Where She Belongs (20 page)

“
Really?
Will that be happening soon? I really liked working with Trenton. He
was way more patient with than the guy at my dad’s office.”

“
Maybe.
But I promise we’ll keep you in mind Kendall.”

“
Okay,
great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“
Hold
on, you need my e-mail address.” Shanna waited while the girl
got a paper and pen.

Shanna
buzzed Trenton after she got off the phone. “Yes,” he
said.

“
Kendall
Cooper called. She’s e-mailing me her resume so you can go over
it like you said you would.”

Trenton
groaned. “Oh, right. She had a few jobs at her dad’s
company, but everyone she worked with complained.”

“
Another
case of being spoiled all her life and the real world is a shocker?”

“
Yes.
She’s a sweet girl, but lacks real world skills.”

“
So,
how did you manage the entire week with her?”

“
Voice
mail and a lot of deep breathing. She does okay with answering the
phone, but she forgets to bring me the messages. She forgot her
computer password twice. With some tutoring and Post-its, she could
make a decent assistant. Of course, I learned no one compares to
you.”

Shanna
smiled. “Thanks. When I get the e-mail I’ll print it and
start suggesting changes.”

“
Thanks,
babe. I’m struggling with this report today in here. I think
I’ll go get some coffee and stretch my legs.”

He
smiled at her on the way by, but didn’t stop.

Shanna’s
cell phone beeped as she checked her e-mail for Kendall’s
resume, which had arrived without an attachment. She sent a reply,
then reached for her phone.

Gabe.
Her heart clenched. She missed their daily talks.
We signed the
finals on the contract today. You did an amazing job. Miss you.

She
texted back, one eye on the door.
That’s exciting. Work is
going well here.

She
went back to the file she was working on before the Kendall and Gabe
interruptions. Her e-mail and phone beeped.

Gabe
first.
That’s good. We are busy. I’m busy.
Too
busy to think of her? It seemed not.

She
tapped back a reply.
That’s good. If you are busy, Dad is
staying out of the office, I hear. Things are much slower for me back
here.

The
door started opening and she shoved her phone into a desk drawer and
opened her e-mail. Trenton came back and placed a mug on her desk.
“There you go, one herbal tea for you.”

“
Thank
you, that’s sweet.” She grabbed the mug. “Kendall
forgot to attach her resume on the first e-mail, but it’s
arrived now.”

Trenton
smiled. “You are the expert on grammar and spelling, so if you
could give it a glance over for me... I’m still e-mailing back
and forth with that guy from DomPlanet.”

“
Marty.”
She’d talked to him on the phone a few times. Once, when
Trenton was out of the office, she asked him about his company and
idea. He had a solid product, but it was still risky to back a
start-up. Banks weren’t lending, and investors were hard to
come by. If she were in charge of the money, she’d back them,
but she didn’t have access to capital.

“
Right.
I really don’t think Dad wants to get involved with such a
small company. But he’s refusing to take my no.”

“
It’s
a good product. You could let Marty make up a pitch, pass it on to
your dad and let him decide on his own.”

“
And
if Dad does invest, everyone will look at it like he’s
investing in his son’s friend’s company and only did it
‘cause I know the guy.” Marty had grasped at straws in
the first place, contacting Trenton. They’d had a couple of
classes together, but when you start a small business in need of
cash, you grasp every straw you can.

“
Then
tell Marty no, and ignore the rest of your e-mails from him.”

“
Probably
the better thing to do. Dad is stressed with things lately, and I
don’t want to put one more thing on his plate.”

Trenton
patted her hand absently then went back into his office. Shanna shook
her head and returned to Kendall’s resume. Sure, she didn’t
have anything better to do. Okay, a quick glance at the file and she
changed the text color to black. What had she gotten herself into
here?

*
* *

Shanna
sighed as she flopped on the sofa. She grabbed the popcorn off the
table and hit play on the movie. “I’m starting,”
she called.

Trenton
came into the room wearing sweatpants. It was so out of character to
his usual dress code, that it made him look sexier.

She
grinned at him and tugged the flannel garment. “I love when you
wear these. So hot to see you relaxed.”

He
glanced up from his Blackberry. “If you think I look hot in
these, wait 'til we veg out and watch the movie.” He looked
back down and continued pressing buttons. “I have a few more
messages to send.”

She
laughed. “Come on, finish up. I turned my phone off. It’s
Friday night. I want to relax tonight.”

“
I
know. Two people called us old and married for not going out tonight.
They have no idea what hell this week hath wrought on us.”

“
I
know. Carmen messaged me as well and said the same thing. I don’t
care. I want to watch this movie then seduce you.”

“
Yeah?”
Trenton said, barely looking up from his phone. “Okay. Last
one, then I will shut it off.”

She
hit play and turned her attention to the TV. When he pushed his phone
across the coffee table, she snuggled up to him and put the popcorn
on his lap. The next two hours were dedicated to superheroes and the
imminent destruction of the Earth.

The
credits rolled and they came out of their stupor. “What did you
think?” she asked, stretching her arms.

Trenton
stifled a yawn. “It had its moments.”

“
I
was only in it for the spandex.”

“
So,
I should get some tighter fitting pants?”

“
No,
I told you, I love the sweats.” She leaned over and caressed
his cheek, rough with the need to shave. She moved closer for a kiss.
He kissed her back, his hand resting on her lower back, instead of
slipping under her shirt. Then she recalled, she was going to seduce
him, and he was waiting for her to make the first move.

She
slid her hands toward the bottom of her shirt. Trenton pulled away
from the kiss and grabbed her hands. “Something wrong?”
she asked.

“
No.
Well yeah. I’m more tired and stressed than I thought. I hoped
the movie would help, but... I’m sorry, babe. I need a rain
check.”

“
Oh,
okay. No problem, sweetie. I can wait.” Except they hadn’t
had sex since before her dad’s heart attack. Even for Trenton
that was slow.

He
kissed her gently. “Thank you. Think I’ll hit the
sheets.”

“
I’m
gonna stay up a bit more.”

“
And
do what?”

“
I
dunno read, check Facebook, work.”

He
dropped next to her. “You’ve been restless since coming
back from Alberta.”

“
No,
I’m fine.”

“
No.
Being my assistant isn’t fulfilling you. You got a taste of
directing your day and I’m boring.”

“
You
are not. But sometimes I would like a challenge. I studied four years
of marketing. I thought it might be the right time to move to that
department. Acquisitions and numbers isn’t my thing.”

Trenton
stood. “I hate it, but I think it’s time for you to fly.
Apply to marketing. Beef up your resume now and send it off. I can
get Dad to put in a word.”

“
No,
don’t. I want to get a job on my own merits. I want my work to
be on my own merits as well.”

“
Okay.
Goodnight.”

Shanna
pulled her laptop from under the coffee table. While it booted, she
texted her plans to Gabe. After she hit send, she cursed. She was
supposed to be putting distance between herself and Gabriel. She had
contacted him so many times in the last five years to share her wins
and losses, to seek advice and to seek comfort and a reminder of
home. It seemed natural to share this with him as well.

When
he texted back with a question, she couldn’t ignore him. It
turned into an hour-long textual conversation. She had to end it when
she could no longer keep her eyes open. She turned off her phone and
crawled into bed with her boyfriend. He rolled away from her.

*
* *

Gabe
went straight to Bryce’s office on Monday morning to grab some
files. He’d spent a nice weekend texting with Shanna off and
on, while she shared her excitement and fears about moving to the
marketing department. He hoped it worked out for her.

Rachel
cleared her throat as he smiled at her. “Problem?” he
asked.

“
Someone
is in the office.” She pointed at the office door.

Someone?
“Someone?” He closed one eye while he tried to understand
what she alluded to. “Oh hell, he’s in the office. He
swore he’d take at least a month off.”

“
Should
I call Rita?”

“
Not
yet. Let me see what is going on.”

Gabe
knocked then opened the door. He smiled at the memory of Shanna
caught in her dress or rather, partially in her dress.

Bryce
was at his computer, not Shanna. “Rachel, what does this note
mean here? You need a better password?”

“
I’m
not as nice as Rachel. What are you doing here?” He crossed his
arms over his chest.

“
Working.
Don’t worry, only the morning today, but by Friday I should be
back in full time.”

“
No,
no. You said you’d be off for a month.”

“
I
have been. Two weeks while Shanna worked here and two weeks after she
left, that’s near a month.”

“
No,
it was a month after Shanna left. The time Shanna was here didn’t
count as time off.”

“
Gabriel
Brande, this is my office and my life. I’ll make the
decisions.”

The
phone rang. Gabe reached over and hit the speaker button. “Yes?”

“
Rita
on line one,” Rachel said.

“
You
called Rita?” Bryce thundered.

“
No,
she called here. You’re in the office, I’m transferring
the call. Sir.”

Gabe
pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at Rachel’s
calm voice. The woman could stay cool in any situation. He had no
idea how she did it.

Before
Bryce could reply, Rita was saying, “Hello, hello? Bryce
Whittikar, you get in your car and drive home right this instant.”

“
Rita,
I’m a grown man. If I stay home any longer, I’m going to
die of boredom. I’m already watching those talk shows.
Yesterday when I ran for milk, I talked to the cashier about her
daughter’s issues with authority at school. I run a company, I
don’t chat with the cashier about family issues.”

“
You
said you’d take a month off.”

“
I
did. Two weeks while Shanna was here, and two weeks after she left.
That was a month.”

“
That
was not a month. Shanna’s time did not count as time off, you
were in the hospital for most of it. You have one hour or I am coming
down there.”

“
Fine,”
Bryce said.

“
You
do not want me to come down there.”

“
I’ll
make sure he leaves within forty minutes,” Gabe said.

“
Thank
you, Gabriel.”

“
For
the record, I tried to kick him out when I found him.”

“
I
know. He’s the one determined to work himself into an early
grave.”

“
I
won’t let him,” Gabe said, looking pointedly at Bryce,
who shook his head.

“
Good.
Because I booked plane tickets for Europe this fall.”