The Good Luck Charm (The Good Luck Series) (9 page)

She didn’t want to spend another Friday night at home alone.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
was showing at the Tennessee Theater tonight and she’d be there.

She deserved the treat. Work this week had been grueling; perhaps a little more so since both Mr. Jacksons were watching her closely. 

Slamming the car door, she put Duke in his lot and unfastened the leash from his collar.

When she walked into the house, a chill ran down her spine and she felt the gris-gris grow cold. Without thinking, she touched the amulet and rubbed it with her fingers to warm it, but that didn’t work. The gris-gris had a mind of its own.

Keely tried to ignore the cold of the amulet. She showered and dried her hair, but the stone did not warm.

To take her mind off of it, she dressed in a straight-line black dress similar to the Givenchy Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie. She also put her hair up in a chignon and carried a sheer black scarf in lieu of a hat. By the time she left the house, she had almost forgotten the tell-tale sign of the gris-gris.

The crowd at the Tennessee Theater was off so she had her pick of seats in the balcony. She settled in the center, near the front, and waited for the film to begin.

Darren walked into the darkened theater moments before the film started, hoping Keely would be there. He’d purposely avoided the lake this week, but sitting at home tonight had gotten to him. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. How beautiful she’d looked last Friday night for their date. How she’d talked about loving
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
. 

Previews of upcoming summer features showed on the big screen as he settled into an empty row in the balcony, the best place to watch a movie. He spotted a female sitting alone two rows ahead. Something about her looked familiar, and made him think of Keely. Perhaps the way she tilted her head. He had the urge to move closer, but
Moon River
began playing and the opening credits rolled.

Laughing at Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi fuming over Holly Golightly’s constant buzzing his apartment, Darren heard a familiar giggle.

Keely?

Glancing around the darkened theater, he tried to make out the faces of every female nearby. But none resembled the face he searched for.

A few scenes later when Mag Wildwood fell like a tree, he heard Keely’s laugh again. Paying closer attention to the direction the sound came from, he realized Keely was the lone figure two rows ahead of him.

Again, he wanted to move closer but hesitated unsure how she’d react to him joining her. Instead, he spent the rest of the film watching her reaction and longing to have her beside him. When the houselights came up, Darren didn’t know whether he should get up and leave quickly or hang around, letting Keely spot him.

Her face glowed, evidence that she’d enjoyed the film. However, the moment she laid eyes on him all joy drained from her features and annoyance replaced it.

“What are you doing here?”

“The same as you.”

She crossed her arms and a black scarf dangled near her elbow. “You came here alone to watch
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
? I find that hard to believe. Did you enjoy it?”

“I know you did.”

His statement caught her off guard. He watched her shift her weight from one foot to the other before speaking again.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to leave.”

“Retreating won’t solve anything.” His words stopped her in her tracks.

She swung around and he was glad for the space between them. The look in her eyes told him he didn’t want to mess with her tonight. But that didn’t stop him from speaking.

“Look, Keely, I know you’re angry. You have every right. If I were in your position I’d be livid. All I ask is for you to give me the chance to explain why I didn’t tell you right away that I was Jama Wright’s brother.”

She swallowed and tapped her foot. “You mean you’ll tell me why you lied? I’ll give you two minutes.”

Not long, but he’d make use of every second.

He took a deep breath, and closed the space between them. “I didn’t know who you were at first, not until Litton’s as you’ve figured out. And I could have told you then, but we were just getting to know each other. I really didn’t want to risk you walking out on me, especially since it had taken some doing to get you to say yes to dinner in the first place.”

“And telling you I was going to come clean last Friday after our date will no doubt sound like a good story, but it’s true. I was going to. I knew keeping my identity a secret could backfire. Which it did.

“I had other opportunities, sure, but I still didn’t know if you’d believe me when I said I wanted to get to know
you
because I like you, not because you work for Jackson and Jackson. I like you Keely Jones. I like you.”

Keely listened to him speak, feeling her heart beat faster and faster with each word. Moisture threatened to spill forth from her eyes when he said he liked her. Could she honestly believe him? Deep inside she wanted to, but words were words. He could easily be trying to ease his guilty conscience.

“Do you realize what position you put me in at work by not telling me who you were? You lied by omission and it made me look incompetent. I’ve lost credibility with my employer. I’m being watched because they don’t trust me. Edward believes I lost the McDaniel account on purpose.”

Darren nodded. “For that I’m truly sorry. You were totally caught off guard. I know the rumors have been brutal.”

Keely blinked, taking a deep breath. “The rumors have been bad, but losing my boss’s confidence is worse, Darren. Any promotion I might have received is now beyond my grasp.”

“I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I truly mean it.”

She could see the sincerity in his blue eyes. Still, one other thing nagged at her. “Did you put Jama up to calling me?”

“What?”

“Jama called me. Wanted to have lunch. Obviously from your reaction, you knew nothing about this.”

“No. I didn’t know.”

She nodded, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Do you forgive me, Keely? Will you still at least be my…friend?”

A pregnant silence fell between them. She wasn’t in a forgiving mood at the moment. She couldn’t forget what he’d done. “I don’t know if we can be friends, Darren, without our relationship causing a problem for others. We work for competing agencies.”

“I know Jama doesn’t have a problem with me seeing you.”

“Why would she? I can be a valuable asset to Wright and Associates. And that is where Jackson and Jackson would object to our relationship. It could get sticky.”

“Then leave them and come to work for Wright and Associates.”

Keely laughed, but stopped when he didn’t crack a smile. “You can’t be serious?”

“I’m dead serious.”

She shook her head, turned and walked down the stairs from the balcony.

“At least give it some thought,” he called, running to catch up with her once they reached the atrium. “I don’t want this to be the end.”

Outside the theater, she stopped and studied him. She didn’t want this to be the end for them either, but she couldn’t risk her job. She had to support herself. She didn’t have the luxury of relying on family.
Or a husband
. That thought weighed heavy on her mind for a moment and she regretted even thinking  it.

Taking a deep breath she shook her head. “I’ve worked hard to build a career with Jackson and Jackson. Why would I want to leave?”

To be with me
was on the tip of his tongue, but instead he said, “Jama would never make you work with a client like Prescott just to keep his business. She cares more for her executives than that.”

For an instant, she looked shocked that he knew about her dealing with Prescott. Seeing the struggle in her eyes, he decided to cut his losses while he still could.

“You take care, Keely Jones.”

She swallowed and nodded. “You too, Darren.”

She turned and as he watched her walk away, a lump formed in his throat making it difficult to swallow. His chest tightened almost as if a hand had reached into his soul and clenched his heart for the second time in a week. Damn, but this wasn’t the way things should have turned out.

Keely worried for the next two weeks over her decision not to pursue a friendship with Darren. Every time she thought she’d convinced herself she’d made the right choice, she’d think up a counter point and question her reasoning all over again. Or the gris-gris would turn freezing cold against her chest, driving her crazy.

She tried calling Lucinda in New York, but she couldn’t reach the woman after her speedy tour of Europe. Lucinda had promised to call when she got back in the U.S., but hadn’t. Keely hoped that didn’t mean anything was wrong. She didn’t think she could handle losing Lucinda too.

Finishing her jog with Duke, Keely turned quickly hearing a whistle. Looking up, she saw Darren squatting down, calling to the dog. Duke glanced sideways at her with woeful eyes as if he were asking permission.

“Go ahead,” she relented, taking off his leash. She swatted him on the hindquarters and he lumbered across the green space, picking up speed.

“So you miss him too?” she said softly to herself as she watched the dog lick Darren on the cheek. Her voice caught in her throat and her eyes began to sting. She turned away, unable to watch them any longer.

Blinking, she forced the tears to stay away. She’d become so emotional lately she didn’t understand it. Her stress level had lowered. Things at work had improved. Prescott had heard about her dating the competition and decided she was a risk, so he’d requested to work solely with Edward and Tate. If another client had done this she’d be upset, but it had been a relief to all of them. She just hoped she’d be able to regain her employers’ trust in time.

Getting a bottle of water out of her car, she leaned against the side and watched Darren get reacquainted with the dog. Duke flopped down, rolled onto his side and stuck his legs up in the air, anticipating a tummy rub. His tail thumped the ground.

Keely took a long swallow of the cold water, not taking her eyes off of Darren. He looked good in his shorts and snug fitting t-shirt. Her pulse still raced from her workout, but his nearness prolonged the tempo.

Why can’t you go out with him? Jackson and Jackson never said you couldn’t have a personal life. No, but they didn’t want their employees getting cozy with the competition either.

She couldn’t risk it. Not now. Her career had already taken a dangerous spiral. If anything else were to happen, her name would be synonymous with Mud.

Besides, Darren had kept his identity a secret. He’d basically lied to her. She’d walked into that one blindly. How could she ever trust him to be honest with her? If he lied once, he could do it again. A second time and it would be shame on her.

UGH!
All this mental anguish was getting her nowhere. She finished her water and tossed the plastic bottle in a nearby recycling bin.

Darren stood and headed in her direction with Duke following along beside him.

She groaned, trying to smile. She wasn’t sure she was ready for a conversation with him.

“Hi, Keely.”

“Hey. How’re you doing?” She mentally gave herself a high-five for sounding chipper.

“I’m good,” he said. “Duke looks well. So do you.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“How are things at work?” he asked, sounding hesitant.

“Better actually. And for you?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

Uncomfortable with the chitchat nature of the conversation, Keely pushed away from the car and opened the back door. Duke scooted behind Darren.

“Would you look at him,” she said.

Darren glanced down and grinned. “It looks like he doesn’t want to go home.”

“I know. Cantankerous dog. I’ve had more trouble out of him the last few weeks.”

“Really?”

Keely nodded, hearing the sound of hopefulness in his voice.

“Maybe you need to do something about it.”

She looked him in the eye. “Like what?”

“Give me a chance, Keely. I won’t hurt you again. I promise.”

“You can’t promise me that, Darren.”

He shoved his hands in his short’s pocket and rocked back and forth on his heels. “Okay. Then let me say I will
try
not to hurt you again.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. There’s too much at risk.”

“Like what?”

“My career, Darren. I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at for my age. It’s harder for women to succeed than men, and you should know that. Look at what Jama’s accomplished. And she’s made sacrifices too, hasn’t she? Everyone in the industry knows what Ted Hamilton did to her agency when he left. She’s struggled and survived. She’s got moxie.”

He nodded. “But it’s what she’s wanted most out of life.”