“You can’t blame Kirkland for that.”
“But I’d really like to,” Carol said, grinning, and they both laughed.
“Sure you won’t take me up on that offer of dinner?” John asked, glancing at his watch.
Carol realized that she was detaining him. “No, go ahead. And thanks for your help.”
“Call me if you need anything else,” John said, and shut his car door. Carol stepped back as he glided out of his parking space and then pulled out of the lot.
Carol walked toward her father’s car—his used backup model; Gloria hadn’t come after it because she was doubtless more satisfied with the new foreign sports sedan she had received. Carol was just getting into the driver’s seat, warm from sitting in the late afternoon sun, when a wave of dizziness came over her. She had to lean forward with her head on her crossed arms, hands gripping the steering wheel for support.
How long had it been since she’d eaten? She realized with alarm that supper the night before had been her most recent meal. She’d been in such a snit over her unwanted visitors all day that she’d forgotten about food.
The dizziness passed and she lifted her head. She knew from experience that she couldn’t drive back safely unless she had something to eat, and John’s car was now out of sight. She glanced across the street at a restaurant she’d been in with her father several times. Like John’s office, it was housed in a restored Victorian-style home. The first-floor rooms of the old house had been converted into a large dining salon. Usually the place required reservations but she was probably early enough on a weeknight to just walk in and be seated. She stood gingerly, then relocked her car and went across the street.
She was right. The dining room was only half full and she was given a secluded table near the back. She had just picked up the menu when a masculine voice next to her said, “Are you following me?”
Carol turned abruptly and saw Tay Kirkland standing at her elbow. His tie was off, his jacket over his arm, and his open collar exposed a matte expanse of brown throat. When she looked startled at his remark, he smiled slightly and she realized that he was joking.
“I thought you’d be taking off with John,” he added.
“No, he was going home and I didn’t want to intrude. But I started to feel a little shaky when I got into my car and thought I’d better come over here for dinner.”
“Didn’t eat today?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Too upset about the big bad construction crew invading your domain?” he asked archly.
Carol gazed at him in exasperation. “You may think my concern is ridiculous, Mr. Kirkland, but if you’ve ever tried to study with hammering and drilling surrounding you in stereophonic sound, you would know that it’s not.”
“Please call me Tay. And I’ve never been big on studying, but I can imagine that the kind of noise my outfit makes doesn’t exactly aid concentration.”
Carol said nothing. It was nice of him to be understanding now that he was getting what he wanted.
“I’d like to explain myself better than I did in John’s office if you’ll give me a chance. Do you mind if I join you for a minute?” he asked.
Carol hesitated, and he saw it.
“Never mind,” he said quietly, and turned to go.
Before she knew what she was doing, Carol had leaned forward and placed her hand on his wrist. He froze and looked down at her inquiringly.
“Please stay,” she said, then regretted her impulse when his eyes locked with hers, searching and very blue. His candid examination made her feel coltish, uncertain, and she was relieved when he pulled out a chair for himself at her table.
“Okay to sit?” he asked.
She nodded.
He settled in across from her and folded his arms in front of him. With his height and broad shoulders he dominated the small round table as if he were sitting in a child’s playhouse.
“I wanted to explain to you why I took such a hard line with your contract,” he said.
“I think you already did that.”
“Not completely. When I first started this business ten years ago, I got burned by quite a few people who backed out of their deals after I had ordered all the materials and hired the men for the jobs.”
“So you’ve said,” Carol observed impatiently. Why was he cornering her like this just to repeat himself?
He shook his head, holding up his hand. “Let me finish, there’s more. I have to think about my future business. In my industry, if you get a reputation for caving in when the client changes his mind, you’re in trouble. You have all sorts of people ordering up work and then backing out when they decide to pay for their daughter’s shotgun wedding or Junior’s braces or a trip to the Bahamas instead.”
“I didn’t order the work. My father did.”
“I understand that, but from my perspective it’s the same thing. I have to enforce my contracts or the accumulated costs, over time, will drive me out of business. I’m growing, but I’m not that big a company yet and I can’t afford to absorb the losses the way a national outfit could. It’s simple economics.”
Carol said nothing.
“Do you see my point at all?” he asked wearily, a slight note of pleading in his voice making her look at him more closely.
“Do business with a national outfit?” she suggested, and he grinned, breaking the tension.
“They like to enforce their contracts, too, and they can afford to hire people like you to make sure they do.”
“Nobody’s going to be hiring me unless I pass the bar,” Carol muttered.
“You will.”
She glanced at him, one eyebrow arched. “You’re a soothsayer?”
“I recognize determination when I see it,” he replied. “I’d hate to be one of the bar examiners if they turn you down.”
Carol smiled.
“So are we okay? No snits, no pouts, no grudges?”
“I never pout,” she said.
“I don’t imagine you do. An Uzi would be more your style.”
“You make me sound quite formidable, Mr. Kirkland.”
“I asked you to call me Tay.”
“All right, Tay. No snits and no pouts, I promise.”
He nodded. “Good.”
Carol studied him as he sat across from her. Was it possible he was really concerned that she would be angry with him? Or was he merely worried that she might interfere further with his renovations if he didn’t placate her now?
“I’ll do a great job and your place will be worth a fortune when I’m finished,” he added, and Carol had to smile again.
Kirkland might be quiet, as John had said, but she had to be careful of the man facing her across the snowy restaurant tablecloth.
He was just too attractive to have on the premises every day.
As if reading her thoughts, Kirkland pushed back his chair and stood.
“I guess I’ll be going,” he said.
“Would