Page 53 of Dreaming of You

"Always. Friends first. Coworkers second." She paused. "When is your meeting?"

"It's in ten minutes. He said he was going to be working late tonight, preparing for some court appearance tomorrow, and he could fit me in."

"Well, good luck."

"Are you headed home?"

"Actually, I'm going to grab some food and then come back to finish up the proposal for the Hunts."

"What are our odds of getting that job?"

"Probably less than fifty-fifty, but we'll see what kind of magic I can work. I'm having trouble figuring out what Candice really wants and how I can give her that and appease her mother at the same time."

"If anyone can do it, you can. I'll see you Monday."

She nodded, letting out another sigh as Shari left. She felt really bad that Shari's marriage was on the outs but worse that Shari had been so nervous to talk to her. She'd changed her opinion of Barrett days ago; she probably should have filled Shari in on that. She was actually glad that Shari was talking to Barrett. Having gotten to know him better, she thought he would give Shari good advice, and he clearly wasn't in it just for the money, considering he'd walked away from far more lucrative legal work. He really did want to help people. In that way, they were similar.

She turned her attention to her computer and the proposal she was working on, but twenty minutes later, she realized she needed some fuel for the evening ahead.

Grabbing her bag, she headed downstairs. Barrett's outer office door was open, but his private office door was closed. He might still be talking to Shari, or he could just be working. Over the past two weeks, she had often noticed Barrett's lights on as she left for the day. He clearly worked late a lot, as did she. Something else they had in common.

And she really needed to stop thinking about what they had in common and remember all the things they didn't agree on.

Pushing Barrett out of her mind, she headed out the front door and walked down Union Street to her favorite Chinese restaurant.

As she perused the menu, she couldn't decide what she was in the mood for and wound up ordering a couple of dishes. She told herself she'd save whatever she didn't eat for tomorrow, but there was a part of her that wondered if Barrett might want a dinner break. It was probably a bad idea, but she couldn't seem to shake it.

A half hour later, she entered her building and saw that Barrett's inner office door was now open as well. Pausing, she didn't hear Shari's voice, so she walked into the reception area and called out, "Hello?"

"Kate?" Barrett replied. "Come on in."

She moved into his office, relieved that he was alone. She hadn't wanted Shari to think she was intruding on her private meeting.

Barrett got to his feet, a smile on his face, and she couldn't help but smile back.

It had only been two days, but she'd missed him.

"I was just thinking about you," he said.

Her heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"I was wondering how your grandmother is doing."

"Oh, she's doing well. She is going to come home Sunday probably. She'd like it to be tomorrow, but the docs want to make sure she doesn't have complications from the surgery."

"That's great news. Lance must be thrilled."

"He hasn't left her side."

"I wouldn't have thought otherwise." Barrett paused. "I smell something good. What's in the bag?"

"Chinese food. I have work to do later, and I was hungry. I think I ordered too much. I was wondering if you might want to share, unless you're on your way out, or you have plans. I know it's Friday night." She forced herself to stop talking.

"Apparently, you and I are on the same Friday night track. I have work to do as well. But I could take a break."

"Great."

"Let's go in the conference room," he suggested.

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