Working Man (6 page)

“Au contraire,”
Zane protested. “I'm never correct, politically or otherwise. I'm just clueless. I have no idea what's going on around me on a daily basis, which is why I have to hire the best people. Otherwise this paper would consist largely of comic strips and sports statistics.” He straightened his very expensive silk tie and said he had a meeting. “I'm leaving you in good hands, Dakota. Toni is the best and brightest of a very smart bunch of people,” he said sincerely. His usual sardonic manner was abandoned for a moment and he gave Toni a look that was unguarded and quite startling in its intensity.

Toni didn't seem to notice a thing, however, and carried on chatting with Dakota about her new workplace. “You can see how tiny my office is,” she said, “but there's a method to Zane's madness. He wants to keep us on the floor with the reporters as much as possible and I agree. C'mon, I'll take you to your cubicle. I think it's actually near a window,” she added.

As they walked across the huge office, stopping for introductions here and there, Dakota noticed how well Toni was dressed. She too, wore a suit, but hers was a skirt suit instead of the pants version that Dakota was wearing. It had a skirt that stopped above her knees and it flared out audaciously, almost daring a man to look at her healthy legs, which were spectacular. The suit was in a heavenly shade of green with a scoop-necked top in a brilliant blue that looked fabulous with it. Her shoes were the same shade of blue with a green T-strap and a three-inch heel. She looked chic yet powerful and Dakota made up her mind to ask her for a few fashion tips. Obviously it was possible for a woman to look professional and feminine at the same time and it was time she learned how to do it.

They arrived at her cubicle which was nicely located in a corner next to the floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall window. It provided her with a small amount of privacy and Dakota liked it very much, although she could work anywhere. Plus, she wouldn't really be spending that much time at her desk. Most of her time would be spent in the field investigating. She was looking around her surroundings when Toni announced she was taking her to lunch.

“Zane has a lunch planned for you tomorrow,” she told her, “but you and I are going to a fabulous little café today. I guarantee you'll love it.”

Touched by the offer, Dakota agreed to go. For some reason her stomach was growling like mad. They were crossing the lobby and had just about reached the door when Dakota heard a familiar voice call her name. He only said it once but the deep timbre of his voice made it sound like a rifle shot. Dakota tried not to jump out of her skin when she turned to see Nick walking towards her. Her first reaction was desire, hot and fierce. This ticked her off, so she tried her best to look annoyed and disinterested, which it was hard to do with him looking like he did. He was wearing a summer-weight gray suit that had to be custom-made, given his height and size. His shirt was crisp and white and his tie was audaciously patterned like a peacock's tail, the brilliant colors bringing out his eyes and making him look even more handsome than usual.

Nick didn't seem to notice her struggle to remain composed, he just started talking. “Give me the keys to your car so I can get it to the body shop. Here's the key to your rental car, it's parked about two blocks from here. It's a gold HHR,” he added with that devastating grin of his. “I didn't want you to miss your baby too much while it's gone. It should be ready tomorrow afternoon.”

Dakota was finding it rather hard to think clearly and it showed in her first words to Nick. “What are you doing here?” she asked inanely. “My car is at home. I took a cab to work.”

He gave her a gentle smile as he took her car key and handed her the rental key. “I'm taking care of you. We forgot to talk about the car situation yesterday, so I handled it.” Suddenly he turned to Toni, who was watching the scene with amusement. “I'm Nick Hunter,” he said.

She held out her hand at once. “I'm Toni Brandon,” she said warmly. “I actually know who you are, Mr. Hunter, you've had some nice coverage in our home section. You do good work,” she praised.

“Aw shucks, you're gonna have me all red in the face in a minute. Thanks for the kind words, but I'm going to leave you ladies, I'm about to be late for a meeting.” Without warning he lowered his head and kissed Dakota lightly on the lips. “See you later,” he murmured.

Toni was suitably impressed by what she'd just witnessed. “You just got to town and you snagged one of the most eligible men in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. I'm impressed, woman, deeply impressed. If I wasn't happily engaged I'd be begging you for tips for the single woman. As it is, I'm just going interrogate you because I'm nosy as hell,” she admitted cheerfully. “The café is just around the corner and I can't wait to hear how you two met.”

Dakota stifled a long groan and allowed herself to be swept away by Toni. She hadn't been in Chicago a good seventy-two hours and her life was getting more and more complicated every minute.

 

Nick was actually quite pleased with himself after his day's activities. He had taken care of Dakota's car, gotten to his meeting on time and he was now headed to her house with a take-out meal. His office manager, Leticia, had questioned his actions, especially since she'd had to follow him to the dealership to drop off Dakota's car and pick him up after his downtown meeting. She had looked at him in the passenger seat and made a skeptical sound with her tongue. “Looks like somebody is getting awfully involved in somebody else's business,” she said tartly.

“Yeah, and it looks like that somebody is
you,
” he said in a deceptively mild voice. “You need to keep your eyes on the road and don't worry about things that don't concern you.” There was no humor in his words and it was quite obvious he meant every one of them. A lesser woman would have shut up at once, but Leticia had known him for too long not to meddle and she felt compelled to push back.

“I just hope you know what you're doing. She doesn't seem like your type, boss. That's all I'm saying.”

Nick mulled over her words as he parked his truck in front of the apartment building. He got out and reached inside for the bags of food that were emitting a delicious odor. He didn't understand all this crap about “types.” Dakota had said she wasn't his type and now Leticia was saying the same thing. He was a man, she was a woman and she was attractive to him. End of story. Nick liked to keep things as simple as possible, and he saw no need to clutter up what could be a perfectly nice relationship with a bunch of overthinking. He was laughing to himself as he approached the door of the apartment. “Me Tarzan, you Jane,” he muttered.
Okay, maybe it's not that simple, but it's not as complicated as everybody is trying to make it, either,
he thought.

He pressed the buzzer in the door and waited for Dakota's response, which wasn't long in coming. She opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb with her arms crossed over her delightful bosom. She had taken her hair down and put on a pair of jeans, but she still had on the tailored shirt she'd worn earlier. Her feet were bare and the sexy toes he'd noticed the day before were still just as cute. She wasn't in any hurry to let him in, she just gave him a look that wasn't hostile, but it wasn't too friendly either.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I brought you dinner,” he told her. “I figured you'd be too tired to cook after your first day at work.”

Nick watched her face light up with surprise and gratitude. She tried to cover it up with a stern expression but it was too late. “Thank you, Nick. That was very thoughtful of you,” she said finally as she opened the door wide. “Come in, please, and make yourself at home.”

He did just that, entering the apartment and taking the bags to the kitchen. The kitchen was bigger than most apartment kitchens and it was fully equipped with the latest and most advanced in culinary technology. He grimaced when he looked at the work island where Dakota had obviously been consuming her evening meal—cottage cheese and raw vegetables. A bottle of spring water and a container of watermelon chunks completed the repast. “Was that all you were going to eat? That's not enough to keep a bird alive,” he commented.

“I'm trying to umm, watch my weight,” Dakota mumbled.

Nick groaned and reached into the cupboard for plates, which he put on the work island. He also got out a couple of glasses while Dakota got silverware. They were joined by Cha-Cha, who was thrilled to see her man again. Nick greeted her affectionately and even though he'd just washed his hands, he bent and picked her up for a little kitty lovin' before putting her down and washing his hands again.

He and Dakota said grace together and after saying “amen” she looked at him expectantly. “So what did you bring us?”

What he'd brought was a feast from one of his favorite restaurants. “I hope you like Greek food,” he said as he opened the containers. The smells of lemon, oregano and thyme filled the room and Dakota beamed with pleasure.

“It just so happens that I love all Mediterranean food, especially Greek.” They dined on lemon soup, stuffed grape leaves, souvlaki and rice pilaf, with small homemade pitas that were no bigger than the palm of Nick's hand. And for dessert he'd brought baklava. It looked positively decadent with honey syrup oozing out of each piece, and Dakota looked mightily tempted, but she refused.

“It looks delicious, but no thank you,” she said with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Nick rolled his eyes as he got up and cleared the dishes away. “I'm going to make some coffee. Can you drink coffee this late?”

Dakota said she could. “It actually makes me really relaxed for some reason. I've never had a problem drinking coffee at any hour,” she admitted. “I can get those,” she protested as Nick began to wash the few dishes they'd used.

“I'm already done,” he told her. “Now sit down and get comfortable while I make the coffee. Tell me how your first day went.”

He was pleased when she did just that, telling him about the people she'd met, the layout of the offices and her impressions of her new boss. When the coffee was ready they took it into the living room and Dakota curled up on one end of the sofa while Nick turned on the stereo. She teased him, saying it was a good thing one of them could work the thing. “I tried to figure out that remote so I could watch the news but it was hopeless,” she said.

“I'll teach you how to work it. It's not that hard.” The room was filled with soft music as “Sun Goddess” by Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind and Fire began to play.

Dakota's eyes shone with appreciation. “I love this CD. You're into old-school music?”

“Old-school, new-school, jazz, rock, hip-hop, I like it all,” Nick said as he reached for a piece of baklava. He took a small bite, then held the piece out to Dakota who looked genuinely anguished before succumbing to a bite. Her eyes closed in bliss and a breathy sound of pleasure escaped her as she licked her lips.

“Nick, that's delicious. Don't tempt me any more,” she moaned.

Nick decided it was time to put an end to that line of thought. “You think you have a weight problem, don't you? Well, let me be the first one to tell you that you don't. You look just fine to me. A little on the skinny side, but you got enough for me to hold onto. I don't know why women torture themselves to get thin or stay thin or whatever. Everybody ain't the same size and folks need to get over it, that's all.”

Dakota started hearing warning bells in her head. “Are you telling me that you think I'm
skinny?
In my entire life I've never been considered skinny. I've been trying to lose the same twenty-five pounds for about ten years and you're telling me you think I'm skinny?” It suddenly dawned on Dakota what Nick was up to and it infuriated her. “Oh, so this is your game. You think because I'm overweight, I'm easy, is that it? You think if you throw around a few lame compliments I'll just spread my chubby legs for you, right? Well you can forget that, buster, it ain't that kind of party,” she said furiously. Her face was flushed and her pulse had picked up momentum from sheer rage. She looked as if she was ready to beat Nick's butt with one hand tied behind her back. Nick didn't take the bait, however.

“Who was it that did the job on you, sweetheart? Did some boyfriend try to tell you to lose weight? Your mama stay on your case because you were getting to be kinda curvy? Your girlfriends tell you what a pretty face you have and why don't you take off a few pounds? What was it that made you think you're not beautiful just like you are?”

The flush in Dakota's face turned into a full-on bright-red blush. Nick was getting really close to the mark, displaying a kind of perception she never would have believed possible from a man like him. She was stammering around for a decent response when he continued.

“You're a beautiful woman, Dakota. Not as smart as I thought you were, but you're still beautiful. If you were as smart as you think you are, you'd know that everybody doesn't want a stick figure for a woman,” he said in a quietly mesmerizing voice.

“When I was growing up, there were always two or three girls that were supposed to be so danged fine that all the guys would be fighting over them. I could never figure that out, because while they were fighting over the skinny chicks there were all these pretty big girls with the pretty skin and the pretty round arms and the nice big behinds. All that sweetness going to waste while those fools fought over the scrawny heifers like dogs after a bone,” he said, shaking his head.