by K. A. Linde
Of course, I couldn’t call Emery. And the reason I hadn’t known was because I would completely shut her down anytime she tried to talk about Landon with me. I’d said time and time again that there was nothing between me and Landon. Emery had had him first, and I would never break girl code like that. Yet here I was, having a mental breakdown because he was here.
As it was, Emery was too suspicious about me and Landon. Calling her and demanding answers would only prove her point. And nothing was going on.
Not anymore.
Still…I had so many questions to ask him. They all flew through my brain at lightning speed.
Why was he in Lubbock? Why was he working for Wright Construction? Why wasn’t he golfing? Had he known he’d be my boss? Had he asked to be my boss? Was he here with Miranda? Had their relationship recovered? Did she know that we’d kissed? Did he think about that kiss like I did?
Fuck!
No!
I looked up at myself in the restroom mirror, took a deep breath, and straightened to my full height. I needed to get myself together. This was not the end of the world. Landon wasn’t my direct supervisor. He wasn’t even my supervisor’s supervisor. I didn’t have to see him. I wouldn’t have to come in contact with him. This didn’t even have to be a thing I stressed about.
Besides all of that, this made our entire situation easier. I would never jeopardize my career, the most important thing in my life, for anything.
Rule number 1: Don’t date your coworker.
Rule number 2: Definitely don’t date your boss.
Rule number 3: Forget the taste of your boss’s lips.
Okay, the taste of his lips was a new one, but I needed to follow it anyway because, sometimes, that taste of whiskey would creep right up on me.
The truth was, I had worked too damn hard for this job. Nothing and no one was going to distract me. Not even Landon Wright.
I left the restroom with my head held high. I could do this.
The meeting had been adjourned when I got back to my desk.
Matt gave me a sympathetic look. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded my head. “Totally fine. Just had an emergency. You know, girl stuff.”
His face paled, and he looked away.
Easiest way to get a guy to stop talking to you was to bring up your period.
“So, did I miss anything?” I asked.
“Nah, you were there for most of it. All the Wrights are under one roof now.”
“Well, not Sutton. She just had her baby.”
“Right. True,” Matt agreed. “What did she name it? James?”
“She named him Jason.”
“I still can’t believe that he took her last name instead of the other way around. I can’t imagine ever doing that.”
“Ah, yes. How ever did women survive all these generations, dealing with changing their name?” I said with an eye roll. “It makes sense that he’d change his name, considering who Sutton is. Then, they can have the baby be a Wright.”
“It’s emasculating.”
My eyes nearly popped out of the sockets. “And how do you think women feel, having to change their name to fit a man?”
He looked at me like a fish out of water. He had clearly never thought about it before.
“Forget it,” I muttered. I was still irritated about Landon. “A lot of women really love the idea of changing their name. Maybe Maverick suggested it. Maybe it wasn’t emasculating to him at all. At the very least, I’m sure that he wanted his son to be Jason Wright instead of Jason Johnson.”
Jim saved Matt from having to come up with an answer to that. “Hey, Heidi. The new Wright boss wants to see you in his office.”
“Right now?” I asked, clenching the edge of my desk.
“Uh…yeah, I think so.”
“Oh, okay. Where is his office?”
Jim pointed down the hall and in a corner. I could see the office from where I was seated at my desk. If he stepped up to the door, then I would be able to see him. I’d have a clear line of sight on Landon every single day. He wasn’t pushed off into some solitary corner or even on the other side of the floor by the project team.
No. Of course, they had picked the only vacated office left in the area.
And, now, I could see him whenever I wanted.
Great.
“Thanks,” I muttered, unable to conceal my sarcastic undertone.
Without another second’s hesitation, I marched down the hallway to determine my fate. And, even though I was solid and dignified in my approach, I felt as if I were trudging through waist-deep water. My brain was telling my body not to go through this. Not to endure what was to come. But I knew I could handle this.
I knocked twice on the open door, and Landon’s head whipped up. He looked…out of place. I’d seen him in a suit before, of course. He wore it well. But he looked the most comfortable, happiest in golf clothes. I’d watched him on TV. Golf was a mind game, and everything else disappeared when he played. Some players tensed up and let the game get to them but not Landon. All the pressure and all his worries eased away until there was only him and the game that he loved to play.
He looked the opposite of that now.
“Heidi,” he said. “Please come in. Shut the door.”
I arched an eyebrow, but did as I had been told. Being alone in Landon’s office with the door closed was a pretty terrible idea, but it didn’t stop me from doing it anyway. Or stop me from being pissed at how calm he seemed. Or stop me from wanting to throw him onto that desk.
“You asked to see me,” I said, keeping my voice neutral.
“Yes. I’ve decided to meet with everyone on my team to get to know my new employees.”
I pursed my lips. A million questions threatened to fly out of my mouth, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing my curiosity. “And you decided to start with me?”
Landon stood and came around to the front of his desk. He buttoned the top button of his suit coat, as if he were dressing for a theater production. “Yes,” he said simply. “I decided to start with you.”
“Let’s not do this, Landon. I’m pretty sure we already know that you know me better than most of your employees. And that’s all I am—an employee.”
Landon stared at me across the scant feet of space between us. Both of us were mired in this moment and the impenetrable distance. It might as well have been an ocean because I couldn’t cross it. What had happened a month ago hung in the air like a thick fog obscuring our view.
“Don’t you want to know why I’m here?” he asked finally.
I held my hand up. “It doesn’t matter.”
He shot me an incredulous look. “Heidi—”
“It really doesn’t. This is my career. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am. I wasn’t born into this.”
Landon’s face was a mask. I was sure that I had hit a nerve with him, but he didn’t show it. I wasn’t used to that from him. He usually wore his emotions on his sleeve. But I guessed he couldn’t do that here.
“Not that you don’t deserve your position or anything,” I added. “But I think we should keep our relationship professional. Having conversations with the door closed…is probably not a good idea. There’s no reason to muddy the waters. You know…what’s done is done.”
“Right. Good. Yeah. Professional.” His voice was clipped.
“Good. I’m glad,” I said with no enthusiasm.
This wasn’t how I’d expected our next encounter to happen. I’d oscillated between yelling at him for standing me up and crushing my lips to his. I hadn’t anticipated indifference. Or for him to agree.
“I believe that is all then, Miss Martin,” Landon said formally. His jaw twitched.
I inhaled sharply at his comment as my fingers curled into fists at my sides.
Miss Martin? Fine. Fucking professional then. Whatever. It didn’t even matter.
“I’ll just get back to work then…boss.”
I
turned on my black platform high heels and ripped the door back open. I exited his office like a thunderstorm.
God, I felt like an idiot. I knew I had done this to myself. I could have gone into that room sympathetic and full of questions. I could have told him that, yes, in fact, I did want to know what he was doing here. I wanted to know a lot of things. But I couldn’t allow myself that modicum of curiosity. If I gave an inch, I’d give him a mile and more. And I couldn’t.
I wish it hadn’t felt so good to see him. God, that suit. That face. And it wasn’t purely physical. Seeing him had felt…right. Like a piece of the puzzle had been missing, and he fit in perfectly.
“Fuck,” I grumbled when I sank into the seat at my desk.
This was never going to work.
Ten
Landon
“This is never going to work,” I groaned.
I crashed into my office chair and rested my head back. I was totally fucked. This was a disaster. Of all the things to happen when I started working for Wright Construction, I had to end up as Heidi’s boss. Could the universe be any crueler?
The way she had looked at me just about put me over the edge. So cold and emotionless. Like seeing me was a minor irritant. But I knew she was upset. After how things had ended with us, how could I blame her?
Now, we were in unfamiliar territory. And any chance I’d thought I had at reconciling with her went out the window when she blew me off. But I wouldn’t let her go that easily. Not after the hell I’d endured to get here.
If being her boss were the issue, then I’d do what I could to change that.
I darted out of my chair and ignored the questioning look from the manager who worked directly below me. I knew he wasn’t pleased that he was now answering to me. He, like Heidi had insinuated, believed I had gotten this job because I was a Wright. And the fact that it was true only made me hate the position more.
My feet carried me to the elevator, which brought me up to the second highest floor in Wright Construction. The top floor was a fancy restaurant that the company used for business meetings, catering, and big events. But I wasn’t looking for the restaurant. I needed to talk to Morgan.
She was on the phone when I sidestepped her secretary, a tall and trim white dude, and entered her office. Her eyebrows rose when she glanced up at me. She held up a neatly manicured finger in my direction.
It was strange to take orders from my twenty-six-year-old sister. I’d bossed her around enough when we were younger, so to see her like this, it always amazed me. She had been made for it, of course. Even more than Jensen, who had always been more interested in the architectural side than the business side.
When she finally hung up her phone, I was leaning against a chair in front of her desk, trying not to be impatient.
“What’s up?” Morgan asked.
“I appreciate everything you did to get me this job.”
Morgan furrowed her brow. “Are you quitting?”
“Um…no?”
“Who are you? Ben from Parks and Rec?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Last I checked, I wasn’t an accountant who kept refusing to work for you.”
Morgan grinned. “Well, what’s the issue?”
“I want to switch positions.”
“You…what?”
I walked around the side of the chair and sat down in front of my sister.
She knew why I was here and what all had happened in the last month. After all, she was the head of Operation Miranda, the silly name my family had given for trying to break us up. She despised her more than anyone.
“I think I need to be in a new job,” I repeated.
“Landon,” she said, steepling her fingers and looking at me over the top of her hands, “do you know what we went through to get you this job on such short notice? We had to shuffle and reorganize the company. I essentially invented a job for you in a place where another position could fit seamlessly into the structure already in place. I had to analyze all the jobs from top to bottom, and this job is it. I mean, if you want to go work on a construction site, then by all means, we have plenty of jobs. Not sure your back could handle the machinery though.”
“Yeah, yeah. My back can’t handle much,” I agreed.
I knew what Morgan had gone through to get this all to work out. Not to mention, Jensen had helped me with the lawyer, finding an apartment, moving, and most importantly, getting a top-notch physical therapist at the medical center. I was an inconvenience at the moment. I could feel it. No matter how much my family loved me, I was a wreck.
“So, as you can see, this is the best I can offer. I didn’t think you’d want to actually work in construction…or even if that was possible for you. And, really, my secretary position is filled.” She grinned.
“Ha! I would never work as your secretary. We’d kill one another.”
“I’m pretty sure, with the condition you’ve been in, I’d win.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“So,” Morgan continued, “why don’t you want this job now that I’ve gone to all this work to get it for you?”
I shrugged nonchalantly.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. That the idea of being Heidi’s boss and seeing her day in and day out was absolute torture. I had a hard time keeping my hands to myself when I was around her, and getting involved with her romantically definitely had to be some kind of HR violation. Fraternizing with your employees wasn’t a good idea, and the thought of avoiding her cut deep. It would be easier on us both if none of this had ever happened. Yet here we were.
“Come on, tell me,” Morgan said.
“I guess I’m just not qualified,” I lied.
Morgan gave me an eat-shit-and-die look. “You have a Stanford business degree. You graduated in the top ten percent of your class. You know how to run a business.”
“Well, I don’t really have any experience.”
“God, stop. You know more about Wright Construction than anyone could because you are Wright Construction.” She dismissively clicked a few buttons on her computer. “Just do your job, and you’ll be fine. Everyone always likes you. They’ll see you know what you’re doing.”
I nodded and stood. “Right. Yeah. Sorry to bring it up.”
I felt like an ass for having even asked, but I’d had to. The reality was, I needed this job. I couldn’t golf for the next year—at the bare minimum. At least, not professionally. I was in PT indefinitely. Other than that, the only thing I had to deal with was the divorce papers.
My mind, which was used to being cluttered with my game, had gone unnervingly silent. If I went back to golf after a year of this, I’d lose my game. I’d lose everything. I had to be going, going, going. I needed something to occupy the long hours and days and weeks and months before I could become me again. And the only other thing I’d ever had in my life was the family business.
When my hand was on the door to her office, Morgan spoke up again, “You’ll be back at your game before you know it.”
I closed my eyes and breathed out harshly. “What if I’m not?”
“Don’t doubt it. I believe in a healthy dose of optimism. You love it too much. And, anyway, Wrights don’t give up.”
I felt emboldened by Morgan’s confidence. She was right. This wasn’t the end of everything. I could still make a comeback. The PGA Tour would wait for me at least two years on an exemption because I’d won a tournament in the last year. But, if I didn’t meet the requirements for the Tour after that, I might have to qualify again. Something I was not looking forward to.
It was bad enough that I had missed the PGA Championship this last weekend, but now, the Tour were going into the playoff season for the FedEx Cup. A whole month of some of the best golf in the world, and I’d get to watch it from the sidelines. Worse…from a TV screen.
I tried not to think about that. One problem at a time. The one I could deal with presently was Heidi.
It was official. I was her boss. And I
would be her boss for the next year—unless, by some miracle, another job opened up in the company. That seemed unlikely, considering my new position.
But I could make Heidi come around.
I needed to talk to her. To make her understand what had happened that day. I couldn’t accept that, just because we were in this situation now, we couldn’t have something between us again. She’d seemed resolved to walk away, and I was as determined to convince her otherwise.
How much could have changed in the last month?
I exited Morgan’s office and took the elevator back down to my floor. My mind was buzzing with all the work that had been dropped at my feet, coupled with the fact that I would have to interact with Heidi on a regular basis. At least I wasn’t sitting around, worrying about whether or not I’d ever recover enough to do the one thing I loved.
That was a positive.
Albeit, a strange one.
I rounded the corner that led to my office and couldn’t help myself. I turned to search Heidi out. She was resting against her desk, facing my direction. A group of engineering guys was standing around her in deep discussion. One guy was leaning over something on her desk. He said something to her, and she shook her head. Whatever she said next made everyone in the area crack up laughing. Even she tilted her head back and laughed. That mane of blonde hair fell like a waterfall down her back.
God, it was good to see her laugh.
I knew that I should walk away. That I shouldn’t stare at her like this.
We’d talked long into the night about how much she loved her job and how proud she was that she had started at the bottom and raised herself up. After everything she had done to get to where she was, she must find me despicable to come in with no experience and become her boss. I’d happened upon this position by sheer luck of birth.
Yet I couldn’t stop watching her. She had been this way with me once, and I’d walked away. It was the smart move. But knowing that I was leaving Miranda only made it harder.
Gorgeous, uninhibited, and completely in her element.
This was how she should always be. Not bottled up with anger and frustration. Tense with misunderstandings. From now on, I’d make it my mission to make her laugh.