“I’m still available.”
“Oh. Okay.” He almost sounded disappointed. “Then I’d like to offer you the position.”
“Really? I mean—thank you! Thank you so much. You won’t regret this, I promise.”
They briefly went over her salary—which was more than fair—and he told her to be at the office at eight on Monday.
“No problem, and thank you for believing me,” she said when they’d wrapped up the business portion of the phone call.
“I don’t have a husband so I figured I wouldn’t have anything to worry about one way or the other.”
“Right.” She frowned. “See you on Monday.” It would have felt better if he’d hired her because he believed she’d do a good job, but getting out of her brother’s basement was the most important thing.
“Actually, I won’t be there when you come in, you’ll need to get with Sidney. I made sure she knows your name.”
“Thanks,” she said again before they hung up.
She screamed with excitement and hit the bag a few more times out of joy, realizing too late she didn’t have gloves on anymore. She winced, but was too happy to let the pain deter her.
She tore down the photo of her old boss, ripped it up into small pieces, and threw it into the trash on the way to the shower. There would be celebrating tonight.
She started by calling her father, who was happy and reminded her how many times he’d told her everything would work out. He put her stepmother on the phone, who asked all the important details.
“Do they have good benefits?” she asked, much like Kenley’s mother would have had she been alive. Kenley felt blessed that she’d had two wonderful women in her life who loved her as their own, even though neither had given birth to her. Long ago she’d stopped wondering about the woman who had.
“Yes.”
“Are they paying you well?”
“Yes. And they gave me a week vacation to start.”
“That’s nice.”
When her parents were as thrilled as she was, she got off the phone to call Rachel, followed by Alyssa, from Hasher and Bourne, and anyone else she could think of.
Vanessa invited her out for a celebratory drink.
That night when they got back, Kenley tried to calm down enough to get some sleep. She found that while alleviating the worry of a paycheck was definitely something to be happy about, she was more excited about the actual job.
Of all the companies she’d applied to, this seemed like the nicest place to work. She couldn’t help but think it had something to do with it being owned by a handsome man. Something about Zane Jackson’s eyes made her think he’d be a sweet guy when he wasn’t trying to be intimidating. She was actually looking forward to getting to know him.
* * *
“We have a new Sidney,” Zane told Paul and Brady as they walked down a dock in Mississippi toward their next job. While Paul was generally based in New Haven, he was the engine guy and often came out to give a quote. Brady handled transportation and Zane did everything else.
“No way she’ll be anywhere as good as Sidney,” Paul said.
“What’s she look like?” Brady asked at the same time.
Zane stopped walking to stare at Brady momentarily. The man was blond and large, with tattoos. He was ex-military and hooked up more than he actually dated. Possessiveness twisted in Zane’s stomach. It was stupid. No doubt, Kenley the Beautiful would be all over the attentions of someone who looked like Brady. But he should at least attempt to protect his new hire from heartbreak.
“It doesn’t matter what she looks like. She’s an employee, which means she’s off limits.”
“I know. I’m just wondering if I’ll have something nice to look at when I work with her.”
“She’s—don’t look at her,” he ordered, sounding like a crazy person.
“What is this?” Paul asked while squinting and pointing at Zane.
“This is nothing. This is me being protective of my workers. If she was trying to ogle one of you, I’d put a stop to it.”
“Please don’t put the stop to any ogling on my behalf. I personally love to be ogled.” Brady laughed. “Besides, Sidney already told me you used to be in love with a girl in high school who looks like our new girl so I’m not going to crowd your plate.”
“Oh.” Paul whistled. “So you broke down and hired her? Are you going to be able to handle it?” He looked genuinely concerned, like the good friend he was.
“Freakin’ Sidney. When that kid comes out looking like a demon, my theory of her being the devil will be proven,” Zane grumbled.
Brady was laughing too hard to speak, so Zane went to talk to the owner of the boat instead.
Of course he could handle it. He was not that stupid boy anymore. He could work with this woman and not turn into a drooling idiot.
She was no one special. Just an employee.
Chapter 4
Kenley sang along with the radio for her twenty-five minute commute to work on Monday morning. It was nice to be able to use her car again. She hadn’t been able to keep it in the city, so it had been her parents’ spare car.
She found herself clenching the wheel. Occasionally, she would glance over at the car next to her and smile. No one smiled back.
Apparently they weren’t starting new jobs today. They weren’t beginning careers as Executive Production Coordinators with a growing company. They didn’t have a sweet, sexy boss with a gorgeous smile and kind blue eyes, and muscles, and—
“Knock it the hell off,” she scolded herself for getting dreamy about Zane.
By the time she pulled in—thirteen minutes early—she had already decided she would start looking for an apartment in New Haven as soon as possible. She needed to get out of Vanessa and Eric’s house. While she loved her brother, seeing him every day was too much. Not to mention how she was growing tired of changing doll clothes over and over at the demand of her six-year-old niece.
“Good morning,” Sidney greeted her when she walked in.
“Morning,” Kenley answered as she looked around the transformed office space. It was more office than rainforest now.
“I already had my husband come move my plants to our sunroom.”
“Ah.” Inside Kenley was dancing with glee. She didn’t have any plants and was convinced she would have killed the monstrous foliage in a matter of days.
“They were mine. Zane always hated them, but I just added more when he was away.” She shrugged it off.
“Is he here?” She tried to hide the hope in her voice as she glanced toward the hallway leading to his office. He’d said he wouldn’t be in, but maybe his plans changed.
“Nope. He’s going to be out for the next two weeks. I’ll be training you all on my own. The Friday after next is my last day, so you’ll be going solo after that.”
“Okay.” She hid her disappointment and forced a smile.
They spent the morning going over the hiring forms and taking a more extensive tour of the huge building attached to the smaller office. It was empty of humans except for the two of them and Paul, who was up to his elbows in a greasy engine.
He seemed nice. He mentioned he was getting married, twice. Was he worried she was going to try to seduce him? He gestured at the boats surrounding him. They all had catchy names painted in artistic fonts.
Back inside the warm office, Sidney gave her a list of the other workers along with their cell numbers.
“So basically, if you can’t get Zane on the phone and it’s important, call Paul. Paul has an office in here, but he spends most of his time out on road or in the shop. If you can’t get Paul, then try Brady. If Brady doesn’t answer you’ll just have to wait, because none of these other guys know much about the business end of things.”
“Got it.”
“My guess is Zane will be more likely to take your calls than he was to take mine.” Sidney gave Kenley a knowing smile and Kenley wondered what that meant.
“So
do customers come in?” Kenley asked, mostly to change the subject.
“Locals will stop in to schedule service or pay a bill. We have some cash in the box in Zane’s office. We take checks if you get a copy of their license. And you can run a credit card on this little gizmo that snaps in the tablet. Most everyone else will call ahead to make sure Zane is in, and make an appointment. Over the years, people have learned how sporadic his schedule is.”
Surely he had to spend some time here working on boats and running his business. She hoped, as Sid showed her how to fill out a service ticket and where to put them.
“Paul has the emergency line, so those calls go directly to him. If he’s out of the area, he’ll transfer the calls to one of the other guys who stay here. You shouldn’t need to worry about that. If you get a call that someone is dead in the water, transfer the call to Paul.” Kenley nodded.
Lunch was brought in from down the street, and she and Sidney chatted like old friends. When they finished, Sidney started up the computer system to show her payables and receivables.
“You’ll make copies of all the bills, and put the copies in the proper job folder so Zane can review them when he bills out the customer. He takes care of that. He knows what he quoted and won’t send out a bill for more unless there’s a good reason. You’ll apply the customer’s payment to their account when it arrives and take the deposit to the bank when needed. Zane approves the original invoices for supplies and expenses, and then you can enter them for payment.”
“Got it.”
“Here are a few to start.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon in training. They covered how to enter a payment and when to run statements so Zane could review customers who hadn’t paid. At the end of the day she was shown how to lock up and set the alarm.
Her head was swimming as she drove to Vanessa’s. She was mentally exhausted, but it was a great feeling.
By the start of the next week, Kenley was feeling pretty confident with her position. She also had an apartment lined up only a half mile from work, which meant she could walk when the weather warmed up.
Zane called twice to check in with Sidney, but Kenley hadn’t talked to him since he’d hired her. It seemed odd not to see her boss on a daily basis. It might also have been that she wanted to see him. A little. To thank him in person, of course.
* * *
Paul called as Zane was closing up for the day to head back to the hotel. He’d been doing a repair on a hull.
“Hey, did you see the email Kenley sent regarding the bid in Kenosha?” Paul asked. They were both hoping to get the job on the ’69 C&C-Belleville Frigate 36.
“Yeah. And then she left a message to make sure I’d seen it.” Zane didn’t mention how hearing Kenley’s voice made his stomach flip. For as much as she looked like his old crush, her voice was lower where Courtney’s was high and flinty. He’d listened to her message twice to make sure.
“I can get that if you want me to. You said you needed to be back in the office next week.”
Friday was Sidney’s last day, which meant next week it would be just him and Kenley at the office together. Alone. He was actually looking for a way to get out of it. Not that he’d be able to get out of it forever, but he needed another week or so to adjust. The ridiculousness of the situation made him snap in anger.
“I can do it, Paul.”
So what that Kenley was attractive and had a nice smile? He’d dated tons of pretty women. Okay, maybe tons was a stretch, but several at least. None of them inspired this kind of reaction.
It was because she reminded him of Courtney. He needed to find a way to move past it. Maybe once he got to know Kenley he would be able to separate her from the pain of his adolescence. But not yet.
“Sidney told me she wasn’t staying one minute past five on Friday. She’s not going to come in next week,” Paul reminded him.
“Sidney will understand and she’ll cover for me.” She always had his back when it was important.
“Okay.” Paul didn’t even try to cover his laughter. “Good luck with that.” While Zane still had his phone out, he called his sister.
“Why are you calling my cell?” Sidney complained. “You should be calling Kenley since she is going to be handling whatever it is you need.”
“Give me a break—”
“Here, I’ll put her on.”
“What? No. Don’t put her—” Too late.
“Hello, Mr. Jackson,” Kenley said. Hell.
“Please don’t call me Mr. Jackson. We’re the same age.” According to her paperwork, her birthday was two days after his.
“Sure thing. Some people like the formality because it makes them feel important.”
“I know I’m not important. Have you met my sister?” Kenley laughed at his joke, a warm throaty laugh that made him twitch in a good place. Note to self: Don’t ever make her laugh again.
“So what can I do for you today, Zane?” she asked in that sweet, sexy voice. Yep, he was completely hard now. Hearing her say his name, and asking what she could do for him had all kinds of ideas hovering at the tip of his tongue. But he couldn’t say any of those things, and she was waiting for an answer.
“Uh, I know Sidney wanted this Friday to be her last day, but I was hoping she could stay a little longer. I won’t be back in town until next Thursday.”
“Oh. Hold on.” He listened as Kenley relayed the request perfectly.
“What?” There was a shuffling sound before Sidney took over the call. “You said you would be back,” she accused.
“I know, but you also know how many times that plan falls through. I need to take care of that bid in Wisconsin before I can come home.”
“Paul can do the bid.”
“It would be better if I do it.”
“Fine, then do it. You don’t need me here.”
“We can’t expect Kenley to—”
“Kenley is a big girl. She can handle it on her own. To be honest, I really don’t need to be here as it is. I could have turned everything over to her by day three.”
“But Sid—”
“But nothing. She’s going to be here all by herself most of the time anyway. Might as well start next week. Friday is my last day. Five o’clock.” And with that she hung up on him.
“Just great,” Zane complained to the phone. His sister was leaving him to fend for himself with Kenley. God help them.
A little after six his phone rang from a number he didn’t recognize.
“Zane Jackson,” he said officially, expecting a customer.
“Hi, Zane. It’s me, Kenley.” She didn’t need to say her name. His body’s response to her voice was all he needed to identify her.
“Oh. Hi. Are you still working?”
“No. I wanted to talk to you in private.” Oh God. The word private made him twitch again. He was doomed.
“Yes?” His voice sounded funny.
“Well, this Friday is Sidney’s last day, and I wondered if you were planning anything.”
“Planning anything?” He didn’t understand.
“You know, like a party or some gift to show your appreciation for her pivotal role in getting your business off the ground.”
“Did Sidney tell you that last part?”
“Why yes, she did. Many times actually.” They were laughing together.
“It’s true, though. I would have had a difficult time if it weren’t for her. I guess I didn’t really think about a party or anything since I won’t be in town.”
“I can take care of it if you’d like. I just need to know the budget.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Can we keep it under five hundred, will that work?”
“Yes. I can do that. Thanks.”
“Thank you. I can’t imagine what would have happened if we didn’t do anything for her. I’d never hear the end of it.”
“I got your back,” she said, and a vision of them i
n the shower, her rubbing her soapy chest against his back, snapped into his mind.
“Okay, then. Thanks. I kind of have to go.” He had been walking, but now walking seemed impossible with the sudden tightness in his jeans.
“Sure. I’ll see you next week sometime, right?”
“Yep.”
“See you then.” He couldn’t see her. Not when he literally sprang up like a fourteen-year-old at just the sound of her voice. What was he going to do?
The next evening, he received an email from Kenley detailing the going away send-off. Paul, Brady and four other guys would be home to attend. Kenley had ordered a cake. She’d gotten Sidney a simple diamond necklace, and there was a link to a website where he was to record a message saying goodbye.
This woman was scary good.
He clicked the link and straightened his shoulders for the camera.
“Hey, sis. So this is really it, I guess. You helped me get this place off the ground and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your hard work. I’m so happy for you and Tim, and I’m looking forward to spoiling my little niece when she gets here. I’m going to miss hearing you nag at me about my awesome and beloved work boots. I’ll be sure to wear them over to your house when I visit, which I hope will be often. Take care, and from the bottom of my heart… thank you.” He closed the link before he did something stupid, like cry.
On Friday, he got the call from his sister. He could only tell it was her from the name on his caller ID. She was nearly incoherent with sobs.
“Oh my God, Zane. This is the nicest thing you’ve ever done,” she managed to get out. “I wish you were here so I could hug you.”
“I’m so sorry I’m missing that,” he joked. “As for the party, it wasn’t really—”
“Your idea? No kidding,” she interrupted. “I’ve known you my entire life.” Oh no. She was reminiscing about their past. Reminiscing always led to her telling the vomit story. “You threw up on my favorite doll.” Yep. That was the vomit story.
“Yes. I remember.” Only because she wouldn’t ever let him forget.
“I know you didn’t plan the party. Still, it was sweet that you okayed everything and were a part of it. I’m going to give you points for that.”
Help Wanted Page 4
