Teresa Southwick - One Night with the Boss

One could hope. That way all she had to do was work out the remainder of her notice and the unfortunate incident would be behind her. There’d be no reason to speak about Leonard again.

What she had to do was put all her energy into finding her own replacement. Time was getting short and it wasn’t fair to throw some poor, unsuspecting woman into the deep end of Brady’s pool. So to speak.

Then a thought occurred to her. Her boss had found fault with every female candidate he’d met so far. Maybe she should look more closely at male applicants. Olivia threw herself into the search and lost track of time as she browsed internet employment sites and dissected résumés.

When the sound of the opening front door and the subsequent security system chirp drifted to her, she glanced at her clock and realized almost two hours had slipped away. Knowing the visitor was probably Brady’s mother or sister, both of whom had keys, she figured it was time for a break.

A few moments later Maureen O’Keefe appeared in the doorway with her fifteen-month-old granddaughter in her arms. “Hi, Olivia. How are you?”

“Great.” She stood and walked around her desk, smiling at the toddler. “Hello, Miss Danielle. You’re looking very pretty in your pink shirt and denim overalls.”

The baby had dark hair and eyes like her mother and grandmother. But Maureen’s short hair was shot with silver and done in a piecey style with the back flipped up in a saucy shape. She was taller than Olivia and looked trim and attractive in designer jeans, expensive brown leather boots and a trendy camel coat over her thick winter sweater.

“How are you, Maureen?”

“Could be better.”

When the toddler held out her arms, Olivia took her. “Are you okay, baby girl? Why is your nana making that frowny face? You tell her that causes wrinkles.”

“I have a very good reason to risk wrinkles with this face,” the older woman said grimly. “Do you remember Tiffani Guthrie?”

Olivia would never forget the witch who’d dumped Brady when he left college just before finals in his senior year. Instead of supporting him, whatever his reasons might be, Tiffani with an I took up with a guy on his way to the Texas oil fields by way of Vegas, where, rumor had it, they married at the drive-through Elvis chapel.

“Brady’s old girlfriend.”

“Miss Fake Boobs and Big Hair.” Maureen’s voice dripped with loathing. “I was at the Grizzly Bear Diner this morning and heard from Cissy Johnson who was talking to Betty Cordoba who’s a friend of Tiffani’s cousin George. Word is that she’s coming back to Blackwater Lake.”

“No.” Olivia couldn’t believe she’d have the nerve to show her face back here after treating Brady so badly. She hugged the baby close. “Why would she do that?”

“No one is exactly sure. And this is just a guess from piecing together snippets of information,” the other woman confided. “But we think she landed herself in a bad situation with that Texas wildcatter. We’re speculating that she’s coming here to look up her old boyfriend—her wealthy ex-boyfriend—who can get her out of the whole mess. Can you believe the nerve of that woman?”

“Yes.” Olivia had never liked her.

She’d watched Brady and Tiffani together, hating the fact that she’d been born too late for him to notice her. She’d never figured out what Brady saw in the woman. Well, maybe the well-endowed bosom. Pretty face. Gorgeous red hair. But it was her attitude that was so infuriating. She’d had a way of making a person feel small and insignificant. Once she’d told wide-eyed high schooler Olivia not to hold her breath that Brady would ever give her a tumble. It had never occurred to Olivia that the feelings she thought buried inside were actually there on her face for the world to see. After that she’d worked very hard at making her expression neutral.

When the baby grew restless in her arms, Olivia handed her over to her grandmother. “Maybe you’re wrong and she’s not coming here.”

“Maybe. But Brady needs to be prepared. And so does every other bachelor in Blackwater Lake. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t warn him?”

“I see your point.”

Olivia had never known this woman to interfere in her children’s lives. She was always there with support, advice when asked, a shoulder to cry on when needed and babysitting when necessary. If she felt honor bound to share this rumor with her son, there was probably a very good reason.

“So, is Brady busy?” She settled Danielle on her hip.

“Always.” But she had no idea what her boss was doing. “I can buzz him for you.”

“In a minute.” Maureen set little Danielle on her feet and she immediately squealed in a decibel level that would shatter glass. She toddled around Olivia’s desk toward the closed door of her uncle’s office. Small hands slapped on the door and a few seconds later it opened.

“Well, look who’s here.” He picked up his niece and held her high over his head until she laughed delightedly. “Hi, sweetie pie. Nice to see you, too, Mom.”

“I hope you still feel that way when you hear what I came to say.”

“Oh?”

“It will keep for a minute. I was just about to ask Olivia what’s going on with her these days.”

He walked over to them, holding the baby and looking so comfortable with the child that it tugged at Olivia’s heart.

“I can’t believe she hasn’t told you the breaking news,” he said.

“What? You’re getting married?” Maureen’s eyes grew wide. “You’re pregnant.”

“Do you know something I don’t?” His gaze met Olivia’s as his niece’s chubby index finger toyed with the button at the collar of his white cotton shirt. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

“No!” It was pretty much impossible to get pregnant when you weren’t having sex. Not that she planned to share that personal information.

“What’s going on?” Maureen looked between the two of them, obviously sensing undercurrents.

“Olivia has a boyfriend and she’s given notice that she’s leaving O’Keefe Technology.”

His mother looked more shocked than if a pregnancy had been confirmed. “What?”

“Yes,” Brady continued. “She’s going to abandon me.”

“That’s a tad melodramatic, but essentially true,” Olivia defended. Also true was the need to shift attention from herself before she was forced to lie to his mother. “The problem is that Brady’s showing more than a little resistance to hiring my replacement.”

“I don’t believe it.” There was a puzzled expression on his mother’s face.

“It’s true,” Olivia and Brady said together.

“That you’re being difficult? It’s a given.” Maureen waved her hand dismissively. “I’m surprised your mother didn’t say anything. We had breakfast together this morning and she never mentioned anything about you quitting. Or leaving town. Or even having a boyfriend.”

There were questions in Brady’s eyes when he said, “Olivia is very secretive about Leonard.”

“That’s your boyfriend’s name?”

So much for not having to speak of Leonard ever again. And if Maureen reacted like her son and daughter, there would be a fair amount of teasing about the name. She braced herself and said, “Yes.”

When the little girl squirmed in his arms, Brady set her on the rug and she toddled over to the wastebasket to explore.

“What kind of work does Leonard do?”

“Oh, this and that.” For the first time in her life Olivia wished she’d practiced the art of deceit, because then she’d be better at it.

“This and that in what field?” Maureen persisted.

“Tech.” That was sort of true. She worked in the industry and Leonard was a figment of her imagination, therefore a part of her. It was a stretch, but a case could be made.