Trapped by Love(4)

"How did you get to be such a good secretary if you don’t have any experience?" He stopped pacing and sat on the floor with his back against the adjacent wall.

"I guess I’ve been taking care of people all my life. That’s all I do — take care of you."

"And you do a wonderful job of it too." He slid closer. "But what about the typing and dictation?"

Time to change the subject. "How long have you been a vice-president?"

"Oh, no, you aren’t getting by with changing the subject. I just realized that you never talk about yourself." He shrugged. "We might as well get some good out of being stuck in an elevator. You’re going to tell me about Lori Hammond."

He’d never asked her about herself before. Why now, when she couldn’t escape or hide her emotions? "There’s nothing to tell."

He raised his arms over his head and grasped his right hand with his left hand. Then he stretched, and stretched, and stretched. The muscles rippling under his dress shirt gave Lori a tingling feeling in her belly.

"Of course, there’s something to tell," he said. "You’re a mystery. How can the most beautiful woman in the company also be the most efficient?"

Lori inched away from him. The tiny elevator seemed to be shrinking. The air seemed to be getting thinner. She had to concentrate on her breathing.

"That would be an interesting combination if it existed." Lori reached for her purse to have something to do with her hands. "No one’s ever accused Tina Lawrence of being efficient." Tina was the beautiful, but thoroughly disorganized, receptionist.

Derek slid closer and took the purse from her hands. He pushed it along the floor to the corner with his briefcase. "I can’t positively say no one has, but I’ve certainly never accused Tina Lawrence of being either the most beautiful or the most efficient. The most beautiful woman in the company has silky brown hair that’s probably long when it’s down. She usually has a serious expression on her face, but it’s worth waiting for one of her smiles. Her hazel eyes show there’s more going on besides the steel control she shows to the world. She’s the perfect size, and she sits just outside my office."

Lori stood in one swift motion. "Don’t be ridiculous." She couldn’t stop the quiver in her voice.

He rose from the floor. "Okay, we’ll stick to business. Tell me how you came to be a secretary." He stood, put his hands on her shoulders, and guided her to a sitting position. Then he sat beside her. "You really are the best, you know."

Lori had never told anyone outside her family about herself. She’d been too busy to make close friends or have a serious romance. She didn’t want Derek, or anyone else, to know her secrets, but sharing secrets was better than thinking about being trapped or taking the risk of saying something that would cause Derek to realize how much she fantasized about him.

"I dropped out of school in the tenth grade." She saw Derek raise his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything. "My mother had cancer and needed someone to take care of her."

Derek slid closer and took her hands in his. "And, of course, my loyal Lori volunteered."

She pulled her hands back and looked away from him. "My mother needed me. What did you expect me to do — tell her to die alone?" She hadn’t meant to sound so angry.

"I would expect you to do exactly what you did — sacrifice some of your own dreams to meet your mother’s needs. You should be very proud of yourself."

"Proud of being a dropout?" She couldn’t keep the resentment out of her voice. She’d always been ashamed that she hadn’t finished school.

"Proud of doing what was right for your family. And proud of getting an education, some way, some time." He took her chin in his right hand and turned her face so she was looking at him. "Tell me how you did it."

She wasn’t sure what she saw in his eyes, but whatever she saw seemed to loosen her tongue. "I stayed with my mom during the day while my dad worked. She wasn’t a complete invalid until the last few weeks." Lori’s voice broke, but she kept talking. How could she be so sensitive to his touch as she recalled those bleak days?

"That must have been hard."

"At first, I mainly just needed to be with Mom so she wouldn’t be alone. I took care of the house and cooked for the family. I have a brother a couple of years younger than me. I’d give Mom her medicine and take her to her medical appointments."

Derek had dropped his hand from her face, but he sat so close she could feel the warmth from his body. "And then . . ." he prompted.