Not Strictly Business!: Prodigal Son / The Boss and Miss Baxter / The Baby Deal

He consciously had to keep from offering to be her guide. He generally spent Saturday mornings with Charlie in the park, but a walking tour would give his dog plenty of exercise. They could—

No, he told himself. Samantha had made her position incredibly clear. He wasn’t going to push anymore.

“You can go online,” he said. “There’s lots of information about the city there. Points of interest, planned walks, that sort of thing.”

“Thanks,” she said, sounding a little puzzled. “I’ll do that. But if you’re not busy we could—”

Mrs. Wycliff knocked on the open door. “Mr. Hanson, you have a call from Mr. Baynes.”

He rose. “I need to take that,” he told her, aware she’d been about to suggest something for the weekend. While he wanted to accept and spend more time with her, he knew it would be a mistake. He’d spent too much time wanting what he couldn’t have where Samantha was concerned. He needed to move on.

Saturday, Samantha dressed for the cool, clear weather, then collected what she would need for a morning spent exploring. As she stepped out of her condo, she thought about going up to Jack’s place and asking him to join her. Except she had a feeling he would say no.

Not that she could blame him. She’d been so careful to shut him down time and time again, shouldn’t she be happy that he finally got the message? It was better for both of them if they were simply work colleagues.

She walked to the elevator and hit the down button. It was better, she told herself. Sure Jack was a great guy, but he was also the type of man to push all of her buttons and not in a good way. As much as she liked him, she was also wary of him. He was too much like her father and Vance. Too much in charge. She’d been fooled already—she wasn’t willing to go there again.

Not that she was even looking for a serious relationship, she reminded herself. The best thing would be to find rebound guy and make that work. If only Jack weren’t so sexy and smart and fun to be with.

She stepped out into the crisp morning and drew in a deep breath. Enough, she thought. For the rest of the day, she refused to think about Jack. She would simply enjoy herself and—

Something bumped into the back of her legs. She turned and saw Charlie. The border collie gave her a doggy grin, then barked. Jack smiled.

“Morning,” he said, looking delicious in worn jeans and a sweatshirt.

“Hi.”

“Out to see the sights?”

She tugged on the strap of her purse/backpack. “I have everything I need right here. Maps, water, money for a cab in case I get lost.”

“You picked a good day. It won’t get too hot.”

Was it just her, or had things taken a turn for the awkward? “So you and Charlie are headed for the park?”

He nodded. “Every Saturday, regardless of the weather.”

She rubbed the dog’s ears. The smart choice was simply to walk away. But she was lonely, she liked Jack and she wanted them to be friends.

“Can a non-dog owner come along?” she asked.

He hesitated, but before she could retract the question, he smiled. “Sure. When I get tired of throwing Charlie the Frisbee, you can take over.”

“I’d like that.” She fell into step beside him. “So how did you get Charlie? Did you grow up with dogs in the house?”

“No. I wasn’t actually looking for a pet. Then a buddy from my law firm invited me over for dinner. I learned later it was with an ulterior motive. His dog had six-week-old puppies he was looking to sell to unsuspecting friends. Charlie and I bonded over a game of tag.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t have thought a hotshot-attorney type could be influenced so easily.”

“Don’t tell anyone. He moved in a couple of weeks later and I quickly found out that puppies are a ton of work. For a year he chewed everything he could get his teeth on. Then I took him to obedience training and now we understand each other better.”

They stopped at the red light on the corner. Charlie waited patiently until the light changed, then led them along the crosswalk.

“Have you been reading the papers?” Jack asked.

She had a feeling he didn’t mean the fashion reports. “I’ve noticed there was some local coverage on Hanson Media Group, but I could only find a couple of articles in the national papers. You’re right—there wasn’t all that much press.”

“Sometimes it’s good to be small, relatively speaking. Now if we were one of the networks, it would be a different story.”

“I’m surprised no one ever made any offer to buy the company out,” she said. “So much of entertainment is now controlled by conglomerates.”

“For all I know my father’s been fighting off offers for years. He wouldn’t sell and risk losing his name on the letterhead.”

He sounded bitter as he spoke. “You don’t agree?” she asked.

“It’s not my thing. I don’t need to be the center of the universe, at least as my father defined it.”

They’d reached the park.

“The dog zone is on the other side,” he said. “Hope you don’t mind the hike.”

“Exercise is my friend,” she said with a grin. “At least that’s what I tell myself.”

“There’s a gym in the building.”

“They showed it to me on my tour. Very impressive.” There had been several treadmills and ellipticals, along with weight machines and three sets of free weights.

“I work out every morning,” Jack said. “It’s pretty quiet at five.”

“In the morning?” She shuddered. “That’s because more normal people are sleeping. I can’t believe you get up that early.”

“I’m lucky. I don’t need a lot of sleep.”

“Apparently not. Most of the year, it’s dark at that time.”

“They have lights in the gym.”

They’d need more than that to get her there. Coffee, for starters. And bagels.

“I’m not really into the whole sweat thing,” Samantha told him. “I’ve been lucky. I don’t seem to gain weight.”

It sort of went with what was kindly referred to as a boyish figure. She decided it was a trade-off. Sure she didn’t have anything to fill out her bras and padding was required to hint at anything resembling cleavage, but she’d never counted calories or given up carbs. She could eat what she wanted and still have the world’s boniest butt.

“Exercise isn’t just about weight loss. It keeps you healthy.”

“So does getting enough sleep. Besides, I’m a big walker. I can go for miles.” As long as there was plenty of food along the way. One of the things she missed about New York. All the street vendors and little delis where a pretzel or ice-cream craving could be instantly satisfied.

They walked through a grove of trees and came out in a huge open area. There were already a half-dozen dog owners and their pets running around. Jack found a spot in the sun and set down his backpack.