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The genuine concern in his eyes stopped her short. The simple courtesy of that word made it nearly impossible to say no.
“I’d like to,” she hedged. “But I need to get down to Sanderson again.”
“You got an interview?”
“No, but—”
He shook his head. “Do they have your name and number?”
“Yes, but it still won’t hurt—”
“Believe me, they haven’t hired for a long time. I would have heard.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “There’s nothing you can’t find out at Bill’s, and hiring down at the plant would be headline news.”
And walking into Bill’s on Nathan’s arm would likely add her to the daily news, too. The possibility gave her the willpower to decline an invitation she wished she could accept.
“I’m sorry,” she said firmly. “But maybe you’ll give me a rain check.”
She spun on her heel and strode out of the post office to her SUV, unlocked the door, and climbed in without looking back. She could feel Nathan’s curious gaze, though, even after she’d started down Main.
Not that she imagined he was interested in her. She was simply someone from outside this small town who might be interesting to talk to for a while.
Maybe the shock of being refused would do him good.
After stopping by her apartment to give Harold a quick walk, she drove down to Sanderson. Good timing, probably. The noon whistle would blow in just fifteen minutes, and with luck, Jane Webster would be happy to have some company.
The secretary had already opened her bag of lunch at her desk when Sara walked in. “Hey, Jane—guess you aren’t in the mood to go out for lunch?”
Startled, Jane looked up from unwrapping a sandwich. A broad smile lit her face. “Sara! Good to see you again.” Her smile dimmed. “I’m real sorry. I haven’t been able to call you about any jobs, but nothing has come up, honest.”
“That’s not your fault. I just came by to see you, though. Can you leave?”
“I sure wish I could.” She tipped her head toward the desk phone. “I have to stick around to answer it because Mr. Flynn’s secretary has gone. Otherwise, I could.”
“There’s no one else? Maybe in accounting?”
“Nope. This week it’s supposed to be either Marcy or me.” She held up a good-sized lunch sack and gave Sara a guilty smile. “I overdid my lunch today, though. Want to join me here?”
Even better. “Sounds great.” Sara pulled a chair up to the front of the desk and accepted a sandwich and a bag of chips. “Sure you have enough?”
Jane rose and patted her ample hips. “You’re doing me a favor. Coffee?”
A quick glance around the room didn’t reveal a coffee pot. “I’d love one, if you don’t mind.”
When Jane left the office, Sara listened to her footsteps heading down the hall and then eased out of her chair and surveyed the room. A bank of file drawers filled one wall. An external drive backup unit sat next to the computer monitor on Jane’s desk.
She leaned forward and reached for the external drive, which would likely contain more information than she could ever hope to gather in one fell swoop.
“Can I help you?”
The cold male voice cut through the silence like a scalpel and nearly stopped her heart.
She grabbed an apple from the open lunch sack on the desk and turned around slowly, holding it out for the man to see. “I’m an old friend of Jane’s. We’re eating lunch together and catching up on old times. And you are...?”
He was slender with short silver-gray hair, an expensively cut suit, and an air of command. Behind the designer wire-rims, his eyes were hard and suspicious. “Where’s Jane?”
Jane’s footsteps came down the hall, and she appeared in the doorway a moment later, a look of confusion and worry on her plump face. “Oh, dear. I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Flynn. My friend just stopped by, and I thought we could have lunch together. I’m still watching the phones. I...I haven’t done this before.”
“You and I will talk later, Ms. Webster.”
