One Night with the Boss Page 8

  “That’s very important.” She looked fondly at her husband. “That’s what gets you through the years.”

  Olivia agreed. Brady had a wonderful sense of humor.

  “I just want you to know how much I admire what you’re doing.” Her sister nodded with conviction. “You love Leonard and the two of you are going all in and making a commitment to each other. I respect that so much. And you’ve got a great new job, too!”

  Although Olivia wanted to tell Pru not to use her as a role model, there was really nothing she could say that wouldn’t raise a lot of questions. And that would lead to more untruths. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.

  “Thanks, Pru,” she finally said.

  Her mother assembled forks, knives and napkins. “Ken, Pru, why don’t you set the table in the dining room? Oh, and find those beautiful crystal wineglasses in the china cabinet. We need to toast the good news. The lasagna is almost ready. Livvie can help me with salad and garlic bread.”

  “Okay, honey.” Her husband saluted, his eyes twinkling. “Pru and I won’t let you down.”

  “Smart aleck.”

  “It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.”

  Olivia was glad to have something to keep her busy. She got spring greens and fresh vegetables from the refrigerator, then the wooden salad bowl to put it all in. “It smells good in here, Mom.”

  “I’m glad.” Using mitts, Ann pulled the baking dish out of the oven. “So, when did you plan to tell us you were in love, had a new job and were leaving town?”

  The sudden question startled her and she turned to look at her mother. In the blue eyes so like her own, she saw the same pain she’d experienced a little while ago when pulling up out front. Her words had to be as close to the truth as possible.

  “This change isn’t about Leonard and I’m not moving because of him. That was just what I told Brady to keep him from talking me into staying again. I need to shake up my life, Mom.”

  “You can’t just find another job here in Blackwater Lake?”

  “No.”

  “Because Brady would still be here,” her mother said.

  “You know?”

  “Of course. I’m your mother. I know you. I see the way you look at him.”

  “Remind me not to play poker with you.” Olivia sighed. “Excitement has passed me by for the last five years and if I don’t do something, another five will go by and nothing will change.”

  Her mom stared at her as if she could see straight into her heart and soul. Then she nodded. “I understand.”

  “If not for Leonard, I’ll weaken and Brady will talk me into staying.” She blew out a breath. “He already convinced me to stay until after the annual employee weekend.”

  “I see.”

  “After that, I’m taking a vacation. When I start work with Colin, it will probably be brutal hours and not much time off. I haven’t had a break in a long time.”

  “That sounds like a good plan, sweetie.”

  “Thanks for understanding, Mom.” She smiled. “I’ll be back for visits all the time and you guys can come see me. The Golden State. You and Dad will love it. But I have to go. If I don’t, I’ll never find a life.”

  And it hurt too much not to have one.

  * * *

  It was almost quitting time on Monday and Olivia was ready to be finished for the day. On top of trying to clean up work so as not to overwhelm her replacement, details for employee-appreciation weekend had to be handled. In addition to all that, Brady had asked her to contact Ian Bradshaw and make sure he could come in a few days early to consult with Cabot Dixon on a summer-camp website. That was taken care of.

  Lately she was doing more with less—sleep, that was. Telling her family about relocating had been stressful and emotional. She didn’t even want to think about how awful it would be when she finally moved, but move she must to get out of her personally unfulfilling rut. A clean break was the only way.

  She heard the beep, the deactivated security system’s warning that someone had opened the front door. Moments later her sister, Prudence, appeared in her office.

  “Hi, Liv.” She looked upset.

  Olivia stood up behind her desk. “Are you okay?”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to go to Bar None and get a drink after work.”

  “Sounds good. I could use one. Been a busy day.”

  “I can use one, too,” Pru said, her mouth trembling. “Because my day was just awful.”

  “What happened?” She was around the desk in a heartbeat. “Tell me—”

  The door to Brady’s office opened. “Prudence Lawson, as I live and breathe.” He must have heard the beep and surfaced, checking out who was there. “To what do we owe the honor of a visit from Blackwater Lake High School’s most popular chemistry teacher?”

  Big gray eyes welled with tears. When they rolled down Pru’s cheeks, she buried her face in her hands. In a heartbeat Olivia was holding her.

  Brady was beside them. “What’s wrong?”

  A horrible thought occurred to Olivia. “Is it Mom? Dad—”

  “No.” Pru looked up. “Gosh, no. I’m sorry. Compared to that, what happened is so unimportant, but—” Tears glistened in her eyes again. “Greg dumped me.”

  “Oh, sweetie—” Olivia urged her sister into one of the club chairs in front of her desk. She sat in the other one.

  “Isn’t he the high-school football coach?” Brady asked.

  Her sister nodded. “And he teaches math.”

  “I thought you two were getting serious. Last night at Mom and Dad’s you told me that he was close to proposing.”

  “I was wr-wrong.”

  “What happened?” Olivia asked.

  “After we talked last night I started thinking.”

  “Uh-oh.” Brady settled a hip on the corner of her desk. “Thinking is never a good idea.

  That got a small smile. “We’ve been going out almost a year. Liv, I was just so impressed with the way you and Leonard are in sync and going forward with your relationship.”

  Olivia wanted to cry now. She was the last person her sister should listen to or take advice from. “Oh, sweetie, you and I are different people.”

  “And Greg is no Leonard, that’s for sure,” Pru said angrily. “When the going got tough, he got going. I brought up the subject of commitment and he said he wasn’t ready. That we weren’t on the same page and it would be for the best if we stopped seeing each other.”

  “Toad.” Olivia was so angry. She wanted to hurt the guy who’d hurt the baby sister she loved so much. “I’d like to give him an earful.”

  “Want me to beat him up for you?” Brady asked.

  “Would you?” Pru asked hopefully.

  “Just say the word. But before I defend your honor, there are a couple of things you should consider. These are in no particular order, but it’s from the male point of view. That might be helpful.”

  “Please.” Her sister made a hand gesture that urged him to go on.

  Olivia was intensely curious about what he would say. He seemed so clueless about feelings and getting relationship advice from a guy who didn’t commit could be problematic.

  “Think about this.” Brady folded his arms over his chest. “You’re better off that he broke up with you.”

  “How can you say that?” Olivia cried. “She loves him.”

  “And that’s unfortunate. At the risk of inciting the wrath of both Lawson sisters, Greg is right. You want commitment, he obviously doesn’t. As he said, not the same page. So, to continue as you are would be a waste of time. Move on. Find someone who’s looking for and ready to commit to a wonderful, beautiful, smart woman like you.”

  “Just like that?” Olivia asked. “Go find so
meone else?”

  He looked at her calmly, as if she were a hysterical child. “I’m not saying it’s easy, but isn’t it worse to invest time in a relationship that is clearly going nowhere?”

  “When you put it that way...” Pru said reluctantly.

  “But he hurt her.” This was her sister and Olivia wanted toad guy punished, preferably with pain involved.

  “Believe it or not, most men don’t like calling it quits with a woman, deliberately hurting them. But if you don’t want the same things, ultimately it won’t work out. The sooner you break it off, the sooner you can get over him and move forward. So, look at it this way, Pru.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “He actually did you a favor.”

  His calm, rational tone finally got through and Olivia thought about his words. It was exactly what she was doing, although Brady certainly hadn’t done her any favors. He’d kissed her, then nothing since. That was proof that it meant nothing to him and moving on was the right thing for her.

  “I didn’t think about it like that.” Prudence sniffled and he handed her a tissue from the box on Olivia’s desk.

  “Me, either,” Olivia admitted. “Same thing applies to a woman dumping a man. If they aren’t on the same page, she’s doing him a favor in the long run.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Who knew that a guy who understood computers as though they were his best friends could give such great relationship advice? He’d actually coaxed a smile from heartbroken Pru. He was showing some very definite symptoms of being wonderful. This man would understand if she explained that she was feeling stifled and needed to go out into the world, stopping short of confessing her crush, of course. But the rest he would get.

  Olivia felt like pond scum for fibbing about a boyfriend. She’d underestimated Brady and would come clean as soon as her sister left.

  But Pru didn’t seem inclined to leave the love guru’s office. “I feel so much better, Brady. When did you get so smart?”

  He shrugged. “It’s not about IQ. What I said is just logical.”

  “That’s where men and women are different,” Olivia said. “When emotion is involved, logic goes out the window. We’re wired differently.”

  “And that’s a good thing. It’s about balance,” he said sagely.

  Prudence crushed the tissue in her palm and smiled at him as if he’d hung the moon. “You, sir, are pretty amazing. How is it that no woman has snapped you up?”

  He laughed. “I appreciate the kind words, but it’s not miraculous insight. Like I said, just common sense.”

  “Yet sensitive,” Pru persisted.

  Olivia looked from her sister to her boss. “I’ve never heard anyone accuse you of being sensitive before.”

  “I can be.” There was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her. “You’re just too stressed out about leaving me for Leonard and finding your replacement to see it.”

  “Oh, please.”

  “He could be right, Liv. Because I thought it was going to take a bottle of wine to make me feel better and Brady took care of it with a conversation. Saving me a hangover, by the way. That’s seriously sensitive.” She tapped her lip as she studied him. “And you’re still single.”

  “I am.”

  “What’s wrong with the women of Blackwater Lake? Surely they’re interested.”

  “I can’t complain.”

  Olivia wanted to raise her hand and admit to being one of the interested, but held back. As it turned out, she was glad about that.

  “So again I ask, why is it that you have avoided taking any relationship to the next level?” Pru asked.

  “That’s easy to answer,” he said.

  Pru glanced at her, then met his gaze. “So tell us.”

  “I’m not a marrying kind of guy.” He shrugged, as if that said it all.

  “No woman has tempted you to take the plunge?” her sister asked.

  “It never goes that far. Like I said, a waste of time for everyone involved.”

  They continued to talk, but Olivia felt a buzzing in her head and couldn’t concentrate on what was said. She was stunned at his revelation, but she should have realized it. After all these years, and who knew how many women, he’d never had a serious connection.

  She would have known. Blackwater Lake was a small town and there was no way to keep that kind of thing a secret. But there was something shocking about hearing him confess the truth out loud. It was imperative for her to get away from this job while she still could.

  As if the kiss wasn’t warning enough, his declaration that he would never get married convinced her she was leaving in the nick of time. Her decision to make up a lover in order to pull it off wasn’t morally right, but made perfect sense when one was into self-preservation. The fact that Brady’s words bothered her so much convinced her not to feel too guilty about her lies.

  She wanted what her parents had. And to accomplish that, she had to do anything and everything necessary to leave Blackwater Lake. No matter what.

  So, until she was free and clear, Leonard Sebastian Honeycut was here to stay.

  Chapter Seven

  It was almost quitting time, and Olivia looked at the watch on her wrist. Yesterday at this time her sister had dropped by and cried over the messy breakup with her boyfriend. Then Brady had given her straight talk, so straight he’d revealed that he wasn’t the kind of guy who was looking to get married.

  That was confirmation that she’d been right to give her notice and get away from this job, from him. Maybe “right” wasn’t exactly the best way to describe her strategy of deceit to follow through with leaving, but there was one bright spot. She looked at her watch again.

  “It’s been a whole twenty-four hours since I told a lie about Leonard.”

  Just then the phone rang, startling her. It was like a reminder from God that she still had a pile of deceptions to be accountable for. The penance Brady was putting her through now probably didn’t wipe her record clean.

  After the third ring she picked up and said, “O’Keefe Technology, Olivia speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Hi, Liv. It’s Maureen.”

  “Hey. How are you?”

  “Been better,” she mumbled. “Is Brady there?”

  “I’m sorry, he isn’t. He had some errands to run but should be back soon. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Yes. You can keep that hussy away from my son.”

  “What hussy would that be?” she asked his mother.

  “Tiffani Guthrie.” She spat out the name as if it were a particularly fast-acting poison. “I have visual confirmation that she’s back in town.”

  “You saw her?”

  “At the diner,” she confirmed. “I didn’t talk to her, but Michelle Crawford did and told me that all the rumors are true about why she’s back in town.”

  Great, Olivia thought. Because there wasn’t enough to deal with. The hussy couldn’t have waited until she was gone before stirring things up. “Do you want him to call you when he gets back?”

  “That’s not necessary,” the other woman said. “Just give him the message. And tell him to watch his back.”

  “Consider it done, Maureen.”

  “Thank you, Liv.” There was a moment of hesitation before she added, “Why couldn’t he be involved with you?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re such a sweetie. If you two were an item, he’d have cover. Tiffani couldn’t get to him. Except there’s Leonard...”

  If she didn’t say anything in response to that, was it still officially a lie? That would break a very short falsehood-free streak. It was nice to know Brady’s mother would approve of a relationship between them, but the information was bittersweet. Olivia wished he’d notice
d her in that way, but it wasn’t to be. She’d thought pain was supposed to go away when you stopped beating your head against the wall. So far that wasn’t the case.

  “Do you think Brady still cares for Tiffani?”

  “He says not, but he did once. I know the breakup hurt him. If there’s a God in heaven, she won’t be able to do it again,” Maureen said.

  “I’ll do what I can.” Olivia decided it would be best not to add that there wasn’t actually anything she could do. If Brady was still hung up, he’d take it wherever he wanted. “Don’t worry.”

  “Yeah, that will happen.”

  She heard the chirp indicating that someone had entered the house. “I know it’s hard. But you have to trust Brady.”

  At that moment he walked into the room and heard his name. He frowned and pointed to the phone in her hand, asking who she was talking to. On a scratch pad she wrote, “Your mom,” and gave him a questioning look that asked if he wanted to speak with her. He shook his head and mouthed, “Take a message.” She nodded and turned her attention back to the conversation.

  “He’s a man,” Maureen was saying, “and as you probably know since you’re practically engaged to Leonard, men don’t always use their heads. When it comes to women, especially ones with big—”

  “Hair?” Olivia guessed.

  Maureen laughed. “I was thinking boobs, but she’s been living in Texas, so I guess that’s appropriate. Although it would be an affront to Texas women to lump her in with them. Ellie Hart, that lovely girl Alex McKnight is engaged to, comes from the Lone Star state and there’s not a mean or manipulative bone in her body.”

  In other words, Tiffani was both of those things. Olivia had seen her when Brady dated her, but she didn’t really know the woman.

  “Don’t borrow trouble, Maureen. Brady has a lot of common sense.” She turned and saw him standing in the doorway between their offices. He was grinning and giving her a nod of approval for her vote of confidence. Since when did reassuring his mother fall under her job description? His ego needed taking down a peg or two. “Like all men, he can be influenced by a well-endowed woman. Seriously, wouldn’t you worry if he weren’t?”