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8. Better Than She Expected

8

BETTER THAN SHE EXPECTED

“ G ood morning, Kelly.”

She turned her head from her computer and looked up to see Jolene Fierce standing there. “Hi, Jolene. What brings you by?”

“You know me,” Jolene said. “I’m always around. I need to come visit.”

“Very true,” she said. Jolene stopped in a lot and talked with everyone. Normally dropping off Ella’s kids or visiting with Kendra who was married to Jolene’s nephew Ivan.

Kelly had actually asked Jolene to set her up at Ivan’s wedding. Jolene always had someone up her sleeve.

But she never got that wish and figured it wasn’t worth it.

She’d tried everything else and nothing was working and Jolene did seem to have the magic touch so it was worth a shot.

Right now she wanted another date with Michael though and didn’t need Jolene’s help.

Or maybe she did since it’d been over ten days since she’d seen Michael.

She’d thought they would have gone on a date last Tuesday. At least to dinner while Ty was with his mother. But that had been canceled, last Tuesday and yesterday. Who the hell knew what this weekend would bring? The most she’d had was a few texts with Michael. Not even any conversations on the phone.

“I’m sure you’re busy with Cade in and out more getting ready for Jordan’s birth.”

“Couple more weeks for that,” she said.

Jolene waved her hand. “That means any day now most times.”

“I don’t think Alex wants to think that,” she said. “She’s trying to get work all situated. At least that’s what Cade has been saying.”

“Alex will be fine,” Jolene said, moving into her office. “She has Michael. He’s been a lifeline for her.”

“It seems it,” she said.

“Which is hard, being a single father, but he’s holding it all down.”

Nothing that Jolene hadn’t said to her or anyone else over the years in passing. Just conversation.

“He does seem to have it under control,” she said.

“I love some of the new shirts that were just done,” Jolene said. “I told Alex that I want shirts printed for all the kids.”

Kelly smiled. “That would be cute,” she said.

“Yes. I’ve got everyone’s sizes right here,” Jolene said. “But I didn’t want to bug her with it. I don’t like dealing with the customer service people either. Can you take care of this for me?”

“Sure,” she said, reaching for the piece of paper. “Are these for all the family in Durham too?”

There were a ton of names on it. More than the children in Charlotte. “They are,” Jolene said. “Might as well give them shirts with their names on them too.”

“That’s sweet.” There were names, sizes, and colors. Boys were getting red, and girls getting white.

“I thought it’d be a cute surprise for everyone. Something to put in their Easter baskets for next month. I’ll send all the ones to Durham at once for my sisters-in-law to take care of. They put baskets together for all the kids too.”

“This is a lot of baskets,” she said.

“We like to spoil our grandkids,” Jolene said. “Speaking of that, I need to go check in with Ella and pick up Madison and Landon for her today.”

“Bye,” she said and went back to work.

An hour later, Cade popped into her office. “Is my mother sending you on errands again?”

“It’s fine,” Kelly said. “I’ll make a call in a bit and take care of it.”

“If you don’t mind running over there, that would be great,” Cade said. “Alex will have a few things for me and I don’t want her lifting anything. Someone could put it in her car, but she’d do it anyway. I’ve got to run out of town and won’t be back until late.”

“No problem,” she said. “Are they ready now? I can do it and get it over with.”

“Should be,” Cade said. “Thanks.”

It would give her a chance to see Michael again. Maybe.

She grabbed her jacket and purse, walked down the stairs and out the back door.

When she got to Marshall Printing fifteen minutes later, she parked near the door in a visitor spot and walked in.

“Hi, Kelly,” Nancy said. She worked the front desk. “Are you here for Alex?”

“I need to pick something up in her office and then I’ve got an order of shirts that Jolene needs. She didn’t want to call it in and I said I’d take care of it.”

“Give it to me,” Nancy said. “I’ll do it.”

She handed the paper over. “I’ve got the shirt ID at the top with color and sizes next to each name. There is a total of each on the bottom.”

“Perfect,” Nancy said. “Makes it much easier. Let me call Alex.”

The phone rang a few times with no answer, then Nancy called Alex’s secretary to be told that Alex was in a meeting in the conference room.

“Can we just go back and get the box?” Kelly asked. She was positive she could carry it if Alex thought she could.

“We can,” Nancy said.

They walked through the main area, then down another hall. This was a different route from what she’d done the other day when she was in a room that looked out onto the floor. So much for maybe catching sight of Michael.

But as she got closer to Alex’s office, she heard his deep voice on the phone, the sound of it sending tingles throughout her body.

She walked by his office, the door was open, she angled her head and gave him a wave. He popped up, his feet had been on the desk and came down causing her to laugh.

Nancy turned to look at her, but she acted like she didn’t just do that.

They got to Alex’s door and it was locked. “Darn,” Nancy said. “I can’t get in. Michael can. Let me go back and see if I can interrupt him.”

This was working better than she expected.

They turned around and stopped at Michael’s door. “Can I put you on hold for a second?” Michael said into the phone.

“Sorry to bother you,” Nancy said. “I need to get a box out of Alex’s office for Kelly and the door is locked.”

“I’ll get it,” he said. “It’s heavy and I’ll bring it out. Cade already told me to make sure Alex didn’t touch it.”

“Thanks,” Nancy said. “We’ll go wait up front.”

“Kelly can stay here,” he said. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Works for me,” she said. She held that grin in so Nancy didn’t think anything of it.

She walked in and sat across from his desk and he went back to his call. “Colby, let me get back to you this afternoon. I’ve got a few things to do and I’ll look into it. Someone just came into my office and I need to deal with this.”

Kelly frowned. She didn’t like the way that sounded.

He hung up a minute later. “You didn’t need to deal with me.”

“Please,” he said, waving his hand. “You just saved me another twenty minutes listening to him. I almost fell asleep. I can never get off the phone with him. Perfect timing.”

“In that case,” she said, “glad I could be of help.”

He got up and she did too. “Stay,” he said. “I’m just shutting my door.”

She sat back down. “Everything okay?” This would be where he’d tell her that things weren’t going to work out. She was trying to brace herself to not react to it at all. To just go on with her day and know they had one great date and pray he never said a word about what she’d confessed to him.

“I’m sorry about canceling the past two dates we’d planned. I really am. This happens a lot.”

“I understand,” she said. “It’s fine. It’s not as if you’ve blown me off or we haven’t communicated at all.”

He frowned. “You’re okay with it?”

“Yes,” she said. “Unless you want to blow me off and it’s just excuses. If that is the case, tell me now and we don’t have to play any games.”

“I’m not into games. Are you?”

“Not that kind. There are others I don’t mind playing.”

She was smirking when she said it and he grinned at her. “I might be on board for them too.”

“Good,” she said. “I’m sure we can get there at some point.”

“If Electra cancels on me this Saturday, I’ll ask my parents to take Ty overnight. I promise.”

“Really?” she asked. She found that super sweet.

“Yes,” he said. “I don’t want to cancel three times. I’m trying the best I can and I appreciate that you’re understanding of it.”

“It’s been one date. It’s not as if I’ve got other men lined up waiting for my attention.”

He laughed. “They’d be crazy not to be.”

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked.

“I don’t normally flirt, but guess I am. I thought it was more a factual statement.”

She liked how relaxed he was behind his desk. He had a Marshall Printing shirt on. Long sleeved cotton in green. She was sure he had tons of them in his wardrobe. She’d seen him wearing them most times when she came in. His jeans were dark and he had sneakers on his feet.

No one dressed up anymore it seemed. She had jeans on too, but a nice button-down printed shirt that felt silky. She had heeled ankle boots on with it.

She tried to look professionally casual most days.

“I like factual statements. I operate better that way,” she said.

His smile stayed in place. Funny how she thought he didn’t smile much before.

She was glad he was comfortable around her because he was even more attractive when he smiled.

His dark eyes had softened. His jaw was somewhat chiseled, but now it was relaxed too.

There was a light beard on his face as if he just let it grow for days and then shaved it off and let it grow again. She’d seen it in different phases for years.

“Glad to know we agree.” His phone started to ring, but he ignored it.

“Why don’t we get that box since I know you’re busy.”

“We can,” he said. “I look forward to Saturday. Let me know what you want to do. We can make a day of it if you want.”

“I’d like that a lot,” she said.

They got up and he opened his door, walked to Alex’s, then swiped his badge to go in and get the box that was on the floor.

“Are you going to carry this to the second floor at your office?”

“No. Cade told me not to. To leave it in my car and he’ll grab it when he got back.”

“Good,” he said, picking it up. “It’s not heavy as much as bulky. I’m not sure your arms would fit around it.”

“Probably not,” she said. “But I’d try for sure.”

“Are you one of those stubborn women like my cousin?”

“I might be,” she said.

They walked out of Alex’s office and down the hall back to the front. Their conversation had stalled and she wondered if it was because he didn’t want anyone to know what might be going on with them.

They walked out past Nancy and to her car, she popped the trunk, and he put it in. It barely fit in the back of her SUV.

“I’ll talk to you later?” he asked. “You can call me if you want.”

“Oh,” she said. “I figured you didn’t like to talk or that it’d be hard.”

“I’m not one for talking on the phone,” he said. “But I also know that text isn’t always the best either. Ty is in bed by seven thirty.”

“That’s early,” she said.

“He gets up early for daycare,” he said.

“Then maybe I’ll give you a call around eight if that is okay?”

“It is,” he said, then shut her hatch.

“Bye,” she said, smiling.

He waved and walked into the building and she drove back to work with a smile filling her face.

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