Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) (3 page)

Brenda looked around. Chase had melted into the crowd. “Who would you be borrowing me from?”

Riley seemed momentarily stumped by her question. “Ah…right. You’re alone. Well, then, you won’t mind coming with me?”

“No, not at all.” She wanted to add she’d go anywhere with him…and come anywhere with him
, too, but that would be crass. Thrilled, she followed him across the roof toward a knot of senior staff, in the midst of whom stood Mitzi, svelte in a white pantsuit and dazzling in clunky gold jewelry that matched her sleek professional bobbed haircut.

Riley pulled the female partner aside and gestured to Brenda. “I wanted to formally ask you, Brenda, with Mitzi as a witness so I don’t get into any trouble.”

Brenda’s heart thumped, probably just as loud as the fireworks. Good thing a series of explosions were going off over the water at the moment, so no one heard her stomach drop like a rock, either. “Yes?”

“I know you do most of your work for Mitzi, and I saw how you organized her client files
. I was hoping I could steal you for a couple of days next week to do the same for me?”

“Ohhhh.” She must have looked utterly bewildered because Mitzi put a hand on her arm.

“Are you okay, hon? Is the noise getting to you? It gets to me. I can’t stand fireworks, to be honest. If I didn’t have to be here, I’d be hiding under my couch right now. Listen, Riley, back up and give the poor girl some air.”

“No, no, I’m fine. I was just surprised by the question. I figured you for having your own client files all organized your own way.” Brenda gulped. She hoped that hadn’t sounded like a veiled insult to the perpetually disorganized Mitzi.

“Nope. I have a cool exterior, but on the inside, I’m a filing nightmare. Can you help? Mitzi, since you’ll be in Barbados, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“I don’t mind. Do with her what you will.” She laughed, a startling bark. “You don’t mind, do you,
hon? You’d have had a pretty quiet week with me gone, and I know you hate to be idle. Gotta love this girl’s work ethic.” Mitzi gave Brenda a one-armed hug, and Brenda tried not to wince as the woman’s razor-sharp nails pinched her skin. “She’s a gem.”

“I don’t mind
,” someone said, using Brenda’s voice. Her mind was elsewhere, contemplating the phrase “do with her what you will.” If only he would.

“Great. I really appreciate it. You have no idea how much help I need.”

Mitzi flew off, lured by a conversation about her biggest client. Brenda was left staring at Riley, wondering why her heart felt like a rock in the middle of her chest.

He raised his brows questioningly and offered one of
his famous half smiles accompanied by a shrug that said, now what? “I promise I won’t be too hard on you.”

“Huh?” He
r mind zeroed back in on the conversation. “Oh, with the files. Sure. No problem. I’ll come by your desk on Monday.”

“Great.”

“So…what are your plans for the weekend? Tomorrow’s the picnic, then what? It seems like everyone in town is heading for the shore or the mountains. The place will be a ghost town.”

Riley shoved his hands in the pockets of his Dockers, and for a moment he lost the haggard look of an overworked law student. “I was thinking about doing some hiking.”

“That sounds great. Fresh air, sunshine. Great way to unwind.”

“Yeah, but with the bar coming up, I really can’t.” He glanced at his watch. “In fact, I should probably be making my final rounds and getting out of here.”

“Final rounds? It’s barely ten. The fireworks have just started.”

The weariness that had left his voice momentarily crept back. “I know, but I’ve got a lot of studying to do.
I’ve got less than three weeks before the bar.”

“All the more reason to give yourself a short break. A day or two hiking will clear your head and recharge you, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure you’re right…but I don’t think I could concentrate on relaxing if my life depended on it.”

A million pithy responses collided in her head. She wanted to offer him something to concentrate on, but then decided it might seem like she was trying to belittle his determination to pass the extremely difficult test. His life did depend on passing the bar, she supposed. Here was someone who’d dedicated his existence to the art of the law
, and everything he wanted was tied up in becoming a fully accredited lawyer. He couldn’t slack off now, not in the home stretch.

“Don’t underestimate the value of a little distraction. You may think of it as slacking off, but it might be good for you. If not a couple days of hiking, maybe you should just take a nice long walk.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Maybe—”

“There he is, the golden boy!” Mason Esterhause appeared then, like a tornado, trailing a debris cloud of slightly intoxicated staff members behind him. The senior partner’s red face attested to the fact that he enjoyed the
free-flowing champagne, and the force with which he clapped Riley on the back showed how much of his own inhibitions he’d lost to the good spirits of the evening.

Brenda thought Riley might collapse from the vigorous pounding. For a second she felt terribly sorry for him. He was working so hard to achieve what? Next year he’d be one of Esterhause’s entourage, following dutifully while the big boss spoke about nothing in particular.

“And who is this lovely…oh…this is Brenda Sampson. She works for Mitzi,” Esterhause said as if he needed to introduce her to the people she passed in the office corridors every day. A couple of people said hello, and she nodded and smiled.

“It’s Samms, Mr. Esterhause,” Riley filled in for her, to her utter shock. “Brenda
Samms
.”

“Of course. Mitzi raves about you, Ms. Sampson.
The firm is very lucky to have such a dedicated worker.”

“Thank you, sir.” Now Brenda wore the same false smile Riley had. What next? How could she escape this farce of a mutual admiration society? She never would have imagined wanting to get away from Riley, but at the moment, she had no desire to sink with him into the mire of a corporate
schmooze-fest.
Sorry, golden boy, all I need is an excuse, and I’m out of here
.

Chase saw Brenda floundering from
across the roof. He tried, at first, to ignore the satisfaction he felt at seeing her looking bored and frustrated. Riley had attracted Mr. Esterhause’s blustery attention, leaving Brenda orbiting a growing collection of senior staff members. From his spot near the raw bar, he could just make out her uncomfortable smile.

He could have let her drown in phony laughter and wait until she washed up at the outskirts of the party, limp and listless from struggling for air, but he just couldn’t.
Not when she looked like that. Not when his heart skipped a beat every time he heard her voice.

A champagne glass in each hand, he set sail for the whirlpool of lawyers and orchestrated a surgical strike to remove her from
their clutches.

“Hey, Dani
’s hosting a trivia challenge over the by the bar. I want you on my team,” he said, offering her a glass.

Her confused expression gave way to disappointment when she realized Riley was deep in conversation with his colleagues
and probably wouldn’t miss her. Grudgingly, she accepted the champagne flute and followed Chase away from the crowd.

“Thanks,” she said as soon as they were reasonably out of earshot. The band had struck up another dance number, which added to the din created by the fireworks, so odds were no one would hear the relief in her voice.
“I was out of my league there.”

Chase wanted to tell her she was out of Riley’s league, but he bit back that remark and sipped the champagne. It was smooth as silk. Only the good stuff for EBD, so he had to remember not to enjoy it too much or he’d end up competing with Mr. Esterhause for
the title of Most Incoherent Ramblings before the night was over. “Come join us peons and have something to eat.”

“Oh…” One arm curled around her stomach. “I’ve been bad all night. I shouldn’t have another bite.”

Chase considered what it might be like if she was really ‘bad all night,’ and the thought brought a wave of heat to his face. Another sip of chilled champagne cooled his blood, but not his imagination. “Bad looks good on you,” he mumbled, but she hadn’t heard him. She was eyeing Riley, who had glanced in their direction. Something took over Chase’s body and his thoughts then, and instinctively he moved closer to Brenda, catching the faint scent of her perfume. “My offer still stands.”

Her gaze flicked to his, those
bewitching eyes of hers flashing with sudden anger. “I don’t…”

Whatever Riley was doing must have caught her attention again, because mid-sentence her ire deflated. “Let’s talk about this offer of yours.”

Chase wasn’t sure whether to be thrilled or mortally disappointed. She’d decided Riley was worth fighting for, and that was exactly the opposite of what he’d wanted. Maybe the guy was a catch or he would become one someday, but Chase knew from experience, a man as dedicated to his profession as Riley Thayer was would never have that kind of time and energy for a woman, especially one like Brenda. “He’s looking over here, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her long lashes dropping demurely to hide what he imagined was shame at having to stoop to this level.

“It’s very simple. I’ll look interested in you, and you do your best to look interested in me, and Riley won’t be able to take his eyes off you. It’s Guy Psychology 101.”

“It seems kind of immature.”

“You’re right. It is. But asking him out point-blank didn’t work for you, did it?”

“I haven’t asked him out.”

“Counselor, I rest my case.”

She waved a hand between them. “All right, touch
é. I’m not that confident. And I’m not quite sure how to approach it. Every time I get near him, I freeze up.”

“So just saying,
‘Riley, take me out to dinner,’ isn’t going to cut it? Because I could line up about forty guys who would be all over that. Why do you think he’d turn you down?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Seriously? He’s on the fast track to be partner, and I’m the girl he just asked to organize his files.”

“You think you’re beneath him?” Anger surged in Chase. She didn’t deserve to feel inferior to anyone.

“No
. I-I’d like to be beneath him. Oh, God, did I just say that?” She thrust her glass into his hands. “I’ve had enough of this.”

Chase ignored her remark. He didn’t want to think of her under anyone…but himself
, of course. And those thoughts had to stop. This wasn’t the time to get drunk and horny. “So you’re afraid he’ll reject you because you’re not a lawyer or soon to be one?”

“That, and…I’m not…
you know
.”

Chase squinted at her. “
You know? I don’t know.”

“Like them.” She nodded to a knot of lawyers
’ wives. About half the senior staff were married, and their wives tended to travel in a group to the spa, to yoga class, to shopping in the city. Each one was movie-star thin, some shade of blond, and carried a drink in her hand. Not one had touched a plate of food all evening.

“Ah. You won’t fit in
with the Spring River Valley First Wives’ Club.” They certainly wouldn’t welcome a buxom brunette with a body that wouldn’t quit.

Another twinge of annoyance darkened her eyes. Chase cursed silently and chugged the last of his champagne. Now he was left with her
half-empty glass which he also planned to finish since he was already saying and doing stupid things.

“Why is it the more I talk to you, the dumber I feel?” She threw up her hands and turned away, but he caught her wrist, gently
, and tugged her back toward him.

“I’m sorry. I’m being an ass tonight. I hate these parties. We’re all supposed to kick back and have a good time
, but unless you’re Esterhause, you don’t dare actually kick back and have a good time. It’s so fake, and it frustrates the hell out of me. Look, Brenda, I’m not going to pretend to understand why you want to be like them.” He gestured with her glass to the Real Housewives’ table. “But if you like Riley that much, you need to just go for it. Let me help you get his attention.”

She finally looked him square in the eye
, and the effect was devastating. “All right.”

Chase smiled, the light fog of alcohol clearing with a sudden adrenaline rush. “You won’t regret it.”

“Oh, I think I will. In fact, I probably already do.”

* * * *

Between the slight buzz of a champagne headache, the echoes of fireworks, and the inability to get Chase Turner out of her mind, Brenda slept fitfully that night. Fortunately she didn’t have to do much thinking at the company picnic and wasn’t expected at the kickoff ceremony until ten a.m.

In the morning, s
he dressed in white shorts, her T-shirt from the company softball team, and low-slung sandals. With a wide-brimmed straw hat to shade her aching head and her celebrity-style sunglasses to hide her bloodshot eyes, she’d look exactly like everyone else at this unofficial after-party. She tossed a megasize bottle of aspirin into her purse and headed to the office, hoping to find a shady spot as far away from the DJ as possible where she could steep herself in cold caffeinated beverages and avoid any meaningful interaction with her co-workers.