Expecting at Christmas. Charlotte Maclay

Griffin only knew for sure that he’d cut about as much waste as he could from Compuware’s operation, and he still wasn’t meeting Uncle Matt’s prices. Any more cuts, and he and Brainy would be back working shifts in the warehouse themselves.

      “You want me to have advertising gin up an ad for next week to meet these prices?”

      “That would almost be too late in the season to do any good.” Leaning forward, he studied the newspaper spread in front of him. Instead of an array of computers and accessories, he saw Loretta’s impish face and innocent brown eyes staring back at him. Her knowledge of computers was limited to playing Nintendo with a nephew. Even in this day and age, a lot of people didn’t know computer basics. That thought sparked an idea that would advance his company over the competition.

      “Compuware and Compuworks are like two dogs fighting over the same bone. What we need is to develop a new market, people who never thought they would buy a computer. They’re scared of the technology, and they don’t have much money.”

      He looked up at his buddy. “I want them to come to our stores to buy everything they need to enter the twenty-first century. We’ll offer no down payment, extended credit and hands-on help getting started. If they’ve even been thinking about getting a computer for their family for a Christmas gift, they won’t be able to resist our deal.”

      “We could lose our shirts doing that.”

      “Or it could give us an edge over Uncle Matt.”

      He and Ralph talked about the idea for a while, finally deciding to get an advertising campaign rolling in a hurry. With luck, they could draw business away from Compuworks and entice new customers at the same time.

      “So how’d it go with Aileen last night?” Ralph asked after they’d concluded their business. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Tell me all, boss man. Is she as good in the sack as she looks?”

      “I wouldn’t know,” he grumbled. “My butler discouraged her from sticking around.”

      “Rodgers?”

      “No, my new butler. Say, you wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” Griffin was still having trouble believing the agency would have sent Loretta to him, though once she set her mind on something she was a hard person to discourage.

      “Not me. I didn’t even know Rodgers had quit.”

      “He hasn’t. He’s on vacation.”

      Ralph gathered up the newspapers from Griffin’s desk and the notes he’d taken. “So the new guy sent Aileen away?”

      “It’s a gal, not a guy.”

      “Your butler?”

      “Yeah.”

      “You’re kidding.” Ralph laughed. “Some guys have all the luck. Is she a looker?”

      Griffin contemplated the question for a moment. Certainly Loretta wasn’t as willowy as Aileen or most of the women he dated. Not as sophisticated, either. She’d probably never been to one of the hot, upscale nightclubs in town. He doubted she’d ever attended theater openings or the Emmy Awards. Yet something about her striking features, dark liquid eyes and easy smile suggested her unique beauty went more than skin-deep.

      But she was pregnant with another man’s child, he reminded himself. Hell, with another woman’s child, for that matter. And that made her off limits even if he might otherwise have been interested.

      Griffin Jones was a long way from wanting to be tied down with a family, particularly a family with aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings that appeared to multiply faster than a computer virus.

      “Let’s just say I’m planning to mend some fences with Aileen today,” he said. “If I can get her up to my place again, the results will be different this time.”

      Ralph grinned knowingly. “Good luck, boss man.

      When he left, Griffin picked up the phone. If he could convince Aileen to have dinner with him, he’d consider that he’d turned a miserable day into a successful one.

      

      Loretta had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when the phone rang. Drying her hands on a paper towel, she answered in her most professional voice. “Jones residence, the butler speaking.”

      “Hey, Lori. How’s it going?”

      “Oh, hi, Brenna,” she said, smiling as she recognized her cousin’s voice. Stretching the cord across the kitchen, she opened the cupboard under the counter and tossed the paper towel in the trash compactor. “How’d you find me here?”

      “Your mom said you had a new job. Is it true what they say about your boss?”

      “What is it they say?” As if she didn’t know or couldn’t guess.