Chapter Sixteen

When Caroline got to her desk at work the next morning, her phone’s message light was blinking. Before she could pick it up and dial into voice mail, the phone rang.

“Richard Meadows’ office. May I—”

“Caroline, it’s Misty.”

She braced herself. “Richard’s not in yet, Misty. Did you try his cell phone?”

“I didn’t call to talk to Richard, I have something to say to you, you miserable b—”

“Misty!” Caroline was about to hang up.

“Did you tell Richard you saw me in Chicago?” Misty shouted into the receiver.

Caroline reluctantly put the phone back to her ear. “I haven’t talked to Richard.”

“And you’d better not. If you know what’s good for you.”

Caroline would have laughed at the veiled threats if it weren’t for the fact that Misty was hurting Richard. That wasn’t funny. “Richard already knew you were in Chicago, Misty, so maybe you should tell your fiancé about your ‘shopping’ trip yourself.”

“This is none of your business, Caroline. I was out with friends, dancing, that’s all.”

Caroline pulled an antacid out of her desk drawer and swallowed it. “It looked pretty friendly all right, dancing so close with my sister’s boyfriend.”

“I said he’s a friend! And don’t play innocent with me, Caroline Benedict. I’ve seen how you look at Richard!”

Caroline gulped. Had she been that obvious? “Look at him? He’s my boss.” True, but who was she kidding? Certainly not Misty.

“Listen, Miss Smarty-Pants with the fancy college degree, just do your work and keep your eyes to yourself, because he’s engaged to me!”

Caroline held the receiver away from her ear as Misty spewed verbal bile. When she thought she could get a word in, she said, “Really, Misty, why do you care? You can’t tell me you love Richard, especially after dancing cheek-to-cheek with Mark Townsend!”

“Stay out of my business, Caroline! Richard could never love someone as mousy as you anyway, so don’t even think about trying to break us up.”

If only I could break you two up. But she cringed at the thought that she hadn’t kept her feelings for Richard better hidden. She didn’t care in the least about offending Misty, but she would never dream of making Richard uncomfortable.

Caroline reverted to her business tone. “Is there a message?”

“The message is, if you tell Richard about seeing me in Chicago, I’ll see to it that Sharlene has you thrown out of that office so fast it’ll make your head spin!” And with that she slammed down the phone.

“Nice talking to you, too,” Caroline said into the dead line. Could Misty have Sharlene fire me? Or worse yet, could she convince Richard to end their friendship? Maybe.

The office phone rang again. She picked it up and checked the caller ID, and then with a sigh of relief said, “Good morning, Mrs. Meadows.”

Richard arrived a couple of hours later and stopped by her desk. “Any calls?” he asked.

Caroline thought about the nasty call from Misty and nearly gagged, but said as professionally as possible, “Misty. And your grandmother.”

“Thanks. Anyone else—like business? I’ve already spoken to Grandmother, and Misty can wait.”

“I sent you an email with the rest of the messages.”

“Can I talk to you a minute, Caroline?”

She followed him into his office, feeling her pulse race.

Richard closed the door and sat down on the edge of his large mahogany desk to face her. “Did you accept that other job offer yet?”

Caroline felt herself sway, so she quickly sat down in the nearest chair. “No. You asked me to wait so I, uh, was waiting…” She stopped a minute to clear her head. This was the moment she’d been dreading. “I’m going to have to respond soon or lose out on the opportunity.”

Richard nervously clicked and un-clicked a ballpoint pen. “Well, I know we had an agreement to re-evaluate your position and salary, and I’m ashamed of myself for not doing this sooner like I promised, but what with the wedding…” Richard threw the pen on his desk. “I had a long conversation with Grandmother last night.”

Caroline liked Adele Meadows. She appreciated her common sense approach to life, and they had a mutual dislike of Misty Peterson. “Okay…”

“You probably know that Sharlene and I each own forty percent of this company, but Grandmother owns the other twenty percent.”

Caroline didn’t know that. Her pulse quickened, but her throat went dry and all she could do was nod.

“Caroline, you’re such an asset to me—uh, well, to the company—and I just don’t want to lose you or have to train another assistant. So I went to Grandmother, and between us we have enough stock to overrule Sharlene.”

Caroline could barely contain the butterflies in her stomach. “Overrule her? On what?”

“Personnel issues, finances, that sort of thing. Anyway, I’d like to finally offer you that raise and benefits that I promised you a year ago. I—we—hope you’ll agree to stay on here at Meadows Advertising.”

Caroline’s mouth dropped open, and for a moment she couldn’t say a word as her eyes welled up with tears of joy. Then she realized Richard was waiting for an answer and she hesitated. This was what she truly wanted in her heart, but her head was telling her she was asking for trouble. Unrequited love for one’s soon-to-be-married boss was not conducive to a good working relationship. But Caroline’s heart overrode her head. “Yes! Yes, of course, I’d love to stay.”

“I can offer you a salary competitive to what Charing Cross offered, full benefits and a 401K. And a real office. Sharlene’s empty one.” His eyes twinkled. “Feel free to redecorate it.”

Caroline wanted to hug Richard, but she remembered what Misty had just said—her feelings were too obvious—so she restrained herself in an attempt to appear professional. “Thank you, Richard. When do I start—officially?”

Richard smiled the smile that Caroline found so irresistible. “Next week, at the beginning of the pay period on Monday. You’ll be doing most of the same things you’ve been doing, but there may be a few added responsibilities to go along with the title of Executive Assistant to the CEO. Okay?”

Caroline smiled back at him. “Yes. Very okay.”

“One more thing, just to complicate matters,” Richard said as he pointed to his desk calendar. “I have to leave town on Sunday for the Guys’ Golf Getaway in Vegas. From there I’m off to Los Angeles to meet with the production company that’s filming that series of TV commercials for Truitt. I probably won’t be back till the first week in August. That’s why I have to have an assistant here who’s familiar with the business. Do you feel comfortable with that?”

“Of course. I may have a few questions, but I can text or email, right?”

“Right.” Richard opened the door for Caroline. He offered his hand in mock formality before she walked out, and when she returned his handshake, he held her hand a bit longer than necessary. “Welcome aboard, Miss Benedict.”

****

Susan glanced at the clock on the dashboard as she drove down College Avenue.

“Mom’s got a D-A-T-E!” Megan had teased her this morning as she tried to decide what to wear.

“Hush, Megan, I’m nervous enough as it is.” Susan straightened her multi-colored blouse, made sure her pink capris were not creased in back, and checked her makeup one last time. “I haven’t been on a date since the Bush administration—the first Bush—so I hope I remember how to do this.”

“Patrick’s nice, Mom. Just relax.”

Relax, Susan told herself as she drove into the parking lot. It’s only lunch.

Patrick was waiting for her inside the door. He smiled at her, that twinkling smile that lit up the corners of his eyes, the one that had so captivated her when they first met.

He extended his hand in greeting. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Shall we eat outside?”

Susan nodded, and followed him to a table on the patio. It was a small, casual bistro, bustling with the lunch crowd. “I guess professors are able to take leisurely lunches in the summertime,” she said as a waiter led them to a table.

“That’s one of the perks.” Patrick held her chair for her and then sat down across from her. “The food here’s good,” he said as the waiter handed her a menu. “It’s close to campus, so Brandon and I eat lunch here a lot.”

As she looked over the menu, she couldn’t quite tell if the twitters in her stomach were nerves or excitement. Either way, a light lunch was definitely in order.

“Could you bring us some iced tea?” Patrick said to the waiter. “Do you know what you’d like to eat?” he asked Susan.

She nodded and handed the menu to the waiter. “Fruit salad, please.”

“Sounds good,” Patrick said to Susan as he turned to the waiter, “but I’ll have the burger and fries.” He winked at Susan.

Susan barely knew this man, yet they had discovered so many mutual interests that talking to Patrick was like being with an old friend. “I love that you teach classic literature. To me, that’s like not working.”

He moved his silverware aside as the waiter set their iced teas on the table. “Yep, everything from Austen to Wordsworth.”

Susan crossed her arms on the table in front of her and leaned in. “I love Jane Austen!”

Patrick laughed as he took a swig of tea. “Spoken like a true English teacher. What’s your favorite?”

Susan absent-mindedly stirred sweetener into her tea while she thought. “Everyone always says Pride and Prejudice, or Emma, but I really think I prefer Sense and Sensibility.”

“Interesting. Why?”

Susan smiled and set the spoon on the table. “Probably it’s those three daughters.”

He laughed. “Your girls keep you pretty busy, I guess.”

“Well, yes, at least Allie and Megan do. They’re both at loose ends this summer.” Susan’s eyes drifted off for a moment while she thought about the emotional upheaval her girls were going through, but then she snapped back. “Caroline’s pretty self-sufficient, so I don’t usually worry about her.”

“I haven’t actually met Allie yet, but Brandon talks about her all the time, about how gifted she is.”

Susan started laughing and almost choked on her beverage. “Gifted? Does that mean high maintenance? Because she is, that’s for sure. Brandon’s a love to put up with all her drama.”

“He’s a good guy, and I’m pretty sure he really cares about her,” Patrick said as he took her hand across the table. “I mean really cares.”

Susan suspected as much, but she also was pretty sure Allie was too involved in her budding romance with Mark to give Brandon more than a cursory glance. “Believe it or not, Allie isn’t the only talented daughter I have. Megan’s an excellent artist, and Caroline writes beautifully when she allows herself to. She also has the ability to find any grammatical or punctuation mistake ever written. That’s one reason she’s so valuable to Richard.”

“Hmmm, Richard. I think I remember Phillips saying something about him,” Patrick mused. “Her boss?”

Susan nodded. “Caroline really admires him. More than admires him, I’m afraid.” Susan shook her head but allowed her hand to stay intertwined with Patrick’s. “Tell me, do you have children?”

“Here are your orders, sir,” said the waiter as he set their lunches in front of them. “Do you need anything else?”

Patrick looked up at the waiter and squeezed Susan’s hand before releasing it. “Thanks. I think we’re fine for now.” He poured a glob of ketchup onto the side of his plate next to the fries and shoved the bottle aside. He glanced over at Susan and said, “You were asking about children.”

Susan stopped mid-bite when she realized her mistake. “I’m sorry. I guess I overstepped.”

Patrick swirled a fry in the ketchup. “No, it’s fine, it’s just that it never seemed to be the right time for us to start a family. First our careers, then buying a house, fixing it up. My wife was from a huge family, and every year it seemed like one of her siblings had a new baby, so we didn’t miss having our own. Then she got sick.”

Susan set her fork down. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

He looked her in the face and smiled, a trace of sorrow in his voice. “We had a good life, and I don’t regret a thing.”

“I guess I didn’t realize how different things were for me. Getting divorced was painful, but what you went through…” Susan shook her head.

Patrick reached across the table and took Susan’s hand once again. “I’m ready to move on,” he said.

****

Susan’s cell phone rang while she was in the backyard pulling weeds in her flower garden. “Hi, Em! How’s Allie doing?”

“Not too well, actually. Brittany can barely get her out of the bedroom. She doesn’t seem interested in eating, and only came out last night to watch a DVD downstairs with Brit. Then she went right back up to bed.”

Susan sighed as she tossed her trowel aside. “It’s only been a few days, Emily. Caroline finally told me what happened with her and Mark. Her heart’s been broken, so she’ll probably wallow for a while. Just give her some time and she’ll snap out of it.”

“Well, okay, if you think so. I’ll call you back in a few days.”

“Thanks Emily. Let me know if I need to come get her.”

Susan had no more hung up with Emily and picked up her trowel again than the phone rang a second time. She glanced at the caller ID. “Hi, Brandon. How are you?”

“Fine, thanks. Well, not so fine really. Susan, I’ve been trying to reach Allie, and she’s not answering her phone. Is she coming back any time soon? I’m concerned about—about the practice sessions she’s missing.”

Susan could hear his real emotions in his voice. “Thanks for calling, Brandon. No, Allie probably won’t be back for a week or so. She and Mark had a falling out up in Chicago, and she’s mourning Allie-style. Anyway, I’ll have her call you first thing when she gets home.”

“Well, all right, but if you talk to her, could you ask her to call me? And Susan?” he said before she could hang up, “Is she really okay?”

Susan wished Allie could see how much this man cared about her.

****

Caroline picked up the ringing phone. “Richard Meadows’s office.”

“Caroline! I’m so happy to hear the news, that you accepted Richard’s offer.”

Caroline was still pinching herself at her good fortune. “I hear I have you to thank, Mrs. Meadows. I haven’t told my family yet, but I’m sure they’ll be pleased.”

“Just a warning, dear. Sharlene and Misty are on the warpath. The two of them can be a devilish force of nature, you know.”

Don’t I know. Caroline hung up the phone and felt a bit queasy. She glanced at the clock and realized it was well past quitting time, so she turned off her computer, grabbed her handbag out of the bottom desk drawer, and headed to the reception area. Even Lucy had already gone home.

On the drive home, she went over and over her day—the harassing phone call from Misty, getting the job offer she’d dreamed about, and Adele Meadows’s warning about Misty and Sharlene. Five miles of rush hour traffic coupled with worry didn’t solve anything. She walked into the house and tossed her handbag on the coffee table. “Mom? Megan? Anyone home?” Honey came bounding in from the kitchen, her tail wagging. Caroline reached down and patted the dog’s head. “Mom, I’ve got great news!” At least she hoped everyone would think it was great.

Susan appeared from the kitchen, a dishtowel in her hand, the smell of fresh lasagna wafting through the air. “Hi, Car. What news?”

“Mom, Richard offered me a job today!”

Susan put her hands on her hips. “You already have a job with Richard—one that doesn’t pay very well. What about that agency you interviewed with awhile back? Did you hear from them?”

Caroline went to the picture window and began adjusting the curtains that were already in alignment. “Yes.” She swallowed hard and turned to face her mother. “I just didn’t feel comfortable there. It’s so big and, well, corporate. But this morning Richard counter-offered and I accepted. I’ll be his assistant with a title and office, plus salary and benefits.”

Susan tilted her head to one side. “Caroline, is that wise? Turning down that other agency?”

Caroline looked away. “I don’t know what you mean, Mom. I accepted the best offer I received.”

“You accepted the offer from Richard.”

Caroline sat down on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. “I know how to be professional, Mom. I can do this.”

“I know you can do the job, but what about the emotional baggage? Maybe you’d be better off working in an office where”—Susan cleared her throat—“where Richard isn’t!”

Caroline’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll handle it, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“That’s just it, Caroline. I do worry. This is going to be hard on you.” Susan wiped away a tear on Caroline’s cheek, gave her a quick hug, and whispered in her ear, “Congratulations on your new job.”

Megan walked into the family room just in time to see her mother and sister hugging. “Hi, Car. Heard about your new job!”

Caroline looked at Megan in surprise. “What? How?”

“Sharlene. And she told me she already told Dad,” Megan said over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen. “When’s dinner, Mom?”

“News travels fast,” Susan said. “I guess the only person who doesn’t know is Allie.”

“By the way, have you heard from her?” Caroline asked.

“No, but Emily’s keeping me up to date. I guess Allie’s still grieving over Mark.”

****

Susan’s cell phone rang, waking her out of a sound sleep. She glanced at the bedside clock which read 2:00 a.m. before drowsily checking the caller ID. “Emily?” she said hoarsely.

“Susan, I hope I’m not overreacting, but Allie’s not doing well. She doesn’t eat, she’s pale, and she hardly comes out of the bedroom.”

“I’ll try calling her again in the morning,” Susan said with a yawn.

“No, don’t call. You’ve got to come up here as soon as possible.”

Susan heard the worry in Emily’s voice and was instantly wide awake. “How about first thing in the morning?”

“The sooner the better.”

Susan stared at the phone for a minute, then felt panic rising in her throat. This didn’t sound like Allie’s usual melodramatic reaction to a romantic breakup. She had to get to Chicago right away.