Love Is a Breeze (3 page)

CHAPTER Three

John Sharp unlocked the doors to his ten-year old Chicago advertising agency, thinking the day couldn’t possibly get any worse. After a weeklong business trip to Phoenix, his flight home the day before sat on the runway for two and a half hours in the relentless Arizona heat. This morning his coffee maker malfunctioned and spewed brown gunk all over his kitchen and his routine morning workout at his condo’s gym didn’t happen because of a broken water pipe. When the elevator in his office building inexplicably stopped at the twenty-first floor and refused to go any further, he walked the remaining eight floors to his office after working out in the first floor gym. He was surprised to find his private office door locked. Slipping his key into the lock, he pushed open the door. Singing came from the adjoining bathroom.

Great. I’m dripping in sweat and the cleaning crew is still here. I need a shower and a strong cup of coffee
. John didn’t like it when things disrupted his schedule.

He reached for the bathroom knob but paused when he heard the shower running and a female voice singing a bawdy Irish ditty. The cleaning crew isn’t Irish. He leaned against the opposite wall with arms folded across this chest, ankles crossed and waited.

                                                             * * * *

Brianna rinsed the shampoo from her hair and turned off the shower. She stepped out of the tiled enclosure, grabbed a towel from the stack on the shelf and quickly dried. Wrapping the towel around herself, she reached for another and opened the door. Bending over to secure the second towel around her head, she stepped into the narrow hallway. She collided with something. Her body froze. Her heart fell somewhere around her knees. This could not be good. She opened her eyes and slowly raised her head taking in the long legs, narrow hips, flat stomach, well-muscled chest beneath a Nike t-shirt and strong jaw before encountering the piercing gray eyes of her boss.

“I see you don’t do much better walking forward, Miss Ryan.”

She stared, dumbfounded, for a few seconds before her tongue bypassed her brain. “What are you doing here at this hour? You never come in before eight o’clock or after eight for that matter, always eight on the dot. Never–” She looked at her bare wrist.

“–seven,” he said, glancing at his watch. “I came in early to work out here because my gym was closed.” The deep, male voice sent shivers down her spine. “Why am I explaining anything to you? You’re the trespasser. Why are you here, in my office, in a towel?” His eyes sparked.

She backed toward the leather sofa, “My clothes are on the sofa,” she said, as if that explained everything.

Brianna stood still as she watched his eyes travel from her turbaned head to her vivid purple toenails. Fingers of warmth spread wherever his eyes lingered.

She crossed her arms over her chest partly to control the trembling that threatened to overtake her, mostly to keep the towel from slipping. “May I get dressed now? It’s rather cold in here,” she said.   His right eyebrow shot up but, otherwise he didn’t move.

“Get dressed in the bathroom and be quick about it. I can’t deal with a girl in a towel.”

“It’s steamy in there.”

He pinned her with a warning glare. “You have exactly five minutes,” he said, before walking out of the room.

John passed his secretary’s vacant desk and looked out the window at tiny cars rushing about on Michigan Avenue. The sun cast a golden trail as it rose across the rippling surface of Lake Michigan. He rubbed the back of his neck. His brain told him he should fire her but his heart, which normally wasn’t involved in business matters, said otherwise. Something about the girl intrigued him. There was a vulnerability about her despite her bravado. There was a whole lot of woman packed into that little body. He took a deep breath. Her scent reminded him of the strawberry shortcake his grandmother used to make. Her hair was even the color of strawberries – no, more like sun-dried tomatoes, mounds of wavy, sun-dried tomatoes falling on creamy white... Swiping his hand down his face, he shook his head, an effort to stop thinking like a hormone crazed teenager. Fortunately, no one would be here for another hour. He wanted to resolve this before any other employees arrived. 

John turned as a tall, elegant blonde, one of his ad executives, entered the reception area.

“This is taking Casual Friday to a whole new level.” She looked him up and down. “John, I—”

His private office door swung open and Brianna poked her head out. “You can come back in now,” she said.

He looked from one to the other.
Damn.
“I don’t have time to talk to you right now, Kaitlyn,”

The blonde’s ice blue eyes narrowed as she looked from one to the other before turning on her heel and stalking down the hall.

John turned back to the girl in his office. He brushed past her and stood beside his massive teak desk.

She tugged at the hem of her short skirt and fidgeted with the neck of her green cotton sweater. Simple flat shoes hid her purple nail polish.

Brianna smoothed her hair and squirmed under his scrutiny. He blinked.

“Please, be seated.” He indicated one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. The scent of strawberries hung in the air as she passed him and sat in the specified chair. He inhaled sharply and leaned against the corner of his desk, arms braced on either side of him.

“I hope you have a good explanation for this.”

“I usually take a shower at night but I lost track of time and was so tired I decided to get up early and do it. Anyway, you’re supposed to be in Phoenix.” He said ‘start talking’ not ‘engage brain.’

He looked at her. Her emerald green eyes never wavered from his. He liked that.

“Why were you taking a shower in my office at all?”

“It’s the only one on this floor,” she offered and noticed his eyes narrow and darken.

“Would you mind sitting down? I’m getting a kink in my neck looking up at you.” Brianna rubbed the back of her neck. From her vantage point he looked about seven feet tall but, since her nose had been level with his breastbone, he was, in reality, a little over a foot taller than her five-foot two. Six foot-three or four, solid muscle, long legs, great body… She reined in her thoughts when she met his piercing gray eyes. 

Their eyes locked for a second before John turned away. “I’d like the whole story before the rest of the employees show up and I’m in no mood for games or lies.” He moved around the desk and sat in the large leather chair. Picking up a pencil, he tapped it on the blotter.

Her hand went to her head as she attempted to smooth the unruly mass of curls and wished for something to keep it out of her face.

“You can call me Bree, that’s what my friends and my mum call me. Or Breeze, that’s what my dad calls me. I won’t go into what my brothers call me. And, I don’t lie.” She raised her head a notch.

“Breeze?” He put up his hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. I do want to know exactly why you were taking a shower here, anywhere, in this building. Is there no shower where you live, Miss Ryan?”

“Well, you see, there’s the problem. I don’t have a place to live at the moment.”

“Are you telling me you’re living here?” His tone rose half an octave, warning Brianna that his patience was wearing thin.

Brianna took a deep, calming breath.
Lord, control my tongue.

“I had to move out of my apartment last weekend. I have no money and nowhere to go, so, I’ve been sleeping on the sofa in the employee’s lounge.” She glanced up and gave him a small smile. “My parents still live in Ireland. Obviously, I can’t run to them. Not that I would because I’m an adult and can take care of myself.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I take it the break-up did not go well.”

“Not exactly as planned, no.” She went on, “The girls I know all live in small apartments with two or three roommates and besides, I wouldn’t want to intrude on them so here I am, not bothering anybody – until today, that is. ” She gave him another tiny smile. “Anyway...”

John listened as the Irish lilt of her voice became more pronounced. He focused on the movement of her full lips and the way freckles danced on her upturned nose and spilled across her cheekbones. His eyes dropped lower when she paused for a deep breath before going on with her explanation. He raised his eyes back to hers.

“... Really, you wouldn’t even have known I was here if you’d kept to your routine.”

He realized she had stopped talking when she finally took another breath and licked her upper lip.

“Is there really no one you could stay with?”

“I stayed with Carly and her new husband for the weekend but they only have a studio and it was – awkward.” She glanced at him.

“Yes, I can see how that would be an uncomfortable situation but—”

Brianna turned away from his gaze and studied the painting on the wall. She forced her eyes back to him. “May I go now? I have a lot of work to do.”

“Just like that, you have ‘work to do.’ Doesn’t any of this seem odd to you?”

“Well, yes. I admit it’s a wee bit odd.”

He laughed out loud, a deep rich sound. “A wee bit?”

Warmth rushed to her cheeks. “Okay, a lot odd, but I really had no choice.” Her gaze fell to her hands folded in her lap.

“There are always choices, Miss Ryan.”

“Ah, yes. I had so many choices.” She raised her head and looked directly into his eyes. “It’s warmer and safer here than on a park bench, cleaner and quieter than the bus depot and it has a shower.” In one fluid movement she rose, turned on her heel and walked out of his office.

“Why can’t I learn to think before I speak,” Brianna scolded herself. If anyone offered lessons in tongue control she vowed to be first in line. She made her way to the employees lounge on shaky legs. Carly, thankfully, was alone.

Collapsing onto the sofa, she rested her head on the arm and covered her eyes with her forearm.

“You will not believe what just happened.”

“What?” Carly looked at Bree’s reflection in the mirror. She stopped, mascara wand in midair and turned. “Oh, no! You got caught, didn’t you?”

Brianna nodded beneath her arm.

“The cleaning crew?” Carly asked.

Brianna shook her head. She’d managed to avoid the cleaning crew, which wasn’t that difficult. They had iPods stuck in their ears and bopped around with their eyes closed.

“Miss Davis?”

Brianna sat up. “Mr. Sharp.”

Carly’s jaw dropped, her blue eyes widened. “Oh. My. God! Come on, out with it. What did he say? Did he fire you? I’ve heard he can be fair. Of course, I’ve also heard he can be hard as granite. They don’t call him Sharp the Shark for nothing, you know. How’d he catch you?”

“I sort of bumped into him as I came out of his bathroom.”

Carly sat down next to her while Brianna told her the details. Carly buried her face in her hands but her shaking shoulders gave away her uncontrolled laughter.

“It’s not funny, Carly. I’m probably going to lose my job. That’s just what I need right now. Eric takes off with all my money and I lose my job.”

“I’m surprised the shark didn’t fire you on the spot,” Carly said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I didn’t give him a chance. I had to make a hasty exit before I threw up all over his big, shiny desk.”

Carly flung a comforting arm across Bree’s shoulders as they left the lounge and walked to their cubicles.

“Not a word of this to anyone. Promise?”

Carly gave her an evil grin.

“Carly!” Brianna warned.

“Oh, okay. But I have to tell Rob.”

She might as well get some work done while waiting for the ax to fall. She hated losing this job. It fulfilled her creative spirit and paid the rent, or would if she had rent to pay. 

She worked on drawings for an ad campaign for the Illinois Wildlife Preserve, a project she poured her heart into. Painting nature scenes was her true passion.

She didn’t realize how much time had passed until Carly peered over the wall separating their cubicles. “Come on. I’ll buy you lunch. You need a change of scenery.”

“That I do!” Brianna said, although she was certain her scenery was going to change soon anyway.

“Emily and Liv are coming, too”

“Fine. But not a word about this to them,” Brianna repeated her warning. Emily and Liv were co-captains of the inter-departmental gossip team, one might even consider them gold medalists.

Preferring to concentrate on eating, Brianna remained quiet during lunch. She hadn’t had time to eat the muffin Carly brought her for breakfast. No one noticed her silence because Emily and Liv were eagerly filling them in on all the latest gossip. Brianna barely listened until the name “Kaitlyn” caught her attention.

“I think they’re perfect for each other,” Liv said. “He’s a shark and she’s a shark hunter.”

“Who?” Brianna asked.