Page 7 of An Engagement for Erica

She enjoyed being with him, had respect for him as a boss, and liked him as a person.

There weren’t a lot of people she could say that about.

“I can try,” she said. “But you weren’t the one that woke up in the ambulance and tried to figure out what was going on.”

“No,” he said softly. “I wasn’t. That had to be just as scary for you as it was for me.”

“Not quite,” she said, her shoulders relaxing and a tiny smile forming.

Erica still had to work hard not to be the grouch her sister called her all the time.

She’d never been that way until she started working at her last job.

She couldn’t afford to be that way now or she’d lose clients and get a horrible reputation.

“Okay,” he said. “Maybe not as much as you, as I wasn’t going through it. I do hope you’re okay now and not just saying it.”

“I am,” she said. “Not sure if you heard, but it was a migraine. I’d been suffering from them but not positive that is what it was. No reason to get into why they were happening and how come they aren’t now, but it’s remedied.”

Who the hell thought a migraine attack could come on so suddenly that she’d break out in a sweat and the pain in her head would be so severe she’d actually pass out from it?

Medication, diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes had her migraine-free for over six months.

What a feeling!

“That’s good news,” he said. “Now if I wake up from a nightmare again, I’ll just tell myself you can pop one of those pills and it will magically disappear.”

She squinted one eye at him. “If only things in life were that easy. And speaking of easy things in life, how about a little background on what is going on with you and this business you are now the CEO and President of? If you were shocked to see my name, let me tell you the shock I had when I got your inquiry.”

No need to add the fact that her body had another flush of heat to it.

She’d cooled off with the midnight dunk when her sister thought it was hilarious that she was anxious over working with a man she’d thought was good looking. Maybe had a secret crush on when she’d never experienced anything like that in her life.

Harmony had told her she was more human than they all thought and was relieved to know it was possible they weren’t related to a robot.

“The gist of it is, that TCN Industries is a family business started by my grandfather. My father had taken over years ago and was running it, but he passed away unexpectedly less than two months ago.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said. Her eyes softened when she said it. It was a sincere condolence because she didn’t know his father.

“Don’t be,” he said. “My father was an asshole. Hence the reason I need you here. He was running the family business into the ground. I don’t get respect from many of my front line employees and feel less from the management. I’m not my father and never will be and can’t get over this hump without just firing everyone and starting fresh.”

She weighed his words. “I don’t know how your father ran things.”

“Poorly. He threw his weight around. The turnover rate is horrendous.”

“But firing everyone will only feed into the fact that you are like him,” she said.

“I know that,” he said. “I didn’t want to pick up my life and leave my job to do this, but here I am.”

“Can I ask why you did it then?”

“I did it for my grandfather. He’s on the board, and though he’s not running things anymore, he steps in when he has to. That is why many have stayed, but not enough. My grandfather isn’t well enough to take back over. It was always his dream it would stay in the family. I’m all that is left.”

Hmm. She thought for a second and then said, “So you always planned on being here, but just not now?”

“Yes,” he said. “I was doing my thing and had no problem with it. I should have seen the signs on the wall with the way my father was living. I was naive and won’t be again.”

She wouldn’t ask more. She’d read that Tucker’s father passed away on a yacht. Or an accident on a yacht in the Caribbean.

---