no big deal to have lunch at the same time, is it?”
“You’re being deliberately obtuse.”
“No, I’m not. I prefer to think of myself as unconsciously obtuse.”
“I’d rather not go out today,” she said politely. “I plan to study over my lunch hour. I brought a sandwich.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re probably right,” he said.
She picked up some papers and turned away to the filing cabinet.
Jodie waited until he’d returned to his desk and then rested her forehead against the filing cabinet. She hoped he hadn’t noticed that she was trembling. His attitude had caught her off guard.
If she consistently turned him down, he would soon give up and get on with his life, which was just the way she wanted things. She knew his dating patterns. The last thing she needed or wanted was to become involved with him.
And…if she repeated that often enough, she might be able to convince herself.
Dean sat down at his desk and looked at the work awaiting him. Most of it was to approve what had been done in his absence and to sign off on it. He leaned back in his chair and swung around to face the windows.
Jodie was right. Of course she was. Just because he’d enjoyed her company this past week didn’t give him the right to expect their relationship to continue in the same way here in Chicago.
She was his secretary. That’s all. The thought reminded him that he needed to call Frank. He’d leave her alone. They’d probably get back to their routine all right if he could forget how much he’d enjoyed kissing her and seeing her in a swimsuit. How much he’d enjoyed their conversations.
He shook his head to clear it. Getting emotional about the trip was ridiculous. Dean turned back to his desk and reached for his private address book. Now that he was no longer seeing Rachel, he knew of several women he could call. He only had to pick one.
He reached for the phone.
That night Dean’s home phone rang close to eleven o’clock. He glanced at the caller ID and shook his head.
“Hello, Rachel,” he said when he picked up the phone.
“Oh! There you are. I’ve been looking for you all week. Your office said you were out of town, and when I asked to speak to Jodie, I was told she’d taken a week off, so there was no way I could think of to reach you.”
“Well, now you’ve found me. Did you find something else of mine that I left at your place?”
“Oh, honey, I am so sorry for the way I treated you. I don’t blame you for not returning my calls. I don’t usually behave so atrociously. It was just a really bad day for me.”
“I noticed.”
“Please forgive me. I miss you so much.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve missed making love to you.”
He thought about the relationship he’d had with Rachel and realized that he’d put her completely out of his mind. That told him what he needed to know where she was concerned. Whatever they’d had, it was over.
“Did you remember that this is the weekend we were going up to Wisconsin to visit Winnie and Fred?”
“Rachel, I figured that when you broke up with me, we wouldn’t be seeing each other again, much less Winnie and Fred.”
“I was awful and I know I was. But I didn’t mean any of it. I was just angry and I took it out on you.”
“As I recall, I was the reason you were angry.”
“Well…but that doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things. Let’s face it, all couples quarrel. That’s the first one we’ve had in the three months we’ve been seeing each other.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Dean?”
“I’m sorry, Rachel, but I’ve already made plans for the weekend.”
“What sort of plans?” she asked suspiciously.
“Nothing you’d be interested in.”
“Try me,” she said flatly.
“I have a date Saturday evening with someone I’ve known for a long while. You don’t know her.”
“You’re seeing someone else!” Her voice lost its rounded tones.
“You made it quite clear you never wanted to see me again. I took you at your word.”
“I said I was sorry,” she wailed. “Please don’t do this to me!”
“Rachel, listen to me. There’s no reason to continue seeing each other. The points you made were valid. If it took your getting angry to tell me, then so be it. I’m not going to change, you know. You were right. I am married to my work. I forget social events. I’m bad about escorting you to everything you want to attend. Why bother to continue to see me? There are lots of men who would be eager to spend time with you.”
She didn’t reply right away. When she did, she sounded as if she might be crying. “I screwed up. I know that. I know your work is important to you. I was way out of line that night and I know it. I just want to see you once in a while.”
“I’ll call you when I can, but I picked up a new client last week and I’ll be putting in long hours coming up with the right combination of security devices to protect his company.” He thought about their situation for a moment. “I’ll give you a call in the next week or two. Have fun with Fred and Winnie.”
He hung up the phone and wandered over to the windows. His condo had a great view of Lake Michigan. As a rule he found the sight relaxing. Tonight he felt lonely, which was most unusual.
He went into his bedroom, undressed and stretched out on the bed.
He was doing what needed to be done. He’d see Susan Saturday night and catch up on her news. They’d lost touch after he’d moved his mother into the nursing home. Susan had been her live-in caregiver and a sweet woman. He’d been surprised that she hadn’t remarried by this time. She’d been a widow for six years or more.
As for Rachel…he’d have to think about whether he wanted to spend much time with her. He discovered that although he was lonely, Rachel wasn’t the answer. He refused to consider who might be.
Jodie’s phone was ringing when she walked into her office the next morning. She dropped her purse on the desk and reached for the phone.
“This is Jodie.”
“Hi, Jodie. It’s me…Rachel.”
“Oh. Good morning. I’m not sure if Dean’s here yet. Do you want me to have him call you?”
“Oh, no! No. I, uh, I called to talk to you.”
“Really?”
