She paid and headed back toward the bank of elevators—but was diverted when she saw one of her building maintenance managers and a couple of his guys at the security desk. When she joined them, the manager explained that several complaints had been made about trip-and-fall accidents on the twelfth floor near where new tenants were remodeling their office space.
Meredith tucked the information away to ask about in the facilities staff meeting on Monday if the manager forgot to mention it.
Back in her office, fortified with caffeine and sugar, Meredith returned to the report, recapping everything that happened from planning through execution of the New Year’s Eve gala. Finally, at a quarter of five, she e- mailed the memo and spreadsheet to herself at home, then stuffed the folder of receipts and invoices into her bag.
She switched over to her e-mail program ... and groaned. More than a hundred unread e-mails just since lunchtime. She scanned the subject lines. Nothing vitally important that couldn’t wait until Monday. She shut down the computer and reached for the phone.
As she took a long swig of soda while listening to her twelve new voicemail messages, her eye caught on the garment bag hanging from the coat hook on the back of the door. Her stomach gave a little flip. In half an hour, Ward Breaux would arrive to take her on a date. A
She wrote down the messages on the page for Monday in her planner. Finished with those, she scanned the sticky notes scattered around her desk and stuck to the sides of her computer monitor. Half of them referenced completed projects, so she threw them away. The rest she stuck to the appropriate pages in her planner to deal with next week.
The phone rang, and she picked it up without looking at the caller ID window. “Events and Facilities Management. This is Meredith Guidry.”
“Well, hello there, Meredith Guidry.” Ward Breaux’s voice sent goosebumps racing down Meredith’s arms. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I left my job site earlier than I thought, so I’m probably going to be there about ten or fifteen minutes early. I hope that doesn’t mess up your schedule.”
She glanced at her watch. “No, I was just wrapping things up, as a matter of fact.”
“Great. I’ll see you in a few minutes then.”
As soon as she hung up, Meredith jumped up from her desk and closed her door so she could change clothes. The dress was something Anne had talked her into buying a couple of years ago, and it had hung in Meredith’s closet ever since. The chocolate brown matte-silk sheath topped with a three-quarter sleeve bolero had a very 1940s vibe to it, which was the only reason she’d been cajoled into buying it. Her round-toed brown pumps had a similar retro feel to them. She hoped she didn’t look like she was wearing a costume.
Hanging the gray tweed suit in the garment bag, Meredith slipped into the marble and cherry powder room that connected her office with her mother’s. She added a little makeup—but didn’t go for the full war paint that she wore for formal events—and let her hair down from the clip she’d pulled it back with at the height of her frustration this afternoon.
The intercom on her phone buzzed. She jogged over to grab the receiver.
“Miss Guidry, there’s a Ward Breaux here to see you.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll be out in a moment.”
Heart trying to make a jailbreak through her rib cage, she grabbed the small purse she’d tucked into her larger bag that morning, draped her burgundy wool car coat over her arm, and left the security of her office.
Most of the lights were out except for in the main hallway and the reception area, which the girls were getting ready to close down. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, engrossed in the images of all the Boudreaux-Guidry properties mounted on the wall, was Ward Breaux. His charcoal overcoat made him look even larger than she remembered, and instead of the jeans and boots she’d seen him in before, dark pants and shiny black shoes showed beneath the hem of the coat.
She stopped, stomach knotted, and nearly turned tail and ran back to her office. No. She could do this. She
“Ward.” Could she have sounded more breathless? She moved forward and extended her right hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Meredith.” His grin was somewhat lopsided. She hadn’t noticed that before. His large hand wrapped around hers, not in a businesslike handshake, but as if he were going to raise it to kiss the back of it. “When I met you, I thought you were beautiful. But I was wrong. You’re gorgeous.”
Her toes curled in their cramped confines. Heat prickled her face, knowing the two receptionists were gawking at them. “Thanks.”
“Ready to go?” He turned and swept his arm toward the main doors.
“Yes.” She allowed him to take her coat and assist her into it, and her breathing hitched when he settled his hand in the middle of her back to walk her to the door. Deep smile lines appeared in his cheeks when she looked up at him.
The front door swung open before they got to it. Meredith stopped, mortified.
Of anyone who could possibly walk through those doors at five twenty on a Friday evening, why, oh why, did it have to be Major O’Hara?
Chapter 8
Major stopped and did a double take of the couple standing in front of him. Some guy had his arm around Meredith—who looked absolutely stunning. Something hot and sticky and ... and ... green oozed through every piece of Major’s being.
She had the decency to blush almost as dark red as her coat. “Major? Did you need something?”
The temptation to hide the Styrofoam box behind his back and make up some other excuse for his presence made his hand start to shake. How could he have forgotten she’d mentioned she had plans tonight?
“I—one of the sauté chefs didn’t show up, so we got into the weeds this afternoon, and I forgot...” He held up the box. “I forgot to bring you a dinner box.”
“Oh.” An expression that looked quite close to pity flickered across Meredith’s face. She glanced at her companion then back at Major. “It’ll keep till Monday, won’t it?”
He was the biggest idiot in the world. “Yeah ... yes, it should. I’ll put it in the fridge in the executive kitchen just to make sure it stays cold enough.”
“Thanks. I have so many meetings on Monday, it’ll be nice to know I don’t have to worry about scrounging up lunch.” She twisted the shoulder strap of her briefcase with her left hand.
When Meredith again glanced at the man beside her, Major turned his attention in that direction as well. Because he was six foot one, not many men made Major feel short—but this guy did. He towered over Meredith, even in her high heels, by almost a foot.
“I’m sorry. I should have introduced you. Major, this is Ward Breaux. Ward—Major O’Hara, B-G’s executive chef.”
The curly-haired giant didn’t even have the decency to take his left arm from around Meredith when he shook Major’s hand.
“So, how do you two know each other?” Major cringed, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“I had the very good fortune of running into Meredith at the hardware store on New Year’s Day. I knew it must be fate—how often does a guy run into a gorgeous lady like this buying wood epoxy on a holiday?” Breaux smiled down at Meredith with a proprietary gleam in his dark eyes.
Molten heat roiled in Major’s stomach. “Really?”
Meredith cleared her throat. “Ward is a contractor. He’s going to give me a bid for finishing the work on my house.”
“Oh.” That didn’t explain why Meredith was wearing a silk dress and looking like a movie star.
“Yes—but I do have to admit, I’m much more interested in the
