His eyes meet her dazed ones from across the center console, and he seizes the chance to rub his hand back and forth a few times across her apex before removing it completely. A whimper escapes from her throat at the loss of his touch.
As Austin turns forward in his seat, running a hand through his thick, dark hair, he desperately attempts to control his body. Unsuccessful in so doing, he gazes up at the building and finds Sara and his other engineer, Victor Parsons, staring at them from the upper window. Unlike yesterday, Sara has a smirk on her lips while Victor looks sick to his stomach.
“I think we have an audience,” Nikki says, following his eyes to the second floor opening.
“This is what happens when I don’t show up before everyone else,” he replies, trying to break the tension, but doing so unsuccessfully.
“I’m sorry.”
“I was kidding, Nikki. It’s fine, I’m only five minutes later than normal. Everyone else just expects me here at the crack of dawn because that’s what they’re used to.”
Her hands twist and mangle in her lap, uncomfortable with the extra attention. Austin had noticed how Nikki had shied away from him yesterday when Sara had walked in on them, but he hadn’t thought anything of it. Now he suspects that there is more to her reaction then she had let on.
“Come on. I have a meeting with Logan tonight, so I need to get that information ready and I know you mentioned Brooks was coming in today, so we have a few items I need to get prepared for his visit.”
He steps from the vehicle and moves around to help her down, always cognizant of her condition. As they step into the building, Nikki releases her hand from its placement on his arm and moves towards her desk.
Walking past the main room, Austin heads into his office and settles himself into his high-backed leather chair. He instantly takes comfort in the feeling of ownership, proud of his company and its recognitions.
Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t last very long when he receives a phone call from his Project Manager, Carl, asking why Austin changed plans again at the last minute, scheduling half his men away from the site.
Confused, Austin opens up the email and calendar program on his computer while still chatting with Carl. Almost immediately, he notices that changes were made and sent yesterday evening, right before closing.
Ending the call, Austin rakes his hands through his hair while resting his elbows on the desk. Before determining how the problem occurred, he resends the correct and unchanged plans to Carl. Austin then calls his misplaced staff, asking them to move from one site to another, knowing they need to focus on the school demolition that is scheduled for tomorrow.
After spending an hour correcting the issues that occurred from the mistaken calendar entries, Austin finds that it’s finally time to address it.
Pressing the intercom button on his phone, Austin calls Nikki into his office.
As she walks into the room, looking nervous, Austin struggles internally with his distrust of her.
“Nikki, this morning I received a call from Carl saying that he was sent new plans and that half of his men were missing. I checked out our security records and found that all fingers point to one person – you.”
NIKKI HAD REALLY ENJOYED her first two days working at Connelly Construction. And the night spent in Austin’s arms had been even better. She can’t imagine being any happier with the way things worked out.
But as Austin calls her into his office, her nerves rush over her in waves and she bites her lip anxiously.
Lowering herself into one of the ominous chairs in front of his desk, she can’t help but remember how welcoming his office had felt on Monday, while today it seems cold and sterile.
As she stares over his shoulder, looking out the window, she barely registers the words coming from his mouth until she hears him say, “…point to one person – you.”
Thankful for her comprehensive abilities, Nikki’s mind strings together the pieces of the conversation and she bellows, “What? You think I did it?”
“Who else would have emailed these things to Carl? That’s part of your job.”
“Well it wasn’t me, and I can prove it.”
“How?” he asks, and Nikki’s heart breaks at the distrust emanating from him in waves – the father of her child, the man she loves so deeply.
Without a word, she stands from the chair and moves back to her desk, wordlessly asking him to follow her. As she bends over her desk, she opens her email program and their online security program, a feature that Austin’s brother Jameson developed for his company.
“As you can see here, the email to Carl and the staff went out at 6:05p. You can clearly see in this record in the security file that I was logged out at 5:57p. I was waiting for you, remember? And at 6:05p I was clearly in the car with you. So please explain how I was the one to send these? And also, take a look and see that you had four employees, including yourself, logged in at 6:05p.”
Austin bends over her from behind, verifying the information on the screen. As he takes a step back, Nikki has to control her desperate need to throw herself into his arms as his scent washes over her; she needs to remember that he just accused her of sabotaging his business.
“I don’t understand. I never log off because I password protect my computer in sleep mode.” He sighs, “I need to talk to Sara, Victor, and Carl.”
Remorseful, Austin reaches a large hand to touch her, but then thinks better of it and drops it to his waist.
“I’m sorry, Nikki. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“You’re right,” Nikki replies bitterly. “You should have asked me if I could help you figure out what happened. Instead, you blamed me and frankly, you hurt my feelings. So, if you don’t mind I’m going to walk down the street to your sister’s bakery and indulge myself.”
Austin meekly nods at her demand and sighs as his shoulders slump, walking back to his office.
Angry and wounded emotionally, Nikki grabs her jacket and steps towards the door. A sound from the stairwell causes her to turn around, and she sees Sara and Victor, looking at her with smirks, a satisfying gleam in both their eyes. Ignoring their gazes, she leaves the building and heads two blocks towards the center of town to spoil herself with a cupcake and decaf coffee.
As she walks into the small shop, she finds Sydney, Austin's younger sister, at the helm, ringing up a customer. Seeing the beautiful blonde, Nikki's heart lurches. She is the spitting-image of Austin, except for the hair of course, and Nikki can only hope that all the progress she and Austin have recently made hasn't fallen to the wayside.
"Nikki!" the petite blonde bombshell yells as she scoots from around the counter and rushes up to wrap Nikki in her arms.
At a tiny five foot, four inches, Sydney has to stand on her toes to wrap her arms around Nikki, who stands a full six inches taller.
"How is my little niece or nephew?" she asks, hovering her hand above Nikki's baby bump, silently asking permission to rub the roundness.
As Nikki nods her head, allowing the touch, she takes a deep breath and allows herself to feel the love and affection of family, something she had always craved as a child, but hadn't experienced as an adult.
Noticing the tears swimming in Nikki's eyes, Sydney leads her to a table in the corner and says that she'll be right back.
Making herself comfortable, Nikki settles into the cushy parsons chair. Renovations for Wake and Bake, the bakery and coffee shop Sydney recently purchased from her mother, hadn't started when Nikki had left, but now were well underway.
Sydney had painted the interior a warm yellow, almost the color of her hair, over the cream her mother had it painted prior. The decor has stayed the same for the most part, except Sydney replaced the typical diner chairs with the more comfortable parsons chairs. Nikki's back was now grateful for such a change. The biggest difference to date was the knocking down of the wall between Wake and Bake and the property next door, which Sydney had purchased outright with a tr
ust fund she received from her grandparents.
When Nikki had barged into the Connelly Christmas gathering, she had overheard Sydney and her mother discussing plans to open a full-fledged grill next door to compliment her bakery. Sydney's business had picked up and she could no longer offer the breakfast fare and coffee and expand her bakery business. As far as Nikki knew, Sydney had interviewed a few chefs and business owners, but none seemed to fit the mold of what she had planned for next door - which would be a part of Wake and Bake.
Sydney was the youngest of the Connelly girls, but was the most driven, at least in Nikki’s observation. She had to work at her craft every day and come up with new ideas constantly. Her sister Cassidy had to do the same as a fashion designer extraordinaire, but Sydney had followed in her mother's footsteps as a baker, so Nikki knew that the pressure to live up to their mother weighed more heavily upon the younger daughter’s shoulders.
Watching Sydney as she walks over, Nikki could see the anxiety and stress etched in every line on the young girl’s face - lines that shouldn't belong there yet. Perhaps Nikki should take it upon herself to speak with Amy and see if the mother of the Connelly clan herself could help Sydney with interviews, taking some of the weight off her daughter’s shoulders. But then again, she knew Sydney rarely liked to give up control in her life, always pushing herself to the limit to achieve her goals.
“So, what’s going on?” Sydney asks, taking the chair across from Nikki and removing the clasp that holds her hair in place.
“I should be asking you first. I’m sorry for saying, but you look really tired, Sydney. Are the interviews not going well?”
“They aren’t, and the past two were the worst of the worst. The girl I spoke with on Monday hasn’t ever worked in a restaurant and was too busy critiquing the shop to pay attention to anything. The guy I interviewed yesterday just stared at me. His resume and references were awesome, but it’s like he was too domineering to work here.”
And she was right. Sydney was this bubbly piece of joy to be around: someone dark and domineering would completely clash with her.
“It’s ok though, I have another week or two before I need to decide. Construction starts up again in February. Now your turn, what’s got you so worked up?”
With a deep sigh, Nikki explains to her what happened in Austin’s office as she peels away the wrapper of the cupcake that Sydney’s worker, Jessica, had sat on the table along with a coffee just moments before.
“It’s kind of funny actually,” Sydney claims.
“How is this funny? He doesn’t trust me, Syd.”
“Sure he does. You have him so worked up, he can’t even think straight. And you can’t blame him for assuming you’re the one to send the changes out.”
Slouching her shoulders as she recalls her moment of rage, Nikki can’t help but feel bad for overreacting.
“You’re right. If it was my business, I probably would have done the same thing. But the real question is - who actually sent the email.”
“Who was in the building when you left?”
“I only saw Sara physically, but the security system had her, Victor, and Carl all logged in. But I can already tell you that Sara does not care for me, what-so-ever. She would be my first guess.”
“Well, you should tell Austin what you think. Anyway, as much as I want to hear about your love life, it happens to be with my brother, so keep your mouth sealed. But I do want to hear about the man candy who just walked in, eyeing you suspiciously.”
Nikki turns in her seat quickly, alarm rising in the back of her mind. As she settles her eyes upon the bakery’s new occupant, Nikki heaves a sigh of relief when she recognizes the tall, dark, and very handsome man.
“Brooks!” she exclaims, launching herself from the chair and moving to stand beside him as he waits in the short line.
“Nikki!” he responds, wrapping her in his arms.
They had met a few times when he would come assist with pediatric cases at the clinic in town. Brooks was as warm-hearted as he was tall. He was also what you would call “classically handsome”: he should have been gracing the covers of GQ, and if his baseball career hadn’t tanked, he most likely would have. Aside from the crooked nose he incurred after getting hit in the face with a baseball, Brooks had come away from his knee injury unable to continue playing the game. Through the grapevine Nikki had heard that Brooks had taken a ball to the knee during a game as he was stealing third base. He had been smart and graduated as a pre-med while playing baseball in college. Once he had to leave the Atlanta Braves, he went ahead and continued his education. But the playboy ways Brooks had been notorious for during this three year stint in Major League Baseball had followed him through medical school. Luckily, Nikki was immune to his flirting ways.
“It’s so good to see you. How is Raleigh treating you?”
“So far so good, but I’m looking at the possibility of a change,” he says with his signature smirk, but it was directed to Sydney as she took a sip of Nikki’s coffee.
“Hey come with me, I want to introduce you to someone.”
They walk back over to the table and Brooks pulls out her chair before taking one himself.
“Brooks, this is Sydney, Logan’s best friend’s younger sister.”
“And hopefully Nikki’s sister-in-law one of these days,” she says as she extends her dainty hand. “Hi, Brooks, I’m Sydney, the owner of Wake and Bake. Are you here for Logan and Avery’s New Year’s party?”
“I am, and I’m also here to talk to the new clinic about coming on board as the pediatric physician.”
“Oh, that would be perfect!! I hope that you agree. It would be such a relief for Avery and Nikki to not have to drive to Asheville.”
“What?” Brooks startles, turning to look at her. “You’re pregnant? Congratulations. You’re barely even showing.”
“I know. I had a rough first trimester. I do hope you decide to take the job. Carson may be small, but I’ve never lived in a place I’ve loved more. There are some great people here.”
Sydney chimes in saying, “It really is great. Growing up, we all couldn’t wait to leave, but other than Ryker and Cassidy, we all moved back home as soon as we could. And believe me, if the opportunity ever arises, those two would be back here in a second. There isn’t a mall or a lot of off-the-wall things to do, but we all find a way to have fun. Nikki, do you remember that time over the summer that the town shut down and made everyone head to the lake for a big potluck cook-out?”
Remembering the random Tuesday when everyone young and old drove down to Lake Powhatan, Nikki smiled. It had been about 106 degrees outside. Because of the grueling heat, Carson’s Mayor declared it a one-time holiday and forced everyone to close up shop.
“I do. That was such a funny day. I think the older crowd got more intoxicated than the rest of us. Remember when Austin and Logan had to carry Mayor Smith and his wife home?”
The girls erupt in laughter, the amusement of the day fresh in their minds.
A phone ringing in the back room breaks them from their reminiscing, and Sydney apologizes as she leaves the table.
“Come on, Brooks. Let’s go get you a coffee and you can walk me back to the office.”
Beverages in hand, they wander down the two blocks to the old Victorian building that houses Connelly Construction. Nikki didn’t disclose any details, but she did mention that she and Austin quarreled this morning, so things may be a little tense.
As they enter the office, they find Austin sitting behind her desk, head sagged and resting in his hands. Immediately concerned, Nikki rushes away from Brooks’ side and kneels beside Austin.
“Is everything alright?” she inquires, her hand lightly brushing over his arm in concern.
“Nikki,” he sighs with relief. “I’m so sorry for this morning.”
“It’s ok. I probably would have done the same thing.”
“I need to talk to you about some other stuff. I think some…”
<
br /> “Austin,” she interrupts, “this is Brooks. I ran into him at your sister’s shop.”
Austin draws his eyes to the figure who is standing awkwardly in the room.
“Hey,” Austin says as he rises, his professional demeanor taking over as he extends his palm to shakes Brooks’ hand. “Thanks for meeting us today. I know we were going to go over the plans after lunch, but if you’d like to do that now we certainly can.”
“Sure. That sounds fine,” Brooks replies with a slight Southern drawl, one Nikki hadn’t noticed before.
Truthfully, standing in the room with both of these extremely good-looking men is enough to frazzle anyone.
“Do you mind if I speak with Nikki in private for a moment?”
“It’s fine, I’m going to have a seat and enjoy this coffee.”
Austin nods and takes a hold of Nikki’s elbow, ushering her back to his office. As the door shuts behind him, Nikki finds herself turning into his arms and his lips pressing firmly against hers. This is no ordinary kiss, driven by lust. This is one full of apologies and love.
Breaking their embrace at last, Nikki steps back from Austin, but first takes a hold of his hand, intertwining their fingers.
“If you keep kissing me like that, we’ll miss all the meetings today and we’ll get no work done,” she chuckles, her eyes burning brightly with desire.
“You’re right,” he nods, brushing her cheek affectionately with his fingertips. “I didn’t bring you in here for that, though it is a bonus. I need to talk to you about something that’s been going on, and after today, I can’t imagine that it’s not related.”
Tugging on their hands, Nikki walks over to the couch beside the bookshelf.
“Go on, please.”
“About a year ago, I noticed that we were coming in slightly over budget for all of our projects. Not enough to throw a red flag for our customers, but enough that I noticed. I had Sara look over the numbers and she saw the same thing. It’s continued for so long that I have brought in the police to monitor the various accounts that all our payments touch. It’s up in the millions now, so they’ve even brought in the FBI. So far, they haven’t been able to pinpoint any specific person or account that the money is filtering through. It’s why I became so accusatory about the emails because it was just one more thing.”
Coming Together: Welcome to Carson, Book Two Page 8
