Part 13 (1/2)
”See you tomorrow, then.”
Jori stowed the box in the cooler and went into the employee locker room, stripping off her chef's jacket as she crossed to her locker and retrieved her keys. As she stepped back into the hallway, she noticed a light glowing at the far end.
* 110 *
She hesitated, clinging to hurt feelings over her confrontation with Sawyer. But she'd seen the apology in Sawyer's eyes when they'd nearly collided earlier. So, deciding to extend an olive branch, she returned to the kitchen and pulled down two ceramic mugs.
Ten minutes later, she headed down the hallway again. She braced her shoulder against the offi ce doorjamb and, unnoticed, watched Sawyer as she leafed through a pile of papers. Every few moments she sighed and shoved a hand through her hair. The quiet concentration with which she worked was incongruent with the energy that usually emanated from her.
”Staying late?” Reluctant to disturb her, Jori kept her voice just above a whisper.
Sawyer glanced up. ”For a bit. I'm trying to streamline Erica's system.”
”How about a cocoa break?”
”That sounds great. Come in. Sit.” Sawyer waved toward one of the chairs opposite her desk. She took off her gla.s.ses and dropped them on the desk, then rubbed her eyes.
Jori handed her one of the mugs of cocoa topped with miniature chocolate chips clinging to a cap of whipped cream.
”It's hot.”
”Thanks.” Sawyer sipped carefully and Jori couldn't tear her eyes from Sawyer's lips as she ran her tongue along them to catch an errant bit of cream. ”Mmm, that's good.”
”Is something wrong with Erica's bookkeeping?”
Sawyer pushed aside a stack of invoices and bit the end of her pen. ”She put a brand-new computer in here last year, yet she uses the same accounting system my dad used for years. It's all on paper when it would be much more effi cient to go electronic.”
”It must work for her. She keeps up with everything so well.”
”She'd have a lot more hours in her day if she did things my way.”
* 111 *
”Can you fi x it?”
”Sure. I could have everything computerized within a week.”
”So, why don't you do it? When Erica comes back you can show her what to do. There's no reason not to make both of your lives easier. Is there?”
”I guess not.” Sawyer set her mug on a coaster and pulled the paperwork back in front of her. ”Listen, the other day, I was frustrated with Erica. But that's no excuse for taking it out on you. So-I'm sorry.”
Jori guessed from Sawyer's expression that she expected to be forgiven quickly. And perhaps that would have been easier, but she had opened herself up to Sawyer, which she didn't usually do, so to have Sawyer twist her words and stab her with them had hurt, and she wanted Sawyer to fully realize what she'd done. ”I don't share my past with just anyone.”
”I fi gured.”
”So when you used what I told you to hurt me-”
”I didn't mean to.” Sawyer reached across the desk and covered her hand. ”It won't happen again.”
Jori nodded. ”It's late. You should start fresh tomorrow.”
For three nights in a row, Sawyer had still been at work in the offi ce when Jori left and was there before anyone else the next day. It had never bothered Jori to know that Erica kept nearly the same hours.
Sawyer glanced down at their hands. The jolt she'd felt when she fi rst touched Jori had settled into a pleasant hum as she stroked her thumb over the back of Jori's hand. Jori turned it over and laced her fi ngers with Sawyer's.
Then Jori rose, not releasing her hand. ”Come on. Walk me out.”
Sawyer allowed Jori to draw her around the desk. They stood close, hands still clasped, and she stared at the hair curling over Jori's right ear, because she was afraid if she looked in her * 112 *
eyes she wouldn't be able to keep from kissing her. In Sawyer's kitchen when she had asked Jori to give in to the attraction between them, she'd said she couldn't get involved, and so soon after their renewed truce, Sawyer knew she should try to respect that. But while her apology was sincere, part of her wanted to push Jori's boundaries, if for nothing else than the pleasure she knew they could give each other.
”I need to grab my things from the kitchen.” Jori's voice was low and a little rough.
”Okay.” Sawyer didn't move and for a moment she wondered if Jori was going to.
Finally, Jori turned away, breaking the spell, and headed down the hallway. She went to the cooler and came out carrying a white box.
”Are you going to see Erica?”
”In the morning.”
”Take these.” Jori gave her the box. ”Key lime tarts,” she explained when Sawyer gave her a questioning look.
Jori gathered her jacket and keys from the counter, her fi ngers still tingling from holding Sawyer's. When Sawyer had touched her hand, Jori's mind had told her to pull away, but her body had been in charge when she'd laced their fi ngers together.
She forgave herself the moment of weakness while steadying her resolve to avoid involvement.
”Trust me. She craves them. And if she's feeling generous, there are enough for Brady, Paige, and the boys.”
”What's the deal, everyone gets a treat but me?”
Jori immediately conjured up a treat for Sawyer but stopped short of verbalizing it. d.a.m.n, can I possibly be around her and not want to fl irt with her? ”Be nice to your sister and maybe she'll share.”
”Oh, that's too cruel,” Sawyer said with a chuckle as she followed Jori to the back door. Jori glanced up as she got in her car and saw Sawyer closing the door. She hoped Sawyer would * 113 *
lock up and go upstairs to Erica's apartment instead of going back to work in the offi ce. And she hoped she could fi gure out a way to stop thinking about how Sawyer was spending her time.
”Here's the delivery schedule and some notes on payroll and suggestions for staffi ng,” Erica instructed from Brady's sofa. She tore the top sheet from the legal pad in her lap and handed it to Sawyer.
”Who gave you paper and a pen, anyway?” Sawyer grumbled. ”Aren't you supposed to be resting?” While running some errands, she had stopped by Brady and Paige's house to check on Erica.
”I'm delegating,” Erica shot back.
Sawyer s.h.i.+fted in the arm chair and scanned the paper.