it was too late to back out now. “Lunch at the Hearth. I do get an employee discount, but we make a tasty…” Their deli sandwiches, soups and salads might not cut it for a man who could buy himself whatever he wanted. Think. Think. Think. “A tasty grilled panini sandwich.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “You have a lot of confidence in your cook.”
A lot more than she had in herself. Zoe was going to kill her. Jane tilted her chin anyway. “It’s my recipe.”
His gaze met hers for a moment and a pleasurable shiver inched down her spine. “How does one-thirty sound?” he asked.
“Today?”
He nodded once, and a curly piece of hair fell across his forehead. She ignored the temptation to push the curl back into place.
“G-great.” And Jane supposed it would be. Once her heart rate returned to normal and she told Zoe that the Hearth was going to be serving grilled panini sandwiches at lunchtime today.
With seven minutes between meetings, Chase paused in front of his longtime assistant’s desk. As Amanda disconnected from her call, he picked up the rake from her miniature Zen garden.
Amanda, an incredibly young looking fifty-three, gave him an indulgent smile. “Don’t you have a call with Zurich?”
He checked the time. “In six and a half minutes.”
“I don’t want to keep you waiting.” Amanda removed her headset and brushed her hand through her short, red hair. “What do you need, boss?”
He carved symmetrical rows in the sand. “Cancel everything on my schedule from one o’clock on.”
She frowned. “Today?”
The same response as Jane Dawson except Amanda sounded disgusted, not surprised. He nodded.
“I should have known.”
“Known what?”
“That things have been going too well for it to continue. I’ve managed to pick up Drew from soccer practice every night this week.” She typed on her computer. No doubt, pulling up Chase’s schedule. “But if there’s another fire to put out—”
“No fire,” he interrupted, not wanting her to worry. Amanda’s job required her to be on call 24/7. He appreciated her dedication and hard work. “This is personal.”
“Personal as in a dentist appointment or personal as in deciding to climb Mount Hood again?” She raised an eyebrow. “Or could it be you have a date?”
Seeing the growing interest in Amanda’s hazel eyes, he scratched his right cheek. She’d worked for him for nine years and knew him better than most. She also had a tendency to mother him—the only negative trait he’d discovered. “I have an appointment.”
“With a woman.”
It wasn’t a question. “Yes, but it’s not what you think.”
Amanda grinned. “How do you know what I’m thinking, boss?”
“The twinkle in your eye gives you away every time.”
“I want to see the same twinkle in your eyes.” Ever since remarrying after being widowed six years ago, Amanda wanted everyone to pair up. Much to the dismay of Cyberworx’s single male employees. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“You need a woman.”
She sounded like his mom and sisters. He had it coming at him from all sides.
“I have plenty of women in my life.” Chase had everything he wanted. He didn’t need anything more. He drew a heart in the sand and crossed it out. “Just because you found ‘the one’ twice and remarried doesn’t mean the rest of us need to follow suit.” And ruin a good thing.
“Is she pretty?”
He glared at Amanda. Next time he would text message her and avoid another interrogation.
“Humor me, okay.”
Chase shrugged. “I guess she’s pretty.”
“You guess?”
He pictured Jane. “She’s got brown hair and wears purple wire-rimmed glasses. That’s what I remember about her.”
Not to mention her eyes. Or the way she wet her lips. But he wasn’t about to mention those things to Amanda.
This wasn’t a date. They were discussing a fundraiser. He liked assisting others, and Jane sounded like she needed help. Speaking of which… “Call P.J. and find out what happened to letters sent by Jane Dawson. She never received a reply to them or her telephone messages.”
“Will do, boss.”
“And try to find out before one o’clock.”
“Sure.” Amanda chuckled. “Don’t forget to polish your armor before you leave.”
“Very funny.”
“You have a tendency to rescue damsels in distress.”
“Jane’s not in distress,” Chase explained. “She needs help. And I—”
“Like to help people.”
“Exactly.” A local reporter had called Chase “the Robin Hood of the Rose City” who used a pen rather than an arrow to dole out funds to the less fortunate. Amanda had teased him about it ever since. “It’s not my fault I know—”
“Everything.”
“Very funny, Amanda.”
“But true.” She put on her headset. “One more thing before you go. What color of eyes does Jane Dawson have?”
“Um, green,” he recalled. “But not what you usually think of as green, like emerald. More like peridot, my mom’s birthstone.”
“That’s interesting.” A smug smile formed on Amanda’s lips. “Considering all you claimed to remember was the woman’s hair color and glasses.”
Busted. Amanda could see right through him. But in this case she was wrong. He only wanted to help Jane Dawson—the way he’d helped others. Her striking green eyes were simply his reward. Plus it wasn’t every day someone offered to buy him lunch. Employee discount or not.
“Get back to work or I’ll dock your pay.” He tossed the little rake back onto the sand.
“I’m salary not hourly.”
“True, but I’m still the boss.”
At the Hearth, Ally Michaels poured frothed nonfat milk into the steaming drink and placed the cup on the counter for the customer.
“Nonfat vanilla
