Anything You Can Do(21)

For a moment they stood, a tense tableau, then Gordon and Paula burst into the room. Austin stepped backward, and Bailey darted into the kitchen for plates.

"Austin, you wouldn't believe how many replies I've already got to my ad," Paula announced. "Here, listen to this one."

Paula read her letter from Prince Charming while the others consumed pizza. Taking a huge bite of her piece, she chewed a couple of times then declared, "And now you have to hear this really incredible letter Gordon and I have composed in answer."

"No!" both men objected at once.

"Why not?"

"That's very personal, Paula," Austin replied. "I think you should keep the contents strictly between you and this—this PC."

Bailey studied Austin's face as he spoke. Something about this deal wasn't on the up and up.

When the last piece of pizza had been consumed, Austin and Gordon settled comfortably in the living room chairs facing Bailey and Paula on the sofa. Bailey felt satiated, relaxed, and surprisingly comfortable in spite of Austin's presence.

"So how do you like working for the old bear?" Austin asked Paula.

Paula looked at him then turned away as Samantha bounced into her lap. "It's a job," she answered, shrugging, stroking the dog as she again raised her eyes to Austin. "The only one I'm qualified for at this stage of my life."

With a start Bailey realized that Paula really did hate being a legal secretary as much as she said she did. Since she tended to be sarcastic about most things, Bailey had mostly dismissed her comments. But Paula's lilting voice had suddenly gone dull and lifeless.

"So why don't you do something else?" Bailey asked.

"Like what? I'm too short to be a model and too clumsy to be a waitress. And speaking of, what's happening with our friend Candy?"

"Don't get them started," Gordon warned. "We'll have World War Three right here in Bailey's living room. Come on, let's go deliver your letter."

"Right now? In the middle of the night?"

"Sure." He stood, pulling Paula to her feet. "Why not? I'll protect you."

"It's not that," she answered. "It just doesn't feel right to send off a letter without making file and reading copies."

"You've definitely been a secretary too long. Come on."

Paula retrieved the envelope from the kitchen bar, sealed it, and grinned. "This is fun," she said.

"We'll be back shortly," Gordon assured Bailey and Austin as he opened the door for Paula.

"You know, we can't stretch you or improve your coordination, but have you ever considered night school now that you live close to several colleges?" Gordon asked her.

Bailey watched the pair leave, the door close behind them. Even if they were nuts, she was glad her two best friends got along so well. She didn't even resent their going off together and leaving her alone with Austin.

But suddenly she didn't feel so comfortable anymore.

Ridiculous! She'd overcome this irrational fear of the male of the species long ago. She was a professional, a skilled attorney up for a partnership. So why did Austin make her feel like she was sixteen again?

For what seemed an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, she kept her head turned toward the door, avoiding him, searching her usually fertile mind for something to say. They'd argued interminably all week, creating an odd sort of intimacy by virtue of the continued encounters. There was really no reason to feel awkward now.

With incredible force for a six-pound creature, Samantha leaped into Bailey's lap, eliciting a startled "Oomph!"

"Cute dog," Austin said, and she finally turned to look at him, directly into those electric eyes.

"Thanks," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

A mantel clock that had theretofore been relatively silent suddenly ticked loudly, annoyingly.

"Nice chess set," Austin said. The carved ivory figures on a marble board occupied their own table in the corner of the room.

"A gift from my father. Do you play?"

"A little." But his eyes lit up, and Bailey knew. Wordlessly she moved the set to the dining room table, and Austin followed, eyes glowing. As they began to play, she rapidly concluded that he was no novice. Not that she'd ever thought he might be.

Bailey's blood was leaping again. She made her moves unhesitatingly, no longer uncomfortable, again in control.