Marsala and Magnolias

by SJ McCoy

  “What’s going on?

  She made a face. There wasn’t much she didn’t tell Cameron. He was her boss, but he was also her friend. He was one of the people she admired most in the world. Maybe that was why she didn’t want to admit what was going on. She knew he valued her, as a person and as his assistant. She didn’t want him to think any less of her because of the whole David thing. What she really didn’t want was for him to see David any differently because of her. If he thought David was the best man for the job, then he should hire him. She didn’t want to get in the way of what was best for the business. “I don’t know.”

  Cameron leaned his elbows on the desk and looked her in the eye. “Are you okay?”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. Where the hell had they come from? She blinked them away angrily. “I’m fine!”

  Cameron looked worried now. “You’re obviously not. Do you want to tell me about it?”

  “No. I don’t. I just don’t want to be part of the interviews this afternoon, that’s all. I do everything you ever ask of me. Can I just go with a flat no, an unexplained no on this one?”

  “Sure. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. Are you sick? Do you want to go home?”

  Mary Ellen thought about it. “I’m not sick, but you know what? I think I will go home at lunchtime. I’ll take a half day.”

  “Okay. Whatever you need. Go now if you want.”

  “No. I’ve got plenty to be getting on with. And in case you’d forgotten, I need the Danson report from you.”

  Cameron smiled. “I haven’t forgotten. I just need another hour on it.”

  “Good. If you do that now, I can take it home with me this afternoon.”

  “No. If you’re going home, you’re not going to work. Either have a rest and put your feet up, or go out and do something fun, but no work.”

  Mary Ellen smiled back. “Thanks, Cam.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what’s up?”

  She shook her head. She’d love to tell him, but she couldn’t. “Nah, just put it down to hormones or something.”

  Cameron sat back in his chair, looking a little uncomfortable. “Ah. Okay. Sorry. I didn’t think.”

  Mary Ellen laughed and got up. “No worries. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  When she got to her desk, she stared at one of the photos on it. It was a group picture from a barbeque last summer. She stood between Cameron and Chelsea. Their parents were on one side, and Antonio and his brother Marcos were on the other. She loved that photo. It showed everything good about her life here. She peered at Antonio. She’d always loved that he was in the photo, but she’d never really looked at him before. At least, not beyond seeing the handsome face and sexy, muscular body. Now she looked into his eyes. Did they show any sign of the guy who’d spoken to her last night? He was smiling at the camera, his arm around his brother. No. There was nothing there to hint at a kind, compassionate heart, just a good-looking guy having a good time.

  She needed to get some perspective back. He’d done a kind thing last night. He’d seen she was upset and had tried to make her feel better. He was a better person than she’d realized, but that was all, and that was the end of it. The next time she ran into him, she’d thank him, and perhaps in future, she wouldn’t try so hard to stay out of his way, but that was all. His act of kindness would cost her the guy she fantasized about—that guy had no personality or soul, he was just a handsome face with a hot body. Perhaps he’d be able to fill a new role as just a decent guy she knew. She chuckled. Perhaps she should think of him now as a tart with a heart.

  Last night was done with. Hopefully, after the interviews today, she’d be able to put the whole episode behind her. She had to believe that Cameron wouldn’t think David was the right man for the job. He was good at what he did, she knew that, but he wasn’t a good human being. She had to trust that Cam would see that and hire someone else. If he didn’t … Well, she’d just have to cross that puddle when it rained. If it rained. Big if there. For now, she was going to finish up with the report she’d been working on, then she was going take herself home for the afternoon. She’d rather stay here and work, but it was best if she wasn’t around. She didn’t want to risk running into David if she could help it. Maybe she should hit the treadmill and do penance for last night’s dinner.

  ~ ~ ~

  Antonio stared at his computer. He couldn’t concentrate this morning. He couldn’t stop thinking about last night—about Mary Ellen. He could still hear the pain in her voice. It bothered him. No one should be able to make her feel that way.

  He kept rolling it around in his head. What was her history with this David guy? She must have loved him. Who was he? What was he doing here? What had she said? She hadn’t known he was coming to Napa. He was one of the candidates—candidates for what? She didn’t think he’d come here for her. She thought he’d come because it was a great opportunity. What was? He wished he could ask Cameron, but he wouldn’t. Cameron and Mary Ellen were close. Cam thought the world of her, and even if he did know the story, he probably wouldn’t tell—and he’d want to know why it mattered to Antonio. What could he tell him when he didn’t know himself?

  Antonio drummed his fingers on the desk. He should forget about it, forget about her. He’d overheard what should have been a private conversation. He’d done his best to make her feel a little better afterward. That was it. End of story. Nothing to do with him. He got to his feet. He needed to go down to check in with the sales team on the big Ellery order.

  He was almost to the door when a thought struck him, stopping him dead in his tracks. Cameron! He was interviewing. He was looking for a new sales director. Surely to God, this David character wasn’t one of the candidates for the position? Cameron wouldn’t do that to Mary Ellen, would he?

  He picked up his phone and dialed his cousin’s cell phone.

  “Antonio! What’s up?”

  “Hey.” He didn’t know what to say. How could he ask anything without explaining everything? “Hey, Cam. How’re things?”

  “Busy. If this is just social, do you mind if I call you back tonight? I’m kind of busy, interviewing for the new sales director.”

  “I know, that’s what I was calling about.” He took a deep breath. He could bluff. He wouldn’t normally give it a second thought. “Isn’t David one of the candidates?”

  “David Sterling?”

  Antonio waved his hand in the air. How the hell would he know what the guy’s last name was? “Yeah.” He smiled as he spoke, knowing it would come through in his voice. “David Sterling. He used to work at Kendall, right?”

  “I don’t think so. Though at this point I could be getting him mixed up with one of the other candidates. Why? Do you know him?”

  “Only by reputation.” That wasn’t a lie.

  “Do you think he’d be a good fit here? He’s one of my top two at this point.”

  Antonio pursed his lips. He didn’t even know if this David Sterling was Mary Ellen’s David. He could hardly go scuppering the guy’s chance at a great career move. “Not my place to say, Cam. You know that. What does Mary Ellen think?”

  “This is so weird.”

  “What is?”

  “I have no clue what she thinks, which isn’t like her, and instead of helping me with the interviews, she’s taken the afternoon off. Now you’re asking about her when you never normally speak her name out loud. Is something going on?”

  Antonio’s heart was racing. He couldn’t lie to his cousin, but it wasn’t his place to explain what was going on—or even what he thought was going on. “I don’t know, Cam. I’m sorry. I’m sticking my nose into business I know nothing about.”

  Cameron sighed. “You know you’re going to have to explain this to me, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “And you know I don’t have time right now.”

  “Yup. So, I guess you’ll just have to meet me for
a drink this evening.”

  “I guess I will, and in the meantime, I’ll have to try to not let my curiosity get in the way when I interview David.”

  “I guess you will. Muse at six?”

  “Okay. But this had better be good.”

  Antonio hung up. He didn’t relish the thought of explaining himself to Cameron. He didn’t even really know why he was doing this, but for some reason, he felt good about it.

  ~ ~ ~

  Mary Ellen paced the apartment after she buzzed Chelsea into the building. She was kind of dreading this, while at the same time part of her was looking forward to telling Chelsea about last night. She hadn’t even told her about David being here yet so it would be a relief to talk about that, at least.

  She went to the front door and opened it just as Chelsea was emerging from the elevator. “Hey, you.”

  “Don’t hey me.” Chelsea scowled at her. “Pour us a glass of something and tell me what happened last night.”

  Mary Ellen laughed and led her through to the kitchen where she poured them each a glass of wine. “Don’t be mad at me, I just couldn’t process it all, and I didn’t want to ruin your evening with Grant. It wasn’t urgent or anything.”

  Chelsea wandered back through to the living room. “What wasn’t? I was worried about you. Molly said you seemed upset by your phone call, and when I talked to Antonio, he wouldn’t tell me a thing. I asked if he tried making a move on you, and he didn’t deny it. Did he?”

  “You talked to Antonio?” Mary Ellen’s heart raced. Had he told her about David?

  “Of course, I did. You wouldn’t tell me what had happened, so I went to see him.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “Nothing. He wouldn’t tell me a thing, said it wasn’t his place. He said I should talk to you.”

  Mary Ellen smiled. Wow. He really was a much more decent human being than she’d thought.

  Chelsea gave her a hard stare. “What’s the smile for?”

  Mary Ellen grinned. “He’s a good guy, really, isn’t he?”

  Chelsea smiled back. “He is. I’ve always told you that. So, why do you believe it all of a sudden?”

  Mary Ellen blew out a sigh, but still couldn’t quite wipe the smile off her face. “Okay. I’d better start at the beginning, and then you’ll understand why I was so upset and why I’m so pleasantly surprised by him. See, what I haven’t told you is that David is in town.”

  “David? You mean your David?”

  Mary Ellen nodded. “David Sterling, the man I was engaged to. He’s not mine, and I don’t believe he ever was, but yes, that David.”

  “Wow! Why? What’s he doing here and what’s Antonio got to do with it?”

  “My mom called while I was having dinner because she found out he was here, and she thought it was a chance for me to get back with him.” She shook her head sadly. “As if! I got upset, I admit it. I think it was mostly because I thought my mom understood how badly he hurt me, and I thought she might care about me, but all she was thinking was that I might have another chance with him since he’s divorced now.”

  Chelsea shook her head. “Your mom thought that? After what he did to you?”

  “Yeah. It upset me, but she means well. She just wants to see me all married and settled down, and apparently, she thinks David was my one and only chance.”

  “Don’t. I’m sure she doesn’t think that at all. But explain the rest. Why is David here—has he come to see you? And what’s Antonio got to do with any of it?”

  “Okay. This is what I haven’t told you yet. David is here because he’s interviewing for the sales director job.”

  Chelsea frowned. “What? Why? Why would Cameron even consider him?”

  Mary Ellen dropped her gaze.

  “You haven’t told him, have you?” demanded Chelsea.

  Mary Ellen shook her head.

  “Why?”

  She looked up. “Because it’s about finding the best person for the job. It’s not about my personal life; it’s about the company.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, Mary El. That’s crazy! Do you realize how much of the success of Hamilton-Groves depends on you? How much Cameron depends on you? I can tell you right now that David is not the right person for the job because him being there would upset you. And that would be bad for the company. You’ve got to tell Cameron.”

  Mary Ellen shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve been hoping that it would resolve itself. I thought that when Cam interviewed him, he’d see through him. I thought, you know, it’d all iron itself out without me doing anything.”

  “When’s the interview?”

  “This afternoon.”

  “And what did Cam think?”

  “He’s taken him through to the final three.”

  “Then you have to tell him.”

  Mary Ellen took a sip of her wine but didn’t say anything.

  “And I still don’t get where Antonio comes into any of it.”

  “Antonio overheard me talking to my mom. He was sitting right behind me; it wasn’t his fault. I was so embarrassed when I realized that he’d overheard everything I said. I told her I’d rather grow old alone than be David’s second choice and I talked about how he dumped me for someone prettier and sweeter and …” She shook her head. “He overheard all of it.”

  Chelsea frowned. “And what did he say to you?”

  Mary Ellen couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “He was so sweet, Chelsea. He told me David must be an asshole, and that I’m a real woman and I’m beautiful and that I shouldn’t be someone’s second choice because someday I’ll be someone’s one and only choice. He was so damned sweet.”

  Chelsea put both her hands on her heart and grinned. “Aww, bless him. He is a big sweetie, really. I feel bad for giving him a hard time now, but I thought he was the one who’d upset you somehow.”

  Mary Ellen shook her head. “No, the only thing that upset me was embarrassment that he’d heard everything, and I was shocked that he was so kind and caring. He wasn’t the guy I thought he was.”

  Chelsea rolled her eyes. “I’ve been telling you that for years.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “There’s nothing I can do. I mean, it’s not as though he likes me or anything; he was just being kind.”

  Chelsea raised her eyebrows. “I meant about David, but I find it interesting that you’re more concerned about Antonio.”

  “Oh.” Mary Ellen wanted to make an excuse, but there was no point. She gave her friend a rueful smile. “I want Cam to hire whoever he thinks is best.”

  “Fair enough, but don’t make him choose blind. He needs to know who David is, and I’m sure that will affect his decision. He won’t want David around if he knows how it will affect you.”

  Mary Ellen nodded. She knew Chelsea was right. She’d been trying to bury her head in the sand, but it wouldn’t be fair to Cameron to let him hire David and then find out the history there.

  “It’s okay. If you don’t want to tell him. I will.”

  “No. You can’t blackmail me into it that way. I’ll tell him myself tomorrow.”

  “Good. And what about Antonio?”

  “What about him?”

  Chelsea grinned. “Well. It’s no great secret that you’ve had this crush on him. Now that you can finally see what a good guy he is, are you going to go out with him?”

  “Ha! Aren’t you forgetting that he gets a say in this too?”

  “No. He likes you. I think it’s time the two of you finally went out.”

  “He does not. If he liked me, he’d have hit on me years ago—and you know damned well I wouldn’t have been able to resist. I’d have fallen right into his bed just like the rest of them.”

  “So, what’s stopping you now?”

  Mary Ellen shook her head. “He was just being kind.” And if he really did like her? Would
she still want her turn in his bed?

  Chelsea sighed. “Maybe he’s the fling you need right now. He could help you past this whole David episode. Boost you back up.”

  Mary Ellen smiled. Wouldn’t that be something?

  Chapter Four

  “Will you and Mr. Hamilton be eating this evening?”

  “No.” Antonio smiled at Rodney. “We’re just meeting for a quick drink. We won’t need the table for more than an hour.”

  “Very well.”

  Antonio spotted Cameron making his way through the bar and smiled. He’d decided he was going to be completely honest with him.

  Cameron made to shake his hand when he reached him. Antonio grinned and pulled him in for a hug.

  Cameron grinned back. “It’s good to see you, too. I can’t stay for long. Piper’s getting back from Phoenix tonight and I haven’t seen her since Monday morning.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t keep you. And give her my love, won’t you? I bet she hates being away with all the wedding planning you two must be doing.”

  Cameron laughed. “I think she’s glad to be away. She’s not much of a planner.”

  Antonio raised an eyebrow.

  “It works well for us. I enjoy it, and she doesn’t have to deal with the stress. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. What’s going on? What’s your interest in David Sterling?”

  Antonio shrugged. He felt a little embarrassed. Was it really his place to tell Cam that he shouldn’t hire a guy? He knew full well that it wasn’t his place to talk about Mary Ellen’s private business. “Let’s get a drink first.” He beckoned to the waiter who had been hovering since Cam came in.

  Once he’d gone, Cam jerked his head toward the bar. “Am I right in thinking that you’d rather talk about him than to him?”

  Antonio followed his gaze, not understanding. “To who?”

  Cam frowned. “David. He’s standing right there at the end of the bar.”

  “Oh.” Antonio scowled at the guy. So, he was the one who’d broken Mary Ellen’s heart? It gave him a little hope. If that was her type, then he might be in with a chance. David was good-looking. He was tall and dark with an olive complexion. He looked like he must have some Latin blood.