by Leslie North
“Are you and Angie dating? It’s not like her to bring a guy home to meet the family.”
Wanting to protect her, he shook his head. “It’s business-related,” he said. It was truer than he would like to admit.
“Liar,” she said with a smile. “Angie avoids us all the time for business reasons. This is a family dinner. No one would have batted an eye if she’d bowed out. We all know that she’s busy. So this conference call is horse shit.”
His eyes widened at her language, and she laughed. “It’s cool. I’ll keep your secret. It’ll be fun to see where this goes.”
“Dinner time!” Bonita called out. There was a stampede to the kitchen, and Stephen stood up in alarm.
“Wow. Everyone must be starving.”
Carolina smiled. “Bonita is an amazing cook. Once you try her food, nothing will ever taste the same.” She nodded her head. “Your non-romantic interest is waiting for you.”
He turned and saw that Angie was indeed waiting for her family to pass. He gave her a smile, and she returned it with a shake of her head.
Carolina snorted. “Right. Business my ass.”
But Stephen ignored her. For the moment, over all the noise and chaos, Angie was all that he could see. For a moment, he wished it were real. He wished that he could be a part of this family. He could be a part of something warm and loving. But then one of her brothers whispered something in her ear and her smile vanished. Before he reached her, she turned and walked into the kitchen.
What had her brother said to her?
Angie kept an eye on Stephen during dinner, and unfortunately, so did the rest of her family. Joe and Jesus were less than happy about having a Maxfield present at the dinner table. As far as they were concerned, the Maxfields were the devil.
And they weren’t shy about it.
“So where have you been the past ten years? Spending your daddy’s money?” Jesus asked casually when there was a break in the conversation.
“Jesus!” Angie hissed, mortified.
Stephen didn’t even look surprised. “All of my profits from Duncan Enterprises are actually set up in a trust fund for my son for college. I have my own construction business. It’s not nearly the giant that Duncan Enterprises is, and in fact my father likes to steal work from me, but it’s kept me busy for the past eight or so years.”
Jesus nodded his head. “It’s nice to see your name on a business. Good for you.”
Angie breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t the first shot taken at Stephen, and so far, he’d taken them all in stride.
“This food is amazing, Bonita. Do you have your own restaurant?”
Her sister blushed. “No. I’m content to cook for family.”
“But not the family’s restaurant,” Joe grumbled.
“You have your own place?” Stephen asked. Then his eyes went wide. “Wait. Dos Lopez?
“Si!” Joe said excitedly. “You’ve been to our restaurant? Best Latino fusion restaurant around!”
“Agreed,” Stephen said whole-heartedly. “I’ve been twice in one week just to get your burritos! That restaurant pulls in some major business.”
And that was all it took to get her brothers to come around. Angie felt a sense of relief that her family was warming up to Stephen, but that relief meant that she wanted her family to like him, that she needed them to like him.
Which was ridiculous.
“You picked a good boss to sleep with,” Jesus said casually, and the whole table went silent.
Angie stared at him in rage. “What did you just say?” she asked quietly.
Joe had said the same thing before dinner, but he’d had the decency to say it where no one could hear it. “Aw, shit. Angie I’m just kidding. Lo siento,” he said as he put his hands together.
“Apologize to him,” she said coldly.
“Angie, that’s not necessary,” Stephen said quietly.
Angie threw her napkin on the table and got up. “Dinner was lovely Bonita, thank you. Excuse us. We’re leaving,” she said as she shot a look at Stephen. She didn’t even wait for him to comment as she left the room.
“What was I supposed to think?” Jesus said as she left. “It’s not like it’s her first rodeo with her boss.”
“Jesus!” their mother hissed.
Stephen followed her out onto the front porch and grabbed her arm before she got too far ahead. “Hey,” he said softly. “I don’t know what just happened, but I’m not offended. You don’t need to leave on my account.”
Angie stared out across the front porch. There was a time when the house they lived in wasn’t so nice. When she thought, she needed to do more to support her family.
When she was young and naïve and thought that she knew what love meant.
She didn’t say anything, but she looked down to where his hand still touched her arm. For a moment, she wished it were warmer weather. She wished she was wearing short-sleeves, and he was touching bare skin rather than the fabric of her blouse.
“Angie, I guess your brother should never say something like that to you, but I think he was kidding. I don’t know your family very well, but I’ve never seen a place with more love,” he said softly.
She took a deep breath and tried to get herself together. “Love, yes. But they are always up in my business. Now that they’re all settled and happy, they expect me to do the same. Fall in love. Marry. Have babies. They don’t seem to realize that this job is the world to me. And so I bring a handsome man home, and they automatically assume I’m still that girl who sleeps with my boss.”
She winced when she heard herself admit that there had been a past incident, but he had no doubt heard Jesus’s comment when they were walking out. It wasn’t anything that he didn’t already know.
But he didn’t push.
“You think I’m handsome?” he teased.
“Shut up,” she snapped with a laugh.
“Angie, your family wants you to be happy. And people are rarely happy from only their job. Success and pride go hand and hand, but that’s not love. And your family wants you to have everything. It’s far better for them to be protective and pushy than for them not to care about your life at all. Believe me, I know.”
She turned and inadvertently stepped into his arms. Away from the prying eyes of Duncan Enterprises employees, and away from Duncan Maxfield’s threats, she gazed into Stephen’s eyes. “Success and love rarely happen at the same time,” she whispered.
Stephen slowly pulled her closer, and she let herself brush up against him. He was both warm and exciting, calm and tumultuous. Her mind and her body screamed two very different things as he dipped his mouth. She remembered the taste of him, remembered the way his lips had felt on hers, and she couldn’t help but tilt her head to meet him.
“It doesn’t have to be love at first,” he whispered as his lips hovered over hers. “It’s a first step.”
A first step into an abyss that could end with her broken beyond repair. With a strangled moan, she put her hand up on his chest and stopped him before he captured her lips. “I can’t,” she whispered. “This job means too much to me.”
He stepped back in frustration and stared at her. “Why does being with me automatically mean you lose your job?” he demanded.
“You don’t trust me,” she snapped. “I know you don’t. So I don’t know if you want to be with me to keep an eye on me or because you want to be with me.”
“All you have to do is touch me to know that I want you,” he said in a harsh voice. “What I feel for you has nothing to do with the damn company.”
“I can’t separate you from the company,” she said as she stepped back even further. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Embarrassed and close to tears, she grabbed her keys from her purse. “Let’s go,” she said.
“Go ahead,” he said without looking at her. “I’ll call a cab.”
He was angry. She felt nothing but despair when she realized that he wouldn’t even look at her. “Stephen,” she s
aid softly.
“I’m fine, Angie. You’re right. Duncan Enterprises comes first. And that’s why I should call a cab.” He turned to face her now, and those warm blue eyes were as icy as they could be. “We don’t want anyone at the company to see us driving back together.”
He turned and walked away as he pulled out his phone, and she did the only thing she could do.
She went back inside to her family. They, at least, would never hurt her.
11
Angie took a deep breath as she stood outside Stephen’s temporary office. She hadn’t seen him all week. It wasn’t that she was deliberately avoiding him, but she’d been busy trying to juggle Gabe’s constant interference and Duncan’s demands.
Duncan was certainly not going to like this latest turn of events.
Squaring her shoulders, she rapped on the door. “Come in,” he said quietly.
“You are Senior VP of Duncan Enterprises,” she reminded herself “You are not going to let one man ruin that.” Repeating that over and over in her head, she opened the door and walked in. He looked up in surprise, and she tried to look casual and in control as she leaned against the wall. “I don’t suppose you know Garret Snyder, do you?”
A wry smile crossed his face. “Why do you ask?”
“Duncan has tendered for a job for him in Chicago, and Mr. Snyder won’t talk to me unless you’re with me,” she said stiffly.
Stephen tossed his pencil onto the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Really? A job? Why would Duncan want to do a construction job in the middle of selling the construction arm of the company?”
She knew why, and she knew that he knew. “I thought you wanted to save Construction.”
“Oh, I do,” Stephen said with a smile. “But you know what I also want? I want my own company to thrive. Does Duncan know that Garret is asking for me personally?”
“No,” she said coldly.
“Ah. So you’re finally finding your own wings here. Good for you, Angela. Well, to answer your original question, I don’t really know Garret. But I’ve had several conversations with him and nearly closed a deal for my company to do some work for him. But I guess Duncan undercut me. Again. So I’m sure he wants to make sure that there isn’t any funny business going on here.” Stephen smiled brightly at her. “Is there any funny business happening here?”
“Pack your bags, Mr. Maxfield,” she said. “We leave for Chicago in the morning.”
She spun on her heels and walked out with bothering to close the door. Inside, she was torn. Duncan was adamant that they bid on the job when he found out that Stephen was also bidding on behalf of Maxfield Construction. She felt dirty stealing jobs from Stephen, but Duncan was her boss. What else could she do?
The project itself was massive, and they would barely make any profit with the bid that Duncan gave. It didn’t make any financial sense, but then, quite a few of Duncan’s judgment calls made no financial sense these days.
She should tell Duncan that Stephen would have to accompany her to Chicago. Usually, they sent surveyors to the scene while Angie negotiated on Duncan’s behalf, but Garret Snyder had been adamant that Stephen had to be present.
She almost selfishly wanted to be alone with Stephen. After she wrote him off and told him no multiple times, it was illogical that she’d want to be alone with him in another city. But it wasn’t just that. She wanted to see Stephen at work. She wanted to see how far he would go to bat for the company that was stealing from his own.
“And that is all there is to it,” she told herself firmly as she entered her office.
“All there is to what?” her secretary asked. Shannon looked up with a smile. “Angie, are you talking to yourself again?”
“Just taking notes,” she mumbled. “The usual. I need two tickets tomorrow for Chicago. Leave the return trip open. I’m not sure how long we’ll be.”
“Two tickets?” she said with round eyes. “Is Duncan going with you?” she whispered.
“No. Stephen Maxfield is. And that needs to be kept quiet,” she said sharply.
Shannon looked at her with a knowing grin. “You and Stephen Maxfield. Alone. In Chicago?” she said.
“Tickets. Now,” Angie said as she rolled her eyes. Shannon was more than her receptionist. She was her friend, and she knew all about Angie’s issues with Stephen.
But Chicago wasn’t going to be an issue. Chicago was going to be smooth sailing.
“Garret played along like we talked about,” Stephen announced as he walked in Gabe’s office. “I’ve already negotiated a reasonable price with him, and it’ll give Duncan Enterprises enough profit to make the board members reconsider their offer.”
“And if Garret finds out that Duncan is willing to do it for less?” Gabe said quietly as he straightened his tie.
“He won’t. He insisted that I be there, and I’ll make sure of the numbers first. If Angie lowballs us, we’ll know that we need to keep an eye on her.”
Looking around, Stephen frowned. “Where is Nathan? I told him to meet me here.”
“He was here,” Gabe said. “But he’s got something going on that he doesn’t seem to want to share with me.”
“And what’s that?”
“How would I know if he won’t share it with me? You know Nathan. Always impulsive. Taking risks. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, I suppose you should go pack. Chicago should be quite a fun trip for you.”
Stephen frowned. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s a business trip with a colleague. Why would there be any fun in that? We don’t even know if we can trust her.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Winning, Stephen. I meant that it should be a fun trip because you’ll be winning.”
“Right,” Stephen grumbled as he stomped out of the office.
“Hey, Maxfield!”
Stephen turned to a man running down the hall to catch up with him. Mentally, he wracked his brain to figure out what his name was. Fine. Mark Fine. He was another Senior VP at the company, but since Stephen could barely remember his name, he knew that Fine wasn’t exactly going places.
“Mr. Fine. I’m in a bit of a hurry. How can I help you?”
“Sorry. I heard that you’re taking Angie Lopez to Chicago with you. I was hoping I could tag along. I’d had some ideas that I’d like to bring to the table.”
It was all Stephen could do not to roll his eyes. Gruffly reminding himself not to judge someone he didn’t even know, he gave the man a sympathetic smile. “I’m so sorry Mr. Fine, but the arrangements have already been made. I’ll be sure to set up a meeting with you when I return.”
A smug smile tugged at his lips. “I’m almost jealous of you. That Lopez has quite the fine ass. I wouldn’t mind a chance to have those cheeks fill the palms of my hands.”
Rage like Stephen had never known came over him. “Pack your bags, Fine. You’re fired.”
“What?” The man’s mouth dropped, and he stared dumbfounded.
“I’ll notify HR. This company has a no tolerance policy for sexual harassment and that includes sexist and sexual remarks.”
“You can’t do this.” Fine’s face grew red with anger as he blustered. “You barely even work here.”
A cruel smile crossed Stephen’s face. “Be very careful, Mr. Fine. I carry the Maxfield name. I can do far worse than simply fire you. I can make sure that the only thing you’re fit for is flipping burgers for a living.”
“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Fine commented, but he turned and stumbled away. As his words sunk in, Stephen inhaled sharply. Protecting his woman made him nothing like Duncan.
His woman. Where the hell had that come from?
Pushing it from his mind, he hurried down the hall. His bags were in the car, and he had a plane to catch.
Angie stretched and smiled as she rose from her seat. She’d been in the lobby of Garret Snyder’s office for about twenty minutes. As Stephen stormed in, he looked more than pisse
d.
“Something wrong?” she asked with an innocent look on her face.
“Why would anything be wrong?” he grumbled. “Been here long? I heard your plane arrived nearly an hour before mine.”
She shrugged. “We had some delays before we could land. I’ve only been here for a few minutes. I’m sorry about the plane mix-up. I didn’t have time to tell you that there had been an issue.”
“Tell me, Angie. Do you really despise me so much that you had to take a different flight to Chicago?” he asked.
She felt his eyes searing into hers. “Not despise.”
“Distrust, then? I wouldn’t do anything that you didn’t want me to do.”
“I don’t distrust you,” she said quietly. She distrusted herself. It seemed that every time she was around him, she forgot about all that she had worked so hard for. She forgot about everything but him. And how she felt about him.
“Ms. Lopez? Mr. Maxfield? Mr. Snyder will see you now.”
The receptionist interrupted them and saved Angie from voicing what she already knew was true. Smoothing out her skirt as she stood, she repressed everything and the cool mask slipped back into place. “Mr. Maxfield. After you.”
He looked almost worried as he followed the receptionist. She wasn’t sure why he’d be worried. He was the one who wanted the construction arm to work. Well now, they were finding work. He should have been jumping for joy. Even a small win was a win.
Garret Snyder was young for someone who was in charge of such a large company. She reminded herself not to be impressed. He still had a few years on her, and if she got her way, she’d soon be a young person in charge of an even larger company.
“Mr. Snyder. Thank you for meeting us.”
“Ms. Lopez. Might I ask why Duncan Maxfield isn’t meeting with me?”
They shook hands, and Angie sat down. “Well, since you insisted that Stephen Maxfield join us, he didn’t think it was necessary.” She spared a quick glance at Stephen. His jaw was clenched. What was his problem?
“Yes, I did. The relationship between Maxfield Construction and Duncan Enterprises has always been interesting. As you know, I’ve worked with Stephen before. I simply wanted to make sure that I’m not severing a relationship here. Money usually comes first in this business, but friendships are important to me.”
