Falling for the Boss

by Jean Oram

  “And you’re bad for CME’s bottom line. Why else would you convince Connor to purchase a sawmill? There is no profitable reason for him to buy a primary industry—especially one that has lost money for almost a decade.” She casually leaned against a nearby desk. “Well, unless, of course, you were trying to do a favor for someone in your family. Maybe an uncle who owned the failing lumberyard and was wanting to retire? Maybe promise him a secure future at Connor’s expense, through a little something called a finder’s fee? Smaller, of course, than your own kickback—sorry, bonus.”

  “Are you trying to accuse me of something?” James asked, his nostrils flaring.

  “It must be difficult being you.” The man’s jaw clenched, and she could tell he was itching for her to explain why. “I know how hard you’ve been working lately. Connor has been leaving more details to you.” She glanced around at the eavesdroppers. “To everyone, really. But being the man who never gets any credit from the public as to your role in the company’s success... It must be hard to take.”

  “I don’t need credit.”

  “That’s good. Because I doubt you’d want to be the one named for losing Connor’s company over four hundred thousand dollars.”

  “I never!” James swung his fist down as though searching for something to slam.

  “The overvaluation, though? It’s by over 400 K, James. I’ve done a lot of research, and it seems very odd that someone with so much experience in the business, such as your old high school pal, Peter Stoker, would make such a large error when determining the value of your uncle’s lumberyard.”

  James licked his lips and swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His eyes were shifting from side to side and Maya knew she had him.

  “Well, unless Peter was also doing someone a favor. Say, in exchange for a brand-new SUV for his wife? How’s she liking it, by the way? Is it nice? I hear she got a lot of upgrades.”

  “That’s a coincidence! You don’t understand the complexities of purchasing another company, and you are jumping to unreasonable conclusions. There are tax benefits—”

  “That come nowhere near covering the loss that Connor is going to take on this.” Maya spread her arms out. “That everyone in this company is going to take.”

  She saw the fear in staffers’ faces as they turned nervously to James.

  “This is utterly ridiculous,” he spat.

  “No!” Maya shouted, her patience gone. “You are utterly ridiculous! The fact that you would do this to the man you work for. The man who taught you everything you know. To betray him so deeply...” Her voice shook with emotion. “Don’t you get it? Don’t you get who you have become? Don’t you get what you are asking these innocent employees to be a part of?” The crowd behind her rustled nervously. “Who would hire a man who has a history of being fined for taking kickbacks when overvaluing companies? Do you know how bad this is going to look in the courts?”

  A heavy hand landed on Maya’s shoulder, and James’s expression changed. She turned to face Connor, who was decked out in a suit and looking very sexy and in charge.

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” she said quietly. Now he could finally see what she’d been saying all along, and make it right again.

  “That’ll be enough, Miss Summer,” Connor said, his voice flat, the dark lines that had been under his eyes when they’d first met seemingly tracking across again as she watched.

  She smiled in relief when he gave James a stern look. Her work here was done. That corrupt man was going to be packing so fast it wouldn’t even make it onto Facebook before he was long gone.

  She glanced back at Connor, ready to reap her reward, but his shadowed jaw was set, his cheeks flushed, and he was staring at her in a way that made her hesitate. It was almost as though he didn’t think James was in the wrong. That maybe she was.

  “Please come with me,” he said.

  James gloated, crossing his arms and leaning back on his heels, as though he was a bouncer and she was about to be bounced.

  How could Connor be so blind?

  Maya pulled her shoulder out from under Connor’s grasp as two security guards rounded the corner.

  Em stepped to Connor’s side, wringing her hands. “Mr. MacKenzie?” she squeaked.

  “I’ve heard enough, Em,” he told her.

  She nodded and stepped back as he addressed the security guards. “I’ll see that Miss Summer is seen out of the building.” He placed a hand on Maya’s lower back. Over his shoulder he said, “James, carry on taking care of things for me, please.”

  The man grinned smugly. “Like it was my own company, Connor.”

  “Excellent. That’s exactly what I need to hear.”

  Maya shook off Connor’s hand. “I will let myself out.” As she headed toward the elevator, she addressed the room. “I know I’m not the only one who sees that James is about to lose this company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why are you too chicken to say anything?”

  Gazes flicked away as she tried to make eye contact with people as she passed.

  “That’ll be enough,” Connor said quietly. He began moving them faster, his palm once again an insistent force on her back.

  Outside the building moments later, he trailed her onto the wet sidewalk, where she wanted to run from the humiliation and never look back. Her heart felt as though it had been stung by a thousand stingrays, and her eyes were burning with held back emotion.

  As he reached for her arm, she dodged him, pulling her jacket tighter around her shaking body. If he couldn’t come to the conclusion that James had to go, then it could only mean one thing. Connor was in on it.

  “Maya.”

  “I held you on a pedestal you never deserved.”

  “Trust me, Maya.”

  “You know what? You can run your company however you want, but I thought you were someone else. Someone I wanted to emulate.”

  His body rocked as if he’d been hit. His eyes were dark and tired. “Trust me…” He reached out and grasped her arm, staring at her as though he wanted to say something else. Finally, with drizzle hazing the air between them, he whispered, “Thank you.”

  “For what?” she spat.

  “For seeing things.”

  “If you’re talking about what just went on up there, you need glasses, because you don’t know what you’re even talking about.”

  He lowered his voice. “Maya, patience.”

  “You are such a tease! I don’t know what kind of power trip you’re on, but I hate you, okay? I officially hate you. Send that out in an office memo.” She waved a hand across the sky. “This just in―Maya Summer hates Connor MacKenzie because he is a duplicitous, corrupt, hurtful man who likes to toy with people.” Her chest burned with anger and betrayal. “You’re about to sign a deal that will lose you a ton of money, and you think it’s funny to tell me to have patience? You’re beyond words, Connor MacKenzie. Beyond. Words.” She blinked and turned away from a woman who had stopped to gawk at her outburst.

  She turned back and whispered harshly, “I thought you had a sense of honor and I’m embarrassed to have worked for you. I will never use that worthlessly vague reference you saved on my computer. I’m not a pawn you can use in your games, Connor. I am a woman, and I hate the way you’ve treated me.”

  He reached out a hand, his brow arced in pain. “Maya, our time at the cottage wasn’t like that.”

  “I’m talking about what went on in there!” She shoved a finger in the direction of the skyscraper. “It’s like Arlene Dickinson said, it’s not about being the best. It’s about doing your best. And you failed, Connor. Big time.”

  “I’m not who you think I am.”

  “That’s for sure.”

  He gripped her shoulders, drawing her closer. “Why do you care so much, Maya?” When she didn’t answer, he gave her a light shake. “Why, Maya? Why?”

  Her bottom lip trembling, she broke free of his hold. She felt shattered. This was worse than any heartbreak she’d ever
experienced. And all for a man she’d never even had. A man who’d never been truly real with her.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” she whispered as she walked away.

  The rain continued to drizzle outside the cottage, and Maya and her sisters sat around the fireplace, enjoying the blaze. “I can’t believe he didn’t care. That he was such a―a…” Maya downed the rest of her hot toddy.

  “Whoa, girl. You’re going to end up hurling if you keep drinking that fast.” Hailey gently pried the empty cup out of her hand.

  “I like my drinks to go down fast and easy. And we’re finally drinking something that doesn’t give me brain freeze.” Maya turned to Hailey, taking in her jeans and sweater. “Don’t you have a flight to catch to New York or something?”

  “I booked the red-eye. Tell us more about this thing with Connor. You really think his advisor is up to something, and that he might be in on it?”

  Maya nodded, her head throbbing with held back emotion. “It’s the only explanation.”

  “Are you sure?” Melanie asked, hesitation in her voice. “It doesn’t quite fit right in my mind.”

  “Neither does him showing her out of the building and not James,” snapped Daphne, with enough indignation it could have been her in Maya’s shoes. Daphne was usually so “let it go” that Maya briefly wondered if something else was going on with her kid sister.

  Maya pushed herself deeper into the cushions of her chair, the heels of her hands against her cheeks. “I don’t know anymore. Nothing is a snap. He was so calm, but he had this haunted look.” She reached for her cup to refill it. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Did you sort out that licensing thing?” Melanie asked.

  “I meant something not me-related.”

  “No luck?”

  “Jamie’s girlfriend said she’d try. Everyone says they’ll try, but nobody is on my side. Nobody cares.”

  “Yeah, go eat worms, would you?” Hailey snorted, tugging the filled cup away from Maya.

  “I know, okay? I suck at making connections in the business world. I know, I know, I know. I’m too impatient. I want to get stuff done and people want to bond. You don’t have to say it, the universe is already saying it loud and clear.”

  The sisters joined Hailey’s song, singing about eating worms because of not being liked, and Maya broke into giggles at the silliness of it all. “You guys suck.”

  “Aw, Snappy, Snap, Snap,” Daphne cooed, making kissy faces as she pulled Maya close.

  Maya laughed and pushed her away. “I hate you guys. I’m being serious.”

  “So then?” Melanie asked. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to walk away.”

  “But…” Hailey looked to her sisters for support.

  “Maya, that’s not what you do,” Melanie said carefully.

  “Yeah? And you guys have better ideas?”

  Listen. Pause. Reflect. Connect. That was what she was supposed to be doing. Too bad that advice sucked.

  “I have to get Tigger,” Daphne said, fiddling with her knit pullover as she stood. “The party she’s at ends soon.”

  “Yeah, we should all go. Are you coming, Maya?”

  “I’m going to stay here a few days. I need to get over this, and send out some more résumés. I may as well do it here without distractions. I might paint the screen frames, too.”

  “Are we keeping the place?” Daphne asked, her forehead furrowing.

  Maya shrugged. “We have paint, I have time.”

  “Because, um, I have news.”

  The sisters turned to her. The last time Daphne had had news and used that hesitant, the-world-might-end tone of voice was over five years ago, when she’d announced she was unexpectedly expecting Tigger.

  “I was at the planning office for the protest I’m doing in Bala against the big development there.” She paused, inhaling in a way that made her chest heave.

  Maya began planning out the rest of her evening in her mind, as Daphne, no doubt, was about to launch into the tale of another atrocity that needed desperately to be stopped. There was one every month, it seemed. Maybe after her sisters left Maya would check out head hunters to see if they could find her a job. And of course, finish off the last of the hot toddies. And maybe plot the demise of Connor, seeing as she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him.

  Daphne mentioned Baby Horseshoe Island and Maya perked up. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

  Her sister’s face pinched with worry as she said, “Rubicore Developments has bought out most of Baby Horseshoe Island and has plans to create a private resort complete with an airstrip, boating and wake boarding school, golf course, staff housing, mini marina, and hotel cabins.”

  “What?”

  “I know.” Daphne’s voice shook.

  “When?”

  “The plans are still a proposal. We need to go to the next town meeting. The environmental implications alone are horrific.”

  “If we group together on this we can kick them right off that island,” Melanie said, swinging her fist through the air. “I’ll go to that meeting and show them exactly who they are messing with.”

  Daphne shot her a grateful smile.

  “But if they’ve bought most of Baby Horseshoe they’re not going to just roll over.” Maya shook her head, adding up the pieces. “Aaron referred to the Fredericksons as the holdouts when he stopped by the other day. Are they the last owners?”

  Daphne nodded.

  “They’ve even bought out JoHoBo—I mean, Missy’s Getaway?” No wonder the renovated cottage had been so empty all summer. It was a miracle the place was still standing, seeing as at its core it was a hundred-ten-year-old cottage such as theirs.

  Another nod from Daphne.

  “And they offered to buy our island?” Hailey asked. “What does that mean?”

  “It means they don’t want the hassle of us over here complaining.” Maya crossed her arms. “Daphne’s right. We need to do something. And we need to not lose Trixie Hollow.”

  “We’re going to need more people on our side.” Melanie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We need…a developer on our side. Someone who knows how these guys are going to duck and dive, so we can block them before they try anything sneaky.”

  “Do you think they’re going to bribe council?” Maya asked.

  “They probably already have,” Daphne said, blinking back what appeared to be several cubic meters of panic.

  “We’ll figure something out,” Maya assured them all. “But in the meantime, we need to get our butts in gear and save our cottage, so it doesn’t fall into their hands.” She rolled her shoulders, trying to force herself to chill out. At least Connor hadn’t asked for a refund. That was something helping them in the right direction. Too bad she didn’t have much to live on, much less help pay the back taxes.

  She walked her sisters down to the dock, their mood somber. Visibility was diminished due to the light rain and it was a nice break from the heat of last week. Plus, Maya thought ruefully, it matched everyone’s frame of mind.

  As Maya watched her sisters’ boat disappear into the mist, another boat pulled up. She couldn’t make out who was under the yellow rain hat. Was it Connor? Did he decide that she was right? Had he realized they were an amazing team, and that he missed her?

  She loathed the part of herself that missed him, and the way her hope turned into a disappointment so deep it seared her lungs when she discovered it wasn’t him in the other boat. She fought back the tidal wave of emotion. Maya Summer did not cry. Darn him.

  The boat pulled up alongside the dock, the captain tossing her a line as he peeked out from under his yellow slicker.

  “Jamie?”

  “Girlfriend asked me to drop this off—I heard you were out here.” He passed her an envelope sealed in a blue plastic bag.

  “What is it?”

  “Some licensing thing she said was important.”

  “Really?”

  �
��Yep.”

  Maya clutched the envelope to her chest. “Did she get it to go through?”

  He grinned. “It’s all there in black-and-white.”

  As Jamie motored away, Maya stood under the protective eaves of the boathouse, reading the papers. Then she pumped the air with a fist and grinned. Maybe destiny wasn’t such a mean lady, after all. Maybe Maya was just being tested.

  Connor sat at the head table of the wedding party, a warm tropical breeze ruffling his hair, which was in need of a cut. He smiled at his brother’s delirious joy, having to admit the kid looked pretty good in a tuxedo.

  “Having fun?” Curtis asked.

  Connor nodded. Surprisingly, he was. He gazed out across the sandy Tahitian shores to the rolling ocean. What a view. If he ever got married, something like this would do the trick. Would Maya want a destination wedding? She seemed like a no-fuss, no-muss kind of woman. Despite her desire for everything big and important, she’d probably love a low-key event in a similar setting to this.

  He stretched his hands, which had closed into fists. Why was he even thinking of her? She hated him. He’d lost out. He pushed his fingers through his hair, glad for the breeze slapping the large canopy above him. He’d ruined it completely, but he couldn’t let her in. He wasn’t ready, wasn’t there yet. And this was too big. Nobody could know. Not yet.

  “I expected you to be on your phone all night.” His brother’s voice lowered with emotion as he clapped Connor on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

  “For not being on my phone?”

  “For being here. Really being here.”

  Connor nodded, unable to speak. He’d become that guy who was never around. If he had a wife, she’d be doing everyone on the side in a quest for love and attention.

  “Connor, you look fantastic,” Roberta said, leaning around her new husband. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was done up in curls that kept falling in her face in a way that reminded him of Maya. It seemed he couldn’t get away from thoughts of that woman. “We’re so glad you came.”