The following day, driving down Union, a large advertisement in a shop window caught her attention. She pulled over, found a parking space, threw a handful of coins in the meter, and went inside the store. A clerk assisted her and within half an hour her selection was complete.
Arriving at Cash’s office building, she parked in the underground garage and rode the elevator to the lobby. She asked John, the young man at the information kiosk, if he could assist her. They rode the elevator back to the parking garage. He hauled the boxes out of the Mustang’s trunk and stacked them on a dolly. A bulging plastic bag bumped against Christie’s hip as she followed. A few minutes later, she walked into Cash’s office; John pushed the dolly behind her.
“Uh, can I help you, Christie?” the receptionist asked.
“Thank you, Paige, but John has it under control.” She nodded toward the young man. “Is Cash here?”
“No, but I expect he’ll check in before long. Did you want to leave that?”
“We’ll just take it into his office, if it’s okay with you,” Christie replied.
It was obvious that the receptionist was curious; Christie smiled to herself.
In Cash’s office John placed the larger box on the desk. “I’ll help you unwrap these and collapse the boxes and bring them downstairs.” He pulled a Swiss Army Knife from his pocket and pulled the blade open. With a swift slide along the top of the box, he slit the packing tape, then carefully removed the contents.
“Where does this go?” he asked.
“If you could put it on this shelf, I’d appreciate it.”
When John finished breaking down the boxes, he put them on the dolly and pushed it toward the door.
“I couldn’t have managed without your help, John. You’re a regular knight in shining armor.”
John’s face reddened slightly. Obviously no one had bestowed knighthood on him before.
Christie took an empty water pitcher from the desk and refilled it in Cash’s private bathroom. Twenty minutes later, the project was completed and she admired her handiwork. A gap in Cash’s huge bookcase had caught her attention a few days ago. There were so many books, and yet so much empty space. She hoped he would be pleased with her gift.
A few minutes later, Paige rapped on the door, and then opened it a crack. “Christie? Cash is on his way over from the courthouse; he asked if you would wait for him.”
The receptionist stepped closer until she was inside the room. “Ohhh,” she murmured, staring at the aquarium ensconced between a set of maroon leather–bound law books.
“It’s beautiful. What a lovely idea.” She walked up to the bookcase and peered into the tank.
“I thought he needed a stress-buster, and they say that watching aquarium fish is relaxing. I hope he likes it.” All of a sudden she was assaulted by a chink in her confidence.
“Of course he will.”
Christie sat in the big leather wing chair and waited. A couple of times she contemplated bolting. But the desire to see Cash’s reaction won out and she stayed.
She didn’t have long to wait. She could hear Paige telling Cash that Christie was indeed in his office. The timbre of his voice brought Christie’s insecurity to the forefront. She wished she could curl up in a ball and disappear. What a silly idea, giving him a fish tank. Maybe he liked the empty spot in his bookcase, perhaps he had planned it that way. Where had she gotten the crazy notion to invade his private space? He was going to be furious with her, she was convinced of that. Absolutely furious!
The door swung open and she stood to face her fate.
“Paige said you have a surprise for me.”
Leave it to his receptionist to spill the beans. “I…yes, I—” She couldn’t get the words out of her mouth. She swallowed; she was sure the gulp could be heard all the way down Market Street. How had she put herself in this predicament? How presumptuous of her!
“Is anything wrong?” He moved closer and reached for her hand. The warmth of his grip suffused her with a jolt of confidence, and she nodded toward the bookcase.
He turned, released her hand, and stared at the aquarium. He did not say a word. She wanted to run, fly from his office, and find sanctuary at her desk, or in her apartment. Right now she would even welcome cat hair on her dark pants, just to know she was in familiar quarters with Tosha affectionately clinging to her legs.
“I can’t believe this,” he said.
Christie looked at her feet, unable to bring her gaze to meet his. He hated it. Absolutely hated the aquarium. If only he realized her motive before passing judgment.
“This is fabulous.” He moved closer to the tank. “I don’t know much about tropical fish, but I recognize this one. It’s an angelfish, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She gulped. “They are so regal-looking, I thought it would add class to the tank. There are a couple of neon tetras”—she pointed—“and a pair of black mollies. I didn’t want to get too many fish, because I thought you might enjoy choosing the rest yourself.”
Cash put an arm around her and drew her close. “This is a great present, and I’m certainly not going to give you the old cliché ‘you really shouldn’t have,’ because I’m glad that you did.”
“It’s supposed to be soothing. Watching them, I mean.”
“I could use some of that.”
“You could use a lot of that,” she replied.
“Let me take you to dinner, and maybe you can come up with more ideas on how to soothe me.” He gave her a mischievous grin.
“I’d love to go to dinner, but I warn you, my relaxation techniques end with this project.”
“What a disappointment.” He pulled her firmly into the circle of his arms and brought his mouth down on hers. She felt the heat of his kiss, and she responded. He drew apart from her just long enough to say, “Umm, I think I just found the best secret weapon against stress, and I’m all for it.”
“Behave yourself, or dinner’s off.”
“I can’t promise, but I’ll try,” he teased.
“I’ll bet,” Christie retorted. “Still, dinner does sound like a pleasant idea. Where are you taking me?”
“Seafood? Steak? Chinese? Italian? What’s your choice? In food, that is.”
“A nice dish of pasta with prawns and scallops sound good to you?” she asked.
“I have just the place, but I hope the romantic atmosphere doesn’t tempt me to break my promise.”
“For good food, I’ll take a chance,” she replied.
On their way out, they said good night to Paige, who was already packing her tote bag, ready to make a quick exit. “Nice aquarium,” she remarked, with a wink toward Christie.
“Yes,” said Cash. “Quite a surprise. Miss Hamilton never fails to amaze me.”
She gave him a gentle elbow in the ribs, and he tried to contain his laughter. Christie knew that tomorrow, by midmorning, the entire staff would know about the fish tank. And she was sure that by the end of the day the story would have grown considerably.
Dinner was delightful. Afterward, they walked through Ghirardelli Square. They stopped in the chocolate shop and Cash bought them each a truffle.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t have dessert,” Christie said. “Pure chocolate, through and through, is quite a treat.”
“Especially when it is Ghirardelli chocolate,” Cash agreed.
“Probably has more calories than our entire dinner.”
“Don’t spoil the mood,” he said.
They walked outside to where a small crowd had gathered around a mime dressed like a clown. A starched red-and-white ruffled collar framed his chalk-white face. His eyebrows arched in a frozen question mark, while his mouth was painted crimson and formed a surprised oval. His white-gloved hands moved slowly until he reached into a breast pocket and removed a large white handkerchief. He shook it into a parachute-like shape and blew his nose mutely while his body heaved up and down with the effort. Rubbing his nose in a final gesture, he then extended his hand and offered the handkerchief to Christie. She stepped back quickly and raised her palms in refusal. The crowd laughed. Realizing the humor, she joined the laughter.