Look Higher by Lyn Cote, Part One

At mid-morning break, Ellie walked over to the desk nearest the door and cleared her throat politely.
“Taking up another collection, Ellie?” Madge, the plump, gray-haired temp secretary, teased cheerfully.
“The custodian’s wife had heart surgery. I thought a card and a check would help.”
Madge signed the brightly colored card and handed Ellie a five-dollar bill. “You’re a beautiful person, Ellie. You think of everyone.”
With an apologetic grin, Ellie shook her head. “This is the third time I’ve come around since you started two months ago. You’re probably hoping to get transferred.”
Madge didn’t reply to this. Instead, she asked, “Is Ned taking you to lunch today?” Ellie nodded.
“Someplace special?”
Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Why not? You and Ned haven’t been dating for too long. He takes you for granted.” “We suit each other.”
“Don’t just settle for Ned. Don’t let him treat you like a pair of broken-in shoes—“ The ringing of Madge’s telephone interrupted.
Ellie waved good by and walked to her own desk. Mulling over Madge’s kind words. But ever since seventh grade when Ellie had beat the handsomest boy in the math class contest, she had accepted that she was bright, not pretty. Madge was sweet to call her a beautiful person. But in romance, a vast difference separated a beautiful “person” from a beautiful “woman.”
With a sigh, she flipped on her computer. As the head of the parts department, she had another inventory to check. Time crawled by. The clock on the computer screen read 12:15. Ned should have come by now. Shaking her head at his absent-mindedness, she dialed his office number. No answer. She hung up and waited. Resting her chin on her hand, Ellie fought against the thoughts that Madge’s recent words had stirred up. Ned wasn’t anyone’s dream date, but people with his kind of brains often forgot things like lunch dates. She turned back to her computer. Might as well work till Ned appeared.
“Ned hasn’t shown. I thought as much,” Madge said. “I brought lunch for two.” “Really, Madge, Ned still might–”
“Then he should have to hunt for you.” Madge waved a lunch cooler in front of Ellie’s eyes. “Tuna on rye and homemade potato salad.”
“It’s my favorite lunch! How did you know?” Within moments, Ellie found herself out in summer warmth.
Madge chose a picnic table under the shade of a full, green maple. Lifting two sandwiches encased in neon pink plastic rectangles from her lunch-sized cooler, she handed one to Ellie, who sat across from her. “I also made angel food cake and strawberries last night.”
Momentarily, Ellie considered warning Madge she had no say about filling permanent positions. But with the sweet dessert awaiting her and the sparkling sunshine glinting on the windows nearby, Ellie found it impossible to talk business.
“Now we were discussing your fatal fascination with Ned—“
“Madge, please!” Ellie chuckled in spite of herself.
“Mind if I join you ladies?”
Recognizing the deep, liquid-honey voice, Ellie glanced up at Hugh Garner, the company’s most successful salesman. Tall, dark and handsome didn’t come close to describing him, delicious him.
“A man at this table is just what we need,” Madge said.
Hugh slid his lithe frame onto the picnic table bench and opened a cooler similar to Madge’s.
“You packed a lunch?” Madge teased. “I thought you only did power lunches.”
So close to Hugh, Ellie forced herself to take a small bite of her tuna. Being around Hugh always made her nervous. Even when his wife died of leukemia last year, she hadn’t attended the funeral. What could she say to someone facing such a heart-breaking loss? Instead, she had ordered flowers and engineered the collection for the designated memorial fund.
“Power lunches are over-rated. A lunch outdoors on a beautiful day with two charming ladies, now that’s a lunch.” He smiled at Ellie, not just any smile.
She felt all the way to her toes. “You always seem so confident.” Ellie’s gaze drifted to his Kirk-Douglas chin.
“Salesmanship 101—always appear confident.”
Madge slid a piece of cake toward him. “Scuttlebutt says you’re about to bring in a nice, juicy contract.”
Ellie put down her sandwich. “Madge, how do you know so much?”
Madge forked up a bite of cake. “Am I right, Mr. Garner?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. Today I met with the president over bidding strategy.”
“That sounds so important,” Ellie said.
“Salesmanship is a complex science,” Madge added.
Hugh chuckled. “Thank you both, but it’s not a done deal yet—“ Hugh’s cell phone ran and he slipped it out of his suit jacket pocket. “That’s it for my picnic. I have a client to meet.” He quickly re-filled his cooler, stood up and smiled down at Ellie. “Maybe you’d have dinner with me sometime, Ellie?”
Ellie couldn’t say a word in reply.
As he hurried off, he looked back and smiled at Ellie. His parting words had taken her breath away.
Madge said, “Hugh could be an interesting date.”
“He was just being polite.” Ellie toyed with her plastic fork.
“He didn’t have to ask you. I think he likes you.”
“I’m just an average small-town girl. Hugh’s late wife was beautiful.”
“You’re missing what’s important.”
Ellie looked to Madge. “What’s that?”
“Every man has his own idea of what beauty is.”
Wryly, Ellie shook her head.

Back at her desk, the figures on the spreadsheet squiggled under Ellie’s gaze. She slipped off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. She dialed Ned’s number. “Hi, did you forget lunch?”
“I had lunch with the vice president,” Ned explained.
“I thought we were going out to lunch today!”
Ned snapped, “This lunch was important.”
“You could have called—“
“Ellie, one of the things I like about you is that you don’t go in for any of that feminine stuff. You take me like I am. Don’t change that.”
Feeling hurt, she wanted to say men called other men when they break appointments, but that would be petty. Ned didn’t like pettiness either. “Ned, when will you pick me up tonight?”
“Yeah, the company thing. Right.” He hung up.
Ellie bit her lower lip.
A sudden flurry around the door made her stand up. Catching sight of a man wearing a cowboy hat over a ponytail and another with a large video camera threw her.
Madge leaped up and began waving at them. “She’s right back here.”
Ellie stared in dismay as the men headed for her.–

The conclusion on Thursday!