Blue Mist of Morning (7 page)

Manning Consultants occupied the entire seventh floor, and
when Anne swept off the elevator, Betsy, the young brunette
receptionist, grinned cheekily. "Well, will wonders never cease?" she
commented wryly. "I've worked here for nearly a year, and I've never
once seen you come in late, Anne."

"I guess there's a first time for everything," Anne
replied ruefully as she sped past the girl on her way to the carved
double doors that opened into her office. After she hastily tossed her
purse into her desk drawer, she went to open the ice-blue drapes that
covered the tinted glass wall. Light flooded the large room, reflected
in the buffed wood surfaces of her desk and the frames of a matching
sofa and chairs. Pausing to take a deep breath and to swipe back that
aggravating strand of hair, she surveyed her own reflection in the
mirror on the wall above the sofa. Except for the fact that her cheeks
were unusually flushed, she looked normal. After straightening the
skirt of her dark blue suit, she snatched up her steno pad and pencil,
then knocked once on the double doors behind her desk.

Without waiting for a response from within, she entered
Ty's office, smiling apologetically as he looked up from his teakwood
desk and watched her walk toward him. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mr.
Manning," she said, the breathlessness caused by her haste, increasing
considerably as his blue eyes swept a long gaze slowly over her.

"Maybe if you didn't stay out until all hours, you could
get here on time," he practically growled at her, his face hard. "Don't
let this happen again, Anne. I won't tolerate tardiness."

"I do have an excuse," she replied stiffly, biting back an
angry retort. Her cheeks rosy with indignation and chagrin, she glared
back at him. Then, because it was his custom to dictate letters first
thing in the morning, she flounced down on the chair before his desk
and opened her steno pad as she continued tersely, "I want you to know
I'm not late because I was out until all hours—I wasn't. It
just so happens that my car went dead at a stoplight and wouldn't start
again. I had to get a mechanic to look at it, but he had to tow it to
his garage. So I had to wait for a bus, and that's why I'm late. But it
won't
happen again."

As Ty laughed shortly, she jerked up her head, frowning at
his rather mocking look.

"Is something funny?" she asked sharply. "Personally, I
see nothing amusing in my car going on the blink."

"Neither do I. But I've never seen you out of sorts
before," he explained sardonically. "Did you know that your eyes turn a
fascinating stormy gray when you're irritated?"

"No, I didn't know. Thanks for sharing such valuable
information," she murmured heatedly, in no mood to try to analyze his
cryptic comment. Yet, as his eyes narrowed, she felt some regret for
giving him such an impertinent answer. Hastily looking away from him,
she stared down at the steno pad in her lap, becoming increasingly
breathless as she felt his burning gaze searing her. After several
long, uneasy moments, while her skin flushed with uncomfortable heat,
he at last began dictating his first letter, to her immense relief.

After the dictation ended, Anne returned to her own office
to type the letters, and the rest of the morning passed quickly. It was
after twelve, as she was at the bank of filing cabinets removing the
portfolios Ty would need for his afternoon appointments, when he strode
out of his inner office, his dark brown suit jacket flung back over one
shoulder. Stopping to button the matching vest he wore, he didn't
return the uneasy smile she gave him. Yet, before she could turn and
open another file drawer, one large brown hand came out and stayed hers.

"I want you to go to lunch with me, Anne," he commanded
rather than requested, "to discuss the details of the overnight trip
I'll be making to New York at the end of the week."

Knowing the details of this forthcoming trip weren't
complex enough to take much time to discuss, she was surprised he
wanted to take her to lunch for that purpose. And she certainly had no
desire to go with him after the way he had treated her that morning.
With a sweeping gesture encompassing the papers on her desk, she
shrugged, unable to look directly at him. "I have a lot of work. I was
thinking of skipping lunch altogether."

"But you're not going to," he pronounced flatly. "I want
to discuss the trip… if you don't mind."

"I'd rather not go," she replied recklessly. "You
insinuated this morning that I was failing in my duties here. I'd
rather skip lunch and work, so maybe I can begin to make a good
impression."

Her slight sarcasm obviously irritated him immensely. His
eyes glittered like shards of ice as he took one menacing step toward
her. When he spoke, his voice possessed that deceptive softness that
she immediately recognized as dangerous. "You seem to be forgetting
that I'm the boss here, Anne. If you want to impress me, you'd be wise
to start remembering. Now, we will go to lunch and discuss my trip like
adults, not like a couple of feuding children. Is that clear?"

It was, and she had no choice except to get her purse and
go with him. Twenty minutes later in the plush splendor of one of
Alexandria's best restaurants, Anne jotted down one last note
pertaining to Ty's trip. After replacing her small notebook in a
leather-lined compartment in her purse, she took a tiny sip of chilled
white wine, glad that discussing business details had helped ease the
tension between them. More relaxed than she'd thought she would be, she
glanced around the elegant dining room. Suddenly her lips thinned to a
grim line when she noticed a man and girl in a secluded corner exchange
a lingering kiss. Wondering if the couple thought the potted palm near
their table hid them from view, Anne unconsciously wrinkled her nose.
The man was Kirt Callen and the girl with him looked practically young
enough to be his daughter.

Apparently noticing her interest in something, Ty glanced
back over his shoulder in the direction in which she was staring. The
barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he turned
back to her. "I get the distinct impression that you dislike Kirt."

"You're right. I don't like him," she answered candidly,
then lifted her hand in an uncertain gesture. "But I suppose I
shouldn't say that to you. If you're his friend…"

"Frankly, I don't count Kirt as a friend," Ty said flatly.
"He's a client, and we have mutual acquaintances, but that's about the
extent of our relationship."

"I wonder why he leads such a shallow life," Anne mused.
"There must be something better for him to do than chase after women."

"I guess he just doesn't choose to do anything better," Ty
answered. Then he grinned as he looked at her. "But I suppose you'd
rather believe he had a very unhappy childhood and that's why he lives
the way he does now. Maybe if you had been able to go to medical
school, you would have pursued a career in psychiatry. I've noticed
that about you—you watch people. You were very interested in
Jenny this past weekend."

"She seems so vulnerable." Toying with her napkin, Anne looked at Ty directly. "That's why I was worried
about Mr. Callen's obvious interest in her. She might not be able to
see what kind of man he really is."

"Fortunately, she probably won't be seeing him at all
anytime soon. I don't see him that often myself," Ty replied softly,
his gaze narrowing as he leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on
the table. "But I appreciate your concern for Jenny. Maybe you identify
her with your own younger sisters."

"Probably," Anne confessed, smiling. "And I must admit
that Sue and Amy—they're my sisters—have accused me
more than once of trying to mother them too much. I recall being quite
a tyrant when I was ten or so and Sue was five and Amy only two."

Though Ty smiled, he eyed her speculatively, then shook
his head. "I simply can't see you as a tyrant, Anne. Gently persuasive,
perhaps, but never a tyrant."

"A very chivalrous thing to say, Mr. Manning, but I assure
you I can have quite a temper," Anne replied wryly. "You just don't
know me."

"Ah, but I have every intention of changing that," he
promised softly.

For an instant, Anne's heart stopped as she imagined there
had been some hidden message in what he had said. Then she managed to
convince herself that he was only trying to make up for his harsh words
that morning and hadn't meant anything at all provocative by his
statement. She smiled politely at him, but just as he started to speak
again, he was interrupted by the waiter with their lunch. As they ate,
the conversation remained lively, though less personal. Anne learned
that he read a great deal, as she did, so there were never any periods
of uncomfortable silence when neither of them could think of anything
to say. One topic of conversation led to another, then another,
including global politics, their favorite literature and even recent
astonishing advances in the field of medicine, which was a subject
that, of course, intrigued Anne.

By the time she had finished the delicious fillet of sole,
Anne was beginning to realize that Ty was probably the most interesting
man she had ever met. Knowledgeable in many subjects, he was never
boring and he certainly wasn't the type of businessman who could only
think in terms of profits and losses. And he could laugh at himself, a
trait she found particularly appealing. As she refolded her napkin and
tucked it beneath the edge of her plate, Anne smiled to herself when Ty
asked the waiter, obviously a longtime acquaintance, about his family.
He obviously had a genuine interest in people and that indicated a
depth of character that rather surprised Anne. Because she knew there
were many young women in his life, practically a different one every
night, she had expected him to be a shallow person. Clearly, nothing
could have been further from the truth. In less than three weeks she
had seen so many different facets of his personality that now she was
somewhat confused about how to react to him.

Deciding she would simply try to act naturally and hoping
that would suffice, Anne smiled at Ty as the waiter left them alone
again. Ty, however, was looking beyond her, his expression questioning.
Suddenly, a hand descended on Anne's shoulder. She turned around and
looked up, astonished to find that the hand belonged to her sister.

"Sue, what on earth?" she exclaimed softly, noticing the
younger girl's flushed cheeks and wind-tousled hair. "What are you
doing here? How did you get here from Washington? And why aren't you
there in class? Is something wrong? You haven't heard from Mom? There's
nothing wrong at home, is there?"

"No, nothing." Sue answered breathlessly, trying to smooth
her blond hair. "I took the bus from Washington because I had to see
you. I really do have to talk to you right now, Anne. It's important."

Breathing a sigh of relief because nothing was wrong at
home, Anne became quite calm again, knowing Sue had a tendency to
exaggerate the importance of almost everything. Giving Ty an apologetic
smile, she gestured toward an empty chair at the table. "Well, sit
down. Mr. Manning, this is my sister, Sue. Sue, Mr. Manning."

"I don't want to sit down," Sue responded urgently, unable
to stand still. "We have to talk right this minute, Anne. I mean it.
It's very, very important."

Anne doubted that, but seeing how upset her sister was,
she sighed resignedly and rose from her chair. "I'm sorry, Mr. Manning,
but could you excuse me for a few minutes? I won't be long."

"Take your time," Ty said, giving her an understanding
smile.

She led the way into the luxuriously appointed entrance
foyer of the restaurant, but when she stopped beyond the coat-check
desk, she was acting in such an agitated manner that Anne was becoming
a bit concerned. "What is it, Sue? What's the matter?"

"Everything," the younger girl groaned melodramatically,
then blurted out, "Oh, I might as well just tell you—I'm
going to have to drop out of school!"

"You're most certainly not going to drop out of school,"
Anne responded emphatically, a no-nonsense gleam sparkling in her gray
eyes. "What kind of silliness is this? What's made you decide you have
to drop out? I've never heard anything so ridiculous. You just started
college in January."

"What difference does that make?" Sue exclaimed, hands all
aflutter. "Now that I know I won't be able to afford to go back next
fall, what's the point of finishing this semester? I may as well just
quit now and get a job."

Anne placed her hands on her hips. "What
are
you jabbering about? Why don't you think you'll be able to go back to
college in the fall?"

"Because the price of tuition is going up! Everything's
going up! We just won't be able to afford it." Sue twisted her hands
together in front of her. "Yesterday, when I heard about the tuition, I
thought maybe we could work something out. I tried to call you this
morning, but you'd already left for work. So after my English class, I
caught a bus and came here. I went to your office and the receptionist
told me you were at this restaurant."

"Oh, Sue, I can hardly believe you came all this way just
because your tuition costs will be rising next year. I expected them
to. Didn't you?" Anne asked, striving not to lose her patience. Shaking
her head, she smiled at her younger sister. "You're really getting all
upset about nothing. I'm not upset, am I? I would be if I thought you
wouldn't be able to go back to college next fall, but I know you will.
You have nothing to worry about. I'll take care of everything. I'll
work something out. Just put all this out of your mind and go back to
school where you belong. This is my problem, and I'll take care of it,
I promise you. You won't have to drop out of school."

"But… Anne, I don't want you to have to take
care of it! You shouldn't have to."