Still, Christopher, with his well-muscled body and a deep voice that seemed to come from the very base of his stomach, could make a woman question her principles.
“Can I help you with something?” His deep voice held a trace of laughter, almost as if he knew what she had been thinking. But that was, of course, impossible, she told herself. Still, she felt embarrassed at having been caught staring at him like a school girl with a crush.
“Are you settling in well?” Raina asked in what she hoped was a normal tone of voice. It sounded a bit strangled to her own ears. She wiped her damp palms against her skirt and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“I am, thank you. Your friend Kelly is very … helpful.”
Christopher said the word “helpful” in a suggestive way, which meant that Kelly was trying her luck with him. As much as she liked Kelly, the information gave her a bad taste in her mouth.
“I just bet she is,” Raina muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Christopher asked as he descended the ladder.
“I said I bet she’s very helpful!” Raina responded in an artificially chipper voice. He gave her a curious look.
“Ah, yes. Well, yes. Helpful.” He cleared his throat and then asked the question he had clearly been waiting to ask her. “Was that another of the bosses I saw leaving your office?” Christopher said.
Raina sighed aloud. “Yes, he’s the regional director.”
“I take it you don’t like him much?”
“He’s fine,” Raina said tightly. The last thing she needed was for Roger to hear she’d been bad-mouthing him. “Look I have to go; just wanted to check on you.”
With that she swung on her heels and left the room. No matter how much she despised Roger, she only spoke about him to Kelly, whom she trusted implicitly. It was unprofessional to discuss your boss with your colleagues, no matter how nasty those bosses were.
Before returning to her office, Raina took a peek into Kelly’s office and was glad to still find her there, going over timesheets. It was stupid, but she wanted to hear from Kelly herself what was going on between her and the new handyman.
It wasn’t like she was jealous or anything, she told herself, she just wanted to remind Kelly that it would be frowned upon to get involved with a coworker.… Raina sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. Even her inner voice sounded lame to her.
“God, Raina! Can you believe the gall of that man? I’m telling you, one day I’ll slap him so hard that his fake teeth will fall out,” Kelly said, her voice interrupting Raina’s reverie.
“Rog?” Raina asked in a dry tone. “I don’t even want to know what he said to you, after he was through with me.”
Kelly shuddered. “I managed to avoid him for the most part, but he had Ellie, in the kitchen, in absolute waterfalls of tears.”
Raina grimaced. She would have to make sure Ellie was okay. Maybe give her a day or two off to make up for it. “I’ll check on her in a bit.”
“Oh, but guess what else?” Kelly’s demeanor changed and she grinned widely. “I have juicier news. Christopher—the maintenance guy, I think he likes me.”
Raina kept her composure, smiling tightly at her friend. Her hands balled into fists at her side. Christopher sure did not waste time. Then again, neither did Kelly.
“Oh? Why? Did he ask you on a date?” Her tone was deliberately casual.
“Not yet, but I know that he will. I’ve caught him staring at me more than once. He’s so sexy, have you seen his ass, and the chest on that man? Yesterday he’d taken off his long sleeved shirt and his undershirt was clinging to him like a second skin. Mmm hmmm … I can just see myself in his arms all night.…”
Raina forced a laughed at Kelly’s dreamy expression and she swallowed the awful taste in her mouth. She admired the way Kelly went after what she wanted with no reservations. It had never been that way for her. Raina gave careful thought to everything that she did, never rushing headlong into situations that could prove to be sticky later on.
“Well, just remember—dating a co-worker is a bad idea. If things get messy …” Raina’s voice trailed off in warning.
“Don’t worry, hon. If I have to find a new job because I’m dating him, it would be worth it. Mmmm hmmmmm …” Her eyes got dreamy again and Kelly wrapped her arms around herself.
“Well … I would miss you,” Raina said, meaning it.
“What about you? Any potential boyfriend material on the horizon?”
Raina shook her head. “I can barely keep my head above water as it is.”
“What do you mean?” Kelly said, looking concerned.
Raina realized that she had said too much.
“You know the usual—juggling kids and work.” She said it in a casual tone, knowing that Kelly could pick up on any hint of anxiety, which Raina was feeling a lot of these days. She reached for the door handle, mentally swearing at herself for giving Kelly an opening to dig.
“Raina?” Kelly called out as Raina nearly sprinted out the door. “I’m your friend and you can talk to me about anything; you know that, don’t you?”
Raina turned, smiled brightly and nodded. She felt Kelly continuing to watch her as her long legs carried her down the hall.
It was not that she did not trust Kelly, but from a long time ago, Raina had learned to keep her biggest problems to herself. The issue of the mortgage hovered in her mind all the time, nudging and squeezing her brain. Not to mention the hospital bills that seemed to increase every month. She managed her days by not giving a thought to it at all, but it was always there. If something happened to upset the balance, like losing her job because she pissed off Pervy Rog, Raina could very well find herself on the streets, along with the kids.
Still feeling unsettled and afraid that Roger might corner her in her office once again, Raina headed for the security station, which was in a discreet room off the lobby.
“Hiya guys,” she said to the two uniformed men who monitored the security cameras. Being men of few words they merely grunted at her in acknowledgement.
Her eyes scanned the thirty or so cameras mounted on the wall, and then settled on a view of the banquet room, which had a conference going on. It appeared to be on a break, as the guests mingled, holding cups of coffee and tea. Her interest, however, was in Roger, who had walked into the room.
Though she could not hear what he was saying, she saw the reaction of the guests. The women smiled at him, and unconsciously angled their bodies towards him. The men clapped his back and pumped his hand. Raina shook her head. He was like a chameleon, changing colors depending on his environment.
If he was that friendly to the staff, he would be a wonderful boss; as it was, he treated “important” people one way and people like her another way. She wondered how she would deal with him in the days that he would be around. Usually he only stopped by for a couple of days. She hoped this visit would be a short one.
Raina’s attention was distracted from Roger, when she saw Christopher’s lean, muscled body stride quickly across the lobby, headed to the back exit.
She moved her eyes to the next camera and followed his movements as he left through the staff door. She checked her watch, noting that his shift was over.