like her—but he probably also thought she was lazy or careless or worse—stupid.
Well, it was her own fault if he did, and she would have to work doubly hard to correct that impression.
And topping everything off was the glaring omission Nick had pointed out—that neither she nor Bryce had asked him if he would have a problem with her taking the business manager’s job. In Nick’s shoes, she’d be furious. She’d think that they didn’t value him as an employee, which she knew wasn’t true. Bryce had recently told her he considered Nick DeSanto the best of his seven plant managers.
Lorna sighed.
Not exactly the best way to begin. Not the best way at all.
Nick never got home Friday night. He worked straight through until Saturday morning when they finally got back on schedule. He was exhausted and was sure Cal Lopez, his production manager, who’d also worked a twenty-four-hour stretch, was equally exhausted.
That was the trouble with running at full production capacity. There was no wiggle room, no way to make up downtime from equipment problems. As it was, each of the ninety nonoffice personnel put in anywhere from fifty to sixty hour workweeks. For months now, they’d been running three shifts a day, ten hours per shift.
So when they had a serious problem on the line, they lost money, because some orders could not be filled.
Nick knew it was time to expand the plant, and he was pretty sure Bryce Hathaway knew it, too. Soon they would have to discuss the pros and cons, and Nick imagined Lorna Hathaway would have to be included in the discussions.
But that was a problem for another day.
Today, after getting at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, the most complicated decision he intended to make was where to take his date for dinner tonight.
Lorna tried on ten different outfits before she decided on slim black pants and a sheer rose-colored blouse worn over a deeper rose tube top. She wished she hadn’t agreed to go on this date. She’d never yet had a blind date that was more than bearable. Why had she allowed Claudia to pressure her into saying yes?
Staring at herself in the mirror, she wondered what this Jonah person would think when he saw her. She knew she was too tall and too skinny. And she had no boobs. Well, not enough to speak of, anyway.
“I’m not sexy,” she muttered aloud.
Tonight’s date probably imagined she looked like Claudia, who was sexy. Well, he was bound to be disappointed, and then the evening wouldn’t even be bearable.
It would be miserable.
I’ll call Claudia and tell her I’m sick.
Lorna was halfway to the phone when she knew she couldn’t do it. First of all, Claudia wouldn’t believe her. And then she and John would be put in the really impossible position of having to lie to John’s friend.
Lorna sighed heavily and headed into the bathroom to put on her makeup. As she tried to decide whether to tie her hair back loosely or leave it down, she told herself that no matter what happened tonight, this was the absolute last time she’d ever allow anyone to talk her into a blind date.
Yes, she wanted to meet men.
And yes, she knew she’d have to go through the dating ritual no matter how much she hated the entire scenario.
But she would do so on her own terms. She’d join a church that had a singles group and she’d sign up for some classes in things that interested her and she’d get involved in some community activities.
That was the way to meet people and get to know them gradually. Not on a blind date.
Jonah Whitfield turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and Lorna found herself relaxing once she realized he wasn’t a smart-ass or one of those guys who think they’re God’s gift to women. In fact, by the time they reached Burney’s, the restaurant Claudia had mentioned, and were seated over drinks, Lorna was actually enjoying herself. And the zydeco band was great, especially the fiddle player. Lorna got a kick out of watching the people do some kind of line dance that looked like lots of fun.
“Want to try it?” Jonah said, turning to her.
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“Oh, you are not!” Claudia said. “C’mon, we’ll all go out there and try it.”
The dance turned out to be as much fun as Lorna had imagined, and she didn’t screw up too badly. At any rate, by the time it was over, she was managing to follow fairly easily. It was only as she and Jonah were walking back to their table that she saw Nick DeSanto. Her mouth dropped open. Their gazes locked, and she knew he was as startled to see her as she was to see him. For a second, she wasn’t sure he was going to acknowledge her, but then he raised his hand in a salute. She gave him a little wave in return and quickly turned her attention back to Jonah. She felt awkward until they reached their table, certain Nick was watching her.
She couldn’t believe it. Why, with all the places there were in Houston, did Nick DeSanto have to turn up here?
“Somebody you know?” Jonah asked, looking in Nick’s direction.
“Just someone from work.” Surreptitiously she tried to see who Nick’s date was. Oh, of course. She should have known. He was with a busty redhead who wore a short, tight white skirt and skimpy green top that hugged her breasts and bared her midriff. The band was now playing a romantic ballad and as Lorna watched, the two of them got up to dance.
“You want to dance to this?” Jonah said.
Lorna shook her head. All the couples on the floor, including Claudia and John, who were still out there, looked glued together. Nick and his redhead were no exception. Lorna quickly averted her eyes. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her watching him.
The remainder of the evening was excruciating, although she did her best not to show it. After all, it wasn’t Jonah’s fault Nick DeSanto was here. But she couldn’t help wishing Jonah were different, that he didn’t wear his long hair in a ponytail, and that he didn’t look as if he were ten years younger than she. Why what Nick thought about her or her date was important to her, she didn’t know. She only knew she wished she were with someone older and more sophisticated.
And then, just when Lorna thought she couldn’t stand another minute of pretending to be having a wonderful time, Nick and his date left. Lorna hadn’t realized just how tense she was until they walked out the door.
Even so, the evening had been ruined for her, and she couldn’t wait until it was time to go home. When Claudia yawned and looked at her watch, saying, “It’s almost midnight, and I’m tired. Do you mind if we go?” Lorna couldn’t agree fast enough.
There was another awkward moment when Jonah walked her to her door, when she was afraid he’d want to kiss her good-night, but all he did was grin and say he’d had fun and hoped to see her again.
“Thank you,” Lorna said, knowing she’d make an excuse if he called her.
And then he was gone, and she was blessedly alone. Finally she was free to think about the evening—especially about seeing Nick. She wished it hadn’t happened. She didn’t know why, but
