Savin' Me (9 page)

For the first time, she looked at Rusty
through the eyes of a woman, rather than an employee. With his
straight, black hair falling just above his shoulders, he fit the
bill of a free-spirited creative type. But his green eyes with
sparkling gold flecks and a dark ring surrounding the irises were
smart and sharp, those of a businessman. His looks were unusual and
exotic, and she could see where women would find him attractive.
Throw in his vibrant, outgoing personality, and he became
irresistible.

She, however, seemed to be into guys with
short, unmanageable hair with bright blue eyes that danced with
mischief.

“Kat,” Rusty said, holding her gaze steady,
“things are more laid back here than they were at Reynolds and
Ashbury. Of course, I want all the clients I can get. And I want to
do the best job possible for them. I’d love to go after some large
accounts and keep growing the business. But, I’m not into decorum
and rigidity.” He laughed. “Hell, if I didn’t date client contacts,
or women I met through work in some way, I’d be a lonely man.”

He tilted his head to the side and grew
serious. “My biggest concern with Erik is you getting hurt. He’s
not known for relationship stability.” He shrugged. “But if shit
hits the fan and I have to take over the account again, that’s what
I’ll do. It’s not a big deal. I want my employees to enjoy their
jobs and create the best advertising possible for our clients. I
also want them to be happy.”

He stood and smiled, his teeth a white slash
against his dark complexion. “I think you’d be good for Erik. It’s
obvious you’re already giving him fits and keeping him on his
toes.” He laughed and turned toward the door. “Keep up the good
work.”

Kat sat, stunned, watching Rusty’s retreating
back. He’d just given her permission to date Erik. Well, “date”
probably wasn’t the best word to describe a potential relationship
between them, but what did that mean exactly? Rusty didn’t mind if
she… whatever’d Erik, but could she afford the distraction?

The chirp of her cell phone interrupted her
thoughts. She picked it up, checked caller ID, and saw her
granddad’s number. Like a sign from heaven above, there was her
answer on caller ID. Regardless of Rusty’s policy, she couldn’t
afford to be scattered, like this morning. She had to remained
focused on her job, prove herself capable, and earn that VP
position.

A quick rap on the doorframe and a wave of
Seth’s aftershave wafting over her preceded his stealthy approach
into her office. He glanced back in the hallway like Super-sly
Seth, making sure he hadn’t been followed, then shut the door
behind him. “Hey, girlfriend.”

Kat figured, most mornings, Seth spent more
time on his perfectly kept blond hair than she did hers. This
morning, however, he looked like he’d hit it with a hand mixer. And
if she wasn’t mistaken, he was wearing the same clothes he’d worn
yesterday. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at both his
appearance and behavior and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What’s
going on?”

“I wanted to give you some information.” He
dropped into the chair Rusty had vacated and scrubbed both hands
through his hair. Ah, so that’s how he achieved the egg beater
look. He yawned, then rubbed his eyes and said, “I was working late
last night... Actually, I was here
all
night while you were,
according to Riverside’s grapevine, with Erik.” He sighed and
slumped further into the chair. “Paint me ten shades of green—”

“Damn.” Kat dropped her head into her hands
and groaned. “Is there no privacy in this town?”

“Um, no, not really.” As if just looking at
her for the first time today, he leaned in and squinted his eyes.
“You look like shit. You definitely don’t have the morning-after
glow I would have expected. Don’t tell me Erik’s skills have been
overstated.”

Ignoring the part about Erik or his skills,
she focused on the first half of Seth’s comment. “Have you looked
in a mirror this morning?”

“No, I really don’t want to know. But like I
said, I’ve worked all night. You, having spent the night with Erik…
in a situation that would’ve hopefully included a bed… Well, I
expected more from you.”

Kat shook her head and took a deep breath.
“Please tell me you didn’t come in here just to tell me how bad I
look.”

Seth shook his head and tsked. “My, my, my.
Aren’t we grumpy? Anyway, late last night I noticed the lights on
the phone blinking a lot. Like someone was making a call, hanging
up, then quickly dialing again. I came downstairs to investigate
and found Elise.”

He looked at her expectantly, like she should
prepare herself for something really, really significant. “She was
making calls to various people in the Charlotte area. Your moving
from a large agency, like Reynolds and Ashbury, to a smaller one,
like SMG, doesn’t make sense to her. She’s trying to find some kind
of dirt on you.” His gaze narrowed and focused on Kat’s. “Is there
dirt on you? If there is, she didn’t find it last night. But that
doesn’t mean she won’t keep looking.”

“Wow.” Kat sagged back in her chair, stunned.
It wasn’t Elise’s actions that surprised her; it was that no one
had thrown Kat under the bus. She would’ve thought one or two phone
calls would’ve netted Elise all the information she could have ever
hoped to find. The fact that it didn’t slightly raised Kat’s faith
in humanity. “I’m shocked.”

Seth snorted. “Why would you be surprised?
Elise is a snake. You had to know she would do something like
this.” He picked at his fingernail and the corner of his mouth
twitched. “I’m sure your seeing Erik only adds fuel to the
fire.”

“What? Why would Elise care that I’m seeing
Erik? I mean, I’m not. But if I were, why would it matter to
her?”

Seth’s face and shoulders dropped. “You
weren’t with Erik last night?”

“Grrr… Jesus, Seth, focus would you? Erik
helped me unpack after we got back from touring his plant. That’s
it; no big deal. Back to Elise. Why would she care if I was seeing
Erik?”

“Put it this way: if arranged marriages were
still customary, Elise and Erik would’ve been hitched at thirteen.
Their mothers have been best friends since they were little, and
from what I understand, they’ve always had the idea that Erik and
Elise would make the perfect couple. Elise wouldn’t mind a bit if
the parents succeeded in arranging that hookup, but Erik despises
Elise.” He grinned. “Any time he has to be with her, he jokes about
intravenously connecting a keg just to get through it."

Kat remembered Erik’s mutterings about that
when his father mentioned an upcoming dinner Erik needed to attend.
Picturing Erik and Elise together made the liquor-induced acid burn
in Kat’s stomach.

But what did it matter? She wasn’t seeing
Erik. And even if she was, he’d never be hers exclusively. She
grabbed a bottle of Tums from her desk drawer and prayed they were
faster acting than the worthless pain relievers she’d popped before
leaving home.

“Back to the dirt,” Seth said. “There’s
nothing for Elise to find? Everything’s copacetic?”

Kat laughed. There was plenty for Elise to
find. Fortunately, Kat had been completely honest with Rusty about
the events leading up to her departure from Reynolds and Ashbury,
and he was her only concern. “It’s all good, Seth. But thanks for
having my back. You’ve been a great friend, and I really appreciate
it.”

“Cool.” He stood to leave, then stopped. “Oh,
by the way, a bunch of us are going to The Office on Thursday
night. Plan on coming with us.”

Kat glanced around her office, then back to
Seth. “I don’t understand.”

“The Office. It’s a bar and grill where
Riverside’s business people hang out. After eight, it turns into a
meat market, but prior to that, it’s a great place to make
connections. Work connections.” He waggled his eyebrows. “After
eight, other connections can be made if you’re interested.”

“Ah.” Kat knew the kind of place. There had
been one in Charlotte, and it had pretty much been a requirement to
be seen there. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll definitely be
there.”

After Seth left, Kat sat her desk, seething.
Frustration, sexual and professional, was becoming a living,
breathing, destructive force within her. She needed an outlet, and
Elise made the perfect target.

Kat stood, then looked down at her
way-too-comfy feet. The tennis shoes she wore to work were great
for walking, but not so impressive when it came to bitch slapping.
She dug her trademark three-inch heels out of her bag, slipped them
on, then stomped across the lobby to Elise’s office.

Not bothering with the politesse of knocking,
she stormed in and slammed the door shut behind her. Elise’s head
snapped up so quickly, Kat hoped she’d given herself whiplash.

Planting her palms flat on Elise’s desk, Kat
said, “I hear you’ve been asking questions, looking for something
that might cause me problems.”

Elise’s eyes flared for a fraction of a
second, then narrowed. “It’s the strangest thing. For reasons I
can’t fathom, you’re well liked. No one would tell me anything.”
She smiled snidely. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something
there. No one as hungry and determined as you seem to be would have
willingly left Reynolds and Ashbury, especially for a small agency
like this.”

Black spots floated in front of Kat’s eyes,
and the only thing keeping her balanced as her blood pressure hit
an extreme spike was her palms rooted to Elise’s desk. That, and
her complete unwillingness to allow Elise to see just how badly
she’d affected her.

Kat forced her jaw to relax and through only
slightly clenched teeth said, “Rusty knows all the details
surrounding my departure from R&A. There’s nothing there, so
stay the hell out of my business.”

Without giving Elise an opportunity to
respond, Kat turned on her spiky heels and stormed back across the
lobby to her office, where she somehow managed to
not
slam
the door shut.

She took a deep breath, then slowly released
it.
Damn, that felt good.

As she rounded the corner of her desk, the
beep of her cell phone reminded her she had a voicemail from
Granddad. She flopped down in her chair and listened to the
message. “Hey, Katydid, it’s your granddad.” Like he needed to tell
her that. There wasn’t anyone else special enough to get away with
calling her a bug. “I thought maybe I could catch ya before ya got
to work this mornin’. I shoulda known ya’d already be there. I’m
jus’ checkin’ on ya, makin’ sure your gettin’ along all right. Call
me.”

She rolled her head back and stared at the
ceiling, hoping the tears pooling in her eyes evaporated before
spilling over and streaking mascara down her face. Leaving Granddad
had been the hardest part of moving, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever
get used to him being so far away.

She closed her eyes and imagined him sitting
on his porch, watchin’ the world go by, as he’d say. Granddad had
always worked hard, but he’d somehow found a way to balance work
and time off for fun. He and Erik were a lot alike in that regard.
Maybe someday she’d figure out that balance, too.

Right now, though, making her grandfather
proud was her driving force, and that meant taking time off wasn’t
an option.

His call, and the knowledge Elise was gunning
for her, were the kick in the ass she needed to get going despite
feeling like hell. An idea had been forming since yesterday
afternoon, and the more she thought about it, the more excited she
got. She’d always found cross promotion with clients to be
challenging and rewarding; throw in exposure and benefit for a
non-profit and the deal got even sweeter.

She cleared her desk, found a notepad, and
started jotting down the waterfall of ideas that had been flowing
since leaving Erik’s office. The morning rolled into afternoon and
then into early evening. She was considering calling Erik, to run
some of her ideas past him, when a knock sounded on her door.

Elise stood in the doorway, a plastic smile
splattered across her face. “I thought I’d show you how polite
society does it. We knock and then wait to be invited in.”

“You’ll grow old and very droopy waiting to
be invited in here. What do you want?”

Completely unfazed, Elise’s smile grew to
sugary sweet and sickening proportions. “I’m having dinner with
Erik this evening. I thought I’d see if I could help you out by
passing along any paperwork or messages you might have for
him.”

Kat barely managed to refrain from coughing
“Bullshit” into her hand. However, since Seth had given her the
inside scoop, and she’d heard Erik grumbling about the dinner, she
was able to keep things in perspective and see it for what it was…
Elise being a bitch. Again. Rather than taking the bait and getting
worked up as Elise had hoped, Kat gave a genuine smile and said,
“You can give him my condolences.”

Elise’s brow knitted in confusion. “I beg
your pardon.”

“He’s having dinner with you.” Kat paused,
giving Elise time to catch up. “Give him my condolences.”

As Elise huffed and stomped away, Kat
laughed. Maybe she’d send Erik a text, just to let him know she was
thinking about him.

She put her phone down.

Maybe she’d wait until later, when he was
with Elise.

Chapter
Six

Cautiously slipping in through his parents'
kitchen entrance, Erik turned the knob so the lock wouldn’t click
and shut the door as quietly as possible. It was a game that had
started years ago when, as a child, he’d sneak into the kitchen to
get extra snacks after school. In twenty-five years, he could count
on one hand the number of times he’d actually gotten in
unnoticed.

As luck would have it, tonight wasn’t one of
those nights.

Annabelle, his mother’s housekeeper, turned
from the stove to face him. Shaking her head and laughing, she
planted her hands on her voluptuous hips and said, “Child, your
mama’ll have a fit you comin’ in that side door instead of the
front like’s proper.”