Her father pressed on. “How far have you gotten on your report for the Board of Directors?”
She stared up at the vaulted ceiling, bracing herself for his frustration. After twenty-six years of disappointing him, she wondered why she still felt such a strong pang. “It’s half done.”
“Finish it. I want to review the whole thing on Sunday.”
“I won’t have time to finish the report. I’m working full days for my client. The Board meeting is three months away, so I’ll finish the report when I return to Davis Software full-time.”
“I still want to see what you’ve drafted this weekend. By the way, David called yesterday. He said you aren’t talking to him. You need to answer the next time he phones.”
The chastisement in his voice made her feel like a naughty child. “There’s a good reason I’m not taking his calls, Dad.”
He didn’t ask why. To do so would invite a discussion about feelings, something her father didn’t do. Or have.
Jaye swallowed. Her throat felt like it was coated in sand. “Why did David call you?”
Silence sucked at her ear.
Her father had already hung up.
“Goodbye, Dad. Nice talking to you, too.” Lowering the phone, she strode toward her office. Hopelessness billowed inside like a dark, menacing thundercloud. Turning the corner, she recognized the set of broad shoulders propped against Nick’s doorway.
“Can you come to the warehouse now?” Mitch curled his hand around the doorframe. His knuckles were smudged a charcoal gray from blowing glass all morning.
The sight of his hand reminded her of how he doctored her scrape yesterday, and the thundercloud lifted.
“No, son.” Nick responded. “I’ve got to finish this sales proposal.”
“I just need you for a minute, Dad.”
“You’re wasting your time. I’m not changing our methods in the warehouse, not after I spent so much money hiring a storage consultant a couple of years ago.”
“The guys in shipping are having trouble finding what they need, but I’ve come up with a simple solution. I just need your okay so our men know you’re on board with the changes.”
“Some other time, son.”
Mitch’s hand flexed. “When?”
“Some. Other. Time.”
“Fine.” Mitch stepped into the hallway and spotted her. The irritation on his face evaporated. “Hey, how’s your hand?”
“Forget about my hand.” This was the perfect opportunity to blow off some steam after being manipulated by her father. While their relationship might not ever change, perhaps the Blake men could reconcile—but Nick would have to prove he was willing to support Mitch. She raised her voice a bit. “Why do you want to change the warehouse? Didn’t a consultant design a special layout just for this company?”
Mitch shrugged. “He arranged the warehouse a few years ago. The configuration doesn’t work any more.”
She blew out an exaggerated sigh in the hope Nick would hear. “I’m so tired of you assuming consultants have no idea what they’re talking about.”
Mitch frowned. “I haven’t said that…lately.”
“You’ve thought it, though. I can tell.”
He scratched his head. “How can you tell?”
“You get that look on your face.” She waved her fingers near his baffled eyes.
“What look?”
“The one you have right now.” The confused furrow along his brow looked so darned irresistible, she had to bite back a smile. “Show me your warehouse. I bet you can’t prove the layout needs an overhaul.”
“An overhaul isn’t necessary. We just need to tweak the system.”
“Oh, come on. Admit it. You don’t respect anything the storage expert suggested because he was a consultant.” She thwacked the back of her hand against his flat belly.
He let out a surprised grunt.
“Wait a second, Jaye. Mitch has a point.” Nick rose from his desk. “Our storage consultant was here three years ago. A lot has changed since then. We’ve introduced a number of new lines. Keeping each one straight is important, otherwise shipping has a heck of a time finding everything. I’ll show you.” Nick strode past and waved at them. “Come on, you two.”
“Right behind you.” Jaye nudged Mitch.
He grabbed her elbow. “What was that all about?”
“Thought I’d pick a fight to see if Nick came to your defense, and he did.” She offered a cheerful grin. “There’s hope for you two. Judging by the way Nick jumped to your defense when I started this fake argument, I’d say your team looks to be in pretty good shape.”
“Yeah, as long as Dad and I don’t spend any time alone.” He released her and headed down the hallway.
“Why?”
“He’s afraid I’ll ask him a question.”
Jaye lengthened her stride to catch up. “What question?”
His mouth slanted into an angry sneer. “Anything about my mother.”
Jaye wandered through the warehouse’s aisles, feeling small compared to the boxes of stemware stacked from floor to ceiling. At the farthest corner of the warehouse, she encountered something different—a set of shelves shielded by burlap.
She peeked behind the rough curtain and sucked in a surprised gulp of air at the glass sculptures sitting on the shelves. The glass glinted like gems, throwing light out from every facet. The entire collection could have been plundered from a lost, magical world.
When she heard the footfall of heavy work boots approach, she turned to Mitch in blank amazement. “You made these, didn’t you?”
“I thought you went back to the factory.” With a flick of his wrist, he lowered the canvas to cloak the glimmering glass.
“Have you sold any of your pieces?”
He answered her question with a brusque shake of his head.
“Your creations would fly off the shelves in an art gallery,” she insisted. “People would pay a lot of money to own your work.”
“Forget it. You were hired to design our virtual marketplace. Time to get back to work.” He put his hand on her lower back and escorted her out of the warehouse. On the path leading to the factory, he lengthened his stride.
She hurried to match his gait. “I can’t get over what I just saw. Those sculptures were amazing, Mitch.
