The Good Father

by Kara Lennox

  Max hesitated. While his agency was upscale compared to most businesses down here, it was almost laughable compared to the opulent Remington Industries headquarters in Manhattan.

  But then he shrugged. He was proud of what he’d built so far, and he was just getting started. He had competent and loyal employees in Carol and Jane…ah, Jane.

  Damn, he couldn’t afford to think about her right now. He had to be on his toes. Eddie had an agenda, and Max wanted to step carefully so he didn’t fall into any traps.

  A few minutes later, as Eddie entered the reception room of the Remington Agency and looked around, Max watched his brother closely. He seemed to take in everything and was probably mentally calculating the cost.

  Carol smiled serenely from her desk. “Good morning, Mr. Remington,” she said in her most polite, obsequious voice for Eddie’s benefit. She didn’t know who Eddie was and assumed he was a client.

  “Carol, this is my brother, Eddie. He’s visiting from New York.”

  Carol stood and extended her hand. “Oh, now I see the family resemblance! How nice to meet you. Can I get you some coffee?”

  Eddie took her hand and held her gaze for several seconds. He had the ability to make anyone he talked to feel like they were the most important person in the world. It was one of the things that had earned him his nickname, “The Persuader.”

  “No thanks, Carol. We just had breakfast.”

  “You let me know if you need any little thing.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Eddie. Let me show you the rest.” Might as well get it all out in the open. The rest of the office was stylish but not nearly as impressive as the entrance.

  “How many offices?” Eddie asked as they entered the hallway.

  “Six. But I might be able to expand into the next office suite. Right now, though, this is fine. I have my office, Jane’s, one for each AE and the media buyer, and a conference room.”

  “Who’s Jane?”

  The woman in question swung out of her office just then. “Oh, Max…”

  Max made introductions, feeling unaccountably uneasy. What, was he afraid Jane would fall for his brother? That was ridiculous.

  “Well, hello there.” Eddie flashed his trademark lady-killer smile, and Jane smiled back briefly and exchanged hurried pleasantries, but her attention returned immediately to Max.

  “Max, I need to talk to you. Soon.”

  Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. “Is there a problem?”

  “Yes, but—” she glanced at Eddie and smiled again, but it didn’t reach her eyes “—it can wait.”

  “I trust your judgment. You handle it however you see fit.”

  “Buzz me when you’re free.” She slipped back into her office and shut the door.

  Max’s uneasiness grew, but he tried not to show it in front of Eddie. They went into his office, and he showed Eddie some of the agency’s best work—Jane’s work, mostly.

  “This is good stuff. Who’s your creative director? And where are the copywriters?”

  “You’re looking at him. For now, Jane and I handle all creative.”

  Eddie laughed. “You always did have a flair for that kind of thing. I can sell the hell out of anything, but I was never a concept man like you. So you’re doing okay? Making money?”

  Max had no reason to lie. Eddie had no power over him. “Haven’t turned a profit yet, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.”

  “Are you able to pay your people well?”

  Max shook his head. “I’m paying them peanuts. Every one of them is taking a gamble on me and on the future of the Remington Agency.”

  “Jane’s going to get stolen, you know,” Eddie said. “Once her work starts getting national exposure, the headhunters will come calling.”

  “She’ll stay,” he said with more confidence than he felt. If she did get a better offer from some big agency, he didn’t want to hold her back. “She likes working here and she likes Port Clara.”

  “Money talks, bro. If you want to keep her, and you can’t pay her what she’s worth, you should offer something else. Ownership incentive, maybe.”

  Max’s first reflexive instinct was to balk at the idea. The Remington Agency was his and his alone. He’d hated accepting money from her, and he intended to pay it back at the first opportunity.

  But then he reconsidered. Jane was already functioning as a partner. Their experience with Coastal Bank had taught him to trust her input in all matters, not just the artistic side.

  Remington & Selwyn. That sounded nice. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good.” But suddenly Eddie looked uncomfortable. He got up and closed Max’s office door, and Max braced himself. Here it comes.

  “Okay, so here’s the deal. How would you like to be able to pay your people what they’re worth, including yourself? How would you like to have a mammoth expense account? How would you like to expand into those offices now instead of later, hire the help you need, have any business resource at your disposal? How would you like a few national accounts thrown your way?”

  Max had to laugh. Now he knew what was coming, and it wasn’t the move he’d expected. “Don’t tell me. Remington Industries wants to invest in the Remington Agency…in return for complete control.”

  “They want to buy you outright,” Eddie said, sounding regretful. “You cannot imagine how it’s gotten under Dad’s skin, the fact you left and thumbed your nose at the company. At first he figured you’d fall flat on your face because you had no business sense. Then he thought you’d simply give up because you wouldn’t be able to earn what you were used to.”

  “And now what’s he saying?”

  “Not much. He just handed me a blank check and told me to buy you out.”

  “A blank check, huh?”

  “I only told you that because I know you’d never accept. I see it in your face and hear it in your voice. This agency is your baby, and you wouldn’t give up any portion of control, not for any amount of money. Am I right?”

  “You’re right.” If this offer had come last week, Remington Industries might have acquired itself a new subsidiary. But not today. “Dad needs to lighten up. He still has you.”

  “Huh, not for long.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I made you the offer and you turned it down. I’ve done my duty for the family corporation. But I came down here for another reason. Any chance you’d give your brother a job?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What?” Okay, now Max was sure he’d dropped down a rabbit hole. Was this some new ploy?

  “Just give me a sales job. Straight commission is fine. I have contacts. I can get you some great accounts.”

  Max didn’t doubt that was true, but…“Why, Eddie?”

  “The situation at the company has become intolerable. Your contribution to the marketing department was grossly undervalued, and nobody seems to be able to take up the slack. Things are in chaos—and I’ve become the whipping boy in your absence. I think Dad figured if he bought you out, then pulled the plug, you’d be forced to come back.

  “I can’t work in that kind of atmosphere anymore,” Eddie concluded. “I like it here. This place feels good.”

  “But you’re gonna be a vice president someday,” Max argued. “You’d be giving up literally millions of dollars. What does Rhonda say? What about the kids?”

  “The kids’ college funds are taken care of. As for Rhonda, she wants out of New York. She doesn’t need much, never did. She would love it here.”

  Max could hardly believe his good fortune. Eddie was one of the best salespeople Max had ever met, in any industry. “When can you start?”

  They worked out a few details and shook hands on it, after which Max was eager to share the news. Jane was the first person he wanted to tell. But when he checked her office, it was empty.

  He checked the break room; she wasn’t there, either. Maybe she was talking to Carol. But when he entered the reception room he didn’t
see Jane. Just Carol, looking fidgety and worried.

  “Oh, there you are.”

  “Where’s Jane?”

  “She wanted to wait for you to get out of your meeting, but in the end she couldn’t. She made some excuse…in fact, I think she said something about packing. If you two are taking another business trip, you might want to let me know.”

  Packing? That didn’t sound good.

  “Did I not tell you?” Eddie said. “It’s too late.”

  Max’s blood pounded in his ears. It couldn’t be. She wouldn’t accept another job. Of course she had to think about what was best for herself and Kaylee, but…no. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions until he’d talked to her.

  “She didn’t look happy,” Carol said. “You didn’t do something to upset her, did you?”

  As usual, Carol said exactly what was on her mind. “Not that I know of.” Everything had been fine this morning, although Kaylee’s untimely interruption hadn’t sat well with Jane.

  “Carol, Eddie’s our new account executive. Give him all the appropriate paperwork, would you?” It wasn’t how he wanted to make the announcement. But suddenly his priorities had shifted. “I have to make some calls.” Or rather, one call. What had Jane wanted to talk about?

  He stepped into his office and dialed Jane, first her cell, then her home phone. She didn’t answer either.

  Hell, Port Clara wasn’t that big. He would just go find her. And he would make damn sure she wasn’t tempted to sell out to the first fast-talking headhunter who crossed her path.

  JANE SNIFFED BACK TEARS as she packed up her kitchen into cardboard boxes. She’d been putting this off. Since she wasn’t fit to focus on artwork, and she couldn’t possibly talk to Max while his brother was here, she’d decided it would be a good time to pack.

  One nice thing about living on a boat—packing didn’t take long. Most of her possessions—those few things Scott hadn’t claimed—were already in storage.

  The tears weren’t because she was leaving the Princess II for good. She mourned the loss of a relationship that hadn’t even really gotten started. The time simply wasn’t right for her and Max.

  His priority was his business. And hers was her daughter. When Kaylee was older and could understand more, then Jane might try dating again. But now, it wasn’t working. Kaylee had formed such a strong attachment, and so quickly…Jane had made a mistake, and it was time to undo it. Clearly she wasn’t ready for a relationship. She needed to be just Jane for a while, so she could be sure she wasn’t grabbing on to the first available man because she wanted security, as she’d done with Scott.

  Max didn’t represent security anyway. He’d told her flat out not to count on commitment from him. He’d just escaped from a job and a family that were constricting him. Why would he jump into another situation where he would feel obligated to put other people’s needs ahead of his own?

  Anyway, his last serious relationship had ended when the woman wanted permanence and Max didn’t.

  An emphatic knock at her door made her drop a frying pan she was about to pack, which barely missed her foot. She whirled around and saw a very anxious face peering through the window.

  Max. Oh dear. She wasn’t ready to face him, but he’d caught her playing hooky from work, so she hurried to unlock the hatch and let him in.

  At first he just stood there, and they stared at each other mutely. The bewildered look on his face made her heart ache, and she wanted to shrink away from it.

  Surely when she explained, he would understand.

  “Come in, Max,” she finally managed.

  He walked down the three steps, all the while taking in her, the salon, the half-filled boxes and bubble wrap. “You’re moving?”

  She wanted to touch him, to make some connection with him, but the urge was inappropriate just now. “Well, yes.”

  He stared at her and she looked away. How in the world was she going to explain this to him?

  “Did something go wrong with your divorce settlement? I swear, if Scott swindled you—”

  “No, it has nothing to do with him.”

  “Then what’s going on? You said this morning you needed to talk to me. So talk.”

  “I was upset, and your brother was visiting and I wasn’t sure if I could hold it together in front of him. I know it’s important to you to make a good impression on Eddie—”

  “To hell with Eddie. Why are you upset? If you got a better job offer, why didn’t you tell me? I know I’m the one who said I didn’t want to hold you back, but we can talk about a raise—”

  “What? Max, I would never walk out because I got a better job offer.”

  “Are you walking out, though?”

  She hesitated, not wanting to just blurt it out this way. If there was any way she could stay on…“I’ll stay until you find someone to replace me. I won’t leave you in the lurch, I promise.”

  “Jane, you better tell me what’s going on.”

  She was perilously close to losing it again. It would be so much better if she could explain things calmly and rationally. But her emotions were too close to the surface, and Max was agitated.

  Max squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Is it another man? Oh, God, you’re not going back to Scott, are you?”

  “Max! That you could even think I would do that—” She almost growled in frustration, turning away and stomping to the kitchen to continue her packing. He had to know her better than that.

  She chucked a couple more pans into the box, not even bothering to cushion them with paper. They made loud, satisfying clunks as they hit. But out of the corner of her eye, she also watched Max.

  He walked to one of the chairs, moved a half-filled box to the floor, and sat down. Then he reached for a roll of brown packing tape, ripped off a few inches, and slapped it over his mouth.

  The gesture brought a smile to her face, and her anger evaporated. In that moment she realized she loved him. Loved him and was in love with him. A man who could admit he was wrong, one with a sense of humor even in a crisis—how often did she run across one of those?

  But her being in love wasn’t enough fix everything.

  Jane abandoned her packing and cleared a place for herself on the coffee table across from him. They were close, but not touching.

  “The problem is Kaylee.”

  Max’s eyes filled with panic, and he ripped the tape off his mouth. “Oh, God, she’s not sick, is she?”

  “No. But this morning, after she saw us…well, she’s ready for you to move in permanently and be her daddy.”

  Jane expected some sort of panic reaction from Max, but instead his face softened. “Oh.”

  “I tried to explain the situation, but you can’t reason with an almost-four-year-old.”

  “What happened? Did she throw a tantrum or what?”

  “I could have handled that. But it was worse. She was…bereft. That’s the only word I can use to explain it. She cried, but quietly. It was the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed, worse than seeing her fall and scrape her knee. Even worse than watching Scott walk away from her in that restaurant like she meant nothing to him.”

  Max looked almost bereft himself. “We’re breaking up?”

  “I don’t want to, believe me. But—”

  “So is the answer that you just won’t have a social life?”

  “I can have a social life,” she argued.

  “Sure. Of course. And maybe you can date men that Kaylee doesn’t like so well, ones who ignore her and consider her a pest, so she won’t get attached.”

  “Max, please. You’re not making this any easier.”

  “I don’t intend to make it easy. I intend to make it damn difficult for you to walk out of my life. Have you really thought about what you’re doing?”

  “I’ve thought of nothing else. I don’t see any other choice.”

  Max stood up and headed for the door. But he didn’t leave. He opened the hatch, took a couple of deep breaths. Jane just sat there h
elplessly.

  Finally he closed the hatch and turned to face her again. “Look, if you really feel you don’t want to see me outside of work, that’s one thing, but you don’t have to leave the Remington Agency. I promised you our seeing each other wouldn’t interfere with your job, and it won’t.”

  “Yes, it will,” she said, her voice ringing with resignation. “You know it will. I don’t think I could see you day in and day out and just pretend to be friends. We can’t go backward.”

  Jane’s eyes filled with tears, and she buried her face in her hands.

  Max closed the distance between them with two steps, and she prayed he wouldn’t try to comfort her. But apparently comfort wasn’t what he had in mind.

  “Jane Selwyn, I never took you for a quitter. One of the reasons I hired you was because of your gumption. The way you attack problems and just go for what you want—it’s a rare quality. It’s also one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

  Jane’s world tilted on its axis for a brief moment. She was so startled her tears stopped abruptly and she peeked through her fingers up at Max. Had he really just said what she thought he said?

  But yes, she could see it there in his eyes, the love shining through.

  He sat back down in the chair across from her. “There’s an easy solution to this whole thing, and I can’t believe you didn’t see it. We’ll get married.”

  “What?”

  “It’s perfect. Kaylee wants me to be her daddy, I’ll be her daddy.”

  “But…but…” Oh, my God. Jane sprang up from her chair. She needed to move, to pace, but every direction she stepped there was another box or piece of furniture. Boat cabins were no good for pacing.

  “You have a problem with this?” he asked, as if he’d just brought her a coffee with too much cream rather than confidently declaring they should spend the rest of their lives together.

  “You can’t just go around marrying someone because their kid wants you as a daddy!” she exploded. “There are a million reasons we can’t get married. I just got divorced. You’re my boss. You’re a confirmed bachelor—”

  “Who says?”

  “You. At the Hotel Alexander. You said you didn’t like dating single moms angling for marriage. Then you said it again, after we made love the first time. You told me you weren’t ready to settle down.”