Falling For Her Boss (3 page)

The seven-year-old thought about it and decided, "No, it's okay."

Francie began gliding slowly backward, pulling the child with her.  "Bend your knees a little, but keep your back straight.  That's it.  You're doing great."

She let go of her hands and the little girl rolled to a stop. 

Francie explained, "If you want to keep rolling, you'll have to pick up your feet.  First one foot, then the other.  Do you want to try it?"

The child nodded.

Noah was amazed at how her confidence grew as Francie talked, guided, and held one hand.

A loud group of older children came through the door and made a beeline for the skate rental window.  Noah watched Francie stoop and say something to the little girl she was teaching.  They glided around the remainder of the oval and skated onto the carpeted area.  The little girl waved at Francie and said, "Next week I can skate with the other kids."

Francie smiled.  "Yes, you can."

Her smile started a low heat in the pit of Noah's stomach.  Damn!  Francie Picccard might be as beautiful as a symphony, but that didn't change his reasons for this visit.  Yet he couldn't keep himself from approaching her.  "You were good with her."

Francie shrugged.  "During the session, she wouldn't do anything the other kids did.  Sometimes individual attention works wonders."  She glanced at the kids lacing up.  "But now I'm running late.  I want to mop before they roll onto the floor."

"Can't you get someone else to do it?"

"Everyone has their own jobs to do."  Francie skated toward the storage closet, then turned around and came back.  "Are you going to be here all day?"

"Yes.  Is that a problem?"

"No.  It's just that...I'd like to talk to you when I get a few minutes free.  This session's over at twelve-thirty.  Can we talk then?"

"Sure."

Francie nodded and skated away, leaving him wondering what she wanted to talk about.  He had the feeling that whatever it was, it could only complicate his life.

****

Francie mopped the rink as someone did after every session to keep the dust at bay.  Then she went to find Noah, her palms slightly damp.  In her mind she saw him crouched down, tying a child's roller skates.  Somehow, that didn't fit his bottom-line image.  His caring attitude had given her hope.  Was she being foolish?  Hadn't Brent shown her how single-minded a man could be?  He'd let nothing stand in his way--not even her.  Was Noah as ambitious?

He was waiting for her in her office.  He looked up when she entered, stood, and came around to the front of the desk.  Francie would have preferred he stay behind the desk.  Whenever he got too close, she couldn't think straight.  The intensity of his green eyes, his thick dark hair, his large, muscled body stirred up elements she'd rather keep at rest.  All morning she'd wondered what he'd look like in casual clothes, jeans particularly.  She told herself that if she imagined him that way, he wouldn't seem so impressive, so formidable.  But the idea of his legs encased in denim, the snap at his slim waist...

Noah broke into her musings.  "Would you like to get something to eat at the snack bar?"

"I'd rather talk here."

He motioned to the other chair and she sat.  So did he.

She folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath.  "Mr. Gordon..."

"Noah."

With his half-smile, it was easier to talk to "Noah" than "Mr. Gordon."  "All right.  Noah, I don't think you realize what this rink has become.  It's not just a business any more."

"How so?"

"Did you look at our schedule for the coming week?"

"No."

Thankful for the opportunity to do something, she went to her desk and pulled out a pink flier from the bottom drawer.  She handed it to him.

When he leaned forward to take it, she could smell the scent of his cologne, see the red highlights in his brown hair.  She stood before him as he studied it.  There was a small scar on the right side of his strong jaw.  Were the tiny lines around his eyes from laughter or something more serious?  He'd opened the top button of his shirt.  His throat was tan against the white cotton.

He looked up, his gaze meeting hers.  His eyes darkened to the green of an emerald forest.  Suddenly, she was too close to him; he was too close to her.

She backed up and sat down again, her legs feeling like she'd skated a long program.

He laid the flier on the desk.  "What's that supposed to show me?"

"I don't just give lessons.  We don't just promote skating sessions.  We have a teen night now and we're finally getting a good turnout.  We have seniors night.  They love the fifties music and the chance to do something besides walking.  And family skates are starting to be almost too well attended.  A few months ago we began birthday celebrations on Tuesday nights, and more and more private organizations are booking  time.  We've become a community center.  Everyone can have a good time here.  Everyone has a place to go."

"I understand the rink is becoming popular but..."

Francie forgot she'd wanted to stay calm and composed.  She gestured to the flier.  "You still don't get it.  This is more than a rink."  There was only one way she could show him.  She sat forward in her chair.  "How long are you going to stay in Gettysburg?"

"I'm not sure.  Just until I can set up everything."

"Stay a few weeks."

"Francie, I don't have that kind of time."

"Don't you want to know what you own?  Were you planning to sell the rink long-distance?"

"I was going to put it in the hands of a real estate agent.  I can accept a contract no matter where I am."

"But you won't know who you're selling it to!"

His expression told her that that hadn't been a prime consideration.

"Mr. Gordon, the last manager didn't give a hoot about the rink or the public.  That's why he couldn't keep it in the black.  You can't just sell this place out from under us without understanding why it's finally succeeding."

"Apparently it's succeeding because Craig hired you to manage it."

"Did you know I had no prior management experience?"

He looked surprised.  "Then how can you do what you're doing?"

His gaze was too intense.  She'd met many men in her life and not one of them had looked at her like this, as if he was getting to know her by osmosis.  It was unnerving.

"I love this place," she said honestly.  "Before I started ice-skating seriously, I spent hours here with my friends and brothers.  When I came back to Gettysburg after--  When I came back to Gettysburg, I got a part-time job here.  I decided to get my instructor's certificate so I could work more hours.  And when Craig fired the existing manager, I went to him with my ideas and he decided to give me a chance."

Noah dashed his hand through his hair.  "And what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to give me a chance to show you what the rink means to the community.  If you stay and watch, maybe you'll see firsthand how business has picked up and that in another year the profits will be worth calculating.  It could even help you run your other rinks."

"You think if I stay awhile, I won't want to sell."

"Yes."

His brows arched.  "At least you're honest."

"I try to be."

He examined her closely.  "If I stay, I'm going to use the time to search for prospective buyers.  I can't afford not to."

"I understand that."

A wry smile turned up his lips.  "You're hoping I don't find any."

"Mr. Gordon..."

"Noah," he reminded.

"Noah, you know how I feel."

He gave a quick nod.  "Yes, I do, and I respect your forthrightness.  But I don't want to give you false hopes.  We're on the opposite sides of the fence.  If I stay, I might not change my mind."

"And if you stay, you might."

He laughed.  "It's not often I come up against someone as determined as I am."

His laugh was rich and deep, vibrating through her.  As his gaze combed her face, she shivered.  But she didn't back down.  "So you'll stay?"

He was silent, almost too long.  Finally, he said, "I'll think about it and give you my answer at the end of the day."

***

Later that afternoon, Francie was attaching the promotional fliers for the week onto the bulletin board in the foyer when she saw Noah talking to her ticket taker, an orange ticket in his hand.  Would she get an argument from him about that new program?  Hadn't Craig told Noah anything?  Or did Noah only care about the money coming in, not the reason for it?

A tap on her shoulder drew her attention from him.  She turned around and saw her sister, a manila envelope in her hand.

"Mama said you needed this."  Gina held out the envelope.

Francie recognized her writing in one corner and was puzzled.  "Thanks for bringing it.  But I could have brought it in tomorrow."  The envelope she'd left on the dining room table contained Valentine's Day ideas.

Gina shrugged.  "Mama said it was urgent."

Francie frowned.  Gina was the only one in her family who didn't seem pleased to have her back home.  Any time Francie tried to make a move toward her, Gina backed off.  Their mother probably sensed that tension and was doing everything she could to lessen it.  Francie knew made-up errands wouldn't do it.  But she wouldn't let the opportunity to try pass by.

Francie motioned to the rink.  "Come in.  You haven't had skates on in awhile."

"No thanks.  I have a date tonight and I have to get ready."  Gina's hair was as black as Francie's, but straighter.  She kept it cut in a pageboy.  Her eyes were more amber than brown.  She was a beautiful young woman standing on the verge of her future.

"Are you going to the movies?" Francie asked.  Gettysburg was short on entertainment for teens.

Gina laughed.  "No way.  Not with Jake."

"Is he someone new?"

"Sort of.  We've been going out for a month."

"And you haven't brought him to Sunday dinner yet?"

"Jake's not the type to appreciate Sunday dinner at our house."

All of Francie's senses came alert.  "What type is he?"

"A loner.  He does his own thing when he wants to do it.  He makes everything exciting."  Gina had forgotten her nonchalance for a moment and her eyes positively glowed.

"You really care about him."

"I more than care about him."

"Honey, go slow."

The glow left Gina's eyes and she looked wary.  "Do you know how many girls would cut off their arm to date Jake?  He's different, Francie.  He's mature.  He acts like a man, not a boy.  So why should I go slow?"

Francie didn't want to put more of a wedge between her and her younger sister.  But she felt protective.  "Just try not to do anything rash.  Talk to someone before you make any...important decisions."

"You mean like before I go to bed with him?"

Gina's attitude worried Francie.  "I just want you to think before you act.  You have to live the rest of your life with the decisions you make."

Gina looked at her oddly.  "You regret some you made?"

"I wish I hadn't been so eager to give my heart away."

"To Brent?"

Francie nodded and involuntarily glanced at Noah.

She knew Gina had noticed when her sister asked, "What's he like?"

She answered the question in her mind.  Strong and determined and...sexy.  To Gina she said, "I'm not sure yet."

"I heard you talking to Mama and Pop last night.  What will you do if the rink closes?"

What she'd really  like to do, what she'd dreamed of doing, was going to college and becoming a teacher.  But she had a lot of doubts about it.  One was the course work, the second was the money.  She couldn't and wouldn't ask her parents to support her in this, too.  She had a little of her grandmother Marie's inheritance left and she could use her savings from doing approved endorsements, but that was a security blanket for the future.  She needed a good job while she went to school.  A job like she had now.

"I'm not sure yet.  There's not much I can do with only a high school education."

"You could teach or coach figure skating, couldn't you?"

"I'd have to move to Hershey to do that.  I'm tired of moving around, Gina, not being close to you and the family."

"Look what you had!  All the publicity, skating, Brent."

Yes, she'd had a lot.  But during those last few years, it hadn't brought her the happiness she'd wanted.  "That's not the same as having you and Vince and Frank and Mama and Pop around."

Gina looked at her strangely.  "If the rink closes, I'll bet you'll help Mama with her business.  She always said you had an eye for style and color."

Their mother ran an interior-decorating business from her home.  "I don't think so.  Mama and Pop have done enough for me.  In fact, I'm thinking about getting an apartment.  Or at least I was till Noah Gordon came."

"You're not moving in over the garage?"

Her father and brothers had built an apartment over the garage to bring in extra money.  The last tenant had moved less than a month ago.  "No.  That's income Pop can use with your going to college."

"But I have a scholarship."

"You'll have plenty of other expenses.  And, Gina?  That's another reason you should go slow with a boy now.  With your going to college next year..."

"Enough advice, okay?  I gotta go.  Mama told me to tell you not to forget to eat supper."

"I won't."

As Gina turned to leave, Francie said, "I'm glad you came by.  Why don't you bring Jake in some night this week?  I'd like to meet him."  She winked.  "I could even round up free passes."

Gina seemed uncertain.  "I'll think about it."  She lifted her hand in a wave.

Francie looked down at the envelope in her hand and at her sister walking through the parking lot.  She wished she knew why Gina was being so cool.  She hoped she could figure it out soon.

Francie took down the old fliers from the bulletin board.  When she heard a door open and close, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.  She didn't have to turn around to know Noah was standing behind her.

"Your sister didn't stay long."

Francie smiled.  "She had to get ready for a date.  That will take at least three hours."