The beep from her intercom made her jump and she rolled her eyes at herself even as Lisa’s voice came over the speaker. “Hey, Catherine? You in?”
“I am.”
“Can you come to my desk for a minute?”
“I’ve got a meeting in five minutes.”
“It’ll take two. Promise.”
Suppressing a sigh, she said, “Okay. Be right there.”
Catherine and Lisa had never been close. In fact, Catherine hadn’t really cared for Lisa for a long time. She thought Lisa was brusque, standoffish, and a little bossy. Her opinion had solidified a few months ago when Lisa had accused Catherine of being totally unconcerned about Clark Breckenridge’s harassment of one of Junebug’s volunteers. Lisa was completely wrong in her assumption, but when Catherine thought about it, she was able to understand how Lisa may have jumped to the conclusion she had. Catherine’d had no idea at the time that the object of Clark’s unwelcome advances had been the woman Lisa was interested in. They’d since hooked up, and Catherine had found Lisa to be much more pleasant.
Now, it seemed, they almost actually liked one another.
Catherine pushed through the double doors of the dog wing, the barking and howling increasing exponentially, as a handful of visitors were wandering from kennel to kennel, which always excited the dogs. Halfway down the aisle was Lisa’s desk.
“What’s up?” Catherine asked.
Lisa kept her voice low. “Normally, I’d finesse this a little bit, but there’s no time. See that man down there on the left?”
Catherine followed her gaze. “With the black jacket?”
“Yes.” Barely whispering—which forced Catherine to bend in close in order to hear her—she went on. “This is the second time he’s looked at your dog. I know you want him. I put a hold on him for you after the last time you visited him, but that was days ago. I told the guy there’s a hold, but if you don’t do something soon, I’m gonna let him have him. That dog deserves a home.”
Catherine didn’t need any clarification on which was “her dog.” She simply blinked at Lisa. “You put a hold on him for me?”
Lisa blushed a little, but smiled. “I’ve seen you with him. He adores you and you want him. Honestly, though? I thought you’d have made a move by now.”
Lisa wasn’t scolding her, but Catherine felt like she was. And Lisa was right. Catherine had been dragging her feet. She’d been all set to make it official and then she’d started thinking about Pablo and she missed him so badly, her chest ached. Was it too soon? she’d started to think. Maybe it was. Maybe I should wait.
But seeing Black Jacket Man was all the push she needed.
“He’s mine,” she said to Lisa. And she was almost shocked to realize she meant it.
“I thought so,” Lisa said with a nod and pushed herself up from her chair. “Go to your meeting. I got this.”
***
Not surprisingly, when Catherine returned to her office, Emily was occupying one of the chairs. She looked impressive yet casual, and Catherine absently wondered how she was able to pull that off. She herself had never felt able to. She either dressed up or dressed down, but had trouble with that in-between gray area that Emily seemed to inhabit with so little effort.
Today, Emily wore black jeans and black ankle boots. Her black trench-style coat was on the hat rack in the corner of Catherine’s office, a black-and-white scarf draped over it. The black-and-white striped hooded sweater she wore was expensive, Catherine could see, but again looked effortlessly casual, the zipper up only halfway, revealing a black cami underneath. Emily’s hair was down today, and it was the first time Catherine realized how long it actually was, trailing down her back in dark waves that reached Emily’s shoulder blades. Whatever perfume she wore subtly hung in the air. On the floor next to her chair was a small, leather messenger bag.
“Hi there,” Catherine said as she came around the desk. She held out a hand.
Emily stood and shook it. “Good morning.” Her smile was wide and made her eyes crinkle, Catherine noticed. It was cute.
“Sorry I’m late. Got distracted.” Catherine waved a hand near her head, sat and pulled out a pad containing some notes she’d jotted down the night before at home.
“By something worthwhile, I hope. That’s the best kind of distraction.”
Catherine couldn’t help but smile. “I think…very worthwhile.” She held up her crossed fingers.
“Excellent.”
Catherine looked down at her notes, then back up at Emily. “So…I need to be honest here.”
“Okay.”
“This is not really my thing, marketing and advertising. You should probably be sitting with Anna St. John, our public relations person.”
Emily took that in with a slow nod. She sat forward in her chair, elbows on her knees, and looked intently at Catherine. “So noted. My turn to be honest.”
“Okay.” Catherine drew the word out.
“I’d rather deal with you.”
Was the air in the room suddenly heavy? Catherine wasn’t sure, but she was sure she’d stopped breathing for a full five seconds while Emily Breckenridge held her eyes so firmly. No. No, no, no. We are not going down this path. Stop it, Catherine. Stop it right now.
The rest of her internal pep talk was cut short by a rap on her doorjamb, and Catherine thanked the Universe for sending Lisa at that moment.
“Hi,” Lisa said with a smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” She held up her hand. In it was the end of a blue leash. “I thought you might want to have this guy here for the rest of the day.”
The sudden clicking sound of dog nails on the hard floor kicked into overdrive, as if he was dancing. And in a way, he was, so obvious was his desire to get to Catherine. She literally felt the smile on her face widen, immediately lighter and happier, as if somebody had reached into her brain and pulled any and all negative emotions right out of her head for the day. She came around the desk and took the leash from Lisa, then squatted down to meet her new dog eye to eye.
“Hey there, little guy. How’s life?”
The dog responded by bathing her face with kisses, his tail wagging so furiously it swayed his entire body from side to side until she was sure he’d make himself flop over sideways.
“I’ve got all your paperwork at my desk,” Lisa told her. “Just pop by before you leave, okay?”
Catherine looked up at her and smiled, startled to feel her eyes mist. “Thank you, Lisa,” she said very quietly.
“You’re welcome,” Lisa said back, just as quietly. With a nod at Emily, she turned and left.
“You did it?” Emily asked, the expression on her face radiating joy.
“I did.” Catherine stood and returned to her chair behind the desk, the dog trailing her like a child following the Pied Piper. “This is Geronimo. Mo for short.”
Emily laughed and Catherine instantly loved the sound of it.
“Thank you for the name suggestion. And the push to adopt him. I was really uncertain, but…you helped.”
Emily got up and came around the desk. “Well, I think since I’m partially responsible for the adorable pairing of you two, I should get to share in the love.” She stepped in so close, right into Catherine’s personal space, that for a split second, Catherine was sure Emily was going to kiss her. But just as quickly, Emily dropped into a squat and began loving all over Mo. Catherine stood there, tried to swallow down her own confusion, and reached a hand out to brace herself against the desk. When that didn’t help, she sat.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Emily had devolved into baby talking with Mo, so Catherine took a moment to collect herself, her confusion turning into annoyance, because that little display of hers was ridiculous and could not happen again. After another moment, she felt like she’d regained her equilibrium and finally spoke.
“So, let’s talk ideas, shall we?” Her voice was a bit brusque, but that was fine. This was business. Time to get down to
it. Damn it.
For the next forty-five minutes, they brainstormed. Well, Emily brainstormed and Catherine took notes, added her two cents when she had it to offer, and was basically awed by Emily’s creativity. When she finally started to peter out, Catherine had four pages of notes.
“Why did you leave marketing again?” she asked with a chuckle. “You are full of ideas.”
“I’m full of something,” Emily said with a half-grin.
“Well, this is kind of amazing.” Catherine scanned her notes, moving from page to page. “There’s some really good stuff here. Anna and David will be thrilled.” With a grimace, she reminded Emily, “You really should be talking with one or both of them.”
Emily shrugged. “I trust you to pass it along.”
“I will.” Catherine tried not to dwell on the wrath of Anna she’d most likely have to deal with. She also tried not to dwell on the fact that she had no intention of making any changes to appease Anna. She stood up and held out her hand to Emily. “Thank you so much for your time today and the terrific ideas. I hope you know how much we appreciate it.”
Emily shook her hand, and her grip was warm, soft, and firm. “I’m happy to help. Besides, it was fun.” She smiled that smile and held Catherine’s gaze for a beat longer than normal.
“Mo and I will walk you out.”
Mo was a bit of a hellion on the leash, pulling out in front of Catherine, forcing her to wrap the leash around her hand a couple times for a better grip.
“I see you have a little work to do with your new dog,” Emily said teasingly.
“Ya think?”
The hallway spilled them into the lobby where Emily seemed just as surprised to see Clark standing at the front desk as Catherine was. He was doing his best to charm the socks off of the volunteers, and judging by all the blushing going on, he was doing a great job. Catherine suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead, put on a happy business face while, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Emily stiffen just slightly.
“Mr. Breckenridge,” Catherine said cheerfully. “What a nice surprise.”
He shook her hand, his smile wide. “I told you I wouldn’t be totally gone. I was in the neighborhood, so thought I’d drop by and say hello, maybe take you to lunch.” He gave her a fairly obvious up-and-down and said, “Is it possible you got better looking since I saw you last?” He tossed an unreadable look at Emily, who said nothing, though Catherine could see the muscles in her jaw working.
“Well, that’s very nice of you to say. I’m afraid I have to pass on lunch, though. Thanks anyway.”
To his credit, Clark looked genuinely disappointed. “Next time then,” he said. As if noticing Emily for the first time, he spoke directly to her. “You heading out? I’ll walk you to your car.” Catherine would’ve bet money Emily’d prefer anything else, but she gave him a curt nod, then turned to Catherine.
“Thanks for meeting with me. I’ll be in touch.” Then she lowered herself to Mo’s level and spoke to him in a voice Catherine couldn’t quite make out. She kissed the top of his head, then stood back up, smiled, and said good-bye.
Catherine watched them go, struck by the complete opposite bearings they each had. Clark moved fluidly, like he hadn’t a care in the world, as if everybody was looking at him and he totally knew it. Emily’s stride was stiff, angry, and at the door he held open for her she shot him a look could only be labeled a “death glare.”
What’s that about?
***
“What the hell was that about?” Emily hissed at her brother as soon as the doors to Junebug Farms clicked closed behind them.
“What? What was what about?” Clark asked, but his expression told Emily just what he was doing: faking his innocence.
“The asking Catherine to lunch? Theleering at her?”
“Leering at her? Well, that’s an ugly word. I didn’t leer at her. And I asked her to lunch because I happen to like her.” They reached their cars, parked side by side. Clark turned to her with a smirk and added, “Plus, the bet.”
“There is no bet, Clark! God.” Emily unlocked her car, got in, and keyed the engine, slamming the door shut on any response her brother might have. He often drove her crazy, but that was the job of big brothers, wasn’t it? Sometimes, he was a great guy. But the way he’d looked at Catherine? Ugh. Emily wasn’t sure that Catherine had seen it…or all of it, at least. God, he could be such a douche. She backed out of her spot and pulled away before he could catch up with her.
She needed to get as far away from him as she could as quickly as she could.
That’s how it was with Clark sometimes.
In the back of her mind, Emily knew that if she was going to be honest with herself, she needed to understand exactly why it bothered her that Clark had been ogling Catherine. True, the ogling was rude. Sexist. Ungentlemanly. But those weren’t the real reasons she was so angry with him. There was only one real reason.
It was Catherine.
Emily didn’t want him looking at any woman that way, but most of all, she didn’t want him looking at Catherine that way.
“Why?” she asked out loud as she sat in her car at a red light, rubbing her hands together to create warmth. Why did it matter if Clark—or anybody—eyed Catherine Gardner that way? She didn’t belong to Emily. Hell, she didn’t really even like Emily—although she’d started to second-guess that assumption today, as they’d worked so well together. Still, they were business acquaintances. Nothing more.
Weren’t they?
Did Emily want something more with Catherine, as her mother feared?
There were so many reasons to say no to that question. So many. There was a huge conflict of interest. They had little in common. Their lives were different. Their views were different.
But there was a pull. A definite pull for Emily, something that tugged her toward Catherine. And she had to believe it was there for Catherine as well…otherwise, why offer to meet with her today? She could have very easily put Emily off, let her meet with the others, the ones who were in charge of marketing and advertising and fundraising…all those things that Catherine really had nothing to do with. But she hadn’t. She’d offered to sit with Emily. So there was something there for her, too, right?
“I can’t think about this. I can’t.” She shook her head, willing the train of thought to abandon her brain all together. Her brain, in a valiant attempt the thwart her, tossed her an image of Catherine’s mouth in that split second Emily had been close enough to kiss her. The way her lips were slightly parted, the fullness of that bottom one…Emily recalled how her heart rate had kicked up what felt like a hundred notches and she’d had to squat down to play with the dog to keep herself from doing something very, very stupid.
Maybe she needed to stay away. That might be the best solution. Remove Catherine from the equation all together. That made sense. “I mean, I don’t have to go there. I have lots of other places to deal with. Spending time at the shelter isn’t a necessity.” Emily had realized pretty quickly in this job that her way of doing things, of being good at what she did, was to be fairly hands-on. She liked knowing the ins and outs of the places her family money went. It was important to her to know they were not only in need, but used the funds in the best possible way. And she liked to help. Volunteering at the shelter’s fashion show, helping hand out meals at the mission on Main Street, sorting through donated clothing with the women at the Volunteers of America. Emily was a hands-on kind of person.
But fantasizing about getting her hands on Catherine Gardner was a bad idea.
A very, very bad idea.
Which didn’t stop Emily from fantasizing about it.
A lot.
CHAPTER TEN
THE SUNDAY NIGHT BEFORE Thanksgiving had given Catherine the nasty little gift of the inability to sleep. They’d been short-handed at Joplin’s on Saturday, so that day was shot. She’d spent Sunday cleaning and catching up on laundry. Then she’d done a little online shopping, fin
ally ordering herself a new pair of boots (brown leather ankle boots with knit trim and a two-inch heel she’d been eyeing for a while now). After that, she worked with Mo on his training and obedience (he was a stubborn little S.O.B.), and by the time she’d fallen into bed Sunday night, she’d been thoroughly exhausted. So what was with the cosmic joke of not being able to sleep when you’re so tired you can barely move your limbs? What exactly was that about?
By Monday morning, she wanted to lay her head down on her desk and nap for three or four hours. If she closed the door, nobody would notice, right? Besides, it was Thanksgiving week. Things in the office would be quiet. She looked over in the corner at the round dog bed she’d picked up for Mo so he could come to work with her. Not only was he curled up in it, looking ridiculously comfortable, but he was snoring loudly, apparently to rub it in.
“That’s just mean,” Catherine said. Just as she decided maybe she’d lay her head back against her chair and close her eyes for a few minutes, then stood to close the office door, Anna appeared in the opening. The look on her face was pretty clear: she was pissed, as expected and predicted.
Terrific. Annoyed at herself for missing the chance to take the bull by the horns and address things before Anna had to come to her, Catherine sighed quietly before saying, “Hey. Come on in.” She needn’t have offered an invitation, as it was obvious Anna had no intention of not coming in. She stomped through the door and shut it loudly behind her. Mo jumped awake, a startled little woof escaping him.
“You want my job now?” Anna asked, her voice tight. She stood in front of Catherine’s desk, braced with both hands on the surface. Catherine knew she was exercising the ability to be the person standing higher, but at barely five feet tall, it didn’t have a lot of effect other than to cause Mo to growl low in his throat.
“Of course I don’t want your job.” Catherine glanced at the dog. “No, Mo. It’s okay.” He stayed on his bed, but seemed to watch Anna with very careful eyes.
“Then why are you meeting with people to go over marketing strategies? Last time I checked, that was my job.” Her blue eyes flashed and her cheeks were flushed and Catherine would have been surprised if she hadn’t seen Anna like this a million times before. Anger was her default, even when it was unnecessary. Still, Catherine had created this mess. She deserved Anna’s ire and she knew it.
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