by Amanda Uhl
God, he was smart and handsome…and dynamic and cute. I couldn’t stop playing adjectives in my head. Charlie was giving me a strange look. I struggled to provide a coherent response.
“You don’t like it? It will work, I promise.”
“No, I do…I like it. It’s…great. A great…idea. It…” I cleared my throat, which was dry. “It amazes me how you have all this in your head.”
Charlie brushed aside my awkward compliment. “I’ve had time to think about it. I don’t want to see Reynolds go under. This is a good company. Larry Reynolds is a good man.”
“Charlie, can I ask you a question?”
He frowned, eyes wary. “About the campaign?”
“No. No, not about the campaign.” I sucked in a deep breath, my head light. “About you. Are you really only doing this as a favor for your dad?”
Charlie glanced down at his plate, which made it hard to make out his expression. “Sort of.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
He grinned. “The only kind I have. Listen, my dad did ask me to get involved with Reynolds. That’s not a lie. But I do have my own reasons. I’d…rather not go into those right now.” He saw me draw breath to argue, and he held up a hand. “I promise you, after we save the company, I’ll fill you in. Now it’s my turn.”
“For what?” I sucked in another breath and prepared myself mentally. God only knew what would come out of Charlie’s mouth next. He was like a man with a stick constantly jabbing and knocking me off balance.
“To ask you a question. Why do you avoid me? What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid.” I could hear the defensive note in my own voice, but I couldn’t disguise it. Because the truth was, I was afraid of Charlie. I was afraid of how he looked at me, like he saw things in me no one ever had. I was afraid of how he made me laugh and of the things he said. I was afraid of his sophistication and charm and how he could sweep me off my feet…if I let him. But I was not going to let him, and I was never going to admit all these things to Charlie. “I’m…I have a lot going on. Plus, you’re my boss now. I have to maintain some professionalism.”
Charlie rolled his eyes comically. “Right. You’ve been avoiding me since the day I got here, long before I became your boss. What I want to understand is why?”
As I sat across from Charlie, trying to explain how he made me feel without giving anything away, I suddenly had a blinding realization. My ignoring Charlie was probably the worst thing I could have done if I wanted him to stay away from me. My ignoring him challenged his pride. He’d probably never had a woman ignore him in his life. He’d seen me as a challenge from day one, and he wasn’t going to give up, no matter how many fiancés or exes were in the picture. The more I ignored Charlie, the more intrigued and motivated he became. If I truly wanted to move past him, I was going to have to be a bit more like all the other females Charlie knew and fawn all over him. I gulped, studying my hands. Could I do it?
I looked up. Charlie was still waiting patiently for an explanation, a gleam in his eyes. I drew in a breath. Maybe not just yet. I checked my cell. “I’m not afraid of you,” I said, scoffing. “If I were afraid of you, I wouldn’t be here, right? I’d like to stay and talk about this but some other time maybe. It’s after midnight, and I have to meet my mom for breakfast tomorrow. Do you mind taking me back to my car?”
Charlie eyed me across the table. For a brief moment, I thought maybe he would argue. Instead, he stood and plopped some cash down on the table. I felt strangely disappointed.
“Let’s get you home.”
Chapter Fifteen
“George, you’re never going to believe the crazy phone call I got last night.”
We were in the middle of moving boxes of spices, dishes, and furniture into the store. Elias had been helping us but took a break to pick up subs from the local deli. From the other end of the table we were carrying, George eyed me, his expressive eyes hidden from view behind his glasses. “Who was it? Watch your step.”
I carefully hoisted the table over the entrance. “An anonymous caller…claimed you were cheating on me.”
George stumbled slightly, and the weight of the table shifted precariously from side to side. “Watch,” I said. We carried the table over to the corner and centered it in front of the window. “Isn’t that wild?”
“Yeah.” George leaned his hands against the table and frowned. “What did they say?”
“They said you were kissing another woman. It had to be a prank, right? I mean the voice did sound familiar. I bet it’s someone we know. God, you don’t think it’s Elias, do you? That’s the kind of thing he might think is funny.”
I stared at George, inviting him to share the joke as I predicted to Charlie he would. But George wasn’t smiling. “Of course not,” he said with a short headshake, making me feel dumb for asking. Then I remembered Elias had been with George. How could he have made a phone call without me hearing the crowds? No wonder George was annoyed.
“That’s right. He was at the game with you. It had to be someone else.”
George turned his back to grab a box of spices and carry it to the counter. He opened the lid and removed dozens of small bags labeled Baharat and setting them in a wood basket. “Val, grab the other box, would ya?” He pointed to a brown carton behind me.
Automatically, I did as he asked, carrying it to the counter. I opened the lid and sniffed. The zesty scent smelled like nuts. George handed me a basket, and I added the clear, spice-filled bags into it. “So….”
George dropped a package and bent to retrieve it. I waited patiently for his head to resurface. But it didn’t. What the heck was he doing down there? Did I want to know? “George?”
I peered over the edge of the counter. George was working his cell phone, his dark head bent over it, typing furiously. “What are you doing?”
“Huh?” George glanced up, as if surprised to find me watching. He sighed. “Business.” He stood, stuffing his phone in his pocket. “How’s things at work? Calm down any?”
I frowned. Who had George been texting? “Sort of,” I said slowly, allowing myself to be distracted. “I mean, we’re working on a brand-new product. Should be a real moneymaker.”
“Is that what that Charlie guy is working on?”
“Yeah,” I said. I couldn’t hide my surprise. George rarely commented on my job. “But no one knows that. How’d you know?”
George shrugged. “Just a guess. Bernie said Charlie’s smart. I figured he’d be working on something like that.”
I laughed, but it came out as a snort. I swear it was unintentional. “Bernie is a bit infatuated with Charlie. Thinks he would make the perfect father to her unborn children.”
George dropped the dish he had been holding. It shattered into a thousand slivers. “Don’t move!” I shouted. “I’ll get the broom.”
I ran into the utility closet in the back room and grabbed the shiny green broom and dustpan stored there. By the time I got back to the counter, George was already picking up large shards of glass and throwing them into a wastebasket. A spot of blood appeared on his right thumb.
“I told you to wait,” I scolded, handing him a paper towel from the roll on the counter. “Here, you hold the dustpan.”
I thrust the dustpan in his face and swept up the shards. What was it with the males of the species? They never wanted to listen to sound advice. But they sure could dish it out. I thought of Charlie and his suggestion to call off the wedding, which got me pondering the validity of the anonymous phone call. “So if it wasn’t Elias, who could have made the phone call? And why would anyone make an accusation like that unless they had solid evidence?”
George dumped the dustpan into the waste can and went to the sink to wash the blood off his thumb. “No clue,” he called back to me, his voice echoing off the mostly empty walls. “Someone trying to cause trouble. Hey, umm, can you polish the table? There’s polish behind the door over there.” George pointed to the cab
inet on my far right. Another distraction. Why wasn’t George more curious about the anonymous caller? For that matter, why wasn’t he mad? I’d sure be if someone called George up and told him I was cheating.
You practically did. My alter ego interrupted my string of thoughts with her never-failing logic. I reminded myself Seth’s kiss had been forced. I hadn’t asked for it nor kissed him back. Could something similar happen to George? Nah.
I grabbed the polish, sprayed a little on the table, and scrubbed with the rag. “George…did something happen with Bernie…when you…when the two of you…ah shit. I know this is crazy. I mean it’s not like you guys have been spending that much time with each other. And she gets on your nerves. You told me so.” I stopped polishing and looked over at George. He had a piece of chalk and was writing specials on a chalkboard. His back was to me so I couldn’t see his face. I took a deep breath. “George, are you having an affair with Bernie?”
There, the words were out. They hung in the air between us like dust particles in sunlight. Now he could laugh and reassure me, and we could move on. I waited patiently, but George did not turn around or pause in his writing, although his shoulders stiffened. For a minute, I thought he was going to ignore me. Could it be true? Were George and Bernie having an affair? Is that why he wasn’t answering?
I drew in a breath and braced myself for his answer. His hand moved up and down with the chalk. Lebanese Zatar, $5.99, he wrote. His printing was surprisingly good for a guy.
He turned to face me, almost as if he was a robot and someone was operating a remote control in the next room. Slowly, he came from behind the counter and stood in front of me. He reached out a palm, cupping my cheek. His brown eyes were clear and warm. Honest. “I’m not having an affair.”
“Oh thank God.” His words released me. I didn’t know I had been holding my breath until I let it out on a giant whoosh. I grabbed his hands and pulled him closer, enjoying the feel of his strong arms around me.
George’s cell phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the number. “It’s Ma,” he said. “I need to take this.”
“Okay,” I said, eager to put the whole thing behind us. By the time Elias showed up with lunch, we had moved on to other topics, like debating the merits of opening in September and whether we should offer specially seasoned shish kebabs for the grill. It wasn’t until later in the week that our conversation came back to me, and I wondered why I had been so eager to put an end to it.
Chapter Sixteen
Monday started off innocuously enough. I arrived at the office, my usual skinny vanilla latte in hand, and started up my laptop. The first message in my email inbox caught my attention. It was from Seth. It shouted at me in all caps, COME TALK TO ME. I groaned and may have mumbled a few choice words. I was so not up for dealing with Seth. I took a sip of my hot beverage for fortification. The warm milk and coffee flavor gave me courage.
“Do you always curse your emails?” I jumped, the deep voice and familiar scent tying my stomach in knots.
“Charlie, God, you scared me. What do you want?” I swiveled my chair to glare at him. He was dressed formally. His bright blue shirt contrasted perfectly with the cool gray of his suit and tie. He had a pair of sunglasses and his car keys in one hand. My heartbeat was thumping so loudly in my ears, I was sure he could hear it.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed I have that effect on you.” He shot me a slight smile. Warm heat rushed to my cheeks. He was referring to his question from the other night. I rolled my eyes, causing his smile to deepen. Immediately, my gaze rested on his damn dimples, which forced all thoughts from my head and caused my heartbeat to stutter. “I wanted to make sure you showed up today,” he was saying. “You seemed…worried on Saturday. Everything okay?”
I frowned, wishing I had never confided in Charlie about George. “Oh sure, everything’s fine,” I said, keeping my tone firm and even. “George and I talked and everything’s back to normal. Whoever it was, was causing trouble.”
Charlie eyed me like he wanted to argue, but for once he refrained. He checked his watch. “Listen, I have a meeting, but I’ll be back here at noon. Come and see me in my office, okay?”
His voice was all business, so I nodded my agreement, and he took off, heading in the direction of the parking lot. Who was he meeting? Why had he even bothered to come into the office so early? I could almost believe he had made the trip in to see me. But that would have been silly, since he could have easily used the phone to arrange an afternoon meeting if that’s what he was after.
I studied the email summons from Seth. I knew what he wanted—evidence to support his claim that Larry was crazy and destroying the company. I still wasn’t convinced telling Seth what he wanted to hear would do anyone any good, but Charlie had insisted. And, for some strange reason, I trusted Charlie. I sighed, grabbed my notes and a pen, and went to confront the lion in his den. So intent was I on my mission, I nearly stumbled over Bernie in the process.
“Oh, gosh, sorry. I didn’t see you. I’m a bit…preoccupied. I have to meet…” I mouthed Seth’s name, “…in a few minutes. Hey, you feeling okay?”
Bernie’s hair was in knots, her dark skin flushed. I would almost think she had been crying except I’d never seen Bernie cry. “I’m…okay. On my way to the restroom. Lunch later?”
I thought of Charlie’s request to meet him in his office at noon. “I can’t. I have a noon meeting. I’ll stop by in a bit though.”
“Okay…um, Val?”
“Yeah?” I moved toward Seth’s office but stopped and turned around at Bernie’s summons. Her voice lacked energy and her usual forward momentum. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked.
Bernie frowned. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I…I wanted to wish you good luck. Chin up, girl. You got this.”
I smiled. “If I don’t come out in thirty minutes, come and get me, would ya?”
Bernie grinned. “You can count on it.”
And on that note I armed myself mentally and crossed the threshold of Seth’s office. He was sitting behind his desk, pen in hand, scratching on a piece of paper. It had only been a few days since I had last seen him, but his hair had darkened since he was no longer in the California sun. Though it paled in comparison to the sandy blond of Charlie’s. He had on a light green shirt and a pair of dark slacks. “You wanted to see me?”
Seth paused in his writing and looked me up and down. He set his pen on the desk, sat back in his chair, and gave me a smile that in the past would have made me salivate. Now all it did was cause me to grimace. He motioned me in. “It’s about time. Close the door, would ya?”
Time and distance brought perspective, I thought. Seth looked like what he was—a pretty playboy, confident of his charm and not afraid to use it to achieve his own ends. Why had I never noticed before? I closed the door and took the chair closest to the exit. I would give Seth the dirt he wanted and be on my way.
“Now that you’ve had a chance to look at the numbers, I’m sure you’re seeing the pattern. Too many unnecessary expenditures at a time when we sorely need to be reinvesting our dollars.”
I nodded.
“Great. So listen.” Seth sat forward, his expression eager, tone sincere. “Your new boss is not what he seems.”
I must admit, of all the things I thought might come out of Seth’s mouth, this was surprising.
“Charlie?” I sputtered. “What? What has he done?” Leave it to one playboy to malign another. Except Seth was a slime whereas Charlie…well, I couldn’t figure out exactly what Charlie’s game was…if he had one.
“He and Larry have been talking a lot behind closed doors. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. That’s where he is right now. My stepfather’s treating the son of a bitch to breakfast.”
“Your dad’s being nice. He takes all his employees to breakfast from time to time, including you and Julie. He’s even treated me.”
“That’s not my point.”
“Then what is your point
?” I said, more sharply than I had intended. I was growing weary of the constant suspicions and accusations everyone at Reynolds seemed to fling around so freely. Were any of them real?
He pushed his chair out and came from behind the desk to loom over me. “C’mon, Val. He seems to have a lot of influence, don’t you think? I mean he’s only been here a few months and already he gets the big corner office and a promotion? Since when does my father do that?”
Seth was pacing back and forth, waving his hands to emphasize his points.
I was taken aback at the animosity in his tone. He was jealous of Charlie because he got a corner office? There had to be more to it. I tried again to reason with him. “He’s a marketing genius. He’s working on the campaign that’s going to turn things around. That’s why your stepdad gave him a big office. He has to keep him happy so he’ll stay.”
“No!”
I winced, which must have made Seth aware of how worked up he was. He ran a hand through his hair. He stopped pacing momentarily and then started up again.
“Listen, I don’t expect you to believe me. I know his type. Spoiled rich kids. They always get whatever they want. Charlie Solanger doesn’t do favors. If he’s here, there’s a good reason. He stands to gain something important.”
I rolled my eyes. Wasn’t it just like Seth to call the kettle black. He was such a spoiled baby. “He’s here for a job. You’re being ridiculous.”
“No.” Seth stopped in front of me. His voice was steady, ringing with certainty. “I think he’s trying to take over the company. And if we don’t stop him, he’ll succeed.”
