Read Online Lost and Found by Bernadette Marie - Free Book Online Page B

type these up. Besides, while Zach works out, I’ll have
someone to talk to.”
    “ He works out during the
day?”
    Mary Ellen nodded as she began to
type. “It keeps him focused. If you saw his office, you’d think it
was a small apartment. All the luxuries of home.”
    It was time to ease this woman into
some conversation. “You seem very comfortable with Mr.
Benson.”
    “ I should be. I’ve been
with him since he took over that desk.”
    Mary Ellen was going to be a great
asset, too.
    Darcy looked around the office. It had
quieted down. Everyone must be at lunch. She took a deep breath and
crossed her legs, trying her best to act casual.
    “ So how long have you been his
assistant?”
    Mary Ellen shot her a sideways glance
and then focused back on her computer screen. “Isn’t that like
asking a woman her age?”
    Darcy felt the blood drain from her
face. “I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
    Mary Ellen laughed. “I’m just
kidding.” She flipped over her notes and continued to type. “Let’s
see, I started when I was fresh out of junior college. I was with
him for ten years before I hired his wife.”
    “ You hired his wife?”
    Mary Ellen nodded. “I needed to
replace myself as his assistant. Seems like such a long time ago. I
was pregnant and desperate to leave him in good hands.”
    As Mary Ellen finished typing up the
notes, Darcy rubbed her palms against her skirt. Why was it that
Zach Benson had looked at Darcy the way he had? And why was he so
comfortable with Mary Ellen?
    Her mouth went dry.
    Could it have been this simple? Had
fate thrown her into Ed Keller so that she’d get the job at Benson,
Benson, and Hart? She’d expected it to take years before she found
the people who gave her away. But, as she sat beside the woman who
had quickly come to her aid, she began to wonder—were Zach Benson
and his assistant her birth parents? Had they hid their secret all
these years and now here she was?
    Darcy thought she just might get
sick.

Chapter Seven
     
    Ed watched as Darcy pulled meat off
her bread, set it to the side, and then rebuilt her sandwich. Just
a little persnickety, he thought, until she started the process
over.
    This time he reached for her hand and
stopped her. “Is there something on your mind? I bought the
sandwich hoping you’d eat it.”
    Darcy looked down at the food as if
she hadn’t noticed. “I’m sorry.”
    “ You don’t have to
apologize. You don’t look so well.”
    “ I’m very sorry. I have
something on my mind, and I just can’t get it to go
away.”
    When Ed had set the sandwiches on the
boardroom table, he’d taken the seat right next to her. It hadn’t
been thought out. It had just happened. But he found himself
scooting his chair over so he could be close enough to her to touch
her in some comforting way.
    He rested his arm around her
shoulders. “Everything’s all right though? Your dad, he’s
okay?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ You’re
homesick?”
    Darcy dropped her shoulders, and Ed
pulled his arm away.
    “ Maybe.” She picked up a
napkin and wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not
now.” She reassembled her sandwich. “I’ll be fine by the time we
start the meeting back up.”
    “ You’re keeping up
okay?”
    “ Minus the pen catastrophe,
I’m doing great.”
    Ed laughed. “Stupid stick
pens.”
     
    They’d cleaned up their lunch, and
Darcy went back to her desk to attend to the pile Ed had started
for her. She decided it was a good thing that she was single and no
one would be waiting for her at home. It looked as though the more
competent in her job she became, the more work Eduardo Keller had
for her.
    The pile on her desk hadn’t dwindled
too far when Ed came walking back into the office carrying a small
bag. She honestly hadn’t noticed he wasn’t even in his
office.
    “ Zach wants to discuss a
project in Georgia before we start the meeting up. So, if you don’t
mind, we need to head down to the boardroom.”
    “