Celine gave her an encouraging look that nearly made Liz blush. Obviously Quentin's secretary had formed her own opinions and one of them was that Quentin should settle down.
She hated to think of Quentin leading some solitary existence however, so she asked, hoping to change the subject, “But he doesn't just work?”
“Oh, my dear, Quentin was always very intense—and I've known him for years, worked for his father since Quentin was a baby.”
Celine looked away, reminiscing. “Everyone knew he was going to do great things. And I don't just mean in business, although goodness knows he's been successful there. I mean, the kindness, too. He's very loyal to those around him.” Celine's eyes came back to hers. “Why, the stock that man has gifted to me… well let's just say, I'm not still in this job because I need it.”
Liz absorbed the information. If his secretary was to be believed, there was a whole other side of Quentin that a privileged few were allowed to see.
Liz glanced up as Quentin reappeared in the doorway. “Sorry,” he said ruefully, “minor emergency with our European operations, so this is going to be a long call.”
Liz nodded. “That's no problem at all. It'll just give me a chance to go back down to the day-care site and make some more progress.”
“I'll call the restaurant and move back that lunch reservation for you, Quentin.”
“Thanks Celine.” To Liz, he said, “I'll come find you when I'm done.”
When Liz got downstairs, the day-care center was a scene in suspended chaos. The workmen were all on their lunch break. Tools lay scattered amid ladders and buckets on the tarpaulin covering the wood floor.
Liz had been down here during the morning to talk to the contractor, but now she had a chance to take measurements without getting in the way of the construction crew. She pulled a retractable tape measure from her bag along with a pad and pencil and set to work.
After almost an hour she'd taken some measurements, jotted down some notes, and drawn a couple of rough sketches of some details she was considering.
She looked around the open space again. Yes, it was coming along just as she'd envisioned. They'd have an office to one side for the administrators, some child-size tables and chairs for the kids set up in the open area in the middle, and play stations to the left for building with blocks or playing with dolls.
She was still uncertain where to put the cubbyholes for the kids though. The far wall looked good. But so did the one on the left. She bit down on the edge of her pencil, contemplating the options. The wooden, paint-stained ladder near the far wall caught her eye.
With the ladder, she'd be able to mark off where the cubbyholes and cabinets would be placed and get an idea of how it would look.
She decided to try the right wall and walked over to the ladder. When she set the ladder against the wall, it was just high enough for her to mark off where the tops of the cubbyholes and cabinets would be.
Starting at one corner, she climbed up the ladder and marked off where the cubbyholes would start, then got down, moved the ladder over, climbed up again, and marked off some space for cabinets. She'd set those a little higher, she decided, and break up the architectural lines a little bit. Given how many kids there'd be, they might have to have two rows of cubbyholes, one on top of the other.
She moved the ladder over again and made some additional markings, then took a step down before realizing the end of the wall was within reach.
Taking a step up again and balancing on her beige sandals, she reached over and marked a spot on the lower corner of the wall before reaching to do the upper corner near the ceiling. She was just a couple of inches short, so she took a step to the side and leaned over a bit further.
Suddenly the rung of the ladder under her feet gave way and she lost her balance. “Ohh!!”
Rather than hit the floor with a thud, however, she was surprised to find herself caught in a pair of strong arms. The ladder went crashing to the ground, the sound reverberating in the large, empty space.
“Dammit! What the hell were you doing?” Quentin demanded.
She brushed back loose strands of hair from her face. “My job.”
“Balanced on top of a ladder with—” he looked disdainfully at her strappy sandals “—Barbie doll footwear?”
“The ladder gave way!”
He nodded grimly toward the ladder with the broken rung now lying sideways on the floor. “Yeah, but that still doesn't explain what in the blazes you were doing on top of it.”
If he'd simply been concerned, she'd have reacted differently. Instead, his anger fueled her own temper. “What I was thinking was that I should do my job.” She thought a second. “You're paying me to get this day-care center done, and if you're satisfied with the end result, you can keep your opinions to yourself.”
It was ridiculous to be having an argument when he still held her in his arms, but she hated being scolded like a child. “Put me down,” she said. Then added, “Please.”
He hesitated for a second, seeming reluctant, and then lowered her to the floor. The second her right foot hit the ground, she winced.
“What's wrong?” he demanded.
Even if she'd wanted to hide her reaction from him, she couldn't have. The pain shooting out from her foot was strong and sharp. “I think I strained something.”
♥ Uploaded by Coral ♥
Six
Oh, heck. He picked her up despite her halfhearted protests.
“Be quiet and stop squirming,” he grumbled. “You're going to a doctor.”
“Well, of course I am—”
He looked down at her and the look in his eyes was enough to silence her. He bent with her and let her pick up her purse.
Damn.
His heart had risen to his throat when he'd seen her teetering on that ladder with those ridiculous sandals and his alarm had made him sound sharp.
Even now his pulse was galloping, except, if he was willing to admit it to himself, it wasn't only because of what had nearly happened. The side of her breast pressed against his chest, her rounded backside within inches of his hand under her legs. He gritted his teeth to tap down the welling of lust.
He strode with her past some gawking messengers and the receptionist, whose look of surprise turned into one of amusement at the sight of her boss carrying a woman in his arms.
“Suzy, call Dr. Grover and tell him I'll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Right away!” The receptionist placed the call, and Quentin could hear her talking to Dr. Grover's office assistant even as he strode through the automatic front doors of the building.