by Chloe Liese
I barely knew Jack, but my heart went out to him. He looked so pained as he spoke.
Jack sighed and stared out at the wall of windows facing the business district. “Well, it’s a bit wonky, you see, because he doesn’t know that I know he got this very bad news.”
I frowned. “Sir—I mean, Jack—are you saying you’re interviewing me to work with your son, and that this will require understanding him in light of this bad news, but he doesn’t know that I’m being interviewed to collaborate with him as such?”
Jack sighed in relief. “Well, you said it better than I ever could.” He eyed me curiously. “Yes, that’s the crux of it—he’s going to be facing some very significant learning curves, and while I have every faith that my son will succeed brilliantly in spite of this nasty turn of bad luck, I have a nagging suspicion he’s not so confident. He’s very good at putting on a strong front, appearing optimistic and all that. He’s never been inclined to open up and confide in me about his troubles, so he’s of course said none of this, but…” His voice died off as he searched my face.
“This role,” he said, “it will be…consuming. My son’s a demanding bastard professionally. A right lover outside the boardroom, but bloody hell, here in the office, he makes me look like Father Christmas by comparison. That said, you’d be handsomely compensated, commensurate with the demands of the position and the hours required. We’re probably looking at a ballpark of one hundred thousand pounds. Think that’ll do you?”
I gaped but recovered quickly. That was beyond what I could have imagined. “That is an incredibly appealing offer; I can’t express it enough. As for the pressures of the position, I’m ready for them. A high expectation for performance is imperative when driving your business into new avenues of growth and achievement.”
“I agree, Elodie. But at the same time, this firm is a family place. We, most of us, have partners and children whose anniversaries and birthdays and milestones we like to actually witness, friends and hobbies we prefer to keep up with. We’re a driven place, but also an organization devoted to balance.”
He dropped his gaze and sighed. “That is my sole worry, that he will not be able to find balance. He’s much more like his mother, incredibly hard on himself and unrelenting when he has a goal. I’m a bit more easygoing—I’m a smart enough fellow, but mostly I know when to push and when to let up, when to go after the deal and when to leave it for a better day.”
Jack eyed me over, as if scanning my mind and intent. “You strike me as a similarly minded person. You hail from a background of unprecedented privilege and exposure to the finest of things, yet here you are, taking your career at your own pace, by your own mettle, in your own time.”
I nodded fervently. “I want my work to reflect my life values, not compromise them.”
Jack grinned, but when he opened his mouth to speak, an abrupt crash from the other side of the wall behind him rattled the air, bringing our conversation to a halt.
“Bloody hell, what was that?” he muttered, looking over his shoulder.
A man’s deep voice, muffled and distorted by distance and rooms between us, cursed loudly. “God’s sake, Regina, I told you not to leave bloody file folders strewn about! How many times have I said that when you’re finished sorting, they’re to go into the cabinet and be locked up? These are confidential, and you’ve left them for any old janitor to snuffle through.”
“Oh, sir, I’m so sorry,” a woman’s plaintive voice responded. “I promise I’ll do better, I’ll not forget again. If you’ll just give me another chance—”
“Enough, enough!” he grouched. “Please don’t cry! I can’t stand women crying. I’m not going to fire you, just—please, for the sake of my welfare, if nothing else, do better from now on.”
She responded, presumably amid tears, given the loud nose blowing. “Thank you, so much, sir, I really—”
“Yes, now don’t worry. You’re a good egg. Just keep it tidy so I don’t off myself in my own office. Go on now, I’ll find you later to take meeting minutes.”
Jack had been sitting there, rubbing his forehead as he stared down at the desk. He smiled tightly as he picked up his head.
“Is that…” I cleared my throat. “Is that your son, sir?”
Jack nodded. “It is indeed, and what a fabulous first impression he’s made, hasn’t he?”
“He sounded upset—perhaps a bit harsh, but his frustrations are legitimate. No one should have to walk through their office like it’s a landmine.”
Jack snorted. “Yes, well, Gina is a good person, she’s just a bit scattered. Perhaps not the best candidate for a personal secretary training to be the next executive assistant, but she’s Midge’s daughter, and after her no-good husband left her in dire straits and she was desperate for the work, I had to give her a chance. She works her tail off, but she’s just a little slow learning the ropes. Midge is helping her; it simply takes time to get adjusted, of course.”
I opened my mouth to agree but paused when I heard the thud of approaching footsteps. They grew louder, emanating from the door behind Jack that must lead to an adjoining office.
“Father!” a voice bellowed, and my blood froze. I knew that voice.
The door flew open, and Lucas came barreling in, raking his fingers through disheveled hair. Jack stood quickly, turning away from me, and effectively blocked my view any further.
“Son, this is not—” Jack began to chide, but Lucas trampled right over him.
“Dad, I cannot handle her. I’m trying, but she’s a fucking mess. I nearly broke my neck with those bloody folders everywhere. I’ve got enough on my plate—”
“Lucas,” his father said on a sigh, trying to break in.
“And then there’s this fucking call with Rodger at eleven, and he’s going to go at me for every bloody number, and now I can’t find the fucking file.”
“Lucas,” he tried again.
“Where are we with the search for that director position? Pierce and Harry are useless, and I’m up to my eyeballs in this shite, half of which I can’t even read because the print is so bloody tiny. Seriously, who prints in font size eight? Please tell me that we’re getting somewhere with—”
“Lucas!” Jack yelled, finally getting his attention.
“What?” Lucas bellowed back.
Jack stepped aside, revealing me with a sweep of his hand. I sat stone-still, panicked. I needed this job so badly, I’d be perfect for it, and Lucas could ruin it. Not that I’d blame him for not wanting to work with me, given how strained our relationship already was.
He stood there, dumbstruck.
Jack sighed. “Well, don’t just stand there like a gobsmacked monkey. Say hello.”
Lucas remained silent, still staring at me.
Jack rolled his eyes, took Lucas by the elbow and walked him my way until Lucas stood in front of me.
I rose from my seat, offering a shaky hand as I stared pleadingly into Lucas’s eyes. “Elodie Bertrand. A pleasure, sir.”
Lucas blinked finally and swallowed, his eyes dancing over my face.
Jack leaned toward him, whispering. “What the hell has gotten into you? Say something, Luc.”
Lucas cleared his throat, extending his hand, then taking mine in his. He squeezed it tight and released it politely. “Lucas Edwards, Ms. Bertrand. A pleasure.”
Jack grinned as he clapped Lucas on the back. “There you are. Thought you’d gone and lost the plot.”
Lucas cleared his throat again and adjusted his tie. “Sorry, I was just a bit, uh, taken aback. I wasn’t expecting someone.”
“Of course, and I’m sorry I surprised you.” I took a step back, hoping I could make my exit, because Lucas was doing a horrible job of not staring at me oddly, and the last thing I needed was Jack’s suspicion about us. “Perhaps we should reconvene, Jack, if you and Lucas decide to proceed with my interview process.”
Jack nodded, glancing between me and Lucas as I brushed off my skirt and pulled
my purse onto my arm. “Right, yes,” he said. “Elodie, we’ll most certainly be calling you back. I’ll be in touch.” Jack glanced back at the still-awestruck Lucas and rolled his eyes again. “Say goodbye, Lucas.”
“Goodbye, Lucas,” he muttered as he rubbed a hand along his face.
“Goodbye, Lucas,” I answered quietly.
Jack held the door for me and escorted me out. Shutting the door behind him, Jack exhaled heavily. “Well, that went to shambles.” His face searched mine. “Please just tell me honestly if we’ve scared you off. I won’t be in the least offended, but I’ll know to resume my search.”
“No!” I responded quickly. “Please don’t. I—I very much want this position, presuming Lucas is all right with me.”
Jack nodded thoughtfully. “Honestly, dear, I’ll make him all right with you. You’re exactly what we need. As for Lucas, he’s only overwhelmed, but when Gina gets a bit more organized and he has a sensible head among his senior staff like you, I think it’ll go brilliantly.”
I stared thoughtfully down at my shiny black heels that Lucas had loaned me money to buy before peering back up at Jack. “What about his…bad news? I don’t feel right knowing that behind his back. If we’re to collaborate, he needs to be able to trust me unequivocally, otherwise I can’t do my job well.”
Jack smiled, his face lit with approval. “A point well made. I plan to have him over for dinner tonight so we can talk it over. I had to corner his younger brother and coax it out of him, the lying little man. But he’s a physician, what do you expect? Bunch of crooks, the lot of them, I say.”
I was fairly confident he was joking but, as with yesterday, unsure of what to say.
Jack took me gently by the back and began walking me toward the front. “Once we get it out of our system, I’ll give him a few days to cool off, and then I’ll fold you in. At that point, we’ll have you onboarding and up to speed. Lucas will have had time to adjust to this.”
“Adjust to what?” I asked.
Jack looked back in the direction of what must be Lucas’s office. “To the fact that he’s going to need our help, for a while at least.” He sighed, then muttered to himself, “And he’s not going to like it one bit.”
Dread filled my stomach as I heard a door slam and a familiar voice bellow once again, “Regina!”
Something told me this job was going to be even more difficult than I’d imagined.
Eight
Lucas
I pulled into Mum and Dad’s place with a sour stomach and a headache, which were my body’s way of saying I was both anxious and under-slept. Quickly, I sent Elodie a text explaining that I’d been roped into dinner at my parents’, but I’d be home later, and we needed to talk about this situation then.
Sighing, I pushed open my car door, then shrugged off my suit coat. Tossing it back, I yanked off my tie and threw that in as well. I popped open the top few buttons of my shirt and took a deep breath, uncuffing my sleeves, then rolling them up.
Mum and Dad’s place seemed cheery as ever, little fake candles in the windows, the lawn manicured and overflowing with flowers. It looked innocent and comforting, but I knew that what awaited me inside was far from innocuous—the prospect of the conversation I’d been dreading.
I was knackered. The day had been a maelstrom of meetings and disorganization, topped off by the unequivocal shock that Dad wanted to hire Elodie. If you had told me Elodie Bertrand was going to be sitting in my father’s office this morning, looking positively sinful with those longs legs crossed, godforsaken sky-high heels and a pencil skirt suit, I would have laughed in your bloody face. But there she’d sat, looking like a powerbroker seductress, tall and confident, her gorgeous face intelligent and focused. That skirt suit really wasn’t office appropriate, and we were going to have a little chat about dressing less beautifully for work—that was, if we agreed to this asinine situation in which we would collaborate together.
Constantly.
I groaned, tucking the bottle of wine I’d picked up under the crook of my arm, and walked the flagstones toward the front door. If I could barely keep my hands off Elodie when I saw her for two hours in the evening, how in the hell was I going to spend every waking moment of my day in her orbit and not ravish her?
What if you stopped fighting it?
Snorting, I shook my head, turned the door handle, and let myself in. No way could I do that to her. She didn’t deserve the sad sack of tatties I was soon to become. I’d be a nuisance, a burden, and no doubt a right crank about it too. It was all fucking depressing, really.
Yet I was warmed and encouraged as I entered my childhood home, littered with pictures of me with Sarah and Kai, through all phases of growing up, plus hilarious shots of Mum and Dad in terrible outfits and hairstyles from the eighties. Despite what awaited me here tonight, I was lucky, for I had people who loved me, who’d put up with my shite and help me find my way.
It wasn’t a question of whether or not Elodie was constitutionally capable of being one of those people. She had a wide-open heart; she was loyal and devoted. But it wasn’t the same. Unlike her, my family hadn’t a choice; they were stuck with me. Elodie could have better, though, far more from a partner. And if I actually loved her—did I love her? I thought I might, unfortunately—wouldn’t the most loving thing be to let her go?
“Lukey!” Mum hauled me against her and smothered me with kisses on the cheek.
“Mum, Mum. Jesus, down, girl,” I chuckled as she smacked me playfully. You’d think I got my height from Dad, who towered beside me, but Mum had brought her genetic game as well. She stood close to six feet, her eyes that mirrored mine crinkling in sharp assessment while she looked me over.
“You don’t look so well, darling. Come in and eat. You’re too lean. Ooooh, my favorite wine, you’re so dear, always thinking of your old mum.”
I smiled, tugging her against me as we walked toward the kitchen and planting a kiss on her graying blonde hair. It was so pretty—straw yellow with streaks of silver. Distinguished and dignified, it brought out the gray in her eyes. I loved that Mum had never colored her hair or fussed much over her appearance. She just filled a room with her genuine kindness and made everyone smile.
“Lukey, you’re looking at me like that again. You’ve got to stop, or you’ll spoil me for your father.”
“I heard that,” Dad grumbled, as he walked in and swatted her on the arse. “Don’t think I’d go down without a fight, Charlotte.” Leaning against her, he kissed her soundly on the cheek, before nuzzling her neck while she pulled the seal off the top of the wine. Mum giggled and shoved him away. How a sixty-five-year-old giantess managed to giggle adorably, I didn’t know, but Mum did.
“All right then, you two, please don’t make me lose my lunch.” I gestured for the bottle as Mum struggled to yank it open. Taking it in hand, I quickly pulled the cork out with a pleasant pop, then handed it back to her.
“Where’s your friend that’s staying with you, Luc?” Mum’s eyes were on her task as she poured glasses for each of us, including Kai, who was due any minute. “You know, the one you mentioned that’s a friend of darling Nairne and that handsome Zed?”
Her eyes went moony, and Dad pinched her. “What?” she asked innocently, resuming her pours. “He’s absolutely dashing, even you can’t deny it. Built like a stack of bricks, edgy demeanor, that handsome Italian coloring and Irish eyes that make women trip over their own feet.”
Dad and I both scowled at her.
She just smiled and shrugged. “You should have brought her. What was her name again?”
I glanced between her and Dad nervously, hesitating when I saw Dad staring at me. “Funny thing about that, is…” I swallowed the panic tunneling up my throat. What if Dad had second thoughts about hiring Elodie if I told him how I knew her, that she was bloody living with me until she shored up her resources? She’d kill me. I’d kill me. Despite how difficult I knew working with Elodie might be, the prospect of ruining her
chances was unacceptable.
“Well, she’d had a long day, so I figured I’d leave her to a quiet night of a bath, without me banging around and irritating her.”
Mum frowned, but I’d successfully rerouted us from her original question. “Well, that’s silly. Next time you’re to bring her if she’s still staying with you, you hear? Sunday dinner, how’s that?”
I nodded, quickly draining my wine and gesturing for more. Dad peered at me curiously, making me fear he was sharp enough to have made the connection between my odd behavior now and my nerves around Elodie this morning.
Dad leaned my way. “She wouldn’t happen to be—"
“Evening, all!” Kai called, slamming the door shut as he entered. I sprang up, taking my out and quickly walking down the foyer.
“I need a distraction,” I whispered as Kai handed me his contribution for dinner—yet another bottle of wine, but alas not Mum’s favorite. Typical Kai mistake.
“What?” he asked in confusion as he threw off his jacket and loosened his tie. It was always funny looking at him. We were nearly duplicates, except that he was half a decade behind me and had Dad’s hazel eyes instead.
“Dad’s onto me, and I need a reprieve. Please, Kai, anything,” I muttered as we walked back in.
Kai glanced at me nervously. Bloody hell, why was I even asking him? He was the do-gooder, the bad liar, the obedient son with the big heart. He was a bloody general physician because he cared about helping people live their healthiest lives, even though he was smart enough to pursue the most rigorous and lucrative specialty. He was that kind of bloke, and this was who I was relying on for a devious diversion. I was done for.
“Evening, Dad. Hullo, Mum,” he said cheerily, kissing her cheek and handing her the wine. She peered at it, then set it down, trying to look enthusiastic. Did he even pay attention? She hated Shiraz. Who doesn’t hate Shiraz?
