Chapter 7

It was a man. A man with dark hair, wearing a shirt that fit across his broad, muscular shoulders in a way that made a woman want to rub her hands along it. A man with dark hair, working on a computer. Was it possible? Had Cody Simpson actually descended from his secluded office to fix a lowly word processing clerk’s computer?

The group shifted again and Faith’s amazement grew as she saw that Angela was perched on the edge of her desk in a way that could only be called flirtatious. She was leaning toward Cody, watching him. From time to time she touched her dress, smoothing the fabric against her thighs. The girl’s actions looked pretty suggestive to Faith. Cody, though, appeared to be too focused on what was happening on the screen to notice. A little bemused at the difference a man could make, even in a timid soul like Angela, Faith observed the scene unabashedly.

Cody typed furiously on the keyboard. Dialogue boxes appeared and disappeared. He asked Angela a question. She pouted and shrugged. More dialogue boxes flashed on the screen and then he said, “I think that will fix it for awhile, Angela. Just be sure you don’t…”

It had taken Cody all of ten minutes to fix the glitch. Better yet, it appeared that he had identified what Angela was doing to cause the problem, which meant that if it happened again she—or Faith—wouldn’t have to try every possible option to make the wretched machine work.

Faith glanced at her watch. It was twenty-eight minutes after four. Wow, thanks to Cody Simpson she really was going to get away on time. There was a spring to her step as she retreated to her desk to log off her computer and lock up.

In the bullpen the female giggles were joined by a deeper male voice. Faith frowned. Was Cody Simpson flirting with the clerks? She went back to her task. If her staff wanted to flirt with Cody and he with them it was none of her business. It was four-thirty, quitting time. They were no longer her responsibility, any of them…

“Good. You haven’t left yet.”

Faith was so deep into her mental meandering that she shrieked and jumped up, knocking her chair, which wheeled away leaving her teetering precariously on the edge of falling on her backside. Cody leapt forward, caught her by the arm and steadied her.

“Thanks,” she said, a little breathlessly.

 “Sorry about that.” He spoiled the effect of the apology by frowning at her and adding, “I didn’t think I moved that quietly.”

Faith took a deep breath to steady herself. “I was going over what needed to be done and planning my day tomorrow. I tend to be pretty focused.” No way was she going to admit she’d been thinking about him.

He nodded, accepting her explanation. Not surprising, since he was known to concentrate on a project so intensely that he might not emerge for hours on end.

“I found the problem in Angela’s computer.”

“Oh?” Another thing she did not intended to tell Cody was that she, like the rest of the women in the office, had been watching him work. He had a big enough ego as it was.

“It’s a simple problem, operator generated.”

“So you’re saying that Angela causes the problem by something she does?”

“You’ve got it. What’s more, I think she does it intentionally.”

Faith was so astounded her jaw dropped. She couldn’t help it. “Angela? Angela who types correspondence for everyone in the office? Angela in the bullpen?”

He nodded.

Faith laughed. “Give it up, Cody! Angela is a timid little mouse who would never intentionally disrupt anything because she’d be too scared of making waves.” Faith had an uneasy memory of Angela propping up her doorframe, then later, leaning toward Cody, her hand on her thigh, her expression worshipful. That was an Angela she’d never seen before.

And didn’t expect to see again.

Cody had raised his brows. Perhaps he was visualizing the same behavior that Faith was. “Angela likes the attention she gets when her computer goes down. It breaks up the monotony, makes her day more interesting. Sue has been tracking her requests for assistance. Before Sue’s accident Angela was calling once a week, usually on a Friday, often just before lunch, but not always.” He stopped when Faith sucked in her breath. “Ah, I’ve hit a nerve.”

Now that he mentioned it, Angela would often say that her computer was down just before she took off for lunch. She even said it was terrific timing as it could be fixed while she was away from her desk. Sometimes she returned within her usual forty-five minutes, others she was a few minutes late. It wasn’t a big issue when her workstation was occupied by Sue Green and she’d only be standing around looking useless anyway.

Faith remembered Angela’s request just a half-an-hour before. Can I go home early? Anger began to replace shock. How long had Angela been playing her this way? True, when Sue was there the staff were encouraged to call her themselves, rather than go through Faith. That meant that Faith couldn’t be expected to know of every problem that occurred. But still, it was her job to manage the clerical and secretarial employees. In Angela’s case she had clearly failed.

“It’s harmless stuff,” Cody was saying. “I made a big deal of going into the code on her computer and messing around in it. She thinks that I’ve made it problem-proof so for a while there won’t be any more disasters. She’s pretty bright though. She’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“Great,” Faith muttered. “At least I’m on to her now.”

Cody rubbed his hand down her arm and Faith suddenly realized that he hadn’t moved since he’d valiantly kept her from falling on her behind. Not only hadn’t he moved, but he was standing so close that she could feel his body heat and smell the clean male scent of him. Her stomach knotted unexpectedly as her heartbeat sped up.

“I know your instinct is to pounce on the kid and send her packing,” he said, “but I think that would be a mistake.”

She looked up into his eyes. They were a warm, caring blue. For Angela? Or for Faith? “Why?”

Almost absently his hand slid down to hers and his thumb stroked small circles on the back of her hand. “I think she’s being under-utilized. She probably needs the job so she’s sticking it out, even though she’s bored. Find her something more challenging and I believe she would make an excellent employee.”

With Cody caressing her hand and smiling at her in a way that was entirely too enticing, Faith was ready to concede pretty much anything. She felt the same way she did when she’d had too much wine on an empty stomach. Giddy. Delighted with the world and everyone in it. Irresponsible. Above all she wanted those euphoric feelings to continue forever.

She pulled her hand away and stepped back. With feigned composure, she gathered her purse from her desk drawer, then locked it. That done she headed for the door, a clear and final dismissal to Cody Simpson. “I’ll monitor Angela for the next few weeks. Thanks for the heads up Cody.” She paused at the opening to her office so he could precede her into the now quiet bullpen.

He waited for her as she locked her door, clearly intending to walk out of the office with her. He was standing very close, making Faith feel as if she was off balance, not quite in control. She didn’t like the feeling. “It would have been nice if you and Sue had included me in the loop on Angela.”

He shot her a guarded look. “How so?”

“You could have shared your suspicions.” Faith heard the tension in her own voice. She took a deep breath as she struggled for control. Losing her temper with Cody Simpson hadn’t done her any good so far. “Had I known I could have checked on her from my end. As it is, what you’ve just told me has come as a complete surprise.”

“We had suspicions, with no evidence to support them!”

Faith could hear the frustration of the scientist in his voice. A hypothesis had to be made, data gathered and a theory formed before action could be taken. That was the way he’d been trained and even in matters of personnel he wasn’t prepared to toss away the method and go with his gut.

He was just like her father, grounded in a methodical world where everything had an explanation and nothing happened magically.

They reached the door to the outer office. After they exited Faith locked that door too. Then she stood with her back to it and surveyed Cody Simpson. “So why did you decide to say something now?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I discovered a pattern and once I’d found that, I analyzed it and drew a conclusion. It seemed to fit so I thought you ought to know about it. Like I said, I’ve dealt with my end of it. If you handle yours, I think Angela’s computer problems will be a thing of the past.”

He was standing in front of her, tall and strong and far too good-looking for a computer nerd. Agreement hovered on the tip of her tongue. Sure she’d handle it. Smile at me one more time and I’ll agree to anything. She slung her purse on her shoulder and said, “I’ll think about it. Right now I don’t feel too positive about Angela.”

His eyes searched her face, almost intimately. “I can understand that.” Then he grinned. “She’s a total pain. Smart people often are.”

Faith made a derogatory noise in her throat. Before she could stop herself the words slipped out. “You ought to know.”

For a moment he looked incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe she’d dare describe him that way, then he laughed. “Me?”

Yes, you! Faith wanted to reply. Instead she eased past him as she said, “I’ve got to get going. Thanks for coming down to troubleshoot this afternoon.”

He nodded and said, “No problem.”

Faith could feel his eyes on her until she’d pushed her way through the door out to the street. It was an unsettling feeling that put her on edge.

Damn the man!

* * * *

Cody Simpson had a way of getting under Faith’s skin. That last comment of his about Angela made her doubt herself and her ability to do her job to the top-notch standards she demanded of herself. Could he have been right about Angela? Was she being under-used in her current job? If Faith accepted that possibility, then why hadn’t she noticed it? Why hadn’t she provided Angela with something more challenging to test her abilities?

As she tossed and turned, trying without success to get to sleep, she finally admitted to herself that it wasn’t how well she was doing her job that was bothering her, it was how she appeared in Cody Simpson’s eyes that had her restless. She wanted to wow him and the only way she could think of doing that was to be the most efficient manager to have ever graced an office building.

But why should she want to wow him at all?

She couldn’t be attracted to him—she wouldn’t allow it. Sure he was great to look at, but she didn’t have relationships, especially with men schooled in the sciences. No, it must be something about his refusal to be part of the team. He was the outsider and she wanted to show him what he was missing. Sure, that was it. Simple. Now go to sleep!

The next day her mother breezed into the office as Faith was eating lunch at her desk. Faith shrieked and jumped up to hug her. “Mom, you’re back! You’re here. You’re safe!”

“Of course I am.” As the hug ended Chloe stepped back to observe her daughter. “Darling,” she said with her usual extravagance, “you look tired and worn out. Why are you sitting here munching when you ought to be at a nice restaurant taking a much needed break?”

“I’m backed up. I decided I’d work through my lunch so I could leave the office at a reasonable time.”

Chloe sat down rather gingerly on the small seat that served as Faith’s guest chair. “There are some benefits to living in the twenty-first century. Office furniture isn’t one of them.”

Making a decision, Faith packed up her lunch. Chloe had a way of drawing a crowd and Faith didn’t think she could handle listening to her mother chatting about her trip to Washington when anyone might drop in. “It’s a nice day outside…”

“So it is! It was raining when I left Washington.”

Faith eyed her doorway warily. “When did you get back, Mom?”

 “Last night.” Chloe leaned forward and lowered her voice in a conspiratorial way. “It was fascinating, Faith. Much more civilized than I expected, but appallingly brutal as well.” A look of contentment crossed Chloe’s face. “It was an amazing experience. Imagine being part of the Civil War! Experiencing what the people of the time did, but knowing, as they do not, what the outcome will be. I was hard put not to—”

“Mom, it’s such a beautiful day and I haven’t finished eating my lunch. There’s a park not too far away with a bench. Let’s go there and sit. You can tell me all about your—trip—while I eat.” And her stomach wouldn’t be in a knot because she was terrified someone might hear Chloe’s wacky-sounding conversation.

Chloe looked down at her fashionable suit and patted her newly styled blond hair. “A bench, you say.”

“I’ll bring paper towels for you to sit on. How does that sound?” Since Chloe dressed to suit the time period she was visiting, she liked to be thoroughly modern when she was in her own era. As soon as she returned she always paid a visit to her hairdresser, then went out and indulged herself by purchasing the most up-to-date, vivid clothes she could find. This time the outfit consisted of a vibrant red jacket, teamed with a brightly patterned skirt. The blouse she wore under the jacket was an eye-popping citron yellow.

“All right,” Chloe said, rising regally. “I still think you ought to be eating in a restaurant. What do you have left in your bag?”

“A half-a-ham sandwich, some cottage cheese and an apple. Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”

“There’s a vending machine in the lobby. We can raid it on our way out.”

The machine dispensed chips, cookies and pop. Faith and Chloe bought samples of each then proceeded to the park. They found a bench near a bed of roses and while they lazily shared their meal they watched the bees energetically hunt for pollen among the fragrant flowers.

“This is a very unhealthy lunch,” Chloe said, munching on a barbeque chip then dusting her fingers on one of the paper towels provided by Faith. “As a mother I should forbid you to eat such foods.” She consumed more chips. “I have to admit, though, that I love these things, junk food or not. I really miss them when I’m away.”

“Mom—”

Chloe swigged some pop from the can, then said, “I talked to Liz. She told me about the problems at NIT. Is Cody Simpson that sexy, dark-haired man we met at the elevator before I went away?”

“Yes. And don’t say anything about my package, Mom. There’s nothing between us beyond a lot of office-based conflict.”

Chloe looked seriously at Faith for a minute, then she smiled. “It’s a beginning.”

“No, it’s not! Listen, Mom, you don’t understand. It doesn’t matter if Cody Simpson likes me. Or more to the point, if I like him. I can’t get involved with a guy from the real world. Especially a guy like him.”

“What do you mean, ‘like him’?”

Faith stared at the ham sandwich in her hand. She had to swallow hard to keep self-indulgent tears at bay. “He comes from the same world Dad does. And Dad couldn’t accept us. He left us as soon as he was sure I was a Beacon. He dumped us, Mom, because we’re different. Because we’re weird.”

“He didn’t leave you, Faith. He left me. Don’t blame yourself for your father’s and my divorce, honey. We did that between the two of us.”

Faith stared down at the sandwich without seeing it. “I haven’t seen him in three years, Mom.”

“He travels a lot…”

“He visits Liz all the time!”

Chloe sighed. “Just because your father has a closed mind does not mean this young man, Cody Simpson, will be the same way.”

Faith smiled humorlessly. “The odds are pretty good.”

“Nonsense!” Chloe said. “You can’t judge a person on what someone else has done. Cody Simpson may be a generous, open, thoughtful individual who is entranced by your ability.”

“I can’t take that chance,” Faith said quietly. She bit into the sandwich, chewed without tasting. “Mom, I know you won’t understand, but…I want to stop being a Beacon.”

Chloe stared at Faith, saying nothing, her expression unreadable. She ate a chip slowly, apparently savoring the taste and texture, then she said, “It’s a God-given talent, Faith, honey. If you were not a Beacon, you wouldn’t be the person you are.”

Faith took another bite of her sandwich. “How do I do it, Mom?”

“Elizabeth would love to have the ability.”

Faith heard disappointment in her mother’s voice and responded to it with an aggression that surprised her. “I wish Liz was the one who was the Beacon! Then I wouldn’t feel as if I was caught between two competing worlds.”

“Ah,” Chloe said. “We’ve come to the cause of your feelings, I think. You’re in the wrong job, you know. You need to find something where you can make use of your talent, rather than having it lurking behind you like a burglar toting a gun.”

“The way you do, you mean? Going back into the past to experience history, then writing about it when you come back to your own time?”

Not only was Chloe Hamilton a tenured professor at the university, but she was considered to be one of the foremost experts on American history in the country. And in that other world, the one of time travel, Chloe Hamilton was just as formidable, for she was both a Traveler and a Beacon.

There was a faint smile in Chloe’s eyes as she nodded. “Something like that.”

“Can’t you understand? I don’t want to change my job. I like my job! I want to keep my job! That’s the problem. With Andrew popping in at least once a week I’m afraid he’ll somehow find out where I work and show up there. Poof! Suddenly there is a guy with long hair and ruffled shirtsleeves standing in my office. What do I do then?”

“You don’t worry about it,” Chloe said. She eyed her daughter. “You’re crossing your bridges before you come to them, Faith. Andrew doesn’t know where you work and he won’t unless you tell him. Right now he appears in your living room because it is located in what was once a copse of trees on his farm. It’s easy for him to get to you, so he does. He’s not likely to go hunting for your business location. Why should he, when he can see you on Friday evenings and bathe in a luxury that is sinfully self-indulgent in his own time?”

“You’re missing the point, Mom.”

“So explain it to me.” She finished the last of her chips and crumpled up the bag. Faith offered her what remained of her spicy corn chips, which Chloe took with a greedy pleasure. Faith bit into her apple.

While she chewed she tried to put her feelings into words. It wasn’t easy. “Mom, I find being a Beacon stressful. It interferes with my goals. You tell me I should open myself up to new experiences, that I need to allow myself to get close to a guy. How can I as long as I am a Beacon and I might have Uncle Andrew show up at any moment? If I am to have any kind of life, I need to stop being a Beacon. I want it to go away.”

Chloe finished the corn chips and added this bag to the first. She wiped the orange residue from her fingers as she said, “It won’t—go away I mean. To be a Beacon is a privilege that few people have. It is programmed into you at birth; it’s not a learned skill. You are a Beacon, Faith, just as your eyes are gray and your hair is blonde and you stand five-foot-nine inches tall. It’s part of you.”

“Mom —”

“Hello, Faith.”

Faith’s body jerked with tension and she looked up at Cody Simpson with terrified eyes. “Ah, hi Cody.” What was he doing here? And, oh my heavens, how much had he heard?

Well, the first one was easy to figure out. His long body was clad in runners, shorts and a t-shirt. A portable media player was attached to a black armband that peeked out from under a short sleeve. Clearly Cody was out jogging. He pulled his earbuds out as he spoke and swung them gently back and forth.

Though it was interesting to discover how Cody kept that excellent body of his toned and fit, Faith refused to be distracted by his appearance. She had to find out how much of her conversation with her mother he had heard.

She was staring up at him, trying to read his expression, when her mother cleared her throat and said, “We met once before, but I don’t think we were introduced. I’m Faith’s mother, Chloe Hamilton. And you are?”

Cody’s blue eyes slid from Faith to Chloe and he smiled.

Boy, did he smile. Cody Simpson’s smile could melt the polar ice cap, not that Faith was affected by it, but she could see that her mother was. Chloe was dimpling and—dear heaven! Was she flirting with him?

Cody laughed and introduced himself, apparently perfectly happy to have a woman old enough to be his mother make eyes at him. Faith glared at Chloe. Where had she learned that head tilted thing and looking up through her lashes? She had evidently picked up some very bad habits during her visit to the 1860s.

Still smiling, Cody looked over at Faith. “Hey, your mom is great, Faith. You should bring her to the picnic tomorrow.”

When pigs could fly.

“What picnic?” Chloe asked, all innocence.

“The company picnic, Mom. It’s for NIT employees only.”

“That’s the official word,” Cody said. “But I’m told lots of guys bring their wives and kids. It’s on a Saturday, which is family time, not company time. Ava the Oppressor ought to realize that when she makes an event a command performance.”

“Is Ava an oppressor?” Chloe asked, interested. “Faith’s sister, Elizabeth, calls her the Tyrant Lizard, but I thought that was because Liz is studying evolutionary biology and links all kinds of inefficient behavior to extinct creatures like the dinosaurs. Faith never confirms or denies.”

“She’s just trying her best, Mom.”

Cody laughed. “Ava the Tyrant Lizard. I’ll have to keep that in mind.” He shot a sideways look at Faith. “I think Faith is more tolerant than I am. I’m not happy with Ava at the moment. I don’t think she’s doing her job and, to be fair, she doesn’t think I’m doing mine.”

Heat flooded Faith’s cheeks as he eyed her. She moved her head, denying her reaction. Cody smiled.

He turned back to Chloe. “Faith is caught in the middle, I’m afraid. It’s not fair to her, but then there’s plenty of things Ava does that aren’t fair.”

“This is very interesting,” Chloe said, looking from Cody to her daughter. “It helps me understand some of the problems Faith and I were just discussing.”

“Mother!” Faith said loudly.

Chloe grinned mischievously. “My poor daughter would have a fit if I told you what we were talking about, so I won’t. I won’t come to the picnic either, though I can guarantee Faith will. She always does go to NIT functions.”

“Cody doesn’t care about what you and I were talking about,” Faith said, having finally gotten over the shock of meeting Cody Simpson here.

Cody’s brows shot up and he said, “I think that was a very broad hint that I’m not wanted. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Hamilton.”

“What a nice young man,” Chloe said, as both women watched Cody Simpson’s muscular form jog down the pathway.

“He’s a computer geek and he’s driving me crazy,” Faith said. “When Sue Green gets back from her medical leave, he’ll be out of my life. Forever.”

Chloe shot her a speculative look. “Think so?”

“Yes, and you’re crossing bridges that aren’t even there.”

Chloe laughed and didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Maybe. Maybe not.”