Page 50 of More Than Pen Pals

When I haven’t seen her by mid-morning, I get a little antsy, though. Typically, she stops by to at least say hi.

As I come up with many scenarios of why she’s not here, she waltzes into my office and flings the door shut. I tilt my head and watch her flop down into the purple chair.

“You know the new guy Jay at Murphy, Hamilton, and Walker—the one at lunch with Ash and Randall?” she asks.

“Yes. What about him?”

“I don’t like him.”

“Why?”

“I was over there this morning—”

“Why were you over there?” I interrupt.

She flaps her hand. “I’ll explain in a sec. Anyway, thatmantold me I should wear shorter skirts and tighter shirts if I ever want to get a husband instead of having to work for a living.”

My eyes widen. “He did not.”

“Oh, he did.”

“What did you do?”

“Ash was rounding the corner as Jay said it, so he heard it, and he looked like he was going to bring the entire wrath of God down upon Jay’s head. I was afraid we’d have a bloodbath on our hands, so I stepped between them. I mean, we don’t need some little rodent marring Ash’s beautiful face, do we?”

I shake my head. That would be a tragedy.

“So I put my fists on my hips and stood up as tall as my tiny little self could and said, ‘If you ever want to get a wife who won’t be plotting the divorce and making plans for the alimony payments before her daddy even walks her down the aisle, you’d better change your attitude, buddy. This is the eighties, not the fifties. Get with the program.’”

I stand and clap.

“That’s exactly what Randall did,” she says. “He came up behind Jay during my speech and was, frankly, in awe at my performance.”

I drop back into my chair. “And what did Ash do?”

“After Jay slunk away with his little devil tail between his legs, Ash gave me a high five. Well, high for me, low for him, considering he’s seven feet tall.”

“Maybe not quite that tall.”

“Close enough. He has to duck when he goes through a doorway, and he’s more than a foot taller than me—even when I’m in heels.”

“So why were you over there in the first place?”

“I went to talk to Randall about Ash.”

I close my eyes and cross my fingers. “Please tell me it went well.”

“Indeed, it did. I discovered Ash went directly to his brother’s apartment after leaving you last night.”

My eyes pop open, and I try to stop a grin from spreading across my face. “He did?” I’m relieved Ash isn’t keeping everything to himself.

“Yes. And Randall promised to be gentle with him. He claimed he was last night.”

I nod. “Good.”

“You care about him, don’t you? This isn’t only raw animal magnetism? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

“It’s both. Which is why it’s not a good idea for us to be in the same physical space unless it’s required for work.”

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