When he’d delayed as long as he could without seeming like he’d gone completely bananas, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and cautiously stepped in. To his surprise, the room was empty.

Well. That was a concern he needn’t have worried about. But if Andrea wasn’t here, where had she gone?

It wasn’t the time to wonder. Blake gestured to Jennings to take a seat then shut the door behind them before he circled his desk to sit in his chair. “Now you say you want to revoke your recommendation for Fullman’s promotion?” Honestly, Blake was surprised by the request. Jennings had been quite enthusiastic about his endorsement a few weeks before.

Jennings cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Ms. Fullman is not pulling her weight. She’s always late, when she comes in at all. She’s distracted and unfocused. Todd, Jerry, Susan, Aaron—all of us are left to clean up her mess.”

Movement across the room pulled Blake’s attention. As nonchalantly as he could, he peered over Jennings’s shoulder toward Andrea’s area. And there she was, her head popping up over the edge of the desk from where she was hiding on the floor behind it.

On the floor behind the desk … they hadn’t done that yet, had they?

“Does she even have approval for all this missed work?”

Blake’s eyes darted back to Jennings. He blinked, trying to remember the question he’d just been asked. Oh, yes. “She does have approval for time off. I can’t discuss that with you, though, of course.” Fullman, he’d only now remembered, had been dealing with a mentally unsound ex-husband. She’d refused the leave of absence Blake had offered her, wanting to keep a semblance of normalcy in her life. But even though she’d been tardy and absent more than usual, he hadn’t noticed any decline in the quality of her work. Was there something he was missing?

If there was, he didn’t have any idea what it would be. Andrea, on the other hand, was missing three of her buttons. As in, her shirt was practically wide open, and he could see it clearly since she was now standing behind her desk. She had been waiting in some form of undress then. My, oh, my.

“No, I don’t expect you to tell me what’s going on with her private life”—Jennings’s tone was terse—“but she shouldn’t be given a promotion. Not when…”

Jennings kept talking, but Blake’s complete attention was on Andrea. What on earth was she doing? She should stay hidden behind the desk. Or if she was trying to sneak out, she at least should be properly clothed. He wiggled his fingers in front of his own shirt, hoping she’d understand the gesture.

She did.

Jennings, however, did not. “What’s that? Did you want me to keep going?”

“Yes, yes. Please.” He wiggled his fingers again pretending that’s exactly what he’d meant by the action the first time he’d done it.

While Jennings continued his complaint, Blake watched as Andrea tiptoed across the room to the office door. Her hand settled on the knob and Blake tensed hoping her escape was silent.

It wasn’t.

Actually, what Andrea did was not try to escape at all. She opened the door, loudly, then hurried to the other side of the door so that by the time that Jennings looked toward the noise, it appeared as if she were entering, not exiting.

Blake covered his eye with one hand. Whatever she was up to, he was sure to be unimpressed.

“Mr. Donovan, I apologize. I didn’t know you had company.” Her voice was sweeter and higher-pitched than usual. “And I hate to bother you, but I really need to speak with you.”

Blake forced a smile. “Ms. Dawson, I’m in the mid—”

“Now, Mr. Donovan.” Now, that was the bossy tone he was used to. She seemed to remember herself and added a lighter, “please.”

Obviously, Andrea had something to say.

Blake stood. “Excuse me one moment, Jennings. My, um…” He was too flustered to remember what title he’d given his matchmaker. “She needs to talk to me.”

He hurried out after Andrea, expecting that she was upset about the interruption in their lunchtime plans. “I’m sorry, Drea, I’m disappointed, too,” he said in a hushed tone when he reached her. “I’ll get rid of him as soon as possible.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I needed to tell you. I mean, yes, I’m disappointed, but I have something to say about that guy.”

Blake looked back to the man he’d left in his office. “Jennings?” What could Andrea possibly know about him? She hadn’t been present the last time the employee had come to his office, and Jennings’s office was on a whole other floor.

“Yes. Jennings. He’s making that stuff up about Fullman.”

It was only because he suspected the same thing that he pursued Andrea’s suggestion. “Why do you say that?”

“He likes her. Like, really likes her. My guess is that he recommended her for promotion thinking that would earn him favor in her eyes, but even after that she still refused to go out with him.”

“No, that’s not possible. He’s a manager. He can’t date an employee. It’s against the rules.”

She glared at him incredulously. “Uh-huh. And everyone follows those rules.”

There was that.

“Anyway, when she turned him down he got all butt-hurt. She rejected him. He didn’t like it. And this is his retaliation.”

Well that was an interesting theory. A theory that might make sense. Only how could Andrea possibly know that? He asked her.

“Easy. He only referred to her by last name, while he used first names with the other employees. He’s trying to distance himself from her. If he said her name, he’d probably get all shifty and nervous. What did he call her when he was in last time?”

Blake tried to recall. “Not Fullman. He must have called her by her first name. I don’t remember what it was.”

“Of course you don’t.” She winked at him.

God, she was sexy when she did that.

“Also, he’s not wearing an orange tie.” She must have seen that as they’d walked in. “Yes, before you protest, I know that no one wears orange but me. But that guy normally does. Like, every day when I see him at the coffee stand. He’s rejecting orange now, which is usually a sign of sexual oppression. And he clicks his jaw. Another clear indicator.”

“You could hear that from across the room?” He had to be careful about what he muttered under his breath.

“How could I not? It was so loud.” She shuddered as if the sound was also an unpleasant one. “Finally, he clears his throat a lot when talking about her. So obvious that he has an emotional involvement.”

Blake almost choked. Is that what she thought when he cleared his throat around her? That was a ridiculous analysis. Wasn’t it? Though for Jennings, it did possibly fit. Only one way to know for sure.

Careful not to clear his throat, he said, “Thank you, Andrea. I’ll take your input to heart.”

He shut the door with Andrea on the opposite side of it this time, and returned to his desk. “I apologize for that.” He looked his employee in the eye. “Before we get back to Fullman—what’s her first name again?”

Jennings shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Uh, Ashley.”

Was that a bead of sweat above Jennings’s brow? He’d daresay it was. Hmm. “You know, Jennings, that there are some people here who don’t take some of the office rules to heart. Like the fraternization policy. Some employees date anyway.” Did he sound guilty when he said that? He didn’t let himself dwell on it. “I’ve fired one or two people over the years for exactly that type of violation.” He hadn’t, but there was nothing wrong with a good bluff.

Jennings’s eyes fell to the floor.

Yes, Blake had to agree that this was definitely a case of infatuation. Andrea had nailed that analysis.

Huh.

Was this what Andrea’s skills were really about? It was amazing how she could discern so much with so little to go on. He hated to admit it, but her abilities were wasted in her current position. After she was done with the matchmaking thing, perhaps he could find a better placement for her in the company. Somewhere she could use her skills to keep harmony within the company. In human resources, maybe.