A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (4 page)

"Sorry, but it's difficult to keep stocked up when other people come in and help themselves whenever they please." She returned with their usual good natured banter.

"So, tell us about the old coot."

"What old coot?" asked Kelsie as she entered the room loaded down with bottles.

"Kate's new VP," Sue answered.

"He's not mine! I mean, well, there just isn't much to tell."

"There must be something to tell or you wouldn't be so flustered. What is it about the old coot that has you so rattled?"

Kate let out a soft sigh. She knew Sue well enough to know she wouldn't let this go. "First of all he's not old. And he's not a coot."

Sue's eyebrows rose. "Really. Now we're getting somewhere. So how not old and not a coot, is he?"

"He's in his mid thirties. He just moved up here from Indy. He seems to be well liked out in the shop."

"So," Sue grinned and wriggled her eyebrows. "How well liked is he in the tool crib?"

"He seems nice enough."

"What does he look like?" Missy asked.

"Tall. Light brown hair. You know, the usual." Kate looked at her watch. "I have an appointment this evening I have to get ready for. I'm going to go take a bath." She hopped out of her chair and tore down the hall as fast as she could without actually running.

By the time she climbed out of the tub she felt much better. She spent half an hour trying to decide what to wear. Something she had never done before. She finally decided on her newest pair of jeans and an ivory sweater that belonged to Missy. Instead of the standard braid, her hair hung loose down her back. The sides were drawn up into a clip in the back to keep it out of her face. She even put on earrings. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she mumbled as she slipped them on. She checked her watch. It was a quarter after six. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let it out slowly. Looking in the mirror, she said. "You can do this. You work with over a hundred men every day. You can handle one dinner with a small group." She didn't hear anything as she walked down the hall. She had purposely taken extra time to be sure everyone would be gone and she wouldn't have to answer any more questions.

Kelsie and Missy still came over often, but usually didn't stay long when they did. They both had other commitments now. Kelsie had married Tom, a loan officer from a local bank, just over a year ago. She now worked part-time at the library. Missy was a teller at the bank where Tom worked and had recently gotten engaged to John, who ran a small print shop in town. Kate liked both men and was happy for her friends. Sue was the one Kate saw most often. She still enjoyed her work as a travel agent and her commitment free lifestyle.

Kate stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the kitchen and saw all three of them perched at the table.

Sue whistled. "Wow. Exactly what kind of appointment is this?"

"It's actually a business dinner. Mr. Denison called me in yesterday and asked if I would attend."

"Isn't that my sweater?" Missy asked.

Kate looked down. "Yes. You've seen my wardrobe. I don't have anything suitable to wear to a business dinner." Then quipped, "Besides, if you don't want me to borrow things don't leave them at my house."

"It looks great on you. Are those earrings?"

"Do we have to make such a big deal about this?"

"Yes, actually we do," Sue answered. "How often do we see you dressed up? Where are you going?"

"I don't know, Mr. Denison didn't tell me."

"How are you supposed to get there?" Missy asked.

"He insisted on sending a car for me. It should be here any minute." Kate walked over and got a drink of water. She didn't know why her mouth was so dry this evening. As she was setting the glass in the sink a car pulled up the drive.

"Wow," Sue said. "That's a nice car."

When the doorbell rang they all followed her into the living room. Kate pulled the door open and stood there in shock.

"Hello, Kate," rumbled a deep sexy voice.

"I... hello Mr. Hampton." Her purse slipped from her hand, hitting the floor with a thud, and she stooped to retrieve it. As she straightened, Sue stepped over and casually guided Kate back a step while offering her hand. "Hello, I'm Sue. Won't you come in?"

"Thanks. I'm Drake." He stepped inside and shook Sue's hand.

"This is Kelsie and Missy. You obviously already know Kate."

"Yes I do." His voice was soft as he spoke. "Are you ready to go, Kate?"

She swallowed hard and replied, "Yes, I am. I'm sorry I seemed so startled when I opened the door, Mr. Hampton. It's just when Mr. Denison insisted on sending someone to get me, I was expecting one of the regular company drivers, not a Vice President."

 "So you're the new VP?" Sue smiled. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Drake. I have to say though, you're not quite what I expected from Kate's description."

His eyebrow rose and he cocked his head. "What were you expecting?"

Kate looked at her watch. "It's past six-thirty. Shouldn't we be going?"

Drake grinned. "I'll let you off the hook this time." He waved a hand and said good evening to her friends as he escorted her out the door.

*****

Stay calm, he's just a man. Stay calm, he's just a man. Stay calm, he's just a man.
Kate kept repeating the phrase in her head as she walked to the car. Drake opened the door for her. She watched as he walked around and slid behind the wheel. He didn't speak until they were out on the road. "I don't really know many places around here yet, but Bill suggested we try the Lakeside Chalet. He said they have good food and it's quiet so we can talk."

Kate started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew the restaurant, it was known for its fabulous cuisine and intimate atmosphere. The kind of place couples went for a romantic evening, not business dinners. Drake, of course, wouldn't know that, but she thought Bill would have.

Kate swallowed hard. "How many people are going to be there?"

"Didn't Bill tell you? I decided to talk to everyone individually. I find people are often more candid one on one than they are in a group of their peers. So it will just be the two of us this evening."

Don't hyperventilate, don't hyperventilate, don't hyperventilate
, her mind chanted as she concentrated on taking long slow breaths.

When they entered the restaurant, she made her excuses and went to the ladies room. She looked in the mirror and berated herself. "Calm down. There is no reason to be this nervous. He's just a man." She took three slow, deep breaths. "Pull yourself together and be professional. This is a business dinner." After three more deep breaths, she felt better. Now that she was past the shock of the situation she felt like she could get through the rest of the evening. She wished she could figure out what it was about this man that had her strung so tight. She didn't think it was his position in the company. She frequently talked to the president and the other two VP's without reacting like this.

*****

While Drake waited for her, he couldn't believe he finally had her all to himself. He had purposely avoided her all week, having too much work to get done to be distracted. And she was defiantly a distraction. It had been hard to keep his mind on his job just knowing she was in the same building.

He would have to be sure and thank Bill again for suggesting this dinner. He knew Kate thought this was strictly a business dinner. Although he did have some tooling questions for her, he saw no reason for the entire evening to revolve around work. There were too many other things he wanted to know about her. Such as, what she liked to do for fun, how she spent her evenings, what were her plans for the future, was her hair as silky as it looked, were her lips as soft as he imagined...

She emerged from the hallway then, and they were shown to a quiet corner table overlooking the lake. The lighting was soft and low. A small candle flickered between them. Drake thought it was perfect.

She wasn't as fidgety as she had been, but wasn't completely at ease either.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm sorry, this is just a little strange for me. I don't normally do business dinners. This isn't exactly what I was expecting."

Drake smiled. "I get tired of stuffy offices and drab conference rooms. I thought this would be more enjoyable. We can discuss work over a nice meal in a relaxing atmosphere." He picked up his menu and browsed through it. "So what looks good to you?"

Kate hid behind the menu. "I can't decide between the grilled salmon or the peppercorn steak. Both sound really good." She decided on the steak. Drake ordered the Prime rib.

During the meal, Drake gently probed her for personal information. Finding out how long she had worked at Denetech, where she grew up, about the friends he had met. He would occasionally volunteer information about himself trying to keep the conversation casual. When he asked about her house her face softened, and for the first time that evening she relaxed and spoke freely. She told him what she went through to be able to get it. How hard she had worked and how long it had taken. About how wonderful it was when she finally achieved her goal.

"You don't mind living by yourself?"

"No. Not at all."

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Not really. Missy, Kelsie, and Sue don't give me much chance to be lonely."

"They spend a lot of time there. I take it."

"Kelsie is married now and Missy is engaged, so I don't see them quite as often as I used to but they still manage to come over once or twice a week. Sue practically lives there some weeks."

"Where does she normally live?"

"She has an apartment in town. She doesn't like living alone, but says it puts a cramp in her style to have a roommate. So keeping her own apartment and spending time at my house whenever she wants gives her the best of both worlds."

"Doesn't it cramp your style to have her popping in and out of your place whenever she wants?"

Kate laughed. A sound he would like to hear more often. "No. If you ask my friends they'd tell you I don't have a style to cramp."

"Surely you date. A woman as beautiful as you can't possibly work around so many men and not have them standing in line to ask you out."

She was instantly fidgety again and blushed deep enough he could see it clearly even as low as the lighting was. "Actually, I don't go out much. I do work with a lot of men, but I've known most of them for so long it would be strange to date them. I hang out at Pete's with them sometimes. We play darts and shoot pool. I'm just considered one of the guys."

He watched her until she glanced up at him. "I had gotten the impression most of the men in the shop were quite intelligent, but if they think of you as one of the guys I may have to rethink my position."

She swallowed hard and when she spoke her voice cracked. "Speaking of the shop," She took a sip of water. "You wanted to discuss the tool crib, didn't you?" Her voice was a bit more steady this time. Obviously she wanted to get back to less personal topics. He was willing to give on that, but he wasn't anywhere near ready to have this evening over yet.

"Yes, I do have a few questions." He pushed his empty plate aside. "Are you finished?" He pointed to her plate.

"Yes, I am."

"Good." He waved toward their server and asked for the check. When that was paid, Drake stood up and stepped beside her. "Shall we?" he said, motioning to the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Not many people know this, but I have a terrible sweet tooth. I've been dying to try that coffeehouse ever since you told me about it. You can show me where it is and we can talk shop over dessert.

Chapter Three

Drake held the car door as she slid in. He was glad she didn't seem as nervous this time as she had earlier when he'd picked her up. As they drove the six miles to Pierceton, Kate told him about the coffeehouse.

"Mick, the owner, is very unique. Most people's first impression is that he's kind of a sixties throw back. He drives a van painted in true flower power style. Complete with bright colors, large flowers, and a peace sign covering most of the back end. He has shoulder length hair, and a full beard. He's very laid back and just wants to have a place where people can come and enjoy themselves. He keeps board games and cards on hand for people to use, or you can bring your own. There's a smaller room in the back lit mainly with candles where they have live music on the weekends. Not full bands or anything. Usually just one to three people who come in and play guitar and sing bluegrass or old pop songs."

"The main room is where you find what seems like a bizarre contradiction. Many people of the flower child mindset protested against war and didn't want to have anything to do with it. Except for the back room, the coffeehouse is scattered with civil war memorabilia. Mick travels with a group that does civil war reenactments. Coats, helmets, uniforms, powder horns, he has a whole collection hanging on coat hooks on every wall of the main room."

Drake noticed as she spoke she started to relax again. He wasn't surprised after hearing about the owner of the coffeehouse that she liked the place so much. She was kind of a bizarre contradiction herself. She worked with over a hundred men everyday without flinching. He had personally watched her stand her ground with a man more than twice her size. It was obvious talking to the men she was a highly respected member of the team. He had watched from across the shop as she dealt with lines of impatient men waiting on supplies without getting rattled. On the other hand, she seemed extremely uncomfortable to be alone with one man, or have a situation turn personal.
Hopefully that will change.
It would take time, but it would change.

He maneuvered into a parking place and turned off the engine. From the outside he would have never guessed this was a coffeehouse. He pushed open the old wooden door and let her go through. The inside was just as she had described. Kate walked over to a large glass case where the desserts were displayed.