Second Chance Reunion

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Annie glanced around. Ian wasn’t there. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy or disappointed. Her emotions concerning Ian flitted from wanting him around to hoping she didn’t have to deal with him. “I think it went really well. Thanks for the interview practice. I was prepared to answer every question they asked.”

“Did they say what the next step would be? A callback interview? What?”

“They said they would get back to me by Friday at the latest, probably sooner. Although I think I did well, I’m glad it’s over. I’ll be on pins and needles until they call.” Annie let out a loud sigh.

“I’m so excited the interview went well.” Melody sat on the chair behind her desk. “Have a seat. Ian will be here in a minute.”

“Okay.” Annie sat on one of the chairs on the other side of the desk from Melody.

“How are you feeling about Ian’s presence here? Why didn’t you tell me you and Ian had been married?” Leaning forward, Melody clasped her hands on top of her desk.

Annie smiled wryly. “We’ve spent a lot of time together in the last few days. How come you didn’t ask me about it before now?”

“You certainly know how to turn a question around.” Melody chuckled. “I kept thinking you’d tell me, but since you didn’t I thought before this meeting would be a good time to ask.”

“I was pretty sure Ian had told you about us, but I wasn’t going to initiate that topic of conversation unless I knew for sure. He had the right not to talk about it if he didn’t want to.”

“Okay. Back to the original question. How are you dealing with him being here?”

Just as Annie opened her mouth to answer, a knock sounded on the door, and Ian entered the office. “Sorry I’m late. I was trying to confirm things with Scott Bartlett. He’ll be here after lunch to talk with Annie.”

“Wonderful.” Melody motioned for Ian to sit.

“It is.” Ian took the chair next to Annie. “Did I miss anything?”

“Annie’s good news about her interview.”

“Guess we haven’t talked since our last meeting.” Ian smiled at her. “It must’ve gone well.”

“It did.” Annie’s stomach somersaulted. Ian had actually smiled at her. She couldn’t let that affect her thinking. She wanted him to be happy for her, but she had to keep everything in perspective. Nothing had changed between them. He was only here because Melody had asked him to come. The fact that Ian hadn’t spoken to her since the day she’d arrived here told Annie just how little he was thinking of her. Out of sight, out of mind.

“Great.” Ian turned his attention to Melody. “Have the two of you talked about Annie helping us here?”

“No, we were talking about her interview. I was waiting for you before I brought it up.” Melody pulled a folder from a drawer in her desk, then glanced at Annie. “Ian and I have a request to make of you.”

“What?” Annie’s voice wavered. What could they possibly want from her?

Melody tapped her fingers on the folder as it lay on the desk. “Since you have financial consulting experience, we were hoping you’d come to our administrative meeting on Monday of next week. We’d like to hear your opinion regarding the financial state of The Village. We’re hoping you could help us streamline our operation and show us how we can make better use of our funds as well as finding more ways to raise money.”

Annie remembered when a request like this had been a challenge—one she’d accepted with pleasure. She’d been good at helping companies and businesses, especially nonprofits get a handle on their balance sheets. Was she prepared to tackle something like that now?

“I know we’ve kind of sprung this on you without warning, but we’re in need of some advice.”

Annie had no idea what to say. They were asking for her advice. They weren’t looking at her as a recovering alcoholic or substance abuser. They were looking at her as an equal. Of course, Melody did the talking. Ian sat there taking it all in. Was he on board with this request, or was he only going along to please Melody? What difference did it make? This was a chance to prove herself, especially to Ian. She wanted him to respect her once again, but she had to keep the thought of loving him again far, far away. So why did the idea keep popping into her mind?

“So what do you say?” Melody tilted her head. “Have we scared you off?”

Annie took a deep breath. “I’ll sit in on the meeting, but I have to be honest. I don’t know whether I can help or not.”

Melody nodded. “I understand. I think the more idea people we have reviewing the finances the better off we’ll be. Thanks for agreeing to attend.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” Annie eased back in her chair, the tension draining from her body.

Melody picked up the folder and held it out. “Maybe you’d like to look this over.”

Before Annie could take the folder, Ian reached over and snatched it. “I know you have another meeting to go to, so why don’t you let me take this down to my office and go over it with Annie? Scott will be coming to my office to meet Annie, anyway.”

A strange look passed between Ian and Melody before she finally smiled. “Sure. If that’s what you want to do.”

“Yeah. That’ll work out best.” Ian stood and looked down at Annie. “Ready?”

“Okay.” Annie stood and turned to Melody. “Thanks again for including me in the project.”

Melody walked around her desk and gave Annie a hug. “We’re glad to have you. Keep me informed about the job.”

“I will. Talk to you later.”

“I’ll be praying for your upcoming meeting and your job.” Melody looked as though she wanted to say something else, but she stood there with what appeared to be a forced smile.

Annie sensed friction between Melody and Ian. The uneasy feeling Annie had experienced earlier returned as she followed Ian to the door. She wished she had more time to spend with Melody, but it wasn’t going to happen today.

They’d barely been here ten minutes, and already Ian was rushing off and insisting that she go with him. Understanding dawned. Melody’s request was definitely not Ian’s idea. He didn’t trust her to look over the finances without some supervision. The realization pierced her heart. But could she blame him? She’d stolen from him to fund her drug habit. She would not only have to earn his respect again, but his trust, as well.

Chapter Four (#ulink_e9dea486-fdbc-5190-bf9c-3fcecb747ae4)

While Annie and Ian walked to his office, he didn’t say a thing. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t even acknowledge her presence. What was he thinking? She probably didn’t want to know.

He opened the door and motioned for her to go in, still giving her the silent treatment. If he wanted this meeting, he needed to say something. Even if he didn’t trust her, and she had to prove a lot of things to him, she wasn’t going to let him treat her like some timid little mouse. She wasn’t going to jump when he said jump.

Annie stood in the middle of the room. When he looked at her with those intense gray eyes, her resolve weakened.

“It’s okay to sit down.” He wasn’t ordering her to sit, but it sure seemed like it.

Annie stared at the nearby chair. This was silly. He was only being polite. Why was she making it into something it wasn’t? She hated feeling dependent on Ian. For some reason Melody didn’t make her feel that way, even though Annie depended on Melody for all kinds of help. Maybe it was the sisterly relationship that had developed in the short time she’d been at The Village.

Annie finally settled on the chair. “I thought you said the other attorney wasn’t coming until after lunch. What are we doing in the meantime?”

Ian put the folder on his desk, but he didn’t sit in the chair behind his desk as Annie thought he would. Instead, he sat in the chair next to hers and turned it until he was facing hers. “We’ve got some things to discuss.”

“What things?” Annie swallowed a lump in her throat as she also turned her chair until they were sitting face-to-face. Was he going to bring up her long-ago transgressions?

Ian stared at the floor as if he was gathering his thoughts. When he looked up, the uncertainty in his eyes surprised her. That was not the Ian she had always known. He’d been confident, sometimes even cocky. He’d known what he wanted, and he went after it. She’d always liked that about him.

“I had a meeting with my dad last Friday, and I told him you were here.”

Oh, great. Annie wondered whether Ian’s dad had given him another ultimatum to pass on to her. During Ian’s recovery from his accident, Annie had actually felt close to Jordan Montgomery. He seemed to care about her, but she’d come to believe it was an act. Annie stared at Ian. Did he want some kind of reaction from her? What was she supposed to say?

“Annie, are you afraid of what I’m going to say?”

Was she? “I don’t know. This whole situation with you and me is very awkward.”

Ian smiled wryly. His shoulders relaxed as he settled back in his chair. “That’s for sure. I feel like I’ve been walking through a minefield since you got here.”

Ian’s honesty surprised Annie. “That pretty much describes the situation. So what did your dad say?”

“He thinks Melody’s idea to have you on the finances team is a good one.”

If Annie hadn’t been gripping the armrest of her chair, she would have fallen out of it. Her mouth hanging open, she stared at Ian. She shook her head to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “He really said that?”