One Night with the Boss Page 9

He mouthed, “Hey, that’s my mom,” and she threw him a satisfied smirk.

  “A mother worries about everything,” the other woman confirmed.

  “Hang in there, Maureen. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ear. I wish you weren’t leaving him. With you there it was one less thing I worried about.”

  “How sweet of you to say that.” Her voice caught on the emotion produced by the unexpected compliment. “I promise I’ll give him the message.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. Bye.”

  The line went dead and Olivia put the phone back in its place, then prepared for a barrage of questions from Brady.

  “So, I’m influenced by a woman’s physical virtues?”

  “Your mom said it first.” To his credit, Olivia thought, he kept his gaze on hers. But then, maybe she didn’t have any physical virtues to speak of.

  “May I ask what this is all about?” He didn’t look annoyed, just highly amused.

  “She called to give you the four-one-one—”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Information,” she explained. “That hussy—her words, not mine—Tiffani Guthrie is back in town. She had visual confirmation. Again, her words.”

  He nodded. “I heard.”

  “Good news travels fast.”

  Try as she might, Olivia couldn’t tell from his expression what was going through his mind. He wasn’t angry or upset, happy or excited. His face was blank, as if wiped clean of emotion.

  Did that mean he was over Tiffani? Or, like he’d said yesterday, that he wasn’t interested in getting serious? The curiosity was too much for her and she really wanted to know. She was leaving anyway. What could it hurt?

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure. Anything.” He moved around the front of her desk and settled a hip on the corner. “Shoot.”

  Olivia was momentarily tongue-tied. The spicy scent of his cologne wrapped her in a sensuous cocoon, swirling a spell around her. For just a second she pictured herself in his arms, their lips pressed tightly together, bodies so close it was as if they were one. Her pulse quickened and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

  “Liv? What did you want to ask?” he prompted.

  She shook her head to clear it of the erotic image. If she was going to speak, breathing was a vital component. Here goes, she thought.

  “I was just wondering. Is Tiffani the reason you’re not the marrying kind? Did she hurt you that much?”

  “It was a bad time for me.” For just a second there was a pained expression on his face, then it disappeared. “Senior year in college. There was a lot of stuff going on. Exams coming up. I just—” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “It’s hard to explain being a quitter, but I just didn’t have the reserves to stay in college. Not then.”

  “So you were vulnerable?”

  He shrugged. “Bottom line is that she didn’t have faith in me, so she said we were over.”

  “That must have hurt a lot.”

  “It’s so long ago I don’t even remember how I felt.”

  “So,” she said, “after that you became cynical about women?”

  “No. I realized she did me a favor.”

  It took Olivia a few seconds for her brain to switch gears enough to ask, “What?”

  “I’m actually grateful to her for breaking it off.”

  “Why?”

  “It was a lesson that took some time to integrate.” He looked thoughtful. “But I finally figured out that she found someone else pretty quickly.”

  “Meaning?” Olivia wanted to hear him say it.

  “She didn’t love me. We were a habit and when she walked away I didn’t miss her. It never would have worked with us. After awhile it became clear that deep feelings aren’t part of my skill set.”

  “And that’s why you’re antimarriage?”

  “Not for other people, only for me. It requires deep feeling, a level of commitment from both parties or it’s doomed to failure. And failure is a bitter pill to swallow. I can tell you that from personal experience.” There was disappointment on his face that was clearly self-directed. “I’ve always regretted not getting my college degree.”

  “You could have gone back,” she pointed out.

  “I was committed to building the company, and that didn’t allow time for erasing regrets.”

  “So you’re still beating yourself up over it even though you’re one of the most brilliant and successful businessmen in the country?”

  “Even though,” he confirmed. “As a life lesson, it earned me at least a master’s degree, possibly a PhD. But it’s also a valuable warning. Never start something you’re not going to finish because it’s a regret waiting to happen.”

  “Okay, then,” she said. “You need to reassure your mom that you’re not susceptible to female—”

  “Assets?” His look was wickedly endearing.

  “Exactly.”

  “I can do that.” He grinned, then stood and walked around the desk, standing so close that she could feel the heat from his body. “I’ll call her now.”

  Olivia held her breath until he’d closed his office door, then let it out as she dropped into her desk chair. She wasn’t sure how she’d expected him to answer her question—but what he’d said hadn’t been it. He came from such a supportive and close-knit family and she knew he loved them very much. He was capable of deep emotion. Just not the kind of deep emotion required for a relationship.

  That’s when she realized what just happened. They said curiosity killed the cat but it had done the same thing to hope.

  She wished she’d never asked.

  * * *

  “Don’t you think this thing with Olivia’s boyfriend is weird?”

  Brady had gone to his sister’s house following a call to his mother to reassure her that he could handle Tiffani Guthrie if necessary. Now he was stretched out on Maggie’s couch, feet on the coffee table after dinner. His niece was asleep and his sister was a good friend of Olivia’s and might be able to give him some insight. But when his question went unanswered, he looked over and noted a funny look on her face.

  “Well?” he prompted.

  “If I were you, I’d be more concerned about Tiffani Guthrie.”

  He held a half-empty bottle of beer and rested it on his abdomen. “Mom said something similar. What is it with you and her?”

  “She—Tiffani, not Mom—is a barracuda. You’re a wealthy man now. It’s pretty obvious.” Maggie sat in the chair beside him with her feet propped on the matching ottoman.

  She was wearing fleece cartoon-character pants, fuzzy slippers and a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. On her it looked good, but that was about her fresh-faced prettiness. Although he could be prejudiced. Then what she’d said sank in.

  “It’s not obvious to me why I should be concerned about an old girlfriend.”

  “Come on, Brady.” She snorted scornfully. “You weren’t good enough for her before.”

  “Thanks, sis. Way to build up my self-esteem.”

  “But now you’ve got a bundle of money and I’m sure you’ll be worth her time. Plus—” She held up her index finger. “There’s the whole her-marriage-is-over thing, not to mention the life lessons of living in a single-wide in the boonies.”

  “So you think she came back for me?”

  “No. Your money would help to finance a lifestyle to which she’d like to become accustomed.” Her brown eyes darkened with fierce protectiveness. “Watch yourself.”

  “Look, Mags, I appreciate that you’re trying to protect me. I’m flattered you think I’m such a catch—”

  “I’m sorry. You thought that’s what I meant?” She grinned. “Actually, in my humble opinion, you’re
a toad.”

  “Lest there be any doubt, in our family there’s no danger of developing a swelled head.”

  “Seriously, Brady, don’t get sucked in. She did a number on you once.”

  “Not really.”

  It wasn’t committing to one person that he shied away from, but pinning hopes, dreams and love on one person who could be snatched away in a heartbeat. Olivia had advised him to assure his mom that he was over the past. Dumping the information on Maggie was almost as good. It would get where it needed to go.

  “Look, sis, Tiffani did me a favor when she ended things. It was clear she didn’t love me and I realized we’d gotten used to each other. A habit. I didn’t miss her when she left, and that’s not love.”

  “Good.” She was holding a mug of tea in her hands and took a sip. “But that doesn’t mean she won’t try again now that you’re rich.”

  “Oh, please.” This was getting old. “It’s obvious why she came back. The marriage ended and this is her hometown. She has family. It’s the logical thing to do.”

  “Okay. If you say so.”

  “I’m more concerned about Olivia.”

  “Why?” Maggie’s expression was full of innocence—on steroids.

  “I can’t believe I’m the only one who sees this.” There was something going on and he had a sneaking suspicion that his saintly sister was in on it. He watched her closely. “Olivia is leaving Blackwater Lake for a man no one knows. Doesn’t that bother you? It’s what Tiffani did, and look what happened to her.”

  “You have a point,” she admitted. “I’m afraid this guy is going to hurt Olivia. Brady, you have to do something to stop it.”

  “Me?” He sat up straight and put his feet on the floor. “She’s found someone and is willing to move for him. What can I do?”

  “Leonard is nothing.”

  Something in Maggie’s tone had warning signals going off in his head. His sister wasn’t a very good liar and that had his suspicions multiplying like bunnies. “What’s going on, Maggie?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, you do. Like I said, this thing with Leonard is weird. Have you met him?”

  “No.”

  “It’s like she pulled him out of a hat. He’s not from around here or we’d know. She never mentioned him until giving me notice that she was quitting the company. She doesn’t see him. I’d know because she’d have to travel for that. He never visits or everyone here in Blackwater Lake would know. There’s nothing in her email—”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Of course I did.”

  “You looked at her personal email messages?” Maggie stared at him. “That’s an invasion of privacy. Really, Brady, I’m shocked and appalled.”

  “That’s interesting. She took it better than you.”

  “Olivia knows what you did?”

  “Yes,” he said cheerfully. “She caught me in the act.”

  His sister shook her head. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  “I will be. Maybe next week. In the meantime, I need to figure out what’s up. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that something is funny. Not ha-ha, but weird funny.”

  “I don’t think she loves him. Not yet. But she could get hurt.”

  “I thought so, too,” he said, ignoring the part about Olivia getting hurt. “This thing she’s got going on just doesn’t seem like it’s on the way to love.”

  “How would you know?” his sister demanded. “You’re not a falling-in-love kind of guy. What is that saying? Oh, yeah. Takes one to know one.”

  “Not really. It’s deductive reasoning. How can you make plans to move away from family, friends and a really good job for a man you never see? That’s just crazy. Or strange.”

  “Why are you convinced there’s skulduggery afoot?”

  “For one thing, that’s not a word often heard in casual conversation.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “For another, she didn’t even tell her mom that she’s moving away for Leonard.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because our mom is her mom’s best friend and they had breakfast together. Our mom dropped by the house and I told her. She was shocked that Liv’s mom hadn’t said anything, because those two share everything. It’s like he’s a ghost. Like he doesn’t exist.”

  Maggie was just taking a sip of tea and started to choke. He jumped up and took her mug, set it on the coffee table. Then he patted her back.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” She looked up at him, eyes watering. “I’ll get you another beer.”

  “I’m not finished with this one.” He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t move. Not until you tell me what you know about Leonard.”

  “What makes you think I know—”

  He held up a hand. “Just stop. This is me. You can’t fool anyone, let alone your big brother.”

  “Do you hear that?” She looked at the baby monitor. “I think Danielle is waking up. She’s been teething and—”

  “Classic deflection. My focus is legendary and you know I’m not that easily distracted. Come on, Mags. Give it up.”

  “Okay.” Guilt was written all over her pretty face. “But you cannot tell Olivia that I’m the weak link.”

  “Promise. Now spill it.” He sat back down on the couch and waited.

  “Okay.” She blew out a long breath. “But remember that Olivia gave notice that she was quitting twice before.”

  “It was her way of asking for a raise,” he defended.

  “No. It was her way of asking for more.”

  “More of what?”

  “From life.” Maggie shook her head. “I only say that because she needed Leonard to help her go through with leaving her job this time.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “For a smart guy, you can be awfully dense sometimes. She made up a fake boyfriend so you wouldn’t give her a hard time about quitting and talk her into not doing it.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” he defended.

  “Really? Now who’s being weird?” his sister said sarcastically.

  Brady thought about the interviews Olivia had set up, all the lame excuses he’d used to avoid hiring her replacement. “Maybe I would a little. She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had and I’ll be lost without her.”

  “Well, get used to it. Leonard might be a figment of her imagination, but she really does have a job offer out of state. A terrific one.”

  He was surprised at the wave of relief he felt knowing that there wasn’t a man she cared enough about to move for, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be retribution for trying to trick him. He just hadn’t decided yet what form payback would take.

  “Do you know where the job is?”

  “California. It’s in upper management in a start-up company. Someone she knows from college.”

  Damn. He could deal with an imaginary boyfriend, but this was about a professional opportunity that by all accounts was a really good offer. “I could promote her to upper management,” he decided.

  Maggie gave him a pitying look, as if he were dumb as dirt. “I know you’d like to make this about her career, Brady, but it’s not. This is personal.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “All right. If that’s the way you want to play this.” She sighed. “She has no life here—”

  “How can you say that? She has a home. Family. Friends. You,” he said holding out his hand to include her. “She has a terrific way of life.”

  “Brady, she’s lonely. All I’m saying is give her a reason to stay.”

  “That’s not a good idea.” He knew what she meant and resisted with every fiber of his being. “Then everyt
hing changes. It gets complicated. I’d never do anything to hurt her. I already slipped up once and kissed her—”

  “What?” Maggie’s voice was sharp with attention. “You kissed Olivia?”

  “It was nothing.”

  “How can a kiss be nothing?”

  “She made a remark.” He shrugged. “It was something about my reputation as not being much in the kissing department.”

  “Way to go, Liv,” his sister murmured.

  “What?”

  “So the way to go was to kiss her and prove she was wrong?”

  “Of course.”

  But he was the one who’d gotten it wrong. It had been a colossal miscalculation, because every time he saw her he wanted to kiss her again—upstairs in his bed.

  “And it meant nothing to you?” Maggie’s tone challenged him to deny the truth. “Kissing Olivia was like kissing the wall?”

  “No. If I’m being honest—”

  “Please.”

  “It was pretty awesome.” There, he’d said it. Now he waited for Maggie to tell him he was seven ways a fool.

  “So you didn’t hate it.” Maggie nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, I say again—give her a reason to stay. A seduction. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just two consenting adults enjoying each other. No one has to fall in love or anything.”

  “Do you really think Olivia would go for that? She’s a traditional woman.”

  “She is traditional. But she’s a woman, if you get my drift. Take her out to dinner. A movie. Romance her. And before you bring up the L-word, look up the meaning of romance. Synonyms are story, tale, narrative.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I read a lot,” she said wryly. “My point is, give her a great story. The two of you get it out of your system and move on just as you were before.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  The truth was that Brady liked his sister’s point. Maggie was telling him that Olivia wanted a seduction. What a happy coincidence.

  He would very much like to seduce her.

  Chapter Eight

  “So almost everyone in the company has RSVP’d and attendance at the employee weekend looks to be around eighty-five percent.”