The Good Father

“Whoa, whoa.” Max decided the discussion had gotten way out of hand. “I never said she isn’t working out. Our first day was…rocky. Jane isn’t accustomed to the fast pace in advertising. But I plan to give her a decent chance to adjust.”

“I hope you’re not bombarding her with criticism,” Allie said. “She’s very sensitive.”

“But you have to give her feedback or she won’t improve,” Reece pointed out.

“Um, I gave her plenty of feedback.” Max had actually been a bit harsh, which wasn’t like him. He’d always had an easy-come, easy-go attitude when it came to winning and losing. Back when he’d worked at Remington Industries, if he spent weeks working with the creative staff on a campaign, only to have his father or Eddie or some other corporate suit shoot it down, he’d shrugged and moved on.

But now his money, his time, his reputation were on the line. His future depended on whether he could make a go of the Remington Agency. Eddie and his dad were watching, waiting for him to stumble and fail.

The situation made him tense, like a snake ready to strike. If he didn’t take things a little easier, he would end up like Reece had been before he resigned his high-powered position and relocated to Port Clara-headed for a heart attack like his old man.

“What about the other factor?” Cooper asked, giving Max a knowing look. “Doesn’t the fact you’re hot for her get in the way of business?”

Max groaned. “Come on, Coop, don’t bring that up. Yes, she’s a beautiful woman, but I think I can manage to resist her. I don’t need a harassment suit slapped on me, thanks very much. Besides,” he added, “she’s a single mom, and you know my rule.”

Sara looked at him quizzically. “What rule?”

“Max doesn’t date women with children,” Reece supplied, seeming amused by his wife’s narrowed gaze aimed at Max.

“That’s horrible!” Sara said. “Are you telling me you don’t like children?” She turned to Reece. “He is not going to be the godfather of our first child.”

Sara was expecting her and Reece’s first, and she was a little prickly where babies were concerned.

“I never said I don’t like children,” Max objected. “There are other issues.”

“Like a single mom can’t shower all her attention on you,” Allie said. “She has other priorities besides partying.”

“What is this, Pick-On-Max Night?” Max took a long sip of his beer. “I came here for good company, not to have my life dissected.”

Allie at least looked a little penitent. “Sorry, Max. Who else can we pick on?”

“You’ve already picked on me enough for one night,” Cooper said. “I’ll be glad when you all get tired of telling anyone who’ll listen how I tried to get Allie arrested for stealing her own boat.”

“And I don’t want to hear any more seasick jokes,” Reece put in.

“Or anything about my numbers dyslexia,” Sara added. “Hey, you know I found out there’s a term for my problem? It’s called dyscalcula-a math-learning disability.”

They continued to banter, but Max didn’t take part. He was nervous as hell about his meeting with the children’s clothing manufacturer he’d told Jane about. The owner of Kidz’n’Stuff was arriving for a meet and greet tomorrow, and Max was counting on Jane to come up with some sketches that would wow them, based on his concepts.

If she was as slow at sketching as she was with computer graphics, he was in serious trouble.

WHEN MAX ARRIVED at work the next morning, he found Jane already there, working industriously at her drawing board. She was prompt in the mornings, he’d give her that.

He tapped on her office door, which she’d left open as usual. “Morning, Jane.”

She jumped and turned, smiling. “Oh, good morning.”

“You don’t look so good,” Max blurted out, but her appearance was slightly alarming. Yesterday her coal-black hair had been curled and arranged in shimmering waves falling over her shoulders, and her makeup had been magazine perfect. Today she wore an untidy ponytail. What was worse, she had dark shadows under her eyes. And she wore glasses.

Was she trying to ugly herself up so she wouldn’t tempt him? Had she sensed his nearly overwhelming desire for her? He thought he’d kept it pretty well under wraps.

He had news for her. Nothing she could do would make her ugly. But her lack of polish was such a contrast from the day before, he was afraid something was wrong.

Jane looked down at herself, then back up. “I guess I should have looked in the mirror before I left home this morning.” She sounded embarrassed. “I lost track of the time and I got rushed. But I was so excited. Kaylee has a bunch of Kidz’n’Stuff clothes, and we both love them. I started just doing some sketches and, well, before I knew it the sun was coming up.”

Max stepped into Jane’s office. “You stayed up all night?”

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just that when I get involved in creating something, I lose track of time.”

Finally he chanced a look at her drawing board, and his jaw dropped. “That’s…that’s gorgeous.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” Jane had taken his scribbled notes and stick-figure drawings and turned them into a comp for a full-page magazine ad. But this was no rough sketch. She’d made drawings of two children that were so realistic they almost walked off the page.

One of those kids, he realized, was her daughter. The other was a little boy he didn’t recognize.

“I used photos of Kaylee and a neighbor boy from Houston just as examples,” she said almost apologetically. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Okay?” It was fantastic. Given the ridiculously short timeline, he hadn’t expected anything this elaborate from Jane. “I thought we’d discuss concepts this morning and you could knock out a few rough sketches to show the client. But this-”

“I did too much.”

“Well, yes. You really should have discussed this with me before you invested so much time, just to be sure we were on the right track.”

“I know that now. But I wasn’t thinking about it at the time. I’m just so excited to be using my art. For years I haven’t been able to devote any time to it, and I hadn’t realized it, but I…I’d shut down a part of myself. And now I have that part back and…well, I’m sure you don’t want to hear all that.”

Actually, he was fascinated. It seemed that the beautiful, polished woman who had first attracted him was far more interesting than he would have guessed. Now he saw, in full color, the passion that lurked below her slick surface.

And it turned him on.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about her revealing something so personal to him. It indicated a level of trust he certainly hadn’t earned.

“I still have the rest of the day,” she said, suddenly all business. “What changes would you like me to make?”

“Nothing. You nailed it.” He didn’t often feel that way about his artists’ work. Usually there was a lot of back- and-forth before he was satisfied.

“How about this one, then?” She placed a second comp on the drawing board, and Max’s jaw dropped yet again. It was another beautifully rendered drawing, showing the same little boy and girl, but in different poses. The first ad was “Tough’n’Sweet,” one of his preliminary ideas for an ad campaign. This one was “Love’n’Play,” which Jane must have come up with on her own. It showed the little boy getting a hug, and the little girl coming down a slide.

Max didn’t know what to say. He’d seen that Jane had talent, but this was incredible. “Have you ever shown your work?”

She raised startled eyebrows. “Shown? As in, at an art show or gallery?” She laughed. “Other than in college, no.”

“You could, you know. You’re good enough.”

“You aren’t saying that because you’re going to fire me, are you? Suggesting an alternative career to soften the