To Protect & Serve (19 page)

Monday night when she heard the two soft knocks on her office door, Lisa’s breath caught. He wasn’t supposed to come, but she wasn’t surprised.

“Still working?” Jeff asked with half a smile. “Man, you work more than anybody I know.”

“Besides you of course,” she said.

He shrugged. “Of course.” He held up a bag. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I thought so.” He went to work clearing a corner of her desk. Opening the bag of food, he nodded to her computer. “What are you working on?”

“Speaker schedule for the youth conference. I’ve still got all these holes, and I’m at the bottom of who else to ask.”

Carefully he pulled one Styrofoam plate of food out and handed it over to her. “Who do you have so far?”

“Hayes, who I’m praying doesn’t no-show on me; Fletcher with the police department who’s not a whole lot more excited about the deal; Doug Parsons from the city engineering department; a couple guys from the drilling rig off of Galveston; some volunteers from the homeless shelter; and then… not much.” She picked up a fork and dipped it into the mashed potatoes as he sat down in the chair across from her. “Man, these are good. Where’d you get this?”

Sheepishly he looked up. “I thought it might be nice to eat something other than take-out for a change.”

Her eyebrows reached for the ceiling. “You… made this?”

He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“You cook like this, and I’ve been cooking for you? Ugh. Now I’m embarrassed.” However, embarrassment didn’t trump hunger as she dug into the pile of roast which fell apart across her fork.

“It’s food.”

Her gaze drifted over him. “You cook, you clean, you save poor stranded souls from the top of rock climbing walls. Is there anything you don’t do well?”

Part of the smile faded from his face. “A few.” He didn’t look up for a moment. “Hey, how about the health care field? That would be interesting.”

She nearly dropped her fork to get to her pen. “Now that was way too obvious.”

“I even know a guy on one of the EMT squads in town. Well, I kind of know him. I could see if he’d be interested—if that would help.”

“Help? Are you kidding?” She wrote that down. “What else you got?”

They had rounded out the list with people in landscaping, construction, mechanicking, banking, and travel. In addition to the main list they had even compiled a just-in-case one, so that by the time they were walking to the cars, Jeff should’ve been ready to call it a night. However, the last thing he wanted to do was go back to his empty apartment
alone.

“You going to be okay getting home?” his heart asked for him, noting the slow droop of her eyelids.

“I’ve never had any trouble before,” she said slowly. “But you never know.”

“Well, I could follow you… if you want.”

“If I want? Now there’s a trick question.”

He held up his hands, dragging one of hers with his. “No tricks. Promise.” Pushing her eyes open, she nodded. At her car, he helped her in and shut her door. The GTO roared to life underneath him moments later, and for the first time she wasn’t driving away from him. As he followed her through the streets, his brain said this was silly. She was dead tired, and he wasn’t much better. Home made far more sense—except sense didn’t have anything to do with this.

When they pulled up to her apartment complex, he was at her car door before she even got it open. There was something about opening that door for her that felt so right. One heeled foot at a time she slid out, and he shut her door. The night, soft and hazy, enveloped them as he took her hand and led her across the parking lot. He glanced over at her, and the lids of her eyes were closed even as they walked.

“You look wiped
out,” he said softly.

“I’m trying not to,” she said, but her eyes never really opened.

They crossed into the grass. “I should let you get some sleep.”

“You don’t have to.”

Gently he smiled as under one of the little trees he stopped. “You didn’t have to put up with me tonight either.” His arms pulled her to him, and he noticed how the curve at the waist of her gray skirt fitted neatly into the palm of his hand. He knew she wanted to say something, but she yawned instead. He pulled back to look at her. Eyes still closed as though she was literally sleeping standing up, she was the essence of beautiful. Without asking him if it was okay, his other hand slipped up and brushed across the white fall of her neck. “You know, I think I finally understand that whole kissing a sleeping princess thing.”

The reference pulled a laugh from her as her nose wrinkled. “Ugh. I always thought you had to be terribly desperate to kiss a dumb princess.”

“You saying I’m desperate?”

She laughed outright at that. “Your call.”

The words evaporated into the air around them as his lips found hers. For all the solid information in his brain, he could very well have been dreaming that moment. Life opened up around them as his lips left hers, and he pulled her to him again. “Go get some sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.”

“Promise?” she asked softly.

“Promise.”

With the speakers being contacted, and the other two campaigns on solid legs, Lisa decided they could take a night off from the office. So, when Jeff called on Tuesday, her curiosity won out.

“You know those potatoes were so good,” she said as she leaned back in her office chair. Her shoes were kicked off under the desk and the phone cord was wrapped around her arm as she gazed out the window at the buildings and street beyond.

“Is that a hint?” he asked.

“Well, if I’m cooking, you’re going to get canned spaghetti and year-old noodles.”

“The first hint was plenty,” he said with a laugh. “What do you want me to do? Make something and bring it over to your place?”

“Actually, I was thinking. You’ve seen my place, but I haven’t seen yours yet.”

“There’s not much to see. A tiny place with a big mustard stain on the carpet.”

“Can’t be much worse than mine.”

“Okay, I guess I can throw the junk behind the couch or something.”

“Hey, don’t clean on my account,” Lisa said, and then her gaze snapped over to Sherie standing in the doorway. Her chair crashed back to straight up. “Listen, Jeff, I’ve got to go.”

A slight pause. “Umm, if you’re coming over here, don’t you need directions?”

As her attention zeroed in on Sherie watching every movement, Lisa grabbed for a pen. “Yeah, I guess that would help.”

Quickly he gave her the directions as she scribbled an incomprehensible map onto the edge of a paper she hoped wasn’t important.

“What time you taking off?”

“Midnight if I don’t get going,” she said.

“Great. Everything should be nice and burnt by then.”

Despite the interested gaze of her secretary, Lisa laughed. “Seven?”

“I’ll be waiting.”

When she hung up, Lisa took one breath and smiled at her secretary. “What’s up?”

“Mr. Cordell’s here to see you,” Sherie said.

“Mr. Cordell?” Lisa asked. The smile slid from her face as she grabbed for her shoes and her jacket. “We didn’t have anything scheduled today, did we?” Then she caught a glimpse into the front office. Tucker. Terrific. She pursed her lips together. “Tell him I’ll be with him in a few minutes.”

Sherie nodded and closed the door quietly behind her. Lisa’s hands went to her forehead as she tried to squeeze back into business mode. She stood and nearly turned an ankle on the heel of one shoe. Quickly she went over to the little mirror and whipped the back of hair up, twisting it around and around before jamming three hair clips in. Then she readjusted the shirt under the dark jacket before smoothing everything out over her stomach. With a breath, she opened the door and strode out with the fakest smile she’d ever mustered on her face. She extended her hand to him as he stood, feathering one hand through his ash-blond locks as he did so.

“Tucker.”

“Lisa, you’re looking well.”

“So are you,” she said, and the words and the smile threatened to choke her on the spot. “What brings you by?”

“I brought over some of the recommendations from our board of directors. Grandpa thought we could go over them before you start formally contacting the speakers.”

Too late, but she smiled anyway. “Let’s go to the conference room. I’ll just grab my notes.” She raced back into her office, grabbed her black notebook, and ran a finger around the back of her heel. Why had she never realized how much those things hurt? Pulling herself to her full stature, she strode back out and indicated the door on the other side of the office. “Please.”

Slow strings, a piano, and then the rest of the band joined in on the stereo in the living room as the lemon pepper steak surrounded by small potatoes and carrots slid into the oven. With his other hand, Jeff reached up and wound the timer, knowing every tick brought her that much closer to him. That much closer. He smiled at the thought.

A slide step across the kitchen in perfect time to the string-crescendo brought him over to the cabinet where he picked up a can of green beans, tossed it in the air, and conga danced his way back to the stove. As the can opener hummed, he sang. His body melting to the beat. With a click, he released the can even as his voice blended into the harmony. Dumping the can of beans into the little pan, he pulled out the minced onion from above the stove and spun around on his feet before using the jar for an impromptu mic. He sprinkled the onions into the green beans and put the little container back.

Smoothly he slid over to the sink where he grabbed two wooden utensils and banged them across and down the wall, and then right over the sink as he did his best to imitate the short drum solo. It wasn’t perfect, but it sure felt good. He put the bowl end of the spoon to his mouth, singing into it as if he was standing on the middle of a stage. Slowly his feet twirled him around. At the sink he let one dish slide into the water, and the scrubbing matched the beat. He stopped and turned dramatically as the music did the same. Then he continued scrubbing.

How many times he had heard that song before, he did not know, but this was the first time he ever realized he had heard it. He loved that song.

Lisa checked her watch, not liking how many minutes this was eating up. “I’ve already contacted these people, so…”

“But you didn’t run this by us,” Tucker said with a glower.

“I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to. The last I heard, Mr. Cordell said I could put whoever I wanted to in there, or at least get them contacted before he finalized the list.”

Tucker’s gaze slid over her and right into the bottom of the v of her beige blouse. She wanted to squirm, to cover that up, or to outright knock him through the window—none of which were options, so she straightened further. “At least that was my impression. Did I misunderstand?”

“That’s kind of been going around lately,” Tucker said as his elbow suddenly let his hand go, allowing it to land within inches of hers.

She cleared her throat. “I don’t think I’m following.”

“You know,” he said as his tone softened, “I’ve been thinking we never really finished what we started the other night.” His fingers slipped closer to hers. “I mean, I’d hate for there to be any bad feelings between us. Grandpa really wants this to work out.”

Revulsion spun through her. “Could we please stick to the subject?”

Soft doe eyes met her request as his fingers crawled closer to hers. “Come on, Lisa. What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not
afraid
of anything. This is a business venture. Period. I don’t know why you keep thinking I’m interested in anything else. I’m not.” She slammed the notebook closed, nearly catching the tips of his fingers in it. “When you’re ready to deal with me like a professional, you know where I’ll be. Until then, I don’t think we have anything else to discuss.” She stomped her way to the door, which she opened, realizing with a start that Sherie was already gone.

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Lisa,” Tucker said, his voice becoming snake oil soft. “Think about it. We could be so good together.”

Lisa turned and leveled her gaze at him. “Listen carefully because I’m only going to say this once and then I’m going to call security. I am not now, nor have I ever been interested in pursuing anything personal with you. In fact, if I could just deal with your grandfather and leave you totally out of this altogether, that would be peachy with me. However, it seems that I’m stuck with you, so in the future when you come for a meeting, I’d appreciate it if you’d stick to the topic and leave your comments and innuendo at the curb. Now, if you don’t mind, I have plans this evening.”

She knew better than to simply walk out. He would follow her, and in her office, with him at the door, there would be no last-ditch escape route. Still, when he stepped past her in a huff, Lisa’s skin did a rolling earthquake move down her back. Then at the outer door he stopped, turned, and the look in his eyes was pure evil. “I’ll be sure to give Grandpa an update.” And then he was gone.