Temporary Boss...Forever Husband

by Stacy Connelly

  He frowned; sports analogies weren’t his thing. His dad was always the one who quoted stats, records and sports clichés. But the story did parallel Zach’s situation. This was his chance, and it was up to him to make the most of it.

  His determination lasted through flagging down a cab, throwing his overnight bag in the backseat and climbing into the vehicle, but when the driver asked where he wanted to go, the name of the hotel froze in his throat. He should go to the room and prepare for his morning meeting, but before he even knew what he was going to say, he heard the words, “San Francisco General.”

  He almost changed his mind a half a dozen times during the ride, but before long, he was walking through the sterile, antiseptic-smelling corridors toward Bob Henderson’s room. Pushing the door open, Zach could see only one bed was occupied. A silver-haired man whose pale skin was nearly as white as the sheets lay in the far bed, hooked up to medicine and machines by tubes and wires. Judging by his deep breathing, the man was asleep.

  Tightening his grip on the strap of the overnight bag he’d slung over his shoulder, Zach took a step back, ready to leave the man in peace.

  A weak voice stopped him in his tracks. “Look who’s here. Zach Wilder.”

  Red-rimmed eyes stared at him from the bed, and Zach stepped forward. “I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

  “Never have. But I recognize you from your picture in the company newsletter. Salesman of the year five years running.”

  A hint of sarcasm underscored the words, but Zach didn’t blame the other man. To succeed at winning that goal only to lose it in a matter of days would leave anyone bitter.

  “So, they brought you in to take my place.”

  “Yeah,” Zach said, feeling guilty even though none of this was his fault. He pulled a hardback novel from the outside pocket of his overnight bag. “I picked this up for you.” The spy novel had hit the bestsellers’ list a few weeks ago. “It’s supposed to be good.”

  “Thanks. Guess I’ll have plenty of time for reading now.”

  Zach set the book on a small shelf by the bed. A huge bouquet took up most of the space. “Nice flowers.”

  “Nothing but the best from Knox.”

  “They’re from the company?” Zach asked as he touched a peach rose petal. The silky-soft texture and pale color reminded him of Allison’s skin. The floral scent teased his senses—almost like she stood beside him—and he reluctantly pulled his hand away.

  He looked around the room, expecting to see more flowers, balloons or cards from friends and family, but the room was conspicuously bare. The absence of any personal concern or well wishes struck Zach as sad. It also struck a little too close to home.

  He didn’t know anything about Henderson’s life outside of work. Was he married? Did he have kids, grandkids? Any family at all?

  For a few short weeks, Zach had had Allison. He’d had her smiles, her laughter, her passion… He’d also had her care and concern as she scolded him for working too hard and not getting enough sleep. They were comments he normally would have brushed off, confident he knew best when it came to what he needed to be happy. The truth was, until Allison, he simply hadn’t known what he was missing.

  “I spent my career waiting for this moment.”

  Zach could have been the one speaking the words. Bob stared at the ceiling as he added, “I was pretty hot stuff myself before you came along. Won some big clients no one else could even talk to. Worked hard at bringing in the latest systems when technology started changing so fast.”

  Those accomplishments had happened well over a decade ago, but Zach wasn’t going to point that out. “You’ve done a lot to be proud of.”

  “Yeah,” the older man agreed, his response sounding as hollow as Zach’s compliment. “I worked a lotta years, waiting for this promotion.”

  “You know you’re the one they wanted,” Zach pointed out, unable to shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. He should have been happier than this, ready to grab hold of the promotion and not let go, no matter how it had fallen into his hands.

  But he couldn’t stop himself from adding, “Knox will hold the VP position open for you if you ask. Take a leave of absence, and I bet in a few months, you’ll be back and ready to take over.”

  Bob shook his head. “If the past few days have taught me anything, it’s that I’m not the man for the job. Not anymore. After this, I don’t think I’m up for the extra hours and extra stress involved in running the department.”

  He heaved a sigh, sinking further back onto his pillows. “You’re lucky, kid, to be moving up as fast as you are. You’re young enough to climb the corporate ladder all the way to CEO and still have time to enjoy the view from the top.”

  Moving up and moving on. The motto had marked his every career change. Always reaching for something better. But it wasn’t Bob’s prediction that echoed in his thoughts as he wished the man well and left the hospital. Instead, another phrase entirely kept ringing in his ears.

  Enjoy the view from the top…

  Would he reach those heights in the next ten, fifteen years? And if he did, would he have someone to celebrate with him? Or would the occasion be marked only with a bouquet from the company or another gold watch?

  Zach rubbed his eyes, feeling the strain of staring at the screen for so many hours. He supposed he should have been used to it by now but—

  “Zach? Honey, what are you doing here?”

  His mother’s voice sounded behind him in the pre-dawn darkness. The flickering light from the television offered the only illumination as he shifted in the recliner and glanced over his shoulder. Caroline stood in the doorway wearing a belted silk robe he’d bought her for Christmas a few years ago. “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “That’s okay. But why aren’t you still in San Francisco? I thought you were staying through until Monday.”

  “I caught a late flight back.”

  His mother hesitated before she said, “Did the meetings not go well?”

  “Went great. The job’s mine.”

  “Well, that’s wonderful.” Her enthusiasm sounded forced, but her confusion was all too real as she asked, “But what are you doing here watching those old videos?”

  Unsure how to explain why he’d shown up at her house in the middle of the night, he turned back to the grainy amateur video. The home team, wearing red jerseys and white pants, were on offense. The quarterback took a five-step drop, set his feet, and threw a ten-yard pass. The wide receiver leapt, seeming to defy gravity with a one-handed catch, and sprinted down the field, evading blue and gray defenders, to score a touchdown.

  Zach watched the quarterback—his father—race down the field to greet his teammate in the end zone, arms raised high in victory. He couldn’t begin to imagine how many hours his father had sat in the darkened den, drinking scotch, watching the old videos and talking about the “good ole days.” Zach hadn’t seen the tapes in years.

  Back when he was still a kid, he’d watched with the hope of pleasing his old man, of finding some way to gain his father’s approval. By the time he was a teenager, though, they’d butted heads so many times over so many things that Zach pretty much refused to set foot in his father’s haven or to watch the games again.

  Now, he wished he had. Now, as an adult, he saw all the details he’d missed as a child. “He wasn’t that good,” he said softly.

  “Of course he was,” Caroline protested. “You saw that throw.”

  “I also saw the catch. An amazing catch the receiver had to make with one hand because the quarterback overthrew him by a yard.”

  “It was one pass.”

  “There were a lot of passes like that, Mom.”

  Walking over, she sat on the arm of the chair and ran her fingers through his hair like she’d done when he was a kid. “How many tapes have you watched?”

  “Enough.” Enough to see the overthrown balls, the missed open receivers, an inability to read the defense. Not to
mention his dad hadn’t been able to throw across his body to the left. Or that he spent way too much time standing still in the pocket.

  Weaknesses that hadn’t stopped him from leading his high school team to the championship his senior year, but definitely would have been exploited in college, forget the pros.

  “He was a good player,” his mother insisted.

  “Yeah, Mom. He was a good player at a small school. At a 4A school, he’d have been lucky to make the team and probably would never have left the bench.” Frustrated, Zach picked up the remote from the trunk-style coffee table and clicked the video off before tossing it aside. His mother flicked on the floor lamp as he stood to face her. “All those years, talking about how he would have had it made. College and a Heisman trophy and championship before moving on to the big leagues.” Sarcasm lifted his voice to a near shout by the time he finished.

  “Zach, please.” Caroline tightened the belt on her already cinched robe. “Why bring all this up now? I know he wasn’t the best father, but Dad’s been dead for years. To be saying these things now…”

  Distress filled his mother’s expression, and Zach exhaled, forcing aside the lingering anger and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to put him down or blame him for a past no one can possibly change. I’m just trying to understand.” Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. “I was so sure I had it all figured out.”

  His mother took his hand and led him back to the recliner. “Had figured what out, sweetheart?”

  Zach leaned back against the comfortable cushions, staring at the now blank screen. An image reflected back at him—a man seated in an armchair, trapped by the anger and bitterness he couldn’t let go. “Dad was always talking about how getting married and having a kid robbed him of his dream. So I was sure that focusing on my dream, my goal was the way to go. And for so many years, that’s what I did. I didn’t let anyone or anything get in the way.”

  “Until Allison.”

  “Until Allison,” he agreed with a small laugh, wondering why he was even the least bit surprised that his mother had figured that out before he had. “You know how I told you the first time I saw her, she was cutting in front of my car?”

  He’d been captured from the first glance through his windshield and never managed to escape. “I’d never met anyone like her. She was…different.” He cringed at the inadequacy of his words, but he’d never talked to his mother about a woman before, so he hoped she’d cut him some slack. “I really thought maybe I could have it all. But then when Knox gave the promotion to Bob Henderson, I knew that was impossible.”

  “But now the promotion’s yours,” Caroline reminded him, “and I assume Allison is no longer a distraction?”

  Zach flinched at his mother’s description even though he’d given her reason to think that way. Worse, he’d given Allison reason to think that way. And it occurred to Zach once more that if having the promotion was everything he’d ever wanted, he should have been a hell of a lot happier than he was.

  Zach stood outside Bethany’s townhouse, wondering what the hell he was doing. It was a question that had plagued him since he first got off the plane in San Francisco. He should have left a message at Allison’s house and waited for her to call him back—if she called him back—instead of taking a chance and tracking her down at her sister’s house. Her car was parked in the driveway, so he knew she was there, but he could still leave and no one would know he’d—

  The door opened before he had a chance to turn back to his car, and then it was too late. Too late to run, too late to move. All he could do was stare at Allison. He soaked in the sight of her, the same way he had the desert sun after coming back from San Francisco fog. Her golden hair was pushed back with a thin headband, revealing her startled green eyes, her lips adorably parted in surprise. But her face was pale. She looked tired and—the bundle of what he’d dismissed as an armful of laundry gave a sudden squawk.

  He looked closer and saw an almost impossibly small foot give an agitated kick. “Is that—”

  A smile lit Allison’s face, erasing any hint of exhaustion as she moved the blanket aside to reveal the infant’s face. “I’d like you to meet Lilly Anne Armstrong.”

  Zach stared at the newborn in awe. The baby lifted eyelids that looked to weigh a ton, blinked once, and fell back asleep. “She looks just like you,” he whispered.

  Allison shushed him. “Bethany’s taking a nap, but you’re lucky she didn’t hear you say that.”

  “Well, of course, she looks like Bethany.”

  But as Allison led the way into the living room and bent to lay the infant in a bassinet tucked in the corner, it wasn’t Bethany’s baby he was picturing Allison holding. It was hers—theirs. The unexpected longing reached out and grabbed hold of his heart. A wife, kids, family… It was a life he never thought he wanted, but one he suddenly didn’t know if he could live without.

  Allison straightened to face him, but the thought of laying his heart on the line had him breaking into a cold sweat. Reaching for the first topic to come to mind, he said, “I didn’t think your sister was due so soon.”

  “She wasn’t. The baby came early.”

  “But she’s okay?” It might have been a stupid question considering the hospital had already sent Bethany home, but what did he know about infants?

  “She’s perfect. And it’s all thanks to you.”

  “Me? I don’t think so. I really don’t know your sister that well.”

  “Not like that,” she said, shooting him that crooked smile that never failed to quicken his heart rate. But her expression sobered as she ran her hand over the baby’s wispy blond hair. “Bethany had bought some pictures for the nursery and was trying to hang them when she lost her balance. She went into labor and couldn’t get to the phone, but her purse was within reach. She activated the alarm from her key chain remote. If it hadn’t been for that alarm… So, thank you.”

  He could still see the toll worry and fear had taken in the circles beneath her eyes. The baby gave a soft cry, and they both looked toward the bassinet. A tiny fist waved over the edge, but she settled back to sleep. “Has Bethany heard from her husband?”

  “I called him from the hospital, and she’s spoken to him a few times, but he doesn’t want anything to do with Lilly.”

  Zach shook his head. “He’ll regret that someday.”

  “I don’t know…You can’t force someone to want what you want.”

  “Allie—”

  “I’m sorry about before, about the fight,” she blurted out.

  “So am I. So sorry.” Relief poured over him, washing away the guilt he’d been carrying with him since their argument.

  He’d been such an idiot to blame Allison. The time they’d spent together had been the best of his life and worth more than any promotion. Had he really thought she’d stand in the way of his career? Allison had been a huge part of his success. With her at his side, Zach knew he could accomplish anything, but for the first time, business wasn’t at the fore-front. He had a different, far more personal goal—one he couldn’t possibly achieve without Allison.

  “And I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to tell you before you left, but I’m proud of you. You must be so excited about the promotion.”

  “About that—”

  “Tell me everything. How was San Francisco? Did you meet the other board members? Will you get corner office with an amazing view? Oh, and what about a company car? Of course with all the traveling you’ll be doing, a plane would be better, right? And I hope you have a razor-sharp assistant to keep you in line.”

  Zach frowned. Did Allison want him to take the promotion? To accept a job that meant constantly traveling, bouncing between three states? “What happened to me not being any good at managing?”

  “I was wrong. Yes, you’re a great salesman, but you’ll be a great sales manager, too. You love working at Knox Security, and it shows in everything you do.”

  Like the roller-coaster
ride his emotions went on after first losing, then winning the promotion, Zach felt thrown for yet another loop. He didn’t think the promotion was right for him; Allison did. He wanted to stay; Allison was telling him to go.

  You can’t force someone to want what you want.

  Her words echoed in his mind, and suddenly Zach knew. Allison didn’t want him to go, but she was afraid to ask him to stay, afraid to hold him back from everything she thought he wanted.

  “I love you, Allie.” At his words, her gaze flew to his, her green eyes wide. “I don’t care about the promotion. I’ve told Knox I’ll fill in until they find a replacement, but after that, I’m coming back here. To the job I love. To the woman I love.”

  “You can’t!” Panic filled her eyes. “If you stay, you’ll regret it. You’ll resent me and—”

  Zach caught her by the shoulders before she could make another pass by the couch. “I won’t, Allie. I swear. I’m not Kevin, and I don’t want to be like my father.”

  She exhaled a deep breath, but he could still feel the shudder of emotions bottled up inside her. “From what you’ve told me, you’re the exact opposite of your father.”

  “I’d always thought that, but we’re more alike than I want to admit. My dad spent his life blaming me and my mom for his professional failures. I was doing the same thing. Only in reverse. Using work as an excuse for the failures in my personal life. And then when I didn’t get the promotion, I blamed you. I can’t tell you how much I regret that. But I’ll make it up to you. Believe me, I—”

  “No.”

  “I’m going to—what?” His words stumbling to a halt, Zach realized Allison wasn’t reacting the way he thought she would. He might not have much experience in spilling his heart or telling a woman he loved her, but he was pretty sure she was supposed to say “I love you” back. “Allison—”

  “You’ve worked your whole career toward one promotion after another. Professional success is all you’ve ever wanted, and now you’re telling me all that’s changed?”