Page 95 of An Engagement for Erica

He hadn’t expected that. “Thanks,” Erica said. “Maybe I want to introduce my boyfriend.”

“She used the word boyfriend,” Harmony squealed.

His hand was grabbed and he was pulled to the back, Erica rolling her eyes but smiling.

This wasn’t a side he’d seen of her often and was thrilled it was coming out.

He just needed to get through this party because all eyes turned to him the minute he walked in and it wasn’t even half full.

31

FUN AND CAREFREE

“I’m so sorry Harmony put you on the spot like that,” Erica said hours later as they were in the car driving home.

“Don’t be,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad,” she said. “They are a crazy bunch of people and I do enjoy spending time with them.”

“I would too,” he said. “What I wish I could do is figure out how Lily and her sisters get that kind of loyalty with their employees.”

She snorted. It was dark and she knew he couldn’t see her.

“It’s something that is just ingrained in them. They are very fair bosses. They treat their staff well. They make the workday fun but also ensure the work gets done. Who you saw today though weren’t factory workers, and I can tell you, there is a different atmosphere there.”

“There always is from the floor to the offices,” he said.

“Lily and her sisters still try to instill the same rules, values, and treatment to those employees, but you don’t see as close of working relationships like the ones today. I wish I knew Lily’s secret because I’d love to gobble it up to help with my business.”

“I don’t know that could be replicated,” he said. “But I wish it could.”

“They grew fast, but they started small. I think it’s finding the right people and moving up organically. They’ve had their fair share of staffing issues and problems, don’t think otherwise, but they make it all work.”

“It was nice of Lily to pull me aside and talk. I didn’t need her to apologize for the call either,” he said, laughing.

“I don’t think she was apologizing for the call as much as she knew what you were going through and apologized for adding to it,” she said. “Or adding to your list of things to fix.”

The list was endless and growing and though she felt that Tucker could get it sorted, it was going to take time. Maybe more than he thought.

“Shit like that happens in life. We know it. That’s why you’ve got your business. You come in and fix things. Your title should be Fixer, not Consultant.”

“I can be anything you want me to be,” she said shyly.

She was more open and outgoing today. Fun in her mind.

Erica always seemed to be this way around her sister and friends now, but she was still shy when it came to Tucker in anything other than work mode.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Within reason,” she said. “What do you have in mind?”

He reached his hand over and put it on her thigh, rubbed it up and down, and said, “I want you to be the way you were with everyone today but in the bedroom tonight.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means fun and carefree. Don’t think or worry about anything. Just have fun. Do you think you can do that?”

She’d never thought much of it before.

---