I leave the contract on my desk, stopping at my dry bar that’s hidden in a wall of cabinets. I pull out a couple of plates and take them over to the table, joining Leo for our meeting.
We dig into the food Rose ordered. She’s always taking care of us, usually two steps ahead of where we are. I’m not sure how either of us would be where we are today without her. We lucked out that she needed a job right when we needed an assistant and, well, it was kismet.
“I was going over the contract from Jones, I’m not liking the terms, at all. They’re trying to pull a fast one on us. Something just isn’t adding up. What’s your gut telling you about them?” I ask Leo.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. He seems pretty sketchy, and like a con man. I say we completely shut the negotiations down. I’m not willing to lose even one hundred bucks to this guy, best yet a few million.”
“I’m with you on that. And if we miss out on something big, then it sucks to be us. But something is just too fishy, and I don’t see that happening.”
“Yep, so with the contract out of the way, how was going home?”
“Something I should have done a long-ass time ago,” I tell him honestly.
“Told you. I still can’t believe you stayed away for ten years, and for no good reason at all.”
“I had my reasons, or at least, I thought I did,” I argue.
“Being in love with a girl that you didn’t think reciprocated the feelings isn’t the best reason. Speaking of said girl, when do I get to meet her?”
“No idea. I’d love to get her to come out here for a week, but I have no idea how to make that happen. She’s got her bakery and it’s really just her and her cousin running it.”
“Can she hire some additional help to cover?”
“Maybe.” I ponder the idea. “The bakery is a busy place, but I’m not sure what kind of profit margins she’s got. I don’t know what she can afford in additional payroll.”
“Maybe offer to help? Be a silent investor?” he suggests.
“Yeah, I don’t think that will go over well.” I chuckle. “You tell me when walking in with my wallet open to a successful businesswoman and telling her ‘here, let me make things better for you,’ will go in my favor. That sounds like the perfect moment to get a knee to the balls, a palm across my cheek, and a big-ole fuck you. Not a scenario I want playing out.”
“That’s why you have to make her think that it was her idea. Come on, man, you’ve been around enough women to know somewhat how they think and work. Think outside the box.”
I give Leo a side eye. “Is that how you wooed Candace?” I ask, bringing up his wife.
“No,” he chuckles. “I won her over by my charm and good looks.” He smirks. “The D might have also helped.”
“Stop right there. I don’t need to hear anything else about your dick.” I throw my balled-up napkin at him just as Rose walks into the room.
“I swear, the two of you are a bunch of middle-schoolers. Are we really talking about dicks when you’re supposed to be talking about work?” she asks, giving us that mom voice of hers that she’s got down so well.
“We were good and took care of the business when we started. Speaking of that, can you draft a letter to the Jones proposal, letting them know we’re not willing to move forward? We’re pulling all interest in the project.”
“Of course,” Rose says. “I can’t say I’m sorry to be rid of them. That guy creeped me out,” she states.
“Was he bothering you?” Leo asks, turning his full attention to his sister. He might be her younger brother, but his brotherly protectiveness comes out in full force.
“Calm down, caveman.” She rolls her eyes at Leo. “He’d call, daily usually, to ask for updates. He might have tried to convince me to go get drinks with him each time, but don’t worry, I’d always turn him down. I think he was trying to get me to go so he could pump me for information, or at least, that is the vibe I got.”
“Bastard,” I mutter.
“He didn’t even flinch when I told him I was married and had kids. Made it sound like it was perfectly fine for a mother and wife to meet up with a guy for drinks at some sleezy bar after work.”
“Yeah, he is a bastard. Let’s get rid of him today,” Leo states.
“I’ll get right on it once I’m back from lunch. Can I get either of you anything before I leave?” she asks.
“We’re good, thanks for lunch,” I tell her.
We watch as Rose leaves the office, both growling over the idea that this punk of a guy was pulling that shit with her. “I hate guys like that. I’m almost tempted to call him myself and tell him to go to hell,” Leo growls, balling up his own napkin and tossing it on the table in front of him.
“You don’t have to ask me for permission,” I tell him.
The alarm I set on my phone startles me, but that’s the reason I set it. I didn’t want to miss getting to talk to Harper tonight. I feel like it’s been ages, when in reality it’s been two days. The few text messages we’ve managed to send one another just aren’t cutting it, and I need to see her beautiful face and hear her voice. So, I set an alarm for five and will be leaving the office.
“Night, Rose,” I call out as I leave my office. The shocked look on her face tells me all I need to know. She’s used to me working until very late, never leaving before she does unless it is for a meeting outside the office.
“Night?” she questions.
“Yep, I’m calling it an early day. You should go home, as well,” I tell her. I know she usually leaves by five thirty, but if I’m not here, then she might as well go home, too.
“Are you feeling okay? Do I need to call your doctor?” she questions further.
“I’m feeling fine. With the time difference, I need to head home so I can talk to Harper before she goes to bed.”
“Aww, I can’t wait to meet this woman. I never thought I’d see the day that you’d find someone important enough to change you.”
“She’s worth it,” I tell her as I walk to the elevator.
Five minutes later, I’m relaxed on the couch, a drink in my hand and FaceTime pulled up on my iPad. Harper’s face fills my screen, and I can feel the stress of the day melt from my body.
She’s curled up on her couch, covered by a blanket with a book laying in her lap. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi,” she says, clearing her throat.
“Are you okay?” I ask, immediately worried she might be sick or something.
“Easy now, I just had a tickle in my throat and had to clear it.” She laughs and I feel that worry go away, just like the stress did a moment ago. “How was your day?”
“Good, busy, but I got a lot done. How about you?” I ask.
“Busy like most days, but Lacey and I changed a few things up and I think it will make our closing go a little faster, which will get us out faster.”
“That’s good, gives you more time at home.”
“Yep,” she says.
“God, I miss the fuck out of you. I just want to pull you into my arms and kiss the hell out of you,” I tell her honestly. “When can I see you again?”
“I don’t know,” she says, and I can see the disappointment on her face. “I’m guessing you can’t come back here anytime soon?” she asks.
“Not really, but I could fly you here. You could spend a week in the sun and sand of California during the day, and in my bed at night.” I waggle my eyebrows at her.
“You’re incorrigible.” She laughs, throwing her head back as she does. All I want to do is lick that exposed column of skin, sink my teeth into the tender area and tease her until she’s riding my cock.
“Think about it, please,” I almost beg.
“How, though, Nathan? I can’t leave Lacey for that long by herself to run the bakery. It isn’t possible for one person to do alone.”
“What about hiring some more help? Even if it is just a couple part-time people?”
“It’s a possibilit
y, but I don’t know. The added payroll expenses will definitely cut into my budget,” she says. “And it’s not like I can just hire people for a week’s time.”
“If you hired them, wouldn’t it free up some of your time to take on more orders or expand into something else?” I ask, trying to find more reasons for her to pursue this.
“Probably, although I don’t often have to turn away any specials, so I’m not sure where the added business would come from.”
“What about a silent partner? Would you consider that?”
“Nathan.” She says my name all irritated like. “What are you trying to scheme?”
“Just trying to come up with ways to get you in my arms and bed more. I need time with you. I’ve already wasted ten years; I won’t waste any more,” I tell her honestly.
“You can be so charming sometimes,” she says, her smile bright.
“I’m serious, Harper. I want you in my life. If that means wiring you a million dollars tonight so that you can go hire more staff tomorrow to be in my arms on Friday night, then tell me your bank information right now and it will be in your account in the morning. And before you get mad at me, I know that I can’t always expect you to be the one coming to me. I’ll do my best to move things around so I can go to you, I just can’t do that for the next few weeks, so I’m trying to figure out a way to make it so you can come here.”
The look of shock is still clearly written on her face. Her silence is also a bit deafening. Shit, I should have taken Leo’s advice a little more seriously and not jumped out of the gate with trying to throw money at what I see as the problem.
“Talk to me, babe.”
“I,” she says, then closes her mouth before continuing. “I just don’t even know what to say to all of that. I understand that you’re trying to help, I really do, but I just need time to think about everything you just said. I don’t like taking handouts. I’ve made this business what it is today with hard work.”
“I understand that, babe, I really do. I just want to help, and this is the one way I know that I can help.”
“Can you give me a few days to think some things over? That will give me time to talk to Lacey and see what she thinks. She might not own the bakery, but it’s something we’ve talked about a few times. She’d love to buy into it, but that is years down the road for her. Being a single mom has its limits and she can only do so much right now.”
“If that is what you need, then I’ll be patient,” I tell her, and will myself to give her that.
12
Harper
The morning rush is finally over, and I feel like I can breathe again. My mind has been racing since my call with Nathan last night, and I still don’t know what to do.
“Spill it,” Lacey says from the doorway between the front area and the kitchen.
“It is scary sometimes how you know when I’m mulling something over.” I laugh.
“You have so many tells, girl. From the lines you get between your eyebrows, to how quiet you’ve been all morning. I think even the customers know you’re dealing with something big. Not to mention, I know you’re missing a certain hunky billionaire.”
“He made a suggestion last night and I don’t know what to think of it,” I tell her.
“And?” she says, rolling her hand, asking for me to elaborate.
“He wants me to come to California for a week. Suggested I hire some extra help so that you aren’t overworked. He even offered to become a silent investor in the bakery to supply the cash to cover the additional payroll expenses.”
“It isn’t a bad idea, the hiring extra help, that is. We’ve been talking about how we need more help anyway, so this would be that extra little push to take that step. I don’t know if taking his investment offer is necessary, but the extra capital doesn’t hurt, either. We could maybe upgrade some of the equipment like you’ve wanted to do,” she suggests.
“I guess.” I think about what she’s just said. It would be nice to have new equipment, the ovens we have in here are going on twenty years old and I’ve had to replace more parts than I want to think about, but when I priced out new ones, there was no way I could afford them, as they are about thirty thousand dollars each for the big commercial-size that we need. “I told him to give me a couple of days to think about things, talk to you. Maybe I’ll go talk to my dad and see what he thinks when I’m done here today.”
“That sounds like a solid plan, but in the meantime, if you want to plan a vacation, I know we can get some help in here to give you the time away. You know my mom will gladly come help out, and I’m sure we can post a help wanted sign and have others that can at least work the front end. It isn’t like our register is a complicated system. The hard part is back here in the kitchen. I can be in charge of decorating and my mom can be in charge of baking everything.”
“You think so?” I ask, allowing just a little bit of excitement to build. The idea of a vacation is very appealing. I haven’t taken one, basically in forever.
“I know so, hold on, I’ll call my mom and ask her. You can hear for yourself that she’s more than willing to help,” she tells me and pulls out her cell. She taps the screen a few times before I hear the call ringing. “Hello, Lacey,” my Aunt Rita answers the phone. “Hey, Mom. I’ve got you on speaker and am here with Harper.”
“Hey, Harp,” she greets me.
“Hi, Aunt Rita,” I return the gesture.
“The reason I’m calling is to assure Harper of something. She’s trying to take a little vacation, but we’d need some help down here at the bakery. I told her that you’d be more than willing to help cover with the baking and I could handle all the decorating. Please tell her that I’m correct,” Lacey says to her mom.
“Of course! I’d love to come down and do some baking! Just tell me when and I’ll be there with bells on,” Aunt Rita exclaims.
“Told you,” Lacey says, smirking at me. “That’s what I thought. Thanks for confirming, Mom.”
“You’d be okay with the early hours?” I confirm. Many people don’t realize just how early I have to be up and at the bakery in the morning to have things hot and ready to go for everyone when we open. While some things can be made the day before, some items are just so much better when they’re fresh. Plus, we tend to go through almost everything within the same day, and it isn’t unusual for us to run out of items before closing time, so there’s nothing left for the next day.
“Won’t be an issue at all. You know I’m a morning person, plus, I’ve worked an early morning or two in my life.” She laughs. She was a nurse at the local hospital for thirty-plus years and always worked the day shift for as long as I can remember.
“Thanks, Aunt Rita. We’ll keep you updated on what ends up happening and if I decide to go.”
“Sounds good. I’ll look forward to your call,” she says before Lacey ends the call.
“That wasn’t so bad. Now to hire part-time help,” she says, pulling out some poster board we keep in the office, along with a couple markers.
“What are you making?” I ask.
“A help wanted sign. I’m serious about getting us some help. I think, even if you aren’t going, that it would be beneficial. Take some of the stress off the both of us. I need a break just as much as you do, so I think this is the right move forward that will get us to that point. This way we already have everything in place.”
“Okay,” I agree, and watch as she makes a little sign, then takes it out front and places it in the window. Word spread fast in our small town, because by the time we close, I already had three girls stop in with resumes, interested in the part-time job. Maybe this is going to be easier than I expected.
“Hey, sweetheart,” my dad greets when I walk into the living room of my childhood home.
“Hi, Dad,” I greet him back, bending to kiss his cheek. “How’s Mom today?” I ask, taking a seat on the couch.
“She’s good, just taking her normal afternoon nap. What brings you by?”
“I just needed someone to talk some business things out with,” I tell him honestly. I’ve always had a very open relationship with my parents, especially when it comes to the bakery. Whenever I haven’t been sure about something, I come talk it out with my dad.
“Tell me all about it,” he says, pushing back in his seat to let me have the floor, so to speak. I give him the run down, the investment offer from Nathan, the suggestions from Lacey, how we’ve already had a response to the job opening. I lay everything out for him, including how much I want to make something work so that I can go see Nathan and see what this is between the two of us. I realize that it might not be anything long-term, but I’m also not willing to let it go just yet. I’ve secretly waited this long for this man to come back into my life, I’m not going to let him just walk back out.
“I do think hiring some help is a good idea, and it doesn’t hurt to have Rita help out now and again. I’m on the fence about the investment but can see the allure to taking it. New equipment would definitely help, and probably reduce not only your utilities because they’re so much more efficient, but also reduce your repairs budget since things are less likely to break. But Nathan has only been back in your life for a couple weeks, are you willing to let him come in and take a percentage of your business like that? I’m not saying he’s a conman, the very opposite, actually, but you’ve worked hard since taking it over to make it successful. I’d hate for that to be screwed up. What if you were to move forward with the extra help, go take that vacation you deserve, and put his offer on the back burner for six months. If things are still going well, then, and you still want to upgrade things, take him up on his investment offer at that point.”
“Hmm.” I think over my dad’s sound advice. “I kind of like that idea. It is the best of both worlds. Gives me time to think things over without diving in headfirst. I can do some detailed research on what brands would be best to replace the existing equipment with, before jumping into purchasing the items.”
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