more thing,” Nora continued. “The store manager at the Burlington site called again complaining about the lack of shelf space.”
Jenna nodded. “Real Estate just called this morning about the sewing shop next door. It’s finally shutting down, so we can take the space over. We’ll sign the lease within the week.”
Cabe watched in admiration. Damn. She really was good. Given her background and her hardships growing up, she couldn’t have gotten this far in life without being smart and disciplined. Would he have fared as well? He had to wonder. If fate hadn’t stepped in and turned his life in a different direction, would he have figured out a way to pull himself up the way Jenna Townsend had? All on his own, like her? Or would he have ended up on the streets? Or locked up in a cell somewhere? Or worse.
Jordan’s Fine Jewelry absolutely could not lose someone like Jenna. Not for any reason, the least of which being his stupidity. If only he had someone like her in charge of the Caribbean project.
There it was.
The idea made perfect sense. Before this whole theft fiasco, Jenna’s name had come up several times whenever a high-level position opened up at Corporate. She was already due for a promotion.
Perhaps he had a way to salvage the mess he’d made of this whole visit. And possibly even help himself in the process. He was about to make a very strong offer, too. One he hoped Jenna could not refuse. First, he had to get her to listen to him. And forget about what he’d almost just accused her of.
As soon as Nora left, Jenna stood and glared at him. “Well, now what, Mr. Jordan. Am I still under investigation?”
He reached out to gently take her by the arm. “Absolutely not. On the contrary, I need to show you how sorry I am.”
She looked down at his hand, then back with clearly puzzled eyes. “Show me?”
“I assumed my security head knew what he was doing, Jenna. Please understand.”
She stood silent, clearly not ready to cut him any slack. And why should she? He deserved her derision. How could he have let this happen? He hated looking misinformed. Or worse, appearing incompetent. Mistakes were a luxury he wouldn’t allow himself in his position.
“You’re one of the best regional managers we have at Jordan’s Fine Jewelry,” he continued. “I should have handled this differently. And I don’t want to lose you over some...misunderstanding.”
She visibly bristled. He really wasn’t very good at saying sorry, not having had much experience. She had no idea how hard he was trying.
“This was more than a mere misunderstanding.”
He nodded. “I realize that. I think I can make it up to you.”
She pulled her arm free. But she was clearly listening. “How?”
“I could use the services of a competent and experienced regional manager to help me with a project.”
Her chin lifted. “What kind of project?”
“I’m sure you know we’re trying to expand internationally, starting with the opening of a new store in the Caribbean.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You should also know that so far it hasn’t gone at all smoothly. In fact, I need to be there within two days to put out the latest fire.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Come with me, Jenna.”
* * *
It took a moment to process Cabe’s words. “Are you offering me another job?”
He nodded. “One that comes with a higher title. And the adequate adjustment in pay, obviously.”
Jenna’s head spun. Within the span of a few minutes, she’d gone from decrying the loss of her next paycheck to being offered a promotion. If she examined the matter too closely, Cabe’s offer might very well be construed as a bribe.
But it was also an opportunity of a lifetime. A very tempting one.
Cabe motioned to her desk chair. “Please have a seat. Let’s discuss this.”
Her pride pushed her to turn her back and walk away, slam the door on her way out. Her business-school-trained brain had other ideas.
Begrudgingly, she pulled out her chair and sat down. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
The look of relief on his face sent an odd shiver down her spine. She didn’t dare read too much into it.
“I’m tired of trying to get this new site up and running by myself. I’ve been meaning to hire someone. You’re perfect for the job.”
“Cabe, you can’t just expect me to forget that you were ready to believe I may be capable of theft.”
“But that’s exactly what I’m asking you to do,” he said with the confidence of a successful tycoon who’s used to getting his own way. “Rather than spend inordinate time on an extensive talent search, I’d like to offer you the position. You’ve been considered for several corporate positions recently, but none seemed to be the right fit for you. Until now.”
“This is not how I imagined being promoted.”
“That makes two of us. This is definitely not how I imagined doing the promoting. One way to look at it would be to say that we’re going to start fresh,” he added.
Maybe he had a point. But she wasn’t about to let him know that. Why let him off easy? Clearly, Cabe Jordan was used to having things handed to him merely because he asked. Unlike someone such as her who’d had to work hard all her life for every accomplishment.
A small part of her nagged that resisting might indeed be a mistake. She still needed this job, pride or not. What if he called her bluff? Her pride won out. “You have to understand, Cabe. I’m no longer sure how I feel about working for you. Given our past history as friends, and that you’ve known me for decades, I would have appreciated it if you’d come to me right from the start.” Oh, heavens. She nearly choked on the words. For all her bravado, she had to acknowledge that he’d genuinely and wholly hurt her. She’d been foolish to expect any more from the Jordan CEO, regardless of past friendship.
But then Cabe held both hands up in surrender and she had a split second of panic. For all her bravado, she really would prefer to be gainfully employed as she looked for another position. Her breath held while he spoke.
“Let’s compromise. You just help me on this one overseas project. We’ll start from there.”
“And then what?”
“Then we revisit the situation and the matter of your employment.”
She gave her head a small shake. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“I just mean that I don’t think you should make any lasting decisions right now, in the heat of the moment.”
Jenna’s
