Bidding on Her Boss

by Rachel Bailey

  And this afternoon, a panel of the three Hawke brothers and Jenna would choose the two arrangements to send the publicity team from six Faith had made. Her stomach had been filled with butterflies all day.

  “Hey, Dylan,” she said when he reached her. “I didn’t expect you for another hour, when the rest of the panel is coming.”

  He dug his hands into his trouser pockets. “I had a bit of time on my hands and thought I’d stop by in case you needed any last-minute help.”

  “You’ve already been a huge help.”

  He’d dropped in a couple of times already this week. She’d taken advantage of that time, peppering him with questions about the launch of the Midnight Lily, looking for details that would give her clues about what they’d be looking for this time. Dylan had answered all her questions. She wondered, though, if he was also keeping an eye on her—he’d suggested her for this job, so if she messed it up, it would reflect badly on him.

  He made himself busy clearing the bench where she’d been working.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said, her gaze on the white iris in her hand. “I’ve left enough time to clean up before the others arrive.”

  He flashed her a smile. “But I’m here. I may as well do something to help.”

  She paused, watching him clearing the bench with bold, sweeping movements, fixing things. Making things better for her. Dylan Hawke was a mystery in many ways. She’d worked for several florists and had quite a few bosses over the years, but never had she found any who were happy to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. They usually preferred to have their underlings do the menial tasks.

  She popped the flower back into the jug of water and turned so she could see him more clearly. “Why is it that you’re the only boss I’ve ever had who was willing to do this?”

  His broad shoulders lifted, then dropped, as if it were no big deal. “Someone’s got to do it. Don’t see why it shouldn’t be me.”

  “Because your time is more valuable.” He opened his mouth, and she could tell there was a denial on his tongue, so she held up a hand. “Seriously, your hourly rate must dwarf mine.”

  “I might get paid more, but I can’t create something like that,” he said, gesturing to the design she had almost finished. But there was something else in his eyes, something he wasn’t admitting to.

  She crossed her arms under her breasts. “Tell me what the rest of that story is.”

  “Don’t you have work to do?” He tried to frown, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

  “Conveniently, someone just cleaned up my work area, so now I have a few extra minutes to play with. And I’d like to spend them hearing the real story behind the line you just tried to feed me.”

  “A line?” His hand went to his heart. “You wound me.”

  “Wow,” she said, hoisting herself up to sit on the bench. “You really don’t want to talk about this, do you?”

  He arched an eyebrow, leaning on the bench only a hand span away. “You really want to know the truth?”

  “Yeah, I really do.”

  Something changed in his face, his demeanor. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew without a doubt that he was baring himself to her. Trusting her. The knowledge squeezed her heart tight.

  “Truth is,” he said, his voice deep, “lately I’ve been thinking about the buzz I used to get, setting up the original stores. Working with customers and having a new challenge were what got me out of bed in the mornings.”

  “Your job now must have challenges.” Being the head of the Hawke’s Blooms stores sounded as if it would be pretty much all challenge.

  “Sure. But there was a joy back then that doesn’t exist now.” He ran his hands through his already rumpled hair. “I’m not sure how to explain it exactly, but in the old days, when my family was first starting the company, we never knew what each day would bring. I can glimpse that excitement again when I watch you work.”

  * * *

  Dylan looked into Faith’s trusting brown eyes. There was another part to the answer that he dared not say aloud—he found that excitement again not only by watching her work but also by being around her. He never knew what she’d say or do next, and it was the most refreshing thing he’d experienced in a long time.

  A knock on the door drew him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his oldest brother, Adam, poking his head around the door. He suddenly realized how close he was standing to Faith and took a step to the side.

  As Adam made his way over to them, his face was blank, but after a lifetime of knowing him, Dylan could read the question in his eyes.

  “Liam and Jenna aren’t here yet,” Dylan said by way of a greeting—he’d spoken to Adam a couple of times today already, so a greeting seemed superfluous.

  “That’s okay,” Adam replied. “It gives me a moment to meet our star florist.”

  Again, Adam’s outward facade—politeness this time—didn’t match what was going on underneath. He had sensed something and had every intention of getting to the bottom of it. Dylan squared his shoulders.

  “Adam, this is Faith Crawford. Faith, this is Adam, the CEO of Hawke’s Blooms Enterprises, which is the overall company that encompasses the stores, the farm and the markets.”

  Faith stuck out her hand, and Dylan didn’t think his brother noticed the slight tremble as she shook his hand. “Good to meet you, Mr. Hawke.”

  “You’ll have to call me Adam, or this meeting is going to get very confused with the three Mr. Hawkes together at once.”

  “Oh, of course.” Her eyes darted to Dylan. “Thank you, Adam.”

  Dylan looked back at the bench and realized Faith wasn’t quite finished with the last arrangement—he’d made her lose precious minutes. He swore under his breath.

  He turned to his brother. “How about we give Faith a few minutes to make the last touches before the others arrive?”

  “Sure. There are a few things I wanted to discuss with you, anyway.”

  As they headed for the door, Dylan threw Faith a smile over his shoulder, and she mouthed “thank you” back to him. Knowing her, even once she’d added the final couple of flowers, she’d want a few minutes on her own to get her head together without worrying about a new Hawke brother watching her.

  Once the door closed behind them, Adam said, “Coffee?”

  “Excellent plan.”

  The staff room was empty, and Dylan headed for the coffee machine, making an espresso each for himself and Adam.

  “So, what’s the deal with you and Faith?” Adam asked bluntly as he grabbed the sugar jar.

  Dylan handed his brother a coffee. “Just helping an employee with potential to advance her career.”

  Adam sighed, but there was a smile lurking in his eyes. “Dylan, I’ve known you your entire life. I saw you when you had your first crush, and I drove you to the movies on your first date. Don’t try to bullshit me. Your interest in that woman is more than an employer’s.”

  Dylan leaned back on the counter. “It’s really that obvious?”

  “Maybe not to everyone, but to me? Yes.” Adam moved closer and clapped him on the back. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve got it under control.”

  “You call this under control?” Adam rolled his eyes to heaven as if appealing for help. “What happened when you kissed her?”

  Caught off guard, Dylan felt as if he’d been sucker punched. “How do you know I kissed her?”

  Adam’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t until you just confirmed it.”

  Realizing his mistake too late, Dylan groaned. “What you have to understand—”

  “Oh, good. Stories that start this way are always juicy.”

  Ignoring him, Dylan started again. “What you have to understand
is that we didn’t meet at work. Well, not exactly.”

  Adam sipped his coffee. “You ran into an employee socially?”

  “Remember that bachelor auction Jenna organized for our charity? The one you managed to wriggle out of being involved with?” he asked pointedly.

  Uncharacteristically, Adam’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I was, uh, busy that night.”

  “Sure you were,” Dylan said, not believing it for a second. “Anyway, Faith placed the winning bid on me.”

  “You were bought by one of your florists?” Adam said, horrified.

  “She bought some of my time,” Dylan clarified.

  Adam’s expression didn’t soften. “You’ve been out on a date with an employee?”

  “No, she didn’t want dates.”

  “What did she want?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “She asked me to meet her at the Santa Monica store and made a submission for the catalog.”

  “Did you accept it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Her design wasn’t even good enough for the book, yet you have her here working on the most high-profile event in our history?”

  “Her work is good. She deserves this spot, no question. The design she showed me that night was what she thought I wanted. When she does her own work, she’s amazing.”

  “You said you wanted to rehabilitate your image. This won’t help.”

  “It won’t hurt, either, because nothing is going to happen.”

  “Sure. Let’s get back to you kissing an employee.”

  “Yeah, I’d rather not. I’m trying to forget it.”

  “How’s that working out for you?”

  “Not as well as I’d like.”

  “Dylan,” Adam said, shaking his head. “This is dangerous.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you? She seems nice, but if this goes badly for her, she can sue you. Hell, she can sue all of us because we have a policy that you’ve violated, but you’re especially vulnerable.”

  “She’s not like that. She wouldn’t.”

  “You haven’t known her long enough to be sure. You’re the head of the chain of stores she works for, so she’s been on her best behavior.”

  “I have no doubt that I’ve seen the real her.”

  “Now I’m even more worried. Is this woman really worth risking your career over? Exposing the entire company to legal action and a potential scandal?”

  Liam poked his head around the door. “I thought I might find you two in here, stealing my coffee.”

  Dylan raised his mug. “You should have cookies in here, too.”

  Liam snorted a laugh. “Faith is ready if you are. Jenna’s already in there.”

  Adam didn’t move. “Come in here a minute and close the door.”

  Liam took the extra step inside the room and shut the door behind him. “What’s up?”

  Adam gestured in Dylan’s direction. “Did you know about him kissing his florist?”

  “Yes. Wait, no.” He turned to Dylan. “You kissed her?”

  “He kissed her,” Adam confirmed, rocking back on his heels. “I’ll brief the lawyers this afternoon in case we need to take preemptive action.”

  Dylan groaned. “Glad we’re not overreacting.”

  Liam blew out a breath. “Look, I know things were different with me and Jenna, but I kissed her—heck, I made love to her—while she worked for me, and the world didn’t end.”

  Dylan chuckled. “You sure acted as if it had ended there for a while. Remember that day we came over and—?”

  Liam hit him upside the head. “I’m trying to help you, idiot.”

  “Uh, thanks?” Dylan said, rubbing his head.

  Adam narrowed his eyes at them both. “You were lucky with Jenna. Most women in that situation would have reacted differently. Would have taken what they could get.”

  Dylan frowned at Liam. “Since when did he get so jaded about women?”

  Liam shrugged a shoulder. “Many years ago. I always figured someone had broken his heart.”

  Adam threw up his hands. “I’m standing right here.”

  “Good point,” Liam said. “So tell us who broke your heart? Was it Liz in college?”

  “Nope,” Dylan said. “He left her. I had to talk to her when she started calling the house, brokenhearted. Maybe it was—”

  “Stop,” Adam said in his oldest brother voice. “We’re not discussing my dating history. We’re talking about Dylan and the here and now.”

  “Actually,” Liam said, “we’re talking about which arrangements we want on the publicity materials. And two people are waiting for us.” He opened the door and indicated the hallway with a hand. “Shall we?”

  Adam straightened his tie, gave a last pointed look to Dylan and headed out.

  “Thanks,” Dylan said to Liam.

  Liam nodded. “Just don’t mess this up and get us into legal problems.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Dylan said and followed his brothers out the door, hoping like all hell he was capable of being careful around Faith Crawford.

  Six

  From the corner of Liam’s research lab, Faith watched the three Hawke brothers and Jenna as they walked around the designs she’d been working on all week. She’d been nervous the night she’d made the first arrangement for Dylan, but this was more intense. There was so much more riding on this verdict.

  Finally Adam looked up and said, “Is everybody ready to make a decision?” The others nodded, so he continued. “I like number three. It’s simple enough to work well in publicity, it keeps the focus on the iris and it’s elegant, which will appeal to the public.”

  “Agreed,” Liam said. “It’s one of my top two choices as well.”

  They quickly settled on that arrangement and then had a robust discussion about the second choice, since the vote was split between two options.

  As Faith watched the conversation, the excitement began to outweigh her nerves—the four of them were so animated about her designs. Her personal favorite hadn’t been mentioned at all, and now that she’d heard the reasoning for their other choices, she could assume that her favorite was too cluttered to be effective in the posters. It was fascinating to hear the opinions of people more experienced than she was in this side of the flower business. In such a short time, she’d learned so much.

  Once the decisions were made, all four of the panel members complimented Faith on her work, though it was Dylan’s praise that made her heart swell. She tried not to watch him as the others spoke, tried to keep her reaction to him veiled, but there was a charisma that surrounded him, a magnetic force that drew her gaze back against her will.

  Then Adam excused himself to rush off to a meeting, and Liam turned to Dylan. “Are you still okay to take them to the photographer’s studio?”

  “Sure,” Dylan said. “I drove here in one of the refrigerated delivery vans. Faith, did you want to come to the photo shoot?”

  Faith jerked her head up. She’d known they’d booked the photographer for this afternoon and that the chosen designs would be taken straight to the studio, but she’d been able to concentrate only on her part. She hadn’t thought further than the panel arriving and assessing her work. Now, though, she could barely contain her enthusiasm about seeing the two successful designs photographed.

  “I’d love to,” she said, trying not to bounce on her toes. “If that’s okay.”

  Jenna smiled. “Seems only fair that since you created them, you get to see it through.”

  “Then I’m in. I’ll grab my bag.”

  While she gathered her things, Liam and Dylan sealed the two chosen arrangements plus a few single stems in boxes—since the new iris was still a secret—and carried them out to the delivery truc
k.

  “What about my car?” Faith asked once the flowers were all loaded.

  Dylan’s green gaze flicked from her to her car. “Since your place is near the studio, how about I drop you home afterward, then bring you back out here in the morning for work?”

  Jenna nodded. “This parking lot is secure overnight—the security gates will be shut and monitored.”

  “Okay, that sounds good then. Thank you.”

  “Not a problem,” Dylan said as he opened her door for her. Her arm brushed his hand as she climbed in, sending a buzz of awareness through her body. He held her gaze for an instant, showing that he’d felt it, too. She pulled her seat belt over her shoulder and tried to pretend the moment of connection hadn’t happened.

  Once they’d set off on the road, he flashed her a grin. “So how did your nerves hold out? That must have been trying for you.”

  She tucked her legs up underneath her on the seat. “I have to admit, I was pretty tense while you were all judging, but it was thrilling, too. Thank you again for this opportunity.”

  “No, thank you,” he said as he changed lanes to overtake a station wagon. “Even Adam liked your work, and he’s hard to impress.”

  Her thoughts drifted back to seeing the three brothers together. They all looked so alike—tall and broad-shouldered, with thick, wavy hair the color of polished mahogany—yet so different at the same time. There was something...more in Dylan. An energy down deep in his soul, a passion for life that shone through in everything he did. In every move he made.

  “I found Adam difficult to get a read on.”

  “That’s Adam for you. He’s what our mother calls ‘self-contained.’ Doesn’t like sharing parts of himself if he can avoid it.”

  Curiosity made her turn to face Dylan. “Even with you and Liam?”