Trouble in Loveland

by Jennifer Peel

  “I don’t know if I’m in good enough shape to do a race right now.”

  He slowed and looked me over. “You look in good shape to me.”

  I raised my eyebrow at him, but my insides were saying, Yes!

  He ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair, which made it stick up some. Dang he looked good. “I just meant you wouldn’t have any problem finishing it.”

  Now I was back to being annoyed, and my insides swore again. They did that a lot lately. “Maybe next year.”

  “If you change your mind, let me know.”

  I nodded my head. We were back to our houses by then. This time he stopped at his house. I just kept going the several yards to my house and waved goodbye on my way.

  “See you later,” he called out.

  Yeah, yeah, I thought. I walked into our backyard and tried to nurse my wounded ego by reminding myself that there was a man or two out there that found me completely womanly and even beautiful. Where was Jay when I needed an ego boost? I left him, I reminded myself. I knew it was the right thing to do, but part of me missed him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t how I should miss him.

  I decided to dress extra womanly for my first day. I didn’t want to be treated like a kid, or worse, the boss’ kid. I wore a black pencil skirt that hugged the curves quite nicely, and I paired it with a form-fitting coral blouse. It made my girls stand out nicely. Unfortunately, I needed to wear heels; I figured I’d better work on walking gracefully in heels. I normally stayed away from them due to my height, but I needed the practice for the wedding. I slipped on some respectable black peep-toe pumps, and my feet protested. Sorry, I told them. They would thank me later when they were prepared for the red hooker heels I would be sporting at the wedding.

  My dad’s eyes bugged out when he saw me come up the stairs to the kitchen from the family room. “Wowza.”

  “Good morning, Dad.”

  He shook his head. “Whoa! You look grown up.”

  Well, at least someone noticed.

  I smiled.

  “I think I may have to add a new office policy. No looking at my daughter.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.” Considering half of his employees were women, and from what I remembered, most everyone was married. Of course, we know that could have changed, just ask Ryan. One thing I knew for sure, the guy I wanted to look at me saw me as a child.

  “So, are you and Ryan running partners now?” my dad asked as he perused his paper.

  “Uh, no. Apparently, Ryan feels it is his neighborly duty to watch over the young girls that run by themselves in this dangerous town. And when did you become such a Peeping Tom?”

  He set his paper down and laughed. “I forgot how cheeky you are.”

  I raised my eyebrow at him from the fridge. “Cheeky? I prefer witty.”

  He smiled at me and went back to his paper.

  “Do you want me to make your lunch, Dad?”

  He looked up, surprised. “I was planning on taking you out for lunch, to celebrate your first day.”

  I closed the refrigerator. “Oh. Ok … but somewhere healthy.”

  My dad narrowed his eyes in concern. “You’re not on a diet are you?”

  “No. I don’t believe in them. Let’s just say Krissy owes me.”

  My dad shook his head. “That sounds like something womanly I need to stay out of.”

  “Good call.”

  My dad and I drove in together. I almost said no, only because I didn’t want to feel more like a child, but my dad was really fond of the idea and I didn’t want to disappoint him again. The drive was barely fifteen minutes. Not much had changed, except when we pulled into the parking lot, the sign now read, Jensen and Carter Accounting.

  I looked over to my dad. I hadn’t been expecting that.

  He winked at me. “Don’t worry, there’s still room for one more Jensen on that sign.”

  Yeah, that’s not what I worried about. I nodded my head in silence and tried not to grimace. There were already quite a few cars in the parking lot. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what waited for me through the double doors of Jensen and Carter Accounting.

  The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that the décor had been updated. It looked nice. The furniture was now darker instead of the old oak furniture. The paint was a neutral, but there were pops of green in the chairs and artwork that made everything look clean and classy.

  “I love what you’ve done with the office.”

  “I figured it was time to get out of the nineties.”

  I concurred.

  My dad walked me around the office and introduced me to some of the newer employees, and, of course, there were some I already knew, including Felicity, my dad’s secretary who happened to love me. I think she may have crushed a rib in greeting me.

  “Look at how beautiful you’ve grown up to be,” she said as she touched my cheek. “It seems like yesterday you were ten.”

  “Thanks, Ms. McLaughlin.” For some reason she had never been married. I could never figure out why. I always thought she was an attractive lady, and she had a great personality.

  “You should call me Felicity now.”

  “Ok.” I nodded.

  Ryan was already there, too. It looked like he and my dad had offices next to each other now. He came out and greeted us. “Good morning, Jeff.” He turned his attention my way, and oddly, his eyes kind of popped out a little as he cleared his throat. “Charlee?”

  Why does he keep saying my name like it’s a question? “Ryan.”

  I wasn’t sure if he had allergies or a cold, but he cleared his throat again. “You’re looking well … I mean, you look different than you did this morning.” He rubbed the back of his neck and turned a little colorful.

  “I did try to talk my dad into changing the dress policy to a more athletic bent, but it was a no-go.”

  Both my dad and Felicity laughed. Ryan, on the other hand, smiled nervously. “Well … uh … welcome.”

  “Thanks, Ryan.”

  My dad got me settled in my own office. It was Ryan’s old office, which was kind of weird for me. I was just glad I didn’t have to work in a cubicle, but I’m sure somebody there was hoping for the empty office, and they were probably seething that the owner’s daughter got it. I didn’t plan to be there that long, so whoever was up for it wouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

  I was going to be working with some of the smaller companies that hired the firm to handle all of their payroll services. My dad said if I proved myself, he would throw a mid-size company my way, as well. I tried to act eager, as if I wanted the challenge, but it was really hard to muster up the enthusiasm. I promised myself I would give this job and my dad one hundred percent, though. Besides, we were constantly warned in school about the trouble and penalties we could cause for ourselves and our future clients if we weren’t careful. The government doesn’t mess around where money is concerned.

  As soon as I was settled and waiting for someone named Debra to come in and train me on the software that the office used, my phone went off. It was a text from Jay.

  “Good luck this morning. I’m thinking about you. Miss you.”

  I held my phone to my heart. He was such a good guy.

  “Thanks,” I texted back. Then, I hesitated. “I miss you, too.” It was true. I did miss him, just not the way he wanted me to miss him. I wasn’t sure if I should say it back because I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, but he said all along he could tell I wasn’t as into him as he was into me. That made me feel terrible, but it was true.

  He didn’t text back. I’m sure he was busy. He had landed a great job in Overland Park as an Operations Research Analyst. On top of everything else, he was smart, too.

  Krissy was next. Her text was much more comical. “I hope you’re enjoying the scenery. By the way, my mom says she saw you running this morning. You should ask him to be your plus-one at the wedding.”

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nbsp; I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to think I was living in a fish bowl. “Ha! Don’t you have some pyramid you need to be on top of?”

  Krissy ran cheer camps. Her dream was to be a Denver Bronco’s cheerleader, but for some reason, that was the one thing that had eluded her. I wasn’t sure why; she had the skills and the looks. Oh well, she seemed happy doing what she was doing, and besides, I think Chance was hoping his bride-to-be would forget about that particular dream. I don’t think he was too keen on Krissy showing off her assets for the whole world to see on national television.

  I spent the rest of the morning learning the software. It was pretty straightforward and intuitive. I had lunch with my dad, and then that afternoon I was on the phone with my dad introducing me to the companies I would be taking care of. Eventually, I would be meeting with them face to face, but my dad thought it was good to at least have an initial phone introduction. My dad talked to everyone like they were all old friends. I supposed that was why he was so successful. People knew they were getting someone that genuinely cared about them and their needs. It made me more determined to do a good job for my dad.

  Chapter Six

  June began and we were T minus thirty-four days until the big day. Krissy was getting married on the Fourth of July—it fell on a Saturday that year. She was even planning on shooting off fireworks at the end of the reception as she and Chance rode off into the sunset, as it were. My days were filled with work and my evenings were spent trying to calm Krissy down and helping with wedding preparations. I swore if I ever got married, I was having a simple wedding. None of this everyone-needs-their-own-personalized-wedding-favor. I mean really, who needed or even wanted a hand-stamped gift bag that included things like lip balm with the couple’s names on it and personalized candy? I loved Krissy, but I didn’t need her name and wedding date plastered on my ChapStick; but there I sat, stamping bags. Even worse, we were personalizing the wine glasses that everyone got to take home. I’m just going to say, I hate vinyl.

  I was still running my butt off, literally. The running also had another positive side effect—Ryan joined me every morning. I enjoyed our little tete-a-tetes. He was still trying to outwit me, and I was still trying to beat him to the dang bench, but I also got to learn a little about him, like how he ended up buying his parent’s house. They had given him an incredible deal and he wanted Josh to have a house to grow up in, no matter which parent he was with. Apparently, Victoria got their home in the divorce. I also learned that Victoria was a part-time private tutor and a fulltime mom. From the sounds of it, she was a really good mom and Josh was her life. It sounded like financially, Ryan was still quite supportive of Victoria. I respected that.

  Ryan also liked to talk a lot about work and our clients. I did my best to be engaged, and admittedly, I tried to show off how smart I was. I have to say, I think he was impressed. I’m sure he, like everyone else, was thinking I was just the boss’ daughter and didn’t have any real skills. He even offered to help me study for my CPA exams. I honestly didn’t really need it, but I accepted the help because time spent with Ryan was time well spent. I was hoping that perhaps he was beginning to see me as a woman. I was even contemplating making a fool of myself and asking Ryan if, perhaps, he wanted to be my plus-one at Krissy’s wedding, even though he had his own invite. I was just going to ask him as friends … and if my lips accidentally fell on his at the end of the night, so be it. I would blame it on the champagne I wouldn’t be drinking. Alcohol and I didn’t mix, and in light of my dad’s tryst, I wasn’t a big fan of losing control of my faculties.

  My courage was being bolstered by Krissy and her mom. You know the kind of encouragement I’m talking about: “You two would look so well together” and “Of course he sees you as a woman, look at you.” “Any man would consider himself lucky to be your date.” And then there were the dreams. Finally my brain was getting it right, so much so I couldn’t wait to go to bed sometimes. Let’s just say, dream Ryan was muy caliente, and to top it off, Ryan had asked me a couple of times during our runs who I was going with. From the sounds of it, he didn’t have a date either.

  So, halfway through June, when he came into my office to find me, let’s say not quite focused on my work, I was thrown for a loop. First of all, I wasn’t really messing around, I had kept my promise. I was a model employee, and so far the clients I had were pleased. I had already helped one save some money by getting them into a cafeteria plan that they had no idea they were eligible for. I was also getting a jump on quarterly reports for each of them. But anyway, back to why I was a little preoccupied. So my favorite band ever, One Republic, was coming to Red Rocks Amphitheater, which was made even cooler because they’re from Colorado. Their first show had sold out, and they were adding a second one for the middle of July. I was stoked, so at ten, when the tickets went on sale online, I knew I had to get in on that action. I had already received my first couple of paychecks, and what better way to waste them than on concert tickets?

  It was at that time Ryan walked in. I was so torn … look at beautiful Ryan or my computer screen where I was in a virtual waiting room, that’s how fast the tickets were selling. Ryan was yammering on about something accountant-related, I think he was asking if I wouldn’t mind taking on a new account, which I nodded in response to. I knew as soon as I was out of the waiting room I would have to act quickly or I could kiss my tickets goodbye. Then, there it was, I was out of the waiting room. I quickly went to typing, and this was when I heard something like, “Hey, I have these two tickets and …”

  Suddenly Ryan was getting my full attention. Ryan asking me out was better than One Republic. I’m sorry Ryan Tedder (the lead singer), but it was true. I guess I had a thing for Ryan’s.

  Ryan rubbed the back of his neck as he stood in front of my desk like he was nervous. I liked this. “… I know this is short notice.”

  Who cares, I thought. I would go with him at the last second if he asked.

  “It’s just, Jacquelyn has really wanted to see this French film, and it’s only playing at the Mayan this weekend, and I have Josh tonight, and my normal babysitter isn’t available, and Josh really likes you so, I was wondering if …”

  OH. MY. GOSH. He was asking me to babysit. What was I, thirteen? And to think I was going to ask him to be my date for the wedding. I shook my head like I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and it was then I caught a glimpse of my screen. I quickly turned to it and typed in that I was looking for, two seats in the best available category. I didn’t know who would go with me, well I knew who it wasn’t going to be … Ryan Carter. My first search came up empty. I panicked, quickly typed in one seat at the highest price. I just wanted to go. It was then I heard Ryan say, “So are you available tonight?”

  I shook my head no, but at the screen not him. There were no tickets available. I lost my chance all on my silly unrealistic hope that my teenage crush was finally coming around. I looked up at him and glared.

  “What?” he said.

  “You made me lose tickets to One Republic, my favorite band ever.”

  “Oh, so you’re available to babysit then?”

  I stared at him blankly. He was so dense.

  “Again, sorry about the short notice, but I’m in a bind.”

  “Fine.” I waved my hand at him.

  He looked relieved. He must really like this Jacquelyn. It reminded me he only dated women with proper, snobbish-sounding names. I should have remembered that and got my head out of the clouds.

  “Ok, so can you come to my house tonight at six?”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  He smiled genuinely. “Thanks, I owe you one. Oh, and by the way, I won’t mention your using company time to purchase concert tickets.”

  “Well, thanks to you that didn’t happen. And I’m going to plead boss’ daughter on this one.”

  He laughed at me as he walked out. If only I had something to chuck at his head. I eyed my stapler, but that could have gotten ugly.

>   On the way home with my dad, I stewed. I knew I was delusional, but really. Babysitting?

  My dad must have noticed. “How was your day? You seem out of sorts.”

  I turned from wistfully looking out the window, to him. “It was fine.”

  He grinned. “There’s that word again, fine. By the way, I’ve been hearing very good reports about you. You’re doing a great job, kiddo.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “So what do you want to do tonight?”

  “Oh, well I told Ryan I would babysit for him.”

  My dad looked at me in confusion.

  That’s how I felt, too. “Maybe I should start up my babysitting business again,” I teased. Krissy and I had had a babysitting service when we were teens. We’d actually made some pretty good money. I think I would have liked being a babysitter better than an accountant.

  My dad chuckled.

  We got home, and I quickly changed into some shorts and a t-shirt and scarfed down some leftovers from the previous night’s lasagna. What had my life become? I was supposed to be in my prime, but here I was babysitting on a Friday night. I kissed my dad on the head and headed out the door. I walked to Ryan’s house, but not before I admired Mulberry Lane. It really was the best place ever. I looked around and saw kids riding their bikes and moms and dads out walking with their kids and babies. It was a beautiful neighborhood, too—large, leafy trees and, of course, pine trees filled everyone’s yards, and there were flowers blooming like crazy everywhere. It also smelled wonderful, like barbecue.

  I practically skipped to my dumb neighbor’s house. Oh well, at least I got to spend the evening with the cutest kid ever. He and I were becoming good friends. His dad had been bringing him over to our house frequently to jump on our trampoline. I was also teaching him how to dribble a basketball. Last weekend I held him up, and surprisingly, he made a basket. He was pretty strong for a little guy; I don’t think most kids his size could push a full size ball up and into a hoop. He was so excited. “Cherry, I did it!” he said.