“ You don’t have to do that.I’m just working here, and you happened to get me.I’m sure that any one of the others could have gotten you what you wanted.”
“ Doubtful.I had a good time too, and it’s not something that I do every day.Shopping for anything isn’t something that I usually enjoy.This has been the best day that I’ve had in a while, and I think it’s all thanks to you.”She looked around to see if anyone was listening in on what he was saying, and was embarrassed to see her boss there.When Mr.Erickson saw him, he told him the same thing.That he’d never had this much fun shopping before.“ I was just asking her to dinner because I’m finished and I’d like to celebrate with her.I know that it must be frowned upon, but I’d really like to take her out.Is that something I can do?”
“ What Olivia does in her free time is totally up to her.”The manager winked at her, and she nearly fell backward.He rarely, if ever, had anything good to say to his employees.And she’d never been winked at by him.“ She has to finish out her day, however, and that would be getting you out the door happy.I must say, I’ve been keeping an eye on things with her, and she did a good job of getting you to the correct departments today.”
“ Yes, she did.And she steered me in the right direction, too, when I didn’t have a clue what to get my family.They’re going to be completely blown away by the gifts that she helped me pick out, too.”They shook hands.“ I’m ready to check out and she said that I can have these all delivered to my house.I’d like that service as well.”
Mike was falling all over himself getting Erickson in the right direction.She could have done that, too, but it looked like she’d done her job and was now dismissed.Getting her things gathered up after clocking out, she decided that she was going to treat herself to some dinner out.She’d had a really good day today, and she deserved it.
As she was leaving the building, a long limo pulled up in front of her.She narrowly missed getting hit by the car and cursed at the driver when he tipped his hat at her.Just as she was going to go around him, he got out of the car and opened the back door.There sat Mr.Erickson with a stupid-looking grin on his face.
“ Mike said you’d be getting off soon.I was afraid that I’d miss you.”She said that she was headed home.“ Dinner with me, please?It’s been a perfect day, and I’m not finished celebrating yet.I promise you that I have no ill will with my intentions.Just dinner, then I’ll make sure you get home.Besides, I didn’t get to tip you yet.”
She was torn about what to do.If she went out with him, there would be all kinds of things that could go wrong with it.She really could use the tip he might give her, too.But he was an Erickson who was used to getting his own way.Getting into the limo, she knew that she was going to regret this as soon as the door was closed.
Chapter 2
Zander didn’t even have his tree up yet, and he was finished shopping.Except for a few gifts that he might have forgotten, he’d never been this finished before the night before Christmas.He was about as happy about that as he’d ever been.And he didn’t think he’d spent all that much either when he considered that he’d bought gifts for nearly thirty people all totaled.
He kept thinking about dinner last night, too.He’d had so much fun with Olivia that he wanted to see her again.She had been the most fun because she said that she was waiting for him to pull out a knife or gun and kill her.
“ That’s what I get for going out with a stranger.I should listen to my head more.”He asked her what her head was telling her.“ That just because you spent all day with someone doesn’t mean that you should be spending the evening with them as well.That’s just insane.”
She’d pointed out the cameras that had them being together and telling him that he’d never get away with murdering her.She was a delight all evening, and when he took her home, he couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t allow him to walk her to the door.
“ There are bushes on either side of my door.And I have no cameras there.You could kill me and put me in the bushes, and no one would ever find me.I’ve told my landlord that they’re overgrown, but he’s like most men, he doesn’t listen.”He asked her if she thought that he didn’t listen.“ You listen all right.I bet you could tell me what the first thing you said to me.Not that it matters.But you, being a lawyer and all, you pay attention to things like that.”
“ I do.And I asked you how I was to get you to work for me.”She nodded, and he wanted to make her laugh.“ What if I promise not to kill you when I take you to the door?I swear on my niece’s heart that I’d never harm you.”
“ I’m sure that’s what every murderer would say.”He laughed again.Hard and without thought of how much fun he was having about murdering someone.“ You’re very strange.Has anyone ever told you that before?”
“ No.Not to my face anyway.”She said that it was probably because of all of his money.“ More than likely.I’m sure that my brothers would think I’m strange for going out with a woman who is plotting her own demise.Do you date that often?I’m betting that your job keeps you from dating too much.”
“ You’d be correct.I have two jobs right now.I figured that no knight in shining armor is going to come my way, so if I want something, I’m going to have to get it for myself.”He asked her what she wanted.“ A home, mostly, a car that runs when I need it to and not when it’s ready.Nothing much more than that.”
“ What about your utilities and food on the table?”She said if she could have the other two, then she felt like she’d won the lottery.“ I think I know just what you’re saying about that, too.”
The rest of the night was like that.It was as if getting to know her was going to be something that he wanted all his life.She was brilliant and funny.Spoke her mind when she had something to say, and she apparently loved a good game of chess.
“ Not that I play all that well, but I love the way your mind has to work in order to play.Not only do you have to know the moves each piece makes, but you also need to be able to think about what your opponent is going to be doing as well.”He told her that he liked a good game of chess too.“ Good.Chess is like being a lawyer.You have to keep your mind sharp as a lawyer, and I would imagine that you need to know what your opponent is up to, too.”
“ I’ve never been compared to a game of chess before, but I think you hit it right on the nail.Thank you for that.”She nodded and got out of the car.He couldn’t see her going into her placebecause of all the bushes.She’d been right.They really were overgrown and full of weeds, too.He was going to have to look into that before they took over the front of the apartment she was living in.
His day went better than he thought it might.He’d had such a good time last night that he found himself thinking about how much enjoyment he’d had.It wasn’t often that he went out with a woman and wanted a second date.He was cautious, however.He didn’t think that he was falling in love with Olivia, but he certainly had fun with her when they went out.
It was then that he realized that he didn’t have her phone number or her last name.Christ, he’d surely been slacking on that.He’d just go to the store and ask her.She was more than likely working today, and he wanted to see her again anyway.Shutting down his computer, not that he was working that hard on anything, and he headed to the store he’d found her in yesterday.
She was with another customer, so he waited around until she was finished.As soon as she turned the people over to the wrapping department, he made his move.She wasn’t as happy to see him as he was to see her.She looked like she was fighting something, too.Like she was in pain with something.
“ I have a killer headache.You can’t have figured out that you didn’t buy something for someone on your list.Your things haven’t even been delivered yet.”He said he wanted her phone number.And her last name.“ Why?You’re not the usual kind of person that someone like me dates.And it can’t be because you find me charming.I was rude to you last night, and you know it.”
“ I found you refreshing.”She pointed out that she wasn’t an air freshener, and he found himself laughing again.“ You’re fun to be around.I have no idea why I enjoy you calling me a murderer, but I do find you to be a lot of fun, and I’d like to see you again.And again if you wish.”
“ What I wish is that I could get rid of this headache and go home to take a nap.What is it with people wanting to buy robes for people on their list?I own one, but I can’t remember a single time when I wore it.They’re useless.Unless you have a baby or toddler in the house and you have to get up in the middle of the night.”He suddenly saw her heavy with his child and didn’t know what to make of that.He realized that he’d missed something that she’d said and asked her to repeat herself.“ I said, what is it you really want.I’m not going to sleep with you.I have better things to do with my life than to be a notch on your bedpost.I’m sure you have plenty there as of now.”
“ You don’t have a very high opinion of me, do you?”She said that she didn’t know him all that well, but didn’t have a very high opinion of most people.“ Neither do I, for that matter.I find people to be greedy and mean.And that’s saying a great deal since I have to deal with the public on a daily basis.”
“ Me too.”She took a pen from her pocket and wrote her number down on a sheet of sticky paper that she had in another pocket.“ If you don’t call, then I’m going to be right about you.You’re just like every other rich jerk who thinks that I can be a plaything.I won’t lose any sleep over it either.My last name is Marsh.And yes, I’m related to the Marshes that you’ve no doubt heard from, but I have nothing to do with them.”
