A Better Reason to Fall in Love (14 page)

“They’re closing the office?” Jocelyn asked.

“Yep,” David answered. “Everyone’s supposed to be out of here in fifteen minutes. I guess it’s already pretty bad and getting worse. The forecast is saying this will last pretty much through most of tomorrow too.” David smiled and added, “Guess I’ll see you girls on Wednesday!”

Tabby was grateful for David’s intruding. It would steer the attention away from her and what had happened Friday night with Jagger Brodie.

“We can’t leave now!” Jocelyn exclaimed. She looked to Tabby. “You have to tell us the rest of it, Tabs. You just can’t leave us hanging like this!”

Tabby shrugged and tossed her juice bottle into the trash can. “There isn’t anything else to say. Jagger Brodie was awesome. I bought two of his CDs—which is probably the reason he sang the blues about me—and Emmy and I went home. That’s it. Nothing left to tell.”

“I guess we better get going,” Naomi said. She looked to Tabby. “But you have to give us more details tomorrow…or Wednesday…whenever we’re back at work.”

Tabby shrugged. “There really aren’t any more details to give.”

“Yes, there are,” Emmy scolded, rising from her chair and tossing her lunch sack in the trash can. “She’s leaving everything out.”

“We better hurry,” Tabby said, standing and putting the rest of her lunch remains in the garbage. “It’s getting worse out there by the minute.”

People rushing out the office doors did seem to be a great motivator, and Naomi, Jocelyn, and Emmy hurried to their desks. Tabby hurried too—for appearance’s sake. She didn’t want anyone to know she’d be staying the night at the office—sleeping on the couch in one of the executive offices. She was sure it was against policy, but that didn’t matter. She wouldn’t drive home in the storm—she couldn’t!

In a matter of minutes, everyone was leaving. Several people paused at her desk long enough to tell her she better hurry. Tabby smiled, assuring them she was just shutting down her computer and would be right behind them. As soon as everyone was gone, she hurried to the break room. The janitor would be by any minute to make sure all the lights were off. Tabby knew if she turned the lights off in the break room before he arrived, he’d just pass it by. So she flipped the switch in the break room and slipped behind the door to wait. She could hear the wind roaring outside. Glancing out the window, she began to tremble at the sight of nothing. All she could see was snow—heavy, blowing snow. The blizzard was hitting. She wished the janitor would hurry up. She would feel a lot better when she could turn on the break room television and watch something that would distract her from the storm.

She waited and waited—for at least three or four minutes—but no janitor. He’d probably hurried off just like everyone else and forgotten to shut off the lights in the office. Waiting was only causing Tabby’s anxiety to accelerate. Deciding it was obvious the janitor wasn’t going to show, she stepped out from behind the break room door. Everything was quiet—totally quiet. She was alone.

Going to the window, she gazed out into the white nothing. She could barely see the buildings across the street. She sighed as she began to relax. It was what it was. She had a phobia, and it always got the better of her it seemed. Still, she was safe and warm, with a vending machine full of food and several bottles of juice tucked in a bag under her desk. She’d be fine. Oddly, now that the office was empty, she began to settle down—began to look at her impending stay at the office as an adventure. The last time she’d waited out a storm, she’d read an entire novel and watched two or three hours of old sitcom reruns. It wasn’t so bad. Furthermore, it was much less frightening than being out in the storm.

“What are you still doing here?”

Startling nearly out of her wits, Tabby whirled around. Her heart leapt in her chest a moment, landing with a thud in the pit of her stomach when she saw Jagger Brodie standing just outside the break room. He scowled when she didn’t answer and stepped into the room.

“You better get going. It’s getting really bad out there,” he said.

“Yeah, I know,” Tabby said. “I’ll…I’ll just be a minute. You have a good night, okay? Drive safely.” She forced a fake smile.

Jagger felt his eyes narrow as he studied the pretty little redhead. She was up to something—or maybe freaked out about something—he could tell. She was as pale as a sheet and wringing her hands. He wasn’t about to leave her there all worried-looking and vulnerable.

He strode toward her. As he moved closer, he could see her trembling—she was visibly trembling. He remembered earlier that morning—remembered that she’d said she didn’t like the snow. Surely it wasn’t the snow that had her worried. It was just snow.

“You don’t want to wait, Tabby,” he said. “It’s getting really bad out there.” He paused a moment—studied the look of terror that was visible just below the surface of her expression. He heard a whisper in his mind—a thought hinting to him what her real reason for lingering might be. “I’ll give you a ride if you want,” he said.

“I’m fine, really,” she said. He thought it was too adorable—the way she was trying to lie to him—the fact that she actually thought she could dupe him into thinking nothing was wrong. He’d been studying Tabitha Flanders from afar much too long for her to be able to pull the wool over his eyes.

“Tell me why you’re still here, Tabby,” he said. “Really…why are you still here?”

Tabby bit her lip and demanded that the tears she felt welling in her eyes stay in her eyes. She knew she already looked like a big enough fool to Jagger Brodie. She wouldn’t burst into tears like some idiot. Still, she couldn’t tell him the truth. He’d really think she was a piece of work then—a crazy piece of work. Yet she didn’t know what else to say. It was obvious he knew she was lying about having something to finish up. There was nothing else to do but to come clean—to tell him the truth.

Tabby shrugged, casting her gaze to the floor. She figured she couldn’t look any more stupid than she already did, so she confessed, “I…I just don’t like snowstorms. Mostly, I don’t like driving in them.” She shook her head and glanced away, ashamed of her absurd phobia. Still, a phobia was what it was, and it had a legitimate beginning—at least to Tabby it did. “Actually, I can’t drive in snowstorms. It totally terrifies me.”

She expected him to laugh or at least chuckle. She expected him to do what anyone else would do and tell her she was being silly—that the storm was just a storm and she’d be fine.

He didn’t laugh or make fun of her. Jagger simply asked, “So what are you planning to do?”

She knew he thought she was an idiot. He must think she was the stupidest girl he’d ever met—too chicken to drive home in the snow? Yep, he thought she was an idiot. She could just imagine the way he was looking at her—disgusted. However, when she looked up to him, she was surprised to see Jagger wore an expression of concern—not disgust.

“I’ll just stay here,” she said, picking up a pile of napkins from the nearby table and straightening them.

“Stay here?” he asked. “You can’t stay here.”

“I’ve done it before,” she explained. “I just stay at the office overnight.” She shrugged again. “Some of the big execs do it all the time. Of course, it’s because they’re working late. But what’s the difference?”

“This storm could easily go a day or two,” Jagger said. “You can’t stay here for a couple of days.”

She smiled at him. He wasn’t making fun of her. He didn’t even appear to think she was nuts. Sympathy was apparent in his expression, and patience she could hear in his voice. Inconceivably, he was suddenly even more attractive.

“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “Really.”

“You said you don’t like to drive in it,” he began, “but are you okay with someone else driving you in it?”

“It depends on who it is,” she truthfully answered. “I just get so freaked out that I just won’t…not if I can help it. I’m usually okay if someone else is driving…if I trust them.”

“Honestly, I’ll be fine,” she said. “I really will be fine. I keep an extra set of clothes in my locker in the employee lounge and everything.”

“Where do you live?” he asked, reaching out and taking hold of her hand. His touch was thrilling to her hand—to her arm—to her entire body.

“Well…on Sycamore…near Vine,” she answered as he began to lead her from the break room. “But really…I’m really fine to just—”

“Let’s get your coat on,” he rather ordered, leading her to her desk. He released her hand long enough to retrieve her coat from the back of her chair and hold it out. “My car is awesome in the snow. You’re on my way home, so I’ll just drop you off…safe and sound.”

“I can either drive you home, where you can be safe and warm in your own place,” he began, “or I’ll just stay here with you. I can’t leave you here alone. I just won’t. So either let me drive you…or plan on me spending the night here with you.” He rather forcibly helped her on with her coat. “And I don’t think you’re an idiot. Everybody’s got something that freaks them out. Everybody.”

“Even you?” she asked as he pulled her coat together at the front.

He smiled at her. “Mice,” he whispered. He purposefully shivered, frowned, and said, “Man, they gross me out…especially when they just show up and you’re not expecting it.”

“Mice gross me out too,” she said as he picked her purse up off her chair and handed it to her. “That’s different than a phobia.”

He took her hand again and started leading her toward the door. “They make me get all sweaty and shaky,” he said. “So I think it counts.”

“You really don’t need to—” she began.

“I’m not leaving you here,” he said. “What if the electricity goes out or something? What if they keep the office closed again tomorrow? Nope. It’s either I take you home now or we spend the night together here.” He turned, smiling at her. “What great office gossip that would make, huh?”

“Yeah,” was the only response she could manage. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. He hadn’t made fun of her! He hadn’t thought she was an idiot for being afraid to drive in the snow—at least he hadn’t shown that he thought she was. Furthermore, he was touching her—holding her hand as he fairly dragged her from the office. His touch was fantastic—warm and strong! She felt safe—felt her fear of the storm lessening somewhat.

“You know that I’m horrified you’re having to do this,” she told him as he pushed the down button on the elevator. He hadn’t let go of her hand, as if he were afraid she’d bolt and run if he did.

He grinned at her. “Well, don’t be,” he said. “Everyone has their thing that freaks them out.” He paused, still grinning. “Anyway…look at it this way. Now we’re even.”

“Sure you do,” he said. “You know that my Maw Maw has me so wrapped around her finger that she can get me to do anything…even take the risk that someone I work with might find out what I do in my spare time.”

“Yeah, but what you do is cool,” Tabby said. “It’s not like being afraid of driving in the snow.”

“Isn’t it?” he asked, smiling at her. “Can you imagine the mess I’d have to deal with if anybody else knew about my moonlighting?”

Tabby smiled, for she well could imagine it. No doubt the women in the office, who were already panting over Jagger Brodie, would instantly adopt a total groupie mentality. He wouldn’t have a moment’s peace.

“I mean…the guys at work would be merciless,” he said.