Dark and Stormy: Sacred Hearts Coven (6 page)

CHAPTER SIX

The Office

SOMEHOW REGINA MANAGED to not hit any red lights, and the traffic was almost non-existent. She was actually still going to make it in a few minutes early. As she pulled into the parking lot, her cell phone rang.

After she parked, she grabbed her cell from the passenger seat. It was Serena calling. Regina got nervous for a second and worried that she had disappointed Serena by not arriving early.

How could she not be here working extra hard to show her appreciation of these over-the-top amazing shoes? Regina was beating herself up before she even answered the phone.

“Hello?”
             

“Hey, Regina. How was your night last night?”

“Good, I did and didn't have a great night of sleep. I woke up several times, but I can't complain about the reasons.”

“Oh yeah? Did you have company? Do tell.”

“Ha, ha, ha. If only. But I did have some pretty sexy dreams. I’ll tell you all about it later. Where are you anyway?” Regina asked, noticing Serena’s car wasn’t in her spot.

“Well, we decided to take a drive inland. Have you watched the weather report for the next few days?”

“No, why?” Regina looked up at the sky for a sign of inclement weather.

“You really need to do something other than work. Please look up the weather when we get off. They’re calling for a very bad tropical storm. That’s why I am calling you. I need you to have a mini meeting for me before a
nyone heads out to meetings or lunch.”

“Sure, whatever you need.”

“First of all, I’m going to delay our cocktail party until next Friday. I know everyone is going to be upset, but if the storm is bad, I don't need people drinking and driving.

“You can tell them I’ll also give them an extra week for their sales to count for the raffle. Hopefully this will help ease their disappointment. I have a feeling we might be closed tomorrow or at least have a shortened day.”

“You think it’s going to be that bad?” Regina wondered out loud.

“I don't know, sweetie. I will check in with you later as we keep an eye on the weather throughout the day.

“How about this. Let’s plan a conference call with you and Reddick after lunch to crunch some numbers. Okay?” Serena had high expectations from her staff, but was always fair and would never put anyone in harm’s way to make a buck.

“Okay, I will let him know. Let me go. Looks like I need to get ahead on my work so we don't get b
ehind tomorrow.” Regina said good-bye and ended her call.

Normally the only two cars in the parking lot in the morning were hers and Reddick’s. Today she a
rrived with her minions. She knew there was no chance at getting near the coffee machine until after nine thirty. If she weren’t already late, she would have gone back out for coffee.

She sucked it up and headed inside to plan her mini meeting.

Regina walked into the office, surprised not to find anyone at his or her desk. She heard a commotion coming from the conference room. Serena had been talking about having French doors made for the conference room for several months now. It was directly across from her office, and she liked the idea of being able to see who was in there having meetings.

The doors were ajar and everyone was gathered around the large marble table. She could hear Re
ddick laughing above the chatter. She snarled at the way he charmed everyone. The truth was she was annoyed that she couldn't get that kind of response from people.

Reddick could be an absolute dick, but everyone liked him. He always found a commonality with people so they felt like they could trust him. He got away with saying things that, had Regina tried to say them, would have been offensive.

“Oh my God, Regina, look at those shoes!” Alita came running over with half a bagel in hand.

Regina felt Reddick’s eyes on her like two hot stage lights. She allowed her eyes to connect with his. He sipped his coffee and carried on a conversation with one of the younger guys, probably about a bas
eball game.

Alita was rambling on about how much she loved Regina’s new shoes. Her words blended with the rest of the conversations in the conference room. Regina was too distracted by the stare-off she was ha
ving with Reddick to bother attempting to decipher what she was talking about.

“Hello?” Alita was waving her hand in front of Reg
ina. “Are you listening to me?”

“Hmm. Yeah, sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. What were you saying?” Regina redirected her atte
ntion to her friend.

She realized Alita was in yet another of her wild ou
tfits. She was short in stature, even with her usual platform wedges. She had a plump look to her, but really it was just that her boobs were the largest part of her little body. Her second largest feature was her big, blond hair. She was wearing a shiny purple-and-orange striped blouse that was pulling at the buttons over her 34 double D’s. She paired her shirt, which was made from some unknown synthetic material, with a pair of floral capris. Regina just shook her head.

“So do you think you’d like to hit the mall this Su
nday? I also have two passes for the six p.m. act at Laugh ‘n Stuff. We can shop and then grab drinks and the show. Maybe an order of nachos?” Alita double-lifted her eyebrows, trying to entice Regina with her favorite indulgence.

“Okay, I can do that. I just don't want to stay out too late. I have an early meeting on Monday. I need to look for a new purse anyway. Can you believe how stunning these shoes are?” They both admired her heels some more.

“I still can’t believe how my heel broke yesterday. That has never happened to me.”

“Me either, but I usually have on wedges. I need all the height I can get.” Alita snorted.

“So what’s going on in here anyway?” Regina needed to get these people back to work.

“Reddick brought in bagels and chocolate for ever
yone. He's great, isn't he?”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“What is your problem? He’s sweet on you, ya know?” Alita teased.

“Will you stop it? He is not. He just likes to needle me to catch me off my game.” I could feel his eyes still hot on my skin.

“Maybe, but I see the way he watches you. That might just be his tough-guy mask he thinks he needs to wear.”

“Whatever. I’m here to work and make money, not play footsies with my co-workers.” Regina ey
eballed Alita's bagel and her stomach rumbled.

“I’m going to see if I can fight my way to the coffee machine and grab a bagel. We can talk later about Su
nday.”

REGINA PUT A chocolate hazelnut pod in the machine. While her cup was brewing, she felt someone press against her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt the breath of her co-worker dance across her skin.

“Did you see what I brought?” Reddick’s woodsy scent filled her nostrils, even over the smell of her freshly brewed cup of coffee.

“Yup, two platters of distraction.” She didn’t bother turning to face him.

“Will you stop? A happy worker is an efficient worker. You’re wrapped too tight. Sugar?” He handed her the sugar dish, but it sounded more like he was calling her sugar than offering it to her. “I brought more than just b
agels.”

“Chocolate too?” Regina stirred her coffee with slow intent.

“Not just any chocolate. I brought in the chocolate-covered bacon. They go crazy over at Swanson’s. They even cure their own meat. They must have ten varieties of the chocolate-covered bacon. I’m sure one of them will be your new favorite. All shades of chocolate over there. What do you prefer, light or dark?”

“I prefer rich dark chocolate. Godiva actually, not bacon dipped in cheap chocolate.” She lifted her spoon to her mouth to taste the sugar level in her coffee. She rotated the spoon upside down and slowly removed it from b
etween her lips.

Reddick watched and wondered if she knew what she was doing. He took a deep, cleansing breath.

“Don't knock it before you try it. You’ll be surprised how much you might like a little chocolate-dipped pig.” He proceeded to snort in her ear.

“You’re nasty.” She pushed her hand against his chest to shove him away. But she couldn’t help but feel the definition to his pectoral muscles and let her hand linger a li
ttle too long. He didn't move an inch. She found herself wedged between him and the counter. She tried to cover up her indiscretion by interjecting the important staff meeting they needed to discuss.

“Listen, Serena called me. She and Michelangelo won’t be in today. She wants me to have a quick meeting. Maybe since you rallied everyone in the conference room with your food, we can see if everyone is here and do it now.”

“So are you asking me for my help?” Reddick questioned, enjoying her hand still on his chest.

Reddick flexed his chest muscles and Regina moved her hand away quickly. He laughed to himself.

“No, not really. More like I’m telling you what we’re doing. She’s postponing the cocktail party.” She carefully sipped on her hot coffee.

“Oh, that isn’t going to go over too well. They’re all in there buzzing about it now.”

“There is some good news attached to the bad news. She’s giving them all until next Friday to earn entries for the raffle. That should give them a little extra pep, especially those that have yet to close any new leads.

“Did you know we’re supposed to be getting a bad storm tonight or tomorrow? I have to check the weather.” She felt a stray hair fall on her face and realized she forgot to spray it before she rushed out of the house. This wouldn’t bode well for her appearance as the day pr
ogressed.

“Regina, how are you so out of touch? They’re calling for severe thunderstorms and high winds. There are some concerns that it could become a tropical storm.” Reddick tossed his paper coffee cup in the trashcan by the back door. “I guess it’s just as well. At the first signs of rain, there are a few out there that will call out sick. Come on, let’s get the bad news out of the way and get them to work. It's time to make some money.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Before The Storm

REGINA SAT AT her desk, staring at the moonstone. She did as Serena instructed. She slept with it under her pillow and brought it back to work and put it on her desk.

It all seemed a little bit silly. She tried to remember exactly what Serena told her it would do. Why didn't she ask her to tell her more about the stone? Like how and why would it do anything? She hoped she did it right. Even though her motivation was to have an edge at su
ccess in her business life, Regina knew she needed any help she could get in her romantic life.

It didn't help that she wasn't putting herself out there. Dating was so much work and more often than not, it was a waste of time. Alita was trying to convince her to sign up for an online dating site. Not a chance in all the Atlantic Ocean that she would subject herself to that. Hearing a million success stories wasn’t going to change her mind.

She thought the stone was supposed to bring her success in business, but she never felt so distracted as she had the past twenty hours or so. She left early from work last night and got to work borderline late this morning—two things that were completely out of character.

The phone on her desk was way too quiet. No calls coming in and for some reason, she was more f
ocused on her moonstone than on making an effort to put out any calls.

Regina looked over at the window. She couldn't see, but she could hear the rain starting to really come down and realized she still hadn’t checked the weather forecast. If the weather was getting worse, it wouldn't be long before someone would be asking to head home early to avoid the worst of the storm. With Serena and Michelangelo out of the office, all decisions would come from her and Reddick. She looked over at him and noticed he was on the phone, maybe making a sale, while she pondered life with a moonstone.

REDDICK GOT A call from one of the girls dow
nstairs, letting him know they were getting ready to call in a lunch order. No one wanted to leave in the rain. Most of the staff ate out on a daily basis. The sales associates often had to meet with clients for lunch, so it was a waste if they brought anything. The kitchen was always stocked with enough snacks and quick fixes like peanut butter if you had to stay in.

He told the girl he would buzz her back in a few. He pulled out a menu for Freddie's Pizzeria and got up from his desk and approached Regina.

“Hey, Regina, Jackie said they’re calling out for lunch today. I’m actually thinking I might order an extra salad or something for dinner later. I want to make sure I get all my sales processed before the end of the day in case we don’t make it in tomorrow. You want in?” He handed her the menu while he was speaking.

“I’m actually starving. Order me a balsamic chicken salad with blue cheese dressing and a pasta pr
imavera. Oh yeah, and a diet coke. I need a soda with some caffeine today.

“Do you really think the weather will be that bad? I’m planning on coming to work tomorrow. I h
aven’t missed a day in three years.” Regina sat back in her chair and looked up into his light eyes.

“Even if you and I show up for work, as we always do, a few of the weenies downstairs have already told me they’ll be taki
ng a personal day if we’re open,” he informed her. “This sucks. We were killing it with our numbers for the month. Everyone was all fired up yesterday for the sales raffle and the cocktail party, and now all they’re talking about is the weather.”

“There’s something in the air,” Regina said with a distant stare.

“What is up with you? Are you on some kind of medication?” Reddick looked at her sideways.

“No, I don't know. I think I need to go grab a coffee and wake up. I didn't sleep a lot last night.” R
egina's eyes zoned in on the stone.

“I didn't sleep much either. I finally just got up and took a cold shower and went for a quick workout at the gym. I had a little extra time so I hit Swanson's on the way in. Speaking of which, did you eat a piece of the choc
olate yet?”

“No, I did not. A cold shower, huh? Someone have you up late last night?” Regina
’s eyebrows danced up and down.

“Hardly. I actually didn't even go out last night. I went to bed early. I just had a lot of crazy dreams.” Reddick scooped up the menu.

“Me too! It must be the full moon and this storm. Serena would say it has something to do with the tides. Whatever it is, I’m feeling the effects today.”

Regina didn’t notice, but her shirt started to slide off her shoulder while she was talking. Probably b
ecause she wasn’t sitting up straight. The lace from her bra strap was painted like a white line across her deeply tanned skin.

Reddick’s eyes couldn't help but focus on the curve of her neck as it disappeared into her shoulder. He pictured himself gliding his tongue in the divot just above her co
llarbone. He felt himself starting to grow thick in his pants.

He cleared his throat and pointed at her shoulder. “You’re losing something there.” He made sure the menu was covering the front of his pants. He knew how to control himself much better than that. His body’s response to Regina’s shoulder caught him off guard.

Regina looked over and adjusted her shirt. She didn’t notice his reaction, but wondered what he thought about her lacey bra peeking out. He normally would have made an offhanded comment, but not this time.

“We should eat lunch up here in the small conference room. I don't feel like watching those vultures scarf down lunch t
oo. Breakfast was enough for me,” Reddick suggested.

“That's real nice…
but in itself true. What is wrong with these people? You would think they never saw a bagel before.” Regina laughed a little.

“We can say we’re having a closed meeting. Actually, we don't have to lie either. We can start to di
scuss our ideas for that presentation.” Reddick was glad the discussion about breakfast distracted him from being aroused.

“Oh crap, I almost forgot. I never even brought home the stuff everyone came up with at the meeting yeste
rday. We were supposed to go over them last night. Did you look at your half?”

“No, I left them in my car. It never even crossed my mind last night. This morning I was busy carr
ying breakfast. I didn't even think to bring them in.

“Maybe I will go grab them out of the car while we are waiting for lunch. Maybe someone has an umbrella down there.” Reddick tossed the menu on his desk and ran downstairs.

LUNCH ARRIVED AND everyone was glad to be spared going out in the bad weather. Regina wasn’t thrilled to hear that a few appointments had been canceled
, but remembered Serena said safety first.

Reddick told Regina if she grabbed utensils, he would carry up their lunch. He didn't realize he was going to have to wrestle his co-workers to get at their food. There was even more of a frenzy than there was that morning over bagels and chocolate.

A loud, sharp noise got his and everyone else’s attention. He turned to find the little firecracker Alita whistling with her two fingers in her mouth.

“Everyone needs to take it easy. Jackie and I have the orders and we will sort and hand out ever
yone’s food.” Alita turned to Reddick. “Let’s get yours and Regina’s so you can get to your”—she used her fingers to create quotation marks—“meeting.”

Reddick scrunched his forehead together. “What is that all about?” He repeated her finger motion.

“Oh, nothing. So you both ordered two meals? Is that right?” she interrogated.

“Yes… Is that okay with you?” He wondered what she was getting at.

“Completely. Here are two balsamic chicken salads, a pasta primavera, and grilled chicken with sautéed broccoli.” She handed him two stacks of to-go containers.

“
Oh, don't forget your dressings,” Alita reminded him as he walked out of the conference room.

He put two of the meals in the refrigerator for later. He was glad they decided to eat upstairs because the go
ssiping had begun before the food containers even opened. He never could be bothered with that kind of stuff. He was glad that while working with Regina as his counterpoint, she didn’t waste her time getting caught up with that nonsense.

That is one of the many things that separated them from the rest of the staff. They both always had their eye on the prize. Work was for making money and that was what they both did best.

When Reddick walked into the conference room, Regina had already set up both laptops, a stack of blank paper, two pens, two highlighters, and the two folders with the staff contributions. She even set up two place settings with napkins, utensils, and cups.

He put down the two hot tins on the table, one at each place setting. It was a small, round wooden t
able, so she set up their lunch necessities close together so there was room on the other side of the table for the computers. Regina wanted to make sure they could see and work on the laptops while they ate.

“I hope you don't mind. I made the executive decision to bring up the hot food now. I figured the sa
lads would keep better. Besides, I hate reheated chicken.” Just as he was about to sit down, he remembered. “I forgot the drinks.”

“Have no fear. I grabbed them when I first went down. I didn't want anyone snatching up my diet coke. I grabbed you a power drink from the fridge.” She slid them out from behind the opened computer screen. Maybe he didn't see them.

“I know about the reheated chicken. It get's the strangest taste after it goes into the microwave, or should I say when it comes out. Cold chicken is just fine for me, as long as it’s cooked through.”

They started to dive into the large lunches. Reddick examined every bite of chicken before he put it in his mouth.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

“I don't know. You got me all bugged out about the chicken being cooked through. I normally don't do this.” He started to laugh. “You haven’t even touched your pa
sta.”

“I’ve been too busy watching you. It’s very distracting.” Not wanting to admit to herself she was e
njoying the view, she poked at a piece of pasta and a slice of zucchini.

“In all seriousness, we need to hurry up and eat so we can get this project done. No offense, but I don't want to waste a lot of time on this. I’m all for finding ways to e
xpand our business, but business is what I want to do, not marketing.” Reddick shoveled a large piece of chicken and some broccoli into his mouth.

Regina was very glad that his lips stayed closed while he ate. It was a huge pet peeve of hers. Paul was famous for talking with a mouth full of food. She wasn't raised that way and found it downright rude. Adults shouldn't need to be told to close their mouth when they eat.

They ate lunch quickly and quietly. The next forty minutes they spent rummaging through the ideas of their sales teams. Most of the ideas weren’t worth the paper they were written on. They found a few ideas worth exploring and of course came up with a superior list of their own.

After several interruptions from people coming in to ask if they could leave early and if they planned on being open tomorrow, they decided to call it quits for the time being. The PowerPoint presentation would have to wait.