Page 14 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
One side of his lips tilted upward. “Are you insisting onthat, too?”
“Adamantly!” She wriggled her fingers, further insisting onthe handshake.
His hand was lean, deeply tanned, and work-hardened, butgentle. When his loose clasp slipped sideways. Tami thought for a moment he wasgoing to lift her hand to his lips, but he just stood there, eyes averted as hesupported her hand with his palm.
“I’m not much for meetings,” he grumbled.
Tami wondered if anyone truly liked meetings. “You can be ona special advisory committee. We’ll have informal sessions, on an as-neededbasis, perhaps in your office?”
“You want to meet in our closet?”
She frowned. “You don’t have an office?”
“We do,” said Ash. “In one corner of the Janitorial Closet.”
“Is there room for a meeting?”
“I suppose. If you keep your special advisory committeesmall.”
Tami liked the shine in his eyes, the barest hint of a smiletouching his lips, the steadiness of the hand under hers. “Three members?”
“Sounds about right.” He withdrew his hand and easedbackward, snagging his ladder as he made for the door. “I’ll tell Kip.”
“Thank you, Ash.”
“No big deal.” Just before the door pulled all the wayclosed behind him, he quietly added, “Tami.”
SEVEN
Janitorial Closet
“Did you see the new principal?” Ash asked.
“Tami? Sure.” Kip sashayed around the cramped maintenanceroom with a mop. “We’ve already had our first waltz!”
He couldn’t keep the disbelief from his voice. “What wereyoudoing, dancing with the principal?”
His best friend shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at thetime. If it makes you feel any better, I enjoyed a brisk polka with Flootie,and Harrison has had lessons in ballroom dancing. The only thing lacking fromour tango was the rose.”
“You tangoed with Harrison?”
“Lured him into a foxtrot, too.” Kip waggled his eyebrows.“The kids were impressed.”
“You shouldn’t tease him so much.”
“We were just messing around. He’s definitely warming to me.”
Ash had his doubts, but let it go. “All clear?”
“Yep! Full lock-down. We have the place to ourselves.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
Kip replaced the mop and leaned against the back wall. “Hey,if you’re feeling talkative, I don’t want to interrupt the flow.”
“I asked one thing.”
“And revealed the deepest inner workings of your heart andsoul.” The redhead folded his arms over his chest. “So much better than yourusual range of grunts and monosyllables.”
