Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
PARKER
In my experience, the only thing more satisfying than making order out of total chaos was a good, hard, partner-assisted orgasm. Given I hadn’t had one of those in longer than I cared to think about, I was potentially taking too much pleasure in the progress I’d made at Out of Bounds Scotland this week. With all the new color-coded filing supplies in hand, I’d completely overhauled the filing system into something that was both functional and attractive. As an added bonus, I hoped that the color coding would be a visual cue that helped Callum not overwork his good eye trying to find things. Not that he’d asked me for help. I suspected that man would rather choke than admit he needed help with anything. But I’d noticed the lines around his eyes by the end of most days and the subtle physical signs of a probable headache. If I could mitigate that, why wouldn’t I?
I had a way to go getting them fully migrated to a solid digital project management system, but Alex was definitely enthused by the prospect of that. Over the course of the week, I’d gotten a feel for the rhythm of their business and their days. As soon as I crossed one thing off my list, it seemed like I managed to think of three more things to add. I had so many ideas on how their systems could be improved, and even quite a few about how they could expand the reach of their business. But I was keeping those to myself for now. No reason to overwhelm them too quickly, and no reason to spend much time developing those ideas until they decided I could stay.
And I did want to stay. I liked the job. It was a good mix of the organizational pieces I loved and the social I was good at. I liked my three bosses. Finley was definitely the natural-born flirt, and I’d already learned he’d do anything to get out of the office. Alex was the grounded, responsible one. Clearly tech savvy. The booking system he’d built was a dream, and he’d already taken some of my suggestions into account and was working on the coding necessary to incorporate them. And Callum… I got the sense everyone else found him hard to read. Not that he was an open book for me, but I recognized what was underneath the gruff and the grump.
He was a man in great pain. I didn’t know how much was physical and how much was emotional. I suspected a fair bit of each. But I’d made it my personal mission to try to coax a smile or a laugh out of him every day, because I kind of thought he’d maybe forgotten how. I hadn’t gotten further than the barest quirk of his mouth, but I wasn’t giving up.
I’d made notes of the areas that were pinch points for him because of his eye. The little things he struggled with that made him frustrated. I couldn’t help with all of it, but I was researching accessibility options that might benefit him. Talking him into using those options would be a whole other project, but I needed to know what was out there first.
The bell above the door jangled, and I glanced up to see Alex’s girlfriend, Ciara, step inside, her very enthusiastic puppy, Maeve, trailing after.
“Oh, are you looking for Alex? He’s not supposed to be back for another hour or so from that trip to the Cairngorms.”
She folded her arms and leaned on the counter, grinning down at me. “Nope. The gents are on their own tonight. I’m here for you.”
I blinked. “Me?”
When Maeve whined and dragged at her leash to get to me, Ciara let her go. She scrambled for purchase, looking like a Looney Toons character until her little paws finally found traction. Then she rocketed around my desk, leaping into my lap. I wheezed out a breath but didn’t even mind because her little tongue was lapping at my face. Laughing, I wrapped my arms around the dog.
“Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good pupper?”
“You’re coming out with us tonight,” Ciara announced.
That surprised me enough to hold the puppy away from my face. What was it with the people here declaring I was doing a thing? First Callum, now Ciara. “I’m sorry. What?”
“You’re new in town. You need to meet people, and frankly, we want to interrogate you, so you’re coming out with me and my friends.”
Finley strode out from the back. “Pro tip: Dinna mention the interrogation before you have your quarry secured. Knowing it’s coming tends to make them run.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Nobody asked you.” Her focus turned back to me. “Seriously, come out for girls’ night at the pub.”
I didn’t know this woman. But she had a really cute dog. It was worth enduring some potentially nosy questions in order to get some more puppy snuggles. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
I cuddled Maeve a little closer. “Can Maeve come?”
Ciara grinned. “The chaos monster will definitely be coming.”
And that was how I found myself on the outdoor stone patio of The Stag’s Head in the middle of a bunch of complete strangers. The pub itself was everything I’d imagined a Highland pub would be—dark wood and worn stone, all set against the backdrop of wooded hills rising to the mountains. The sun hadn’t yet set—I still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that it stayed light until eight in April—but I could tell that when it did, twinkling fairy lights would add ambiance to the flagstone patio.
Ciara released Maeve’s leash, and she immediately defected to a blonde in jeans and a sweater with a puffer vest over the top. “Everyone, this is Parker Lawrence, the new office manager at Out of Bounds Scotland.”
The group waved. Ciara pointed to the blonde. “This is Saoirse MacGregor, one of our local vets.”
“Sit, Maeve. Sit.” Despite the Scottish name, the accent was pure London. The kind of smooth British accent attached to rich people and boarding schools on American TV.
When the puppy plopped her butt on the ground, Saoirse produced a treat from the pocket of her vest.
“That’s a good girl.”
A black woman with a cloud of enviable curls and large, dark-framed glasses was next.
“This is Pippa Wallace, our resident cheese genius.”
“Cheese genius?” I asked.
“I make cheese,” Pippa explained. “Ciara’s something of a fan.”
“She’s underselling herself. Her cheese is amazing.”
“So you’re the person everyone wants for their charcuterie party.” I nodded. “Got it.”
The third woman, a brunette with blue eyes and a ready smile, leaned closer. “And I’m the other resident ex-pat Southerner. Skye Stewart.”
Hearing a familiar drawl, I instantly relaxed. “Where are you from?”
“Madison, Mississippi.”
“Just down the road, so to speak. Nashville for me. How did you end up here?”
“I fell in love with my Scottish pen pal and moved here to be with him.”
“You’re leaving out the bit where you asked him to be your date for that wedding and ended up jumping his bones,” Saoirse added.
Skye’s cheeks flushed. “Well, I mean, that, too.”
I laughed. “Must be nice.”
“It does not suck,” Skye agreed.
“Does that mean you, too, are single?” Saoirse asked.
“I am.”
“Thank, God. I was getting lonely as the last holdout. Ciara’s got Alex, and Pippa’s boyfriend, Zeke, just moved here from Texas. All of them are disgustingly happy.” But she made the declaration with a smile that made it absolutely obvious she was happy for her friends.
“If you’d stop working for five minutes, you could up your dating game,” Pippa pointed out.
“What dating game? You lot have taken up all the single men worth having in the village.” She pointed at Ciara. “And before you bring up Alex’s mates, that’s not an option. Tall, dark, and broody and I would kill each other, and Finley Patterson is the absolute last man I would go out with. I don’t give a damn how hot he is.”
“Ah, but you admit he’s hot,” Ciara grinned.
“I’m not blind. I just have standards.”
Intrigued, I studied her. “What, precisely, is your problem with Finley?”
Saoirse rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know he’s one of your bosses. We just don’t get on.” She filled an empty glass from the pitcher of beer at the center of the table and pushed it in my direction. “Here, drink this. We’re here to get to know you .”
Dropping my hand to Maeve’s head, I scratched between her ears, taking an immense amount of pleasure from the silky feel of her fur beneath my fingers. “What do you want to know?”
“How did you end up here?” Skye asked.
“I landed in Glenlaig in particular because the sister of a friend spent a fair amount of time here for a wedding and fell in love with the place.”
“Who’s that?” Ciara asked. When I only looked at her, she added, “I work for Ardinmuir Event Planning, so it’s possible I met her.”
“Oh, Swayze Parish.”
Ciara straightened in her chair. “No way! You’re friends with Swayze?”
“Not really. But I’m very good friends with her sister, Paisley.”
“The romance writer? Oh my God, I love her books,” Pippa gushed.
“So do I. I’ve been working as her VA for the past couple of years. Anyway, when I decided I wanted to give the UK a try, she asked her sister for recs, because Swayze’s travelled all over, and she recommended here. As for the job… I think I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“Were you ever. The boys need you. I dinna think they would’ve admitted it, but Alex has already been talking about the difference you’ve made just this week,” Ciara said.
“That’s nice to hear. They gave me the initial orientation and kind of turned me loose, so I was hoping they’d be okay with the changes I’ve been making.”
Saoirse picked up her own beer. “What made you decide to move to the UK?”
“Honestly, I needed to put some serious distance between me and my parents.” At their varying looks of concern, I felt compelled to clarify. “They’re not problematic or abusive or anything. It’s more that they want to keep me in a bubble.”
“Why?” Skye asked. “If that’s not too personal.”
I hesitated. But it wasn’t as if these women were going to have any idea who my parents were to run and tell them where I was. “I’ve got a chronic illness I’m dealing with that sometimes limits me, and my parents try to stop me from pushing myself too far or too hard. They mean well, but it’s just gotten really stifling.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been allowed to go somewhere alone.
“No one knows your limitations better than you,” Saoirse murmured.
“Exactly. I knew I wouldn’t really get the chance to sort out what those were on my own, unless I was too far for them to easily interfere. And I chose Scotland because I’ve always been kind of obsessed. It’s beautiful and has such a fascinating history.”
“Good for you,” Pippa said. “Taking a leap into the unknown is always scary.”
“It is that,” I agreed.
“Has the transition been hard?”
“I’m still figuring it out. There’s so much to love. My favorite thing so far is how dog friendly everything seems. And everyone’s dog is so well behaved.”
“Do you have dogs at home, then?” Saoirse asked.
“No, we never did. I always wanted one. Spent all my spare time hanging with my friends who had dogs growing up. Maybe after I get settled. In the meantime, I’m taking advantage of loving on everyone else’s.” To underscore the point, I leaned down to scruff Maeve more thoroughly. Her back leg kicked in ecstasy.
“Scotland is amazing in a lot of ways,” Skye agreed, “But the UK does kind of lag behind the US in terms of accessibility. I don’t know what limitations you might sometimes have, but it’s hard for them to retrofit stuff in and around all these old buildings, so if you need anything at all, do let us know.”
“I appreciate that.” I appreciated, too, that she didn’t press for details on my condition. It wasn’t visible on the surface, and most of the time, I preferred it that way. I didn’t want people to look at me differently.
Ciara lifted her glass. “Let’s toast to your adventurous spirit.”
We all clinked our glasses and drank.
“Now, let’s order some food. I’m fair starving.”
As the other women began studying the menu, I quietly smiled to myself. I really hoped this job worked out, because I could really see myself making a life here.