Romantic Acquisition Page 0,12

up in time for work. She flew into the conference room with a large cup of coffee in her hands, smiling her apology to Jeff and Peter who were already settled in their respective places at the conference room table.

“I’m sorry to be so late,” she said breathlessly, setting her coffee down on the polished wood. “Where’s your leader?” she asked, wondering why the idea of saying his name seemed too intimate.

Both men smiled in greeting. “Carlo was here but he had a meeting and will be back in a while,” Peter said.

“You look tired. Late night last night?” Jeff asked.

Kate took a long sip of her coffee as she nodded.

Peter smiled his sympathy. “You know, Carlo can be a slave driver if you let him. He’s fine if you just say you need to leave. You don’t have to stay at work until all hours of the night like him. He’s a very reasonable person, I promise.”

Kate just smiled, not wanting the two men to know she had not been working with Carlo last night but had been socializing with him. “He didn’t keep me here late. He’s a very nice man. In fact, he tried to push me out of here around seven o’clock.” She was also worried about David knowing that she’d been out with the enemy. If her boss found out she’d been to dinner with Carlo, he’d be furious. David Jamison discouraged all forms of employee socialization. He even frowned on two employees going to lunch but most people ignored his attitude in that area.

Kate was logging onto her computer when she heard voices coming towards the conference room. She quickly became interested in the file on the top stack of the nearest pile.

“I’m glad Katherine is working out for you. I know she’s extremely knowledgeable about all the Jamison departments. She’s a real asset to our operation,” David was saying.

Kate looked up and saw Carlo nodding his head as he entered the conference room, his eyes looking right at her. “Yes, she’s been great to work with. Thank you for assigning her to us,” his deep voice replied.

“Good, good,” David said cordially. He looked around the conference room and noticed Kate sitting at the table. “Kate, you look tired,” David said, feigning concern for one of his employees. “I saw your car here last night as I was leaving but I didn’t see you in the offices. Late night with your friends?” he said.

Kate would normally ignore his question, knowing that he didn’t really care where she’d been. But with Carlo, Jeff and Peter looking on, she thought she should at least be polite to him.

“I went out with a friend,” she said simply, avoiding Carlo’s eyes. “I just left my car here for convenience.”

“Well, tell your friend not to keep you out late the next time. You’re an integral part of this transition team and you need to be fully alert to provide information to these gentlemen.” He nodded to Jeff and Peter. “Are you getting everything you need?”

Both men nodded their heads and thanked him for Kate’s support. “She’s great,” Jeff said.

“Good to hear.” With that, David left, having patronizingly done his good deed for the day.

“Well that was a pleasant interlude,” she said under her breath.

Jeff and Peter heard her and chuckled. Kate hadn’t thought she’d said it loud enough for anyone to hear but apparently even Carlo heard it on the opposite side of the conference room. His eyes were smiling even though the rest of his face was stone serious.

Kate grimaced with the knowledge that they had heard. It was petty of her to have said it and she regretted that they’d heard her. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. What can I do to help you gentlemen today?” she asked, smiling as cheerfully as possible.

“I’m okay with the reports you gave me yesterday,” Peter said. Jeff also nodded.

Kate was about to start on her own work, assuming that Carlo wouldn’t need anything again today since he hadn’t requested anything from her the previous two days.

Her assumption was incorrect. His deep voice broke through to her nervousness. “I’d like to take a tour of the store, if that would be okay with you,” Carlo said, moving towards her chair. “Do you think you could spare a few hours and explain how things work in the real environment?”

Kate nodded but her nervousness multiplied. Be alone with him for hours as they walked through the store? “Of course,” she said and stood