yourself," Gracie said, "but let me know if you ever change your mind."
We finished our meal in companionable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. When we'd finished and I was cleaning up, I brought up something that had bothered me.
"Gracie," I said, "you know, you didn't seem all that surprised to hear about Sheila." I turned from the sink to look at her as she stood petting Tigger, who had jumped up on my counter. I shooed him off onto the floor.
"I suppose I'm not," she said. "Sheila had told me about a guy that kept requesting her from the service."
"She did?" I asked, trying to contain my excitement. If Gracie knew about him, she might know who he was.
"Yeah," she said, "but I don't know his name." My heart sank and she noticed my disappointment. "A lot of them don't even use their real names," she explained. "They're businessmen, political figures. They have a lot to lose if someone were to find out they'd used an escort service."
She thanked me for the meal and gave me a hug. Jotting down her number on a piece of paper, she handed it to me.
"Call me if you change your mind," she said before she left, and I didn't have to ask what she meant. Resolutely, I ignored the temptation of easy money. If it sounded too good to be true, I reasoned, it probably was.
The next day at work I avoided both Diane and Blane. I had no idea how I was supposed to act with him. My stomach tied itself in knots at the mere thought of going up to his floor. I took the chicken way out and called Clarice from my desk.
"What happened yesterday between you and Blane?" she demanded the minute I said hello. I thought frantically of the kiss in my car before realizing she hadn't meant that, but the scene in his office.
"We just had a slight disagreement," I said weakly.
"'Slight' my ass," she retorted. "I got grilled within an inch of my life about you after you ran out of here."
"What?!"
"Exactly," she said. "Blane wanted to know everything I knew about you, including what you and I had talked about yesterday."
"You mean my date with James tonight?"
"Yes. He wanted to know if you had been out with James before, if you had dated anyone else in the firm, just everything. I couldn't believe it!"
"What did you tell him?" I demanded.
"Well, I had to tell him the truth," she hedged. "He is my boss, after all. Don't worry, nothing bad, I was just so surprised that he wanted to know." Yeah, her and me both.
"Um, yes, Mr. Galloway, we do have those files you requested," I heard her say, and was briefly confused before I realized Blane must be within earshot.
"He's there, isn't he?" I hissed into the phone.
"Absolutely," she answered. "You're correct about that, sir." I grinned.
"Thanks for running interference for me, Clarice," I said. "He's the last person I want to see right now."
"I assume you mean me and not the aforementioned Mr. Galloway."
Crap! Blane must have taken the phone from Clarice. The jig was up. I grimaced and leaned over, banging my head lightly on the desk.
"I'd like you in my office, Kathleen," Blane continued. "You have three minutes." The line clicked. Hanging up, I took a deep breath. I could handle this. So we had kissed, so what? Lots of people did that all the time. It didn't mean anything. But that didn't explain why my heart was racing and butterflies were throwing a party in my stomach.
Nerves jangling, I took the elevator up to Blane's floor. I couldn't resist smoothing my hair in the reflection off the elevator door. Stepping off the elevator, I tugged nervously at the hem of the fuzzy sweater I wore today. It was a deep raspberry color and I thought it brought out the red in my hair. Not that I'd cared what I wore to the office. Okay, so maybe that wasn't precisely true, but I could pretend.
Clarice looked furtively at me as I walked by and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile on her face. I stuck my tongue out at her. Traitor.
I tapped lightly on Blane's open office door and he glanced up from
We finished our meal in companionable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. When we'd finished and I was cleaning up, I brought up something that had bothered me.
"Gracie," I said, "you know, you didn't seem all that surprised to hear about Sheila." I turned from the sink to look at her as she stood petting Tigger, who had jumped up on my counter. I shooed him off onto the floor.
"I suppose I'm not," she said. "Sheila had told me about a guy that kept requesting her from the service."
"She did?" I asked, trying to contain my excitement. If Gracie knew about him, she might know who he was.
"Yeah," she said, "but I don't know his name." My heart sank and she noticed my disappointment. "A lot of them don't even use their real names," she explained. "They're businessmen, political figures. They have a lot to lose if someone were to find out they'd used an escort service."
She thanked me for the meal and gave me a hug. Jotting down her number on a piece of paper, she handed it to me.
"Call me if you change your mind," she said before she left, and I didn't have to ask what she meant. Resolutely, I ignored the temptation of easy money. If it sounded too good to be true, I reasoned, it probably was.
The next day at work I avoided both Diane and Blane. I had no idea how I was supposed to act with him. My stomach tied itself in knots at the mere thought of going up to his floor. I took the chicken way out and called Clarice from my desk.
"What happened yesterday between you and Blane?" she demanded the minute I said hello. I thought frantically of the kiss in my car before realizing she hadn't meant that, but the scene in his office.
"We just had a slight disagreement," I said weakly.
"'Slight' my ass," she retorted. "I got grilled within an inch of my life about you after you ran out of here."
"What?!"
"Exactly," she said. "Blane wanted to know everything I knew about you, including what you and I had talked about yesterday."
"You mean my date with James tonight?"
"Yes. He wanted to know if you had been out with James before, if you had dated anyone else in the firm, just everything. I couldn't believe it!"
"What did you tell him?" I demanded.
"Well, I had to tell him the truth," she hedged. "He is my boss, after all. Don't worry, nothing bad, I was just so surprised that he wanted to know." Yeah, her and me both.
"Um, yes, Mr. Galloway, we do have those files you requested," I heard her say, and was briefly confused before I realized Blane must be within earshot.
"He's there, isn't he?" I hissed into the phone.
"Absolutely," she answered. "You're correct about that, sir." I grinned.
"Thanks for running interference for me, Clarice," I said. "He's the last person I want to see right now."
"I assume you mean me and not the aforementioned Mr. Galloway."
Crap! Blane must have taken the phone from Clarice. The jig was up. I grimaced and leaned over, banging my head lightly on the desk.
"I'd like you in my office, Kathleen," Blane continued. "You have three minutes." The line clicked. Hanging up, I took a deep breath. I could handle this. So we had kissed, so what? Lots of people did that all the time. It didn't mean anything. But that didn't explain why my heart was racing and butterflies were throwing a party in my stomach.
Nerves jangling, I took the elevator up to Blane's floor. I couldn't resist smoothing my hair in the reflection off the elevator door. Stepping off the elevator, I tugged nervously at the hem of the fuzzy sweater I wore today. It was a deep raspberry color and I thought it brought out the red in my hair. Not that I'd cared what I wore to the office. Okay, so maybe that wasn't precisely true, but I could pretend.
Clarice looked furtively at me as I walked by and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile on her face. I stuck my tongue out at her. Traitor.
I tapped lightly on Blane's open office door and he glanced up from
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