“Thanks to you, I’m going to be behind with work.”
“I’m sure it is killing you to be stuck in your truck with a beautiful woman for the day.”
I sighed. “Did the contract come through?”
“Linda said it did.”
“Linda?” I asked, frowning. “Who is Linda?”
“The new office manager Dad hired. I thought you interviewed her.”
The anger that rose up in my body made me pull the phon
e away and let out a few curse words. I closed my eyes and brought the phone back up to my ear. “No, I didn’t interview her. I thought we had agreed on hiring Karen.”
Morgan chuckled. “Dad said she wasn’t what the company needed.”
“What in the fuck does that even mean?” I bit back.
“Hey, don’t get pissed at me, Nash. You need to have that sit-down with Dad sooner rather than later. Things aren’t getting any better, and I hate to say this, but even Mom is starting to ask me if you’re feeling a bit bitter.”
“Bitter? About what?”
The silence on the other end told me Morgan was no longer alone.
“Just have the conversation. I need to run; everything here is fine. Please just take the rest of the afternoon off. Enjoy the road trip and get to know Kaelynn. She really is such a sweetheart.”
Another sigh slipped from between my lips. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Yes, boss.”
Boss. That was a joke. My father was clearly making a statement he was still very much in control of Barrett Construction. Never mind the fact I had landed us two huge projects that would put Barrett Construction on the map in Austin. We would make a great profit when it was all said and done. My father didn’t care though.
“Fuck it,” I said as I scrubbed my hands down my face.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
I spun around to see Kaelynn standing there. The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile.
“Sorry about that. How did it go?”
“Amazing. You haven’t been waiting long, have you?” she asked as she walked closer to me. Just her being near me today was making my mind wander off in directions I knew it shouldn’t be going. When I had caught her eavesdropping on my call to Jessica, I had to fight the urge to question her on it. She looked so damn cute with that blush on her cheeks. I also had to fight the urge to get back in my truck and pull her into my lap, Jessica be damned.
“Nah, I went over to the Starbucks and worked on some paperwork for a bit.”
“Good. I already feel so bad about you driving me all the way here and wasting a day.”
“Kaelynn, it’s not a big deal. Especially with you helping Morgan out like you are.”
She shrugged. “It’s my job, and I love doing it.”
“Speaking of,” I stated, pointing to the giant building behind her. “How did it go?”
“Great. The company hired a lawyer, and the board of directors was also on hand, so it was pretty simple to explain the process of setting up the scholarship. I think it is amazing that such a large corporation is willing to do something like this for one of their employees. It makes your heart feel good.”
“How’s the mom doing?”
Her smile faded. “She’s doing as well as can be expected. Her son gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I think with her employer doing this for her, it is helping with the healing. She pulled me to the side and asked me if I could send her a list of reputable charities for her to support.”