the crowd, he almost literally ran into Jodie.
“Well, hi,” he said with a slight smile. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Hello, Dean,” she said. “I’d like you to meet Carl Grantham.”
Dean hadn’t realized that she was with someone. He held out his hand. “Dean Logan.” The man was everything he wasn’t. Good-looking—all right, great-looking—debonair and appeared charming.
“Dean is the man I work for,” she said to Carl.
“I’m glad to meet you. Jodie was singing your praises a little earlier.”
Dean looked at Jodie and she turned a fiery red. He looked back at Carl. “That’s always good to hear. If you’ll excuse me, I was headed to the bar to get drinks for Susan and me. Good meeting you, Carl. I’ll see you at the office, Jodie.”
Dean turned his back and walked away before he did or said something outrageous. He wanted to flatten Carl and grab Jodie, proclaiming that she belonged to him and only to him. He’d never experienced such a surge of jealousy and possessiveness. What was wrong with him anyway? He’d never dated Jodie, so why should a few shared kisses last week make him feel so possessive of her, of all people? He wasn’t jealous of women he dated.
Dean glanced back at the couple, who appeared to be enjoying each other’s company. He frowned. Damn it, he didn’t want her seeing other men. When he rejoined Susan, she thanked him and said, “What a striking couple you stopped and talked to. They look perfect for each other. Are they married?”
“No. She’s my secretary.”
“I see. Jodie, isn’t it?”
“You’ve got a great memory. Yes, that’s Jodie Cameron.”
“I remember when you hired her. After a few months you couldn’t say enough good things about her.”
“Well, she’s taking another position in the company in a week or so and I’m going to need another secretary. Don’t suppose you’d be interested?”
Susan laughed. “I’m afraid not. I’m more comfortable doing private care work.”
“How do you like your present assignment?”
“I like it. In fact, the son of the man I’m caring for has shown an interest in me.”
“That’s not surprising. The question is, are you encouraging him?”
“I believe I am,” she admitted with a smile. “He’s a single parent with two children. I have no idea where their mother is. She’s never mentioned. The girls and I get along famously. They were upset that I was going out tonight with someone other than their dad.”
“A ready-made family. Is that what you want?”
Tears filled her eyes. “That’s the only way I’ll have children. I think this could turn into something serious.” She blinked away the tears. “I don’t think he was particularly enamored of my seeing you either.”
“It will do him good. We won’t tell him that you’re the sister I never had—”
“And the brother I never had,” she finished.
He touched her cheek. “You know I’ll always be there for you. Would you like me to meet him and make intimidating noises about his treating you right or he’ll answer to me?”
Susan laughed out loud and gave him a hug. “I really don’t think that will be necessary, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
Jodie watched the attractive woman with Dean hug him and turned away. The lights flickered, signaling that it was time to return for the next act. Once seated, Jodie did her best not to watch for Dean.
She also decided that she didn’t need to see him with other women either. Next time she’d make certain not to go anywhere where she might run into him.
Ten
There was another bouquet of flowers on her desk when Jodie arrived at work on Monday. This time she didn’t bother to thank him since the flowers were for the office. However, she did comment on how beautiful they were.
He looked up from his work. “Did you enjoy the musical?” he asked.
“Very much. I haven’t seen a stage production in much too long a time. How about you?”
He shrugged. “It was okay, I guess. If you like that sort of thing. I’ve never been able to figure out why, when they become romantic, they sing to each other instead of kissing.”
She smiled. “So why did you go?”
“Susan mentioned wanting to see it.”
“She seems very nice.”
He leaned back in his chair and studied her. “I spoke to Frank earlier. He said he could put you to work in three weeks if that’s okay with you.”
She nodded. “That’s fine with me. I’ll call the employment agency and find someone to replace me.”
He cleared his throat. “Jodie, there’s no one who can replace you. I’d like to keep you here, but I know I’m being selfish. You deserve a chance to put your education to good use and I don’t want to hold you back.”
She blinked back the tears that suddenly appeared. “Thank you for giving me the chance. I promise I’ll find someone who is every bit as good as I am. Within a week you won’t notice there’s been a change.”
He shook his head. “That will never happen.” He picked up a letter lying on his desk, a clear dismissal of her, which was just as well.
Jodie returned to her desk. She was going to miss seeing him every day, but it was better this way. The infatuation she seemed to have acquired while on Maui would die a natural death once she wasn’t around him so often.
The days went by and Jodie slowly settled into a routine of doing her work and interviewing prospective employees.
Rachel seemed to be back in Dean’s life. She called him every day or so, and Jodie happened to hear him making plans with her for a weekend next month.
Jodie spent her evenings working on school projects and studying for finals. She’d be glad when she moved to her new position. Being around the old Dean who never laughed and rarely smiled made her heart ache for him. He’d returned to his hard-crusted shell, and it was as though the man she’d gotten to know in Hawaii no longer existed.
She had hoped that, for his sake, he would look around him and enjoy his life more fully. It was his choice, of course, to revert back to the all-business-all-the-time man he’d been.
Why should she care?
She didn’t want to think about the answer.
Sunday turned out to be almost springlike, which wasn’t surprising considering that spring would be there in another few weeks. Jodie decided to go jogging. She hadn’t been
