Secret Moves(17)

Her face split into a wide smile. Was she now somewhere at the top of his list?

Blake pursed his lips and sighed deeply. "I'd like to take my time on this, if you don't mind, Kris? I'll let you know in a few days what I've decided."

"Sure. No problem," she answered. "Thank you for even seeing me."

"I'm glad I did," Blake said softly. "Feel free to use the shower at the end of the hall before you go. I have to leave you as I have a phone call to make."

"Okay, thanks." She gathered her things and hastened to the door which Blake was holding open for her.

"I'll see you again soon," he said in a low voice as she passed him, his hand resting on her lower back—to escort her out, she presumed.





*******



"How did you do?"

Kris grinned at Sam who was already waiting for her at the restaurant. Jill hadn't arrived yet.

"I think it went well. Blake will let me know his decision in a few days," she responded.

"Does it look promising?" Sam pressed.

"Well, he said he was ready to offer the job to someone else but I just made his decision difficult after this morning, so I guess it does look promising."

Sam patted her hand. "I hope you get it, Kris. It'll open more doors for you. Although I'll miss you while you're here."

"Oh, I know, darl. But if I do get it, it'll only be three months or so that I'm away from home. Think about it, you'll have our apartment all to yourself while I'm gone. You can check out all these different men and see if they know their way around your body. You won't have to worry about me hearing what's coming out of your bedroom."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You and your hormones! Speaking of men, I take it you haven't found a fling partner yet?"

Kris' lips tugged up. "I have plenty of time. It's only been a few days."

"Oh, here's Jill and…her husband, I think," Sam said, looking toward the restaurant entrance.

Kris twisted to have a look. "That's not her husband. That's Blake!"

"Oh, your future boss," Sam whispered.

"Hopefully," she whispered back.

"Hi, girls," Jill greeted. "I hope you don't mind me bringing Blake along. He rang me after he saw you, Kris, and invited himself to join us when he learned I was having lunch with you."

"No, of course we don't mind," Kris replied. "Gives me a chance to suck up to him," she joked with her usual brashness then bit her tongue. That was terribly unprofessional, Kris.

To her relief, Blake laughed out loud. "I can't wait to see how you're going to do that," he replied.

Jill was introducing Blake to Sam when Kris spotted new patrons going into the restaurant. Her heart thudded in her chest. It was Trey with two women. One was older, but no less striking.

Her brows furrowed at Trey's stony, unsmiling expression. She hadn't seen him like that before. He'd always been friendly and relaxed. She wondered who his two beautiful companions were.

"So have you girls decided on what to order?" Blake asked as he consulted the menu.

"We were here the other night with some friends, and I really loved the spicy fish we had," Sam responded.

"Good choice. That's one of my favourites here, too," Blake said. "Kris?"

"Oh, I like the chicken dish that's in the House Specials list," she answered, forced to take her attention away from Trey's party who were being ushered to their table by a server.

They were discussing various other dishes they were going to share when Blake's phone rang.

He groaned. "I'm so sorry, ladies. I have to get this," he apologised and started to get up.

"You don't have to leave the table," Jill said. "Unless, of course, you want to have some privacy."

Blake grinned. "No, it's not private. Thanks." He sat back down to answer the phone and spoke softly to the caller.

While Sam was giving their orders to the server, Kris felt her phone vibrate inside her handbag which was leaning against her leg on the floor. She pulled it out and her eyes flickered in surprise to where Trey was sitting. He sat facing her direction, but he was in deep conversation with the young woman sitting next to him.

A sensation, which she recognised as jealousy, prickled her. She shushed it away and glanced back at the message on her phone.

*Great view from where I'm sitting.*

Hiding a smile, she tapped back a response to him.

*Same here. Pity it's not close-up.*

She'd just sent her message to Trey when Blake ended his phone call and Sam finished ordering their dishes. She tucked the phone back in her bag, disappointed that she now had to be polite and pay attention to the people at her table. Flirt-texting with Trey would have been fun.