"I seem to remember an item number three from a few weeks ago. That sounds really good right now."

My eyes lit up at the reminder of that first weekend together. "We'd better get these people fed and out of here then."

"You're good at planning. I think you should do all the planning from now on in this relationship."

"I can handle that." I tipped up to catch her lips for a quick kiss. Maybe tonight wasn't a total catastrophe after all.

"I can definitely handle that, lovely."

Chapter 21.

W alking around Marco's latest jobsite, my dad and I mentally ticked off all that still needed to be done. Marco was ahead of schedule, way ahead. I made another mental note to redo his contracts to include a bonus if he finished his jobs ahead of time.

"The boy gets better and better with each project." Dad said as we looked through the newly framed second story.

The rest of the crew was working on the main house, but Dad wanted to check out the plumbing before the drywall went up. Marco was using a new plumbing subcontractor, but it looked like Dad could stop worrying.

"He's an artist, Dad, just like you taught him to be. Nice design, by the way."

He shot me a surprised glance. "How'd you know?"

"I've been looking at your houses all my life. You don't think I can spot one of your masterpieces?"

"It is rather dazzling, isn't it?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me to him. "So, what's new with my best girl?"

My stomach felt like it dropped ten stories as I contemplated how to share my news with him. Normally, I didn't mention the people I was dating unless he specifically asked if I was seeing someone. I never made a big deal out of it because it never was a big deal. I couldn't say the same 164*

about this time. Raven was different in so many ways, and I wanted to tell the man who'd always been the most important person in my life.

"Haven't seen much of you lately, so I a.s.sume something's going on?" he persisted.

Taking a deep breath, I announced, "I met someone."

"A special someone?" He spun toward me.

"Very."

"Has he pa.s.sed Marco's decency scale?" he teased about Marco's constant disapproval of the men I've dated.

"You could say that."

"Really?" His jaw popped open.

"Marco has given his blessing."

"Wow, he must be special if your brother's okay with him. When can I meet him?"

"You already have." My throat went dry. I crossed my fingers and attempted, "I'm, well, the thing is..."

"Jos? Who is it?"

"Raven," I admitted, watching him closely. He squinted in confusion then c.o.c.ked his head. "You met her at the law enforcement gala." When his eyes registered the recognition, I plowed ahead, "I know this is a surprise; it was for me, too, but she's...she's amazing, Dad."

"Raven?" A frown crinkled the expanse of his weather beaten forehead.

"I don't know how to explain it. We clicked right away, and that never happens to me." I checked to see if his expression had changed. It hadn't. "Are you doing okay with this?"

"Okay?" He sounded dazed.

"I don't know what I'd do if you can't handle my being with a woman. You're too important to me not to have you okay with this." I spilled out the whole deck, no card left unused.

"Sweetie." He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "All I've ever wanted for you is happiness, and I *165 can see how happy you are. She must be a remarkable lady for you to finally let someone in. I'd like to meet her again, just so I can thank her for making you so happy."

"Oh, thank you." I couldn't contain the elation that he'd accept this like it was the best thing to happen to me, which I couldn't deny, it was.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to grill her. Make sure she's gonna do my best girl right, you know. Marco'll want in, too. Better make it a whole weekend so we have time to grill her and see if she can hold her own on a construction site."

"Dad." I chuckled, smacking his shoulder.

He grinned wide enough to almost peel back his face.

"Do you love her?"

"Dad!" That was surprising, but only because he'd never asked me that of anyone I've dated in the past. "I haven't, I mean, neither of us, we haven't..."

He waved his hands. "That's okay. You don't need to say anything. I know my daughter. I know the answer already. I'm happy for you, sweetie. You've deserved this for so long."

"Thanks." I leaned in for another hug. Not many dads could compare to mine.

Malicious little b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I should have expected Robert to react this way. So, why did I find this news surprising? As soon as I set down the phone in my home office, I picked it back up and dialed again. I couldn't let Robert get away with such a stupid move.

Although Raven's tone had been exasperated when she told me, she sounded more resigned than upset that her cousin was such an idiot. I would have wanted to kick him from the sales department down to HR to make him reverse his decision. Instead, she'd been told as soon as she found 166*

out, which was a week after the fact. By then, nothing could be done. Well, I was going to rectify that.

"Thanks for calling, Jos." Zina greeted me an hour later in the cafe where we'd agreed to meet. "I could use the distraction."

"Hi, Zina, I'm glad you could make it on short notice."

"I've got nothing better to do with my time right now."

Zina referred to the fact that she no longer had a job, thanks to Robert's insecurity.

"I believe I owed you a lunch anyway, right?" On cue, the waiter approached, and we placed our orders.

"So, what's new with you?" Her blase att.i.tude over losing her job for no apparent reason made me chuckle.

"I'm sorry about your job."

"Oh, I know it's not your fault, Jos. Is that why you asked me here? You thought I got laid off because of your recommended cut in workforce?" She grasped my forearm, concerned for my visible guilt.

"No, I know why you got fired. It wasn't because of my consultation, but it was because of me." Or because Robert was the most insecure a.s.s alive.

"That's not true. Those layoffs stopped weeks ago."

I steeled myself to tell her the truth. "Yeah, but you were fired because I told Archie that you could do Robert's job better than he could."

Zina's eyes bugged out as she rocked back in her chair.

"You said what, woman?"

"I recommended to Archie that he demote Robert to senior sales rep and give you the CSO position. Of course, he thought I was joking."

Her head shook as she worked her way through my news. She'd braided her hair sometime since I last saw her.

The tight weaving patterns rounded precisely over her skull and left more of her face to see. "When did you tell him?"

"After the presentation to the sales department."

*167 "If you're so sure that's what got me fired, why'd it take so long?"

"Because, idiot that I am, I told Robert the same thing when I saw him Friday before last. He definitely took me seriously. I'm sorry, I should have known he'd retaliate against you."

Zina's head shake turned into a sinister smile. "I wish I could have been there to hear you tell that jerk that his AA could take his job."

"That's what you've got to say?" I huffed in disbelief, barely noticing the waiter drop our lunches off at the table.

"I get you fired and you're only wish is that you'd seen Robert hear me call him incompetent?"

"Sure. That woulda been a riot." She took a bite of her lunch like it was any other day. "Don't worry, Jos. That right there was worth having to update my resume and begin a job search. I didn't like working for him anyway."

"Well, how about me? Would you work for me?"

She dropped the fry that she'd raised to her mouth and stared at me blankly. The usual rapid retorts stayed locked in her brain. "What?"

"I've always had the luxury of picking my clients carefully, and I've never been rushed to move on to another project. But lately, I can't keep up with the requests. I've been contemplating hiring someone to help out, run the business while I'm out consulting. Train someone on conducting part of the research for me so that I can spend more time on a.n.a.lysis. Would that interest you?"

"Are you serious?"

"I could take on more clients, focus on the parts of consulting that I like best, and not worry that I'm missing out on other interesting projects because I'm running around trying to tie up all the loose ends." Until I made the offer, I hadn't realized how much I needed someone.

"You didn't work with me for that long. How do you know if I'm qualified?"

168*

"Zina, you're a rarity. I see maybe one employee like you in every twenty companies I a.n.a.lyze." I smiled at the modest look that crossed her face. "I can offer you a thirty percent raise and a car allowance. You'll work hard when we have clients, but you'll get the same breaks that I take in between clients. I can't say that I'll always be a dream to work with, especially when the client is an a.s.shole, but we've always had a good rapport. I think it'll work out great."

"Not that I was worried about that, but the fact that you said 'work with' not 'work for' tells me you would value any employee."

"You game?"

"I'm game, set, and match, sister. Sign me up."

"Great." I sighed with relief. This would work out beautifully. My dad had been bugging me to get some help for years. I couldn't ask for someone better. "Can you start next week? It'll give me time to get you a laptop and set up a network so we can work from our homes until I think of something more permanent."

"Sounds good to me. Thank you, Joslyn. I appreciate the opportunity. I know I'll learn a lot from you."

I imagined I'd be learning just as much from her. This would be a ma.s.sive change for a normally independent person like me, but I had to attribute my lack of anxiety about it to my relationship with Raven. Being with her had opened up so many experiences I'd never considered before.

I felt like there wasn't anything I couldn't undertake, and the knowledge was empowering.

Chapter 22.

A whole weekend together. I could hardly wait to see her. The past three nights had been spent at long dinner meetings with potential clients. It was getting ridiculous how much I missed her when we were separated. To make matters worse, my next client was out of town. I'd be leaving Thursday after next for two weeks. This was the first time in my consulting career that I thought about canceling out on a client because I didn't want to be gone for that long.

When I heard the car drive up, I raced to the front door and flung it open. I didn't want to waste one second of this weekend. The sight of my dad's truck, followed by Marco's shocked me. "Hi there, best girl." Dad stepped down from his truck with a big smile.

"Hi, Dad. Was I expecting you tonight?" My brain tried to sift through the conflicting thoughts of surprise, joy, and disappointment.

"You didn't think we'd let you leave town without a traditional sendoff, did you?" True, we often had dinner together whenever I had a long-term contract out of town, but two weeks hardly qualified.

"What? We're not welcome all of a sudden?" Marco jabbed when he and his wife caught up with my dad.

Phoebe's shoulders nearly touched the short bob of dark blond hair as she shrugged apologetically. She didn't 170*

believe in no notice drop-ins but, obviously, she hadn't been able to stop her husband's mission. Her blue eyes tried to convey that she was completely on my side with this one.

"If you happen to be spending the evening with a certain someone, well, all the better for us, right, Michael?"

"A certain special someone," Dad pitched in.

I scoffed, caught between enjoying their banter and what I knew would be Raven's anxiety. "You guys, you can't ambush her like this."

"Seems like this might be fair payback for that dinner you had to suffer through," Marco commented about the Paul family get-together. I immediately scolded myself for telling him about it. I should have known he'd find a way to use it against me.