Contractual Obligation

by Tymber Dalton

  He glanced through them and started to pick up the pen. Gorden laid a hand over Doug’s, stopping him. “Son, read through them, first. In fact, if you want a few hours to take them to an attorney, we’ll understand.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not necessary.” He did read them, though. It took him twenty minutes, and Harper and Gorden didn’t speak or interrupt him while he did. When he finished, he signed everywhere indicated and pushed the papers back across the table to her.

  She now owned his ass for a year. He supposed he shouldn’t think of it as pimping himself out, because she’d clearly said she wasn’t expecting sex from him, but it all boiled down to the same thing, didn’t it?

  He still hated himself for what he had to do to Tate.

  He’d even been so chickenshit as to call Tate this morning at nine o’clock, when he knew Tate was working and couldn’t take personal calls.

  He studied Harper’s face as she leafed through the folder and removed another sheaf of papers. He’d found out from Gorden she was only twenty-eight, just three years older than him. She’d come to be the CEO of her father’s company because the man literally lost a bet to her. Ever since she’d graduated Magna Cum Laude from USF in Tampa, she’d bugged her father to give her a larger role in the company. She’d been working part-time as Gorden’s intern since she graduated from high school, and to shut her up more than anything, her father had made a bet with her one night in front of Gorden and several of his friends.

  Harper had twelve months to turn around their newest acquisition, a struggling Miami company they’d purchased in a hostile takeover. If she did it, he’d make her CEO of their entire organization.

  Her father had never expected her to be successful.

  In less than eight months, the new company was not only in the black, it was turning the highest profit it had in years.

  And Harrison Wells was never one to welsh on a bet.

  She smiled as she handed the papers over. Doug realized that she was genuinely happy over this arrangement. She wasn’t trying to use him unfairly. He’d agreed to this crazy, albeit generous and highly profitable, deal.

  Her smile made her look a little less careworn. “These are for you,” she said. “Some basics about the company. If you’re not busy today, I’d like to send you out with Gorden to get some stuff. It’s going to take us a week or so to get you a corporate credit card. My father is going to be here later today, and I want to introduce you to him.”

  “You want me to look my best.”

  She laughed. “Exactly.” He realized there was nothing mean or hurtful in her laugh. Even her hazel eyes had faint smile lines around them. “Believe me, you deserve it,” she added. “I’m more than happy to spring for a shopping spree.”

  For a moment, it looked like her demeanor slipped before she strengthened her smile. She lowered her voice. “Doug, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you’re doing. I realize, yes, you benefit from this, but I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me.”

  Now he felt like a double shit. Here was a nice woman in a tough situation of her own. Gorden had told him her father wouldn’t hesitate to follow through on his threat to remove her from the company if she kept pushing herself as hard as she had. He suspected there was more to the story, but Gorden either wouldn’t or couldn’t elaborate further.

  * * * *

  Harper tried not to stare at Doug from across the table. He was definitely easy on the eyes. And single. How lucky am I? Maybe she could eventually talk him into her bed.

  She wouldn’t mind that in the least. Yes, she wouldn’t deny it’d be nice to have a real boyfriend instead of a vibrator or shower massager.

  If she could even convince him to stay. Someone as cute as him surely couldn’t have any problems getting dates if he wanted them.

  Quit thinking like that, she chided herself. This is business.

  “Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” she said. She grabbed her folder and stood, shaking hands with him before turning to Gorden. “When is Dad due in?”

  “Three o’clock.”

  “I’ll be in my office and waiting for you.”

  Gorden smiled. “You’re not wasting a second of time, are you?”

  She patted him on the shoulder. “What? Even my father said I needed to get on the ball and find your replacement.”

  The sound of his laughter followed her out of the coffee shop. She had the elevator to herself as she rode up to her floor. She paged through the folder. Douglas Allen Holt. Had turned twenty-five only four weeks earlier. She closed the folder, leaned against the elevator wall, and tapped the folder against her thigh. She smiled.

  Dad will never know what hit him.

  Chapter Five

  Gorden led Doug from the coffee shop to the private parking garage that took up the third through fifth floors of the building. He showed him to a black Mercedes CLS550 sedan. Doug was almost afraid to get inside it.

  Gorden looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Is this yours?”

  “Company car. But Harper promised it to me when I retire.” He grinned. “I heard her on the phone ordering yours this morning.” Gorden slid behind the wheel, leaving Doug standing there, gawking at him.

  When Doug finally got into the passenger seat he said, “She ordered me a Mercedes? You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope.” He started the car. It purred to life. Doug never knew cars really could purr, but this one did. “Harper believes in treating employees right. In return, they almost always, without fail, take on personal ownership and pride in the company. Someone believes in them, they believe in themselves, and it inspires them to keep the cycle going. She doesn’t keep employees who won’t take personal pride and ownership in the company.” He slipped on a pair of mirrored sunglasses that, for some reason, made him look twenty years younger and thirty years cooler. “She believes in you.”

  Gorden drove them over to International Plaza, near the airport. Doug had never shopped here, even though he’d passed it frequently on his way to Target or Walmart. Most of the shops in the mall weren’t even in the same country as his bank balance, much less the same zip code.

  “I hope you brought your credit card,” Doug quipped as they headed inside, “because I can’t even afford to window-shop here.”

  Gorden laughed. “Don’t worry. Pretty soon, this will feel like slumming it.”

  * * * *

  Three hours later, they left the mall with their arms full of shopping bags and Doug completely refitted in high-dollar office wear. As they stowed everything in the trunk of Gorden’s car, Doug stared down at his new clothes, including a pair of leather Burberry brogues, which cost almost as much as a month’s rent on their Gainesville apartment.

  “I can’t believe this,” he said.

  Gorden closed the trunk lid. “Believe it. And enjoy it while you can.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She wasn’t kidding when she told you she can be a bitch to work for.” They got back in the car and Gorden continued. “I love her like a daughter. Hell, I’ve known her since she was born, before her mother died. My wife and I stood in plenty of times when Harrison had to go out of town on business. I can’t tell you how many Christmases she woke up in our guest room to find Santa had remembered to bring her gifts to our house. After a while, we just went ahead and decorated the guest room for her so she would feel like she had a home. She spent more time with us than she did her own father.”

  Doug didn’t know what to say to that, so he thought it wise to keep his mouth shut. He’d always had his family’s love and support. He didn’t know what it was like not to have that.

  He was worried he might find out if they ever knew the truth of why he had to break up with Tate.

  Gorden wasn’t finished speaking his piece. “You’re going to go to bed some nights cursing her name. Until you return to work the next morning to find out her mood has shifted and she’s back to the same lo
vable woman you were glad to go to work for. What you have to remember is that, no matter what, you must stay calm. I’m not at liberty to discuss some things. But there are reasons for her mercurial moods sometimes that have nothing to do with you or with the quality of your work. Maybe one day she’ll be able to open up to you as her confidant. You will become her anchor, her rock. She will rely upon you to do your job and be there for her.”

  Gorden looked at him before pulling out into traffic. “And if you disappoint her, I guarantee you you’ll be a thousand times harder on yourself than she will be. So don’t fuck up.”

  * * * *

  Doug pondered Gorden’s last statement. Until the older man had dropped the F-bomb on him, he hadn’t thought Gorden would have said fuck if he was in the middle of actually doing it with his wife. One thing he’d quickly learned about Gorden, he was usually a man of few words, and what he said meant something.

  Back at the office, Gorden showed him where his temporary office would be after helping Doug stash the new purchases in the trunk of his own car. Once Gorden retired, Doug would move into his office, right next door to Harper.

  “Can I ask you something?” Doug said.

  Gorden snorted in amusement. “I’d think you were brain dead if you weren’t constantly asking me questions. Go ahead.”

  “Harper is an unusual name. Where did it come from?”

  “Oh, that.” He smiled. “That was a source of contention between Harrison and his late wife, Harper’s mother. He is very fond of making deals. He said if their baby was a boy, his wife could name it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “He gave his baby girl a…well, it’s not just a boy’s name, obviously, but it’s certainly not very feminine, is it?”

  “Not really.”

  “It was her maternal grandfather’s first name. Harrison truly respected him and learned a lot about business from him. He worked for him before he married Harper’s mother. If you were to ask Harper some of her memories as a little girl of her and her father, she’ll tell you about him taking her to baseball and football games, teaching her how to fish, all sorts of things. And lots of time at the office. He really wanted a boy. Don’t get me wrong, he loves his little girl, and he’d die for her. But he wanted her to grow up tough so she could take over his business when she got older. He didn’t raise her to be Daddy’s Little Princess. She was more like Daddy’s Little Piranha. And, whether he likes it or not, he succeeded.”

  “I take it he doesn’t like it?”

  “Oh, he does. He’s extremely proud of her. But as she told you herself, I think now in his older age he realizes how misguided he was. He spent all these years teaching her the cutthroat world of business, and that’s all she really knows. He showed her how to work hard to get ahead, and she’s a natural at it. Now that he’s slowing down, he realizes maybe he should have stopped to smell the roses a little with his daughter instead of plowing ahead. Maybe tried a little harder to teach her to play as hard as she worked.”

  “Which is why he’s now on her case?”

  “Yep. Now let’s spend a few minutes before he gets here getting you prepped.”

  * * * *

  At one point, Doug excused himself to the bathroom. There, he checked his phone for the call he knew he’d missed from Tate earlier during their shopping excursion.

  “Hey, buddy,” Tate said, “it’s me. Tag, you’re it. Let me know how you’re doing. I’ll call you again after I get off work. Love you.”

  Doug locked himself in a stall and allowed himself to silently cry for a few minutes before cleaning himself up. He called Tate back, knowing he’d get his voice mail.

  “Hey, sorry, it’s been crazy here.” He swallowed hard. “This new job is…I’ll have to give you the details later. It’s a really intense, travel-heavy schedule at first, so hold off on the boxes for right now.” He closed his eyes. “I love you, too. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk much. I’m going through orientation and training. Love you, talk to you later.” He hung up, washed his face, ran his hands through his hair, and took a deep breath.

  I can do this. It’s for my parents. And it’s helping Harper out.

  It didn’t make him feel like any less of a shit.

  * * * *

  Harper nervously tried to keep her focus on her work while Gorden and Doug were out shopping. She trusted Gorden to bring him back looking exactly the part. Not too flashy, not too much poor college boy. Her father was an idiot when it came to fashion, but overall appearance meant a lot to him.

  She hoped if he met Doug and found him acceptable on the surface that he wouldn’t do too much digging right now. Meaning he wouldn’t raise any objections to Doug’s hiring.

  Not that he would overrule her on his hiring, but she had to commit to the bit, as comedians said. And she was committed to getting her father off her freaking back.

  She heard a heavy knock on her office door. Before she could say anything, the door opened and her father stuck his head in.

  “Anyone home?”

  She felt a mix of irritation and adoration. “Hi, Daddy.”

  He smiled that handsome, winning smile of his and stepped in, closing the door behind him. “Hello, sweetheart. Is it safe, or do you still want to take my head off?” He cupped his hands in front of his groin. “Or something lower?”

  “Yes, it’s safe.”

  He walked over, and she stood to hug him. “I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have gone after you like that at the meeting.” He held her at arm’s length, his gaze intent on hers. “But I meant it. I worry about you, sweetheart. With your health—”

  She rolled her eyes. “Daddy, it’s diabetes, not cancer. I’m not dying, for chrissake.”

  “I just worry about you,” he said again. “I love you. I only want what’s best for you.”

  “I know you do, but I’m an adult.”

  He smiled as he released her. “Yes, but you’ll always be my little girl.” Then his expression turned sad. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there more for you while you were growing up. And look, fine, don’t get a boyfriend, but at least take more time off. You and I can go travelling, or at least spend some time together.”

  “Julia won’t mind?”

  A dark cloud seemed to pass over him. “I don’t give a shit what she thinks.”

  She arched an eyebrow in surprise. Harrison Wells rarely swore in front of his little girl, even though she was almost thirty. “Wow. What happened?” Harper knew Julia Carson had her sights set on doing something no other woman since her mother had managed—becoming Mrs. Harrison Wells.

  Harper had hated her upon first sight when they met six months earlier. The feeling had been completely mutual.

  He waved her concern away as he turned to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “I did a lot of thinking after our meeting. I called Julia up and ended it with her. I decided I needed to take my own advice. She wasn’t a long-term prospect.” He looked at her. “Don’t think I don’t know what her angle was. I know you didn’t like her. I’m sorry I let her take so much of my attention from you.”

  She perched on the corner of her desk. “Daddy, I’m not a little girl anymore. You need a life as much as I need one. I didn’t hate her because she had your attention. I hated her because she was a gold-digging bitch after a chunk of your money.”

  He scrubbed his face with his hands as he sat back in his chair. This was her Daddy, the man she loved and practically worshipped. Unlike the tough businessman she ran afoul of a few days earlier. “Sweetheart, I’m an old dog. Too old to learn new tricks. I loved your mother, and she always supported me and understood when I had to work long hours. I didn’t deserve someone as loving and generous as her. But you’re young enough not to make the same mistakes I did.”

  Wow, Gorden nailed it on the head. She didn’t speak, just listened.

  “Let’s plan a father-daughter trip,” he continued. “Remember last Christmas we talked about taking an Alaskan cruise? It�
��s one place neither of us have been. We can take a long vacation. I can have it booked in an hour.”

  “When did you want to do this?”

  “We can leave in less than a week.” He smiled.

  “You’ve been researching, haven’t you?”

  He nodded as he sat up. “Yep. What do you say?”

  “Well, I’d love to—”

  “But.” He laughed.

  “No, Daddy, it’s not like that.” She only called him Mr. Wells in front of their employees. Any other time, it was always Daddy. “I just hired Gorden’s replacement.”

  That piqued his interest. “Oh? I’ve only been bugging you about that for the past year.”

  “I know, and so has he. You know the job fair this weekend at the convention center?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, I talked to Carmen in HR. Asked her to keep a lookout for potential candidates.”

  “And she found you one?”

  “He seems perfect. Young, just out of school, and eager to learn and work.” And broke as shit, she thought.

  “Tell me more.”

  “You’ll get to meet him here shortly.” She glanced at the clock. “Gorden’s been working with him today, getting his feet wet. His first official day is Monday.”

  “Young?” A smile curled his lips. “Handsome?”

  “Daddy!” She hoped she portrayed the right amount of shock. Inside, she was already laughing. He fell for it.

  He chuckled as he waved her objection away. “Relax, I promise not to play matchmaker.” He sighed. “You’re right, though. That does make it a little tougher to plan a trip right now.”

  She felt a little guilty. “What are you doing this weekend?” It’d been four months since she’d taken off a full day, much less an entire weekend.

  His grin returned. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “How about a weekend at the Boca house?” Her father owned a beautiful waterfront house on Gasparilla Island, in a little community called Boca Grande, nearly two hours south of Tampa. “Do you think the tarpon are running this weekend?”