The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (44 page)

His compassionate smile morphed into a full-blown boyish grin. “Wonderful
.
It’s
a
black tie event
. May
I pick you up at
five-thirty
?”

Black-tie
?
“
It sounds wonderful,
Jason,
but
I’m not sure I have anything suitable to wear.
”

“I’ll take care of it. See you tonight
.” H
e left
the room
before she could protest
, his
dimpled
smile setting off somersaults in her
he
art
.

Grac
e
checked her watch.
Hopefull
y Andy could give her a few minutes of time
to try
to set the record straight. She plucked the
cell phone from her purse
and punched in the number to the law
office.

“Tyler, Dent,
Snodgrass
,
and Rowe
, this is Sandra.”

Rowe? T
hey
’d
already hired another attorney? The thought
sent
a wash of hurt
. “Sandra, this is Grace. I’d like to set an appointment to see Andy this afternoon if possible.”

Ev
en through the phone,
the air chill
ed
. “He has an opening at 1:30,” Sandra into
ned in her best business voice.

No chitchat, no girl talk.
Just straight and to-the-point.
“I’ll take it, please.”

A few minutes before her appointmen
t time, Grac
e parked the truck outside the office and made her way into the reception area
,
familiar smells setting off
longing in her heart
. How good it felt to be here.
Sandra glanced up from her desk as she entered, but said
nothing.
Grace took a seat.

Fiv
e minutes later, Andy
,
now sporting rolled-up shirt sleeves and a loosened tie,
stepped through
the swinging door that separated the legal offices from the reception room. “Gracie, you ready?”

She
followed him into his office
,
and
t
ook a seat
.

He
lowered himself to the black leather desk chair
and
leaned
back
,
his
elbows propped on the arm rests
and his fingers
steepled
in front of his chest
. “
What can I do for
you?” Though
the
words were kind, a certain measure of reserve colored both
his tone and
expression.

Grace swallowed to moisten her dry throat. “First, let me say again how sorry I am about what I did. I know you don’t believe me, but I was trying to do the right thing. I just went about it in the wrong way.”

He stared
back
, his face a cold blank slate,
but didn’t comment.

“I turned the key into Sandra last week.”

“Yeah, I got it. Thanks.”

She gather
ed her courage
to ask the question
at the front of
heart and mind. Surely he’d take into consideration the years of faithful service she’d given hi
m, as well as
their friendship
.

His f
orehead wrinkled. “Was there some
thing else?”

“Yes. I, um,
wanted to know if
there was any way
I could
have my job back.
I know I don’t deserve it, but I promise—”

He held up b
oth hands
.
“Stop right there, Gracie. I can’t give you your job back right now.
”

His answer
slashed through
her hopes and sent
tears down her cheeks. She
did
all she could to bring the traitorous tears in check,
but they continued to flood her face as she
rose to her feet. “I understand.” Grace made a move for the door.

Andy was arou
nd the desk in a flash, and reached
the d
oor ahead of her. “Sorry
. I didn’
t mean to
make you cry.”

Her throat clogged with
more
tears, making it impossible to speak.
All she managed was a nod.

His
ocean-green eyes took
on compassion. “I’m not saying
‘
never,
’
Gracie. I’m just saying
‘
not now.
’
Please trust that I have my reasons.”

The
small flame of hope
that flickered inside
was
quickly doused b
y ensuing thoughts of what she’
d do in the meantime.
Grace made it almost to the reception area before she rea
lized she’d failed to ask
how Matt was doing. She
almost kept going
, but decided she’d rather
know something
than nothing. S
o s
he pivoted and returned to h
is office, the door slightly
ajar.

As she raised a fist to knock, Andy’s voice sounded from wi
thin. “So
you hear
d
everything on the speaker phone?”

“Yep.
I think you were wise not to bring her back on, at least for now.” The voice belonged to Ben Snodgrass.

Grace frowned. What
did Ben
have against her
?
And why did Andy use his phone to let the man eavesdrop on what she’
d
assumed was a private conversation
?

18

L
ate that afternoon
Grace peered int
o the mirror, blown away by her reflection
.
Jason arranged for the dress to be delivered
soon after she returned from her failed meeting w
ith Andy. Any bad feelings she
carried
away from the
office
of Tyler, Dent, Snodgrass
,
and Rowe
had drained away the minute she opened the package.

The red chiffon evening gown with matching sh
oes and bag
only enhanced
her recent hair and makeup overhaul
, and now she felt l
ike Cinderella
ready for the ball with the handsome prince
. S
he’d
swept
her hair into a classic chignon by watching a
few
video
s
online, and
was
delighted
with the results.

She dabbed perfume below
each ear and on her wrists and sighed
.
Jason’s attention and gifts were
pretty heady stuff for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
Lord, help me keep my wits about me.
An absolute must if she intended to coax information from Jason.

T
he doorbell rang a few minutes later
.
Dressed in a black tuxedo that accented his dark good looks,
Jason
offered
his
elbow as she locked the front door
and made her way down the porch steps
. “
You look absolutely gorgeous. I knew red would suit you.
H
ope you weren’t offended tha
t I had the dress sent over.
”

Sh
e
smile
d
.
“
Not at all
.
It’s lovely.
Thank you.”

He
came to an abrupt halt
. “I almost forgot.” He
patted her hand. “Stand
here a moment while I
retrieve something
. This will be much easier outside.” Jas
on hurried to his car
and re
turned
with a blue velvet
jewelry box. “These
belonged to my mother. I thought you might want to borrow them for the evening.” He snapped open the lid to reveal a diamond and ruby necklace and
matching
earrings.

She gasped
and brought a hand to her chest
. “They’re beyond description, Jason. I’m honored, but I’m also terrified I might somehow lose them during the evening.”

He smiled and revealed his dimples
. “Never fear. They’re insured.”

A slight frown
tightened her forehead
, but she quickly forced it aw
ay
lest Jason be offended. W
as
he
only concerned about the monetary value of the necklace? Grace
turned her back and held up loose tendrils of hair
while he fa
stened the clasp, his fingers brushing against the nape of her neck
.

“As lovely as the woman wearing them.”
He handed her the
dangly
ea
rrings. “It’s probably best if
you ta
ke care of these
.”

She laughed, removed
the
small cubic zirconia knock-offs
,
and replaced them with the
earrings Jason offered
, surprised at their
weigh
t
.

Jason smiled his approval and offered his elbow once more. “Shall we?”
After he sea
ted her in his
luxurious
sports car, he
moved around to
the other side and eased into
the seat.

Grace faced him. “You have my curiosity up. W
here are we going?”

“There’s a
political fundraiser
at the Morganville Expo C
ent
er
for the Attorney General while he’s in town
.
I feel very fortunate to have snagged such a lovel
y dinner date and companion. H
ope you enjoy this evening as much as I know I will.”

Grace leaned her head back against the
black leather
seat
as they sped out of town
.
Enjoy?
After the happenings of the past
two
week
s
, this felt like utter
decadence
.

Within a half hour, Grace de
scended a fligh
t of stairs leading in
to a large carpeted foyer
lit by enormous
chandeliers.
The
relaxing
sound of stringed instruments played softly in
the background and the
aroma of fresh seafood drifted to her nose.
She clutched
Jason’s arm and
her
red
handba
g more tightly and prayed she woul
dn’t lose her footing in the stiletto heels
and tumble headfirst to the floor below.
Below them, people turned
heads
t
he
i
r way. “Why is everyone staring at us?”

Jason leaned
in close
, his lips near her ear.
“
They’re all wondering who the stunning woman is accompanying me.
Relax and smile. They just want to know
who you are.”

Of course.
She
was
with
Jason Dent
,
probably the most eligible bachelor w
ithin five
hundred miles
. It made sense
that they’
d want to know who was with him. “Did I mention how grateful I am for the pleasure of spending this evening with you?”
She spoke the words through a
pasted-
on smile
.