Christie Ridgway: In Love With Her Boss

With a jerk, Lori got herself moving again, even as yet another blush crawled up her neck to her cheeks. Steering way clear of the game, she headed for the locker room.

There were some things it wasn’t smart to forget, not even for a moment. South Carolina hadn’t been safe because of a man. She wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to her here in Montana.

By the time she was back in her outerwear, she was feeling a lot less flustered. She hadn’t seen Josh at the gym before today, and she probably never would see him again. If she did, she’d ignore him. That would be simple enough.

* * *

The day after Christmas, Lori braked her car in front of a small building and opened her notebook to recheck the address she was seeking. Though a small sign declared the place was indeed Anderson, Inc., the site of her temporary job, the dark-red, wood-sided building looked more like an old schoolhouse than the office of a construction company.

But the address was the correct one, so she parked her car in the small attached lot beside a behemoth four-wheel-drive SUV, then headed for the front door. Her black boots made quiet clacks against the brick pathway. She’d teamed the boots with a long black wool skirt and a chunky black sweater. An austere look, maybe, but warm. Her roots might be in Montana, but her leaves were definitely more accustomed to the milder Southern winters.

Despite her woolen clothing, a small shiver rolled down her spine. But it was normal apprehension, not a quaking, stomach-knotting fear, thank God. She was starting the first job of her new life today, and she desperately wanted it to go smoothly.

Through the plate-glass front door, Lori spied the orangey curls of Lucy Meyer. The fortyish woman was a new mom and Lori had been hired to replace her as the receptionist while Lucy took maternity leave. They’d met once—in Lucy’s home. Her baby had just arrived—a month early—and Lucy was anxious to get someone to help “the boss” as she referred to the head of the company, Mr. Anderson, as soon as possible.

When Lori opened the door, Lucy turned toward her with a smile. “Come in, come in,” the other woman said, bustling forward with characteristic energy.

Lori walked into an expansive reception area. Centered on the wall to her right sat a woodburning stove that was pumping out pleasant heat. A large oval rag rug, in shades of red and cream, covered a honey-toned wooden floor. Several comfortable-looking chairs and a selection of magazines made the room appear even more homey.

Lucy took Lori’s coat and hung it on one of the brass hooks attached to the wall by the door. “I want to get you as familiar with things as I can before the squeaker gets hungry,” she said.

Lori smiled, her nervousness allayed by the unexpected pleasantness of the office. “Where is Baby Walt?”

Lucy jerked her head in the direction of a doorway off the waiting area. “With the boss. I’ll introduce you to him in a minute.”

Lori had only a second to peer through the indicated door, and only another to absorb a glimpse of a massive desk with a pair of giant-sized, booted feet propped atop it. Then Lucy drew her away.

“This is where you sit,” she said. Centered a few feet from the front door was an old wooden desk that looked as if it had once belonged to a schoolmistress. A computer and state-of-the-art phone system on its top appeared efficient, though anachronistic.

Lori took notes as Lucy explained the workings of the phone and the small amount of computer work the receptionist’s job entailed. Then she followed the other woman down a short hall that led to a bathroom, a large conference area and an almost-closet that held a refrigerator and coffeemaker.

They were standing in the filing-cum-supply room when Lucy suddenly stilled. “Uh-oh,” she said. “The squeaker. I’d better go rescue the boss.”

As they exited the room, Lori could hear the baby fussing herself, and a man’s deep voice trying to soothe him. Then the baby and man noises sounded louder, as if both were coming toward Lori and Lucy. Lori straightened her shoulders and smoothed her skirt, hoping she was going to like Mr. Anderson as much as she liked his office space.

Lori and Lucy turned the corner into the reception area, coming face-to-face with Baby Walt and Mr. Anderson. Lori stiffened.

Apparently Mr. Anderson was Mr. Josh Anderson.

Lori’s Josh.

Not her Josh, she amended hastily, but that mammoth Josh she’d hoped never to see again. Just that morning, she’d been relieved not to run in to him—figuratively or literally—when she’d worked out at the gym right after dawn.

His eyebrows rose in mild surprise as he transferred the baby to his mother’s arms. “Who’s your new friend?” he asked Lucy over the child’s fussing.

Lucy had eyes only for the baby. “She’s your new receptionist. I told you she was coming in today. Josh Anderson, this is Lori Hanson.”

“We’ve met,” he said.

That caught Lucy’s attention. She looked up. “What?”

Lori tried to think what to do. Even with five feet separating them, Josh was so big. Too big. And her heart was pumping too hard. “I—”

She clamped her mouth shut on her immediate urge to say she couldn’t take the position after all. The temporary agency she’d signed with wouldn’t be exactly thrilled if she couldn’t stay on the job for even an hour. “We met at the gym,” she told Lucy.

The other woman’s gaze sharpened. “Really? How—” The baby wailed louder, and Lucy broke off to change his position. Then she looked over at Josh, her expression rueful. “I’m taking Lori through the files, and the squeaker’s noise is going to echo like crazy off the metal cabinets. I recommend you take an hour’s coffee break—at least a block away.”

Some of the tension left Lori’s shoulders. With Josh out of the office, she could pump Lucy for information about him and then decide if she could really take on this assignment.

But Josh was shaking his head. “I’m expecting some plans to be dropped off.”

Lori let out a slow breath. Okay, so he’d still be around. But in the privacy of the filing room, she knew that the talkative Lucy would be happy to give an honest assessment of her boss.

The baby wiggled and cried louder. Josh reached out his enormous hand and ran it over the back of the baby’s fuzzy head. “Luce, why don’t you take Walt home? I can show Lori what she needs to know.”

“Oh, but—” Another infant wail interrupted Lucy’s protest. “I think I will,” she said, with a grateful smile. “If you don’t mind, Lori?”

As if she could ask a new mother to put off taking her unhappy infant home. Smiling weakly, Lori shook her head. “I’ll be fine with Mr. Anderson.”

“Josh,” he said. “Just Josh.”

“I’ll be fine,” she echoed obediently, thinking of his big hand on the baby’s tiny head. “With Josh.” Wouldn’t she?

In the few minutes it took for Lucy to gather her things, though, Lori’s nervousness grew. When the front door shut behind the other woman, its thud was nothing compared to the loud, anxious thumping of her heart.

But she could do this, she thought, sitting down in the receptionist’s chair and pulling her notebook and pencil front and center. It didn’t matter that he was standing on the other side of her desk and that they were alone in the office. It didn’t matter that he was big. That he was young and good-looking. He was just her boss.

Keep it impersonal, she told herself. They’d concentrate their attention on files, phone calls, blueprints. Business.

Her eyes focused in the vicinity of the second button of the denim workshirt he was wearing with a pair of clean but worn jeans, she made her voice brisk. “Where would you like to start?”