"Did you get the list?" Mrs. Potter asked for the third time that day.

Beckett was glad it was the last time he would have to hear that question. "Yes. I finally got the list of opportunities."

It had taken longer than he had expected to pull together a list of fifteen jobs in a fifty-mile radius. He had asked his private secretary to search for jobs that a young business major would enjoy and to also call the places to see if they would help them out. The secretary had managed to secure five more jobs than Beckett had requested and they were all great.

They ranged from administrative assistant to PR person for a small store. He'd also found a few human resource management positions. There was a wildcard offer for voiceover work too. It was rare in this area and wasn't regular work, but it could be something fun to try out.

Mrs. Potter had been hounding him for the last few days to get this done. She thought the professor sounded sweet and wanted to help them out. Beckett agreed, but he didn't know why she was making such a big deal of this. It wasn't like they knew Lenni Belle or her father.

"I'm so glad you're doing this," Mrs. Potter said, looking over the list. "I like to see you being nice. It would warm your mother's heart."

Beckett bristled. "I don't know how my mother would feel about this and I'm not being nice exactly. I didn't want the old man out here harassing us every day," he said curtly.

"Well, she would be happy," Mrs. Potter said, astonished. "What mother wouldn't be happy to see her son helping out such a nice family? And you're finally getting yourself back out there in the community. I was beginning to get worried. We've been up here alone for so long."

"You know I don't like being around people. If you have a problem with that, you're free to leave. I know my father would love having you back in his household."

Mrs. Potter chuckled. "You're not going to get rid of me that easy."

"I know. But I'm just letting you know you can go whenever you want."

Beckett knew he was a chore to be around. He was high-maintenance and he could be a bit standoffish. But he liked his privacy. He liked being alone and he liked his peace and quiet. He'd only been here for a few years. He had no friends in town. He knew that Mrs. Potter preferred more lively surroundings. Sometimes he felt bad dragging her all the way out to the mountains. She'd been working for the family for so many years already. After all those years, she should be relaxing somewhere with palm trees, not doing his cooking and managing his household.

"Well, I don't want to go anywhere, dearie." She patted him on the shoulder. "Now, call that nice man and give him the good news."

Beckett nodded and found Professor Belle's card. He kicked his feet up on his desk as he waited for someone to answer.

"Hello, Professor Belle's office."

"Can I speak to the professor please?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

"This is a friend. He'll know who it is." Beckett didn't want to give out his name. He couldn't be sure the secretary wouldn't recognize the name and start spreading gossip. He'd been able to keep a low profile so far, he didn't want to spoil that. His name had been kept out of the papers except for a few occasions. If it wasn't for Jasper's upcoming wedding, Beckett would still be the "reclusive billionaire."

There was some shuffling and then Belle was on the phone.

"Professor Belle, it's Beckett. I have some great news for you."

"You've found jobs?" he asked excitedly.

"I have. If you'd give me an email address, I can send over the list now. Just call or email me back with her pick."

"How soon can she start?"

"Under a week for any of them."

"That's amazing! I hope you didn't have to go through too much trouble."

"I didn't. There are a lot of nice people in the area who are more than willing to help."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Hansen. You won't be disappointed. I'll tell my daughter the good news and get back to you very soon."

"No problem. And I've had a note sent to the Scrabble Pack alpha too. I'm sure you won't be having any problems with the son anymore."

That had been a nonissue. He hadn't even bothered to ask someone at the company to take care of it. Beckett had sent a letter off himself the same day the professor had visited him. The Scrabble alpha had replied apologetically that he would keep his son in check.

"Thank you! I can't believe how quickly you work. I can see why your family is so successful."

"Really, this was nothing. And I had some motivation," Beckett joked. "I didn't want you showing up on my doorstep anymore."

The professor gave Beckett the email before hanging up. Once the call was over, Beckett felt something he hadn't in a while—pride. He was doing such a nice thing for this girl and her father. He couldn't wait to hear that she'd started her new job and was on to bigger and better things.

***

Lenni opened the fridge to take the chicken out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow. She did all of the cooking for the house. Her father used to cook, but by the time she was twelve, she'd taken over everything and relegated him to picking up takeout twice a week.

"I have good news!" Her dad burst into the kitchen beaming. "Have I got job offers for you."

He thrust a list out toward her. Lenni took it and leaned against the sink reading. "All these jobs are far away."

"Nothing is farther than fifty miles."

"Not fifty miles in a straight line. Some of these are a two-hour commute with traffic."

"You could always find a place closer," her father said dismissively. "Look at all these jobs. I don't know how he did it, but all of them can hire you today. You could start in less than a week."

"With no interview?" Lenni asked incredulously.

"No interview. This man is some kind of miracle worker."

"He's rich," Lenni muttered. "That seems to solve all problems."

She turned to look out the window over the sink. Their little garden was going to be packed full of fresh vegetables in just a few weeks. Her father never remembered to water or weed it. If she left now, all her careful planting would be a waste of time. But there was no way she could commute that far in her beat-up Taurus. The car was on its last legs. That was one of the best parts of working downtown. When the weather was nice, she could bike to work.

"I don't know. These are good, but I'll have to take a look at all of them to be sure the job is right for me."

"Okay, pumpkin." Her dad kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to go get some work done in my office. Let me know as soon as you make your pick. I'll get the ball rolling with Beckett as soon as you're ready."

She took her phone outside with a notebook and started researching on the back porch. Their backyard was small but it was cozy. She'd planed trees and ferns around the wooden fence and there were planers and flowerbeds spread around. It was her own secret garden.

Over the next hour and a half, she researched each job and found a reason that each wouldn't work. It was nice of Beckett to go through all the work to find a stranger a job, but she couldn't take any of these. She didn't want to be rude, but it was a bad time. Her father shouldn't have been so forward. If he'd asked her, she would have specified that she wanted something in town or less than fifteen miles away. Plus, some of the jobs were outlandish. Voiceover work for a local car company's commercials? She had a terrible voice. There was no way she was right for that kind of work.

She would have to keep looking on her own. After the whole Ned debacle, more than anything she wanted to spend the summer relaxing and enjoying her life. She didn't need to take some job far away to get away from her life. No, she wanted to connect more with the life that she had. Slow down and really enjoy it. She had only just graduated with her degree. There was no rush to find a subpar job.

She'd read somewhere that it took most new grads over a year to find a job. She had time and she wasn't worried yet.

"I'm done." Lenni set the list down on her father's desk.

"What is this? All of the jobs are crossed off."

"None of them are right for me. It was such a sweet offer, but none of these are right for me. Please tell Mr. Hansen thanks but no thanks."

Her father's eyebrows shot up to his nearly his hairline. "What?"

"I don't like any of them."

"There are fifteen jobs here," her father sputtered. "How can you like none of them?"

She took out her notebook. "I made some notes if you want to look at them."

"Come on, Lenni. You have to be kidding me. These are good jobs."

She pursed her mouth. "Have you looked into any of them?"

"Not in depth. I looked at the job descriptions and they seemed great."

"Not for me," she insisted. "I have a perfectly fine job. I'm not going to take anything that I don't love."

It was nice that someone as important as Beckett Hansen had tried to help her out, but she couldn't do it. None of these jobs would make her life better. She was going to hold for something else. She had time. She could search for something perfect.