An After-Hours Affair

Seven

Jenny was still stunned from Mitch’s words as she blindly followed Emily and Cole into Cole’s front foyer. The terra-cotta tiles were smooth and cool under her bare feet. Clearly, there was something wrong with her. Otherwise, she would simply walk away from Mitch and be done with it.

“What is the matter with you people?” Emily demanded of Cole as he secured the door behind them.

“Don’t lump me in with him.” Cole strode through a plaster archway and into the living room of his large, airy house. He swept an arm toward a curving staircase, looking at Jenny. “There are three bedrooms up there. Take whichever one you want. But you’re not going anywhere near a hotel tonight or any other night.”

Jenny was nearly overcome with gratitude. She just wanted everything to stop for tonight. She was tired, battered and bruised.

“He was a colossal jerk,” Emily stated, stomping her way behind Cole as he moved farther into the house.

“You won’t get an argument from me,” Cole tossed over his shoulder.

“Maybe I should quit my job?” Jenny ventured, bringing up the rear, struggling to keep her feelings in some semblance of order. Mitch had hurt her, there was no doubt about that. But he’d also outlined the bald truth in no uncertain terms. There was absolutely no future for the two of them.

“No,” was Emily’s quick response.

“You’ll outlast him,” said Cole. “Wine, anyone? Whiskey? Beer?”

The more Jenny thought about it, the more handing in her resignation made sense. Mitch had made it as plain as possible that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. But despite her vows to both herself and Emily, she couldn’t seem to get him out of her head. Seeing him every day would only make things worse.

“I don’t think I can face him,” she told Emily.

“It’s him that shouldn’t be able to face you,” Emily put in with staunch loyalty.

Maybe that was fair, but it wasn’t reality. “Do you suppose he’d give me a reference?”

Cole chose a crystal bottle filled with amber liquid from the bar situated between the two walls of glass that showed off his backyard. “I’d give you a reference. Hell, I’ll give you a job. You just say the word, Jenny. Tell me what kind of career you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

Jenny couldn’t help but smile at Cole’s generous offer. She felt immeasurably better being around such loyal friends. “You know any nice guys, Cole? Are there any nice guys left in the world?”

“I’m a nice guy.” Cole splashed some whiskey into a heavy crystal tumbler.

“Would you date me?”

“You bet.” But his glance flicked to Emily.

Jenny smiled at the telltale action. “Or maybe you have a nice friend?” she amended her request. “The four of us could double.”

“Excuse me?” Emily put in.

Jenny ignored her. “Anybody but Mitch.”

Cole grunted at that. “You want me to fix you up?”

“I want you to fix me up.”

“Don’t count me in on this plan,” said Emily.

Cole placed the tumbler in her hand, his fingers lingering against hers for a moment. “Nobody asked for your opinion.”

“You’re getting it anyway.”

His gaze bore into hers. “You pick the time, the date and the location. We’ll do anything you want.”

Emily glared back. “It’s not the location that’s the problem.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You’re the problem,” Emily stated bluntly.

“You barely know me,” Cole countered.

“You’re short.”

“I’m taller than you.”

“Ha.”

“I’m five-eleven. What are you? Five-six? Five-seven?”

“Five-six,” Emily admitted.

“There you go. As long as you keep your heels below five inches, we’re good. Now, where do you want to go?”

“Nowhere.”

Jenny watched the battle of wills with fascination, wondering who’d come out on top. Emily was self-assured and very determined, but Cole seemed to be holding his own against her.

He cocked his head toward Jenny. “You’d abandon your best friend in her time of need?”

“Jenny has nothing to do with this.”

“I’m fixing her up, helping mend her broken heart.”

“My heart’s not broken,” Jenny felt compelled to add. Bruised, maybe. And definitely the worse for wear. But she wasn’t about to let some silly schoolgirl crush incapacitate her.

“Her heart’s not broken,” Emily repeated, staring pointedly into Cole’s eyes.

“She asked me to fix her up.”

“Her, not me.”

“She needs moral support. Now, where do you want to go?”

Emily pressed her lips mulishly together and, despite everything that had happened over this hellish day, Jenny fought an urge to laugh.

“I have tickets to the Longhorn Banquet in Austin next weekend,” Cole offered with a sly smile.

Jenny silently awarded him a point for that one. The Longhorn Banquet was the hottest ticket of the year. Held in the state capital, it included the who’s who, and celebrated prominent Texas citizens’ annual accomplishments. The governor would attend, as would business, arts and sports notables from around the state.

“Wait ’til you see my jet,” Cole added. “And I’ve rented a house on Lake Austin. Waterfront, six bedrooms, spa, pool and a full staff. Jenny can stay with us. And, I’ll get her a date.”

“I’m in,” said Jenny. In her books, anticipating a luxurious weekend away was definitely better than wallowing in self-pity for the next week.

Emily turned to her. “You’re not buying this,” she exclaimed. “He’s bribing us with staff, and a spa, and a private jet.” Then her words trailed away.

“If I’m going to get bribed,” Jenny put in philosophically. “It might as well be by the best.”

Emily stared at Jenny for a long moment. Then her hand went to Cole’s chest. “She’s smiling. You made her smile.”

“I did.” Cole accepted the credit, leaning ever so imperceptibly toward Emily.

Then while Emily crossed the big room to Jenny, Cole’s hungry gaze stayed glued to her every move.

“You really want to do this?” Emily asked her. “You think it’ll make you feel better?”

“I sure don’t want to sit on my butt and pine away for Mitch.”

“He’s a jerk.”

“He truly is.” But even as she voiced her agreement, Jenny couldn’t help remembering the expression on his face when he’d told her about his father. She’d never have imagined all-American Mitch Hayward was hiding a crappy childhood. They had that in common.

“Okay.” Emily nodded.

“So, it’s a go?” Cole asked hopefully.

Emily shot him a warning glare. “This weekend is all about Jenny, not about you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cole grinned. “You ladies just tell me what you’d like. Meal suggestions for the chef, preferences for floral arrangements, wines, special sheets on the beds? They have chauffeur-driven SUVs, but I can get a stretch limo if you’d prefer.”

Jenny nudged her friend. “How are you not dating this guy already?”

“He’s too short,” said Emily.

“I’ll buy lifts,” Cole put in.

“Short is a state of mind.”

“It’s a state in your mind, woman, not mine.”

Emily sniffed her disapproval, and Jenny couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m leaving now,” said Emily, and disappointment flickered in Cole’s blue eyes.

Emily missed it because her attention was focused on Jenny. “I’m going to grab you some of my clothes and a few personal things. Tomorrow, we’ll stock you up. But I’ll be back in an hour with the essentials.”

Since there was nothing left to salvage from her house, the insurance forms were straightforward, and the cleanup started right away. Jenny drove by it once, on Sunday morning, but she quickly decided it was time to focus on the future, not to dwell on the past.

The house was gone for good. But the lake was still beautiful, and the black scars on the land would heal. Emily was right. There was a lot to be said for rebuilding something brand-new, right here.

Jenny took Monday off work to dash through a long list of errands and settle into Cole’s guest room. She’d offered once more to get a room at the Family Inn. But Cole was adamant, and Emily backed him up. He had plenty of room, and it would take months for her new house to be built.

It was a shock for her to find out that Cole had a housekeeping staff. He had a cook, a gardener and a housekeeper. All were incredibly friendly and seemed determined to treat Jenny like royalty. When she’d mentioned that she usually took baking to the office on Tuesdays for the TCC’s youth outreach program, Maria, the cook, had insisted on pitching in to make cupcakes.

So, the mound of jumbo gourmet-frosted chocolate creations that Jenny carried outside to the athletic field late Tuesday afternoon attracted more than the usual hungry glances from the thirty or so teenage boys practicing football passes.

Mitch had started the youth outreach during his first month at TCC. He was a strong advocate for youth in sports, and his star power had ensured participation from the local teenage boys. The program had grown, and now several members of the TCC were working with the teenagers on everything from algebra to career planning. But Tuesday after school was still devoted to sports, and Jenny had taken up the habit of providing a baked treat for the kids at the end of the session.

Normally, she left the baking next to their water jug, gave everyone a wave and went back to work. But today, she found herself pausing. As angry as she wished she could be with Mitch, she couldn’t help noting how great he was with the kids. And she couldn’t help remembering the story about his father.

Were the two related in some way? Was he trying to do for other kids what his own father never did for him? She recalled the encounter on the beach in Galveston. Mitch had stuck up for the smaller kid. In a few short moments, he’d obviously boosted the boy’s self-esteem, and very likely given him a whole new perspective on life and on his future opportunities.

Jenny watched while Mitch gave a few pointers on passing the football to one of the boys. Again, it was one of the smaller boys, someone who might easily get picked on in a group. The boy nodded, gave another throw and was rewarded by Mitch’s clap on the shoulder and what were obviously words of praise.

How on earth could Mitch think of himself as a bad guy?

Then his gaze caught Jenny’s.

Since she’d skipped work yesterday, and since today he’d had back-to-back meetings out of the office, they’d barely spoken. On the upside, there’d been no time for awkward conversation. On the downside, she knew that conversation was looming in their future.

She’d written and discarded three letters of resignation yesterday. Part of her longed to walk away from the emotional minefield of working for Mitch, but the other part of her loved her job at TCC and told herself she was adult enough to stick this out.

Cole was right. One way or another, Mitch would be gone from Royal very soon, and he’d be completely out of her life. At the latest, he’d leave after the TCC presidential election in December. That wasn’t so far away. Jenny could keep her head down and her focus on business until then. Heaven knew the issues surrounding the new clubhouse and the presidency were coming at them faster and more furious by the day. Who’d have time to talk about anything personal before the election?

Now Mitch was moving toward her.

The TCC building and emotional safety were just fifty yards away. She could make it if she left right now. She doubted very much that he’d sprint after her. Then, while he finished up with the boys, she could shut down her computer, gather her purse, head for the parking lot and drive her rental car back to Cole’s house and hide in the back sunroom, where Mitch’s house wasn’t even visible.

He was closer now.

She had one minute to make a decision.

Leaving would be easy.

Staying would be fraught with-

“Hello, Jenny.” His long strides quickly covered the last few yards between them.

“Hello, Mitch,” she offered evenly.

His glance went to the big tray of chocolate cupcakes sitting on the table. “The boys’ll like those.”

“Maria made them.”

He nodded. “So you did decide to stay at Cole’s?”

“He didn’t tell you?” That surprised Jenny. Cole and Mitch were very close friends.

“I don’t believe he’s speaking to me at the moment.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. Emily and Cole hadn’t overheard Mitch’s entire kiss-off speech, thank goodness, but they’d heard enough to be very angry with Mitch. Still, she couldn’t help hoping the incident wouldn’t drive a wedge between the two men.

“I’m, uh, sorry,” she tried.

“You’re sorry?”

“That Cole’s angry with you.”

“He’ll get over it.” Mitch paused. “And you?”

“Me?” Was he asking if she’d get over being angry with him for not wanting a relationship with her? It sounded quite petty when she thought about it that way. It was entirely Mitch’s business who he chose to date or not to date. If he wasn’t interested, he wasn’t interested. That surely wasn’t his fault.

Still, she couldn’t seem to find a coherent answer to his question, and the silence stretched between them.

He was the one to break it. “Are you going to quit, Jenny?”

She drew a breath. Mostly, she thought no. But in the dark of night, when Mitch’s words ran around and around inside her head, she sometimes felt like she had to make a clean break, if only to save her sanity.

“Let me be the one to quit,” he put in before she could answer.

“What? No.” She shook her head firmly in denial. “You can’t quit.” She gestured to the field. “The boys, the members, everyone depends on you. I’m completely expendable.”

He took a step closer. “You’ve got it backward. I’m a figurehead. You’re the one who’s indispensable.”

It wasn’t true, but the earnestness in his eyes suddenly brought home the humor of the conversation. “Is it just me,” she asked him, “or is our mutual admiration society a little nauseating?”

Mitch broke into a familiar grin, and a wave of relief coursed through Jenny’s stomach. He stage whispered, “I’ll keep it a secret if you do.”

“Definitely.”

His expression sobered again. “And I’ll stay if you will.”

Jenny gathered her courage. “Okay. I’ll stay.” She risked another joke. “But you have to promise to keep your hands to yourself.”

“You’re a pistol, Jenny.”

“I’m a survivor, Mitch.”

A funny expression crossed his face. “You don’t have to survive the TCC, Jenny. You’re fantastic at your job. Don’t worry so much about being careful and meticulous. Relax a little. You can make mistakes and mess things up. Nobody will die.”

She understood what he was saying. She didn’t have to be perfect for him. For some reason, his words made her eyes sting.

She blinked quickly to get rid of the sensation. “Does that sound like me? Messing things up?”

“I don’t know,” he said with sincerity. “But I’d like to find out.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jenny saw the boys making a move for the cupcakes. “Tell you what,” she said to Mitch, knowing they’d be overrun in a matter of moments. “I’ll stop organizing the whiteboard pens in the order of the color spectrum.”

He lifted a hand to his chin and pretended to ponder. “I don’t know, Jenny. Loosening the color spectrum rules? Can anarchy be far behind?”

The first of the teenage boys reached the table. “Hey, Mr. H. Jenny. Those look fantastic!”

“Help yourself, Scott.” She gestured to the thick-frosted, color-sprinkled cupcakes.

“Awesome,” came another boy’s voice.

“You’re the best!” shouted Terry.

Jenny took a step backward to avoid the fray. She could feel Mitch’s gaze on her, but kept herself from looking back at him again as she headed toward the clubhouse. They’d ended their conversation on a joke. It was a lot more than she’d hoped for today.

“I can’t believe things are moving along so fast,” Jenny said to Emily as she peered down at several sets of house plans spread out across the glass-topped table in Cole’s formal dining room.

Cole was off to one side, sprawled out in an armchair next to the open French doors, typing away on his laptop. His shirt-sleeves were rolled up, and his tie loosened. “If there’s going to be a change in the foundation footprint, they might as well know about it while the loaders are on site.” He glanced up. “It’ll save money in the long run.”

“You know something about construction?” asked Emily, an edge to her voice.

“A little.”

“Is there anything you don’t know about?” She stared back at him with what Jenny had come to recognize as her clash-of-wills expression.

Cole paused in what looked like contemplation. “Women,” he finally answered. “Specifically, you.”

Jenny couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re a nerd,” Emily accused.

“Yeah? Well, you’re dating me.”

“Not after Saturday night.”

“We’ll see.” Cole smiled confidently, going back to his work on the laptop. “You may find 12:01 comes around pretty fast. And then you’ll also be dating me on Sunday.”

“Conceited,” Emily muttered under her breath.

“I think he’s cute,” Jenny whispered back.

Emily kept her voice low, leaning her head close to Jenny’s. “I don’t want to sleep with cute.”

“Why not?” Jenny whispered back, giving Cole a surreptitious once-over. He was a very attractive man. He was in excellent physical shape. He was smart, successful, had a good sense of humor. And he was definitely one of the few males on the planet who could hold his own against Emily.

“I’m looking to get pregnant, remember?”

Ah, yes. The linebacker factor. “Would you rather sleep with Emilio?”

“Huh?”

“He’s tall, brawny, definite football genes in that guy’s DNA.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe. But he’s kind of…I don’t know. Do you think he’s sexy?”

“It’s not what I think that matters.” Jenny thought Mitch was the one who was sexy, and look how far that had gotten her. “Who do you find sexy?”

Emily shot a fleeting, telltale glance at Cole who was typing away on his laptop. “I’m still looking,” she whispered with a thread of determination.

“You two do realize I can hear you,” Cole drawled.

Emily’s face flushed red as she straightened in her chair. “We’re not talking about you,” she snapped.

“I know. You’re talking about Emilio.” Cole looked up again, his gaze boring deep into Emily’s this time, anger lurking in the sapphire depths of his eyes.

As the tension thickened in the room, Jenny started to rise from her chair. “Why don’t I just leave you two-”

“No!” Emily snapped. “Sit down. We’re choosing your new house. This one.” She pointed to a set of plans. “I like the contemporary hardwood floors, and all that glass.”

Jenny turned her attention to the blueprints for the two-thousand square foot single-story custom house. The floor plan looked very elegant, ultramodern, with lots of planes and angles, and great circulation space between the bedrooms, kitchen and a glassed-in deck which could overlook the lake.

The front doorbell sounded, and Cole rose swiftly from his chair. Since any one of his staff members would answer, Jenny assumed it was his excuse to leave. She also didn’t expect him to come back.

“Look at all those built-in closets.” Emily spoke with what sounded like false cheer. “You’d have tons of room for the new wardrobe. I can picture it now, entertaining, dinner parties.”

“Emily-” Jenny began.

“What?”

“This thing with Cole. Are you feeling-”

“I’m fine.”

“But-”

The front door banged shut, and footsteps sounded down the hallway.

“He’s coming back,” said Emily. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle Cole.”

“…only if she’s not too busy,” came the sound of Mitch’s voice.

Jenny stilled, her stomach clenching.

“She’s in the dining room,” Cole responded, and Jenny met Emily’s eyes.

Emily reached out and squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”

Jenny gave a determined nod, ignoring the butterflies circling in the pit of her stomach. “I can handle it. We spoke a few times at the office today. It was fine. I’m doing fine.”

“Emily?” came Cole’s voice as he appeared in the arched doorway. “Mitch needs to talk to Jenny.”

Emily pivoted in her chair. “I’m not going to-”

“Emily,” Cole growled. He jerked his thumb toward the hallway. “Now.”

She opened her mouth, obviously about to refuse his command, but then something in his expression seemed to stop her.

“Fine,” she ground out, bringing her hands down on the glass surface of the table as she rose from her chair. “But I’m not going out of earshot.” She gave Jenny a significant glance. “Call me if you need me.”

“I will.” Jenny fought a smile. She was warmed by Emily’s protective instincts. Not that they’d be remotely necessary.

Then, head held high, Emily crossed the room to Cole. Jenny noted that he put his hand on the small of her back as he ushered her out of the room.

Mitch immediately filled the empty doorway, tall, broad-shouldered, magnificently handsome as ever. She sure wished her chest wouldn’t do that little hitch whenever he entered the room.

She needed to strive for equanimity. She had to stop being attracted to him. Then again, being angry with him was only marginally better. It was just as emotionally unsettling.

“Jenny.” He nodded, his deep voice impacting her even more than his appearance. “Sorry to bother you after working hours.”

“No problem,” she automatically responded, her attention piqued. Had something gone wrong at TCC?

His gaze stopped on the paperwork in front of her.

“We were just looking at house plans,” she explained.

“Pick something yet?”

Jenny shook her head. “Is everything okay at TCC?”

Mitch strode into the room, taking the chair Emily had vacated. That put him right next to Jenny, making her body respond to whatever male pheromones radiated from his pores. Her skin tingled, and her palms began to sweat.

So much for equanimity.

“I was looking for the letter to the senator. The one on the subsidies from last week.”

“You couldn’t find it in the directory? It should be under federal government, financial issues, political support.” Jenny hated the thought that she might have misfiled something.

“Oh.” He nodded. “Political support. I’ll look there.”

“Did you need it tonight? I can log in and get it for you. Cole probably won’t mind if I use his laptop.”

But Mitch was shaking his head. “I can get it in the morning.”

“Okay,” she agreed. But his words surprised her. If it could wait until morning, why had he gone to all the trouble to come over here?