Free A Baby for the Boss by Maureen Child Page A

hotel. Right now, it was cream colored, with sun stains from where framed paintings had once hung. But when Jenny was finished with it, it was going to be...mystical.
    When she spoke, she wasn’t really talking to Rick-With-Dimples. Instead, she was describing her vision to herself, sort of putting it out into the universe.
    “Deep purple,” she said, tipping her head to stare at the blank space as if she could see the wall changing color as she spoke. “I want it the color of twilight just before darkness falls. There will be stars, just barely appearing in the sky, with dark clouds streaming past a full moon, making them shine like silver.” She sighed and continued, “There’ll be a forest beneath the stars and moonlight threading through the trees. And in the shadows, there will be the hint of yellow eyes, red eyes, staring out at you, and you won’t be sure if you see them or not.
    “But the night will draw you in, make promises, and you’ll dream about that forest and the eyes that follow you as you walk.”
    She fell silent and was still staring at the blank wall when she heard Rick say, “Damn, lady, you’re a little spooky, you know that?”
    She laughed, until Mike’s voice came from right behind her.
    “You have no idea.”
    Whipping around, she looked up into Mike’s eyes and noticed the all-too-familiar flare of anger. Well, for heaven’s sake, what had she done now ?
    “Don’t you have work to do?” Jacob asked Rick and he immediately left, doing his best to look busy.
    “Thanks for the tour, Jacob,” Mike was saying. “We’ll meet up here again tomorrow.”
    “I’ll be here,” the older man said, with a nod acknowledging Jenny. “You make a note on the paint colors you want where, miss, and I’ll make sure the painters get the message.”
    “Thank you. I’ll have them for you tomorrow, then.”
    “That’s good.” Jacob looked back at Mike. “The crew starts on the main floor in the morning. You and I can look at the upper floors and talk about what you want.”
    “See you then.” Mike took Jenny’s elbow and began steering her toward the front door.
    She pulled free though, because A, she wasn’t going to be dragged around like a dog on a leash. And B, she needed her purse.
    “Just wait a minute,” she snapped and marched across the front room like a soldier striding across a battlefield. Snatching up her black leather bag, she slung it over her shoulder and stomped right back to Mike. “ Now I’m ready.”
    He gritted his teeth. She could see the muscle in his jaw twitching and she almost enjoyed knowing she had the ability to irritate him so easily. Of course, she’d enjoy it even more if she knew what exactly she’d done to make him walk as if there were a steel spike between his shoulder blades.
    Without waiting for him, Jenny walked out the front door, down the overgrown walk and stopped at the passenger door of the shiny red rental car to wait.
    He looked at her over the roof of the car and demanded, “What the hell were you doing?”
    “My job ,” she shot back, then threw the door open and slid inside.
    He did the same, slammed the key home and fired the engine. Neither of them spoke again on the short drive to the hotel where they’d be spending the night.
    When they got there, Mike turned the car over to the valet and Jenny was inside the hotel before he caught up to her. Again, he took hold of her elbow and pulled her to a stop.
    “Will you quit doing that?” Her gaze shot from his hand on her arm up to his eyes.
    “Quit walking away from me.”
    “Quit being a jerk and I’ll quit walking away.”
    “You make me nuts,” he grumbled.
    “I think you were born that way,” she said, “but Sean seems perfectly reasonable, so it’s probably not hereditary.”
    All around them, tourists swarmed through the lobby and into the casino. Bells, whistles and loud bursts of laughter played backdrop to their hurried, angry whispers.
    “I’m not having this