Page 2 of Jack

"Aren't I always?" His lipscurved into that devastating smile that always seemed to drive theopposite sex crazy.

"Unfortunately, yes." Patting hischeek, she eased off the counter. "I have work to do."

He watched her for a minute, beforeresuming his duty. He was happy she was here with him. At first, hehad argued when she told him she was leaving the corporate worldbehind and taking her place beside him.

"What the hell do you know aboutrunning a bar?" he had raged.

"I am a quick learner, and I have beenpart of that scene since we were children."

He had tried to dissuade her, first withthreats and then with pleas, but nothing had worked. She had packedup her apartment in Queens, resigned her position at the verylucrative law firm, where she worked as an administrator and camehome. That had been three years ago and she had proven herself to bemore than capable.

She was wonderful with the patrons and theadded bonus was her looks. She could charm a snake, and mengravitated to her like bees to honey. Her temper was quick, like aflash in a pan, but her smile made one want to grovel and do herbidding.

She could handle herself with the unrulypatrons and knew how to draw a pint. She was an avid sports fan andcould get into it with anyone. She was often seen egging on a team orshooting pool and winging darts with an enthusiastic patron.

She was also the best at keeping the books.Zach had to fire his accountant of ten years, because the man hadbeen tucking away a few thousand here and there. He was now payingfor his damn crimes in county lockup. His sister had taken over thebooks and now they were as clean as a whistle.

Her office was disorganized, which hadsurprised him considering how neat she was in other areas. But sheconvinced him that she knew where everything was, and she did.

She placed the orders and made certain theynever ran short. She was gold and he had no idea how he ever didwithout her.

She was the one who introduced "beers,chips and fish night" every Friday and it was a roaring success.She had also introduced "family night" which had the menbringing their entire family for a sit-down meal and friendlycompetitions.

The bar had been in their family for fourgenerations and had always been a steady source of profit, merelypaying the bills and putting the roof over their heads. But over thepast three years, Bennett's Bar & Grill had started makingenormous profit, enough to have them thinking about setting upanother location.

They were well established in the area,having been there for several decades. And they were a householdname. Their father had left them a legacy and they had managed toturn that legacy into a very successful business. They both sharedthe apartment upstairs and were comfortable enough to never get ineach other's way. The arrangement was perfect.

Or as close to perfect as can be whensharing space with another person. They could talk to each otherabout anything, and he was fiercely protective of her. Finishing thetask, he drew a pint of ale for himself and took it with him onto thefloor to check that everything was in readiness for the opening hour.

Inside her office, Zuri stood at thethreshold, looking at the crowded desk. Work, she decided would dothe trick to get that louse off her mind. It was not the stealing,which of course was an outrage and an irritant. It was the fact thatshe had thought he was worth her time.

The sex had not been that bad—itcould have been better, but she had tolerated it. God! Fisting herhands, she slapped them on her forehead. Tolerated it. That's what itboiled down to and it made her sound like a desperate woman—whichshe was not, she mused grimly as she marched over to sit around thedesk.

It's just that her damn biological clockwas ticking away and driving her crazy. Her brother would notunderstand, being a man and not having a uterus. He could be ninetyyears old and still be able to impregnate a woman. She on the otherhand was quickly running out of time.

Huffing out a breath, she grabbed paper atwill and started to sort through invoices. She was going to have tomake a quick run at the bank. She wanted a child while she was stillable to be a mother.

Their household had consisted of just themand their dad. Their mother had died giving birth to them and ErrolBennett had tried his best to bring them up. He had barely managed itand for most of the time, it had been her and Zach. They had takencare of each other. Her brother had made certain they ate and thatshe did her homework.

Leaning back against the chair, she closedher eyes and breathed slowly. She owed him everything. He was herlifeline, but she was yearning for a family of her own. Dammit!Opening her eyes, she pushed towards the desk and got to work.

*****

"He doesn't love me." Millicentwatched helplessly as her grandson fought back the tears thatthreatened to spill down his cheeks.

"Darling, that's not true—"

"He doesn't!" The petulant lipsfirmed and pursed as the boy lunged to his feet. "You are alwaysmaking excuses for him. He's never been to any of my matches and he'salways working."

"He has responsibilities—"

She lapsed into silence when the boywhirled to face her. He was being punished again, all because he hadskipped classes to go to a concert featuring his favorite band. Theprune-faced principal had called his father and as a result, he wasgrounded for two weeks. His cell phone had been taken away and he wasnot allowed to watch TV.

And the worst part was that his old man hadnot railed at him. He had just given him that cold and unyieldinglook out of chilly gray eyes. "If you want to piss away yourlife, go right ahead. But you're going to school and getting aneducation. What you do when you reach eighteen is your own damnbusiness. But while you're under my roof, you will abide by my rules.Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." His tone had beenmutinous, and he wished he could have told him to piss off. But JackHadley was not a man to trifle with. All he wanted was his father'sattention and that was not happening.

"He doesn't love me." Herepeated, going to the window and staring out at the spread ofwell-manicured lawns and the blaze of flowers. It was the edge ofspring, with the brutal winter finally easing its grip and making wayfor the season.

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