The Good Father

by Kara Lennox

  “Sure. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

  Jane hurried to her office, listening for sounds of Kaylee’s displeasure at being abandoned. But she seemed to take to Carol, which wasn’t surprising; Kaylee wasn’t a clingy, shy child and usually was happy to meet new people.

  As Jane worked on the ad, making only small adjustments now and feeling slightly more confident with her graphics program, she could hear her daughter’s happy but shrill voice and laughter coming from the break room down the hall.

  When the ad was as good as Jane knew how to make it, she e-mailed it to Max as per instructions. She looked at her watch, surprised that it was nearly five o’clock. That had taken far longer than she’d expected. Time flew by so quickly when she was engrossed in something creative.

  Thank God for Carol. If Jane had been forced to divide her time between her computer and entertaining Kaylee, she never would have made the deadline.

  Jane found her purse and headed out of her office, grateful she had survived her first day of work. Just as she closed her door, she heard Max’s voice and froze, torn. Part of her wanted to see him and have him look at the ad. His approval was important to her on this, her first assignment. But another part of her wanted to make a clean getaway. Max was exciting to be around, but a little draining on her, too. She was ready to share mac-and-cheese with her daughter and decompress.

  “Who’s that?” she heard Max ask.

  Oh, no. He was in the break room with Carol and Kaylee.

  “This is Jane’s daughter, Kaylee. Kaylee, can you say hi to Mr. Remington?”

  If Kaylee said anything, it was too quiet for Jane to hear.

  “I’m watching her while Jane finishes up some work.”

  “And don’t you have work to do? What if a client arrives? Is anyone answering the phone?” He sounded decidedly grouchy.

  Darn, Jane hadn’t meant to get Carol in trouble.

  “I can hear the door chime and the phone from here,” Carol said, not sounding at all bothered by Max’s reprimand. Then again, she was probably a good ten years older than Max and seemed pretty sure of herself.

  “Well, I hope this isn’t going to be a regular thing. Having a child running around the office isn’t the kind of image I’m trying to project.”

  Carol grumbled something Jane couldn’t make out.

  “Did she at least finish the ad she’s been working on?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jane decided she’d done enough skulking around in the hallway, eavesdropping. She strode toward the break room and entered boldly. “Oh, hello, Max. I hadn’t realized you were back.”

  “Mommy!” Kaylee, who’d been scribbling in a coloring book, flew out of her chair and attached herself to Jane’s leg.

  Jane leaned down to pick up her little girl. “Have you been a good girl for Ms. Washington?”

  Kaylee nodded. “We ate Goldfish and juice—”

  “And some apple slices,” Carol interjected, probably so Jane would know the snack had been somewhat nutritious.

  “—and we played horsey and colored in the book—”

  “Excuse me,” Max said, looking more and more irritated, “but can we finish our business before you’re off in Mommy Land?”

  “Yes, of course, Max. What is it?”

  “Is the ad done? Please tell me it’s done.”

  “Of course it’s done,” she said calmly, as if she’d finished it ages ago. “It should be in your inbox as we speak.”

  He bolted out of the room.

  “He’s mean, Mommy.” Mean must have been Kaylee’s new word.

  Carol laughed. “Not mean. Just not into kids, I don’t think. Listen, you better hit the road before Mr. Remington looks at that ad and decides he wants changes.”

  “Oh, but it’s perfect,” Jane said, alarmed to think she might have more work to do. “I’m sure he’ll be pleased with it.” The finished product had been beautiful, even if she did say so herself.

  “One thing you better learn fast in this business, honey. No matter how hard you work, no matter how perfect it is when you let go of it, the boss will always want changes and the client will, too. The sooner you realize that and don’t let it bother you, the better.”

  Jane nodded. “Point taken.” She quickly gathered up Kaylee’s toys and stuffed them into the tote bag. “C’mon, princess. Let’s go home and have some macaroni.”

  They’d almost cleared the reception area when Jane heard her name. She considered scooting out the door and pretending she hadn’t heard. But since Max had bellowed at her loudly enough to shake the walls, she decided she better obey the summons.

  She sighed. Oh, God, what if he hated the ad?

  He appeared in the doorway to the reception room just as she reached to open it. “Oh, there you are. I thought I’d missed you.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Not much, really. The ad is beautiful. Really, Jane, you have such an eye for color and composition. There’s just one teeny-tiny problem.”

  “What?”

  “You left off the client’s logo.”

  Chapter Three

  Jane gasped. In the span of two heartbeats she’d gone from glowing with pride to cringing with mortification. She’d left off the client’s logo? How could that be possible?

  Just then Kaylee let out an unexpected shriek—right in Jane’s ear. She strengthened her grip around Jane’s neck, putting her in a wrestler’s stranglehold.

  “That man is mean!”

  “What?” Max asked. “Did she just say I was mean?”

  But Jane’s mind was shifting back to the ad and the final steps she’d taken, and she remembered something. “I think I know what the problem is. Give me five minutes.”

  She dropped everything but Kaylee and ran back to her office. “Kaylee, honey, please be good for another couple of minutes while Mommy fixes this disaster.” How humiliating would it have been to show the client an ad with no logo?

  While her computer booted up, she tried to convince Kaylee to play quietly, but the child was crabby now and wanted none of it. Jane had to work with Kaylee in her lap and Max standing in the doorway, glowering at her.

  If she didn’t fix this problem in two seconds, she was fired. She knew it.

  She called up the file from the graphics program. Yes, there it was! She’d made the logo transparent while she was working on the background, and she’d simply forgotten to restore it. One button click, and the problem was fixed. With a huge sigh of relief, she sent it to Max.

  “It’s fine now. The corrected version should be in your inbox.”

  He didn’t rush to his office, as she’d expected, but continued standing in her doorway staring at her, an inscrutable expression on his handsome face.

  Oh, God. He was going to fire her anyway.

  He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and turned away.

  Jane wanted to get herself and her fussy child out of there—before the day got any worse. But she forced herself to wait until Max had okayed the ad. If he wanted her to do more work on it, she would, but she would find a babysitter first.

  At least Kaylee had stopped crying. She was now flopped across Jane’s shoulder, her little body relaxing muscle by muscle as drowsiness took over. Poor thing, today had been long and confusing for her.

  Still carrying her daughter, Jane tiptoed to Max’s office. He was at the computer, but he must have sensed her presence because he looked up.

  “Is it okay now?” she asked.

  “It’s fine. I’ve sent it to the client.”

  “Do I still have a job?”

  He actually smiled. “Yes, you still have a job. I shouldn’t have reacted like I did, not on your first day. I’m sure things will go smoother once you settle in.”

  Jane smiled back. “Absolutely. See you tomorrow, then.” She turned to leave.

  “Oh, Jane. One more thing.”

  Shoot, what now?

 
“I’m courting a new client, a children’s clothing manufacturer from Houston. If I land the account, it will be by far my biggest.” He pointed to a folder sitting on the corner of his desk. “That’s some of the print advertising they’ve done over the past couple of years, along with some concepts I’ve brainstormed. Would you mind looking them over tonight? I’ll want you to do some mock-ups for a presentation. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

  “Sure, of course.” What sort of mock-up was he talking about? Sketches, or something more polished? She should ask, but she didn’t want to look any more ignorant today than she already had.

  Jane grabbed the folder, which she would study after Kaylee was in bed. “Have a great evening.” Did he have a date? Oh, Lord, why did she care about that? He could have ten dates, and it was none of her concern.

  As she made her way to her car, the day’s events floated around in her brain, but the one she focused on was when Max had said her ad was beautiful. Maybe his praise hadn’t been sincere, but she’d gone all tingly inside.

  For a moment, she imagined how it would feel to hear him say she was beautiful. The tingly feeling returned. It was a miracle she got her car home in one piece.

  OLD SALT’S BAR & GRILL was nothing like the ultra-hip clubs in SoHo and the Village Max used to frequent when he lived in New York. But it had its good points—like a big deck that looked out over the ocean, decent food and drinks that didn’t cost your whole paycheck.

  Although lots of bars dotted Port Clara’s coast and downtown area, Max and his cousins had adopted Old Salt’s as their home away from home.

  Max worked long hours these days trying to get the agency up and running and profitable—profitable being the point that interested him most at the moment. He had walked out on his job at Remington Industries, his family’s New York conglomerate, with a lot of big promises about how he was going to make it on his own with no help from them.

  He remembered how his older brother, Eddie, had stared at him slack-jawed, and his father—vice president of marketing—had clenched his jaw in anger, then declared Max would come crawling back before six months was out.

  He’d thought their reactions kind of amusing back then. Now he didn’t.

  By eight o’clock Max felt worn thin, and he decided to call it a night and head for Old Salt’s for a beer and some commiseration.

  He found the whole gang there—Cooper and Allie, unwinding after a full-day charter on their boat, the Dragonfly; and Reece and Sara, relaxing after a long day running their various businesses—between them they had three.

  “Max!” Allie greeted him with a quick kiss to the cheek. “How goes the advertising biz?”

  “A bit grueling today,” he admitted as he swiveled a chair around and straddled it. The waitress caught his eye, and he pointed to Cooper’s beer. She nodded.

  “It’s not easy, running your own company,” said Sara. “The B and B isn’t so bad, since I took over an already-thriving business. But the catering…all I can say is, I’m glad Reece has some business sense or I’d be in serious trouble.” She put a hand to Max’s shoulder. “How’s the new artist working out?”

  “Oh, you know about that?”

  “Of course. I was there when you called her to offer the job. She’s incredible, isn’t she?”

  “Incredible…yeah, that’s one word to describe her.” Slow would be another word.

  “You’re not pleased with her work?” Allie asked, reading between the lines. “Oh, Max, please don’t fire her. She really needs that job. You have no idea what a financial mess Scott left her in. That boat was supposed to be hers free and clear, and now she’s discovered all kinds of debts and expenses related to the boat she knew nothing about. Of course, Scott kept her totally in the dark about their finances—”

  Cooper clamped a hand over his wife’s mouth to silence her tirade. “Allie. Perhaps Jane doesn’t want her personal life bandied about in public.”

  “We’re not public,” Allie objected, flipping her long red hair over one shoulder. “We’re Jane’s friends. Everybody here knows what a jerk her ex is. Max experienced it firsthand. First fist, that is.”

  Max rubbed his jaw, which was even now, months later, a little tender. He couldn’t argue that Scott was a bastard, all right. Not only had the guy sucker-punched Max, but he’d used Max as leverage to take advantage of Jane in their divorce.

  “The fact Jane needs a job shouldn’t be a factor in whether Max keeps her on or not,” Reece pointed out. He was the accountant in the family, the hard-nosed one who kept the rest of them financially on track.

  “So he should just cast her out into the street?” Sara asked, with a look bordering on outrage.

  “No, of course not,” Reece said. “But you can’t expect him to keep her on the payroll if she’s not an asset to his business.”

  “Whoa, whoa.” Max decided the discussion had gotten way out of hand. “I never said she isn’t working out. Our first day was…rocky. Jane isn’t accustomed to the fast pace in advertising. But I plan to give her a decent chance to adjust.”

  “I hope you’re not bombarding her with criticism,” Allie said. “She’s very sensitive.”

  “But you have to give her feedback or she won’t improve,” Reece pointed out.

  “Um, I gave her plenty of feedback.” Max had actually been a bit harsh, which wasn’t like him. He’d always had an easy-come, easy-go attitude when it came to winning and losing. Back when he’d worked at Remington Industries, if he spent weeks working with the creative staff on a campaign, only to have his father or Eddie or some other corporate suit shoot it down, he’d shrugged and moved on.

  But now his money, his time, his reputation were on the line. His future depended on whether he could make a go of the Remington Agency. Eddie and his dad were watching, waiting for him to stumble and fail.

  The situation made him tense, like a snake ready to strike. If he didn’t take things a little easier, he would end up like Reece had been before he resigned his high-powered position and relocated to Port Clara—headed for a heart attack like his old man.

  “What about the other factor?” Cooper asked, giving Max a knowing look. “Doesn’t the fact you’re hot for her get in the way of business?”

  Max groaned. “Come on, Coop, don’t bring that up. Yes, she’s a beautiful woman, but I think I can manage to resist her. I don’t need a harassment suit slapped on me, thanks very much. Besides,” he added, “she’s a single mom, and you know my rule.”

  Sara looked at him quizzically. “What rule?”

  “Max doesn’t date women with children,” Reece supplied, seeming amused by his wife’s narrowed gaze aimed at Max.

  “That’s horrible!” Sara said. “Are you telling me you don’t like children?” She turned to Reece. “He is not going to be the godfather of our first child.”

  Sara was expecting her and Reece’s first, and she was a little prickly where babies were concerned.

  “I never said I don’t like children,” Max objected. “There are other issues.”

  “Like a single mom can’t shower all her attention on you,” Allie said. “She has other priorities besides partying.”

  “What is this, Pick-On-Max Night?” Max took a long sip of his beer. “I came here for good company, not to have my life dissected.”

  Allie at least looked a little penitent. “Sorry, Max. Who else can we pick on?”

  “You’ve already picked on me enough for one night,” Cooper said. “I’ll be glad when you all get tired of telling anyone who’ll listen how I tried to get Allie arrested for stealing her own boat.”

  “And I don’t want to hear any more seasick jokes,” Reece put in.

  “Or anything about my numbers dyslexia,” Sara added. “Hey, you know I found out there’s a term for my problem? It’s called dyscalcula—a math-learning disability.”

  They continued to banter, but Max didn’t take part. He was nervous as hell about his meeting with the children’s
clothing manufacturer he’d told Jane about. The owner of Kidz’n’Stuff was arriving for a meet and greet tomorrow, and Max was counting on Jane to come up with some sketches that would wow them, based on his concepts.

  If she was as slow at sketching as she was with computer graphics, he was in serious trouble.

  WHEN MAX ARRIVED at work the next morning, he found Jane already there, working industriously at her drawing board. She was prompt in the mornings, he’d give her that.

  He tapped on her office door, which she’d left open as usual. “Morning, Jane.”

  She jumped and turned, smiling. “Oh, good morning.”

  “You don’t look so good,” Max blurted out, but her appearance was slightly alarming. Yesterday her coal-black hair had been curled and arranged in shimmering waves falling over her shoulders, and her makeup had been magazine perfect. Today she wore an untidy ponytail. What was worse, she had dark shadows under her eyes. And she wore glasses.

  Was she trying to ugly herself up so she wouldn’t tempt him? Had she sensed his nearly overwhelming desire for her? He thought he’d kept it pretty well under wraps.

  He had news for her. Nothing she could do would make her ugly. But her lack of polish was such a contrast from the day before, he was afraid something was wrong.

  Jane looked down at herself, then back up. “I guess I should have looked in the mirror before I left home this morning.” She sounded embarrassed. “I lost track of the time and I got rushed. But I was so excited. Kaylee has a bunch of Kidz’n’Stuff clothes, and we both love them. I started just doing some sketches and, well, before I knew it the sun was coming up.”

  Max stepped into Jane’s office. “You stayed up all night?”

  “I didn’t mean to. It’s just that when I get involved in creating something, I lose track of time.”

  Finally he chanced a look at her drawing board, and his jaw dropped. “That’s…that’s gorgeous.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.” Jane had taken his scribbled notes and stick-figure drawings and turned them into a comp for a full-page magazine ad. But this was no rough sketch. She’d made drawings of two children that were so realistic they almost walked off the page.