by Ciara Knight
He straightened his tie and lifted his chin but kept his back to the doorway. Always leave an escape route open in all types of battles. The sweet perfume infiltrating his senses from the red-haired model distracted him, although not in a good way. She frightened him. He rubbed the back of his head, remembering how Knox’s ex took him out with a garden gnome. Women like this were trouble.
“We’re so glad you’re here, Mr. Lancaster. Right, ladies?” The woman he assumed to be Mayor Horton—considering her professional dress, age, and position in the room behind the desk—said.
The model woman with bright red hair sauntered toward him. Yep, she would definitely be his boss and former comrade’s type. For half a second, he swore snakes were going to slither around her beautiful face and turn him to stone. Those green eyes were piercing. “Yes, I for one am excited to make your acquaintance. I’m Jacqueline Ramor,” she said in a slithery tone.
“I for one…please. Get over yourself. Listen, I’m Stella, the girl who fixes cars. If Knox man ever shows up, let him know I can fix anything with an engine. Until then, I’m out.” The woman with dark hair and a Latino accent brushed past Drew without even a sideways glance.
“You’ll have to excuse Stella. She’s had a rough day,” Mayor Horton said.
“You mean rough life,” Jacqueline muttered from the edge of his peripheral vision.
Before he had a chance to catch his breath with the whirl of women around him, another one approached. “I’m Felicia.” She inserted herself between him and the door, cutting off his escape route. He was surrounded.
She was an interesting beauty, a mix of dark features with pale skin. “I run the local plant nursery. If you need any flowers for your project, I’m the girl to see.” She shook his hand and didn’t let go, not until the woman he’d run into on the way inside took her by the shoulders and led her to the corner of the room.
“Relax. There’s no camera on yet.” Jacqueline slid her purse up her arm with the dignity of a starlet.
A taller woman with a hefty amount of jewelry and a long neck approached. “I’m Mary-Beth. I’m sure you’ll be stopping by Maple Grounds, my coffee shop, while you’re here. We have beans from around the world, but we specialize in our own sugar maple blend here.”
“I need a caffeine fix soon, I assure you. For now, I need my room and to line up meetings with the bakers.”
“That would be me. I’m Carissa Donahue, the owner and pastry chef of Sugar and Soul Bakery.”
Finally, a name for the unassuming female who’d knocked into him. She brushed the unruly frizz away from her face. If she tied her hair back in a neat bun, she’d be stunning, with those high cheek bones and slender yet curvy frame.
“Guess we should go chat,” Carissa said with a pop of her hip.
“Go chat?” He glanced around, realizing he was alone in this. Not good. His assistant, that’s what he needed. “Lori, my assistant, will call to schedule a meeting. I only stopped by the mayor’s office to get a key for our meeting rooms.” Meeting rooms he needed to get this stunt of a project moving forward before it was too late. The only project to save Knox from ruin, himself from ruin, and a small town from ruin.
No pressure.
Or better yet, one of the scouts Knox had sent to Georgia and Alabama would discover a better town to work with and he’d be off the hook without refusing to bow to Knox’s whim. He owed the man his respect, a comrade in arms and a childhood friend, but this man wasn’t the same one he once knew. This man was living life on the edge without a plan. He had to be if he’d sent his number one to Nowhere, USA.
“Oh, darn. I’m so sorry about that.” Mayor Horton waved a hand in front of her face as if it were ninety degrees instead of nineteen outside. “I’d meant to leave all of this at the inn for you, but since you’re here, you can meet some of the business owners in our town. What a happy circumstance.”
Circumstance implied there wasn’t manipulation utilized to get him here. Lori had already told the mayor he didn’t have time today to meet. That she’d have to make an appointment in a few days. Enough with the games. He’d written the manual on how to manipulate to get the job done. Cordial undertones and persuasive smiles weren’t working, and he needed to expediate things. “I don’t have time for power struggles in this project. You need this production, so work with me. I’m the last man standing. The only one willing to give this a chance, so let’s start working together.”
The mayor didn’t acknowledge his statement. Instead, she rounded her desk. “I’m afraid there was a flood in our main building that we utilized for our recreation center and conference rooms. Don’t worry, though. I have the perfect space for you to work. There’s plenty of room for corporate meetings, and it’ll give you a chance to meet more of the people of Sugar Maple, since the recreation center is below the offices. It’s a lovely space and even has a place to sleep as you requested. Although, I’m sure you’d rather sleep in the lovely inn.”
Carissa shot forward. “But that’s—”
“And it hasn’t been used in a long time. I think it’s time to move on. We all want to show Mr. Drew Lancaster our southern hospitality, right?” The mayor offered a placating smile to Carissa.
He didn’t know what kind of power this mayor had over these women, but they snapped to her will. “Right, so we’re all set.”
The mayor opened a drawer at her desk and then handed him a key with a large pacifier keychain and a spiral-bound notebook. “Here is a sort of introduction for your stay, including various directions for the area, information for your offices, local business names, and prominent members of the community you might want to speak with.” She thrust the notebook to his chest. “Carissa can show you the way. Enjoy our town, Mr. Lancaster, and please don’t hesitate to let any of us know what you need. We’d be happy to provide it for you.”
He took the key and slipped it into his pocket. “No need for the escort. Despite popular belief, I’m not a child who needs to be coddled.” Before the gaggle of women had the opportunity to gang up on him, he left the mayor’s office and returned to the salt-covered sidewalk outside the prehistoric courthouse building.
His dress shoes were no match for the slick surface, so he had to shuffle along, using his abs to keep from falling back and hitting his head. Maybe that would be a good thing. What was he thinking, coming to this remote town in the Tennessee mountains? He knew why, but he didn’t like it.
“If Knox had listened to me in the first place…” he grumbled with each step he took along the dead tree–lined square.
“Not everyone can control their heart the way you can.” Lori’s words cut through him like the icy wind through his thin coat.
He spun on his heels, but he couldn’t stop and ended up doing a 280 before grabbing a tree to stop himself. “Get me out of here,” he ground out.
She chuckled. “Let me guess… You already assessed everyone you’ve met and deduced this is a waste of your time.”
He straightened himself to his full six-foot-three frame. “Come on. You and I both know I don’t deserve this.”
“Tell me, how did the initial meeting go? Did you make friends and set up a rapport so we could work well with the residents here?” Lori walked in her snow boots past him, executed a perfect turn to face him, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Or did you try to control everything until you alienated the room?”
He shuffled to the next building and grabbed hold of a wrought iron railing at the bottom of a boarded-up storefront. Yep, this town needed him more than he needed them. “I dazzled them.”
“Good boy.” She patted him on the shoulder, causing him to play happy feet with the ground.
When he finally managed to settle and catch his breath, he asked, “What’s the good news? Tell me that one of the other towns got a green light.”
“The town in Georgia is out of the running for this project. The grandma they were spotlighting is accused of scraping off ‘made in China’ and ca
lling her merchandise antiques.”
“Are all small-town folk crazy?” He rubbed the scar on the back of his head. “Okay, so that means it’s between this town and one other now? Good. I still have a chance to escape.”
“Nope.” Lori tugged her bright-blue hat over her ears.
“No? I thought they were finalizing these last three.”
“They did. You’re it. This is your chance to redeem yourself in Knox’s eyes.”
“Me, redeem myself?” Agitation warmed his skin, but not enough in the icy air. “If Knox would stop making his decisions based on hunches and feelings, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Cut him some slack. He’s human and has a heart like a real man.” Lori tilted her head to the side the way she did when she wanted him to understand her subtext.
He decided to redirect the conversation. “That’s good news, huh?” He tried to sound pleased, but the more he held tight to remain standing, the more he felt himself slipping away from the life he once lived.
“You have no idea. Listen, Knox changed his mind and chose someone else to go in your place. That’s why I rushed us out here. I already confirmed our arrival and that you’ve met with the mayor to kick things off.”
“Why didn’t he want me on this project? I’m the best man he’s got. The man who served with him, watched each other’s backs for two years. We’re friends.”
“You’re efficient, organized, top dog when it comes to executing any plan.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” He caught sight of Carissa exiting the courthouse and trudging across the square to a little storefront with Sugar and Soul Bakery written on the front. That’s when he realized he’d made it to the end of his slippery road. One more building down had to be the offices, so he shuffled forward.
“No. But for this project he wanted someone more…soft handed and friendly. “
“I can be friendly.” He offered his best political smile.
She laughed. “You look like Knox when he got caught in the middle of the consumer backlash after the automotive fiasco.”
“Harsh. But that proves my point. If he hadn’t been distracted by his romantic entanglements in the tabloids, he would not have endorsed a business that stole from the elderly.”
Lori hoisted him up the first step, and he grabbed hold of the railing before thrusting his hand in his pocket to dig out the key. “More the reason that Knox needs you even if he doesn’t realize it. It’s our job to make the world believe in him again. As you said, you two always had each other’s backs. He gave you this job when you first got out, despite your lack of experience. Just show the warm side of Knox and how he relates to people.”
“So, lie to the world by manipulating these people? Great plan.”
He dropped the pacifier keychain into Lori’s red knit mittens.
She glanced down at the keychain. “Cute. I guess we know where our starting line is in this project.” She shook her head and slid the key into the door. “Speaking of romantic entanglements… Are you ever going to give a relationship a real try? I mean beyond the work functions that require a plus one?”
“I date. I had a girlfriend last year. We dated for a month. She cried when I told her that our schedules didn’t correlate well. It was messy.”
“Sometimes life’s messy.”
“No time to head shrink me. We have work to do. Besides, she was an accountant. They are supposed to appreciate facts.”
“Yeah, probably not the fact that you didn’t think she was worth marrying.” She held up her hands before he had a chance to defend himself. “All I’m saying is that you know Knox blames you for ending his relationship and causing a scene that damaged his career.”
Drew opened his mouth to protest, but she held one finger up at him. “It doesn’t matter what really happened. Knox is the man who has the power, and you don’t want to be fired by Knox Brevard. Despite his recent public image issues, he still can make a phone call and blacklist you.”
“That’s illegal.”
She shrugged. “In indie Hollywood, who’s going to enforce that? You finish this out and make it work, and you can write your ticket to the big screen. And as for your head shrinking, I’m not paid enough.”
He leaned against the railing, tired from the last few exhausting weeks of scrambling to keep his job. “If we could just keep women away from Knox, maybe we’d have a shot here. Women are trouble.”
“Hey,” she huffed.
“I didn’t mean you.”
“Why? Because I’m not dating material?”
“I…I mean—”
“Relax. I’m just showing you how your ex might have felt. As a matter of fact, you’re one to talk. You’ve got an overcrowded train of exes you’ve left in your wake. You better find a way to open your heart and let a nice woman into your life before one of those exes ties you to a track and drives over you.” She turned the key and pushed on the door, but it didn’t open.
“Cute.” He nudged her out of the way and threw his body weight into the door, which flew open and sent him several steps into a dark hallway.
“Glad you noticed.”
Drew shifted between feet. “Ah, Lori. You work with me. Didn’t we just say—”
“Relax. Tall, dark, and damaged isn’t my type.” Lori shut the door behind her and removed her gloves. “I’m going to do you a favor. I’m going to pick out your next girlfriend. Not the corporate business transaction kind of date that you’re used to. Someone who’ll turn you inside out and around until you’re dizzy.”
Images of his childhood sweetheart turned runaway bride sent a shiver through him. “No thanks. Besides, no woman has the power to do that to me. Just get me through this job.”
Lori’s laughter echoed through the hallway, up the stairs, and into his heart. She was the one woman he could always count on. A true friend. “I didn’t take Drew Lancaster for being someone afraid to take on a challenge.”
He flicked on the lights and let out a long, white-cloud breath. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“Then prove it.” Lori bit her bottom lip at the edge, something she did when she was devising a devious plan. “I pick a woman, and you have to go out with her. If after two weeks of dating, you don’t fall for her, then you win, and I never mention your personal life again.”
He rubbed his arms to keep warm. “And if I win?”
“Then I’ll call in a favor with my father and get us a job on his Hollywood set. I know how you’ve wanted to return to California since you started this job with Knox.”
His muscles relaxed at the thought of going to his childhood home. His aunt’s house had been left on that beautiful piece of property. No, that was the past, not the future. “You said you’d never use that connection, even if you were starving and living on the streets with rats.”
“That’s how sure I am that I’m going to win.” Lori removed her mitten and held out her hand.
He took it. “Fine, but this is a sucker bet. I almost feel bad for you. That being said, if this gets me into a real job far from Knox Brevard, I’m in. I love the man as a brother, but he’s too…unpredictable to work for.”
“We’ll work out the details while we set up in here. First thing, you need to head to the inn and change into something warmer and more practical. If you had waited two minutes, you could’ve gone with me to the inn before mowing over everyone to start working.”
He swished his lips, keeping his aggravation to himself.
“I know. I know. Working efficiently is more important than comfort. Please tell me you brought something with you besides Italian dress shoes, leather jacket, and suit pants, though.”
He shook his head. For the first time, the realization of his situation sank in, and he didn’t like the feeling of being out of control.
“Don’t worry. I packed an extra bag for you. It’s in the car. And Drew?”
“Yes?”
Lori set her purse onto a side tab
le. “You better marry yourself to this idea, because when I win, you’ll need to turn Knox’s career around if you hope to get a job higher up on the food chain.”
His face flushed; his heart raced. Marry? Why would she use that word? He opened the door and stepped into the cold, realizing she had a point. For the first time since his military days, Drew Lancaster needed to commit to something. The only problem was that commitment made him want to go on a two-hundred-mile run in his dress shoes on ice.
Chapter Three
“What’s going on in here? It’s like a flour eruption!” Ms. Horton tossed her briefcase onto the wooden island in the heart of the bakery kitchen and twirled Carissa about. “Oh dear. Have you slept at all?”
Carissa’s head felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode. How could the entire town economy rest on her shoulders alone? “Look. I made all of this for the tasting. All the town favorites. I’m sure to win this contest and secure this deal, right? I mean, my tarts and pies and cookies are the best.”
“Calm down. Sit.” Ms. Horton pushed her onto the stepladder and dusted her cheeks. “Yes, I’m sure all this is great, but Mr. Lancaster already finished up with Tabitha and he’s on his way here.”
Carissa shot out of the stool. If he was on his way, she needed to decorate the cupcakes. “I’ve never worked so hard for something I didn’t want before.” She held the frosting tube too tight, and it squirted white goo all over her hand.
“Put down the frosting and step away from the counter,” Ms. Horton ordered.
“What? Did Tabitha already win?” She sighed and tossed the frosting tube onto the counter. “I don’t know if I’m upset or relieved.”
“No. She hasn’t won.” Ms. Horton grabbed a hand towel, dipped it under the faucet, looked at Carissa’s face, and then backed away with a shake of her head. “I need reinforcements.”
Carissa closed her eyes. The hot kitchen was suffocating her. How many hours had she been working? Her neck ache told her all night, her hands felt the hours of kneading dough, but her nerves were raw and aware.
