Help Wanted by Allison B Hanson (14)

Kenley was already in a bad mood when she opened the office Monday morning. Her bag was packed and in the car. She would be leaving for the airport at noon, which was the only reason she hadn’t called off.

“How was your weekend?” Paul asked as he filled his cup with coffee.

“Great.” She must not have sounded convincing, because Paul chuckled and patted her shoulder.

“It will be okay.” She wasn’t sure if it would be.

When she’d gotten home the day before, she’d taken Scott up on his offer to try another date.

One thing was for certain, they would not be trying a third. They had no connection whatsoever. She found him attractive, but she wasn’t attracted to him. She thought he was nice enough, but she couldn’t wait to get away.

At least they both realized it was a disaster before trying to force the kiss goodnight. Scott had merely laughed at her door, and said, “Yeah. I know. This is never going to work.”

She’d been both relieved and frustrated at his comment, though relief was definitely the main emotion. After striking out at the clubs with Alyssa, she was happy to come back to reality. Unfortunately her reality was a stabbing pain in her chest.

“No Zane again today? I thought he’d be in.” Paul frowned as he looked up at the clock on the wall in her office. Yes, normally Zane would have been there by then. He was not.

“I’m not sure. He didn’t say.” Not that he’d needed to. Kenley was aware he was still hiding from her. After bouncing ideas off Vanessa and Alyssa, she wasn’t sure what her next move was going to be, but it was clear she was the one who needed to make it.

After all, she was the one who’d said she wanted things to be professional. She was the one who thought their interaction could go back to the way it had been before. This was all her fault.

Her friends had suggested she walk into his office, take off her clothes and crawl up on his desk. She’d even practiced seductive glances in the mirror. The only thing she needed was the nerve. She hadn’t found any yet, which also pissed her off.

Not that it mattered since he wasn’t there.

“I thought he ran his schedule through you.” Paul seemed determined to push her to the limit this morning.

“No.” She shrugged as Paul pulled out his phone and moved his thumbs over the screen.

She took a sip of her coffee and swallowed. She was finally learning to drink the stuff. While she still wasn’t crazy about the taste, she did enjoy the caffeine boost. Especially since she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

Paul’s phone beeped and he held the screen up.

“He won’t be in until later. He says he’s working from home.”

“I see.”

“Is something going on between you two? You both seem tense lately.”

“I couldn’t say. You’d have to ask him.”

“I did. He said nothing was wrong.”

“Then I guess nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay.” Paul collected his things and headed for the door, finally giving up. “When’s your flight?”

“Four.”

“Have a nice trip. See you next week.” He tipped his imaginary hat and left.

Zane was working from home, which meant she wasn’t going to get her chance to confront him about their situation.

She’d been prepared to sit down and ask him what he wanted. No matter how much it scared her. She knew they had to find a way to move past it or find another alternative.

* * *

This was too familiar, Zane thought as he went into the office after making sure Kenley had left. He knew she would be leaving early for a flight and would be gone all week.

He wanted nothing more than to talk to her, to work things out, but when he’d pulled onto the street that morning, he’d kept driving and gone back home.

What if she was happy after her date with Scott? Worse, what if she had that after-sex glow? The same glow he’d seen while she lay in his arms, happy and sated. He wouldn’t survive it.

Paul and a few of the guys had been there this morning. He couldn’t risk going in and making a scene. Not that Kenley was the kind of woman to make a scene. And his excuse didn’t explain why he hadn’t gone in later in the morning after everyone else had left.

He sat at his desk and pulled the pile of mail closer. The top letter didn’t have an address or a stamp on it. The only thing written on the outside was his name, “Zane.” He recognized the writing as Kenley’s, and ran his finger under the flap as his heart raced.

“Oh no.” he said when he read the first line.

“Another opportunity, my ass.” She was a bigger coward than he was. And that was really saying something.

After reading the short letter three times, and not getting any answers, he pulled out his phone to call her.

He expected it to go to voicemail, but to his surprise she answered on the second ring with a brusque “Hello.”

He didn’t know what to say first.

“It’s me. Zane.” As if she would have forgotten him so quickly.

“Yes, I know. It says so on my phone.” Of course it did. He was making things worse.

“I got your letter.”

“I see. So you were in the office today. Did you sit on the street and wait for me to leave before you went in?” He winced and rubbed his temple.

“No.” But he had driven by slowly to make sure she was gone. “I don’t want you to quit. Can we please talk about this?” he asked, not caring if he sounded desperate. “I know we decided to keep things strictly business, but I wasn’t doing that. I was staying away because I didn’t think I’d be able to be near you without wanting more. And I know I’m not supposed to say that, but I really don’t have anything to lose at this point.”

“It’s my fault. I thought if we kept things professional everything would be fine, but it’s not. We can’t go back to how it was. And things are too tense between us now. This is for the best.”

“Are you seeing Scott now?” It was none of his business, and as much as he didn’t want to know, he needed to know.

“I took this job hoping to interact with coworkers, learn from them, and advance my career with the company. It has become apparent that my supervisor does not share my goals. Besides, I’ve recently learned that my old position with Hasher and Borne is available, and it’s been offered to me.”

“You want to go back there?”

“I stayed very busy in New York. Busy enough to keep me from being alone every night.”

She was alone every night. So was he. He hated it and knew she must hate it too. They should be together. Why couldn’t he just tell her how he felt?

“This is about me not coming into the office or calling.”

“This is about me wanting to be a part of something.”

She could have meant the company, but maybe she meant something else. She wanted to be part of a relationship? With him.

“I have to go. They’re calling my flight.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything. We’ll talk when you get back. Please don’t do anything until we’ve spoken.”

She didn’t respond. She simply hung up.

He tapped the letter on his desk, his world tossing like a ship on stormy seas.

He’d be better off if he stopped thinking about her altogether. He should just let her go. She would be happy in New York. And he could hire a nice, competent replacement. Not that she would be easy to replace. She ran his office without a hitch. What would he do without her?

He knew the answer. Life would go on.

The only problem was, his life hadn’t been all that great before she’d started working for him.

It was time for a change.

* * *

Kenley was glad to have something to focus on other than her broken heart and her stupid irrational thoughts. She was also glad to be out doing something instead of sitting in the office thinking all day.

Not only had she ended things with Zane before he ended them with her, but she’d run from her job as well.

Unfortunately, her high hopes for the day fell flat when she arrived at the new building bright and early on Tuesday morning.

They were obviously behind schedule, and the reason seemed quite clear when she found the men in the office instead of outside painting.

Two of them leaned on the counter while the other two slouched in the office chairs. They didn’t even straighten up when she stepped inside. They knew she wasn’t the boss so why should they be worried?

“Hello there, darlin’,” the man behind the desk—her desk for the time being—said while his gaze scanned her from head to toe. She was wearing jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt with the company logo, but the way he was ogling her made her feel naked.

“You must be the contractors who were hired to power-wash and paint the dock and the building.” They didn’t even move after her blatant hint.

“That would be us.” The man finally stood to shake her hand, and introduced the other men. They all had regular-Joe kind of names. Actually one of them was Joe. She didn’t bother to remember them, as their names weren’t as important as getting them off their asses and out the door to get something done.

“So how are we coming with the schedule?” she asked when no one moved. She knew the answer, but she wanted to force them to address the issue.

“We’ll be done with time to spare,” the man on the counter said.

“Really? Will you be working nights then?” She raised her eyebrow, causing them to finally move into action.

“Zane said the boats wouldn’t be here until Thursday.”

“Yes. That’s right. But it’s Tuesday now, and unless you plan to unleash a few fairy godmothers and a flock of helpful bluebirds, you’re not going to be done by Thursday.” One of the men laughed, the rest didn’t.

She might have come off a little bitchy, but she didn’t care. Her life was falling apart, and this was the one thing she thought she could keep together and on track. And these idiots had messed it up.

One by one they headed for the door while they grumbled things she could hear but ignored.

When they were gone she opened the curtains to let in the sunshine and pulled out the files to get started. The loud hum from the pressure washers coming to life made her relax a little. It was going to get done in time for the grand opening. That was what mattered.

She was busy the rest of the day, setting up the computer and getting the files organized. She checked in with the temp agency to see that her interviews were all set up for the next day. She’d made progress with the team outside. The small building had been cleaned and they were going to start painting in the morning.

Feeling like she’d accomplished something, she went back to the hotel and had a drink in the lounge before going to her room to watch television.

She should have been using the time to search for a new job, after all she’d just quit and didn’t have anything else lined up. The thought of going back to Hasher and Borne didn’t appeal. But that would be her back-up plan. Resigning before knowing her next step might have been a stupid thing to do, but so was sleeping with her boss.

It didn’t matter. It was done. She would find something better and she wouldn’t ever have to see Zane again.

On Wednesday morning, she was happy to see the crew busy working when she arrived. Her little rant must have motivated them somewhat.

She conducted interviews and called references between setting up the office and the computer system.

Brady showed up with the boats, as expected. She took him up on his offer of dinner. It was clear he’d meant it in a friendly way. They spent most of the evening talking about Hunter. It was obvious he loved his brother.

“It’s weird when you think about the paths you end up on,” he said, taking a sip of his beer. “Hunter was only eleven when he was injured. He could have turned into anything. He could have been a nuclear physicist or he could have ended up in a gang and in prison at eighteen. I have no idea what path he was on before the accident.”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not. All this time I’ve just been happy he was alive. But recently I’ve been thinking about his life. And how to make it better for him.”

“He seems happy, Brady. He loves you very much.”

“When I left for basic, he was nine. I remember him waving to me from the front window until I couldn’t see him anymore. He told me he was going to join as soon as he was old enough and then we would be able to save the world together.”

“I think maybe you’re saving each other’s worlds.”

Brady nodded and sniffed, his eyes bright. “Zane’s a good guy.”

She sat up at the abrupt change in subject. “I know.”

“The thing is, he doesn’t date. So he pretty much sucks at it. I’m not trying to make excuses for whatever stupid thing he might have done to mess things up with you. All I’m saying is, try to look past it to see that he’s not a dumb shit on purpose. He’s really into you. I don’t know if he said it, but there. Now you know.” He grinned and she nodded and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I’ll consider the possibility he’s not actually a dumb shit.”

“That’a girl.”

By Friday when it was time to go home, she had everything ready to go. The feeling of accomplishment as she looked at the pristinely painted building fell when she realized she would be giving up her job. The job she loved.

* * *

On Monday morning, Kenley went in to the Connecticut office with a determination she had never felt before. She was literally fighting for her life. She’d spent the weekend figuring out exactly what she wanted from Zane, both personally and professionally.

She wasn’t surprised he wasn’t there by eight, but when ten rolled around and he still wasn’t there, she sent a text.

She didn’t know whether that was true or not. She threw a crumpled coffee cup across the room at the moment a well-dressed man stepped inside, causing the bells above the door to ring.

The startled man looked over at her and she winced.

“Sorry about that. Can I help you?”

“I’m here to pay a bill.”

“Sure. Your name?”

Kenley pulled up Mr. Fortney’s account and applied his five-hundred-dollar payment, which he made in cash. Who used cash anymore? She studied him for a moment while his receipt printed out. He didn’t look like a mobster. But did the real ones look like the ones on television?

Letting it go, she handed over his statement with a smile and thanked him for stopping in. When he was gone she took the money back to the safe in Zane’s office and found there was more cash there from payments made while she was away.

“Does he even know how to fill out a deposit slip?” she grumbled as she closed the safe and spun the dial. She’d have to go to the bank on her way home.

Back at her desk she started going through the pile of new invoices that had come in. It was enough to keep her busy and focused for the rest of the day.

When the bells above the door chimed the next time, she looked up from her work with a smile on her face.

“Can I help you?” she asked the pale, shaky man as he stepped closer to her desk.

“Yeah,” he said. “Give me all the money.” He pulled a gun out of his waistband and pointed it at her.