“Let me guess. You offered her a deal on the new raincoats and backpacks?”
“Maybe.” Sarah grinned. “We need pictures, you need to get outside because you’re making all of us crazy here—”
“Me? I’m not the grumpy one.” Already, the idea of a hike in the bright spring air had stirred a desire in Trent’s gut. As Sarah had said, the weather had been mild for late March, which meant the view at Moulton Falls would be spectacular. It wasn’t a hard hike at all and might be a nice change of pace.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Anyway, a couple of ponchos and a travel set is a small price to pay for both.”
Trent chuckled. “Okay. Set it up.”
Sarah gave him a thumbs-up and got to work.
Trent ambled down the hall of the office. “Hall’ was a misnomer, since the entire space was glass and gave the illusion of being wide open. Every time he was here on a weekend, in his empty or almost-empty building, the expansive open area seemed surreal. He could see the dark, sparkling water and misty, undulating ridges outside the windows that fronted the entire floor, a different view north and south, east and west. Breathtaking, just as he’d planned it when he’d opened this space.
The employees had complained about that openness, and as he walked toward the reception area, he looked across the floor and saw Sarah, sipping her coffee while she read something. It seemed almost…wrong to be able to watch every move his employees made. The survey had said his employees thought he didn’t listen to them. Trent made a quick phone call as an idea sprung to mind and left a voicemail to see if his crazy idea was even possible.
Then the elevator doors opened on the top floor, and all thought stopped in Trent’s brain. Kate stepped forward, wearing a dark floral dress that nipped in at her waist and belled over her hips. She had her long hair in a messy updo and a pink tote bag over one arm. Her gaze swiveled across the lobby then landed on him. A smile broke across her face.
Now that’s breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking.
He pushed the glass door open. “Thanks for coming in on a Saturday.”
“No problem. Sometimes it’s easier to work without distractions and calls, like you’d have on a normal workday.” She flashed him that smile again as she breezed past him and into the office.
He caught the scent of flowers and vanilla, a warm and lingering fragrance that had him following behind her like a puppy. What was happening to him? Since when did he get distracted by a woman? “Uh, my PR person is here. But that’s it. Let’s meet in my office. I have a great view and some comfortable furniture.”
“Sounds good.” Kate stopped walking, turned back, and stared at him.
“What?”
That smile again. “I don’t know where your office is. It might be better if you lead the way?”
“Oh, oh. Yes. Sorry.” Where was his brain today? Maybe it was all the long hours. Not the woman he’d left in his past who was seriously disrupting his present. “Do you want some coffee? Muffins?”
Kate grinned. “I think that’s a rhetorical question, Trent. I love all snacks equally.”
The words triggered a memory of them sitting on the floor of the common room in his dorm, studying for finals, with a junk food bonanza spread around them. On Trent’s side, crackers, chips, salty treats. On Kate’s, cookies and brownies and sugary decadence. She’d been so engrossed in her history books that he’d had a moment of feeling left out, so he’d snagged one of the packages of Oreos and slid it across to his side. “Hey,” Kate had said, “What are you doing?”
“Getting your attention.” He’d held the treat above his head, leaning back as she’d leaned forward, reaching for it. She’d tumbled into him, and they’d fallen to the floor, tangled up in each other and laughing.
“Trent?” Kate’s voice dragged him back to the present day. “Are we, uh, going to your office to start working or standing here in the lobby all morning?”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” He led the way down the hall that wasn’t a hall, making a detour for the break room. “Better grab some before Sarah eats them all. These are her favorites.”
“Sarah?” The word sounded like an innocent question, but Trent noticed Kate had stiffened beside him.
No way she was jealous. Was she? “Sarah is my PR person. She wasn’t too happy about working another Saturday, so I buttered her up with some treats from the bakery on the corner.”
“That little one with the pink awning? I ordered my grandmother’s eightieth birthday cake from them last year. They’re amazing.” Kate selected one of the muffins, put it on a glass plate, then poured herself a cup of coffee in a GOA-branded mug. “No paper plates?”
He shook his head. “Can’t say you’re eco-friendly if you’re throwing out plates and cups every day.”
She leaned against the counter and took a bite of muffin and smiled. “Thanks for these.”
How he wanted her to smile like that because of him. Such a crazy thought. In a few weeks, the book would be done and they would go their separate ways. He wouldn’t see Kate in his break room, and he wouldn’t spend his morning waiting for her to smile again.
Trent cleared his throat. “You said in your text you had some pages for me to look at?”
“Oh, yes, sorry.” She dug in her bag and pulled out a file folder. “I’ve got fifty pages so far. Take a look and see if this is the tone and pacing you were looking for. If so, I’ll email them to you for a closer edit on your end.”
Trent flipped through the pages while Kate finished her breakfast. He quickly got lost in the story, eagerly skimming the paragraphs, turning to the next page, looking to see what she wrote next. “This is really, really good. I mean, it’s my story, and I know every detail already, but I honestly can’t wait to see what’s on the next page. It’s engaging and interesting and a hundred times better than what I could do.”
She blushed and averted her gaze. “Thank you.”
“I’m serious, Kate. You should be writing your own books. This is…” he skimmed to the bottom of the page, “…absolutely amazing. You create a picture with your words so vivid, I can see it happening as I read.”
“Well, it’s only because I had a good story to work with. And there’s a lot of details that aren’t in there—”
“Like you.” Trent skimmed the rest of the pages. “You aren’t mentioned at all.”
“Well, I’m not exactly an integral part of your life story.”
You were, he wanted to say. You were a vital part of my life for a while. “If it’s an honest picture, then you should be in it.”