He told her some of the history of the rivalry between the two departments, how Short Term Benefits always felt as if they never got their share of budget, staff, or any resources, for that matter. Davis Cooper seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to negotiating anything with the division that handled long term disability claims. Understanding some of the history helped, but Shelby knew it was going to take a lot of effort to get both men on board with the project and cooperating. Great. She so much wanted this project to be a success, but conflict among the business units involved was not a good start.
“Have you decided who your team is going to be?” Andrew asked her.
“Well, that’s a bit of an issue too. I’ve talked to a few people, but Davis says he can’t let the staff I want go. They’re too busy to take on any additional work.”
Andrew frowned. “He can’t do that.”
Shelby bit her lip. “I know he’s not supposed to, but that’s what he told me.”
“This project is important. Its success is important. We were promised whatever staffing resources we need to make it successful. I’ll talk to him.”
“No.”
Andrew looked at her, brows raised. “No?”
She shook her head. “I want to handle it. If you’re telling me that I’m supposed to have access to whatever staff I need to resource this project properly, then I’ll deal with him.” During the meeting, the two men had argued over top of her and ignored her attempts to mediate their disagreements. “If I’m going to manage this project, I need them to know I’m in charge. Having you intervene won’t help that.”
“True,” he said slowly. “Okay. You handle it. But let me know if you need anything from me.”
“I will.” Shelby glanced at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I have to go.”
“It’s lunch time,” Andrew said. “Why don’t we go get a bite and we can talk about strategy for dealing with Davis?”
She gave him a cautious smile. “I actually have lunch plans. Sorry.”
“Oh.” Andrew’s dark blond eyebrows pushed together. He studied her for a moment and she resisted the urge to blurt out, I have a date! With my boyfriend!
“All right. But if you want to talk more just let me know.”
“Of course. Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate your support.”
She rose and left his office, hurrying to her cubicle for the suit jacket she’d left hanging on the back of her chair and her purse.
She pushed her arms into the lightweight gray jacket as she walked through the office, then lifted her hair out from under the collar. With another glance at her watch, she made a quick stop in the ladies’ room. Jake had said he’d come by at noon. She brushed her hair and touched up her lipstick, straightened her gray pencil skirt and smoothed the silk blouse beneath her jacket. The meeting had frustrated her, the phone call from Riley had dragged her mood down, but anticipation at seeing Jake again brought on flutters of excitement inside her.
Chapter Nine
Jake figured the chances of running into Andrew were slim, given the size of the Gold Shield offices, but he was standing in the small reception area on the twenty-first floor, not really reading a copy of the Wall Street Journal, when Andrew walked through the door leading to the offices. Jake waited, knew the exact moment Andrew’s gaze landed on him. His eyes narrowed, his step faltered ever so slightly, his jaw tightened.
After a brief hesitation, Andrew approached him. “Jake. Hi. Here to meet Shelby for lunch, I take it.”
“Yeah.” Jake smiled.
The two men sized each other up. “What are you doing with her, Jake?” He spoke in a low voice, aware of the receptionist across the room.
Jake lifted one eyebrow. “What do you mean, what am I doing with her? What do you think?”
“I know what you’re like with women. You don’t do relationships.”
Jake tossed the magazine down on the table, shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit trousers and rocked back on his heels, frowning. “I had a relationship once.”
Andrew opened his mouth then closed it again. He looked at Jake, and goddammit if Jake didn’t see pity there, just like he’d seen on Gianna’s face at the picnic. Oh, for Chrissake, they both felt sorry for him. Still. What kind of sad loser did they think he was?
“No reason I can’t have a relationship again,” he added, trying to sound cheerful.
Andrew gave him a stern glare. “Listen, she seems like she’s really into you. Just don’t hurt her.”
“You’re telling me that?” Jake’s fingers curled into fists.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, you’re her boss. Leave her alone.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Andrew’s voice rose incredulously. “We work together.”
“You know what I mean.” Jake kept his voice low in the small reception room, but the warning in his tone was clear. Andrew’s mouth dropped open, and then Jake looked up as the door opened again and Shelby walked out.
She spotted him immediately, smiled, then noticed Andrew, and her smile faded as she tap-tap-tapped across the tile floor. Jake directed his attention to her, because she was much more pleasant to look at than Andrew—her hip-hugging, knee-grazing skirt, high-heeled pumps and fitted jacket, all very professional, couldn’t fully hide the lush body beneath, and certainly did nothing to hide her long blonde hair and sexy eyes and mouth. A mouth that was now tightened into a straight line.
“Hi,” she said as she neared. Her gaze darted back and forth between them.
“Ready to go, sweetheart?” Jake took her arm and leaned down to kiss her cheek, fully aware of Andrew’s gaze on both of them. “See ya later, Andrew, buddy.”
Andrew said nothing, but Jake felt his gaze follow them into the elevator.
“He looked kind of pissed off,” Shelby said, with an anxious glance over her shoulder as they stepped in. “What did you say to him?”
“Nothing.” Actually, Jake was kind of regretting the conversation. He was supposed to be helping Shelby, not getting her in trouble with her boss. He hoped Andrew wasn’t going to take out his annoyance on her. His gut clenched at the thought.
He was such an idiot. He’d been so determined to protect Shelby, he hadn’t really thought about the possible consequences. And Shelby didn’t need to know he’d warned Andrew away from her. That would just embarrass her. And quite possibly make her mad at him too.
Hell. Jake cursed mentally as they walked to the nearby restaurant he’d chosen for lunch. They were seated on the patio outside, beneath the shade of a spreading fig tree.
He watched Shelby open her menu, look it over, close it. She gazed off into the distance, then opened the menu again.
“Are you okay, Shelby?” She seemed distant, distracted. Oh man, was she angry at him? Dismay twisted inside him.
“I’m okay.” She focused her attention on him and gave him a small smile that was totally not okay. His concern deepened. “Actually, I got some bad news this morning.”
When she told him about her friend, he forgot all about asshole Andrew. Sympathy flooded through him along with a somewhat awkward helplessness. Problem solving was one of his strengths, and if Shelby had told him any other story, he would have been all over trying to fix that for her. But this…this was beyond him. His chest ached as he watched her struggle with the words.
“And Kiara’s six months pregnant.”
His forehead tightened as his eyebrows shot up. “Oh no.”
“Yeah, but don’t ever say that to her. They planned it. When they found out Adam was dying, they got pregnant on purpose.”
Jake stared at Shelby across the table. “You’re kidding.”