she didn’t answer, he asked briskly, “Am I supposed to guess?” Now he sounded like the man she worked for.
Jodie set her coffee cup back on the tray and turned to him. The problem was that he didn’t look like her boss at the moment. With his hair mussed and in his cable-knit sweater, he reminded her of the man she’d spent time with in Hawaii.
She bit her lip. “I know I said that I’d start seeing you, but the truth is that we come from two different worlds and nothing is going to change that. I live a simple life and have simple tastes. I’m not at all your type.”
“What exactly is my type?” he asked, his jaw stiff.
She waved her hand vaguely at the room. “Women who are used to all this luxury, who expect it, women who go to operas and symphonies and are photographed whenever they attend some function. That’s not me.”
He studied her, looking quizzical. “I don’t recall inviting you to an opera or the symphony.”
“You know what I mean,” she snapped.
“I wish to hell I did. What is going on in that busy brain of yours?”
“I’ve come to my senses. I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” She stood. “I need to get home. I’ll call a cab.”
“Not on your life. You’re not going to run away from this discussion.”
“Please date someone else instead of me. The woman you took to the musical, for instance. Or…I don’t care. Just someone else.”
“I believe your prejudices are showing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You can’t go out with me because I attend various functions around town? Or are we back to the fact that you work for me?”
“Actually I do dislike you giving me orders when it’s not job-related.”
“Care to give me an example?”
“This afternoon. You took charge once I agreed to see you tonight. Told me what you were going to do and where we’d meet.”
“You could have said no.”
“I could have, yes. I should have.”
“I get the sense that we’re talking in circles without getting to the crux of what’s bothering you.”
“All right. Then here it is. Hawaii was wonderful. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect vacation. But the vacation is over. Yes, there’s a definite attraction between us. You want to encourage it. I want to ignore it, which is why I’m relieved to be moving into another department next week. Let’s forget about Hawaii and get on with our lives.”
“I believe we tried that, but I, for one, have found it impossible after getting to know you better.”
She closed her eyes. “I can’t do this,” she said quietly.
The silent room seemed weighted with emotion.
He studied his coffee in silence. When he looked up, his face revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. “I’ll drive you home,” he said quietly.
Jodie waited until she was alone in her apartment before she broke down and cried.
Jodie moved into the engineering department the next week. Dean had hired one of the women Jodie recommended. Her name was Candace Rudin and she appeared to be quite competent. Jodie had expected to spend several days with her, but Candace had quickly grasped the routine, the filing system and the way Dean liked to work.
Once in Engineering, Jodie was determined to learn everything she could as quickly as possible. Several weeks went by, and Frank praised her repeatedly, patiently answering her questions when she couldn’t figure something out.
She had been there two months when Frank dropped an envelope on her desk one morning. She looked up. “It isn’t payday, is it?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s time you learned firsthand about installing our equipment. That’s your plane ticket.”
A plane trip. Great. “I don’t suppose we could do this somewhere that we could drive to, by any chance?”
“Sorry. Besides, I won’t be going. Logan said that since you’d already been to this particular office, it made sense for you to see the next step. He’ll be going with you to show you the ropes.”
There was only one office she’d visited and it was in Honolulu. She peeked into the envelope and saw the ticket, confirming her suspicions. She looked at Frank. “I haven’t finished what I’m working on,” she pointed out.
“Doesn’t matter since there’s no rush on that one. Besides, you’ll only be in Hawaii a few days—four at the most.”
“Oh.” She forced herself to smile. “Well. That’s good. I mean, I’ll enjoy being part of the installation process. I’m just surprised that Dean would be the one to do it.”
Frank shrugged. “I’ll admit he hasn’t done an installation in a long while. Probably wants to keep his hand in. Don’t worry, though. You already know how he can be and won’t be caught off guard when he starts snapping at you for not working fast enough. Just ignore his moods.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Twelve
Dean greeted her briskly when she arrived at the airport the next morning. She had a moment of déjà vu when she saw him, except that today he wore a business suit.
She had also dressed for a business trip, in a light-colored suit and matching heels.
“Good morning,” she said, walking up to him.
He turned around. “It’s nice to see you again,” he replied politely. “Have you checked your bag?”
She nodded.
“Have you had breakfast? If you haven’t, there’s a restaurant along the concourse where we could get something.”
“Fine.”
He strode along the corridor, a man on the move, and Jodie had to skip a time or two in order to keep up with him.
Once they found the restaurant, sat down and ordered, Jodie caught her breath. Her shortness of breath was in no way connected to seeing Dean again. He looked like a modern-day pirate in his dark suit. All he needed was a knife between his teeth.
“How is Candace working out?” she asked during their meal.
“She’s all right.”
She couldn’t think of anything more to say to him. She wanted to ask him why he’d decided to do the installation himself rather than send someone else.
But she didn’t.
She wanted to ask him why he’d decided
