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Jordan followed her onto the deck and Nicole forced herself to breathe normally. Once the PostModern articles were finished, her contact with him would be limited. She doubted he’d come to the agency very often, even with his sister working there. They might cross paths while running, but not much more.
If she had to, she’d put a reminder on the bathroom mirror that Jordan was merely a temporary part of her life.
* * *
JORDAN FELT AS if the evening would never end, even though Terri had relaxed and was joining more normally in the conversation, which had shifted to organic food. It wasn’t a debate since everyone seemed to agree that it might be a good idea.
Nicole leaned back in her chair while she drank from her glass of soda water. She wore a black T-shirt with close-fitting black jeans. Her famous “spun-gold” hair was fastened into a ponytail. There was nothing supermodel-ish about her, although even such casual clothing was clearly from the high end of the fashion world. Or was it the way she wore the clothes that made them seem that way?
The late Northwest evening stretched daylight past eight before it began fading.
Barton glanced at his watch. “Guess I’d better get going. Nicole, thank you for a great evening.”
“My pleasure. I’m glad you could come.”
Chelsea stood also. “It’s been terrific. Can I help clean up?”
“Nope, everything is in good shape. Besides, doesn’t Terri’s plane leave early tomorrow?”
That gave Jordan the excuse he needed to get out of there. “Yes,” he agreed, “I need to have her to the airport by seven.”
“I’m taking her,” Chelsea said.
“I…” He paused, suddenly remembering Nicole’s assertion about not treating Chelsea as a child who couldn’t handle her own life. His sister had made a huge independent step, and he probably wasn’t helping by rushing in to take care of things. “That’s great, but I’d like to see her off, too. May I tag along, and then we could all get breakfast at the airport?”
“That sounds nice.”
“Sure,” Terri said. She was staying with Chelsea for the night and suggested they pick him up in the morning.
A few minutes later he was in his car and Nicole was waving a courteous farewell to all her guests before disappearing inside. He wondered if she was breathing the same sigh of relief as he was.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NICOLE ARRIVED AT the agency by 6:00 a.m. on Monday. With the time required to work with Jordan for the PostModern article, she needed extra hours in the office. There wouldn’t be any backup this week, though Rachel was flying in the next weekend for a five-day stint. Having her partners there a portion of the time helped her while giving them more of a feel for the way things were developing.
Fierce concentration should get her through a respectable section of the paperwork that always waited for her. Fortunately, the financial side of the business was in the hands of an expert accounting firm that Kevin McClaskey had used for years. They handled income and payments so all she had to do was review it.
By ten thirty Nicole had finished the previous week’s financial review, set up several photo shoots and go-sees, earmarked three files for interviews as prospective clients, and even scribbled a few thoughts for the blog article Adam had asked her to consider.
Jordan was coming in at eleven and she decided to take a break and run next door for coffee, stopping on the way to see if Chelsea wanted some, too.
“That’s nice, but they filled a thermos for me this morning,” Chelsea told her.
Nicole laughed. “The original plan was to have a pot always going in the lounge area in the back, but the coffee at the Crystal Connection is so good, I usually don’t bother.”
“I could make coffee if you want me to.”
Chelsea’s eagerness to help was sweet, but Nicole didn’t want to take advantage. At any rate, the office manager job was already loaded with gofer duties. “Not right now, but I might take you up on that offer when there’s a lot of activity and we don’t have time to go out for it.”
“Whenever you want.”
The property that Nicole and her partners had bought from Kevin McClaskey was a large converted industrial building. Some of the shop spaces rented out to other businesses were accessed through an attractive atrium, although the Crystal Connection and Moonlight Ventures fronted on the parking lot.
