Employed by the Boss (Managing the Bosses 7)

Chapter 14

Mark didn’t mention the dinner invitation Erica turned down. Thankfully, she didn’t either. He had worried, right after it happened, that it would make things between them awkward and uneasy. However, Erica had carried on in the same way that she had before he asked her out, and Mark thought he had managed to do the same. Sometimes the rejection still stung, but he did his best not to take that out on her or anyone else.

The club had done fantastically in its first three weeks of business. Having the tournament had gotten the word out, and it was continuing to spread, bringing in more people every day. Reviews had gone up on a handful of blogs and in a few different newspapers, all of them positive. If the business kept growing at the rate it currently was, he was going to have to hire some new staff to handle the influx of customers. The elation of success made it a little easier to forget about how much he still wanted Erica. And how much she obviously didn’t want him.

A new set of golf clubs for Alex had been Erica’s idea. She’d apparently seen his set last time he had come out to play, and thought it could be better. When he’d told her that Alex’s birthday wasn’t coming up any time soon, she’d pointed out that he was the primary investor for the club, and that it was customary to occasionally give appreciation gifts. Mark had given in.

It was a nice set of clubs, he had to admit. As they rode the elevator up toward Alex’s office, Mark looked at them again, admiring the brand new shine. Erica had gone with him to pick them out, which had been as much a torture as it had a pleasure, because any time he got to spend alone with her, no matter how much he enjoyed it, renewed the ache of unfulfilled desire.

When the elevator opened, Mark picked up the set of clubs and started toward Alex’s door.

“He’s actually got someone in there with him right now,” Justin said from the desk. “I think it’s his lawyer. They should be done pretty soon, if you want to hang around for a few minutes.”

Mark set the bag down and leaned it against one of the chairs. “Sure. We’ve got some time.”

He didn’t sit down himself, though Erica did, leaning back in her chair and crossing one long leg over the other.

“How have you been?” Justin asked, looking up for a minute from the screen he was staring at. “New business going well?”

“It’s going pretty amazing,” Mark said. “You should check out the restaurant sometime, even if you don’t golf. We’ll give you a free dessert or something.”

Justin laughed. “I’ll do that, then. Been looking for a good place to take a date.”

“It’s a fantastic place to take a date,” Erica said. “We’ve got some really nice walking trails there, too, lit up at night. They make for a pretty romantic after-dinner stroll.”

“Definitely on my date night list then,” Justin said. The phone rang. “Excuse me.”

Mark didn’t stare at the woman who walked in almost as soon as Justin had turned away to take the call. At least, not much. He couldn’t be blamed. Anyone with eyes would have been staring at her. When he turned, he could see that Erica wasn’t an exception, though she looked away again before it would have been rude.

“Can I help you with something?” the tall blonde asked, giving him an attentive look.

“I’m actually just waiting to see my brother,” Mark said. “We’ve got a present for him, and Justin said he’s in with his lawyer right now.”

“Oh, Mark!” She smiled. “Mark Reid, right? Very nice to meet you. I’m Emelie Eriksson.”

She offered her hand, and Mark shook it. “The famous new PA. Nice to meet you, too. This is Erica, one of the pro instructors who works at the country club with me.”

He gestured to Erica, who stood to take Emelie’s hand as well. Emelie’s smile widened.

“Very nice to meet you as well,” she said, her hand lingering for a moment in Erica’s before she drew it back. “Though,” she added, looking at Mark again, “I’m not sure that I’m famous.”

“Oh, trust me,” Mark said. “You are. Alex was dead set against getting a new PA until you started here. He was completely convinced that no one could do it as well as Jamie.”

“He’s still convinced,” Emelie laughed. “At least once a week I’m reminded that I didn’t have something in as fast as she would have, or done quite the right way.”

Mark’s lips pursed into a frown. “He shouldn’t treat you like that.”

“Oh, no worries.” Emelie waved the concern away with a flip of her wrist. “I know it’s just the way he is. He’d have to do much worse than that to hurt my feelings. I hear all about you and Jamie.” She laughed, the sound floating across the room, and touched Mark’s arm. “It’s all good. I’ve have some great shoes to fill and I feel like I know you already.”

At his back, Mark could feel Erica still standing where she’d stood to greet Emelie, a tension radiating off her that hadn’t been there before. He glanced back at her, wondering if something was wrong, but there was nothing in her expression that seemed unhappy, and he thought maybe he’d imagined it.

“You teach golf lessons?” Emelie asked, looking past him at Erica.

“Yes,” Erica said, and there was definitely something tight in her voice that wasn’t there usually.

If Emelie noticed, she didn’t seem put off by it. “I’ve always wanted to learn to golf,” she said. “Maybe I ought to come down sometime and take a crack at it.”

“It’s a good sport,” Erica said, and the smile in her voice felt a little more natural as she moved into expounding on the qualities of golf. “Everyone I’ve taught really enjoyed the experience. They say, actually, that you can learn a lot about life from a game of golf.”