My tone is more a demand than a request, yet Mark hesitates, shooting me a look that asks what the hell is happening before he complies.
The door shuts, and Lucie slides into the chair on the other side of the desk. Her hair is lighter than it used to be, still dark but shot through with streaks of honey and caramel, perhaps because she’s finally allowed to go outside during the summer. Robert Underwood’s illegitimate child. I guess it’s still a secret since I’ve never heard anything about it, and he’s famous enough in my field that I would have. I’d have hoped she made the bastard pay for her silence, if nothing else, but she’s working here…so probably not.
“This is a surprise,” I begin. I clear my throat. “I didn’t even realize it was you until I heard your name. It’s been, what, fifteen years?”
“Thirteen,” she says, blushing. She blushed a lot as a kid, but it hits different now. I want to punch myself in the face again. “I thought you’d sold the house.”
“I bought it back last month. I had a place down in Santa Cruz but I needed a change of pace. I guess Miss Underwood left you her cabin?”
She nods, her eyes fixed on her lap. “I haven’t really come out much, but I’m going through a divorce, so we needed a place to stay. I’ve got twins. They turned six last week.”
“Twins? You don’t even look old enough to be married.”
She laughs. “Caleb, I’m only four years younger than you. I’m definitely old enough to be married. So are you.”
“I am married,” I reply. I’m not sure why I say it. Reflex, perhaps. Or maybe I simply sense a threat here in Lucie with her curves and her big eyes and her lip-biting.
“That’s…you’re…” She fiddles with the hem of her skirt. My gaze catches on her long legs and veers away fast. “The house has been so quiet. I didn’t think there was one person in there, much less two.”
I lean back in my chair. “I’ve been traveling for a few weeks and Kate’s been away too.” Kate’s been away too. As if she’s shopping in Paris with her mom or down at Canyon Ranch getting facials.
She nods. “No kids?”
I swallow. It’s time to curtail this walk down memory lane. “Kids are the last thing I need. Anyway, about the job…I’m sorry if you were misled during the interview, but this was never intended to be a permanent position. Even if I could swing the cost of another salaried employee who isn’t bringing in dollars, I can’t swing a bunch of expensive programs to increase morale.”
She goes pale beneath her tan, and no wonder—she’s got kids to support, and I just told her the job isn’t going to last. I silently curse Mark for not being more upfront when he hired her.
“What if the programs aren’t expensive?” she asks. “If employees are leaving because they want to work from home, it must cost you thousands to hire new people and get them up to speed, right? Stopping the flow would pay for the programs right there.”
I sigh heavily. I know for a fact that pizza parties and posters that say ‘Believe in yourself’ aren’t going to keep someone here if he wants to sit on his couch playing video games and jerking off. But the board needs to see it for themselves, which is why I agreed to three months. “It’s not going to work, Lucie. But look…stay for the next few weeks. Take the salary and spend every minute you’re here sending out resumes and interviewing. When you meet the board tomorrow, rattle off some bullshit and keep looking for a job.”
She’s staring at me as if she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “Rattle off some bullshit?”
I shrug. “Whatever. Tell them you want to host a blood drive or get everyone to wear a lapel pin or something. The lamer your ideas are, the better, as far as I’m concerned, because I need the board to realize it’s not going to work.”
Her shoulders sag. “Why are you so sure I won’t make a difference?”
“I just am. Take the next two weeks to job hunt. You can even stay three if you must.”
She appears to hear the finality in my tone and rises, smoothing her skirt. “Maybe I’ll surprise you,” she says as she turns to leave.
“I don’t want to be surprised,” I reply.
Surprises are the last thing I need.
Especially surprises who swim naked outside my window.
3
LUCIE
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
I march out of the office and wince once the door shuts behind me. What a complete disaster this is.