Gracie gave Jake a steely eyed stare. “Are you just mouthing words here, or is this for real? Your sister told me you planned to do this seven or eight times and chickened out each time. If you’re serious this time, then I can work around you and shoulder your share of the work. If you weasel out—”
“If I weasel out, what?” Jake snapped.
“You don’t want to know, Mr. Masters. Suffice it to say it won’t be pretty. Now, I want you to listen to me very carefully because what I’m about to tell you is very important. It concerns your sister and her safety. Beth was stalked in the past. She had to get a restraining order against the stalker. That was months ago. The other night, her house was broken into, and a file was stolen. The file on the stalker. Nothing else was taken. We—the police and I—think the stalker made a key when he did some work for Beth last year when she converted the long back porch of her house into her new office. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I turned it all over to a law firm. Andy and Artie Axel are twin lawyers and friends of Beth. There’s more, so listen carefully.
“We, Perfect Match, got hacked several days ago. We think it was Beth’s stalker. At first we all panicked, but came to realize that it wasn’t nearly as serious as we first thought. We’ve been working around the clock to make it all right. The good thing is that the hacker just got all the old clients, who are no longer with us, but we still have to deal with it all. The firewalls of the new system Beth switched over to are impossible to break through. Plus, she insisted on paper copies, just the opposite of what everyone else does. Computerize, computerize. Not Beth. She’s in love with pen and paper and made a convert out of me. Plus, we have all the good files on memory sticks.”
Jake slapped at his forehead. “You’re just telling me this now! You said it happened a couple of days ago. Why did you wait till now?” Jake snarled. “That’s my sister you’re talking about! What are the police saying?”
“I can’t believe you just asked me that, Mr. Masters. First things first. If your sister wanted you to know, she would have called you. I had to ask her permission to even tell you now. You have not exactly been forthcoming about anything, and you’ve made no bones about not wanting to be involved in any of this, so why would I involve you even more? The police are not saying much of anything. We cannot prove the stalker is the one who broke into Beth’s house. We can’t accuse without proof. The lawyers hired a private investigator to tail the stalker, who, by the way, is named Luke Olsen. He also goes by the name Phil Parsons when he does online dating. He’s an architect by profession. As I said earlier, he did some work on Beth’s house.”
“I know who he is. He did work here when I first bought this place. Beth must have remembered the name and hired him because he worked here and knew I would approve the work he was doing for her. This is insane. I have to do something. Get her security or something. My God, why didn’t she tell me! I have to protect her!”
“Aren’t you a little late in the worry department, Mr. Masters? What’s going to be insane is if the private detective can’t locate Mr. Olsen because he is trailing Beth in Nashville.”
“Can you forget you took your ugly pill this morning and cut me some slack here? Beth is my sister. It goes without saying I’m concerned for her well-being. I might not know much about the matchmaking business, but I know a lot about stalkers. I was stalked myself by some groupie fans during my career. It’s not pretty, and it sure as hell isn’t nice looking over your shoulder all the time. You should have told me the minute you found out, so I could help.”
“Like I said, if Beth wanted you to know, she would have asked for your help. John Rossmon is with her. They’ve made friends in Nashville. Beth is no fool; she knows how all this works. She never goes anywhere alone. Please give her some credit.
“We filed a police report for all that’s going to do any of us. Beth said she was going to take her paperwork on the restraining order to the police there in Nashville, a paper trail, so to speak. If she wanted security guards surrounding her, she certainly has enough money to hire them. She was quite clear that she doesn’t want or need your help. You need to accept that.
“One more thing. It is certainly not my place to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway because I actually feel bad for the two of you since you’re all each other has. I don’t know if Beth will ever forgive you. You need to give that a lot of thought and see what you can do.”
“Do? Do? Is that what you said? I did everything but turn myself inside out. She won’t take my phone calls, she ignores my text messages. I sent dozens of e-mails. Believe it or not, I do get it. She’s done with me. But I’m not done with her. She’s my baby sister. I went off the rails, but I’m getting back on. You don’t like me. I get that, too. But do you think you could put aside all your ill feeling and help me out here? Not me personally, but help me to help Beth.”
Gracie didn’t think she’d ever seen such torment on a human’s face. She almost felt sorry for Jake, but then she remembered Beth’s meltdowns where her brother was concerned and how she had cried hysterically over her brother’s rejection of her. If it wasn’t for John and her, Beth would have had a complete nervous breakdown. How do you forgive something like that?
“I don’t know what to tell you, Mr. Masters. This is a family situation, and I have no place advising you. Beth is my boss.” It was a little white lie—so what. Then she couldn’t resist having the last word. “Beth is counting on you to help run this business, so why don’t you do just that and let the authorities handle the rest.”
“You really are a coldhearted woman, aren’t you? Do you even have a heart?”
Jake’s words stung Gracie to the quick. She could feel her eyes start to burn. I will not cry. I will not. I do have a heart, and it’s been broken. I’m trying, but sometimes a broken heart is impossible to mend. She needed to come up with a snappy comeback, and she needed it now. “I think that’s a question you should direct to yourself, not me,” she responded in a voice that could have chilled milk. “Can we please get back to work here? We have hundreds of e-mails and phone calls to make, and I wanted to schedule a conference call with New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to introduce you to Mandy, Callie, and Lily.”
Jake threw his hands in the air. “Business as usual. The dollar comes first is, I guess, what you’re saying. Never mind that my sister is in harm’s way. The business of making money comes first. That’s bullshit, Miz Sweet,” Jake snarled.
“Well, that’s the way it is per the boss’s orders, and by boss I mean Beth Masters. I just do what I’m told. That’s why they pay me the big bucks. So, what’s it going to be?”
“What it’s going to be is I’m going to call Luke’s firm, talk to his parents, see what I can find out. Then I’m going to call my old coach, whose father works for the CIA, and ask for his advice. Then I’m going to call my surgeon and postpone my surgery until I know my sister is out of harm’s way. If you don’t like it, then get the hell out of my house and don’t come back. Wait, wait! I didn’t mean that last part. I’m upset, okay?”
“Like hell you’re upset. Beth sure was right about you. You’re using your very own sister, whom you pushed under the bus, so you can get out of the surgery just like you’ve done in the past. How low can one person stoop?”
Jake looked flabbergasted at Gracie’s words. He struggled to find the right words and knew it wasn’t working by the look of disgust on Gracie’s face. “I can see how you’d think that right off the bat, but it’s not true. Once I go into the hospital, I won’t be good for anything. Hell, I’ll be lucky if I can tell you my name. The painkillers turn you into a blithering idiot. The therapy about kills you. I won’t be able to help. This way I can do whatever I can even if it seems minuscule to you. I have to do it this way. Why can’t you understand it?”
“Maybe because of your track record. Maybe because Beth doesn’t want you to do anything. Maybe because it sounds like a cop-out. Do you want me to continue?”
/> “God no,” Jake said wearily. His voice was resigned when he said, “You must have taken two of those ugly pills this morning. Excuse me, I think I hear the arrival of my new housekeeper. After I talk to her, I’m going to shower and shave; and then we can get down to work. You do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do. And I don’t want to hear another word from you, or this time I will bounce you and your dog right out of here. On second thought, the dog can stay, and you go.”
“Oooh, you’re scaring me, Mr. Masters,” Gracie needled. Gizmo barked long and loud to show he was on someone’s side, it just wasn’t clear who that someone was. Gracie watched as the dog followed Jake out of the room. It was all she could do not to laugh out loud. She quickly punched in Beth’s number and waited for her to pick up. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and the call went to voice mail. She left a quick, concise message, knowing Beth would smile when she heard it.
In the kitchen, Jake looked at the woman who was standing in the middle of the room staring at the mess he’d made. “I’m Jake Masters. And you are?”
“Ilsa Gloom. I brought the food from the Emporium. The receipt is in one of the bags. Tell me what my duties are so I can get started.” She waved her big arms and hands around, and said, “No more of this!”
Jake nodded. “It was an accident.” He waved his arms about to indicate the mess.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Pork chops,” Jake said smartly.
The woman nodded and pulled an apron out of a black bag she’d set on the table. “You can go now. I’m allergic to dogs.”
“Oh, well now. You see, that’s going to be a problem. The dog stays.” Gizmo barked shrilly.
“It won’t be a problem if you keep him out of the kitchen.”
Jake weighed his options and realized suddenly he had no options to weigh. He nodded. Damn it to hell, Moose, where are you when I really need you?
“C’mon, Sergeant. How would you like to take a ride in the elevator?” Giz didn’t bother to bark, he just raced ahead and pressed the round button to open the elevator door. He waited until Jake was safely inside before he entered. Jake grinned when the big dog pressed the button that would stop the elevator at the second floor. “I wish I was half as smart as you are, Sergeant. Your owner has me down as some lowlife, no-account, good-for-nothing, whiny puke. She’s right—that’s the sad part. Well now, wait a minute. She’s only half right. I’m working on . . . on my issues. You got any input, I’d like to hear it. Like now would be good.”
Jake laughed when the big shepherd sat down on his haunches and stared at him. “I’m on my own is what you’re indicating. I guess. Okay, I get it. Does that work for you, big guy?”
Gizmo lowered himself to the floor and dropped his head onto his paws, his signal that he was okay with it all. Jake felt proud of himself that it only took him the better part of an hour to shower, dress, and shave. He refused to admit he felt drained when he heaved himself back into the chair. Giz was at his side, immediately nudging his leg and offering up his paw. Jake knew in his gut the dog did this same thing with the vets at the rehab center. His way of offering encouragement. “Good boy,” he said softly and gently as he cupped the dog’s big head in his hands. “Good boy.”
Chapter Eleven
“Jake Masters reporting for duty!” Jake said as he wheeled himself into the office. He eyeballed Gracie as he rolled the chair closer to her desk. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, Miz Sweet, and I’m willing to take the blame for it. So, my suggestion is, let’s start over. I’m Jake Masters. Call me Jake,” he said, extending his hand. A smile as wide as the Grand Canyon spread across his face. “Your dog likes me, so that has to give me a little bit of an edge, doncha think?”
The playful tone of his voice did not go unnoticed by Gracie. She reacted in kind.
Gracie automatically reached for his hand. She couldn’t help but feel the calluses on the palms. It must be some kind of trick, was her first thought. Giz did seem to be enamored of him. Dogs, especially trained dogs like Giz, were astute judges of character. “Gracie Sweet. Nice to meet you . . . um . . . Jake.”
Gizmo barked his approval, not once, not twice, but three times. The shepherd definitely approved. Gracie grinned in spite of herself. “Ah, Gracie here,” Gracie said, withdrawing her hand, which suddenly felt like it was on fire.
“I apologize for everything and anything. I want us to work together. I want to do whatever you think will work for my sister. I admit I panicked a little while ago when I said I wasn’t going to go for the surgery. I am. The thought of spending the rest of my life in this chair is just not an option any longer. I’ll do whatever I can do up until next Friday. I won’t argue with you, I won’t fight with you. I’ve always been pretty good about following orders even when I don’t like the orders.
“I think I understand this business, but I’m sure I’m going to screw up along the way, so just set me straight. And about those . . . ugly pills . . . I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did mean it,” Gracie said coolly. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said it.”
Chagrined, Jake did agree. “Okay, at the moment I said it, I sort of, kind of, meant it. But I don’t . . . I was just angry. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted. I need to say something, too. Your sister, Beth, my boss, told me all her life all she wanted was your approval. Before she left for Nashville, I guess that would have been after she came here, she said she had to accept the fact that no matter what she did, she would never get that approval. She said she finally accepted that fact, and that’s what made her more certain than ever that going to Nashville was the right thing for her to do. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told you this, but unless you say the words out loud, you can never be certain the other person understands. Do you understand, Jake?”
“Nothing like hitting me smack between the eyes! No, I did not know Beezer felt like that, but it certainly explains a lot of things. Unfortunately, we both know you can’t un-ring the bell. I never felt that way. I never judged my sister. I knew she was trying to find her way, trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. I never, ever, begrudged anything I did for her. I just wanted her to be happy. I can’t deny that I went off the rails after the accident. I regret that now. More than you will ever know.”
Gizmo did his three-bark song, his “yes” signal that enough was enough. It was also clear to Gracie that the big dog was on Jake’s side. She had to respect that, but she still felt a little jealous. “Anything else you want to unload to clear your conscience?” she said coolly. Nice eyes. Repentant eyes. A person could drown in their dark depths. Now, where did that thought come from? Gracie hated the ring of heat that was creeping up from her neck to her cheeks.
Jake laughed. It was an alien sound to his own ears, a clear indication that he rarely if ever laughed these days. She was smiling at him. At him. He wondered what it meant. A really lovely smile. Maybe the ugly pill was wearing off, or she had some devious trick up her sleeve. Gracie smiled at the sound because it sounded genuine to her. “Nope! My conscience is clear now, so I’m good. So what do you want me to do?”
“Start calling our clients. Just identify yourself as Beth’s and my assistant. The reason for that is the guys might get caught up in your football history if they match the name to the sport. If you have to leave a message, do so, but ask them to return your call. We need to make this personal and show we’re on top of things. I’m going to be doing the same thing. We’ll break for lunch, then we have the conference call with Mandy, Callie, and Lily, and later this afternoon, the lawyers are stopping by to update us. At the moment, I think we’re in pretty good shape, but that can change on a dime. I’m going to make some coffee. Would you like some?” Good Lord, did I just ask him if he wanted coffee? It must be the repentant brown eyes.
“I would. Thanks for asking.” Uh-oh, she is being way too nice all of a sudden. She really must be up to something because she�
�s still smiling. At me.
Gracie grinned all the way to the kitchen. Well, she’d whipped him into shape in short order. Then she laughed out loud because she knew Jake was thinking he had whipped her into shape. She could hardly wait to send a text to Beth.
Gracie took one look at the sour, dour housekeeper, and reared back. “I was just going to make some coffee.”
“Not in my kitchen, you aren’t. I will make it for you. I told Mr. Masters the dog can’t be in the kitchen,” said the woman.
“But you don’t know how I like my coffee. The dog is not in the kitchen—he’s standing by the door.”
“You’ll like the way I make it,” the sourpuss said coldly.
Gracie whirled around, Giz on her heels. She raced down the hall and into the office. “Hey, Jake, do I have your permission to fire that . . . that . . . woman?” The brown eyes sparked with something Gracie couldn’t define.
“Oh, God, please do it. I didn’t have the guts. Wait a minute, though. I have to pay her. I’ll call the agency to send someone else.” The wheelchair moved faster than Gracie thought possible. Jake was back within minutes, with a check in hand. “Lock the door after she leaves and make sure Giz pushes her out the door. She’s not allergic to dogs. I called the agency, and they said she just doesn’t like cleaning up dog hair. Do you need me for backup?” he asked anxiously.
“I think Giz is all the backup I need.” God, he was acting so nice, so normal, and he was trusting her to fire his housekeeper. Hmmmmm.
Gracie trotted back to the kitchen. She handed over the check, and said, “Mr. Masters regrets that you and he are not a good fit. He’d like you to leave now, and he also said to thank you for your efforts.”
“Well I never . . .” Ilsa Gloom sputtered.
Gizmo barked shrilly as he nudged the woman toward the door. She grabbed her coat and handbag off the hook by the back door but didn’t bother putting her coat on. Gizmo barked again, and the minute the door closed, he slammed his paw on the lock.
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