Chapter 8
It was cool and comfortable inside Junior Lambright’s office. It was also spacious and surprisingly modern looking. Exposed red brick rested beside painted drywall. The concrete floor somehow looked perfect underneath a comfortable beige area rug and the industrial-looking ceiling.
In the middle of it all was a gorgeous Amish-crafted desk, shelving unit, and chairs. A cozy-looking couch upholstered in dark charcoal fabric looked both masculine and inviting.
Beth was drawn to every inch of the space.
Oh, who was she kidding? She was drawn to the man standing in front of her.
Everything about Junior Lambright was a surprise. No, everything about him was intriguing, Beth decided.
His name, which seemed to suit him even though he was a grown man.
His looks, which were unusual and striking.
His modest-sounding candle business, which didn’t seem to be very modest at all.
The way he handled nearly everyone in his surroundings. He acted like everyone around him were both his best friends and the company’s valued employees. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Everyone seemed comfortable around Junior yet respected him.
In less than an hour, Beth was reevaluating everything she’d ever known about running a business. Actually, Junior was taking everything she’d ever imagined about an Amish-owned business and an Amish bachelor and tossed it on its ear.
Or, perhaps, showed that she’d been a narrow-minded fool where a lot of things were concerned.
“Hey, are you feeling all right?” he asked after she continued to stand silently for several moments.
She blinked, wondering where he’d gotten his eyes. Were they his mother’s? Father’s? Maybe he’d gotten them from one of his grandparents? They really were an unusual shade of hazel. Or, were they simply just green? “Hmm?”
A line formed between his brows. “Maybe you should come sit down. Perhaps have a cup of tea?”
“I don’t need any of that. I’m fine.” When Junior continued to study her like she was about to fall down, she laughed softly. “I’m sorry if I look as off-balance as I feel. But it has nothing to do with my health.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t know much about being pregnant, but I’m pretty sure you’d rather be off your feet.”
“It’s good for me to walk around, and I don’t feel bad at all. If you’re worried about why I look so confused, it has mostly to do with the fact that I’ve been foolish.”
“About what?”
It would be so easy to make up something innocuous, but she didn’t want to lie to him. “About my first impression of you. Junior, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have formed so many split-second assumptions about you.”
He blinked. Then stuffed his hands in his pockets, like he was trying to pull himself together. “I see.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t. I don’t mean any disrespect. The problem lies with me, not you.”
“Sorry, but I’m not following.”
Of course he wasn’t! She’d interrupted his day, taken over the reception area, and was now staring at him like a besotted fool.
Swallowing hard, Beth forced herself to utter more truths. “You see, when I look at you and this business and . . . and other things, I realize that I’ve been fighting with myself for all the wrong reasons. And that it’s time I faced some hard truths.”
He sat down. “Fighting with oneself ain’t good.”
“I know it.” She chuckled again, because if she didn’t do that, she was probably going to cry. “And here I am, once again, only thinking about myself when I barged into your offices and ruined your day.”
As if he could sense those tears, he said, “Please sit down.”
“Fine. I’m sitting.”
“Now, let’s talk about what you just said. I don’t think you ruined anything. That’s putting things a bit much, jah?”
“Maybe so,” she murmured. She had been exaggerating, which was something she usually tried hard not to do. She liked to tell everyone that exaggerating needs didn’t help get anything done or make things easier to accept.
But here she’d been . . . doing the same thing.
“What’s going on, Beth Schrock? Why did you come to Walden Wax Works?”
“Well,I could give you a lot of reasons,but I basically stopped by because I was bored.”
“You were bored.”
He looked taken aback and yes, a bit offended. “Oh, I didn’t come over here for you to entertain me,” she said quickly. “I came over to see if you could put me to work.”
“You need a job?”
“Kind of.” His expression turned even more confused— and who could blame him? She added, “You see, I . . . I had a really good job in Cleveland. I worked for a realty company.”
“You sold houses?”
“Not really. I mean, yes, I do have my real-estate license, but I did more of the office managerial work. I paid bills, scheduled meetings, helped with insurance, called Realtors in other cities, and developed marketing plans.” Thinking of the hundred details she juggled a day, she waved a hand.
“And because everything revolved around either land or property that needed to be bought or sold, it was all very much time sensitive.”
“You had a lot of responsibilities.” Junior leaned back in his chair.
“I did. I had a lot of responsibilities. And, not to sound too full of myself . . . I was good at my job. I am used to being busy. And now . . .” Her voice drifted off as she tried to find the right way to describe the way she’d been feeling.
“Now?” he prodded.
“Now, I feel like I’m at a loss. I came to Walden because I needed to reassess my life and my choices. I needed to find peace. Unfortunately, I’m not finding much peace at all.”
“How come?”
Figuring she had nothing to lose by being completely hon est, she said, “I think Martin, Kelsey, and Jonny are upset with me for being pregnant.” And then, of course, she found herself half-holding her breath. Was Junior about to disparage her, too?
After a few seconds,he said, “Last I heard, a woman couldn’t get pregnant on her own.”
“You would be right,” she said as she exhaled. “But, as hard as it’s been to face their disapproval, I can’t say that I blame them.”
“No?”
“I think I’ve kind of brought it on myself.
I mean, I’ve always been the member of the family who tried to be perfect and pushed and nagged.
And now I’m looking forward to being a single mother.
An Amish single mother.” Realizing what she’d just blurted, she groaned.
“And now yet again, I’ve told you way more information than you wanted to know. ”
He stared at her intently. “How do you know?”
“How do I know . . . what?”
“How do you know what I want, Beth?”
“I . . . I don’t.” Turning more embarrassed, she said, “Junior, I came here to see if maybe you could use another hand. I’d love to do something useful.
You don’t have to pay me. But I could help make candles or pay bills or answer phones .
. . that is, if you need help. Which you might not. Or, um, if Cherry doesn’t mind.”
“Are you concerned about Cherry now, too?” His gaze warmed.
Making her feel even more confused and flustered.
“Well, yes.” Deciding to be honest, she added, “I mean, a little bit. How could I not?” Although Beth did think that Cherry should’ve been just a little bit more understanding. She’d only been trying to help.
“She was acting rather territorial.”
“I don’t know why. I mean, everything really had been happening so fast.” She stopped talking. Suddenly it all made sense. Not only that that cute receptionist thought that Beth was invading her work, but she was trying to snag her boyfriend, too. “Are the two of you a couple?”
It took a second for her question to register. “Elizabeth, are you asking if I am courting Cherry?”
She nodded. “Well, yes. Are you?”
“No!” Realizing he sounded a bit too forceful, he tried to tone things down. “I mean no, I am not.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I promise. Cherry is, well, Cherry.” Looking like he was trying not to laugh, he continued. “She has one way of doing things and she works at one speed. Deviation is not an option.”
“I see.”
He stared at her. Glanced at his messy desk and beeping computer. “You were able to pull up information on the computer up front without a problem.”
“Jimmy helped.”
“But I have a feeling you could’ve done it by yourself. Could you?”
“Well, yes. I mean, it’s a pretty common program.”
“You didn’t get bothered none when multiple people needed multiple things.”
“Like I said, I’m used to that. I thrive on that.”
“And you really don’t want to be paid?”
“Really. I need something to occupy myself, not fill my bank account.”
“Still, that doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s fair enough. To be honest, I don’t need the money. I had a really good salary at my other job and saved a lot. Plus, I’m basically living for free at my grandparents’.”
He gazed at her for a long minute. “Actually, I could use some help. Some office help,” he clarified.
“I’m drowning in emails, phone calls, and production schedules.
What Jimmy said in the lobby was exactly right.
In some ways I am still trying to run this place like a small business out of my garage. ”
“It’s way past that.”
“It sure is. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed.”
She’d never been so glad to hear that someone was in over his head. “I can help with that. I promise, I really am good at being efficient. I’d be happy to help you. That is, if you’d be willing to give me a try.”
“We could do that. Maybe we could give it a test run for a few hours a day? How does that sound?”
It sounded good. Very good.
He was going to hire her. She wasn’t going to have to sit at her grandparents’ house and worry. “A few hours a day is good with me.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to work?”
“I’m in the middle of my second trimester, which is supposed to be the easy part. As long as we don’t talk about poultry, I should be all right.”
“Poultry? You mean chickens?”
Even thinking about them made her feel queasy. “Like I said, please don’t mention them.”
“I’ll be sure to never bring up ch—I mean them in conversation again.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m assuming that includes eggs as well?” His lips twitched, as if he was trying really hard not to dissolve into laughter. She got it, but she was beyond joking about it.
It was all she could do not to make a face. “Junior, I’m not kidding. Do not mention anything that has to do with you know who. Please.”
“I understand now. They will not be mentioned again.”
“Thank you.”
Holding out his hand, he said, “Beth Schrock, as of right now, you are hired.”
Shaking his hand, she said, “Thank you, Junior. You won’t regret it.”
“I never regret hiring workers for free. So, when can you start?”
“Now?”
“You have time?”
“I have nothing but time.” Before he could protest, she pointed to the pile of papers and invoices on his desk. “What are you doing there?”
“Well, I’m answering emails. But I also need to doublecheck the orders with the inventory and the schedule. If we’re short, then I need to go speak to the people on the line and see when they can fulfill the order.”
“And if things are good?”
He walked to his computer and wiggled the mouse until his screen turned on. “Then I return their email and make a note in this chart, which goes to Dwight. He’s inventory control.”
“I could probably handle that. How about I start going through things, and if they are good, fill out the form for Dwight and then email the customer. If it looks like there might be a problem at all, I’ll leave the order for you to look at.”
“You think you can do that so easily?”
He sounded so doubtful it was almost embarrassing. Did he really think she was so incapable?
But then she remembered two things. One was that they didn’t know each other all that well.
All he knew about her work ethic and ability was what she’d told him.
Secondly, this was his business. Of course, he was going to be wary about having someone else do anything that might jeopardize an order or make one of his customers unhappy.
So she took a deep breath and said, “I think I can. I’d like to try.”
His gaze softened. “You . . .”
“Me?”
“You are something else, Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth?”
“I like it.” Looking a bit awkward, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “There’s a lot to you, Beth. You’re a complicated woman. Elizabeth suits you.”
“No one calls me that.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to.”
Every time he said her full name instead of her nickname she felt a little buzz. “Only if you think my complications are a good thing.”
“They absolutely are. First, you bring in a big sale, which I still haven’t thanked you for. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
“Now, you showed up like an answer to a prayer. No matter what happens here at the factory, I’m grateful for you stopping by and offering your assistance. Especially without asking for anything in return.”
“I’ve told you that being here will help me, too.”
“Still, working for free is unexpected. No, it’s more than that. It’s kind of you.”
“It’s nothing.” She blinked back a sudden onslaught of tears. Oh, those pregnancy hormones were no joke.
“It’s everything. I’ve been praying and asking the Lord for guidance and here you are.”
“Let’s just hope you still feel glad I’m here in four hours,” she joked. “I could very well ruin your spreadsheets.”
“I hope you don’t. But if you do, I’m not going to get upset with you for trying to help.”
“We’ll see.”
“And by the way, you’re not going to be here for four hours. After two, I’ll take you home.”
“There’s no need for that. I can get home by myself.”
Junior shook his head. “If you are going to work here, then I am going to make sure you get home safe.”
“But—”
He cut her off. “That’s the deal. You are taking care of the babe, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then there is nothing wrong with taking things easy the first day, right?”
Put that way, Beth knew it would be petty to argue. Especially since he was doing her a favor. “You’re right.” Smiling at him, she said, “It’s a deal.”
Junior’s expression warmed. “Come sit down and I’ll show you what to do.”
Beth sat, listened intently, asked questions, and then got to work.
At first, Junior worked on the couch nearby. When his cell phone rang, he held it to his ear and walked out the door.
After an hour sped by, Beth realized that she was happier than she’d been in weeks. She told herself it was because she was finally feeling useful again.
But the way she felt butterflies whenever Junior walked into the room told her a very different story.
She had no idea how she was going to ignore that, but she hoped she figured it out sooner than later.
It would do them both a lot of good.