Tidewater Lover Read Online Free

losing your grip, gal," she mocked herself as she picked up the dirtied glass. "These early-morning hours must be affecting your memory. You obviously didn't wash the glass as you thought you had."
    Quickly wiping the cup, glass and spoon, she put them in their proper places in the cupboards. A glance at her watch told her she was running behind schedule. She quickly gathered her purse from the bedroom and sped down the stairs to the garage and her car.
    The morning traffic through Norfolk was as heavy as she had thought it would be at that hour. And the congestion at the tunnel under the ship channel to Hampton Road and Newport News lost her a lot of time. She arrived at the office twenty minutes late and spent all morning trying to make up for the lost time.
    Coming back from her lunch break at a crowded café, which was hardly guaranteed to aid the digestion nor calm the nerves, Lacey stopped by the receptionist. One look at Jane's flustered and anxious expression told her that office gossip was not on the girl's mind.
    "That Mr. Whitfield is calling again, Lacey. And he's very upset," Jane burst out. "I told him to call back at one-thirty. I thought Mr. Bowman would be back in his office by then, but he just called to say he was tied up at another job site. Mr. Whitfield is going to be furious when he finds out Mr. Bowman isn't here."
    Lacey's first impulse was to say "Tough!" But she had felt the steel edge of Mr. Whitfield's tongue before and knew why Jane dreaded his call. Using a smile to hide her gritted teeth, she said, "Put the call from Mr. Whitfield through to me. I'll explain."
    She was barely seated behind her desk, her bag stowed in one of the lower drawers, when the interoffice line buzzed. It was Jane, relaying the message that Mr. Whitfield was holding on line two. Lacey murmured a wry thanks at the message.
    "Don't lose your temper," she cautioned herself with a personal pep talk. "Stay calm and pleasant regardless of what he says. Don't do anything that would make matters worse for Mike."
    The advice was excellent, she knew, but just before she took the call she stuck her tongue out at the blinking light. It was a true expression of her feelings at the moment, combined with relief that tomorrow she would be away from Mr. Whitfield and the office for two glorious weeks.
    "Mr. Bowman's office." When she spoke there was enough honey in her voice to fill a hive.
    "Put me through to Bowman." Impatience crackled in the male voice.
    "I'm sorry, but Mr. Bowman isn't in. I don't expect him until later this afternoon. May I help you?" Lacey kept the saccharine quality in her words and waited for the explosion. It came.
    "I was told—" he began with cold anger.
    "Yes, I know what you were told, Mr. Whitfield," she interrupted sweetly. "He was expected back at one-thirty, but he was unavoidably detained at one of the job sites."
    "So you're claiming that he's not there?" came the taunt.
    "I am not claiming it. I am stating it." It was a delight to hear the smiling confidence in her own voice.
    "I don't know at which job site Bowman is, but I can assure you, Miss—"
    "—Andrews," Lacey supplied.
    "—Miss Andrews, that it isn't mine. Yesterday Bowman promised me a full complement of trades. I've been to the job site, Miss Andrews—" his rich voice was ominously low and freezing in its anger "—and a skeleton could rattle through the building and not find anyone to scare. You tell Bowman when he gets back to his office that I expect to hear from him—immediately!"
    If, as Jane had indicated, there were problems on one of the other job sites, Mike would not be in any mood to contact Mr. Whitfield when he returned. Taking a deep breath, Lacey plunged into her mission of mercy. It was the least she could do after Mike had given her Saturday morning off.
    "I'm familiar with your project, Mr. Whitfield," she volunteered, "and the circumstances that have interfered with its completion. Perhaps I could explain."
    "You?"