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.“Press charges?”“Against her.What she did is libel.Or slander.Or something.It can’t be legal for her to get away with that.”“She did, regrettably.A misleading photo ran in the newspapers.To fight against something like that, against indirect allegations, would’ve been to just give it fuel, and give her satisfaction.Unfortunately, people believed it.My friends.My business partners.My employees.”“All of them did?”“Enough of them.” Not all of them.Not even most of them, now that Harry considered it.Todd, especially, had been a staunch ally when he’d needed a friend.It had been humbling to see his newest employee so outraged on his behalf, so vocal in his support.But still, the damage had been done.“I’m not too hungry after all,” he said.He placed his glass in the sink.She plucked it right up again and brushed against him on the way to the liquor cabinet.“Yes, you are.” She filled the glass just the way he’d filled hers, neat, and handed it over.“Drink.”“Pushy little wench.No wonder they fired…” Harry bit his tongue, literally bit it.He hadn’t meant to say that.“I’m sorry,” he began, but when he saw her broad smile, he stopped, wondering at it.He wondered too how her lips would feel and whether her mouth would taste like scotch, or like Ginnie, or some exotic combination of the two.He was almost unbearably tempted to find out, he was so struck with that unexpected, happy, beautiful smile.He took a gulp of scotch instead.She nodded.He had the disconcerting idea she’d just read his mind.“Yeah, I can be a tiny bit pushy, sometimes.When it’s called for.” She tried to look stern, but couldn’t quite manage it.A potholder on one hand, a wooden spoon in the other, she prepared their plates of food.“I went back to them, Harry.To Helping Hands.I was thinking about what you’d said, about being practical and sensible and conservative.And I realized, if I took your advice about that, I’d be miserable.”“It was good advice,” he protested.“Yes, for a starting point.But it’s not how I want to set my career path.” She handed him a filled plate, as if to soften the blow.It worked.Harry led the way to the kitchen table.When was the last time he’d had a good home-cooked meal? He couldn’t remember.“Anyway, I went to Helping Hands.But not to get my old job back.There are lots of minimum-wage and stipend positions for experienced, flexible freelance puppeteers.And man, do I have experience! I got them to subcontract me, for more than minimum wage.And I can use those gig contacts for independent shows, which is a few more hundred every month.” She looked at him expectantly.When he didn’t comment, she nodded.“I didn’t really expect you to understand how big a deal this is for me.I can grow a puppet theater career this way.Slowly put together a troupe, if I want.It’s not that much money, though.I mean, a landlord like you probably makes five or six times that.”Harry choked on his filet.Five or six times? More like five or six hundred times.“I’m not just a landlord,” he finally said.“I run many businesses, primarily in a financial planning capacity.”“That’s wonderful.How do you like it?” Ginnie forked steak and mushroom sauce into her mouth.Her eyes narrowed with pleasure.“Do you enjoy your work?”“This is a wonderful steak dinner.” Harry avoided the other question.Harry had already nearly polished off his portion.“You should be a chef.”“Thanks.But I should be a puppeteer.And I am!” Ginnie grinned.“The first show is day after tomorrow.The Frog Prince.Good thing it’s a marionette show so I can rehearse my parts on my own.”“You’re happy.” Harry looked at her, wondering if he’d ever seen such a glow in a person.“You’re beautiful.”“You’re not so bad yourself.” Ginnie sipped her scotch as if it burned her tongue.“Too strong?”“Just strong enough,” she murmured, staring at him.“It’s just…overwhelming.”Were they still talking about her puppet job? He felt the pull of her, tempting him to ignore his better instincts.He suddenly wanted, very badly, to sweep the tableware aside, rip off her clothes and demonstrate she had nothing to fear from a strong, in-control man.How easy it would be to relax his guard.But he wasn’t the type of man to make the same mistake twice.He noted her empty plate.“Done?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but instead pushed his chair back and stood.“That was a magnificent meal.You cooked, so I’ll clean.” He grabbed plates and silverware and headed to the sink.“Wow, you do dishes? I think that’s so hot.Okay, what’s going on in your head now?”He gave her a quelling look, but it had no effect.Instead, she carried pots and silverware to him.“Well?”“Nothing.” She was cute, but a little bit of a slow learner, Harry thought.He simply didn’t do emotional touchy-feely stuff.When would she—“It’s the kid issue, isn’t it.”A plate slipped through his hands, cracking sharply in half when it hit the hard tile of his kitchen floor.“I don’t have issues,” he retorted, exasperated.He picked up the pieces—one, two, three, four, fivesixseven—and threw them away [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]