past three days, she hadn’t caught one glimpse of him, leading her to suspect he was avoiding her. She’d thought the dinner meeting a few nights back had gone well, even though no business had actually been discussed. But now, she was second-guessing her assessment of that evening.
When Smokey had told her he had to go, she’d been suspicious at first, but the tightness around his mouth revealed he was telling the truth about his brother. She’d planned to ask him how everything had turned out the following morning, and had even gone out of her way to stop at the local grocery store to pick up a box of donuts for him, but he hadn’t shown up to work. And now, three days later, there was still no sign of him.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Pearl asked as she walked over to Ashley.
“Yes. I seem to keep missing Mr. Harty, and I need to speak with him. Do you know when he’ll be back in the office?”
She smiled. “Mr. Harty’s been working on-site for the last few days, and I don’t expect him back in the office for the rest of the week. Did you want me to give him a message when he checks in?”
“He hasn’t been in the office at all?”
“No. Maybe I can help you?”
“Not really. “I need to meet with him to go over the marketing campaigns, but it doesn’t seem like he’s interested in that right now, does it?”
Pearl smiled, the lines around her mouth deepening. “He’s a hands-on employer, and sometimes gets so engrossed in a construction job, he forgets he has other matters in need of his attention. I’ll inform him you want to set up an appointment to go over the marketing ideas.” She pointed to the folder in Ashley’s hand. “Do you want to leave that with me? I’ll make sure Mr. Harty gets it.”
“No. I’m always reviewing and revising, so I’d like to hang onto it. Just let me know when the appointment is set.”
Turning on her heels, she made her way down the hall and to her office.
“Did you get a chance to see Smo—I mean, Mr. Harty?” Georgia asked with an earnest look etched into her features.
Ashley shook her head. “He’s not in. He’s been working at a construction site with his crew.”
A sliver of anticipation glimmered in Georgia’s doe-eyed gaze. “When will he be back?”
“I have no idea.” Walking toward her office, Ashley called over her shoulder, “Can you print out the spreadsheets you compiled on the radio and television campaigns?”
“Sure.”
The way Georgia fawned over Smokey was beyond annoying, but it didn’t piss her off as much as the glares she got from Sabrina whenever she ran into the receptionist. It seemed like all the women in the office had a massive crush on their boss, and were all vying to be his number one girl. Well, all the women except for Pearl … and me. No wonder he’s so cocky—he’s got a bevy of women who’ll spread their legs for him in a second.
Ashley slammed the file onto the desk, muttering under her breath, “I’m just trying to show Mr. Sexy the damn marketing plan I’ve been working on for far too long.”
A knock on the door had her looking up. “Come in.”
Georgia smiled from the doorway, a set of papers clutched in her left hand. “Here are the spreadsheets you wanted.”
Ashley reached out and took the documents from her. “Thanks.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“I’m good.”
Nodding, Georgia returned to her cubicle. She was a pretty woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair and pale blue eyes, as well as a nice figure. For a moment, Ashley wondered if her assistant and Smokey had at some point hooked up after hours. The idea didn’t seem so far-fetched considering Smokey enjoyed having only women running the front end of his business. Besides Sabrina and Georgia, there was Ivy, the scheduler, and Katrina, the bookkeeper, both of whom were sharp, attractive women, who morphed into giggly airheads whenever the boss was around. It was so damn infuriating.
Since Smokey didn’t seem to be in a hurry to implement the marketing strategy she’d come up with, Ashley decided she’d spend time on other pressing projects. Ashely walked over to the filing cabinet and riffled through the folders until she snagged the one for Tech Plus, the Aspen client, and made an appointment with the CEO for the following week. Once that was done, she got to work, wanting to