Читать книгу Totally Tempting - Mary Lynn Baxter - Страница 14

“Wow! Look at you!” Betty said by way of greeting when Jodie walked into the office the next morning. “Quite a tan. You certainly stand out among all of us oatmeal-colored people. So where did you go?”

“Hawaii.”

“Ooooh, well good for you. Does the boss know you took off the same week he did?”

“Yes. Is he in yet?”

“Haven’t seen him, but that doesn’t mean much. It’s not unusual for him to get here before I do.”

Jodie nodded and headed to her office.

Once there, she almost groaned at the sight of her desk covered in papers with notes attached, files stacked high and file drawers half-open. She glanced into his office and saw Dean at his desk, frowning at something he was reading.

She put her purse away and made coffee. While she waited for the coffee to brew, she sat and began to sort through the mess on her desk.

“Jodie? Is that you?”

She stood and walked over to his doorway. “Yes. How did you manage to go through so much work this morning?”

“Oh, that’s from yesterday. I spent the day catching up on what’s been happening. Is there coffee?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Yes. I’ll bring you some.”

“Thanks,” he said absently, leaning back in his chair, still reading.

There, you see? she told herself. He’s already forgotten last week and has moved on with his life.

Or so she thought until she set his coffee on his desk and he looked up at her. The heat in his eyes made her tremble. He’d never looked at her like that in the office before.

“Was your family glad to have you back home?”

“My nephews were more interested in what I brought them,” she answered. “Lynette and Chuck agreed that I looked tanned and rested, which, according to them, was just what I needed.”

He nodded thoughtfully and straightened in his chair. “I’d like to meet them sometime.”

“My family?” She had to be mistaken. That couldn’t be what he meant.

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Have lunch with me today and we can discuss it.”

“I, uh, generally eat lunch at my desk.”

“Not today.”

“Is this business-related?”

His frown deepened. “Of course not.”

“Then don’t issue orders about my personal time.” She turned and went back to her desk. She started filing papers and folders, her back to his door.

After several minutes she heard Dean clear his throat. She looked over her shoulder and saw him standing beside her desk.

“What do you need?” she asked pleasantly.

“Some manners. Obviously. I apologize for ordering you around.”

“Apology accepted.”

“I, uh, I’d like to take you to lunch. Please?”

She shut the file drawer and walked over to him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I enjoyed the trip and appreciate your giving me the opportunity to get away from the cold weather for a few days. Now that we’re back at work, I believe it would be better if we return to our regular routine.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with having lunch together.”

“At the moment the office staff is under the impression I decided to take off a week while you were gone. Once they see us together and notice our tans, they’ll figure out we were together.”

“Do you care?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to become the stereotypical secretary who’s seeing her boss socially.”

“I’m not suggesting we date. It’s no big deal to have lunch at the same time, is it?”

“You’re being deliberately obtuse.”

“No, I’m not. I prefer to think of myself as unconsciously obtuse.”

“I’d rather not go out today,” she said politely. “I plan to study over my lunch hour. I brought a sandwich.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re probably right,” he said.

She picked up some papers and turned away to the filing cabinet.

Jodie waited until he’d returned to his desk and then rested her forehead against the filing cabinet. She hoped he hadn’t noticed that she was trembling. His attitude had caught her off guard.

If she consistently turned him down, he would soon give up and get on with his life, which was just the way she wanted things. She knew his dating patterns. The last thing she needed or wanted was to become involved with him.

And…if she repeated that often enough, she might be able to convince herself.

Dean sat down at his desk and looked at the work awaiting him. Most of it was to approve what had been done in his absence and to sign off on it. He leaned back in his chair and swung around to face the windows.

Jodie was right. Of course she was. Just because he’d enjoyed her company this past week didn’t give him the right to expect their relationship to continue in the same way here in Chicago.

She was his secretary. That’s all. The thought reminded him that he needed to call Frank. He’d leave her alone. They’d probably get back to their routine all right if he could forget how much he’d enjoyed kissing her and seeing her in a swimsuit. How much he’d enjoyed their conversations.

He shook his head to clear it. Getting emotional about the trip was ridiculous. Dean turned back to his desk and reached for his private address book. Now that he was no longer seeing Rachel, he knew of several women he could call. He only had to pick one.

He reached for the phone.

That night Dean’s home phone rang close to eleven o’clock. He glanced at the caller ID and shook his head.

“Hello, Rachel,” he said when he picked up the phone.

“Oh! There you are. I’ve been looking for you all week. Your office said you were out of town, and when I asked to speak to Jodie, I was told she’d taken a week off, so there was no way I could think of to reach you.”

“Well, now you’ve found me. Did you find something else of mine that I left at your place?”

“Oh, honey, I am so sorry for the way I treated you. I don’t blame you for not returning my calls. I don’t usually behave so atrociously. It was just a really bad day for me.”

“I noticed.”

“Please forgive me. I miss you so much.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve missed making love to you.”

He thought about the relationship he’d had with Rachel and realized that he’d put her completely out of his mind. That told him what he needed to know where she was concerned. Whatever they’d had, it was over.

“Did you remember that this is the weekend we were going up to Wisconsin to visit Winnie and Fred?”

“Rachel, I figured that when you broke up with me, we wouldn’t be seeing each other again, much less Winnie and Fred.”

“I was awful and I know I was. But I didn’t mean any of it. I was just angry and I took it out on you.”

“As I recall, I was the reason you were angry.”

“Well…but that doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things. Let’s face it, all couples quarrel. That’s the first one we’ve had in the three months we’ve been seeing each other.”

He didn’t say anything.

“Dean?”

“I’m sorry, Rachel, but I’ve already made plans for the weekend.”

“What sort of plans?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing you’d be interested in.”

“Try me,” she said flatly.

“I have a date Saturday evening with someone I’ve known for a long while. You don’t know her.”

“You’re seeing someone else!” Her voice lost its rounded tones.

“You made it quite clear you never wanted to see me again. I took you at your word.”

“I said I was sorry,” she wailed. “Please don’t do this to me!”

“Rachel, listen to me. There’s no reason to continue seeing each other. The points you made were valid. If it took your getting angry to tell me, then so be it. I’m not going to change, you know. You were right. I am married to my work. I forget social events. I’m bad about escorting you to everything you want to attend. Why bother to continue to see me? There are lots of men who would be eager to spend time with you.”

She didn’t reply right away. When she did, she sounded as if she might be crying. “I screwed up. I know that. I know your work is important to you. I was way out of line that night and I know it. I just want to see you once in a while.”

“I’ll call you when I can, but I picked up a new client last week and I’ll be putting in long hours coming up with the right combination of security devices to protect his company.” He thought about their situation for a moment. “I’ll give you a call in the next week or two. Have fun with Fred and Winnie.”

He hung up the phone and wandered over to the windows. His condo had a great view of Lake Michigan. As a rule he found the sight relaxing. Tonight he felt lonely, which was most unusual.

He went into his bedroom, undressed and stretched out on the bed.

He was doing what needed to be done. He’d see Susan Saturday night and catch up on her news. They’d lost touch after he’d moved his mother into the nursing home. Susan had been her live-in caregiver and a sweet woman. He’d been surprised that she hadn’t remarried by this time. She’d been a widow for six years or more.

As for Rachel…he’d have to think about whether he wanted to spend much time with her. He discovered that although he was lonely, Rachel wasn’t the answer. He refused to consider who might be.

Jodie’s phone was ringing when she walked into her office the next morning. She dropped her purse on the desk and reached for the phone.

“This is Jodie.”

“Hi, Jodie. It’s me…Rachel.”

“Oh. Good morning. I’m not sure if Dean’s here yet. Do you want me to have him call you?”

“Oh, no! No. I, uh, I called to talk to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You know, Jodie, I admire you a great deal and I know that Dean couldn’t get along without you.”

When Rachel paused, Jodie didn’t know what to say. What was this phone call about?

Finally Rachel said, “I mean, I know you’re discreet and I’d rather you not tell Dean that I called.”

“All right.”

“The thing is that Dean and I had a spat a week or so ago and I think he’s still a little angry with me. He didn’t return my calls last week, and when I spoke to him last night, he said he was seeing someone else.”

Well, of course he was. Dean Logan didn’t waste time. He must have found someone who would have lunch with him or was available for whatever else he wanted. Good.

“I see.”

“He’s just trying to make me jealous and he wouldn’t tell me who he was seeing. Do you know?”

“I have no idea.”

“Oh.” Rachel sounded disappointed. “He said he’d known her for a long time. I thought you’d probably know her.”

Jodie chuckled. “He knows so many people that I wouldn’t be able to guess. After all, he’s lived in Chicago for years.”

“Oh, he’ll probably tell me,” Rachel finally said with a laugh. “Once he’s over his anger. We were supposed to visit some friends in northern Wisconsin this weekend, but I guess he’s planning to see her instead.”

“I’m sorry, Rachel. I know this must be painful for you.”

Rachel sighed. “It’s my fault. I must have been going through PMS or something and took it out on him.”

“I hope the two of you can work it out,” Jodie said. She was sincere. It would be easier for her to have him completely unavailable.

“Thanks for listening, Jodie. I appreciate it.”

Jodie hung up, dropped her purse in the drawer and peeked around the corner into Dean’s office. It was empty. Thank goodness. She doubted that he’d appreciate her discussing him with Rachel, although in the past she and Rachel had talked to each other regularly.

The next time the phone rang, it was Dean.

“Hi, sorry I didn’t let you know I wouldn’t be in this morning. Something came up that I needed to take care of.”

“No problem. Believe it or not, your phone has been quiet. Maybe everybody thinks you’re still on vacation.”

“Good. I should be in around two o’clock.”

“Okay.”

As soon as she hung up the phone, the intercom buzzed. It was Betty.

“Your secret admirer has left something for you at my desk.”

“I’m sure. I don’t have a secret admirer.”

“Well, someone just sent you a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers. They look and smell heavenly. He must be in looove.” She drawled the last word.

What was Lynette up to now?

When Jodie walked into the reception area, she found a truly awesome vase filled with lush flowers. “Was there a card?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” Betty replied.

Jodie looked through the long stems and saw a small white card. She opened the envelope and stared at the message.

Thought you’d enjoy the scent of the islands in your office. D

“Well?” Betty asked brightly.

“Oh! A friend from school.”

“No kidding. Have you been seeing him long?”

She looked at the flowers before answering Betty. “I’ve known him for years.”

Jodie carried the large vase back to her office and placed it on top of the filing cabinet. The flowers smelled enchanting, and she wished she knew what Dean Logan was up to.