Once Upon a Lumberjack

by Maggie Dallen

  Something in the air between them shifted. For the first time since she’d met him, Bryce looked uneasy.

  Her stomach sank as a result. She was not going to like the answer. “Bryce,” she said slowly, dragging his one-syllable name out until it was three. “What made you change your mind?”

  He winced and she had her answer. But no… he couldn’t mean… “Did you buy the company because of me?”

  Oh man. Saying it out loud sounded beyond ridiculous. Not to mention conceited. She nearly laughed, ready to make a joke at her own expense for jumping to the single most egocentric conclusion possible.

  Except that he didn’t deny it. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow in surprise or amusement. He looked…resigned.

  The ground seemed to give way beneath her as her entire body was hit with a tsunami of shock and fury and a million other emotions. Her jaw went slack as the room spun around her and her brain ceased functioning.

  “Wait, seriously?” Oh wow. That came out as a screech. But, come on. Seriously?

  He winced again and her hands fisted at her sides. He wanted to wince? She’d make him wince.

  Maybe he could sense her fury because his hands came up in front of him, palms out in a defensive pose. “I can explain.”

  “Oh can you, jerkface?” She smacked his arm and felt an odd surge of relief. She’d never been into hitting before but right now it seemed to be the best way to get out this overwhelming tidal wave of rage that was threatening to drown her.

  “This is my job. You are messing with my career here,” she shouted as she landed another thwack, this time on his chest.

  Crap, he had such a nice chest.

  Gah! She so did not want to be admiring his awesomely muscular man-chest at a time like this.

  “Please, let me explain,” he said as she raised her arm for another solid punch.

  “Okay, fine. Go ahead. Explain to me how our little flirtation somehow persuaded you to buy the company I work for.” She paused long enough to see him considering his response before she landed another blow.

  “Ow,” he said, although he didn’t so much as flinch and she knew without a doubt she wasn’t causing him any great bodily harm.

  “I saw the way that Todd guy treated you and—”

  Thwack. Another blow landed on his chest.

  “You deserved better and—”

  Her next blow paused in midair as his words reached her and he stopped talking as if her hovering fist had commanded him to.

  She struggled to breathe normally as the absolute idiocy of his words thoroughly registered. “So you bought a company—to save me?”

  His handsome face was pulled into a grimace as he waited for another bodily blow. “Umm…”

  Thwack. She went back to swatting his arm again instead of punching his chest. His stupidly muscular chest was hurting her hand. Also, disbelief was making her weak. Breathless, too, judging by the way her next words came out. “What did you think, that you were some kind of knight in shining armor or something?”

  His brows drew together in a scowl. “No.” And then. “Yes.” He shook his head with a shrug. “Maybe. I don’t know. It all happened pretty quickly.”

  Her fists were clenched so tight her fingernails cut into her palms. “You…you….jerkwad.”

  He had the audacity to give her a wide-eyed look of surprise. “Would it really be so horrible if I was trying to look out for you?”

  “Yes!” she shouted, her hands clenching into fists once more.

  “Why?”

  “Because,” she said, her fists landing ineffective blows between her words. “This is the twenty-first century, Lancelot. Not medieval times.”

  “Please stop hitting me,” he muttered, but his tone lacked any real outrage.

  She placed her hands on her hips, not wanting to admit that she was tiring out, but her arms were feeling oddly Jell-O-like. She made a mental note to start going to the gym again. But in the meantime… “Look, I don’t know how you got such a wrong impression of what was going on between us but I do not need some man to save me.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m doing just fine on my own.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve got the Todd situation handled, just like I’ve handled every other jerk who’s crossed my path.”

  He rubbed his shoulder absently. “I don’t doubt it.”

  She was trying to keep the fury in her voice but between physical exhaustion and his easy acceptance of everything she was saying, it was hard to maintain that original boiling rage. “Really? That’s all you’re going to say for yourself?”

  He raised his hands and shrugged in a helpless way that might have been funny if she wasn’t so furious. “What else can I say?”

  She stared at him. “Anything. Literally, anything else other than ‘what else can I say’ would suffice. How about some sort of insight into whatever crazy thought process led you to this decision.”

  “Yeah,” he drawled sheepishly. “That’s the thing. It wasn’t so much the brain doing the thinking—”

  “Yeah, I gathered.” She threw her hands up. “Nothing about this makes sense.”

  “If it makes you feel better, it does make financial sense. I would never have gone through with this if it hadn’t…I think.” He’d added that last bit under his breath, almost as an aside.

  They stood there in silence for a moment. For the life of her she didn’t know what else to say. Nothing she said would change this, she knew that. He might have made the decision because of her, but it was done now.

  Which meant that she had to think about herself. About her future. There was no use crying over spilled milk, and when one door shut another blah blah blah.

  Weariness crept over her and she felt inexplicably tired as she turned away from him.

  “This doesn’t have to change anything,” he said as she walked toward her office door. “Our personal relationship won’t jeopardize your job, I swear it.”

  She turned in the doorway, the tired feeling helping to keep her voice flat and emotionless. “We don’t have a personal relationship.”

  His head jerked back slightly, almost like he’d just been slapped. Which was kind of funny in a not-terribly-funny sort of way since she’d finally stopped hitting him.

  “Where are you going? Maybe we should talk,” he said as she reached for her bag and took a cursory glance around the office to make sure there was nothing personal there that she’d regret leaving behind.

  There wasn’t.

  She reached for the door handle and he repeated his question. “Where are you going?”

  She didn’t turn back. “To quit.”

  Seven

  The human resources head honcho was in her office, which was good, because if Kennedy Farlow hadn’t been in, Kat might have lost her nerve. She might have taken time to think about what quitting would do to her career.

  In short, it wouldn’t be good.

  She had a hefty Manhattan-sized rent to pay each month, a not-quite-so-hefty, but still quite sizeable, monthly student loan to finish paying off, and a fairly small credit card bill that she never seemed to fully eradicate despite her strict budget.

  All of those would be waiting for her when she left here today...unemployed.

  For the millionth time since she’d left her office, Kat found herself cursing under her breath, no doubt looking like a crazy person to the people she passed in the hall and elevator.

  She noted absently that the two gentlemen in the elevator with her were sharing looks of amusement at her expense even as they inched away from her. But what did she care? It wasn’t like she’d have to work with them again after this.

  She watched Kennedy through the glass wall of her office for a moment as she gathered her courage. Or her stupidity, depending on which way one looked at it.

  It didn’t help matters that Kennedy was difficult to talk to. She was intelligent and fair, but she was also harsh and blunt. She could be kind
of brutal, really. While Kat normally liked that about her, now was not the best time to be dealing with a she-devil of an HR rep.

  She drew in a deep breath. But it didn’t matter. All she had to do was give her notice. Done and done.

  She threw open the door and was surprised when Kennedy lifted her head and smiled at her.

  Huh. Turned out Kennedy Farlow wasn’t so scary when she smiled. And she was pretty, too. Like, really pretty. How had Kat not noticed that before? The smile softened her sharp features, making her pert nose and pointed chin look cute in a Reese Witherspoon kind of way.

  Kat idly wondered what the other woman looked like when her dark hair wasn’t pulled back in a severe bun. It was possible that Kennedy was a bona fide hottie in disguise.

  Kat found herself curious if Kennedy’s downplaying of her appearance was on purpose or just a severe lack of caring about her looks. Maybe she was just trying to avoid being hit on all the time, or maybe she’d just never learned how to apply makeup. Or maybe….

  Maybe wondering about Kennedy and her fashion sense, or lack thereof, was easier to focus on than her current task at hand.

  “You must be here for your bonus check, am I right?” Even as she spoke Kennedy pushed her chair back from her desk and started rifling through a middle drawer.

  “Um, bonus check?” This was news to her. Maybe her sales award had come with a bonus along with that ill-fated trip. That would be helpful when it came to paying her bills next month while she was going on interviews. Her heart started to pick up its pace as fear of the unknown set in.

  Mayday, mayday, her rapid pulse seemed to say. The ship is off course! The career plan was in tatters. Quitting CRBO had not been part of the plan. Not right away, at least, and not until she’d secured a better position at a reputable company.

  But she would alter the plan. She would find a job. Of course she would. She was great at what she did, she had an incredible track record. Sure, she might despise the fact that it was meaningless and schmoozy, but she was good at it. That was what mattered. In no time she’d be at a new company, giving fake smiles to new bosses she secretly despised, while selling something she couldn’t care less about.

  Wonderful.

  “Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

  She looked over to see Kennedy’s smile gone, replaced by a frown of concern—but whether that concern was for Kat or her office rug, it was hard to make out. Yup, now that the smile was gone, she was back to the regular Kennedy she knew and kind of liked. Severe, no-nonsense, and just a little scary.

  Kat shook her head. “I’m fine. But, uh, what’s the bonus check about?” And how much is it for? She reached a hand out for the envelope Kennedy held in her hand.

  Kennedy gave her a quizzical look as if trying to figure out if she was joking. “Bart Spartan, the new hire.”

  Kat’s face lit up at the mention of her old high school buddy who’d moved to Chicago a few months ago and had needed a job. She’d recommended him for an opening at their satellite office there and he’d started a few weeks ago. “So it’s working out well with Bart?”

  Kennedy nodded. “He’s doing great.” She shook her head as if in disbelief. “I honestly would never have even given him a first interview if you hadn’t been so persistent—”

  Kat pursed her lips. Okay, maybe she’d done a bit more than just recommend her old friend. She’d been just a wee bit persistent about the matter.

  “But I’m so glad you pestered me about him over and over again until I caved.”

  Or perhaps she’d pestered relentlessly. Same difference. It had done the trick, hadn’t it?

  Kennedy finally handed over the envelope but she wasn’t done marveling. “I would never have made a connection that his experience in amateur video game creations would translate so well to our graphics division but I’ve been getting calls thanking me for sending him their way.” She shrugged and made a face that Kat guessed few typically saw. It was abject confusion, as if Kennedy was at a total loss to explain the phenomenon of Bart’s success.

  Kat wasn’t. While she liked Kennedy and respected her professionally, Kennedy fell victim to the same issue that plagued a lot of hiring managers. She couldn’t think outside the box. If a candidate didn’t tick off each and every box of a totally mundane and predictable list of experience and education, they were thrown out of the ring without a second glance.

  She shook her head. Oh, silly small-minded hiring executives.

  She obviously didn’t say any of that to Kennedy. Instead, she started to murmur a polite response. “I’m so glad it worked out. That’s really—holy crap!”

  The amount of zeros on her check had her doing a double-take. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, maybe a nominal sum as a sign of gratitude for recommending the company—not the equivalent to one of her commissions.

  Kennedy laughed at her reaction. “Surprised? And here I thought you were so persistent because you wanted the extra cash.”

  Kat scoffed, looking up from beneath one raised brow with joking arrogance. “Girl, please. Haven’t you heard that I am the company’s sales guru? I don’t need help making commission.”

  Kennedy laughed again and Kat found herself feeling a bit of warmth toward this woman. Or maybe it was just the glow from the bonus money that had her feeling so warm and fuzzy. She held up the check. “I’ve gotta admit, I was not expecting this.”

  “Yeah, I gathered by your eloquent response,” Kennedy said. Then she shrugged. “You deserve it. Besides, it’s less than what we’d pay a headhunter so we’re still benefitting from this, don’t you worry.”

  There was only the slightest hint of sarcasm in her tone, but Kat liked it. A lot.

  Well, would you look at that. She might actually have been developing a bit of a friend crush on Kennedy.

  “I’m so glad,” she said, in the same even tone. “I was really worried about the company.”

  Kennedy flashed her an honest-to-goodness grin and it shocked her stupid.

  Kennedy raised one eyebrow and looked pointedly at her laptop. “If there’s nothing else…”

  Apparently fun time was over.

  Kat gripped the check in her hand like a lifeline. She’d somehow managed to let herself lose sight of her mission. Her awful, ridiculous mission that she had to do thanks to one grade-A, entitled jerk with a savior complex.

  She had to physically loosen her grip on the envelope to keep from accidentally shredding it. Apparently, the hitting hadn’t helped her anger abate. Not at all.

  If anything, she was ready to march right back into her office and start throwing punches all over again.

  Her old office, she reminded herself. And he’d probably left by now, anyway.

  Besides which, no amount of hitting Bryce would help this situation. There was only one solution that would allow her to keep her ethics intact.

  Pretend it never happened, a whiny, pitiful voice suggested. No one would have to know.

  That wouldn’t make a difference. She knew. And she knew that he liked her. And that they’d flirted and kissed and… Any time she got a promotion or assigned a key account, she would always know.

  There was no unringing that bell.

  Besides, in all honestly, did she really think she could work in the same office as that man and see him wearing a suit like he did, and be immune to his charms?

  Yeah, no. She wasn’t that naïve or that willing and able to lie to herself. Even if she didn’t act on it, she’d be affected every time she saw him.

  Kennedy was watching her warily now. “Kat? Is there something I can help you with?”

  She sighed. “Not really. I quit.”

  Eight

  Bryce paced the tiny confines of the temporary office he’d been given.

  That had not gone well. Not even a little bit.

  Darren walked in and stopped just inside the door.

  Bryce turned to him. “Did you get it?”

 
He handed over a piece of paper. “I’m fairly certain this is highly unethical.”

  Bryce let out a huff of air that was part laugh and part grunt. “That is the understatement of the century.” Nothing about his actions these past few weeks had been ethical, and he prided himself on his morals.

  Heck, Forbes had once devoted several paragraphs to him in an article about business owners who were lauded for their ethical treatment of employees. Fair, honest, respectable. That was him.

  Until a certain cute blonde walked into his bar and upended his life.

  And, apparently, his moral compass.

  He stared at the address for a moment. “This is a terrible idea, isn’t it?”

  When Darren didn’t immediately answer, he looked up to see the younger man expressing more emotion than he had the entire six years he’d known him.

  The emotion? Pained embarrassment. Shoving one hand in his pocket, he used the other to tug at his collar. “I’m, uh, I’m not exactly one to give romantic advice.”

  Bryce smothered a grin. No, he couldn’t think of anyone less qualified, actually. His second-in-command was a private sort so they didn’t sit around and gab about their lives, but as far as he knew, Darren had never even had a girlfriend.

  Or if he had, they were either fellow workaholics or insanely understanding because Darren lived for his work. He was in ‘the office’ more than Bryce, and Bryce owned the dang place. For the first time he realized just how much his bad decisions could come back to haunt Darren.

  And not just because he’d sent him to do his dirty work of getting Kat’s address from HR. Whatever crappy mess he’d gotten himself into would come back to haunt all of his employees, but especially Darren, who was pretty much the heart and soul of the operation.

  No, that wasn’t right. Bryce wasn’t at all sure Darren even had a heart…or a soul. But he could safely say that Darren was more often than not the brains behind the operation.

  Yeah. Brains. That worked better.