A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (2 page)

Kate grinned as she watched his retreat. She and Smitty had started in the shop within a week of each other and had become instant friends. They both lived alone and helped each other out from time to time. Kate would occasionally cook a meal for him and he would help her fix things around the house when it was more than she could handle. She was probably closer to him than anyone else in the shop. She thought of him as an adopted brother.

Kate stepped from the window and turned to find two men staring at her. One of the men she recognized immediately. The other man she had never seen before. That face, with its dark tan, high prominent cheekbones and chiseled chin, was not one she would have forgotten. He stood just over six-feet she guessed, with sun bleached streaks running through his brown hair and incredible blue eyes. Maybe they were actually gray; she couldn't tell for sure this far away. He had very long legs and a tapered waist. The snug polo shirt he wore outlined a nicely sculpted chest and broad shoulders.

"Hi, Kate," Bill said as he approached her.

She shook herself mentally. Over the years she had worked with more men than she could count, but couldn't remember ever absorbing every detail of one instantly like she had just done with this one. She smiled at Bill and returned his greeting, trying to concentrate on him and not the man beside him.

"I knew you were no slouch when it came to dealing with the men out there, but I'm not sure I would have the nerve to talk to Smitty like that."

Kate laughed. "He's big, but he's really very nice. He would stand down a grizzly bear without blinking, but would never think of hurting a woman. Which is lucky for me considering how often I irritate him."

"What was it you called him? Berkley?"

Kate turned and looked behind her. "I wouldn't let him hear you say that. I wouldn't have said it if I'd known anybody was listening." She glanced toward the shop again then grinned. "Believe it or not his real name is Berkley Worthington Smithers, the third," she said in her snootiest voice.

"You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. He would probably make an exception to his no-hurting-women rule if he knew I told you though, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't let on you know."

"That secret is safe with us. Isn't that right, Drake?"

"Right."

Kate felt, as much as heard, his deep baritone reply.

"Kate, this is Drake Hampton, the new Vice President of Manufacturing. I'm giving him a tour. Drake, this is Kate Layton. If there is anything you need to get a job done, Kate's the one to see."

Drake held out his hand. "Hello."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." She stifled a nervous giggle as she slipped her hand into his. They only shook hands briefly, but it sent a strange tingle up her arm.

"Is something funny?"

"Um, lets just say from the rumors I've heard, you're not quite what I was expecting."

"Let me guess," said Bill, "Everyone was expecting some old crony I was saving from retirement."

Kate laughed. "Something like that, yes."

"Drake here is a friend of mine. I met him through my son when they were roommates in college. I've been trying to get him to join the team for years. He's been working in Indianapolis for the past five years."

"Really? Indy is great."

"You like the city?" Drake asked.

"My friends and I occasionally drive down to spend the weekend. We always have a great time. I like to visit, but I don't think I'd want to live there. Basically, I'm just a hometown girl. The city seems so busy. Here, I feel like I have time to enjoy life."

The way Drake stared at her made her very uneasy. Not to mention the fact that Bill suddenly glanced from her to Drake with the oddest grin. She tried not to fidget under the scrutiny.

Kate looked nervously at them both. She wiped the tip of her nose with the rag in her hand. "Do I have a smudge on my nose or something? I quite often get oil or coolant on my face."

"No my dear, you're lovely as ever." Bill glanced again from her to Drake.

She turned, trying to hide the blush she felt spread through her cheeks at the compliment.

Bill spoke again, his voice tinged with amusement. "Kate, Drake has been busy moving and hasn't had time to learn the area yet. Maybe you could recommend a place to eat. What is your favorite restaurant?"

"Well my personal favorite is the Mocha and Mousse coffee house."

Bill's brow creased. "Where's that?"

"It's on the ground floor of an old brick building over in Pierceton. With a concrete floor and painted cinder block walls it's not a fancy place, but they have great food if you like soups and sandwiches. They make all their own bread and croissants. They, of course, have all manner of coffees and sodas. The best part is there's a pastry chef on staff. The desserts they serve are incredible." Then she grinned. "I have to admit, I don't often see many executives there."

Bill turned to Drake and clapped his shoulder laughing. "That just about covers the list, doesn't it?"

Drake never took his eyes off Kate, but he did smile. "Yes, it sure does."

Kate was thoroughly confused. "What list?"

Just then Mr. Denison was paged. He stepped to the phone at Kate's desk and received a quick message. "Well Drake, that conference call we've been expecting just came in. We'd better go."

Drake stepped in front of Kate and took her hand. He didn't shake it as she thought he was going to, he just held it in one hand and covered the back of it with his other. She wanted to pull away, but couldn't seem to move as his gaze penetrated hers. Gray, thought Kate. His eyes are definitely gray.

Then Drake ever so softly said, "It is so nice to meet you, Kate."

Bill chuckled behind him and he released her hand.

Kate noticed the knowing look the two men exchanged. "Am I missing something here?"

Bill laughed again. "I suspect you'll figure it out soon enough." The two men left through the door they had entered, leaving Kate to stare after them with lines of worry creasing her brow.

*****

Drake hadn't wanted to leave the tool crib. Something about that woman had him completely captivated. He couldn't keep the word feisty out of his mind after what he had just witnessed.

He was amazed at the sheer size of the man she had yelled at. The guy stood at least six foot six and was built like a pro wrestler. The black leather vest covering his white T-shirt stretched tight across his massive chest. As he returned to the window a tattoo of the grim reaper became visible on his right bicep, which was the diameter of an average man's thigh.

She stood with her back to him undaunted by the hulk of a man staring her down. A braid of chestnut hair started at the base of her smooth slim neck, continued past the petite squared shoulders to the middle of her perfectly contoured back. His gaze had fallen from there to appreciate the nicely rounded hips just above those long slender legs. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.

When she finally turned around, she had taken his breath away. Kate had incredible brown eyes, sharp and intelligent.

Drake was brought out of his musing when Bill spoke.

"Well, I guess I was wrong when I said you were asking too much. She's a terrific girl. I've always had a very high opinion of her. I realize this coincidence doesn't mean the two of you will end up together, but when I think about it, the two of you might hit it off quite nicely."

"Bill," came Drake's self-assured reply. "We're going to do more than simply hit it off. That," he nodded his head toward the cage, "is the girl I'm going to marry."

Chapter Two

An hour later, Kate saw the two men out on the shop floor, obviously continuing their tour. She tried to concentrate on her work, but found herself watching Drake instead. Disgusted with herself, she decided to check inventory in the back so she couldn't see him. After counting the same stack of polishing buffs three times, however, and still not being sure how many there were, she gave up. She slammed one of the buffs down, grating, "What is wrong with you?" out loud.

"That buff giving you trouble, is it?" She spun to find Ray, her supervisor, standing behind her.

She grimaced, "No. I'm just having a bad day."

"I hope you're not worried about the new VP. I've talked to him he seems like a pretty good guy. I know everyone's been tense about someone new taking over, but I think the transition will go pretty smoothly."

"I'm not worried about that, really." She wasn't worried about Drake doing his job. She was worried about her job if she couldn't find a way to concentrate with him in the building.

"Have you had a chance to meet him yet?"

"Yes. Mr. Denison brought him through here this morning."

"What did you think of him?"

"I, ah...well, guess he seemed... nice," she stammered. "I only really talked to him a minute or two before they were called away."

"Are you okay? I don't think I've ever seen you this rattled before."

She gave the most reassuring smile she could muster, "I'm fine really. It's just been a difficult day. You know how Monday's can be."

"Yes, I do," he laughed, "Which is the reason I'm here." He held up a tool. One end of it resembled a melted candle made of black wax with an occasional hint of blue.

"Looks like someone ran it backwards."

"Yep. I took my eyes off one of the trainees for a few minutes. At least it happened after Denison and the new guy had moved on."

She laughed in agreement. "That probably wouldn't have made a good first impression."

Kate kept herself busy the rest of the day, but didn't feel like she had really accomplished anything. She was relieved when it was time to clock out.. That thought disturbed her. She had always loved her job and although there were times she was glad to leave because of being tired or having plans after work, she didn't remember ever just wanting to get out of the building.

On the drive home her thoughts took her back to when she had started five years earlier.

*****

She had been thrilled when she had landed the job as janitor. Not that she liked cleaning, but it was a job that got her in the door of a company growing fast enough she knew there was potential to move into a full time position with better pay and benefits.

She grimaced as she remembered her first day. The man who hired her had failed to tell her, working the evening shift, she would be the only woman in the building. Not that it would have kept her from taking the job, it just would have been nice to be warned. She was used to being around people of the male persuasion, having grown up around so many. It just gave her an uneasy feeling to work in the dark, quiet areas alone, in a building containing so many men she didn't know.

That's how she met Mr. Denison. She had been deep in thought with the drone of the vacuum cleaner surrounding her when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, and let out a scream she was sure echoed in every corner of the building. She turned to find a man grasping his chest and trying to catch his breath.

Kate grabbed his arm. "I'm so sorry, are you all right?"

"I will be. I didn't intend to startle you young lady." It suddenly dawned on Kate who the man was and she let go of his arm. She had seen his picture in the lobby. He was the president and CEO of the company. Her heart sank. She had just nearly killed the man who ran the entire business. So much for her new job.

As it turned out, he had just wanted to let her know he was leaving for the day and apologized for any inconvenience his random hours cause her. Which impressed her greatly. She felt even better about her job knowing she worked in a place where the man in charge took the time to, not only know, but be polite to all his employees.

She had met most of the men who worked her shift the second night while she cleaned the break room. They all came in, introduced themselves and chatted with her while she worked.

Although she wasn't bad with most domestic activities, and was actually a good cook, she had always been very mechanically inclined. She loved working with her hands and understood tools and machinery better than most other things. She could fix most things around the house when needed. Not that there was much to fix in the small two room apartment she lived in.

That would change though. She was on her way to owning a house of her own. It wouldn't be a huge house, or one with lots of fancy extras, but it would be hers. All hers. No more being tossed from family member to family member. Nobody would be able to ask her to leave, because they were either tired of her, or needed the room for someone more important. So far she had worked hard and kept on schedule with her plans. Step one: get a full time job after high school. Step two: move into an apartment by age nineteen. Step three: a place by herself by age twenty-two. Step four: Homeowner by age twenty-six.

She was on step three now. Only one more to go, and three years to do it.
Someday
, she dreamed,
a place of my own, just for me.

Her friends, Missy, Kelsie, and Sue continuously asked her about all the men she worked with and what they were like and how many of them were single.

"I can't believe you're the one who works in a building with all men," grumbled Sue. "Why can't it be one of us who would be more than willing to take advantage of the situation?"

"Because none of you would be willing to clean toilets or mop floors for a living."

"Okay, I'll give you that, but how can you resist all that testosterone? All those tight jeans and bulging biceps?"

"So far it's not been a problem. I have my sights set higher than mere men. I want a..."

"We know, we know, a house of your own, and no one to answer to." The three said in unison.

Kate smiled innocently. "Oh, have I mentioned that before?"

"Only for as long as we've known you," Kelsie answered. The four of them had become friends in the ninth grade and had been close ever since.