Hearts Under Construction

“Ellie, do you have a minute?”

Swiveling her chair around, she saw Cole standing in front of her. “Yes.”

He pulled up a chair. “I just wanted to let you know the Wilsons called last night. Mrs. Wilson wanted to check on a couple of wall measurements for furniture placement or something. Anyway, you were gone and the matter seemed urgent to them, so I met them at the house last night.”

Ellie felt her defenses going up. She tried to stay calm. After all, he’d done her a favor. She should be grateful.

“Thank you,” she managed to say with some effort.

“They’re nice people. Had a good visit with them. We started talking about carpeting, and well, I laid carpet when I was in high school and told them a little about what I know. They asked me if I could help them pick the carpet for their home.”

Is there anything he hasn’t done? Anger scorched the pit of her stomach. “Cole, I’m supposed to help them do that.”

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I’m telling you. I figured you wouldn’t care since we all want what’s best for the customer, right?”

“Are you what’s best for the customer?” She kept her voice low and controlled, though inside her emotions ran rampant. He had gone too far. He might be her boss, but they were her customers. She knew she didn’t trust him for a reason.

“Look, I know a little about carpeting, that’s all. What’s your problem, anyway?”

She took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. There had to be another way of dealing with this besides acting like a crazy woman. She needed to prove herself. Show Jax he had made a mistake in hiring Cole. She thought she had already proven herself; what more could she do?

“Ellie?”

She looked at him.

“I thought we had settled this whole thing between us. What’s the deal?”

“The deal is I would appreciate you letting me handle my own clients, Cole. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

“You know I didn’t mean to get in the way, it just sort of happened.”

Yeah, like you getting in the way of my partnership offer, she wanted to say, but for once, she held her tongue. She glanced at her watch. “I have to go.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“If it’s all right with you, I have an appointment to talk to a couple about building a house.” She lifted her chin, refusing to blink her eyes.

He bowed, stepped aside and made a grand sweeping gesture with his hand.

They would discuss the matter again.

He could be sure of that.

That evening, Ellie sat on the couch in the living room at her parents’ home. She tried to look through a magazine, but felt too restless to enjoy it. Giving up, she plunked it back on the coffee table.

Ellie looked up to see her dad watching her.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Dad, I can’t help it. Cole makes me so mad I can’t think straight.”

“Come on, Sunshine, you really think he’s trying to steal your clients?”

She didn’t want him to call her by that name just now. It didn’t fit. “Well, I told you what he did. What do you think?”

“Could it be he really was just trying to help?”

“Oh, I don’t know what to think anymore. I feel like I’m the only one who can see through him.”

“Is that how it is?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the only one who can see this matter clearly?”

She realized how ridiculous she sounded. A long exhale escaped her.

Her mom entered the room with a tray of drinks. “I understand how she’s feeling, really.”

Ellie grabbed her drink from the tray. “Thanks, Mom.”

“No, I mean it.” She offered Ellie’s dad his drink and settled into her seat with her own. “He did seem to overstep his bounds with her clients.”

Her dad took a drink of his pop. “Men don’t think that way. I see it as him trying to help. You know we’ve tried to teach you to look for the best in people. Have you done that with Cole?”

Her dad always knew how to go straight to the source of the problem and pluck the truth right out. His eyes searched hers. She kept silent.

“Something to think about.”

“What am I supposed to do, let him take over my clients while I sit and do nothing?”

“Why not go along?” With a straw, her mother stirred her ice cubes, causing them to rattle against the glass.

“Great idea, Debbie.”

“What’s a great idea? I don’t get it.”

“Go with Cole when he meets with the Wilsons to talk about their carpet. That way, you’re both represented, the clients get what they want, and your position stays intact. He gets what he wants by pleasing the clients, if indeed that truly is his motive.”

Ever so slightly, Ellie brightened with the idea. “I’ll do just that.” She stared into the distance and rubbed her chin. “He won’t be able to take over, and I’ll be there to monitor his activities and conversation.”

“Right,” her dad added. Her parents relaxed into their chairs, seeming pleased with the discussion.

Ellie looked at them and smiled. She would call the Wilsons when she got home to schedule a meeting, then she would inform Cole at the office in the morning. If he couldn’t meet them, so be it. If he could, fine. She’d be there, too. She drank her pop and allowed herself to relax a little. Maybe it would work.

Cole Preston might try to get the better of her, but she was not about to make it easy for him.

Chapter Four

The next morning Ellie felt almost exhilarated with the challenge of facing Cole. She’d stand her ground and he would no doubt back out, not wanting her to go to Jax. He might be able to schmooze his way with other people, but she would not be so easily fooled. Besides, he was there to help Jax with the business, not gather his own list of clients.

She walked into the office with confidence and marched right over to Cole who was standing by Alex’s desk, chatting with her. “I need to talk to you, Cole, when you have a minute.”

Ellie watched as he shot Alex an oh-brother-here-we-go look. Her resolve started to melt. She caught herself. No, she couldn’t give in now. She was almost there.

They walked over to Ellie’s desk. She tried to ignore the curious stares coming their way. Dropping her purse down on her desk, she pulled a chair up for him, sat down, and waited for him to sit. “I called the Wilsons last night, and we are to meet them at Fine Floors at six-thirty tonight to talk over their selection together.”

Cole gave her a grin as if he knew exactly what she was doing. “Great. I’ll be there.”

His comment took her by surprise. She had at least expected some sort of confrontation.

“Do you want to work overtime and just leave together from here?” he asked.

She had to think quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was ride with him. “Um, no, I need to go home first.”

“Okay, rather than have two cars, I’ll swing by and pick you up at your house around six o’clock,” Cole said.

Great. This was not going at all the way she had planned. “You don’t know where I live.”

“Yeah, I do.”

How did he know that? Why did he know that? “But—”

“I’ll see you then, Ellie.” Cole got up and walked away.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not figure him out one bit and it made her crazy. Well, she’d be on her guard. Regardless of what anyone else said, she didn’t trust him.

Ellie spent the day in a flurry of work, for which she was grateful. It gave her less time to worry about Cole and his latest antics.

She walked up to Jax in the kitchen. “I’m leaving now, is that all right?”

He glanced at the clock above the sink. “So soon?”

She followed his gaze. “I know it’s fifteen minutes early, but remember, I told you Cole is picking me up at six o’clock to meet the Wilsons. I was hoping to have a little time to freshen up before we go.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.” He opened the refrigerator. “Do you know who brought in all this grapefruit?”

She bit her lip.

“Another diet?”

She shrugged.

He shook his head and grabbed a chocolate bar tucked in the back of the top shelf. “Whose are these?”

Ellie hated being caught. She looked around the room as if she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about.

“Ellie?” He peered at her over the rim of his glasses.

She could almost feel herself seated in the middle of a dark, empty room with a bright incandescent bulb hanging over her. She imagined sweat forming over her brow. The pressure caused her to crack. “Okay, fine. They’re mine.”

He shook his head and began to unwrap the bar.

She ignored him. “So, is it okay if I leave? I’m not going to have time to eat dinner before then the way it is.”

“No dinner? Be kind to the customers.”

“Ha, ha,” she said with exaggerated sarcasm.

“You want one of these?” He extended the candy bar toward her.

“No, thanks. I’m on a diet.”

Jax shook his head. “You’re pathetic.”

She smiled at his teasing. “I know.”

“Ellie?” He grew serious a moment. “You be careful. I mean, Cole’s my best friend and all, but he’s broken a few hearts.”

“Don’t you even talk like that. I can barely stay in the same room with the man, let alone feel any attraction to him.”

Jax shrugged. “Okay, just wanted to make sure. I’ve seen him change the mind of more than one woman.”

“I’m not easily changed, remember?”

By the time Ellie heard Cole’s car pull up to her house, she had just completed the finishing touches on her makeup. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror. After changing from the blue dress she had worn to the office, she’d put on her black pantsuit. Though professional, it appeared more casual than the dress and much more appropriate for visiting a carpet store. She fluffed the back of her hair and grabbed her purse.

Thinking Cole was waiting in his car, Ellie started to bolt out of the door only to bump into him standing in the doorway. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Their noses were inches apart. He held her arms to steady her.

“We seem to do this a lot.” His eyes teased her.

Very uncomfortable with the feeling that shot through her, she pulled away. “I thought you were in your car.”

“Dost thou think me not a gentleman, fair lady?”

She couldn’t help but smile.

“How could I not escort one so attractive?”

Uh-oh, Jax was right. This man was spinning his web. No doubt to get her to share her commission. She ignored his comment. She fairly shoved him out of the way so she could lock the front door. When she turned around, she found him still standing close beside her. She straightened, and in businesslike fashion, walked to his navy SUV. He followed close behind and opened the door for her.

He made her feel like a teenager going on her first date. The sooner she got this appointment over, the better. Oh, why had she agreed to ride with him?

They made their way down the road, talking of surface matters. She tried not to look at him. She told herself it had nothing to do with being afraid of getting caught by his spell.

The appointment passed quickly. The Wilsons were happy with their final choices. Ellie had to admit Cole did know a lot about choosing carpet. She was also surprised he had let her control the meeting and even brought her into the conversation when he shared his knowledge of the carpet they’d picked. All in all, things went much better than she had expected. They said their goodbyes and got back in Cole’s car.

He turned on the ignition then looked at her. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Want to stop and get something to eat?”

As if right on cue, her stomach growled. She clutched it with her hand.

“I’ll take that as a yes?”

They both laughed. She didn’t want to eat with him, but she had to admit she was hungry. A meal wouldn’t be too excruciating.

Once they were seated in a booth at the steak house, the waitress approached them. Ellie wanted ice water with lemon. Cole ordered a soft drink.

They sat in silence while looking over the menus. A country-and-western singer crooned over the speaker. Soft conversation rippled around them, and the smell of frying steak wafted through the room. Once they’d made their meal choices, Cole and Ellie stacked their menus on the table so the waitress could collect them.

“What are you getting?”

“I’m blowing my diet for tonight. I’m ordering steak in a southwestern sauce and chunky fries.”

“Trust me, those fries aren’t going to hurt you. You look great.” His smile jolted through her. What in the world was going on with her?

“Let’s keep this strictly on a professional level, okay?” There, she’d put him in his place.

“You think I want anything more than that?” His words sounded as though the very idea couldn’t be farther from his mind.

“Well, I—” Oh dear, she was growing pink again. She could feel it. Once again, she had presumed too much. Of course he wasn’t interested in her in that way. She rooted through her purse to cover her embarrassment.

“I’m sure you already have a special someone?” His eyebrows lifted queryingly as if he knew she couldn’t possibly have anyone in her life.

Oh, he lit her fire like a match to a torch. She lifted her chin and said with utmost dignity, “I belong to no one. Except God.” She almost felt embarrassed to add God to the mix, feeling quite sure she hadn’t represented Him well at all in front of Cole.

His eyes widened. “Oh, my mistake.” He flipped his napkin on his lap as the waitress approached.

Ellie pulled in a breath. No wonder she wasn’t married yet. She didn’t know how to relate to men at all. No matter how the conversation started, she always ended up saying the wrong thing.

They ate their dinners, both managing to get back to light conversation. Since the dinner was a business expense, Cole insisted on paying for her meal, and Ellie just wanted to go home and cry. Could she look any more foolish tonight?

They got into the car, and she finally mustered some courage. “Cole, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed—”

“Yes, you should have.”

His words startled her.

“I was out of line. Again. You put me in my place.” He turned to her in the darkness. A nearby streetlight revealed only faint images of his face. “Ellie, can we call a truce?” His voice sounded tired.

“I’d like that, Cole.”

“Good.”

A light rain began to patter upon the windshield. Cole turned and started the car. They pulled onto the road, and he clicked on the wipers. Ellie settled into her seat. The soft whir, mingled with the fine dinner, relaxed her. She closed her eyes and dozed a little while Cole drove her home.

When he finally pulled into her drive, he shut the SUV down and got out before she could. He pulled something out of the trunk and came around to her door. She saw he had an umbrella.

“Thank you, Cole.”

“No problem.” He held the umbrella carefully over them and walked her to the door.

“I’m glad we got things straightened out between us,” he said, when they stopped at the door.

“Yeah, me, too.”

There was something in the way he looked at her. “Good night, Ellie.”

She gulped just short of audibly. If Cole noticed, he didn’t let on. He simply turned and walked away, leaving every nerve in her body on edge. She attempted to push the key into her lock. It took her a full minute to get the door to open. She finally slipped inside.

With a turn of her wrist, she latched the door behind her and leaned against it. What had just happened, she didn’t know, but somehow she felt things were about to change.

Ellie hated change.

Over the next few weeks, Cole Preston introduced new procedure after new procedure in office policy. Ellie couldn’t understand how Jax could let this man come in and just take over. Pulling up the sleeve of her navy pantsuit, she glanced at her watch. Five minutes until the meeting where she supposed yet another new development would be announced. A bad attitude simmered just below the surface, and she decided she’d better drown it with the only thing that seemed to work for her.

Chocolate.

Pulling a piece of chocolate from her bottom desk drawer, she unwrapped it and plopped it in her mouth. Closing the drawer, she wadded the paper between her fingers and reached for the trash can.

“Pity. I thought you would share with me,” a deep voice said within inches of her ear.

Startled, Ellie sucked in a sharp breath, pulling the chocolate to the back of her throat like a dust ball to a vacuum. Gasping for breath and finding none, she panicked. She stood, her arms reaching for something, anything, to find relief. In a flurry of commotion, people called out to her. In that horrific moment, one thought filled her.

Chocolate is going to be the death of me.

Just then, strong arms gathered around her rib cage. Large fists balled at her midsection and made short, quick jerks until the lodged candy spewed from her mouth like a cork from a bottle.

No one around her uttered a word. Ellie wondered what would be the polite thing to say at a time like this. “Pardon me, I seem to have lost my candy,” or, “Yes, would you be so kind as to hand over my chocolate?” Before she could decide, her coworkers patted her condescendingly on the shoulder and went back to work. All but one. The person who had saved her life. She reluctantly turned to see who it was, yet, in the deep pit of her stomach, she already knew. One swivel on her shoes confirmed her greatest fears as she looked into the ultrawhite smile of Cole Preston.

The glare from his teeth gave her a headache.

She swallowed hard, thankful for the ability to do so. “Thank you,” she managed with a raspy voice.

“My pleasure—and I’m sorry.” His eyes twinkled. He strutted past her and called over his shoulder, “I just had no idea I could choke you up like that.”

Ellie stared after the man, speechless. How could he joke around when she had practically died on the spot?

She glanced across the floor and spotted the offensive little candy that had betrayed her. She ran over, scooped it up in a tissue, and threw it away. How could she face the others in the meeting? A wave of nausea swept over her. Taking a deep breath, she felt her stubborn side kick in.

Placing a legal pad into the crook of her arm, and clutching a pen with her free hand, she pulled her dignity together, lifted her chin and marched straight for the conference room.

He could laugh now, but she’d show him who would have the last laugh.

The entire staff ambled into the conference room, all but Alex who stayed back to man the phones. Coffee mugs lined the table. A box of sugary doughnuts called from the center. Most people gave in to the temptation, while Ellie preferred not to risk another choking hazard. The crowd offered their condolences to Ellie about her little episode before finally settling down to the business at hand.

Coleman Preston stood and welcomed the employees, but Ellie heard very little of his speech. The man drove her crazy, but she had to admit something about him pleased her. Was it his blinding smile, or the way one look into his velvety brown eyes made her feel bundled in a thick fur coat? His wavy dark hair suggested he had had unruly curls as a boy. She wondered if one day his son would inherit the trait. The very thought made her face warm, though a shiver ran through her. She pulled her jacket tighter.

The minutes clicked on in the quiet of the room as workers listened to what Cole had to say. Lack of sleep the night before placed Ellie in a hazy fog, caught somewhere between reality and dreamland. With her left elbow on the table, her chin rested in the palm of her hand. Just as the warmth of the room and the pleasurable rhythm of Cole’s voice lulled her to a peaceful state, the word Ellie broke through, causing her chin to slide off her palm and her mind to snap to attention. She glanced up to see smiles hiding behind cups and heard a few snickers ripple about the room. Mortified, she looked to Cole, wondering if he had said her name. He had.

And he wasn’t smiling.

“I’m sorry?”

“You seem to be having a difficult morning, Ellie. Are you okay?”

Adrenaline pushed her pulse to full speed. “I’m fine. I—I just didn’t hear what you said.”

“Well, maybe we’ll let someone who was listening help us out.” Without wasting another breath, Cole moved on.

Ellie felt her knuckles had been sufficiently rapped by that statement. She had been daydreaming. So sue her. His reprimand was all part of his little plan to undermine her authority in the office.

“Which brings me to the most important item on this agenda, and the reason I called the meeting,” Cole said.

Uh-oh, here it comes. She braced herself. Cole proceeded to tell the staff Jax had purchased a new computer system. He raved about all the bells and whistles while Ellie felt herself being sucked into a psychedelic black hole, a place where walls spun out of control and the floor rolled and swayed beneath her feet.

Change, change, change.

At the meeting’s end, the air snapped with excitement. The room buzzed with comments and laughter at all that the new system could and would do for their company. Ellie didn’t want to be a spoilsport, but what was wrong with their current system? It worked for them, didn’t it? Why did they have to have bigger and better, as long as they were getting the job done?

She gathered her things from the table and with a heavy heart, headed toward her desk. Her stomach didn’t feel so good.

“Hey, Ellie, are you okay?” Jax wanted to know.

She turned. “Oh, I’m fine.” She rubbed her temple. “I’ve just had a rough morning.”

“So I’ve heard,” he said with a smirk.

She didn’t feel like being the brunt of a joke just now. Throwing him a weak smile, she continued on. He followed.

“I tried to get together with you and tell you about the computer system, but every time I set up a meeting, something came up, remember?”

She nodded. “It’s all right.” She didn’t have the strength to argue. Her stomach rumbled like Mount St. Helens. A queasy feeling followed. Really queasy. “I’m sorry, Jax, I don’t feel so good.” She dropped her things at her desk and made her way to the bathroom.

Just in time.

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