by Tamie Dearen
“Did you find it?” He entered the room having shed his coat and tie and, ohmygosh, his shirt. Anne tried valiantly not to stare and pretended not to notice his muscles rippling as he pulled on a sport shirt. Even from the corner of her eye she could tell there was no flab anywhere. She wondered what he did to look like that. Did he have a personal trainer? She felt warm all over. What was she doing? She had no business staring at this man who was her boss and miles out of her league.
She forced her eyes up to his. What had he asked? “Did I find what?”
“The laptop. Did you look in the study?” He walked into another room and opened the door to reveal an office with rich walnut paneling extending to cover the coved ceiling. She followed him through the door and found him leaning intently over his desk, presenting her with a nice view of a firm backside. She did like a guy with a fine bottom. Suddenly, she realized he had turned around to face her. Had he noticed her perusal?
“You have a very nice… uhmm… apartment.” Heat flooded her face.
“Why thank you, Ms. Best. I do like to know my assets are appreciated.”
She squirmed, attempting to extract herself from his amused inspection. She pointed behind him to the computer. “Is that the information you wanted me to see?”
He turned back to the screen. “Yes, you see this is my current itinerary, but the timing of the flights won’t work with the meeting that has been changed from Tuesday morning to Monday afternoon. Here’s the new meeting schedule. You’ll also need to arrange limousine service to coordinate with the earlier flight. Fortunately, all the presentation material is ready to go, so no changes are needed there.”
She felt a growing confidence. This was all about travel arrangements. She could do this job in her sleep. She leaned in to study the information and email a copy to herself. As she worked she became aware of his presence, her skin prickly where her shoulder touched him. Her fingers began to tremble, and she fumbled as she keyed in the information.
“You’re shivering. Are you cold? I should’ve realized with your shorts on, you’d be cold in here. Should I turn up the heat?”
“No, I’ll be fine. Just let me…” She glanced at him, mortified he’d noticed her shaking.
“Are you sure?”
He wore a satisfied smirk—he knew. He was enjoying her discomfort. She felt a trace of anger and grasped at it. Better than being a babbling idiot, gaga over her hot boss.
“Actually, Mr. Gherring, I do find it to be quite cold in here. But I seriously doubt there’s anything you could ever do to warm me up.”
She pressed the send button on the email and marched out of the room to retrieve her bag, determined to regain what was left of her shredded dignity. When she headed for the door, she found Gherring barring her exit.
“Ms. Best.” He stepped sideways to intercept her as she tried to go around him, eyes firmly fixed on the floor. She refused to answer and attempted to pass him on the other side, until he finally leaned against the door handle and crossed his arms. “Please, will you look at me?”
“No, I won’t. If you want to fire me now, go ahead.” She glared at him and lifted her chin in defiance.
“Please, Ms. Best, I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re different from my other acquaintances—more sensitive.” He lifted his hand before she could retort. “Wait, I didn’t mean sensitive in a bad way. I simply mean I’m used to dealing with insensitive people. I can be sensitive. I used to be sensitive…”
His words died off and, for a moment, he looked sad, distant, and lonely.
Every trace of drummed-up anger melted away. How could she be upset with this poor man? He had everything money could buy, but seemed to lack happiness and joy. She thought of her family, her friends, all the people who loved her. He surely must not have this type of love in his life, or she wouldn’t have glimpsed that lost look in his eyes.
“Mr. Gherring, I’m fine. No worries. I know I can be very difficult to deal with—or so my daughters tell me.” His quick smile sent warmth into her chest. She decided to probe for a bit of information. “So, your current girlfriend isn’t very sensitive?”
“No, Ms. Best. There’s currently not anyone who falls into the category of girlfriend. I can’t say I’ve had much time or need for dating. Or the patience to deal with the consequences. To be honest, no one has really seemed worth the effort.” He looked surprised at his own candidness.
“Yes, of course. You’re a very busy and important man. And I should be getting out of your way so you can be about your business. I’ll see you Monday morning, Mr. Gherring.” Anne slipped around him and out the door.
She escaped to the elevator, glad to be free of Gherring’s forceful presence. Why did she have such a difficult time controlling herself around him? One minute she felt drawn to him, and the next she was furious. He was so arrogant. But then he’d accidentally revealed a part of himself he tried so hard to hide. He was lonely.
She knew what she had to do. Steven Gherring needed a mate—a life-long companion, true love, a match. And she, Anne Best, was just the woman to find that perfect match for him.
Working Order
“Hey Anne. Ready for your first day at work? Are you nervous?” Rayna came out from behind her desk to greet Anne as she emerged from the elevator.
Rayna had taken Anne up on her offer to be a listening ear. Turned out Rayna’s previous boyfriend had been emotionally abusive. By the time she’d escaped him, he’d driven away her other friends.
“Yes, extremely nervous. I feel like I’m fixin’ to pass out. But not as bad as I would’ve been since I realized Mr. Gherring will be out of town for three days.” Anne leaned in to whisper. “You look very chipper today. How was your date with Antonio last night?”
Rayna blushed crimson and glanced carefully over to the door where Antonio stood, apparently attempting to pretend he was not watching Rayna. Unabashed, Anne waved his direction. “Good morning, Antonio. How are you?”
Rayna positioned herself with her back to Antonio and spoke in a low voice. “It was so much fun. He was a real gentleman and opened the doors for me. We went to this fun pizza place, and we talked for hours. He’s a really good listener. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think I may be falling for him. I just want to take it slow so I don’t get hurt again.”
“Good for you. You deserve someone great after dealing with that Eddie. After you told me your story on Saturday, I was ready to punch that guy. He’d better hope I never meet him.”
Rayna laughed. “You’re so fierce. What would you do? Beat him up with your purse?”
“I just might. I’ve recently used my bag for just such a purpose.” Anne checked the clock on the wall. “I need to hurry, or I’ll be late. But I’m glad things are going well with Antonio. I just knew he’d be good for you.”
“Don’t be making wedding plans just yet.” Rayna chuckled as she peered over her shoulder at Antonio. “Although, I must admit, he would look great in a tux.”
On her way out the door, Antonio stopped Anne. “Good morning. I hope you have a great first day at work.”
“How did you know?”
“Rayna and I talked about you last night, among a lot of other subjects. I know you’re the one who told her about me. She never even knew I was alive before.”
“She would’ve noticed eventually. I just helped her focus more quickly.”
“I was right about you.” His eyes twinkled. “I told you on Friday it would be great having you here, and my prediction was spot-on. But I don’t understand how you knew. How did you know I liked Rayna? I didn’t say anything.”
“I just have a sixth sense about relationships.”
“Really? So you’ve done this before? Maybe you should charge a big fat fee. Are you working on anyone else right now?”
“Right now I’m just scouting. I’m always looking for my two daughters, and I have one other match I’m working on.”
“If your daughters look anything like y
ou, that should be easy.”
“You’re taken now.” Anne shook a scolding finger at him, smiling so he would know she was teasing. “You shouldn’t be flirting.”
He grimaced. “That may be a tough habit to break.”
Anne zipped out the door onto the streets of New York City and headed for her first day on the job.
“Hi Anne.” Katie greeted her as she entered the office door, hair and bags askew. “How was your first day negotiating the subway?”
“It was a bit crazy.” She huffed a stray piece of hair out of her face. “I did meet someone—a sweet girl named Ellen who works at a bookstore but wants to be an actress. Of course, I had to walk here from the station, and I was so late by then I started running. While I was running I tripped on the curb and would have fallen down if Spencer hadn’t caught me.”
“Spencer?”
“Spencer—the nice young man who broke my fall. He works next door at the lunch bistro, Papa’s Place. I promised him I’d eat there today out of appreciation for him saving me from being a bloody mess on my first day at work. It would’ve been nice if the apartment had been closer to work. Not that I’m complaining—it’s a nice place to live. Maybe you can show me a better way to get here from our building.”
Katie frowned. “I had you all set up to move into a company apartment in my building, but Mr. Gherring vetoed the idea. He said something about planning to remodel that apartment.”
“I thought I was in your building. I figured he wanted his secretary close so he could give you assignments any time, you know, from his apartment.”
“No, I’m in a building about a block away from here. It’s handy for work.”
“Too bad there wasn’t an apartment ready in your building. But I guess it was fortunate I was at the place where Mr. Gherring lives, since he was able to explain the changes he needed in his travel arrangements after we ran into each other in the elevator.”
“Really? When he left here early on Friday, he told me he would email me about a possible schedule change. Then later he sent an email that everything was fine. I wonder why he had you do it instead of me. Thanks for taking care of the arrangements.”
“You’re welcome. He said something about not wanting to bother you, and I was glad to start off with something I already knew how to do. And it was convenient since the information was on his home computer. It only took a second to run up there.”
“You went to Mr. Gherring’s apartment?” Katie’s mouth fell open.
“It wasn’t like that. Nothing improper happened. I just… Wait, haven’t you been to his apartment? I mean, for work stuff?”
“No.” Katie’s eyes were still wide. “I’ve never been there. Mr. Gherring has a strict policy about separating his work and his personal life. No one from work has ever been to his apartment. Not even the board members or the vice presidents, as far as I know.”
“Oh. I’m sure it was a fluke, and I’m sure it’ll never happen again. I don’t think he likes dealing with my emotional outbreaks.” Anne forced a laugh. Why would Gherring change his policy about keeping his apartment private? Maybe he was starting to realize he needed company after all. “But he does seem very lonely.”
“I don’t know. He has an active social calendar. I don’t see how he has time to be lonely.”
“Now you know being busy has nothing to do with finding meaningful relationships. You have Gary. Think how it’d be if you had to make appearances in public all the time, but you didn’t have Gary in your life. You’d be very lonely.”
“I guess you could be right.”
As she had since Friday night, Anne racked her brain, wondering where she would find a suitable match for Steven Gherring. She had a feeling it would take a lot of effort over a long period of time… time she might not have.
“Let’s get to work on my training. I have a lot to learn if I want to keep this job longer than three months.”
Emily appeared skeptical, even on computer screen. “Wow Mom, you seem to have been pretty busy for only five days in New York. That’s one couple you’ve already gotten together and several more in the making. In fact, you seem to be doing a lot of meddling. Have you done any actual work?”
“How can you ask such a thing? You know I don’t meddle. I just intervene a bit.”
“Yeah, right.”
Anne felt a pang of homesickness. “It’s so good to hear your voice. I really miss you. And I miss hearing a Texas accent. Everyone around here teases me about my accent and acts like they’ve never heard a y’all or fixin’ to in their whole lives.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let them hear you talking to Grandpa.” Emily giggled. “When you two are on the phone, you sound so countrified. You say things like get foundered and cattywhomperjawed and bust my buttons.”
“No I don’t.”
“Mom.”
“Okay. Maybe I do that a bit, but it’s not that bad, is it?”
“Not to me. But it might be a bit much for your sophisticated work colleagues.”
“They’ll just have to tough it out. I’m too old to learn to talk a new way. You know what they say about old dogs.”
“Maybe you can tone it down around Steven Gherring. Did you say he’ll be in the office tomorrow?”
“Yes, but I don’t seem to be very good at holding my tongue around that man. Something about him just makes me lose my temper.” Anne felt somewhat guilty she hadn’t told her daughters about meeting Mr. Gherring on Friday. But the whole experience had been so awkward she didn’t want to explain it. Besides, he’d be so much easier to deal with once she found him a perfect match. “But I think he’s grouchy because he’s lonely.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I’ve been doing some internet research and asking questions at work. Steven Gherring is extremely driven. He works long hours and travels a lot. He’s been photographed with a variety of beautiful women who accompanied him to social events. But the gossip columns only have short-lived rumors about romances.”
“Gossip columns are just gossip. They don’t know everything.”
“Yes, but he never seems to be seen with any woman more than once, except for his grandmother. And he’s totally devoted to her. She’s an extraordinary woman, ninety-five years old. She’s done interviews and talk shows and has said she refuses to die until she sees her grandson happily married.”
Emily laughed. “She sounds great. Does she live in the city too?”
“That’s the sad part. She lives in a small town about four hours from here. She’s his only family, as far as I can tell, and Katie says he only gets to see her about once a month.”
“He’s never been married?”
“No, but I think he was engaged once, about five years ago. There was talk of a wedding and speculation about where it would take place. But I couldn’t find any information about the breakup. Maybe she died. I don’t know. He manages to keep his life pretty private. I found out most of my info from the grandmother’s interviews.”
“Maybe you can be a little more understanding since you know all this stuff. It’ll stop you from yelling at him like you did during the interview. I’d like for you to keep this job for at least three weeks so I can come to visit.”
“Yay—three weeks until you come! Really just two and a half weeks, now—I can hardly wait. And Charlie’s coming too?”
“Yep, she’s flying in from Denver, but we’re on the same flight from Dallas to New York.”
“Awesome. I have three weeks to find two nice, good-looking, guys for you.”
“And don’t forget, we want them to be rich and have ripped abs. Mine needs to be a reader, and Charlie wants an adventurer.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Anne arrived early to work, anticipating her first day actually working with Steven Gherring. She wore her nicest wool skirt and blouse, silently thanking Emily for lending her some clothes that fit and were appropriate for a business office. She traveled to wo
rk in her bright blue running shoes, which looked absolutely ridiculous. But she’d seen plenty of New York women making the commute wearing sensible shoes instead of heels.
Once she arrived at the office, she stashed away the running shoes and pulled on the uncomfortable three-inch high pumps that put her eye-to-eye with most of the men in the office. She checked her hair in the ladies’ room, distressed to find the humidity had re-curled the locks she had worked so hard to straighten that morning. Resigned, Anne pulled her hair back into a pearl clip.
She swiped on some mascara, dabbed concealer under her eyes and smoothed some tinted balm on her lips—her only concessions to wearing makeup. She’d always felt inept at applying makeup, thinking any more than these three staples made her look like a clown. She assessed her face. No wrinkles yet, although there were some crinkles that appeared around her eyes when she smiled. But she’d rather have those than frown lines. Her eyes were like large brown saucers. You couldn’t even see the pupils. She got compliments on them, but she’d rather have had blue or gold or green. Brown was boring. Well, not on other people, but it was on her. Boring or not, time to go upstairs.
She checked the time on her cell phone—still thirty minutes early—and squeezed onto the almost full elevator. Why was it crowded at seven-thirty a.m.? Perhaps everyone was arriving early since Mr. Gherring was back in town. Gradually, the elevator emptied until she was the only one left. Her arms were full—balancing her purse, her shoes, and her newly purchased laptop bag—when the doors opened on the top floor to reveal an office already bustling with activity.
Panicking with the knowledge she must somehow be late, Anne rushed off the elevator. But in the doorway, the three-inch spike of her heel caught in the crack. She flew forward, launching the contents of her hands into the air. As she tumbled to the floor, she managed to catch her laptop bag but missed the purse, which flipped upside down and spilled its contents. Almost in slow motion, she watched one of her lightweight running shoes soar through the air to strike a co-worker squarely on the back. Not just any co-worker. Who else, but Steven Gherring?
