Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man(36)
Jenay could hardly believe it. Talk about fate! But why didn’t he mention this before? “Did you just now decide to offer me the job?” she asked him.
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” he admitted.
“But why? You knew I was considering offers months ago. Why didn’t you offer me the job then?”
“You hadn’t accepted a job in New Mexico then.”
She didn’t understand. “You offered me a job because I accepted a job in New Mexico?”
“I didn’t expect you to take a job that far away. It made it too complicated. I have too much on my plate as it is to be flying to New Mexico every week.”
“Why would you have to fly to New Mexico every week?”
“To see you,” Charles said bluntly. “I’m not ready to say goodbye.”
She considered him. “You’re not?”
“No,” he said. “I just said hello.”
She laughed.
He continued. “I want to see where we can go with this, Jenay. I’m no kid, and neither are you. I don’t have time for bullshit.”
She nodded. “And neither do I.”
“I’m interested in you,” he went on, “and unless I’m reading you wrong, you’re interested in me. Right?”
She wasn’t going to lie. She was definitely interested. “Right.”
“Then we should see where it leads. That’s what I think. And since my businesses are a major part of my life, you will need to be a part of that too. Besides,” he added, “a long distance relationship won’t work.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I saw how those guys were looking at you at that college today, and even at that restaurant. You go all the way to New Mexico and I’m sunk. Some genius will snatch you up in no time. I wouldn’t stand a chance. So I don’t want to take a chance.”
Jenay smiled. “So you want me to run your business, a hotel no less, because you don’t want any other man to have me?”
Charles had to smile himself. “Something like that,” he said.
“Exactly like that!” Jenay responded. “But what about Albuquerque? I already accepted that job.”
“Tell them you changed your mind. Tell them you just received an offer you couldn’t refuse. Hell, they had no problem switching you up after you accepted their offer. Switch it again.”
Jenay didn’t know what to think, or to say. She just went from the prospect of living a lonely existence in a state she’d never considered as an option, to a hopeful existence in a state she always wanted to visit. And Charlie would be there! It almost felt like a lifeline. Not that she was drowning. She wasn’t. But in a lot of ways, she was treading water fast.
“Okay,” she said on the spot. “I accept your offer. And decline theirs.”
Charles smiled the smile of a man not so much happy, as relieved. He grabbed her, lifted her, and kissed her on the mouth, all in one fell swoop.
When he placed her back on ground, she needed more answers. “So when did you want me to start?”
“How soon can you start?”
The sooner the better for her. She couldn’t wait to get started! “Is Wednesday too soon?”
Charles smiled. “In two days? You don’t play around, do you?”
“Not when it comes to an opportunity like this, no, sir. I’ll be too excited to wait much longer. As I told you, all I need to do is pack and go. I can pack tomorrow, and take off the next day.”
Charles thought about it. He could phone Beatrice and have her get the staff prepared. It was doable. “Okay,” he said. “Wednesday sounds good. And since you haven’t purchased an automobile yet, I’ll leave my car with you.”
“Leave your car with me?” Jenay asked.
“One of us will have to use a rental. It may as well be me.”
“But I have a rental right there.” She pointed to the Ford on her driveway.
“And tomorrow you have them pick up that rental. That’s not how I roll, and that’s not how you’re going to be rolling either.”
Jenay smiled.
“I’ll handle my business in New York and be back in Jericho by the end of the week. That’ll give you a chance to settle into your new job without me around to give you fits.”
“Why would you give me fits?”
“I crack the whip, make no mistake about that. I am not an easy man to work for, I don’t care who you are. Ask any of my employees. Ask my son.”
A hesitation appeared on Jenay’s face. Charles saw it. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“It’s just that it’s all so sudden.” She looked into his big, green eyes. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to mix my work life with my personal life like this.”