One night stand with my daddy's best friend
78

Bridget

I watched Dane MacLeod walk out of the breakroom. The nice, self-effacing man I'd met in my interview turned out to be a jerk. I wanted to follow him out and tell him he was wrong about what he saw and call him out on how he took a long inventory of my body. Maybe even threaten to report him to HR, but what good would that do? It was a family business. And while Bran might have been flirting, I knew that Dane's scan of me was in disdain. I couldn't report him for that. Instead of giving him a piece of my mind, I took my coffee and Danish and headed back to my office. I was supposed to go to lunch with Lane later, and I contemplated whether I could confide in her about the encounter with Bran and later with Dane. But I'd only just met her. I couldn't trust that she wouldn't tell Dane. As it turned out, something came up and she couldn't meet me for lunch.

I spent the rest of the day in my office, worried that HR would walk in my door with a pink slip. I'd worked half a day and now would be fired. What would I tell my dad? How would I explain it to the next employer I applied to? At the end of the day, I went home, bypassing Lizzie and the kids to head up to my room. I wasn't in the mood to talk about what happened. I face planted on my bed, wondering how much longer I was going to have a job. A knock on the door interrupted my pity party.

"Jet? Is everything okay?" Lizzie's voice came through my door. "Just a tough day at the office."

The door opened and she peeked in. I sat up and scraped my hands over my face.

"What happened?" She sat on the bed next to me.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. I accidentally bumped into a business partner and my boss saw it and said I was flirting. I wasn't though. I think he might have been " "Your boss or the partner?"

"The partner. Or maybe he was just being nice, I don't know. He'd taken my arm to steady me after we collided. He commented on my sweater. That was it."

"It doesn't sound like flirting on the surface."

"My boss said I was naïve not to know that when Bran was talking about liking soft things, he wasn't talking about my sweater."

Lizzie's brow furrowed. "You're normally a pretty good judge of people."

I nodded. "I did wonder if he was flirting, but it was just a quick moment." I looked down at my fidgeting fingers. "I told my boss to get his head out of the gutter if he thought that."

Lizzie pressed her lips together, which was her tell that I'd done the wrong thing, but she didn't want to correct me until she had a moment to gather her thoughts. When I overstepped, my dad would just let it rip, but Lizzie liked to be even- tempered.

"What did he do?" she asked.

I didn't tell her how his gaze raked over my body. It felt inappropriate but not in a sexual way. I felt like he was revolted by me.

"He walked out."

She wrapped her arm around me. "First days are always hard. Not only do you have to learn your job, but you have to get the lay of the land. Who are your allies? Who do you need to avoid? It's always a good idea to remember your boss isn't your friend. Maybe he misinterpreted what he saw, but now you know that he's all business. In the future you can make sure you don't end up in a compromising position."

"I didn't run into the man on purpose."

"I know. My point is, you've learned things about your boss that will help you navigate the job going forward."

I suppose she was right. "Should I apologize? I did sort of call him a pervert."

She laughed. "Perhaps you can just let it go. Start with a clean slate tomorrow."

"Maybe." My phone rang. Grabbing it from my purse I saw L. Eliot on the caller ID. "I think this is Lane."

Lizzie stood. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." She headed to my door.

"Lizzie?" She turned.

"Thank you. You always help ground me."

She smiled. "You're a smart, wonderful woman, Bridget, who's learning her way in the world. I know you're going to be a big success." "If I control my mouth, right?"

She laughed. "Sometimes people need to hear the things you have to say, but you need to learn the best time and way to say them."

When she closed my door behind her, I answered my phone. "Hi Lane." "I'm so sorry Bridget that I couldn't take you to lunch."

"It's okay. I know things happen." Like colliding with a business colleague in the hallway.

"How about I make it up to you by taking you out for a drink?"

I still wasn't sure I could trust Lane. Not that I believed she had an ulterior motive for inviting me out. She was being nice, that I was sure of. But that didn't mean she wouldn't tell Dane if I said something wrong.

Still, she could be a good source of information to help me navigate my job, especially where Dane was concerned. "Ah...yeah. That would be great."

I had dinner with my family, downplaying the difficulty of my first day on the job to my dad. Thankfully, Lizzie didn't press me to tell him more. They were both glad that I'd made plans to have drinks with a colleague. I knew they wanted me to

be happy, but I also knew they wanted that happiness to come from living close to them. By making work friends, I was creating attachments to keep me close to home.

I met Lane in the bar of a small restaurant. I was glad it wasn't a club. I didn't want the noise and crowd.

"So how was your first day?" she asked as I sat with her at one of the tall tables that required effort for me to sit on the tall chair that went with it.

"Overall, it was great. Ethan was really helpful, and my office has a fantastic view."

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! She eyed me. "I hear a but coming."

"But I got reprimanded by Mr. MacLeod." "Did he come into the office?"

I tilted my head. "Yes. You saw him-"

"You mean Dane reprimanded you?" Her tone was disbelieving. "Yes."

"Wow. What did you do?"

I jerked back. "Why would you say that?"

"Because Dane is a sweetheart. I'm sure he was a killer in battle, but around the office he's like a teddy bear."

I looked away, wishing the waiter would show up so I could order a drink.

"I'm sorry. What happened?" Lane asked.

"I was coming around a corner and I ran into a business partner... Bran... something-"

"Erickson." She pursed her lips and made a face of distaste.

Clearly, I was missing something. Bran might have flirted but I didn't replace him distasteful.

"Yes. We collided and he took my arm to steady me, like a gentleman. We chatted for a moment and then Dane showed up telling him to stop flirting with his staff."

"It sounds like he reprimanded Bran, not you."

The waiter showed up and I ordered a rum and cola while Lane ordered a vodka tonic. I used the time to rethink how much I should tell her.

"So, what did he say to you?" Lane asked when our waiter left to get our drinks.

"He told me it was against policy to flirt with business colleagues, especially Bran." Her eyes widened. "He said that?"

I nodded. "I told him I wasn't flirting. Bran may have been, but it was innocent."

She made a fffttt sound. "Nothing Bran does is innocent, but you wouldn't know that."

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! "He called me naïve." Like I was a little kid.

"I'm really surprised, although Bran is a sore spot for Dane. He's under a lot of pressure from MacLeod senior to complete a deal with Bran. Bran seems to be jerking his chain a lot. Dane is new. He's not a businessman.

He's only here now because his dad had a heart attack. I think Bran is trying to take advantage because he knows Dane is a little bit out of his element. Not that he can't do the job, because he can, he is doing it. Everyone really likes him. Well...mostly everyone."

I knew she was referring to me not liking him so much.

"Bran should be careful. Dane may be new to business, but he's an ex- Navy SEAL. He could break Bran with his pinky finger."

"I'm worried he's going to fire me. To be honest, I'm shocked I was hired. I wasn't sure I had the experience, so I know he's taken a chance on me and now-❞

"He's not going to fire you because Bran Erickson flirted with you."

I bit my lower lip and was glad when the waiter showed up with our drinks. I took a long sip.

"Why do I think there's more to this story?" Lane asked.

"I told him if he thought we were flirting, then it was his brain that was in the gutter."

Lane spit out a laugh, covering her mouth. "Oh my God. I'd have loved to have seen that."

"It's not funny. I'm sure I'm going to be fired."

She shook her head. "You won't be fired. If he was going to let you go, he would have done it already. Dane is decisive. Still, you might want to learn to keep your thoughts about the boss and his dirty mind to yourself." "You're not the first person to tell me to control my mouth."

She grinned. "I like a woman who speaks her mind. Just maybe not so much to your boss."

I nodded.

After that, Lane filled me in on all the players at the office from Mr.

MacLeod senior and Dane to Ethan and even Bran.

Interestingly, the one person she didn't tell me much about was herself. Then again, there were a few things I held back about me, such as who my father was since he was well-known in real estate and construction, or how I was aware of Ethan Wheatly's family for the same reason.

Even so, I enjoyed my time with Lane and could see us becoming good friends. She could be an ally for me as I navigated my new job, especially around Dane.