Third Time's a Charm Read Online Free PDF Page A

car, interrupted her thoughts. It took her a second to recognize her cell phone’s ringtone. With a one-handed grip on the steering wheel, she fished in her handbag for the phone, then raised the windows so she could hear.
    “Hello?”
    “Kate Bowman here.”
    Tori straightened in the seat. Her boss. The woman was one of the smartest executives in the advertising business, and Tori was lucky to have the opportunity to learn from her. Everybody said so.
    She forced herself to reply with an even tone. “Hello, Kate.”
    No sense asking how she was, or if she was having a nice Saturday. Kate did not believe in chitchat.
    “What time will you be in the office tomorrow?” Though posed as a question, Kate’s voice held a touch of command.
    “Um . . .” Tori glanced at her briefcase in the passenger seat. The correct answer was I’m not , but Kate wouldn’t appreciate hearing that one. “I’ve got the data for the Harmon traffic ana—”
    “Tomorrow.” Her bark cut through the cell phone. “What time?”
    Being interrupted before she could finish a sentence drove Tori nuts. She drew in a calming breath. “Tomorrow’s Sunday, Kate. I wasn’t going to—”
    “I know what day it is. Don’t you usually come in on Sunday?”
    “Sometimes. I was planning to work at home tomorrow, though.”
    “Change your plans. I’m flying to Chicago Monday morning for that conference, and I need to meet with you before I go.”
    No fair! Couldn’t she at least have one day without meetings? Sunday was the only day of the week when her schedule was her own, and she could actually get some work done without being ruled by the departmental meeting schedule. Not to mention the plans she’d just made with her family. What if she said no? Could they fire her for refusing to come into the office on Sunday?
    Kate’s voice snapped with impatience. “I just spoke with Mitch, and he’ll be here at ten.”
    Tori’s spine stiffened. She was pretty sure Kate wouldn’t fire her if she refused, but there were other ways to make her life miserable. One of them was letting Mitch Jackson in on a project with one of the firm’s prestigious accounts. No way in the world would Tori let Mitch attend a Sunday meeting without her.
    She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I can be there by ten.”
    “Good. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.”
    The line went dead. Kate didn’t believe in saying goodbye. Tori slid the cover down and slipped her phone back into her bag. So much for church in the morning. But being with her family tomorrow afternoon in her family home was the most important thing anyway. Sunday dinner would be served at one o’clock, as always. If Kate’s meeting ended by noon, she could make it to Danville with twenty minutes to spare.
    Ryan would be disappointed when she didn’t show up for Sunday school. Actually, she was a bit disappointed herself. He was a nice guy. His quiet demeanor had a calming influence on her while Allie was glaring and Joan was beaming up at Ken. She enjoyed watching him become flustered when she flirted. Nothing could ever happen between them—they were way too different—but she’d looked forward to seeing him in the morning, maybe even sitting beside him in church.
    Oh, well. There was always next week.
    The truck in front of her slowed as they approached the first major intersection in the city of Lexington. Tori raised the signal lever to indicate a right turn, toward her apartment. The evening stretched long and dull before her. That analysis for the Harmon account would be time-consuming, but it held little challenge for her. She’d done dozens just like it since she took the job as a marketing research analyst for this firm. A soft sigh escaped her lips. It wasn’t fair. This was so not what she’d envisioned when she walked into Connolly and Farrin with the ink still wet on her marketing degree.
    At least she had a job in her field, even if it was doing dull analyses