by Skye Jordan
Her cell pinged, and Ava’s heart jumped. She and Isaac had agreed to let things between them ride—no commitment, no stress—which led to texting conversations for the twelve hours they’d been apart.
The sight of Isaac’s name on her phone made a smile curve her lips.
My bed was way too lonely last night.
Mine too, she admitted. How’s Becky Rae working out this morning?
She cringed a little as she waited for his reply. After training Becky Rae, Ava had seen some real problem spots.
Yeah…that… he wrote.
A little eccentric, right?
No kidding. Her nails are so long, she uses a pencil to type—one letter at a time.
Ava had seen those problems coming, even though Becky Rae assured her she could do everything necessary with her crazy clawlike nails.
And she won’t cross the threshold between the office and the garage, Isaac continued. When I get a phone call, she opens the door and yells at me. I’m usually elbows-deep in an engine and covered in grease. When I ask her to bring me the phone, she says she’s not stepping foot in my filthy garage in her Manolos.
Ava winced.
Isaac texted: How can she afford Manolos?
Ava smirked and returned: I’m surprised you even know what Manolos are.
I’ll have a talk with her before she leaves tonight. I’ll give her a few more days before I go it alone again.
If she doesn’t work out, Ava wrote, why don’t you step up the position to an office manager? You can hire someone who can do your books, promote your business, work on sales, order parts, really organize you so you can focus on the repairs and the one-on-one customer service. You can pay more because you’ll be getting more out of them, and better candidates will apply.
Good idea. Maybe we should talk it through over dinner, he wrote.
I thought you were too busy to do anything as frivolous as dinner.
Time with you is never frivolous.
“Man, oh man,” she murmured. “Where have you been all my life?”
I’d love to, she texted, but let me see how the rest of my day goes before I say yes.
Fair enough, he responded. Don’t picture me checking my phone every five minutes. And I’ll take this opportunity to counter your “no” with how about this weekend at my house?
She laughed and returned a smiley emoji with hearts for eyes. Ava really wanted to see this little country house he’d told her about, his preferred residence when a busy workload wasn’t forcing him to stay above the shop.
She’d enjoyed her forty-eight hours with him last weekend. Enjoyed waking up to him. She’d even had fun training Becky Rae while he worked in the garage and talked with customers and friends who’d come by.
Making love all night and lazing around all day had never been her style, but she’d never been with a man like this before either. One who made her feel not just wanted but cherished. Even though she wanted more of it, she knew giving in to the desire wouldn’t be a smart move. Not now, so soon after Matthew. Not with her increased workload and her strained family relationships.
After her father retired—if she and Isaac were still interested in each other—then she could consider spending more time with him. Getting to know each other better. See if they could keep their heads above water in the turbulence of a relationship.
Her desk phone gave a quick chirp, signaling an incoming call. She muted the conference call so she didn’t interrupt, then reached for the receiver and found her father’s extension on the screen. Frustration raced to the forefront. He’d been such a dick since she’d fired Matthew.
“Yes, Dad,” she answered.
“Can I see you in my office?”
His summonses always made her feel like she’d been sent to the principal’s office. “I’m on the conference call with—”
“This is important.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Be right there.”
In her father’s office, Ava found him in his desk chair facing the windows that looked out over Manhattan. She pushed the glass door open and let it swing closed behind her. “Dad.”
He swiveled to face her.
“You look awfully pensive.” She strolled to a chair on the opposite side of his desk and lowered to the edge. “What’s up?”
“There’s an industry event this Saturday. Your brothers and your mother will be there. I’d like to make sure you’ll be there as well. It will be good to have the family out in force.”
And there went her weekend plans with Isaac. Dammit. “Where?”
“Here, in Manhattan. One of those fancy lofts. I’ll email you the information.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“Dominic Banks is receiving the IEA award for his bridge design in China.”
“The Zhujiang Kuàdù bridge?” When her father nodded, Ava smiled. The International Excellence in Architecture award was a real accomplishment. That bridge had been built and constructed while she’d been in school getting her MBA. She hadn’t seen the Banks family in over a decade, but she remembered the father as a friendly man she’d liked. “That’s fantastic. He deserves it. His design was amazing.”
“As the supplier of the steel for the bridge,” he said, “we’re expected to be there to provide a nod from the industry.”
“It’s a great networking opportunity.” She pushed to her feet with a foreign sense of discontent. She usually loved these events. Enjoyed catching up with management from other firms in the industry, meeting and talking to new and interesting people. But the thought of champagne and caviar paled in comparison to that of BBQ and backroads on a bike. “I’ll put it on my schedule.”
She turned to leave with the whimsical thought of asking Isaac to attend with her. In the next second, she laughed at herself. Not only would he hate an event like that, she was sure he didn’t even own a suit, let alone a tux.
“There’s something else.”
Her father’s tone stopped her feet and infused her with dread. But Ava turned back with a patient smile. “Yes?”
“Your mother and I are also going to announce my retirement at the event.”
Ava pressed her hand to the back of the chair. She had mixed feelings about his retirement—regret they were at odds, disappointment she didn’t have a better relationship with her family, relief over the thought of doing her job without his hammer ready to strike. “You are?”
“Yes. And we’ve made decisions about the company’s organization that will be shared at the event as well. I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
Ava’s gut tightened with an uneasy feeling. “Who’s we? You and Mom?”
“And your brothers.”
Anger flared. “You consulted with Andrew and Axel, but not me?”
“This is business, Ava.”
“You can’t possibly defend that statement when I’m just as big a part of that business as they are, and have been my whole life.”
Her father straightened, his expression stern. “Andrew will take over as CEO. Axel will take over as CFO. And we’re making Conrad COO.”
“Conrad?” Confusion and shock gave way to fury. “Conrad O’Brien? The man I just hired to replace Matthew? You’re joking.”
“No, Ava,” he said with annoyance. “I’m not.”
“You may not be joking, but that is a joke of a decision. He may have a Harvard degree, but neither his experience nor his education can begin to compare with mine. How could you even consider—”
“You gave me no choice.” His anger showed in a reddening face and raspy voice. “I was going to give the position to Matthew, but you fired him. Besides, COO isn’t a position for someone making your irrational decisions.”
Ava approached his desk, brimming with hurt and rage. She planted all ten fingers on the mahogany surface and leaned in. “Excuse me?”
“We’re merging sales and support,” he said with a negligent wave of his hand. “I’ll put you in charge of that new umbre
lla.”
“Which would put me in a position to do exactly what I’ve been doing since I fired Matthew and his lovers—the work of four people.”
“That’s your own fault—”
“You ungrateful ass,” Ava yelled. She’d never raised her voice to her father. Not once in her entire life. Now it felt both vindicating and heartbreaking. “You’re telling me that if I’d stayed with Matthew, you would have promoted him to COO over your own daughter? I earned that job. I’ve been with this company my whole life. I worked here before I was even old enough to earn a fucking paycheck. You thankless piece of—”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that,” he barked. “This is a man’s industry, and you know it. When you were going to marry Matthew, it wouldn’t have mattered. The promotion would have benefitted both of you. You only have yourself to blame—”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” she yelled back. “If this is a man’s industry, why aren’t they running it? I do twice the work of Andrew, Axel, Matthew, and Conrad combined. I’m the one who pulled in six billion in sales over the last two years. Me.” She stabbed her chest with her index finger. “I’m the one who supplies this company with revenue. I’m the reason this is a Fortune 500 company. I’m the one who babies your biggest clients so they don’t go to the competition. I’m the one who consistently worked fifteen-hour days seven days a week up until a couple of weeks ago. And if I hadn’t fired Matthew, you would have put a narcissistic asshole in charge of operations. He couldn’t even stay loyal to me until our wedding day. How long do you think it would have taken him to fuck this company behind your back the way he fucked coworkers under his desk?”
Her father exhaled heavily and pushed from his chair. The light in his eyes turned conciliatory, but he was clearly still pissed. “Look, Ava, let’s just get through the transition, stabilize our relationships with vendors under the reorganization. If you continue to excel and show good judgment, we can revisit—”
“If I continue? I’ve done nothing but excel. If you can’t see that, it’s because you’re penis blind. Nothing I do will ever be good enough for you because I’m female.” All the anger she’d built up over the years exploded inside her. “I’m not going to stand by while you promote strangers over family, and I sure as shit won’t pretend I’m satisfied with a goddamned consolation prize.”
She was done. Done being taken for granted. Done being dismissed. Done with betrayal. She wanted something real in her life for a change. She might not know what that was right now, but she knew that it was not Jennings Steel.
“Fuck this.” Ava straightened and stabbed the air with a rigid finger. “I’m done. I quit. Good luck with that management transition.”
She turned and stalked to the office door. Beyond the glass, employees stood gawking over their cubicle walls.
“You can’t quit,” her father yelled. “This is a family business.”
Holding the door open, she met her father’s eyes again. “You just cut me out of the family. Congratulations, you finally got the three sons you always wanted.”
Ava endured all the shocked gazes on what felt like the world’s longest walk to her office. Her anger peaked, spilling over into hurt. Tears rushed her eyes, and she made a sharp turn toward the restroom. Relieved to find it empty, Ava locked the door behind her and braced herself against the marble counter.
“Keep it together.” She closed her eyes and took slow, deep, even breaths, but she was shaking. “Keep it together.”
When that didn’t work, Ava bore down to hold back the fury and the hurt—teeth clenched, muscles tight. She just needed to hold her breath until the wave passed. Until she could pop her head above the surface again and breathe without falling apart.
When the emotion ebbed, she slowly released her breath, clearing her lungs with deep gulps of air. But as soon as the oxygen hit her brain, reality returned. She’d just thrown away everything she’d ever known, believed in, worked for. What in the hell was she thinking? Was her father right? Was she making rash decisions? Was she hasty? Reactive? Emotional? Hell, look at what she’d been doing with Isaac. Maybe she didn’t belong at the helm of a Fortune 500 company.
The weight was too much. She broke, dropping to her forearms on the counter and sobbing in anger, disappointment, betrayal, hopelessness.
Once the burst of tears dried up, Ava felt numb. Numb was good. She’d take numb. It would get her from the bathroom to her office to her car. From her office to the car. From her car to her apartment. Where she could hide away until she’d gotten herself together. It wasn’t like she could run crying to her family. Both her brothers and her mother had agreed to this. Who could she trust if she couldn’t trust her family? How could they betray her like this, after all she’d done? After how hard she’d worked?
Ava pressed a hand to her eyes. “Stop.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “Just stop.”
One step at a time. All she could focus on now was the next step—getting her personal things from her office and getting the hell out of this building.
12
Isaac swung his bike around a tight bend in the road on the way to his country house. He couldn’t quite believe he had Ava’s arms around his waist and her body pressed to his back again. Something was definitely bothering her, something about work, judging by the fact that she was playing hooky and didn’t want to talk about it.
But right now, he didn’t care. After three days and nights without her, he wasn’t going to do anything to steer her away. In fact, he was looking forward to the opportunity to show her a little more of himself.
He slowed and turned onto the drive leading to the house. Ava shifted behind him and peered over his shoulder.
“Oh, Isaac,” she murmured in the helmet’s microphone, her voice soft with awe. “It’s adorable.”
He pulled to a stop in front of the garage he’d finished building two months earlier. Turning off the engine, he tugged his helmet over his head and took hers as she handed it to him. “It’s got a ways to go, but she’s going to be a real charmer when she’s finished.”
Ava climbed off the bike and ran her hands through her hair, her gaze on the house. Every time he rolled up the driveway, he got that little thrill beneath his ribs. Four dormers added interest to the exterior and light to the bedrooms. Three fireplaces warmed the interior’s historical colonial charm. The wraparound porch with dual pillars accented the home’s country flair.
“Do you own the land?” she asked, looking around.
“Yep. Six acres. There’s a seasonal creek in the back and a view of the mountains. It’s really something in fall when all the leaves change.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket and opened the original photo of the home. “This is what it looked like when I bought it.”
She squinted at the image a second before her eyes went wide. “No way.” She took the phone and lifted it to compare it to the house. In the photo, grass and weeds obscured the porch, ivy strangled two of the three chimneys, and rot ate out the eaves and porch pillars. “Holy shit.”
He chuckled.
“How long have you owned it?”
“A year. I would have been done with it a long time ago, but the shop really picked up, and I haven’t had time or energy to get back to it.”
“It’s so peaceful out here.” She handed him the phone and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“Jeremy and I used to come out here to kill time. When he came home on leave, we’d take rides through the country. This place had been abandoned for as long as I can remember. We’d always stop here, sit on the concrete walls of the porch, and bullshit, talk about life, his tours, our troubles. Sometimes we’d shoot tin cans out back.”
She sighed and hugged him close. “I know it’s no consolation for losing him, but it’s great that you two had such a close relationship while he was alive.”
He nodded, feeling like she got him. Really got him. “I live on those memories.”
“Show me the in
side.” She took his hand, pulling him toward the house while she walked backward with an adorable grin and flashing blue eyes. “I’m especially interested in the bedrooms.”
The way her flowy skirt bounced around her knees made his body ache. “And I’m especially interested in getting you to one of those bedrooms.”
He unlocked the door and pushed it wide, then stepped aside to let her cross the threshold. Construction equipment and supplies were piled in various corners. Some rooms were torn down to the studs, some partially drywalled. Isaac found himself holding his breath. He’d never shown the house to anyone. Not his parents, not friends, not clients. He’d just referred to it as “the project.”
She gasped as she walked into the foyer. The grand staircase curving to the right always took him a little aback, and he found himself thrilled she obviously felt the same.
“Oh my God, that’s gorgeous.” Her sincere love of the house warmed him. She ran her hand over the chipped and weathered banister. “I can’t even imagine how stunning it will be when it’s refinished.”
He gestured toward the different rooms. “Main living room is in there, formal dining there, and the kitchen is that way. Bedrooms are upstairs.”
But Isaac only had eyes for her gorgeous legs as she strolled into the living room.
“Oh my God, a Bösendorfer.” The reverence in her voice pulled his gaze up, and Isaac found her hand sliding over the top of the baby grand. She turned a grin on him. “You play?”
“No. Jeremy was the musical genius.” He shrugged. “My mom would make me do my homework at a table in the living room while he practiced to keep us both within view, but I secretly loved hearing him play, so I never complained.” Ava gently lifted the key cover, a familiar movement he’d watched Jeremy make thousands of times. “Do you play?”
“I do.” Her hand slid over the keys. “But I haven’t played in months. We had a Steinway growing up, but I’ve played a lot of different pianos and always wanted a Bösendorfer. Something about the sound, the fluid movement of the keys, the notes…” She played a slow scale on the ivories, and the sound resonated through the otherwise empty room, creating ripples of familiarity down Isaac’s spine. “But my parents needed a Steinway. Somehow, they believed the name aligned them with the elite, when in reality, they were just ignorant about quality pianos. I’ve discovered they’re far more ignorant than even I realized.”
