I think back to the stuffy lawyer’s office and the reading of the will. Was anything specifically said about the business? Knowing I was barely coherent during the reading, I can’t be sure. I shake my head, knowing Dad would have told me if anything was mentioned or if there was something I needed to know.
“Brooke,” Harper says softly. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking out loud.”
“It’s all right. I don’t want to sell Argo. It was Nate’s dream, and I want to keep it going for him.”
“Of course you do.” She smiles. “He would be so proud of you, and everyone is going to be so happy to find out you are working here.”
The phone rings and I’m thankful for the interruption. “I’ve gotta grab that,” Harper says, and she hustles back around the desk.
“I’m going to get a coffee, want me to grab you one too?” I ask as I make my way to the door that leads to the office area.
“God, I would love one,” she says as she picks up the phone. “Good Morning, Argo Investments. Harper speaking, how may I direct your call?”
Walking through the doorway to the open offices, I’m surprised at how quiet it is. I’ve only been down here a few times, as when I came to visit Nate I normally stayed upstairs or just came in quickly to meet him before we left to go somewhere.
There aren’t many cubicles as most the staff have their own offices, but there are a few desks set up in front of certain offices for the staff who have personal assistants.
I start my walk down the large, open room heading for the staff room positioned right at the back. I’m thankful many of the office doors are closed, as it saves me having to face everyone. I know mostly all of the staff. Some more than others, but I’ve met everyone at least once at the Christmas party or a work function Nate had dragged me to.
I receive my first sad smile from Sarah, Brett’s PA. I smile widely at her and give her a nod as I keep walking, hoping to show her there is no need for it.
I receive a few more on my long walk to get coffee and surprisingly, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I can do this. It’s probably more uncomfortable for them than it is for me. They don’t know what to say or how to act. I’m just happy no one has tried to actually stop me and talk to me.
“Brooke?” Damn it. Spoke too soon. “Brooke Willis?”
Recognising the voice brings more relief as my steps slow and my shoulders drop. I turn and practically run into his office where Bill is waiting in front of his desk with his arms open. I don’t hesitate to fall into them.
Enjoying the tight hold he has on me, I don’t loosen my grip, and neither does he. Hugging this wonderful man who is old enough to be my dad and cuddly enough to be a big teddy bear brings me such peace and comfort. I just want to stay wrapped in his arms.
Bill has worked for Argo since the start and has not only been a loyal employee and mentor for Nate, but a father figure to the both of us. Bill and his wife Veronica were unable to have children and had kind of adopted Nate and me as their own.
“How is Veronica?” I ask as Bill holds his arm out, gesturing for me to join him on the couch.
“She is great. Worried about you though.” There is concern in his eyes, and the shame is back and wrapping itself even tighter in my chest as I take a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry I never called to thank her for all the food and flowers she was leaving on my doorstep.” I look down at my fingers in my lap to avoid Bill’s eyes.
“Brooke, look at me.” My sad eyes meet Bill’s sincere ones. “Don’t be sorry. After you didn’t answer the door the first few times Veronica knew you didn’t want to see anyone, but she still wanted to help without bothering you.”
“I’ll call her later today, I promise.”
“Don’t worry about it today. I’ll make sure I tell her I saw you and how great you look. Call her whenever you’re ready. I know she’d be happy to hear from you and would love to see you.”
I nod, giving him a small smile. I didn’t realise how much I would miss these people, the people who I didn’t think were a big a part of my life, but they are. All together they make up one huge support system, which I should’ve surrounded myself with over the past three months, not avoided.
“Saxon mentioned he came to see you on Friday. He said he didn’t expect to see you any time soon.”
Wow, so Saxon does talk to someone. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s Bill; I know he’s been just as important to Saxon as he is to Nate and me.
“No. He probably didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for, but he did plant some seeds, which played on my mind after he left. I decided enough was enough.”
“Well, good for you. Does he know you’re here? I bet he’ll be excited to see you. He has been worried about you. I think he’ll secretly enjoy having you here, where he can keep an eye on you.” Bill chuckles.
“I don’t know about that.” I laugh.
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart, and I know Nate is proud of you, too. He would love that you are here. Especially since he hounded you for years to come and work at Argo. He’d laugh that this is what it took to make it happen.”
I laugh because he’s right. Nate would be giving me shit that it’s taken his death to get me here. I place my hand over his large one that’s resting on his knee and smile. “I’m really happy to be here, Bill. I have a good feeling about this.”
“Me too, sweetie, me too.” He pats my hand as he stands from the couch. “I have a conference call in five minutes, but come back and have lunch with me in an hour or so. I’ll get Harper to order from the coffee shop down the street.”
“Perfect, I’ll be back then.”
Stepping out of Bill’s office I feel someone step into line next to me. I glance quickly to see who it is, but the face is unfamiliar, although it has a large, knowing smile. I take a step to the side, feeling a little too close. “Hi,” I say cautiously.
“Brooke,” he says as he holds his hand out for me to shake.
“Yes, and you are?” I lightly place my hand in his pale and freckly one and give it a quick shake. His hand is clammy, and I quickly pull my own back.
“Paul Lucas.”
Smiling, I give him a small nod. The name sounds vaguely familiar. I wonder if this is the same guy Nate hired right before the accident. If so, I guess he lasted his three months’ probation.
As we reach the staff room door he moves aside to let me enter. I walk through the doorway and his hand lands on my lower back, ushering me in. My back automatically arches out of his touch as I step away from the door. That was weird.
I’m normally a touchy-feely person and have no problems with friendly contact, but that was a little too friendly for someone I just met.
Brushing it off, I make my way over to the coffee machine, keeping my back to Paul, feeling a little uncomfortable being alone with him. Maybe I’m just imagining things. He is probably just friendly and not sure how to act around the dead boss’s wife.
“Would you care for a coffee?” I offer, trying to do the polite thing.
“I would love one.”
“Milk?”
“Please.”
After pouring two cups of coffee, I turn to get the milk out of the fridge. I notice Paul’s eyes are glued to me, and it’s not to my face. My movement must disturb his gaze and his eyes shoot up to mine. A slow smile spreads across his face and a shiver runs down my body, and not in a good way.
Pouring the milk into the coffees, I act like I didn’t notice the blatant stare. I place his coffee on the table centred in the staff room so I can avoid passing it to him directly.
“Thanks,” he says as he reaches for the coffee and leans back against the kitchen counter. Well, this is awkward. Is he not going to take it to his office? He drinks his coffee as we stare at each other. I want to make a run for it but would have to pass him to reach the door. Great.
“So how long have you worked here?” I ask, trying to tame the uneasy atmosphere.
> “Only four months.”
“Right. Are you liking it?”
“Very much so, it’s a great place to work. So are you working here now?”
“Yes, today is my first day.” I don’t know what to say. I don’t know this guy from a bar of soap, don’t know how much he knows of the situation, and I’m not comfortable with him at all.
“Well, seeing we are both new maybe we can buddy up?”
Is he flirting with me? Holy shit, it has been a long time since someone has flirted with me and even longer since it was creepy flirting.
“Sorry?” I ask innocently.
“Buddy up. We can help each other settle in.”
Paul’s eyes roll over me from head to toe over the top of his coffee cup. His smile as he lowers the cup is appreciative, and I feel like a trapped animal.
I’m too scared to open my mouth to respond in case I can’t control the vomit I feel coming up. Just as I’m trying to swallow it back down, relief overtakes me as a familiar voice rings in my ears.
“Everything okay in here?”
Saxon. My body relaxes as he moves away from the door and around to my side.
“Everything’s great. I’m just introducing myself to Brooke and letting her know I’m here if she needs any help settling into the office,” Paul says, looking Saxon directly in the eyes.
“How’s that report going, Paul? You don’t really have time to be chatting it up in the staff room with a five o’clock deadline.” Saxon is glaring at Paul, and I’m not sure how much of the conversation he heard.
Paul doesn’t even flinch at Saxon’s hard words or cold stare. “It will be on your desk by three. Brooke, it was great to meet you. I look forward to seeing you around the office more.”
Before Paul has even left the staff room Saxon’s eyes are on me. I give Paul an awkward smile, and release the breath I didn’t know I was holding when he turns and leaves.
Looking up to Saxon, his eyes meet mine. He is studying me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I shrug. “Just meeting the new staff and saying hello to the others.” I plaster on a smile, trying to cover the lie. He narrows his eyes on me. Yep, he knows I’m lying.
“Did he say something to you?”
“No, just introduced himself and offered help if I needed anything as we are both new.”
He narrows his eyes again and sighs. “I just don’t like the guy.”
I laugh at him in an attempt to break the seriousness. “Then why is he working here?”
“Nate hired him. He had good references, a great portfolio, and he is good at what he does.”
I nod, not sure what else to say.
“What are you doing down here anyway? You know we have coffee upstairs, right? I was worried when I went to your office and you weren’t there. I thought you had changed your mind,” he says in a softer tone.
Again, I laugh at him. “I just wanted to come down and face everybody. Thought I better get it over with, you know, rip the bandage off.”
Saxon takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his thick, dark hair. For the first time I pay attention to how tired he looks. His face is pale, the skin around his eyes puffy and dark.
Placing my hand on his forearm, brings his attention to me. “I’m fine, Saxon. Really. It was great to see Harper and Bill, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. This is going to be good for me, I just know it.”
“I hope so, Brooke.” He steps away from me, causing my hand to fall from his arm. “So you saw Bill. I bet he was excited to see you.”
I laugh at having Bill say the same thing about Saxon no more than ten minutes ago. “Yeah, he was pretty happy.” I grin. “He’s going to be my first lunch date. He invited me for a cosy sandwich in his office.”
Saxon chuckles. “Good, enjoy it. Come and find me when you’re finished and I can show you around properly.”
“Thanks.”
He leaves the staff room, and I quickly pour Harper’s coffee and make my way to her desk before anyone else can corner me.
“Here babe, sorry, I didn’t forget. I ran into Bill.” I hand Harper her coffee and rest mine on the top bench of the reception desk.
When someone enters the foyer she can barely be seen over the top, but it’s a beautiful piece with all its smooth stainless steel against the dark mahogany wood. It’s a great first impression of Argo.
“Did Saxon find you? He came running down here like a bat out of hell. He was frantic. Is everything all right?”
“It’s just Saxon.” I laugh. “Being overprotective and worrying too much. Hey, how has he been the last few months?” I ask, remembering how tired he looked.
Her smile drops. “I think it’s been hard on him. He keeps to himself a lot, but I guess that’s always been his way. When you do see him, you can see how worn out and stressed he looks. I think he feels responsible.”
“Responsible?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah, you know, responsible for Argo, responsible for Jeanie and Mark, and responsible for you.” She says that last bit quietly, not wanting to hurt my feelings I’m sure. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.
Does Saxon really feel responsible for all of that? That’s a lot for one person to carry. Nate carried all that, sure, but he carried it because he chose to, because he wanted to, not because it was left to him. Not only is Saxon suffering the loss of his best friend, but he must feel like he gained a whole world of trouble and problems to sort.
“He looked much more at ease on his way back through, though. He looked almost … happy.” I know she is trying to make me feel better, and I appreciate it.
“Maybe my coming here will be good for everyone, and not just me.”
“I definitely think so,” she states, sitting upright in her chair and facing me. “Plus, we get to catch up and gossip every day now.” A huge smile lights up her pretty face, and I can’t help but smile back at her.
“So tell me, how are things with John?”
“Ugh, we broke up. I found him texting with a woman from his gym.”
“Are you serious? No way. He seemed like the perfect guy.”
“Yeah well, definitely not the perfect guy. Far from it actually.” Her face is blank; there is no sadness or anger, just acceptance.
“I’m sorry, Harper. I know you were with him for a while.”
“It’s not like we were getting married. Seriously, I’m over it. It’s been months already. I’ve had a few one-nighters to heal the heartache. I’m ready to meet someone else.”
I can’t help but laugh at her honesty. “Harper!” I scold.
“What? You should totally come out with us.”
All the blood leaves my face. Go out. What? Looking for one-night stands? I don’t fucking think so.
“Brooke, no, I didn’t mean come out to meet people. I just meant to get out. Have a few drinks, a dance, a girls’ night out—that’s all.” Her eyes are wide as she places her hand on my forearm.
“Actually, hanging with the girls sounds great. I’m sure Rach will be down to come as well.”
Harper sags back in her seat. “That would be awesome. She seemed like such a hoot at your birthday party last year, and the more the merrier.”
We chat for another fifteen minutes or so while enjoying our coffee. We gossip about the office antics and what’s been going on with other staff.
“I kind of wanted to ask you about the new guy.” I try acting casual.
“New guy?” She wrinkles her nose and scrunches her eyebrows.
“Paul, is it?” I know it damn well is, but I don’t want to seem too interested.
“Did you have the un-pleasure of meeting him?” Her face scrunches up more in disgust, and I get the feeling she may have had the same welcome I did.
“Briefly. I ran into him in the staff room, and he introduced himself.”
“He hasn’t made the best impression around here. I’ve heard from several of the o
ther girls that he’s been a bit forward with them, if you know what I mean.”
“Has anyone said anything to Saxon?”
“I told them to, but they didn’t want to stir up trouble, seeing as they had nothing concrete. I don’t think he has crossed the line with any of them, but he definitely hovers above it.”
I’m getting a bad feeling about this. “Should I say something to Saxon?”
“You’re the boss, Brooke. You don’t need to run to Saxon with everything,” Harper says as she laughs at me.
“I guess you’re right. I just feel like he knows what’s best. What will I do when he leaves?”
“You’ll be fine. Saxon won’t leave until you’re ready, I’m sure. That’s if he does ever leave,” she says, suddenly serious.
“Trust me, he would’ve already left if it weren’t for me.”
“I have no doubt you’re the reason he’s here.”
I go to ask her what she means by that, but the elevator doors opening interrupts us. A guy with dark hair styled in a messy faux-hawk saunters up to the front desk—and when I say saunter I mean saunter. This guy has got some fine swagger going on.
He places the takeaway bags on the counter and I piece together that he must be delivering our lunch from the coffee shop.
Looking him up and down I admire the tattoos poking out from underneath the tight black polo shirt, wrapping themselves around his tanned arms. He’s tall and firm, but I can tell he doesn’t spend all his time in the gym. The day-old facial hair matches the black-framed glasses, but doesn’t detract from his stark grey eyes. I’m usually not attracted to the whole rough-around-the-edges thing, but he pulls it off.
Tattoo Guy places his arms on the counter and leans forward while offering Harper a cocky smile. She smiles up at him from under her lashes, and I can tell she has slightly pushed her arms together to accentuate her breasts.
Neither of them say anything and just continue to stare at each other as I stare between the both of them. Okay, this is awkward. I feel like a creeper just watching them. It’s like a form of foreplay, and way too intimate for a spectator.
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