ANDRE SHOT SOME HOOPS with Jed and his buddies on Saturday afternoon because it beat sitting around his apartment thinking about Lena. Sweating on the court felt good, and afterward they all went out for beer, which felt even better. Andre wished he could shoot hoops and drink beer for the next few weeks, instead of going in to work on Monday.
Jed didn’t mention Lena until he and Andre were walking back to their cars after the others had left. “So, did you ask her about that rumor, yet?”
“Yeah, I asked her. It’s true.”
“Seriously? She asked you out, knowing this was coming down?”
“Not exactly. She was sort of caught in the middle.” Andre was amazed to hear himself say that. He’d figured that, given a chance, he’d lay blame. But he hadn’t been able to rat her out, after all.
Jed leaned against the fender of his Corvette and gazed at Andre. “But you can’t go on dating, right? I mean, the company won’t allow it.”
“That’s right.” Unless he transferred. He’d been so hot for that idea on Friday night, thinking he wanted to get away from her. Now he wasn’t so sure.
“I think the company policy makes sense, dude. I mean, would you like your girlfriend writing up your performance review? Suppose she gets pissed off because you forgot her birthday or something? Boom, she nails you on the review.”
“Lena wouldn’t do that.” There he was defending her again. Yet he’d told her last night that the performance review was one of his big concerns.
“You sound like you’re thinking of dating her on the QT. You know Dana would have a cow if she found out.”
Maybe a part of his brain, unknown to him, had been working on this problem, because he had an answer. “We started dating before she got promoted, so there might be a way around company policy.”
“There might be, but I wouldn’t take it, buddy. You’ll be putting yourself in a vulnerable spot. You know how these office romances go. One minute they’re blazing and the next they’re ashes. Watch out for a woman scorned, and all that stuff. Be smart. Don’t stick your neck out.”
“If she were anybody else, you’d be right. But Lena’s different. She wouldn’t mess with my job because we had personal problems.” Ironically, it was her dedication to the April Fools that made him so sure of that. She’d been determined to finish the stupid golf game, no matter what, because she’d given her word to her friends.
And right after that, she’d told him about the group and its goals. She hadn’t mentioned her promotion, true, but she’d promised Dana she wouldn’t. She was possibly the most ethical person he knew. Her only weakness seemed to be wanting him. That was a weakness he could forgive.
The sun slipped down behind Camelback Mountain, and Jed pushed his shades to the top of his head. “You know what you sound like?”
“A complete fool?”
“Well, yeah, that, too. But you sound like a guy who might find himself picking out china and silverware patterns before too much longer.”
“Hey, I’m not that far gone.” But despite the protest, he wondered if he might be.
“Listen to yourself, is all I’m saying. And be careful. Anyway, later, dude. Glad you could make it today. Don’t do anything too stupid, okay?”
“Okay.” But Andre had a feeling that warning had come way too late.
A WILD SUNDAY spent with Brandy videotaping Meg doing her thing on Town Lake kept Lena from brooding about Andre. She and Meg had also figured out how to smuggle a voice-activated tape recorder into Brandy’s apartment. A delivery of a flower arrangement timed for the exact moment Brandy was leaving for work wouldn’t have given her a chance to check for the tiny recorder slipped into the foliage by one of Meg’s good friends who worked for the florist.
Lena tried to concentrate on that devious plan as she drove to work Monday morning, but her thoughts kept sliding over to her likely meeting with Andre. If Dana followed her usual pattern, she’d gather the sales force Lena would be supervising and make an announcement soon after everyone arrived. Maybe Andre would call in sick.
Or maybe he’d already requested a transfer. If he’d done that, Lena would have to tell Dana why. Andre shouldn’t have to take the heat. There was a good chance Dana would put up a fight over losing one of her top salesmen.
Lena made it into her office without running into Andre, but then again, maybe he wasn’t even here. The thought deflated her. Much as she worried about their first encounter, not having any encounter at all would be worse.
Sure enough, a memo lay on her desk—Dana had scheduled a meeting with the sales force in the conference room at ten. This should be a proud moment, Lena realized, not one filled with tension. The idea of turning down the promotion niggled at her. Maybe she was the one who should request a transfer.
But both Meg and Brandy had advised doing nothing yet. They thought a guy who’d made it through an entire belly-dancing class might have the ability to handle this turn of events, once he’d been given a chance to assimilate the information. Lena wasn’t so sure. Meg and Brandy hadn’t seen Andre’s initial reaction or felt his fury.
“Lena Walsh?”
She glanced up to discover a delivery guy holding a clear vase filled with a dozen red rosebuds just beginning to open. At first she wondered if Meg and Brandy had decided to bug her office today, too. But the leaves of the roses wouldn’t support a tape recorder. For Brandy’s event Lena and Meg had chosen a dense glob of blooms and greenery tailor-made for the purpose.
Lena signed for the roses and set the vase on her desk. The scent filled her office, and she realized only one person could have sent them. Although she might hope they were a romantic gesture, they could merely be an apology. They could also serve as a classy goodbye.
Her chest tight with anxiety, she opened the small envelope and pulled out the card inside.
Of all the things I said Friday night, I forgot the most important. Congratulations.
Andre
She read the card a second time and a third. How had he meant that? Sincerely, sarcastically, ironically? She had no way of knowing, and she was more confused than ever.
The roses taunted her with their rich fragrance while she turned on her computer and answered e-mail. Every few minutes she glanced at the digital clock in the bottom corner of the screen as if watching the countdown of a bomb set to explode at ten.
Finally, with five minutes to go, she picked up her leather-bound notebook and left for the conference room. She should be thinking of something inspirational to say to the sales force, something that would make it obvious why Dana had promoted her to this position. Instead she rehearsed lines she’d love to use with Andre but wouldn’t.
She’d feel more in command of the situation if she could walk into the conference room and get the upper hand over Andre with a zinger, something along the lines of How was your weekend? Or even better, How’s your golf game coming along? Then there was her personal favorite, I’ve been impressed by your excellent performance recently.
She managed to distract herself long enough to walk through the conference-room door, but once inside, her gaze immediately swept the room, found Andre and locked on him. She forgot everything and everyone else.
If she’d thought this meeting would fill her with embarrassment or uncertainty, she’d been wrong. Maybe this last April Fool’s stunt had made her more socially secure, after all. Or maybe she was falling in love.
The second explanation seemed the most likely, because seeing Andre swamped her with longing. Looking into those brown eyes had a far greater impact than she’d expected. Andre wasn’t a problem she would have to work through. Corny and old-fashioned though it sounded, he might be the man she’d been searching for all her life.
Only the sound of Dana noisily clearing her throat brought Lena out of her trance. She turned to Dana, suddenly sure of what she had to do. “I need to talk with you for a minute before we get started,” she said.
Dana glanced from Lena to Andre. “Okay. Let’s just step outside the door, shall we?”
As Lena walked into the hall with Dana, she thought of the grief she’d catch from Meg and Brandy, who would totally disagree with this move. It couldn’t be helped. She turned to Dana. “I can’t accept this promotion.”
Dana smiled. “I think you can.”
“You don’t understand. By accepting it, I’m jeopardizing the performance, maybe even the career, of one of your top salesmen.”
“Andre? He told me this morning he’s delighted to be working with you.”
Lena stared at her. “But—”
“He explained that you’d asked him out before you realized the promotion would be coming through. He also mentioned that you kept our conversation Friday afternoon in complete confidence. He has total faith in your ability to separate your personal relationship with him from your professional one.”
Lena struggled to get her bearings. Dana made it sound as if Andre intended to keep seeing her. Surely Dana had misunderstood.
“Ordinarily we don’t approve of dating in circumstances like this,” Dana continued, “but in view of how you’ve handled things up to this point, those rules seem unnecessary. I’d even go as far as to say I wouldn’t want the company to stand in the way of you and Andre getting together. I can see why you’d be attracted to each other. You have many traits in common.”
“We do?”
Dana laughed. “You don’t think so?”
“I…I hadn’t thought about it.” She’d been too focused on sex, but she couldn’t say that to Dana.
“You’re both dedicated to doing a good job, for one thing.”
Immediately Lena thought about the dedication Andre brought to great sex, and she blushed. “I suppose.”
“You’re too modest for your own good, Lena.”
You wouldn’t think so if you’d seen me in the back seat of the car on Friday night.
“You’re one of the hardest workers in the building,” Dana said. “Oh, and here’s another similarity—both you and Andre like to be firmly in charge of your destiny. Andre admitted that at first he imagined the promotion could affect your relationship, but now he sees it differently.”
“He does?” Lena was beginning to wonder if aliens had taken over Andre’s body in the past forty-eight hours. He was sounding way too reasonable about this.
“He’s out to win your admiration, which means he’ll be performing at peak levels for Thunderbird. His sales record is completely in his control, and he plans to knock your socks off with his effort every month. It’s a win-win situation for the company.”
“Did he really say he planned to knock my socks off?”
“Yes, he did.” Dana winked at her. “Now let’s go back in. I’m sure the natives are getting restless without us.”
Dazed and confused, afraid to hope for too much, Lena followed Dana back into the conference room. Once again she sought out Andre, and he gave her a broad smile. She wondered what the hell he was up to.
Somehow she got through the meeting, mostly by avoiding Andre’s gaze. She had no idea what she said to the sales force, but it must have made some kind of sense, because afterward everyone came up to offer their congratulations.
Finally it was Andre’s turn. He held out his hand, a sparkle in his eyes. “Congratulations. You’re going to be awesome.” His grip was warm and very firm, but he didn’t hold her hand any longer than was polite.
Even so, her skin tingled. “Thank you for the…” She paused and lowered her voice. “For the flowers.”
“My pleasure. Any plans for lunch?”
Her heart started beating in triple-time. “Nothing specific. Why?”
“I thought we could grab a bite somewhere. Would you be free around noon?” His tone was conversational, but his eyes told a different story.
“I think so.”
“Great. I’ll come by your office.”
Her world seemed whirling out of control. “Why don’t I come by your office?”
He grinned. “Either way. Just so we end up going to lunch together. See you then.” He left the conference room.
Lena had no idea how she functioned coherently after that. Yet she heard herself making small talk with the remaining sales people and then she walked back to her office with Dana, who wanted to discuss sales strategy. Once Lena made it to her desk and said goodbye to Dana, she immediately wrote down everything Dana had discussed before it left her mind totally.
The next hour passed in a blur. She returned phone calls and even initiated a few, but she wasn’t operating on all cylinders. How could she, when Andre was taking her to lunch? And there was that pesky dream she’d had the other night running through her mind.
When she appeared in the doorway of Andre’s office a few minutes before noon, he was on the phone, but he quickly ended the call and stood. “Ready?”
“I guess so.” If only she knew what she was supposed to be ready for.
“I thought we could take my car.” He gestured for her to go ahead of him.
She thought of suggesting her car but changed her mind. Her car had too many potent memories attached to it. “Do we have time to drive somewhere?” She’d thought they’d walk to the sandwich shop right down the street from the office.
“I cleared a couple of hours with Dana. I told her we needed to iron out our new working arrangement.” He waved to the receptionist as they breezed through the outer office and out the front door.
A couple of hours? Her imagination ran wild. The rest of her ran even more wild. Surely he wasn’t thinking what she was thinking.
The parking lot had covered spaces for those who qualified through position or sales records. Everyone else got to bake in the sun. Lena rated a shaded parking spot and she guessed that Andre did, too. He walked toward a low-slung blue convertible parked in the preferred area. The top was down.
“This is it.” He held the passenger door for her. “Top up or down?”
“Down is fine.” She was positive she’d imagined his suggestive tone. This was a work day, and he’d recently told Dana that they’d keep their professional and personal lives separate.
She waited until he slid behind the wheel and started the car’s powerful engine. “Andre, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you what, sweet thing, we have it all going on.” He backed out of the space with practiced ease and was soon out on the street.
“What do you mean by that?” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the wind, which whipped her hair around her face. But she liked the feeling of freedom. She liked it way too much for a work day.
“I’ll explain once we get there.” He reached for the cell phone he’d slipped into a holder on the dash and punched in a number. “What do you want for lunch?”
“I don’t know. Why, are we getting take-out?”
“No, we’re having it delivered.”
She didn’t understand, but she decided to go along. “Okay, a salad, then.”
“Chicken, tuna, veggie?”
“Chicken.”
He spoke into the phone. “I’ll soon be in Room 312, if you’ll have room service send up—”
“Room service? Andre, what on earth are you—”
“One chicken salad,” he continued, ignoring her completely, “one roast beef sandwich and a couple of iced teas. We should be there by the time you arrive.”
“Andre Dumont, what are you up to?”
He disconnected the cell phone. “I’m kidnapping you. We’re going to a resort for a two-hour lunch. After work, we can go back again if you want. I’ve booked the room for the night.”
She opened her mouth, tried to think of something to say, and closed it again. He’d taken her completely by surprise. She was speechless.
“Meg gave me the idea,” he said.
“Meg? You talked to Meg?”
“Yep. Or rather, she talked to me. Got my number from information and called me Saturday night.” He smiled. “She demanded to know my intentions toward you. We danced around the subject for about half an hour, and in that time I figured out my intentions toward you are strictly honorable.”
“You call this honorable? Kidnapping me in the middle of the work day?”
“Absolutely. I’m whisking you away from the hustle and bustle of our job, separating work from pleasure, exactly as I promised Dana.”
“I can’t believe Dana would approve of this.” And the farther they went from the office, the less she cared. Andre was in super-salesman mode, and he was thrilling her down to her toes.
“I think she would. She’s a fan of the grand gesture if it clinches the deal.”
“What deal?”
He pulled into the entrance to one of Scottsdale’s finest resorts and parked beneath the portico. Then he shut off the engine, took off his sunglasses and turned to her. “I’m falling in love with you.”
“You are?” Suddenly the colors surrounding them seemed more vivid. She heard the tinkle of a fountain and smelled the fragrance of all the brilliant flowers nearby.
“Yes.”
Her heart beat crazily as she looked into his eyes. “I’m falling in love with you, too.”
“I was hoping.” Eyes shining, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. Then he kissed her fingers and took a deep breath. “Be my girl, Lena. I promise that during work hours, you’ll be the head honcho and I’ll be the best damned salesman on your team, but during our off hours, I want you to be my girl.”
Filled with eagerness, she reached for him, but the seat belt held her prisoner. She fumbled for the buckle.
“Let me.” He unfastened her seat belt without breaking eye contact. “I think I knew we were meant to be when I unhooked your seat belt on Friday night.”
She began to tremble. “The Bondage Light thing.”
“Yeah.” He leaned toward her. “And instead of being shocked, your eyes got all sparkly with interest.”
“Andre, sex isn’t everything.” Maybe Cautious Girl hadn’t completely left the building.
“I know.” His mouth drew nearer. “We have lots of other things in common, too.”
“So Dana said.” Then again, caution was highly overrated.
“So will you? Be my girl?”
She threw caution out the window and into the nearest flower bed. “Yes. If you’ll be my guy.”
“It’s a deal.” And there, in front of a startled valet parking attendant, Andre sealed the deal. As his lips met hers, Lena had no doubt that he would be knocking her socks off…forever.