“Kind of amazing, isn’t it?” he asked, his lips close to my ear, speaking loud enough to be heard over the noise below.
“Yeah, it really is,” I said, and tilted my chin back. He kissed me softly. We tried not to do that at work, but sometimes we slipped. And anyway, nobody could see us. “Remember when this place was totally empty?”
“And now it’s not,” he said. “All thanks to you.”
“Yeah, right. More like, all thanks to Nicky.” I took his hand and held it tightly between two of mine, and watched the workers below pour the batter into the machines, and took a deep breath, smelling the first cookies baking.
“When we started all this, how did you imagine it going?” he asked, nudging up against me. “Did you picture any of this?”
I shook my head. “Not even a little bit.” Since Zeke was out of the picture, I focused on hiring, and the office flourished. Lisa helped push that growth, and it turned out I took a very good risk on her—she was an incredible marketer, and a very good manager. She was a vital asset, and one I wanted to make sure was rewarded handsomely for her discretion moving forward.
We ended our contract with Hal, though that was a sad day. He was a decent guy, and I wouldn’t miss him one tiny bit.
“Come on,” Bret said, and pulled me back from the railing. “We should go talk to her.”
“Do we have to?” I frowned back down at the factory floor. “I’d rather stay up here for a while.”
“I know, but she came all the way here, and we haven’t seen her in a while.” He tugged me along, and I followed reluctantly. He was right—Lady Fluke flew all the way from England to be here for this grand opening, and also to give official depositions for Zeke’s trial, but mostly for this.
I hadn’t talked to her much since Zeke’s arrest. She called to express satisfaction at how things went down, but that was it. She didn’t mention the pictures, or say anything about how we saved her ass, and went above and beyond to make sure it happened without the press getting wind of what was going on. She simply accepted our success, and moved on.
I resented that a little bit, and although I continued to work hard for the Fluke Company, I did feel like I deserved—something more.
Bret took me down the steps, across the bakery floor, and back through the loading docks. The administrative offices were in a small wing attached to the docks, no more than several rooms and a conference table next to the small staff kitchenette.
Lady Fluke sat at that table, wreathed in the smell of stale coffee and popcorn bags. She had her laptop out and was studiously typing with her back straight. The factory foreman was nowhere to be seen—Roger was smart enough not to linger around Fluke if possible.
She looked up as we entered, and her frown turned into a deep scowl. “There you two are,” she said. “I was wondering if you’d ever show. It’s been such a long time.”
“Hello, Lady Fluke,” I said, and lingered by the closest chair. “Sorry to keep you waiting. We wanted to tour the floor before things got started.”
“Of course,” she said and shut her laptop lid. “You two did put this little operation together, did you not?”
“We had a hand in it,” Bret said, smiling a bit.
“Please, sit down,” she said, gesturing at the chairs.
We sat, and Bret leaned forward on his elbows. “How was your trip?”
“It was ever so lovely,” she said, deadpan. “I do so love coming to America to make a statement for the trial of my ex-husband, who tried to blackmail me several months ago. It’s so wonderful.”
Bret laughed softly, and I managed to smile, even if I didn’t feel it.
“At least he’s going to prison,” I said. “It could be worse.”
Her gaze fell on me and for one moment I felt like the assistant again. I spent years afraid of that look, but now I didn’t need to feel that way anymore. I’ve seen Lady Fluke at her most vulnerable, and I knew she was only a woman, like everyone else—and yet she still had the ability to render me spineless, to turn me into a weak little amoeba blob.
“And that’s all thanks to you, isn’t it?” She tilted her head.
“Yes,” I said, “it is.”
She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Thank you, Jude. I realize I never properly said it, but I want you to know that you saved me, and that will not be forgotten. Where I come from, these things must be done in person, so do please understand why I haven’t told you how grateful I am until now.”
“Oh,” I said, blinking rapidly, and glanced at Bret, who grinned huge at me. He never cared that Fluke never said a proper thanks. “Well, okay then.”