A Bargain with the Boss

by Barbara Dunlop

  She looked for a graceful way forward. “Tell me this isn’t the first time Tucker Transportation bought somebody a dress.”

  “This isn’t the first time Tucker Transportation bought somebody a dress.”

  She gave him a skeptical frown.

  “I think,” he added. “Okay, I don’t care. My rationale is sound.” He glanced at his watch. “And we’re running out of time. You might want to do something with your hair.”

  “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  The saleslady piped up. “We have a lovely salon in the hotel.”

  “Can you get her an appointment?” asked Tuck.

  “Right away.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Amber muttered. But she scooped the dress from Tuck.

  It would be, by far, the most luxurious thing she’d ever worn. But if the man was determined to drop that much money for a single evening, who was she to fight him?

  * * *

  In the opulent ballroom, Tuck had to struggle to keep from staring at Amber. He’d expected the dress to transform her from her usual librarian look. But he’d had no idea the effect would be this dramatic.

  The salon had styled her hair in an updo, wispy around her temples, showing off her graceful neck and highlighting her amazing cheekbones. Her makeup was subtle, but deeper and richer than she normally wore. Her thick, dark lashes and artfully lined eyes reflected the deep blue of her dress.

  At the moment, he was trying hard to concentrate on Norm Oliphant’s description of his newly evolving supply chain, but he was torn between watching Amber and glaring at the dozens of men checking her out. Didn’t they realize she was with him?

  Dinner was over and a music ensemble was filing into the room. Lighting was being subtly adjusted, dimmed around the perimeter, slightly brighter to highlight the polished wood dance floor.

  “I hope there’s some good news about your father,” said Norm.

  Tuck checked his wandering mind and told himself to behave like Dixon. Kassandra had been gorgeous as well, but he was certain his brother had never let that detract from business discussions.

  “We’re all encouraged,” Tuck said to Norm.

  “So you’ve seen him recently?” asked Norm’s wife, Regina.

  Tuck wasn’t sure how to answer that. Truth was he hadn’t seen his father since they’d move him to Boston. But how was that going to sound?

  Amber smoothly and unexpectedly stepped in. “Tuck has become so pivotal to the day-to-day operations, Jamison is insistent that he focus on the company. Jamison has his wife with him, of course. She’s been a stalwart support every day during his recovery. But he gathers peace of mind knowing Tuck is at the helm.”

  Tuck could have cheered. It was all lies, of course, made up on the spot, which made her explanation all the more impressive.

  “Where’s Dixon in all of this?” asked Norm.

  Amber stepped slightly closer to both Norm and Regina, lowering her voice, throwing Norm off balance with the intensity of her gaze. “I’m sure you heard what happened. With Dixon’s wife?”

  “We did,” said Regina, leaning in.

  Amber nodded. “Tuck insisted Dixon take some time to himself. He left a contact number, but we haven’t wanted to bother him. You know how brothers can be when one is betrayed. They value loyalty above everything.”

  Regina glanced at her husband.

  “Loyalty,” Norm agreed with a nod.

  “In business as well as life,” said Amber.

  Her words were bang on, the inflection perfect. Tuck had to glance at her to convince himself she’d done it on purpose.

  He caught her gaze and realized she had. She had skillfully and adroitly reminded Norm of his long-standing business arrangement with Tucker Transportation. She was frighteningly good at this.

  Then Amber gave the man a dazzling smile.

  Norm raised his glass to Tuck in a toast. “Good of you to come tonight.”

  “Good of you to invite us.” Tuck took a drink with him.

  The small orchestra came up with opening bars on the opposite side of the hall.

  “We’ll be in touch next week,” Norm said to Tuck. “I hear Zachary Ingles moved on.”

  “I’m afraid he thought the grass was greener,” Tuck said with a disapproving frown, deciding to stick with the loyalty theme.

  “Don’t like to see that,” said Norm.

  “I’ve promoted Lucas Steele to vice president. Good man. He’s been with us for over a decade.”

  “Worked his way up through the ranks?” asked Norm, looking pleased by the notion.

  “Absolutely,” said Tuck, though he had no idea exactly how far through the ranks Lucas had worked his way up. “Corporately, we like to nurture talent.”

  Tuck was tossing things out on the fly, but it seemed like a vague enough statement to be true of most companies.

  “Have Lucas give my guys a call,” said Norm.

  “First thing Monday,” said Tuck.

  Norm smiled at Regina. “Shall we dance, dear?”

  “My pleasure, darling.”

  Tuck and Amber watched the two walk away.

  “You were good,” she said. “Very confident, very much in charge.”

  “Me? You’re the one who deserves an acting award. My father gathers peace of mind knowing I’m in charge?”

  “I’m sure he does. Or he would. If he knew what I know.”

  Tuck arched a brow. “Dixon left a contact number?”

  She gave a sly smile. “He did. It didn’t work in the end, but he did leave a number.”

  “Remind me to listen very carefully to how you phrase things.”

  “You don’t already?”

  Tuck started to smile, but then he caught another man eyeing Amber and sent him a withering stare.

  “We should dance,” he said.

  “Why?”

  Because she might not be his date, but she’d arrived with him. He wasn’t used to having women poached from under his nose, and he wasn’t about to start now.

  “It’ll look good,” he said, taking her hand.

  “To who?” But she came easily as he started walking.

  “Norm and Regina.”

  “You think?”

  “Sure.”

  Why wouldn’t it look good? It was a perfectly acceptable excuse. They made it to the dance floor and Tuck turned her into his arms.

  She fit perfectly. Of course she fit perfectly. And she smoothly matched his rhythm. Within seconds, it was as if they’d been dancing together for years. He immediately relaxed, drawing her closer.

  “Thank you for all that,” he said into the intimacy of their embrace.

  “Just doing my job.”

  “You’re doing it extraordinarily well.”

  “I guess that’s what you get when you pay double overtime.”

  Tuck smiled at that. “You’re a mercenary at heart.”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Money makes life easier.”

  “It can,” he agreed. “But it can also be a burden.”

  Right now, Tuck felt the weight of every employee who depended on Tucker Transportation.

  Her tone turned teasing. “Spoken like a man who just spent a mortgage payment on a dress.”

  “In order to ensure hundreds of other people can make their next mortgage payment.”

  “Do you have any idea how that feels?” she asked.

  “To make a mortgage payment?” He wouldn’t pretend he did. “The house has been in our family for a couple of generations.”

  “To worry about making your mortgage payment. To worry about paying for food, clothes, medical bills.”

  “You know I don’t.”

 
They danced in silence. He could tell she was annoyed with him. He didn’t really blame her. From the outside looking in, his life must seem like a walk in the park.

  Then it hit him, what she might be saying.

  “Do you earn enough money?” he asked.

  She glanced up in obvious surprise. “What?”

  “Should I give you a raise?”

  “Where did that come from?”

  “It sounded as though you were having money problems.”

  “You pay me fairly.”

  He searched her expression. He could tell the conversation was hitting very close to home for her. If it wasn’t now, then when? When had she been worried about meeting expenses?

  “Your childhood?” he suggested.

  “This isn’t about me.”

  “Your childhood?” he repeated.

  “Fine. We were poor. My mom was single. She drank. A lot.”

  He digested the information. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  The orchestra switched songs, but he kept on dancing.

  “It was a long time ago,” said Amber. “Truth is, it impacted Jade more than it impacted me.”

  “How so?”

  “She had a hard time settling into life. She quit school, left town. Then she bounced from job to job. She always picked the wrong men.”

  Interesting, but Tuck was far more curious about Amber than he was about Jade. “And you? Did you pick the wrong men?”

  She gave a little laugh. “I didn’t pick any men at all. Well, not many. I had a boyfriend in high school. But then I graduated and started working. I took a lot of night-school courses at community college, so there wasn’t much time for a social life.”

  “You don’t date?” Tuck couldn’t help but contrast his own active social life.

  “Occasionally. Casually.” She glanced around the opulent ballroom. “I have to say, this is the most extravagant event I’ve ever attended. I guess I should thank you for the experience.”

  “Anytime.” He was serious.

  His brain ticked through the information she’d just given him. He liked the idea of what he thought she had to mean.

  “So you’re saying...” He tried to frame the question. “How do I put this...”

  “Don’t you dare ask me about my sex life.”

  As if anything on earth would stop him. “Tell me about your sex life.”

  “Shut up.”

  He gave a brief chuckle. “I’ll tell you about mine.”

  “I’ve read about yours.”

  “Not the details.”

  “Nobody wants the details.”

  “I disagree. Reporters ask me about them all the time.” He maneuvered them around the crowd to a quieter spot on the dance floor.

  “Do you answer?”

  “No. If I did, they’d be disappointed.”

  “Did you just tell me you’re a bad lover?”

  “What? No. I meant that I’m not as practiced as people assume.” He hesitated, then went for it. “Not that you’d have a basis for comparison.”

  “You’re outrageous.” But her tone was laced with amusement.

  “I won’t argue with that. But I’m also available. You know, if you’re in dire need of—”

  The end of her fist connected sharply with his shoulder, startling him.

  “Ouch.”

  “You better believe, ouch,” she sniffed with mock offense. “I had a boyfriend.”

  “Not since high school.”

  “And I’ve had offers since then.”

  He knew that was true. “At least a dozen tonight alone.”

  She looked puzzled.

  “You’re not paying attention, are you?” he asked.

  “To what?”

  “To all the men in the room eyeing you up.”

  She seemed surprised. “It’s the dress. And maybe the hair. Probably the shoes.”

  “It’s all of that,” he agreed. “But it’s more than just that.”

  He couldn’t help himself. He splayed his hand across her back, urging her close, molding their bodies together.

  “Tuck.”

  “I won’t pretend I’m not attracted to you.”

  The word attracted was the understatement of the century. He was wild about her, burning hot for her, growing more so by the hour.

  “Jackson’s here.”

  It took a moment for her words to make sense. He’d pictured their conversation taking an entirely different turn.

  She signaled the direction with a nod and Tuck easily spotted Jackson in the crowd. He stood out in blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a worn leather jacket. It was easy to tell from his expression that he had some news.

  Tuck quickly escorted Amber from the dance floor, meeting up with Jackson at the edge. The three of them made for the double doors that led to a quiet foyer.

  “Dixon bought a car,” said Jackson when they emerged into the relative privacy of the long, high-ceilinged, glass-walled room.

  “When?” asked Tuck.

  “Five weeks ago, a three-year-old Audi convertible. He paid cash.”

  “Is he still in Scottsdale?”

  “Didn’t stay here long,” said Jackson. “We tracked the car to a marina in San Diego.”

  Tuck’s anticipation rose. “Did you find Dixon?”

  “There, he bought a sailboat.”

  Tuck waited for Jackson to elaborate.

  “Forty-footer. Paid cash.”

  The situation was getting stranger by the second.

  “I thought you were watching his bank accounts,” said Tuck.

  “We are. Does your brother normally carry that kind of walking-around money?”

  Tuck didn’t know. But that did seem like a lot of money to have at his fingertips. How long had Dixon planned this little adventure?

  “Did you find the sailboat?” asked Amber.

  “It left the marina weeks ago and hasn’t been back.”

  They all stared at each other in silence.

  “I doubt he sank,” said Tuck. “There’d have been a distress call. We’d have heard from the authorities by now.”

  “Probably,” said Jackson.

  “Was it equipped to sail solo?”

  “It was.”

  “Something’s not right,” said Amber.

  “No kidding,” Tuck agreed. There were plenty of things not right in this.

  “When he headed for Scottsdale,” she said, “even though it was a secret, he left a letter for your dad, and he left a number with me. He was that careful. There’s no way he’d sail off into the Pacific without telling anyone at all.”

  “That’s exactly what he did,” said Tuck.

  His worry about his brother was rapidly turning to annoyance. What had Dixon been thinking?

  Amber was shaking her head. “Not without any word at all. I can understand that he didn’t like it at Highland Luminance. And clearly he can afford a nice boat. But he’s not irresponsible. He’s trying to clear his head so he can do a good job at Tucker Transportation. He’s not trying to harm it.”

  “Trying or not,” said Tuck, “that’s exactly what he’s doing.” He really wished Amber would stop defending Dixon.

  “He...” She snapped her fingers. “That’s it.”

  “What’s it?” asked Tuck.

  “Jamison,” she said. “Dixon would have contacted Jamison. He didn’t know anything about the heart attack. As far as he’s concerned, your dad’s still running the company. We searched through Dixon’s accounts. And we’ve been monitoring Jamison’s work email, but not his personal email.”

  Jackson swore under his breath. He was instantly on his phone g
iving instructions to one of his staff.

  Tuck had to admit it was possible. It was even likely. It certainly made more sense than anything else right now. For weeks now, Dixon could have been operating under the assumption they knew his plans. He thought Jamison was running the show. He had no idea Tuck was making a mess of it.

  Dixon was still gone. And Tuck still had to find him. But at least it made a little bit of sense now.

  * * *

  It was late into the night, and the three of them were back in Tuck’s hotel suite when Jackson received a copy of an email from his investigator. The original had been sent by Dixon to Jamison’s little-used personal email address. Amber was relieved they’d found an answer and happy there was a logical explanation for Dixon’s behavior.

  “It was sent from an internet café the day he left San Diego,” said Jackson from where he was sitting at the round dining table. “He says he plans to spend a few weeks sailing down the Pacific coast. He apologizes but tells your dad to have confidence in you. He knows you can do it.”

  Tuck shook his head. “Not under these circumstances.”

  He’d parked himself in an armchair beside the flickering gas fireplace.

  Amber had chosen the sofa. She’d kicked the shoes off her sore feet and curled them beneath her. The cushions were soft under her body, while the heat from the fire warmed her skin. Her brain had turned lethargic at the end of such a long day and she would have loved to let herself fall asleep.

  “Can you answer Dixon’s email?” Tuck asked Jackson.

  “Easy. But he’ll have to stop somewhere and log on in order to see it.”

  “He might not check,” said Amber. “The point of the whole exercise was to get away from everything.”

  “He’s been away from everything,” said Tuck. “It’s time for him to come back.”

  “Before he’s ready?” she asked. She understood Tuck’s frustration, but Dixon had a right to take some time to himself.

  Tuck sat up straight and his voice rose. “How much time does the guy need?”

  “You tell me.” Her annoyance gave her a renewed shot of energy. “You’re the expert. You’ve had nothing but time to yourself for years now.”

  He frowned. “Not by choice.”

  “They held a gun to your head?”