“I’M SORRY, MARC,” Jacqui groaned as her husband sat on the bed beside her, stroking her crumpled hair. “There is no way my head or my stomach are going to make it on a plane ride today. I way overdid it at the gala last night. I am not getting out of this bed.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Marc told her. “Maggie and I will make it a father-daughter day. Besides, it’ll give you some recovery time. You did put away quite a few appletinis last night.” He said that last sentence with a grin spreading across his face.
She groaned again, wanting to bury herself in the pillow. “And I’m definitely paying for it. I spent most of my night in the bathroom praying to the porcelain god.”
He laughed as he moved his hand to her back, caressing it. “I know. I was the one holding your hair out of the way.”
“I was wondering how that happened.”
Maggie ran in and Marc caught her before she could leap onto the bed. “Mommy has a headache,” he whispered to his daughter.
“Is Mommy still going on the plane ride with us?” Jacqui’s nine-year-old tried to whisper as well, but it didn’t quite work.
Jacqui reached out, taking her daughter’s hand in hers. “No, Honey. Mommy’s going to miss it. I need you to take care of Daddy for me, though. You know how he is when I’m not with you. I don’t want you eating too much fast food.”
“But I like fast food,” Maggie whined.
“A little too much, I think.” Jacqui told her she loved her, and Maggie leaned in and kissed her goodbye on the cheek.
Marc patted the little girl’s back and told her to go get her shoes. “I’ll miss you,” he said to Jacqui once Maggie had bounded with a squeal out of their bedroom. “Don’t worry. You just rest and have Sophia make you some breakfast when you’re ready. I love you.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, his lips warm against hers.
“I love you, too. Stay safe and enjoy your time. I’ll be right here dying.”
“Always.” His smile made his eyes sparkle. She reached for the headache medicine as he disappeared down the hallway, snuggling down in the warmth of the comforter, and then slept her hangover away.
It was the last decent sleep she had.
She laid in bed that morning staring at the ceiling, willing the tears not to fall. It had been a while since she had to explain the reason behind The Karston Foundation, most people were already quite familiar with her reasoning, and it had brought back too many painful memories. She wasn’t sure why she had shared so much of her personal life with Morgan. She was a stickler about people separating their professional lives from their personal ones. Yet, even when the man frustrated her, his personality held a disarming quality to it that simply made her want to share things with him. She would have to keep a better guard up from now on. Mr. Brewer was playing a game and she refused to be one of the pieces he moved around on his personal board.
It was Friday and she had left word that she was going to be late getting into the office. For the past two years, she had risen at four-thirty every morning. Yet, this morning she just couldn’t force herself to do it. Too many memories were shredding her heart and she didn’t want to face anyone until her emotions were under control.
She opened her eyes and turned her head slowly to face her bedroom door. She could hear her father and Sophia bickering at each other over the sound of dishes. Glancing at her clock, she was surprised she had slept in as long as she had, more surprised they had allowed it.
She took a deep breath. It felt good, though. Too good. And that brought on the guilt. There was work to be done and she needed to stop lazing around feeling sorry for herself. Sleeping in may feel good, but it was no longer the life she was afforded. She had a city to serve and she couldn’t do that from her bed. It was time to get up and moving.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Morgan jerked the legs open of a folding table he had bought on his way to the new office. He had purchased some cheap folding chairs and office supplies, as well. While he wouldn’t order furniture until the interior had been remodeled, he still needed a place to work until the temporary trailer arrived, which was to be there Monday. He at least needed a place to interview people. Barbie, Neal’s assistant, had called that morning and told him that a man named Vince Andrews would be stopping by around lunch to be interviewed for the foreman position. If Morgan liked him, then the two of them could get things rolling and hire an office staff. “Hire more than you need, at first,” Neal had told him. “It gives you a group to cull the weak ones from and prepares you for the influx of work that, hopefully, comes our way.” Neal’s motto was prepare for success and you may actually get it. Neal Rutherford was always successful. Morgan now stood inside the moldy smelling building staring at the bare white walls. Now I just need some bodies.
He found himself wondering about Jacqui, which made his gut twist. Morgan scratched at the back of his neck as his eyes burrowed together in a knot. What demons are you fighting, Jacqui? And why do I care? He didn’t care. It was part of the job. Find out how to get her to lighten up, so they could work together without too much hassle. Keep the client happy. Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that, Morgan. Something about Jacqui Karston piqued his interest. She had secrets and he enjoyed finding out other people’s secrets.
“Hello?” Morgan turned at the sound of the voice and saw a tall man with dark hair, cropped close to his scalp, and a strong face to match, entering through the front door. He wore a dark dress shirt and tweed sport coat with jeans and dark brown work boots. “I was told to meet Morgan Brewer here this afternoon.”
“You found him.” Morgan walked over and shook the man’s hand, thinking that his competition for the ladies just walked through the door.
“I’m Vince Andrews. Barbie Hanover sent me over.”
Morgan introduced himself and then offered the man a seat. The questions began as Morgan asked background, experience, and how well he knew the construction community in Biloxi. Vince had a deep voice—confident and knowledgeable. He had been in the business since he was a teenager, working for his dad, and then went to work for some of the bigger names in the area. “So, why the switch now? Aren’t you pretty established where you are? Why go from being the boss to being one of the underlings?”
Vince took a deep breath, rubbing his hands on his pant legs. “To be honest, it’s the project more than the company. I knew the Karstons. I want to make sure the community center gets done right. Marc, Jacqui, and I worked together for a long time. I feel like I owe them. Besides, I’d like someone else to make the decisions for a while, to be honest. I prefer to be the brawn behind the brains, so to speak.”
Morgan glanced down at his notes, which Barbie had emailed to him that morning, noticing that Vince had been a partner with The Karston Foundation until about a year and a half ago. As he looked back up at the man, he wondered why he left—if he did, in fact, leave and wasn’t fired—and why the sudden urge to work on one of their projects. “Anything I should know before I hire you? Would Jacqui have an issue if you were to work on the community center?” Morgan wasn’t surprised Vince knew about the project. The company he was leaving had probably bid on it.
He shook his head. “I haven’t talked to her in about a year and a half, but I don’t think she would be upset if you hired me. At least, I would hope not.”
Morgan debated within himself for a moment. There seemed to be some open-ended questions without answers there, but the man’s resume seemed pretty tight and if Barbie had sent him over, she had to have checked him out pretty thoroughly. “Okay, you’re hired. First order of business is to get this place in some sort of working order. I’ll be gone this weekend. I need more than a suitcase worth of clothes.” He handed Vince the other key. “We can work on what I want, and you can get started making my dream come true. We have a temporary trailer arriving Monday and we’ll hire some office staff next week to man the phones.”
“Great!” Vince shook his hand, and the deal was made. They then discussed pay and bonuses and all things Rutherford. Vince had worked with the subcontractors in the area for years and had no doubt he could swing some decent labor their way. Morgan had some sketches of how he wanted to see the office remodeled he had drawn up while he was waiting that morning. They would need to hustle to get it in shape, but Vince had no doubt it could be done in the time frame Morgan desired. “I’ll make some calls this weekend and have some crews lined up for you to interview Monday.”
“Good. The community center is our first project, but Neal wants to make a home here, so we’ll be making bids wherever we can.”
They heard the glass front door open and both turned as Jacqui Karston entered. “Anyone home?” Morgan found himself smiling as she walked closer, but then he noticed Vince smiling as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jacqui just stared. She had not been expecting anyone except Morgan to be there. When she saw Vince, it had completely thrown her off her reason for even being there, not that she really had one. She suddenly felt very silly. She wanted to turn and run but didn’t want to seem like the idiot she probably already appeared to be for just stopping and standing there. With a deep breath and a forced smile, she continued to walk toward the two men standing by a cheap folding table. She had no idea why Vince Andrews was there, but she should not have been surprised that he would squirm his way into her project. It had been well over a year since she had last seen him, bought him out of the company he started with her husband and sent him on his way. She felt her face blush at the memory of why that had happened.
“Good morning, Mr. Brewer. Mr. Andrews.” She glanced around at the empty office. “When will you start making this your home?”
Morgan stared at her, his smile making her look away. “Vince, who I am told you already know, will be getting things started this weekend. We were just going over the plans for how I want it set up.” Well, now she knew why Vince was there. A knot formed in her stomach at the thought of him working on the community center, but she couldn’t say anything for fear of revealing the reason for her discomfort to Morgan. He didn’t need to be privy to anymore of her secrets than she had already revealed.
“How have you been, Jacqui?” Vince smiled at her and she blushed even harder as images of their last encounter once again flashed through her mind. This was not good.
“I’ve been busy. Good, but busy. Yourself?”
He shrugged. “Not much has changed. I hope you don’t mind that I insinuated myself into your project. I felt I owed Marc and Maggie to make sure it was done right.”
Morgan’s gaze was floating between the two during the exchange, curiosity furrowing his brows. Obviously, Vince had not filled him in on too many details. Good.
“Morgan is in charge of who he hires and doesn’t hire. I’m just here to write the checks.” It was all she was going to say. She didn’t want Vince there, but she was not going to voice that out loud. Not yet, anyway.
Morgan’s eyebrows rose, but it was the only sign that what she said had surprised him. “I’ll be flying out tonight to pack some more things from my apartment and grab my truck,” he said to Jacqui. “I’ll be back Monday and things will get fully underway then. Hopefully, your assistant can schedule a meeting with the architect and get a plan formulated. Vince, here, will be focusing on this place, so that I can focus on the community center.” His smile was an assurance to her that he heard what she didn’t say. She returned the smile in appreciation.
Could she have misjudged the man? He seemed so cavalier since their first meeting, not caring about anyone’s rules except his own, and a desire for any skirt that sashayed in front of him. Yet, last night, he was the perfect gentleman. Or did he at least have boundaries when it came to those he worked with? Somehow, she doubted it. He was an enigma that continued to surprise her.
“I hope you have a safe trip,” she said. “I have Lily setting up a meeting between you and Charles, my architect next week. I’ll have her send you the information.”
The front door swished open again and all three turned as a short redhead waltzed into the office space, her scant clothing revealing more flesh than it hid. Jacqui felt her eyebrows rise as the woman—girl?—smiled at them as she approached. “Mr. Brewer?” She glanced back and forth between Morgan and Vince, and Jacqui felt her temper rise to match her eyebrows.
“I’m Morgan Brewer. How can I help you?” He roamed her outfit with his eyes and the smirk that had become commonplace on his face pushed his cheeks upward.
The tiny redhead extended an arm out to shake his hand, which Morgan took. However, Jacqui thought the girl held it just a little too long for proper behavior, not that Morgan seemed to mind. Of course not. “I’m Kari Evans. I’m your new secretary.”
Jacqui turned to Morgan, shocked that he would have hired such a trampish-looking woman. Yet, she paused when she saw the confused look on his face. “My new secretary? I wasn’t aware that I had hired one.”
She tilted her head as her hip jutted out to the side, her smile seductive. “Well, the paper said you needed one and I decided to just show up instead of calling. Doesn’t look like you have one yet, so I’m your girl.” The way she said it told Jacqui that there was quite a bit of meaning in the words “your girl.”
Morgan just laughed as he nodded his head up and down. “And do you have any construction, or even office, experience?”
She nodded. Jacqui waited for the giant bubble to squeeze out of the girl’s mouth and pop, but she wasn’t chewing gum. “I’ve worked for a couple of the subcontractors in the area. I left to go to college in Tallahassee and now I’m back. You need a secretary and I need a job. It’s a perfect match.”
Vince and Morgan just laughed. Jacqui didn’t laugh. She wanted to slap the girl and tell her to go home to her parents. Actually, she wanted to call the girl’s parents and tell them their daughter, the slut, needed a spanking. Morgan, however, didn’t find it appalling. He seemed more amused. “Definitely a ballsy move, I’ll give you that.” Then he nodded as he laughed even more. “What the hell. I like ballsy. Be here Monday at ten and we’ll get you started.”
Jacqui turned to him, unable to hide the shock that was on her face. He had to be kidding! This girl was not office material. She was more like the front desk of a strip club. This is what he wanted his clients to see when they first walked through the door? This is what Neal Rutherford would have hired? She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she noticed Morgan’s smirky gaze watching her. She narrowed her eyes. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of appearing the prude. Instead, she shifted her shoulder bag and once again wished him a safe trip. “I look forward to hearing from you on Monday,” she said before turning and leaving the empty office. She had not read Morgan Brewer wrong, it seemed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Morgan watched as she marched through the door, arms straight at her sides, and it took all he had not to bust out laughing when the door closed. It was quite obvious to him that Jacqui did not approve of Kari Evans. She looked at the younger woman with righteous indignation and it turned his stomach. True, the younger woman was probably hoping her attire and behavior had cinched the job for her, but he knew that if she had bounced around the industry, there was a good reason no one held onto her. It was probably stupid of him to have hired her, but he could easily send her on her merry way if she proved to be a pain in the ass or incompetent. Seeing the look on Jacqui’s face was worth the little bit of hassle Kari might give him. At least, he hoped it was only a little bit of hassle and not a full-blown headache.
“Does she work here?” Kari pointed the way Jacqui had left.
Morgan nodded. “In a way. She’s the reason we’re here to begin with.” He then glanced at her and the smile faded. “When you show up to work on Monday, be in something more office-like. I’m not sure what you were used to before, but Rutherford prefers a professional appearance at all times. If Neal ever walked in, you wouldn’t have to wait for me to fire you; he’d do it right then and there.”
She nodded, her face a guilty expression. “Yes, sir.”
He gestured toward the door. “I’ll see you Monday at ten. Don’t be late.”
After she left, Morgan glanced at Vince. “Have you heard of her?”
The taller man shrugged. “Only that she is better bent over the desk than sitting behind it.”
Morgan sighed. He was afraid of that. He shook his head. “Well, we’ll keep an eye on her. If she seems to be a nuisance, she’ll have to go.”
“I doubt it will take long.”
Morgan agreed. Still, he didn’t need Jacqui Karston weighing in on who he hired. Of course, he didn’t need to hear her say she had told him so, either. Technically, she hadn’t said anything out loud. Her expressions, however, spoke volumes. He turned back to Vince and the plans for the new office, Jacqui’s silent, but very loud, disapproval ringing in his ears.
As Vince ran down a list of names of people he trusted to do quality work, Morgan glanced at the front door, one question puzzling him. Why was Jacqui here, anyway?