When a knock sounded at her door, she said, “Come on in,” without even knowing who bid entrance. It surprised her to see Jon come into the room. “Hey, Jon,” she said, barely glancing at him.
“All right. Tell me. How do you know it’s me so quickly?” He slipped into a chair in front of her desk and hooked his ankle on his knee.
“Umm,” she said, saving her work and turning to face him. “Sorry. What?”
“How do you know it’s me so quickly?”
“Because Ken would be in jeans.”
He lifted the collar of his suit coat. “And yet, I’m dressed like Brad.”
Her eyebrows came together. “Hardly.”
With a finger pointing at her, he laughed. “You know, lately, you group Ken and me together and make Brad his own separate entity.”
Thinking of Brad, she felt her pulse quicken and put her chin in her hands. “Brad is a separate entity,” she said in a dreamy voice with half a smile. “Why is that such a big deal?”
“Because, my friend, when we were in college, Ken convinced him to ask this woman on a date. She was this beautiful redhead whose name I cannot remember for the life of me. Anyway, we were at this party, and she cozied up to me. I told her I was Jon, not Brad. She asked me why that mattered.” His cheeks turned red and he cleared his throat. “Brad overheard her. I honestly don’t know if he’s ever dated again. If he has, he’s never talked about it.”
That surprised her. “You’re kidding, right? We’re 29.”
“Right. And he’s always had his sights set on one particular woman. Don’t think he’s ever actually been interested in anyone else. That fiery redhead’s attitude in college certainly drove that home.”
Flabbergasted, Valerie shook her head. “I honestly can’t fathom that.”
“Well, there it is.”
He settled more comfortably in his chair but made no apparent move to say anything else. This prompted her to ask, “Is there a particular reason you came in here?”
With his gray eyes lighting up in a smile, he said, “Honestly? No. Not really. I just had a suit on, and I wanted to see if you’d think I was my brother.”
Angry, she narrowed her eyes. “Well, in that case, you’ve had your fun. Now, leave me alone. I have so much work to do before a meeting in,” she glanced at the clock on her desk, “twenty-two minutes.”
With a laugh, he stood and walked out of her office. She scowled at the door before she turned back to her computer and went back to work.
It took her a couple minutes to fully get herself mentally back into the task at hand. She could only think of a redhead cozying up to Brad in the way Jon described. “Enough,” she said to herself, “it’s not like you weren’t cozying up to someone you shouldn’t be with.”
The pep talk helped her get her mind back on her job and she rushed through the plans until the alarm she’d set on her phone signaled that she had enough time to save the presentation to the office system and get to the conference room.
Due to the owner’s attendance in the meeting, it took place on the executive floor. She made sure everything saved properly, then grabbed her tablet to control the presentation and rushed to the elevators. When the doors opened, she felt a jolt of surprise to see Brad standing in the car. His eyes widened when he saw her.
“Hey,” he said warmly.
“Hey, yourself.” She could feel her smile literally stretching her cheek muscles. She quickly pushed the shut door button, hoping no one else would get into the elevator with them. “How are you?”
She intentionally stepped closer to him. The smell of his aftershave filled the whole car. Reaching out, she put a hand on his forearm. He let go of the car railing and turned his palm so he could grip her forearm like she gripped his. She wished he’d pull her closer, but he did not.
“I’m great,” he said softly, rubbing a thumb on her wrist. “You look really nice today. And you smell good.”
In reflex, she glanced down at her bright green pantsuit that she’d paired with a white top and a jade-green necklace. “Thanks.” She shifted her feet and looked at her white heels. “After Memorial Day. Your mom would approve of the white shoes.”
His smile softened his entire face. “Yes, she would.”
When the elevator dinged, he let go of her and straightened. “Is it too much to hope that you’re headed up to see me?” The doors silently slid open and they stepped out of the car. She saw the owner in the conference room, waiting on her with the head architect and structural engineer.
“Alas, I’m not. I’m headed into conference room one. But I can come see you after. Let you know how the meeting went.”
He smiled down at her and said, “That would be great. I’m going to need you to take your time and cover every detail of this meeting with me privately. Okay?” Instead of walking toward his office, he opened the conference room door for her and followed her inside. “Mr. Jordan, great to see you!”
