“Really?” An eyebrow raised slightly as she set the mugs down. Turning around, she took first one crutch, then the other, and put them to the side before gathering Rose in her arms. “So you want a good morning kiss, hmm?” She lowered her head and poured all of her love into a series of soft kisses. She nipped and coaxed with her lips until she felt Rose’s mouth open for her. Ronnie swallowed soft moans as her tongue explored the inside of the young woman’s mouth.To her utter surprise she felt a very insistent tongue pushing into her own mouth. Now it was the executive’s turn to moan. When they broke apart, it was several seconds before their breathing returned to a manageable level. “How’s that?” she asked in a husky voice. “Does that meet with your approval for a morning kiss, Miss Grayson?”


“Oh yes, very nice.” Rose leaned up for another quick brushing of lips before reaching for her crutches.She reluctantly pulled back, her whole body screaming for more contact. “You had better drink your coffee before it gets cold.”


Ronnie looked at the clock. “I would much rather spend the day with you, you know.” A shrill beeping drew a frown from the executive. “I’ll get it. With my luck it’s probably Susan trying to duck out of dealing with Mother today.” She picked up the phone. “Cartwright Residence…Yeah, good morning to you too, Sis. What’s up?” Rose watched as dark eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. “Mm hmm, she’s awake…no, we just got up and were having coffee.” Now the brows shot up and blue eyes locked with green. “Well…sure, that sounds fine to me. Let me ask her, hold on.” Ronnie held the phone to her chest. “Susan wants to know if you’d like to go out for breakfast.”


“Uh, sure.” It would be the first time she had gone out of the house with the exception of her doctor’s appointments and the funeral. She watched a beaming smile come over Ronnie’s face.


“Sure, sounds good, Susan.” They finalized arrangements while Rose sipped her coffee. By the time Ronnie hung up the phone, her own coffee had cooled enough to drink in four long gulps.

“We should get going here. We’re supposed to meet there in forty-five minutes. I’ll run upstairs and get ready.” She picked up Rose’s now empty cup and set it with hers in the sink. “Do me a favor?”


“Anything,” the young woman replied.


“Wear that rust colored shirt?” A shy smile came to Ronnie’s lips. “I think you look really nice in it.”


“I don’t think any of the skirts go with it.”


“The khaki pants do. I’m sure the leg is wide enough to get over the cast.”


Rose smiled. When she had opened those clothes on Christmas she had thought then they would go well together. She also knew Ronnie had a weakness for that particular shirt. “Sure, but it’ll cost you.”


“Cost me?” Puzzlement turned to amusement when she saw the calculating grin.


“You have to wear that gray cotton shirt and those black jeans.”


“The baggy ones or the tight ones?”


“The tight ones.” Rose realized how it could be taken and blushed. “I just think they look good on you,” she mumbled, looking away as her ears turned an even brighter shade of red.


“Uh huh,” Ronnie smirked. “You’re cute when you blush, you know that.”


“You’ve told me that before.”


“It’s still true.” She walked over to the table and knelt down until she was eye level with the young woman. “Actually, the truth is, you’re beautiful anytime. With or without a blush.” She leaned in and gave Rose a peck on the cheek. “Come on, I’m starving.”



* * *

“Can I get you ladies something to drink to start off?” the waitress asked. The three women were sitting in a booth, Susan sat alone on one side. Rose opened her mouth but before she could utter a sound, Ronnie spoke. “Coffees on this side and she’ll have tea…lemon, no cream. We’ll be ready to order when you return.”


“I’ll be right back with your drinks.”


“Do you know what you want?” the executive asked without looking up from her menu. It took a gentle nudge under the table for Rose to figure out the question was directed at her.


“Um…” She scanned the menu, noting with great alarm the prices that ran down the right hand side.Her appetite shrank in direct proportion to the prices. “I don’t think I’m really all that hungry. Maybe just a muffin and coffee.”


“Oh no, Rose,” Susan said. “You haveto try their eggs benedict. It’s the best in Albany, I swear.”


“No, I’ll be fine with the muffin, I’m sure.” She knew without looking that she was the recipient of a questioning gaze from Ronnie.The waitress returned with their drinks and when they had been served she looked expectantly at Ronnie.


With a nod of her head, the dark-haired woman indicated Rose. “She’ll have two eggs, over medium with toast, corned beef hash and home fries. I’ll have the same except I want bacon instead of the hash and my eggs should be over hard. Susan?”


“I’ll have a Belgian waffle with strawberries and cream.”


“All right, I’ll have your food brought out to you shortly.”


Rose looked at Ronnie dumbfounded. “I said I was fine with a muffin.”


“Susan, would you excuse us for a moment please?”


“Sure, Ronnie. Actually I think I need to make a trip to the ladies room.” She picked up her purse and left the table.


“Why did you do that?” There was no accusation in the young woman’s tone, just curiosity.


“Why did you lie about not being hungry?” Ronnie countered. “Look at me. Tell me you only wanted a muffin and that the cost had nothing to do with it.” Her right hand slipped under the table and began stroking Rose’s left thigh. “I understand that you think about how much everything costs. I wish you didn’t, but I know you do. I also know that I wasn’t going to sit here and let you eat just a muffin for breakfast.” A smaller hand gripped hers under the table and squeezed.


“Okay, thank you.” Rose leaned closer. “Actually, the hash and eggs sounds wonderful.”


“You’ll love them, trust me.”


A short time later Rose was wiping up her plate with the last bit of toast while the two sisters talked. The current topic was taxes, and for someone that always used the easy form, it was a subject she felt sorely out of place with. The Cartwright women, on the other hand, had jabbered on for the entire meal about exemptions and loopholes. Rose smiled and ate quietly, listening to the rich tones but not the words of her tall companion. She tuned Susan out completely and thus, missed her name the first time it was mentioned. “I’m sorry, what?”


“I think we’re boring her, Susan.” Ronnie laughed when she saw the guilty blush cover the fair skin.


“I said Wendy needs whatever receipts you have for your taxes.” Seeing Rose’s confused look, Susan explained. “Wendy is our accountant. She’ll do your taxes for you but I think she’s missing some paperwork. She only has your W-2 from Cartwright.”


“Well, I have the one from Money Slasher. It doesn’t take me long to fill out the form so I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Why would I have an income statement from Cartwright? Ronnie didn’t decide to give me the job as her secretary until last week.”


“Whoops,” Ronnie said. “I can explain.” She twisted in her seat so she could face Rose. The short bench and her long legs meant that her knee ended up resting atop the khaki covered thigh.

“You remember when I had you sign all those forms so we could get you on the insurance? You went on the payroll then.”


“You mean you didn’t know you were getting paid each week?” Susan asked. The still-shocked Rose shook her head. “You signed a direct deposit authorization for the credit union. You filled out a W-4 for your exemptions.”


“I don’t remember what I signed. I was still in the hospital and with all the pain killers….”


“Ronnie, didn’t you tell her what she was signing?”


Now it was the executive’s turn to blush. “Well…” She looked at Rose. “When you were in the hospital, all I could think about was making sure you got the best care possible. “I know I told you that you were now an employee of Cartwright Corp.”


“I didn’t think you meant that I was actually getting paid.” She discreetly laid her hand on Ronnie’s knee. “There must be hundreds of dollars in there.”


“More like thousands,” the executive corrected. “I don’t pay my workers chump change like Money Slasher. I pay a living wage. That’s why people with skill and talent don’t leave us after a few years and join some other firm.”


“Ronnie, I can’t keep that money. I didn’t earn it. Can’t you just take it back or something?” That earned laughter from both Cartwrights. “What?”


“Rose dear, do you have any idea how much paperwork would be involved in doing something like that?” Susan chuckled again. “It’s impossible.”


“The money’s yours, Rose,” Ronnie added. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before. I honestly don’t think about things like paychecks and you certainly haven’t needed any money.”