“No, no. It’s just me. I got behind somehow.”
Tina shook her head. “That’s hard for me to imagine.” She turned to Allen. “We call her Miss Excel at work. Because she’s so organized, we figure even her leg waxings are plugged into a spreadsheet.”
“I’m not that bad,” Katia replied defensively, showing them into the living room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me for a minute, I have to get my shoes.”
Allen grinned playfully and winked again at Tina. “Maybe some earrings, too, while you’re in there?”
Tina elbowed him and giggled.
Katia rushed to the bedroom, stuck her feet into a new pair of black Stuart Weitzman pumps and put on a pair of dangling emerald earrings and a bracelet to match. The ringing doorbell kept her from double-checking her reflection in the mirror.
On her way through the living room, she saw that Tina and Allen had found the wine bar and Allen was opening a bottle of Crenshaw Cabernet. “Thanks, guys. Oh, and open some pinot grigio while you’re at it, please?”
Katia answered the door. Filling the entrance were four couples and a single man, who stood inches taller than everyone else. His charisma dwarfed the group even more. Jack Carter.
“Welcome!” Katia beamed amid hugs and well wishes as her friends moved into the apartment. Jack was last. He bent and placed his hand on her shoulder and started to kiss her cheek, then abruptly pulled back. He smiled awkwardly, as if suddenly remembering she was his employee. He was the boss. “Thanks for inviting me, Katia.”
Jack had ironclad rules when it came to office romances. He forbade his employees from dating each other, and under no circumstances could anyone at Carter and Associates date a current or prospective client. Katia thought the rule was wise and necessary, considering the nature of their business. After all these years, however, Katia realized that the long hours and weekends she put in kept her single with a capital S.
Katia had very little time for dating, and even when she was at parties or functions, she was always scanning the crowds for new clients.
Katia was perpetually working the room. The company benefited from her dedication, but as she watched her friends gather in her living room, it struck her that all of her friends had paired up in the past few years. Tina was the only one who hadn’t gotten married yet, and this was her engagement party.
Only Katia and Jack were left.
She smiled at Jack and lifted her arm to usher him inside. “It wouldn’t be an office party without you,” she told him.
She glanced down the hall and looked back at Jack curiously. “Barry and Ava aren’t with you?”
Barry was Jack’s partner and brother-in-law. Jack’s sister, Ava, loved parties and never missed one of Katia’s gatherings. Ava had once told Katia that she secretly hoped Jack and Katia would pair up someday. As if that would ever happen.
Jack slapped his forehead. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. The baby got sick at the last minute. Fever, and Ava didn’t dare ask our mother to babysit.” He rolled his eyes. “She has tickets to the ballet tonight.” He wagged his finger. “Never mess with my mother’s ballet plans. Anyway, Barry didn’t feel quite right coming without Ava. He said he’d see you at the office on Monday.”
“Sure,” Katia replied dully, truly disappointed that she would miss seeing Ava. Ava was always so much fun, and before the baby had arrived six months ago, she was always up for resale shopping with Katia. Since little Kaylee had arrived, Ava had nearly dropped out of Katia’s life. She still called and texted, but it just wasn’t the same.
It wasn’t only Ava’s baby that had shaken up Katia’s life. Katia had felt subtle changes at work, too: a lost client she’d believed was a slam dunk, a corporate takeover that had caused them to lose a large account, Barry spending countless hours building a new website, new furrows across Jack’s brow.
“Katia!” Allen shouted. “Did you make these?” He held up one of her little turnovers. “With the wine—superb!”
“Thanks,” she replied, feeling uplifted by the compliment. She crossed to the bar and stood next to Jack, who had just poured a glass of red wine.
Katia took a glass for herself, a burgundy balloon she’d found at a closeout at Macy’s, and filled it slowly.
Jack took a sip and his eyes grew wide. “This is incredible. What is it?” He read the label on the bottle. “Crenshaw. Never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It’s a secret discovery of mine.”
“I want some,” he said in that firm, authoritative voice he used when issuing commands at work. “Can you get me a case?”
“Sure. I’ve made friends with the owner. Actually, Liz and I have started emailing back and forth. I’ll get on it right away.”
Jack flashed his mind-blowing, bone-melting smile at Katia, and she wondered if she’d ever learn how not to respond to it.
“Katia, you’re the best.”
“Thanks,” she replied feeling just the teensiest bit light-headed. She put down her glass. “I should see to dinner. Would you excuse me?”
“Can I help?” he offered with yet another earth-shattering smile. “I admit I’m not much good around food, other than the consumption of it, but I can lift heavy objects. Turkeys. Prime-rib roast.” He chuckled easily.
God, it would be so easy to fall for Jack.
“Thanks, but we’re having shrimp creole. I think I can manage.” Teetering in her high heels, Katia made it to the kitchen, where she grabbed onto the edge of the sink for stability.
Her heart was hammering, and she’d broken out in a cold sweat.
What was the matter with her? She’d worked with handsome Jack Carter for years. Day in, day out. Evenings. Weekends. She’d never reacted like this before.
Katia looked down at her hands as she let go of the sink. Shaking? I’m shaking?
Suddenly, she couldn’t catch her breath. She felt clammy and nauseous.
Tina walked into the kitchen, took one look at Katia and said, “Do you have any paper bags?”
Katia shook her head. “No, why?”
“You’re hyperventilating.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve been there. You have to breathe your own air. I need a little brown bag.”
“Bloomingdales?” Katia forced a smile. “Corner cabinet. Next to the cookie sheets.”
Tina shot to the cabinet, withdrew a small paper shopping bag and then clamped it over Katia’s mouth. “Now breathe. Slowly. In and out. That’s a girl.”
Katia didn’t know what was happening, but the bilious taste in her throat had subsided, her stomach no longer rumbled and her head cleared. The ground under her feet was solid again. Tina had miraculously infused marrow back into her bones.
Katia took the bag away from her face. “Thank you, Tina. I don’t know what that was. I thought I was going to die. Or at least pass out. That’s never happened to me before.”
Tina pursed her lips. “You had a panic attack. I get them sometimes.”
Katia inhaled deeply and smoothed her hair. “Humph.” She pretended confidence she didn’t feel. “It’s never happened to me.”
Tina smirked as she glanced back into the living room and spied Jack talking to Allen. Her eyes tracked back to Katia. “Well, it has now.”
Despite