Broken Pieces (Healing Heart Book 1)

by Maxene Novak

  Today was Lorie’s first day of work at Children’s Haven. She was going to start getting herself set up in her office at the home, and the inspector from child services would be there at two that afternoon to do a final check of the home to make sure everything was in order to start bringing kids in. Lorie was sure that everything would go off without a hitch when the inspector arrived but it didn’t stop her from being nervous. She was used to being the one conducting inspections on behalf of the children, not the one under inspection. Given how thorough Clay was with all of his business ventures, not to mention his dedication to the children’s home, she was confident everything was in order.

  Lorie arrived at the home a little before eight that morning. Clay had given her a key and added her to the alarm during their tour the week before so she was able to get in on her own easily. She wanted to get her office squared away and make sure she had access to all necessary systems before the inspection in the afternoon. She also wanted to look over the employee files for the rest of the staff Clay had hired to work with her. She had no doubts that anyone Clay hired would be more than qualified, but it was her job to know what they were qualified at so she could make sure everything at the home ran as smoothly as possible.

  She didn’t have a lot of personal items to put in her office. Lorie had never been one of those people who tried to bring home with them to work. She was single with no children and no pets so it wasn’t like she had a bunch of sentimental photos to line her office shelves with anyway. She brought her diploma, one photo of her and Heather, which was a reminder of why she did what she did, and the rest was notes and contacts for the industry. She had met a lot of people over the past ten years working in child services and knew who to call and when to call them. A big part of being successful when helping children in need was knowing who was in your corner and who could help out when needed. Her contacts included doctors, psychiatrists, lawyers, and judges, amongst others. She even had the mayor’s personal number for big time emergencies. So far that was a number she’d never had to dial and she hoped it would stay that way.

  By eleven Lorie had everything settled in her office. Clay had a desktop set up in there so she’d made a note to discuss the possibility of getting a laptop as well that she would be able to take home with her. She also would like to have her emails forwarded to her cell, but she would discuss that with him as well before just doing it herself. She knew there were privacy issues to consider and she would need to have the security settings on her phone set to the highest levels before she could do that anyway. She just wanted to make sure she had the access she needed to be of assistance at all times, so being mobile was important. She decided to check out the kitchen. While going through everything on her computer she’d seen that money had already been spent on stocking up the kitchen so she decided to make sure there was a good selection for the kids.

  The kitchen had a walk-in pantry and it was fully stocked with non-perishables. Looking in the fridge it was still mostly bare. That made sense; those items should be purchased right before the children came to the home to ensure they wouldn’t go bad. When she had checked out the employee files she saw that Clay had really thought of everything. He’d even hired someone with an education in nutrition and health to do the shopping for the house. That was something she knew didn’t happen at usual group homes for kids; Hale’s Children’s Haven would really stand out as the best option for kids in need. Too bad there wasn’t more places like this. As grand as this place was, they couldn’t help everyone who needed it. Lorie shook those thoughts off. She had to stay positive. Every child they did help was another blessing and she needed to focus on that and not the negative.

  Lorie made her way back to her office, deciding she would go ahead and email Clay to discuss the laptop and cell phone access she wanted. When her stomach growled she remembered that she hadn’t had any breakfast and in her eagerness to get to the home early she had forgotten to bring a lunch. She still had a couple hours before the inspector was due to arrive so she grabbed her purse and keys and headed toward the front door to go get something to eat. Lorie opened the door and ran right into Clay’s chest. Momentarily confused, she rested her palms on his hard chest and just stood there unmoving. She felt Clay’s laughter as his chest moved under her hands before she heard it.

  “Good afternoon,” Clay said; laughter still clear in his voice.

  “Hi, um,” Lorie stepped back and cleared her throat. “Sorry I was just going to grab something to eat before the inspection this afternoon. I didn’t know you would be stopping by.”

  Clay smiled and placed his hands in his front pockets with his blazer pushed back behind his hips. He looked so cool and collected next to her in that moment. “I’m actually on my lunch break as well and I thought I’d sneak over here and step in to see you,” Clay told her. “I haven’t eaten yet myself. Why don’t we grab a bite and you can let me know if you have any questions since you’ve had a chance to explore on your own.”

  “Alright,” Lorie agreed. She straightened her bag on her shoulder and headed back out of the house. She paused on the deck and waited while Clay shut the door and locked up. When he turned towards her he placed his hand at the base of her back and began walking towards their cars like he was escorting her. She still had her keys in her hand, not considering he would want to ride together when he walked her to the passenger’s side of his car. “Clay, I can drive so you don’t have to worry about bringing me back here when we’re done.”

  He looked at her like she was crazy with his eyebrows drawn together and his lips pursed slightly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I invited you to lunch. That means I’m driving you there and back.”

  “If we were dating that might make sense, but we’re just grabbing lunch on our break from work. You don’t have to go out of your way for me. I really don’t mind driving so that you’re not held up.”

  Clay smirked at her and opened the car door for her anyway. He winked and said, “Who says this isn’t a date?”

  Lorie opened her mouth to say something but she just shut it back after a second. What was she supposed to say to that. She honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so she just got in the car and left it alone. Clay took her to the locally owned Impeccable Plate. It was one of her favorite places because everything was made fresh and from scratch and despite the fact that everything on the menu was healthy it was all delicious. She ordered the pesto chicken sandwich and a water with lemon. Once they had their food and got settled in at the table Clay started asking her about what she had gotten done at the children’s home that morning. “Have you had any issues getting settled in to your office?”

  “Not at all. I don’t keep a lot of person things at work so there wasn’t much to set up. I spent the majority of the morning getting familiar with the systems we’ll be using on the computer and reviewing the other employees files so I could get an idea about the people I’ll be working with.”

  “Sounds like you’ve had a rather productive morning. Anything I might have missed that you need to get things done the way you would like?”

  “Actually,” Lorie smiled at Clay, “I was going to email you after I had some lunch. I want to see what the possibility of getting a laptop would be? I’d also like to have my emails forwarded to my cell phone. I understand there can be security risks using a personal email for business services and I would be fine with having your I.T. department take my phone to make sure everything is secure. I understand that the utmost privacy is required for the children. I just need to have access to my work outside of the office. I’ll want to spend a lot of my time in the home with the children, which means I need to be able to complete paperwork and answer emails from home and I want access to my email at all times to ensure I don’t miss any time sensitive information. I am sure you know that this is a twenty-four hour job; kids might need our help in the middle of the night and I don’t want them to wait any longer for placement with us than they have to.”


  Clay sat up straighter and smiled warmly. “You’ve really put a lot of thought into this. Wanting to be available for the needs of the kids twenty-four/seven is a big commitment.” He paused, just staring at Lorie for a minute. He kept his smile in place so it didn’t make her as nervous as it might have otherwise. “I’ll have I.T. put a laptop together for you this afternoon. You’ll have it by the time you arrive at the home in the morning.”

  “Thank you.”

  “As far as your phone goes, I will get you a new one of those as well,” Clay said.

  “Clay, that really isn’t necessary. I don’t mine using—”

  Clay held his hand up and Lorie stopped without finishing her sentence. “I’ve seen your phone. How old is that thing?” His left eyebrow was raised as he waited for her answer.

  Lorie looked down at the table when she answered, “I’ve had it for a few years. It still works just fine.”

  Clay laughed. “Lorie, that phone is so old I highly doubt even my I.T. people would be able to update its security so that it would be okay for you to receive your work email on it. Like I said, you’ll have a new phone and laptop waiting in your office tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure they have your number transferred to the new phone so you don’t have to go through the hassle of updating your number with the world.”

  “I don’t know what to say. That’s more than I hoped for. Thank you. This is going to make things so much more efficient.” Lorie smiled at Clay. In that moment she couldn’t imagine working for anyone better than Clay. He was by far the best boss she’d ever had. Then again, when you worked directly for the owner of the company it cut out the middle men when it came to things like getting laptops approved in the budget.

  “Well, you could always agree to having dinner with me tonight.”

  Lorie quickly looked back up from her food and found Clay smiling at her again. She cut her eyes at him. She might be incredibly attracted to the man but that did not mean she appreciated him bribing her. “I’m not very keen on being bribed to go out on dates with guys.”

  “I’m not bribing you,” Clay said. Lorie narrowed her eyes until she was shooting daggers at him with her glare. He held his hands up in front of him palms out. “Okay, maybe I did think giving you what you want might make you more susceptible to a date with me, but in my defense I had planned on asking you out before you asked for the laptop and phone access.”

  “I still don’t want you giving me the laptop and phone just because you think it scores you points with me on a personal level.”

  “I would have given you those things regardless. Even if you refuse to go out with me you will still have both of them ready in your office in the morning. You are correct; you need them to have the full access required to sufficiently run the children’s home.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Okay. Now that we have that settled.” Clay gave her that smile that got to her every time, “How about that date?”

  Lorie rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. “Fine. I guess it can’t be all that horrible.”

  Clay clutched his chest and feigned hurt then they both burst out laughing. Lorie checked the time and it was already a quarter after one. “I really need to be getting back to the home now. The inspector is scheduled to arrive at two and I want to make sure I’m back with time to spare in case they are early.”

  “Alright, let’s go.” Clay put a twenty on the table as a tip and walked out with his hand possessively at the base of Lorie’s back again.

  The ride back was short and peacefully quiet. Clay turned the radio on low and then reached for Lorie’s hand, threading their fingers together. He held her hand until he parked back at the children’s home. Lorie still couldn’t believe how much his touch affected her. Something as simple as him holding her hand had her whole body on alert. He opened the door for her and helped her out then proceeded to walk her inside. Lorie sat her purse down on her desk and turned to face Clay. “Thank you for lunch.”

  “I’d say I benefited from it as well.” Clay was leaning against the door frame at the entrance to her office with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so relaxed in that moment and it made her smile to see him let down his guard a bit.

  Lorie checked the time and she still had about thirty minutes before she expected the inspector to arrive. “Well, I better get ready for the inspector. I’m sure you have things to do as well. I don’t want to hold you up.”

  “Oh, I plan to be here when the inspector arrives as well,” Clay told her. Lorie should have expected as much. She saw how hands-on Clay was with the important matters of his business, and given how much he cared about the children’s home she should have known he would be sure he was there during the inspection that would determine if the home would be opening or not.

  “Well, that’s good to hear. If I’m honest I’ve never been on this end of an inspection before.” Lorie smiled at him, but the look on his face told her that something she said had troubled him. His smile was gone and his eyebrows were drawn together, creating a worry line above the bridge of his nose. He looked away from her but she could still see that he was chewing on his bottom lip; possibly a nervous habit of his. “Clay, there’s nothing to worry about I assure you.” When he still wouldn’t look at her she walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. Without thinking about what she was doing Lorie began slowly rubbing his arm up and down in a soothing motion. “Hey,” she paused and waited for him to look at her before continuing. She wanted him to look at her so he could see the truth behind her words. “I may not have been the one being inspected before, but I used to conduct these kind of inspections regularly. This place is a hundred times better than any place I have approved in the past. There isn’t anything to worry about. We will be opened in no time.”

  Lorie offered him what she hoped was a reassuring smile then she lifted up on her toes so that she could give him a quick kiss on his cheek. She knew it wasn’t something generally acceptable between an employee and her boss, but neither was the boss asking her out on a date and he’d already done that. Besides, she could feel a vulnerability in him right then and it just felt like the right thing to do. What she hadn’t planned for was Clay turning his head so that her kiss landed on his mouth instead of his cheek. She pulled back quickly when she realized her error but Clay reached for her face and stopped her from pulling away completely. With her face still within a couple inches from his own, Clay looked over her face and eventually allowed his eyes to land on her lips. Lorie’s tongue moved on its own accord as it darted out and she licked her lips. She felt flushed, and the way he looked at her mouth like she was a dessert that he’d waited a long time to taste made heat wash through her entire body. Clay leaned down slowly and brushed his lips over hers. Lorie’s eyes closed and she let herself feel every part of the kiss. Her lips wielded to his like they were always meant to be kissed by his. She allowed herself to be carried away by the moment and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Clay moved in closer and placed his hands on her hips as he continued to kiss her. When their breath started to grow thick and heavy, Clay pulled back and let his forehead rest against hers with his eyes closed.

  “Thank you,” Clay whispered. Lorie blushed. She had never been thanked for a kiss before. He placed a final soft kiss to her forehead and took one step back. “I needed to hear that.”

  Lorie took a step back and frowned. A wave of shame washed over her and she felt like a silly girl with a crush. Of course he was thanking her for what she said and not for kissing him. Who thanked someone for a kiss anyway? Clay must have seen the emotions running through her on her face because he closed the gap between them and used his fingers under her chin to lift her face so that she had to look him in the eye. “The kiss was amazing as well. It’s just that a lot of people skip words when it comes to me. They tend to go straight for physical attention but not you. You speak your mind and you talk to me like you actually care abo
ut me and about how I feel. I don’t have many people like that in my life, so when I tell you that something you said meant a lot to me it’s because I am grateful that you cared enough to say something.”

  Lorie’s heart melted at his words. He was letting her in even if only a little. Clay was giving her a glimpse of the part of him he kept hidden from the world. For a moment, he dropped his shield a bit for her. In that moment she felt herself falling for Clay. Not for the billionaire owner of Hale Inc., and not for her boss, but for the real Clay; the one he kept hidden from most of the world. In that moment she knew that she wouldn’t be able to deny him anything. It both scared her and made her hopeful for what the future might hold for the two of them.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Clay

  Clay went back to the office feeling lighter and happier than he had in a long time. Lorie had been right about the inspection and it went off without a hitch. They were ready to start bringing in kids who needed a home. When Clay left, Lorie and the child services representative were going over files for a few kids the rep had in mind for the children’s home already. Apparently she had come expecting the inspection to go smoothly and brought files for some kids she’d been helping. Apparently Clay had been worried about nothing. He was glad that Lorie had been there for the inspection, though. He was sure his nerves would have gotten the best of him if he’d been left alone to deal with child services and the inspection.