Page 8 of A Girl Like Janet

was the matter with her? With one breath she was chastising herself for her un-Christian behavior and with the next deliberately

baiting Reese.

“Is Miss Montgomery attending that dreadful meeting with you?” Bunny asked, her eyes wide and innocent as she looked at Reese,

but Janet noted that as they came to rest on her they narrowed slightly as she studied Janet. Bunny stood and placed a hand

in the crook of Reese’s elbow.

Reese ignored Bunny’s question. “I’ll pick you up at your place, Miss Montgomery.” His tone brooked no argument, but Janet

chose to ignore him as she returned to her desk and purposely sat with her back to the couple. As far as Janet was concerned,

they deserved one another.

She could almost feel Reese’s eyes digging holes into her back. The tension between them was as tight and fine as a precision

instrument.

Apparently Bunny was oblivious to it all, as Janet heard her coo lovingly. “We’ll be late for our reservation if we don’t

hurry.”

As soon as the office door clicked, indicating that Reese and Bunny had left, Janet rolled her chair to her trusted typewriter

in order to type the report. Her fingers were actually trembling as she placed them over the keys.

Never in all the years she’d worked for Reese had she spoken to him in anything but a dignified and professional manner. The

change in their relationship was so drastic that for the first time Janet realized there was no going back. That impersonal

business camaraderie was lost forever.

Janet spent a good portion of the afternoon typing the report. She made several typing errors, something she rarely did. While

proofreading she discovered two misspellings. She hadn’t misspelled anything in ten years.

Gail and Ben dated regularly on Friday nights, so Janet was alone when Reese rang the doorbell. Her hand froze as she replaced

a stray strand from her chignon and paused to compose herself before opening the door. She hadn’t changed clothes after work,

choosing to remain in her business suit with her hair tightly coiled.

Reese’s features were grim, his mouth a narrow slit. One look at the piercing eyes and Janet knew he had been waiting to speak

to her from the minute he’d walked out of his office that afternoon. The apartment door closed ominously.

“Before you say anything,” she murmured, her hands folded neatly in front of her skirt, “I’d like to apologize for this afternoon.”

She hesitated. “My behavior was inexcusable.” Janet sincerely regretted what she’d said, but the apology was issued as a desperate

attempt to restore an amicable working relationship.

Reese did nothing to lessen her discomfort.

“I... I should never have spoken to you like that. I can only apologize.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Reese demanded quietly.

Janet nodded her head, forcing herself to meet his eyes.

He was quiet for so long that Janet swallowed tightly. He was doing this on purpose, prolonging her discomfort, and she felt

annoyed at him for being so arrogant.

He was studying her, his gaze lingering on her softly parted lips for a heart-stopping moment. “All right, let’s forget the

whole thing. Now I’ll wait here for you to change your clothes.”

“I was planning to go like this.” Her hand made a weak, dismissive gesture.

Reese’s gaze hardened. A frown drew his thick brows together as he slumped into the sofa. “For once, Miss Montgomery, humor

me and change your clothes.”

For the first time Janet noted the tired lines that fanned out like crow’s-feet from his eyes and the dark shadows that were

beginning to form.

“All right,” she breathed. “I’ll only be a minute.” In order to save time, Janet removed the crisp white blouse and blazer

jacket and replaced them with a soft pink pullover sweater. The transformation from a business suit to a casual outfit was

a matter of a few simple changes. Unloosening her hair, Janet ran a quick brush through the long tendrils until they curled

uniformly about her shoulders.

He stood when she entered the living room. “Much better,” he murmured under his breath.

Janet bristled. Without her work clothes she felt more vulnerable to Reese’s powerful masculinity. She had been immune to

it for so long that now it seemed to hit her with hurricane force. Nervously she tucked a piece of hair around her ear. “I’ll

get my jacket.”

Reese moved behind her as she took the coat from the hall closet. When she turned he was standing close enough to touch. Inhaling

a sharp breath, Janet moved a step back. His mouth tightened in angry response as he took the coat out of her hand and held

it open. Incapable of meeting his sharp gaze, Janet turned and slipped her arms into both sleeves at the same time. Reese

slid the jacket into place; his hands cupped her shoulders, lingering a moment longer than necessary.

He remained strangely quiet during the drive to class, seemingly preoccupied. He pulled into a parking place on Colfax Avenue

and switched off the engine. Turning, his gaze brushed over her face. “We’ve worked together for two years now, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” Janet nodded, stressing the affirmative.

He shifted in the seat so he could look at her. “You’re valuable to me, Janet. I don’t want to lose you. I know I can be an

ill-tempered boor on occasion, impatient and irritable. But you’ve managed to withstand my moods and keep the office running

smoothly. Without you I fear the company would look exactly like the top of my desk.”

“I think you overestimate my talents, Mr. Edwards. I doubt that there’s much that could be worse than your desk.” She attempted

to joke, but her fingers coiling around the strap of her purse betrayed her nerves. “I enjoy working at Dyna-Flow, and my

salary is generous.”

“I only pay people what they’re worth.” His hands firmly gripped the steering wheel. “I know this may sound like an unusual

question, but can we start again?”

The conversation had been leading up to this point. Apparently Reese had as many questions about this thing between them as

she did. They couldn’t return to the impersonal business relationship that had existed for two years, but romantic involvement

between them was equally impossible. She was an asset to his business and he knew it. Things needed to be brought into the

open and Reese had chosen to do it now. Janet was grateful.

“I think we’d better,” she said and smiled.

“Good.”

Things did improve almost immediately. Everything was better.

Her mother noticed a change in Janet the following week when she picked up Joel for their regular outing.

“You’ve changed your hairstyle, haven’t you, dear?” Leonora Montgomery questioned.

Janet looked up, surprised. “No, I’ve been wearing it like this for three years.”

“Oh,” she paused and tilted her head to examine her daughter again. “Something’s different.”

Janet couldn’t think of a way to explain.

“It’s in your face,” her mother persisted. “It seems to shine. Is it a new kind of makeup?”

Janet nodded, hoping her mother would forgive her for avoiding the real reason. “Yes, it is.”

“How’s the computer?” Her father sauntered into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.

“Better.” She sighed. “I was having problems losing material I had typed into it but Reese... Mr. Edwards called someone

and learned it was probably a power surge. We have a new device that should take care of it.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“What’s a power surge?” Joel questioned from the kitchen doorway.

“I’ll explain that later,” Janet promised. “Come on, get your coat.” They were going to Joel’s favorite place, the Buffalo

Bill Cody Memorial Museum. Janet had stopped counting the times she’d taken her brother to see the artifacts of the hunter’s

life. Afterward they stopped for hamburgers. Joel loved museums and Denver had several that fascinated the youth, especially

the Buffalo Bill, the Firefighters’ Museum and the Colorado Railroad Museum.

“Where do you want to go next week?” Janet asked as she let him off in front of her parents’ home.

“The zoo,” Joel replied without hesitation.

“I don’t know; it may be closed by the time I get off work. We’ll see, okay?”

A sad look rounded his eyes. “Okay, Janny, but try and get off early.”

“I’ll try,” she promised.

Things looked good at the beginning of the week. Either the work load seemed lighter, or she was seeing the effects of having

a computer. Janet was about to ask Reese if there was a possibility of her leaving a few hours early on Thursday, when he

approached her.

“There’s another computer class being offered this week. You seem comfortable with the Simplex now, but I think it wouldn’t

be a bad idea for you to attend the class. I’ll be happy to go along. There are several things I’d like to go over myself.”

The offer took Janet by surprise. “I... I don’t think I can. I’m booked up Thursdays.”

“Every Thursday?” A dark brow was quirked mockingly.

“Yes,” she responded crisply, not liking his attitude. “In fact, I was just about to ask if I could leave an hour early tomorrow.”

Reese shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Janet came back from lunch Thursday afternoon and phoned her mother to say she’d be picking up Joel early. When she finished

making the call she placed the headset over her ears to complete Reese’s dictation before leaving. Another tape had been added

to the stack and she knew she’d have to rush to get out of the office on time. As much as she hated to admit it, the computer

worked wonderfully well and her fingers set a steady pace as they bounced over the keys.

A glance at her watch told her she’d finished with several minutes to spare. A brisk walk in the crisp autumn afternoon would

be invigorating. Joel loved to toss the multicolored leaves in the air again and again. There wouldn’t be many more afternoons

they’d be able to enjoy being out of doors, since winter would be here shortly. She’d make sure today was special.