They both laughed. She didn’t want to eat with him, but she had to admit she was hungry. A meal wouldn’t be too excruciating.
Once they were seated in a booth at the steak house, the waitress approached them. Ellie wanted ice water with lemon. Cole ordered a soft drink.
They sat in silence while looking over the menus. A country-and-western singer crooned over the speaker. Soft conversation rippled around them, and the smell of frying steak wafted through the room. Once they’d made their meal choices, Cole and Ellie stacked their menus on the table so the waitress could collect them.
“What are you getting?”
“I’m blowing my diet for tonight. I’m ordering steak in a southwestern sauce and chunky fries.”
“Trust me, those fries aren’t going to hurt you. You look great.” His smile jolted through her. What in the world was going on with her?
“Let’s keep this strictly on a professional level, okay?” There, she’d put him in his place.
“You think I want anything more than that?” His words sounded as though the very idea couldn’t be farther from his mind.
“Well, I—” Oh dear, she was growing pink again. She could feel it. Once again, she had presumed too much. Of course he wasn’t interested in her in that way. She rooted through her purse to cover her embarrassment.
“I’m sure you already have a special someone?” His eyebrows lifted queryingly as if he knew she couldn’t possibly have anyone in her life.
Oh, he lit her fire like a match to a torch. She lifted her chin and said with utmost dignity, “I belong to no one. Except God.” She almost felt embarrassed to add God to the mix, feeling quite sure she hadn’t represented Him well at all in front of Cole.
His eyes widened. “Oh, my mistake.” He flipped his napkin on his lap as the waitress approached.
Ellie pulled in a breath. No wonder she wasn’t married yet. She didn’t know how to relate to men at all. No matter how the conversation started, she always ended up saying the wrong thing.
They ate their dinners, both managing to get back to light conversation. Since the dinner was a business expense, Cole insisted on paying for her meal, and Ellie just wanted to go home and cry. Could she look any more foolish tonight?
They got into the car, and she finally mustered some courage. “Cole, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed—”
“Yes, you should have.”
His words startled her.
“I was out of line. Again. You put me in my place.” He turned to her in the darkness. A nearby streetlight revealed only faint images of his face. “Ellie, can we call a truce?” His voice sounded tired.
“I’d like that, Cole.”
“Good.”
A light rain began to patter upon the windshield. Cole turned and started the car. They pulled onto the road, and he clicked on the wipers. Ellie settled into her seat. The soft whir, mingled with the fine dinner, relaxed her. She closed her eyes and dozed a little while Cole drove her home.
When he finally pulled into her drive, he shut the SUV down and got out before she could. He pulled something out of the trunk and came around to her door. She saw he had an umbrella.
“Thank you, Cole.”
“No problem.” He held the umbrella carefully over them and walked her to the door.
“I’m glad we got things straightened out between us,” he said, when they stopped at the door.
“Yeah, me, too.”
There was something in the way he looked at her. “Good night, Ellie.”
She gulped just short of audibly. If Cole noticed, he didn’t let on. He simply turned and walked away, leaving every nerve in her body on edge. She attempted to push the key into her lock. It took her a full minute to get the door to open. She finally slipped inside.
With a turn of her wrist, she latched the door behind her and leaned against it. What had just happened, she didn’t know, but somehow she felt things were about to change.
Ellie hated change.
Over the next few weeks, Cole Preston introduced new procedure after new procedure in office policy. Ellie couldn’t understand how Jax could let this man come in and just take over. Pulling up the sleeve of her navy pantsuit, she glanced at her watch. Five minutes until the meeting where she supposed yet another new development would be announced. A bad attitude simmered just below the surface, and she decided she’d better drown it with the only thing that seemed to work for her.
Chocolate.
Pulling a piece of chocolate from her bottom desk drawer, she unwrapped it and plopped it in her mouth. Closing the drawer, she wadded the paper between her fingers and reached for the trash can.
“Pity. I thought you would share with me,” a deep voice said within inches of her ear.
Startled, Ellie sucked in a sharp breath, pulling the chocolate to the back of her throat like a dust ball to a vacuum. Gasping for breath and finding none, she panicked. She stood, her arms reaching for something, anything, to find relief. In a flurry of commotion, people called out to her. In that horrific moment, one thought filled her.
Chocolate is going to be the death of me.
Just then, strong arms gathered around her rib cage. Large fists balled at her midsection and made short, quick jerks until the lodged candy spewed from her mouth like a cork from a bottle.
No one around her uttered a word. Ellie wondered what would be the polite thing to say at a time like this. “Pardon me, I seem to have lost my candy,” or, “Yes, would you be so kind as to hand over my chocolate?” Before she could decide, her coworkers patted her condescendingly on the shoulder and went back to work. All but one. The person who had saved her life. She reluctantly turned to see who it was, yet, in the deep pit of her stomach, she already knew. One swivel on her shoes confirmed her greatest fears as she looked into the ultrawhite smile of Cole Preston.
The glare from his teeth gave her a headache.
She swallowed hard, thankful for the ability to do so. “Thank you,” she managed with a raspy voice.
“My pleasure—and I’m sorry.” His eyes twinkled. He strutted past her and called over his shoulder, “I just had no idea I could choke you up like that.”
Ellie stared after the man, speechless. How could he joke around when she had practically died on the spot?
She glanced across the floor and spotted the offensive little candy that had betrayed her. She ran over, scooped it up in a tissue, and threw it away. How could she face the others in the meeting? A wave of nausea swept over her. Taking a deep breath, she felt her stubborn side kick in.
Placing a legal pad into the crook of her arm, and clutching a pen with her free hand, she pulled her dignity together, lifted her chin and marched straight for the conference room.
He could laugh now, but she’d show him who would have the last laugh.
The entire staff ambled into the conference room, all but Alex who stayed back to man the phones. Coffee mugs lined the table. A box of sugary doughnuts called from the center. Most people gave in to the temptation, while Ellie preferred not to risk another choking hazard. The crowd offered their condolences to Ellie about her little episode before finally settling down to the business at hand.
Coleman Preston stood and welcomed the employees, but Ellie heard very little of his speech. The man drove her crazy, but she had to admit something about him pleased her. Was it his blinding smile, or the way one look into his velvety brown eyes made her feel bundled in a thick fur coat? His wavy dark hair suggested he had had unruly