Page 2 of Forbidden Kisses
“Are you interviewing for this job?” he asked, sounding a bit stunned.
Say no, Grace. Jack would never give it to her even if she was. Swallowing her bitter pride, Grace blinked and forced her gaze upward to meet his. “I’m not at Dewy’s Bar anymore.”
And if she didn’t find work today, she’d be on the streets with her mother by Friday.
“What happened at Dewy’s?” he asked.
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Dewy and I had a, um, misunderstanding.” The misunderstanding being that she wouldn’t sleep with him. In retribution, her former boss had accused her of stealing from the register. She’d been called a lot of things, but being called a thief wasn’t something she took lightly. So she’d punched him, square in his bulbous, spider-veined nose. A smile twitched on her lips at the memory. She’d been wanting to punch Dewy for over a year before that. He’d had it coming and she wasn’t a bit sorry.
Jack was staring at her. “Well, how are you with money management?” he asked.
Her body tightened. “You didn’t ask the last woman that question. Why me?”
“Managing finance is part of the job,” he said.
“And you don’t think I’m good at it. Because of my mother.” Of course. Chalk this up to a moment of temporary insanity. “Never mind. Forget I turned around.”
“Grace—”
“Excuse me,” a woman interrupted, approaching Jack’s table. “Are you Mr. Sawyer?”
“Yes,” Jack said.
Grace grabbed her empty coffee cup and stood.
“I’m here for the job interview,” the woman told him.
Hot tears burned behind Grace’s eyes as she tried not to listen. Talking to Jack had been a stupid move. She’d known he wouldn’t hire her. And it wasn’t just him; it involved working with his entire family. Bad idea. Worst idea ever.
“Yes. You’re right on time,” Jack replied.
Grace stuffed her laptop into her battered messenger bag and slid it over her shoulder as she stood and headed for the exit. She’d continue her job search somewhere else. Right after she collected her dignity.
—
Jack hadn’t heard a word interviewee number two had said. He was too distracted by Grace’s abrupt departure.
Should he go after her?
She wanted the office management position, but there was no way he could hire Grace. His dad and brothers would flip if he brought a Donner back into their lives. Even though Grace was never at fault for her mother’s actions.
“So,” the woman in front of him prompted.
Jack blinked and focused on the pretty blonde, maybe in her midthirties. She was definitely a better candidate than Grace regardless of what kind of experience she had simply because she wasn’t a Donner. Jack looked down at the résumé she’d placed in front of him. “I’ll, uh, look this over and give you a call later in the week.”
The woman smiled. It was a nice smile, the kind that would look good behind a desk. He shook the woman’s hand and watched her walk away. Then he quickly discarded his coffee and napkins and headed to the door to see if Grace was still outside. A good fifteen minutes had passed, so he doubted it. And what would he say he if he caught up with her? Sorry, but you can’t have the job?
The parking lot had three cars, none of which held Grace inside. That was probably for the best. Although he and Grace had been close as kids, they were worlds apart these days. He climbed into his truck and drove to the Sawyer Seafood Company. Since his aunt’s retirement, he’d been stuck working the desk job. Not his preference.
He walked inside the two-story metal building and sat behind his not-so-cozy desk. The wall opposite him looked out on the Atlantic Ocean. Once the love of his life, now the water only made him think of his own failures.
“Heads up,” his younger brother, Noah, called, entering the room and spiraling a small football in his direction.
Jack spun in his chair and his arms went up reflexively. Growing up with two brothers, one younger and one older, ensured that his reflexes were always primed. They’d been a bunch of rowdy boys. Their Aunt Mira had sworn they’d needed a woman’s touch, but after Tammy Donner had married their father and turned things upside down and sideways, Aunt Mira had never complained about their upbringing again. They’d done all right on their own.
“The water’s smooth today,” Noah said, peeling off his torn ball cap and revealing a bad case of hat head.
Jack turned back toward his desk. He didn’t want to hear about the water, or any other tempting words Noah would use in an attempt to change his mind about not working the boats with his dad and brothers. As much as he despised sitting behind a desk, he’d rather do paperwork than fish these days. “I interviewed two people for the office job this morning,” Jack said, ignoring him.
