by J. S. Scott
My self-made isolation wasn’t normal for me. I liked being with people, and I loved the work I did. I loved the comradery I felt at Lawson, and I fucking belonged here.
I’d spent just about every waking moment here before my accident, and I’d never regretted it. I’d thrived on it.
I had Ruby to thank for bring me out of a bad place, and I was going to show her my appreciation by becoming the man I used to be.
No fear.
No hiding.
No thinking of myself as less than because I had some scars.
I used to be a cocky bastard. Maybe I’d learned a little humility, but being a hermit inside my condo just didn’t feel right anymore.
“Good morning, Mr. Lawson,” Shirley said from her desk as I entered.
“Good morning,” I answered with a smile. “I want to see the files on the Brenner project as soon as you can get them to me.”
“Yes, sir,” she answered. “Would you like me to get you some coffee?”
A couple of years ago, I would have sent her running to the local coffee shop to bring me something strong and black. Now, it seemed pretty ridiculous to waste her valuable skills and make her the coffee woman.
“I’ll grab some in the breakroom. I’d rather have the files.”
“I can certainly do both, Mr. Lawson.”
I shook my head. “No need,” I answered and then headed toward the room that was usually set up with bagels and mediocre donuts along with regular coffee.
I filled a larger cup, snatched a sad-looking donut and strode to my office.
It hadn’t changed.
Shirley kept everything neatly organized, and the space had been professionally decorated.
But as I sat down at my desk, I noticed that there wasn’t a single personal thing in sight.
My employees loved to fill up their walls and other spaces with pictures of their families: the people who made their lives worthwhile.
In mine, there was nothing. And I had a hell of a lot bigger space than any of my employees.
I made a note to myself that I wanted to personalize my space.
“Here you are, Mr. Lawson,” Shirley said as she put a large file on the desk in front of me. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Can you set up a meeting this afternoon with the entire tech team for me?”
“Of course,” she answered immediately. “And can I say that it’s good to have you back in the office again, sir.”
I looked up at her and grinned. “You can say it. But do you mean it?”
“I don’t understand.” She sounded confused, which didn’t happen often with my executive assistant. Shirley was pretty well-known for her calm demeanor even when shit was hitting the fan.
“Am I a good boss? I’m not asking for compliments here, Shirley, but things changed after my accident. I was wondering if there are things I can do to improve the working conditions here.”
She looked relieved. “Not a thing.”
“I was kind of a dick. Making you run around to fetch my coffee, and go out of your way if I wanted something different for lunch.”
“That’s part of my job, Mr. Lawson. I’m here to make your life easier so you can focus on what’s important. I never minded doing those things because you were always appreciative. Every member of your staff respects you. And that’s unusual when it comes to large corporations.”
“In that case, can you possibly get me a coffee? The brew in the breakroom tastes like shit.” I held out my coffee cup and winked at her. “And I think we should have Ruby provide the morning pastries. Although I might never get anybody out of the breakroom if I do.”
She took the almost full coffee cup from me and dumped it out at the sink across the room as she said, “I wondered how long it was going to take for you to figure out how bad it was. I bring my own every morning.”
“I think we’re all coffee snobs,” I observed. “We have too many excellent options here.”
Shirley tossed the empty cup in the trash. “And I’m always willing to explore those options for you,” she said matter-of-factly. “I usually get my second cup while I’m there in the coffee shop getting yours.”
“Then I guess it works out well for both of us,” I answered.
“It does,” she said with a smile. “Would you like me to arrange for Ruby to deliver pastries?”
“Naw. I can talk to her when I get home.”
“She’s still staying with you?”
I nodded. “She’s actually agreed to take me on permanently.”
“You’re getting married?” she asked with surprise.
“We’re not quite there yet,” I said thoughtfully.
“She seemed like a lovely woman when I met her,” Shirley said sincerely.
“She is,” I shared.
“I didn’t know she was a pastry chef.”
“She’s not just a pastry chef. She’s the pastry chef. Ruby is providing pastries for Indulgent Brews.”
“They’re the best in the city, in my opinion,” she answered.
“In a lot of peoples’ opinions,” I corrected. “Ruby isn’t formally trained, but her stuff is incredible. Most of her skills come from experience and creativity. She’s like a pastry guru.”
“Then I’d definitely like to call her,” Shirley said jokingly. “Your services here have been sliding, and are getting worse every week.”
“I’ll talk her into doing some stuff up for us. I never thought about it, but if everybody is in agreement, I could contract her to work with us and get rid of the bad donut guy.”
Shirley raised a brow. “You do realize that even if she doesn’t have a shop, word will get around, and everybody will be clamoring for her sweets.”
I raised an eyebrow back at her. I hadn’t realized that my assistant was so knowledgeable about launching new products. “I hadn’t really thought about it, but I think it’s an excellent plan.”
“Agreed,” she stated. “Bring on the pastries. If they’re good, they’ll sell themselves.”
“Thanks, Shirley.”
I opened the file as soon as my assistant left the room, only to be interrupted by a voice I was hoping I wouldn’t hear today.
“You’re here. What are you doing here?”
I looked up again and watched my brother, Carter, seat himself in a chair close to my desk.
On the surface, he looked like any other businessman. Dressed in a custom suit, and without a single hair out of place, he appeared as though he was perfectly capable of taking on the entire world.
But I could see the brother I knew underneath the façade, and Carter wasn’t faring well.
“To answer your question, I believe I own a third of this business. I’m back in the offices to finally move on with my life.”
“Can you do that?” Carter said in a cutting tone. “Because if I remember right, that wasn’t going all that well. You’ve been pretty much holed up at home since the accident.”
“I’m recovered,” I snapped. “And I don’t need you to remind me how difficult that was.”
The bastard had added to my problems instead of helping me with them.
“I heard you’re seeing somebody,” Carter said.
“It’s none of your business what I do.”
Carter stood. “Don’t do this to yourself, bro. I checked her out. She’s nobody. A homeless woman off the streets. She’ll take your money and run.”
I stood up. I was furious, and I was done listening to Carter’s bullshit. None of what he’d said had hit home except his statement about Ruby being nobody.
Maybe he didn’t know her, but Ruby was a way better person than Carter would ever be.
I’d talked to my eldest brother, Mason, a few times over the last few weeks, and I assumed he’d told Carter about Ruby.
I couldn’t blame Mason since I hadn’t said that he needed to keep the information quiet, and I wasn’t about to say that.
I was proud of Ruby, and I pretty much didn’t care who knew it.
“Leave,” I said through gritted teeth. “Get the fuck out of my office before I kick your ass.”
“No offense, bro, but I just don’t see that happening,” he shot back at me.
Bastard! Does he think I can’t take him out because I have a bum leg?
My temper suddenly snapped, and I moved forward to teach my brother the lesson I should have given him a long time ago.
Ruby
I sighed as I covered the casserole I was making with shredded cheese, and then put it back in the oven.
It had been a busy day.
Once Jett had left for the office, I’d sourced the products I needed to make a full range of pastries, and then went out to get them purchased.
Then, I’d decided it was time for me to open a checking account, so I’d stopped into the bank and took a reasonable amount of money out of my ridiculous savings account and established a checking account.
Since I wasn’t going to get paid very quickly for doing pastries, and I knew I needed new clothes to go with Jett to his sister’s wedding, I’d caved in and decided to use some serious money from my account. I didn’t want to go to Rocky Springs looking like a homeless woman. I wanted to look like Jett’s girlfriend.
I’d spent most of the afternoon trying to find appropriate outfits for Colorado in the fall. And I found some good prices with Pete’s help. Seattle was a bit overwhelming at times, but I was slowly getting used to the different areas.
I just wasn’t ready to get into the traffic with a brand-new BMW quite yet.
As I walked across the kitchen, I noticed the same sore muscles that had been screaming at me all day. But they still put a smile on my face.
For a guy who claimed to be encumbered by injury, Jett certainly wasn’t lacking in stamina or endurance. We’d woken up a couple of times during the night just to experience the pleasure of being together all over again.
Unfortunately, I was paying for my sexual gluttony with aching muscles I hadn’t even known existed.
But I wouldn’t have traded last night for any amount of discomfort.
It had been…perfect.
I’d been somewhat surprised when Jett had gotten dressed in a gorgeous suit and went off to his offices this morning. But I’d somehow sensed that it was some kind of turning point for Jett, and I hadn’t questioned him after I’d seen the grim determination on his face.
He’d seemed…different. Not in a bad way, but in a I’m-fucking-taking-back-my-life sort of way.
And it looked pretty damn hot on him.
I grabbed a potholder to pull French bread out of the bottom oven.
I was pretty much doing my lazy recipes since I’d gotten home late. Jett was getting a casserole I’d thrown together quickly, the bread I’d just pulled from the oven, and I’d whipped up some easy lemon bars as soon as I’d gotten home.
Not that I thought Jett would know the difference between a difficult pastry and an easy one that could be done in fifteen minutes. Pretty much everything sweet worked for him.
I heard the front door close, and my heart skittered because I knew Jett was home.
He was in the kitchen in less than thirty seconds, and he looked just as hot as he had this morning.
But there was one difference.
“What happened to your face?” I asked as I gently touched the bruise under his eye that hadn’t been there when he’d left in the morning.
He didn’t answer until he’d given me a kiss. “My brother’s fist collided with my face,” he answered gruffly.
“Your brother hit you? Why?”
I knew there was some kind of distance between the Lawson siblings. But I didn’t understand why.
“We had an old score to settle. So I settled it.”
“What happened?” I asked softly, hoping he’d confide in me. I wanted to understand his family dynamics, but he rarely talked about anybody except his sisters. “Why don’t you get along with your brothers?”
“Mason and I get along fine,” he said as he took his jacket off and tossed it over the back of a kitchen chair. “But Mason is rarely around, and he works too damn much. Something happened to my family when my parents were killed. We just all seemed to scatter. Harper and Dani went off to do their own things, and Mason, Carter, and I decided to work together. We sold off most of our parents’ assets to divide up the inheritance, but we kept my dad’s fledgling tech business so we could make it our own since we were all educated in technology. Everything happened pretty fast once we moved the company to Seattle and it really took off. We each have our own division, so pretty much all we ever did was work. We fell into a relationship that was more about being business partners than brothers.”
He grabbed a beer out of the fridge, popped it open, and sat down at the kitchen table.
I took a seat across from him. “Were you close as children?”
“Yeah, that’s the weird part. We were all pretty tight. Harper and Dani were close, and Mason, Carter, and I were like best friends. We did everything together.”
“Your parents’ deaths had to have been traumatic for all of you. Don’t you think that sometimes those things either draw you together or tear you apart?”
I had no idea what it was like to have siblings. I was just trying to understand through my own experience of losing my parents.
He nodded and took a slug of his beer. “Unfortunately, it didn’t draw us closer together. I think we were all so raw that we couldn’t talk about it, so we didn’t. And we didn’t talk about anything else, either. Somehow, we just completely lost our family, and it went on for so long that we couldn’t seem to get it back again.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said softly. “But it’s not too late.”
“It might be,” he contradicted in a solemn tone. “I just wish I had noticed years ago, after our folks died. I guess we just got so caught up into becoming a leader in the tech industry that I never stopped to see how dysfunctional my family had become. And it wasn’t like we needed the money. We were filthy rich before the company started its rise to the top because of my parents. But it wasn’t really about the money. I guess we were caught up in the challenge. We’re all hardheaded. Even my sisters.”
“It’s part of who you are,” I told him. “And that’s not always a bad thing.”
Jett was stubborn, but that’s one of the qualities he’d needed to get through his injuries.
“I’d really like it if we could reconnect. But I have no idea how to rebuild a family. Harper and Dani will be in Colorado, but it’s not difficult for any of us to see each other. It’s a fairly short jet ride.”
“I’m glad you’ll be seeing your sisters soon at the wedding.”
“Maybe we could go a few days early,” he suggested. “It might give me time to talk to my sisters and figure out where in the hell we fucked up.”
“I’m ready when you are,” I offered. “I can make my last delivery to Indulgent Brews near the end of the week and I’m free.”
He grinned, and he looked like a naughty schoolboy with his black eye. “I have another job for you.”
“What?”
“Can you supply breakfast pastries for my staff? They’d all worship you. We have a contract with a bakery for morning stuff, but the quality is crap for what we pay them.”
“You know I’m always happy to help.”
He shook his head. “Nope. This isn’t something you’re doing for free. Like I said, we already pay a bakery to provide stuff. You’d be paid accordingly. We can try it out with my office, and if it goes well, you’ll get the rest of the offices, too.”
I folded my arms acros
s my chest and gave him a skeptical stare. “You’re not setting this up to help me make a small fortune?”
“Absolutely not. The idea came up when I was talking to Shirley about how bad the bakery items are. Even I couldn’t eat the donuts. They were stale.”
I cracked a smile. “Okay. Since you never meet something sweet that you don’t love, then maybe you really do need something different.”
“My staff needs something better,” he corrected.
“I think it’s pretty nice that you actually offer the service to your staff. Most companies don’t.”
“It’s mostly selfish,” he answered. “We get more work out of them if they aren’t thinking about lunch because they didn’t have time to get anything in the morning.”
I laughed. “You know that’s not why you do it.”
He shrugged. “Maybe not the only reason, but studies show that it ups productivity.”
“I’ll do some stuff tomorrow.”
I ran some ideas by him for items he might want, but I could see that he was distracted.
Finally, I said, “You never did tell me what you fought about with Carter?”
“Like I said, it was an old score.”
“What?” I pressed.
“He slept with my ex-fiancé,” Jett said flatly.
I was speechless, unable to ask all of the questions I had that were screaming through my brain as I saw the grim expression on Jett’s handsome face.
Ruby
“I already know I want you to sign on to make me stuff permanently as soon as possible,” Lia said as she stood behind the empty glass case at Indulgent that had been full of pastries earlier that morning.
“I second that wholeheartedly,” Zeke said from a table where he was finishing off the selection of sweets she’d saved for him when I’d laid them out earlier.
With Jett seated across from Zeke, helping him devour everything, I knew it wouldn’t be long before all the pastries were gone.
The two men had never met before today, but I was pretty sure they were male bonding over brownies.
