Happy Mother's Day: Ready for Romance / Ready for Marriage

Evan came forward, gripping Jessica’s hand in his own. “This must be Christmas in July! Why else would Damian present me with such a rare gift?”

“Christmas in July,” Jessica repeated, having a difficult time not laughing. What she’d heard about Evan was true, she decided. He was a flirt, but such a pleasant lighthearted one that it didn’t seem to matter. She knew he wasn’t serious.

“There are several matters here that need your attention,” Mrs. Sterling said stiffly from behind Evan.

“I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” he said.

“That’s fine,” Mrs. Sterling said. “Just don’t leave before these letters are signed, and while we’re at it, there are a few items we need to discuss—when you have time.”

“I promise to get to the letters first thing,” he said as if he had no interest beyond studying the young woman who stood before him. “Just put everything on my desk and I’ll look through it before I leave.”

“You won’t forget?”

Evan chuckled. “My, my, how you love to mother me.”

“Someone has to look after you,” his personal assistant said, her eyes crinkling above a bright smile.

Jessica watched in amazement as Evan charmed the older woman. Mrs. Sterling had been the picture of cool efficiency until Evan walked in the door. The minute he did she turned into a clucking mother hen. Before Jessica had a chance to analyze this reaction, Evan grinned. “You love me, Mary, and you know it.”

“It’s just that you’ve been a bit forgetful of late,” Mrs. Sterling said with a concerned frown. She reached for a stack of letters and leafed through them. “It doesn’t hurt to offer you a little reminder now and then, does it?”

“I suppose not,” Evan said and, taking the letters with him, walked into his office as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

“Have you been working on the brief for the Porter Corporation?” Mrs. Sterling asked, following on his heels.

“The Porter Corporation,” Evan repeated as if he’d never heard the name before. “It’s not due anytime soon, is it?”

“Yes, it is,” the personal assistant said, and Jessica heard a hint of panic in her voice. “First thing Friday morning.”

“I’ll have it ready by then. What day is this, anyway?”

“Mr. Dryden, you’ve got to start coming into the office before closing time!”

“Don’t you fret. I’ll have everything ready the way I always do,” he said as he ushered his personal assistant out the door. He paused when he noticed Jessica and winked. Then the door closed and Evan disappeared.

Mrs. Sterling shook her head. “Mr. Dryden’s been going through some … difficult times lately,” she told Jessica.

“How long has he been without a legal assistant?”

“Quite a while now. He didn’t seem to think he’d need one. Damian’s cut his work load and, well, things just haven’t been the same around here.”

Jessica was leaving for the day when she came across Damian. Looking dignified and businesslike, he was talking to his personal assistant. A few silver hairs at his temple added a distinguished air. He made a striking figure, and she wondered briefly why he hadn’t married. Tagged onto that thought came another. One that took her by surprise. She realized she was happy Damian hadn’t married.

He must’ve seen her in his peripheral vision, because he straightened and walked toward her. “Well, Jessica, how’d your first day go?”

“Very well.”

“Mary isn’t working you too hard, is she?”

“Oh, no, she’s great.”

“Mary’s one of the best personal assistants I’ve ever worked with. She may be a bit abrupt, but you’ll get used to that.” He was walking with Jessica now, their steps matching, his hands clasped behind his back. Mary was abrupt, perhaps, Jessica mused, but not with Evan.

“I’ll always be grateful to you for taking a chance on me,” she said conversationally.

Damian’s smile was rueful. “You may not be thanking me later. My brother can be a handful, but if there’s ever been someone who could get him back on the straight and narrow, it’s you.”

“Me?” she asked, not understanding.

Damian broke eye contact and glanced away. “Everybody needs to be looked at with wide worshipful eyes now and then, don’t you think?”

“Ah …” Jessica didn’t know how to respond. One thing was becoming abundantly clear. Damian hadn’t hired her because of her high test scores at business college.

Two

“You actually got the job?” Cathy Hudson said over the phone, her voice raised in astonishment. “You were hired, just like that, by one of the city’s most prestigious law firms?”

“It helps to have friends in high places.” Jessica was excited about this job, but she felt mildly guilty knowing the only reason she’d been hired was that their families were such good friends. However, Damian had made it plain she’d need to pull her own weight. Jessica was determined to prove herself; she’d be the best legal assistant the firm had ever hired. It was a matter of pride.

“Why does everything come so easy for you?” Cathy lamented. “You set your sights on something that would give Norman Vincent Peale second thoughts and—”

“Me? You’re the one trying out for a lead in Guys and Dolls. Talk about setting your sights high.”

“All right, all right,” Cathy said with a dramatic sigh, “you’ve made your point.”

“So how did the tryouts go today?”

“I … don’t know. It’s so hard to tell. I’d kill for the part of Adelaide, but then I watch the others, and they’re all so good. I came away thinking it’s just a pipe dream. David, the director, is wonderful. Working with him would be one of the highlights of my career, but I don’t dare hope I’ll get the part.”

“I have faith in you. You’re a natural, Cath.” It was true, her friend had a knack for the dramatic, and that had always made their friendship so interesting.

Cathy laughed softly. “How can I fail, when both you and my mother are convinced I’m destined for stardom? Now, before we get off the subject, how did the interview with Damian go?”

“Really well, I think.” Damian had dominated her thoughts all afternoon. He’d changed, she decided, or perhaps she was the one who was different. Whichever it was, she found herself enthralled by the man. The prospect of working with him—or at least in his vicinity—excited her.

“What about the younger brother?”

“Actually I’ll be working directly for Evan.”

Cathy must have noticed the hesitation in her voice because she asked, “Does that worry you? What’s the matter? Do you think you’re going to make an idiot of yourself over him—again?”

So much for Jessica’s ego. “No way. I was fourteen years old, for heaven’s sake.”

After she’d hung up, Jessica slipped a CD into the player, choosing an invigorating medley of jazz hits, and set about fixing her dinner. She made a hot chicken-and-spinach salad and stood barefoot in her kitchen, humming along to the music, her heart singing its own melody.

Once again, she reveled in having her own apartment. Thanks to a bequest from her grandfather, she’d been able to move into an older building almost eight months ago, and even without a job, her living expenses would be covered for another two years. She was immensely grateful for Ben Kellerman’s generosity, which had given her a much-desired measure of independence.

Later that evening, she relaxed with the paper. Despite her best efforts, her thoughts drifted to Damian. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself over another Dryden.