I Know You Love Me
Read I Know You Love Me Online
Authors: Aline de Chevigny
Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com
Copyright ©2011 by Aline de Chevigny
First published in 2011
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright(C) 2011 Aline de Chevigny
ISBN: 978-1-4543-0112-7
Cover Artist: Nika Dixon
Editor: Bernadette Smith
Line Editor: Red Rose Publishing
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"Good morning Gertrude, I'll be in my office if anyone needs me. Can I get a cup of coffee please?” Drew knew he had a full day ahead of him and didn't like the look Gertrude was giving him over his simple request for coffee one bit. It didn't bode well for his schedule.
"Uhmmm Sherriff, there's..."
Opening his office door, he was stopped cold by a pretty petite young brunette sitting behind his desk. The woman sat in his chair completely at ease, radiating an air of authority looking as if she belonged there. She was just hanging up the phone while flipping through a stack of paper, and was pushing every button he had when it came to attractive women...He disliked her immediately.
"Have a seat Sherriff, I'll be with you in just a moment. I have a few more files to go through first."
"GERTRUDE!” He really didn't have time for this today.
"Oh please Sherriff, sit that cute little tush of yours down in that chair to your left and stop bellowing at the poor woman. I'll introduce myself to you in a moment."
The arrogance of her reply when she saw him, pushed his last button. Cute little tush? How dare she speak to me like that? Who does she think she is? He wasn't about to let some woman talk to him like that in his own precinct, no matter how cute she was.
"Here you go Sherriff, black two sugars just the way you like it."
Counting to ten, he turned to face his secretary. “Gertrude there's a woman in my chair.” Gertrude flinched away from him, making him feel like a big bully.
"Ye...yes sir, she's the auditor sent by the county. Try being nice to her...please?"
"Great, just what I needed today. You'll have to move all my appointments to this afternoon, and...” Annoyance filled him when he realized Gertrude wasn't listening to him anymore.
"Can I get you anything Miss McKay? Tea, coffee?
Drew wasn't fooled, he could tell that Gertrude wanted out of the line of fire as quickly as possible.
"No thank you Gertrude, and please call me Allison."
"Oh no, I couldn't do that. Excuse me I need to get back to the phones."
Taking a seat, Drew, steepled his fingers before his face and leaned back. He was trying to look intimidating and it usually worked, but this woman was too smart to fall for his ruse. “Well Allison..."
"That's Miss McKay to you Sherriff, and now that you know who I am. I have a few questions for you."
Drew sat back impressed, despite himself. He hadn't phased her one bit. That took control and self confidence, this woman wouldn't be easy to intimidate or control. “First I have one for you."
Allison leaned back and smiled. “Very well, shoot."
Drew decided it was time he regained the upper hand and have a little fun in the process. “How do you know what my butt looks like? This is the first time you've looked at me since I entered the room.” Allison kept her cool, didn't even bat an eyelash in response to his taunt. That annoyed him even more than finding her in his chair.
"We met yesterday."
"Good morning, Gertrude. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me. Can I get a cup of coffee, please?” Drew knew he had a full day ahead of him and didn't like the look Gertrude was giving him over his simple request for coffee one bit. It didn't bode well for his schedule.
"Uhmmm Sheriff, there's...” Gertrude began.
Opening his office door, he was stopped cold by the sight of a pretty, petite young brunette sitting behind his desk. The woman sat in his chair completely at ease, looking as if she belonged there and radiating an air of authority. She was just hanging up the phone while flipping through a stack of paper, and was pushing every button he had when it came to attractive women.
He disliked her immediately.
"Have a seat, Sheriff; I'll be with you in just a moment. I have a few more files to go through first."
"GERTRUDE!” He really didn't have time for this today.
"Oh, please, Sheriff, sit that cute little tush of yours down in that chair to your left and stop bellowing at the poor woman. I'll introduce myself to you in a moment."
The arrogance of her reply when she saw him pushed his last button. ‘
Cute little tush?’ How dare she speak to me like that? Who does she think she is?
He wasn't about to let some woman talk to him like that in his own precinct, no matter how attractive she was.
"Here you go Sheriff—black, two sugars—just the way you like it."
Counting to ten, he turned to face his secretary. “Gertrude, there's a woman in my chair.” Gertrude flinched away from him, making him feel like a big bully.
"Ye...yes, sir. She's the auditor sent by the county. Try being nice to her...please?"
"Great. Just what I needed today. You'll have to move all my appointments to this afternoon, and...” Annoyance filled him when he realized Gertrude wasn't listening to him anymore.
"Can I get you anything, Miss McKay? Tea? coffee?
Drew wasn't fooled; he could tell that Gertrude wanted out of the line of fire as quickly as possible.
"No, thank you, Gertrude, and please call me Allison."
"Oh, no. I couldn't do that. Excuse me. I need to get back to the phones.” She bustled back to her desk.
Taking a seat, Drew steepled his fingers before his face and leaned back. He was trying to look intimidating, and it usually worked, but this woman was too smart to fall for his ruse.
"Well, Allison..."
"That's Miss McKay to you, Sheriff, and now that you know who I am, I have a few questions for you."
Drew sat back, impressed, despite himself. He hadn't phased her one bit. That took control and self-confidence. This woman wouldn't be easy to intimidate or control.
"First, I have one for you,” he replied.
Allison leaned back and smiled. “Very well, shoot."
Drew decided it was time he regained the upper hand and have a little fun in the process. “How do you know what my butt looks like? This is the first time you've looked at me since I entered the room.” Allison kept her cool, didn't even bat an eyelash in response to his taunt. That annoyed him even more than finding her in his chair.
"We met yesterday."
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I don't remember that, and I would remember meeting a woman who looks like you.” Allison laughed and leaned forward. Didn't anything surprise this woman?
"Of course you don't, you were too busy chasing some blonde behind me while I was trying to introduce myself in order to facilitate our audit today."
Drew vaguely remembered some mousey woman with her hair in a bun desperately trying to get his attention while he'd been making the moves on Bonnie. He'd always avoided the desperate ones; they tended to get clingy. “That was you?"
"I know—I'm not what you would call either memorable or attractive. That works in my favor in this job."
That statement caught his attention and made him look at her more closely. No woman in his years of experience had ever considered herself unattractive. She wasn't unattractive, and today, with her hair down the woman was downright pretty. “I didn't mean to insult you, Allison. I hope this won't harm or influence the audit in any way."
Allison laughed. “It's Miss McKay. And you can relax, Sheriff, you aren't that handsome. I couldn't care less if you thought me attractive. It's actually easier for me to do my job knowing that you're not attracted to me."
Drew eyed the woman with renewed interest. He never could resist a challenge.
Did I just get insulted?
If he wasn't careful, he'd lose the respect of his men if word of this little conversation got out.
"Sorry to interrupt, Boss, but I wanted to let you know that I closed that vandalism case."
Drew had completely forgotten that his office door was open. Still, Jimmy should have known better and knocked before entering.
"Hey, handsome, we still on for tonight?” Allison purred, sitting forward the moment she spotted his deputy.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Is the Honky Tonk okay?"
Allison grinned. “Live or canned music? And please tell me they serve barbeque there? It's been too long since I've had a good barbeque."
"Tonight it's live music and they have the best barbeque this side of the border."
Drew watched the exchange, torn between awe and annoyance. The woman positively lit up when she talked to Jimmy.
"Then it sounds perfect. I should be done here by the time you get off shift. I'll just need to stop at my hotel for few minutes to change before we go; all this dust plays havoc on a girl's skin."
Jimmy propped a hip on the desk. “That works for me. I'll—"
"Ahem. Remember me?” Drew's annoyance won out, mostly with himself. The woman blossomed under Jimmy's attentions. Hell, she was beautiful when she smiled.
"Sorry, Boss. Guess I forgot where I was."
"I take it you two have a date tonight?” Drew frowned. It seemed that Jimmy's date was enough to override his embarrassment at his lapse in decorum, and it meant he had to stay away from the damned woman. She was officially off-limits now.
"Can you believe it, Drew? Allison McKay, right here in our little town, and she agreed to go out with me. A guy can't get any luckier than that."
Allison blushed scarlet at Jimmy's comment and desperately tried to distract everyone. “Isn't he simply adorable? He's my biggest fan."
Drew could see it in her eyes; the woman didn't like being the center of attention and would do everything in her power to push that attention onto someone else.
"Anything new you'd like me to work on, Boss?"
"Check with Gertrude to see what's outstanding and work on that."
Allison stood and made her way around the desk. “Excuse me a moment, please; I need a file. Oh, and Sheriff..."
"Yes?"
"Stay out of my chair or you'll lose more than your incompetent file clerk when I'm done auditing your precinct.” Smiling, she walked out without explanation, in search of the ever-elusive file clerk, Bonnie.