I raised my eyebrows at him.
“She’ll be in the office and will be the one you need to speak to. She’ll report to me.”
I nearly chewed my tongue off trying to keep my comments professional. “You guys know you can talk to me,” I said.
I could feel their fear and apprehension. Nash was doing very little to put them at ease. I met his eyes. There was a smirk on his lips. He was enjoying this. He liked messing with people. It was going to take more patience than I had to deal with this man. I couldn’t believe I ever thought I could love him.
“Thanks, everyone. I’ll check in later. That’s all I have.”
No one moved. Again, I could feel their stress. Nash looked at me and then walked out. It took a second before anyone talked. Then it was everyone talking at once.
I held up my hands. “Guys, we have a full day. Let’s get back to work. We all want to get out of here at a decent hour, right? Let’s go.”
Everyone got up and filtered out of the room. Lana was on her way out of the room when I stopped her. “Lana, go get your son.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I can’t lose my job. I have to work.”
“I’ll take care of your stuff. Your son is more important.”
She looked stressed. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I know I wouldn’t be able to focus on work if my son was sick. I’ll take care of things here.”
“I can see if my mom can watch him,” she said.
“Lana, go,” I insisted.
“Thank you.”
I went back to my office. I was going to be working right through lunch. I was not about to let Nash dictate parenting. He didn’t have any idea what it was like to have a sick child that needed you. Sometimes, work was not the most important thing in the world.
I didn’t mind jumping in and helping out when it was necessary. It was kind of fun to do some of the normal stuff. I liked filling out forms. I was a nerd. I had always been a mathlete. I loved numbers and trying to figure out mathematical problems.
It was close to the end of the day when I heard Nash’s voice. “Shit,” I muttered. He was back.
I was really hoping he would be gone for the day. Forever. There was nothing he could possibly do at the office. He wasn’t an accountant. I knew firsthand he didn’t know shit about taxes. He hired people like me to figure out how to keep his ass out of jail for not paying enough taxes.
He knocked on my door but didn’t bother giving me the chance to tell him to come in. He stood just inside my office door. “I didn’t see that lady from earlier,” he said.
“You’ll need to be a little more specific,” I said with disgust. “There are a lot of ladies that work here.”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about,” he said. “The one with the kid that had a fever.”
“Lana,” I said. “Her name is Lana. Typically when you are speaking to an employee, it is good to know their name. That lady could be considered just a little derogatory.”
He smirked. “I wasn’t aware I was dealing with the PC police.”
“You’re dealing with someone who cares about her employees. I believe in treating people with respect. Here’s a tip you might want to think about trying one of these days. Talk to people like you like them.”
He shrugged. “Why? I don’t know her. I don’t know if I like her.”
It was like talking to Jace. I wondered how he missed out on learning some of the basic social niceties. I was going to renew my effort to teach Jace good manners. “You’re right. You don’t know and I doubt you will ever know.”
He nodded at the files on my desk. “Since when do tax managers work on paperwork?”
“I take a very hands-on approach to my job.”
“You’re doing her work,” he said.
It was kind of remarkable that he was able to figure all of that out. “I’m helping out a fellow employee.”
“You’re doing her work for her. That’s not helping out. That’s enabling bad behavior. It’s a sign of weak management.”
I could not throw my computer at him. I could not throw the stapler at him. I could not shout at him. He was my boss. I smiled and shut down my laptop. “As it turns out, I’m done for the day. Unless you have something else you need me to do, I’m going to wrap up and get out of here.”
“You did your normal job and hers?”
“Yes. Your concern is the work, correct?”
He nodded once. “Yes.”
“The work is done. It’s done well. That is all you need to worry about.”
He looked pissed. “You’re telling me what I need to worry about?”
“You’re right. You worry if you want to. Now, it’s a Friday night and I’d like to go home. Did you need something else?”
He looked like he was going to say something and then stopped himself. “No. I don’t need anything.”
“Then have a good night.”
“I’ll see you Monday,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Really?”
“Do you have a problem with me coming into my business?”
I had to remember he was the owner. He was officially my boss. If that didn’t make me want to chew nails, I didn’t think anything could. “Not at all. I wasn’t aware this was going to be your new home base.”
“This place needs some attention. I want to make it worth my investment.”
“Great,” I said with a forced smile.
He turned and walked out of the office. It was like he funneled the air out with him.
This really sucked. There were millions of businesses. Why did he have to buy mine? This was way too complicated. This was going to make a mess of my life. I couldn’t have him in my life. It complicated things. Really, really complicated things.
All I could do was hope he would fade out of my life again. He’d buy another business and go away.
“Please go away,” I whispered.
Chapter 6
Nash
That had not gone quite as well as I hoped. Seeing Saige was a surprise. I did not think she would still be working at the same place. She didn’t like me. That much was clear. Again, not a shocker there. Most people didn’t like me. I found it was much easier to get through this crazy life I led when I didn’t have to worry about trying to make people like me. The way someone else felt was none of my concern. I had my own problems.
I went upstairs to my office. The place was empty, which I expected. It was a Friday night. Everyone had places to be and families to spend time with. I was a bachelor with no family. Technically, I had a family but not one I was close to.
I spent several hours alone in my office doing what I did best—making money. I heard my stomach growl and realized I’d worked right through dinner. I checked the time and saw it was after nine. I decided to call it a night. I needed a drink and hopefully a little conversation.
The bar would be closing soon. It wasn’t a typical bar that catered to the late crowd. Davin would hopefully be able to hang out for a bit after closing. I didn’t want to think about what it meant that I basically paid him to be my friend. I knew it wasn’t necessarily that, but it was certainly a strange arrangement.