Where She Belongs Page 3

  There was no human he’d talk to more in the last week than Shanna. In fact, all of his other interactions with people probably didn’t equal his contact with Shanna. All that contact had been void of the smell of her hair and the feel of her body. He had a lot of time to make up for, a lot of hugs he’d missed. Even if her boyfriend hated Gabe; she either didn’t care or she was good at hiding it.

  A few months ago he had decided he would stop dating or having sex for a while. By depriving himself of a good release of stress and hormones, he had created his own cave of loneliness and sexual frustration. If only he could bring himself to have meaningless sex. His interest in women stagnated.

  "I'm serious, I want to see the office this afternoon. See what I've gotten myself into and how rusty my management skills are."

  "I'm sure you'll have no problem bossing people around," Rita said. "You were a natural at that from preschool. Drove your teachers crazy."

  "You had better take her before she changes her mind," Bryce said. "I promise not to go anywhere."

  "Shall we?" Gabe gestured toward the door.

  "Indeed," she said, heading for the door. "You can drive me."

  "She's telling me what to do already,” he said over his shoulder.

  "Good, you need someone to do that," Rita said. She and Bryce laughed.

  Gabe looked down at Shanna, not sure what to make of the situation now.

  * * *

  It only took Shanna three tries to guess her dad’s password. A talk about computer security and passwords was in order.

  Gabe had to run off and take a phone call, so she was left to her own devices for the present. At random, she clicked the accounting files on the desktop. There were a lot of numbers and a lot of people to deal with.

  She preferred her simple assistant job in Toronto. She didn't have to deal with numbers. That was someone else's job. She helped Trenton out with his assignments. Nothing that required her to take risks with real life consequences. Sitting here with an entire company at her fingertips was scaring the crap out of her.

  The tour with Gabe overwhelmed her. So many people she knew. Many of the workers had been her classmates in previous years. Most of the rest were workers who had been in the plant and office for ages. More than one person referenced her childhood and when she was "this big".

  She took all the comments with good humor and ribbed some of them when it seemed appropriate. People she could deal with. But being in charge of the whole company was enough to make her run to the bathroom and lose her lunch.

  "Are you finding everything?" her father's secretary, Rachel, asked from the doorway.

  "Finding out Dad needs a better password," she replied. "Mostly I'm trying to figure out how I got talked into all this."

  "Bryce is a force when he wants something. He's so proud of you, and he misses you so much."

  "I am fairly certain this is a ploy to get me to move back here and help run the company."

  "Could be. Do you want some coffee?"

  "I can get my own coffee. Hell, in Toronto, I am the coffee getter. I don't think I'd be comfortable letting you." See, another thing that told her she was not suited to this job.

  "You'll get used to it, once you are dealing with the day-to-day reality of the work."

  "I always thought the CEO delegated tasks to management and watched the money roll in."

  "Maybe at other companies, not here. Bryce may be a little overly involved with things, but I think that comes from when he was getting started and he had to do everything. A lot of his job now is dealing with relationships with suppliers and dealers. Among other things."

  "I don't know if I'm up for it. There's a lot of money and effort and people involved with this company. What if I screw up and the whole place goes to shit?"

  "Until you are feeling sure of yourself, rely on Ga― Mr. Brande."

  "I know you go by first names. I'm not going to demand formality. I might work for some big city corporation, but this was my first home."

  Rachel smiled and took a seat. "Rely on Gabe for help. He's been in training for the job since he came here. He's like a son to your dad."

  "I know. When Dad fell ill, I was so thankful I knew Gabe was here taking care of everything. I knew he'd fill the gaps as needed, like Dad's care and the office stuff."

  "That's Gabe, dependable."

  "Boring, steadfast Gabe," he said from the doorway.

  Both women looked at him. "Speak of the devil," Shanna said, as he wandered into the room, looking casual.

  "Now I'm the devil. I thought I could feel my ears burning. But I thought it would be someone talking about how dashing and handsome I am, not how dependable and predictable I am."

  "I'd rather have the dependability than dash," Shanna said. He had handsome covered from here to the moon. She remembered how she would imagine him at night. And her friends would ask to come to the office just so they could see him and giggle about him. Friends who were mostly still in town, married and having babies, or working at the small businesses in town. Friends who had been her closest confidantes, but after college and moving across the country, she'd drifted away from them.

  "Then I'm your man." He grinned and leaned on the desk.

  She looked away. Once she would have given almost anything to have him say that. She felt sad, now.

  She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked back at him. "I was telling Rachel how glad I was that you were here with Dad and Mom when all the shit hit the fan."

  He looked at Rachel. "Are you sure you weren't talking about my charm?.”

  "No one needs to tell you that, you seem assured of the fact already," Shanna said.

  His gaze swung to her. His beautiful brown eyes bored into hers, as if they were trying to discover her truths, her soul. She looked away. "No harm in telling me again. I think you are beautiful, with big blue eyes that could convince a man to do anything; pale skin, and the slightest hint of freckles on your cheeks." He started to reach toward her, until Rachel cleared her throat.

  He straightened and cleared his throat.

  Shanna leaned back in her chair. For a minute she'd forgotten everything except Gabe, who looked at her as if he wanted to kiss her. Which of course he didn't. That would be crazy. He'd never felt anything but sibling-like, friendly affection for her, and she best not forget that.

  "Well, I think I have some memos to type or something important. I'll leave you two alone."

  She watched the secretary leave the room. She tried to recall if Rachel was the type to gossip or not.

  "She'll keep that to herself. Sorry. I got lost in the moment. Anyway, did you manage to log on?"

  "Yes. Dad seriously needs to learn how to set a proper password. How was the phone call?"

  "Not as life-changing as I was brought to believe. But you know how a hysterical customers can be when they feel as if they aren't being treated like the kings and queens they see themselves."

  "Everyone wants to be the best, not realizing if everyone is the best, the best becomes average."

  "Exactly. So you look at anything on there yet?"

  "I don't know if I can. He's running Windows XP, for God's sake. This cannot go on. This is the same furniture, same layout, same decorations as when I was a kid. It's amazing most of the equipment on the floor is state-of-the-art. The man is so resistant to change, I might shake him. You know, if his heart could stand it."

  "I know." Gabe smirked as he ran his hand along Bryce’s desk. It had been crafted in the shop. When the company was small, the shop a fraction of the size.

  His strong, capable hands... She swallowed hard and looked at him and controlled her voice. "How do you put up with it?"

  "A lot of patience and booze. I dunno, you get used to him. I've been here for what? Eleven, twelve years now? Bryce, your dad, took me under his wing. He mentored me, even after he helped pay for my college. I owe him everything I've achieved."

  "Hey, he merely gave you the means. A lot of people
would have squandered the opportunity. You took it and you worked your ass off, and you deserve to be proud of everything you've achieved. You deserve to run this company. Not like me. I was born to the owner, that's the only thing I have going for me. I have no experience, no training for this sort of thing."

  "You're wrong about that," he said, pacing a little behind her. "You were born for this job. You weren't born to do little piddly things like proofread someone else's work. I bet you do more of Trenton's work than Trenton does."

  "That last one is not true. If you cannot say nice things, do not say anything. We've been down this road."

  Gabe sighed. "Many a time, sadly. I'm sorry. I said I wouldn't be negative." He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were clear again. "Where was I? Oh right, this job. This is your birthright. And you are right, you don't have the experience now to run this on your own. But I would stay beside you every step of the way, and help you with everything until you were ready."

  "I don't get it. You could run this company with one hand tied behind your back, and don't try to tell me otherwise. Why are you trying to get me to take over? This is your right more than mine. You have blood, sweat and tears in here. You should be pushing me out of the way and stepping on me while you run forward."

  "Because, this was never mine. I never wanted to be where I am. The only reason I am this far is because I owed your Dad. He needed someone he could trust, and I'm honored to say it was me."

  "My Human Resource Management professor would say that it's a horrible way to run a business."

  "What is?"

  "With family and emotion. She said that it always made what could have been a good business totally tank. Business decisions cannot be made with emotions or relationships in mind. They must always be for profitability and economic sense. She talked about it a lot, but she was writing a book on the subject."

  "That might have explained her view. Nothing wrong with trusting your gut or going with what feels right. That gives a business a heart; it brings everyone together, makes us feel like a team or a family."

  "Or it alienates those who don't feel they are part of the team."

  "Those are opportunities to make connections."

  She smiled at him. "I've always enjoyed debating with you."

  "It's not easy when you are hiding the fact that you talk to me from your boyfriend."

  He sneered the words at her, and she knew she deserved that. It was unfair to them both, but she couldn't give either of them up, so she was left with nothing else to do but lie to Trenton. And since Gabe had helped her out of many a tight spot, stood up for her, sheltered her, and lied to her parents for her, she wasn't going to let him go. He was her link to her past, Trenton was her future.

  Bah, she didn't need to justify any of this to herself. That was crap. She could do whatever she wanted, if she worked smart and hard.

  "Okay, I deserved that. The alternative is we don't talk at all when I get back to Toronto."

  "I know we hate each other. At least I'm mature enough to manage to hear his name without flipping a lid. I bet he'd freak out if he knew we were going to spend the next two weeks in close quarters. Am I right?"

  "Probably." Then again, maybe not. Lately Trenton had become so complacent, so muted, she sometimes wanted to check for a pulse or walk around naked to get his attention. Of course, the only attention she would get for nudity would be a frown. She crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to admit anything.

  "Alright, let's let that go. You can rely on me for help through all this stuff. I can help you with nearly everything you'd need to know. I can advise you on decisions if you are unsure."

  "Okay," she took a shaky breath. "Let's try this."

  She remained scared to death that one wrong decision would close the entire company and ruin her family.

  "I promise you won't ruin anything. You're only here for a couple of weeks." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

  His constant touch might drive her crazy.

  Crazy with what? She didn’t dare think about that question.

  * * *

  By the end of the workday, Gabe was exhausted. He'd spent the afternoon with Shanna looking over spreadsheets, budgets, promotions they were running and how the company ran its day-to-day, month-to-month operations. In addition, he also tried to catch up on what he'd missed the previous day, and what Bryce had left on his desk.

  He also had to think about tomorrow, when he had several rescheduled meetings to attend, e-mails to answer, phone calls to return.

  He looked at Shanna as she studied something on the screen. He could scarcely recall what he'd left for her to go over while he answered some e-mails. She didn't look the least bit tired at all. She looked energized.

  And from everything they'd talked about, she understood nearly everything he threw at her. What she didn't understand, she questioned him on. Intelligently.

  At the beginning, he worried about her lack of confidence. When she stopped thinking so much, she was fine. She was capable, confident. Happy.

  That left him to wonder what Trenton was doing to her. Was he such a dick that he kept Shanna feeling dependent and lacking confidence? Did he have her thinking she couldn’t get anywhere? Was this why she was working as his assistant two years later?

  Gabe had removed himself from her life. He had made excuses for the last few years for not intervening. She asked him to butt out. She got upset and gave him the silent treatment when he did speak up. Instead, he listened silently, ignoring the niggling bad thoughts. Becoming her silent partner in the systematic tearing down.

  He was angry with Trenton. But he was more angry with himself. He shouldn’t have let any of this happen.

  He stood and looked at his watch. Except for them and the cleaning staff, the building was empty. Rachel, who had been worked over as well, stuck her head in sometime ago to say she was leaving. The two worker bees had barely glanced at her, waving over the computer.

  "Shanna."

  "I'm not done."

  "I'm starving. My eyes hurt and I cannot think about business one more second. I'll take you out for supper before we head for the hospital."

  She dragged her eyes away from the computer and blinked at him. Then she looked at her cell phone. "Good grief! It's nearly seven. Gabe."

  He loved when she said his name. He tried to stuff his smile, but he couldn’t help it. "I figured it was around that time. The building is empty, except the cleaning staff."

  "We should just head for the hospital." She logged off her computer.

  "No, we need to go eat. Your mother will be appalled if we don't. Come on. You can call her on the way if you are worried." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to her. "Your dad's room is in the contacts."

  "Is there anything you don't do well?"

  "I cannot color coordinate, I have no aptitude for home decoration. And I'm mean when I fight. At least according to my ex-wife. What are your faults?" He exited the office, watching over his shoulder to make sure she was following.

  "Hold on." She was on the phone. He led her to the stairwell. "Ma, it's me. Shanna, yeah. Gabe and I― what? Yes, things went well, as you can guess by the late hour. Gabe―I don't know if he showed me everything, there's a lot to take in. We― can you just listen for a second. We're going for supper, since we are just leaving the office."

  Gabe could sympathize with Shanna. All day she had been interrupting him to ask questions. Not that he was complaining. It was just frustrating to be unable to finish a thought.

  Something pressed into his side and he moved away from it. As he came out of his thoughts, he realized the item poking him was his phone. He took it. "Thank you."

  "Thank you," she murmured back. "I was serious about what I said to Rachel earlier. How glad I am you are part of our family."

  "You consider me part of your family?"

  "Always. Well, maybe not always. I don't know when it happened. You came
back from college to work at the mill, your mom had just moved away, so Mom and Dad adopted you. I was what? Maybe eleven, twelve? You were this big brother figure."

  He recalled feeling like she was his little sister. He'd tease her when he attended supper with her family. He didn't recall exactly when he noticed her becoming a woman, he guessed after his marriage started falling apart. She'd left for college not long before that, and she started calling him almost daily.

  Her classes were challenging, she didn't have any friends. For someone who grew up in a small town, who knew nearly everyone, who went from kindergarten to graduation with the same people, college was overwhelming and scary.

  Bryce had helped him through his first semester, and he seemed destined to pass the favor on. Lisa hated his talks with Shanna. She complained and started fights. He realized later that she used excuses like the Whittikars and his work schedule, to pick fights with him because she was unhappy.

  "Hello?" she said. "You got lost there."

  "Sorry. I was thinking about all the things we went through together." And when that all changed, but he hadn't gotten to that part of the story yet. Maybe later.

  Now he should enjoy being with the woman she'd become. And she'd become quite the woman. He'd have to be blind not to notice her beauty. Long legs, well, long enough as she was an average five foot five inches, give or take. She'd always been skinny. He used to tease her about it, but she'd filled out a bit. She had breasts, small breasts, but they were noticeable, and if he stayed behind her, he could watch her hips and ass sway in a hypnotizing fashion. Not that he'd planned to stare at her behind.

  She must have felt his gaze on her, because she stopped and looked over her shoulder. He felt himself blushing. "Stop looking me over. I'm the same girl you've known forever."

  He shook his head. "You are not." And he finally acknowledged that he was attracted to her. His body had made that clear earlier when he flirted with her, in front of Rachel, no less. Thankfully Rachel was not the gossiping type. If she hadn’t been in the room, he likely would have made an ass out of himself.