Chapter Eight

Thanks to a guilty conscience Norah was awake long before her alarm sounded. She was also no closer to deciding how to tell Lance that at least one person in Charleston believed they were a couple.

The sight of a school bus parked on the street adjacent to Wilson-Dawes House didn’t improve her already bad mood. She’d completely forgotten that several history classes from West Ashley High School had booked tours today. Taking around a group of teenagers who’d rather be anywhere else wasn’t a great way to start what would undoubtedly be a stressful day. Even if she managed to keep them quiet, she couldn’t hope to compete with tablets and cell phones for their attention.

After a fortifying cup of coffee, she passed through the main hall and into the foyer. Pinning a smile on her face, she opened the door and scanned the faces glancing her way with varying degrees of disinterest. They looked as excited about being there as she was.

As she escorted her group from room to room, there was the usual challenge of keeping the students from venturing into places clearly marked as off limits. It wasn’t until they were leaving the third floor that she realized the two girls who’d been bringing up the rear were gone. Of course no one knew anything about their disappearance. She called Crystal who agreed to finish the tour so Norah could look for her lost students.

She ran into Lance in the breezeway separating the house from the garage. In a suit, silk tie and dark sunglasses, he looked a little intimidating. Or maybe that was just the state of her nerves.

“Have you recovered from last night?”

The irony of the question had her laughing inwardly. “It’s all in a day’s work.”

“Sorry, but I’m not buying it. Giving tours to high school students isn’t close to the same level of excitement.”

Excitement was overrated. Norah would give anything right now for a little mediocrity. “At the moment, I’m having the wrong kind of excitement. I’ve misplaced two of those students.”

His lips twitched. “Does that happen often?”

“No, thank goodness. Will you…be around after we close today? I need to talk to you about something.”

“I should be back by six-thirty. Do you mind sticking around until then?”

Did she have a choice? “Not at all.” She grabbed the handle of the door through which he’d just come in. “I’m off to check the gift shop. After that I’m out of ideas.”

“It’s worth a shot. I’ll check my office, but I doubt they got that far. Carolyn would have directed them back this way.”

With a wave of his hand, he disappeared in the opposite direction. In eight hours she’d be admitting to the stupidest thing she’d ever done. Hopefully, she’d still have a job afterward.

Her guess about the gift shop paid off. One of the girls had felt sick and without telling anyone, they left the group and went to look for a bathroom. Norah was glad to have the mystery solved. The rest of the morning passed without further incident, something she was thankful for. She was watching her frozen dinner go around in circles in the microwave when Crystal joined her in the staff room.

“Thanks for your help this morning,” Norah said.

“No problem. I meant to ask you earlier. Were you at Rico’s last night?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. I was driving past when you came out the entrance. All I could see of your date was dark hair. Did you finally go out with Hal?”

Norah laughed inwardly at the thought of Perry being mistaken for the FedEx guy. “That wasn’t Hal. It was Perry Cabot.” 

Crystal looked up from adding dressing to her salad. “The Perry Cabot?”

“The one and only.”

“Girl, what have you not been telling me?”

“It’s not what you think. Lance is organizing a charity bachelor auction. Since I have some experience with fundraising and event planning, he asked if I would help. My first assignment was getting Perry Cabot to be one of the bachelors. Turns out I was the perfect person to do that because I used to know him before he was rich and famous.”

“It seems there’s a lot I don’t know about you. Did Perry agree to do it?”

“He did.”

“For landing such a big fish, you don’t seem very happy about it.”

Norah removed her dinner from the microwave and walked over to sit down at the table. “I blew on the ashes of an old flame. Now I’m trying not to get burnt.”

“An old flame? Sounds like things were pretty serious between you and Perry.”

“It was serious to me. I don’t think he ever felt that way. For him, there are no painful memories or hurt feelings to deal with. He can look back at our time together and laugh. He can even act like nothing happened and decide it might be fun to rekindle the relationship. I obviously view things very differently.”

“It’s never easy running into an old boyfriend. The only thing worse is seeing your ex-husband with his new wife. What are you going to do?”

“I have an…ace in the hole of sorts,” she admitted with a half-amused, half-mortified smile. “I just hope the cure isn’t worse than the disease. The funny thing is I would never have thought of this myself. The idea came from Perry. For some weird and inexplicable reason, he assumed Lance and I are involved.”

“How would he even know to put you with Lance?”

“Because Lance showed up at Rico’s.”

The fork in Crystal’s hand dropped to the table. “This is beginning to sound like an episode of The Young and the Restless. Why would Lance suddenly take it into his brilliant head to do that?”

“I never got a chance to ask him. He said something about me needing reinforcements, which was nice of him, but not really necessary. The thing is, Perry interpreted Lance’s appearance and his all-business air of indifference toward me as jealousy.”

“That’s just like a man, isn’t it? Everything has to be about him.”

“This was one time it worked in my favor.”

“Did Perry say anything to Lance?”

“No, thank goodness, but he had plenty to say to me.”

“I assume you set him straight about you and Lance.”

“Well, no. I…went along with it.”

Crystal sat back in her chair. “I don’t understand. Why would you go along with something that can so easily be proven wrong?”

“Desperate times call for stupid measures.”

“I wasn’t going to use that word, but since you did, I have to agree with you. You might have dealt with Perry, but you’ve got a bigger problem. How are you going to keep this from Lance?”

Norah laughed shakily. “I’m not even going to try. Lies have a way of coming to light, and in this case, I wouldn’t put it past Perry to say something to Lance. Perry seems to find the whole thing very amusing. All of which means I have to tell Lance myself.”

“Are you sure that’s the best way? Wouldn’t it be better to tell Perry that it was a misunderstanding? Putting up with some heartache might be preferable to admitting you involved your new boss in your personal life.”

Norah sighed impatiently. “I didn’t do this to avoid getting hurt. That’s going to happen anyway. This is about saving face and preserving what little bit of pride I have left. Even after all Perry put me through, I couldn’t hide how I felt about him. I caught a break because he assumed it was Lance. If I had corrected him, it wouldn’t have taken long for him to figure out the truth. I…couldn’t take that chance.”

“I see your point, but you’ve done more than fan an old flame. You started a fire. I hope you know how to put it out.”

Norah was more realistic. It was too late to put it out. All she could do was try to contain the blaze.

* * * * *

Lance spent the afternoon arguing a case he never should have taken in the first place. He’d been asked to help a friend of a friend with a little matter of eviction. That had been the understatement of the year. The little matter had been dragging on for months. Today it took a turn even he hadn’t seen coming. Just seconds before they were due in court, his client revealed that he’d been less than honest about some important facts of the case. If that wasn’t bad enough, the opposing attorney was one of Hunter’s disgruntled ex-girlfriends who enjoyed to the fullest the rare opportunity of having the upper hand with Lance.

Carolyn took one look at his face, and said, “I’ll get you some coffee.”

“Make it a double,” he said with an attempt at humor.

She laughed. “Will do.”

He walked into his office and shrugged off his coat. A tired smile broke out on his face when he saw the note written in Logan’s crooked handwriting. Can we play checkers tonight? If yes, come to my room at eight-thirty. I’ll bring the snickerdoodles.

Who could resist an invitation like that?

When he came up with this plan to have Jody and Logan live with him, his only goal had been helping them. He never dreamed he would get so much enjoyment out of the arrangement. It wasn’t the same as having a family of his own, but the way things were going, it might be as close as he ever got.

Carolyn reappeared carrying a tray. “Here’s your coffee. I made you a sandwich, too. Jody said to tell you dinner will be at seven-thirty sharp.”

“She means it, too.” He smiled as he took the tray from her. “Thank you very much. You’re the queen of secretaries.” He picked up the note and showed it to her. “I can be having the worst day ever, but when I see this, it all goes away.”

“I see a crack forming in your bachelor armor.”

It was more like a gaping hole. “Don’t tell anyone else. Is Hunter gone?”

“He left about ten minutes before you came in. He’s got a hot date.”

“When doesn’t he?”

“You two are on opposite ends of the social spectrum. You never date, and Hunter never stops.”

“Never is a strong word. I seldom date.”

“I can’t remember the last time you went out with someone. That qualifies for the never label. Hunter avoids commitment with as much energy as he devotes to his clients. You avoid women altogether.”

“I’ve never heard a summation of a situation put more elegantly.”

She started to laugh. “Anything else you need before I call it a day?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“Then I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“Goodnight, Carolyn.”

Lance was starting on the second half of an excellent ham and cheese sandwich when Norah knocked on his half-open door.

“I’m a little early,” she confessed, her face missing its usual smile.

Lance waved her in. “People aren’t usually so anxious to see me. Have a seat in one of my uncomfortable chairs.”

She did as he said. “Did you get uncomfortable chairs so people wouldn’t stay long?”

“Not intentionally. It was an unexpected bonus. I’m thinking of notifying the manufacturer. They might want to include the information in their advertising.”

Norah laughed at his nonsense, but it sounded forced. “You’re not just now eating lunch, are you?”

“No. This is an appetizer. Congratulations on last night.”

She blushed slightly. “You played a part in my success.”

“If so, it was very small. I hope my showing up didn’t spoil the mood.”

“Not at all,” she assured him a little too quickly. “As it turns out…” She was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She glanced at the screen, and then up at him. “It’s Perry. I wonder if he changed his mind.”

Lance was willing to bet money he hadn’t. “There’s only one way to find out. Answer it. You’ll want some privacy. Go to Hunter’s office. It should be open. He never locks anything.”

She hesitated a few seconds and then stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time.”

As she walked away, he heard her say, “Hey, Perry.” After that it was just the sound of her voice rising and falling separated by short periods of silence.

Lance had seen enough last night to doubt Perry’s call had anything to do with the auction. The only question was what Norah would do about it. The enticement of a second chance would be hard to resist.

She walked back in and sat down. “He wanted to see me tonight.”

Lance was somewhat surprised by her less-than-pleased tone. “Is that a problem? I thought you liked him.”

“I do like him,” she admitted in a small voice.

“I see. Do you like him too much?”

She bit her lip, her glance carefully avoiding his. “I thought he didn’t matter to me anymore, but I was wrong.”

“I get the feeling you wish it were otherwise.”

“I do. Very much. I would do anything to keep him from finding out.”

He didn’t doubt it. He could hear the raw edge of panic in her voice. “Tell him you’re involved with someone.”

Her laugh had a shrill quality to it. “I already thought of that.” Her eyes rose from the level of his tie to his chin. “The person Perry thinks I’m involved with is you.”

Lance managed to hold on to his sandwich. Then he checked to see if she was joking. She wasn’t. “Why would you suggest me of all people?”

She threw up a hand in disgust. “I panicked. I bet you don’t think it’s such a good idea now.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the idea,’ he said slowly. “It’s the details and execution I’m questioning.”

Her shoulders rose and fell in a heavy sigh. “I know it doesn’t make any difference now, but I didn’t plan to choose you. Perry assumed you and I were involved, and I didn’t deny it. Having him believe that eliminated any chance of him thinking I was interested in him. It was a way to protect myself, and I took it.” 

“I’m confused. Why would Perry assume something was going on between you and me? We hardly spoke to each other last night.”

Norah shifted restlessly in her chair, tinges of red seeping into her otherwise colorless face. “I think part of it has to do with the old cliché that every young woman must at one time or another be interested in her boss. The other part is how I…” She faltered to a stop, biting down hard on her bottom lip.

“How you what?” Lance prompted when it appeared she wasn’t going to go on.

* * * * *

Norah wondered if this is what it felt like to be on the witness stand. She wanted to refuse to answer, but she knew she couldn’t. Her decision to drag Lance into this mess lost her the right to tell him it was none of his business. Acknowledging that fact didn’t make it any easier to reveal her innermost thoughts and feelings to someone who was only a few degrees removed from a stranger.

“It was how I…looked at him,” she said at last. “He…recognized the look because he’s seen it before. When he questioned me about it, I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t expose myself to him a second time. So I took the coward’s way out. I let him think it was you. It was wrong; I know that. I’ve put you into an awkward and embarrassing position.”

Lance smiled faintly. “Awkward, maybe. Embarrassing, not at all. Out of curiosity, how close are we supposed to be? Do I know how you feel about me?”

Norah hadn’t thought this situation could get any more uncomfortable, but she was wrong. “I, um, didn’t go into a lot of details. I just said it was a recent thing, and we hadn’t told anyone about it.”

He nodded. “Less detail means we have some wiggle room in how we decide to handle this.”

Norah laughed shortly. “How to handle it is easy. I deserve to be fired. What I did was inexcusable.”

“Firing you won’t solve anything. It’ll leave me short an experienced tour guide, and you out of a job. This is the hand we’ve been dealt, so we’ll deal with it.”

We’ll deal with it. That sounded like he might help her. “What are you saying?” she asked, relieved almost to the point of tears.

“I’m saying that I’m willing to go along with this piece of fiction you created.”

“Aren’t you worried about our…supposed attachment becoming known to other people besides Perry?”

“I don’t see any reason why it would. It’s not like we’re going to talk about it.”

“Why are you doing this for me?” She hoped his motivation wasn’t pity.

“Why not? Finding myself with a beautiful, albeit fake, girlfriend isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me. You might even say it could be providential.”

“How so?”

“I have a ready-made date for every holiday party I get invited to. Provided you’re agreeable, of course.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“What did you tell Perry about tonight?”

“I told him I couldn’t go out to dinner with him because I already had plans to spend the evening with you.”

“I like the show of confidence. Start as you mean to go on.”

“Confident isn’t how I’m feeling right now. Ashamed of myself is more like it.” She rose to her feet. “Thanks for not showing me the door.”

He smiled as he stood up. “There was never any chance of that. Where would you like to go eat?”

“Lance, you don’t have to take me out to dinner just because I told Perry that.”

“That’s true, but I’ve found it’s usually best to do what you say you’re going to do.”

“Jody is making dinner for you as we speak.”

He reached for his coat. “She understands that things come up. I’ll tell her about my change of plans and meet you at the car.”

As Norah made her way to the staff room to collect her jacket and purse, she wasn’t sure what to think or feel. Lance had made light of it, but the situation she’d created was fraught with potential minefields. Even with the protection of a fake boyfriend, could she hide her true feelings from Perry? She might have saved her pride, but what about her heart?