by Lexy Timms
“What’s strange is that when you first started at Dover, you seemed to want me to reconnect with my family,” he said. “I remember how you disapproved of me shutting people out of my life. But now that I might be letting my father back in, that’s a problem for you. Why?”
His tone made her bristle. “Simon, your father lied to you.”
He shrugged. “Maybe he remembered things wrong. Or maybe he just has memory problems. He isn’t as young as he used to be, you know.”
“He’s not exactly ancient either,” she said, with a disapproving frown.
“You don’t like him. Just admit it.”
“He was awful to you when you were a kid,” she said. “I remember the way he spoke to you. Mocked your intelligence. It was like he resented the fact that you were probably smarter than him. More accomplished than him. What kind of father is jealous of his own son?”
A twitch in his jaw let her know that he was probably struggling to keep his frustration in check. “See? You admit it. You don’t like him and you’re letting that cloud your judgment of him.”
“I’m not trying to judge him harshly.” She slumped back in her chair, hating that they weren’t on the same page about a topic as important as his father. “All I want is for you to be happy, Simon.”
“If you want me to be happy, why are you trying to turn me against my father?” he asked. “You were the one who wanted me to get to know my parents again. Tell me what’s changed, Heather.”
“I’ve always wanted you to reconnect with your parents, but on your terms,” she said. “I encouraged you to make amends with them, but only when you were ready to do that. Not when your father just happened to show up in town.”
“I get that you’re concerned about me, but what if you’re suspicious of my father because of your experience with Gary?” Simon asked. “What if you think the worst of my dad because of how terrible Gary has been to you and Finn?”
She paused. As much as she hated to admit it, the custody battle with Gary had jaded her. Hardened her in a way she wasn’t sure she liked. For years she had been a relatively open-hearted person. She had given people the benefit of the doubt. Given second chances to Gary even though he kept getting worse and worse. It didn’t seem fair to transfer her hurt and confusion onto Simon’s father now.
“I’m not trying to project my issues onto your dad,” she said slowly. “But there might be some subconscious projection going on, and that isn’t fair to you or your dad.”
Simon reached across the table and took her hand. “This isn’t easy for me, you know.”
Guilt flooded her. She had been so focused on protecting Simon that she hadn’t even checked in with him to see how he was handling this father’s sudden appearance. “I’m so sorry I’ve been selfish. I’ve been leaning on you for emotional support through this whole custody battle, and now that you need me I’ve just made things harder for you.”
He squeezed her hand gently, a slow smile creeping across his face. “Heather, you’re the least selfish person I know. It’s only natural for you to be guarded around my father. All I ask is that you give him a chance.”
“So, you’re going to spend more time with him?” she asked. “Get to know him?”
Simon nodded. “Dad dropping in so unexpectedly is still a shock, but this might be a chance at a fresh start with him. Granted, we have a lot of baggage to get through.” He sighed. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad about being standoffish, but you really are the most important person in my life. Right now, I want to take the time to get to know my father again. If he’s willing to reach out, then I want to do the same. And it would mean a lot if you gave my father a chance, Heather.”
How could she say no to such a reasonable request? After all, Simon had accepted her son and had never once made Finn feel unwelcome. It wouldn’t be fair to be the reason that Simon didn’t get a second chance with his father.
Her time working at Dover had jaded her enough to make her wary now. A twinge in her stomach gave her pause. Even if she gave his father a chance, she knew that nothing was going to stop the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling that told her something about Simon’s father just didn’t add up.
Taking a deep breath she decided to give him what he wanted, despite her misgivings. “Okay, Simon. I promise to give your father a chance.”
Chapter 3
Heather started the work week fielding calls from various board members who wanted to congratulate her about the interviews she had managed to get Simon to do the week before. As she hung up the phone after a nice chat with Linda Schaffer, there was a knock on her office door.
“Come in,” she said.
Simon stepped inside, a smile on his face. “Am I interrupting something?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I’ve just been getting a ton of calls from board members. They’re really pleased about the interviews.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said. “The board is so happy with your hard work that they want to announce some kind of surprise for us.”
Excitement made her lean forward in her swivel chair. After the rocky start she’d had at Dover, getting the board’s approval meant the world to her. It was what she had worked so hard to get. Her position as Simon’s media relations assistant and spokeswoman was new, but she wasn’t going to waste any time. She had been partially responsible for Dover’s recent bad press, and it was now her job to do everything she could to fix the company’s image. “What is it? How come none of the board members told me about it on the phone?”
“Agnes Morton wants to be the one to give you the good news,” Simon said. “She’s in my office right now and has invited us to an early lunch to talk to us. I suspect it just means more work for you and a headache for me, but I’m going to try not to hate this.”
She laughed and stood up. “I’m sure it’s something good, Simon.”
His eyebrow arched. “Good for whom? I have a feeling this surprise from the board is just going to add extra stress to my life.”
“Well, I have good news of my own. I got it this morning and I think you and Agnes are going to want to hear it.” She walked over to him and gently pressed her lips to his.
His arms slid around her, pinning her to his solid body. Simon returned the kiss, his demanding mouth setting her on fire. It was definitely inappropriate to be kissing her boss at the office while a board member was in the next room, but after the weekend she’d had she needed the reassurance of his kiss. Needed to know that even though they had argued about his father, Simon was still there for her.
When she pulled back to end the kiss she smiled, her lips tingling from the sensation of his mouth on hers.
“Okay, so what’s your good news?” he asked. Even though she had broken the kiss he was still embracing her, those strong arms of his making her never want to walk out of there.
“You hate surprises, Simon. Which is why, for once, I’m not dreading a meeting with Agnes,” she said. “I’m going to need all the reinforcements I can get.”
He let out a groan and started to guide her out of her office. They met up with Agnes in Simon’s office and then decided to take Simon’s car to a nearby restaurant for lunch.
Heather wasn’t surprised that Agnes had chosen such a tasteful, elegant place to eat. All the tables were made from the most expensive mahogany, and Heather recognized some of the patrons. Most of them were CEOs and board members of elite companies in Seattle. Getting an invite from Dover’s most important board member to a place like this for a work lunch was definitely a big deal.
Once they were seated and looking over their menus, Agnes cleared her throat.
“Heather, I’m so glad that you’re here,” Agnes said. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you in more informal settings over these past several weeks.”
“Informal?” Heather glanced around the restaurant. The place was so fancy the tablecloths were made of silk.
“Wh
en I say informal, I mean outside the workplace,” Agnes said.
“Oh. Right.” Heather shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had taken a real liking to Agnes, but that didn’t mean the formidable woman didn’t keep her on her toes. Agnes was one of those businesswomen who inspired both anxiety, and a desire to be on one’s best behavior. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, too.”
“Wonderful.” Agnes smiled. “Well, I’ve invited you both here to congratulate you on the interviews you did last week. I saw the reaction to some of Simon’s photos going up on the internet. I was surprised to see so many women getting excited about them, considering it was a men’s magazine.”
Heather laughed as she watched Simon’s face turn red. “I told you that photo shoot was a good idea.”
He reached for the glass of water in front of him and took a huge gulp of it. “This is a nightmare.”
That made her laugh again. “Oh, come on. That kind of attention is good. It means you’re getting traction outside of tech spaces. Yesterday, I saw someone had done a list of the hottest CEOs and you were number one. Here, let me show you.” She took her cell phone from her handbag and searched for the blog post. When she brought up the page full of photos of handsome, broody CEOs, she handed her phone over to him. “See? Number one. The internet has been going crazy over you.”
He stared at her phone in horror. “Someone added giant hearts over my head.” He paused. “Hold on. It says, ‘Simon is bae.’ What the hell does that even mean? This makes me look like an idiot.”
“Correction. It makes you look gorgeous. Which you are,” Heather said.
His face got even redder and she was getting a slightly twisted sort of satisfaction at seeing him so flustered. Simon was a cool customer most of the time, so seeing him react like this wasn’t something that happened very often. “Is it too late to stop that men’s magazine from releasing the rest of the photos?”
“Nope.” Heather shook her head and gave him a meaningful glance. “By the way, that’s part of my good news. The news I wanted to share with both you and Agnes.”
Agnes flashed her a curious look. “What is it?”
“After seeing the instant frenzy that a few photos caused, Guilty magazine wants to make the interview with Simon their cover story,” Heather replied. “It’s one of the top, legit magazine’s in the country. I got an email from an editor this morning and he says that a photo of Simon will be on the cover and he’ll get a long profile piece in the magazine. So, it isn’t going to just be a small article. It’s getting the cover story treatment. Isn’t that great?”
Simon groaned. “I’m in hell.”
“This is wonderful news.” Agnes said, ignoring him. “This is the kind of media attention the board has wanted for years. Heather, you’re a miracle worker. And to show you how happy the board is with all your work, we’ve got a project that we want you to take on.”
“What sort of project?” she asked.
Agnes set her menu down. “Well, the media company that owns Guilty magazine also runs a TV production company. They want to do a documentary on Simon. You know, kind of a biography of his life. A look at how he works. A deeper look at his personal life. That sort of thing.”
“My personal life?” Simon scowled. “No. That’s not happening, Agnes.”
Heather grimaced. With Simon’s father back in the picture, a documentary could certainly complicate things. And as much as she would like to clue Agnes in to Simon’s family current family issues, she hadn’t been given permission to talk about Simon’s personal life. “When do they want to start shooting?”
“Ordinarily I would have pushed things back, but Heather, you’re so good at working with the media. I said that if I could get you to agree to take on this project, they could start shooting right away,” Agnes replied. “That’s the beauty of a documentary. You don’t have to wait for casting or sets.”
Heather chewed her lip, mulling over how she would take on a documentary and deal with Simon’s personal life getting so complicated recently. “I’d love to take this on, but I do worry about personal details getting out.”
“Oh, I completely understand that concern. Heather, the board wants you around to control the narrative as much as possible,” Agnes said. “We want a few personal anecdotes. Childhood stories. An interview or two with coworkers or friends. That kind of thing. Nothing salacious.”
“That’s still too personal,” Simon said through gritted teeth.
Before Heather could respond, a waitress arrived to take their orders. When the waitress took their menus and left, Agnes turned her focus back to Simon.
“I know this all sounds personal, Simon, but with Heather around you’ll be able to have more control,” Agnes pointed out. “Heather’s new position means you’ll have a better chance to protect yourself. This is the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on the media while they’re doing a documentary on you.”
Heather nodded. “In other words, keep your enemies close.”
“Exactly,” Agnes said. “All of this is strategy. Besides, if the documentary does well, I can imagine it leading to a movie. A movie about your life. Think about what that could mean for Dover. For your legacy.”
“What do I get out of this?” he demanded. “You all seem to be getting what you want out of this deal. I expect to get something in return.”
She smiled inwardly. Even when it looked like they could get Simon to agree, he still had a way of making it difficult for them. He might like to think of himself as just an intellectual, but he could be very cunning when he wanted to be. No doubt he’d tried to squeeze everything he could out of the board. As his media relations assistant, it was her job to make sure she delivered on the things he wanted. “How about we ask the board to make a bigger commitment to Blue Naught?”
Heather knew how much the newly acquired company meant to Simon, and she sensed an opportunity.
Simon’s hesitation seemed to vanish as he leaned forward and nodded. “Yes. We’ve just acquired them, but the board has never supported the venture. I want more support from the board. And a bigger financial investment now that we’ve brought them on board.”
Agnes sighed heavily. “I should have known you weren’t going to make this easy.”
“Get the board to sign off, and you’ll get your documentary,” Simon muttered.
“What if they disagree?” Agnes asked.
“Then you’re not getting your documentary,” he said in a voice that let Agnes know he meant every word he said.
“Fine, I’ll take it to the board.” Agnes pursed her lips. “You always drive such a hard bargain.”
A loud cell phone ring sounded unexpectedly and Simon retrieved his cell phone to answer it. He got up from his seat and whispered, “Ladies, please excuse me for a moment. Long distance call.”
Heather nodded as he stepped away to take the call.
“How did the custody hearing go?” Agnes asked.
“Oh.” She chewed her lip, unsure of how much to reveal. “I got primary custody of my son.”
Agnes flashed a smile. “That’s tremendous news. I’m delighted that everything has worked out for you.”
Her chest tightened. The truth was, things hadn’t worked out. Not quite. Certainly not the way she had hoped. Winning the custody battle had been such a relief, but the way Gary had ended things still stung. All she had wanted was for Finn to have both of his parents present in his life. But Gary had taken off, leaving his only son behind. Anger and sadness poured over her, but she didn’t know Agnes well enough to confide in the older woman. Instead, Heather decided not to dwell on her pain and forced a smile. “I’m happy, too. I appreciate the support you gave me through all of this.”
“Anytime,” Agnes said.
Their food arrived and Simon resumed his seat. As they dug into their food, Agnes and Simon regaled Heather with stories of Dover’s early days.
When she finished her meal, Agnes dabbed delicately at her mouth with
a napkin. “That reminds me. I’d like to host a small get-together in your honor. A little party for both of you. It could be the board’s way of thanking you for all your hard work lately.”
Simon scoffed. “You mean it’s a party to try to persuade me to do something you all know I’d refuse to do.”
“Nothing has been finalized yet.” Agnes waved a dismissive hand. “I haven’t even brought it up with the board yet. I’m sure they’ll agree to it. I’ll let you know the details.”
“So, not only am I going to be on the cover of some magazine, but I have to have some halfwits follow me around with a camera and go to some party I don’t want to go to?” Simon narrowed his eyes. “The board had better be writing one hell of a check for Blue Naught.”
“As I explained earlier, nothing is set in stone,” Agnes said. “But we now all have a lot of things to consider. After all the negative press Dover has had to deal with, I do appreciate all the work you’ve both done to change things. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
When their bill came, Agnes insisted on paying for everything. With lunch over they headed back to Dover headquarters, and Heather stopped Simon on his way back to his office.
“Did you want to talk about the documentary project?” she asked. “We could draft a list of questions and requests that we can hand over to the TV studio. I know you haven’t agreed to anything yet, but it might be good to write up something that’s in your best interests.”
“I did want to talk about that, but something has been on my mind all day.” His jaw tightened. The sign that whatever he wanted to talk about was weighing heavily on him.
She frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s about my dad,” he said. “I could really use your advice.”
“Okay. Can you give me ten minutes to freshen up?”
He nodded. “Of course. See you in a few.”
After a quick stop to the bathroom, Heather headed back to her office to glance at her emails. Satisfied that she hadn’t missed any important news during lunch, she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door.
