Ringing in Love Read online

  “Please. Sit. I’m being rude.” She returned to her desk chair. “It’s been a pretty smooth transition. It’s a great building. The location is perfect and the layout very creative. Did you have a hand in designing it?”

  “Can’t take credit for it, but it is what attracted me to the space. The original developer had gone bankrupt, and it was being sold at a good price when I was looking for new offices. My staff was working in such close quarters, I was beginning to think I’d have to insist they marry each other.”

  “We were almost there, too, although on a much smaller scale.”

  “You’ve come a long way in a short time, haven’t you? I’ve admired your work and how fast you’ve become such an influence in the business.” His killer smile was back, which almost distracted her enough that she missed the compliment he’d paid her.

  “It feels like a long time and a short way, but thanks. I’m flattered.”

  “Not flattery. Just the truth.” He rose from the chair and extended his hand. “I won’t keep you any longer. I only wanted to make sure everything was as promised. I know you’ve met the building manager—if you have any problems at all, let him know.”

  When she took his hand, a pulse of electricity went up her arm, startling her enough she had to swallow a gasp. It warmed her all the way to the base of her neck and down her chest. He clasped her hand with both of his, his eyes holding hers in a look so warm she wanted to turn up the air conditioning. She also wanted to keep the conversation going so she didn’t lose the connection with him.

  “Uh … yes … the building manager.” She swallowed hard. “He’s been great. About getting movers in and out, I mean, stuff like that.” Stuff like that? Where was her skill with words when she really needed it?

  Dominic didn’t say anything right away, seeming to be as reluctant as she was to break the contact between them. Finally he released her hand. “I’m glad he was helpful.” He moved toward the door. “But let me know if you have a problem he can’t solve. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around the building.” And he was gone.

  Catherine sank back into her chair feeling like all the life had left the room, along with most of the air in her lungs.

  Chapter 2

  Catherine certainly did see Dominic around the building, almost every day. If he wasn’t at the coffee stand where she went first thing for her caffeine fix, he was strolling in the front door as she waited for the elevator. They rode together to their respective floors most mornings. She’d get off at the tenth floor with the faint smell of his body wash or aftershave or cologne or whatever it was in her nose. It was an extremely pleasant if sometimes distracting way to start the morning.

  He always seemed happy to see her, chatting, making her laugh with some gossip from the building or their industry. Over the weeks, they exchanged bits of personal information. They had a mutual passion for the Sixers, a mistrust of the new coach of the Eagles, and an interest in art. She talked about her son. He passed on stories about local politicians, many of whom he’d done election campaign work for. It was amazing what one could learn in the time it took to walk across the lobby of a building, wait for an elevator, and travel ten floors. For all his reputation as a high-profile player, he never came on too strong, never pushed to make their conversation anything other than casual. Although he made a couple joking references to having lunch someday, he wasn’t serious, she was sure.

  She started to think of their morning chats as the beginning of a lobby-and-elevator relationship. She’d never had anything like it before. It was fun, but more importantly, it seemed simple and safe.

  And if there was anything Catherine Alessandro Bennett needed at this point in her life, it was something that was both. Between her rapidly growing business and her equally fast growing teenaged son, she had enough complications and risk in her life. More, in fact, than at any other time in her thirty-eight years.

  Though she’d been a stay-at-home mom after Noah was born, when he’d entered kindergarten she’d been eager to return to work at the PR firm where she’d been an account exec. Andy, her then-husband, had said he wanted her to continue focusing on their child. After a tough negotiation, he’d grudgingly given in to the idea of her taking on a few clients as a freelancer. Developing public relations and advertising campaigns for a client or two would not only help her keep up with the world she’d left when she’d become a mother, but also give her a creative outlet for her talents.

  It was all that and more. The freelance jobs she picked up from her old company increased with every month. Then she started attracting clients on her own. She had to hire an assistant—which was how she met Melody Mason—to keep it all going. Then a second creative type. And another.

  Her business model changed as she became interested in, and acquired a reputation for skill at, developing effective marketing and community engagement campaigns for socially responsible companies. She was subcontracting more and more with freelancers she wished she could hire full time. But she didn’t have a place for them to work. Proper office space was obviously what she needed.

  The month she moved her business out of the basement was the same month her husband left her. While she was juggling home, child, and business (effectively, she thought), he was even more effectively juggling home, job, and mistress. The affair had been going for several years. They’d been so careful hiding it, no one, including Catherine, had suspected.

  It took over eighteen months to negotiate the divorce. Noah was ten by the time it was final, and he was not happy to have his father gone. It showed in his behavior—he acted out at school, let his grades drop, refused to take seriously the detentions he earned. The only thing he did well and regularly was play soccer.

  Which left Catherine overseeing the growth of a business, now the main source of income for her and her son, as well as helping Noah come to terms with the divorce. It took a while, but by the time they celebrated his thirteenth birthday, he seemed to have settled into their new life. His grades improved. She stopped getting phone calls about the classes he’d cut.

  Now, after what felt like a long time and a lot of work, all parts of her life seemed to have fallen into place. Well, two parts of her life. The third part, a personal life, didn’t really exist. Catherine went from home to office and back again in a pattern that hadn’t varied in years. Her extracurricular activities were family events with her mom and sisters.

  Not that she’d been looking for any sort of serious relationship. She wasn’t sure when she’d be ready to trust a man to get that close to her again. But she was beginning to think some male company might be nice. Maybe it was time to take her personal life off the back burner. A pleasant, safe, lobby-and-elevator relationship with the sexiest man in Philly seemed like the perfect way to practice her rusty skills. The ones she’d been using so infrequently she thought he smelled of gingerbread instead of something a little less domestic and a bit more dangerous.

  • • •

  Thanks to a long and complicated history with women which included a brief marriage in his twenties as well as a relationship in his thirties that had turned out almost as badly, Dominic Russo was a cautious man, but his patience was beginning to wear thin. He couldn’t remember when he’d worked as hard to get a response from a woman as he had to get one from Catherine Bennett. Usually, when he showed interest in a woman, she responded in some manner, even if it was to turn him down. Catherine hadn’t. She was friendly enough in the elevator, but she didn’t react as he expected. She either didn’t get the hints he dropped about having lunch with him or she chose to disregard them, although that seemed unlikely. Not that he was vain. Well, that vain. He was experienced, however, and knew what it was like to be brushed off. There had been no cold response or quick turndown from Catherine. Hell, the problem was she’d had no reaction at all to his attempts to move their conversation out of the elevator to a table for two in a nice restaurant someplace.

  He knew she was seven years younger than
he was, but he doubted age was a problem. He didn’t think she knew his. He only knew hers because of the paperwork and background check he did on all prospective tenants. He also knew her credit history, where she lived, how old her son was, and what her income had been last year. There were distinct advantages to owning the building and having people work for you who knew how to do a thorough background check.

  Among the things he didn’t know, however, was whether she had a man in her life other than a son and an ex-husband. Boyfriends didn’t show up in the kind of search his management company conducted for a lease agreement.

  He’d checked out social media, but that hadn’t helped either. The only Facebook page and website he could find connected to her were company pages. So, although he’d never seen her enter or leave the building with anyone but a young boy he assumed was her son, it was possible she had a boyfriend. But if she did, why hadn’t she told him when he’d hinted at lunch?

  Of course, it was also possible, God help him, he was losing his touch with women. He shuddered at the thought. But he had to face the fact he wasn’t a kid anymore. He was forty-five, not thirty. No, he refused to go there. It had to be something else.

  With enough time, he’d always been able to charm anyone. It was one of the reasons for his success both with women and in business. He was sure all he had to do was figure out a way to get her in a longer conversation, and he’d be able to persuade her to have lunch. Maybe even dinner.

  The most likely place for a conversation was the coffee bar in the building lobby. He knew she went there every morning when she came to work. Occasionally she was there in the afternoon, too. He’d seen her a couple of times when he’d been coming in or going out of the building. All he had to do was figure out when she’d be there in the afternoon, when she’d be more likely to sit and talk, and “accidently” run into her the same way he “accidently” ran into her most mornings in the lobby.

  • • •

  “Here,” Melody said as she handed Catherine a brightly colored envelope. “A bunch of cards for free lattes came from the coffee place downstairs. Nice way to end the week.”

  “Thanks.” Catherine took the envelope and started to put it in her desk drawer. “I’ll use it next week.”

  “Don’t put it away. You have to use it today. Between three and four.”

  “How weird. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

  “It’s probably some promo for new tenants. And they want us to use the ‘get out of paying’ card when they’re not too busy. Then if we like their stuff, we’ll come back.”

  “Why would they have to worry about us buying our coffee there? It’s five blocks to the next nearest place. Who’d go out in this heat when we can stay in air-conditioned comfort and still get our caffeine fix?”

  “Well, then, maybe it’s a welcome to the building. Whatever it is, a free latte is a free latte. I was hoping you’d go get one for me as well as for yourself. The ISP guy will be here soon to sort out the glitches in the router system they installed.”

  “Yeah, we need to get it fixed. It’s so unreliable right now it’s a pain in the neck. I’m ready to go back to our old provider if they can’t make it right.”

  “Exactly what I told him. So, bring me back a decaf.”

  • • •

  There she was. His deal with the coffee bar owner had worked. Dominic closed his laptop and watched, unobserved, as Catherine made her way from the elevator with two other people from her office to where the barista waited to take their orders. Today, instead of one of her business suits, she was wearing black pants and a cream-colored shirt. A heavy gold chain and gold hoop earrings were the only accessories she wore. Simple, good taste, nothing overdone. Dominic liked simple, good taste.

  He also liked the black heels she wore, which must add three, maybe four, inches to her height. No, not liked. Loved. Shoes like that probably hurt like hell to wear, but they sure made some interesting changes to a woman’s body and to the way she walked. On Catherine Bennett they looked marvelous, emphasizing a very nice butt and what he knew, from the days she wore skirts, were shapely calves on legs that were long even without the extra inches from her stilettos.

  Allowing her colleagues to go first, she finally got to order lattes with two of the cards he’d paid for. The barista looked over Catherine’s shoulder at him, and Dominic nodded. Something in the interchange must have caught her attention because she turned and, when she recognized him, acknowledged him with a smile. He waved her over to where he was sitting.

  “Did you get one of these mysterious free latte cards, too?” she asked as she approached the table.

  “No, I didn’t. You must have hit the coffee jackpot today.”

  “Maybe it’s some sort of deal for new tenants. Although if it was, you’d know about it, wouldn’t you?”

  “Not necessarily.” He indicated the chair across the table from him. “Do you have time to join me while I finish my coffee?”

  She hesitated for a moment, but when she glanced over at the two people she’d arrived with, they were waving goodbye as they left. “Okay. Sure. I guess I have a few minutes until my lattes are ready.”

  “So, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asked. “Oh, wait, you already told me. You’re here for the free coffee. So maybe the line should be, ‘do you come here often?’”

  “Do those lines still work? They’re awfully old—or at the very least well used.” She was smiling, but the sting was still there.

  “Ouch. A not-so-subtle reminder either of my impending old age or the rut my creativity is in. Guess I need to up my game to talk to you.”

  “Sorry, just trying to be funny. But apparently being insulting instead. No offense meant.”

  “None taken, then.” He sipped at his coffee. “Let me try something else. The other day you mentioned having problems with your Internet provider. Have you gotten them taken care of?”

  “Not really. I hope when I get back upstairs the service guy will be there to get it fixed.”

  “Want some help? The provider you mentioned does a lot of business in this building, and I could probably get their attention pretty quickly.”

  “If this doesn’t get it taken care of, I may accept your offer. It’s been the only glitch in our move. I guess I should be happy things have gone so smoothly, but this one rather important detail is making me crazy. And it’s screwing up my weekend. I’d hoped to get out early today, but with this still unresolved, I want to hang around until I’m sure it’s straightened out.”

  Trying to sound casual, even though he was intensely interested, he took the chance to find out if she had a boyfriend. “Hot date?”

  She snorted. “Hardly. Family obligation. A sister’s birthday.”

  “Your family live in the city?” He hoped the relief he felt wasn’t evident in his voice.

  “Sisters live in the suburbs but my mom still lives in South Philly, in the middle of the old Italian neighborhood where I grew up.”

  “Right. I keep forgetting you’re Italian. Bennett sounds so WASP-y.”

  “How do you know I’m Italian?” She frowned.

  “I assumed Alessandro—your middle name—is your birth name or a family name of some sort, and it sounds pretty Italian. Don’t forget, I’m your landlord. I know quite a bit about you.”

  “I’m not sure whether to be creeped out, complimented, or impressed.”

  “Let’s go with complimented and impressed. I like the sound of it better than creeped out.” He finished his coffee and crushed the paper cup. “Are you complimented enough to have lunch with me sometime next week so we can continue this conversation?”

  “That’s kind of you, but I don’t really go out socially, and besides, you’re not only my landlord but my competition.”

  “If I promised it wouldn’t be about your lease, could I change your mind?”

  She stood and picked up the coffee the barista had delivered to her. “Sti
ll not a good idea. But thank you. I’m flattered.” Without saying anything further, she headed to the elevator.

  • • •

  Catherine was relieved when Dominic didn’t immediately follow her. Being in the closed space of an elevator car with him after turning down his invitation for lunch would have been uncomfortable to say the least. Especially since it must have been obvious she hadn’t even given his suggestion a second thought.

  She’d discounted the oblique references he’d made about having lunch, thinking he was joking. But now it seemed she should have paid closer attention. He’d really asked her out. Or maybe not out. Maybe lunch in the deli next to the coffee shop. But to lunch, at least.

  Part of her was pleased he’d asked. It had been a long time since she’d been the object of a man’s attention for anything other than business. And she’d caught the attention of someone who was more than a run-of-the-mill guy. Dominic Russo was so far out of her league she couldn’t see even the Class A division of his league from where she stood.

  Part of her was puzzled. Why would Mister Sex on Legs be interested in her? If they’d been bicycles, he’d be a titanium racing bike and she would be an old Schwinn, the kind with training wheels, not exactly his usual speed.

  But most of her reaction was determination never to put herself in the position of being hurt like she’d been by the disastrous end of her marriage. Surely, given who he was, Dominic would tire of her even more quickly than her ex-husband had and leave. She was not about to set herself up for that again.

  Wait. He was also in the same industry. Maybe he wanted to talk about a business opportunity for her firm. Oh, shit. She’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. Of course it wasn’t personal. He wouldn’t be interested in her. Suppose she’d just been stupid enough to turn down a chance to work with The Russo Group. Pissing off the man who was both her landlord and the founder of the biggest communications firm in the city was not a good business decision. Working with them could be the making of her company.