on the way to Kyle’s office?”
“Is there a meeting?”
“No.” He waved off her concern. Though he knew in the past things had been done behind her back, that wasn’t the way Brady worked. “I need to talk to Kyle about a personal matter before he leaves.”
She nodded, though she still had a crease between her eyebrows. They started down the hall, and she handed him a page from the top of her papers. “I’ve been going through the preliminary budgets we set up. It looks like Peterson has made some changes without giving us notification.”
Brady stopped abruptly and gave the sheet his full attention. Funds allocated to construction had been moved to another account. “Dammit.”
“I can change it back, but—” She bit her lip and glanced at her watch.
This could take hours to resolve with Peterson and that’s probably why he’d done it. If Jules went into his office now, she’d be in there for hours arguing about why it was correct in the first place. All the while, Peterson would be suggestive without being overt enough for her to press sexual harassment charges against him.
Brady took the papers from her. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.” The tension drained out of Jules’s face and shoulders. “I owe you.”
“Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.” Brady left Jules and knocked on Kyle’s office door.
“Come in.”
Kyle stood behind his desk, putting his laptop in his bag. His cell phone was cradled between his cheek and shoulder. He gestured for Brady to come forward.
“No…” Kyle said to the person on the other end of the line. “Thursday won’t work. Yes, see you then.”
He tucked the phone into its holder and gestured for Brady to take a seat. “If you’d been two minutes later, I would have been out the door.”
“Glad I caught you, then.” Brady took the offered seat and waited for Kyle to sit.
“What can I do for you today, Brady?”
Brady swallowed. “I know this is the worst timing, but I have a family emergency and need to take some time off.”
Kyle leaned his elbows on the desk. “Is everything okay?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Brady chuckled, suddenly aware how absurd the situation sounded. “I recently found out I have a seven-year-old daughter who knows nothing about me. Her mother thought I knew, but I didn’t.”
“Congratulations.” Kyle leaned back in his chair and it rocked with him. “So what were you thinking? A day? Two?”
Brady released the breath he’d been holding. “I have vacation built up, but I’m planning to continue working on the project while I’m in Illinois.”
“How long?” Apparently, Kyle had noticed that Brady had dodged that question.
“Two weeks.”
“Starting…”
“Tomorrow or the next day?”
Kyle templed his fingers to his lips as he contemplated Brady. The clock in the corner ticked mercilessly. Kyle’s expression didn’t change. Brady felt as if he were being silently quizzed on a subject he didn’t know a single answer for.
Kyle stopped rocking. “You’ve just made a transition to this team. We usually like to build vacations into the schedule ahead of time.” Kyle smiled. “But this qualifies as a family emergency.”
“Great. I’ll keep the Detrex project going via email and phone.” Brady started to get up.
“No, the Detrex project is a huge account. Since Dave Peterson and Jules Morrison are both on the project, they should handle things while you are gone.”
Brady sank back into the seat. If he let Peterson take over the project, it would sink faster than the Titanic. Jules would have to deal with that scumbag every day. “With all due respect, Kyle, Peterson is a decent manager, but the contacts deal with me directly. We have so many balls in the air right now, one could drop and someone might not notice.”
“Then you had better get them up to speed before you leave.” Kyle rose from his chair, obviously dismissing him.
Brady stood. “Detrex is my project. I’d rather stay here than risk it failing because I left at the wrong time.”
“The project won’t fail without you.” Again, Kyle dismissed his importance.
But Brady knew how this game was played. He’d studied it from every angle. He wasn’t going to lose this project and the boost to his career. But if he let Maggie down this time, she might never let him see Amber.
“Let Jules lead it.” Brady knew this was a risky move, but he had to play it. “If she has any questions, she can contact me or go to Peterson. It’s only two weeks.”
He hoped that Kyle would accept this. He could work the project with Jules while he was gone. Peterson wouldn’t care if the project failed because it was Brady’s and Jules’s necks on the line. Until it’s time to take credit.
“It’s probably time Jules took on some additional responsibility.” Kyle walked with Brady to the door and turned out the lights in his office. “But this project is too big to let fail. If I see any indication that she can’t handle it, I will pass it off to Peterson.”
Brady nodded. “Enjoy the game, Kyle.”
Turning on his heels, Brady headed to Peterson’s office. It was time to take his project back.
Within thirty minutes after Brady left, Maggie had finished putting away her things. What was she doing here?
She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and dialed Penny’s number. It was early afternoon so she should be able to get her before Amber got home. “Did you tell him?” Penny asked immediately.
Maggie fell onto the bed. “Yes. I’m in his apartment right now. How is Amber doing?”
“She’s fine. I’m fine. What are you doing on the phone with me?” Penny laughed. “I know it’s been a while, but get out there.”
“He went to work.” Maggie rolled onto her side and stared out the window overlooking Central Park. “I told him.”
“Okay.” Penny stretched out the word as if trying to pick up the underlying meaning. “What happened?”
Maggie relayed the morning meeting followed by the nerve-racking lunch. And ended with her being dumped off in an apartment that looked like a pristine hotel room.
“It’s like no one lives here.” Maggie walked to the empty fridge. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d only eaten a few bites of lunch.
“Did you go in his room yet?” Penny sounded as if she was on the edge of her seat, waiting.
“I’m not going to snoop.” Maggie turned to look at the closed bedroom door. She leaned against the refrigerator and wondered what he would have in his bedroom.
“I bet he has kinky sex toys.”
“Penny!”
“Or naughty magazines.”
“Seriously?”
Penny changed tactics. “Would you want someone like that around Amber? After all, it’s important to have a good male role model and not all men can pass muster.”
Maggie tapped her finger against her bottom lip. “He did say that he wanted me to find out about him before taking him to meet Amber.”
“See?” Penny’s triumph was obvious even hundreds of miles away. “He wants you to snoop. Why else leave you in his apartment