Tina Beckett - Flirting With The Boss

“I wouldn’t know. Yesterday was the first time I’d been there. I conducted all my business with Lyle in his office at the bank.”

She didn’t get the chance to comment as the middle-aged waitress came to the table carrying two mugs and a coffeepot. With their nods, she filled the cups.

“Hi, Jace. How’s that little one of yours?”

“She keeps me on my toes.” He smiled. “Helen, this is Lorelei Hutchinson. Lori, this is Helen Turner. She and her husband, Alan, are the owners of the Silver Spoon.”

The woman smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Hutchinson. I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thank you. And please, call me Lori.”

“Will you be staying in town long?” the woman asked.

Lori glanced at Jace. “It looks that way.”

She couldn’t tell if Helen was happy about that or not. They placed their order and the woman walked away.

“I guess she hasn’t decided if she’s happy about me staying.”

Jace leaned forward. “Everyone is curious about what you’re going to do. Whether you’ll change things at Hutchinson Corp.” He shrugged. “These days everyone worries about their jobs.”

“I don’t want that to happen. That’s one of the main reasons I’m staying in town.”

Jace leaned back in the booth. “Of course it has nothing to do with the millions your father left you.”

Lori felt the shock. “Money doesn’t solve every problem.”

“My ex-wife thought it did.”

Before she could react to Jace’s bitter words, Helen brought their food to the table. Their focus turned to their meal until a middle-aged man approached their booth.

“Excuse me, ma’am, sir,” he began hesitantly. “Helen told me that you’re Mr. Hutchinson’s daughter.”

Lori smiled. “I am Lori Hutchinson and you are …?”

“Mac Burleson.”

She had a feeling that he wasn’t just here to be neighborly. Had her father done something to him? “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Burleson.”

Mr. Burleson looked to be in his early thirties. Dressed in faded jeans, a denim shirt and warm winter jacket, he held his battered cowboy hat in his hands. “I hope you’ll pardon the intrusion, ma’am, but your father and I had business before his death. First, I’m sorry for your loss.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“I was also wondering if you’ll be taking over his position at the bank.”

She was startled by the question. “To be honest with you, Mr. Burleson, I haven’t had much chance to decide what my involvement would be. Is there a problem?”

The man was nervous. “It’s just that, Mr. Neal, in the loan department, is going to foreclose on my house next week.” The man glanced at Jace, then back at her.

“I know I’ve been late on my payments, but I haven’t been able to find work in a while. No one is hiring.…” He stopped and gathered his emotions. “I have three kids, Miss Hutchinson. If I can have a little more time, I swear I’ll catch up. Just don’t make my family leave their home.”

Lori was caught off guard. Her father planned to evict a family?

“Mac,” Jace said, drawing the man’s attention, “do you have any experience working construction?”

Hope lit up the man’s tired eyes. “I’ve worked on a few crews. I can hang drywall and do rough framing. Heck, I’ll even clean up trash.” He swallowed hard. “I’m not too proud to do anything to feed my family.”

Lori felt an ache building in her stomach as Jace talked. “If you can report to the Mountain Heritage site tomorrow morning at seven, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself.”

“I’ll be there,” Mac promised. “Thank you.”

Jace nodded. “Report to the foreman, Toby.”

Mac shook Jace’s hand. “I won’t let you down, Mr. Yeager.” He turned back to Lori. “Could you tell Mr. Neal that I have a job now? And maybe give me a few months to catch up on my payments.”

Lori’s heart ached. She didn’t even know her loan officer, but it seemed she needed to meet him right away. “Mac, I can’t make any promises, but give me a few days and I’ll get back to you.”

He shook her hand. “That’s all I can ask. Thank you, Ms. Hutchinson.” He walked away.

Lori released a sigh. “I guess I have a lot more to do now than worry about one building.”

“Your job as Hutchinson CEO covers a lot of areas.”

Helen came over to the table, this time wearing a grin.

“I hoped you’ve enjoyed your lunch.”

“Great as usual,” Jace said.

The waitress started to turn away, then stopped and said, “By the way, it’s on the house.” She picked up the bill from the table. “Thank you both for what you did for Mac.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” Lori clarified, now afraid she’d spoken too soon.

“You both gave him hope. He’s had a rough time of late.” Helen blinked. “A few years ago, he left the army and came back home a decorated war hero. At the very least, he deserves our respect, and a chance. So thank you for taking the time to listen to him.” The woman turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

She looked at Jace, remembering what he said about her inheritance. She also wasn’t sure she liked being compared to his ex. “I better go and stop by the bank.” She pushed her plate away. “Who knows, maybe all those ‘millions’ just might do some good.”

LORI couldn’t decide if she was hurt or angry over Jace’s assumption about the inheritance. She’d lost her appetite and excused herself immediately after lunch.

She was glad when he didn’t try to stop her, because she had a lot of thinking to do without the opinion of a man she’d be working with. And who seemed to have a lot of issues about women.

Was he like her father? What she’d learned from her mother about Lyle over the years had been his need to control, whether in business or his personal life. When Jocelyn Hutchinson couldn’t take any more she’d gotten out of the marriage, but their child had still been trapped in the middle of her parents’ feud. The scars they’d caused made it hard for Lori to trust.

But was coming back to Destiny worth putting her smack-dab into dealing with the past? All the childhood hurt and pain? It also put her in charge of Lyle’s domain, and his business dealings, including the Mountain Heritage complex. And a lot more time with the handsome but irritating Jace Yeager.

The man had been right about something. She had a lot of money and it could do a lot of good. She recalled the look of hope on Mac Burleson’s face and knew she needed to find an answer for the man.

She crossed the street to Destiny Community Bank. The two-story brick structure was probably from her grandfather’s era. With renewed confidence she walked inside to a large open space with four teller windows. Along the wall were portraits of generations of the Hutchinson men—Raymond, William, Billy and Lyle. They were all strangers to her. She studied her handsome father’s picture. This man especially.

She turned around and found several of the bank customers watching her. She put on a smile and they greeted her the same way as if they knew who she was.

She went to the reception desk and spoke to the young brunette woman seated there. “Is it possible to see Mr. Neal? Tell him Lorelei Hutchinson is here.”

“Yes, Miss Hutchinson.” The woman picked up the phone, and when she hung up said, “Mr. Neal said to have a seat and he’ll be out … shortly.”

Lori wasn’t in the mood to wait. “Is he in a meeting?”

The girl shook her head.

“Then I’ll just head to his office. Where is it?”

The receptionist stood and together they went toward a row of offices. “Actually, he’s in Mr. Hutchinson’s office.”