the cover. Sterling hadn’t finished the first sentence before Paige interrupted him.

  “Did you notice Earth Tech exceeds the comparable companies in rebuilds but has a twenty percent greater cost in their bio recycling? Do you know why there’s a difference?” she asked.

  Sterling was surprised he hadn’t noticed it earlier. “No, but good catch. That’s a great question to ask, and since you’re the chemist, I’d expect you to take that segment of the interview.” He continued to read but looked forward to her insights. She found three more detailed questions that Sterling had overlooked.

  A couple of hours later, Sterling had made two important discoveries. First, Earth Tech was better than he could have dreamed. Their numbers from last year were rock solid, and the company was poised to skyrocket. Second, the same was true of Paige. Better than he could have dreamed. He knew she was committed, kind and a hard worker, but he hadn’t realized what a great mind she had. He sat at his desk and watched her on the sofa, still combing through the last of the paperwork, jotting notes on a pad beside her. Now that she knew who he really was, he wondered if he could tell her how he really felt as well.

  He cleared his throat to get her attention. “Paige, you’re going to be a great asset to this project.”

  She grinned at his words but continued focusing on the file in her hand. He clenched his hand around his pen and jabbed the instrument in his pocket. Putting off women for so long had left him out of practice. He got to his feet, feeling more nervous than he could remember. “I mean, I want you to know—”

  A knock on the door saved him from going further. It was Austin.

  Paige gave the intern a hardy embrace. “I’m so glad you could come.”

  Austin gave a stiff bow. “I’ve been told you could use my services and am here to ask for details.”

  “Yes.” Paige began. “Did Ms. Erickson tell you the news? I’m working with Sterling this week while my goats are moved, and some things are decided. This will only be temporary, and I know it will be terribly inconvenient, but I need you for one week.”

  “I was about to be reassigned anyway.” Austin raised his hand like a kindergartener. “Can I use my tracking system, do
you remember it?”

  Laughing, Paige patted his arm. “On everything but the goats. I don’t think they’d like microdots stuck to their foreheads.”

  Sterling walked to the door. “Why don’t I let you two have some privacy? If you need anything, help yourself.”

  He could hear Paige and Austin begin to go over the details of the move, but a few things were still bothering him that he hadn’t covered with Elaine. Most of all, why was she doing this? He hoped that as the office gossip, Dotty might have a clue, especially since she wasn’t her normal personable self when meeting Paige.

  Stepping out the door, he was a little surprised to find her desk empty and strolled around the hall to the main area of the office. It was a little after ten, and the work day was in full swing. Sterling felt sorry for the associates stationed right in front of Elaine’s office because it wasn’t only their responsibility to look busy at all times but also to pretend they didn’t notice the goings on in her personal area. Even from where he was standing, he could tell something was up. The voices of two women having a very heated interaction were twice the volume of the music piped through the speakers.

  Sterling neared but tried to stay out of either woman’s line of vision by putting his back against the wall next to the entrance of Elaine’s office area.

  Silence.

  Sterling hesitated in his hiding place then decided to proceed and nearly ran into Dotty. Streaks of mascara were streaming down her cheeks as she rounded the corner. She didn’t even look surprised, just shook her finger and said, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from that witch. Stay away!” Then she ran off.

  With how upset she was, Sterling decided not to follow her yet. He also didn’t plan on heeding her advice.

  Elaine was almost to her door when Sterling caught her. “We’ve got to talk.”

  “In here.” She opened her door and locked it. “That conversation should never have happened.”

  Sterling stared at her. Elaine was shaking and poured herself a drink. In all the years he’d worked for her, he had never seen Elaine so much as break a sweat, even in the most intense of negotiations. To see her so frazzled left him worried. “What can I do?”

  “There you go again.” She sat in her large leather chair and leaned back. “Why does being a Boy Scout come so naturally to you?”

  He didn’t answer and knew Elaine didn’t expect him to. She finished her drink while he ironically remembered his father’s anger at his refusal to go to scout camp in favor of football camp.

  Elaine put her empty glass on her desk. “You might as well know that Dotty and Paige’s uncle used to be intimate.”

  Sterling waited. “Then why is she so upset?”

  “She thinks I broke them up,” Elaine said, “but I was only helping him.”

  “How?” he asked.

  Elaine ran her hand across the edge of her desk as she spoke. “I already told you how I began my career by flipping houses. Bill was my roofing supplier, and Dotty was his assistant of sorts.”

  “How’d she come to work for you?” Now he was interested. He knew Dotty had been with the firm longer than he had, but she’d never filled him in on the details.

  Elaine sat up straight in her chair. “When Bill’s brother died in a car accident, he wanted to spend more time with his little niece. That’s when he agreed to sell me his company. Dotty came with it. It was my first corporate acquisition.” He could hear the pride in her voice during that last bit.

  “How old was Paige then?”

  “Five or six. I never met her before today.” Elaine got to her feet. “And I can’t imagine why Dotty is so upset. You try to do a favor for an old friend, and this is the thanks you get.”

  Sterling wanted to hear Dotty’s side of things. “Don’t judge her too harshly.”

  Elaine let out a dry laugh. “I won’t if you take whatever she says with a grain of salt.”

  “Deal.” He shook Elaine’s hands and headed around the corner, feeling more unsettled than when he had arrived.

  His pace quickened with each stride until by the time he was near his own office, he was at a jog. He stopped short as his brain registered Dotty talking to Paige. He blinked. Paige was hugging Dotty who had wiped some of her dripping makeup off but still had the telltale red nose and bloodshot eyes. Paige looked up to Sterling and called to him. “Apparently, your secretary had a real scare. Her grandson was left behind on a fieldtrip. They found him, but she’s got to go pick him up. Can you imagine?”

  A soft cough at his elbow told him that Elaine had followed.

  With her purse slung over her shoulder, Dotty marched by the two of them. As she passed between Sterling and Elaine, she said under her breath, “This is not over.” Then she kept on going to the elevators.

  Innocent of anything out of the ordinary, Paige approached them. “Don’t we need to get ready for our flight? I’ve got to at least go home and pack.”

  Elaine was first to answer. “Not enough time. You’ve got to be at the airport in two hours.”

  Although Sterling was excited to get on his way, Elaine seemed over anxious. There it was again, that hitch that made him know something was up. They could travel later that afternoon or even take the red eye and still get to Texas in plenty of time.

  Touching his arm as if to inform him, Elaine continued, “I’ll include a wardrobe budget in your expense accounts, Sterling. Your hotel’s right next to the Galleria, and you can help Paige find appropriate attire. You might as well enjoy the largest shopping mall in the Texas while you’re there.” She quickly changed the subject. “Paige, do you think Austin here is set?”

  Hanging back behind the open door, Austin stepped into the hallway at the sound of his name. “Everything is under control, ma’am.” He bowed stiffly, and Sterling understood why his first impression of the boy was that he wasn’t very bright.

  “Well done.” Elaine seemed in her element. “Now, Paige and Austin, if you’ll come with me, I’ve got the milkers and vet ready downstairs. They’ll need to get your input, and then we’ll just have time to train the two chemists who will mix the soap. Of course, we may need to contact you later, but I’d really prefer we take care of all of the details now.”

  Gesturing for Paige to proceed ahead of them, Elaine met Sterling’s eyes one last time. She smiled and whispered. “I’m hoping this takes the full week. Don’t feel you have to hurry back. There’s lots to keep you busy in Dallas.” Though he’d seen her manipulate people dozens of times, this was different. He felt like one of the victims, not one of the players.

  WITHIN THE HOUR, Paige and Sterling were being driven by limo to the airport. Paige kept up a running monologue about how much confidence she had in the professionals that would take care of her goats and in Austin who had seemed to anticipate her every concern. Sterling’s mind barely followed along. He tried to piece together what was going on. Elaine had already told Paige her uncle was an old acquaintance. After Sterling had accosted her, Elaine hadn’t really told him much more than that. Her bait and switch routine was flawless. He was more focused on Dotty than Paige the entire conversation. No, it was quite clear something didn’t smell right, but all he had were suspicions.

  Paige laid her hand on his, and he again felt her velvet skin. “Sterling, Earth Tech really does seem amazing, almost too good to be true.”

  Sterling thought the same thing about her. Joe’s kiss didn’t matter anymore. She was in his world now, and he hoped she’d never go back. This time he wouldn’t blow it. He could clean up any mess Elaine got Paige into later.

  “I don’t think anything is too good for either of us,” he said with confidence. All he needed was time to win her over, and this week in Texas should be just long enough.

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE LATE SPRING TEXAS AIR was already so humid it clung around Paige’s armpits and in the skin beneath her nose. Though in the low eighties, it felt at least ten degrees warmer. After deboardin
g, they were met by a chauffeur holding a handwritten sign which read, “Lindon and Keller.” Once they pulled away from the airport, her nose was glued to the window.

  Unlike the Northwest where every view was punctuated and obstructed by green forests, Dallas was wide and flat. Buildings were everywhere, but the streets were wide enough that it didn’t feel crowded in. While the landscape was somewhat bland, the skyscape captured her. Each large cloud seemed to be molded by some divine modern artist, begging for an interpretation to his masterpiece. She couldn’t help but comment on it. “Sterling doesn’t that one look like an elephant on a unicycle.”

  He laughed for the first time since they had left. “I guess it does.”

  In all the excitement of the flight and the flurry of speed reading hundreds of papers in preparation for her first assignment, Paige hadn’t considered how oddly Sterling was behaving. Did he still felt guilty for lying to her? She might as well deal with the elephant in the car instead of the one in the sky. She turned to him. “Okay, Sterling, spill it. What’s wrong?”

  He peered out the window. “Nothing, really.”

  She took his hand in both of hers. “Okay, so I might have been really upset when this first all happened, but I think it’s all worked out for the best. Our first encounter may have been bumpy, but I get that Elaine probably told you to check me out and not tell me who you were. I’m not mad anymore.”

  He stared at her hands and wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  She could tell he was struggling deeply with something and wracked her brain for what it might be. “And I’m sorry about that whole feet washing thing. It only started because you made me a little jealous.”

  That brought a smile to his lips. “Jealous, of whom?”

  “Who do you think?” She was happy to finally see light in his pale eyes. “Of Julie and her friend. They just seem to be more in your league.”

  He gave her half a smile. “Uh, you thought I was homeless and jobless then.”