“You can’t do that. I’d sue you. That’s a patented formula, and we could take anyone who used it to court.”
“Sure, you could, and rack up legal fees, more press coverage, wasted time—and meanwhile, you have no proof I stole or distributed anything, and your competitors would be selling cookies like hotcakes,” he said, and frowned mockingly. “Hmm…that is a mildly humorous comparison, isn’t it?”
Jodie was mute with rage. He was right, but what could she do? She walked to the kitchen, needing to catch her breath, and heard him follow her.
“So what do you think I can do about it, Jason? There’s no way I’m going to ask Dan to approve your money. I couldn’t do that, and he wouldn’t change his mind anyway.”
His eyebrows went up as he turned for the door. “That would be unfortunate. It seems to me that maybe you are far more devoted to him than he is to you, but that’s your business.”
“Get out,” she said in no uncertain terms, her hand around the rolling pin again.
“I’m on my way. You think about it. You have until Monday,” he said. “Then your secret formula won’t be so secret after all.”
Jodie took a deep breath as the back door slammed behind him, and she rushed over to lock it, something she should have done in the first place, but her mind had been elsewhere that morning.
Just as she did, she saw Ginger pull into the lot behind the alley, and so Jodie stood in the doorway like a mother waiting for an errant child who had come home after hours.
“Where have you been?” she asked as Ginger walked up to the door. She knew she was being less than gracious, but her mind was fried from dealing with Jason, and her emotions raw. What was she going to do?
“I know I’m late again, I’m sorry but—”
“I can’t have this Ginger. I have a business to run, and I needed you here this morning. I can’t keep coming in and having to guess if you’re going to show up that day or not,” Jodie said again, knowing she was being too severe, but she was angry and Ginger’s excuses felt like one more betrayal.
One more person who put their life, their needs, their wants, before hers. One more person who asked her to understand while she shouldered the cost of it.
Ginger looked shell-shocked and exhausted. On some level, Jodie was concerned, but her own emotions were so frazzled, she couldn’t make room for Ginger’s at the moment.
Wouldn’t it be better just to have a reliable employee she could count on? Being friends with her employees maybe wasn’t the best policy, she thought darkly. All of her friendships, the one with Dan, the one with Ginger, were getting far too complicated and problematic. Still, what could she do?
Ginger shook her head, not coming through the door. “Jodie, I don’t know what to say. You’re right. I know I’ve been struggling with meeting all of these new things, the job at the hospital, finding time for Scott and Anna and working here. I’ve wanted to do it all, and Scott was saying he thought something had to give…” Ginger trailed off, searching for a tissue in her pocketbook.
Jodie’s heart seized up. She knew something bad was coming, and she held her breath.
“He thinks I should quit,” Ginger said in a choked voice, and Jodie froze.
Revved up from Jason, her emotions jangled and Ginger’s quitting did hit her as a betrayal.
“Do you want to quit?” Jodie asked stiffly, her fingers gripping the doorway so tightly they hurt. How had this good day gone bad so quickly?
“No! I love working for you. If anything, I’d rather quit the hospital. It’s so stressful and political there. With Scott’s income, I could work here and maybe eventually start my own physical therapy business. But…”
“But you can’t trust him enough to put your life in his hands that way. Not yet,” Jodie finished for her.
Ginger nodded. “I want to, and I want us to have a chance, but I don’t know what to do.”
Jodie sighed, her temper settling down, and she opened the door wider. “Come on in. You’re not quitting, but we are going to figure out how to make this work. You can’t just keep doing what’s right for everyone else, Ginger, and not for yourself.”
Back inside, they did talk it through, and Jodie was relieved that Ginger, who had become more friend than employee, wasn’t going to quit.
Ginger figured she could go half time at the hospital, lightening her load there, and keep the bakery job. She also promised to be on time more often.
And if Scott didn’t like it, he could get lost.
Jodie found herself hoping they’d work it out, and was surprised at the change in her own thinking.
“Are you okay?” Ginger asked, after she’d calmed down, happier that a solution had been reached. “You looked kind of upset when I showed up.”
“I…just have a lot on my mind,” Jodie hedged. Ginger had enough to worry about without Jodie adding on the worry that her business could be in real danger, depending on what happened with Jason.
Being with Dan had put her in the potential position of losing everything she’d worked for. She also knew that she had spoken the truth to Jason—Dan would never compromise his ethics, not even for her. And she wouldn’t want him to. She would never ask that of him.
But couldn’t she at least ask Dan about it?
It wouldn’t go over well, she knew, but she had to at least ask him. What happened then would, like Ginger and Scott, tell Jodie what their relationship was made of.
WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON, Jodie had almost forgotten that she had a date with Dan that evening. He’d insisted on taking her out for dinner, like a couple.
At the time, she had agreed it was a nice idea, but now, at the end of her horrible day, after thinking about everything, including what Jason had told her, she knew that she and Dan had to talk. She looked in the mirror as she put her hair up and realized how far away from “just sex” they really had traveled. And they couldn’t go any further until she knew what was going on.
Sliding her dress off and throwing jeans back on, taking her hair down, she breathed deeply and settled her resolve as the doorbell rang. Dan, here to pick her up.
She pulled open the door and saw him frown. He was dressed very sharply in a handsome brown suit that couldn’t help but distract her for a moment as her eyes slid over him. She knew what was under that suit, but he also looked incredible wearing it.
And he had flowers—damn.
“Uh, did you forget our date?” he asked tentatively, leaning in for a kiss, handing her the flowers.
Regret and confusion completely strangled her resolve as she struggled to maintain the strict decision she’d made mere seconds before.
“The flowers are gorgeous,” she said, holding the fragrant gardenias to her nose. How had he known she loved gardenias? They also must have cost a fortune.
“Hey, are you okay? Not feeling well?” he asked, stepping inside and taking the flowers from her, laying them on the table. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”
She couldn’t seem to say anything. It only upset her more. What was happening to her? She’d never had this bad a time setting the record straight with men who wanted too much.
But this was Dan, and whether she liked it or not, she wanted more, too. She wanted to have put on a new dress and watched his eyes light up when he saw it, and she wanted him to take it off when they got home later.
“I am such a complete screwup,” was the only thing that came out of her mouth as he took her in his arms, gathering her up close and letting her cry all over his expensive suit.
“Not by a million miles, sweetheart,” he said, and held her, letting her sob it out.
Why was she crying again?
Maybe it was more than the deal on the bakery being doomed? Had she allowed herself to feel anything but lust these past years?
She could almost think that must be preferable, if it didn’t feel so damned good to be held, to have someone who was just there, when they didn’t even know why.
“I am
so sorry, Dan,” she finally managed, sniffling and pulling away, going in search of a tissue.
She groaned when she looked in the mirror again, and found herself all red eyed and puffy, her nose looking like Rudolph and her hair…well, she wasn’t going to go there. Putting a little cold water on her face, she blew her nose and straightened her back, returning to the main room, where Dan had taken a seat on her sofa.
“So, tell me who made you cry so I can go beat them up,” he said with a sympathetic smile.
She plopped down on the sofa next to him. “That could be a little tough.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’d have to sock yourself in the eye.”
A moment of silence, and he said, sounding understandably confused, “I made you so upset? How did I manage that?”
Jodie let out a sigh, and leaned on a sofa cushion, turning her head to meet his curious, concerned gaze.
“It’s not you—well, kind of, but not really.”
“That clarifies things. Thanks.”
She nearly smiled. She was in so much trouble if the man could make her smile even on a day like this. First she told him about Ginger, and how their friendship had complicated work.
“Jodie, what does this have to do with me? Just lay it out there, like you always do. There’s nothing you can’t tell me. Nothing we can’t work through.”
She stood, throwing her arms up. “See, that’s what I mean. That’s the problem.”
The poor man looked sincerely flummoxed.
She tried to explain. “Being friends with Ginger has made everything harder. I need to be able to be objective with employees, to assess their performance, have expectations, and fire them, if necessary, without it being an emotional disaster.”
“But you didn’t let her go, you worked out a compromise.”
“Yes, but I could also be out of business, or unable to afford a full-time employee, and I didn’t tell her that because I didn’t want to lose her—as a friend. Friendship—and in our case, sex—they’re a real problem when you mix them with business.”
“How exactly would you lose your shop? And how does this involve me?” His eyes narrowed as he watched her, and Jodie took a deep breath.
“You know what my mom said to me once? That if she wanted anything from my father, just one thing, it was that he could put us—her—first. Before anything. That she could know she was the most important thing to him on the planet. But he never did. He was the most important thing in his universe, and he expected us to believe that, too. And yet she stuck with him anyway, always hoping that things would change.”
He did turn then, his body tight with tension. “I have no idea what this has to do with us, Jodie.”
“Really?” she said, knowing her words were taking her down a path she wasn’t sure she wanted to travel down, but she was speaking the truth, exposing the real fears in her heart, and there was no stopping now.
“How about every time you took off on a science project, and didn’t even let me know where you were off to or when you’d be back. You would just pop up in my life and expect me to be there. And I was.” She gulped a breath, trying to focus. “And the times you forgot my birthday or couldn’t meet me for dinner or a movie because you were too wrapped up in some work? Or how about now? I’ve worked damned hard all of these years, building that bakery up to what it is, and yes, you gave me the chance to do it, but I made it what it is. And if something goes wrong, I’ll be the one who loses everything,” she said.
He took a step forward. “Jodie, do you really think I would take the bakery from you even if we broke up?”
“No. But you wouldn’t do whatever it takes to save it, either, would you?” she accused bitterly.
“What do you mean?”
“I talked with Jason today. I know you denied his research funding, and he’s going to sell the icing formula to my competitors, or put it up on the Internet so anyone can make it. And when he does, I lose the biggest profit-maker I have. It might kill business. Maybe all of it,” she said, letting her anguish overtake any final words.
11
DAN WAS STRUCK DUMB. “Jason came to see you?” he said, unable to really get his mind around everything she was telling him.
“He came by the bakery earlier. He told me he’d never intended to go to the FDA, but that he was trying to blackmail you into approving some funding for his research, and since you hadn’t, he was going to publish the formula and undercut my business.”
“But that’s so stupid. We’d sue.”
“Sue who? We still don’t have any solid proof he’s done anything, and I can’t afford the kind of legal fees he would cause by fighting me. He said the only way he’d change things was if you changed your mind and approved his project. Which I knew you wouldn’t, so I guess that’s that.”
“And you took this as disloyalty, Jodie? That I didn’t give in to his threats?”
She shook her head, running her hands through her hair. “No. I just wondered why I didn’t know about any of it. Jason was able to blindside me because I had no idea that he was blackmailing you. I didn’t know why you wouldn’t tell me. No matter what, I’m the collateral damage and that’s true, because he knows how we feel about each other. If we didn’t have a relationship, he never would have thought he could use me against you….”
Dan held his hand up and closed his eyes as if for patience. “Wait. We had a friendship long before we had sex, Jodie. Do you think you’d be calling off our friendship if all of the same things had happened? You were dating Jason when I got back into town, so there was a good chance he would have found out about us knowing each other no matter what.”
“No. He would have been a one-night thing, just like all the rest. He never would have known your connection to me…if we hadn’t gotten together. It’s given him ammunition.”
They were silent for a few long moments. Dan was struggling, trying to sort out what Jodie was saying, about who was to blame for what. It wasn’t easy, especially when his own emotions were so deeply involved. But he knew he’d do anything to keep her from calling it quits on their relationship.
She also had a point—a convoluted one, but still a point. He had put himself and his work first for many years. So had she. As friends, it was how they operated, and he’d never guessed that she felt slighted.
“So do you wish that?” Dan asked quietly. “Do you wish we’d never gotten together?”
Jodie looked stricken, and shook her head.
“No. I mean…no, I like us together. I just…I don’t know what to think. This shouldn’t be a choice between you or the bakery, but it comes down to that.”
“Maybe. Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just thought you had enough to worry about, but you’re right, I should have. I’m sorry for that.”
She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“You never told me you wished I would have been better about contacting you when I was out of town. And I’m sorry about your birthdays. You just never seemed to attach much importance to those kinds of things. You were always out with your friends, partying, or with some guy. I have to admit, I didn’t think you even noticed what I was doing.”
Jodie looked surprised at his admission. “I didn’t because it’s not what friends do. Those are the kinds of expectations lovers have, not buddies. I have a lot of friends, and they come and go, and I don’t necessarily know where they are or expect them to remember everything,” she said. “But with you, it was different.”
Hope soared again, and he winced at how easily she could make it happen with just a few words. “Different how?”
The wary look entered her eyes again, but then faded to something else as she sagged down to sit on the sofa, her head in her hands.
“You and your stupid, freakin’ logic. I just admitted that I’ve thought of you as more than a friend for quite some time. How stupid am I? I never even saw it myself. Hell, I was dating Jason as a way to fantasize about you. I nev
er have felt this way about any of my other friends. Only you.”
Dan couldn’t help but grin, even in the midst of their serious conversation. His heart lightened.
“I’ve only ever felt this way for you, as well, Jodie. Only for you,” he said, echoing her words. He joined her on the sofa.
She said nothing, just sat there with her hands over her eyes, her fingers forked into her bangs, quiet. He supposed while the realization of her feelings was a good thing for him, he wasn’t sure how she was going to handle it.
“Jodie, are you okay?” he asked, unsure if he should touch her but unable to stop himself from putting his hand on her back, rubbing softly, to comfort more than anything.
“This is so screwed up. I don’t know what to do,” she said miserably, but he took it as a good sign that she let him pull her in close, resting her head on his chest.
“Listen, I’m sorry I blew this out of control. I thought I could handle it myself, and I never imagined he would go to you directly.”
She looked up at him, her blue eyes blurry and tired from tears. He hated seeing her like this. If Dan had his way, he’d make sure she never had another miserable moment in her life, especially because of him.
“I’m sorry, too. I should have known it wasn’t that you were putting yourself before me, but I couldn’t help that gut reaction. I can’t see what choices we have. Either you compromise your ethics or I lose my bakery, or at least, I lose the signature product we offer.”
Dan kissed her forehead and sighed. “Well, some of this really is my fault. There are a few other things I didn’t mention, and it probably made the situation worse.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for starters, I broke into Jason’s office looking for proof he’d stolen the formula, the orders, and he caught me. I think it—”
Jodie jerked her head up so quickly that she nearly hit his chin with her head, and she stared at him in surprise.
“You did what?”
He shrugged, worried he had admitted something that was going to make it worse, but the cat was out of the bag now.
Make Your Move Page 12