by Mary Alford
By the time I finally came up for air, I realized it was after seven o’clock. My stomach reminded me I had skipped lunch already and was probably going to be skipping dinner as well. I decided it was time to do some foraging.
The only people around were the cleaning crew so coffee consisted of coffee from a machine. And dinner…well, dinner was probably going to be whatever was available from the vending machine.
I took a short walk around the floor to stretch my legs before getting coffee and a pack of those white sugary donuts. I could almost hear my grandmother fussing at me even as I bit into one of them, sending white powder everywhere. Not exactly the healthiest dinner, and I could certainly never tell Grandma Ruth, but more and more lately, it was becoming the norm for me.
Recharged by the caffeine and sugar, half an hour later, I was close to finishing the report when my phone rang.
I grabbed the receiver and snapped. “Hello?”
I was sure I sounded as angry and tired as I felt to the unlucky soul on the other end of the line.
“Hi…Grace?”
“Yes?” I didn’t recognize the female voice on the other end and the number was coming up as unknown, which usually meant it was from out of town.
“Grace, hi, this is Jenna Montgomery, Aaron Severn’s assistant in New York. I’m sorry to be calling so late, but I was just finishing up with some of Aaron’s travel arrangements and I took a chance I’d catch you in. I hear you’re going to be his new girl?”
I held the receiver away from my ear. Was someone playing a joke on me?
“Uh, sorry…Jenna was it? You’ve obviously been given some bad information. I’m not his new anything.”
There was a pause before she continued. “But I’m certain. I’m sorry…I’ll just—” Click. The poor woman had obviously realized her mistake a little too late. She’d dialed the wrong number, and the cat was out of the bag. Aaron had made his decision. Unfortunately, his assistant called to congratulate the wrong candidate. I wondered what poor girl was going to end up being his future slave.
It was a long time before I could squelch all the uncomfortable feelings of disappointment enough to finish the report.
That little voice in my head kept reminding me of the way I’d been awakened from a sound sleep. And then there was Grandma Ruth’s dream.
I cranked up the volume a little higher and forced myself to concentrate on my project. With any luck, I would finish up by eight and then I’d be gone.
I vaguely registered the sound of my door opening, but I didn’t bother looking up. It was normal for the cleaning crew to hit my office around the same time each night. Besides, I was tired. I just wanted to be done with the report and the day.
“Are you actually turning down the job?”
“I beg your pardon?” I answered absently, not paying much attention and not looking up. I was almost done, and I didn’t want to stop for anything or anyone. I continued plugging in numbers while wondering why I’d never noticed the janitor sounding so handsome before.
My fingers froze on the keyboard when I glanced up and saw Aaron Severn, not the janitor, standing in my doorway. I quickly snatched off my unattractive black-framed glasses I used for detailed work and hit the mute button on the computer.
“Excuse me?” I watched him walk into my office and close the door.
“Nice music… I don’t recognize the group.”
He took the chair across from me, and I had to fight to keep from smiling at just how out of place he was in my mustard-yellow visitor’s chair.
“The job? Jenna told me you aren’t taking the job?” A few more nervous seconds ticked by before I finally figured out what he was talking about.
“Oh…that’s not exactly what I said.”
“Really? Then what exactly did you say?”
“Only that she had the wrong information. After the way we left the interview this morning, I just assumed you would be looking elsewhere for an assistant.”
“Is this coffee?” He indicated the small paper cup sitting cold on my desk. The speed in which he shifted conversation threw me off-balance. It had me wondering if, perhaps, Aaron might have a bad case of attention deficit disorder.
“Yes.”
“Where did you get it?”
“From the vending machine down the hall.”
“Is it drinkable?”
“Not really,” I told him.
He smiled. “I’ll take what I can get at this point because I’m desperate. It’s been a long day. Would you like some?”
I was just ready to tell him, no—hit the door, fellow, when Deb sent a message across my computer screen. Something terribly unflattering about her boss. I became even more desperate to get rid of the guy in my office before I lost it and started laughing hysterically.
“What’s wrong?” He’d obviously mistaken my pained expression for something other than repressed laughter.
“Nothing. There’s a machine down the hall, and if you’re going, I’d love some.”
I waited while his gaze slid over me curiously, but at least he had the foresight not to wait for an answer I wasn’t about to give.
And I was curious to see if the great and powerful Aaron Severn would actually bring me coffee.
He walked out of the office without another word, and I decided I’d seen the last of him so I messaged Deb back telling her about my little visitor. Mr. Ogre, as I’d decided to refer to Aaron as for the remainder of our conversation.
She messaged back asking how I could call someone so beautiful an ogre.
My response was, He may be beautiful, but he’s still an ogre. I’ll be checking him for any possible signs of a hump on his back.
I’d just hit the send button when Mr. Ogre returned with my coffee. I was speechless.
I accepted the cup he offered me and took a sip, realizing he’d gotten it right the first time.
“How did you know?” I pointed to the coffee in my hand.
“I’m good at figuring things and people out. Now, let’s talk about the job.”
At the most inopportune moment, Deb messaged me back again, but I didn’t bother reading it. I knew it would be about Aaron. Instead, I ignored the flashing box and tried not to be taken in by his smile.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” He indicated the screen while his grin spread a little wider at my obvious uneasiness.
“No.” I snuck a glance at Deb’s message. It was something along the lines of how much fun she could have searching for a hump. My cheeks flushed and the room grew hot. I quickly clicked off the monitor.
“What about the job, Mr. Severn?”
His smile did dangerous things to my self-control. “It’s Aaron, and I’m officially offering you the job. What do you say?”
I watched him for a moment. He’d lost the jacket and tie and had unbuttoned the top button on his shirt, as well as rolled up the sleeves. He appeared incredibly fit and tan for someone who sat behind a desk all day. It took a whole lot of concentration on my part to pry my gaze away from his exposed skin. My out-of-character reaction to him told me I should refuse the job outright.
“I don’t know…” Okay, so I didn’t come across as resoundingly confident as I’d liked. Still, it was the best I could do under the circumstances.
“What don’t you know? I think we would make a good team.”
Oh, no, no, no. A good team we would not make. A big problem, most definitely. A major distraction, absolutely. A good team?
“I don’t think so.” Was I actually saying those words when just a short time ago I was beating myself up over having blown the interview? I tried to keep up eye contact while listening to my dark monitor screen continue to ping, reminding me Deb was still there messaging away, oblivious to the terrible distraction in front of me.
“What’s it going to take to change your mind?” He said those words softly, but they had the power to send me squirming in my chair. “More money? It’s yours. Do you need something more
, maybe a company car?” Aaron grinned at me in that persuasive way of his. I was sure no one, especially not any woman, ever refused him anything.
“Sure. How about a Corvette? Maybe a nice red one,” I joked, trying to focus enough to come up with a valid reason to refuse his offer even as Susan’s face swam around in my thoughts, reminding me of the opportunity I was about to blow.
“It’s yours.” Aaron didn’t even hesitate before answering, which forced me to refocus—on his face. Was he kidding? I couldn’t tell, but I certainly had been. I’d thrown the craziest suggestion I could think of out in a desperate attempt to buy myself time to think, but the expression on Aaron’s face told me he was dead serious.
“I’m serious. If that’s what it takes to get you to say yes then it’s yours.”
“I don’t need a car, Mr. Severn.”
“Aaron. Call me Aaron.”
“Alright…Aaron, I don’t need a car. I have one already.”
“Okay, so if not a car, then what? More money?” I shook my head, actually offended he would suggest such a thing. Unfortunately, he saw it, which didn’t exactly help what appeared to be his growing frustration. “Then what? Name your price.”
“Why are you in such a big hurry? Shouldn’t you be interviewing other candidates first?”
“Trust me, I know when it’s right. We’re right. You know it as well.”
I didn’t know any such thing, and I certainly didn’t have any such insight. Just the opposite, in fact. I wanted to put as much space as possible between Aaron and myself and everything he stood for. I wanted to say all of those things, but I couldn’t. I was finding it hard to think, much less speak, with those gorgeous blue eyes looking at me the way they were.
“Is it me?” he asked quietly.
Ding, ding, ding. Yes, folks, we have a winner. The handsome guy seated in front of me just hit the nail on the head.
Of course, I couldn’t actually get those words out, but it didn’t matter. I was sure every single one of my thoughts was right there reflected on my face just as Grandma Ruth always said they were.
“You’ve heard…some things about me I take it?”
He didn’t like the possibility, I could see. Of course, he had to be aware of his own reputation—however bad it might be, but apparently, he didn’t like it much.
“Exactly,” I managed to get out.
Aaron stood and prowled around my office, putting me further on edge. “Grace, you can’t believe everything you hear. Surely you realize that?” he said with more emotion than I’d seen from him so far.
He glanced back at me. “Most of the stuff written about me is just a bunch of gossip. Inflated a great deal for effect. I’m sure it sells. I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m giving you my word you’d never have to worry about anything…inappropriate.”
Why didn’t his reassurance make me want to jump for joy? I didn’t want to think about those reasons.
“If you don’t believe me, call Jenna and she’ll give you her honest opinion. Jenna should know, she’s worked for me many years now. You can ask her whatever you want and she’ll be honest with you. It’s just the way she is. The way I believe you are.”
“Sit down Mr.—Aaron.”
He did so because I think he was too surprised to do anything else.
I decided it was time to set the matter straight once and for all. “Okay, you want to know the truth?” He nodded. “Then I’ll tell you. I don’t care about your past or your reputation, Aaron, because I do not intend to sleep with you no matter what. I’m not interested in that type of a relationship with you and—” I held up my hand when he would have interrupted me. I needed to finish before I lost my nerve.
“The real reason I don’t want to accept your offer is because I’ve done a little research on you, and I’m not so sure I agree with some of your business methods.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Ah, so you have been reading some of the gossip written about me. Well, I won’t deny I can be ruthless when it comes to business, Grace, and I won’t apologize for doing my job well.”
It wasn’t exactly what I’d expected him to say. Part of me wanted him to deny it. “If I were to work for you, I wouldn’t do anything I couldn’t live with. I don’t care if you agree with me or not. It’s the way it would have to be. Those are my terms.”
We faced each other across my desk, our gazes locked. I could tell Aaron didn’t like what I’d just said to him.
But he was willing to concede the argument, for the moment. He held out his hand. “Alright, you’ve got a deal. But I’m serious about the car. Just say the word and it’s yours.”
“No thanks. I’ve managed just fine with my little car up until this point. I don’t think I’ll need anything quite as fancy as a Corvette to get by.”
“It can still be yours. We can call it part of the job benefits.” While he was clearly teasing, the glint of mischief in his eyes reminded me of his bad boy reputation and made me regret my decision to take the job already. “Okay, so if Jenna calls you again, will you tell her you’re taking the job this time? Oh, and by the way, Grace, it starts immediately. Whatever you’re doing there, someone else will have to finish up.”
“I’m working on a financial report and it’s finished.”
“Ah, sounds like the report I asked Edwards to get to me this morning?” I could only assume it was the same, and so I nodded. “Good, because this is the last time you’ll be doing his reports. I have a seven o’clock meeting in the morning. I’ll want you there with me to introduce you to the group. Why don’t you meet me in the office where we talked today at around a quarter to?”
He stood and walked to the door. I held my breath. “Oh, and just for the record, I don’t have a hump. But I’d be more than happy to submit to a search if you’d like to clear that up for your friend.”
Traitorous warm color crept from my neck to my cheeks as I forced words from my mouth. “How did you…”
He pointed at my little window.
It was dark out. The window reflected back the room, and everything that had been on my computer monitor. When I glanced back, he’d left me. For the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt alone in the city.
Chapter Three
I had half a dozen messages from Deb. They no longer seemed quite so amusing. I tried to message her back, but she’d left for the day.
I finished the report and e-mailed it back to Edwards, as Aaron had called him.
As I listened to my favorite song on the CD, I was reminded of my grandmother. I’d introduced the song to her when I was still the pianist at my grandfather’s church. She told me a dozen times how much that song touched her heart more than any other song she’d ever heard.
The need to hear her voice became too strong to ignore.
I fished out my cell phone and dialed her number, and the weight of the day just melted away when she picked up after the first ring.
“I knew you were going to call.”
“How did you know, Gran? I didn’t know myself until just now.”
“I just did, honey child, because I know you.”
She was right about that one. She knew me better than I wanted to admit most times. Certainly better than I knew myself.
Instead of answering her, I held the receiver close to the speaker so she could hear the song playing.
“You remember this song, don’t you?”
I knew she did. I could her humming along with it.
“I sure do, Gracie. You know how I love that song. Every single word of it is the truth.”
I sat quietly listening while she sang in perfect harmony.
“How was your day, baby doll?” she asked at last. “Did you meet that someone I told you about?”
How on earth could I answer? I knew what she was hoping for, but it wasn’t the case. I would never meet someone to share my life with the way she wanted. Certainly not Aaron Severn. He would never be the man in her dreams.
“Gran, you know that’s never going to happen, but I will give you this much. I did meet someone who is going to change my life. I’ve been offered a new job. Maybe that’s what your dream meant? I’m getting a new job?” I knew she wasn’t buying it.
“That’s not what it meant and you know it. Was it a man?”
Trying to convince my grandmother she was wrong would have been a wasted effort on my part, so I gave in and told her all about meeting Aaron.
“Yep—he’s the one. I knew it! He’s going to change your life completely.” At her little outburst, I rolled my eyes and heard her say, “I saw that.”
“How do you do it? There’s no way you can know these things.”
It was her turn to laugh at me. “I know plenty, so don’t you kid yourself. I knew the minute that mother of yours met her match, and I knew this morning when I had my dream, you were about to meet yours.”
Her stubbornness made me want to scream at times. She was like a dog with a bone refusing to let it go. Grandma Ruth wasn’t going to let the subject drop quietly. I could only hope she and Aaron would never meet face to face.
At my grandmother’s mention of my mother and my father, the man who destroyed her life, my thoughts became dark. I would never let a man hurt me the way my father all but destroyed my mother. Not to mention leaving me alone when I needed the comfort of my only living parent.
My father deserted my mother when she needed him the most, but she’d never once, not even when she was close to death, said a single bad thing about him. She loved him, but it didn’t change my opinion of him. I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done to her.
“No, honey.” She always gave the same answer whenever I let my thoughts return to that horrible time. Somehow, I let go of my hurt. “Not every man is like your father, Gracie. Let go of the anger. It’s only hurting you and holding you back. Your mother forgave him. You should do the same. You’re not going to be like your mother, honey. I have a good feeling about you. You’re going to do wonderful things with your life. You’re not going home to be with the Lord until your work is done here on this Earth, and it won’t be for a long, long time yet.”
