Secrets On the Clock
Jenna Thompson is a recently promoted supervisor for Child Protective Services, but she's already having a hard time following the rules. She knows that if she dares act on her desire for her new trainee, she won’t keep her job long.
Danielle Corey’s family disowned her when she came out at seventeen, so she’s passionate about helping children who have been neglected, abused, or abandoned by their families. Eager to prove herself as a new social worker, Danielle struggles with her unprofessional attraction for her new boss.
As the case they’re working on becomes more volatile, their opinions start to clash even as coworkers become suspicious of their obvious connection. Tensions rise and, with their careers and hearts in the balance, Jenna and Danielle have to decide if they’re willing to risk everything they’ve worked for to take a chance at forever.
Secrets On the Clock
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Secrets On the Clock
© 2018 By Nicole Disney. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13:978-1-63555-293-5
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: October 2018
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Cindy Cresap
Production Design: Susan Ramundo
Cover Design by Tammy Seidick
By the Author
Hers to Protect
Secrets on the Clock
Acknowledgments
First, I want to give a huge thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing a home for so many wonderful stories over the years. I thank you as a reader, a writer, and simply a person for creating a place fantastic LGBTQ stories can be found. I am continually impressed with the beautiful quality of books that comes out of BSB and am so fortunate and happy to have been welcomed into the family.
Thank you always to my amazing family that has been so supportive my entire life, no matter how crazy my ideas and aspirations sounded. To my mom, for providing a home full of so much love and joy. Thank you for teaching me how to see the good in everything. You gave me the best gift a person can give in teaching me how to be happy. To my dad, who I lost before all this became reality, but who always knew it would. I miss you every day. To my wife, for being my fellow dreamer. For being by my side as we explore this beautiful and strange world together. The road never gets too dark with you walking it with me.
Dedication
To Cassandra, always and forever.
Chapter One
Jenna pulled on the suit jacket that was the last piece of her ensemble and cringed at the way it restricted her freedom of motion. She was proud of her promotion. At twenty-five years old, she was the youngest supervisor for Child Protective Services in the region, and it had taken dedication and long hours to achieve. But the pride came with a healthy dose of anxiety. Now she had to live up to the title, and her new boss was notoriously hard to please. Even with a host of new responsibilities to master and superiors to answer to, something much simpler had become a fixation: complete dread that the dream job she’d worked so hard to obtain was accompanied by a requirement to wear formal business attire.
It had taken hours of frowning at the discomfort of pantyhose, skirts, and heels before a salesperson had finally talked her into an expensive suit. At the time, she’d had to admit it was indeed the most comfortable option, and now, looking in the bathroom mirror, she also had to admit she looked good. She straightened her wavy hair and put mascara on her lashes. She knew many women who did this every day. In fact, they tended to be the type she preferred to date, so she’d witnessed the ritual a thousand times. Still, stumbling through the process, she felt like a kid who’d snuck into her mom’s bedroom to play dress up.
“Wow, you look like a girl!”
Jenna jumped at the unexpected voice and turned to her sister, Callie. “I feel ridiculous.”
“You shouldn’t. You look amazing.”
“It feels like too much.”
“Isn’t it required?”
“Business formal.” Jenna blushed. “Whatever that means.”
“It means what you’re wearing is perfect.”
“They’re going to laugh.”
Callie scanned her again, reassessing. She could always be trusted to be honest, even if it meant hurting feelings.
“They’re not going to laugh,” she finally said. “You look like a grownup now is all. Be confident. I know I would be if I was half as beautiful.”
Jenna tilted her head, a rush of sadness flooding through her. She touched Callie’s face, feeling the bumps and valleys of the scarring from her burns. “You are beautiful, Callie.”
Callie shifted away. “Yeah, whatever. You better get out of here if you’re going to be on time.”
Jenna wanted to say more, something more powerful, more convincing, but they’d had this conversation a thousand times, and she never made any headway.
“All right,” she said. “Have a good day then.”
“You too,” Callie said. “Knock ’em dead.”
Jenna picked up the purse she’d purchased and draped it over her shoulder. She kissed Callie on her good cheek and headed for the door. “See you tonight.”
“Bring me home a milkshake.”
“Uh-huh.” Jenna sighed and closed the door behind her. She passed by her old Volkswagen that sat unused in the driveway collecting sap under the scarlet oak trees and continued to her Acura. She loved her new car, but she wouldn’t have bought it if she’d known Callie would never touch the VW. She pushed the irritation aside. Today was too important for her to be lingering on old problems. She sped through the quick drive to work and parked on the side of the building so she could enter through the door no one used. That was the only comfort she’d allow herself. She wouldn’t slink through the halls like some kind of criminal. Callie had one thing right; confidence was key. She could do this.
She took one last look in the mirror and confirmed she didn’t look like a clown, then opened her car door before she could chicken out. Her purse felt ridiculous bouncing against her side and trying to slide off her shoulder, but she grabbed the strap and kept moving at the swift pace she always did. Soon she was knocking on Paula Caliery’s door without having come across another human. Perfect.
“Come in.” Paula’s voice rang out.
Jenna went in and closed the door behind her. “Good morning,” she said.
Paula stood. She was a striking woman with pale eyes and hair so blond it was almost white. Her limbs were long, slender strips of muscle that made it hard to tell if she was fit or just so thin her skin betrayed every sinew. She’d been the manager for years, yet Jenna knew her more by her intimidating reputation than their limited face time. Paula shot her hand across the desk in a brisk jab.
“First of all, congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Jenna said. “I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
Paula sat down and motioned for Jenna to do the same. “You already got the job. You can relax now.
”
Jenna laughed but knew she sounded stiff. Paula leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, revealing a long, wiry thigh that seemed to never end. She scrutinized Jenna with a disarming scan down her body. Jenna imagined it was a motion that had made many men squirm before her, though she wouldn’t call it flirtatious.
“You look great,” Paula said.
“Oh, thanks.”
Paula nodded and sat forward again. “So your training will be as streamlined as possible. A lot of it you already know. Supporting the caseworkers, answering questions, handling complaints. I have no concerns about your abilities with any of that.”
Jenna nodded.
“One concern that was brought up when we were discussing your application, however, is that we know you’re close friends with quite a few of the caseworkers.”
Jenna knew something to this effect was coming, but she still felt her cheeks getting warm at the suggestion she couldn’t be an unbiased supervisor. “Is that a problem?”
“I hope not,” Paula said. “There isn’t a rule that expressly prohibits it, but you can obviously see how a conflict could arise. It’s common practice to distance yourself a bit to discourage anyone from putting any sort of inappropriate pressures on you.”
“If you mean with evaluations, I plan to be completely fair and honest. I don’t think any of my friends expect otherwise.”
Paula nodded. “I don’t doubt you. Nevertheless, we thought it would be a good idea to hand-select the caseworkers that will be assigned to you rather than just passing down Jordan’s old crew. We’ll start small at first. Let’s say five caseworkers, and I’m doing my best to assign people to you that are not in your social circle. I think it will make it easier on everyone. However, if you start to receive any unethical requests, I’d like to know about it. I know that will put you in an uncomfortable position, but it will be in your best interest.”
Jenna thought about her best friend, Sasha. They’d been hired as caseworkers together, along with another good friend, Adam, and they’d clicked instantly. Sasha knew how important this job was to her, and she couldn’t imagine Sasha asking for anything compromising, but she had to admit she’d have a hard time turning her in if she did. The rest of them, Cole, Val, Suzie, they were more drinking buddies than close friends. She doubted they would dare to ask, but if they did she could handle it.
“I understand.”
“Adam will be the one exception,” Paula said. “He’s in need of a new supervisor, and he has an excellent track record. We’ve all agreed he will be a good candidate to be matched with you while you transition to your new role.” Paula uncrossed her legs and crossed them again the other direction. “Unless you believe otherwise.”
“Of course not. I’m happy to have him,” Jenna said.
“Great. I’ll help you with the first few evaluations. After that you’re free to fly. I’ll be here if you have any questions, but I think you’ll see my style is pretty hands-off.”
“Sounds great.” Jenna felt she was already in trouble before she’d even started.
“Last order of business.” Paula sat forward again. “Your open cases. We’ll need to pass them off to the others so you can focus on your new responsibilities. I’m dividing them up between everyone. Here’s a list of who’s getting what.” Paula slid a paper across the desk. “You’ll need to pass on any pertinent information to the correct people.”
Jenna reached for the paper with numb fingers. She hadn’t prepared for this. The thought of giving her cases away made her stomach turn to iron. She knew each of these families intimately and cared for the outcome of each. She scanned the list. The Stevensons and Craigs were going to Suzie. The Crenshaws and Saltoris to Adam. She looked up without reading further.
“Can I not finish out my open cases? I’d really like to see them through. They’ll thin out soon enough as long as I don’t take any more.”
Paula threaded her fingers together and rested her hands on the desk. “You’ll have a lot to do as it is. I don’t think it’s practical to expect you to learn your new responsibilities and continue with your previous workload.”
Jenna knew she was wearing her feelings on her sleeve and tried to stifle them. She looked at the paper again, scanning for the name that mattered most. The Clarks. They were matched up with a name she’d never seen before.
“Who’s Danielle Corey?”
Paula smiled. “Glad you asked. She’s our new caseworker. She’s filling your old position, and she’ll be one of the members of your team.”
“Oh.” Jenna looked at the paper again. “That’s great, her being on my team. I don’t know if she should handle the Clarks, though. It’s a complicated case, a lot for a new hire to take on. I’ve been working with them for two years.”
“Sasha will be training her. She’ll have support.”
Jenna leaned back in her chair, weighing her words before she spoke.
“Problem?” Paula asked.
“They’re difficult boys,” Jenna said. “They don’t warm up easily, and they’ll be upset if I disappear on them. Sasha is fantastic, and I’m sure Danielle is too, but the kids know me.”
“I understand it’s difficult,” Paula said. “Really. But you’re going to have to get comfortable with delegation. Being a supervisor is a very different job. If it’s not for you—”
“No!” Jenna interrupted. “It is for me. Promotion was always the plan. It’s just…” Jenna sighed. She was losing ground. “It’s a special case. I’ll pass on the details of all the others, but it’s really important to me to finish this one myself.”
“It’s been two years already. You know it could go on much longer. You want to keep it indefinitely?”
“What if I train Danielle on it? She’ll get a chance to learn, and the boys will get to know her before I bow out. Once they’re comfortable with her, if the case is open that long, I’ll let her take over.”
Paula tilted her head right and left as she thought it over. “It’s unconventional, but a reasonable compromise. We’ll go ahead with that, but if I see you struggling with your new duties because of it I’ll have to pull you and give it to Sasha. Fair?”
“Fair.”
Chapter Two
Danielle hated the social pressure of a new job. It wasn’t that she hated people; she didn’t, but her first instinct in a new work environment was to quietly observe and study until she felt confident with the job. Then and only then did she feel comfortable goofing around with people. The problem was, by that time she’d already be labeled as a standoffish loner. It was a pattern she’d been battling since elementary school, and as much as she wanted it to be different this time, she was falling back into the familiar awkward and meaningless small talk that kept people at a distance. Her new trainer, Sasha, probably already thought she was dull.
“Let me show you where your locker is,” Sasha said. She had sparkling blue eyes and hair that wasn’t quite blond or brown. She led Danielle down a flight of stairs into a harsh yellow locker room that looked like it had been in need of fresh paint for at least a decade and smelled like citrus. Sasha pointed at number forty-six. It was probably only a foot wide and tall, not good for much except maybe a change of clothes, though she couldn’t picture herself wanting out of the simple CPS polo bad enough to change at work. Danielle opened the locker anyway and was surprised to find a picture of a half-naked Victoria’s Secret model taped to the door.
“Sorry.” Sasha giggled and trotted over. “This locker used to belong to someone else. I guess she didn’t quite finish cleaning it out.”
Danielle laughed. “Did she quit?”
“No, got promoted, actually. Has a whole office for her pictures now.” Sasha winked. “She’d probably die if she knew you saw that. I think it was a practical joke from one of the guys anyway.”
Danielle shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me.”
“That’s good. There are a lot of shenanigans around here. People with a sense of
humor tend to do better. Anyway, if you want to leave anything in there, we’ll hit the road in a few.”
Danielle threw her jacket inside and followed Sasha back up the stairs and down the long hallway to the front doors. They still had about fifty feet to go when a woman in a gorgeous black designer suit rounded the corner and headed toward them. Danielle didn’t make a habit of scrutinizing people’s bodies, yet she was uncharacteristically aware of this woman’s form beneath the loosely draped cloth.
“Damn, Thompson, that you?” Sasha called down the hall.
Danielle caught a glimpse of the woman’s eyes and was almost startled by the brilliant shade of green that jumped across the room. The woman cut her curious gaze short as she shifted her attention to Sasha, who cleared her throat.
“I mean, Ms. Thompson. If I could introduce you to our new caseworker, this is Danielle.”
Ms. Thompson’s shoes clicked across the floor until she was standing in front of Danielle holding out her hand.
“Jenna.”
Danielle accepted the handshake and was pleasantly surprised to find it effortless. She’d fumbled through more awkward handshakes than she could count.
“Danielle.”
“Ms. Thompson will be your supervisor,” Sasha said. “She’ll be the one you want to go to with questions once you’re out of training.”
Danielle hoped the surprise didn’t show on her face. Jenna was certainly dressed for the part, but she looked too young to be a supervisor. “Nice to meet you,” Danielle said.
“I was just about to take her out on the road,” Sasha said. “Unless you need her for paperwork?”
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