She was definitely breathing deeply now.
Too bad it was the thought of her boss’s eyes that was causing her to hyperventilate, because that just wouldn’t do. This would not be like her last job. No one was matchmaking. Carson Banick wasn’t interested in her. It was good that she could think logically about the situation, because she had been stupid about men before.
Beth tried not to think about how idiotic she had been about Harrison, the man she’d fallen so hard for two years ago, thinking he loved her when he’d only wanted a physical relationship. She came from a poor family so they weren’t from the same class at all, he had explained, as if she should have known that his words of love had been lies. But what she had realized after she finally stopped hurting was that her foolish mistake had given her brothers even more reason to protect her.
As surrogate parents, they had always worried she would be an easy and naive sexual target. In the past Beth had never told them about the passes men had made. She’d never believed any of the lies until Harrison had lied more convincingly than the rest. Now, her brothers knew for sure that she had been used. At last they had been proven right, and, despite the fact that she was an adult, they had set out to protect her in every way they could.
Which was well meaning, but…
Sighing, Beth tried not to think of her brothers as captors. They had raised her after their parents’ deaths when she was ten. Her brothers loved her, and she adored them, but as the only girl and the youngest, a somewhat rebellious youngest at that, she had frequently wanted to escape their smothering ways. Now, she had taken the first steps in that direction.
Her brief conversation last night with Roger, her eldest brother—when she’d finally decided to let him know that she was safe and settled—had gone as she’d expected. Poorly. Roger had threatened to come to Lake Geneva, but she’d held her ground.
“I’ve got a good job and a good place to live,” she said, stretching the truth. “If you come up here in your current state, you might jeopardize my situation.”
“I wouldn’t hurt you, Bethie,” he argued.
“You wouldn’t mean to,” she agreed, “but I told my boss I was capable of acting independently. This job is temporary, but it can be a stepping stone to something better. I’m working directly under Carson Banick of the Banick Enterprises Banicks.”
Roger had sworn. “I’ve read about him in the business pages. He lives a reckless existence.”
“I’m not helping him do that. I’m helping him build a hotel. That’s all.”
“Beth…”
“Roger. I love you and Jim and Albert and Steve, but you’re not letting me breathe. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want you to stand in the way of my success.”
“That’s not fair.”
It wasn’t. She knew they just wanted her to be happy. But they wanted her to be happy by treating her the way they had when she was ten. “When this job is done, then I’ll let you know if I’m ready to come home,” she promised.
“I’ll come now.”
“If you do, I’ll just have to go somewhere else. You have to let me make it on my own, and I can’t do that if you and everyone else are standing around frowning and waiting to see if I fall so you can pick me up. I have to make my own mistakes.”
He grumbled at that and told her he would be reading up on Carson Banick. He wasn’t leaving his baby sister alone with a man who might try to take advantage of her.
“He doesn’t even see me as a woman,” she promised.
Finally Roger agreed to keep his distance and let her spread her wings unsupervised.
Not that Beth was fooled by his agreement. Eventually her brothers would show up in Lake Geneva to check up on her. Knowing them, they wouldn’t wait long.
“I’d better turn myself into a success quickly,” she told herself. When her brothers finally arrived, she needed to be rooted, an independent woman rather than the perpetual little sister. Never again would she sacrifice her pride or dignity for what appeared to be love. She wouldn’t live under a man’s thumb. Nor would she freely give her heart away, at least not to the wrong kind of man.
Thank goodness Carson Banick was the wrong kind of man.
Carson looked at the calendar and grimaced. Three months behind schedule.
“We need you to get this right,” his father had said last night. “The family has fallen down on its commitments to the business, to our communities and to our loyal employees, Carson. One failure affects everyone who associates with Banick. It has always been that way, going back to the European inns where the Banick legend began. People count on us. They trust us. You know that. We can’t break that trust.”
Now Carson stifled a groan. His parents were stodgy and stuffy. He knew better than anyone how unbending and even unfeeling they could be, but they had principles and they lived by them. They were only being what they’d always been and doing what they’d always done. He was the one who had shrugged off his responsibilities in the past. He was the one responsible for Patrick’s current condition, and it was up to him to do something about the existing crisis, not only for the business and the family but for his own peace of mind.
Over the past few months, since Patrick’s fall, Carson had watched his loving, joyful brother lose the use of his legs and eventually lose the hope of returning to a normal life. After completing rehab, Patrick had holed himself up in a luxury apartment with only a nurse for company and he didn’t welcome Carson’s weekly visits. Patrick had rebuffed all Carson’s assistance, but he had to help his brother in some way.
He looked up at the clock. It was almost nine. Time to begin, he thought as Beth Krayton came through the door. It was obvious she had been rushing. Her hair was windblown; her ugly navy balloon of a skirt had flipped up slightly in the back. She looked deliciously flushed.
Carson grimaced. Bad choice of words. Delicious shouldn’t figure into things.
Carefully Beth smoothed one hand over her skirt as if that would repair the wind damage. She stood up straighter and smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Banick. I’m ready.”
Carson blinked at that and tried not to think any prurient thoughts. Ridiculous. She didn’t even look like a woman a man would have prurient thoughts about. His brother would never have had such improper thoughts about an employee.
He smiled tightly. “Well, we have a lot to do. We’re meeting with the city planning committee in two hours.”
“We?” Her voice seemed suddenly a bit weak.
He ignored that. He had hired her. Now they had to make this work.
Frowning, Carson continued, “Yes, I’ll need you to take notes and help me focus on any problem areas I might miss. You’ll need…” He gazed at her skirt. “You’ll need a change of clothing.”
Immediately she blushed. “This is what I have right now, other than what I was wearing yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to complete my work wardrobe yet.”
At the auto parts store she had probably worn jeans. He tried not to think about the fact that her slender body and fresh, pretty face would perfectly complement any pair of jeans known to man.
“Your skirt will be fine for my office, but for this meeting you’ll need a suit. We’ll take care of that right away.” When she held out one hand in protest he waved away her objections.
“Ms. Krayton. This job…well, it’s not business as usual. My brother began this project but he’s temporarily indisposed. We’re well behind schedule and the planning commission was kind enough to grant me an audience on short notice. That doesn’t mean they’ll roll over and accede to our every wish. They have a job to do and responsibilities to this town. I have a job to do and a responsibility to