Chapter Two

Monday morning Gail found a small box wrapped in pink paper adorned with red hearts on her chair. After hanging her coat on the tree behind her desk and stowing her purse in the bottom drawer, she pulled the package onto her lap.

Was someone playing a joke on her, or was someone really giving her a Valentine gift? She cast a furtive glance out over the office as a niggling suspicion about who’d put the box on her chair teased her. The cubicles were still empty. Being a morning person, after a quick run and a shower, she was always the first to arrive to unlock and start the coffee for the day. Today however, the brew would have to wait a few more minutes.

With a tug, the red satin bow came undone easily. The wrapping paper fell away to reveal a box of conversation hearts. She smiled even though she’d never really cared for the chalky candy.

A folded piece of cardstock was taped to the box. She stifled a laugh as she read the note:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I had a nice time

Talking to you

Initials SC completed the message. The bold, masculine scrawl was a stark contrast to the silly rhyme.

Amusement lingered as she tucked the note beneath her keyboard, then pulled a small glass dish out of a drawer. She filled it with the candy, then set it on the high ledge in front of her desk. Familiar with the collective sweet tooth of the employees at Thompson & Sons, she bet it wouldn’t last until noon.

Did the new president have a sweet tooth as well? Scott Callahan had only recently taken over as head of the company for his ailing uncle, and she didn’t know much about him. Except she agreed with the woman in the pink jumpsuit. He had a nice ass. Normally she didn’t go for men in suits and ties. She only wanted two things out of life. A pair of nice fitting jeans and the man inside them. Some girls liked shoulders or chests or abs. For her, it was all about the butt.

It probably was stereotypical of her to think it, but men in business suits tended to be stuffy and uptight. She wanted someone more laid back, with an attitude as casual as the clothes he wore. An executive in charge of running a company wouldn’t know the first thing about relaxing. Taking life as it comes. Or having time to spend with a wife and a family.

Still, despite the fact Scott Callahan was more than likely a clone of all of the other guys in suits and ties she’d ever met, she’d spent an inordinate amount of the weekend thinking about him. And not just his fine derriere. Had she been too quick to turn down his offer of dinner?

Caught up in her memories, Gail jumped when the phone rang. “Thompson and Sons, this is Gail, may I help you?”

“Did you get my note?” The man had a voice as nice as his ass.

“Yes, I did.” Gail kept her tone professional as Jack Wellington nodded hello on the way past her desk.

“It really was, you know. Nice talking to you.”

“Thanks. It was nice talking to you too.” They’d joked. They laughed. They even found a tiny bit of common ground. Tiny, as in miniscule. Other than meddling relatives, they had zero in common.

“So why don’t we do it again? I know you don’t want to have dinner with your boss, so how about coffee?”

“Look, Mr. Callahan…”

“Scott.”

She ignored the correction. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to date the boss.”

“Who said anything about a date?”

“Oh, I mean, I uh…” Heat flooded her cheeks. Gad. Thanks to her weekend of obsessing she’d misconstrued his offer.

“This will simply be two coworkers getting together to chat.”

Right. Like she could face him after putting her foot firmly in her mouth. Just because she couldn’t stop thinking about him didn’t mean he was interested in her. The candy and the silly note didn’t mean anything either. “I—”

“You’d really be helping me out.”

“I’m sure the woman in the pink jumpsuit is long gone.”

He laughed. Her skin tingled. “Not that. I’d like to pick your brain about my uncle’s company.”

What could she possibly have to tell him about the company he owned?

As if reading her mind, he went on. “I’m the newbie here. I was hoping you could provide me with a little bit of the inside track. Give me your perspective.”

An odd request, but nevertheless one she could grant. She enjoyed working for Thompson & Sons. It couldn’t hurt to let the boss know how much. Job security and all that. “Okay. Sure.”

“Great. Are you available after work today?”

“Yes.”

“Any particular coffee preference?”

“I can meet you at Bubba’s Diner. Say five-thirty?”

He hesitated. Then, “Sure. That will work. See you then.”

****

Gail slid into a turquoise booth across from her boss. She’d run home to change into jeans and a sweater, but he still wore his suit from work. He hadn’t even loosened his tie.

After giving their orders to the waitress, he smiled at Gail. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So how long have you worked at Thompson?”

“About ten years. I started right after college.” Would it matter if she told him she’d only completed two years at the community level? An Associate’s Degree was good enough for her. Seeing he was the head of the company, he probably had an MBA at the very least.

He nodded. “How do you like it?”

The waitress set two mugs on the table. “Anything else I can get you?” She cast an appreciative glance at Scott, who murmured a refusal.

Another woman showed interest and all of a sudden he went from Mr. Callahan to Scott? Gail shook her head, amused at even her own fickle female nature.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Sorry.” She added the contents of a sugar packet and a small creamer to her mug. “I was thinking about something else.” Before he could question her further, she continued. “And to answer your question, I love working for Thompson and Sons.”

Scott gripped his mug with one masculine hand, but didn’t raise it to his lips. “Are you telling me what you think I want to hear, or is that how you really feel?”

Gail blew on her coffee before taking a cautious sip. “That’s how I really feel.”

“Any particular reason you like working there?”

“The people are great. I make a decent salary. Good benefits and insurance. I get plenty of holidays and personal days.”

“Your boss is understanding when you leave early to go to a singles’ mixer.”

Gail’s face flamed as hot as her coffee. She stared into the caramel colored brew. “That too.”

“Hey. I’m just teasing.”

She glanced up. Saw the twinkle in his green eyes. “Phew.” A week ago, if someone would have told her she’d be sitting around at Bubba’s have a tête-à-tête with the president of her company she would have told them they were nuts.

“Anything you want to ask me about the company?”

“Not specifically. Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

He cocked his head to one side. “Not at all.”

“How’s your uncle doing?”

“That’s not really personal.”

She shrugged.

“He’s having a difficult time. It’s hard for him to be away. To give control to someone else. If he could have it his way, my guess is he would work until he was at least ninety. Probably would have died right at his desk doing what he loved.” Scott shook his head and raised his coffee to his lips, but grimaced before taking a sip. Instead he put the mug down. “Life certainly throws you some wicked curveballs, doesn’t it?”

Why did she get the feeling they weren’t talking about his uncle any more? “What did you do before you took over for your uncle?”

“I worked for Merrill Lynch in New York.”

No big surprise there. He definitely gave off a big city vibe. “Ah, that explains your accent.”

For a moment he looked nonplussed, then he grinned. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re the one with the accent.”

“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that. Anyway, New York? You must feel a bit out of your element here.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” He gazed at her as if trying to come to a decision about something. “If I tell you something, would you keep it off the record so to speak?”

“Certainly.”

“To be totally honest, I wasn’t thrilled to have to come here and take over my uncle’s company.” He sighed. “Living in a little hick town isn’t part of the future I planned.”

Gail sat back against the booth. “Hey.” She crossed her arms across her chest. Nobody insulted her town.

Scott reached for her hand and coaxed it away from her body. He squeezed. “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right.” He waved his free hand. “This is a nice little town, but I had plans. Big plans. I was on the fast track. And now…” He ran his fingers through his hair.

Not only did it leave his hair sexily mused, but the endearingly casual gesture tugged at her heart. Her tense muscles relaxed.

“So why did you come here?”

“There wasn’t anybody else. At this point the ‘and Sons’ is a misnomer. Since the company was founded the oldest son was always groomed to take over and keep it running. It worked for three generations, but Uncle Al didn’t have any kids. So it came down to my sister or me to run things. And since she’s busy with her matchmaking business, everyone thought I was a better fit. So, here I am.

“Of course I’m technically not a Thompson, but at least I’m a blood relative. With no immediate heirs, eventually we’ll have had to figure out what to do, but Uncle Al’s sudden illness moved the timetable up.”

“You’re right. That’s one hell of a curveball.”

Scott threaded his fingers through hers. “It hasn’t been all bad. Especially since Friday night.”

Whoa. What was she supposed to say to that? Gail avoided his gaze, instead focusing on the red and pink cherubs and hearts suspended on fishing wire from the diner’s ceiling. Gad. Three days ago she hadn’t given the upcoming Hallmark holiday a second thought. Now what with the singles’ mixer and the conversation hearts, not to mention the with-a-face-like-that-he-should-be-a-frickin’-model man with an ass that wouldn’t quit holding her hand, she couldn’t get away from it.

Be that as it may, her view on things hadn’t changed. Getting involved with her boss wasn’t a good plan. No matter how fast her pulse raced when he was near.

“I want to clarify something, if I may?”

“Sure.”

“You turned me down for dinner because I’m your boss, right?”

Gail winced. He made it sound so harsh. But he wasn’t wrong. She nodded.

“So it’s me as your boss you’re refusing, not me personally?”

“I guess.” Where was he going with this? If he weren’t her boss, more than likely their paths never would have crossed.

His eyes did a charming crinkle thing when he smiled, albeit ruefully. “Not the resounding declaration I was hoping for, but I’ll take it. For now.” He leaned nearer and lowered his voice until it reached an almost intimate level. “What if I told you that might not be a problem for much longer? Would you reconsider?”

She swallowed and ignored the goosebumps elicited by the close proximity. “What might not be a problem?”

“I might not be your boss for much longer.”

“Are you firing me because I won’t go out with you?” Did the semi-teasing tone hide the slight flicker of alarm clutching her stomach?

“No, of course not.” He glanced down at the table, then back up to meet her gaze. “I’m thinking of selling the company.”