Fool for Love: Fooling Around\Nobody's Fool\Fools Rush In (18 page)

K
ATE STOPPED
outside Comet Coffee and took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking inside. The smoky, nutty aromas of freshly ground coffee tickled her nose…and her dancing nerves. She surveyed the seating area, looking for a familiar face, but she didn't see anyone she knew. For a few panicky seconds, she wondered if Fool was indeed a stranger. Or a stalker. Or if the entire thing was a big, fat joke—it was, after all, April Fool's Day.

She checked her watch again, then gave a little laugh—sometimes setting her watch ten minutes fast got her into trouble.

Her pulse was still tapping overtime as she joined the line to get a cup of coffee. She kept an eye on the door, but reached the counter without seeing anyone familiar. She ordered a cup of decaf with cream, remembering only last week she'd been standing behind the coffeemaker at work when she'd first heard Eric's voice again after so many years. So much had happened in so few days' time.

The drive home yesterday had been painful—for her. Eric had been his normal jovial self, reinforcing her notion that their night together had meant little to him. He'd spent a lot of time pushing speed dial buttons on his cell phone, but since he never talked to anyone, she assumed he was checking messages. They'd driven in and out of rain, and the drive had seemed interminably long. When they began to see signs for Birmingham, even Eric showed signs of restlessness. Her concerns about how they would part were allayed when they pulled into the parking lot at the same time John Handley was coming out of the building. He had stopped to get an update on Lexan, and Kate had left the men to chat. She suspected that Eric had taken the opportunity to tell John he was leaving Handley, and she expected to get a visit from John this morning.

All evening she had hoped that Eric would call her to tell her himself. Instead she had walked around her apartment carrying Lenka and doing something she never did—drinking wine alone. Between her second and third glass, she had opened her Bernadette cabinet and informed the dolls they didn't know how good they had it to be manless.

When she'd realized she was talking to dolls, she'd put down the wineglass and gone to bed.

“Ma'am?”

Kate blinked.

“Here's your coffee,” the young girl behind the counter said.

Kate took the coffee and moved aside, blowing on the top of the liquid. Just as she looked up, the door opened and she froze.

Neil Powers gave her a shy smile and a wave. He was wearing gray corduroy pants and a navy shirt, his hair fashionably shaggy. When he walked up, she realized that she'd never noticed his eyes were brown. They were nice eyes.

“Hi, Kate,” he said, his voice tentative.

“Hi,” she said with a little smile. “So it
was
you.”

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised, and a few seconds passed. Then he exhaled and laughed at the same time. “Yeah, it was me. I'm Fool for You.” His cheeks reddened slightly. “You must think I'm weird.”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, I don't think you're weird. I think that you're incredibly…” She looked into his nice brown eyes and felt her smile fall—they weren't the eyes of the man she loved. “Sweet.”

She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, Neil was staring at her. He angled his head, then he squinted. “Something just happened, and I have a feeling it doesn't bode well for me.”

She pressed her lips together. “Do you remember asking if my heart had been broken?”

“Yeah. You said anyone over fifteen has had their heart broken and your heart was no exception.”

“Well…I just realized that it's more broken than I'd thought.”

He shrugged. “I'm a patient man.”

“Let me work on this,” she said softly. “I'll keep you posted.”

He nodded, then sighed and gestured toward the counter. “I think I'll drown my sorrows in a latte.”

She smiled. “I need to get back to work. I'll see you around.” She waved and watched him walk away, wondering when she'd get to the point where she could entertain the thought of letting another man near her heart.

She sipped her coffee on the walk back to Handley's building, thinking right now she had bigger problems than losing Eric McDaniels, like the fact that she was losing her best salesman and major account rep. That wasn't going to reflect well on her, one week into the job. And if John got a whiff of their personal involvement, he was likely to demote her to the mailroom.

When Kate walked down the hallway to her office, her assistant wore a sour frown. “Good morning, Patsy. Is something wrong?”

Patsy nodded toward Kate's office and harrumphed.

Kate strode into her office and her pulse jumped at the sight of Eric standing next to her window with his back to her. He wore jeans and a sport coat. His shoulders looked tense and his hair hand-ruffled.

“Eric?” She closed the door behind her.

He turned and his handsome face wore a troubled expression so uncharacteristic, it was startling. “Hello, Kate. We need to talk.”

Her stomach churned, but she felt compelled to put him at ease. She held up her hand. “Look, Eric, I know why you're here.”

“You do?” he asked, looking more distressed. He pushed his hand into his hair. “What am I saying? Of course you do. It probably came through while I was driving over here.”

She frowned—his resignation? “I'm not sure when it came through, but I know all about it.”

He came over and stood in front of her, his eyes a little wild. “Kate, I'm so sorry—I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. It was supposed to be a stupid joke to make you look bad in front of the sales team, but it got out of hand.”

Her mind spun in confusion.

He emitted a harsh laugh. “I just want you to know the secret admirer thing was all my crazy idea—I know you must be humiliated.”

“
Your
idea?”

“Yeah.” He sighed and paced the area in front of her desk. “I was angry about having to work for you, and…and then you made that comment about being nobody's fool, and I…” He lifted his hands. “I'm sorry, Kate. For some reason, I thought that exposing the notes between you and a secret admirer would be funny.”

She squinted. “You hacked into my e-mail?”

He stopped pacing. “No,
I
arranged for the notes to be sent.”

She touched her temple, still trying to make sense of what he was saying. “You know Neil Powers?”

He frowned. “Who? My buddy Winston sent the notes.”

“Does Winston know Neil?”

Eric studied Kate's expression and realized she seemed more confused than angry. And right now, he was pretty confused himself. “
Who
is Neil?”

A ring sounded from his jacket pocket and he withdrew his cell phone. The display read Winston Grant. “About damn time,” Eric muttered, then
flipped open the phone. “Winston? What the hell is going on?”

“Sorry, buddy. I know I really let you down, but it couldn't be helped.”

Eric frowned. “Let me down?”

“The notes—I couldn't send them. I was feeling kind of bad that night we were together, and as it turns out, I had the chicken pox. I've been in the hospital for a freaking week, sick as a dog.”

When Winston's words sank in, Eric's stomach bottomed out. “You didn't send the notes?”

“No,” Winston said dryly. “And did I mention that I've been in the hospital?”

Holy relief swept through Eric…until he lifted his gaze to Kate's face, and realized she now seemed more angry than confused.

“I'll call you back,” he said into the phone, then snapped it closed. He turned his most charming smile on Kate and shrugged. “My mistake.”

She crossed her arms, her cutting green eyes dismembering him. “Let me get this straight—you put a buddy up to sending me e-mail as a secret admirer? And my correspondence with your friend was going to be distributed to the sales team?”

He winced. “But…he didn't do it, so…no harm, no foul?”

He expected her to throw something at him, to fire him on the spot, to slap his face. But he didn't expect her eyes to fill with tears.

“Kate?” A lump formed in his throat and he crossed the space between them.

She held up her hand. “Don't. You. Dare. Touch. Me.”

He let his hands fall uselessly by his sides. “Kate, there's something else I need to tell you.”

When she finally looked at him, she'd regained control, her eyes dry again. “What?”

“I, uh….” Damn, now that the moment had come, he was as nervous as a schoolboy. “I love you.” There.

But instead of bringing her lovely self over and falling into his arms, Kate lifted her eyebrows. “You love me?”

He smiled. “That's right.”

She burst out laughing. “That's a good one, Eric—what, do you have my office wired?” She turned and waved to the corners. “Did you rig up a hidden camera?”

He frowned. “No.”

“Really? Because you couldn't possibly think that I'd believe something so ludicrous on April Fool's Day, could you?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Ha! From the biggest practical joker in the business? And after you told me that you were willing to humiliate me in front of my colleagues just to get a laugh? Why don't you just tell me why you really came to see me, Eric?”

He shook his head, confused. “What?”

“That Monday you'll be working for Mixxo Toys.”

He felt the blood leave his face. “How did you know?”

“I overheard you talking to someone at the electronics show.”

“And you didn't say anything?”

“No—I was waiting for you to do the honorable thing and tell
me.
”

He set his jaw. “I was trying to close business for Handley before I left.”

“You were trying to qualify for your bonus.”

That he couldn't deny. And he couldn't miss the way that Kate had spoken to him—with disappointment and disgust. Like the tone she'd used years ago to tell her friend she'd never get involved with the likes of him.

He'd never felt so worthless in his life.

Kate pursed her mouth. “Just tell me one thing, Eric—did you take the Mixxo job before or after John made me VP?”

He decided not to lie. “After.”

She gave a curt nod and averted her gaze. When she looked up again, her face was placid and professional. “Well, to show there are no hard feelings, we'll have a going-away party for you in the boardroom tomorrow.” She dropped into her chair and flipped the switch on her computer. “Close the door when you leave.”

He looked at her bent head, realizing suddenly how bleak his future seemed without Kate. And why should she believe his pathetic declaration? Had he done anything that would make the woman believe he loved her?

Recognizing a bed of his own making, Eric left, stewing in the knowledge that, today, he was the world's biggest fool.

K
ATE SURVEYED
the boardroom, decorated with streamers and a few balloons. Someone had written
Good luck, Eric
on the board and a side table was stocked with soft drinks and snacks. A big white sheet cake with the word Congratulations written in blue sat on the end of the table. She'd ordered the cake herself to keep up the image that she was happy for him. The entire sales team was assembling today in honor of Eric, their leader.

“Hey.”

Kate turned to see Lesley, smiling tentatively. “Is this a bad time?”

“No, come on in. I'm just…getting ready for the sendoff.”

“I tried to call you last night.”

“I went to bed early,” Kate lied. “I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep from the trip.”

Lesley walked up to her friend and lowered her
voice. “Was there a particular reason you didn't get a lot of sleep?”

Kate looked up. “No.”

Lesley simply nodded, but Kate suspected her friend didn't believe her. Kate wet her lips, then spoke quietly. “Well…there was this
one
night.”

Lesley nodded. “Thought so.”

“Did you talk to Neil?”

“Yup.”

“I feel terrible.”

“Don't,” Lesley said, shaking her head. “Do you love Eric?”

Kate sighed, then nodded.

“And how does he feel about you?”

Kate tried to laugh, but it came out as a strangled sound. “Eric will never love anyone as much as he loves himself. He took this job with Mixxo because he couldn't bear to work for me.”

“He told you that?”

Kate nodded. “How can I be in love with a man who's that chauvinistic?”

Lesley shrugged. “Because love isn't reasonable. It's…love.” She made a rueful noise in her throat. “I have to get back to my desk, but I'll come around when the party starts.”

Kate smiled and waved goodbye, but Lesley's words stayed with her.
Because love isn't reasonable.

Is that how her mother, an educated and attractive woman, could still look at her philandering father with abject adoration? It was a distressing and depressing thought.

The first few salespeople arrived for the party, dis
tracting Kate from her musings and reminding her that she had a job to do, that people were counting on her to lead. She and John had spoken yesterday afternoon about who could fill Eric's shoes. Unfortunately, as John had pointed out, the best people in the industry were networked to Eric, and his departure would be enough to keep them away. She had looked at John and point-blank asked him if he had offered the VP job to Eric first, and he'd admitted that he had.

“But only because Eric had seniority,” John had added. “Eric would have done a good job, but you were my first choice, Kate. You're the visionary.”

Nice words from a nice man who had been her mentor for so many years. She loved Handley Toys almost as much as John Handley himself.

The room slowly filled to capacity, then to over-flowing. Love him or hate him, it seemed that everyone in the company was fascinated by Eric McDaniels. Kate wryly noted there was no shortage of females more dressed up than normal for a casual Friday. The time dragged by and everyone started looking at their watches. Lesley came up next to her. “Where's the guest of honor?”

Kate shook her head. “Who knows? Maybe he's waiting to make a grand entrance.”

“Speak of the devil,” Lesley said, nodding toward the door.

Eric walked in, wearing his trademark dimpled grin. The room burst into applause and low cheers as people moved forward to shake Eric's hand or slap him on the back. Her heart squeezed at the sight of him, but she took solace in the knowledge that soon
he'd be away from Handley and the likelihood of their paths crossing would be almost nil.

He made the rounds, slowly moving in her direction. John Handley slipped into the room and nodded to her. Kate decided that she'd say a few words in Eric's honor, and then turn it over to John and Eric. When Eric stepped up to her, her heart was beating ridiculously fast.

He wore a little smile, his eyes unreadable…maybe a little sad. The gathering was probably making him feel nostalgic.

“Hi, Kate.”

“Hi, Eric.”

He gestured to the crowd. “This is nice—thank you.”

“No problem.” So they wouldn't be forced to make more small talk, Kate waved her arms. “Everyone, may I have your attention, please?”

The room quieted, and everybody turned toward her and Eric. She pasted on a big fake smile and said, “As you know, we're here today to say goodbye to one of our true legends at Handley.” She looked at Eric for the sake of presentation, which was a mistake because she almost faltered. Her gaze met his eyes…the eyes of the man she loved. She swallowed hard and forged ahead. “Eric, we're all going to miss you and we wish you luck at the competition.” Then she smiled. “Well, not
too
much luck.”

Everyone laughed, including Eric.

“Speech, speech!” chorused around the room.

Eric's grin deepened, then he put his hands on his hips, and the room quieted. “Well, anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a talker.” Every
one laughed because no one could outtalk Eric. “But,” he said, his voice turning more serious, “I do have something important to say today.” He paused. “I've done a lot of fool things in my career, and some of you have been on the receiving end.” More laughter sounded.

Then he turned toward Kate. “But this week I outdid myself. I alienated the woman that I love.”

Her fake smile evaporated, and her skin tingled. The room grew dead quiet except for a collective intake of breath. Kate blinked and knew everyone was thinking what she was thinking: Had Eric really just said that?

“I've been an idiot,” Eric said. “I didn't think that Kate was qualified for this job, when, in fact, she's taught me a thing or two about being a good salesperson…and about being a good person.”

Her vital signs escalated—where was this going?

“I was condescending toward Kate because I thought she didn't deserve to be my boss.” He gave a little laugh. “The truth is, she's the smartest, most classy person I know, and I'm fully prepared to do her bidding for the rest of my life.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a ring box. “If she's willing to have me.”

Gasps sounded around the room, then shrieks of disbelief, then silence as they waited for Kate's response.

Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, and her mouth opened. She was still unable to comprehend what was happening. Eric McDaniels was willing to make a fool out of himself in front of everyone…for her? She stared at him, her mind reeling.

“I love you, Kate,” he said, then got down on one knee, and opened the ring box to the background of more gasps as everyone craned for a better look. There were no two ways about it—the square-cut diamond was huge. “I don't do things small,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Marry me, Kate.”

Her heart swelled with happiness, but complications crowded the corners of her mind. “But…our jobs…how…”

“I'm not taking the Mixxo job,” he said.

“I believe I need to speak up here,” John Handley said, stepping forward. “Kate, Eric is staying, but you don't have to worry about working too closely with him because I've decided that Eric will have your job.”

Disappointment hit her hard, but she was determined not to show it.

“Because, Kate,” John continued, “I've decided it's time for me to retire, and I want you to have
my
job. What do you think of that?”

Murmurs traveled around the room and cheers sounded, but the noise reached her ears dimly as though through a filter. Her emotions were a wreck. “I don't know what to say, John.”

John laughed. “You'd better tackle one question at a time. I believe you have a marriage proposal on the table.”

Everyone laughed and Kate looked down at Eric with love for him burning in her heart. “This isn't one of your practical jokes, is it?”

“No,” he said, his eyes dark and serious. “You'll have to trust me on this.”

She looked into his eyes and decided that if it
was
one of Eric's gags and she fell for it, the worst that could happen is that she would look like a fool. And the best…

Her heart filled with pure joy. “I do, and…I will.” She smiled through her tears, and laughed. “Marry you, I mean.”

The room erupted in a roar of cheers and applause. Lesley picked up the marker and corrected the message on the board to read Good luck, Eric and Kate. Across the room, her friend winked at her and gave her the thumbs-up.

Kate waited until Eric slid the ring onto her finger, then sailed into his arms. He kissed her soundly, then picked her up and spun her around. When he set her on her feet, he whispered, “You know that Vegas trip I won? I was thinking we could go this weekend…make new memories.”

She smiled up at him. “Sounds wonderful.”

Suddenly he frowned. “But I do have one question before we take this too far.
Who
is Neil?”

Kate threw her head back and laughed until she cried. “Don't worry, Eric—you're my favorite fool.”

He grinned and zeroed in for a kiss. “What more could a man ask for?”