Page 8 of Taming the Boss

“Then a beer you shall have.” Xavier grinned. “See you guys there.”

I followed them both out, Gavin in a much more sedate SUV to the rocket Xavier owned. We ate, drank far too much, and I made a few more questionable decisions with a local woman.

My first trip into Crescent Cove was not what I’d been expecting.

A couple days later, after I’d signed a chunk of my life away and written up the first draft of a brand-new business plan with two strangers, I found myself outside the gazebo decked out in all its Christmas finery.

I followed the footpaths to the pier.

It was Christmas Eve and families were outside walking off their early meals. A surprising family of ducks crossed in front of me, heading for a structure that looked much like a doghouse only larger.

Only in a small town did they build a winter house for the ducks.

I shook my head and climbed the steps to the pier to look out on the water one last time before I left.

A twelve-foot Christmas tree was my only company, but I needed the quiet.

It had been an eventful few days and I had a feeling it was just the beginning.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and pulled it out to find a text from my sister.

For now, it was back to Seattle.

Chapter 1

I was not having a good day.

Why the hell was it so easy to find ads for potential dates yet nearly impossible to find capable employees? Of course, HEA was the brand-new app that had been created locally by some big deal designer type and it was making waves.

I wasn’t from around here—not even close. My mother had local roots that she very rarely even talked about, but I didn’t know much about Crescent Cove, other than it had served as home base for many years for a sizable part of my family.

Added to that, my brief reconnaissance visit here over three years ago had ended up with me making a son with a hometown girl who now only lived here for part of the year.

I’d purchased a sprawling home here practically sight unseen to begin to build a home base for Owen. From what I’d gathered, he’d spent the bulk of his first few years of life moving from apartment to apartment while his mom tried to make part time clerical work into a life-sustaining salary.

Eventually, she’d given up, and I’d received a letter in the mail.

You have a son in Crescent Cove. Paternity test at your demand. You can have him for the summer while I travel with my acting troupe then I want him back.

Son? Acting troupe? What the actual hell?

Then bits and pieces from that misty night started floating back. Auditions. Rehearsing lines. She couldn’t let go of her dreams, so for now, she was happy with office work.

I barely remembered the woman. It wasn’t as if I was indiscriminate. Far from it. But we’d known each other for one hazy night. Condom had torn, I’d guessed.

Of course I also hadn’t realized I’d chosen the baby capital of the USA for my impromptu hookup.

Go me.

Family was something my son needed more of. Me? I could take it or leave it.

The only important member was my younger sister, Sydney. We’d grown up with basically each other for company while our mother built her brand as a home ambassador and lifestyle maven. More meaningless titles meant to seduce impressionable consumers into parting with their hard-earned dollars.

Actually, now that I thought about it, selling real estate was similar, and I’d only stumbled into that career by chance. Offering the other party a dream of a real home and family. It could all be theirs, everything they ever wanted, as long as they had the cash.

If not? Just keep on driving.

Not that our father, who was a slave to the stock market’s whims, was any better. And he and my mother often fought more than they actually talked to each other.

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