"You've got a little sauce on your chin," Rainer said. He plucked the napkin from my lap and dabbed my face.
I was sure my cheeks were as red as the barbecue sauce by the time his gentle attentions were over. "Luckily, this isn't a date," I said.
"Luckily?" Rainer asked.
My cheeks burned. "No. I mean, wolfing down barbecue is not the best way to impress other people."
His eyes sparkled, not letting me off the sharp hook of my embarrassment. "Who are you trying to impress? Me, I'm impressed with a lady who's not afraid to eat."
"I'll be impressed if we make it back to the office at all today," I said. It was meant to change the subject, steer it back towards work, but it made Deanna laugh.
Rainer's eyes widened, but he kept his smile cautious. "Well, the preschoolers staked out the garden with popsicle sticks and yarn. The plans are coming together on GroGreen. And everyone's had at least two plates of barbecue. If you want to head back to the office, now's as good a time as any."
"You ready?" Mr. Reynolds called to Rainer.
"I offered to help set up the hall for tonight's event. It'll only take a few minutes," Rainer said.
I nodded and watched, speechless, as he rushed off to help the small community crew set up tables. His smile was different, wider and easy. Rainer joked with the men as they hauled the large tables into place. He had the amazing ability to charm anyone, but today it didn't seem as smooth. Rainer's stylish suit coat was flung over a chair, his sleeves were rolled up, and his collar hanging open. More than that, his every movement seemed looser, more relaxed.
"This has been a nice break from your office, hasn't it?" Deanna asked. "He certainly seems to be enjoying himself. Or is he always like that?"
"He's like that," I said, "except a little more buttoned-up, a little more, I don't know, corporate. Our job is highly competitive, and his charm gives him an edge."
Deanna nodded. "That's why Alan left his office job. He didn't like spending all his time jockeying for position. It always distracted him from the projects. Here he can accomplish something from start to finish and see it firsthand. Some men need that."
I looked at Rainer again and thought Deanna had a good point. At Hyperion, the projects had a way of overlapping and blending together. It all amounted to lines of data in the end. That's why a lot of the junior executives treated their jobs as a game. They couldn't see the results as concrete, real, and so made a joke out of the whole thing. I thought Rainer was the king of that, the leader of the good times, but now I wondered. What if all Rainer needed was a project like this? Maybe it would curtail his playboy ways.
"From the looks of your plate, I'm going to say that's a food coma," Barbie said. She heaved herself onto the picnic bench next to me. "Though, on second thought, I see what has you so distracted. Who's that?"
"Barbie? What are you doing here?" I asked, blinking owlishly.
"You told me to stop by. You knew I couldn't resist food." My sister turned to Deanna. "I ate lunch an hour ago, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore. I'm starving."
Deanna grinned at my sister's rounded belly. "I remember waking up in the middle of the night and having to raid the refrigerator when I was pregnant."
Barbie smiled. "So, how long has she been staring at him? Are we going to have to get his number for her?"
I swatted my sister's arm. "That's Rainer Maxwell. My co-worker."
Deanna saw my sister's slack-jawed reaction and stood up. "How about I get you a plate? I'll be back in a minute."
"Rainer?" My sister asked and then let her jaw fall open again. "As in, holiday party hunk, Rainer?"
"I never said that. I never called him that," I hissed.
Barbie gave Rainer another long look. "I can see why you fell for him. Wow. I thought you said he transferred or something."
I shoved my plate away from me, dropped my elbows on the table, and laid my head in my hands. "I said he wasn't who I thought he was."
Barbie pried my hands away from my face. "So, who is he?"
"The office playboy. The kind of guy who whispers all sorts of romance in your ear one night and then doesn't remember your name the next day. He's also the junior executive who horned his way onto my team just in time to catch the big bonus."
"Gorgeous, rich, and a total scoundrel," Barbie said. "I better go introduce myself."
My sister was fast despite her pregnant belly, and I had to scramble to catch her arm. "Why? You don't need to meet him. Just enjoy your second lunch."
Barbie narrowed her eyes at me and twisted her arm free in one easy move. "You might be all cool and professional, but I remember what you were like that Christmas. You glowed brighter than our Christmas tree. If he's the one who sparked that in you and then snuffed it out, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."