Chapter Fourteen
Sunday afternoon, in the shade of a huge oak tree, Hailey reclined on a cushioned lawn chair next to Delinda and tried not to think about why Spencer hadn’t texted or called her yet that day. She didn’t want to believe he was the type to bolt after he got what he wanted, but it would fit with his online reputation.
Either way, we’re going to be okay because we have to be. Skye and her new friend, Kim, were sitting on the lawn playing with a litter of fluffy Yorkshire terrier puppies.
“We’re not getting a dog,” Hailey said between sips of lemonade. “We don’t have the time or room for one. Especially now that we spend so many nights at the barn.”
Delinda fanned her face with the information sheet the breeder had handed her. “These are teacups. The mother was six pounds. The father was barely five. People carry them around in their purses. How much trouble could one be?”
“Skye doesn’t need a dog, Delinda.”
“They aren’t for her.” Delinda waved the breeder over and pointed to one of the puppies flopped at Skye’s side. The woman scooped it up and brought it over to Hailey.
Hailey refused to look at it. “No, thank you.”
“Is it a male or female?” Delinda asked.
“Female,” the breeder answered, offering her to Delinda.
Delinda put the puppy on her lap. It wiggled joyfully, almost falling off. “How big do you think she’ll get?”
“She’s the runt of the litter, so I’d guess four or five pounds.”
“Hailey, what do you think of her?”
Is she considering one for herself? Now I feel bad for thinking she was setting me up again. Hailey checked the puppy out. “She’s beautiful.” Adorable, actually. The most adorable ball of fur Hailey had ever seen.
“Help me decide,” Delinda said, handing the puppy to Hailey. “Do you think she has a good personality?”
Unlike the other puppies that were jumping and yipping at the girls, this one snuggled right up against Hailey’s chest and wiggled its little tail joyfully. “She has my vote.”
“She chose this one,” Delinda said to the breeder.
“Me? I don’t want a dog,” Hailey said. She went to remove the puppy from her chest until it protested and squirmed to stay with her. “I’m not a dog person,” she added half-heartedly. Panic began to set in. She wanted to talk about the job she was about to accept, not argue over another of Delinda’s heavy-handed gifts.
With a wave of her hand, Delinda requested a moment alone with Hailey. “Do you know who loves Yorkies?”
“People with time for them?” Hailey asked, cursing herself for not being stronger and simply handing the puppy back to the breeder. That was the only way to win with Delinda. A softer approach was as good as giving her permission.
“Michael. His ex-wife has never been particularly kind to him, but she’s getting remarried and is being quite nasty as of late.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Michael doesn’t talk about his personal life, but sometimes I hear him on the phone with his children. He needs something to cheer him up.”
“So you’re getting him a puppy without asking if he wants one?” A sweet gesture, but still wrong.
Delinda’s chin rose in the haughty way it often did. “No, I’m getting you a puppy. It just happens to be the breed he adores. Over the years he has inquired about getting a dog, but I’ve always considered them filthy little creatures who had no place inside a home.”
“Which is why you want it in the guesthouse.”
Delinda sighed. “You have the subtlety of a train wreck, Hailey. Must I spell it all out for you?”
Me? Not subtle? Look who’s talking. “If you want me to go along with it, yes.”
“If you get the puppy, and it ends up being too much for you to care for, whom would you turn to for help with it?” She rolled her eyes skyward. “And please don’t say me.”
“Michael.”
“If you ask him to spend time with the puppy, he’ll get attached to it. Especially if you tell him you don’t really want it. He’ll feel sorry for it and start sneaking it into the main house. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to win me over to the idea that I need a dog. I’ll tell him he can have it as long as it doesn’t make a mess. He’ll be proud of himself and feel that he saved it. There, Michael will have the dog he wants and his pride will remain intact. Isn’t that far better than telling him we’re getting him a puppy to cheer him up?”
Hailey worried when Delinda’s way started to make sense. “You’ve overlooked one problem with your plan.”
“Really?” Delinda asked as if there were no possibility of that happening.
“Skye. If that puppy comes home with us, do you really think it’s not staying?”
“She understands that it’s meant for Michael.”
Hailey’s hand stilled on the puppy. She didn’t like the idea of Delinda having secrets with Skye. “You told her about your plan?”
Bringing a hand up to her chest in restrained outrage, Delinda said, “Of course I did. I’m not cruel. Do you honestly think I’d give a puppy to a child only to take it away?”
“You don’t know if she’ll fall in love with it and change her mind.”
“That, my dear, is what I call an acceptable unintended outcome. I weighed the risks and decided they were worth it. Worst case, Skye has a new puppy that Michael adores visiting with, and you’re irritated with me. You’ll be upset for a bit, but it will pass. I’ve gotten used to your moods.”
“Delinda, we talked about this. You’re not supposed to give us anything unless you and I have talked it out first.”
“Aha, but this is not a gift for you or Skye. Loophole.”
Hailey lifted the puppy so she could look into its eyes and joked, “Are you sure you can handle us, little one? This is our norm.”
“Are you unhappy here, Hailey?”
“No, not at all.” Hailey lowered the puppy. “But that doesn’t mean I approve.”
“Yes. Yes, but will you help me get Michael the pet he has always wanted?”
“I don’t like that you spoke to Skye about this before you spoke to me.”
Delinda waved a finger at where Skye and her friend were all smiles, their laps full of puppies while they chatted. “I feel awful about how much it upset her.”
“That’s not the point and you know it.”
“I’d say it’s the only point with any value.”
I’m not going to change her mind. “There’s something else we need to discuss.”
“Your date yesterday? How did it go?”
“It was very nice, thank you, but that’s not what I want to talk with you about.”
“Oh, dear, this sounds serious. Your forehead is doing that double wrinkle it does when you get yourself all worked up.”
“Delinda, I’ve been offered a job at SmartKart as a buyer. I plan to take it.”
The older woman gasped.
Hailey rushed to add, “The salary is good enough that I’ll be able to afford to pay you rent as well as afford Skye’s school and Clover’s board. That is, if you’ll still want us here. Nothing has to change. I’ll still spend time with you; you just won’t be paying me a salary. We’ll be friends.”
“I didn’t realize you were looking for a job.”
“I wasn’t. This one came to me. It’s too perfect to pass up, though. It comes with benefits and a good salary, and it’s a job I’d enjoy. Not that I don’t enjoy working for you. I do. It’s just that there would be room for advancement. Please don’t be upset.”
Delinda fanned her face for a moment, then smiled. “Upset? I’m happy for you, of course. What kind of hours will you be working?”
“Nothing crazy or I won’t take the job. There are still some unknowns, but I didn’t want to move forward without telling you.”
“I appreciate that,” Delinda said. “And, of course, the guesthouse is yours for as long as you’d like to stay in it.”
Hailey touched Delinda’s arm gently. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Not looking at Hailey, Delinda said, “You must do what’s best for you. I understand.”
“It’s just a job. We’re not leaving. You’re stuck with us, Delinda.”
Delinda expelled a half laugh and met Hailey’s eyes. “And you call me stubborn.”
They both watched the children in quiet contemplation before Hailey asked, “Are you okay?”
“Of course,” Delinda said with a smile. “As I said, I’m happy for you.” She looked down at the puppy. “I see now why you were so sure you wouldn’t have time for her. Don’t feel you need to take her. I’ll find another way to cheer Michael up.”
“No, no. We’ll make it work,” Hailey found herself saying urgently as her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t realize until then how much Delinda had started to feel like family. The idea of hurting her was unacceptable and losing her felt just as scary.
“Oh, please, don’t start. I’m not upset with you.”
“It’s just that I want to make sure you know this doesn’t change anything.”
Delinda gave her hand a pat. “Of course it doesn’t, Hailey. As you said, we’ll make it work.”
Later that night, Hailey unsuccessfully tried to put the still-nameless puppy to bed in a crate. It cried long and hard enough that Hailey found herself comforting it in her arms as one would an infant. “Is this how you worm your way into people’s purses? Don’t give me those cute eyes. It’s blatant manipulation, and you know it.” Which means you’ll fit in perfectly here.
She’d just shifted the puppy in her arms when her cell phone rang. “Hey, Sunshine,” Spencer said in a deeper-than-normal voice, which made her wonder if he was in his bed already. “How was your day?”
Better now. “Good.”
“Are you okay? With us, I mean. You said you wanted to go slowly, and I should have respected that.”
“I’m fine, Spencer. It was probably unrealistic to think we could do the friendship thing. We never could keep our hands off each other.”
She pictured him smiling when he said, “That’s for sure.” They were quiet for a moment, then he asked, “How is everything else?”
“I told my employer that I’m taking the job at SmartKart.”
“And?”
“She seemed okay with it. Not happy, but okay.”
“That’s good. Does that mean you can finally tell me who you work for?”
Hailey tensed, and the puppy squirmed in her arms. “I’d rather save that conversation for when I see you next.”
“You worry me when you talk about her. I picture you locked up in some tower.”
“It’s nothing like that, just complicated.” She tried to put the puppy down, but didn’t when it whimpered in protest. “Like why I’ll probably be sleeping with a puppy tonight when I’m not even a dog person.”
“When did you get a puppy?”
“It’s a long story—one that will make sense when I tell you everything else.” Hailey yawned. “Sorry, I’m beat. Skye talked me into taking a riding lesson this morning. It’s harder than I thought. Do you ride?”
“I used to when I was a kid. Mark took all of us to a park that had trail rides. I’m not sure you could actually call that riding. The horses knew what to do more than we did.”
“That’s my kind of riding,” Hailey said with a smile. “My father took Ryan and me on something similar. I loved it.”
“I did, too. Mark had a way of making everything fun.”
“You must miss him very much.”
“I didn’t realize how much until recently.”
“He would have been proud of the man you’ve become.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I know so. Nothing stops you. You go after what you want, and you get it.” Her cheeks warmed as she remembered just what he’d gone after in the simulator and how much she’d enjoyed giving it to him.
He seemed to sense where her thoughts had wandered. “Why are we waiting until later in the week to see each other?”
Hailey laughed and made a joke because it was easier than the truth. “To give you time to think of something as exciting as simulator sex.”
“Challenge accepted.”
“I was joking—”
“No backpedaling. I’ve got this.”
“Good night, Spencer.”
“Good night, Sunshine.”
Hailey hung up the phone and hugged the puppy to her as she walked toward her bedroom. I can’t judge you for not wanting to be alone in your crate. I tell myself I’m okay with being on my own, then I talk to Spencer and I can’t help but want more.
Hailey slid beneath the sheets on her bed and put the puppy on top of them near her feet. She’d barely laid her head down on the pillow when she felt the puppy scramble up to snuggle into her side. “You’ve got the right attitude. Life doesn’t just hand us what we want. We have to go after it—believing that the outcome we want is possible.”
She closed her eyes while lightly petting the puppy’s head. “Hope. That’s what I’ll call you. Everyone needs it in their life. Skye. Me. Spencer. Delinda. Even Michael. Don’t worry, little Hope, you’re exactly where you need to be.”
Late the next day, Spencer was having a hard time concentrating during an excruciatingly long staff meeting. Work had always been his sanctuary, but lately his thoughts were pulled elsewhere.
Saturday felt like a lifetime away. I’ve never been good at waiting.
“We’ll move ahead on a timeline they’re comfortable with,” Jordan said to the team seated around the conference table.
From now on call me Mr. Nice Guy.
One young man raised his hand. “Is the simulator broken? Is that why we’re meeting in person?”
“No,” Jordan answered. “I wanted to remove all distractions.” He looked over at Spencer. “But I guess it’s not a matter of location.”
“Everything is set for the Chinese presentation,” Spencer assured him.
“That’s good, but we’re discussing WelTune and the order they submitted over the weekend.”
“Sorry, missed that part.”
Jordan turned to the team. “We’re done for today. Get out there and start this ball rolling.” Once they were alone, Jordan dropped into a chair beside Spencer. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m good.”
“Really?”
“I’m taking your advice and going slow.”
Spencer’s phone rang. He almost ignored it, but took it out to check the caller ID. “It’s Hailey.” He answered without hesitation. “Hey, Sunshine.”
“Do you have a minute?” she asked in a small, tight voice.
“Sure,” Spencer said. “What’s wrong?”
“I screwed up.”
“How? Talk to me.”
“I didn’t get the job at SmartKart. I called today to tell them I was accepting it, and they told me the position had been filled.”
“Who did you speak to?”
“HR. They were quite clear.”
“You didn’t speak to Kyle Kyees?”
“No.”
“Then it’s probably a clerical error. I bet the next call you get is them saying they were mistaken.” Especially after I rip Kyle a new one.
“I shouldn’t let myself get upset about this. I mean, I already have a job anyway. It’s just that this one seemed like the answer to sorting everything out. I thought it would make things better for everyone. I shouldn’t have said anything to my present employer before checking that the position was still open. I’m such an idiot.”
“No, you’re not. I have a good feeling about this. It sounds like your folder didn’t make it on someone’s desk. An easy fix.”
“You think so? I’m sorry to call you at work with this.”
“You can always call me, Hailey. Always.”
Her voice shook as she spoke. “You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that.”
“Where are you? Just tell me, and I’ll be on my way over.” Funny how priorities could quickly change. Hailey wasn’t an interruption. There was nothing at WorkChat more important than knowing she was okay.
“No. You can’t come here. I’m still at work. Oh, I hate this. If I get a babysitter, would you meet me tonight?”
“You have to ask?” When she didn’t answer right away, he said, “What time?”
“Seven o’clock? Where we met last time.”
“I’ll be there.”
Immediately after Hailey hung up, Spencer made a call. As soon as it went through, Spencer said, “Kyle, someone in your HR department dropped the ball. I need you to clue them in to the fact that you’re hiring Hailey Tiverton.”
“Spencer, I meant to call you earlier.”
“Now there’s no need. First, assure me that you’ll have this immediately resolved, then we can address your question.”
“Hailey Tiverton, or rather the job we offered her, was what I wanted to discuss with you. That position has unfortunately been filled.”
“This is a joke, right?”
“I wish it were.”
“What changed?”
“Nothing. I thought we had an opening for a buyer, but we’re already overstaffed in that department.”
“Wait, are you overstaffed or did you just fill the position we spoke about?”
“Shit. There is no job here for your girlfriend.”
“Then—I repeat—what changed? We had an agreement.”
“I know.”
“But?”
“I—you—sometimes—”
“Fucking spit it out.”
“You’re putting me in an awkward position.”
“It’ll go from awkward to painful if we have to have this conversation in person.”
Jordan waved a hand in front of Spencer to catch his attention. “Is that Kyle Kyees? Ask him if he is still meeting with Darion Galloway in Sydney next month.”
“The billionaire real estate agent, Darion Galloway?” Spencer asked. “The one responsible for the success of the last three chain stores that tried to break into that market? I think I did hear he might not be able to make that meeting.”
“Spencer, come on. I hate to do this, but I don’t have a choice. Not even if it kills that connection,” Kyle said.
“What the fuck?” Spencer mouthed silently to Jordan while putting Kyle on speakerphone. Maybe Jordan could figure out what the hell had changed Kyle’s mind. “You sound scared.”
“Not scared. Realistically cautious.”
“Of what? I asked you to hire a woman I know. How is that a problem?”
Jordan shrugged, looking as confused as Spencer was.
“Listen, as much as I’d like to help you, I’m not getting between two feuding Westerlys.”
“Two Westerlys? What are you talking about? Did someone from my family tell you not to hire Hailey?”
“That’s messed up,” Jordan said loud enough for Kyle to hear.
“I’ve already said more than I should have.”
“Who? Who told you not to hire her?”
“I shouldn’t tell you, but what the hell? You have been good to me over the years, and you should know. Your grandmother called me and told me to make the job disappear.”
How does she know about Hailey? “Why would she care if you employed a friend of mine?”
“I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know. It’s bad enough to be on her radar. Your grandmother has more connections than the Pope. Frankly, she scares me a hell of a lot more than you do. If I were you, I’d apologize to your grandmother, because you won’t find many willing to go up against her if she blackballs you, too.”
Beyond speechless with anger, Spencer hung up. Delinda blocked Hailey from getting a job. Why? He turned on his heel and strode toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Jordan asked in a worried tone as he rushed after Spencer.
Only one reason made sense to Spencer. “If Delinda is trying to get my attention, she has it now.”
Jordan was at his side as Spencer stormed down the hallway. “None of this makes sense. What is she hoping to gain?”
Spencer stopped, asked himself the same question, and the answer had come like a punch. “She needs to win. It’s all a game to her. She hates that I didn’t accept her apology. She can’t handle not being in control. She tried having Brett plead her case. She went as far as to become chummy with my mother. Why? We never had a good relationship. I’m not even fucking related to her. It’s past time to tell her to stay the hell out of my life.”
“Give yourself some time to cool off first,” Jordan cautioned in the parking lot as Spencer reached his car.
Spencer ripped his car door open. “You don’t understand. She didn’t just fuck with me this time; she went after Hailey. No way. No fucking way.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
Too furious to care that Jordan looked like he might be sick, Spencer peeled out of his parking spot and sped toward the mansion by the sea he’d sworn he’d never step foot in again.