sure Mr. Sexy could give Dad a real run for his money as the biggest louse to women in my lifetime. Men like him I can do without. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a wife and a few kids stashed away, like Dad. Her father had often forgotten about his family, and then he decided that he wanted out for good. Ashley was seven years old when her dad had split.
“I really don’t want to trek down memory lane tonight,” she said under her breath. She shuffled over to the bed, fluffed up the pillows, then slipped off her robe before climbing underneath the covers. In an effort to distract her mind, she picked up a book of short stories that laid on the nightstand, then settled back against the pillows and opened it up.
“I looked over the Lodge account, and I can come up with a good campaign for the company in less than two weeks. I’ll send the preliminaries over to you,” Ashley said as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.
“After I review them, you can present it to the client. I’m sure Smokey will be cool with you taking a day or two away from the office to go to Aspen. How does he like the marketing campaign you’ve outlined?” Zach asked.
“I haven’t had a chance to show it to him yet. He had to work with his guys yesterday, and he’s at a site again today. By the way, where did you find this handyman?” Ashley wanted to change the subject because she didn’t want Zach to know that she and Smokey were having dinner together that night. Even though it was just for business—how many times had she repeated that in the last twenty-four hours—Ashley just had the vibe that Zach wouldn’t see it that way.
“He came recommended by a friend of a friend of a friend. Why?”
“He’s sort of strange. He wanted to come by last night in the middle of a snowstorm to look at the place.”
Zach chuckled. “Get used to living in a small town. You’re an outsider, so to speak, and locals will keep you at a distance until they get to know you. I’ve been told he does good work.”
And is cheap, I bet. “He’s coming by at noon. Keep me in the loop, okay? I’m surprised you didn’t ask Smokey to send one of his guys over to fix up the place.”
“He’s got a ton of projects going and is already short-staffed. Try and make time to go over the campaigns with him, even if you have to meet after hours. Smokey’s one of those clients who wants to advance his company but doesn’t see the urgency in doing it the way we do at the firm.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was a bit past eleven forty in the morning. “I better get going if I’m going to be on time for the noon appointment. Mark Ames made it a point to tell me that he’s never late.”
Zach chuckled. “I like him already.”
“I hope I do,” she mumbled. “See you.”
A knock on the door made Ashley glance up, only to find Sabrina standing in the doorway staring at her with a hard look.
“Can I help you?” Ashley said as she slung her purse over her shoulder.
“Are you leaving already?” Sabrina asked, her hazel eyes narrowing,
“I’ll be back. Why are you here?” Ashley grabbed the car keys off the desk and walked toward the surly woman.
“I just wanted to tell you that Smokey is off-limits.” The receptionist lifted her chin as if preparing for a fight.
Ashley smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you mean he’s not in the office today, I already know that.” She glanced at the wall clock and gestured for Sabrina to move out of the doorway. “Do you mind?”
“I’m not talking about him not being here today, I mean that he’s—”
Ashley’s face grew hot, and she looked fixedly at Sabrina. “I’m not interested in what you mean. My relationship with Mr. Harty is strictly business, and whatever he has going on in his personal life is none of my concern.” She pushed past the receptionist and hurried away.
On the drive to the house, Ashley couldn’t get the words “off-limits” out of her brain. Were Smokey and Sabrina a couple? He certainly hadn’t acted like a man who had a girlfriend the night she’d met him at Blue’s