Dark and Stormy: Sacred Hearts Coven (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Regina’s New Shoes

THE DAY WAS winding down. Most of the staff had gone home for the day. A few sales reps were still attempting to grind out what they could. Serena’s gift card raffle had a select few going the extra mile, looking for not just an entry into the raffle, but multiple entries.

Regina and Reddick were both happy with where they were with their teams for the month. This was one of the first times neither of them was looking to cut any loose links. Regina felt strongly that the team they had on staff at this point was the main factor in having a steady i
ncrease in revenue. Too bad Serena wasn’t going to accept that as an answer for how they were achieving the numbers or how they could continue to grow the business.

She looked at the folder on her desk with her half of the notes from the meeting. Her shoulders slumped a little bit knowing there was a bunch of rubbish in there. Not to mention, if there were any hal
fway decent ideas, Reddick would have made sure they were in his pile.

Regina always felt like he was a bit sneaky. He was a born salesman, but at the end of the day, she never caught him doing anything unethical or shiesty. He was a hard worker and good at what he did. R
egina just preferred to be better.

The time on her computer screen suddenly reminded her that Serena never made it back from the mall. Loo
king down at her pink feathery footwear, she decided to shoot Serena a text.

Hey, boss lady. I’m going to wrap up here soon.

Just wanted to see if you need anything before

I head out. And don't worry, I have my moonstone

to put under my pillow.

Even though her desire was to say, “Hey, did you happen to get me new shoes or do I have to wear your crazy slippers home?” This wasn’t how she was about to communicate to her boss. It was nice enough of her to have o
ffered to grab her a new pair. The alternative would have been lost hours of work. Her phone beeped back at her.

Great news about the stone. I forgot to tell you

I stopped back at the office and grabbed my laptop.

I left your shoes there.

Just as she was about to head downstairs, her phone beeped again.

Sorry. Mick wanted to meet for an early dinner.

Remind Reddick about the stone.

Success in love and business.

The balance between the two is the key.

Regina texted back to Serena:

Enjoy your night.

I’m running down to see what you got me.

Thanks again!

REGINA TOOK OFF the marabou slippers and ca
rried them as she ran down the stairs to Serena’s office. She ran so fast that she failed to notice she was the only one upstairs. When she was in the work zone, if you weren’t directly in front of her with a work-related issue, she was oblivious to what was going on around her.

Moving faster than she should have, Regina’s left foot missed the last step and her feet went swinging out in front of her. As her butt, back, and head went flying bac
kward onto the steps, she screamed out.

Lucky that she was already at the bottom of the stairs, she didn't have far to fall, but the loud thud she made combined with her yelp had a certain somebody running to see what happened.

Regina didn’t move, as the wind had been knocked from her pipes. There was a sharp dull pain at the base of her spine where she hit the edge of the step.

“Holly crap, are you okay?” Reddick stood hovering over her. “Take a minute before you get up. Did you fall all the way down the stairs?”

“No. I think I just missed the last step.” Regina tried to laugh, but was still catching her breath. She wanted to get up as fast as possible. She never wanted to appear weak, especially not in front of a man.

“Can you wiggle your toes and fingers?” Reddick asked as he squatted down in front of her.

Regina wiggled her fingers and before she could start wiggling her toes, he had her feet in his hands. Her stomach dropped a little bit. Even though they’d worked closely together, other than bumping into each other and shaking hands a few times, they had never really touched each other.

Quite frankly, it had been almost six months since anyone besides Crunch had touched her.

Reddick looked up at her and she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his light eyes. Reddick’s Mediterranean skin was a shade darker than her own. His light hazel irises were set off by the contrast of his skin. The sun was just about to set, but just enough light still shone in through the windows, streaming directly into his eyes. They had a twinkle she never noticed before.

Regina sat up and wiggled her toes. “See, all good. Nothing’s broken. I just slipped a little. Really, it’s not a big deal.”

“What's the rush?” He still gently held Regina’s perfectly manicured toes in his wide hands.

“I just needed to grab something from Serena’s office.” Regina told her body to retract her feet from the man’s hands, but they were perfectly happy to stay where they were. But why exactly was he still holding them?

“Maybe you should stay here. I can get it for you. What is it? A file?” he asked.

Regina blushed a little. Even Reddick expected that the most important thing for her was work. And not that it wasn't, but she loved her a pair of shiny new red shoes.

With her lips curled ever so slightly in the corners, she replied, “No, if you must know, I was going to get my new shoes.”

Reddick noticed the pink feathers scattered and the slippers sitting on the floor behind him. He gently released her feet and leaned back to grab the shoes she dropped on her way down.

He held his hand out to her and stood up. Regina accepted and stood on her feet. She felt like she’d shrunk. It was weird how tall Reddick was as she stood before him barefoot. It was also surprising that no one else had come over to see the sight of her sprawled out on the stairs.

“How about I carry these for you? I was just heading to the kitchen to grab a protein bar.” Reddick still held the pink, fluffy slippers in his hand.

“Well, I was trying to distract you.” She tried to make a joke of her accident.

“You’ve done a good job of that all afternoon in these shoes. I do believe they’re meant to be worn in the be
droom.” Reddick double lifted his eyebrows at her and handed her back Serena’s shoes before he continued on to the kitchen.

It hadn’t occurred to her that the pumps were typically worn with a nightie. God only knew where his mind went with that the past few hours. Hopefully somewhere just long enough to keep him from surpa
ssing her sales for the day. But not so far off that his mind found its way into the gutter.

Regina grabbed the hidden key to Serena’s office and went in to find a Nordstrom’s bag on top of her desk with a tiny card attached to the front.

Regina,

Please accept these shoes as my apology for my parking lot eating one of your favorite pairs. Slide your feet into their new home. Wear them with a reverence and conviction in all that you do.

Luv ya, Serena

Regina smiled and put the card in the silver shopping bag. She was shocked to see a red Valentino shoebox. Her mouth hung open. She knew enough about shoes to know they were way out of her budget. She debated whet
her or not she should even open them, let alone wear and keep them.

The only problem was that she knew Serena well enough to know that what she wanted was what she got. If she wanted to buy a pair of shoes that cost nearly a thousand dollars for someone, then that’s exac
tly what she would do.

Letting her inner child relish in the excitement, she pulled out the box. How could they not be pe
rfect? Even the box was red. Serena grabbed a chair and sat with the box on her lap.

She slowly lifted off the top and tucked it under the box. The soft, velvety red bag to later store the shoes in was enough to make her cry. She sat there and stroked the bag with her eyes closed, relishing in the experience of the opportunity to own such an extravagant pair of shoes. R
egina opened her eyes and removed the red bag, placing it neatly on the desk in front of her.

She wanted to tear into the soft tissue paper, but controlled the urge. Taking her time, she unfolded the wrapped pair of shoes. The first shoe shone as bright as the red box. The color was a perfect match to the cherry-red lipstick she wore.

Regina was glad to find they didn’t have a red bow on top. Although she would have loved them just the same, she knew she wouldn't be able to wear them on a daily basis. She lifted the box to double-check the size. A sigh of relief slipped out when she realized the patent leather heels were her favorite Lisbeth style in a slingback with a cheeky peep toe.

REDDICK GRABBED HIS protein bar and a bottle of water from the kitchen. He had plenty of work to do before meeting up with the guys for drinks. He was hungry, but dinner would have to be a late-night salad. For now, he had time for a quick snack.

He opened his protein bar as he was walking out of the kitchen. Just as he was about to take a bite, Regina caught his eye. She was standing barefoot in front of Ser
ena’s desk, reading a small note.

He couldn't help but be a little fascinated by her excitement over a pair of shoes. Reddick was always well dressed. He never came to work without a freshly lau
ndered and pressed suit. Toward the end of the day, as most of the staff filtered home, he would remove his jacket and tie. He wore designer label clothing both for work and casual, but he mostly just followed the trends and knew what brands were more popular at any given time.

He made sure that he not only looked successful, but that people knew he was successful by the amount of money he spent on his clothes and other material objects such as his watch and car. By no means was he ever exci
ted about a pair of shoes or a new sweater, not like this.

Her excitement allowed her to have an air of innocence. This was a refreshing way to see a female, especially one that he often butted heads with. He respected that she was a powerhouse, but he would ne
ver let her know that. He got way too much pleasure in watching her squirm at his snide remarks.

Reddick decided to grab a seat behind one of the desks and pretended to be on the phone. He knew he was just out of her field of vision, but he didn’t want to get caught watching her.

After taking a few bites of his protein bar, he absently put it down. He was too consumed with watching Regina’s every move. She opened the box so slowly that one may have thought the contents of the box were fragile or about to explode. He wondered what was so special about these shoes.

Reddick found himself cataloguing her features. He’d always found her attractive, but something had changed. It was like someone lifted the fog and he could see her for who she really was.