Blotches appeared on Zeke’s face from holding his anger inside, but he didn’t cross his father in front of Sophie.
Sophie watched the back and forth between father and son. It was difficult to keep from smiling. Zeke would primarily report to her. She didn’t doubt that she could close the deal. She relished the idea of Zeke kowtowing. Oh, this would be fun. She sat on her hands to keep from rubbing them together like the bad guy in some old B-movie. If she’d had a handlebar mustache, she would be stroking it.
They hammered out details, and Mr. Hart dismissed them. Sophie’s steps were energetic as they walked down the stairs, but she didn’t say a word.
“You’re smirking,” Zeke said.
“Am not.”
“Do you have gas then? Because that’s what they say about babies when they get that look.”
“Funny.” She didn’t give him a second glance but strode confidently into her office. She dumped the soggy bun into the trash can and woke up her computer. Zeke stood in her doorway, muscled arms stretched across the frame.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Just following you around like a puppy dog. Got any sage advice for me today?”
“Shut up.”
“You got it.” He tapped his heels together, saluted, turned, and marched into his office. Sophie got up and slammed her door. The man made her furious. How this would work, she had no idea. She couldn’t wait to talk to her best friend, Rainy. She called and set up dinner that night. Luckily, Rainy had plenty of help at the café, so the women could go somewhere less likely to harbor local gossips.
Chapter Four
Sophie squirmed in the passenger seat as Rainy drove into Dallas. The sky had turned cloudy and gray. Sophie had tried all day to come up with a strategy that would help her work with Zeke and failed miserably.
"What's got you so upset?" Rainy asked. She switched on the wipers as the first raindrops fell onto the windshield.
"I hate this traffic, and it gets worse in the rain."
"I know. I used to commute in horrendous traffic." Rainy laughed at a memory. "I remember the first time I got caught at the light at Main and Fourth. There were four cars in front of me, and I was impatient with them for taking so long to get going. That's when it dawned on me that I wasn't, as Dorothy would say, "in Kansas anymore."
"Yeah, that's one thing Hartford has going for it. It's a rare day when you have to sit through more than one red light. And when it rains, everybody just stays inside. Smart people. I worked in Dallas for a couple of years when I first graduated SMU. I was a nervous wreck by the time I moved back home. Wouldn't go back for the world, now." Sophie was relieved to think of something besides her work dilemma.
"I'm the same. My café would never have been in the black so fast in the city. Hartford has been very supportive from day one." Rainy pulled into a parking lot.
"This is the place you wanted to check out?" Sophie leaned forward to see the café. It was similar to Rainy's place but larger and more crowded.
"Yep. I want to taste a couple of things they have on their menu."
"Tell me what you want me to order, and you can try some from my plate." Sophie knew she wouldn't be eating much. Her stomach was in an uproar.
When they ordered and the waitress left, Rainy raised her eyebrows at her friend.
"Tell me what's going on," she said. "We're out of the traffic, and you are more out of sorts than you were at breakfast the other day when you let the Harts have a piece of your mind."
"Ah, you noticed that?"
"Everyone in the café noticed that. It wasn't subtle. Why do you let them bother you so much?" Rainy tore the cellophane off two crackers and spread butter on them. She popped one in her mouth and waited.
"They are so entitled. I watched Darlene throw Zeke's key, and it set me off. I can't count the number of women those boys have disappointed. Zeke's the worst. He…" She stopped herself. She hadn't planned to say anything about Tucker's plan for ruining her life for the next several months. She wanted to talk about Rainy's problems so that she wouldn't feel alone in her misery.
"He what?" Rainy asked. She was persistent and curious. Sophie wondered why she'd thought this dinner was a good idea.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Hey, you're the one who had the showdown at the OK Corral. You might feel better if you get the whole thing off your chest." Rainy sat back as the waitress sat plates on the table.
"This looks yummy. Are you thinking of replicating some of these at your place?"
"Yes, but don't change the subject."
"I'll tell you about my day, only if you'll promise we won't talk about it all night."
Rainy crossed her heart and nodded.
Sophie related the events of the day and how she had no idea what to do about it. She moved the food around on her plate but ate little. Rainy took an occasional bite from across the table. At least someone was enjoying dinner.
"The way I see it," Rainy said after a long drink of iced tea, "You've got two options. Get on board, be professional, expect the same out of Zeke as you would any co-worker…"
"Or?" Sophie asked.
"Or quit. Tucker's not going to let you say no. If you don't want to work with Zeke, find another place to work." Rainy speared asparagus and brought it to her mouth.
Sophie watched her enjoy the vegetable like a true gourmand. Food wasn't Sophie’s thing, but she could see how much it meant to Rainy. Sophie would be happy with a cheeseburger any day. Rainy had gotten her to eat more variety in the last year than she'd had her entire life before.
"I can't quit. I've worked my tail off to get where I am. The thing that makes this so hard is watching Zeke be handed the vice presidency and move into the office I've wanted forever. He doesn't belong there. I do."
"Then do a jam-up job. Blow the socks off Tucker. He may favor his sons, but he's not stupid. He knows a good thing when he sees it. This whole set up is probably his way of testing Zeke to see if he will live up to the challenge."
"What if he does? I'll never get to be vice president if Zeke starts taking his job seriously. And if he doesn't, we won't get any sales. It's a Catch 22 situation."
"So, what are you going to do?" Rainy waved the waitress over and ordered a decadent dessert. She didn't bother asking Sophie what she wanted since she always passed on the sweet stuff.
"I'm going to suck it up. I guess. I need the job. I don't want to move into the city, and there aren't any competing construction companies that would pay me as well. I like my paycheck. I like to travel around the state, most of the time. It gets me out of the office, and I love my new car. Oh gosh! What if Zeke and I have to travel together?"
"Would that be so bad?" Rainy raised her eyebrows a couple of times. "The guy may be a jerk, but he's hot. Not as hot as Gabe, but still."
"You have a thing for Gabe?" Sophie was surprised.
"No. I simply think he's the best looking of the brothers." Rainy's downcast eyes gave her away, but Sophie dropped it. She wanted to keep her attraction to Zeke a secret, so it wouldn't do to pry into her friend's fantasies. She watched Rainy devour the chocolate cake and wondered how her friend stayed so slim.
"Well, I don't fancy traveling anywhere with Zeke Hart. He's pompous, sarcastic, arrogant, entitled…"
"Uh-huh." Raine didn't look like she believed a thing Sophie said.
"I'm not kidding. He's…"
"OK! I get it. You don't like him." Rainy smiled knowingly. Sophie dropped the subject. She'd figure out how to handle Zeke. She had to. And she needed to change the subject.
"Are you getting some ideas for your menu?"
"This cake is going on it for sure. I think I can reproduce the icing. Want a taste?" She held a fork out.
"No, thanks. I had my carbs for this week already. What little of it I managed to salvage after Zeke made me spill coffee all over it." Damn. She'd brought the subject right back to Zeke. When would she ever learn?
> Rainy didn't pick up the subject. Instead, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling.
"What are you looking for?"
"I thought we could take in a movie while we're here. Do you have anything you're interested in?"
"How about a slasher movie?" She imagined herself in the role of the slasher, tearing into the Hart family and ripping it apart.
"What? You hate those," Rainy said. "How about this one?" She held the phone out with the trailer for a new Rom-com that Sophie had on her list of things to see.
"Perfect. What time does it start?"
"Eight-thirty. We can just make it." Rainy paid for both meals, saying she'd eaten most of the food at the table while Sophie pouted.
The movie was funny, and Sophie forgot about her problems for a couple of hours. She felt calmer when the movie was over. Her shoulders weren't as tight, and she wished she'd eaten more at the café. It was a good sign when her appetite returned.
The rain had let up, so they were only a bit damp as they got into the car for the ride home. Rainy pushed a CD into the player, and Nora Jones sang to them on the way back to Hartford. The soulful sound was soothing, and Sophie worked to stay awake. When Rainy dropped her off, she quickly slipped into her pajamas. She drank warm milk and ate a fold-over ham sandwich to keep her stomach from rumbling. Her journal could wait. It was a rare night when she felt sleep coming so quickly. She took advantage of the feeling and settled into bed.
She awoke during the night from a dream of Zeke. It was a good dream, one that had her body heated and hungry for more than food. She'd fallen asleep with the light on, so she switched it off and punched her pillow fiercely. She didn't want to dream about Zeke. She didn't sleep much the rest of the night, and when morning came, she was ready for a fight.
"So much for the movie chilling me out," she said to the kitchen walls as she brewed her morning coffee. She needed a plan. She sipped from her favorite mug and went looking for her journal. She wouldn't rest until she had an idea for handling Zeke. She had to get serious about it, so she sat on the side of the bed with a pen in her hand. The coffee grew cold on the nightstand. When nothing came to mind, she fell backward and stared at the ceiling.
"You are in so much trouble," she said.
Chapter Five
Zeke made it through the long and stressful week and was ready to forget the office. He slung back his third shot of tequila and slammed the shot glass on the bar.
“Hit me again.”
Bart narrowed his eyes. He’d seen Zeke drunk before, but it had been a long time ago. All the Hart boys had taken turns acting out their troubles over the years, and Zeke had been the ornery one when he was drunk. Bart had no desire to have his bar torn up.
“I think you’ve had enough, son.” The television showed a double hitter, and the crowd went wild. Bart turned the volume down.
“Hell, I’m just getting started. Pour me another.” Zeke tapped the bar beside his glass and snarled.
Bart poured, but he didn’t like it. He stepped into the back and called Gabe.
“You might want to come down here. Zeke’s on his fourth tequila and doesn’t seem to want to stop. I’d appreciate it if you could get him out of here before he gets into a fight.” He nodded as Gabe agreed to be there quickly, even though Gabe couldn’t see him. When he stepped back to the bar, Zeke was talking to Marisol, one of the regulars. She’d been coming to the bar for years since her husband had disappeared. The gossip had it that she’d run him off with her drinking, but Bart knew for a fact that her old man could drink her under the table on any day. The guy had probably driven off after a fight and started over in a new town.
“You’d think a man could make his own way in the world without having to please his daddy, now wouldn’t you?” Zeke swayed on the barstool and blinked. He ran his finger around the lip of the shot glass absent-mindedly.
Marisol, who was far from sober, leaned toward Zeke and put her hand on his shoulder. She got a conspiratorial look on her face and seemed to practice talking for a second before speaking into his ear.
“You tell Marisol all about it,” she said. “I’m sure we could work something out tonight. I’ll make you forget all about your old man, or work. Hell, anything. You come home with me, and we’ll work through your daddy issues on my California king bed. It’ll be better than going to a shrink. You remember the old days, don’t ya, honey?” She slurred her words, but her intention was crystal clear.
“That might work. We ain’t been together for too long.” Zeke could barely remember the one night stand he’d shared with Marisol a couple of weeks after her husband left town. He wasn’t sure but thought he’d had a good time. He swallowed the last of his drink. Slamming the glass again, he pointed at it, but Bart shook his head. At the same time, Marisol was attempting to put her purse strap on her shoulder and stand. She fell into Zeke and ended up in his arms.
“Well, hell, sugar. You want to start right here?” she asked.
He ran kisses down her neck, drunkenly. From seemingly out of nowhere, a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up, knocking Marisol off his lap.
“You’ve had enough,” Gabe said in a deep and controlled voice.
Bart watched warily because this could go any of several ways. He hoped for the best. His insurance bills were big enough. Gabe was the voice of reason when it came to the Hart boys.
“Come on, bro. I’m about to get some action here.” Zeke slurred his words as he pulled Marisol toward him again. She moved toward Zeke and glared at Gabe.
“Go away,” she said. She flapped her hands at Gabe and lost her balance. The heels she wore were obviously killing her feet because she propped her hands onto Zeke’s shoulders and took off her shoes. Standing barefoot, she seemed a bit steadier and a lot shorter.
“What’s gotten into you?” Gabe asked his brother. “You were fine at work today.”
Marisol slumped back onto her barstool. Bart poured her another drink. Gabe did not approve and shook his head to show it, but he had his hands full with his brother. Gabe hoped Marisol would get home safe and convinced himself Bart would make sure of it.
“Our exalted father. That’s what’s gotten into me.” Zeke threw his hands into the air and swayed.
“What did he do now?” Gabe angled his brother away from the bar and Marisol. He nodded his chin at Bart as they made their way to the door. His voice was soothing and seemed to be working on Zeke, who followed without complaint.
“Demoted me. The man is crazy. He’s making me work for Soph. She’s going to laud it over me until I break. I’m thinking that Marisol is looking pretty good these days. She’ll make me feel better. Why don’t you mind your own business?” He seemed to realize his brother had led him almost out the door and jerked his arm away. He turned to go back and tripped over a chair. Gabe steadied his brother patiently.
“I think not.” He was behind Zeke and reached under his armpits to lift and carry him toward the door again. “So, you’re not the VP anymore?” he asked.
“No. I still have the title. He just set me up so that Sophie has power over me. The woman will be the end of me. She’s better than me at that job, and Tucker knows it. Why he wanted me to sit in that damned office and stare at the river all day, I’ll never, ever understand.” The brothers were out of the bar, and Gabe placed his hand on Zeke’s head to help him duck into the front seat of his BMW. He belted his brother in, shut the door, and ran around to the other side.
“I don’t understand,” he said as he shut his door and started the engine. “What’s his game this time?”
“Hell if I know,” Zeke said. He laid his head on the window, shut his eyes, and had passed out by the time Gabe pulled into the driveway. He unbuckled his brother and pulled him out of the BMW.
“Where are your keys?” Gabe asked.
“Pocket.”
“I ain’t going in there. Get ‘em out.”
Zeke managed to find his keys and stay erect while Gab
e opened the door.
“Can you make it in on your own?”
“Shoot. No problem,” Zeke said. He stumbled up the one stair step and barely caught himself on the door frame. “Where’s Marisol?” He asked as if he’d just realized she hadn’t come with them.
“She’s not coming. Go to bed.” Gabe pushed his brother the rest of the way into the house and to the bedroom. Zeke was out, fully clothed, and snoring like a foghorn when Gabe locked his brother’s door, hid the key, and headed home. He checked the clock in the BMW. It wasn’t ten yet, so he called Nat.
“You got any idea what’s going on with Dad and Zeke at the office?”
“No. What’s up?” Nat’s television was roaring in the background with a baseball game.
Gabe was annoyed. “Why would anyone tell me? I’m just the General Counsel. If they can’t sue us for something, Dad ignores me. Zeke’s on a tear. I just brought him home from Bart’s, where he was raving about getting demoted and having to work for Sophie. He was messing around with Marisol. That woman’s trouble with a capital T.”
“We’ll find out more when he’s sober. Want to come watch the game? The ‘Stros are winning.”
The game sounded infinitely more fun than hanging out with a drunken Zeke or going home to an empty house, so Gabe agreed.
##
Zeke woke with a freight train roaring through his head. He was so dry; his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He squinted at the bedside clock and groaned when he realized it was almost noon on Saturday. He’d missed the best fishing time, and couldn’t remember how he got home. He remembered skipping dinner and opting for drinks at Bart’s Bar. He rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head, shutting out the sunlight. He didn’t want to remember a thing. He knew he was too old to be drinking enough to hurt this bad the next day.
The phone rang out, sending waves of pain through his brain. He reached for it, flopping his arm around until he touched it with his hand. He knocked it off the bedside table, and it kept ringing.
Hook, Line, and Sinker Page 3