Beatrice and Douglas Read Online Free PDF Page B

would be interested to see it through your
eyes.”  He offered his arm in an old world courtly fashion and Beatrice
had no choice but to take it.
    She smiled again, mentally consigning the next hour of work
to wasted time.  “Certainly.”
    The walk through was worse than she expected.  Every
time the blowsy blonde tittered, Beatrice could feel her neck get
tighter.  It didn’t help matters that she was forced to swallow her angst
while trying to explain why there was no noticeable improvement to the
property. 
    “Most of the floors were rotted through and have to be
pulled and redone.  It looks like a mess now, but in the end, it will be
worth the time and expense to use the real thing.  As you can see, we have
pulled all the original light fixtures out; as many as we can restore will be
re-hung when we’re ready.”
    “Seems a waste of money.  Personally, I would prefer a
little more modern appeal, but old is in and I’m told the house will be worth
more if its original condition is restored.”
    “You don’t plan on living here then?”
    “No.  I’m definitely not a back woods kind of
man.  I’ll restore it, then sell it for an obscene profit.”
    “Ah.”  That explained a lot.
    “And you, Ms. Blue, where do you call home?”
    “Seattle.  The business is based there.”
    “Splendid, perhaps when you return to town I can take you
out to dinner.”
    Beatrice was surprised.  It can’t have escaped his
notice that the blonde was walking right behind them and could hear every word
they said.
    “This job will keep me busy for quite a while.  But
I’ll certainly keep you in mind.”  Never going to happen . 
“The wraparound porch was in bad shape, though you can’t tell that from
here.  We have to pretty much build that from scratch, then sand it all
down, finish it with a nice glaze.  It‘s going to be beautiful.”
    “Wonderful.”
    “And that concludes the tour.  I hope that you are
satisfied with the work we are doing; we have a great deal to do still, but
it’s progressing nicely.”
    “I can see that.  And now that I’ve met you, I’m sure
it’s in good hands.”  He took hers again; Beatrice had the insane thought
that he was going to bring it to his lips and kiss it in a gentlemanly fashion,
but either he realized it would look silly under these circumstances or she was
imagining things.  In any case, he merely held it for a moment then
released it.
    “We’ll allow you to get back to your work.  Perhaps
next time we can both make time to talk longer.”
    “It’s certainly a possibility.”  When pigs fly.
    When he left, the blonde safely back on his arm, Douglas and
Beatrice stood where they were and watched them walk away.
    “Well, that was fun.”
    The sarcasm was lost on Douglas.
    “You certainly gave him a good look.”
    She was surprised at the bite behind the words.
 “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Nothing.”  Then, “Do you have to hang all over the
clients?”
    “Hang . . . Are you off your meds again?”
    “Oh come on.  You were flirting with him.”  Even
as he said it, he knew it was ridiculous, but that didn’t stop the words, or
the knowledge that she’d been smiling at another man, touching his arm all the while
she sent him withering glances at every opportunity.
    “Me?  Who was the one tittering with the blonde? 
It wasn’t me.”
    “Tittering?  I was trying to keep her from breaking her
idiot neck in six-inch heels.  I was trying . . .”  There was that
bite again.  “To save us from a law suit.”
    She snorted inelegantly.  “Right.  Well, as fun as
this is...”
    She took off with a huff determined to get some work done,
but when she entered the miniscule trailer to get back to her samples, he
slammed in right behind her.  With the two drawing tables, a small
kitchenette, and a ratty old couch there wasn’t much room.  Even less with
Douglas taking up all the available air.
    “Get out.”
    “We need to