Just One Thing Read online

  “She was late.”

  Katie blinked. “Oh. But you weren’t gone that long. That must have been a short meeting if it got started late. How long did you have to wait for her?”

  “I was waiting for her roughly seven minutes.”

  “Well, according to Emily Post you aren’t late until after ten minutes. After fifteen, you need to call and explain. That’s the rule.”

  For someone who viewed the world around him as a wild west of sorts, it was a revelation that there were rules governing such things. Maybe the social scene wasn’t as confusing and unstructured as Bennett had always believed. Was it possible that he’d only had such a hard time dealing with others because he’d never thought to look up and learn the rules?

  Katie blinked at him. “Are you okay? I mean, you don’t have to listen to me. I understand if you were pissed about waiting around. I hate waiting, too.”

  Bennett smiled at her. “No, I’m not upset. I’ve just never heard that rule before.”

  “Really? My mom has always been big on etiquette. You wouldn’t believe how many rules there are, down to how long you have to send out thank you cards after receiving a gift.”

  Bennett frowned. “You’re supposed to send a card to say thank you? Why wouldn’t you just say thank you when they give you the gift?”

  Katie paused, her forehead crinkling in a way that Bennett found surprisingly endearing. It caught him off guard, this sudden attraction. He’d found women attractive before, of course, but it was strange to suddenly be attracted to someone that he’d known for a while. Granted, he was used to thinking of her as “Ridley’s friend” instead of a beautiful woman but it was a shock to discover that she could be both.

  “You know, I’ve never thought about it that way. I guess it does seem odd to send a thank you card instead of just saying it. Weird, huh?”

  Still reeling from the sudden, and extremely inconvenient, blast of desire, Bennett shook his head and tried to recapture the thread of the conversation.

  “It seems illogical, that’s all,” he finally muttered.

  “Do things always have to be logical in your world?” she teased.

  “Yes. Always.”

  Katie paused, her mouth forming a little pout. The motion drew his attention to her lips and he tried, he really tried, to turn away. After a few seconds he gave it up as impossible. With her richly colored skin, she stood out in the stark paleness of the sterile room like a rose in the desert. She had small, delicate features but there was something about her that spoke of strength. Then she looked at him again and he had to take a breath. It was her eyes. Her dark eyes weren’t those of an innocent. She looked like someone who’d seen quite a bit in her life and wasn’t afraid to face the bad stuff head on.

  He could respect that.

  “My need for logic and order is often at odds with the world around me. That’s part of why I need you here. I spend a lot of time immersed in my work so I need you to be the one who interacts with the outside world for me.”

  She straightened, the teasing expression gone. “I can do that.”

  He doubted she really understood just how much interacting she’d have to do on his behalf. There had been weeks at a time working on his last invention where he wouldn’t have remembered to eat or take a shower if John hadn’t been there. When he was working, his mind was completely absorbed in the process. The real world couldn’t compete with the joy he found in his work.

  “Bennett?”

  When he looked up, she held his gaze. There was a resolve there that he hadn’t seen before.

  “I can’t pretend to understand what you do here but I can tell it’s really important. The way I see it, you need me to take care of all the boring, everyday stuff so you can focus on all the brilliant, science stuff. I can do that. So don’t worry about anything okay?”

  Bennett was surprised to find himself nodding. “Okay. Let me show you around properly then.”

  Katie stood eagerly, pushing the stool beneath the worktable. Bennett was suddenly overcome with nerves. Why did this always happen? He knew this lab inside and out so there was no reason for him to have stage fright showing it to someone else. Yet he was nervous all throughout the short tour he conducted.

  He ended by gesturing toward the stairs leading to his private quarters. “And that’s where I sleep. Any questions?”

  Katie just regarded him with wide eyes. “No. Not yet anyway. Thank you for the opportunity. Sorry that your family sort of forced you into hiring me.”

  “No one forces me to do anything.”

  “Oh, of course not. I didn't mean to imply anything.”

  Now she looked uncomfortable again. He cursed his inability to read social situations the way his brothers did. He'd been trying to put her at ease and now she looked even more upset than before.

  ♥

  “So, you don’t have any questions?"

  Katie glanced over at all the weird things on the tables and the chemicals lining the walls. She’d followed quietly as Bennett showed her the different areas of what he called "The Laboratory" and wished the whole time for a pad of paper and a pencil to take notes. Not that it would really help in the end since she only understood about half of what he was saying.

  Honestly, she had so many questions that it would probably take him all day to answer them all but the whole reason she was here was to make his life easier, right?

  "Just one. What time do you normally eat lunch?"

  He looked surprised but gestured toward the refrigerator on the back wall. She'd already made note of the fact that there was a full kitchen because if she was going to work here, coffee was a priority.

  "I order out a few times a week and then just eat the leftovers whenever. Sometimes my mom comes by and brings me food also. I think she worries about me."

  "I'm sure she does. That's what moms do. Plus I'm sure she wants to help. She's crazy proud of you."

  Bennett seemed momentarily startled by that statement but then he gave a little shake of his head before motioning to the office.

  “You can fill out the employment paperwork and then get started.”

  Katie walked ahead of him into the office and sat in one of the old wooden chairs in front of the desk. Considering how high-tech and modern the rest of the building was, it seemed strangely incongruous to find such old furniture in his office.

  “These chairs are cool. Are they antiques?”

  Bennett shrugged and then peered at the chairs. “I’m not sure. My father brought them over when I said I needed furniture.”

  “Oh. I just thought it was interesting that they look so much older than everything else.”

  “I suppose they are. But they’re adequate to their purpose.”

  Katie laughed nervously. “Adequate. Yes, they are.”

  She read over each sheet as it was placed before her and signed in the appropriate places. Bennett then placed the papers in a manila envelope and set it on top of his desk before walking over to the bookshelf. He picked up the tablet on the shelf and held it out to her.

  “The project notes for the development of our current soil additive have all been loaded on here. You have access to the shared folder that holds all of my current formulations and the resulting yields for the following year’s crops. Familiarize yourself with those so you’ll be able to assist when I’m ready to start testing the next phase.”

  Katie nodded even as her heart rate increased. She took a deep breath, hoping she didn’t look as overwhelmed as she felt. What did she know about chemical formulas? It all looked like another language to her and she could only hope he didn’t ask her to do anything more than hand him things.

  “Thank you again for this opportunity.”

  He inclined his head and then motioned for her to follow him out to the main workspace. Katie slid onto the same stool she’d sat on before and placed the tablet carefully on the metal table. They had a tablet at home that her boys shared but she hadn’t spent too muc
h time on it. So her first order of business would be to make sure she knew how to use it properly. Her prior experience using a tablet wasn’t going to help her much here, not unless Bennett wanted her to help him play Angry Birds.

  “While you’re reading, I’m going to review my most recent test results and make notes on what I would like to change.”

  Katie smiled, determined to put on a brave face. The whole reason Bennett had hired her was to appease his sister-in-law so she didn’t want him to regret it. She might not have any experience but one thing she was great at was figuring out how to be helpful and she’d never had a problem working hard.

  “You don’t need to worry about me, Mr. Alexander.”

  Bennett grimaced and held up a hand. “Bennett, please. If you call me Mr. Alexander, I’ll spend the entire time looking over my shoulder thinking my father is here.”

  Katie laughed. “Fair enough.”

  For the next hour, Kate opened the different apps loaded on the tablet. There was an app that allowed her to access the shared folder he’d mentioned before and she started reading the first file only to close it right away. It had been written in such complicated language that she figured maybe she’d better work up to that.

  There was a books app that had quite a few research books in its library. Her favorite thing was looking through the photos in the device’s Camera Roll. She supposed it must have been Bennett’s former assistant who had taken the pictures because he’d captured not only the little pod things at various stages but also several photos of Bennett at work. He looked so serious, his brow crinkled in concentration while mixing various strange looking liquids together in a glass beaker.

  She swiped through a few more pictures and then stopped on an image of Bennett caught with a rare smile on his face. He looked so happy and so young that it took her off guard.

  “Everything okay out here?”

  Startled, Katie clicked out of the pictures so he wouldn’t catch her staring at a picture of him like a stalker.

  “Yes, I’m good. Oh look at that; it’s lunchtime.”

  Bennett blinked. “So it is. I think there are cold cuts and other sandwich stuff available. I’ll be just a little longer.”

  Katie wandered into the kitchen and discovered that the refrigerator had been fully stocked. She pulled out a tray with thin cut deli meats and found mayonnaise and mustard. The mustard was full while the mayo jar was almost empty.

  “Guess I don’t have to ask which he prefers,” she mumbled to herself.

  It was quick work to make two sandwiches, mayo for him and mustard for her. She found paper plates in the pantry and then folded paper towels in lieu of napkins.

  Bennett looked up in surprise when she entered his office and set the plate to his left. “You made me a sandwich? Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I guessed that you prefer mayonnaise but if that’s wrong, you can have this one instead.” She held up her plate.

  “No, you got it right.”

  He picked up the sandwich and took a big bite. Satisfied that he was taken care of for the moment, Katie took a bite out of her own sandwich and walked back to the kitchen to rustle up some drinks. Again, it was easy to see what his preferences were because there was no soda at all, only almond milk, bottled water and orange juice. She grabbed two bottled waters.

  When she walked back into Bennett’s office, he was muttering to himself and patting his shirt pocket. He looked up and smiled his thanks when she set the water next to his plate and then went back to looking around.

  “They’re on your head,” Katie said, amused by his bewilderment.

  "What?" He peered over at her, his eyes slightly unfocused.

  “Your glasses. That’s what you’re looking for, right?”

  His hand reached up until he felt the frames sitting on top of his head. Then he smiled.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

  He pulled them down and slipped them on his face. Then he picked up the tablet from his desk and stood.

  Before he could get too far, she picked up the plate and held it out to him. “You should probably finish it now so you don’t have to interrupt your work later.”

  He blinked at her a few times but then picked up the sandwich. After finishing what was left in a few bites, he sent her a small, satisfied smile.

  “I have a feeling this is going to work out just fine.”

  Not the most effusive praise she’d ever received but nonetheless Katie was left feeling like she’d just gotten an A on a test.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ♥

  The whole way home Katie thought about her strange first day. It had been odd to just sit around looking at a tablet and exploring the place but she guessed it wasn’t so odd for a new employee to not have much to do. Bennett himself seemed at a loss as to what to do with her either. If this job was going to work out, she was going to have to take the initiative and find ways to be helpful.

  When she pulled into her driveway, she noticed the bus coming up the street. Wow, she’d only just made it. She was used to being at home and if she lost track of time, it was no big deal to just jump up and go get the kids. Now she was going to have to really watch the time and plan accordingly. It would be a huge adjustment to have to work around Bennett's schedule but this was the best job offer she'd had in ages. Good money, flexible hours so she could be there for the kids and all she had to do was pick up after a nutty professor.

  Easy as cake.

  She stood at the end of the sidewalk and watched as a stream of little bodies piled off the bus. Matthew’s blue backpack stood out from the rest so she saw him first. Then Hunter appeared behind him, talking a mile a minute. When they saw her on the sidewalk, they both ran to reach her. Matthew threw himself at her, almost knocking her off her feet. Katie squeezed him just as hard. It was hard to believe her little man was five now. This was Matthew’s first year going to school and kindergarten hadn’t been the easiest adjustment for him after being at home with just her for years. Hunter was seven and in second grade. So far his enthusiasm for school had rubbed off on his younger brother.

  “Mom! You forgot my snack today so I had to eat pretzels.” Hunter made a face.

  Katie winced. Her son’s teacher kept extra snacks for the kids who forgot to bring their own but the only options she had were pretzels and gluten-free crackers. Neither of which were Hunter’s favorite things.

  “Sorry buddy. I think it’s time you start helping me get your backpack prepared every night. You’re old enough now to take care of a few things on your own.”

  She ran an affectionate hand over his coarse dark curls, which were mussed and carried speckles of what looked like sand. There was no telling what he’d gotten in his hair on the playground.

  “I can do it, Mom. Can I pack my lunch, too?” he asked excitedly as they entered the house.

  Katie already knew why he was asking. Hunter was crafty and probably thought he could fill his lunch bag with as many snacks as he wanted if he packed it himself.

  “You can assist, how’s that?”

  He grinned and threw his stuff on the floor. Katie sighed and pointed to the front closet. With mumbles and grumbles, both boys put their backpacks away along with their coats and shoes. They didn’t hang the coats on the nails she’d hammered into the wall for just that purpose, instead throwing them on top of everything else.

  Katie bit her tongue. She didn’t bother asking them to pick them up. At this point she’d learned to pick her battles.

  “Who wants a snack?”

  After getting them settled with apple slices and peanut butter, Katie retreated to her room to change her clothes. Luckily, the boys were too young to notice details such as when their mom was dressed up out of the blue. She’d been careful to keep them in the dark about their precarious financial state. They deserved to just be kids and not worry about things like bills or whether their parents hated each
other.

  Stripped to her underwear, Katie sat on the edge of her bed and closed her eyes. She wasn’t tired exactly but the strain of the past twenty-four hours was finally catching up to her. She wasn’t going to be able to relax until she was sure that Bennett wasn’t going to fire her. Although, he’d seemed pleased with her so far. Despite his awkwardness and blunt style of speaking, she liked him. There was no guessing with Bennett. If he didn’t like something she did, she had no doubt that he’d just blurt it out.

  Thinking of his strange way of speaking, she contemplating calling Ri and asking her about him. Although what would she even say?

  Your brother-in-law is a little weird.

  Gorgeous but weird.

  And I kind of think I'm attracted to him?

  No, she knew how Ridley's mind worked. If she even planted the thought, Ri would do everything in her power to throw her at Bennett, the poor man's wishes be damned.

  After spending just one afternoon together, she already felt protective of him. There was something special about him, like he was untouched by the usual cynicism and ulterior motives that drove everyone else. He was blunt, sure, but at least he was honest. Katie would take harsh honesty over pretty lies any day. She'd seen the aftermath that pretty lies could leave behind.

  The sounds of laughter and screeching filtered in from behind her closed door. It was time to get started on dinner before the kids started eating anything that wasn’t nailed down. After pulling on her usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt, her eyes landed on the manila folder Bennett had given her at the end of the day. It was copies of all her employment paperwork and his company policies. It seemed strange that he had policies when he was a one-man show but it was probably for legal reasons.

  She opened the envelope and pulled out all the papers. To her surprise, the top sheet was a Job Summary and when her eyes landed on the number next to “salary” they almost bugged out of her head.

  Was this some kind of mistake?

  Katie wondered if Bennett had even bothered to update the paperwork after his last assistant left. This kind of salary went to people with education and experience, not pity-hires who only had experience making peanut butter sandwiches and wiping noses.