Mystery Lover(16)

Jennifer had almost decided he wasn't going to respond at all when he  said, "Yes. I have my car." A statement of fact, no more. He wasn't  going to say when he got it, or where it had been, or if it had been  damaged. And he had made it clear that it was none of her business.

"Oh. Well. I'm glad to hear it."

"Was there anything else?" he asked impatiently.

"No. I believe that was all," she said slowly.

"I'll check in with you in a day or two."

"Fine." Jennifer carefully put down the phone. The rest of the office  was busy. No one had thought anything of the phone call she had just  received. Just the normal communications between the boss and his  assistant. That was the problem. It had been too normal. He had totally  ignored everything that had happened over the weekend.

Jennifer spent the rest of the day concentrating on carrying out her  employer's instructions. Carefully typing up his comments, she attached a  sheet of paper to the front of new files she had set up, then placed  them on the desks of the other two investigators.

By the time she was ready to leave the office, Jennifer was proud of  what she had accomplished that day. Driving home she made the startling  discovery that no doubt that was the reason Chad had reverted to the C.  W. Cameron she knew. He valued her work as his assistant. He didn't want  to cause anything to change that, even if he sacrificed a possibly  closer relationship.

Once again., Sam seemed to be pleased to see her when she got home. She was glad someone was.

After dinner she tried to watch television, but couldn't keep her attention focused long enough to follow what was happening.

Finally, she could stand the silence no longer. "Chad?" She waited a few  moments but got no response. "Chad. Can you hear me?" Still no answer.  Again, this was nothing new. For the past six months she had not  communicated with him. He was making it clear to her. The only reason he  had contacted her on Friday was because he had no other recourse if he  wanted to get out alive. She had served her purpose.

Jennifer didn't even realize she was crying until the tears began to  drip off her cheeks. Nothing had really changed since last Friday. And  yet, everything had changed. Jennifer had been given a glimpse of what  her life could be with the man she loved. She also knew that he loved  her. He hadn't been able to conceal his feelings from her.                       
       
           



       

But C. W. Cameron had made the decision not to do anything about his feelings. And he expected her to accept his decision.





During the coming weeks Jennifer tried. She put Chad out of her mind  every time something reminded her of him. She put everything about her  weekend in Las Vegas to the back of her mind, determined to wait until  the pain was less before allowing herself to enjoy the few memories she  had of being with him.

C. W. Cameron followed the same schedule as he had before. He spent a  few days in the office, catching up on paperwork, then was gone again.  Never by word, look or action did he give her any indication that he saw  her as anything but his assistant. He treated her with aloof courtesy  and distant kindness.

Jennifer wasn't at all sure she was going to be able to survive his  courtesy and kindness. As the weeks went by, she felt less and less like  eating and it began to show. Several of the women at work teased her  about her new diet.

C. W. Cameron neither noticed nor cared.

Eventually her resistance dropped and she came down with the flu,  missing several days work. He called once to see how she was feeling,  but only as her boss concerned about her welfare.

During those days of fever and pain, of sleepless nights and drug-filled  days, Jennifer realized that she had accepted his decision as final.  Who did he think he was? Why did he have the right to step into her head  and heart whenever he pleased, then blithely walk away when he became  too uncomfortable with the situation?

By the time she woke up one morning, weak but clear-eyed, Jennifer knew  that she was not going to give up without a fight. And the man she  worked for had already taught her something about fighting, fair or  otherwise. If one didn't work, she'd try the other.

She waited until she was able to get back to full production on the job,  which took some time. Jennifer was disgusted at herself for allowing  her body to become so weakened. She had more self-respect than that. In  order to fill some of her lonely evenings she joined a health club and  began to work out after she left the office. She met several people who  came in regularly at the same time as she did and they began to visit  back and forth while they worked on the machines.

Jennifer was pleased with her body's response. As she gained her weight  back she began putting it on in all the right places. There had been  nothing wrong with her body before, but now it looked even better.

She also discovered that she had much more energy. No longer did she  drag home and fall on the couch exhausted after a day of hard work.

However, the biggest change was in her attitude to her employer.

"Good morning, Ms. Chisholm," he said one morning after having been out of the office for two weeks.

Her smile was warm and welcoming, filled with sparkle. "It's good to  have you back," she said. Her tone was filled with such a loving quality  that he glanced around to see if anyone else had heard her. No one  seemed to be in the vicinity.

"Are these my messages?" he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"Um-hmm," she said softly.

She watched with interest as a darker color spread over his tanned  cheeks. "May I get you a cup of coffee?" she asked pleasantly.

His eyes darted to her in disbelief. In all the years they had worked  together, she had never offered to bring him coffee before. He nodded  abruptly. "Thank you," he said, striding into his own office.

She paused in the doorway of his office when she returned with his  coffee. I'm so glad you're back, she said to him silently. I've missed  you.

He never looked up, but she noticed his grip tightened on the pen he was  holding. She set the cup down on his desk. "Do you need anything else?"  she asked quietly.

He shook his head, refusing to look up.

Chad had heard her, she knew that. Whether he answered her or not, he  had not tuned her out, which gave her an idea for another experiment.

She knew many things about this man, things she hadn't consciously  realized. A person couldn't trade thoughts with another person for years  without learning about them. Jennifer had also learned quite a lot  about him the weekend they had spent in Las Vegas. That knowledge could  be put to work to help her convince him that they deserved the chance to  see if they could make a relationship work.

Jennifer had a vague glimmering of what she had in mind, but didn't have  the knowledge to fulfill it. As soon as she got off work that night she  went to the public library and checked out several books oh sex. When  she noticed the expression on the librarian's face, Jennifer just smiled  and explained, "Research."

For the next couple of weeks Jennifer read several sex manuals, studied  pictures and received a crash course in all the sensual arts. She found  herself blushing more than once but reminded herself that all of this  was perfectly normal and natural between two people who loved each  other.                       
       
           



       

She loved Chad. She knew that Chad loved her.

Now all she had to do was to convince him to give their relationship a chance.





Chapter Eight


Contents - Prev / Next Jennifer planned her strategy carefully. For this  to work at all, she wanted Chad in the same town, at least. So she had  to wait until he returned from his latest trip.

In the meantime, she continued to treat him with warmth and friendliness  whenever he called in, amused to note that he had become even more  aloof with her efforts. Whether he was calling from out of town or was  in the office, she was open and amiable with him.

The day he came in from the Midwest he looked tired and discouraged.

"How was your trip?"

"Rugged," was his only reply. He went into his office and sank down in  his chair, staring at the papers in front of him with dismay.

"None of those are emergencies," she said, following him into the room. "May I make a suggestion?"

He glanced up at her warily, an expression to which she had grown accustomed during the past few months.

"Why don't you go on home?" she asked as though he had responded. "It's  already after three. There's nothing here that can't wait until tomorrow  to be dealt with, after you've had a good night's sleep."

He leaned his head wearily against the back of his chair. "That's the best idea I've heard in a while," he admitted.