4. Working Order
“Ready for your first day at work? Are you nervous?” Rayna came out from behind her desk to greet Anne as she emerged from the elevator.
Rayna had taken Anne up on her offer to be a listening ear. Turned out Rayna’s previous boyfriend had been emotionally abusive. By the time she’d escaped him, he’d driven away her other friends.
“Yes, extremely nervous. I feel like I’m fixin’ to pass out. But not as bad as I would’ve been since I realized Mr. Gherring will be out of town for three days.” Anne leaned in to whisper. “You look very chipper today. How was your date with Antonio last night?”
Rayna blushed crimson and glanced carefully over to the door where Antonio stood, apparently attempting to pretend he was not watching Rayna. Unabashed, Anne waved his direction. “Good morning, Antonio. How are you?”
Rayna positioned herself with her back to Antonio and spoke in a low voice. “It was so much fun. He was a real gentleman and opened the doors for me. We went to this fun pizza place, and we talked for hours. He’s a really good listener. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think I may be falling for him. I just want to take it slow so I don’t get hurt again.”
“Good for you. You deserve someone great after dealing with that Eddie. After you told me your story on Saturday, I was ready to punch that guy. He’d better hope I never meet him.”
Rayna laughed. “You’re so fierce. What would you do? Beat him up with your purse?”
“I just might. I’ve recently used my bag for just such a purpose.” Anne checked the clock on the wall. “I need to hurry, or I’ll be late. But I’m glad things are going well with Antonio. I just knew he’d be good for you.”
“Don’t be making wedding plans just yet.” Rayna chuckled as she peered over her shoulder at Antonio. “Although, I must admit, he would look great in a tux.”
On her way out the door, Antonio stopped Anne. “Good morning. I hope you have a great first day at work.”
“How did you know?”
“Rayna and I talked about you last night, among a lot of other subjects. I know you’re the one who told her about me. She never even knew I was alive before.”
“She would’ve noticed eventually. I just helped her focus more quickly.”
“I was right about you.” His eyes twinkled. “I told you on Friday it would be great having you here, and my prediction was spot-on. But I don’t understand how you knew. How did you know I liked Rayna? I didn’t say anything.”
“I just have a sixth sense about relationships.”
“Really? So you’ve done this before? Maybe you should charge a big fat fee. Are you working on anyone else right now?”
“Right now I’m just scouting. I’m always looking for my two daughters, and I have one other match I’m working on.”
“If your daughters look anything like you, that should be easy.”
“You’re taken now.” Anne shook a scolding finger at him, smiling so he would know she was teasing. “You shouldn’t be flirting.”
He grimaced. “That may be a tough habit to break.”
Anne zipped out the door onto the streets of New York City and headed for her first day on the job.
* * *
Katie greetedher as she entered the office door, hair and bags askew. “How was your first day negotiating the subway?”
“It was a bit crazy.” She huffed a stray piece of hair out of her face. “I did meet someone—a sweet girl named Ellen who works at a bookstore but wants to be an actress. Of course, I had to walk here from the station, and I was so late by then I started running. While I was running, I tripped on the curb and would have fallen down if Spencer hadn’t caught me.”
“Spencer?”
“Spencer—the nice young man who broke my fall. He works next door at the lunch bistro, Papa’s Place. I promised him I’d eat there today out of appreciation for him saving me from being a bloody mess on my first day at work. It would’ve been nice if the apartment had been closer to work. Not that I’m complaining—it’s a nice place to live. Maybe you can show me a better way to get here from our building.”
Katie frowned. “I had you all set up to move into a company apartment in my building, but Mr. Gherring vetoed the idea. He said something about planning to remodel that apartment.”
“I thought I was in your building. I figured he wanted his secretary close so he could give you assignments any time, you know, from his apartment.”
“No, I’m in a building about a block away from here. It’s handy for work.”
“Too bad there wasn’t an apartment ready in your building. But I guess it was fortunate I was at the place where Mr. Gherring lives, since he was able to explain the changes he needed in his travel arrangements after we ran into each other in the elevator.”
“Really? When he left here early on Friday, he told me he would email me about a possible schedule change. Then later, he sent an email that everything was fine. I wonder why he had you do it instead of me. Thanks for taking care of the arrangements.”
“You’re welcome. He said something about not wanting to bother you, and I was glad to start off with something I already knew how to do. And it was convenient since the information was on his home computer. It only took a second to run up there.”
“You went to Mr. Gherring’s apartment?” Katie’s mouth fell open.
“It wasn’t like that. Nothing improper happened. I just… Wait, haven’t you been to his apartment? I mean, for work stuff?”
“No.” Katie’s eyes were still wide. “I’ve never been there. Mr. Gherring has a strict policy about separating his work and his personal life. No one from work has ever been to his apartment. Not even the board members or the vice presidents, as far as I know.”
“I’m sure it was a fluke, and it’ll never happen again. I don’t think he likes dealing with my emotional outbreaks.” Anne forced a laugh. Why would Gherring change his policy about keeping his apartment private? Maybe he was starting to realize he needed company after all. “But he does seem very lonely.”
“I don’t know. He has an active social calendar. I don’t see how he has time to be lonely.”
“Now you know being busy has nothing to do with finding meaningful relationships. You have Gary. Think how it’d be if you had to make appearances in public all the time, but you didn’t have Gary in your life. You’d be very lonely.”
“I guess you could be right.”
As she had since Friday night, Anne racked her brain, wondering where she would find a suitable match for Steven Gherring. She had a feeling it would take a lot of effort over a long period of time… time she might not have.
“Let’s get to work on my training. I have a lot to learn if I want to keep this job longer than three months.”
* * *
Emily appeared skeptical,even on the computer screen. “Wow Mom, you seem to have been pretty busy for only five days in New York. That’s one couple you’ve already gotten together and several more in the making. In fact, you seem to be doing a lot of meddling. Have you done any actual work?”
“How can you ask such a thing? You know I don’t meddle. I just intervene a bit.”
“Yeah, right.”
Anne felt a pang of homesickness. “It’s so good to hear your voice. I really miss you. And I miss hearing a Texas accent. Everyone around here teases me about my accent and acts like they’ve never heard a y’all or fixin’ to in their whole lives.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let them hear you talking to Grandpa.” Emily giggled. “When you two are on the phone, you sound so countrified. You say things like get foundered and cattywhomperjawed and bust my buttons.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Mom.”
“Okay. Maybe I do that a bit, but it’s not that bad, is it?”
“Not to me. But it might be a bit much for your sophisticated work colleagues.”
“They’ll just have to tough it out. I’m too old to learn to talk a new way. You know what they say about old dogs.”
“Maybe you can tone it down around Steven Gherring. Did you say he’ll be in the office tomorrow?”
“Yes, but I don’t seem to be very good at holding my tongue around that man. Something about him just makes me lose my temper.” Anne felt somewhat guilty she hadn’t told her daughters about meeting Mr. Gherring on Friday. But the whole experience had been so awkward she didn’t want to explain it. Besides, he’d be so much easier to deal with once she found him a perfect match. “But I think he’s grouchy because he’s lonely.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I’ve been doing some internet research and asking questions at work. Steven Gherring is extremely driven. He works long hours and travels a lot. He’s been photographed with a variety of beautiful women who accompanied him to social events. But the gossip columns only have short-lived rumors about romances.”
“Gossip columns are just gossip. They don’t know everything.”
“Yes, but he never seems to be seen with any woman more than once, except for his grandmother. And he’s totally devoted to her. She’s an extraordinary woman, ninety-five years old. She’s done interviews and talk shows and has said she refuses to die until she sees her grandson happily married.”
Emily laughed. “She sounds great. Does she live in the city too?”
“That’s the sad part. She lives in a small town about four hours from here. She’s his only family, as far as I can tell, and Katie says he only gets to see her about once a month.”
“He’s never been married?”
“No, but I think he was engaged once, about five years ago. There was talk of a wedding and speculation about where it would take place. But I couldn’t find any information about the breakup. Maybe she died. I don’t know. He manages to keep his life pretty private. I found out most of my info from the grandmother’s interviews.”
“Maybe you can be a little more understanding since you know all this stuff. It’ll stop you from yelling at him like you did during the interview. I’d like for you to keep this job for at least three weeks so I can come to visit.”
“Yay—three weeks until you come! Really just two and a half weeks, now—I can hardly wait. And Charlie’s coming too?”
“Yep, she’s flying in from Denver, but we’re on the same flight from Dallas to New York.”
“Awesome. I have three weeks to find two nice, good-looking, guys for you.”
“And don’t forget, we want them to be rich and have ripped abs. Mine needs to be a reader, and Charlie wants an adventurer.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
Anne arrived early to work,anticipating her first day actually working with Steven Gherring. She wore her nicest wool skirt and blouse, silently thanking Emily for lending her some clothes that fit and were appropriate for a business office. She traveled to work in her bright blue running shoes, which looked absolutely ridiculous. But she’d seen plenty of New York women making the commute wearing sensible shoes instead of heels.
Once she arrived at the office, she stashed away the running shoes and pulled on the uncomfortable three-inch high pumps that put her eye-to-eye with most of the men in the office. She checked her hair in the ladies’ room, distressed to find the humidity had re-curled the locks she had worked so hard to straighten that morning. Resigned, Anne pulled her hair back into a pearl clip.
She swiped on some mascara, dabbed concealer under her eyes and smoothed some tinted balm on her lips—her only concessions to wearing makeup. She’d always felt inept at applying makeup, thinking any more than these three staples made her look like a clown. She assessed her face. No wrinkles yet, although there were some crinkles that appeared around her eyes when she smiled. But she’d rather have those than frown lines. Her eyes were like large brown saucers. You couldn’t even see the pupils. She got compliments on them, but she’d rather have had blue or gold or green. Brown was boring. Well, not on other people, but it was on her. Boring or not, time to go upstairs.
She checked the time on her cell phone—still thirty minutes early—and squeezed onto the almost full elevator. Why was it crowded at seven-thirty a.m.? Perhaps everyone was arriving early since Mr. Gherring was back in town. Gradually, the elevator emptied until she was the only one left. Her arms were full—balancing her purse, her shoes, and her newly purchased laptop bag—when the doors opened on the top floor to reveal an office already bustling with activity.
Panicking with the knowledge she must somehow be late, Anne rushed off the elevator. But in the doorway, the three-inch spike of her heel caught in the crack. She flew forward, launching the contents of her hands into the air. As she tumbled to the floor, she managed to catch her laptop bag but missed the purse, which flipped upside down and spilled its contents. Almost in slow motion, she watched one of her lightweight running shoes soar through the air to strike a co-worker squarely on the back. Not just any co-worker. Who else, but Steven Gherring?
He flinched slightly and spoke without turning around. “I assume, Ms. Best, you’ve arrived, and the intent to cause physical harm is once again confirmed.”
“I’ve got great aim.” She scrambled to a sitting position, all too aware of the curious stares of the ambling crowd.
Why am I the clumsiest human on the planet?
Steven Gherring’s teasing smile disappeared when he looked over his shoulder at her. In an instant he was kneeling beside her, supporting her as she tried to stand up. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
“Nothing hurts but my pride.”
Everyone scattered when Gherring approached, so Anne had no recourse but to accept his help, humiliating as it was.
“Are you sure you didn’t sprain something?”
“I was just hurrying because everyone was here, so I thought I was late. But my cell phone said it was only seven thirty. Don’t we start at eight o’clock? Was my cell time wrong? Or did we start work early today?”
“Now that’s an interesting story. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He glanced around before continuing. “Officially, the office used to open at nine. But I noticed everyone made it a point to arrive before I got here at eight fifty, so I started arriving at eight forty or eight forty-five.” He smiled broadly. “So, of course, when I started coming in the office at eight thirty, people began to come at eight fifteen. And so on, and so on. I wanted to see how far the employees would go to try and make a good impression on the boss. So now I usually come in at about seven twenty.” He chuckled a bit. “But I understand the office opens at eight when I’m out of town.”
Anne raised her brows a bit. “You’re experimenting with your people at their expense? Just for fun? Or do you actually judge people by whether they beat you to the office?”
“I’ve never been impressed by people who go to great lengths trying to impress me,” he paused thoughtfully. “Although I guess I do expect it. No, it’s strictly for entertainment purposes. So, now you know the truth, I guess you won’t need to sacrifice your body to get here early.”
“No way!” She grinned, dabbing a tissue on her bleeding elbow. “I’m too competitive to let everyone else beat me to the office. What’s a little bruising and blood when you’re trying to win a game?”
Anne sat down at her desk and put away her personal things. “Now let’s get to work. What do you have for me today? Katie gave me as much instruction as she could, so hopefully I can handle it myself. She’s out for a gown fitting today.”
Her tense muscles began to relax as she managed to have a normal conversation with Gherring. He moved behind her desk and reached to grab the mouse, bringing up the day’s schedule on the computer. His arm brushed hers, sending shivers down her spine. She pulled away quickly, pretending to organize something in the desk drawer. With Gherring’s piercing gaze heating the back of her neck, Anne glanced up and realized he was waiting for her to respond to something he’d said.
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
“I said, I’m scheduled to be in conference all morning, so you and I can meet during lunch.”
“Actually, I was supposed to have lunch with Sam, from Accounting.” She noticed his frown. Maybe he didn’t want to eat alone. “But you could come with us.”
“No,” he muttered. “That won’t be necessary. You can have lunch with Sam from Accounting, and we’ll meet afterward.”
“You ought to come. Sam’s a lot of fun. We’re eating next door at Papa’s Place.”
“I said no!” Gherring stalked into his office.
* * *
“I guessI’m supposed to work through lunch when Mr. Gherring is in town. He seemed pretty miffed with me,” Anne told Samantha. “I hate to think how much I’ll miss my lunches here.”
“He’s scary. I’d say packing a lunch from home is a small price to pay, if it keeps him happy.” Samantha glanced toward the doorway, as if Steven Gherring might come storming in and cause a scene.
“Maybe he’s just grouchy because he skips lunch.” Anne didn’t want Sam to be afraid of Gherring.
Papa’s Place was packed at lunchtime, but Papa George and his wife, May, had started saving a table for Anne. She’d eaten there every day since Monday, when their nephew, Spencer, had saved her from a disastrous fall outside the restaurant. Anne had returned at noon, heralding huge accolades on Spencer when she met the restaurant owners, swearing he’d saved her life. Spencer protested her exaggerations, but George and May were proud of their nephew.
When Anne had explained she was new to the city and admitted George reminded her of her daddy, they’d practically adopted her into their family. And Anne was secretly working on a plan to fix Spencer up with one of the receptionists at Gherring Inc.
“I invited Gherring to come eat with us, but he refused,” Anne told Sam.
“I’m glad he didn’t come,” Sam replied, shaking her blonde head for emphasis. “He’s just so intimidating.”
“I think you two would get along great.” Anne ticked off her points on her fingers. “You both like scuba diving and snow skiing. You both have grandmothers you’re close to. He seems to like dating blondes. You’re beautiful and smart. I think you would be great together.”
“Together? As in dating? Me and Mr. Gherring? You’ve got to be kidding! He would never—” Sam choked. “Good gracious! There he is!”
“Mr. Gherring?” Anne craned her neck around to see the entrance to Papa’s.
“Yes,” Sam whispered into her napkin, her eyes wide with terror. “He”s coming this way, and he looks furious.”
Steven Gherring scowled as he approached the table, scanning the restaurant patrons. “I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch. But something has come up that can’t wait.”
“I can come up to the office right now. Or if it’s not something too private, you’re welcome to join Sam and me.”
“You mean Sam and your other friend here?” He glanced over his shoulder.
Sam was probably embarrassed that Gherring hadn’t recognized her. Anne hurried to cover his gaffe.
“I’m sorry, I thought you’d met before. Mr. Gherring, this is Samantha Lowe.”
“Samantha? This is Sam from Accounting?”
Samantha blushed and spoke without quite making eye contact. “You’d know me as Samantha. I think we’ve met at the monthly accounting meeting.”
“Samantha.” His face brightened. “It’s so nice to see you, Samantha. Yes, I believe now I remember seeing you in those dreadful meetings.”
At least he was being pleasant, now. Anne jumped in to take advantage of the moment. “You and Samantha actually have a lot in common. She’s into diving and skiing, just like you, Mr. Gherring.”
“How nice,” Gherring replied, in a slightly distracted tone. “You two enjoy your lunch. I’m going back up to the office to work on a project.”
“Okay. Do you want me to come now?”
“Now? No. There’s no hurry.” He turned to leave.
“But I thought you had something urgent.”
“It can wait,” he said over his shoulder as he strode to the door.
Anne and Samantha stared at each other in confusion. Finally, Anne broke the spell. “So… I think that went really well. Don’t you think you’d make a good couple?”
“Are you kidding me? I thought you were a matchmaker. Surely you can find someone I have more in common with than Steven Gherring.”
Anne sighed. Back to the drawing board.
* * *
Anne wrestledwith the steaming cardboard food boxes while holding her purse wedged under her elbow as she tapped on Steven Gherring’s office door with her foot. She tottered a bit, leaning against the door to regain her balance when it was suddenly jerked open. She tried to catch herself without flinging the food across the office, but her ankle turned on the three-inch heel. As she began to fall, Steven Gherring reached around and steadied her from behind, and only her purse fell to the floor.
“Oh my goodness! I just can’t seem to control myself in these silly shoes.”
His arms were still around her, and he was pressed up against her back. Both of her hands were still fully occupied with the boxes of food, so she couldn’t push him away. At least that was her reasoning.
Why didn’t she just step away from him? She almost felt frozen in place. She could smell his after-shave or his soap or something. It was a clean, masculine smell, not one of those strong, sweet cologne scents. She hated those girly scents on men. Steven smelled good, but like a man. For a moment, she almost relaxed and leaned back into his strong arms. She stiffened and jerked away, swirling to face him.
“Thank you. Sorry!” Anne spoke rapidly while holding out the boxes. “May sent you a sample of their specials today. It’s on the house. May says you’ve never eaten at Papa’s, so you just don’t know how good their food is. She says once you taste their food, you’ll come back.”
“I’ve already eaten a protein bar. I’m fine, thanks.”
“A protein bar? That’s all you’re planning to eat for lunch? That’s ridiculous! A grown man needs more for lunch than a protein bar. Just sit down and try a bite of these specials.” She ushered him toward his desk. “I’ll take it away if you don’t like it, but I won’t quit trying to make you eat a healthy lunch every day. I think that’s part of my job.”
She opened the aromatic boxes in front of him. “Today they have a choice of two Italian pastas and Papa’s pot roast. The specials always come with salads or fresh steamed veggies.”
Without further protest, he sampled each of the pastas and then took a bite of pot roast.
“Mmmmm.” He forked another large bite. “This tastes just like Gram’s pot roast.”
Anne chattered about how great the food was at Papa’s Place and told Gherring all about George and May and Spencer. She was relieved to have successfully extracted herself from Gherring’s arms before she embarrassed herself. She realized she hadn’t been held in a man’s arms for fifteen years. It had felt wonderful, just for a moment, to have someone strong to lean against.
She was an independent woman, and she’d taken care of herself and her girls for the past fifteen years without the help of a man. But it would be nice, just once, to have someone hold her and love her and take care of her. Maybe while she was looking for someone for Spencer and Mr. Gherring and a few other new friends, she’d find someone for herself. She really hadn’t even looked at a man in that way for fifteen years. New York was a big city. Surely there was someone out there for her.
He was staring at her. “A penny for your thoughts.”
“What?”
“You stopped talking, and you were obviously thinking about something, because you were smiling.”
Anne’s face heated all the way up to her forehead. “I was probably thinking about my girls coming to visit. They’ll be here in three weeks.”
“Emily and Charlotte, right?”
“How do you know their names?”
“You put it on your resume.” He took another bite of the pot roast.
“I forgot I’d done that. My girls told me that was a no-no, after the fact.”
“I thought it was interesting. Most applicants don’t put their children’s names on their resumes. But then again, the others probably didn’t have any kids.”
“My daughters are evidence of some of my very best work. I couldn’t leave them off my resume. And besides, I think family and children are the most important things in life.”
His face suddenly clouded, and he pushed his food away. “We have work to do.”
“Of course.” Anne gathered up the boxes and cleared the desk. “Let me grab my laptop.”
She hurried to her desk, hating how her words had stirred up hurt in his eyes. Her heart went out to the man who for just a moment had looked like a small, lost boy. Had he once longed for children of his own? It was one more indication that he needed a younger bride. It wasn’t too late for him to have the family he’d missed all these years.
* * *
Katie returnedfrom her fitting that afternoon and pulled Anne away from her PowerPoint project. “I just remembered I haven’t explained one of your most important jobs.” Katie lowered her voice though no one else was in the room. “You’re responsible for arranging a female escort for Mr. Gherring for every formal event.”
“Escort? Do you mean a call girl?”
Katie laughed at Anne. “Call girl? I forgot you’re from the sticks. I’m talking about an escort, not a prostitute. We usually arrange it through a publicist.”
She handed Anne a business card. “The contact is Charles Cooper. He handles publicity for many up-and-coming artists, performers, models, actresses, and businesswomen who need name recognition. Being seen at a function with Steven Gherring guarantees a write-up in the social columns and pictures in all the popular social media. In return, Mr. Gherring avoids having any social obligations beyond the event.”
Katie continued. “Mr. Cooper knows the qualities Mr. Gherring requires in an escort. He likes attractive women in their twenties and thirties, preferably tall and able to carry on a decent conversation. And he never takes the same woman to another event.”
“But why doesn’t Mr. Gherring get his own dates for these events? Surely he wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone who’d like to go with him, so he wouldn’t have to go with a complete stranger.”
“That’s the problem. In the past, he’s had terrible drama after only one date with a girl. Some women are desperate to marry him, and a lot of them are only attracted to his money and celebrity status. So he makes it a point never to be seen with any woman more than once. That’s why he has a reputation as a player, but in reality, he rarely dates anyone.”
“That’s terrible. How will he ever find the right girl if he won’t even take someone on a real date? There could be someone right here at Gherring Inc. who’d make him really happy, and he’d never know.” Anne grabbed Katie’s arm. “And not every girl out there would only be interested in him because he’s rich. Some people don’t care about money. And he’s a nice-looking man, especially for his age. Don’t you think?”
Katie remained silent, her lips pressed together. Anne followed Katie’s wide-eyed gaze to find Steven Gherring standing a few feet away, obviously intent on the conversation.
“I think I’m old enough to make my own decisions about whom I will and will not date. I’ll thank both of you to stay out of my personal life and never discuss it again.” Gherring turned his back on the pair and returned to his private office, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Anne looked warily at Katie, who let out a low whistle. “Call the number on this card and have Mr. Cooper arrange for Mr. Gherring’s date to the International Business Gala next Friday. Dress is formal, as you know. We’ve been so busy working on all the details of the reception I almost forgot to arrange for his escort.”
“Do you think I should go apologize?” Anne asked, inclining her head toward Gherring’s office.
Katie shook her head. “No, I think anything we say would make it worse. He’ll forget eventually. Just do your job, and try to stay out of his personal life. And,” Katie warned with a serious look, “don’t ever gossip about Mr. Gherring. You absolutely cannot share any details about anything he says or does, business or personal. It’s very important to protect his privacy.”
“Of course,” Anne said, wondering how she could find a match for Mr. Gherring while staying out of his personal life.
I have to find a way…