“Dinner is a start,” he said. “And maybe we can do it again this week, to make sure I know what I need to do for the following week.”
“We can do that,” she said, smiling softly. He read something in her eyes—he just wasn’t positive what it was exactly.
8
ON THE FENCE
“Idon’t have school tomorrow,” Archer said five days later. “Now I’m on vacation.”
Farrah laughed over Archer’s excitement when Jayce came to pick them up on Thursday night. She figured that since Jayce would drive her son around, the smart thing to do was to witness how he handled a car firsthand.
“I remember those days,” he said. “Remember, Farrah? Just watching the clock on the day before vacation, then running out of the room shouting in victory.”
“Remember them?” she asked. “I still do it on Friday afternoons.”
He grinned over her smile. “I might be guilty of it myself. Or I used to be. Right now, I don’t have a job to be taking a vacation from. Not yet this week.”
“What are you doing all day long?” Archer asked. “Sleeping and playing video games?”
“Yeah. What are you doing?” Farrah asked.
He lifted an eyebrow to her. “I’m brushing up on my skills so I can trounce your son next week when he challenges me. But I’ve been going into McCarthy’s and getting a feel for things.”
“You’re going to work for your parents?”
That surprised her. She remembered back in the day he didn’t want any part of it.
That he wanted to prove to himself he wasn’t the “other son” that would have to take over the business.
Maybe he changed his tune. Unless it was a short-term thing. That was more likely the case and not something she wanted to focus on.
“It’s an option. Not one I thought much of, but the family business has grown so much and everyone is doing parts of what they want me to do.”
“What’s that?” she asked. “Get your jacket, Archer. Time to go.”
Her son raced to the coat closet and snatched a sweatshirt down, then slipped it on and zipped it up. She grabbed her thin fleece to put over her green cotton shirt with jeans. It wasn’t really a date, no reason to dress up and give the wrong impression that she was trying too hard.
Dating? When was the last time she’d done that? Or thought of it?
Way too long and it could be why it was on her mind so much lately.
They got in Jayce’s Mercedes. She wasn’t surprised by his car. Black, black rims, higher end model. Probably used to being around so many millionaires and fitting in.
That was rude of her to think that. She had to get over it. It’s not like people hadn’t said things to her about marrying a doctor almost seven years older than her, then getting this house in the divorce. In her mind, it was a no brainer for what he’d done.
“I won’t bore you with everything that is going on. You know what my parents’ business does, but they are also partners with Fierce Engineering, Olson Law and Kennedy Construction on two commercial rental buildings and are now talking abouta third medical office building. There are more talks about expansion, lots of marketing for McCarthy’s on top of it, communication, even community relations. I’m sorting it now and will start tackling it.”
“That’s great,” she said. “It will give you something to do until you figure out the rest.”
He turned to look at her in the car as he pulled out. She wasn’t sure what she had said that caused that reaction.
“That’s the thing. I need to decide too. It’s not fair to go in there and take over and give them a break, then leave. The company will go to the three of us at some point, whether or not I work there.”
She hadn’t realized that. Or maybe she just hadn’t thought about it.
Jayce’s family was one of the wealthier ones when they were kids. Now it sounded like it was many more times over.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Is it what you want, or you still don’t know?”
