Satisfaction Guaranteed

by Isabelle Drake

  You could call it that. “Yes, I was.”

  “Someone nice? From around here? Or someone you met at work?”

  She was not going to give Mrs. Morison anything to repeat to her mother, so she smiled in a way she hoped looked mysterious.

  When she didn’t answer, Mrs. Morison stepped closer and laid her hand on Elizabeth’s forearm. “You look a little flushed dear. Was he a dud? Everything okay?”

  Elizabeth laid a palm on her face. “Maybe I didn’t eat enough at dinner. And,” she tried to summon a friendly smile, “like you said, it’s late.”

  “Yes, of course. I won’t keep you.” After Mrs. Morison shuffled toward her door, she added, “Just be careful not to overdo it. You’re young. You’ve got all the time in the world.”

  Elizabeth nodded and stepped across her threshold. The familiar darkness of her apartment made her whole evening with Jack seem like a dream.

  With as little fuss as possible, she got ready for bed. Within minutes, she snuggled under the cool cotton sheets.

  Jack’s scent clung to her. Although she lay in her own bed, home safe and sound, wrapped in her flannel nightshirt, in some essential way she’d never be the same woman again.

  Chapter Six

  “Rough night, Sewell?” Steve Rawlings braced himself in the doorway of Elizabeth’s office.

  She scowled at the arrogance swimming on his face. “Don’t you have some work to do?”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you went to bed with some unfinished business.” He laughed at his own rude stupidity and shoved his hands in his pockets. “But you don’t have any use for men, do you? They’d just get in the way of your career.”

  Instead of taking her frown for the hint to get lost, he continued with his babble. “Bet you’ve heard about old Mr. Mills clearing out to make way for me. After his retirement party, I’ll be moving into that sweet office.” He took a long step forward, spreading his arms wide. “The one with the big window.”

  There was no point in discussing the partnership spot. “Excuse me, I’m pretty busy.” Translation—get lost.

  Instead of getting lost, he settled back on the doorjamb, crossed his meaty arms and studied her with his dull eyes. “His party is less than a month away.” He grinned and lifted his eyebrows. “Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll let you come visit me in my new office every once in a while. To look out my window.”

  She eyed him carefully.

  “Brrr, there’s a sudden chill.” He rubbed his hands across his upper arms and left.

  The phone on her desk jangled, Mr. Harrison’s voice snapped at her from the other end. “Sewell? Harrison here. Got a new account I want you to get on board for us. Anderson Airways. Ever heard of it?” Instead of giving her time to reply, he barreled on. “It’s a huge charter service, you know, airplanes. National. They have twenty-four locations. April Anderson inherited it from her late husband and she’s looking for fresh ideas. Good stuff. Of course, I thought of you.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she said, sounding like the confident professional he expected.

  Like a person ready to be made into a partner.

  “You’ve heard about Mills leaving. You and Steve are the short list.”

  When he chortled, Elizabeth laughed with him, even though she’d obviously missed the punch line. No matter, he’d given her a door, now all she had to do was walk through.

  “Anyhow, we’ll see how you do with Anderson and how Steve does getting Rodeo Bob’s on board. Then we’ll all sit down and talk it over. Do lunch, you know.”

  Her stomach dropped. “Did I hear you correctly, sir? Do you mean Rodeo Bob’s Car Corral?” As in Rodeo Bob, Steve’s best friend from high school?

  “Yes, that’s right. Steve’s handling that one.”

  And I get the huge charter service.

  Mr. Harrison charged on, “I’m sending the Anderson file over. I think Mandy’s got it. See that you look it over before Ms. Anderson gets here at two o’clock. She said they have one of those webby sites. Check it out.”

  “Is that two o’clock today, sir?”

  Mr. Harrison coughed. “That a problem, Sewell?”

  Elizabeth eyed the stacks of quarterly reports he’d asked her to review and payroll accounts rooted to her desk. She had at least three days’ worth of work but stuff she could do at home. There was no way she’d let that skunk get the promotion over her. “Of course there’s no problem. I just wanted to confirm.”

  “All set then.”

  Anderson Airways vs. Rodeo Bob’s. The winner earns the partnership. Not fair didn’t begin to cover it.

  What she needed, before she got clicking on the internet to check out that there webby site, was a huge cup of caffeine. Thanks to Jack, she’d overslept and hadn’t had time to stop at the shop in the office building lobby. Instead of her usual latte, she’d have to make do with the stuff from the office coffee pot.

  Thankfully, Steve had slunk back to his office, so the coast was clear. As usual, the carafe held only dregs, so Elizabeth rinsed it out and brewed a new pot. Once she got it going, she waited, trying to remember if she’d ever heard of Anderson Airways.

  “I saw Steve in your doorway this morning. Was he pestering you about the partner spot?”

  Elizabeth nodded to Mandy as she dug her coffee mug out of a pile on the counter. “We both want him out of here, huh?”

  “Isn’t that the truth.”

  Her friend held out a file. “Here’s what Mr. Harrison sent over.”

  Elizabeth took the thin folder and flipped through it. Not much, a couple of brochures and a few pamphlets. “Steve got Rodeo Bob’s.”

  Mandy lifted an eyebrow.

  “It’d be funny if he and I weren’t competing. If he gets Bob’s and I don’t get Andersons, he’s in and I’m out.”

  “Of course, he’ll get Bob’s,” she replied with exasperation. “He went to high school with Bob. They played football together.”

  Elizabeth pushed away the despair trying to work its way into her heart.

  The coffee started to hiss, so she rinsed out the mugs, poured the first cup and handed it to her friend. “Have you thought any more about what you’re going to do?”

  Sighing, she slumped into a chair. “This thing with Steve has been going on for a while. It’s starting to get in the way with me and Thomas.”

  “I can’t think about anything else. I was so distracted last night that Thomas went home early.” Mandy ran a hand through her short blonde hair. “And I mean early, as in before, if you know what I mean.”

  She took a sip of coffee before turning back to Elizabeth with a weary gaze. “That creep makes me feel so gross, that when Thomas starts kissing me, I get all weird. He’s noticed the difference in me and honestly I think he’s getting tired of it. I haven’t been able to give him my full attention.”

  “Have you explained what’s going on?”

  “Some of it. I’m afraid if I tell him everything, he’ll show up here and take things into his own hands. That would get him into a lot of trouble and get me fired.”

  Before her night out with Jack, Elizabeth wouldn’t have understood how possessive a man could be about his woman. Even though she and Jack had been out only on a pretend date, she’d gotten glimpses of that.

  Would things have been different if they’d really been out together?

  “Sorry to ramble on. With that partnership and everything, I guess you’ve got your own things on your mind.”

  Some friend. Daydreaming about a man she hardly knew when she was really needed. “No, Mandy, I’m the one who should apologize. I’m kind of out of it today.”

  Always quick to set aside a problem, Mandy stretched across the table, staring hard at Elizabeth with a grin. “Anyone I know?”

  “Am I that obvious? Really. Even that creep, Steve, said something.”

  Mandy’s eyebrows shot up. “You did go out with somebody. Details. Now.” She held up her hands. “Don’t worry.
I won’t tell anyone you’re dating. I know you think that’ll mess up your shot at that posh office.”

  Elizabeth shrugged, shaking her head. “Nobody you know. Nobody you’re going to know. I don’t even think I’ll be going out with him again.” She hated keeping the truth from her friend but she could never admit the whole story. How could she explain something to Mandy if she couldn’t explain it to herself?

  “Not that good? If things don’t get better with Thomas, I’ll end up back on the dating circuit.” Mandy frowned as she stood. “That is not something I want to consider.”

  Mandy dumped out the last of her coffee and turned. “I won’t be around at lunch. I have an appointment.”

  Elizabeth wanted to ask if it was someone to help her with the Steve problem, like an attorney but reconsidered. Would Mandy think she was trying to push her into legal action, just so she could snatch up that partnership?

  Carrying a fresh cup of coffee, Elizabeth headed back to her office determined to forget about her so-called love life and focus on learning whatever she could about Andersons. She wasn’t about to let the professional opportunity of a lifetime slip through her fingers.

  —

  Jack replaced the telephone receiver with a disgusted groan. He’d called more than his share of women over the years, so what was the big deal? He only needed a few minutes to explain everything. Drinks, coffee, whatever…

  What was keeping him from dialing the numbers?

  The truth, that’s what.

  Sitting on the wrong side of right was a new experience for Jack and he didn’t like it one bit. He’d structured his whole life around doing the right thing. In twenty-four hours, a single woman had made him give up his integrity. But she’d been a temptation he was too weak to resist.

  If he couldn’t work up the nerve to call her, that left him with work. And there wasn’t enough of that to keep him occupied.

  He’d known starting over wouldn’t be easy. He just needed to get his name out there. Everybody needed an attorney for something sooner or later. Maybe agreeing to go to that charity dinner with his cousin had been a good idea after all.

  What to do with himself in the meantime?

  He patted the stack of appeals on the corner of his desk. They wouldn’t pay much and the money wouldn’t arrive for months but at least they’d keep him busy.

  He picked one off the top and slid it across his desk. As he flipped open the file, a soft knock sounded on his door. A tiny, cute blonde poked her head around the corner of his door. Good-looking but not Elizabeth. Maybe Jack was a brunette man after all.

  “There wasn’t anyone at the reception desk,” she said in a small voice. “I hope you don’t mind me coming back here.”

  The reception desk was empty because he was the only person using the office space. He stood, gesturing for her to come in. “Jack Harley at your service. What can I help you with?”

  Instead of entering, she lingered by the door. “I got your name from legal aid.”

  A potential client. He snapped the appeal file shut and slid it aside.

  She tugged on the straps of her purse and pointed toward the exit. “Maybe I should’ve called first. If you’re too busy, I could go.”

  He stepped around his desk and motioned to the chair across from him. “Please, have a seat.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. He knew the type. She was having second thoughts. But Jack knew this woman needed his help. Maybe not wanted but needed.

  She sat down on the edge of the seat, still fidgeting with her purse.

  He waited while she gathered herself, then asked, “What’s your name?”

  “Mandy Malone.”

  “Okay, Ms. Malone. I have a hunch you have a story to tell. Please, start at the beginning.”

  She stared at her hands, twisting her fingers together. Only after he encouraged her again, did she start to speak. Her story trickled out slowly but he waited, without interrupting, until she had it all out.

  When Ms. Malone told him she’d been too embarrassed to ask for help before, he had to concentrate on not clenching his teeth. He found himself relaxing a bit when she told him she had an overprotective boyfriend who might barge in and take a few swings at the jerk if she told him what was going on.

  “He’s just that kind of guy,” she said with a half-smile. “He’d be crazy mad if he knew what was going on. And, well, I don’t want him to get into trouble and I don’t want to lose my job.

  “I just want it to stop.”

  For a fleeting second, Jack found himself thinking about Elizabeth and what he’d do to a guy who treated her like that.

  “A friend of mine says I should try to get witnesses and start writing everything down.” Her face pinched. “Does that sound like a good idea?”

  “Is this someone at work? Someone you trust?”

  Ms. Malone’s head bobbed up and down. “Absolutely. We’ve been friends for a couple years now, good friends.”

  “Has she seen any of it?”

  “No, he’s really sneaky. He only does it when nobody’s around.”

  Jack wanted to take a swing at the guy himself. “Guys like that get caught sooner or later.”

  She rubbed her fingers across her mouth. “I don’t know. One of the owners, she loves him. She’s always bragging to the clients about how brilliant he is.” She slid her purse strap back on her shoulder. “Maybe if I ignore him long enough he’ll stop.”

  Jack treaded gently. “Seems like you have been ignoring him. You shouldn’t have to put up with that sort of treatment in the first place. Where do you work?”

  “I’d rather not say.” She checked her watch. “I have to get back.”

  He hurried through the basics of what she needed to know. “Your friend gave you solid advice. Writing everything down is a good start. Eventually he’ll mess up and someone will witness his actions. Make sure you write down that person’s name when it does happen. Meanwhile, I’ll make a couple calls, look into things and see what I can find out.

  “You’ll come see me again early next week?” He waited until she nodded, then continued, “We’ll talk about what to do next. Things like this don’t have to end up in court. Sometimes everything can be worked out privately.”

  Her mouth twitched into a smile. “You mean without everyone knowing?”

  He nodded.

  Her blue eyes brightened. “Does that mean you can help me?”

  “It sounds like you have a case but like you said, this guy is sneaky. We’ll need to do some homework.”

  She frowned. “I can’t afford much…”

  He lifted one hand. “Don’t worry about that. That’s why legal aid sent you to me. All attorneys do a couple of cases a year without charging a fee. It’s our way of giving something back to the community where we work.

  “I’ll be glad to give that guy what he has coming.”

  For the first time since arriving, she really smiled. She held out her hand as she hopped to her feet. “Thanks so much, Mr. Harley.”

  He accepted the handshake and encouraged her again to return the same day and time next week. After he showed Ms. Malone to the door, he marched back to his desk. A case like hers would really get his name out into the legal community, in a good way. And he’d get to help her in the process.

  Coming back would be tough for her but not as hard as coming in the first time. He had a gut feeling she’d be back.

  He dropped into his chair and stared at the phone.

  Make the call, chicken.

  Then again, calling Elizabeth would give her time to put her guard up and he needed an advantage. He needed a different approach. Something to keep her on edge…

  Chapter Seven

  Elizabeth hiked her skirt up a few inches and rested her stocking feet on the top of her desk. It was well past quitting time. Except for the construction crews doing some remodeling and repairs, the office suite had emptied out hours ago.

  It was senseless but she flipped
through her stack of telephone messages again. A couple of calls from her mother, no doubt with a fresh batch of men for her to consider and some from Harrison clients. Nothing from Jack.

  Maybe he’d phoned while she’d been out with April Anderson. Wouldn’t he have left a message? Maybe he was being careful. That would make sense. He was smart enough to be discreet. A man who did what he did for a living had to be.

  She sighed, twisting to stretch her stiff back. He could’ve left a simple, harmless message. Something like Jack called.

  For what felt like the hundredth time, she reminded herself that her arrangement with Jack Harley was business. Not personal.

  Definitely not personal.

  “You sure you don’t want to come to dinner with me and Thomas?” Mandy asked, strolling into Elizabeth’s office.

  She tossed down the messages and dropped her feet. “You’re still here?”

  Her friend moaned and shook her arms. “No, I’m not here,” she said with a wavering voice. “I’m the ghost of women who work too hard.” Unable to keep a straight face, Mandy laughed and dropped her arms. “I had to redo some messed up payroll stuff, then I decided to get some extra copying done while the coast was clear.”

  Elizabeth marveled at the way her friend handled the horrible situation. She was dying to ask Mandy if she’d decided to do anything about it but didn’t want to badger her or make her think she was trying to pressure her into anything she wasn’t ready for. If—no—when, Mandy took action, it had to be her choice.

  “Thanks for the invitation but I’m going to stay and look over these notes. Anderson Airways is huge.”

  I am not waiting for the phone to ring.

  “Not going out with your mystery man again?”

  Elizabeth sighed. “He’s not my mystery man. He’s just some guy I went out with. Once.”

  “Okay, whatever you say.” She fished her keys out of her purse, then turned back to Elizabeth. “Watch out for the construction guys, they seem to be everywhere these days. Even in the ladies’ room. I’ll call you Sunday morning. We’ll have brunch at that place you like, okay?”