blow?”
“No.” He smiled, wanting to reassure her. “The second ad is good, too. You’re going to work out here just fine.”
She beamed at him, and his heart lurched unexpectedly. “Thanks.”
“Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? Sounds like you put in a full day of work before you even got here.”
“Thanks, but I couldn’t. They’re doing some construction work at the marina right by my boat, and it’s so loud I couldn’t possibly sleep there during the day.”
“All right. Hey, there’s a couch in my office. Why don’t you sack out there? I’m interviewing potential account executives this morning, so I’ll be in the conference room where I won’t bother you.”
She looked at her watch. “You don’t have more work for me?”
“I have a hot project coming in this afternoon, probably around one o’clock, but nothing more right now.”
“A little nap, maybe,” she conceded, then picked up one of her pastels. “Just let me put a few finishing touches on-”
“No.” He stood and took the crayon out of her hand, instantly aware where their fingers briefly brushed. Though she might be slightly unkempt this morning, she smelled fantastic. “You’ll get engrossed in your work and suddenly you’ll look up and hours will have passed. If you want to fiddle with the drawings after your nap, fine, but they’re perfect as is.”
He ushered Jane into his office and cleared a stack of magazines and some mail off the sofa. “I’ve catnapped on this sofa myself, so I can vouch for its comfort.”
“Would you wake me up in an hour or so? I should be good to go by then.”
“Sure.” He drew the shades, turned out the lights and left her there. But as he conducted his interviews, his mind kept wandering to the sleeping beauty in his office.
She was something else.
After the second interview, he realized he’d left the third candidate’s resume on his desk, and he wanted to review it before the woman arrived. He opened his office door as quietly as he could and tiptoed in without turning on the light.
Jane was flopped on the sofa facedown, one delicate arm bent over her head, her dark hair spilling across her shoulders. Her slow, even breathing told him she was still dead asleep.
She’d wanted to be awakened in an hour, but he didn’t have the heart to disturb her. He stood there for a few moments, watching and listening to her breathe. Then she rolled over, still asleep, her pale blue T-shirt riding up high and offering him a glimpse of her creamy stomach. Her navel peeked out over the top of her low-riding jeans. She had a tiny gold ring in it.
Funny, he wouldn’t have thought Jane Selwyn to be the type to sport a piercing. Maybe it represented her own little rebellion against the corporate-wife role she’d played during her marriage. The thought made Max smile as he slipped out and quietly closed the door.
JANE’S PHONE DREW HER out of a deep, deep sleep and she realized she’d done more than catnap. She sat up and tried to locate her cell.
There it was, on the floor. She bent and picked it up, seeing with a start that it was Kaylee’s school. She became instantly alert.
“Jane Selwyn.” Her heart thundered in her ears.
“Hi, Jane, this is Monica Wagner, the nurse at Kaylee’s school. Now, don’t worry,” she said hastily, “Kaylee’s okay, but she is running a low fever. She’s complaining of an earache. You’ll have to come pick her up. As you know, it’s school policy that any child with a fever must be sent home.”
Jane sighed. “I’ll be right there.”
She looked at her watch. It was after eleven-she’d slept for nearly three hours. It was enough that she could have worked the rest of the day with no problem, except for this little wrinkle.
Kaylee had experienced earaches before. She would have to visit the doctor and get an antibiotic. But where did that leave Max’s hot project?
For the second day in a row, she risked arousing her boss’s wrath and getting herself fired. But it was worse today than yesterday. Now, she had a taste of what this job would be like. She knew what she would be giving up.
The first ad had been a bit troublesome, but she’d begun to feel the power of the computer program by the time she’d finished. And the previous night had been incredible.
She loved this job. And despite his perfectionism, she loved Max as a boss. He was so passionate about his work, and his mere presence electrified her. She’d never wanted to please anyone as much as she did him, and that included her ex-husband.
She didn’t stop to analyze what that might mean, or exactly how far she’d go to make him happy.
Chapter Four
“Wow.” Ellen Lowenstein, owner and CEO of Kidz’n’Stuff, smiled in obvious surprise and pleasure as she studied Jane’s drawings. She and Max sat in the newly furnished conference room, kicking around Max’s ideas for an ad campaign. The carpeting had been laid yesterday afternoon, and the furniture had arrived only this morning.
Carol had literally been hanging the last picture when the potential clients had arrived.
Ellen was in her forties, round and matronly with salt-and-pepper hair and a penchant for dangly earrings. She was cheerful and upbeat, and Max felt he was making a good impression on her.
Unfortunately, also present was the Kidz’n’Stuff marketing manager, a hard-nosed, nonsmiling man with the unfortunate name of Ogden Purcell. It was hard to know what Ogden was thinking, because his poker face offered up no clues. But Max got a distinct impression the man would not be impressed with flash. He would want hard figures.
“I understood today was simply a get-to-know-you meeting,” Ellen said. “I had no idea you would put in so much work on spec.”
Ogden cleared his throat. “You do understand, Mr. Remington, that we’re still considering several agencies.”
“Yes, of course,” Max said smoothly. “But my artist was so enthusiastic about the possibility of working on this account, she stayed up all night working on these. She really loves her work.”
“It shows.”
“Let’s talk about print placement,” Ogden said. “You said in your original proposal you had some fresh ideas?”
“Yes, I do.” Max whipped out some documents he’d prepared for this moment. “I’ve been researching some smaller publications that are on the rise in terms of circulation. In my opinion, these lesser-known magazines…”
Max realized he’d lost Ellen. Her gaze wasn’t on the numbers in front of her, but on something behind Max. Max turned, and his heart sank. A drowsy little girl had just pushed the conference-room door open and toddled into the room.
“My goodness, who is this?” Ellen asked.
Max wasn’t sure if she was pleased or appalled to see a child roaming around the Remington Agency. “That’s Kaylee. She has an earache and couldn’t go to preschool today, so she’s hanging out with us.”
“She’s the little girl in the ad!” Ellen said.
Kaylee stared up at Ellen, apparently fascinated with her bright colors and dangly earrings.
For a moment, Max was paralyzed. He’d never had to deal with a situation like this. But when Kaylee took another step forward, looking like she wanted to climb into his client’s lap, instinct drove Max to move. He reached out, snagged Kaylee’s hand, and drew her toward him instead.
He could pick the girl up and return her to her mother with some strong words about keeping the child out of his hair, as Jane had promised to do. But he hated to break up the rhythm of this meeting any more than it already was.
