Kate Hoffmann - Danny

If she came back, this would become home. His family would become her family. They said absence made the heart grow fonder. Danny was counting on that to get him through the next few days.

He drew a deep breath of the morning air and then cursed loudly.

“Oh, to hell with this.”

JORDAN STOOD AT the elevator and watched as the lighted numbers above the door moved downward. She’d been back in Manhattan for exactly one day, just enough time to sleep, sort through her mail and do laundry before grabbing a cab to the office.

The flight back had been uneventful, except for one thing. Whether it was the regret at leaving Ireland or the doubts she had about leaving Danny, she’d decided that it was time for her to have a serious talk with her father.

The elevator opened in front of her and she stepped inside, smoothing her hands over the designer suit she wore. She’d assumed that once she was back in her own bed, wearing her regular wardrobe she’d start to feel more like herself. But New York seemed like a foreign country now and she felt oddly out of place in the midst of all the noise and chaos.

When she stepped out of the elevator on the seventeenth floor, a familiar face greeted her. “Miss Kennally! Welcome back. You look…fabulous.”

Jordan frowned at Isabelle, their receptionist. “Fabulous?”

“There’s something different about you. You look…sunny.”

“Well, I feel sunny,” Jordan said with a smile. “Is my father in? I need to talk to him right away.”

“He’s in. You’ll have to check with Anne Marie to see if he’s available.”

“Great,” Jordan said. “Well, wish me luck.”

“Luck,” Isabelle replied. “Miss Kennally?”

Jordan turned back to her. “Yes?”

“I do hope you plan to stay. Rumor around the office was that you quit. That’s not true, is it?”

Jordan smiled. “I think it is.”

When she reached her office, just three doors down from her father’s, Jordan dropped off her coat and briefcase. The sooner she got this over with the better. It wouldn’t do to delay and lose her nerve.

Jordan glanced down at her hands, her fingers twisted together so tightly that they were losing circulation. Conversations with her father had always been very cold and businesslike. But today, she hoped to appeal to his emotions. She wanted, no, she needed his blessing.

In truth, she expected it would be much worse. He’d throw her out on her ear, maybe even refuse to pay her for the Castle Cnoc project. He’d disown her, forbid her to come to family functions. Andrew Kennally hadn’t gotten to where he was today by being a nice guy.

Drawing a deep breath, she headed toward his office. His assistant was sitting at her desk and Jordan pointed at the door. “He’s in?”

“Yes. But I think he’s on the phone. Can I make an appointment for you?”

“No,” Jordan said. “I need to talk to him right now.”

“But, Miss Kennally, I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”

“I’m his daughter. I’m allowed to disturb him.” Before the assistant could stop her, Jordan opened the door and stepped inside. Her father was sitting at his desk, his back to her, his feet kicked up on the credenza. She listened to his conversation and it was obvious he was discussing the closing on the hotel project.

Jordan sat and waited patiently, silently going over all she planned to say. She was putting her future on the line, but it had to be done.

The entire way home, she’d thought about what she was giving up by moving to Ireland. She loved her family, but she loved Danny more. He was the one who believed in her, who supported all her dreams. Her future was with him.

Her father hung up the phone, then slowly turned around to face her. Andrew Kennally was a handsome man of nearly sixty. His graying hair was set off by a deeply tanned face. He wore custom-made suits and hand-stitched shirts and Italian shoes that cost more than the rent on a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. And all of that made him very intimidating.

“Hello, Daddy.”

“You’re back,” he said, nodding at her. “It seems like you just left.”

“I’ve been gone for almost eighteen months,” Jordan reminded him.

“Right,” he said. “Well, welcome back. I’m sure you want to jump right back into work so…run along.”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Jordan said. “If you’ll remember, we had a discussion on the phone not too long ago about the hotel project.”

“Yes. I remember. It’s still yours, if you want it.”

“Why?” she asked. “I know you didn’t want to give it to me. Why did you change your mind?”

“Your mother can be very persuasive.”

“So, it’s not because you trust my work. In fact, you don’t think I deserve it, do you?”

“That’s neither here nor there,” he said. “You have the damn project. We close day after tomorrow so I’d suggest you sit down with your brother, Matt, and get up to speed. He’s been doing all the preliminary work.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Jordan said.

“What? You think you’re just going to hit the ground running?”

“No. I’m not going to hit the ground at all. I don’t want the job, Daddy. I’m going to go back to Ireland. I’m quitting Kencor.”

“Quit? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll never find another job like this.”

“I hope not. This hasn’t been all that great. And you’ve been a horrible boss. You’ve always favored my brothers more than me and I’m tired of that. I proved myself capable of handling larger projects, but that didn’t make a difference to you.”

He shook his head. “Your mother isn’t going to stand for this,” he warned.

“I don’t care. It’s time for me to make my own way in the world. I’ve met a man. I’m in love and I’m happy.”

“This is about a man? You’re quitting your job for a man?”

“No,” Jordan said. “I’m quitting my job because I need to find a place where my talents are appreciated.”

“Oh, we’re not going to get into all that warm fuzzy stuff. We don’t do that here. I don’t run around telling my employees how wonderful they are. That’s not the way I run things.”

“Maybe you should. People might not think you’re such a jerk.”

“You don’t have any loyalty to me?”

“You’re my father and I will always love you. But as a boss, you kind of suck. I’ve worked my ass off here and I deserved more than you gave me. But that’s all water under the bridge. I just want you to give me your blessing and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“What is this really about?” he asked. “What happened to you in Ireland?”

“Perspective,” she said. “I got some perspective. I realized that there’s a lot more to life than work. And I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff.”

“I don’t like ultimatums,” her father muttered, wagging his finger at her.

“I’m not giving you an ultimatum. I’ve made my decision, Daddy.” She stood up. “I’m going back to Ireland in a few days. I’d like to come out and see you and Mom this weekend. I expect I’m going to have to explain everything to her.”

“She’s going to kill me, you know. She’ll blame me for letting you go.”

“I’ll tell her that it wasn’t you.” She walked around his desk and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for everything. For the job. For the opportunity. I really am grateful.” She slowly straightened to find him smiling at her. “What?”

“You used to hug me like that when you were little. I liked it. I still do.”

Jordan smiled, then walked to the door. She gave her father a wave, then strode down the hall toward her office. Right now, she wanted to find a quiet place to call Danny. And after she was done talking to him, she’d clean out her office, pack up her apartment and figure out how to get her things to Ireland.