Kelly sighed. “I know; it’s just that sometimes it gets to me. I love my job and I really don’t want to lose it.”
“You won’t.” Raina promised. “You’re a wonderful head housekeeper. This place runs like clockwork, and it’s all because of you.”
“Thanks.” Kelly said with a smile. “But really, it’s because of you this place runs so well. If Rog was the one solely in charge? Ugh … nightmare to think about.”
Raina was happy to see her friend back to her normal self. Then she remembered what had brought her to Kelly’s office.
“So … how are things going with Christopher?” She feigned a casual tone, but she was dying of curiosity.
Kelly shook her head wryly. “They’re not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I guess I read the signals wrong. I think he sees me as a colleague and nothing more. It’s weird—I was sure I got a vibe from him, and then … nothing. It’s a shame.” she pouted.
Raina felt a jolt of joy and then felt immediately guilty when she saw Kelly’s sad face looking up at her.
“You know what they say: there are plenty of fish in the sea. You’ll find someone soon, I’m sure of it.” Raina announced. Did her voice sound a little too happy? Crap. It probably did, didn’t it?
Kelly contemplated her studiously for a moment, her eyes narrowing. Slowly, she said, “Do you know, now that I think about it, Christopher does ask about you a lot.”
Raina was taken aback.
“Really, like what?” She cringed as she heard the eagerness in her own voice. Way to play it cool, dummy. She chided herself.
“Nothing that I can pinpoint, but Raina, I—I think he might like you.”
Raina ignored the fast beating of her heart, and the slight surge of elation she felt at the thought it might be true.
“He can like me all he wants but I have no intention of dating someone from work.” That was, unfortunately, the truth. No matter how hot Christopher was, there was no way they could be involved.
“That may be so, but surely you can’t let a fine specimen of a man like Christopher get away?” Raina laughed and slid off the edge of Kelly’s desk where she had been perched, and headed for the door.
“It’s tempting but yes I can.” Raina joked.
But there was a minuscule part of her that rebelled at the thought.…
Her spirits felt much higher when she left for home a few minutes later. Thankfully, her car was now sorted and running smoothly. Hopefully, it would not break down again soon, even if it still sputtered and made terrible clanging noises. She got home with ten minutes to spare before the children would bring chaos and disaster in their wake. She took a quick shower, enjoying the rush of warm water on her back.
She found her thoughts wandering to Christopher. Was Kelly right in that he was into her? She felt oddly exposed thinking of him while in the shower, as though from wherever he was, he could see her. She felt her nipples tighten at the thought of him and she slowly ran her loofah over her breasts, imagining it was Christopher’s hands on her body.
No matter the feelings he stirred deep in the pit of her belly—hot, swirling, tingly feelings—, Raina knew that it was not something that she would pursue. But still, a girl could daydream, couldn’t she?
For one, they worked together and for another, something that she had never admitted to Kelly, she hadn’t been on a date in over three years, (not that she had ever dated much in general before that either, she reminded herself). She had always been too busy with school and then work, and now that she had th
e kids to think of, every guy she dated had to be viewed through the lens of whether or not he would be a good parent—even if he was superhuman enough to want to take her and her sister’s three kids on.
She shivered involuntarily and turned off the shower. She dressed in casual linen slacks and a cream blouse. Raina laughed softly as she imagined the teasing she would get from Kelly about her choice of attire. She had never been like other women who when in the privacy of their own homes relaxed and wore jogging suits.
Her mother had drilled it in to her that she needed to look her best at all times, and so Raina dressed well, whether at home or out of it.
On the landing, she took a quick peek at the two children’s bedrooms facing each other. They were neat enough and she only gave the pillows a fluff and straightened the covers. She took the stairs two at a time and went to the kitchen to see what she could give the kids when they came home. She settled for leftover corn bread and chili. For once, her worries were the furthest thing from her mind.
Something had happened in the last couple of days to lift up her spirits. Just the knowledge that Christopher might like her gave Raina a secret thrill that she would never admit to anyone. It was hard enough accepting how excited it made her feel to have a man like Christopher attracted to her.
She was being as ridiculous as a teenage girl with her first crush, Raina knew, and yet it had been so long since she had felt any stirrings of feelings for anyone one—not since before her sister died, she thought sadly,—that she welcomed them just the same.
No sooner had Raina placed the food on the table, she heard the sound of the bus stopping at the front of the house. She flung open the front door and almost bumped into Jeremiah. His face lit up when he saw her and he flung his small body against hers. She planted a kiss at the top of his head.