paused. “One moment, please.” Lois put the call on hold. “It’s Jennifer.”
At the mention of his ex-wife, a light frown scampered across Chaz’s face. He’d just seen her yesterday, when he dropped off their children. What does she want now? He nodded curtly at Lois, who gave him the phone.
Soon, Chaz’s one-sided conversation was drowned out by Lois’s thoughts. It could be Jennifer who sent it. Everybody knows she’s still in love with him. Lois had never cared for Chaz’s ex-wife, and never bought the demure persona Jennifer tried to convey. She knew the truth: that at one time Jennifer Lawton Covington had been a “hostess” at a gentlemen’s club. That’s how she’d met Chaz. Lois believed that “ho” may have been a more accurate description, even though, being the church-going person that she was, she tried not to judge. Chaz’s second line began blinking, and Lois hurried to her desk to answer the call.
“Elizabeth Stein for Chaz Covington,” Liz’s assistant chirped into the phone.
“Hi, Melanie,” Lois answered, rolling her eyes. Elizabeth Owens Stein was the pampered and prideful daughter of Chicago real estate mogul Kenneth Owens. Stunningly beautiful, with bountiful blonde hair, turquoise blue eyes, and a model’s physique, she and Chaz had met at a charity event a year ago. She’d been trying to make herself a permanent fixture in his life ever since. “Mr. Covington is on the other line.”
“Hold on a moment.” After Melanie relayed this information to her boss, Elizabeth came on the line.
“Tell him it’s me,” Elizabeth said with authority.
I’d rather not. “Hello, Mrs. Stein.” Lois almost choked on the respectful greeting. “Mr. Covington is on an important call at the moment. Is there some way I can help you, or a message I can relay?”
“Look, you simpleton, the only thing you can do for me is get your boss on the phone. Now!”
“If you can wait one moment, Mrs. . . .” The sound of a click in her ear told Lois that Elizabeth had hung up the phone. Lois rushed back into Chaz’s office, sure that his cell phone would ring within seconds. She was right.
“Jen, I need to run.” Chaz ended the call on the office line and reached for his cell at the same time. He looked at the number, waited a beat, and then answered. “Hey, beautiful.”
Lois almost flinched at hearing the endearment. That’s why you’re always knee-deep in women problems, Mr. Covington. You’re a big flirt! Chaz routinely addressed women as “beautiful,” “lovely,” “gorgeous,” and with other terms of endearment. From another man, these words might be considered chauvinistic, inappropriate for the workplace. But from Chaz, they were embraced as the highest form of flattery.
“She spoke correctly, Liz. I am on a call, and have a conference call starting in ten minutes. Lois is just doing her job, trying to keep me on track.” Chaz winked at Lois, who quickly averted her eyes. “No, it’s busy all day, but I’ll call you back if I get a minute.
“Another Monday, another round of madness,” Chaz continued when he got off the phone. “Look, finish going through my e-mails and let me know if there’s anything urgent. Oh, I probably should tell you that I just deleted a rather provocative one. It was probably an isolated incident, but I’m aware of your religious convictions and felt you should be forewarned. If you run across another one, just delete it.”
“Some women have no shame,” Lois said softly. “I’ll promptly delete every single one of them.”
“On second thought, you might want to save them in a folder. Like I said, it’s probably nothing, but on the other hand, this could be a potential stalker.”
Lois’s eyes widened.
“Just kidding, Lois. About the stalker, that is. But if these e-mails turn into a form of harassment, I’ll want to have kept track of the evidence.”
Lois hesitated, wondering if she should tell Chaz about the
At the mention of his ex-wife, a light frown scampered across Chaz’s face. He’d just seen her yesterday, when he dropped off their children. What does she want now? He nodded curtly at Lois, who gave him the phone.
Soon, Chaz’s one-sided conversation was drowned out by Lois’s thoughts. It could be Jennifer who sent it. Everybody knows she’s still in love with him. Lois had never cared for Chaz’s ex-wife, and never bought the demure persona Jennifer tried to convey. She knew the truth: that at one time Jennifer Lawton Covington had been a “hostess” at a gentlemen’s club. That’s how she’d met Chaz. Lois believed that “ho” may have been a more accurate description, even though, being the church-going person that she was, she tried not to judge. Chaz’s second line began blinking, and Lois hurried to her desk to answer the call.
“Elizabeth Stein for Chaz Covington,” Liz’s assistant chirped into the phone.
“Hi, Melanie,” Lois answered, rolling her eyes. Elizabeth Owens Stein was the pampered and prideful daughter of Chicago real estate mogul Kenneth Owens. Stunningly beautiful, with bountiful blonde hair, turquoise blue eyes, and a model’s physique, she and Chaz had met at a charity event a year ago. She’d been trying to make herself a permanent fixture in his life ever since. “Mr. Covington is on the other line.”
“Hold on a moment.” After Melanie relayed this information to her boss, Elizabeth came on the line.
“Tell him it’s me,” Elizabeth said with authority.
I’d rather not. “Hello, Mrs. Stein.” Lois almost choked on the respectful greeting. “Mr. Covington is on an important call at the moment. Is there some way I can help you, or a message I can relay?”
“Look, you simpleton, the only thing you can do for me is get your boss on the phone. Now!”
“If you can wait one moment, Mrs. . . .” The sound of a click in her ear told Lois that Elizabeth had hung up the phone. Lois rushed back into Chaz’s office, sure that his cell phone would ring within seconds. She was right.
“Jen, I need to run.” Chaz ended the call on the office line and reached for his cell at the same time. He looked at the number, waited a beat, and then answered. “Hey, beautiful.”
Lois almost flinched at hearing the endearment. That’s why you’re always knee-deep in women problems, Mr. Covington. You’re a big flirt! Chaz routinely addressed women as “beautiful,” “lovely,” “gorgeous,” and with other terms of endearment. From another man, these words might be considered chauvinistic, inappropriate for the workplace. But from Chaz, they were embraced as the highest form of flattery.
“She spoke correctly, Liz. I am on a call, and have a conference call starting in ten minutes. Lois is just doing her job, trying to keep me on track.” Chaz winked at Lois, who quickly averted her eyes. “No, it’s busy all day, but I’ll call you back if I get a minute.
“Another Monday, another round of madness,” Chaz continued when he got off the phone. “Look, finish going through my e-mails and let me know if there’s anything urgent. Oh, I probably should tell you that I just deleted a rather provocative one. It was probably an isolated incident, but I’m aware of your religious convictions and felt you should be forewarned. If you run across another one, just delete it.”
“Some women have no shame,” Lois said softly. “I’ll promptly delete every single one of them.”
“On second thought, you might want to save them in a folder. Like I said, it’s probably nothing, but on the other hand, this could be a potential stalker.”
Lois’s eyes widened.
“Just kidding, Lois. About the stalker, that is. But if these e-mails turn into a form of harassment, I’ll want to have kept track of the evidence.”
Lois hesitated, wondering if she should tell Chaz about the
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