Free Ask Anyone by Sherryl Woods Page A

well.
    â€œYou’re absolutely right, Mrs. Jamison.” Why would she even want to work for someone who held a little girl’s appearance against her? “Where’s my father, by the way?”
    â€œOut for the evening. He said he’d catch up with you at breakfast.”
    Jenna didn’t bother trying to hide her relief. “Has he gotten a glimpse of Darcy?”
    â€œNot yet. Even she was smart enough to stay in her room when he came back to change for dinner.”
    â€œGood. Maybe I can get both of us out of town before he wakes up in the morning.”
    Mrs. Jamison didn’t even pretend to hide her dismay. “You’re leaving without talking it over with him? Do you think that’s wise, Jenna?”
    â€œI think this might be one of those times when a note is smarter than a direct confrontation,” Jenna assured her.
    Besides, if she could sneak away, there would be less of a chance that he’d pry her secret mission out of her. She wanted a signed contract in her hand the next time she saw her father. It might mute his disapproval of her underhanded tactics in leaving him out of the loop on this project. She didn’t exactly have the authority to commit Pennington and Sons’s resources to this deal.
    As for abandoning him at the office with no notice, to her very deep regret, she acknowledged that he probably wouldn’t even notice.
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    Bobby looked across his desk into the fascinated gaze of Anna-Louise Walton and winced. “You don’t approve of me trying to buy Jenna off, do you?”
    â€œThat depends on why you decided to try it,” the pastor said, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Care to explain your thinking?”
    â€œNo good could come of having her here,” Bobby said flatly. “None.”
    â€œBecause she’s a woman?” Anna-Louise asked mildly.
    â€œWatch it,” her husband warned Bobby. “Think aboutyour response very, very carefully. You’re about to get a sermon on being a sexist pig unless you answer this exactly right.”
    â€œYeah, I can see the trap,” Bobby conceded.
    Anna-Louise frowned at both of them, then addressed Bobby. “Do you doubt Jenna’s qualifications?”
    Bobby shook his head. “Her firm has solid credentials, though I got the impression this is her first big presentation. She all but admitted she had something to prove.”
    â€œOkay, then,” Anna-Louise said approvingly. “And what about the plan itself? Didn’t you like it?”
    â€œShe didn’t have preliminary sketches or anything, but in terms of concept, it was actually right on target,” Bobby admitted, knowing that he was digging a very deep hole for himself.
    â€œSo you tried to get rid of her just because she’s a woman and therefore what? Not in need of a job? Not smart enough?” Anna-Louise pressed.
    â€œOf course not,” Bobby denied heatedly. That sort of blatant discrimination was wrong. Even he could see that, though at the moment it was darned inconvenient. Besides, Jenna had made it plain that she was ambitious and smart, both admirable traits in his book.
    Anna-Louise grinned. “Then it must be because you were attracted to her and that scared the living daylights out of you. You did swear off relationships after Ann-Marie ran off with Lonnie four weeks before your wedding, right?”
    The mention of Ann-Marie and Lonnie still had the capacity to stir up a cold rage in Bobby. Anna-Louisewouldn’t have touched that topic if she had a grain of sense in her head, but then she hadn’t been here at the time. She hadn’t witnessed his humiliation firsthand. She only knew that the prospect of bumping into the two traitors had kept Bobby away from church ever since, and no amount of pressure or cajoling had been able to woo him back.
    â€œI know your heart’s in the right place, Anna-Louise, but I do not want to discuss those