CHAPTER THREE
“Mom, I can’t talk right now. I have a meeting.”
“I’m worried about you, honey. We haven’t spoken in days.”
Parker Manley stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the third floor. “You shouldn’t be worried. I’ve been working.”
“That’s all you do. Work. That’s no kind of life—”
“It’s the life I want.” She cut her mom off before Rebecca started in on a conversation that would not end well. “I’ll call you later. Send my love to Dad.” Parker hung up and made her way to her office. Setting her phone and briefcase on the cluttered desk, she knocked over her coffee cup, spilling some of the milky brew on a stack of paperwork.
“You’re late.” her boss Edgar—a tall, slender man who owned his own tanning bed and kept it hidden in a closet in his office—said as he strolled in.
Flustered, she grabbed a handful of tissues, sopped up the coffee, then handed the thick client file to him. He accepted it with obvious hesitation. “I was up late working on marketing strategies for the new client. I was just going to bring you the report.”
“It’s okay, Parker. I’m not here about the account. I need to speak to you about something else.” The man was nearly as red as his silk tie. He spent five days out of the week on the golf course holding “business” meetings.
“Okay.” The hair on her neck stood. She’d been hypersensitive since the divorce was final three months ago. After her ex, Gray, told her last year that he’d fallen for a woman he met at the gym, Parker had been ready to sign on the dotted line. From her perspective, her marriage had been over the day he cheated.
“Please, let’s have a seat.” Edgar offered her a weak smile.
Reluctantly, she sat down behind her desk. Nothing good ever came after the words have a seat. She’d learned that the hard way. “I’m sorry I’ve been a little stretched thin lately.”
“This isn’t easy for me to say. I understand things have been tough since…well, your divorce from Gray. You didn’t take the time you needed to grieve. To find yourself again.”
“I wasn’t lost, Edgar. Remember, he left me.”
“Still, divorce can be difficult. I know. I’ve been there three times myself.”
She cringed. “I took enough time. Now that the divorce is in the rear-view mirror, I can focus on the road ahead. I have some great ideas for the lingerie designer—”
“No.” His shoulders pulled back some. “I’m going to jump right in. If it were up to me, I’d give you more time, but the execs, you know how they are. They live by numbers, the economy, and client priorities. It can be hard on everyone. I’m backed against a wall, and I have no choice but to hand the Paris Intimates account to Peterman.”
“Walt Peterman? You want to hand a female targeted account to Walt?” Parker snorted because he had to be joking. When he didn’t even crack the slightest smile she couldn’t have been more blown away if he’d punched her in the stomach. “You can’t do that. The Paris account is mine. I’ve worked hard on it for the last few weeks, and I’ve been here longer than Walt. I’m the best marketer on the team.”
“Were, Parker. You were the best, but after the divorce…” his voice trailed off.
“I realize I’ve been a bit scatterbrained, but I’ve dedicated myself to this company for ten years. You don’t understand what I’ve sacrificed to stand neck to neck with all the Walts of the business world.”
Empathy deepened the creases around his eyes, but it didn’t last long. “You don’t think I understand sacrifice? I haven’t been to one of my grandchildren’s birthday parties in years. I was late to my own birthday celebration last month. I even missed my own damn anniversary. My wife has threatened to divorce me at least a dozen times. Do you know how many pieces of jewelry my work has cost me?”
Gritting her teeth, she calmed her nerves. Parker ate, slept, and breathed her work. In the past, she and Gray had talked about starting a family, but every time they decided to start trying, a new account or client took precedence. Their fast-paced careers and social lives had never slowed down. Now here she was divorced at thirty-five, no children, and a boss who was about to fire her.
“Are you firing me?”
He was quiet for a moment and then he sighed. “I have a proposition.”
“If it was anything great you would have come in leading with that point.” She opened the drawer and reached for the stress ball, squeezing it tightly.
His chuckle didn’t reach his eyes. “My wife’s aunt, Bonnie, just recently lost her husband, Bill. Heart attack. Anyway, Bonnie has a little farm and greenhouse business in Montana. From what I understand, Bill left the place in rough shape. Cashed out the insurance. Took out a mortgage. Falsified the books.” He waved a hand through the air as if he were flicking away a fly. “Yolanda told me if I don’t help her aunt I’d find myself in divorce number four. I don’t have the time to pull a floral business from the brink of disaster, or a divorce proceeding where I’ll lose more of my kids’ inheritance. I have too many business dealings in the fire.”
“Are you asking for me to take over some of your work so you can handle things in Montana?”
This time his humor did reach his dull grey eyes. “No. I want you to go there. You’re the perfect fit.”
“Me?” The word crackled off her lips. “To Montana?”
“Yes.”
“What do I know about flowers?”
“Probably more than I do.”
“Because I’m a woman?”
“Of course not,” he huffed. “This’ll do you some good. Some time away, taking care of a few details that you can handle with your eyes closed. You can hit the recharge button. I’ve been there once. Beautiful country.”
Dropping the stress ball, she needed pain relief to ward off the migraine creeping into her temples. “What am I supposed to do? Help her come up with a marketing strategy?”
He squinted. “Not exactly. You see…” He steepled his fingers. “Aunt Bonnie doesn’t want to sell. In fact, she’s quite adamant in keeping the money pit. So, you need to convince her that selling is most profitable. I don’t want her to think that I’m pressuring her in any way. Happy wife, happy life.”
The alarm bells were going off. “If you and Yolanda couldn’t convince Aunt Bonnie to sell, how do you think a stranger will?” The problem sounded more like a family issue to Parker.
“I’ve seen you at your best. When you have a fire under you, nothing can stop you. Here’s your chance to revisit the old Parker. The one who couldn’t wait to dig in and find a gem inside of every rock. She loved a challenge.”
“I won’t be working on anything. I’ll be convincing someone to sell her business when she doesn’t want to.”
“Bonnie’s stubborn. It’ll take some work, but trust me, she doesn’t have any other options.” He shrugged. “You do this and we’ll talk after.”
“Are you saying that if I don’t do this I’ll no longer have a job?”
All smile disappeared. “I’ll have no choice but to let you go. Don’t make me do it. Sure, this is humbling, but we’ve all had to do things we didn’t want to do. You think I haven’t mopped floors and scrubbed my fair share of toilets?”
“You’re comparing this to mopping and scrubbing? Sounds like you know it’s going to fail which means I’ll fail.”
He slowly made his way to the door. “I’ll need to know your decision by tonight. Whatever you decide I’ll support you. I’ll leave the information for Bonnie’s business on my desk.” Then he left.