CHAPTER FOUR.
Jack rubbed his eyes for the fifth time, glancing at the clock. It was past midnight.
Shit.
Trying to read the paper he had been asked to report on the following morning was proving to be almost impossible. He had gotten most of the way through it, but now the letters kept blurring and coalescing into a face.
Desiree.
He had puzzled over her since he met her, which was just a few days ago, but felt like years. He smiled at the memory of the shy flush to her delicate features when she pulled her hand away from his. That kind of girl surely wasn’t shy.
She wasn’t his type at all. His type was blonde, for one, and busty. Desiree was very far from blonde and, well, from what he’d seen she stacked up alright, but no-one would ever call her busty.
And quite apart from that, she needed to be someone he could see hanging with his family. His kids came first.
From the look of her, Desiree was not a kid person. Yes, she taught high school kids, but he couldn’t really see her donning a frilly apron and making cookies with the boys. He grinned, imagining her goth look mutating the image of the nineteen-fifties housewife that flew into his head. The beautifully coiffed hair making way for short, spiky black locks. The red and white polka dot dress changing into a black shroud. The canisters of flour and sugar on the bench changing into glass beakers, roiling with smoke-producing potions. All the light seeping out of the scene, leaving a greenish-grey overtone to the whole.
No, she would never be that kind of girl.
Come on, Jack, you need to finish this report.
The report lay open at page 122. He only had about twenty pages to go, but the subject was so dry, and the writing so mind-numbing, it had taken him hours to get through what he already had. He was usually quite interested in the substrate found at potential mining sites, able to extrapolate the data and consider the implications for the company.
But not tonight.
He glanced with distaste at the report and made a decision. Flicking off the desk lamp, he closed the report and filed it away into his satchel, along with the few scratchy notes he had already taken.
Those last twenty pages are gonna have to wait until tomorrow.
He just hoped that come tomorrow, he had time before the meeting to at least skim through them.
Desiree screwed up yet another piece of paper and threw it at the square brown bin in her office. All around it a bunch of crumpled papers formed what could have been a flock of sheep around a barn. If you squinted. And used your imagination.
Coming up with a lesson plan for a new curriculum was impossible when you couldn’t concentrate. When the only thing that kept coming to mind was Jack Duncan. The way his handsome face lit up when he talked about Faith. His arse encased in those sexy jeans. His raised eyebrow and half smile when he noticed Desiree’s hand still resting on his.
The man was a siren. And Desiree couldn’t help but heed the call.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
I’m going to have to call him.
She picked up the phone and started to plug in the number, which she had lifted from Faith’s student file. But before she could get all the way through, she put the phone back down.
Don’t be a fucktard. He’s Faith’s Dad. What if he says no?
Even worse, what if he says yes? What if he wants a relationship? What will you do then?
God, Desiree, put the cart before the horse why don’t you? Just call the man.
All the pros and cons of Desiree contacting Jack went round and round in her head until she thought it would explode.
“Alright, Stop.” She said it out loud, even though she was the only person in the room. “Decide. Do it now.”
Getting a new piece of paper out, she drew up columns for and against. Then she plugged the reasons into each column.
For – that way he had looked when he talked about his kids.
Against – he was Faith’s dad.
For – that delicious arse.
Against – he had to be at least ten years older than Desiree.
For – his massive chest.
Backwards and forwards she went, her bracelet clacking against the desk until eventually, she was able to come up with one more reason against contacting him than she could reasons to contact. With a dejected sigh, she said to herself, “There it is. Decision made.”
So now she just had to stop thinking about him. It shouldn’t be that hard, now that she knew she shouldn’t see him. She picked up her pen, and set to work on the lesson plan.
An hour later, she threw down her pen in disgust. The page in front of her was full of scribbles with Jack’s name featuring prominently alongside a selection of hearts and stars.
Okay, Desiree, what do we need to do to get that man the fuck out of our head?
Jack picked up his phone and started to dial, then put it down again. As he had already done a dozen times. Desiree’s card sat prominently in the middle of his desk.
He had managed to cram the last pages of the report just before he went into the meeting – a good thing too, because on the third to last page he found a disturbing detail that, along with some of the water-table data and rock formations mentioned, may have created some issues with drilling. The committee looking at the report had decided to go back to the proposers for more information.
Following the meeting, Jack had been called into his supervisor’s office. Jim McKenzie – or Mack as he was universally known – seemed more gruff than ever, and a few moments into the meeting, Jack realised why the big Scot was peeved.
“Seconded to the office, Jack. For at least the next six months and, if that works, permanent.” Mack scowled.
“That’s great news.” Jack sat back in his chair and smiled. A wave of relief washed through him. He’d been waiting on approval of this secondment for weeks. It meant he could spend much more time with the kids.
Mack knew why Jack had asked to be stationed in Perth. But the big man was still scowling. “I thought you’d be happy for me, Mack,” replied Jack, a smile on his face. He knew what was coming.
“Taking my best fucking staff and wasting them in the office? What exactly aboot that did ye think would make me happy, lad?” Jack knew the question was rhetorical. As always, Mack’s accent grew thicker as his face got redder. It was his well-publicized opinion that field staff were significantly more useful to the company than those in the office. But he was also a fair and friendly boss, who supported his staff, and when Jack had explained his need, Mack had been only too happy to recommend him for secondment.
Mack eased himself into a chair opposite Jack, his bluster fading. “But good luck to ye, Jack. I know you needed more time with the little ones. And I for one would prefer ye to be happy and productive here rather than distracted and fucking useless out on site.”
Jack barked a laugh. “Thanks, Mack.”
The memory of the meeting made Jack laugh softly again, and again he picked up the phone. He wanted to ring Desiree Jackson, to tell her that he could spend more time with the kids.
Don’t sugar coat it, Jack. You know you want to do it to hear her voice again.
He sighed and put the phone down again. Contacting Faith’s teacher was the worst idea. How was he going to stop himself thinking about her?