Kathleen O'Reilly - Once Upon A Mattress

Ben’s father was the undisputed head and Ben’s brother, Allen, was the heir apparent to MacAllister Beds.

MacAllister Beds, the last bed you’ll ever buy.

Too bad MacAllister marriages didn’t last as long as their mattresses.

Ben clenched his folder a little tighter.

Martin MacAllister sat down at the end of the conference table, situating his big frame into the old chair. His brown hair—the same light shade as Ben’s—had just now started to turn gray, but his dark eyes were full of humor and youth. He settled back, sighing in relief when he finally got comfortable.

Allen trundled in, late as usual, then sat down at their father’s right hand.

Martin MacAllister put on the bifocals that Ben knew he hated and looked at his meeting agenda. “Ben, glad you could join us. Got big plans today?”

“I thought I’d write some new security procedures,” he answered, almost as a joke.

“Procedures, huh? Good, good. Let’s get started, shall we?”

And for the next forty-five minutes, Ben might as well have been wallpaper. His father asked Hilary all sorts of questions about the launch, what time the press conference was scheduled, what media contacts they had, shipping timetables and meeting plans.

And absolutely nothing about security at all.

Ben carefully took his notes and folded them into a paper airplane.

He could be in Colorado right now, breathing fresh mountain air at the J&D ranch, number thirty-seven on his list of things to do before he died. But he’d put that off, because he thought it was important to be here—for the company, for his family.

He almost laughed.

While the others were occupied doing real work, he got up and walked to the windows. For a while he simply stared out of the diamond panes at the modern gray lines and squares that made up the skyline of downtown Dallas. He was slowly going out of his mind.

The constant drumming of the rain on the roof should have been relaxing, but instead his knee got stiff. The same knee he’d broken when he was working as a ski instructor in the Alps.

Absently he rubbed the stubborn ligament. He had thought coming back home would be the right thing to do. Helping out his mother and father, easing their burden while they went through such a painful divorce. Only, apparently, no one else thought it was a painful divorce.

For once he’d thought he could come back and help, take the painful job and try to pick up the pieces. But everyone in his family seemed smiling and cheerful, as if nothing had happened.

Everyone except Ben.

MARTIN MACALLISTER SAT DOWN in the chair across from his son, his glasses slipping on his nose. “You wanted to see me, Ben?”

His father didn’t look distressed; on the contrary, he looked more relaxed than he had been in years. Ben rubbed the ache at his temples and settled back behind his desk, remembering his purpose. “Yes. I want to do more with the product launch. Maybe I could coordinate, or manage, or just help.”

Martin frowned, which was a bad sign. “You do?”

“Well, yes,” Ben answered.

The room was silent, only the whirring of the air conditioner and then finally a long, painful squeak as his father shifted in the heavy chair. “I’m sorry. Sure, we’ll think of something. Glad you called me in here. I’ve been meaning to ask your advice.”

At last. Ben nearly sighed in relief. Instead he put on his serious I’m-listening face. “Yes?”

“You remember that fall you went to Alaska as a fishing guide? I’ve been thinking about going up there. Just me and the halibut, alone in the great outdoors.”

Running away. His father wanted to run away. Classic. “It’s a lot of fun, Dad, and I know that with what you’re going through now—”

“What?”

“The divorce.”

“Oh, no. I’m fine. Got a lunch date with your mom on Wednesday. We need to put the house on the market.”

What?

Ben struggled for calm. No, for today, he would be productive, happy, at peace. According to his sister-inlaw, Dr. Tracy MacAllister—the Love Doctor—he should put his anger behind him. Not that he put much stock in her advice. You’d think she could have stopped her in-laws’ divorce if she wasn’t such a quack.

Ben’s voice sounded completely normal when he asked why.

“It’s too big for just your mother and I’m going to get a Winnebago.”

Ben closed his eyes. The company had been in Dallas for eighty-three years. Three generations of MacAllisters and no telling how many mattresses had been passed through these walls. And now his father wanted to buy a motor home. “What about the company?”

“I’ve got some ideas.”

Ideas. Ben knew lots about ideas. Ideas were dangerous. Ben opened his eyes, but the pain still throbbed in his head. “What sort of ideas, Dad?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. Imagine this instead. In a couple of years, we’ll be out shooting wild game in Africa together. Bang…bang.” Martin’s watch alarm sounded. “Whoops. Got a meeting with Hilary to go over a couple more details on the new line. Great lady. Lots of potential. See ya, son.” He stopped in the doorway. “And remember, if you need anything, just ask. We’re all here for you.” Then his father disappeared.

Ben stared, wondering who the man was that had just left. Wild game in Africa? Hell, his father fainted at the sight of blood.

He paced around his small office, hands locked behind his back. So what was he supposed to do? If his father thought he wasn’t capable of helping out, his father was wrong.

No, he’d do this Director of Security thing, even if it killed him.

It was only a first step, and not a big one at that. Time to return to the family. Not that anyone seemed to notice that he’d been missing, of course.

Ben went back to the safety of his desk and popped two aspirin. Where to start?

He took the folder from the top of his desk and read the computer printout of the staff’s Internet access reports. There seemed to be widespread page views of Playboy on the fourth floor, and there was some dating instruction viewage on the third floor. Ben laughed. He should check into that. It wasn’t like security at Fort Knox, but there just wasn’t a lot going on.

The aspirin started kicking in, and he felt strong enough to tackle the more mundane part of the job. He tugged open his desk drawer and pulled out a book. Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions.

He opened the book to the first page. Chapter 1. Casing the Establishment.

By page fifteen, he was ready for an afternoon nap. He locked his hands behind his head and eased back in his chair, studying the walls. Maybe he could patch up the spidery cracks that ran near the ceiling, then at least he’d have something to do.

He’d worked for a roofer in St. Thomas one year. Item number four—one summer in the Caribbean. Check. Ah, that had been the perfect place. While hammering away at the flat roofs of the villas, he’d had a hard time looking away from the crystal blue waters that sparkled as far as the eye could see.

Not like Dallas, where the five-day forecast this week was rain, rain, and more rain.

He shouldn’t be daydreaming. He should check out that Internet site. He clicked on his mouse and pulled up the page.

Top ten pickup lines. Ben started to laugh as he read.

“Hey, baby, do you believe in love at first sight, or do you want me to walk in again?”

Gag. Too clichéd. He could do better than that. He thought for a minute.

“Do I have a chance in hell with you? Don’t tell me if I don’t because I just gotta try,” he said to himself.

He never heard the person entering his office; he just had the feeling someone was behind him.