Page 115 of Smokey's Distraction
Honkinglines of geese flew in V-shaped wedges across the crimson sky, while the trees threw long purple shadows across the parking lot as Ashley walked toward her car. Waving goodbye to a yoga classmate, she tossed her duffel bag onto the passenger seat before slipping in behind the wheel.
As she was turning onto Spruce Street, her phone rang. Quickly glancing down at the screen, she groaned when she saw Zach’s name.
“Hi, Zach,” she said “What’s up? Another difficult client?”
He chuckled. “Not right now. Again, good job with the Wynhammer project. How did Smokey’s launch go?”
“Positive results so far, but it’s only the first day. I’ll have a good grasp on the performance in the next three.”
“Is he pleased with it?”
“I don’t know, seeing as he didn’t come in today. He’s been kind of hands-off with this whole project.”
“That’s typical. Unless you made it about motorcycles, his attention span is somewhat limited.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I agree that he’s obsessed with motorcycles—Harleys in particular—but he does have other interests. He’s very involved with charity fundraisers, he’s into nature, and, of course, he loves his work.”
“It sounds like you’ve enlisted in Smokey’s fan club. I hear all the other women who work for him are members.”
Coming to Smokey’s defense wasn’t a good move on her part. There was no way she wanted Zach to get an inkling about what had happened between them.
She forced out a laugh. “I didn’t know he had fan club. I’ve never been interested in joining anything that wasn’t work-related.”
An audible sigh of relief came across the line. “I was just kidding. I know you’re all work. Now, tell me what’s going on between you and the handymen.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “They’re both weirdos, and I’m over them. I know Smokey will come in and finish the job.”
“Mark said you were yelling at him and Gage. He said you were out of control.”
“Of course he’d say that. I’m sure he didn’t mention that he just showed up, even though I’ve asked him about a million times to make an appointment with me before coming over. For some reason, he just won’t do it, and then he gets pissed off when I tell him to leave because I won’t be home. And I bet he didn’t mention I almost ran him and Gage down. They were standing in the middle of my driveway when I was backing out of the garage. Who the hell does that?”
“Have you always had problems with repairmen?”
“Oh, please, Zach. I’ve never had any problems like this before, because I’ve dealt withnormalpeople, not a couple of looneys.”
“He’d be finished by now if you’d just give him a key to the house.”
Ashley gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I’d never give a key to my residence to anyone who wasn’t a friend or relative. And if you decide to do that, I’m moving out.”
“Whoa—hang on. Youreallyare upset about this. Okay, I’ll talk to Mark and tell him he has to go through you to set up future appointments.”
She loosened her grip on the steering wheel. “Thank you.” Just then, the beep from an incoming call drew her gaze to the screen. Her stomach fluttered.Smokey. “I have to go, Zach. I have a client calling.”
“Okay. Bye.”
She swiped up. “Hello?”
“Hi, darlin’.” His voice had a low, sexy timbre.
“Hi. How are you?”
“Fine. I had some stuff that kept me busy all day. Don’t tell me you’re still at work.”
“No, I’m heading home. I went to yoga class, and I was thinking of stopping by the market to pick up a Cobb salad.”
A low chuckle vibrated through the phone. “You’re the fuckin’ queen of takeout. I’ll pick up pizza and salad on my way over.”
“I like that plan.”
