Boss Meets Her Match

CHAPTER SIX

LENA STOOD IN the doorway of her walk-in closet. Sass wound her way around her ankles, getting cat hair on her still-damp and freshly shaved legs. “What do you think, Sass? Standard black? Or should we pull out all the stops and go with the red?”

As she moved into the closet, Sass dashed under the row of neatly hanging dresses, her tail trailing along the hems as she walked. Lena sighed. “I might as well just buy everything in Sass orange. It’d be cheaper than all the lint rollers.”

She’d always wanted a pet. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was a cat. Sass seemed interested in what she had to say, so that was all that mattered. Lena leaned down to scratch behind Sass’s ear. Lifting a dress from the rod, she turned to the mirror. “I’m going with the red. I shaved my legs for this.” She hooked a pair of shoes out of the shoe rack. Black stilettos with four-inch heels. “Let’s see what poor old Eduardo thinks about this.”

She slipped the dress on, careful not to smudge her makeup, and wiggled the zipper up. Oh, hell yes. She smoothed down the front. The dark red set off her hair and eyes and it clung to her curves like nothing else. Bonus, it actually came down to just above her knees so she didn’t have to worry about accidently flashing anyone.

Trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, she fluffed her hair and grabbed the shoes. “All right, Sass. It’s showtime.”

* * *

THE UBER DRIVER pulled up to the curb directly outside Hall’s Chophouse. Lena frowned. Eduardo was there, waiting. In rumpled khaki pants and a short-sleeved, blue plaid shirt. And was he wearing sneakers? For this, I shaved above the knee. She slipped her shoes back on and stepped out of the car.

He didn’t even notice. Just stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, staring the wrong way down the street. “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath. Shaking her head, she approached him. The clack of her heels on the sidewalk must have caught his attention because he turned in her direction.

“Oh, hi,” he said.

She stopped in front of him. “Hello.”

He pressed his lips together and looked down at his shoes. “You know, I know our families sort of pushed this on us and I was just trying to go along with it, but, so if you don’t want to do this, we don’t have to.”

Her mouth, she managed to keep shut. Her eyes, however, fixed on him in a stare so hot he should have burst into flames. He glanced at her and a shadow of fear crossed his features. The door to the restaurant opened and an older man dressed properly in a suit walked out. He smiled at Lena.

“Excuse me, sir,” Lena said to him. She motioned at Eduardo. “This gentleman doesn’t want to go on the date he asked me out on. What do you think about that?”

The man stopped and, with a slow up-and-down look, smiled. “I think he’s a damned fool.”

“Hey. I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I said if you didn’t want to,” Eduardo protested.

Lena lifted a finger. “Dude. We are going on this date. I shaved my legs and put on a bra. We will each pay our own way. We can talk or not. Then we can each go tell our families that, oh well, didn’t work out. Okay?”

The frightened look returned. “Okay,” he said.

Lena smiled. “Okay.”

As they were seated, Lena asked for a chardonnay. She tried to hide her irritation because Eduardo was staring at her like she was going to gut him. She didn’t mean to be a bitch. She simply could not stand a wishy-washy man. Made her teeth itch.

“So, you’re a software engineer?” See, I’m being nice.

“Yes.”

Silence. For the love of God.

“What sort of software do you engineer?” Come on, man. Give me something here.

“Mostly design-and-build commercial websites.”

Lena nodded. She had no idea what that even meant. “I understand Charleston has a thriving technology community.”

He fiddled with his napkin. “Yeah.”

Lena eyed the steak knife. This was going to be a long night.

“So,” Eduardo said. “How many kids do you want to have?”

Lena froze. Stared. Gave him a long, slow blink. “Um. I don’t know?”

“Oh. Because I come from a large family. Very traditional.”

Lena raised her eyebrow in a perfect arch. Traditional. Didn’t teach you any machismo, that’s for sure. “Honestly, Ed, I think I’d like to shelve the topic of children until after my wine arrives at least.”

“I think it’s important. At your age, you can’t afford to wait, you know. Your aunt said you wanted to settle down and start a family. Me too.”

The waiter appeared with her wine and she practically snatched the glass from his hand. “Thank you. Go ahead and bring me another one, please.”

She took several steadying sips. Let out a long breath and looked back up at Eduardo. “So, you think we should just go ahead and get married? Twenty-four-hour wait on the marriage license. We could go get it Monday and be married by Tuesday. Maybe I could be pregnant by this time next week. Unless my withering eggs are too old and feeble to crawl out of my ovaries.”

His face went dark. “No wonder you have to have your family out hunting men for you. You’re mean.”

“And you’re insulting.”

“Actually, I’m leaving.”

Lena shrugged and took another sip of wine. “Bye.”

The waiter came over as Eduardo left. “Everything all right here, ma’am?”

She gave him her brightest smile and was rewarded by the pure male appreciation in his eyes. “Everything is perfect. I’m ready to order. I’ll have a cup of She Crab soup to begin. The petit filet mignon, medium well, with the parmesan truffle fries, thank you.”

She discreetly kicked her heels off and took her phone out of her purse. She was going to have her favorite meal and finish the book she’d started last weekend. Eduardo could scamper back home and tell his mommy how mean she was.

* * *

“SO, HOW’D THE date go last night?”

Lena groaned and rolled over in bed. “It’s not even nine o’clock yet, Sadie. Ugh.” Sass hopped on the bed and stomped across Lena’s stomach to stand on her chest, singing the song of her people. The song of long suffering, slow starvation and the horror of a half-empty bowl of dry food.

“Are you murdering your cat?” Sadie asked.

“Not yet,” Lena muttered, pushing Sass aside and rolling out of bed. “I haven’t even had coffee yet.”

“So, how was the date?”

“He got up and walked out on me.”

“Ha! Wyatt! You owe me twenty dollars.”

“Are you betting on my dates? You bet against me? Bitch.”

“I know you. You are mean.”

“I’m not mean. I just don’t take bullshit.”

“What’d he do?”

“Literally, Sadie, the second question out of his mouth was how many kids did I want? Then he said I’d better hurry up before I got too old.”

“Tell me you only verbally emasculated him.”

“Yes. He called me a meanie and ran away.”

“Lena. You have to know that you can be a bit...ah...intimidating when you get angry.”

“Weeds out the weak.”

“Well maybe just give them a chance to see the nice you before you unleash your inner Latina guerrera once in a while.”

“Next time. Right now, I want coffee. Goodbye and don’t call me on a weekend before noon again unless it’s an emergency. Bruja.”

Ending the call, she tossed the phone on the counter. “Don’t even try tripping me this morning, feline.”

Ten minutes later, Sass loved her again and she was stretched out on the couch with a large, steaming cup of coffee warming her hands. Maybe Sadie was right. Maybe she was mean. Maybe she could have handled that whole situation more graciously. “You know what, Sass? Maybe he should have not asked that. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up my age. Maybe I’m not mean but he’s a rude dork. Do they ever think that?”

No, they didn’t. It was always her fault. She eyed the clock. At some point she was going to get a phone call from her mother. The way Estrella and Eduardo’s mother had planned this, there was no doubt a full report would be made. The only question was: before or after mass? Probably after.

By one that afternoon, she started to think that maybe she’d gotten away with it. Maybe Eduardo hadn’t ratted her out to his mother. But that hope was dashed shortly after two. Darth Vader’s “Imperial March” pierced the quiet, sending Sass scurrying for the bedroom.

“Bueno, Mamacita,” Lena answered.

“So. I understand things went poorly?”

Lena rolled her eyes and made a face. “Yeah, that wasn’t a good matchup. Eduardo and I aren’t on the same page. In fact, we weren’t even on the same date.”

“There was no reason for you to be rude.”

“He was rude first.”

“Now you sound like a child.”

“I’m not the one who ran tattling to my mommy.” A flood of rapid, long-suffering Spanish filled her ear. When it died down, she continued. “No more fix-ups. Promise.”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” A frown creased her forehead. That was way too easy. “Promise, Momma.”

“I promise I won’t try to fix you up again. And I did have another reason to call. Don’t forget that Louisa’s daughter is having that operation tomorrow to fix her leg.”

“Ah, yes. Thanks. I did forget about that. I have a present for her. I’ll bring it to the hospital when I get off work.”

She ended the call feeling lucky to have gotten off that easily. She got Ava’s present and set it on the entryway table next to her purse so she wouldn’t forget it in the morning. Glancing at the time, she sat back down with a sigh. She and Sadie would usually do something on Sunday afternoons. Now Sadie was busy with Wyatt and Jules. She fired up her laptop. Might as well get some work done.

* * *

A FEW HOURS LATER, both her stomach and Sass were grumbling. She closed down her work files. Grabbing her phone, she scrolled through her delivery restaurant contacts. Mmm. Brown Dog Deli. Setting the phone down, she thought about what Sadie had said about being in a rut. Maybe she should change out of her pajamas, put on real clothes and go outside. Do something that involved people.

“I don’t want to people,” she moaned, flopping back on the couch. She picked up the phone and did a search for “Charleston events.” A moment later, she was sitting straight up. “Sass! It’s the Color of Music Festival!” Checking the time, she got to her feet. She could still make it to the Ebony and Ivory Piano Recital.

After calling to make sure there were still tickets available, she showered and changed clothes. The church hosting the recital was only a short walk away. As she reached the street, she called Sadie but the call went to voice mail. “I’m outside and peopling, for your information.”

Smiling as she strolled down the sidewalk, she realized she did feel much better. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. Everyone in her family was safe and happy. There was a line already queued up at the church. As she walked to the end of the line after buying her ticket, she heard someone calling her name.

“Hello, Dr. Rutledge,” she said, shaking hands with him. “Mrs. Rutledge. Nice to see you both.”

“I was going to call you tomorrow, Lena,” Eliot said. “I’m putting together a group to do a little charity work for the St. Toribio Center. We’ll be setting up an activity room for the children to use while their parents are being seen. We could use your Spanish skills.”

St. Toribio, the patron saint of Mexican immigrants, was more than familiar to Lena. She’d given money and attended benefits for the charity that offered not only medical and legal assistance, but English classes and adult continuing education. She’d never been actively involved in a project before.

“Wow. Yes. I’d love to help out. What do you need? A translator?”

“Thank you. Yes. Definitely translation. Also, we might need some printed materials made. Would you be able to help with that?”

“Ah,” Lena said. “I grew up speaking Spanish with my older relatives. While I’m verbally fluent, my reading and writing skills are very rudimentary. But one of my cousins has a degree in Hispanic Literature. I’m sure she’d help out.”

“Great. Well, the first planning meeting is going to be next Saturday. Right now, we’ve got it slated for ten in the morning, at my house. Is that good?”

“Got it. Thanks for asking me.”

After saying goodbye and walking to the end of the line, she realized she was grinning ear to ear. Uh. Okay. Maybe you should try this actual volunteering stuff more often. Feels pretty good.

CHAPTER SEVEN

LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON, Lena wandered the labyrinth that was the Children’s Hospital. Ava, her cousin’s little girl, had broken her leg in a trampoline accident the previous summer. It hadn’t healed correctly over a growth plate and now required an operation.

Finally, she found the correct unit. She paused outside the open door to Ava’s room. She could hear voices. Ava and a man. Not a relative. She stepped into the doorway.

Ava was in the bed, her leg up in something that looked like a torture device. In a chair beside her was a man. She recognized that flow of dark blond hair, tied back with a length of leather. Recognized those shoulders. That voice. In a moment, she’d be seen and he would turn and those impossibly icy blue eyes would look into hers and those lips would curve into a smile and...

“Auntie Lena!” Ava squealed.

Matt turned with a surprised expression, but she had Ava to distract her. She circled the bed to the opposite side and leaned in to give Ava a hug and kiss on the forehead. “Ava. Mi probo prima! Como te sientes? Tienes dolar?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt and it’s rude to speak Spanish in front of people who don’t,” Ava said prissily. She held up a sketchbook. “Mr. Matt is drawing pictures with me because I can’t go to the playroom.”

“Ms. Reyes,” Matt said, his tone dripping with pleasured surprise and more than a little teasing. “How delightful to see you. I didn’t know Ava was your niece.”

“Technically, she’s my second cousin. But since I’m an only child, it’s agreed I get to be aunt to all my cousins’ children.”

“Did you get me a present?” Ava asked.

“You know I did.”

Lena handed Ava the gift bag she’d brought with her. Ava took out the small teddy bear. The present wasn’t really the bear though; it was the envelope dangling from its arm by a ribbon. Ava tore it open eagerly.

“Oh my gosh! Five hundred! Thank you, Auntie Lena! Am I there yet?”

Lena sat on the edge of the bed. “Not quite. But you have time.”

Ava turned to Matt. “Auntie Lena is paying for all of us to go to college.”

“Mr. Matthews doesn’t want to know about all that, Ava. And I’ve interrupted your time with him. Where are your parents?”

“They went downstairs to get Granddaddy.”

Matt lounged back in his chair, arms across his chest. His mouth was twisted in a smirk, but his eyes were warm and full of questions. “You didn’t interrupt. We were almost done.”

Lena stood and smoothed down her skirt. “Well then.” Her voice sounded prissy even to her own ear. Matt’s grin widened to a smile. “I’ll leave you to wrap it up. I’ll be back with your parents, my sweet.”

She tried to make a graceful, dignified exit. One that didn’t make it seem like she was running away. But she was fooling no one. Matt’s loaded “Goodbye, Ms. Reyes,” followed her out of the room. Saco de huevos. So infuriating. She’d like to wipe that smirk off his face.

She’d just rounded the corner when she heard her name. Turning, she saw her parents with her aunt Paula and her husband and Ava’s mother, Louisa. “There you are! I just peeked in on Ava.”

“Is the art therapist still with her?” Louisa asked.

The question took Lena aback for a moment. She’d been looking at Matt as the smirking, snotty frat boy who pissed her off by just breathing, not as a therapist doing his job. “Yes,” she stammered out. “I think they are finishing up soon though.”

“Good. Good,” her uncle Tomas said, looking over his shoulder.

Lena frowned and looked down the hallway. A man was walking toward them. A man in a white coat. A Hispanic-looking man. No. Just no. She shot a murderous look at her mother, who shook her head slightly and lifted her hands palms up.

“Ah, Vincente,” her aunt Paula said. As if she was surprised. Yeah, right.

Lena narrowed her eyes and felt her jaw clench. Louisa hid her smile behind her hand. “I’m going to kill your parents,” Lena muttered under her breath at her cousin.

“Hey! I’m going to go check on Ava,” Louisa said brightly before making a run for it.

“I think we’ll go too,” Lena’s mother said, grabbing her husband by the arm and following Louisa.

“Vincente, this is my niece Lena Reyes. Lena, Vincente goes to church with us. He’s a doctor.”

Lena smiled lukewarmly at the man. Okay. He wasn’t bad. Tall. Rather handsome. Nice smile. “Hello,” she said, reaching out to shake his offered hand.

“Lena. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your aunt speaks very highly of you.”

He had just the tiniest scrap of an accent. He held on to her hand a bit too long, forcing her to pull away. “Nice to meet you,” she said automatically.

“Doctor Perez is single also, Lena,” Paula said.

Lena turned a furious, incredulous face to her aunt. “Aunt Paula!” she hissed out between her teeth.

Vincente chuckled. “Come now, Mrs. Hernandez, you’ll make me blush.”

He looked over at Lena. His expression was both embarrassed and amused. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t in on this setup. Still. What next? Were they going to offer him a dowry to take her dried-up, old spinster self?

“And,” he continued, “I think you’ve embarrassed your beautiful niece.”

Infuriated. That’s the word you’re looking for Mister Doctor Man. Infuriated. Before she could form a coherent sentence, Paula nudged her.

“Give Dr. Perez one of your cards, Magdalena.”

A motion in the hall caught her eye. Oh, this just makes it perfect. Matt breezed past. Close enough to make sure that she saw him seeing her trapped in this moment. He turned a few feet beyond them, walking backward and grinning at her. Pendajo. As she fumbled out a card, an idea popped into her brain. A way out of this.

She held the card out and let her gaze drift over the doctor’s shoulder. She looked back at him and smiled. “It certainly was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Perez. Now, if you all will excuse me, I’d like to speak to Ava’s art therapist.”

She ran for it this time. Didn’t even look back to see her aunt’s face. She reached an intersecting hall and glanced in both directions. There he was. “Matt,” she called out.

He stopped and looked back, surprise clear on his face. “You need a place to hide?”

“Shut up,” she said as she approached him.

He leaned a shoulder against the wall and grinned at her. “That looked like an ambush to me.”

“That was an ambush. But I wanted to ask about Ava.”

The smirk grin faded a bit. “Ask,” he said.

“Is she okay? Did you learn anything from working with her that will help us help her?”

He straightened. His smile was different this time. Warm and sincere. “Yes. I asked her to draw the hospital room. Having kids draw their environment is a good way to get a glimpse into their feelings.”

“And what did Ava show you?”

“Well. She drew the bed very small and the windows very large. Which can mean she feels overwhelmed by being here and she wants to escape. But she also drew herself smiling and surrounded by her parents and family. Which means that she feels safe and loved. I think she’s going to be just fine.”

Lena nodded. “Did you talk to her mother about this?”

“Yep. You’ve got a nice family, Ms. Reyes. I’m glad I got to help them out.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled up at him. A moment. This was a real moment. Then his smile twisted back to that little sideways grin and the glint came back into his eyes. “If only I could have helped you out with that scene in the hall. If you’d drawn that for me, my assessment would be that you were being set up.”

And moment over. She gave him her most vicious glare and arched an eyebrow. “Why? Were you jealous?” Venom still dripping from the words, she turned and stomped down the hallway, putting a little extra swish in it just to give him a show.

His laughter followed her. “You are surely something, Ms. Reyes.”

Humph. Just how much of something, you’ll never know. She turned the corner and flipped her hand dismissively in his general direction.

* * *

MATT WATCHED HER sashay down the hall. Because she wanted him to watch. Still smiling, he shook his head and entered the playroom. She was something. Hot. Cold. Smart. Sexy. Let it go, dude. A woman like that isn’t to be trifled with. And he had too much on his plate right now to take on the likes of Ms. Reyes.

As he set up the table where he’d lead a session with several of his regular kids, his mind drifted back. Not to Lena, but the entire family. They’d shown up in force. Ava was never alone for a moment. When he was five, his nanny had taken him to the hospital when he’d had his tonsils out. When he developed a complication and had to stay overnight, she left at 6:00 p.m. The maid was supposed to stay with him, but never showed up. His parents were in London. He’d been terrified. And after that, he’d spent several scary nights alone in the hospital with asthma attacks.

Shake it off, man. But he wondered. What would it be like to come from such a family, full of loud laughter and love? And how did that family forge someone as guarded as Lena?

“Mr. Matt! Mr. Matt!”

He turned toward the voice with a smile. Clarissa. Dr. Rutledge’s granddaughter. With her was a tall woman, whose red hair matched the wisps of hair still clinging to Clarissa’s little head. She was being dragged by the hand across the playroom.

“Hey there, pretty girl. You seem mighty perky today. And you’re the first to arrive, which means you get to be my assistant.”

He shifted his attention to the woman beside Clarissa. He held out a hand. “Matt. Are you Clarissa’s mother?”

The woman laughed. “No. Although you aren’t the first to make that guess.”

“This is my aunt Logan, Matt. She’s visiting me and I wanted to show her the playroom.” Clarissa looked up at Logan. “I told you he was cute!”