One Good Reason

by Sarah Mayberry

  “Finally.” She pulled a dog-eared business card from the depths of her purse. “My number’s on the bottom. Call if you have issues with anything.”

  He tucked the card into the front pocket of his jeans. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be needing it, but thanks anyway.”

  The expression on her face told him she had her doubts, but she didn’t say anything. She moved toward the door and seemed surprised when he beat her there and held it open for her.

  “Thanks,” she muttered, giving him a distinctly ungrateful look.

  He remembered what Tyler had said about her not liking people doing things for her that she could do for herself and suppressed a smile. Probably it made him a bad person, but for some reason he liked the idea of yanking her chain a little.

  “See you tomorrow,” she said, ducking past him into the warm night.

  He waited until she’d reached her car and was safely inside. The moment he heard her engine start, he locked the door and returned to the workshop.

  His footsteps echoed in the empty space. There was no one waiting for him at home—if you could call a serviced apartment home. He could work here until the wee hours if he wanted to, and no one would miss him or care.

  That was the way he liked it. No strings, no obligations. Nothing hard or demanding or restricting.

  Just him—and the dozen or so monkeys on his back, of course.

  CHAPTER TWO

  GUILT NAGGED AT GABBY ALL through dinner with her old school-friend Shona. Jon had tried to be friendly, and she’d blown him off. He’d asked about her evening, opened the door for her. Then he’d watched until she was safely in her car. Even though those kinds of old-fashioned courtesies made her want to grind her teeth, she could appreciate the good manners behind them.

  He was trying to be nice. And she’d been nothing but prickly and short.

  Brushing her teeth before bed, Gabby tried to work out why he made her so bristly.

  Sure, they’d gotten off on a bum note with the whole him-being-in-her-office thing, but she wasn’t the sort of person to hold a grudge. And yes, she was worried that Tyler was taking on a staff member who was going to hold back the team rather than help them grow. But none of that was enough to explain the way she turned into Mother Superior every time she spoke to him.

  She thought about the moment when he’d faced her after she’d switched off the sander. She’d met his eyes and seen…nothing in their gray depths.

  She paused, her mouth full of minty foam.

  Maybe that was what it was. Jon was a whole lot of man—a commanding, demanding physical presence by sheer dint of the fact that he took up so much damned room—but when she looked at him she got…nothing. No sense of how he was feeling or what he was thinking. No hint of his mood or attitude. Just a contained, polite calm.

  So what? Big deal if the guy doesn’t go around advertising his emotions for all and sundry. He’s a guy. That’s generally what they do. If that’s your big beef with him, you need to get over it, princess.

  Gabby spit, then rinsed her mouth. Tomorrow was a new day. There was no reason why she couldn’t start fresh with him. She’d take the time to chat with him, ask how he was settling in. She’d even insist on him using her computer again if he needed to check anything on the internet. Before long they’d be laughing and joking around the way she did with the other guys.

  He was Tyler’s brother, after all. It was impossible for her not to like him.

  GABBY’S GOOD INTENTIONS turned to dust the next day when Jon didn’t turn up until close to eleven o’clock. She was busy with her own work but she was very aware of his absence because she’d come in with the specific intention of starting over with him.

  Initially, she thought he was simply running a little late, which was fine, since he’d stayed to finish the table last night. As the morning wore on, however, and he still didn’t appear, she began to wonder if he was going to make history as the shortest-lived employee the company had ever had.

  Then, just shy of eleven, Jon sauntered in. She took one look at him and knew exactly why he was late. The heavy eyes, the paleness—he’d had a big night, to use his own terminology. Probably been out to all hours, drinking and God knows what else. Then he’d slept it off and rolled into work as though he owned the place and answered to no one.

  Gabby watched from her office as he exchanged a word with Dino, who was the senior on the workshop floor and didn’t suffer fools gladly. She waited for him to let Jon know in no uncertain terms that the working day had started two and a half hours ago.

  Dino said something. Jon replied. Dino laughed, the sound audible even over the whine of the table saw. She watched incredulously as he clapped Jon on the shoulder as though they’d been buddies for years. Dino was still chuckling as he crossed to the drill press.

  As though he sensed her watching, Jon glanced at her, a big, no-holds-barred grin still on his face.

  She blinked. He looked like a different man when he was smiling. Younger. A little dangerous.

  Their eyes met and his smile sobered as he gave her a small acknowledging nod. Her own face felt frozen, but she forced herself to nod in reply. Then she swung in her chair and made a big deal out of being busy with her computer.

  She told herself it was none of her business as she punched figures into the accounting software. If Dino was prepared to let the boss’s unreliable brother get away with murder, it was no skin off her nose.

  At lunchtime she walked around the corner and grabbed a sandwich. As she returned, she could see Jon through the window of the showroom. He was talking to a woman. Gabby frowned, taking in his body language: the way he was slouching oh, so casually against the counter; the almost-there smile on his face as he listened to something the woman was saying; the way his gaze traveled over her body in a slow, appreciative scan.

  If he were in a bar, Gabby wouldn’t hesitate for a second in assuming that he was hitting on the woman. But this was Tyler’s showroom, and the woman was a customer. Jon was probably simply being friendly.

  Gabby pushed the door open, stepping into the air-conditioned cool of the showroom.

  “The thing about good design is that it’s timeless. Ageless,” Jon said. “It only gets better.”

  The woman was in her early forties, blonde and wearing a tight black dress. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as Jon gave her a loaded smile.

  Gabby might not have had a date in a while, but she knew when a man was on the make—and he was definitely eyeing the blonde with carnal intent.

  In his brother’s showroom. At—she checked her watch—one thirty-five on a Tuesday afternoon.

  Nice. Really classy.

  Putting on her best professional smile, Gabby joined their cosy tête-á-tête.

  “Hi. Hope you don’t mind me interrupting. I’m Gabby.” She offered the other woman her hand.

  The blonde looked a little startled—no doubt she’d been so busy eating Jon up with her eyes she hadn’t noticed Gabby approach.

  “Hi. Fiona. Pleased to meet you.”

  Gabby turned to him, her smile still firmly in place. “Thanks, Jon. I’ll take over from here.”

  For a moment she saw a flash of something in his eyes—annoyance? Defiance?—then he straightened and gave Fiona a rueful shrug.

  “Back to the grindstone.”

  Fiona laughed and flipped her hair again. “I’ll keep in mind what you said.”

  “You do that.”

  Without looking at Gabby, he left the showroom.

  “So, how can I help you…?” Gabby asked the other woman brightly.

  Ten minutes later, Fiona was on her way with a handful of brochures and some preliminary pricing for the dining-room suite she was looking for. Gabby took a moment to gather her thoughts before heading to her office. Everything in her wanted to hunt Jon down and read him the riot act for behaving so unprofessionally. But he was Tyler’s brother, and it was Tyler’s business. If anyone was going to deal with Jon, it
should be Tyler.

  She entered the workshop, veering to the kitchen before hitting her office. She was rinsing a mug when she heard the heavy tread of someone entering. Her spine stiffened. Somehow she knew that it was Jon, but she refused to look to confirm it.

  “She was into it, if that’s what you’re worried about,” a deep voice said.

  She turned to face him. “Excuse me?”

  “Fiona. The blonde.”

  Gabby blinked, then shook her head. “Let me get this straight. It’s your second day on the job, you walk in nearly three hours late, then you try to pick up one of our customers. And none of it is your fault?”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “So you’re not making excuses for treating our showroom like a pick-up bar?”

  “A pick-up bar? Are you serious? We were having a conversation.”

  “When it comes to your brother’s company I’m usually pretty serious. I’m a little crazy like that, caring about him staying in business and whatnot.”

  He made a rude noise. “Lady, you need to lighten up.”

  “This isn’t about me.”

  “Listen, I know you’re all bent out of shape because I used your computer for a few seconds yesterday—”

  “This isn’t about you using my stupid computer. What do you think I am, a child or something?”

  His gaze dropped to her chest for a telling beat. Never had she regretted being an A-cup so much in her life.

  “I don’t know. I can’t think of another reason why you’d nearly blow a gasket because I was having a friendly chat with another consenting adult on my lunch break.”

  “She was a customer. She was looking for furniture, not a quickie in the parking lot.”

  “Personally I prefer a nice big bed and plenty of time, but don’t let that get in the way of a good story.”

  To her everlasting chagrin, Gabby could feel heat stealing into her cheeks. “Stop trying to make this about me. You’re the one who’s taking advantage of Tyler, taking his job offer and then arriving late on your second day. How do you think it looks to the other guys, the boss’s brother strolling in whenever he feels like it and—”

  “I called Dino, told him I’d be in late and that I’d make up the time tonight.”

  Gabby was thrown for a second. “Well, good. At least someone knew where you were.”

  “What’s wrong? Worried about me?”

  “Hardly.” She was fiercely hot now, her armpits prickling with self-conscious heat. It didn’t help that he looked as cool as could be, as though he could barely bother to raise a sweat over her.

  “You know what? Forget I said anything. Why I even felt the urge to explain is beyond me.” He turned to go.

  “Uh-uh. You don’t get off that easy.”

  She raced around the table, barely making it to the doorway in time to block his exit. He stopped short of plowing into her and she caught a whiff of male skin and spicy deodorant before he took a step backward.

  “I want a promise from you that you won’t talk to any of the customers again.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Sweetheart, you have got to be the most uptight chick I have ever met in my life.”

  “My name is Gabby, thanks. And I want your word that you’ll stay out of the showroom. If Dino’s prepared to put up with you stuffing him around in the workshop that’s his business. But Tyler and I handle sales and I won’t have you screwing with our clients. Literally or figuratively.”

  Something fiery and dangerous flashed in his dark gray eyes. He grabbed her by the upper arms, forcibly picking her up and moving her to one side as though she were a piece of furniture. Then he was gone, and she was left gaping at his audacity. “How dare you!” she said to the empty kitchen.

  Good lord, she sounded like a Victorian maiden. An hysterical, outraged Victorian maiden on the verge of the vapors. Any second now she’d be reaching for her smelling salts or calling for her maid to burn some feathers.

  How on earth had he managed to turn the tables on her so effectively? He’d been utterly in the wrong, yet somehow she was left feeling like some uptight morals campaigner. He was the one who’d taken advantage of Tyler’s generosity, not her. Jon was the one who should be feeling stupid and wrong and out of sorts.

  You’re an asshole, Jon Adamson.

  Damn straight he was. That was why she’d been so prickly and bristly around him right from the start—her instincts had simply been ahead of the game, recognizing his essential asshole-ness way before he’d shown his true colors.

  Which was great, except for one thing—she worked with him now. For the foreseeable future, she had to face him every day from nine to five.

  Relax. He’s a screwup. He’ll mess up again. And next time Tyler will notice and then it will only be a matter of time.

  She took a deep breath, then let it out.

  Tyler was a good guy and a generous employer, but he was also an astute and passionate businessman. Once he realized his brother was deadwood, Jon would be gone.

  It couldn’t happen soon enough.

  JON DIDN’T CONSIDER HIMSELF A tough guy to get along with. Sure, he wasn’t a cuddly, let-me-be-your-instant-best-friend kind of guy, but he usually rubbed along okay with most people. He had a handful of good mates. He managed to end most of his romantic liaisons without tears and recriminations.

  So why had Gabby taken such an instant and steadfast dislike to him?

  He punched the table saw on and lined up his first cut, feeding the timber slowly into the blade.

  He’d apologized for using her computer. He’d bitten his tongue last night when she’d been all bent out of shape about him locking up. He’d even sought her out to explain that she hadn’t seen what she’d thought she’d seen when she’d come into the showroom. And she’d still looked at him as though she’d scraped him off her shoe.

  It had to be the lesbian thing. Maybe she saw him as competition. Maybe she’d had a bad experience with a man that had tainted her view of his gender for all time. Whatever, he was done with worrying about her prickly sensibilities. From now on, it was every man—or woman—for himself.

  You’re the one who’s taking advantage of Tyler, taking his job offer and then arriving late on your second day.

  He frowned, shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge her words. As he’d explained to her, he’d called Dino, let him know he was running late. He’d been up half the night, unable to sleep, pacing the floor of his apartment and staring at late-night TV like a zombie. And when he’d finally fallen asleep in the early hours he’d been so out of it he’d slept through the alarm. But it wasn’t as though he hadn’t put in the hours yesterday—it had been nearly midnight when he left the workshop, bone weary and covered in sawdust—and it wasn’t as though he wouldn’t make up for the time today. As for taking advantage of Tyler… Jon’s conscience was clear on that one, too. He and Tyler had an understanding, and it was none of Miss Prissy’s business.

  Jon lined up his next cut. Sawdust and wood chips flew as he ripped the length of the wood.

  How do you think it looks to the other guys, the boss’s brother strolling in whenever he feels like it?

  He told himself to concentrate on the matter at hand, but Gabby’s words continued to eat at him. He could tell himself she knew nothing and that her words held no weight. But the truth was that if he had an employee who’d turned up late on the second day of work, he wouldn’t be too impressed, either. Not that he was Gabby’s employee…but he could see her point. Considered objectively, it had probably looked bad. And it definitely didn’t send a great message to the other staff members.

  He swore under his breath, then hit the stop button. Pulling the ear protectors from his head, he faced the inevitable: Gabby was right. But only about the late thing. He’d go to his grave defending his conversation with Fiona-the-blonde in the showroom. They’d been flirting, for Pete’s sake—hardly a crime against natur
e. It wasn’t as though he’d been about to club her over the head and drag her to his cave. They’d had a few laughs, eyed each other approvingly. Maybe, if things had warmed up, he’d have gotten her number. That’s it.

  Miss Prissy needed to get a life.

  He glanced toward her office. She was visible through the open doorway, her head bent over her work. A small frown wrinkled her forehead. She was so serious. Did she never let her hair down? He tried to imagine it and couldn’t. She was too stiff and distant and uptight.

  She glanced up and he looked away before she caught him staring. God knew what she’d make of that. Sexual harassment, probably.

  He smiled faintly. The idea of him trying to get it on with her was too absurd. She would probably kick him in the nuts then take photos of him writhing on the floor to show the rest of the sisterhood.

  Dino walked past and gave him a questioning look. “You all right there, mate?”

  Jon realized he was standing in the middle of the workshop with a piece of wood in his hands, staring at nothing. And that he’d wasted the past half hour thinking about Gabby Wade.

  “All good,” he assured the other man.

  Then he collected the other pieces of timber and took them to where Carl was waiting.

  GABBY LEFT WORK BEFORE SIX o’clock that night for the first time in months. Tyler and Ally had invited her for dinner to celebrate her birthday. Technically, it wasn’t until the weekend but Ally and Tyler were hosting the firm’s delayed Christmas party on Saturday night—they’d been so busy in the lead-up to Christmas that everyone had voted to postpone the party until a time when things were less hectic. Gabby would have been happy to combine the two events—or, better yet, forget her birthday altogether—but Ally had insisted they have a separate dinner to mark Gabby’s special day.