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Still carrying her daughter, Jane tiptoed to Max’s office. He was at the computer, but he must have sensed her presence because he looked up.
“Is it okay now?” she asked.
“It’s fine. I’ve sent it to the client.”
“Do I still have a job?”
He actually smiled. “Yes, you still have a job. I shouldn’t have reacted like I did, not on your first day. I’m sure things will go smoother once you settle in.”
Jane smiled back. “Absolutely. See you tomorrow, then.” She turned to leave.
“Oh, Jane. One more thing.”
Shoot, what now?
“I’m courting a new client, a children’s clothing manufacturer from Houston. If I land the account, it will be by far my biggest.” He pointed to a folder sitting on the corner of his desk. “That’s some of the print advertising they’ve done over the past couple of years, along with some concepts I’ve brainstormed. Would you mind looking them over tonight? I’ll want you to do some mock-ups for a presentation. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“Sure, of course.” What sort of mock-up was he talking about? Sketches, or something more polished? She should ask, but she didn’t want to look any more ignorant today than she already had.
Jane grabbed the folder, which she would study after Kaylee was in bed. “Have a great evening.” Did he have a date? Oh, Lord, why did she care about that? He could have ten dates, and it was none of her concern.
As she made her way to her car, the day’s events floated around in her brain, but the one she focused on was when Max had said her ad was beautiful. Maybe his praise hadn’t been sincere, but she’d gone all tingly inside.
For a moment, she imagined how it would feel to hear him say she was beautiful. The tingly feeling returned. It was a miracle she got her car home in one piece.
OLD SALT’S BAR & GRILL was nothing like the ultra-hip clubs in SoHo and the Village Max used to frequent when he lived in New York. But it had its good points—like a big deck that looked out over the ocean, decent food and drinks that didn’t cost your whole paycheck.
Although lots of bars dotted Port Clara’s coast and downtown area, Max and his cousins had adopted Old Salt’s as their home away from home.
Max worked long hours these days trying to get the agency up and running and profitable—profitable being the point that interested him most at the moment. He had walked out on his job at Remington Industries, his family’s New York conglomerate, with a lot of big promises about how he was going to make it on his own with no help from them.
He remembered how his older brother, Eddie, had stared at him slack-jawed, and his father—vice president of marketing—had clenched his jaw in anger, then declared Max would come crawling back before six months was out.
He’d thought their reactions kind of amusing back then. Now he didn’t.
By eight o’clock Max felt worn thin, and he decided to call it a night and head for Old Salt’s for a beer and some commiseration.
He found the whole gang there—Cooper and Allie, unwinding after a full-day charter on their boat, the Dragonfly; and Reece and Sara, relaxing after a long day running their various businesses—between them they had three.
“Max!” Allie greeted him with a quick kiss to the cheek. “How goes the advertising biz?”
“A bit grueling today,” he admitted as he swiveled a chair around and straddled it. The waitress caught his eye, and he pointed to Cooper’s beer. She nodded.
“It’s not easy, running your own company,” said Sara. “The B and B isn’t so bad, since I took over an already-thriving business. But the catering…all I can say is, I’m glad Reece has some business sense or I’d be in serious trouble.” She put a hand to Max’s shoulder. “How’s the new artist working out?”
“Oh, you know about that?”
“Of course. I was there when you called her to offer the job. She’s incredible, isn’t she?”
“Incredible…yeah, that’s one word to describe her.” Slow would be another word.
“You’re not pleased with her work?” Allie asked, reading between the lines. “Oh, Max, please don’t fire her. She really needs that job. You have no idea what a financial mess Scott left her in. That boat was supposed to be hers free and clear, and now she’s discovered all kinds of debts and expenses related to the boat she knew nothing about. Of course, Scott kept her totally in the dark about their finances—”
Cooper clamped a hand over his wife’s mouth to silence her tirade. “Allie. Perhaps Jane doesn’t want her personal life bandied about in public.”
“We’re not public,” Allie objected, flipping her long red hair over one shoulder. “We’re Jane’s friends. Everybody here knows what a jerk her ex is. Max experienced it firsthand. First fist, that is.”
Max rubbed his jaw, which was even now, months later, a little tender. He couldn’t argue that Scott was a bastard, all right. Not only had the guy sucker-punched Max, but he’d used Max as leverage to take advantage of Jane in their divorce.
“The fact Jane needs a job shouldn’t be a factor in whether Max keeps her on or not,” Reece pointed out. He was the accountant in the family, the hard-nosed one who kept the rest of them financially on track.
“So he should just cast her out into the street?” Sara asked, with a look bordering on outrage.
“No, of course not,” Reece said. “But you can’t expect him to keep her on the payroll if she’s not an asset to his business.”
“Whoa, whoa.” Max decided the discussion had gotten way out of hand. “I never said she isn’t working out. Our first day was…rocky. Jane isn’t accustomed to the fast pace in advertising. But I plan to give her a decent chance to adjust.”
“I hope you’re not bombarding her with criticism,” Allie said. “She’s very sensitive.”
“But you have to give her feedback or she won’t improve,” Reece pointed out.
“Um, I gave her plenty of feedback.” Max had actually been a bit harsh, which wasn’t like him. He’d always had an easy-come, easy-go attitude when it came to winning and losing. Back when he’d worked at Remington Industries, if he spent weeks working with the creative staff on a campaign, only to have his father or Eddie or some other corporate suit shoot it down, he’d shrugged and moved on.
But now his money, his time, his reputation were on the line. His future depended on whether he could make a go of the Remington Agency. Eddie and his dad were watching, waiting for him to stumble and fail.
The situation made him tense, like a snake ready to strike. If he didn’t take things a little easier, he would end up like Reece had been before he resigned his high-powered position and relocated to Port Clara—headed for a heart attack like his old man.
“What about the other factor?” Cooper asked, giving Max a knowing look. “Doesn’t the fact you’re hot for her get in the way of business?”
Max groaned. “Come on, Coop, don’t bring that up. Yes, she’s a beautiful woman, but I think I can manage to resist her. I don’t need a harassment suit slapped on me, thanks very much. Besides,” he added, “she’s a single mom, and you know my rule.”
Sara looked at him quizzically. “What rule?”
“Max doesn’t date women with children,” Reece supplied, seeming amused by his wife’s narrowed gaze aimed at Max.
“That’s horrible!” Sara said. “Are you telling me you don’t like children?” She turned to Reece. “He is not going to be the godfather of our first child.”
Sara was expecting her and Reece’s first, and she was a little prickly where babies were concerned.
“I never said I don’t like children,” Max objected. “There are other issues.”
“Like a single mom can’t shower all her attention on you,” Allie said. “She has other priorities besides partying.”
“What is this, Pick-On-Max Night?” Max took a long sip of his beer. “I came here for good company, not to have my life dissected.”
Allie at least looked a little penitent. “Sorry, Max. Who else can we pick on?”
“You’ve already picked on me enough for one night,” Cooper said. “I’ll be glad when you all get tired of telling anyone who’ll listen how I tried to get Allie arrested for stealing her own boat.”
“And I don’t want to hear any more seasick jokes,” Reece put in.
“Or anything about my numbers dyslexia,” Sara added. “Hey, you know I found out there’s a term for my problem? It’s called dyscalcula—a math-learning disability.”
They continued to banter, but Max didn’t take part. He was nervous as hell about his meeting with the children’s clothing manufacturer he’d told Jane about. The owner of Kidz’n’Stuff was arriving for a meet and greet tomorrow, and Max was counting on Jane to come up with some sketches that would wow them, based on his concepts.
If she was as slow at sketching as she was with computer graphics, he was in serious trouble.
WHEN MAX ARRIVED at work the next morning, he found Jane already there, working industriously at her drawing board. She was prompt in the mornings, he’d give her that.
He tapped on her office door, which she’d left open as usual. “Morning, Jane.”
She jumped and turned, smiling. “Oh, good morning.”
“You don’t look so good,” Max blurted out, but her appearance was slightly alarming. Yesterday her coal-black hair had been curled and arranged in shimmering waves falling over her shoulders, and her makeup had been magazine perfect. Today she wore an untidy ponytail. What was worse, she had dark shadows under her eyes. And she wore glasses.
Was she trying to ugly herself up so she wouldn’t tempt him? Had she sensed his nearly overwhelming desire for her? He thought he’d kept it pretty well under wraps.
He had news for her. Nothing she could do would make her ugly. But her lack of polish was such a contrast from the day before, he was afraid something was wrong.
Jane looked down at herself, then back up. “I guess I should have looked in the mirror before I left home this morning.” She sounded embarrassed. “I lost track of the time and I got rushed. But I was so excited. Kaylee has a bunch of Kidz’n’Stuff clothes, and we both love them. I started just doing some sketches and, well, before I knew it the sun was coming up.”
Max stepped into Jane’s office. “You stayed up all night?”
“I didn’t mean to. It’s just that when I get involved in creating something, I lose track of time.”
Finally he chanced a look at her drawing board, and his jaw dropped. “That’s…that’s gorgeous.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” Jane had taken his scribbled notes and stick-figure drawings and turned them into a comp for a full-page magazine ad. But this was no rough sketch. She’d made drawings of two children that were so realistic they almost walked off the page.
One of those kids, he realized, was her daughter. The other was a little boy he didn’t recognize.
“I used photos of Kaylee and a neighbor boy from Houston just as examples,” she said almost apologetically. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Okay?” It was fantastic. Given the ridiculously short timeline, he hadn’t expected anything this elaborate from Jane. “I thought we’d discuss concepts this morning and you could knock out a few rough sketches to show the client. But this—”
“I did too much.”
“Well, yes. You really should have discussed this with me before you invested so much time, just to be sure we were on the right track.”
“I know that now. But I wasn’t thinking about it at the time. I’m just so excited to be using my art. For years I haven’t been able to devote any time to it, and I hadn’t realized it, but I…I’d shut down a part of myself. And now I have that part back and…well, I’m sure you don’t want to hear all that.”
Actually, he was fascinated. It seemed that the beautiful, polished woman who had first attracted him was far more interesting than he would have guessed. Now he saw, in full color, the passion that lurked below her slick surface.
And it turned him on.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about her revealing something so personal to him. It indicated a level of trust he certainly hadn’t earned.
“I still have the rest of the day,” she said, suddenly all business. “What changes would you like me to make?”
“Nothing. You nailed it.” He didn’t often feel that way about his artists’ work. Usually there was a lot of back-and-forth before he was satisfied.
“How about this one, then?” She placed a second comp on the drawing board, and Max’s jaw dropped yet again. It was another beautifully rendered drawing, showing the same little boy and girl, but in different poses. The first ad was “Tough’n’Sweet,” one of his preliminary ideas for an ad campaign. This one was “Love’n’Play,” which Jane must have come up with on her own. It showed the little boy getting a hug, and the little girl coming down a slide.
Max didn’t know what to say. He’d seen that Jane had talent, but this was incredible. “Have you ever shown your work?”
She raised startled eyebrows. “Shown? As in, at an art show or gallery?” She laughed. “Other than in college, no.”
“You could, you know. You’re good enough.”
“You aren’t saying that because you’re going to fire me, are you? Suggesting an alternative career to soften the blow?”
“No.” He smiled, wanting to reassure her. “The second ad is good, too. You’re going to work out here just fine.”
She beamed at him, and his heart lurched unexpectedly. “Thanks.”
“Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? Sounds like you put in a full day of work before you even got here.”
“Thanks, but I couldn’t. They’re doing some construction work at the marina right by my boat, and it’s so loud I couldn’t possibly sleep there during the day.”
“All right. Hey, there’s a couch in my office. Why don’t you sack out there? I’m interviewing potential account executives this morning, so I’ll be in the conference room where I won’t bother you.”
She looked at her watch. “You don’t have more work for me?”
“I have a hot project coming in this afternoon, probably around one o’clock, but nothing more right now.”
“A little nap, maybe,” she conceded, then picked up one of her pastels. “Just let me put a few finishing touches on—”
“No.” He stood and took the crayon out of her hand, instantly aware where their fingers briefly brushed. Though she might be slightly unkempt this morning, she smelled fantastic. “You’ll get engrossed in your work and suddenly you’ll look up and hours will have passed. If you want to fiddle with the drawings after your nap, fine, but they’re perfect as is.”
He ushered Jane into his office and cleared a stack of magazines and some mail off the sofa. “I’ve catnapped on this sofa myself, so I can vouch for its comfort.”
“Would you wake me up in an hour or so? I should be good to go by then.”
“Sure.” He drew the shades, turned out the lights and left her there. But as he conducted his interviews, his mind kept wandering to the sleeping beauty in his office.
She was something else.
After the second interview, he realized he’d left the third candidate’s résumé on his desk, and he wanted to review it before the woman arrived. He opened his office door as quietly as he could and tiptoed in without turning on the light.
Jane was flopped on the sofa facedown, one delicate arm bent over her head, her dark hair spilling across her shoulders. Her slow, even breathing told him she was still dead asleep.
She’d wanted to be awakened in an hour, but he didn’t have the heart to disturb her. He stood there for a few moments, watching and listening to her breathe. Then she rolled over, still asleep, her pale blue T-shirt riding up high and offering him a glimpse of her creamy stomach. Her navel peeked out over the top of her low-riding jeans. She had a tiny gold ring in it.
Funny, he wouldn’t have thought Jane Selwyn to be the type to sport a piercing. Maybe it represented her own little rebellion against the corporate-wife role she’d played during her marriage. The thought made Max smile as he slipped out and quietly closed the door.
JANE’S PHONE DREW HER out of a deep, deep sleep and she realized she’d done more than catnap. She sat up and tried to locate her cell.
