She hadn’t been back home again, sure that her stalker would follow her there and finish the job he’d started with the fire.
“So, you’ve made a list, right?”
“Yeah.” It was in her purse, five neatly folded pages of stuff to do.
“Good. Then we can get you ready for tonight.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we go get a massage. We have lunch, we get our nails and toes done. Yours are a mess, by the way. And then we get you back to your room in time to pamper yourself and get ready.”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Torie retorted. “Pam, I’ve got a ton of stuff to do. I don’t think I can spend the whole day goofing off getting ready for this dinner.”
“Since when is spending the day with me goofing off?” Pam pretended to be insulted. “Besides. You have waited for eleven long years to get your hands on Paul Jameson.”
“But—”
“Don’t ‘but’ me, girlfriend. I was there. I know how excited you were and what you said when he asked you out. I know how horrible you were to live with after the two of you fought over nothing. Pushed each other away.”
“All these years,” Torie exclaimed, blindsided by the information. “All these years, and you didn’t see fit to tell me you thought I should go for him? What, all that Paul-Jameson-is an-ass talk was for show?”
“He’s a man.” Pam stressed the final word. “Of course he’s an ass. They all are. Some are bigger than others. And honey, he did make some stupid moves back in the day. And said some stupid shit. He’s making up for it. I’m simply saying that you care about him. If you do this, you’ll either know he’s the one for you, or you’ll wash him out of your system. You know?”
“I guess.” The steamroller was moving, and Pam was in the driver’s seat. Torie decided it was time to get a bit of spine. “How about a compromise. I’ll spend the morning getting some things done. You get us salon appointments for one o’clock over at L’Artiste on Chancellor. We’ll do girl stuff and have fun. That’ll get me done by four and back to my room to dress. My date,” she said, and grinned at Pam, “is sending a limo, I’m told. Mister Pratt’s assistant left a message this morning.”
“That’s a kick. I’m glad you’re going with the old man. He sounds nice.”
“He is, and I like him. I kind of feel sorry for him, too. He’s lonely since his wife died.”
“Sucks, doesn’t it? Falling for someone, then losing them?”
Knowing that Pam wasn’t speaking entirely about Pratt, she answered, “Yeah, but he had a long time with her. Some people get that blessing before the loss.”
“So,” Pam began as she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, “one o’clock it is. Need me to take you over to the dealership?”
“Thanks, that would be great. I’ve got a check for you, too, for the room.”
“Cool. You can pick me up in the new ride, chickiepoo.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
It wasn’t until Torie was pulling back into the garage at the hotel in her new car that she called Paul. She’d wanted to call him first thing, but didn’t know if he’d been able to sleep in or not. She worried that…
“Nothing. You’re worried over nothing,” she told herself.
“Mister Jameson’s office.” Martha answered the phone with professional precision.
“Hello, Missus Prinz. Is Mister Jameson in? It’s Torie Hagen.”
“Hello, Torie. I’ll see if Mister Jameson is available.”
“Thank you, Martha.” Evidently the casual address had survived the night and Martha’s ideas of propriety.
“Torie.” Paul’s voice was warm, welcoming, a sensory treat. “Where are you? Are you coming over to the office?”
“No, I’m back at the room. I thought I’d work in their business center and in my room. I replaced my car, and I found a place to rent. It’s an incredible house. Since they released my place, I need to start getting estimates on that, too, so I wanted to get started.”
“Sounds productive. How are you feeling about TruStructure?”
“Uh, I’d love to talk to you about that also. You had said something to me, something that got me thinking.”
“Ummmm, I love to get you thinking,” he teased.
“Stop,” she said, though she loved hearing it. “I’m trying to be serious.”
“Serious. Okay. Hit me with it.”
“You said I should go out on my own. Not go back.”
“Have you decided to do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to sit down with the new laptop and work on the pros and cons, make a list of all the potential customers, and all that.”
“What about all the projects you took with you? Are all those your original ideas? Are they viable for production?”
He’d switched gears to lawyer now. It was nearly as exciting as his teasing. He believed in her.
“I’ve made an appointment to talk to a small business banker the first of next week. I have a lot saved, but I want to keep the business separate.”
“That’s wise,” he said, but she heard a laugh in his voice. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem. You should keep Monday open, if possible. I think we’ve finally gotten everything we need to read Todd’s will, and get all that straightened out.”
“Oh, I’ll call back, change the appointment until Tuesday.”
“Sound’s good. Now about the house you’re renting—where is it?”
“Not too far from your house, actually. It’s in a good neighborhood. It’s got room for the dogs—a big fenced yard, and all that.”
“Wait, dogs? Plural?”
She paused for a second, wondering how he’d react. “I, uh, I’m taking Bear.”
“Holy shit. He’s a moose. How do you think your pup’s going to react to him?”
Her heart melted. He hadn’t told her she was nuts, he hadn’t asked if she had thought it through. He asked about Pickle. “Uh, she loves company, so I think they’ll get along okay. He’s really a big teddy bear.”
“More like a grizzly bear.”
“Pam called him a woolly mammoth.”
Paul laughed, a booming delightful sound. “That’s perfect. So what are you going to do first at your house?”
“I don’t know, I’m kind of…” She hated to admit it, but he’d been so understanding so far. “I’m a little afraid to go over there until there’s been some kind of resolution.”
“On your stalker? Yeah. I don’t have any say in the matter, but I hate to think of you over there by yourself. If, uh, you’d like me to, I’ll go with you tomorrow. We can see if there’s anything else you can salvage. Get it out, and start getting workmen in.”
“That would be great.” Relief lightened her heart. Going over there was imperative, but it would be so much easier to have him with her. “Oh, but we shouldn’t, right? We have to be careful. I don’t want anyone taking a shot at you again. No, I’ll go alone.”
“We’ll go together,” he said, firmly. “We’re not going to live in fear, Torie. Marco’s still watching you, and he can watch us both. So what else?”
Torie let that sink in for a moment, but decided protesting would get her nowhere. “I’m having lunch with Pam, getting my nails done. Getting ready for my date with Mister Pratt.”
“Should be some night. Old Pratt’s a wild man. The rest of the crew are pretty crazy, too. The fraternity parties have nothing on Pratt and Legend.”
“I’ll bet. So, how much dancing is there?”
“Enough. I’ll be claiming that dance, Torie.” He let his voice drop. “And a few other things, if you’ll let me.”
“I think something can be arranged.”
“Excellent.” He returned to his professional tone. “I’m so happy to hear about your plans. If you’d keep me abreast of your progress, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Someone came into your office, didn’t they?”
“Indeed.”
“So should I talk dirty to you so you get really embarrassed while Martha’s standing there?”