His comment was sincere, and it earned him a smile from her in return. "Steve and I were discussing business," she said in an attempt to keep everyone's speculation about them to a minimum.
Except by their skeptical expressions, neither Jill nor Eric appeared to believe her, and Steve didn't bother to back up her claim.
Jill stirred her straw through her blended latte and addressed Steve. "Eric was just mentioning at dinner tonight that the two of you and Adrian need to go and buy that set of Callaway golf clubs your father wants for his sixtieth birthday, before the big party on Saturday."
Steve reopened his binder and skimmed through the calendar section. "How about tomorrow afternoon, about one?" he suggested to his brother.
"Only if lunch is on you," Eric replied.
"Cheapskate," Steve muttered.
Eric shrugged unapologetically. "Meals are a write-off for you, so why not take advantage?"
"Fine." Steve jotted down the date in the appointment book. "Lunch at McDonald's it is."
Eric chuckled. "Now who's the cheapskate?"
Listening to everyone's lighthearted banter, Liz suddenly felt awkward and out of place sitting there in her work uniform, being a part of this cozy social gathering when she'd never intended to let her brief affair with Steve extend to getting to know his family.
And then there was Steve himself, who was throwing her off kilter with his own behavior and the mixed signals she couldn't fully decipher. He'd openly stated that he'd been married before and wasn't looking for anything complicated or committed, but he obviously had no qualms about his brother meeting the woman he was seeing on a short-term basis. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Wasn't sure she liked everyone knowing that their relationship was nothing more than a casual fling, because that was Steve's standard method of operation when it came to women.
Refusing to analyze her conflicting emotions when they had no business being a part of her relationship with Steve, she decided it was time for her to get back to work and not let Jill waylay her this time.
"If you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to get done before I leave for the evening." She stood, straightened her apron, and smiled at the couple sitting across from her. "It was nice talking to both of you."
"Likewise," Jill said, and tipped her head thoughtfully. "Maybe we can all do this again another time, but when you don't have to rush back to work."
"Unfortunately, if I'm here, I'm bound to work," Liz said, infusing her tone with a believable amount of regret. Not giving Jill the chance to make a different suggestion-like the four of them going on a double date somewhere away from the cafe-Liz turned toward Steve. "I'll talk to you later?"
His dark blue eyes were unreadable, giving none of his own thoughts away, which only added to her confusion. He gave her a nod, telling her with that quick, simple gesture that he understood the underlying meaning behind her question. "You can count on it."
Yes, she could count on him, she knew. To be the man who offered her his protection and advice while they searched for her cousin, and to give her the kind of pleasure and passion she'd only dreamed of.
Nothing more.
As she walked away, she heard Jill tell Steve that he ought to invite her to his father's birthday party on Saturday, that everyone would enjoy meeting her. Luckily, Liz didn't hear his response. She didn't want to hear him say no, didn't think she could bear to hear what kind of handy excuse he'd come up with as to why she might not be able to go with him. Not that she could blame him. She didn't belong at a celebratory gathering with his friends and relatives, no matter how much she ached to be a part of the kind of fun-loving closeness and acceptance Steve shared with his family.
Bypassing the coffee bar, she headed to the storage room in the back part of the cafe, which doubled as her office. Halfway there, she pressed a hand to her stomach to calm the unexpected rush of upheaval in her belly that told a tale of its own. She was getting in too deep with Steve, in over her head in a way she'd never anticipated. Involved more than they'd agreed upon.
And if she wasn't careful to keep pleasure and her emotions separated, this particular bad boy was going to steal his way into her heart. If he hadn't already.
Liz desperately needed a reprieve from the hot and heavy phone conversations she'd been fielding for the past hour and a half. Taking off her headset, she headed out of the small, stifling room at The Ultimate Fantasy and signed out for a ten-minute break. Instead of hanging out in the employee lounge that smelled of stale cigarette smoke and sharing war stories with other operators who seemed to perceive other women in the company as their direct competition, Liz opted for a breath of crisp, fresh evening air to clear her mind and lungs.
With her bottled water in hand, and the bag of sugar cookies she'd pilfered from her stock at the cafe to munch on, she rode the elevator down to the lobby. She pushed through the double glass doors to the well-lit sitting area just outside the building and was surprised to find Roxanne already sitting at one of the round tables, taking a break of her own.
She'd briefly seen the younger woman in passing when Liz had started her shift at nine, but they'd only had time for a quick hello before they'd both enclosed themselves in their assigned rooms and started taking calls. Liz knew she'd take advantage of the current opportunity that had presented itself, hopeful they could strike up a conversation now.
The night watchman was out strolling through the parking lot, giving them a semblance of safety, yet allowing them privacy, too. A full moon hung in the clear night sky, but it was the splash of flourescent light from a nearby overhead light that threaded through Roxanne's brunette hair and lent her an ethereal, peaceful appearance that contradicted what she did for a living.
The illusion of tranquility shattered when the younger woman glanced up at her, her gaze troubled and shadowed with a sadness that Liz automatically responded to on an emotional level. The day of Liz's interview, Roxanne had been the only woman to befriend her, even going so far as to offer her, a "virgin" of the business, a few tips about phone sex.
It occurred to Liz that she might be intruding, when Roxanne possibly wanted to be left alone. "Mind if I join you out here?"
"I'd love your company." The honest smile that appeared on Roxanne's lips validated her reply.
Liz sat down across from Roxanne. In the two days since first meeting the other woman, Liz had come to the conclusion that her kind was rare in this business, as was the friendship she'd extended. Unlike most of the women in the building, who came across as jaded, cutthroat, and blatantly sexual in dress, mannerism, and speech, Roxanne seemed the polar opposite-quiet, unpretentious, and pretty much keeping to herself. She came to work, put in her hours, and didn't seem to fraternize with anyone beyond that. And she was one of the few women who didn't look at Liz with suspicion and didn't eye her as if she were a threat of some sort.
Roxanne glanced up at the stars glimmering in the night sky, and a soft sigh unraveled out of her. "It's so nice and relaxing out here, I'd hate to deny anyone else the pleasure of enjoying ten minutes of this wonderful peace and solitude."
Liz was in wholehearted agreement. "That's what brought me down here, too, instead of spending my break in the lounge."
"I only like to spend as much time as I absolutely have to up there in those offices," Roxanne said, crossing her arms in front of her on the table. "Sometimes I go home after work and I hear ringing phones in my sleep."
Liz laughed lightly, though the distaste in the other woman's tone gave her the distinct impression that Roxanne had taken on employment at The Ultimate Fantasy not because she enjoyed phone sex and titillating callers, like some of the other operators there, but out of pure necessity. And Liz understood and commiserated with that kind of desperation, because she was in the same predicament. But at least she knew this job was temporary for her, whereas she had no idea what Roxanne's situation was like, or how long she'd have to rely on phone sex for a living.