Redhead Blitz (10 page)

“Yes.
 
Is there something I can do for you?”
 
He hoped it wouldn’t involve staying even later.

“As a matter of fact, there is.
 
I was supposed to meet with Tony Walters and Al’s new assistant,
Gigi
, at
Lucielle’s
Pies to finalize the fundraiser details.
 
I’m not going to make it and wondered if you could drop this folder off for me?”

He passed the pie and coffee shop on his way home, so it wouldn’t take him out of his way.
 
But Sean felt irritation for
Gigi’s
sake.
 
She’d either had to hang around half the evening or had driven back to town from
Greenville
.
 
The evening meeting time must have been made to accommodate Mr. Walter’s schedule.

“No problem.”
 
He took the expandable folder and set it on top of his bag on the passenger seat.

“Give them my sincere regrets.
 
I’m still dealing with the aftermath of last night’s vandals.”

Someone had spray-painted expletives on the school’s brick exterior.
 
Not exactly original.
 
L.R. rolled her eyes and waved as she headed back to the building.
 
Sean was thankful he wasn’t an administrator.
 
Too many unpleasant duties fell into their hands.

Driving to
Lucielle’s
took him only a few minutes in the light after-dinner traffic.
 
Sean parked near the door and cut his headlights, immediately spotting
Gigi
at a round table next to the large front window.
 
The shop’s track lighting reflected the burning copper highlights in her long hair.
 
She was using her hands as she spoke with Tony Walters, and Sean resented her dazzling smile being directed at someone else.

When L.R. had asked him to drop off her folder, Sean had only thought of it as another opportunity for
him
to see
Gigi
.
 
Now, noting
Tony’s
dark suit and tie, he realized
she
would see
him
as well.
 
He should’ve at least taken time to change from his sweats and
hoodie
back into his street clothes.

Too late now.
 
He snagged the folder and headed inside.

“Sean?”
 
Gigi
looked surprised as he approached their table.

He studied her expression for signs of anger or disgust at what had happened between them earlier, but saw none.
 
“Hi.
 
L.R. couldn’t make it and asked me to drop this off on my way home.”
 
He handed her the folder and then directed his attention to Tony.
 
“Sean Fitzgerald.”
 
The two men shook hands.

Firm grip and direct eye contact
.
 
Sean respected that.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.
 
My son, Kyle, is on the freshman team.”

“I’ve seen him run.
 
He’s fast.”
 
Sean had attended last Saturday’s game and been impressed with Kyle’s speed.
 
He suspected the boy would develop into one of the school’s best running backs in the next couple of years.

Tony flashed a proud smile in
Gigi’s
direction, and Sean instinctively locked his jaw.
 
“My ex-wife always used to say Kyle went right from crawling to running.”

Subtle, dude, real subtle
.
 
Sean ground his teeth behind his lips.
 
He’d never considered himself a possessive guy when it came to women, but the thought of Mr. Suit-and-tie letting
Gigi
know he was unattached had Sean suppressing some pretty primitive urges.

“Thank you so much for dropping this off.”
 
Gigi
had opened the folder and spread out L.R.’s notes on the table.

“I’m sorry to take you out of your way.”
 
She met his gaze, gifting him with a dazzling smile meant only for him.

“No problem.
 
It’s on the way.”
 
He gave her a little wink to make up for his scruffy appearance.

“Yeah, thanks.”
 
Tony voice was polite, but his glare clearly communicated “hit the road.”
 
He added, “We won’t keep you.
 
You’re obviously just finished practice and must be in a hurry to get home.”

Gigi
shifted forward on her chair, her eyes softening.
 
“That’s right, you probably haven’t had dinner yet.”

Her genuine concern gave him an honest-to-God warm and fuzzy feeling.
 
It had been a long time since anyone had worried about him missing meals.

Unaware of
Tony’s
frown behind her,
Gigi
said, “Would you like to sit with us and have something to eat?”

Energized by her invitation and the chance to run interference between the two, Sean pulled out the chair to her right.
 
He glanced at the specials written on a large chalk board mounted on the wall.

“You know, I think a big piece of banana cream pie would really hit the spot.”

Tony was going to have to swallow his disappointment, because Sean decided that his pie was going to disappear very slowly.
 
For the next half hour, the three of them looked over L.R.’s notes and made the final decisions for the logo, colors and lettering.
 
Gigi
had already done a lot of work and with
Tony’s
assurance that he would make the sample items over the weekend, the athletic department fundraiser was well underway.

After Tony received a call from Kyle, he agreed to touch base with
Gigi
the following Monday.
 
It was obvious the guy didn’t want to leave her with Sean, but his son was at a friend’s house waiting for a ride home.
 
The two men shook hands as Tony left, Sean adding a little extra power to his grip.
 
So what if he gave the guy the false impression that he and
Gigi
were involved?

Gigi
gathered all the paperwork. “Well, I should probably head home, too.”
 
As she opened her bag.
 
“Oh, before I forget, would you like to sign this anniversary card for Lawrence and Maggie?”
 
She pulled out a large greeting card with a silver twenty-five on the front.

“Since Reggie from Reggie’s Flowers is my landlord, she’ll give me a super discount on a flower arrangement.
 
It’s informal, whoever wants to pitch in.
 
No pressure.”

Sean signed the card and fished a few bucks out of his wallet, glad that someone else remembered occasions like this.
 
Here was
Gigi
, new to the school, and she was already going out of her way to make people feel special.
 
She tucked the card back into her bag and Sean followed her out the door.
 
What a view
.

When they stopped in front of his car,
Gigi
met his gaze.

“Thanks again for bringing the folder over. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Where is your car?”

“It’s the beige sedan over there.”
 
She pointed to a Taurus parked half a block away.
 
“I can make it alone from here.”

“I don’t think so.”
 
He walked alongside her and was pleased when she didn’t argue.
 
Sean ached to rest his hand at the small of her back, but he’d found out earlier that simply touching
Gigi
was intoxicating.

“By the way, I think you’re doing a terrific job.”
 
He’d witnessed her determination in returning the athletic office to order and had heard plenty of other staffers commenting on her efficiency.

“Thanks.”
 
Gigi
didn’t look in his direction, but he could see the satisfaction in the curve of her mouth.
 
Since they were almost at her car, he decided now was the time to find out more about her mysterious phone call.

“Where’d you work before you started at the school?”

“At a small insurance agency in Greenville.”
 
Her casual reply had him even more perplexed.
 
She hadn’t wanted to discuss the reason for her upset earlier, and he’d assumed the caller was her previous employer.

“I bet they hated to lose you.”

“It was a good move.”

Hmm. A cryptic response.
 
She kept her eyes ahead so he was unable to read anything in her gaze.

He suspected someone was having trouble accepting her decision to quit.
 
How far should he pry?

“Had you been with them a long time?”

She took her time pulling her keys out of her purse before answering.
 
She looked up at him, although the angle of the streetlight caused much of her face to be muted in shadow.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”
 
He wanted to know everything about this woman, but her response had him fearing he’d pushed beyond the boundaries of this topic.

“Things were pretty chaotic in the athletic office between the time Annie Marcum left and you came.”

“They must have been.
 
I can’t believe how quickly the office deteriorated.
 
Annie only left town a couple of weeks ago.”

“How do you know she left town?
 
Is she a friend?”

She quickly turned to unlock her car.

“
Gigi
?”
 
He drew out her name, certain she was hiding something.

With a resigned slump of her shoulders, she opened her door between their bodies and turned to face him.

“Me and my big mouth.
 
She told me not to mention it to anyone.”

Without even trying, he’d stumbled upon another mystery surrounding
Gigi
.
 
“Annie asked you not to tell anyone that you know her?”

“At least for a while.”
 
Gigi
paused to toss her purse and bag across to the passenger seat.
 
Then she rested her forearms along the top of her door.
 
Glints of light flickered off her nail polish.

“Annie lives in the apartment across the hall from mine.”

“So that’s how you know she left town.”
 
Sean slowly nodded.

“Does Al know she’s your neighbor?”

“No.
 
At least I don’t think so.
 
I don’t think he looked at my personal information too closely.
 
He seemed more interested in discussing my qualifications and skills.”
 
Gigi
swiped an errant strand of hair from her eyes.
 
“Annie told me one evening that she’d quit her job.
 
That’s why I applied.
 
She encouraged me to, actually.
 
She said Mr. Matthews was a fair boss and he’d be hip-deep in paperwork within a week.”

Sean could attest to that firsthand.

“Did she tell you why she quit so abruptly?”

“I have my suspicions, but that’s all they are.”
 
Gigi
rested her chin on her stacked hands and glanced over his head, her thoughts clearly someplace else.