The Come to Me Complete Collection: Contemporary Christian Romance

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The Come to Me Complete Collection: Contemporary Christian Romance Page 63

by Leah Atwood


  Didn’t the powers-that-be in corporate have families or non-work related activities? Nah, they’re married to their careers. Luke tapped his company-provided tablet and attempted to find his place in the notes. He’d tuned out somewhere between “for the next fifty minutes” and “practice resolution techniques through role-playing workplace simulations”.

  He really hoped he hadn’t heard the lecturer correctly. Role-play, really? He was a thirty-year-old professional. The men and women he supervised were accountants, not high on the chart for creating conflict within the office. But no, somebody, somewhere thought because he’d been promoted to a managerial role that he should attend the conference.

  “I need two volunteers.” The lady in charge—Mrs. Houser, he remembered after a brief glimpse at the outline on his tablet—peered around the room that reminded him of a college lecture hall. “You, in the blue sweater, come to the front.”

  Luke cast a look around the room to see who the unlucky person was, only to realize with horror that he was the sole individual in the room of sixty people who wore a blue sweater. Forcing a smile for the benefit of setting a good example, he marched to where Mrs. Houser stood.

  “You’ll be our person in charge. Sit down here.” She pointed to the oval table that was front and center. “This will be your office.”

  “I think it’s an improvement over my current one.”

  The people in the room laughed and Mrs. Houser smiled. To her credit, she had a sense of humor. She scanned the room again. “Who will be our disgruntled employee? Katherine, would you mind?”

  Hey, why does Katherine get a choice, and I was volun-told? His mental grumbles ceased when he saw that Katherine was Kate Jergens, one of his two bright spots of this confounded conference. Her long blonde hair hung straight to the middle of her back. Not a strand was out of place—never for Kate, who always had it completely together.

  When he’d first moved to Lafayette four years ago, he’d had something of a crush on her, but what man didn’t? Kate was beautiful, inside and out, the consummate girl-next-door. He’d first met her when he’d visited a friend’s church. He and Kate had recognized each other from work and it started a conversation between them. Even though he’d ultimately chosen to attend a different place of worship, that one visit to Kate’s had broken the ice between them at work.

  They’d become acquaintances, and then friends. Several times he’d thought about asking her out, but the timing was never right, and lately, she seemed to keep a distance most the time. Regardless, he enjoyed being in her presence. Kate infused joy in everything around her. Even now, she smiled at him as she stood on the other side of the table.

  “Katherine, you’re to be an employee approaching your supervisor regarding a problem with another employee.” Mrs. Houser tapped a finger to her chin. “Let’s say Johnny Doe turns his reports in late every Friday. In turn, this makes you late with your reports, which reflects poorly on you. You’ve already talked to Johnny, but with no change in his actions—what do you say to your boss?”

  Kate looked at him with sapphire blue eyes. She lifted a fist, knocked on a pretend door.

  “Come in.” He could play this game. It wasn’t so bad. “What can I help you with today, Ms. Jergens?”

  “There’s a problem I’d like to discuss with you regarding Mr. Doe.” Taking a chair from the front row, Kate pulled it to the table.

  He crossed his hands and put on a solemn, all-business expression. “Tell me what’s going on?”

  After Kate had answered, he proceeded to ask further questions to flesh out the details of Step One-Identify the Problem. Mrs. Houser nodded with approval.

  Ten minutes into the exercise, she excused them to return to their seats. “Wonderful job demonstrating the steps for conflict resolution. Thank you for your participation.”

  From her seat, Kate turned her head and flashed him a grin. Oh yeah, that alone was worth the trip to the head of the class. His mind wandered again, and he planned his evening. The hotel served a continental breakfast and Sinclair Industries provided a catered lunch. That left him on his own for dinner, or supper as they called it in the South.

  A few of the guys asked him to join them at the brewery after today’s sessions, but he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with that idea. Last time he’d gone out with them, he’d been the designated driver and had been teased mercilessly for not drinking. The ribbing he could tolerate—he was secure in his life choices, but the truth was—he simply hadn’t enjoyed himself.

  “That is all for today.” Mrs. Houser’s concluding words snapped Luke back to the seminar. “Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what to do when the resolution steps still don’t work. Until then, you are dismissed.”

  Hallelujah. Among the clamoring of chairs moving and people standing, Luke rushed to power off his tablet then slipped it into the padded pouch of his backpack. A shadow crossed in front of him, and he looked up to see Kate, her sweet smile directed at him.

  “Nice job, earlier.” She laid a manicured hand on the table. “I think you made an impression on Nancy, I mean Mrs. Houser.”

  “Thanks, I think?” He lifted a brow, twisted his mouth. “I didn’t realize the two of you were on a first-name basis.”

  A soft, musical laugh danced off her lips. “When I started at Sinclair, she was the human resource manager for the Lafayette office. She hired me and played a pivotal role in me getting the resource training position last spring.”

  “Yet she calls you Katherine?” Casting a wink, he couldn’t resist baiting her.

  She scrunched her nose, gave an indifferent shrug. “She doesn’t believe in nicknames.”

  “Katherine does have a nice ring to it.”

  Her gaze narrowed, but her eyes still sparkled with humor as she shook a finger at him. “Don’t think about it. Kate, it is.”

  “How about Katie?”

  A wistful look with a small frown flickered on her face, but she quickly blinked it away and shook her head. “There’s only one person who can get away with calling me that and it’s no one here.”

  The chink in her always upbeat attitude intrigued him, but he didn’t press. He examined the cleared-out room. “They didn’t waste any time leaving.”

  Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Kate gave the room her own once-over. “I know a large group made reservations for an Italian restaurant five blocks away that someone wanted to try.”

  “Are you joining them?”

  “No, not tonight.” Her lips quirked into the faintest of frowns again.

  Its unexpectedness tugged at his heart. “Are you okay?”

  A weak smile appeared. “I’ll be fine. Just a rough holiday.”

  She shouldn’t be alone this evening. He didn’t know what she was facing, but he could tell she needed a friend.

  A janitor with scraggly white hair popped his head into the room. “Would you two mind moving your conversation outside?” His keys jingled. “Time to lock up.”

  They left the training room and ambled to the elevator. Kate didn’t seem in any hurry to go anywhere, thus reinforcing Luke’s belief that something was wrong. This wasn’t the Kate he’d known for four years.

  He pushed the ‘down’ button outside the elevator and waited. “What are your plans for dinner since you’re not joining the others?”

  “I hadn’t thought that far.” She gave a delicate shrug. “Probably order room service or walk to the deli next to the hotel for a sandwich.”

  “Care to split a pizza with me?” So it wasn’t the date he’d envisioned asking her on many times, but he didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity. It wasn’t often anymore that she approached him outside of a group.

  Blue eyes sparkled after a split second of indecisiveness. “You know what, that sounds much more enticing than spending the evening sulking in my room.”

  “Sulking?”

  She cleared her throat. “Don’t mind me. I’m in a weird mood.”

  Ding. The eleva
tor doors slid open.

  Luke stepped in after Kate. “Is seven okay? I need to log in to the Sinclair Portal to review and approve two reports before I go.”

  “Perfect. It will give me time to change.” A wry smile rolled across Kate’s face when she looked down at her navy skirt and matching jacket. A magenta scarf added her own style to the outfit. “Pizza should never be eaten in a suit. It takes away the fun.”

  “I agree.” Next to her, he felt underdressed in his business casual attire even though it was the conference’s dress code. At least I won’t have to change for dinner.

  “Which pizza place did you have in mind?”

  “Any of them within walking distance of the hotel?” He chuckled, a reaction to his nervousness. His mouth had opened and made the invitation before he’d thought it through. “Or we can go to the deli next door.”

  “Pizza’s fine.”

  A circular button with an L glowed, indicating they’d reached the lobby. The doors opened, granting them access to the main floor of Sinclair Industries headquarters. An impressive, global logistics company, Sinclair Industries had their top North American office located in downtown Baltimore. Behind the front desk, the company’s name hung proudly in three-dimensional bronze letters. Two employees, one female, and one male, stood behind the reception desk, each speaking into an earpiece. The spacious open area had a constant stream of employees coming and going.

  Kate’s eyes were large as she watched the constant activity around them. “Can you imagine if our location was this busy?”

  “I prefer our laid-back atmosphere, but the staff here is a study in efficiency.” He shut his mouth before he launched into accountant speak sure to bore her.

  A wall of arctic air hit him when he went through the revolving door, and a shiver shook his body. Brr. Why didn’t I wear a coat this morning?

  Two seconds behind him, Kate stepped out, her teeth chattering. “I don’t think it ever gets this cold back home. Maybe a few days in January, but never in November.”

  “I heard tonight’s overnight low here is in the teens.” A sign on the post in the pickup area drew his gaze. Last shuttle to hotel: 5:35. “Looks like we missed the shuttle by ten minutes. Mind sharing a cab?”

  Her arms enveloped her midsection in a self-hug. “Anything to get out of this cold.”

  A white car with a painted stripe drove toward them, slowing down. It was a car from the taxi service he’d used while in Baltimore for his orientation when he’d first joined the company. Leaning forward at the waist, he flagged down the cab.

  When the car came to a stop, he opened the rear passenger door and Kate climbed in first. He slid in after her and gave the hotel’s address to the driver.

  “I love Christmastime.” Kate tore her attention from their surroundings. “When I was fourteen, my parents took my brother and me to New York City for a weekend in December. It was magical.” The faraway look from earlier returned.

  “I’ve never been.” A flashing Frosty in a storefront caught his eye and made him smile. His mom had one very similar. “My dad tended to be gone at Christmastime, so it was just my mom and my siblings. Me too, of course.”

  Kate frowned, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, as though not sure what to say. Once. Twice. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Once Dad came home, we had our own celebration, only a few months late sometimes.” He smirked. “If that were nowadays, we’d have all video chatted instead of waiting.”

  Curiosity shone in her eyes. “Was your dad in the oilfield?”

  A logical question coming from someone who’d lived in South Louisiana her entire life, but no. “Military. The Marine Corps had a bad habit of sending him on deployments and field exercises during the holidays.”

  “Your dad was a Marine?” Her broad smile shrunk.

  “Is. He’s still in, stationed at Quantico now.” Luke stretched his cramped leg. “In fact, he’s going to try to meet me for dinner tomorrow since we’re so near.” Bright spot number two.

  “That’s great.” Her frown lacked the enthusiasm of her words and her gaze drifted out the window, leaving him confused.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “I’m not good company tonight.” She turned back to him, wiped her eye. “I’ll understand if you’d rather have dinner without me bringing you down.”

  The taxi chose that second to stop, even though the hotel was still a hundred feet away. Kate grabbed her bag and jumped from the car, not giving him a chance to say anything.

  Whoa. He scratched his head before handing money to the driver. What had just happened?

  Chapter 2

  The door shut behind Kate, and she leaned against the wall, burying her face in her hands. In a single moment, she’d effectively ruined any chance she would ever have at dating Luke. What was wrong with her? This behavior wasn’t normal for her. Since she was a child, she’d been able to smile through anything.

  Someone knocked at the door. “Kate, are you in there?”

  Luke followed me to my room? Her face burned with humiliation.

  Another knock. “Just let me know you’re okay, and I’ll leave if you want me to.” Undisguised concern filled his voice.

  She owed him that. Drawing in a long breath, she lowered her hands from her face and shook out her embarrassment. This would be so much easier if he were someone she’d never see again, but no, they worked together and saw each other at least three out of five workdays. Not to mention she cared for him in ways she wished she didn’t.

  Her hand clutched the pewter door handle and twisted it down. She opened the door and saw Luke, posed with his hand about to knock again. Their eyes met and his held all the warmth of a cup of hot cocoa.

  “Hi.” He lowered his hand, moved it behind his back.

  “Hi.” A sheepish smile kept her lips drawn tight. “I’m sorry about all that.”

  Broad shoulders rose in a shrug. “We all have our moments.”

  “Not me.” She gave a reticent laugh. “Not when there’s somebody to witness it.”

  “If you need a friend, I’m a good listener.” He tilted his head to a slight angle. Chestnut brown eyes that matched his hair held no judgment of her scene minutes ago.

  She didn’t reply right away. Dueling desires fought for the outcome. It would be so nice to allow herself the comfort of a true friend. By her own doing, she had few of those. Most were friendships of the generic sort, and few really knew the Kate hiding behind the smiling façade. Only Sophie and Evan knew. But to accept a friend was to allow someone else into her life, someone who had the potential to leave.

  But there was something about Luke that drew her in and made her want to know him better. They’d become friends of sorts since he moved to Lafayette several years ago, closer than what she normally allowed, but over the last twelve months, she’d developed feelings for him that reached beyond friendship. He was kind and dedicated, and projected a steadiness she couldn’t help but admire. He was solid, dependable.

  Unlike most of the men she’d dated, he was the type she could fall in love with, which is exactly why she’d kept him at an arm’s distance once her feelings began to shift. Friendship was hard enough. Love—well, that was too big a risk.

  “Is the offer for dinner still on?” Her voice, or question rather, took her by surprise, but there was no way to take it back without causing more of a scene than she already had.

  “Definitely.” His smile melted ninety percent of her reservations. “Meet in the lobby at seven?”

  “I’ll be there.” If I don’t chicken out.

  “See you in a bit.”

  Gripping the door’s edge, she watched him walk away. Butterflies made a home in her stomach. She had forty-five minutes to prepare for a date with Luke. Her mouth twisted. Not a date, but a dinner alone with him. Close enough.

  Her choice of outfits was limited as she’d brought mainly professional attire for the conference. The more casual choi
ces included a pink cashmere sweater and a long sleeve black knit blouse. Either would go with her two options for bottoms—a pair of skinny jeans or gray pants what could be dressed up or down. She opted for the long sleeve black knit, matched with the skinny jeans. After changing outfits, she pulled on a pair of black leather boots that reached her upper calf. She’d grab her coat and scarf on the way out.

  A half hour to go. If she didn’t keep her mind busy, she’d find an excuse to back out of dinner. She went to her purse and pulled her phone from its designated compartment. Tapping on the phone icon, she called Sophie, her best friend and last person on her call history.

  Sophie answered on the second ring, laughing. “Hi, Kate,” she said when the giggles died down. “Sorry, Bryce was making funny faces at Ethan.”

  “How’s my favorite little man doing?” Kate loved Sophie’s eight-month-old son and was proud to carry the title of Aunt Kate.

  “Great. I wish we could have spent more time with you before you had to leave for the conference.”

  “Me too. Sure you can’t stay an extra few days? I’ll be back Wednesday night and can drive up to Oden Bridge.” Unaware she’d done it, a long strand of hair was twisted around her finger.

  “So tempting, but I have to be at the school Wednesday. We were only able to swing this trip so we could bring Gram home.” Sophie sighed. “Ethan’s new nanny starts this week.”

  “Ethan will do fine.” Kate unwound her hair and gave her friend assurance. “The new girl is a friend of Elle’s right?”

  “Yes. Ethan took right to her, and she loves him, so I know he’ll be in good hands, but it was easier to leave him knowing Gram had him.” Sophie paused a second. “Anyway, how’s the conference going?”

  “Good, except there’s been a twist.”

  “What is it?”

  “Luke asked me to dinner.”

  “No way.” Sophie’s voice rose an octave. “You said yes, right?”

  “Yes, but then I freaked out over something dumb.” Kate’s shoulders slumped with the memory as she told Sophie what had happened.

 

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