Back Where She Belongs(40)

“Could be. But I’d like to know for sure.”

“I can look through my boss’s emails when he’s at lunch, if you want. See what’s come to him from Mr. Banes or Ms. Banes.”

“That would be great. As long as you don’t jeopardize your job. I’ve hit a lot of stone walls.”

“No sweat. He hits wrong keys a lot and asks me to restore his defaults. So I’m covered. Here’s another thing...I can get our IT guy to unlock your sister’s computer.”

“Would he tell Joseph?”

“Not if I ask him not to. We dated for a while.”

“I didn’t know that,” Dylan said.

“I don’t tell you everything,” she said. “You’re not my dad.”

“I don’t expect you to. I was surprised, that’s all.”

“Surprised anyone would date me? Is that it?”

“No. That’s not it.” Dylan was totally puzzled by Candee’s reaction, but Tara knew it was her nervousness about Adam. “Why are you getting so sensitive all of a sudden?”

“Why are you getting so nosy?”

Tara figured she could help out a little. “Hey, you two, you’re making me think you’re not friends anymore.”

“Of course we are,” Dylan said.

“So you’re glad Candee’s dating, right? You want her to find someone who will make her happy?”

“Absolutely.” He looked at Candee. “More than anything.”

“So you can get me off your back, right?” But she was smiling.

“Hell, no,” Tara threw in. “Where would he get great recipes like that beer-butt chicken? It was delicious.”

“He cooked for you? Wow.” Candee’s eyebrows lifted. “Now that’s interesting.”

“We had to talk through the case, so he cooked supper,” Tara said, but she was blushing and so was Dylan. “The point is, that you wish each other well, and Dylan would be happy to hear you’d found someone special, Candee.” She leveled her gaze at Candee.

“Okay,” she said. “Now that you mention it, there is a guy I met. Adam Baylor. I met him at a Home Parties Association meeting. He’s the regional director. We’ve been dating for a month and I like him a lot.”

“Oh.” Dylan blinked, not speaking, clearly surprised.

Tara kicked his foot. “And...?”

He got it. “And that’s great. I’m happy for you, Candee.”

“You are?” She looked doubtful.

“I am.” Dylan had adjusted to the news and his answer was clearly true. “Very much so.”

“Told you,” Tara said.

“You did.” Candee gave Tara a high-five and blew out a breath. “I’m glad that’s over.”

“So...you two discussed this?” Dylan asked, totally puzzled by the conversation. “While I was...”

“Changing your shirt, right,” Candee said. “That’s how we roll, right, Tara?” She snapped her fingers quickly.

Tara laughed. She really did like Candee. “Anyway, I appreciate your help at Wharton. Anything you find out, give me a call.” She gave Candee her cell number. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Oh, I think you can. Come to my candle party next week.”

“A candle party?” Dylan had been right about this.

“They’re a blast. We have all kinds—tea, pillars, tapers, scented, unscented. Something for everyone. You’ll like my friends. Plus, you can meet Adam. He’ll be there. So will Dylan, right?”

“Me? Uh—” He looked like he’d rather eat glass shards.

“You have to come. Melissa Sutherland’s cousin will be there—Jessica, one of your shipping clerks? You know her?”

“No, I don’t.”

“She’s cute and she just broke up with her boyfriend.”

Dylan held up a hand. “I’ll buy candles, but no setups. I’m not interested.”

“No?” She looked from Dylan to Tara and back, drawing conclusions that Tara could guess at and hoped Candee wouldn’t voice. “Fine by me,” she finally said. “You’re tied up at the moment.”

“I’m not—” Dylan started to object, but his face glowed red.

“Whatever,” Candee said. “I leave you to it then.” She jumped up and they walked her to the door. “Adam wants to try out some samples he got for this new home sales opportunity. Sex toys! Bye.” Then she was gone.

Dylan shut the door and they looked at each other.

“I’m glad she’s got a guy, but that last bit was too much information.”

“Are you glad?” Tara asked. “You hesitated.”

“I was surprised she hadn’t mentioned it earlier. It’s a relief. Sometimes I got the feeling she was still holding out hope for us.”

“You’re pretty tough to get over,” Tara said. “Speaking from experience.”

“So are you,” he said, and their eyes locked. Here they were again, alone at his house, and the attraction hummed like a wire between them.

“Candee thinks we’re still hung up on each other,” Tara said.

“She wouldn’t be wrong.”

“No, she wouldn’t. I should go,” Tara said. They’d accomplished their purpose.

“You could. Or you could finish your beer and your cupcake.” He nodded at the table.

Then she thought of a legitimate reason to stay. “Actually there’s something else we could discuss.”

“Great.” They moved to the sofa and sat, close, bodies leaning in. “What’s up?”

“It looks like you and I will be working together.”

“Yeah?”

“Our operations VP asked me to mediate the conflict between our testing department and your engineers.”

Dylan tensed. “How did that get decided?”

“It was after I mediated an ongoing dispute between our assembly-line manager and the shipping manager.”

“That’s great, I’m sure, but our disagreement is based on technical issues.”

“Partly, for sure. You all have the answers between you. My job will be to manage the meeting in a way that allows the real issues to surface, get discussed, then options offered and selected.”

“Sounds good in theory. And I’m sure you’re good at what you do, but the issue is that we’ve done all we can by boosting our testing and increasing production. Our process is different than Wharton’s. It’s apples to oranges. We’re at loggerheads. Jeb says their procedures and equipment are proprietary, so we’re shut out.”

“I see what you mean.” She thought about that. “How about this? What if we brought the Wharton engineers out to Ryland and you could show them your processes. After the tour, we’d meet and discuss the situation.”

Dylan considered that. “It’s worth a try. I’m at my wit’s end.”

“Let’s do that. I’ll talk to Jeb, you fill in your guys, then we’ll set up the visit.”

“It’s a plan.” He smiled. “So you got shipping talking to assembly? I gotta say that’s impressive. I hope you can do the same for us.”

“That’s my hope,” she said.

“It’s crucial to the company that we get this sorted out. A lot hangs in the balance.”

“I realize that. I do.” That put lots of pressure on her. Joseph would be evaluating her based on how this came out, she knew, and Dylan’s company’s future hung in the balance. She knew she was good. She knew her processes worked. She would trust them and herself.

Time to go. There was no reason to stay except to torture themselves. Just as she leaned forward to stand, Dylan put his arm across the back of the sofa, nonverbally urging her to stay. She leaned back.

“You two sure covered a lot of ground while I put on a clean shirt,” he said.

“When you tell the truth, things move fast. I like Candee. She gives you hell.”

“You would like that.” He squeezed her shoulder, setting off a charge along her nerves, pops and flashes going every which way. She noticed the crinkles outside his eyes, the square line of his jaw, the way a lock of hair hung over his forehead, the crisp line of his lips. He seemed to be taking her in, too.

“Here we are again,” she said softly. The minute they were alone together, their connection kicked in.

“Here we are.” Embers flared beneath the smoky gray of his eyes. Her own body seemed to be liquefying.

“I should go home.”

“Do you want to?” he asked in that low, sexy voice.

“No. I don’t.” Why lie?