Betty’s wonderful dinners and enjoying good conversation.
It was her fault.
She needed to stop reacting to Jim as if he were a long-lost lover instead of a stranger. When she’d gone to bed, she’d tossed and turned, trying to deal with her dreams and reality. She should’ve known better.
Promising herself that tomorrow would be different, she’d finally drifted off to sleep around one o’clock. Then she’d overslept and had to scramble to get to work by nine.
To her surprise, she was the first to arrive. She checked her desk to be sure everything was in its correct place. Then she chastised herself for being so possessive.
She made a fresh pot of coffee for Will and Jim, andgot a soft drink out of the small refrigerator. She hadn’t had time for breakfast this morning.
The phone rang and she slipped into her chair to answer it. “Greenfield and Associates.”
Will had decided on that name because it made his office sound bigger than it was.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Michaels. How may I help you?”
She twisted her chair around to turn on her computer as she listened to the man’s complaints.
“Yes, I’m so sorry. We’ve had a particularly heavy load the past couple of weeks, but Will has added a new associate. I think he’ll be terrific at helping lower the wait time.”
After a pause, she said, “He’s more than competent. He just got out of the marines and he’s quite capable of handling any situation. His name? James Barlow.
“Yes, as soon as he’s had a chance to study your files, I’ll have him call on you so you can meet him. I think you’ll be impressed.” Another pause. “Yes, Mr. Michaels, I appreciate your calling. Goodbye.”
“Nicely done, Carrie,” Will said, standing in the doorway, Jim beside him.
Carrie recovered quickly. “Thank you. Jim, Mr. Michaels is with Liberty Insurance, one of our most important customers. He’d like to take you to lunch as soon as you’ve looked over his files.” After a quick glance at Jim, she trained her eyes on some of the files on her desk. Pulling six of them out of the pile, she offered them to Jim. “I’m sure Will won’t mind if you use one of the chairs in his office to look them over. And the coffee is ready.”
Will added his consent, then said to Carrie, “I bought doughnuts. Bring your drink and come into my office.”
Carrie would’ve preferred to take a pastry and return to her desk, but she’d joined Will too many times for him to accept that she was too busy.
Acting on her resolution from last night, she squared her shoulders and picked up her drink. Then she followed the two men to Will’s office.
“We need to bring you up to date on some changes,” Will said as he sat down.
Carrie’s stomach heaved and she braced herself. He might have decided that she had to go. Jim was certainly a better risk than she because he was a big man.
“We decided to go ahead and order another desk and computer and whatever else is necessary for another investigator. We’ll need it whether it’s Jim or someone else, so it seemed silly to wait.”
Carrie swallowed carefully. “I agree.”
She could feel Jim’s gaze on her, but she stared at Will, waiting to see what else he had to say.
“We ordered the desk this morning and paid a bonus to get it delivered this afternoon.”
“Oh, good.”
Will smiled at Jim. “See? I told you Carrie wouldn’t be upset. Now, I think you and Jim should go get all the supplies he’ll need, including some filing cabinets.”
“I could do that by myself, and Jim could use my computer while I’m gone,” she suggested, careful to keep the panic out of her voice.
“No. He may have some preferences that we don’t know about,” Will said with a grin. “I’m going to workon my computer while you’re gone. Then I’ll go out this afternoon when you’re here to accept delivery on the desk and anything else you’ve bought.”
“All right. Just let me make a couple of calls. Then I’ll be
It was her fault.
She needed to stop reacting to Jim as if he were a long-lost lover instead of a stranger. When she’d gone to bed, she’d tossed and turned, trying to deal with her dreams and reality. She should’ve known better.
Promising herself that tomorrow would be different, she’d finally drifted off to sleep around one o’clock. Then she’d overslept and had to scramble to get to work by nine.
To her surprise, she was the first to arrive. She checked her desk to be sure everything was in its correct place. Then she chastised herself for being so possessive.
She made a fresh pot of coffee for Will and Jim, andgot a soft drink out of the small refrigerator. She hadn’t had time for breakfast this morning.
The phone rang and she slipped into her chair to answer it. “Greenfield and Associates.”
Will had decided on that name because it made his office sound bigger than it was.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Michaels. How may I help you?”
She twisted her chair around to turn on her computer as she listened to the man’s complaints.
“Yes, I’m so sorry. We’ve had a particularly heavy load the past couple of weeks, but Will has added a new associate. I think he’ll be terrific at helping lower the wait time.”
After a pause, she said, “He’s more than competent. He just got out of the marines and he’s quite capable of handling any situation. His name? James Barlow.
“Yes, as soon as he’s had a chance to study your files, I’ll have him call on you so you can meet him. I think you’ll be impressed.” Another pause. “Yes, Mr. Michaels, I appreciate your calling. Goodbye.”
“Nicely done, Carrie,” Will said, standing in the doorway, Jim beside him.
Carrie recovered quickly. “Thank you. Jim, Mr. Michaels is with Liberty Insurance, one of our most important customers. He’d like to take you to lunch as soon as you’ve looked over his files.” After a quick glance at Jim, she trained her eyes on some of the files on her desk. Pulling six of them out of the pile, she offered them to Jim. “I’m sure Will won’t mind if you use one of the chairs in his office to look them over. And the coffee is ready.”
Will added his consent, then said to Carrie, “I bought doughnuts. Bring your drink and come into my office.”
Carrie would’ve preferred to take a pastry and return to her desk, but she’d joined Will too many times for him to accept that she was too busy.
Acting on her resolution from last night, she squared her shoulders and picked up her drink. Then she followed the two men to Will’s office.
“We need to bring you up to date on some changes,” Will said as he sat down.
Carrie’s stomach heaved and she braced herself. He might have decided that she had to go. Jim was certainly a better risk than she because he was a big man.
“We decided to go ahead and order another desk and computer and whatever else is necessary for another investigator. We’ll need it whether it’s Jim or someone else, so it seemed silly to wait.”
Carrie swallowed carefully. “I agree.”
She could feel Jim’s gaze on her, but she stared at Will, waiting to see what else he had to say.
“We ordered the desk this morning and paid a bonus to get it delivered this afternoon.”
“Oh, good.”
Will smiled at Jim. “See? I told you Carrie wouldn’t be upset. Now, I think you and Jim should go get all the supplies he’ll need, including some filing cabinets.”
“I could do that by myself, and Jim could use my computer while I’m gone,” she suggested, careful to keep the panic out of her voice.
“No. He may have some preferences that we don’t know about,” Will said with a grin. “I’m going to workon my computer while you’re gone. Then I’ll go out this afternoon when you’re here to accept delivery on the desk and anything else you’ve bought.”
“All right. Just let me make a couple of calls. Then I’ll be
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