“Hello, Chloe,” she said coolly as she unlocked her door. Chloe perched at her desk in front of Richard’s corner office. No doubt Chloe got an eyeful of Chrissy’s dressy outfit, which would fuel the gossip mill.
Good.
Jessica entered behind her. “Wow,” she said. “When you launch into attack mode, you go all out.”
“Did you pull together those materials?”
“Yes. The portfolio’s on your desk; the lists you asked for are in your email.”
“Excellent.”
“What’re you going to do?”
“Do? Nothing,” Chrissy said slyly. “We’ll place that order for trade buys. Please pull that list and check what we’ve spent this month.”
“Sure,” said Jessica.
“And fill out the purchase order. I'll personally bring it to Richard to sign it.”
“Oooh,” mouthed Jessica. Most times Jessica left the purchase order with Chloe, but this situation called for a frontal assault. “Right away, boss.”
“Quickly.” She turned on her computer and read through her emails. Richard sent one, arranging a meeting on Friday. She sighed. The Friday dump. Time grew short, and she had a ton of work to do to find a new job.
She sent a text to one especially persistent headhunter, Charles Grayson, who had lured her on a date before he unloaded his proposal. She grew annoyed with him, because Charles was both handsome and available, and that his only interest was to sell her business talents ticked her off. But Chrissy extended a lunch invitation to him.
To her surprise, he replied right away.
Charles: You have the best timing. My two o’clock cancelled for today. Let’s meet at Florio’s.
It was one o'clock now and she knew the place, just two blocks from her office. She had enough time to accomplish her objective and leave for lunch with a flourish.
Chrissy: Perfect. See you.
Now she had a bona fide reason to be in the city. Hamilton, that snake, didn’t have to know she set the meeting at the last minute. That she and Charles had a quasi-dating relationship was a perfect way to confuse and confound the enemy. And a late lunch at a nice restaurant and a couple glasses of wine would go a long way to soothe her frazzled nerves.
Her phone buzzed again and for a second she had a moment of dread that Charles cancelled, but it wasn't him. Damn. Saks. Again.
Saks: Hey, sexy. Did you select our rendezvous?
Well, she had to answer him now. This was the third text. She was rude if she didn't.
Chrissy: Sorry. Got caught up at work and can’t get away. Can I take a rain check?
Saks: You’re breaking my heart.
Chrissy: It sucks. Lol. But such is the life of a working woman.
Damn. She hoped she didn’t hurt his feelings. All this fell on her. Well, her and her crazy family. Better to break things off now. Best before her father got wind she’d spent a wild and reckless night with a man that he'd never allow at the Sunday dinner table.
Saks: Okay. But you aren’t off the hook. I’ll track you down.
Chrissy looked at the answer she reeled off, and realized that it sounded distinctly as if she asked him to find her. Her finger poised above the keypad to delete the message, but Jessica opened the door suddenly, startling her. Inadvertently her finger bumped the ‘send’ button.
Chrissy: Then let the hunt begin.
She gasped at her idiocy.
“Something wrong?” asked Jessica.
“No,” Chrissy said quickly. She didn’t need to worry. There was no way Saks could find her. She hadn’t even given him her last name. And if he did, by chance, locate her, she’d tell him firmly that there could be nothing else between them. She’d just text him later, on her way home, explaining that she’d been joking with him.
“Here’s the purchase order.”
“Great.”
“And his last interview went in about an hour ago, so they must be ready to break soon.”
“Fabulous,” Chrissy replied. She took the folder that Jessica handed her and composed her face into her best neutral expression. Hamilton didn’t have to know that butterflies filled her stomach.
When she met Charles for lunch, a glass of wine would help ease the fluttering wings.
With a deliberately casual stroll, she walked to Chloe’s desk. “Can I see Richard? I have something for him to sign.”
Chloe’s too-long eyelashes fluttered in surprise. “Didn't you have the day off?”
“I did, but I had a lunch date I can’t blow off. Since I had an hour to kill, I thought I’d get this print order placed.”
“He’s in a meeting. I can—”
But the door opened suddenly, and there stood Richard and a young man, obviously freshly graduated from college, laughing and shaking hands. It became clear now. Richard wanted to replace her with someone fresh out of college, who couldn’t command the salary she did.
And when Richard turned and saw her, his face fell immediately. Good. It was too much to hope for that he’d choke right there on the spot, but at least she gave him a moment of discomfort for his treachery. “Chrissy, I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“A quick minute, please?” she said lightly. Her breezy tone was a lie. Her heart was hammering in her chest. “I have something for you to sign. Then I'm off to a lunch date. I forgot all about it, but can’t brush it off.”