Beverly Barton - Nine Months

“You’re right,” he said. “We’re both better off not knowing anything about each other. Just a couple of ships that passed in the night.”

Jared slumped down on the floor, leaned back his head and drew his Stetson down over his eyes. Paige rummaged in her purse, pulled out a paperback book and began to read.

They ignored each other for quite a while. After checking her watch for the dozenth time, Paige wondered if they were going to be trapped in the elevator all night. The power had gone off around seven o’clock, more than four hours ago.

A rather loud banging caught their attention. The elevator vibrated ever so slightly.

“Hey down there!” a masculine voice called out. “How many of you are there?”

Jared glanced up and saw a man at the mezzanine level of the shaft. “Only two of us. Are you maintenance?”

“No, sir. I’m Troy Dodd with the fire department. We’d have been here sooner, but we didn’t know anyone was still in the building when the power went out.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Jared asked as he stood.

“Well, the whole town’s in the dark. Seems the heavy rainstorms caused a mud slide that buried Grand Springs’s only source of electricity.”

“Will you stop talking and get us out of here!” Paige said impatiently.

“Is your name Paige?” Troy Dodd asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“Your parents called and told us that you were probably trapped in the Wellman Building.”

She glanced at Jared, who smiled at her. That devastating killer smile.

“I was supposed to have dinner with them tonight,” she explained.

“Hey, folks,” Troy Dodd said, “we’re going to send down a lift chair and bring you two up, one at a time.”

“Jared, about what happened,” Paige whispered as they waited for the chair, “I want you to know—”

“You don’t have to say it, honey. What happened was a mistake. We lost our heads and went a little crazy.”

“Yes, we did.”

“The best thing we can do is forget about it. Right? Pretend it never happened.”

“Yes, of course. You’re right. It never happened.”

Fifteen minutes later, Paige and Jared stood on the mezzanine level of the Wellman Building and shook hands with the firemen. After thanking them for coming to the rescue, Paige said goodbye to Jared. They stared at each other for one, long, sweet moment, then Paige walked downstairs and into her mother’s open arms.

* * *

After thirty-six hours without electricity, thanks to the massive rainstorm and mudslides that destroyed everything in its path, Grand Springs was a flurry of activity on Monday morning. Jared arrived at his new office in the Wellman Building before any of the office staff. He had planned to be in town for a week before he turned the entire Grand Springs operation over to his manager, Greg Addison. As this Colorado branch of Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development expanded, it would be necessary for Jared to make trips more frequently and stay longer, so he’d told Greg to hire a secretary for him, someone capable of doubling as his assistant.

But the thirty-six-hour blackout upon his arrival had set the tone for the entire weekend, and Jared had decided to cut his visit short. It had been one wild, unexpected event after another. He’d said his goodbyes to Paige, telling himself he’d forget all about her, and left the Wellman Building with the firemen who had rescued them. Discovering how desperately volunteers were needed during the local emergency, he had offered his services. He hadn’t gotten a bath or a hot meal until Sunday morning when electricity had been restored and he’d checked into a local motel.

And he had dreamed about Paige. About touching her. Making love to her. For the past two days, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.

Since Grand Springs wasn’t a big town, the longer he stayed, the greater the odds were that he and Paige would run into each other. He didn’t want that, and he suspected neither did she. What had happened between them had been a chance happening, a one-night stand to end all one-night stands.

“Trying to make the rest of us look bad?” Tall, lanky Greg Addison sauntered into Jared’s private office and sat down on the side of his desk. “I didn’t expect you until later in the day.”

“Since I’m going to be here only a couple of days, I want to make the most of my stay,” Jared said. “I need to meet your assistant and break in my new administrative assistant. You did hire someone for me, didn’t you?”

“Never fear. I hired a highly recommended woman on Friday afternoon.” Scooting off the desk, Greg stood and pointed toward the outer office. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Summers has just arrived. She’s outside talking to Kay.”

“Kay?”

“My assistant, Kay Thompson.”

“Well, I might as well meet them now. I want to brief my assistant on her duties and—”

“What’s the hurry? I thought you planned to spend the week.”

“My plans have changed,” Jared said.

“Blonde, brunette or redhead?” Greg asked.

Jared caught himself before he blurted out “redhead.” “I left some loose ends back in Texas I need to tie up, and I have to run down to Florida. Besides, we all can’t be playboys like you.”

Greg laughed heartily. “Yeah, sure. Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you the way I do.”

“Introduce me to the people you’ve hired.” Jared quickly changed the subject. “I’m especially eager to meet my administrative assistant. We have a lot to do before I leave town.”

“Right this way.”

Greg swung open the door and the two men exited Jared’s private office.

“Well, here they are,” Greg said. “Ms. Thompson, my assistant, and Ms. Summers, your assistant.”

“Ms. Thompson.” Smiling at the tall, slender brunette, Jared shook her hand, then turned to the other woman. “And this must be—” He stared at the curvaceous redhead who looked at him as if he had suddenly sprung a second head. Dear God, it couldn’t be. His assistant was Paige. His Paige…from the elevator!

After hurriedly leaving Grand Springs four months ago, L. J. Montgomery was finally returning for an indefinite stay. Paige had overheard Greg Addison telling Kay that he thought it was past time for Jared to return, that he couldn’t understand why the boss man had stayed away so long. It wasn’t like Jared not to keep his finger directly on the pulse of a new branch office.

Paige couldn’t help but wonder if Jared had stayed away because of her. Surely not. He’d made it perfectly clear that their sexual encounter had been a mistake, something he preferred to forget. Easy enough for him. But not for her. Not now.

She supposed if she’d been more experienced and less romantic in nature, she could have gotten over the silly notion that she’d fallen in love with Jared. And as long as she lived, she’d never forget her first morning at Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development.

* * *

On the previous Friday afternoon, Greg Addison had hired Paige as L.J.’s private administrative assistant and told her she’d meet her boss on the following Monday morning.

She’d arrived at work that Monday prepared to prove herself indispensable to her new boss.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” Kay told her. “Greg tells me that Mr. Montgomery is a demanding boss, but a fair one. Besides, he’s only going to be here a week this first time, then he’ll fly back and forth once we get things set up and running.”

Paige smoothed her hands down the sides of her lavender coatdress and wished she could check her appearance in a mirror just one more time. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. Since the moment she’d entered the Wellman Building that morning, she’d heard nothing but talk about L. J. Montgomery. How rich he was. How powerful he was. What an eligible bachelor he was. How handsome he was rumored to be.