Allison had a somewhat different perspective. Oddly enough, she felt a debt of gratitude to the Lowells. If Vernon hadn’t disappeared with all that money, she might have never met Zane. That thinking might be employing some pretty messed-up logic, but that was truly the way she felt. Not having Zane in her life was an incredibly depressing thought, almost as sad as the other thought that had been winding through her head since the Bahamas—that Zane would ultimately be a thirst unquenched. She’d thought that making love with him would get him out of her system. But that had been a horrible miscalculation on her part.
The flight had given her entirely too much time to mull over Zane’s latest rejection. She wanted to shrug it off and move ahead, but her heart just wouldn’t let her go there. Her heart wanted to drag her down to the bottom of this murky sea in which she was adrift and remind her of the reasons why it was such a shattering disappointment to have him choose his friendship with her brother over a chance with her. She was in deep, and she had no idea how to swim her way out. Scott would never buy into the idea of her with Zane. He would always think of Allison as that little girl with cancer, even when she was strong and healthy and a grown woman. And if anyone knew Zane forward, backward and every other way imaginable, it was her brother. He was convinced that Zane wasn’t capable of commitment. The allure of other women was too great, although Allison also suspected that there was more to it than that. Zane might have been unbelievably brave in the face of that storm, but he was afraid of commitment and was possibly even more terrified of love. That put Allison in the category of a good time, right where every other woman he’d ever met also resided. Allison didn’t want to be just another girl, but it sure felt that way.
With the Black Crescent building looming before her, Allison couldn’t afford to think about that. She had a job to do and a business to keep afloat. Her first allegiance had to be to herself and Kianna now. She straightened her designer jacket and shrugged her laptop bag up onto her shoulder, then marched into Black Crescent.
She approached the main-floor reception desk. “Allison Randall for Joshua Lowell. We have a two o’clock.”
The receptionist picked up the phone. “One moment, please.”
Before she could dial an extension number, another woman emerged from a side door in the reception area. “Ms. Randall?” The woman was willowy with wavy blond hair. She offered her hand. “I’m Haley Shaw, Mr. Lowell’s assistant. We’re so glad you’re here. Especially considering everything you’ve been through. I still can’t believe you were able to keep this appointment.”
Allison shook hands with Haley. “It would’ve taken more than some bad weather to keep me away from this opportunity.”
“Come on. I’ll give you the lay of the land and show you where we’ll be conducting the interviews.”
Haley led Allison upstairs to the second floor and a conference room right outside Joshua Lowell’s office. The one thing that struck Allison about Black Crescent was that no expense had been spared. Every detail was of the finest quality. It did make Allison wonder if the rumors about Vernon Lowell were true, that he’d never actually left Falling Brook and had merely been in hiding this whole time. If that was ever proved to be the case, she could imagine Zane blowing his top. Another lie from Vernon Lowell would only reopen Zane’s deep wounds. Plus, Zane was the sort of the man who wanted to get even. Knowing he could have hunted down Vernon all these years would at the very least eat at him.
“Please, make yourself at home,” Haley said, gesturing to the gleaming mahogany meeting table. “Mr. Lowell should be here in a few minutes. He’s just finishing up a phone call.”
Allison set down her Louis Vuitton bag and pulled out her laptop. “Great. We’re seeing three candidates today. Ryan Hathaway, Chase Hargrove and Matteo Velez.”
Haley pursed her lips in a particularly odd way. “Chase Hargrove, huh?” Her voice was dripping with doubt, something Allison wanted to get to the bottom of before Joshua arrived.
“Yes. He’s highly qualified for the position. And I was impressed with him when we spoke on the phone.”
Haley nodded, but seemed unconvinced. “I’m sure he has the right credentials. I just don’t know if he’s a good fit for the office.”
This was an interesting development. Allison had never had an assistant offer her opinion of a candidate, and especially not before the interview had even taken place. But in her experience assistants seemed to always know more about everyone and everything than the majority of their bosses. “Can you tell me why?”
Just then, a young man poked his head into the meeting room. “Ms. Shaw. Chase Hargrove is here for his interview.”
“Can you let Mr. Lowell know? And can you ask Chase to hold on a minute?” Haley asked.
“Sure thing, Ms. Shaw.” The man darted back into the hall.
“If there’s something I need to know, now would be a great time to mention it,” Allison said. She couldn’t afford to mess up when it came to Black Crescent. She had to nail this job. On paper, Chase was a highly qualified candidate, and Allison had found him charming and affable during their one phone conversation.
Haley seemed deep in thought for a moment, as if she was calculating her response. “I’m afraid I don’t
