Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1)

by Claire Boston

  * * *

  Bridget tried to keep at a distance from Jack for the remainder of the day, but it wasn’t easy. Her knee kept brushing against his as they ate dessert, as if it had a mind of its own. Then on the car trip home, it felt as though the back seat had shrunk – she was practically sitting on top of him.

  Why did his presence need to be so strong?

  When they finally arrived home, she jumped out of the car, glad to be free of him.

  “What time does the game start?” Jack asked as he got out.

  She wanted to curse. She’d forgotten Tanya had invited them to stay for the football game. Perhaps she could fake a headache and hide out in her room until they were gone.

  But that would mean she’d miss the game. Jack wasn’t worth missing a game for.

  “We’ve got an hour or so,” Tanya replied. “Time enough to order pizza.”

  Bridget couldn’t eat another bite. The apple pie she’d had for dessert had taken up the remaining space in her stomach. All she wanted to do was take a shower, climb into her pajamas, and watch the game with Tanya. The pajama game night had been a tradition for them for as long as she could remember.

  But it wasn’t going to happen tonight.

  She sighed as she dropped her purse off in her bedroom and then headed for the kitchen to offer the guys a drink.

  “I’m going to take a shower and get into my jammies,” Tanya said. She beckoned to Hal. “Wanna join me?”

  Without a word, but with a big grin, he followed Tanya.

  Great. Just great. Tanya was able to wear her pajamas. It wasn’t fair. Besides Bridget didn’t want to be left alone with Jack. He was too much of a temptation.

  “Drink?” she offered, holding up a bottle of beer.

  “Sure.” He took it from her.

  She stepped back quickly and looked in the fridge for something non-alcoholic. She’d drunk enough today. Pulling out a bottle of orange juice, she poured herself a glass.

  Jack was still standing there, watching her.

  “Have a seat,” she offered, indicating the sofa.

  She waited for him to sit, then she took a seat on the other sofa. She sipped her drink, not sure what to say to him.

  “It was a fun day,” Jack said, his voice loud in the silence.

  She nodded. “Tanya has a knack for making things fun.”

  “I think it’s the pair of you,” he said mildly.

  She didn’t agree with him but she said nothing. Tanya had always drawn the fun out of her. When they’d first moved to Houston she remembered how quiet their house was. It had taken a year for her mother to come out of her grief shell enough to start bringing the music and fun back. By that stage, she and Tanya were firm friends and Tanya always led her into mischief.

  She cast her mind around for something to say. “So what was the last NFL game you watched?”

  “I don’t remember. It was before I went to Australia.”

  “So what’s the football like over there?”

  “No padding, full contact, and you’re only allowed to run a certain distance before you have to bounce the ball.”

  “Sounds weird.”

  “It took some getting used to, but the crowds are huge.”

  Silence fell again and then she heard Tanya giggling in the bathroom. She did not want to think about what they were doing in there.

  Ugh.

  She reached for the television remote. “Let’s check if the pre-game show has started.”

  He nodded. She could almost feel his dare to bring up the subject of their attraction. But she didn’t do dares. She was happy to let things lie.

  Finding the right channel, she focused her attention on the television. When Hal and Tanya finally came out of the bathroom, she was engrossed in the sports commentary on the Texans’ chances this year.

  “Have you ordered the pizza yet?” Tanya asked.

  “No. We thought we’d wait for you,” she said.

  After a brief discussion about toppings, Tanya ordered a couple of pizzas. Then she came over to the sofa. “Scoot over, Bridge. You sit next to Jack.”

  Bridget scowled at her friend but Tanya waved her hand. “Go on.”

  Concealing her sigh, she moved so Hal and Tanya could sit on the couch together. She tucked her feet up next to her and leaned on the armrest. She couldn’t get any further away from Jack, but his heat pulsed out toward her. This was ridiculous.

  Luckily the game started, and it was on-the-edge-of-your-seat brilliant. The lead swapped multiple times and came right down to the last seconds. The Texans had possession and as the seconds ticked down they kicked a field goal.

  Bridget leapt to her feet as the ball sailed through the air toward the goal posts. She held her breath and then shrieked when the ball made it over the crossbar. “Yes.” She hugged Tanya next to her, gave a celebratory booty shake, and in her excitement, turned and hugged Jack.

  Bad idea.

  His arms swept around her, pulling her close and before she could think, his lips met hers. Instant heat. Desire shot straight through her as her body recognized his lips. She clung on to him, pulling him closer, matching his passion with her own. To hell with what was right. She wanted him. She slipped her tongue between his lips and he groaned.

  “Get a room, you two.”

  The voice spiked through her consciousness and reason flooded back to her. Holy hell! She shoved him away, stepping back, breathing heavily. What had she done?

  She met Jack’s eyes. He was waiting for her reaction. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

  She cleared her throat. “Good game.”

  She grabbed her glass from the coffee table and retreated to the kitchen. Behind her Tanya said, “Hal! You shouldn’t have interrupted them.”

  Bridget was glad he had. Her attraction to Jack would lead nowhere.

  She placed her glass on the sink and turned. She flinched. Jack was right behind her. She held up a hand. “Don’t.” She needed some space.

  “Bridget you can’t keep ignoring this thing between us.” He kept his voice low so the others couldn’t hear him.

  Wanna bet? “Jack, we’re work colleagues. You’re my boss. What will HR say if they find out we’re involved?” Her stomach twisted itself into knots just thinking about it.

  “It’s none of their damn business.”

  “Of course it is. All it’ll take is one person saying I’m getting preferential treatment because I’m sleeping with you and it will open up a whole can of worms.”

  She hoped outlining the consequences would get through to him. Her rational side was clinging on to control by its nails. All she wanted to do was throw herself back into his arms – to hell with the consequences.

  “So we don’t tell them. Don’t tell anyone. At work we continue as we have been, and we see each other outside of work.”

  Her body went cold. She’d heard that before.

  “No.” Her tone was ice. She shook her head. “I won’t pretend.” She would not be fooled again. She moved to walk past him but he put his hand out to stop her.

  “Why not?” His voice lowered. “What happened to you?” There was compassion in his voice.

  She could have ignored him if he’d been demanding. She sighed. Maybe if she told him the whole story, if he knew about the Lionel affair, he’d stop pushing, he’d understand.

  Behind Jack, Tanya took Hal’s hand and led him to her bedroom. She held up crossed fingers.

  Bridget closed her eyes briefly. “Have a seat.”

  He sat next to her on the sofa, his knees brushing hers. She shifted further away.

  Where to begin?

  She’d never told another guy about what had happened, hadn’t had anyone remotely serious since. She took a deep breath. “A couple of years ago, I was involved with a guy called Lionel. We met at work – a different company from Dionysus – and hit it off. He was my boss.”

  Jack was silent, waiting for her to continue.

  “I
didn’t think much of it at first. All I knew was I liked him and he liked me, but after our first date he said we needed to keep it between ourselves. That people at work might talk.” She huffed out a breath. “It made the whole relationship much more exciting, almost illicit.”

  “Was he married?”

  She shook her head. “I would never date a married man.”

  “I thought that might be why he wanted to keep it secret.”

  “No. But he was watching out for himself.” She sighed. “We used to talk work all the time. He’d ask me for my opinions and I’d give him all of my ideas. It never bothered me that he took credit for them. He said they’d have a better chance of getting the go-ahead if the suggestions came from him, and the safety of the site was the most important thing.” She’d been so caught up in the adventure of it.

  “Sounds like a schmuck. So what happened?”

  Bridget hesitated. This was the hardest part. “One of the projects I suggested was approved. While I was waiting for Lionel one day, I flicked through the project file and noticed he’d taken a short-cut, used inferior quality materials to save some money. I asked him why and he made some excuse about management reducing the funds. I didn’t question it.” Her gut had been uneasy, but she’d trusted Lionel, she’d thought she was in love with him.

  She closed her eyes, her voice soft. “Then there was an incident. Three people injured, one had third degree burns on ten percent of his body. They traced the root cause back to the inferior quality materials.” She sighed. “I should have said something. I should have insisted he replace the items.”

  “Did Lionel get fired?”

  Bridget laughed. “Of course not. He came clean.” The sarcasm was clear in her voice. “He admitted the project was all my idea, that we were having an affair and he’d let me run the whole project. He’d been too caught up in our relationship to check what I was doing. He’d trusted me.”

  Jack’s mouth dropped open. “How could they believe him?”

  “I’d raised a couple of purchase requests for him. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. He wanted the project completed quickly and if he’d raised the requisition he would have had to wait for his supervisor to approve it. If I did it, he could approve it and have the goods straight away.”

  “The requisitions were for the inferior materials?”

  She nodded.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  His anger was a balm. “It was my own fault. I ignored my instincts.”

  “The hell it’s your fault. The man used you and didn’t have the balls to admit when he was wrong.” Jack’s eyes flashed fire and his voice was raised. He took a breath to calm himself. “What happened to you?”

  “There was an investigation. I was basically told I could quit or they would fire me. I quit.”

  “They had no right to do that.”

  “It turned out the company had a “no relationship” policy. Lionel and I were never supposed to be in a relationship.” It was another reason why Lionel had wanted to keep it a secret.

  “How hard was it for you to find a job after?”

  Her smile was grim. “If you ask anyone in the industry about the Lionel affair, they’ll be able to tell you all about it. I was lucky Jeremy had worked with us, knew what Lionel was like, and convinced the manager at Dionysus to take a chance on me.”

  “The man has good sense.”

  Jeremy had been betrayed by Lionel as well.

  “What happened to the men who were injured?” Jack asked.

  “They recovered. The one who was burned the worst has scars, but he’s alive. He couldn’t go back to working on the plant so he took my place as safety advisor. I hear he’s dedicated.”

  “And Lionel?”

  “He’s still there. I occasionally run into him at safety workshops.” She’d worked through the betrayal and her anger, and was trying to be civil to him.

  She wasn’t working too hard at it.

  Jack placed his hand on her thigh. “I understand why you don’t want to be in a work relationship,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I would never do that to you, you know that, right?”

  Sadness swept through her and she placed her hand over his to soften the blow. “No, I don’t. We don’t know each other well enough, Jack. I thought I knew Lionel … I can’t – no, I won’t go through that again.”

  He frowned briefly before he sighed. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

  She seriously wanted him to, but she couldn’t ignore the Lionel factor. “No.”

  “How about friends?”

  “I’d like that.”

  He leaned forward. “Just one last kiss,” he murmured.

  “Just one,” she agreed.

  The kiss was soft, sweet, and oh so luscious. Bridget didn’t want it to end. She felt it right down to her toes.

  When they eventually parted, Jack cleared his throat and got to his feet. “I’d better go.”

  She nodded. If she spoke, she’d ask him to stay.

  He grabbed Hal’s car keys from the table. “Tell Hal to give me a call if he needs to be picked up tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” She followed him to the front door. “Drive safely.”

  It was an inane thing to say but they both knew what she meant. She closed the door before he drove away. She couldn’t watch him do that. She went into her bedroom and flopped on to the bed.

  She’d done the right thing. She was sure of it.

  She just wished she didn’t feel so awful.

  Chapter 9

  “So spill,” Carly said as she got into the car the next morning.

  Bridget handed her the jewelry box, hoping to distract her.

  It worked for a couple of minutes as her sister oohed and aahed over it and then turned back to Bridget. “Why were you out with your boss yesterday?”

  She focused on the traffic. “He’s Tanya’s boyfriend’s brother. Tanya thought it would be good to do something together.”

  “Didn’t you say that guy you met a couple of weeks ago was named Jack?”

  Carly never forgot details. Damn it.

  “Same guy.”

  Carly turned to face her. “The guy you told Mama about is your new boss?”

  “Yeah. What a coincidence, right?”

  “Oh, chiquita. I’m sorry. What are you going to do?”

  “Nothing. Last night I told him about Lionel. We’re going to be friends.”

  “If you told him about Lionel he must mean something to you.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Carolina. I’m not risking myself that way.” Bridget had made her decision. She didn’t need anyone making her doubt it now.

  “What’s Jack like?” Carly wasn’t going to let it drop.

  “He’s nice. He listens to my suggestions at work and got the financial approval for those issues I was telling you about.”

  That distracted her sister. “Really? You’ve been trying to get that approved for months.”

  “I know. He went into the management meeting, outlined the issues, and Kevin told him to call the CFO. I don’t know what he did but he’s got a magic touch.”

  Bad choice of words.

  “Or he’s male,” Carly said.

  Bridget didn’t answer. She could be right.

  “Are you sure ignoring your attraction is for the best? He’s got great taste in antiques.” She ran her hand over the box.

  Bridget laughed. “It is. I need to be focused at work. No one would trust me if they knew I was dating my boss.”

  “Maybe you could get a new job.”

  Bridget scowled at her and then returned her gaze to the road. “I’m not leaving my job because of a guy. Dionysus gave me a chance when no one else would. I owe them.”

  “They’ve been working you to the bone and ignoring your advice for the last six months. You don’t owe them anything. I’m sure no one remembers the Lionel affair any more.”

  Bridget shook her head. She
wasn’t leaving her job for a man ever again. She would go on her own terms when she was good and ready. Changing the subject, she asked, “What was wrong with you yesterday? You shouldn’t have been working on a Saturday.”

  Carly sighed. “You know how it is. No rest for the wicked.”

  “You’re hardly wicked. Besides, you’re the CEO. Shouldn’t you have minions to do the grunt work for you?”

  “Not this stuff.” She sounded really tired.

  Bridget glanced at her. “What is it?”

  “Just business. Did you hear they might have found Jacinta and Mario’s mother?”

  She knew her sister was deliberately changing the subject, but she let her. “Zita mentioned something about Wisconsin.”

  “No, she’s in Mississippi.”

  Bridget sat back as Carly told her the details. She would have to get to the bottom of Carly’s worries another time.

  * * *

  Lunch at Carmen’s was as loud as ever. She had six foster children at the moment and the three new girls were fitting in well. A couple of them were helping with lunch, the youngest, Mario, was setting the table and two of the pregnant teenagers were sitting on the couch, resting.

  The aroma of chili drifted through the house as Bridget and Carly walked in.

  “Hola, Mamá,” Bridget said, giving her mother a hug.

  “Mi niñita.” She hugged Bridget tightly. “How are things with your Jack?”

  “There isn’t anything, Mama. It didn’t work out.”

  Her mother tutted. “That’s sad.”

  “It sure is, Mama.” Bridget scurried into the kitchen before her mother could ask anything else.

  “So what happened with Jack?” Zita asked, kissing her cheek.

  “Turns out he’s my new boss,” she said.

  “Oh.” Zita knew all about the Lionel affair. “No chance then?”

  Bridget shook her head.

  “That’s a shame.”

  Wasn’t it just? Not wanting to dwell on Jack she asked, “So what’s new here?”

  “I think we’ve found Mario and Jacinta’s mother,” Zita said. “She’s in Mississippi, not Wisconsin. Immigration are confirming and then I’ll take them home.”

  “Yeah, Carly was telling me. That’s fantastic.”