Randall Taylor was a big bear of a man. Brown hair sprinkled with silver at the temples, keen blue eyes, and extremely fit, he looked ten years younger than his fifty-eight years. When Savannah was little she’d thought he was enormous. She’d adored him as a young motherless child whose father had seemed, to her, to be everything and to know everything.
Part of that was his presence. Randall Taylor had a very distinctive, intimidating personality. But once she left childhood behind, Savannah had learned that if she didn’t want to be smothered, she had to stand up to her father.
Savannah knew her father loved her. But that was the problem. Her mother had died when she was four and since then it had been just the two of them. He’d never been interested in remarrying, though she had no doubts there were women in his life. But he didn’t bring them home to meet his daughter. He took his duties as a father seriously. Sometimes too seriously, in her opinion.
They’d had a rough number of years when she was in high school and when she left for college. What her father wanted for her and what Savannah wanted were two different things. Randall was the owner of the oldest and biggest bank in Whiskey River. He had dreams of his daughter following him in the business. Convincing him that the last thing Savannah was interested in was banking had been almost impossible. She’d managed, but it had been a close run thing.
But then, right out of college, she’d married the man her father had picked out for her. Phillip Keller, one of the up and coming young men in Randall’s bank. Phillip was handsome. Charming. Smart. And an opportunistic liar. She’d thought Phillip loved her. He’d given a good impression of it. But he hadn’t. Never did. And at this point Savannah didn’t know whether she’d married Phillip because she loved him or partly from some deeply buried desire to please her father.
That sure as hell hadn’t worked out the way either she or her father wanted it to.
Her father had been at the ball, of course, but Savannah hadn’t talked to him other than to say hello. He’d taken Paloma Kelly, ex-wife of the late Boots Kelly, and one of the society mavens of Whiskey River. Not for the first time Savannah wondered if her father and Paloma had something going or if they were simply longtime friends. The two had known each other forever and had also known each other’s spouses. If the two were having an affair they’d been extremely circumspect. There was no gossip about them and in Whiskey River that was quite a feat.
Today Savannah met her father for one of their bi-monthly meals at the new Mexican restaurant in town, off the square on the same street as the Stargazer Hotel.Jalisco’shad only been open a few months and was always crowded, but Randall had managed to snag a booth for the two of them.
“Who was that man I saw you with at the ball?” Randall asked after they ordered. “You told me you didn’t have a date.”
“I didn’t. That was my new boss.”
“So, Bill finally sold the company. Who bought it?”
“Phoenix Homes. They’re a high-end home builder out of Dallas.”
“Dallas? Why do they want to move to Whiskey River? Or are they just expanding?”
“No, I think he’s sold his company in Dallas. From what he’s said I think he wanted to be near his brother and sister who live here. I doubt you’ll remember him, but the owner is Harlan Sullivan. Travis Sullivan’s older brother.”
Savannah didn’t know if her father’s bank was involved with any of the financing of Devil’s Rock airfield, but he undoubtedly knew about it. Travis Sullivan and a couple of his friends had gone into partnership and were developing it into a larger private airfield. Everyone in town was aware of the new runway since Jamie Templeton, local boy turned rock star, landed his private jet at Devil’s Rock airfield a few months back.
Aware her father had gone completely silent, Savannah said, “Dad? Did you hear me?”
He was staring at her, holding a chip. “I heard you.” He put down the chip. “You must be mistaken. Surely he doesn’t intend to live here. I wouldn’t think there’s enough money in building here to interest him.”
“He’s living here for a while, at least. He’s got several projects lined up already, and he was talking about bringing the company up to date. I’m pretty sure money isn’t a problem.”
Randall snorted. “Money is always a problem if you don’t have it.”
“That’s the point. He does have money.” Her father still looked skeptical, so she added, “He drives a Ferrari and he built gazillion-dollar homes in Dallas. I seriously doubt he’s hurting for money.”
Randall shrugged. “So you’re going to work for him?”
Savannah sipped her iced tea, tilted her head, and looked at him. “Unless he fires me. Why? Is that a problem?”
“Of course it is. Working as an office manager is a waste of your talents. I can offer you a much better position at the bank.”
“We’ve been through this before,” Savannah reminded him. “Thank you, but I like what I do.” Even if she didn’t, there was no way in hell she’d work for her father. He might not mean to, but he’d be running roughshod over her within a week.
“You’re planning to work for a man you know nothing about? That doesn’t seem wise.”
“I knew him in high school. We were in the same graduating class.” She didn’t intend to ever tell her father just how well she’d known Harlan Sullivan. “Besides, he’s a successful businessman who’s buying Whiskey River Construction. Bill Griffith likes him.”
“Of course Bill likes him,” her father snapped. “Sullivan is buying the company Bill’s been trying to unload for God knows how long.”
It hadn’t been that long, but she didn’t argue the point. “Regardless, if I don’t like working for him, I’ll quit and look for another job.”
“I don’t like it.”
Savannah reached out and patted his arm. “Dad, I’m a grown woman. I can handle my business myself.” He was still frowning, so she added, “Just today he told me to work up a plan for making the company more efficient. I’m excited about it. New computer software—and you know how much I like that. Harlan’s okay. I promise.”
