Leanne Banks - Underfoot

Walker had bailed him out with repeated warnings. He and his brother parted ways on many things, but one area on which they’d always agreed had been the subject of fathering. Don’t just say no. Say never.

“Walker, I know we always said we wouldn’t have any children, but I gotta tell you I want to be a good father for this baby. I want to be a husband for Danielle. I never thought I would say it, but I want to be a family man.”

For how long? Walker wondered. In all the time Walker had known his brother, BJ had exhibited the staying power of a fly. “BJ, this isn’t another business investment you can dump and move on to another one. This is a human being. A person. Do you really want to take on that responsibility? And this girl? Do you love her enough to stick with her and try to get a real job and earn a real living?”

“I know the baby’s a human being, and yeah, I do love Danielle. I have for a while now. I just didn’t want to tell you. I can tell you don’t believe in me. Can’t say I blame you.”

“I didn’t say I don’t believe in you,” Walker replied. “I’ve always said you had great potential.”

“And you’ve always gotten me out of trouble. You know I can be a hard worker, though,” BJ said.

“Yeah,” Walker admitted. Hard, just not all that focused.

“So, Danielle and I think it would be better for us to move to Atlanta. I’d like to go to work for you, big brother. It’s always been my dream.”

Alarm shot through him. Despite the Bellagio principle of having all those relatives work for the same organization, he’d always firmly believed that family working for family was not a good idea. In fact, it was a horrible idea.

“I can do it,” BJ continued. “I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll run errands. I’ll answer the phone. I’ll help you sell advertising. Just give me a chance.”

Walker cleared his throat. “I’m not sure you would be happy in the advertising field, BJ. You have a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. That’s great, but sometimes it makes it hard to take orders from someone else.”

“Walker, I need to make a fresh start if I’m going to make this work. I need your help like I’ve never needed it before. I gotta grow up and be somebody else’s daddy.”

THE NEXT MORNING, Trina’s supervisor, Ben Ferguson, invited her into his office and closed the door behind him. First clue that something unusual was up.

He sat across from Trina and looked at her for a moment. She returned his glance calmly, although her stomach twisted.

“There are some changes in the works. I need to know if you want my job.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“If I were to move up, are you sure you want my job?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “I’ve always wanted your job.”

He laughed. “That’s what I like about you, Trina. You want my job, but you don’t stab me in the back to get it. You help me get promoted instead.”

She smiled. “What I like about you is that you realize I’m trying to help you.”

“You’ve made me look good. Good enough that I’m filling in for Anthony Tarantino’s VP spot this summer. He’s talking about retiring.”

“That’s great,” she said. “You’ve got to be pleased.”

“I am,” he said. “But I’m going to be in a limbo phase where I’m filling in for Anthony at the same time I’m still acting PR supervisor. If you’re really sure you want my position, then I need you to step up now.”

“I always have.”

“I hesitate to mention this, but you’ve had a baby and you’re a single parent. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Absolutely not,” Trina said, although she felt the slightest twist of uncertainty. “Women have been successfully multitasking for ages. Have you noticed a dip in my performance?”

“No. You’ve been late a few times and had to skip out early for a few doctor appointments, but you’ve always come through when Bellagio needed you.”

“Thank you for noticing,” she said.

Ben gave her another considering glance. “Okay. First order of business is Walker Gordon.”

Trina’s heart leapt. “You want me to fire him?”

Ben laughed. “Hell, no. The board is still partial to him even after the Brooke fiasco. There’s a point person assigned to him from marketing and we need a point person from PR. That would be you.”

She swallowed a gasp. “I thought he still needed to present a commercial before the board approved him.”

Ben shrugged. “Yeah. It better be a decent commercial. But when has Walker done anything that wasn’t stellar? As long as Bellagio has his personal attention and he’s got his game going, we’re going to go with him this time. Marc Waterson himself told me.”

She swallowed seven swear words. How was she supposed to work with Walker? If he was going to stay in Atlanta, she was going to have to tell him about Maddie.

Her expression must have revealed her lack of enthusiasm. “You don’t look happy about it. I always got the impression that you and Walker got along well.”

“We did,” she said without much conviction.

Ben wrinkled his brow. “Has something happened that I need to know—”

“Oh, no,” she said quickly, her heart racing at the lie. She prayed the color of her cheeks didn’t betray her. “I, uh—” She cleared her throat and gave a tight smile as she manufactured a reason for her response. “I just thought Bellagio would benefit from a fresh point of view. In terms of advertising.”

Ben relaxed. “I see your point, but you gotta admit Walker has always done a good job for us. So we’ll see how he handles the next campaign. And of course since you’re the point person, it will be your job to make sure it’s a success,” Ben half joked, pausing when she remained silent.

“If you think it’s going to be too much, we could turn it over to Dora.”

“Oh, no,” Trina said, feeling protective of her job, her future, her baby’s future. “I’m up for it.”

“Just because I’ll be upstairs doesn’t mean you can’t call me for anything,” he assured her.

“Thanks and congratulations,” she said, rising to her feet.

“Yeah.” He stood, too. “Don’t spread it around. Nothing’s official yet.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” Trina said and left his office, her mind whirling. This was the promotion she had been working for since she’d started at Bellagio. She’d called in favors from old schoolmates to get exposure for Bellagio. She’d worked late and sacrificed. Finally, it was within sight. The promotion was more important than ever to her now that she was in charge of Maddie’s welfare. Trina knew she could do the job. She also knew she would need support. Someone who could do her grocery shopping, occasionally prepare meals and take care of Maddie when Trina needed to work late. Her stomach twisted at that last possibility, but she didn’t dwell on it.

Walking into her office, she opened a file on her computer and made notes about requirements for the position she needed. She sucked down a cup of coffee and called Bride Magazine to confirm a mention of Bellagio shoes in the June issue. It took some extra delving, but she learned the shoe size for the fashion editor at a top women’s magazine and arranged to send her pair of Bellagio sandals.

Grabbing a Diet Coke, she started to dial marketing when her phone rang. “Trina Roberts, hello.”

One beat of silence followed. “Trina, it’s Walker.”

Her throat tightened and she took a breath to help her relax. “Walker, hello.”

“I just talked to Ben and he told me you’re going to be one of my go-to people.”

“That’s what I hear,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “What can I do for you?”