mulled Davis’s suggestion for the next couple of hours. He didn’t like deceptions, but he wondered what one this small, this insignificant, could possibly hurt. He wasn’t lying about his qualifications or keeping some vital piece of information to himself. His private life, after all, was no one’s business but his own. Besides, he did plan to stick around if he got the position. When he became head of Faust, he planned to nurture and expand Ira’s carefully built company, not slice it up and sell it off before he went on his merry way. His conscience duly wrestled into submission, he set the alarm clock and climbed under the covers.
Jack took several deep breaths, exhaling them slowly through his mouth in an effort to quell his nerves before the elevator reached its destination on the top floor at Faust. Now or never, Maris, he thought as he walked down the corridor to Ira’s office. The receptionist smiled politely as Jack approached her cluttered desk.
“I’ll let Mr. Faust know you’re here, Mr. Maris,” she told him.
“Jack, come in,” Ira said a moment later. He held open his office door and waved Jack inside. “I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience to come back today.”
“Not at all, sir. I hope you’ll excuse my casual attire.” He motioned to the khaki trousers and navy sweater he wore beneath a leather jacket. “I only brought one suit, and, well, it had a little run-in with my dinner yesterday.”
Ira chuckled as he settled into the chair behind his desk. “What you’re wearing is fine. Shall we get down to business?”
Jack nodded and took a seat in one of the burgundy wing chairs that faced Ira’s desk. For the next forty minutes they talked about Jack’s work experience. Ira threw out several hypothetical situations and asked Jack how he would handle them. Again, Jack got the feeling the older man was impressed with him, but not quite sold. They were concluding their meeting when the lie that had been in the back of Jack’s mind all morning popped out of his mouth.
“Well, it looks like I’ll be able to make it for an early lunch with my fiancée after all,” he said. Too disgusted with himself to make eye contact with Ira, Jack continued to stare at the gold watch strapped to his wrist.
He heard the leather of Ira’s chair creak as the older man leaned forward. “Fiancée, you say?”
Jack nodded, his tongue unwilling to give voice to such a blatant untruth a second time.
“Ah, yes, better not keep the young woman waiting.” Ira smiled brightly and Jack’s stomach clenched. He considered retracting his words, but he told himself that one little fib wouldn’t really matter.
Halfway to the door Ira laid a companionable hand on Jack’s shoulder and confided, “I think you’ll do nicely as the new vice president of Faust Enterprises. I’m offering you the position, with the option to invest in the company and then take over completely when I retire.”
“That’s terrific! I accept,” he said, nearly sending up a whoop of joy that would have been entirely inappropriate for the vice president of a distributorship. More solemnly he added, “You won’t regret this, sir.”
“I’m sure I won’t,” Ira agreed. The two men shook hands, and Ira escorted Jack to the brass-doored elevator.
While they waited for the elevator to arrive, Ira said, “If you have no other plans for the evening, how about dinner? We can toast your new job, and I can answer any other questions you may have about either the company or the community. I’m sure Davis will help you with house-hunting, but I do know an excellent real estate agent if you’re interested.”
“That sounds great. I’d appreciate it.”
The elevator arrived and Jack stepped inside, aware that he probably was wearing a silly grin on his face, but unable to check it. Vice president. He was the new vice president of Faust Enterprises, a company he would someday own as well as oversee. If possible, his grin widened.
“Then it’s settled. My wife and I will meet you at your hotel at seven-thirty. The restaurant off the lobby serves an excellent rack of lamb,” Ira replied, his own smile paternal and understanding.
The elevator’s shiny doors were just beginning to slide shut when Ira added, “I’m looking forward to meeting your girl.”
“He wants to meet my girl!” Jack thundered into the telephone.
“I can’t believe you told him she was here,” Davis replied, sounding incredulous. “Boston, Jack, she was supposed to be in Boston!”
“Yeah, well, forgive me for being a lousy liar. It just slipped out that way.”
“Okay, okay, there’s got to be a way to fix this,” Davis muttered on the other end of the line.
Jack sighed miserably. “I have the position I’ve been dreaming about since graduate school, but the guy’s probably going to rescind the offer as soon as he realizes I lied through my teeth to get it.” He sank down on the edge of the bed and, with his free hand, kneaded the bunched muscles at the back of his neck.
“You could say she’s not feeling well,” Davis offered, then grunted skeptically. “Of course, I wouldn’t put it past Faust to show up at your hotel tomorrow with a doctor in tow. If he could just meet the future Mrs. Maris once, I’m sure that would be the end of it. Too bad you don’t know any women willing to play the part of your happy bride-to-be. Unfortunately, most of the single women I know work at Faust, know someone at Faust, or wear support hose. But maybe Marianne has a friend. I’ll call her at work.”
Jack stopped rubbing his neck and grinned as the idea hit him with the same force the crock of chili had the day before.
“Never mind that. I do know a woman,” he said slowly. “And as it happens, she owes me a huge favor.”
Chapter Two
Tess was on her afternoon break when she saw him walk into the restaurant. He was taller than she remembered, at least six-two, with broad shoulders and lean hips. She watched the other female diners swivel in their seats to give him the once-over as he passed their tables, and she smiled. With the body of an athlete and a face that belonged on the cover of Gentleman’s Quarterly, he was a hard man to ignore.
Tess took a moment to hope he would sit in another waitress’s section so that she would not have to face him again. She was surprised he had come back after yesterday’s disaster. Her surprise turned to alarm when he continued to walk to the rear of the restaurant and to the table where she sat alone, eating chicken salad and reading a chapter on metropolitan government.
Oh God, she thought, nearly choking on her meal, he’s decided to make me pay after all.
She was coughing when he reached her table. Her eyes watered a little as the chicken salad finally went down with the help of a gulp of iced tea. Still wary, she studied his expression, but he didn’t look angry or aggrieved. Nor was he holding a bill for a new suit. Instead, he smiled a little uncertainly and politely asked, “May I sit down?”
Heart hammering, Tess could do no more than bob her head in response.
“I’m assuming you remember me from yesterday,” he said, sliding onto the seat opposite hers.
Oh
