for the Castle Cnoc project. He’d disown her, forbid her to come to family functions. Andrew Kennally hadn’t gotten to where he was today by being a nice guy.
Drawing a deep breath, she headed toward his office. His assistant was sitting at her desk and Jordan pointed at the door. “He’s in?”
“Yes. But I think he’s on the phone. Can I make an appointment for you?”
“No,” Jordan said. “I need to talk to him right now.”
“But, Miss Kennally, I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”
“I’m his daughter. I’m allowed to disturb him.” Before the assistant could stop her, Jordan opened the door and stepped inside. Her father was sitting at his desk, his back to her, his feet kicked up on the credenza. She listened to his conversation and it was obvious he was discussing the closing on the hotel project.
Jordan sat and waited patiently, silently going over all she planned to say. She was putting her future on the line, but it had to be done.
The entire way home, she’d thought about what she was giving up by moving to Ireland. She loved her family, but she loved Danny more. He was the one who believed in her, who supported all her dreams. Her future was with him.
Her father hung up the phone, then slowly turned around to face her. Andrew Kennally was a handsome man of nearly sixty. His graying hair was set off by a deeply tanned face. He wore custom-made suits and hand-stitched shirts and Italian shoes that cost more than the rent on a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. And all of that made him very intimidating.
“Hello, Daddy.”
“You’re back,” he said, nodding at her. “It seems like you just left.”
“I’ve been gone for almost eighteen months,” Jordan reminded him.
“Right,” he said. “Well, welcome back. I’m sure you want to jump right back into work so…run along.”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Jordan said. “If you’ll remember, we had a discussion on the phone not too long ago about the hotel project.”
“Yes. I remember. It’s still yours, if you want it.”
“Why?” she asked. “I know you didn’t want to give it to me. Why did you change your mind?”
“Your mother can be very persuasive.”
“So, it’s not because you trust my work. In fact, you don’t think I deserve it, do you?”
“That’s neither here nor there,” he said. “You have the damn project. We close day after tomorrow so I’d suggest you sit down with your brother, Matt, and get up to speed. He’s been doing all the preliminary work.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Jordan said.
“What? You think you’re just going to hit the ground running?”
“No. I’m not going to hit the ground at all. I don’t want the job, Daddy. I’m going to go back to Ireland. I’m quitting Kencor.”
“Quit? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll never find another job like this.”
“I hope not. This hasn’t been all that great. And you’ve been a horrible boss. You’ve always favored my brothers more than me and I’m tired of that. I proved myself capable of handling larger projects, but that didn’t make a difference to you.”
He shook his head. “Your mother isn’t going to stand for this,” he warned.
“I don’t care. It’s time for me to make my own way in the world. I’ve met a man. I’m in love and I’m happy.”
“This is about a man? You’re quitting your job for a man?”
“No,” Jordan said. “I’m quitting my job because I need to find a place where my talents are appreciated.”
“Oh, we’re not going to get into all that warm fuzzy stuff. We don’t do that here. I don’t run around telling my employees how wonderful they are. That’s not the way I run things.”
“Maybe you should. People might not think you’re such a jerk.”
“You don’t have any loyalty to me?”
“You’re my father and I will always love you. But as a boss, you kind of suck. I’ve worked my ass off here and I deserved more than you gave me. But that’s all water under the bridge. I just want you to give me your blessing and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
“What is this really about?” he asked. “What happened to you in Ireland?”
“Perspective,” she said. “I got some perspective. I realized that there’s a lot more to life than work. And I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff.”
“I don’t like ultimatums,” her father muttered, wagging his finger at her.
“I’m not giving you an ultimatum. I’ve made my decision, Daddy.” She stood up. “I’m going back to Ireland in a few days. I’d like to come out and see you and Mom this weekend. I expect I’m going to have to explain everything to her.”
“She’s going to kill me, you know. She’ll blame me for letting you go.”
“I’ll tell her that it wasn’t you.” She walked around his desk and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for everything. For the job. For the opportunity. I really am grateful.” She slowly straightened to find him smiling at her. “What?”
“You used to hug me like that when you were little. I liked it. I still do.”
Jordan smiled, then walked to the door. She gave her father a wave, then strode down the hall toward her office. Right now, she wanted to find a quiet place to call Danny. And after she was done talking to him, she’d clean out her office, pack up her apartment and figure out how to get her things to Ireland.
She found Marcy, her assistant, flipping through a sheaf of papers on her desk. “You’re back,” Marcy said. She stared at her for a long moment. “You look different. Have you lost weight?”
“Actually, I’ve gained ten pounds,” Jordan said. “I think it looks good on me, what do you think?”
“I think you look…happy.”
“I am,” she said. “I just quit my job. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get reassigned and get a really big raise. But I need you to do one last thing for me. Book a flight to Ireland. Make it for Sunday, if you can. I have to go out and visit my parents tomorrow.”
“You’re going back to Ireland so soon? Is everything all right? Did something happen with the job over there?”
“Something did happen.” Jordan smiled. “I met this incredible Irishman named Danny Quinn. And I’m madly in love with him.”
JORDAN GROANED SOFTLY, then sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. She picked up her pillow and punched it, then finally tossed it on the floor. She’d been trying to go to sleep for the past hour, desperate to at least get some rest before she had to face her mother in the morning.
She wanted to look fresh and beautiful and unimaginably happy when she saw her parents. Not tired and haggard and grumpy. Quitting her job had really been the easy part. Explaining to her mother why she couldn’t marry one of the suitable bachelors available on the east coast would be the difficult part.
She’d tried calling Danny three times, but his voice mail had picked up each time. She’d started to worry that he’d changed his mind about her, that leaving had been a critical mistake. Jordan had even thought about calling the pub, for they’d know where he was. But in the end, she’d decided to give it another day and try him in the morning.
She imagined her homecoming in Ballykirk. She’d surprise him at the smithy. He’d be all hot and dirty and she’d throw herself into his arms and admit that she’d fallen in love with him and would never leave him again. And then they’d kiss and their life together would begin.
Occasionally, she’d think about a more gloomy scenario, still nagged by tiny slivers of doubt. She’d return, knock on his cottage door and find some gorgeous, half-naked woman in his bed.
Saying “I love you” was going to be a risk, but Jordan had decided that it was well worth it. After all, she’d taken the biggest risk of all-quitting her job and uprooting her entire life. How much scarier could things get?
She reached over and turned off the lamp and closed her eyes. But the buzzer at her door brought her upright. She scrambled out of bed and hurried to the front door of her apartment to answer the doorman’s summons.
“Yes?”
“Miss Kennally, it’s Arnie. I have a man down here who insists on seeing you. I told him that you were probably
