Angel Baby (17 page)

“Just for fun, I plugged in some numbers and figured out how
many man hours it would take to get back on track.”

“It doesn’t make much difference how many man hours it
takes,” he interrupted. “There are no more men to work them.”

She nodded, holding up her hand to interrupt. “I know that.
I do. But I was just thinking...I mean, most of the guys are hurt when winter
rolls around and the work’s not so steady. I’m sure you can’t keep every person
on staff throughout January and February. And I’m sure everyone’s starting to
think about Christmas right around the corner.”

“So?”

“So...what if instead of paying them time and a half after
forty hours, you offer them double time.”

Chase’s jaw dropped and he sat back heavily in his chair.
“You must be joking.”

Quickly, Claudia punched up the program she’d designed to
calculate the cost of her idea.

“Look,” she insisted, “you’re facing a $10,000 a day penalty
for being late on the project. Pay every employee and contractor double-time,
offer them all bonuses just before Christmas, promise them a paid break after
the job's back on schedule, and you still come out far ahead.”

At first he looked as though he didn’t believe her, but
Claudia quickly printed out a few screens to prove her point. Chase used her
calculator to double-check what she’d done, as if he’d catch the computer in a
mathematical error, then sat back in his chair.

“You might be right," he finally admitted. "It
could work.”

Claudia looked down so he wouldn’t see her smile at his
wondering tone, and said softly, “It’s better than doing nothing.”

They continued hammering out a plan. Claudia ended up typing
notes as Chase stood and began pacing around her office tossing out ideas as
they came to him.

“You’ve done a great job, Claude,” he said as he finally
stopped pacing. He moved to stand behind her, staring at the computer screen. 

“Well,” she replied, glancing up at him, “I’d like to say
yes you’re right, but this little program wasn’t exactly challenging. When you
have time I’ll show you some of the other stuff I’m working on.”

She smiled impishly and he grinned in return.

“I appreciate you letting me use my own judgment on my
work,” Claudia continued. “It’s nice not having someone standing over my
shoulder telling me I can’t use this shortcut, or I’ve got too many lines of
code in a program.”

“I remember. ‘Don’t rein you in.’”

She laughed aloud, remembering their first business lunch.
“Right. And I’m not giving you any reason to, am I?”

Chase studied her laughing face and was struck by Claudia's
sheer beauty. He had become so involved in their conversation that for a few
minutes he'd forgotten to be physically affected by the woman. Her bright smile
and laughter hit him with nearly enough strength to knock the breath out of
him.

"No, Claudia, no reason at all," he finally said.

Chase forced himself to smile lightly in return, determined
to maintain the friendly balance they'd achieved. He resisted the strong urge
to wrap his arms around her, lift her onto her desk and kiss her endlessly.
Chase told himself he was thankful for his will power. He and Claudia had
somehow managed to reach a friendly balance in their rather erratic
relationship. Sometime between that night when they’d stood outside her
cottage, stuck to each other like two pieces of hard Christmas candy, and today
when they’d worked together to solve a problem, they’d become friends. He
intended to keep it that way. Though the temptation had been very strong to
give in to the desire he felt for her after he learned the truth about
Claudia's marriage, one thing remained clear. Claudia was still grieving the
loss of her husband, even if he’d been more of a companion than lover. And
Chase was not about to take advantage of her grief and loneliness. More than
anything, she needed a friend, and that’s exactly what he would be to her.

"Let me print some of this out for you," she said
as she saved the notes she'd typed. The printer stood on a stand to the right
of her desk.

Claudia scooted her chair toward it, as if she did it a
dozen times a day, but this time Chase was in the way and he caught a front-full
of chair.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm just so used to sliding
over here as soon as I send a job to the printer. I totally forgot you were
standing right behind me."

Claudia quickly stood and pushed her chair out of the way
with the back of her legs. There wasn't much space behind her desk, almost
none, and they found themselves practically nose to nose.

He nodded once and waved a dismissing hand. "It's okay.
I'm just very thankful your chair wasn't two inches taller," he muttered,
wincing at the thought of a direct hit on the groin.

Claudia glanced down, obviously realizing what he’d been
referring to, and color poured into her cheeks. His words danced around her, their
physical nearness making things that much more intimate. Only inches separated
their bodies. Staring down at her mouth, he suddenly thought about how she
tasted, how it felt to kiss her, hold her in his arms.

He closed his eyes and cleared his throat, forcing the
mental images away. Once he’d regained control, he looked down at her again. “Claudia?”

“Humh?”

“Uh...I can't get past you."

Stammering an apology as he reminded her she was blocking
his way, she ducked her head and took a few steps away.

“Thanks,” he replied as he watched her eyes fall and her
hands clench nervously in front of her. “I’ll see you later.”

Chase took a deep breath, ignoring the physical sensations
dancing around them like sparks around a campfire. Not saying another word, he
quickly walked out of her office. Pausing in the hall, he tried to slow his
ragged breathing. What had started as a little amusing accident had very nearly
ended with her in his arms.

Chase had been intently aware of Claudia’s distracted air,
of the way her full lips separated as her eyes traveled down him, then back up
to get stuck somewhere between his throat and his jaw, then resting for a long
moment on his mouth. Her thin, ivory blouse hadn’t concealed the deep breaths
she’d taken as she became aware of their close proximity, nor had it hidden her
body’s very obvious—very sexy response.  

“It sure as hell isn’t
that
cold in here,” he
muttered.

Then he went back to his office, certain he’d be thinking
about those perfect breasts and pebbled nipples for the rest of the damn day.

For the next few days, Chase did his best to avoid Claudia.
He'd always considered himself a very controlled man, somewhat unemotional,
never distracted for long by an attractive woman. But Claudia Warren was
proving to be one hell of a distraction. He figured it was just safer to stay
away from her. That didn't, unfortunately, stop him from thinking about her.

"Boss, you got a minute?" Ryan asked as he poked
his head in Chase's office Friday morning.

"Sure, come on in."

Ryan carefully wiped his feet before entering the office,
and Chase chuckled as he imagined Sylvia glaring at the foreman from her desk.
Chase gestured toward the chair across from his, and reached out to take a
folder Ryan held out to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's the bid specifications on the new County office
building and 911 center," Ryan explained.

Chase glanced quickly at the folder. 

"I thought they weren't being released yet. I've been
told the bids don't go up until February. No one can get a look at these specs
before then...the architects haven't even put a final approval on them, from
what I hear."

"I didn't think so either," Ryan relied. 

"Then where did you get them?" Chase asked.

"I found them in my truck at the Walker Realty site.
I'd gone in to meet with Abernathy from the painting company. I was in there
for an hour, came back out, and found this on the passenger seat."

Chase frowned deeply.

"Ryan, this could mean serious trouble for us. The
County government bidding system is very particular...any hint of impropriety,
and we'll be barred from bidding altogether. Hell, it could cause major
problems with the courthouse project, too."

Chase took a legal sized envelope from a desk drawer and
slid the entire folder and its contents inside. Ryan didn't say a word as he
watched Chase seal it.

"You have someone you can approach about this?"
Ryan asked.

Chase nodded grimly. "You bet I do. Either someone
thinks he's doing us a favor by getting us these documents months before anyone
else will get a chance to look at them, or someone's trying to set us up for a
fall. I feel damned uncomfortable with either option, and I'm going straight to
the County Architect's office to deal with it."

Ryan smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I figured you'd react that way," Ryan said.
"There are some who wouldn't be quite so scrupulous. I'm glad you're not
one of them."

Chase heard the note of admiration in Ryan's voice.
Extending his hand toward the younger man, he said, "Thanks Ryan, for
bringing this in right away."

After shaking the other man's hand, Chase grabbed his briefcase,
and the envelope, and strode out of his office.

Several exhausting hours later, Chase pulled his car up to
the front of his office and turned off the ignition. It had been a long day,
one he never wanted to repeat, full of questions and explanations, and an
unexpected meeting with the County Executive. Chase was very, very thankful for
his reputation as an honest man. In the end, the County Architect and the head
of the Lands and Development Office had agreed that Chase had done nothing
improper. 

Chase exited the car and walked to the door just as a
delivery van pulled up outside. A young man carrying a small flower arrangement
followed Chase into the building. Chase offered Annie a weary smile as he
entered. Glancing toward the delivery man, then at the receptionist, he asked,
“Something we should know?”

Annie accepted the flowers, read the card and sighed, “I
have no idea. They’re not for me.”

Assuming they were for one of the staff members upstairs,
Chase shrugged and walked toward his office. Annie stopped him, saying,
“Claudia asked me to tell you she'd like to see you, if you have a
moment."

Chase nodded briefly. "Anything else?"

"Well, if you're going to Claudia's office, would you
take these to her?"

Chase glanced at the flower arrangement she held toward him.
Taking it from her, he hid his frown then proceeded to Claudia's office.

Claudia looked up as she heard Chase enter, and said, “I
talked to Jennifer upstairs in purchasing, and she said she has some input on
the new bid system we discussed the other day."

“That's great," he replied shortly. "Here.”

Glancing at the flowers in his hands, a mix of wild-flowers
and baby’s breath, she smiled at Chase. Flowers were the last thing she would
have expected from her enigmatic employer.

He shook his head and set them down on her desk. “No,
they’re not from me.”

Embarrassed at her error, Claudia bit her lip lightly.

“Aren’t you going to read the card?”

Claudia reached for the small white card and retrieved it,
wondering who the flowers could be from. She wasn’t too surprised when she read
they were from Andrew.

“Well?” Chase asked after she put the card down.

“They’re from Andrew Worthington.”

She didn’t say anything else, and Chase didn’t ask. She
could see by his deep frown, however, that he was not pleased. She somehow
suspected there was bad blood between the two men.

"Melanie tells me you two knew each other in high
school?" he finally asked.

"Andrew and I? Yes, we did."

Claudia watched as Chase nodded grimly. His frown didn't
hide the lines of fatigue and the worried look in his eyes, and she realized
something else was bothering him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Some unpleasantness," he admitted. "It's not
worth talking about right now."

Claudia didn't press. She waited for him to say something,
or leave, but he did neither. Finally, she broke the silence and asked,
"Chase, look, if you have something to say, just say it. It's not like you
to keep your opinions to yourself."

"You've got lot of room to talk," he retorted.

"Touché. Now what is it?"

"How well do you know Andrew Worthington?" he
finally asked.

"Not really well," she replied slowly. "He
was very popular in high school, average student, funny and charming. I take it
you're not his biggest fan.

Chase gave her an unamused smile and said, "You got
that right. Just be careful of him, all right?"

"Why?"

"Let's just say he's a bit of a sore loser."

"I wasn't aware you knew him that well," she said.

Chase wearily put his head to one side and rubbed at the
side of his neck. Claudia watched his tanned fingers moving over his own skin
and her mouth went dry.

"I know the whole family very well," he finally
replied. "When I was first starting out, and his father was running
Monarch Construction, they threw a lot of small jobs my way. I am very much
indebted to Jack Worthington."

Claudia nodded, remembering Andrew's father from her high
school days. He'd always been very kind when she'd come to their house to tutor
Jenny. "But not Andrew?" she prodded.

"Andrew isn't quite as much of a gentleman as his
father is," Chase explained. "In business, at least."

"Speaking from experience?"

Chase nodded. "When we beat out his company on the
Milltown courthouse project, Andrew didn't take it gracefully. In fact, he
protested the bid and tied up the project for a month and a half."