Chapter Six

Jack

For years, I wanted my da’s position as CEO, and now that Connor was taking over the responsibilities of CFO, things were much easier. During the call with some of the franchise investors in America, Connor was the one who had to prepare the points and would eventually write up something his assistant would send out.

I dreaded that moment in every single meeting, thinking how the hell I was going to take everything we just discussed in a two-hour phone call and somehow make everyone happy with a one-paragraph memo.

Luckily Fallon was pretty quick on her heels and had gotten everything sent out in a timely manner. No other assistant had worked like her. But Grace, I had a feeling, would be a close second.

I wasn’t lying when I said her CV was impressive. How a woman with her grades, internship, and school experience wasn’t working with some big publisher was beyond me. Whoever had interviewed her before me didn’t know what they were missing.

I never thought the little punk girl with glaring brown eyes would be the one who would make me shudder and beam all at the same time. She was maddening and had always been good at getting under my skin. Even as a little girl who would hide rocks in my shoes right before I went to leave the house. She and Sean would each put the blame on each other, but that sassy little smirk of hers always gave it away.

Just like it did now.

Like it should have the night of the gala.

She may have acted like she didn’t want this position in the company, and tried to glare, but when the words actually reached her lips there was that little hint of something more. But I could never tell if it was an impending doom sort of look, or a you’re-not-bad-for-an-arsehole kind of thing.

I was supposed to be finding a wife, not thinking about a girl from the past whom I wasn’t even sure I liked as anything more than a friend of the family.

Connor was right that we couldn’t talk about her like she was a piece of meat to fight over. She was just supposed to be an assistant. Not a love interest.

That’s what I had to keep telling myself and ignore the rush that rattled my body every time I saw that smile of hers.

“I don’t know how you did this shite for so long. There has to be an easier way.” Connor shook his head, going through the pages of scribbles on the desk.

“Hey, if you’ve got one, I’m all ears,” I said, putting my palms out.

He shook his head, looking up from his papers. “Maybe that new assistant of yours has an idea. Heard she was an assistant editor at some publishing house. They know how to tighten and cut what’s needed.”

I narrowed my eyes, unsure what kind he was trying to get at. “She was an assistant editor. Now she’s my assistant, and I don’t think editing romance novels works the same way as procedures in a company.”

He shrugged, picking up the papers and going toward the door. “Yeah, but it couldn’t hurt.”

Then he opened the door before I could respond.

Instead of the two women huddled over the computer, Fallon sat in the seat outside of my office.

It was past lunchtime, but surely Grace would have sent a note if she was leaving.

Or quitting.

My pulse quickened, my eyes widening as I stalked toward the door, looking at the empty chair then to Fallon. “Where is Grace?”

She blinked, looking up from the computer. “Uh, she was just walking her mom out. She brought some croissants which she pronounced all French-like.”

I listened to about half of Fallon’s rambling but focused on my still racing heartbeat.

“Sure she didn’t try to escape? Because that’s a pretty good excuse,” Connor said with a wink before he turned toward me.

“Already have the new girl running for the hills? And I thought she’d be able to handle you.” He laughed.

I knew she probably hadn’t already gone through the process of quitting, but what would I do if she left? Would that give me the green light to proceed with something more outside the office?

But then again, I did need an assistant. The turmoil played over and over in my head.

Relief finally washed over me when Grace’s heels clicked on the wooden floor as she crossed to the desk and dropped a bakery box on the corner as if it were just another piece of office furniture.

“Sorry. Just had to slip out for a minute. But I’m back now if you need me to do anything. Oh, and there are croissants. Mum brought them as a first-day-of-work thing. I know, weird, but she means well,” Grace said, her voice on the edge of frazzled.

“You can take lunch if you need to. Your mam coming to visit doesn’t count, so you can have the extra time.” I nodded, trying to ignore the new pang in my chest.

“It’s fine. I can work through it. I have a lot to catch up on. I’ll finish these forms now, so I won’t have to worry about it later,” she said quickly, going to her chair.

Connor opened the pink box on the desk, then closed it before smiling at his wife. “I need more than bread. I think we should head for a bite before I try to tackle my own work.”

Fallon tilted her head slightly, and he nodded in return before her mouth formed a perfect O, and she stood. “Yeah. I’ll be back soon, Grace, and we can go over the system again.”

Grace nodded at the blonde who now scurried around the desk, grasping onto Connor’s outstretched hand. “Okay.”

As soon as the couple was out of earshot, I leaned on Grace’s desk, opening the small box for myself.

I wasn’t much for croissants or really any kind of pastry. But the buttery smell wafted from the box and my stomach rumbled.

I couldn’t remember the last time I ate. Which was a regular occurrence, with a hurried cup of coffee in the morning. But just because I was too busy to think about a lunch break, didn’t mean my new assistant had to suffer as well.

“Why don’t you take a break?” I asked.

“What? No. I’m fine.” She waved her hand, but her eyes shifting to the box said something else.

“I know that look. This is exactly what you need.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine really.”

“It’s me telling you that I know you’ve been working your arse off half the day and probably forgot to eat. So we’re going to sit here and eat something.”

Slowly I circled her desk and took the seat next to her. I tried to ignore that our bodies were only a few inches apart and the need to reach out and brush my fingers along her skin was growing more and more urgent. I had to clamp these feelings down, and fast.

“You’re seriously crazy if you think I’m going to sit here and stuff my face. I’ll just grab something later. Don’t worry about me,” she quipped, her eyes on the computer.

I grabbed the box of croissants, taking one flaky pastry out, then plopping it on her desk.

“What the bloody hell?” She snapped, scooting back and brushing crumbs off her skirt.

Her eyes widened as she looked up at me. “Shite. I didn’t mean to burst like that. But this is a new skirt and…”

She sighed. “Bollocks, I need to learn to control my mouth. This isn’t going to HR is it?”

I licked m lips, grabbing a pastry for myself out of the box. “And what would they do, exactly? Tell me not to look out for the well-being of my new assistant? That maybe I need better aim when scooting the food across the table, so I don’t drop crumbs all over you?”

She blinked hard and groaned. “You don’t have to be nice to me, you know.”

“I think I do. I’m just trying to help you out. So, one small bite of the pasty and I’ll be out of your hair.” I couldn’t help the grin spreading across my face.

“If I take a small bite can we never speak of this or the gala again? Call it tit for tat?” she asked, clearing her throat.

“Maybe.” I took a small nibble of the croissant, trying not to focus on the curve of her red lips when she smirked.

She grabbed the bread from her keyboard, taking a large bite, swallowing hard, then setting the rest of it down. “There, we even?”

“I guess it’s a start.” I stood up, circling to the front of her desk.

“You didn’t need to do that you know. The food or ignoring my incompetence.”

“You aren’t incompetent and we both know that. And really, you do need to eat. Can’t have a good assistant ignoring her lunch hour.”

She looked down at her computer.

“I do eat. If you can’t tell by these,” she muttered, putting her hands on those curvy hips I was just thinking about. I had to mentally shake my head to ignore the warm thrill blazing through me at the thought of my hands there instead of hers.

“I work from sunup to sundown and sometimes forget to have a snack here and there or cheese with my nightly whiskey. If it wasn’t for Fallon making sure she brought in lunch or getting an afternoon snack every day, I would have probably passed out on my desk multiple times.”

She shook her head, but still didn’t meet my gaze. “I’m not going to bring you coffee and food at your beck and call. I mean I could if that’s what you really want, but probably not the best use of my time.”

“I didn’t say you had to. But if you need to take a break, take it. There’s no shame in taking care of yourself. And if you feel like bringing something back, I’m always grateful when someone reminds me to eat.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not going to tell me about a company gym pass now, too, are you?”

I shook my head, instantly taken back. “What? No. I mean, we do have discounts at local gyms if you wanted to go to one. Not that I’m saying you need it.”

Feck. What was this woman doing to me that I was rambling like Fallon?

I didn’t want to be the creepy boss, so instead I met her gaze. “I should get back to work and let you finish your training.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”

The conversation should have been over, but I found myself lingering and absently tapped on the wood surface underneath my palms. “When you’re done with lunch and your HR paperwork, we should talk about your editing experience and how it can help with some procedures in the company. I’ll make sure to send you an detailed email with some instances and things I think could be improved on. Then you can look over them and have some notes before tomorrow.”

She widened her eyes with a blush pinching her cheeks. “I don’t think what I did…or do…or…”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. She always tried to make herself out to be put together, and when she got flustered there was something absolutely adorable about it. “Don’t worry. I’m not penning a novel I want you to help me get published in there. I just need some help possibly changing up some procedures to make things easier for all of us.”

I finally stood upright and buttoned my suit coat. “Put it on your calendar. Meeting tomorrow at half past nine. I’ll bring breakfast. Or maybe we can even meet up at a café down the street.”

“This sounds like a date instead of a business discussion with a café and breakfast. You know HR probably wouldn’t like that.” She may have said the words, but I had a feeling the coy little quirk of her lips meant something else.

“Then I guess it’s a meeting and you’re getting the coffee.” I nodded and headed to my office, closing the door before she could protest.

…

Grace was always prompt.

My smile broadened when I approached the café near Murphy’s Pub headquarters. She sat at a little bistro table with two steaming coffee cups and trays of pastries in front of her.

Instead of the starched blouse and stiff skirt, she wore a flowy green dress with a silk sweater. She looked more casual than I’d seen her, and somehow more relaxed than the girl who had been in my office the day before. Something about the dress with her hair down in soft curls made me think about what the woman was like when she did let loose.

Now it was just the two of us, outside the office, and I had to mentally keep myself from saying anything to make me look like a gobshite.

“So you did get my coffee?” I asked, taking the seat across from her.

She barely looked at me, but a slight smile crossed her lips. “Don’t get too used to it. I figured I couldn’t order just one cup and not bring one for you, too.”

“Noted. But I think this means you might kind of like me.”

I grabbed one of the cups and nodded curtly.

She shook her head, but a smile reached the corners of her lips. “You’re okay. But I’m hoping you’ll hear me out with these ideas I have.”

I blinked. “I’m all ears.”

She sighed. “You know my experience is limited to publishing so I don’t know how much this will actually help.”

She opened a leather portfolio, spreading out papers covered in excel spreadsheets and graphs.

I leaned forward and picked up one of the sheets with my free hand. “Did you prepare all of this just for our meeting?”

Briefly I looked over the sheet, glancing at the brightly color-coded categories and percentages.

“I did a little extra research on the company, after reading through your notes in the email. I wanted to show how one process would correlate to some others,” she quipped and sat up straighter. It was evident in her wide eyes that she was proud of her work yet feared rejection.

I nodded. “If you were going to work late, I’d prefer you stay at the office to do it so we can make sure that goes on your timecard. But I will say, this is impressive. Your chart here about how much of my time is spent in meetings that could be forwarded in an email makes me re-think what I’ve been doing all day. Do I really spend that much time in a conference room?”

She nodded slightly, chewing on her bottom lip. “I hope you don’t mind. I did some back digging in your calendar so I could check out some of your meetings and the notes.”

“I see that. You really are making me think I need to streamline this process.”

She fiddled with the collar of her dress, but didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned over the table.

The buttons of her dress pulled at her chest, giving me a view of the lacy black bra peeking through the material

She was talking about numbers and different processes. I had to stop thinking about how beautiful those brown eyes of hers were, but once I started, I couldn’t stop.

Feck, what had gotten into me?

Even if there was a physical attraction, I was pretty sure the woman hated me. The old me, at least. The cocky sonofabitch from school. But I was different now, I’d like to think. But it didn’t matter. I needed to be looking for a wife, not just someone I could have some fun with. Grace was a family friend and even trying something, could lead to a disaster if it didn’t work out. Not to mention Sean’s rage that could follow if I hurt his best mate.

“I’ve got to take this,” Grace muttered, knocking me out of my trance.

I didn’t even notice her phone was buzzing until she sat down and with a grimace, put the device to her ear.

“Mum, I told you I was in a meeting,” she hissed. “Sorry to be short, but…”

Her mum seemed like a nice enough woman. I didn’t know much about her, as she wasn’t ever around her grandparents’ place growing up. But anytime her Mum was mentioned, Grace’s face soured. Especially now as she spoke with her.

“Blast,” Grace muttered. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”

She hung up and tossed her phone into her purse.

“Everything okay?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed. “I’m sorry to do this, but I’m going to have to take an early lunch, or morning break, or whatever this would be considered. I had to drop my dog off with my mum since she disturbed the neighbors at my flat, barking all day. But while she was out in the garden with Grandmum she got into some plants she shouldn’t have and has been getting sick all over the house. I need to meet Mum at the vet.”

I’d never had a woman need an escape call or an excuse to leave breakfast with me.

Especially since this was a business meeting and not a date.

Feck. What the hell was going through my head? This was Grace, not a woman I was trying to woo. And if she really was having a dilemma with her pup, no need to be an arsehole about it.

“Your dog?”

She stood up, frowning. “Yes, my dog, Jane Pawsten. She doesn’t like to be left alone or ignored for a few minutes or she starts getting into everything.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again, shaking my head. There was no easy way to respond to that.

I’d never had a pet myself and never actually understood the grand attachment to them, but the worried look in her eyes and shaking of her hands said this was more than just an excuse. She was really worried.

“I’m sorry again. I have to call a cab and get to the vet in Ballsbridge.”

I stood up, straightening my jacket before pulling out my wallet and placing a few notes on the table. If she was this worried, there was no way in hell I was going to let her go alone.

“No need to call a cab. I’ll drive you.”

She furrowed her brow, shaking her head fiercely. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you need to get to work.”

I smiled, trying to reassure her I really did want to help. “My assistant blocked off an hour and a half on my calendar, so I have some time. Besides, I care about families, even the four-legged kind. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little Jane Clawsten.”

“Pawsten… Like Austen but with a paw in front.” She put her hands up, still fidgeting from foot to foot. “Wait. Why am I explaining this to you?”

I took a step closer, so we were only a few inches apart. She looked up at me with those caramel eyes and I saw the tears brimming in them.

I swallowed hard. If something did happen to her dog and she was this attached, would she be able to afford the treatment? She only started working and I didn’t know anything about a savings or if Seamus was pitching in.

“Because I’m the one who is going to take you to save your dog,” I blurted before I could take it back.

“I’m really sorry about this,” she said with a sigh and stepped back.

I nodded and put my arm out, leading Grace toward my car. “No need to apologize. I understand.”

I wanted to wrap her in my arms and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. But I actually didn’t know if it would be. Or what kind of condition she’d find her pet in. I just knew that she would need someone there with her and I wasn’t going to leave her.

She laughed. “I just hope she’s okay.”

I nodded, worry settling in me, watching this girl’s face fall, but I smiled, figuring it was the least I could do. “Let’s go save Jane Pawsten.”

…

Traffic was light on the seven-kilometer drive to Ballsbridge.

The little white building stood out amongst the brick homes and bushes lining the cobblestone street. Not to mention that if my car’s GPS hadn’t told me we had arrived at our destination, I would have spotted the giant dog murals in the windows from a few meters away.

As soon as we parked the car, Grace bolted for the front door, running faster than I’d ever seen a woman in very high heels go.

Parking my car, I quickly followed her into the small, sterile lobby where three people sat on white plastic chairs. Seamus’s wife in her feathered hat, and the other woman must be Grace’s mum. She was the one who opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as Grace pushed a little bell on the front desk repeatedly.

Finally, a woman in white scrubs entered from the back and approached the large wooden desk with a tired expression of sullen eyes and lips in a straight line. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“Yes. I’m here for my dog Jane Pawsten-Evans. Is she okay?”

I’d seen the nervous and the mischievous woman, but this was an entirely different Grace. Her hands shaky, shoulders slumped, and her eyes wide and wild.

I wished there was something more to do than just stand there.

But I was afraid if I even touched her she’d scurry away, thinking it wasn’t just for comfort.

The woman in scrubs nodded, turning to her computer and typing a few things before looking back to Grace. “Ah yes, the little Brussels Griffon. For how sick she was, you’d think she’d lose some of the energy.”

Grace laughed slightly but chewed on her bottom lip as she leaned on the counter.

Slowly I stepped forward and put my hand on her lower back. Instead of swatting me away, she leaned into my side. My mouth grew dry with a new warmth spreading through me, trying to hold back whatever was blooming inside of me.

Not the time to think about how she felt pressed up against me or how damn good her floral shampoo smelled. As soon as the back door opened, Grace pushed forward, out of my grasp and her whole face lit up.

“Janey!”

I don’t know what I expected, maybe something more meaty than the little tiny furball with an underbite who squirmed in the man’s arms that was holding her.

“Is that tiny Chewbacca thing Jane Pawsten?” I asked, pointing at the snorting dog.

I tried to keep the shock out of my voice, but I expected a lethargic beast to come limping out. Not this little thing.

And yet I found myself laughing at the little dog.

“Jane does not look like Chewbacca,” Grace said with a half scowl as she took the little thing gently in her arms.

The little dog barely covered her arms as she cuddled her close, scratching behind the little furball’s ears.

I moved closer, taking the dog’s tiny paw in my hand. “Nice to meet you, girl. I’m Jack Murphy.”

The dog squirmed and yapped, her whole body moving with each little noise.

“You wouldn’t believe that just an hour ago she was half asleep, coughing up big mounds of weeds on the carpet. Seamus stepped in one and you should have heard the words he started bellowing,” Grace’s Grandmum said, shuffling next to Grace, her eyes lighting up under the brim of her large hat.

“Mum, no need to talk about those type of things in front of company,” Grace’s mum said turning toward me with a an appreciative smirk that wasn’t appropriate for the situation.

Grace shuddered, keeping her eyes on the dog, but constantly glancing at the papers and listening to the woman in scrubs describe the aftercare for her dog.

I looked over her shoulder, seeing the amount and what care the dog went through. It seemed ridiculous, but then I remembered all of the bills that it seemed like were still coming in for Da’s hospital stay.

For anyone else it would have probably come close to bankrupting them. We were just lucky we could pay. I was sure not everyone else was. And to not be able to pay for your family’s care, feck, that really got me.

Maybe Da did pass in the end, but we did everything to make him comfortable and keep him with us a little longer. The same I was sure Grace would do for her family, even if it was just her dog.

“Mr. Murphy, I wasn’t expecting you to come with Gracie, but I do appreciate it. She does love that dog,” Grace’s mum said, adjusting the pearls around her neck and forcing me to turn my attention to her.

“I’m glad I could be here for her,” I said softly, glancing down at the little dog cuddled in Grace’s arms.

“You know, since we’re out anyway, maybe we can stop and get some tea. I do know there’s a little café around the corner from here. That is, if you and Grace aren’t too busy,” Grace’s mum said with a sickly-sweet smile.

Grace finished signing the last piece of paper then pulled out her pocketbook, cringing with each movement. “Mum, we’re not here for tea. Janey should be okay now after we give her this medicine and I’ll settle her down in her crate. I’ll be back as soon as I can after work and give the maids extra instructions for tomorrow,” Grace replied quickly. She glared at the older woman who glared right back.

I put my hand over Grace’s where she held her pocketbook, a new sense of urgency coursing through me. “Don’t worry about work today. Or about this bill.”

She blinked hard. “I can’t take the day off. It’s only my second day. And the bill? Jack you can’t…”

Before she could protest anymore I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and placed a credit card on the sheets of paper. Then I slid the items toward the woman behind the counter. “Make sure all future bills go on this card as well.”

“Jack…you don’t need to do this. Really.”

Grace glanced back at her grandfather who was slowly approaching the counter.

“Jack, I assure you that we can handle this,” Seamus said with a shaky voice.

Grace shook her head. “No. Neither of you need to. It’s fine. It’ll go on this credit card and I can pay it off when I get my first paycheck. It’ll be fine.”

I mentally calculated what her first paycheck would be in my head. Sure, it would possibly be enough to pay for the dog’s bill, but what else? What about follow-up care? Or hell, even food for Grace and the dog.

No way I was letting her go without.

I looked at the little dog instead of the owner who was trying to fight me on paying when I knew she didn’t have the money for it. Jane Pawsten stared at me then my hand before sticking her wet nose on my fingertip and snorting.

I didn’t know what to make of that until she licked my hand then pawed at my knuckles until I scratched behind her ears.

“I think Jane might be saying thank you,” Grace said softly.

My gaze lifted to hers. The once fiery glare had now softened to a warm peek that made a low boil stir inside of me.

Before I could react, the little dog jumped out of her arms and was at my feet. She pawed and looked up at me with large, dark eyes.

“Jane,” she gasped, narrowing her eyes at the dog.

The dog looked over her shoulder and yapped then stared back at me.

I smirked, kneeling down and scratching the dog behind her ears.

“She’s not usually like this, I swear,” Grace sputtered. “Must be the medication.”

“I have a way with women.”

She zeroed in on Jane who had now curled on the floor, eyelids fluttering.

“I can take her if she’s bothering you, probably shedding on your trousers,” she offered instead of the quick comeback I was expecting.

I shook my head. “She’s fine. From the way you talked about her, I expected some ferocious beast.”

She knelt down beside me, running her hand over the dog’s fur. “She can be. You just have to know how to handle her.”

I met Grace’s gaze and wasn’t sure if we were talking about her or the dog anymore. But whatever it was, some unspoken thing passed between us. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time but was now making me rethink the girl squatting next to me. And I hope by the small smile, she was thinking the same.

“Are you sure you two don’t want to stop for some tea? I’m sure Seamus would love to catch up with you, as well, Jack,” Grace’s mam’s words interrupted us.

Grace sighed, standing up with the little dog back in her arms. “I wish we could, Mum. But really, Jack has a meeting and I need to get back to work, as well. Do you think you’ll be able to take care of Janey? If not—I mean…”

I took my credit card back from the woman behind the counter then handed a little bag of prescriptions to Grace. I needed to try and keep this all business between us, but I wasn’t an animal and wouldn’t make a worker come back with a sick family member. Even if the family member was a dog.

“Really, you can go home with the dog. Or even bring her into the office.”

Her eyebrows lifted so high I swore they disappeared into her hairline. “Bring the dog? Wouldn’t that be against some building codes?”

I shrugged. “It’s my family’s building so technically I make the rules. And she can stay in my office. I can call Connor right now and see if he can pick up a dog bed or whatever other necessities we need.”

Before I could pull out my phone, Grace furiously shook her head. “As nice as that sounds, I can’t inconvenience you like that. You’ve already done more than enough and I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to repay you.”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” Grace’s Grandmum said with a laugh, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Mum,” Grace’s mum chastised.

“At least let me give you a ride home with the dog. Then you can keep an eye on her.”

Grace chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “I can’t make you do that, either. I know how important your ten-thirty meeting is.”

“I promise you we’ll text as soon as we get home and I’ll send pictures the rest of the day. I can even bring her by the office if she feels up to it,” Grace’s mum said, putting her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, who I swore slightly shuddered in response.

Grace looked between me and her mum before she finally sighed. “Okay. But only because I do need to get back to work. But please, please call me as soon as you get home, okay?”

Her mum nodded, taking the sleeping dog who snorted as she adjusted herself again.

My gaze followed Grace’s shaking hands that stilled at her sides once the dog was out of her arms and she went to give her mother more instructions. And just like that, the woman with the soft voice was gone, and back was my nervous assistant.

Would I get to see the woman who softened at my touch again?

And if I did, how the hell was I going to be able to resist her?