Chapter Six #3
“Open one and see if there’s a card or something,” Taylor suggested. “I doubt this was one of those scams. It was a private courier. Those are expensive.”
“Yeah, but you can’t be too careful these days.
” Using her house key to slice through the packing tape, Rachel broke into one of the boxes.
She peeled back the brown packing paper, revealing a set of baby gates.
There were also cabinet locks, something she hadn’t yet installed but were essential armor as little Allie was already crawling.
At least the electrical outlets were done.
“Who sent you all this?” Taylor asked. “What a thoughtful gift.”
“No idea yet. Maybe my parents? But I would have thought they’d have texted me. That’s what they usually do.”
Rachel tore into the second box and found a baby walker, a set of shape sorters and a set of board books she didn’t already have.
Another box contained clothes and shoes with flexible soles, perfect for when Allie started walking.
There was even a Radio Flyer Busy Buggy, along with a grocery cart that doubled as a walker, push toy and role-playing item all in one.
It even came with a kid-size coffee cup that fit in a holder.
“Someone likes you a great deal.” Taylor lifted the pink stuffed unicorn, which began playing the ABC song when she squeezed its hoof.
The other hoof counted aloud. Allie squealed and grabbed the plushie, but it was almost the same size as she was.
Taylor set her in the playpen with it and the unicorn began counting to ten.
“This is really generous. These are fabulous gifts.”
“I’m not done.” The next box contained a Playskool Weebles My Smart House, and another had a quilted basket filled with six soft fabric baby dolls. There was even a huge stuffed teddy bear that doubled as a toddler chair.
“I don’t even know where I’m going to put all this stuff,” Rachel said.
She noticed a four-by-six envelope. It must have fallen off when the delivery driver set the boxes inside.
She ripped into it to find a card embossed with the name of Emerald Ridge’s best baby store.
Inside was a printed message: Noticed you could use a few things. Thanks again for saying yes! Oakley
“Yes to what?” Taylor asked.
“For the overtime the other day…or maybe for me coming back to work? I told you how I’d quit.” Rachel calmed shaky fingers as she put the card back into the envelope. Oakley had again proved how generous and exceptional he was.
Taylor arched an eyebrow. “Was that what you call it? Working? I heard him leave that night. It was late. Way after hours.”
Rachel’s face flamed. “Yes. Work was all it was,” she insisted. “He had to meet his father, so we worked an extended day. He came to the apartment since I had Allie. That’s why I was off yesterday afternoon.”
“I could have watched her,” Taylor reminded her. “Having your boss in your home seems like crossing a line.”
It would have been if they’d kissed, but they hadn’t…
“I didn’t mind Oakley being here. It was after dinner with his father. He paid me extra, and I got the afternoon off. He’s a fair employer. I could have said no.”
“You need to be certain you can set boundaries, especially if needed.”
“I can.” As long as she didn’t throw herself at him or keep thinking about him constantly. “He’s not his father.”
Taylor nodded thoughtfully. “How’s his dad taking it that you’re still working for him?”
Rachel hadn’t thought of Clemons’s reaction. “Now that you mention it, I don’t know. I try to avoid anything to do with his dad. Oakley is who matters. I do like working for him.”
“Well, he seems extremely grateful that you’re back with him. It’s clear he likes you very much if this is how he rewards his employees.”
With those words, Rachel’s initial euphoria evaporated. Was Oakley doing this for other employees? Or just her? “Taylor, I can’t accept these gifts! It’s wrong. Unethical. I don’t want to be seen as a favorite.”
Taylor began stacking the board books. “Why not? It’s good stuff. You said no one crossed a line. Can’t a boss give an employee a gift if he’s not expecting a quid pro quo?”
“He could, if he’s doing it for others. I don’t know if he is.
And no, it’s definitely not a quid pro quo.
” Any desire Oakley harbored for her was matched by her own.
He wasn’t asking for special favors, and he wasn’t harassing her.
These gifts were proof of how thoughtful he was.
But she could see the optics of the situation and realized how it might look to others.
He’d fired his last admin for trying to become Mrs. Oakley Fortune.
What would her colleagues in the Dallas office think if they knew what he’d done?
Taylor wadded some of the packing paper and returned it to the box.
“If you don’t want him to do these things, then you may need to have a conversation with him and establish firm boundaries.
If you need me to watch Allie so you can work late at the office instead of at your home, just ask.
With enough notice, I can make it work.”
“I’m not having you miss your social outings.
” As for boundaries, she and Oakley had already tried to set some, and then they’d almost kissed the other night, and she’d wanted that kiss.
Desperately. Was this payment so she’d forget that?
No, he wasn’t like that. Or was he…? His dad had an ulterior motive for everything and was sue-happy.
Rachel’s confusion made her head feel light.
Did Oakley still feel sorry for her? Had the few times he’d been in her apartment made him think she couldn’t provide for Allie?
The thoughts haunted her on the walk back to the office, and she worked on rehearsing what she’d say to him.
She didn’t want to have to quit again, but she had to draw a line in the sand.
She arrived ten minutes early. When she walked in and saw Oakley, all good intentions of approaching the subject logically flew out the window.
“Do you think I’m a charity case?” The words blurted forth, and her cheeks heated.
His expression morphed from confused to indignant. “What are you talking about? Of course you’re not a charity case. Where did you get that ridiculous idea?”
“It feels like it. I walked into my apartment, and the place looks like a baby store threw up in there. I can hardly walk there’s so much stuff.”
He lost the indignant expression. “Great. The gifts arrived. I had a concierge service buy everything. Do you like it?”
“No, I don’t like it! Well, I do, but that’s not the point.
” He probably didn’t even know what he’d purchased.
Rachel didn’t know if that made what he’d done better or worse.
“Listen, what you did was incredibly thoughtful but also completely unnecessary. You already pay me handsomely. And Allie is nine months old. She doesn’t need the best of everything—functional is fine. She won’t even remember these things.”
“I was trying—”
Even though it was rude, she cut him off. If she didn’t, she’d falter. “Just because I’m saving and not splurging so I can get a better place, that doesn’t mean that I need your charity. What I want from you is to know that my job is secure, and things like this call that into question.”
“Your job is secure. I’ve told you that.
” His declaration rang true, but part of Rachel couldn’t believe.
Was that why she protested too much? Because of the way Allie’s baby daddy had treated her and the number he’d done on her psyche?
Rachel knew better than anyone how the rug could be yanked out from under her at any time.
Oakley could grow tired of her, give her the negotiated severance and put her out on the proverbial street. Then where would she be?