Anything You Can Do(37)

Well, that should prove Stafford Morris was wrong. He couldn't even push himself into a confrontation with Bailey.

"Busy for lunch?" he asked when Gordon answered.

The three of them at lunch, that would be a safe situation. He could work up from there.

"I'm trying to get a brief put together, so I guess I'll just have my secretary bring me a sandwich today."

Austin hesitated then laughed. "Very funny. You working on a brief? Ha ha. How about we go over to the hotel and have a leisurely lunch? I guess your prickly friend will be there too. Bailey, I mean. And that's fine. I don't have a problem with that."

"Austin, I'm not making a joke. This thing's been on my desk forever, and I need to finish it. It's time for me to get serious about my career, make something of myself. I'm thirty years old and what have I done with my life?"

Since it was unlikely somebody was holding a gun to Gordon's head to make him say those things, there must be a logical reason. "If you're worried about the merger, don't be."

"I'm not worried about the merger. Look, you've always worked this hard. It's about time I got started. Anyway, when Paula finds out her Prince Charming is not only an attorney but an unsuccessful attorney, she may not be very charmed."

The man was serious. Since Austin had been preaching to Gordon for years about buckling down, he couldn't understand the bleak feeling that settled over him, as if he'd just lost a friend.

"Good for you," he said, though his words sounded phony even to himself. "So how about a few drinks after work?"

"I'll probably be staying here late. Maybe another time. "

Austin hung up the phone, feeling suddenly alone. He drummed his fingers on his desk, shuffled a few papers, then decided to wander over to the deli at lunch and see if Bailey was there. Maybe check out a couple of the other local places if she wasn’t at the deli. An accidental meeting would work.

*~*~*

Bailey couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd finally found Gordon in the library, taking notes from a law book. That was strange enough, but then he'd actually told her, with a straight face, that he was going to work through lunch.

Of all days for him to have a psychotic attack! She'd worn the bloody makeup to work and even received a few scattered compliments, but if Gordon wouldn't help her get within Austin's viewing range, how would she ever know if he approved? And how could she possibly be nice to the man if she couldn't get within speaking distance of him?

"I'll help you with that work later," she offered. "Let's go eat. I'm starving. And you need a break. You can't work continually. Wears your brain out."

"You're one to talk! How many times have I tried to pry you out of your office? Now it's my turn. Go away and let me concentrate."

He returned his attention to the legal tome in front of him, and Bailey moved away from the door.

"You look nice today," he called after her.

Great, she thought. I look nice today. But it's a cinch this blasted makeup won't last through the night and into another day.

Maybe she should treat this like any other incident in her life and take the bull by the horns. Call Austin and see if he wanted to…what? After last night, even asking him to go for a run might sound suggestive. A noon date, with its connotations, was clearly out of the question.

She marched back into her office, slumped in her chair, and ground her teeth. Okay, so she couldn't count on Gordon to help. How else could she arrange for an accidental meeting? Maybe she could kind of wander through the area restaurants at lunch, and if she saw him eating, he might ask her to join him. If he didn't—and he might not after the rude way she'd acted the night before—well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. No point inventing problems before they arose.

*~*~*

Half an hour later Bailey stood in front of the counter at a deli down the street from her office, ready to give up her quest. She looked from the prepared sandwiches, squashed in their cellophane wrappers, to her reflection in the mirror behind the counter. The sandwiches pretty much reflected the way she looked and felt, except they were cool in their refrigerated case and she couldn't recall ever having been hotter.

She'd never before realized there were so many places to eat within walking distance of the office, and not a sign of Austin in any of them. Just as well, she thought, staring back at the creature in the mirror, the one with a shiny, flushed face, flattened hair, and raccoon eyes.