Lost and Found (6 page)

That woman.
Wasn’t
that woman
the ideal to every man? Hour glass figure, blond
flowy hair, and ample busts almost popping out of the neckline of
her blouse.

It was then that
Christian’s words flashed back at her.
He
has a soft spot for you.

She looked up at the man standing in
the doorway. He flashed a smile, and her heart rate took off in the
upward direction. His dark eyes grew soft as she looked at him.
Every bit of her tightened, and she realized, at that very moment,
how attracted to him she was.

This was not good.

She was on a mission. She had
something to do, and she couldn’t get involved with a man who gave
her the slightest bit of attention.

But then again, if she felt
out this
soft spot
, maybe she could get the information she was looking for even
faster.

Ed had started Darcy on projects that
he figured would take her most of the day. It usually took a temp
two days, but he was quickly learning that Darcy wasn’t like other
temps or employees. She’d returned with the purchase orders he’d
asked her to fill out within an hour.

“
If you see something I’ve
done wrong, please let me know,” she said as she handed him the
file.

“
You’re done?”

“
Mr. Keller, I take my work
seriously.”

“
Call me Ed.”

“
Mr.…” She let out a
breath. “Eduardo, I…”

“
No. Just call me
Ed.”

Darcy dropped her shoulders. “Ed,” she
paused on the name. “You had a phone call while you were on a call.
Ms. Simone Keller.”

“
Ah, what did she
want?”

“
To remind you of the
benefit on Saturday night.”

Ed slouched in his seat. “Damn, I
forgot all about that.”

“
She sounded
French.”

That made him smile. “She is. Ever
hear of Pierpont Oil?”

“
Sure.”

“
She’s the
heir.”

Darcy nodded slowly and narrowed her
brows. “But her last name is Keller. Relative of yours?”

“
My aunt.”

“
Oh, I remember that name.
John mentioned her.”

He blew out a deep breath. “Do you
have a nice dress?”

Darcy’s expression changed, and her
cheeks turned red. He’d seen that face. Somehow he’d triggered her
anger again.

“
Why do I need a nice
dress? Am I not dressed appropriately?”

“
Simmer down. I thought I’d
take you with me on Saturday.”

“
Are you asking me to go to
this benefit with you as a guest? Or are you ordering me as an
employee?”

Well, she did have a point. Perhaps
this was why he didn’t have a woman in his life. He sucked at
subtly getting his point across.

“
I’d like to ask you to
accompany me to the benefit on Saturday.”

“
Then ask me.”

Wow, she was a piece of work. “Darcy,
would you please be my guest at my Aunt’s fundraising gala on
Saturday?”

“
My calendar is empty. I
would love to be your guest.”

Darcy was more than a little surprised
to find furniture in her apartment when she returned home. Oh,
she’d expected a ratty couch and a folding chair, but she had a
fully furnished apartment!

There was a leather couch with a
matching chair in the living room. In the center of the room was a
coffee table, complete with a hearty cactus plant.

A stand with a decent TV sat against
the wall. She now had a kitchen table and even a real bed. This
family was amazing.

She’d gone upstairs to at least thank
Christian, figuring he had some part in it, but he wasn’t home. How
was she supposed to thank this family?

Perhaps she’d see them all at the
fundraiser on Saturday.

A few hours later, after having had
her first real meal in her new home, she heard the door close
upstairs.

With fresh cups of coffee in her
hands, one for her and one for Christian, she started up the
outside steps to his door.

Once she was there, with both hands
full, she decided the only way to knock was with her foot. She
gently kicked the back door.

Christian must have been upstairs by
the time she knocked because she could hear him stomp downstairs
and through the kitchen. When he flung the door open, he was
standing there in nothing but a towel, which thankfully was wrapped
around his waist.

Her mouth went dry and she tried to
swallow, but it only choked her instead.

When she could, she looked up into his
eyes and smiled. “I was being neighborly and brought by a cup of
coffee. But I can see you’re very busy, so I’ll…”

“
Come in. I’ll only be
three minutes.”

She stepped into the house, and he
closed the door behind her.

“
Have a seat.” He pointed
to the kitchen table.

Christian hurried away, and Darcy sat
at the table. This wasn’t really what she’d had in mind when she
wanted to say thank you to his family. But he was comfortable, and
so she sat and waited.

He was right. He’d only needed three
minutes, and he was showered, dressed, and seated in front of
her.

“
I hope it’s still hot. I
could go get a fresh one,” she said as he lifted the mug to his
lips.

“
It’s good.” He took a sip.
“Ah, you’re a weak coffee drinker, huh?”

“
Weak?”

“
More like tea than coffee.
But good.”

She nodded. Her own father used to say
that, didn’t he? Well, the man she’d grown up thinking was her
father.

Her shoulders dropped as she thought
about the deceit. She hadn’t been furious since she’d found out
about it, but being around the Kellers made her angry about her
situation. She missed her mother and she loved her father, but why
had someone given her up and not given her a family like the one
she was being taken in by? An only child of two aging parents
wasn’t the same as what the Kellers had.

She sipped her coffee again. There was
no need to get worked up. She had a perfectly good life. There was
just a lot of red tape around it.

“
So, why did you really
come up here? You look a bit out of sorts,” Christian
said.

Darcy snapped her head up. “Oh, I’m
sorry. Lot on my mind. But I did want to come and thank you all for
the furniture. As you’re the only Keller around, I thought I’d
start with you.”

He laughed. “Really I had nothing to
do with that. I let them in the house. John, Arianna, and Regan did
the rest.”

“
I’ll have to thank them
too then.”

“
Do you have plans Saturday
night? I happen to know where they will all be.”

She smiled at him. “As a matter of
fact, I do have plans.”

“
Oh.” His eyebrows drew
together as he took a sip of his coffee. “I need a date and was
going to ask you.”

“
To Simone’s
fundraiser?”

He looked up at her. “You sure do know
your stuff.”

She laughed. “I’ve already been
invited. I will be accompanying…”

“
He moves fast.”

“
To be honest, I think I’m
going as an employee, not as a date. He was a little uncomfortable
going, and he’s really bad at asking.”

“
No kidding.” Christian
leaned in closer to her. “I told you he had a soft spot for
you.”

Her jaw tensed.

Christian sat back. “But that really
kills my plans. I was hoping to ask you to go. Now I have to find a
date or go stag.”

“
You could go with
us.”

He laughed. “Third wheel was never my
style.”

Ed liked sushi, but this crap from the
grocery store was not what he’d call sushi. But it was going to
have to do. He’d sent Darcy to a build to meet the foreman and help
him get organized. If anything, Darcy McCary was the most organized
woman he’d ever met, next to his Aunt Regan.

When he thought about it, there were a
lot of similarities between the women. Not only did they have a
similar look, but just the way they did things. They both made weak
coffee, though he hadn’t told Darcy to alter it—not yet. They both
were irritatingly tidy and crazy efficient.

In less than a week, Darcy had nearly
organized Ed’s entire office, and every report he had stacked on
his desk was now filed. All he had to do was say, “Darcy, where are
we on…” and she knew.

His Aunt Regan had literally fallen
into his Uncle Zach’s lap on a bus. Well, Darcy McCary had bumped
into him at a Starbucks.

The thought sent heat rising to his
forehead, and he broke out into a sweat. There was no need to keep
thinking about her in terms of comparing her to his aunt. They
worked together, and that was where it was going to stay—a working
relationship.

They might have plans for Saturday
night, but that was a business arrangement. He hated fundraisers,
but the work his Aunt Simone did with her foundation was amazing.
There was no way he’d miss it and not give her the support she
deserved. But now he was dragging Darcy with him. Maybe he should
tell her he’d be late and pawn her off on his brother.

Another wave of heat burst through
him, and this time he reached for a tissue to wipe his
face.

He’d be damned if he pushed Darcy in
Christian’s direction. He’d seen his brother’s eyes when he’d
brought her in that day. And why had he done that? Why was he being
all neighborly and offering her rides in the morning so
early?

Oh, that had him twisted inside. Darcy
McCary was his assistant and off limits to his brother.

Ed shook his head. Dear Lord, he was
losing his mind.

Why should he care if Darcy and
Christian hooked up? He didn’t date women in the office. Christian
was a good guy. But the thought gnawed at him until he finally
threw the last three pieces of the crappy sushi in the trash and
headed out of his office and to the break room to find a bottle of
water—of which he wasn’t so sure wouldn’t be better used just being
poured on his head.

Later that afternoon when Darcy
returned, Ed found himself in a foul mood. The moment he heard her
desk drawer, he was snapping at her to come into his
office.

When she walked through the door, she
had a quirky smile on her face. What could that be
about?

“
Did you get Davenport in
line then?”

She nodded. “He’s a mess of a man, but
he knew his stuff. I think he had coffee stains on every purchase
order and a chocolate donut stain on every blue print, but he’s set
to go now.”

Ed pursed his lips. “I guess you’ll be
heading home now.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I have an hour
left. Besides the bus I ride doesn’t pick up until five-thirty. Did
you have a project you needed me to start?”

No, and he wasn’t sure why it had even
been mentioned. He was too protective of this woman. Damn, he
should have let her suffer with the ruined blouse and just hired a
temp.

“
No. I think I just ate
some bad sushi for lunch, and now I’m irritable. Or maybe I’m
hungry since I threw it away.”

Darcy nodded. “Would you like me to go
down to the deli and get you something decent to eat?”

He shook his head. “No, but would you
mind me giving you a ride home and maybe we could stop for dinner
along the way?”

Darcy crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’ve worked for you almost a week, and you’ve fed me multiple
times, found me a house, filled it with furniture, asked me to a
fundraiser, and now want to take me to dinner again. Did I fall
into the best job, or are you one of those lonely men who only keep
company with people they employ?”

Well, that made him sound horrible. “I
just thought…”

“
I know. I’m a little testy
when it comes to being taken care of. Sorry. I was raised to fend
for yourself and make things happen. This has been a bit too easy,
I suppose.”

“
It’s your first week. I’ll
be an ass on Monday.”

She laughed. “Maybe I should keep my
mouth shut then.”

“
So dinner?”

“
I think that would be very
nice. And thank you.” She turned to leave as her cell phone chimed
with a text message. She looked at it and laughed.

“
Tell me someone sent you a
funny joke. I could use a laugh.”

She shifted her eyes to him under a
hood of dark lashes and smiled. “It was your brother. He said I got
a package, and he’d have it at his place. And this time he promises
to have clothes on while I’m there.”

Darcy walked out of the office
smiling. Ed, on the other hand, felt the heat, which had flustered
him before, now creep around his collar.