Kara Lennox - The Good Father

“Find her another job, then.”

“I can’t. I need her.”

“You could find another artist. Didn’t you have three or four panting for the job a couple of weeks ago?”

“Jane is more than an artist. She’s brilliant with the clients. She comes up with concepts. I landed Coastal Bank today because of her.”

“You’ve answered your own question, then. You can’t date her.”

“I know that.” Maybe he’d just wanted someone else, someone he trusted, to confirm it.

“Or maybe you’re just using the boss-employee thing as an excuse because you’re afraid.”

Max didn’t dignify that observation with a response.

Reece polished off his sandwich and wiped his mouth. “Thanks for lunch.”

“Thanks for being a sounding board. I think.”

“Any time. What else can I do for you?”

“Can you get me an extension on my business loan?”

“I told you you spent too much on the remodeling.”

“I don’t need a lecture, I need cash. Payroll is coming up. I’ve hired two new account executives and a media buyer.”

“I’ll try to get the extension. But you can always borrow a little from me or Coop.”

Max shook his head. “No. I have to do this on my own. After the way I left Remington Industries, burning all my bridges because I was so confident, I can’t go borrowing from family, not even you guys. Especially you guys. You’re newlyweds, you and Sara have a kid on the way, you’re both trying to run businesses of your own.”

Reece nodded. “Okay. But we’re here if you change your mind. Whatever you do, do not default on that loan. You know who holds it, right?”

“Uh, no.” He never paid attention to that stuff, he just signed papers and spent the money.

“Coastal Bank.”

“H E DIDN’T MEAN IT,” Carol said. “It’s just that male ego thing.”

Jane studied her computer screen, refusing to even look up. “That’s no excuse. His attack was completely unjustified. When I first took this job, you said he was fair.”

“He is…most of the time. You’re not going to quit, are you?”

“And do what? I have mouths to feed. Is that all Max is worried about? Making sure I don’t quit?”

Carol came all the way into Jane’s office and settled in the ugly flowered chair. “You know why this is happening, don’t you?”

“Yeah, because Max is a jerk.”

“The tension between you two has been building since the day you arrived. I can feel it in the air every time you’re in the same room. Something had to give. Either you were going to have a big fight or you were going to wind up in bed.”

That made Jane look up. Was she really that transparent? “You’re crazy.”

“No, I’m not,” Carol said with utter certainty. “Personally, if it was me, I’d stop fighting and go with plan B. The constant tension is going to make it hard for you to work together.”

“We can’t,” Jane almost wailed, realizing too late she’d just admitted to Carol that she was right. “He’s my boss, and it’s unethical.”

“Oh, please. People who work together do it all the time. If we worked in a big corporation where there was a policy against it, that would be one thing. But we’re just a little company.”

Jane shook her head. “Workplace romances are a bad idea. Sure, it’s fine at first, but what about when things don’t work out? Then people quit or get fired, which can lead to jealousies, charges of harassment…” She had no firsthand experience about this, but she’d heard stories of what went on at Scott’s office.

Carol rolled her eyes. “Can you see anyone around here who would sue anybody else? And who would be jealous? Not me. I don’t need a man in my life.”

“Exactly! Neither do I. What I do need is this job. I love this job, even if my boss does behave like a jerk. I’m not going to mess things up because of a few hormones.”

“Well, I think you’re crazy, throwing away a fine man like Max Remington. How many women would give up their hair extensions to hook up with him?”

Jane saved her file and turned away from her computer. It wasn’t as if she was actually getting any work done. “Plenty do go out with him. Have you ever seen his little black book? He left it open on his desk once, and I couldn’t help but see it. He actually puts stars by their names.”

“Was your name in there?”

“I don’t know.” He’d walked in before she could flip to the S’s.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Jane’s heart did a little dance. She wasn’t ready to face him yet. She didn’t have her temper completely under control, and she didn’t trust herself to behave rationally.

“Come in,” Carol sang out, as if she had the perfect right to. “I was just leaving.” She scurried out behind Max, giving Jane a mischievous wink over her shoulder just before disappearing.

The look on Max’s face nearly did her in. He was actually nervous about facing her.

“If you’re here to lecture me,” she began, going on the offensive, but he cut her off.

“No more lectures.” That was when he produced the flowers, which he’d been holding behind the door. Roses. Red roses. A dozen of them.

No one had brought her flowers since…well, since the last time Scott had tried to win her back after she filed for divorce. She’d thrown them in the trash.

They’re just flowers. But she knew these wouldn’t end up in any Dumpster.

“I was totally out of line,” he said, laying the flowers on her desk. The heady scent of roses filled her nose and softened her brain. “You were right. It was my ego. From the start, this agency has been my baby. At my old job, I never got credit for my ideas ’cause I was just part of a big team. This time around, I didn’t want to share credit for any success.

“But that’s just stupid. A company is only as good as the people working there. You’re my greatest asset, a talented artist with marketing instinct and people skills. Thank you for saving the Coastal Bank account.”

“I…um, you’re welcome.” Jane couldn’t seem to come up with anything more intelligent to say. She hadn’t been expecting an apology, much less for Max to admit he’d been wrong. Scott’s apologies had always been something like, “I’m sorry you’re upset,” as if he’d had nothing to do with it.

“I would give you a raise,” Max said, “but I can’t.”

“I don’t need a raise,” she lied. They stared at each other for several long seconds. Finally Jane couldn’t stand the silence-she had to fill it. “The roses need water. I don’t have a vase.”

She pushed up from her desk and walked around it, dangerously close to Max.

He picked up the flowers again and extended them to her. “I didn’t know what kind of flowers you like, but the florist said roses were pretty safe.”

She paused and smiled. “No sane woman dislikes roses.” She took the flowers, immediately surrounded again by their heady scent. She closed her eyes so she could isolate the sensation and experience it fully.

“Jane?”

Her eyes flew open and she smiled. “Sorry, I was on a little mental vacation. Where can I find a vase?”

“You’re asking a guy, remember. Try the kitchen, maybe.”

Jane hurried out of her office before she did something crazy, like touch Max. Like hug him for taking the time and care to make this gesture, to make her feel valued.

Yes, that was what Max did that no one else ever had. He made her feel valued not for her looks, but her abilities.

Max followed her into the break room, and they both started opening cabinet doors, searching for a proper container for the flowers. Unfortunately, they came up empty.