“No, you can’t, so what do you say?”
“I say…I can start in a week,” she answered as they reached the train station again. “And I go by Mel, at least to friends.”
“Welcome aboard Mel, and happy birthday early,” he stated staying where he was watching her walk to the train.
“Hello Dad,” he answered picking up the ringing phone. “Actually, I don’t. I have a new office manager starting in a week…no, I think she’ll do just fine.”
“Who is she?” Ford asked, curious about the note in his son’s voice.
“Her name’s Melinda. I’ve already ran a prelim background check and she’s clear.”
“You think she’ll be able to handle those men you employ?”
“She’s been working for Henry Tracks for over a year Dad. Yeah, she can handle them.”
“Now I get that enthusiastic note in your voice,” his dad stated surprising him a bit. “I’ve seen her a couple times with Henry at conferences and dinners since his wife walked out on him. She’s a knockout but be careful Jordan, you don’t want a harassment suit, especially not directed at you with you just starting up the business.”
“Believe me Dad I’m not going to do anything. I think she’s had more than enough come-ons from men in her lifetime already. We’ll be colleagues, friends, and if down the road she wants something else…well I won’t say no.”
“You say that now Jordan, but it’ll be different when you’re working together every day,” his dad warned.
“I can handle it Dad, trust me.” Jordan hoped it was true, because from the moment he’d seen Melinda, he’d wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to stop Tracks’ antagonism towards her, wanted to stop the others’ eyes eating her up, wanted to stop that polite smile she gave him and replace it with a real one, one meant just for him.
Learning the guy from yesterday wasn’t her boyfriend was a huge bonus already. Especially if she was going to be in his office every day, near him for him to get to know her better, let her get to know him better, and hopefully, be as drawn to him as he was to her.
“Well if you need anything, contacts, capital…just let me know.”
“I will; goodnight Dad.”
“Night Jordan,” he said, letting him hang up, heading home to his apartment anxious for the next week to be done so he could have Melinda near him again.
Chapter 2
Mel gave Tate a hard look as his tone rose a bit further as they sat in the back booth at the pizza parlor enjoying her birthday pizza. Last year they’d almost been thrown out for being too noisy and laughing and she didn’t want a repeat.
“You did what?” Tate asked in response to her explanation of why she looked so relaxed after having been at work with Henry this morning.
“Keep your voice down Tate, I don’t need everyone overhearing. I took the job offer from Jordan and handed Henry my notice today, and guess what? I now have a free week because he told me not to come back if I was jumping ship.”
“Okay Mel, I know you don’t like Henry but how are you going to convince Jordan to overlook your lack of credentials?”
“Easy, it’s just me and him in the office. He’s not going to look over them, he’s already done a check on me, and it came back clean. We’re good. It’s more money, fewer hours, he’s nowhere near the jerk Henry is, and did I mention I get a car?”
“You’re getting a car? How are you going to afford it Mel? Insurance and gas…”
“It’s a company car, the company pays the insurance, the gas…we’ll see but I’ll be making five thousand more a year.That’s four hundred more a month and I won’t be paying for the train or bus, in the end it’ll work out just fine.”
“Okay then what about his interest in you? Come on Mel,” he said when she balked at him a bit. “I saw it with my own eyes, the guy likes the way you look.”
“So-what? You do too but we’re just friends. Half the population of the city likes how I look so that’s not anything new. Just because he likes the way I look doesn’t mean he’s going to try anything. He wouldn’t and I wouldn’t let him.”
“I don’t know Mel.”
“Come on Tate just think about it. If I work till six I’m home by seven, which means more time to study and more time to sleep. It also means no more walking through the city to the train station and no more waiting for me to call you to pick me up from the train station. It’s the best thing for everyone. Look if you and Jordan met, really met, I think you’d like him.” At least Mel hoped he would because she knew she did with with the little time they’d spent together.
“Fine, but I plan on checking the guy out; what do you even know about him?”
“He’s really not going to do anything stupid Tate. His father is Ford Turner.”
