Second Time's the Charm
Page 25
“Fine, if you go away for ten minutes, I will punish you.” She smiled. “Good. I think I need to be spanked.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Then give me time to finish up.” When they finally reached the door, she pushed him into the hall. “Now go.”
As he started to walk down the corridor, she smiled and called out. “That’s ten whole uninterrupted minutes, Adam. No phone, email, IM, text or even smoke signals.”
He turned and saluted, then headed down the hall with a smile on his face. She shook her head and returned to her desk.
A soft knock beckoned from the doorframe.
“It hasn’t been ten minutes. There is no way you’re getting a good spanking,” she said as Julie entered the room. Oops! “Sorry, Julie, I thought you were Adam.” Allison cringed in embarrassment.
“I hope so. I really don’t want to be spanked—by you, anyway,” Julie said. “You’re lucky I’m not easily offended.” Julie attempted a smile. “So how’s it going, boss? I talked to Doug Kaminski. He liked the changes you made to the designs. He placed the order today.”
“That’s good news. Are you okay? You seem a bit down.”
“Bad day. Bad life. Take your pick.” Julie sighed. “Have you talked to your dad?”
“No, they only let the inmates call out once a week. I’m sure his phone call is used to call his lawyer, or Satan, or whoever he has found to listen to his bullshit. Lord knows no one here wants to talk to him.”
“You swore. You never swear.” Allison’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
“It’s the new me. A lot of this crap could have been avoided if I just spoke my mind. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m saying it like it is. By the way, have you heard the latest on Mörder?”
“Joe told Adam what happened. Can you believe they found him floating in the Chicago River?”
“Do they know what happened?”
“No. So far, the autopsy indicates suicide, but no one believes it.” Allison smirked. “There’s a reason sleeping with the fishes is associated with the mob.”
“But isn’t that the Italian mob?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m not up on my mob lingo.”
“Yeah, me either.” Julie’s already glum expression clouded further. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, No. My father was such a negative influence my whole life. I don’t know why I didn’t see it. Well, I guess I always saw it, I just didn’t do anything about it.”
“Julie, he’s your father. That’s understandable.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Julie played with a loose string on her shirt. “Have you heard from Ben?”
“No, you’ve probably heard more from him than I have.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Not really. I used the money from the stock Herb left me to buy Ben’s company, but I really haven’t talked with him about it at all. He signed the papers to sell and ran out the door. Brook lives in Oak Park and said she saw a For Sale sign on his lawn. He must be leaving the Chicagoland area.”
“Well, good riddance,” Julie said. Despite her attempt at nonchalance, Allison could see the shadows of hurt in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. Does he warrant ice cream therapy? Wine therapy?” Allison wrapped an arm around Julie’s shoulder.
“I would, but I’m done turning to junk food for support. However, I could be talked into a little bit of girl-talk and wine therapy.”
“Well, we’re heading out to dinner, come with us. Then afterwards, we’ll drink our weight in bubbly.” Allison smiled and went back to her desk. She started shutting down her computer and moving her paperwork into stacks. There was just no way she was getting any more work done tonight.
“Shutting down already? It’s only two o’clock.” Julie watched her stack the papers.
“Yeah. It will be here when I get back.”
“Ah, yes after your trip. Isn’t the flight tomorrow? Don’t you need to pack?” Julie asked as she played with the Newton’s Cradle on the desk. The click, click reverberated through the air.
“Yeah, but I always have time for you. Come with us to dinner?”
“Who’s going?”
“It’s Adam and me, Brook, and Brach.” Allison’s lips twitched into a grin. “Brook and Brach? “Who’s Brach?”
“Brach is the flavor of the month. I give it two weeks, solely based on the stupidity of their names together.”
“Although the idea of a fifth wheel scenario sounds super great, I think I’ll pass.”
“Come on. It’ll be fun. Don’t leave me alone with Brrr-squared,” Allison whined.
“You aren’t alone, you have Adam. And I have to pick up Cody.” Julie smiled in triumph.
“How is it going with Loraine watching him every day?”
“It’s been really great. Today they wandered around the zoo and Wednesday they went to the planetarium. He comes home so tired. She’s a godsend. Even if my dad’s assets hadn’t been frozen and I could afford another babysitter, I would still keep her. She’s by far the best sitter I’ve ever had.”
“That’s what grandmas are for.” Allison grinned. “Although it’s nice that Dale sold me his controlling interest in the company, it’s a shame he decided to move back to Singapore.”
“Yeah. I think Cody would have liked to have his father in his life. However, it’s probably better he left now, before Cody formed an attachment. One thing Dale has proven is his ability to abandon the ones he loves. Cody deserves better.”
Allison reached across the desk and covered Julie’s hand with her own. “Sweetheart, you do, too.”
“Yeah.” Julie pasted a smile on her face and glanced toward the door. “You should go to dinner, start your weekend.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not stuck eating with Brrr-squared.”
“Stop calling us that!” Brook burst into the office. “You think it’s cute, but it’s not.”
“Stop going out with total jerks,” Allison rebutted. “You think it’s cute, but it’s not.”
“Not everyone is lucky as you are, sister dear. Some of us have to work at it. We have to pass through the weeds to get to the flowers.” Brook patted Julie's shoulder as she walked around the desk. She kissed Allison on the head and sat in the second visitor chair next to Julie.
“Where did you find that saying?” Allison asked.
“I made it up. Lawyers can be very creative, you know. Come on, ladies.
Dinner awaits.”
“I’m not going. I refuse to be a fifth wheel,” Julie said as she stood up to leave. “That won’t be a problem. Brach isn’t going.” Brook focused her attention on a piece of lint on her skirt. She glanced up at two quizzical looks.
“What happened?” Julie asked as she grabbed Brook’s hand and sat back in the chair. Allison’s eyebrow shifted up as she finished shutting down her computer. She couldn’t wait to hear this one.
Brook stared at the two women and sighed. “Let’s just say, I think I’m going to propose we stop using female interns.”
More Books by this Author
Chicago’s Finest Series
Second Time’s the Charm
Stark Raving Mad
Stealing Vegas
Busted Series
Busting In
Busting Out
Busting Through
And look for her Contemporary New Adult series:
Ritter University Series
Major Renovations
What Happens in College...
Christmas Breakdown
Rushing In
Sophomore Slump
The Make-up Test
About the Author
Vanessa M. Knight has always enjoyed writing, and once she found romance, she was addicted. She props her laptop in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband, son and menagerie of four-pawed claw-babies (AKA cats and dogs.) That laptop has partnered-in-crime to write contemporary romances with a dash of humor and splash of snark. When she has a few moments to spare
, you can find her singing off-key (but she assures everyone it’s still considered singing), reading, kickboxing or killing a few brain cells as she stares at the many sitcoms and dramas available through the Internet and TV.
For more information on Vanessa, including her Internet haunts, contest updates, and details on her upcoming novels, please visit her website at www.vanessamknight.com.