“Leah and I are going out,” I said, then focused on Katie. “Angelique Bates will be in later. She has the brief for the campaign. Tell her we trust her to deliver the perfect office for the face of it.”
Katie nodded, her eyes wide. “Any preferences?”
She directed the question at me but I deferred to Leah, who glanced up at me before shaking her head at Katie. “None whatsoever. I’m still not sure why I’m even getting an office, but I’m hoping Dane will fill me in while we’re out.”
I would, but I didn’t say so. Instead, I merely swept out an arm and nodded to Janice and Katie. “Let’s go, Leah.”
They waved us off, and Leah smacked me in the arm once we were heading down the corridor. It barely even stung, but I grasped the spot anyway. “Ow. What was that for?”
“You didn’t even say goodbye to them,” she said.
I rolled my eyes at her but couldn’t quite stop myself from smiling. “If I had to say goodbye to Janice every time I left my office, I’d spend half my day saying it. On the bright side, at least now I know you have manners. See? You are what we’re looking for. A sweet southern girl next door.”
She rolled her eyes right back at me. “Just because I have manners doesn’t mean I’m sweet. Greeting people is simply a sign of being human. Nothing more.”
“Whatever you say.” I led her through the maze of walkways back to the elevator, then punched the button for the parking area and started whistling under my breath.
We were both silent on the way down, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. When the doors slid open, I pointed toward the stairs leading to the street instead of my car.
She frowned at me. “If we’re walking, why didn’t we just go to the lobby?”
“Because this way, you also get the insider’s tour,” I said. “Besides, you needed to know how to get to the parking garage from our office level.”
“Why? There’s no way I’m driving in this city. Have you seen the traffic? That’s not to mention that I’d never find anything.”
“That’s what GPS is for,” I said cheerfully. “As for the traffic, you’ll get used it. You don’t need to drive, though. We’ve got cars and drivers on staff who can pick you up and bring you here.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said firmly. “I’m not some pampered princess. I can get myself around.”
“I know you can, but once the media picks up, it might be safer if you don’t.”
Her eyes went big as she stared up at me. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
I lifted a hand and rocked it from side to side. “Sort of. Maybe not. We’ll have to see how it pans out.”
“Holy crap on a cracker,” she whispered, but it was loud enough that I caught it.
“Yep.” I pointed out a few of the staff-only areas off the parking lot as we walked, trying to distract her from the magnitude of her role in this campaign.
We spent the afternoon going to some of the traditional touristy spots in the city. The more I showed her, the more she relaxed and focused on taking in the sights instead of the reason she was here.
While in Times Square, she marveled at a bride and groom who emerged from the subway to take their pictures. Then she insisted on trying to get a picture of a pigeon with a bagel around its neck. We laughed a lot, talked about how things had been since I’d left Texas, and got caught up on the highlights of each other’s lives.
At one point, she threw her head back as she laughed and my breath got stuck in my lungs. Her company was refreshing compared to all the business meetings I’d grown so used to, but it was more than that.
Leah James was mesmerizing. I’d had faith that she would pull a rabbit out of a hat and get this done before, but as I watched her now, I saw for the first time why Jefferson had been so hellbent on having her. She was something else, and soon, the whole world would know it.
Chapter 11
LEAH
It was Saturday, but apparently, that didn’t mean quite the same around here as it did back home. Usually, Saturday mornings for me meant sleeping in, getting a slow start to the day, and not having to get out of my sweatpants until at least noon.