her boss’s door, noticed her chipped nail polish and yanked them down to her sides. “Mr. Williams wants to see me?”
Gail slid a candy bowl her way and lowered her voice. “You might want reinforcements.” She glanced at the door behind her. “He’s in a tear.”
Jodi’s stomach twisted and she ignored the treats. Focusing on work instead of her crisis felt impossible. Facing an irritated boss on top of that might be more than she could handle.
Well. There was nothing for it.
She took a deep breath, put on her business face, knocked and then strode inside. Her boss half rose from his seat and waved her to a chair. He was an imposing, florid man whose white comb-over contrasted with his helter-skelter black eyebrows. His thick glasses made his eyes seem to look everywhere and nowhere at once. When she perched on the edge of her seat, he shoved a folder across his desk.
“Got another acquisitions deal for you, Jodi.” He tugged at the striped tie that half disappeared into his neck roll. “Espresso?”
Knowing better than to argue, she accepted the minimug and sipped, careful not to make a face. It sure wasn’t chamomile, and she could have used the soothing blend to settle her jangling nerves.
“Good, eh?” Mr. Williams beamed and Jodi nodded, bolting back the rest of the foul brew.
“Did you mention something about a new deal?” It took every ounce of her dwindling energy to keep her voice steady.
Her boss held out the folder. “I believe you’re familiar with this area.”
Jodi grabbed the file while her mind replayed her conversations with the Wonders Primary director and her ex. How would she find a way to pay for Tyler’s care if her husband wanted to contribute less?
She started when Mr. Williams cleared his throat, and then she flipped the file open and froze at the location typed on the cover sheet.
Cedar Bay, Vermont. She dropped it back on his desk, blinking rapidly.
“This looks like a large deal. Surely Jake or Micah—” She sought to rein in her rising voice. “Brady—” Logic, not emotion, she reminded herself. She’d made too many mistakes in life by ignoring that rule.
“Don’t have the connections there that you do, and we need this land to stay ahead of the competition.” Her boss twisted the end of a gold-plated pen, the point appearing and disappearing. “Besides, they already tried, with the exception of Brady, who’s still tied up in Mexico. Look, Jodi, it’s your hometown.”
“I haven’t been there since I left for college.”
“You still have family there.” Her supervisor pointed his pen at a nearby picture. In it, the executives mugged in red Santa hats or antler headbands. “I met your aunt at last year’s holiday party. Grace, I believe?”
Of course Mr. Williams would remember that detail, just as he stored every tidbit, small or large. Her mind worked frantically. How could she get out of this? She needed to stay in town and sort things out for Tyler.
She rose. “I’m sorry, Mr. Williams. But Cedar Bay will be a conflict of interest.”
“A conflict for whom, I wonder?” Her supervisor waved her to take her seat again. After a tense moment, he opened the file and read from it.
“Layhee, Trudeau, Drollette...” His voice droned on through the long list, each familiar last name making her pulse pound harder than the last. “...and Remillard,” he finished.
His sharp gaze met hers. “Recognize any of those?”
All of them, Jodi thought. “A few,” she said.
“Then that’s the in we need. We’ve been trying to take over this prime dairy land for years. Put all of our best men on it.” He pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and dabbed at his glistening forehead. “I mean, we put our best senior executives on it, but we haven’t made any headway as a result of some fellow by the name of—” he glanced down at the chart “—Daniel Gleason.”
Jodi wasn’t surprised. Of course Daniel would be behind the resistance to Midland’s buyout. His family had farmed in Cedar Bay for centuries, and if anyone could hold out against her corporation, it’d be charming, clever, stubborn Daniel.
“Says here he’s twenty-seven. That’s your age.” Mr. Williams peered at her through his thick lenses. “A friend of yours?”
“Hardly.” Irritation rose as she recalled how often her popular ex-classmate had bested her throughout their childhood, from being the first to cross the monkey bars to edging her out as valedictorian. Then there was that moment of weakness when she’d nearly fallen for him. “The opposite, actually.”
Mr. Williams grunted, then nodded at a painting of the company’s former CEO. “I was once a junior exec like you, Jodi. But my mentor taught me the secret to moving up in life. Know your enemy. This Gleason fellow’s our enemy. Who better to make our case than someone who knows him well? Plus, you can take your son with you. Stay at your aunt’s for a couple of months and get Tyler out of the city for the summer. Fresh air and all that. Once you’ve acquired five thousand acres, you’ll be back in time for the Bears preseason.”
Five thousand acres? The small hairs on the back of Jodi’s neck pricked. This was a large deal, a herculean task, even with her connections and a summer to accomplish it. And just how well had Mr. Williams gotten to know her talkative aunt? She always praised the benefits of country air in hopes of tempting Jodi out for a visit.
But Jodi remembered how unpredictable and dangerous farm country could be. It was the reason her parents had left town once Jodi finished her senior year in high school. As for why she hadn’t accepted her aunt’s offer to stay with her during college breaks, that story ended with a different kind of heartbreak.
More important than her tumultuous hometown history, however, Tyler did best with routines, things he knew and expected. She couldn’t imagine a worse place for him.
She cleared her throat.
“I haven’t spoken to Daniel Gleason in ten years, so I’m afraid I wouldn’t be of much help.” She edged toward the door. “If I may be excused, sir?”
Her employer intercepted her. “Jodi, I’ve seen your talent and ambition. In fact, you remind me of myself at your age. Look how quickly you wrapped things up in Idaho and every other deal we’ve given you. Succeed on this, and I’ll give you a promotion to midlevel executive.”
Jodi gripped the doorknob, afraid her weak knees would give out. Midlevel? Even her fellow junior executive, ambitious Brady Grayson, couldn’t hope for such a steep corporate climb at their age. Her mind ran over the numbers that came with the promotion’s raise, seeing that Wonders Primary would be in reach. Almost. If her ex’s lawsuit failed, it might work.
“And of course there’d be a closing bonus of, say, five thousand.” Her boss waved the folder beneath her nose like a matador.
Jodi blinked at him, disbelieving. Suddenly her dreams were within her grasp, the chance to provide the care her son needed, a brass ring at her fingertips. She wasn’t going to fail after all.
“Fine.” Mr. Williams
