Page 2 of Nick's Baby

"Yeah, that's it." He sighed with relief, glad she finally remembered.

"Oh . . . I'm so sorry, Mr. Leonetti."

Uh-oh, back to last names again. "No problem, I figured it had to be a screw-up."

"It was meant for a colleague of mine—" she said as he stood and began backing toward the door.

"Yeah, well, no harm done. Thanks anyway."

"Wait!" She practically jumped from her chair, knocking the rattle off the desk. She issued a soft exclamation, glanced at him, and then she stooped to pick it up. That's when he noticed she wasn't wearing shoes, Goody-Two-Shoes barefoot? He spotted the shoes beside her desk on the floor, as though she'd kicked them aside. At first it stunned him, and then it tickled him. He grinned; maybe she wasn't quite as uptight as he thought.

She slipped into her heels with a reluctant grimace. "I feel as though I owe you an explanation, and the job is still open. You did come about the job? Didn't you?"

Bare feet and baby rattles? What next? Nothing seemed to fit with this woman. He'd form an opinion of her, and she'd destroy it within seconds. Everything about her looked professional except for her bare feet and that rattle.

"Yeah, sure, but—"

"Well then the least I can do is give you an opportunity, if you're still interested."

Nick hesitated; he thought he detected a note of desperation in her voice, another unexpected twist to the lady. Now why would a lady like her be desperate? And what was she desperate for? He should be walking out about now, but something rooted him. Yeah, his brain wasn't working.

"You don't like ties, Mr. Leonetti?" she asked jerking him out of his thoughts again.

"No ma'am." he admitted taking his hand away from the offending material. "As you can see I'm not a white collar man, although I'm willing to try almost anything once."

This time her mouth quirked.

Something told him he should be out the door. Still, this might be a good opportunity and he couldn't pass it up. He had to give it a shot.

"Then please remove it."

"What'd you say?"

"I said; please remove the tie, if it's bothering you. If something bothers you, get rid of it. I remove my shoes when they bother me, which I'm sure you've already noticed. And I'm aware that it's very unprofessional but you try wearing three inch heels all day and see how you feel."

Something comfortable slipped between them—a smile.

Removing things wasn't how it was supposed to work. Remove the tie? Just like that? What next? He didn't like this. Bosses weren't supposed to say such things. Bosses weren't supposed to go bare foot, either, or have rattles on their desks.

Nick loosened the tie, and moved slowly back to the middle of the room. "About the job?"

"This isn't an ordinary job, Nick. I'm sure you've already guessed that much. And it isn't easy for me." She sank into her chair. The smile disappeared. Tension took its place. Her lips firmed into a grim line. "The first three men I interviewed ran out before we could get to the details."

Nick waited for her to continue. Wasn't easy for him to sit through this either, but he had to.

She sought eye contact when she spoke. He liked that. He could read her better that way. She looked almost vulnerable as she sat staring at him.

"I do remember you now, at the restaurant." She gasped. "You were with a large group of people. It looked like a celebration. You were sitting next to an elderly lady who only had eyes for you."

"My mother."

Another hint of a smile lit Kelsey's eyes, softening her expression. "A very beautiful woman."

"Yeah."

Just then she could have grown two heads and turned purple and Nick still would have liked her. No one, absolutely no one had said that about his mother before, and it touched him deeply.

Rosa Leonetti had worked hard all her life as a laundress in a dry cleaners. She'd never enjoyed the finer luxuries of life. Her hands wore raw calluses from working with hot water and chemicals all day. Her hair always in a frumpy bun on top of her head, frizzed from the humidity. She was a fine woman, a good woman, but no one, had ever called her beautiful except her children—and this woman.

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