Stella in Stilettos (11 page)

“Hmm. What does that tell ya?”

“That he has vacation time to use up before the end of the year?”

“You wish that’s all it was.”

Stella dropped a forkful of salad back onto the plate. A low growl penetrated the air around her. It took a few seconds to determine it had come from her. “Maggie, Alex, Belinda. Argh! They’re all making me nuts.”

“Key West would be helpful.”

“It would.” Even without all the drama, work had become a grind. Stella had only taken a couple of vacation days during the year and she was in dire need of time away. Trish needed some time off too. “What about all the work you have to get done for your boss?”

Trish shared a string of expletives. “The halfwit can kiss my pasty white butt. Besides, I’m the only one around here working my tail off. Everyone else has already cranked down to holiday-mode.”

“I’d hate to be responsible for you getting fired.”

“Responsible-smonsible,” Trish said playfully. “You worry too much.”

Throwing a chat room excursion into the mix of her whacky life would only add to the chaos. But instead of freezing cold bedlam, it would be a warm and sunny. “We’re going.”

* * * *

Alex flipped through the TV channels and landed on ESPN. He downed his third bottle of beer while he watched a boxing match and opened a fourth bottle when he moved on to a cooking show. The chef was preparing shish kabobs with chunks of veal that had been marinated in a spicy mustard sauce. Alex thought about Blonde1 and their discussion of food. He’d promised to cook for her. At the moment, he doubted that would happen. When he sorted through emails in the morning he found one from her saying she’d decided to go to the Meet and Greet. He wanted to be thrilled. Instead, he clicked out of the email. Eventually, he’d go back to it, but not today.

Between swallows of beer, he revisited last night’s dinner-meeting disaster with Jett and Maggie. Before the entrees came he managed to piss them both off. They had it coming, but that was beside the point. Normally, he was all about diplomacy; saying the right things, doing the right things. But he didn’t try to smooth things over with those two. He gave them a firm “No”.

N-O. Those two little letters caused a boat load of trouble.

He winced at the memory of Jett slamming his fist on the table, knocking a near-full bottle of wine into Maggie’s lap when Alex gave the answer they’d brought him to the restaurant to get. Jett turned a dozen different colors of red before settling into an angry shade of crimson. “What do you mean NO?” He’d shouted. Everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing to stare at the man who was losing it at table five.

“Calm down,” Alex had urged. He might as well have thrown a gallon of gas on that bonfire. Jett went off on a louder tangent asking what Alex hoped to gain by being an asshole and that it was time for Marc Thompson to move on to someone who would appreciate his efforts.

Maggie had been just as livid but she had a tan dress soaked in wine to deal with.

The head waiter hurried over with a handful of towels for Maggie and he asked them to please quiet down or leave.

Alex left the table with Jett fuming and Maggie pouting.

“Whatever.” Alex gathered the beer bottles and took them to the kitchen. He shook his head, still upset that Marc put him in an awkward position. He’d told the CEO as much a half hour ago. Marc had called to apologize for things going awry. “I should’ve approached you with the offer, instead of Jett,” Marc had said. “He can be a hothead when things don’t go his way. I can’t believe he brought Maggie along.” Then Marc went on a long-winded spiel about Maggie, probably to sidetrack the real issue. “I’m not sure about that woman. She looks like she wants to devour me every time she looks at me.” He’d laughed that casual, don’t-worry-about-a-thing laugh.

Alex wasn’t fooled. Marc wanted what he wanted and he was going to schmooze Alex until he got it. He just used a different technique than Jett. He urged Alex to take a couple days off to think about the offer and to give those two hooligans time to cool off.

What Marc didn’t ask, was how Alex felt about things. Again, probably deliberate. If he had, he would’ve gotten an earful.

Alex grabbed the phone and dialed a familiar number.

Trish had given Stella plenty to think about. Maybe she needed to tread lightly where Maggie was concerned or maybe not tread where Maggie was at all.

This morning over a bowl of Cheerios Stella decided to make a few changes. Wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, she hurled two more sweaters and another pair of slacks onto an already teetering heap on the bed. Then she marched to the kitchen for three large garbage bags, returned to the bedroom and ceremoniously stuffed the bags until they nearly busted at the seams.

She’d tossed and turned all night long trying to understand Maggie. She also tried to make sense of the feelings she had for Alex and for Mr. Right.

Despite the lack of sleep, she was revved up. Getting rid of some outdated clothing was curiously therapeutic; so was scouring the internet for job openings at three in the morning and filling out two applications for clerical positions.

Stella peeked in her closet to see what was left. With the exception of a few mix and match pieces and the new gray suit she bought with Misty, there wasn’t much left.

She pulled the suit from the hanger. “Looks like we have a winner.” Instead of a boring blouse to go under it, she navigated to a soft-pink camisole. Her toes slid into a pair of gray crisscross ankle-strap heels.

Next, she addressed the mess she called hair. She twisted it into a snazzy up-do, but she had too much hair and most of it escaped the hair pins. She rummaged around for her flat-iron.

Jace used to love when she straightened her hair.
Grr
. With an assertive toss, the flat-iron became part of the trash can.

She studied her hair in the mirror. It was a curly mess. For today, that’s the way it would stay. She worked in a smidgen of gel and finger-combed it. It was unruly and defiant like her mood.

Her glasses laid on the edge of the sink. Without a second’s hesitation, she stashed them in a drawer and pulled her contact lens case from her purse. She hadn’t worn them since… A rush of air came from her chest. After Jace left, she stopped doing a lot of things. No dating. No shopping. No makeup. No contact lenses. She’d been angry with him but took it out on herself. Forget that hooey. It was time for an improved, wiser version of the old Stella.

Some peach eye color and a bit of mascara made Stella smile. She’d forgotten how a little eye makeup made her eyes stand out. Was she really ready to come out of the shadows? She answered the unspoken question by gliding a tube of clear gloss across her lips.

* * * *

New clothes. New hairstyle. Old coffee habit. Stella filled a giant cup with the dark roast blend that would give her an “ahhhh” with the first sip. She spied Alex across the cafeteria staring at her while he talked with a group of guys. She pretended not to see him, but from the corner of her eye, she watched him. He put his hands to his hips and his mouth drew up in a smile.

She hurried to the cashier with her cup of java. Before she paid, a hand darted in front of her with two crisp dollar bills. A deep-timbered voice said, “I’ve got it.”

Leisurely and deliberately, Stella’s gaze traveled from the hand, up the owners’ arm, until it came to rest on a sexy pair of violet eyes. “Alex,” she simply said.

“Stella.” Alex said her name like he enjoyed it. “I almost didn’t recognize you. Your hair is …down. And you’re not wearing glasses.”

She laughed lightly. “You’re right.” Although he didn’t say he liked the transformation, his eyes did and she felt a wicked sense of accomplishment.

The cashier coughed subtly. “Your change, sir.”

Alex kept his eyes locked on Stella. “Keep it,” he said to the woman.

Stella held up the coffee cup. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I owed you a cup. Remember?”

She opened the sip-tab, indulged in a careful sip and smacked her lips. “Your words. Not mine.”

“I like to return the favor,” he replied.

Her new confidence slipped a little when she considered that his interest was nothing more than a silly debt repayment. She checked her watch. “See you upstairs.”

Alex stood in a daze as he watched Stella walk away.

“She’s single, right?”

“What?” Alex asked, still half-dazed.

“Is Stella dating anyone?”

He turned to find Jim Roberts doing the same thing he was, drooling. Jealousy surged through Alex unlike anything he’d experienced before and he had an urge to rearrange Jim’s nose to the side of his head. He sharpened his voice. “Yes. She is.”

Jim disregarded the information. “No ring. Fair game.”

The man has a death-wish
. Alex clenched his fists at his side.

“But hey, she’s way too smart for my taste. I prefer my women a little less bright.” Jim raised his eyebrows up and down. “More pliable, if you know what I mean.”

The wolf was backing off, but Alex still wanted to knock him into next Tuesday.

Actually, a look around the room said all the wolves had caught her scent. Alex cursed his way to the elevator.

Luckily, Maggie was not in her office and there were no voice mails demanding his presence the second he arrived. Maybe Marc had given orders for them to ease up for awhile. He could only hope.

Steve Benson poked his head around the corner. “Hey dirt bag, what’s up?”

Alex issued Steve a lethal look, but it didn’t stop the heckler from plopping down beside him. “Go away. I’m busy.”

Steve propped his elbows on his thighs and laid his chin in hands. “Did you see Stella today?”

Of course he’d seen her. Everyone had. “Yes,” he said, with a thimbleful of enthusiasm. If he didn’t make a big deal out of it, maybe Steve would let it go.

Steve licked his lips. “She’s yummy.”

A pang of jealousy stronger than the one he felt earlier stretched the fine thread of control holding him together. He cupped his fist in his other hand.

Aww, hell. Disassembling Steve wasn’t going to fix the problem. There were plenty of other guys sniffing around Stella too, and he couldn’t kick all their asses.

“You must not have heard me,” Steve said.

Alex shuttered his eyes. “I saw her.”

Whenever he got pissy, Steve turned up the heckle-dial. “Somebody get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

Alex put his foot on the wheel of Steve’s chair and gave it a significant push. “I’ve got work to do.”

Steve rolled back. “That’s become a catch-phrase of yours, buddy.”

“No it hasn’t. Some people actually work around here.” It wasn’t a lie. He really did have a ton of things to do – like keep tabs on Stella. He might even wander to her cubicle if he could get his temper in check.

Steve studied him quietly. That was a first. “What’s with you lately?”

“Nothing I care to talk about.” He couldn’t tell Steve about the Jett Morgan and Maggie Watkins fiasco. He wasn’t about to reveal his feelings for Stella either. When she was close, he couldn’t think. And when she spoke, she hit his sweet spot. Damn. He didn’t want to be attracted to Stella Matson. But how does a guy turn off an attraction he didn’t knowingly start in the first place?

Steve jabbed him with the pointy end of a pencil. “It’s Stella, isn’t it?”

“Keep your voice down, Benson.”

“Oh shit! I’m right. It is Stella. Woo-hoo! Alex Clay is back.” Steve scooted closer. “Are you going to ask her out?”

“No.” Alex squirmed in his chair, already uneasy with the conversation.

“You obviously want to.”

Alex shoved away from the desk. “Not a good idea.”

“Why the hell not? You’re not going to be in the department long so it won’t get awkward.”

“Mixing business with pleasure has a way of biting you in the ass.”

“Who the hell are you?” Steve snickered. “The Alex I know would go after that without a second thought.”

“That’s just it, dammit. I’ve had my fill of meaningless relationships. I want something solid.”

“Who’s stopping you from solid?”

“If you laugh I swear I’ll deck you.”

“Calm down. I’m not laughing.”

Best friend or not, he didn’t want to discuss this with Steve, yet it’s exactly what he wanted to do. Maybe Steve could sort it out. Alex ran his hands over his face. “I’m selfish, Steve. I want it all – a great relationship and a great job.”

Steve drew his brows together. “Marc doesn’t have any rules about dating co-workers. Besides, you aren’t even sure you want to stay with the company.”

“The bottom line is I should leave her alone.”

Steve closed his eyes half-way. “You can work anywhere, but there’s only one Stella.” He shrugged. “Decide which one you can’t live without.” He stood up and slapped Alex on the back. “Don’t forget about cards tonight.”

After Steve left, Alex gave his file cabinet a frustrated kick and it echoed loud enough for the whole floor to hear. He leaned out of his cubicle to gauge the reaction and locked gazes with Stella.