High-Powered, Hot-Blooded(19)

"What if I set up an employee discount? I buy a lot of tires for my  trucks. I have a service bay here. If it was available to everyone who  worked here, would you use it?"



She would guess a lot of Patrick Industries employees would appreciate  the discount as much as she would. For the greater good, she told  herself. "After I see the announcement in writing."

"You're a tough negotiator."

"I spend my day dealing with five-year-olds. I have skills."

"I can see that. Are you okay changing the tire? I could send someone."

"By the time he got here, I'd be finished. I've done this before."

"Call me when you get home so I know you're okay."

The request stunned her. "Um, sure. I will."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

She pressed the end button to disconnect the call, then walked around to the trunk where the jack and spare waited.

Suddenly it wasn't nearly as hot as it had been and she wasn't tired  anymore. Duncan wanted her to let him know she was all right. He worried  about her. Maybe it wasn't much, but as it was all she had, she was  going to hang on to it with both hands.

Friday evening, Annie checked to make sure all her students were in  their white men's T-shirts, with the fabric wings sewn on the back.  Glitter-covered cardboard halos bounced over the five-year-olds' small  heads. Once everyone was accounted for, she took a second to glance  through the edge of the thick drapes to see if Duncan had arrived.  Something she'd been doing every half minute or so since she'd arrived.

He still wasn't there. Which was fine, she told herself. He'd said he  would try to get there, which was probably a polite way of saying he  wasn't interested. It wasn't as if they were really dating. What  gorgeous single guy wanted to spend Friday night with a bunch of other  people's kids?

She held in a sigh as she backed away from the drapes. Only to bump into something warm and solid.

She turned and saw Duncan standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted.

"You asked me to come."

She laughed, hoping she wasn't blushing. "No, I mean backstage."

"I wanted to say hi before the program started. One of the moms is saving me a seat."

Annie took in the broad shoulders, the strong features and the way he filled out his suit. "I'll just bet she is."

"What?"

"Nothing. Thanks for coming. You didn't have to."

"I wanted to see if you were still pissed."

"I was never pissed."

Humor brightened his gray eyes. "Now you're lying about it."

"I'm not. I was annoyed. There's a difference."

"You were pissed. You were practically screaming about the tires. Talk about shrill."



He was teasing, which she liked a lot. Back when they'd first met, she would never have imagined it possible.

"I was calm and rational," she told him.

"You were a girl. Admit it."

"I could hit you right now."

"You could and no one would notice. Especially not me." He took her arm  and led her into a shadowy alcove. "Here." He handed her a piece of  paper.

She looked at it. The sheet was a printout of a memo, detailing the new policy on discounted tires.

"Now will you get your damn car fixed?"

She stared at him, knowing that while he'd been helping her, he was also  helping a lot of other people. "I will," she said, raising herself onto  tiptoes and lightly kissing him. "I promise."

He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Good. You're a pain in the ass. You know that, right?"

She giggled. "Yes. You're dictatorial. And annoying."

They hung on to each other for several seconds. Annie loved the feel of  him, the strength and heat of his body. As always, being close to him  made her feel safe.         

     



 

"I have to get back to my class," she said reluctantly. "They're wearing cardboard halos that won't really survive very long."

"Okay. I'll see you after the Christmas thing."

"Winter festival."

"Whatever. I'll see you."

"Yes," she said and watched him walk away.

She knew then that despite the fact that she'd only known him a few  weeks, she was well on her way to being in love with him. He was unlike  anyone she'd ever met. He was better in every way possible.

He'd promised not to ask her to be friends and she trusted him to keep  his word. But he'd also promised when the holiday season was over, so  was their relationship. And she knew he would keep his word on that, as  well. Wishing for more wouldn't change the outcome. Duncan had told her  once that, in his life, somebody always won and somebody always lost.  This time, she had a bad feeling the loser would be her.

Monday morning Duncan walked into his office to find a plate of cookies  on his desk. They were covered in holiday plastic wrap and there was a  handwritten note attached.


Dear Mr. Patrick,

Thank you so much for the new tire discount you announced on Friday. I'm  a single mom with three kids and money is always tight. I've needed new  tires for a while now and simply couldn't afford them. The discount  means safer driving for my family.

I've always enjoyed working for Patrick Industries. Thank you for giving  me another reason to be proud of my place of employment.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Sincerely,

Natalie Jones

Accounts Payable





Duncan had no idea who the woman was or how long she'd worked for the  company. He unwrapped the cookies and bit into one. Chocolate chip. His  favorite.

Still chewing, he crossed to the windows overlooking the six-story  atrium in the center of the building. He could see people coming in to  start their week. People he'd never bothered to get to know.

Ten years ago, he would have been able to name every employee. He'd  worked twenty-hour days, struggling to make the company profitable, then  to grow it as quickly as possible. For the past few years, he'd had  contact with his senior management team, his assistant and no one else.  He didn't have time.

Who were these people who worked for him? Why had they chosen this  company and not another? Did they like their jobs? Should that even  matter to him?

He looked back at the note and the plate of cookies. Annie would be a  disaster as a boss, giving away more than the company made. But maybe it  was time for him to leave the confines of his office and remember what  it was like to know his employees. To listen instead of command. To ask  instead of demand. Maybe it was time to stop being the meanest CEO in  the country.





Nine


Duncan had never really enjoyed his board of director meetings, but this  was worse than usual. Not because they were complaining-that he could  handle. It was the way they were all smiling at him. Beaming, really, as  if with pride. What the hell was up with that?

"The last two articles on you have been excellent," his uncle said. "Very positive."

"Just doing what we agreed."

"This reporter … " One of the board members adjusted his glasses and  frowned at the business journal. "Charles Patterson seems to think  you've had an awakening. Who's this Annie person?"

"Annie McCoy," Lawrence said, before Duncan could answer. "The woman Duncan's seeing."



The other board members looked at him.

"You told me to find someone nice," he reminded them. "She's a kindergarten teacher. Very pretty. Charles has a crush on her."

"Well done," the oldest board member said. "You should bring her around here so we can all meet her."

"There's no need for that," Duncan said, thinking the last thing Annie needed was a bunch of old guys trying to flirt with her.

"Annie's special," Lawrence announced. "Good for Duncan, too."

Duncan narrowed his gaze. "I'm seeing her through the holidays. It's a  business arrangement, nothing more. You told me to find someone nice and  clean up my act. I did. Don't make it more than it is."

"It didn't look like a business arrangement to me," Lawrence said.

"Looks can be deceiving."

There was no way he was telling his uncle or anyone on the board that he  also thought Annie was special. They didn't need to know how she'd  wormed her way into his life. The kicker was he didn't think she'd even  been trying. But regardless of his feelings for her, when the holidays  were over, so was their relationship.         

     



 

The board moved on to other business. When they were finished, Lawrence  lingered in the conference room until the other men had left.

"Are you serious about ending things with Annie?" his uncle asked. "I  saw you two together, Duncan. You like her. You should marry her."



Duncan shook his head. "I've been married."

"To the wrong woman. I don't know what Valentina wanted, but it wasn't  you or a real marriage. Annie's different. She's the kind of girl you  spend forever with."

This from a man who'd been married five times? "You know this how?"

"I've lived a lot longer than you. I've seen things, made bad choices.  There are few regrets more painful than knowing you let the woman of  your dreams get away. You've always been smarter than me about most  things. Don't be an idiot now."