MORGAN RUBBED THE back of his neck as he glanced down at the notes he had made for the new office while back in Orlando. For the past hour, Vince and he had been going over his ideas for how he wanted the place set up and he found he couldn’t stop yawning. It had taken him nine hours to travel from Orlando to Biloxi and he hadn’t even begun the trip until almost dinner because he had decided to play instead of pack. Once he had shrugged off his annoyance at Jacqui’s intrusion, not only into his business but also his personal time, he spent the rest of the night giving Erin a proper goodbye. It was a great idea at first. Not so much that morning. All he wanted to do right now was sleep.
Vince had been at the office before Morgan, sweeping up and making chalk lines on the floor where he thought walls should go. When Morgan first saw the other man, Jacqui’s call demanding that Vince be fired popped back into his mind. There had been no explanation. Just a demand to fire the man. The call had put Morgan in a cranky mood, delaying the hot night he had been looking forward to with Erin. Delaying, but not canceling. Then, once his neighbor left, he still had to pack, which at that point was going to have to wait until morning. Still, it was two in the morning before he crawled between his rumpled sheets and seven when Dustin woke him up wanting waffles. He then spent the morning fetching boxes and packing for his three-month stint in Hell. His yawns all stemmed from Jacqui Karston. She was going to drive him insane. If she was going to remain so high maintenance, he was going to lose his hair, and Morgan really liked his hair.
“What exactly happened while I was gone?” Morgan asked when he first saw the other man. “Jacqui called, demanding your head.”
“She called you?” Vince shrugged, giving a slight shake of his head. “We had coffee and I said some things I had been holding onto for a few years. I guess she didn’t appreciate it now, just like she didn’t back then. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get her riled up. I just thought I owed her an apology and the truth.”
Morgan just chuckled. “Women.” He didn’t ask for more details. If the two of them had a past, he didn’t really want to know about it as long as it didn’t interfere with his job—or his personal life again. Everyone had a past and as long as it didn’t screw up his present, he didn’t much care.
“Does this mean I’m out of a job?”
“Not as far as I’m concerned. But do us both a favor and withhold all future apologies.”
“You got it.”
Kari Evans arrived at ten on the dot as she was told to do, this time in jeans and a cream colored blouse, boobs tucked safely away. She had heeded his advice and dressed for work and not the streets. Her red hair fell around her round face and down her shoulders, giving her a more businesslike appearance and bringing out her emerald eyes. He was glad. Perhaps he hadn’t made a mistake hiring her just to annoy Jacqui Karston, after all.
The temporary trailer arrived shortly after that and they began to set up the office. The place was a bustle of activity as the phone company arrived to install their phones at the same time the cable company came to run their Internet lines. Soon, they would be a fully functioning office, only to have to do it all over again once the remodel of the building was complete.
Vince had also bought two laptops that weekend, one for him and one for Kari. They would have to make do until they had the place up and running and set up bigger workstations. They would also need filing cabinets, desks, chairs, and more phones. All of that would have to wait, however. There was no sense in buying a lot of office furniture and supplies until they had the building the way they wanted it. A skeleton crew had to function with skeleton supplies. Of course, Barbie’s latest email informed him that more people were on their way to be interviewed. Neal was impatient to have normal business operations underway, so that they could reach out and obtain more contracts. Morgan really hoped Faith would agree to help him out.
“Here’s a list of subcontractors for you to consider, as well as some architects for future reference.” Vince handed Morgan some computer printouts. “I’ve highlighted the ones I would recommend working with.”
Morgan took the paper and browsed the list. “Will any of these get Jacqui’s panties in a twist?”
Vince chuckled. “No, I think I’m the only one that does that.”
“Good.” Morgan nodded. He didn’t need any more headaches.
“Thank you, by the way, for not firing me.”
Morgan glanced up at the man, his lips turned up in a smirk. “Why would I fire you? Besides, so far it’s been fun to get Mrs. Karston riled up. She needs to pull that corn cob out of her ass and relax. Has she always been so uptight?”
“No. When Marc was alive, they were the life of the party. They held big events at their house and were always entertaining. It came with the territory and they thrived in it. I was the odd man out.”
“You were?”
“Marc and I were partners in the beginning and then Jacqui joined us.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets with a shrug. “They were great in the spotlight while I preferred being behind the curtain.”
“So, you were more the silent, working partner while they were the face of the company.” Vince nodded his agreement of the assessment. “Is that why Jacqui doesn’t want you around?” Okay, he said he wasn’t going to dig into it, but it could help him know more about the man he hired. Morgan wouldn’t be there forever and if Vince was going to take his place, he would have to be comfortable with public appearances.
“No. After Marc’s death, I crossed a line I should never have even stepped up to.”
“Still holding on?” Maybe that was why the woman was such a cold fish.
“Tighter than ever,” Vince said with a nod. “Her husband and daughter were both killed in a plane crash and Jacqui blames herself for not being with them. But any more of that story is hers to tell. Just tread carefully. She’s never really moved past it.”
Morgan didn’t want to tread at all. He just wanted to understand what drove Jacqui and made her so hard to tolerate. Losing your family to something like a plane crash would definitely do it. “I’ll try and steer completely away from that topic.” He’d like to avoid her altogether, but highly doubted that would even be possible. He knew Jacqui Karston was going to be more hands-on with this project than made him comfortable. He could understand why, though. The community center was named after her daughter. It was more than just a good project; it was a matter of the heart.
“Okay, stay here and make some calls to these people. Let’s get some under contract. I have to go see Jacqui and find out what her outburst was and make sure she’s all happy and cozy.” He glanced at Vince. “I hate this part of the job.”
“I’d offer to do it, but…”
Morgan laughed as he slapped the other man’s back. “Next client is all yours.”
“With my luck, it’ll be a grumpy old codger. At least, Jacqui is cute.”
“And mental. The cute part, I don’t mind. I could, however, do without the mental aspect of her.”
Vince just shrugged. “She’s been through a lot.”
“Still, she needs to relax,” Morgan said with a shake of his head. “Okay, I’ll be back. Get Kari to help you with some of those phone calls. As soon as we get a little more organized, I’ll be bringing someone in to help teach Kari how to run things the Rutherford way. I’m hoping to fly Faith Greer in from our Brevard office. She’s the best when it comes to running an office.”
“Good, because I’m not sure how much actual experience our Miss Evans has really had.”
Morgan glanced at the young woman, probably playing solitaire on her new, company-purchased laptop. “I bet she has a lot of experience. Just not the kind we need right now. Keep an eye on her and your hands off. I don’t need someone else asking me to fire you.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Karston Foundation was located inside a ten-story glass building full of lawyers, CPAs, and investment firms. The foundation took up the top floor, overlooking the city streets below as well as the people who kept those streets busy. Jacqui liked to stare out of those windows at the people to remind herself of why she did the things she did. It was her motivation as well as her incentive. It was one of the first buildings built after Katrina hit and Jacqui made sure it overlooked as much of the city as possible, so she could see her progress in the rebuilding of her town.
She stood in front of the giant window now, arms across her chest as she stared out at the moving cars. Brent sat in one of the leather chairs in front of her desk, legs crossed, legal pad resting on one knee. She knew he was watching her, worried about her, too. She was worried about her. She had been so on track since Marc’s death. Yet, this past week, she was anything but focused. First, she allowed Morgan Brewer to weasel her into accepting Rutherford’s bid. Then, Vince makes an appearance out of the blue, trying to sneak his way back into her life. She didn’t need the distractions. She didn’t need to be sidetracked.
She closed her eyes, the ache she had put behind her over a year ago once again wrapping its tendrils around her heart. She didn’t need to feel. It hurt too much to feel.
“It’s his office, Jacqui. You can’t tell him who to hire or not hire. Hell, they’ve done exactly what you asked them to do. They’ve hired locally.”
“I know it’s his office. He reminded me of that Saturday night quite vehemently. But it’s Vince. I don’t want to have to deal with him.” She called Brent in hoping to find a loophole she could leap through to get her way in the matter. It wasn’t working.
“Then don’t. You only have to work with Morgan. You don’t even need to do that if you don’t want to. I can take those meetings or someone else can. Even Lily if you want. Delegation is great.”
“I can’t do that, and you know it. Out of all the projects, this one is the most important.”
“Then you will have to deal with Morgan and whoever he hires. I’m sorry, Jacqui, but it’s Neal’s company. Would you want someone telling you who to hire and fire?”
No one would dare. It was hard in the beginning. Everyone was used to going to Marc for everything. Even though they had all been partners, he was always seen as the person in charge. With his death, she had to fight to keep control of their company. Brent was there to help, of course, to smooth the pathway to some people. Yet, it still felt like she had to fight and claw her way back to the top. People didn’t want to deal with Marc’s wife. They turned to Vince because they saw him as Marc’s partner more than her, because he had been with Marc since the beginning. At first, she allowed him to take the lead in meetings, the voice to her plans. Then it became apparent that they would not be able to work together after that night alone. They had made a go of it for almost a year, but once that line was crossed, she couldn’t deal with what she viewed as a betrayal to Marc. Vince was no longer part of The Karston Foundation and the fighting to keep her clients and deals began all over again. It was a nightmare, but, with Brent’s assistance, she made it back to the top and she was determined to stay there. She was able to stay at the top because she remained focused, determined. She didn’t need Vince coming in now and bringing back the distractions. Morgan Brewer was going to be enough to deal with without Vince’s presence.
“How are we on the groundbreaking ceremony?”
Brent shifted in his seat behind her. She heard the rustling of the notepad as he flipped through the pages. “We should be set to break ground in a month. Lily has everything she needs to get the ceremony organized and advertised. Invites will go out tomorrow as well as the press releases. She also has everything in order for tomorrow night’s fundraiser. We need people to sign some checks for us, so that we can open the community center’s doors and keep them open. Everything seems set.”
Jacqui nodded. She knew she could count on Lily. The girl had been at her side for ten years and knew how she liked things done just as Brent did. Like Brent, Lily had helped Jacqui become a success. The young woman was an invaluable asset.
She heard Brent leave his seat and cross the floor, his steps heavy, even on the carpet. He stood beside her, gazing out the window down upon the city below. “You know, Jacqui, there’s nothing wrong with having fun. Life is not all about business.”
She turned her head and gazed at him, an eyebrow arched. He held his hands up as he laughed. “Never mind.” He turned back around and snatched up his legal pad and the briefcase he had leaning against the chair where he was sitting. Turning, he said to her, “Now, I have some other meetings with some of our backers. If there isn’t anything else you need, of course.”
She turned and walked over to her desk, shaking her head. “No. That’s all for now. I just wanted to see what my options were.”
He smiled at her and she knew he was doing his best to be reassuring. “I wouldn’t let it bother you. Your contact with Vince should be minimal at best.”
She watched him leave, thinking that it wasn’t the “at best” she was worried about, but the worst. With her luck, Vince Andrews would turn up everywhere now that he had made his intentions known. Sitting behind her desk, she tried to focus on the paperwork that had piled up but was finding it hard to concentrate. All she could see were images of Vince in her doorway and Morgan at the restaurant. Both men had something about them that kept her distracted in ways she hadn’t been distracted in years. It bothered the hell out of her. She didn’t get distracted.
She could meet Morgan outside of his office, could demand that Vince not be allowed to accompany him. That would take care of part of her discomfort. She would just have to make sure she didn’t allow Morgan to talk her into anything else that went against her habits. She could control him. She was used to controlling situations, controlling people, and he would be no different. He might think he was Mister Charismatic, but she was there to tell him that his charm didn’t work on her. At least, it wouldn’t work on her again.
She took a deep breath as she picked up the manila folder on her desk, feeling better about her determination. She was in charge and would act like it. These people worked for her and damn it things would go her way. She would make sure of that.