Nothing fools people as much as extreme passion.
—Bishop Hall
KATE CLOSED HER EYES and touched her tender eyelids.
“Are you okay?” Eric asked.
She opened her eyes wide and nodded. “My eyes are just tired, and I have a touch of a headache.” She gestured vaguely to the overwhelming display of elaborate booths, some of them enormous and fitted with enough flashing lights and robotic arms to rival a Hollywood movie set. “So much to look at, I suppose.”
“It’s been a long day,” Eric said. “Why don’t we head back?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to keep you from doing what you need to do. I think I’ll try to find a bottle of cold water and sit down for a few minutes. I’ll meet you back here in say, an hour?”
He glanced at his watch, then nodded. “That will give me time to see the last couple of people I need to meet with.” Then a wrinkle formed between his eyes. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Kate was touched by his uncharacteristic compassion and nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She turned and walked away toward the concessions area, wishing she’d worn more comfortable shoes and wondering where she might nab a couple of aspirin. A few minutes later she found a water vendor and a stiff plastic chair to sit in near the concession stands. She lowered herself to the chair, grateful for the break.
Eric was relentless. The man was an electronics maniac, eager to try every new gadget and toy at every booth. It was really quite a marvel. The excitement on his face when he discovered something new or “cool” gave her more pleasure than seeing the product itself, and she marveled at the ease with which he interacted with other salespeople. Everyone, male and female, gravitated toward him. Seven hours in, though, her insoles were giving out and she’d had her fill of gadgets, gewgaws and wing-dings.
Sipping the cool water, she wondered how much of her sudden restlessness had to do with the fact that she hadn’t heard from her e-mail admirer yesterday. Maybe her request to meet face-to-face had been too forward, too soon. Maybe she’d never hear from him again. Or maybe he’d simply been too busy to answer. Or maybe he was having computer problems.
She didn’t want it to be over. She willed Neil Powers to keep their correspondence going because she was feeling a little desperate for any kind of distraction.
She was starting to suspect that if her heart was left to its own devices, it would fall for Eric. Again. When she’d awakened this morning, the anticipation she’d felt at sharing the day with him went beyond normal boss-subordinate feelings. And when he’d walked into the lobby wearing chinos and a red shirt, her chest had swelled with appreciation—and she couldn’t attribute her enthusiasm to the Handley Toys emblem on the left pocket of his shirt.
By the time she’d reached the bottom of the water bottle, she felt somewhat refreshed. Since she still had a few minutes to kill before meeting up with Eric, she meandered around a few booths they hadn’t yet gotten to.
She stopped by a booth of new electronic pets and watched the ten-minute demonstration. The adults were riveted, but after a few minutes, the younger attendees walked away. She made a mental note, then moved on to a digital device that operated like a hard sketch pad with different-colored stylus pens. The drawing could be saved or printed, or “torn off” by pushing a button that made the noise of paper being torn and then wiped the screen clean. Kids were congregating there, and staying. She made another mental note. While standing in the next booth, she heard a man’s voice on the other side of the tall wall say, “Eric McDaniels, you old dog—how’s it going?”
“Good, Tag, how’s it going with you?”
“Fine. Hey, I heard through the grapevine that you’re going to be a Mixxo man starting next Monday.”
Kate froze and waited for Eric to set the man straight. Instead, the silence dragged on too long for her comfort. “Listen,” Eric finally said, “that’s not public knowledge yet. I’m here with my boss, so mum’s the word, okay?”
Kate’s heart dropped. John would be devastated.
“Sure, man, I won’t say anything. When are you breaking the news?”
“I have a big deal I’m trying to close before Wednesday. I figured I’d break the news after that and at least go out on a good note.”
“Sounds like a plan. How’s your golf game these days?”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Eric muttered, and their voices grew more dim as they moved away from the wall.
Kate leaned against a table, besieged with a dozen thoughts and emotions—betrayal and hurt among them. Which was silly because Eric owed her nothing, not professionally—since they’d been working together barely a week—and certainly not personally. Still, when she’d expressed appreciation that he hadn’t gone to Mixxo, he could have said something.
Which wasn’t entirely fair, she conceded, since technically she would’ve had to fire him on the spot. This way at least he had a shot at getting the Lexan business for Handley before he left. And even though a quarterly bonus was probably his motivation, it was a win-win situation under the circumstances. Eric had no doubt considered all possible scenarios before deciding on this course of action. And it was in her company’s best interests if she didn’t say anything until after the Lexan account had either been won or lost.
She acknowledged a tightness in her chest at the prospect of not working with Eric in the future, which only reinforced her fears that she had developed intense feelings for him. Then on the heels of her musings, another thought occurred to her.
If she weren’t Eric’s boss—
“Ma’am, could I interest you in a demo?” a man asked, gesturing to the digital camera display she’d been standing next to.
She jumped, realizing that Eric could come around the corner at any moment. “No, thank you.” She scooted out of the booth and walked in the opposite direction, her mind spinning with the ramifications of Eric leaving Handley.
“Check your e-mail! Right here—use our new lightweight laptop to check your e-mail! Free of charge! Privacy guaranteed—all Web browsers available!” The man running the booth gestured to her, waving her into a small cubicle. “Give it a try, ma’am. Take as long as you want. Here’s a brochure.”
She acquiesced because it would give her a nice, quiet place to sit and collect herself before she had to meet Eric. She waited until the man disappeared before pulling up her preferred browser and accessing her e-mail through several secured servers. When her messages loaded, she scanned the addresses, smiling when she spotted a note from FoolforYou. She glanced over her shoulder, then pulled up the note.
Kate,
Yes, I’d very much like to meet face-to-face to explore our “diversions.” I’m trying to figure out how someone as amazing as you can still be single. Is there by chance a broken heart in your background? My schedule is flexible, so let me know when and where you’d like to meet.
Fool for You
“Interesting,” a man said into her ear.
Kate started and turned to see Eric standing at her shoulder, peering at the screen. Heat flooded her face and she fumbled for the keys to remove the e-mail from the screen, furious. “How dare you spy on me!”
He backed away, lifting his hands, laughing. “I wasn’t spying on you. I saw the top of your red head and I wondered how you were feeling.”
She gritted her teeth. “You’re insufferable.”
He gave her a wry smile. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t read the note.”
She turned back and exhaled, then stabbed keys to log off the system.
“Wow,” he said, “it must have been personal for you to get so upset.”
She stood and marched past Eric. “I’m going back to the hotel.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She turned. “Don’t, Eric.” She lifted her finger, dismayed to see it shaking. “Don’t.”
Kate left the show and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel, taking refuge in her room, berating herself for letting Eric get to her…again. She called room service and ordered a salad. While she waited, she emptied her briefcase and studied reports until her eyes were practically crossed. Feeling restless and a little homesick, she called Lesley, who, gauging from the sounds in the background, was in the middle of a family pillow fight.
“Kate! Hold on.” She covered the mouthpiece. “Everybody, cool it until Mommy gets off the phone!”
Kate smiled at the ease with which her friend governed her household, and, for the first time ever, experienced a little pang of envy.
Lesley uncovered the mouthpiece. “Okay, I’m back. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing, really, I’m just checking in.”
“You sound funny—do you have a cold?”
“Just a touch of a headache. I was at an electronics show all day.”
“Ugh. Should have been with me at the kiddy jungle gym all day—that’s only slightly less harrowing. Seriously, how are things going?”
“Fine, really. Fine.”
“‘Fine, really. Fine.’? Me thinks thou doth protest too much. Is McDaniels giving you a hard time?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Hmm. I hope so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her friend sighed. “It means that I know you were head over heels in love with him once, and old habits are hard to break.”
Kate touched her temple and, incredibly, felt tears pressing on her eyelids. “Lesley, I really don’t want to talk about this right now. I just needed to hear a familiar voice.”
“I could give you Neil’s number.”
Kate hesitated, considering telling her friend that she suspected Neil was her anonymous e-mailing “Fool.” But how crazy would that sound?
A knock sounded on her door. “Oh—gotta go, Les. That’s room service.”
“Good timing. Take care of yourself.”
“Bye.” Kate hung up the phone, grabbed the tip money she’d set on the desk, then opened the door.
Eric stood in the hallway, looking contrite. “I came to do something.”
She crossed her arms. “Apologize?”
He stepped forward. “No.” Then before she could process what was happening, he put one arm around her back, pulled her against him and lowered his mouth on hers. In a split second she registered the familiarity of his lips, the musky, masculine scent of him, the instant desire rising in her limbs. Then sanity snapped back like a broken rubber band, and with much effort, she wrenched away. She stepped back, bumping the door, and covered her mouth. Anger—at herself—coursed through her veins. Her chest heaved as she tried to get enough air. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Like hell,” he said, his expression dark. “It needed to be done before now.”
“We can’t do this,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m your boss.” Remembering that wouldn’t be the case for long, she added, “And it would never work between us.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
She drew herself up and flung out her arm. “Because…because you’re…you and I’m…me. We’re like oil and water.”
“Maybe,” he said, then he leaned in. “But there’s something between us, Kate, and it’s inevitable that we get together. Forget that you’re my boss—we’re man and woman first.”
Kate stared, and was at a loss to do anything but laugh. “Are you kidding me? Eric, I’ve fought role stereotypes my entire life, and you’re one of the biggest male chauvinists I’ve ever met. Don’t forget that I overheard you telling a coworker that I wasn’t qualified for this job. You were condescending to me during my first staff meeting, and during this trip, you’ve patronized me like I was one of your ‘women.”’ She poked him in the chest to emphasize her words, causing him to back up. “Well. I’m. Not. One. Of. Your. Women. And I’m not going to take a step backward in my career just to climb into bed with you.”
Eric jammed his hands on his hips and looked as if he wanted to refute her, but couldn’t. Finally he donned what she was sure he thought was his most swaggering, most adorable expression. “So you’re low enough to resort to the truth—is that the best you got?”
She wanted to kill him. Instead she spied the room service server wheeling her dinner down the hall. The man stopped at her door, and she gave him the tip she was still holding. Then she took the lid off the chef salad, happy to find it drenched in ranch dressing. She picked up the salad plate and smashed it against Eric’s chest, grinding it into his red shirt for good, gooey measure. “How’s that?” She smiled, then slammed the door in his face.