Love With No Boundaries

By Carol Taylor

Something mysterious is happening at McLean Engineering. In trying to solve the mystery, two strangers find love. But love proves to be a much more difficult puzzle to solve than the company's shady goings on. A dark past and uncertain future causes their relationship to hit an impasse. Even with brilliant strategizing, it is hard to see how these two lovers can ever overcome their pasts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol Taylor
• Release date: Dec 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465824745

Carol Taylor

Carol Taylor is a bestselling author who has written nine books. A former Random House book editor, she lives in New York.

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Love With No Boundaries

by

Carol Taylor

Published by Carol Taylor at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Carol Taylor

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Love With No Boundaries

Chapter One

Was it right to keep the truth from her? Didn’t she have a right to know now that…? Brad tried to stop himself from finishing the thought and shuddered involuntarily as his mind completed it anyway. He raked a hand through his wavy brown hair as if to soothe the agony of severe regrets and indecision. Beside him Selena was laughing and talking in a state of near euphoria, unaware that the dreadful secret he’d so vigilantly concealed would shatter her world.

He thought about all the carefully prepared speeches he’d primed himself with. They seemed about as useful now as pitting a kitten against a pit bull. With her angelic charm and beauty slowly chipping away at his resolve to be aloof, and the agony of indecision about revealing his secret, he was having great difficulty following her conversation. He shook his head in consternation and took another sip of wine. But the impasse remained and, beginning to put him into a state of despair, made him wonder—not for the first time—if he even should have come.

That line of useless thinking only served to cause him more pain, forcing to the surface the one depressingly irrational thought that had plagued him so very many times before: Surely it would have been better if they’d never even met!

But it was too late to change the past...

All of the guys had been ecstatic about the new receptionist at McLean Engineering except for Brad who had kept his admiration in check. Serena was twenty-four, trim, blond, and beautiful, and obviously not personally acquainted with the wallflower benches. Large, clear blue eyes gave her an innocent appearance and her golden blond hair tumbling over her shoulders like a waterfall of silk could be perceived as either angels’ hair or a dangerous snare, depending on a man’s outlook. Though her figure was not overly endowed in any particular area, there was a symmetry and grace that was not easily ignored. Still, Brad refused to allow himself to be impressed.

When the introductions had been made, Brad had quickly ‘discerned’ that Serena was a little too friendly and flirtatious for his liking. He had been able to assure himself from the beginning that she was not his kind of girl. He was quiet and serious and liked similar girls; girls who were a little shy and rather reserved; girls who would speak softly and needed a strong arm to lean on. Not someone like the vivacious and rather outspoken Serena!

Not that he had the ‘bother’ of her trying to further their acquaintance in any near future, for it was obvious after the first hello that Serena had not formed a very favorable first impression of him either! There were plenty of more gregarious men around to ensure the continuance of their mutual disinterest long after that first brief encounter.

Brad had eventually heard the scuttlebutt in the conference room when two or three guys made wagers about who would score first with her. It unfairly made him disrespect her. He didn’t care for ‘fast’ women and never had. ‘Dime a dozen’ he always said to himself. If he were looking—which he told himself he was not—he would want someone more serious about life and love; someone more like himself. ‘Pretty’ was nice but not enough to tempt him—he prided himself on that. And though he had to eventually admit that the way Serena handled herself commanded some respect, still, he was certain she wasn't at all what he was looking for—if he were looking, which, of course, he wasn’t.

What he also ‘wasn’t doing’, was admitting that he was watching her more closely than his studied disinterest really should have allowed. He could have told you that she would not tolerate bad behavior and you’d get a flea in your ear if you told her an off-color story, and, though friendly, she insisted on being treated like a lady. He'd overheard little snatches of conversation from time to time and had secretly admired the way Serena kept her dignity.

He’d been in the foyer going through his mail one particular morning when a swaggering young vendor had walked up to the reception desk and said smoothly, "Everyone told me I’d find a sexy receptionist at McLean Engineering! Most girls would have giggled and flashed their eyes flirtatiously but Serena had looked at him coolly and replied airily, Oh, really? Well, I’m sorry, it’s only me today." It was decidedly discouraging and the young vendor didn't have a single comeback.

The talk about scoring soon died down too and Brad figured they’d either found out she was already taken—or someone had settled the bet. Either way, he assured himself that he wasn’t interested.

Meanwhile, Serena was doing her own assessments in the trouser department. She sized up every man that fluttered around her pigeonholing them into various species—strutting peacocks, noisy seagulls, girl-crazy vultures. The more boisterous ‘birds’ were easy to figure out but the serious, quiet ones, like Brad, were not so peg-able. ‘Probably a boring intellectual, who treats love as a science,’ she said to herself as he wordlessly passed her desk one morning after they’d met. She smiled at her supposed insight into his sparrow-like character, and then dismissed him from her thoughts completely.

Though Serena eventually went on a few dates with some of the more aggressive ‘birds’ at McLean Engineering, no one was sufficiently captivating to stir up her nest-making instincts. But she was young and light-hearted and wasn’t ready to be tied down. Or so she told herself.

Naturally, because of her position, she saw Brad almost every day and they settled into a typical routine: Good morning Serena. Any messages? he would say in a no-nonsense professional manner. Good morning, she’d say with a smile, then might add with a twinkle, No, but you could have half of Steve’s, or Well, the president called but I told him you were busy. He would look at her as if she was serious and it always made her laugh. Just to see him squirm, she would come up with some new tease. Your fan club called, she’d quip, and hand him a single message. Or, Have you got a ‘Most Wanted’ photo up somewhere? as she handed him a whole stack of messages. He rarely had a cute retort but just took his messages with a perfunctory smile and headed for his office. And the more unresponsive he was, the more Serena tried to tease.

Of course Brad’s disinterest was not completely unstudied. He was aware that Serena wasn’t making him special in the ‘cute comments’ department. She had something to say often and to many. He had consciously shrugged off her friendliness as just part of her job and had never thought much about her clever jibes. What he also never gave much thought to was the fact that he looked forward to coming to work more each day. He assumed it was because of the recent project he was working on or that his sales were doing better. Never for a moment did he allow himself to tie his exuberance to a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

The months went by, then a year. Serena had proven herself completely, so should not have been surprised (but was) when the senior vice president of the company asked her if she would interview for the position of secretary to the two vice presidents. She had been ecstatic. The pay raise alone was enough to tempt her but she had known she was capable of far more than just answering phones and was eager to have a chance to prove herself.

Her new job was exciting and demanding and brought a whole new set of challenges. One was typing. Serena was a fair typist but was not always as accurate as necessary for a position where formal letters were an almost daily occurrence. She struggled to improve and did manage to make some serious changes. So she was particularly chagrined when one Friday afternoon, Mr. Wilson, Senior Vice President, sent back a letter with the entire address circled and a note attached which read, ‘Sales reports to Randall’s Inc.? Please see Mr. Cormack about this.’ She was embarrassed and confused. How could she have typed a letter, enclosing their latest sales reports, and make the mistake of addressing it to their main competitor, Randall’s? Such a big faux pas seemed unthinkable, but she was Mr. Cormack’s secretary and those were her initials at the bottom of the letter. And how had it been given to Mr. Wilson to sign when she’d obviously typed it for Mr. Cormack?

She shook her head in apprehension as she entered Mr. Cormack’s office. I’m sorry, sir, she said, handing him the red-marked letter. I cannot imagine how I got the wrong address. And she was as apologetic and humble as she was embarrassed.

W...what in the world!? he stammered, scanning the letter briefly. Where did you get this? he demanded harshly. His reaction was even stronger than she had expected and she was taken aback.

M… Mr. Wilson just handed it back to me to re-type and….

Mr. Wilson!!… Mr. Cormack exploded, rising from his seat with his escalating emotions—and then, seeing the shock in her eyes, stopped. Like a thunderstorm on a hot summer day, the cloud passed over and in an instant he was calm and resuming his seat. Serena stared, bewildered. He seemed lost in thought as he ran his fingers through his hair while she waited nervously. Then, looking up coolly as if nothing had happened, he said gently, "I’m sure it was an honest mistake. Perhaps you had one of Randall’s brochures on your desk and unconsciously copied their address. Let me find the correct address for you. He opened the top drawer of the file cabinet behind him and handed her a list of clients, after circling the correct address.

Don’t worry about it, he soothed. Just type it again and bring the corrected letter back to me today. And please try a little harder in future not to get Mr. Wilson’s and my letters mixed up. And he turned back to his work, apparently mollified.

Still a little shaken at Mr. Cormack’s initial reaction, she returned to her desk deep in thought. His anger had seemed a little over the top but then, she told herself, what if that letter had gone out? Their competitor would have gotten valuable inside information. But she was too busy to sit and worry. The pressure was on that Friday afternoon and there was no time for reflection.

She had many friends now at work but Erica was the one she spent the most time with. Erica was quick-witted and interesting and Serena found her humor exactly suited her own. The contrast to her own angelic looks didn’t hurt her image either, for Erica was olive-skinned with jet black hair. Not that she was one whit behind Serena in beauty, with her full red lips, and dark eyes flashing under thick black lashes. Her diminutive athletic figure was attention-getting too and her innate good humor ensured a steady stream of admirers. The two sitting together with one dark and one blond head giggling and gossiping made quite a picture.

Erica worked in sales two doors down from Brad, and Serena could often be seen perched on the corner of her desk, talking and giggling. The two girls kept each other informed twittering about who was dating whom and every other little piece of gossip that went around such offices. Once in awhile the conversation would even turn to the mild-mannered Brad. Serena had become fairly curious about him, simply because he seemed so distant and disinterested in anything to do with females. Being completely feminine and loving men, she found it hard to understand someone being able to apparently ‘take it or leave it’ when it came to flirting and being friendly with the opposite sex.

I wonder if he has a girlfriend? she whispered to Erica once when Brad walked past as the girls were gossiping.

I don’t know, but if he does, she must be just like him—dull little dormouse—because I’ve never caught him talking on the phone in any kind of personal way here at work.

Well, that doesn’t really surprise me, Serena retorted. He is the most serious, disinterested male I’ve ever met!

Don’t fret, Erica teased, "You get more than your share of the non-serious and very interested, my dear!" Erica laughed, looking at her pretty friend a little enviously.

Get away, Serena countered, smiling. "No more than you, the femme fatale! There’s one particular vendor that won’t even talk to anyone else!"

He’s just trying to win favors, she said nonchalantly.

Oh yeah? Serena snorted good-naturedly. What kind? They both laughed. They were pretty, got lots of attention and they knew it.

Being part of the sales staff, Erica knew practically everyone in the company. She also had a lot of savvy when it came to secretarial work and Serena had been relieved to find someone she could ask for help with her high-pressured job. On more than one occasion Erica had kindly typed a letter or report for her to help her out. Eventually the two girls were sharing all kinds of personal feelings, sometimes even about work. And one day, soon after her run-in with the misdirected letter, Serena idly picked up a sales brochure on Erica’s desk outlining products similar to McLean Engineering’s. The name, Randall’s Inc. had caught her eye. Randall’s was not at all unfamiliar to her, being the largest competitor to McLean Engineering. She’d heard and seen the name many times in the months she’d been there. But the brochure triggered her remembrance of Mr. Cormack’s anger and she opened its pages as if it held some clue to the misdirected letter.

Are you thinking of joining the competition? Erica teased, seeing Serena’s more than usual interest in the Randall’s sales brochure.

Serena smiled. No, something happened to do with a Randall’s brochure and I was a little puzzled.

Someone used it to light a cigarette? Erica said sarcastically, in loyalty to the company she had been with for the last four years.

Serena laughed. No, it was that letter I was called on the carpet for.

Erica did not look particularly interested but asked politely, What letter?

Last week, Serena said. You know how I had tried so hard to have a perfect ‘no-red-marks’ week? Erica nodded. And remember I nearly made it except for that letter with the totally wrong address and name? I told you about it because Mr. Cormack made such a stink about it.

Yeah, Erica replied, sounding rather bored with the subject. This was old news. So? she asked somewhat sarcastically. (Interpreted, ‘Could we talk about something even slightly more interesting, like the weather?’)

But I don’t think I’ve ever had a Randall’s brochure on my desk! Serena exclaimed, like it was some kind of remarkable occurrence.

Erica looked at her like she was nuts. This was really earth shattering—NOT! So again she said, So? in exactly the same tone as before but added sarcastically, Look you can have that one if you feel left out! And she laughed at her own wit. She wanted to talk about her date last night with Gary. Randall’s brochures really didn’t rate next to such news-or any news!

But Serena was deep in thought and missed the witty barb from Erica. No, no, you don’t understand. Mr. Cormack said I had probably copied that incorrect address and name from one of their brochures. That’s what’s been bothering me! I’d forgotten! Serena said triumphantly.

Erica still didn’t see anything to get excited about. But friends let friends talk about whatever they wanted and Gary and the great movie would have to wait. Forgotten what? Erica asked politely.

It’s just that there isn’t any way I could have copied Randall’s address and some rep’s name when their brochure wasn’t even on my desk.

Nooo, Erica said slowly. But couldn’t you have seen it somewhere else?

"I suppose so…But do you think I have Randall’s address memorized?"

No, I guess not.

And I addressed the letter to someone named, ‘Jolly.’ Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?

I suppose Erica said, nodding. But when you told me about it I told you that he’s the top sales rep at Randall’s everybody envies. We all know about him.

But I’d never heard of him and even if I had copied the address from a brochure, where would I have gotten the name, ‘Jolly’ from? She sounded like Watson letting Sherlock in on some just-discovered secret.

They both looked at the sales brochure again. No sales reps names were on it but there was a business card attached by a staple in the corner. There’s your answer! Erica pointed in triumph. You saw a business card and copied everything there.

Yeah… I guess that could be it… Serena replied slowly. Something still didn’t add up but Erica could wait no longer to tell her of the great romance from last night—on and off screen—and Serena gave up.

Back at her desk, unable to shake the feeling that something was amiss, she went through all the business cards on her desk. Not one card had the name, ‘Jolly’, or even ‘Randalls’ on it. She frowned. The address she could account for, perhaps, but the name? And obviously a nickname? She was puzzled. But she had work to do and 'Jolly' would have to wait.

Because Jolly was fresh on her mind, Serena naturally pricked up her ears when, later that day, Brad walked by her desk with one of the other salesmen and she heard him mention his name. Was it an excuse to get to know Brad better or was she just trying to solve her mystery? Whatever her real reasons, after her tete a tete with Erica, she wandered over to his desk. He looked up at her approach obviously surprised to see her. Their paths didn’t cross nearly so often now that she was no longer receptionist. And though he had missed seeing her he had certainly not admitted it, even to himself.

Could I have a word with you at break? she asked him casually.

S...sure, he said, a little hesitantly. Then, seeing her read the suspicious look on his face added quickly, I’ll meet you on the patio at three.

She smiled her ‘ok’ and went back to work.

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