Running the Numbers (7 page)

Her friends shrugged.

Sadie answered, still watching her friends quizzically, hoping one of them might offer up a theory at the last second. “
Hey
. Amanda. What’s up?”

“Hi, Sadie. I wanted to ask how it went today. I really didn’t feel comfortable delegating Duncan’s task to you. I didn’t stop to think you might’ve had Saturday plans of your own.”

Sadie struggled to sit up. Eventually, her feet would find the floor and she’d make it to the wine bottle for a refill. “Oh, no trouble. I offered, after all. Besides, it turned out great. Blake found a little cabin up Brewster’s Lane he really seems to love.” She checked her watch. “By now, he’s probably settled.” Her gaze traveled over to Nina and Kennedy. She had an opportunity to keep them off the scent for a while yet. She gave them a flashy wink and dropped into a conspiratorial tone for Amanda. “You could, uh, maybe give him a call. I bet he’d appreciate that.”

“No thanks.”

No pause, no stutter. Zero interest in Blake. Sadie magically refrained from unleashing a goofy, happy grin.

“I only wanted to thank you again, Sadie. I appreciate you stepping up to help me out.”

Sadie’s feet hit the floor, but she sat there a minute. Not ten words to the woman in weeks, and now this? Maybe, like Blake, Amanda had a personality, too. It was just buried so deep she had to poke and prod to get it out of its hole. “Sure, Amanda. Anytime.”

The call ended, and Nina raised her eyebrows at Sadie. “Since when are you and Amanda are on weekend terms?”

“Since now?” Sadie shrugged and padded into the kitchen area. “Maybe she wanted to make sure I didn’t screw up, so Duncan couldn’t put the blame on her for anything.”

“I’d be worried, too. You’re Duncan’s pet. Everyone knows that.” Kennedy had officially slurred her first word.

Sadie shook the empty wine bottle and set it in the sink. They were definitely done with wine for tonight. “Duncan and I keep it twelve degrees of professional. Everyone knows that.”

That seemed to shut Kennedy up for the time being.

“And anyway, if Duncan was
really
my friend, I’d know a lot more about Blake by now.”

Kennedy was starting to push Blake’s buttons.

And not the good ones. Every day, she found some new excuse to come in his office, lately with the habit of closing the door behind her, which Blake disliked for several reasons. In his past, he’d closed his door for two kinds of visitors—clients and his mistress.

Kennedy found all sorts of interesting ways to catch his eye, including, but not limited to, bending over in strategic places to pick up something she “dropped,” bending low over his desk to offer him a view down her blouse, and asking his plans for the weekend. To which he always replied he was busy.

Thank God she’d never asked with what, because the answer was usually to practice fire-starting skills and try to make friends with the fox who lived near his cabin. Blake had named him Eric, after a character in one of Quinn’s recent novels, who he secretly suspected was loosely based on him—blond hair, hazel eyes, and a penchant for being a self-serving prick.

No offense to the fox. Blake only meant it as an homage to Quinn, and a reminder to himself.

And was it just him, or did Kennedy’s outfits get a little more revealing with each passing day? It didn’t seem terribly convenient to attempt to get his attention this way, given how the weather had turned. October had come in like a whisper and turned to a roar about two weeks in. A mild month in California, it was a different animal in these parts. And still, everyone assured him real winter hadn’t started yet.

It would really help if he could start a fire. He purchased tiny bundles of firewood at the gas station on the way home and burned through most of it trying to keep warm through the night.

He compared it to when Hunter was born. Thinking of Hunter still brought the dull edge of an old pain front and center. Hunter was Kira’s son. For the first several months of his life, he’d been Blake’s, too, until Blake learned he wasn’t the father. But for those first few months, when he’d been none the wiser and reveled in having another son, Blake had been up and down all through the night to feed and change Hunter.

Tending his meager fire was a lot like that. And it took him no less than an hour just to get it started most nights.

Sadie seemed too busy lately to bother with Blake. Relief warred with disappointment every time they passed one another in the hallway or the lobby. She’d smile, a lovely genuine thing that cast Catalina and Amanda’s lukewarm greetings in a pale light.

He did his best to ignore how it made him feel, her smile. It was a little perk, a surprise pick-me-up. She had some kind of magnetism, and as often as Blake’s gaze sought out Amanda, it often found its way to Sadie. He watched her professional hand at dealing with high priority clients, and how deftly she snuck Kennedy into her office to gossip.

Occasionally, she had the uncanny talent for catching him at it. She’d turn her head suddenly, and their gazes would lock. He had to wonder if she sensed his attentions on her, or if she suffered from the same staring problem he did. Sometimes, she smiled. He’d smile back. Other times, her face hinted at more somber thoughts. He’d have paid to know what they were.

Then there was her reaction to Wes. A wild animal came to life behind her bright, silvery gaze when he entered the scene. Blake had spent the last several weeks observing her feud with the greasy-haired Wes. It interested him. Blake couldn’t say if it was because Sadie was an intriguing study all her own, or if Wes’s love/hate relationship with her fascinated him. Wes wanted the new Castley account, but he also wanted Sadie, who wanted the same account.

Would Sadie eventually give in and date her rival? Would Wes choose between his ambition and his crush on Sadie? Was Sadie’s hostility fueled by ambition? Or passion?

He’d find out today, when Duncan announced who’d won the account.

A gentle knock sounded on Blake’s door a few minutes before noon. It took a great deal of willpower not to drop his head directly onto his desk and hope it hurt enough to block out the sound of Kennedy’s voice.

Kennedy beamed. “Hi there. You snuck right past me this morning!”

He gave her a thin-lipped smile. “That’s me. Sneaky McGee.”

Her giggle was a tinkling girlish variation of her normal laugh, which he only ever heard in his office, for his benefit. Her normal guffaw was much hardier, and not so pretty. “You’re so funny. Anyway, I thought I’d better remind you of the time. Wouldn’t want you to miss lunch.” She gave him a small, secret smile that made his hackles rise.

An invitation. Blake ought to know. Once upon a time, he’d taken a woman up on it. “Actually, I was just leaving.” He rose and grabbed his black suede coat from the coat tree in the corner of his office before brushing past Kennedy.

She followed close at his heels. “Really? You sure? Actually, I was going to ask you—”

Blake whirled on her. “I have plans.” His mind raced. “With Amanda.”

Before she could question him further, he sought Amanda in the bookkeeping parlor. She had her head down, working with her usual single-minded steadiness. He started toward her and checked back quickly to make sure Kennedy had stayed put.

She had, looking sad with the downturned lips of frustration. It probably wasn’t the best idea to piss off his secretary. But, at the same time, if she didn’t find the line, he’d have to ask Duncan to point it out to her.

Talk about awkward.

He slid his hands into his pockets when he approached Amanda’s desk. “Hey.”

She didn’t startle but looked at him with a perfectly blank face he couldn’t have read if his life depended on it. Was she irritated by the interruption? Happy to see him? Indifferent?

“Hi, Mr. Cobb.”

“You can call me Blake.”

“Okay. Can I help with something? If it’s a payroll concern, you’ll want to speak directly with Pearl Harris. I can point her out if you’re unsure.”

“Oh, no. No, I don’t have a payroll concern. I, uh… See, I wondered if you had plans for lunch. I thought maybe you’d have lunch. With me?” Should he say please, or would it sound desperate?

His neck heated. He didn’t recall this being so difficult or awkward. His recollections of his high school relationship with Quinn seemed to come back to him like a perfectly scripted movie. Words spoken with ease, kisses achieved with little effort, everything he wanted placed ever so obligingly into his waiting palms. Kira had pursued him with a sexual aggression that was reminiscent of a different type of movie. With such little life experience, having been with Quinn since the beginning, it hadn’t once crossed his mind to fight the pull, let alone take a hard look at the distinction between love and sex. And Emily had simply wanted him when no one else had.

They’d all come to him. He had no idea how to properly pursue a woman.

Amanda didn’t help the situation. She could at least smile pityingly. Offer a tiny hint to give him an idea of what was going on in her head, or prepare him for rejection.

“No, thank you. I brought lunch from home.” For a second, her gaze wavered and she seemed uncertain of what to say next, as though something were owed to him. “Turkey on whole grain seed bread. No mayo, with sprouts.”

Before he could figure out a response that didn’t make him look or feel like an idiot, a tap on his shoulder made him turn around.

Sadie’s heather-hued eyes were alight with mischief.

The queen of zippy one-liners had witnessed his spectacular fail. Fabulous. Like he needed any more reasons to hide in his office. “Can I help you with something?”

Her grin widened. Her hands clasped together in front, reminding Blake of a child with a secret. “Oh, just thought I’d rescue you, that’s all. Since Amanda is busy”—she glanced past Blake’s shoulder to give Amanda a wave in the form of wiggling fingers before looking back at Blake—“how about I take
you
to lunch?”

His eyebrows rose on their own accord. “You want to go on a date with me?”

She blinked but didn’t appear surprised. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were asking Amanda out on a date.” She performed a solemn nod for her audience, which had grown to now include Amanda, Reba as she passed through on her way to the break room, and Wes, who watched from his office doorway. He rested against the jamb with crossed arms and an indiscernible look on his patrician face.

Blake came close to pulling his collar away from his neck in a cartoony gesture of nervousness. Sadie’s entertained expression said she knew it, too. “Uh. No. Not really. Not like a
date
date.” He turned to glance at Amanda with a nervous smile but needn’t have bothered.

Her attention was once again trained on the work at her desk.

Blake sighed and gave Sadie a flat glare. “Fine. But you’re buying.”

* * * *

Sadie’s mouth almost hurt from the effort of wrapping it around the massive burger. She’d taken Blake to the famous Billy Burger’s only to have him order off the menu from the fancy-pants Cadillac restaurant instead.

A genius concept, really. The famous Cadillac Grille was split down the middle, separating the upscale dining area from the retro-style bar. Billy’s, attached to the restaurant front, hit full capacity with fifteen people. It took a stroke of luck to get an empty seat. The simple solution had been to combine the menus, so that even if there was no chance in hell you could squeeze into Billy’s, you could still get one of their humongous burgers and fresh waffle fries.

Sadie licked ketchup from her thumb and mumbled around the wad of food in her mouth. “What’s with you and Amanda? You’re crushing pretty hard on a woman you don’t even know.” If a direct hit couldn’t draw him out, Sadie was at a loss. She might have to give up on Blake, no matter how stunning his eyes were against the hunter green button-up he wore today.

He stabbed at a pork dumpling like it deserved it. A deep sigh escaped shortly after, and he seemed to come to some kind of internal decision. Shoulders squared, he looked at Sadie dead on. “You’re really nosy. And I don’t like it. But you know who else is nosy? My ex-wife’s new husband, and I’ve learned from having that guy in my life the last five years, there’s no defense against people like you and him.”

Interesting.
Finally, they were getting somewhere. Sadie scooped ketchup onto a waffle fry and used it to motion Blake to continue before plopping it into her mouth.

He dropped his fork as though it disgusted him.

He must have some intense history if it made him lose his appetite to think about.

“Amanda reminds me of my first wife. Okay? They’re practically identical. Besides physically, they share the same polished reserve and poise, which I find attractive in a woman. There. Now you know.”

“
First
wife? How many times have you been married?”

“Three.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fine.” Sadie sat back and dropped the fry she’d been about to eat. “You should know I’m picking you up Saturday morning. Don’t ask me what for or where we’re going. My only warning is that you attire yourself in the exact opposite fashion of how you’re dressed now. We’re going to get dirty.”

A slight blush crept up from Blake’s collar.

Aww… I think I flirted.
The only problem was her own face heated. What were they, twelve? Sadie went back to her burger. “Tell me what happened with your wife. The first one. Divorce?”

Blake inhaled deeply and directed his gaze at the tabletop. “I had an affair with a woman named Kira. For five years. Quinn found out. We divorced. She eventually moved to London, met her new husband, and gained primary custody of our son, Seth. Not long after the divorce, Kira got pregnant. We married, making Kira wife number two, and had a son together. Sometime later, I learned I wasn’t Hunter’s biological father. Next came my second divorce. Obviously, she took Hunter. If you’re counting, that’s one mistress, two wives, two sons, two divorces, and a partridge in a pear tree.”

Ah.
The mysterious Quinn he’d mentioned. Dumbly, Sadie chewed her thumbnail. That was some serious,
serious
baggage.