“Glad you offered.” He stroked his chin. “Hope you’ll take what I’m about to say in the spirit in which I intend it. Never let a stranger into your home. I’m not a killer or rapist, but I could’ve been both. Promise me you’ll never do that again.”
“Not if it means I can’t let you in when you come back,” she boldly flirted.
Chancellor grinned. “You can make me the exception. You’re safe with me.”
Drats! She wanted to feel anything but safe with him—and in a delicious way. On the other hand, she’d love to find herself snuggled safely into his strong arms. Chancellor looked strong, as if he could make her feel protected in so many wonderful ways.
“I actually believe I’m safe with you. When can we go to Home Depot?”
Chancellor folded his arms against his chest. “When do you want to go?”
“I get off work around three. Is three-fifteen okay with you?”
“Fine.”
“I can pick you up at the shelter. Can you meet me there?”
“Three-fifteen. I’ll be there.”
“How’d you get here today?”
“Bus. By the way, I gained entry through a walking gate, by your neighbor.”
Interesting, she thought. “On my way to work, can I give you a ride somewhere?”
“You can just drop me off wherever you’re going. I can find my way from there.”
“Let me grab my purse. We can go out through the garage.” She bit down on her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t give you a chance to wash up. Would you like to do so?”
“I’m fine. I washed my hands off with the garden hose. I’ll clean up later on.”
“I’ll be right back.” Deciding she should tread lightly, she made direct eye contact with him. “By the way, what’s your last name?”
“Kingston,” he responded, smiling, hoping his name didn’t ring a bell for her.
“Chancellor Kingston.” The prestigious name sounded slightly familiar, Laylah thought as she rushed off to the back of the house, where the master bedroom was located. She quickly grabbed her purse off the bed and shot back up to the front.
“Ready?” she asked him, giving him a hundred-watt smile.
“Ready.”
Despite how busy Laylah had been, the day still dragged. She had accomplished quite a lot of work, but she had a lot more to do. The phone calls put through to her desk had been incessant, but she had handled each one with her usual aplomb. The woman was patient beyond belief and was known to have nerves of steel, more so in the face of adversity.
A quick glance at the clock let Laylah know it was time for her to wrap things up if she was to meet Chancellor on time. They’d have to hurry through their shopping at Home Depot so she could get him back to the shelter before the lines began to form. Because she had thought of that scenario before she’d dropped him off earlier, they had changed their meeting time to two o’clock. She had plenty of comp time on the books.
Just as Laylah pushed back her swivel chair from the desk, she caught a glimpse of a figure entering her office door. A slight turn in her seat brought her face-to-face with the formidable-looking March. What now? She had to wonder. As sure as she breathed air, he was there to mess up the end of her day. “You need something?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. You weren’t getting ready to leave, were you?”
Laylah knew that he knew, like everyone else in the office knew, that leaving was exactly what she was about to do. Anytime she planned to leave early, she gave as much notice as possible. While she hadn’t told March directly, news always traveled fast in these office suites. “What’s on your mind?” she asked, refusing to respond to his query.
“I have a phone interview I’d like you to conduct. It’s an assignment I planned on handling, but I’ve been called up to attend a special meeting with city council members.”
“What time is the interview scheduled?”
March lifted his hand and looked down at his wristwatch. “In ten minutes.”
How could he possibly prepare her for this assignment in such a short time frame? This was just another of his hateful ploys. “Who am I interviewing and on what topic?”
March handed her a sheet of paper with typing on it. “It’s all right here.”
“Whoopee,” she halfway snarled. “Nice to know you always come prepared.”
“Always prepared,” he said. Without further ado, he turned around and left.
Laylah wished that that was the case. March was the most un-prepared man she’d ever met. Calmly, she gathered up her belongings, along with the typed sheet of paper he had handed her. Humming a soft tune, she left the office and headed toward the exit.
March came running out of his office in time to beat Laylah to the employees’ exit. “Where do you think you’re going? I just gave you an important assignment.”
“I know,” she said blandly, stepping around him, looking down at her watch. “If you hurry, you won’t be late for your special meeting.” Thank God for cell phones.
Laylah planned to conduct her interview by cell phone. She was sure March hadn’t thought about that. If he had, he would’ve found another way to try to sabotage her plans. Since she was well seasoned at this sort of thing, it should be a piece of cake for her. Besides that, she had already interviewed this high school principal several times. Seventy-year-old Clara Holliday had just won another prestigious, newsworthy award.
March would more than likely call her on the carpet on Monday morning, accusing her of belligerence, but getting the assignment done was always the best revenge against an idiot boss. She would be ready for his tired behind, just as she always was. He’d never best her because he simply wasn’t the best.
Chapter 3
All finished with the Holliday interview, which had gone off as smoothly as a summer breeze, Laylah pulled her car up in front of the shelter instead of parking in the lot, her normal routine. She had made it there right on time. Upon spotting Chancellor, she quickly blew the horn, regretting it the moment lots of heads turned her way. She couldn’t help smiling broadly as he made his way over to the car.
Chancellor opened the door and slid into the passenger’s seat with ease. He looked over at Laylah and smiled. “How’s your day been?”
As Laylah thought about how it had made her day to best March at his evil deeds, laughter trilled in her throat. “Beautiful! And yours?”
“Pretty darn good, considering. You ready for our little shopping trip?”
“I am. I know people who’d give up a limb or two for the chance to go to Home Depot to shop for plant-pest spray.”
Chancellor roared with laughter from deep inside his belly. “That’s funny.”
“I thought so,” Laylah remarked, trying hard not to sound too flirty.
Wondering if she was trying to be cute or cocky, Chancellor gave her a wry look. He liked her sense of humor, but he didn’t care for artificially overconfident women, hoping she wasn’t anything akin to those types. Too much confidence in folks was hard for him to take, period. He had never been arrogant; he thought of himself as both humble and compassionate. “Do you always toot your own horn like that?”
Laylah