Power she had no doubt he would use—and use creatively.
She knew she’d made the right decision, but she just couldn’t escape the sensation that she just might have made her life even more complicated.
Six
“You didn’t bring a picture?” Anna threw plenty of exasperation in her voice as she served a cup of coffee to the friend she hadn’t seen for far too long. “I don’t think I’ve seen a picture of your daughter since she was two.”
Megan Simmons tossed some wavy red curls over her shoulder and tucked her feet under herself as she got comfortable in Anna’s kitchen. “Well, Jade’s three and a half now and trust me, she’s gorgeous. She’ll be the first to tell you.”
Laughing, Anna bit back the next obvious question. Who does she look like? Megan had never revealed the father of her child and Anna respected that. Their friendship dated back to elementary school and one of the reasons it had lasted so long was that they knew when not to pass judgment on each other’s actions.
And they knew when to help each other. As Megan had four years ago, when she’d left her consulting job in Miami and returned to Indiana exactly at the time Anna had been up to her earlobes in false accusations. It was Megan’s connection with the director of human resources at Garrison, Inc. that had given Anna a much-needed escape, and because of Megan’s strong recommendation, she’d been able to get the job without the usual deep background check.
There were times when friends just didn’t ask, no matter how much they wanted to know. So, Anna brought the conversation back to the reason they had this unexpected Saturday morning to share some coffee and chat before Anna drove Megan to the airport. “So, how did the meeting go yesterday?”
Megan took a sip, her green eyes widening over the cup. “It was really an interview,” she said as she swallowed. “My former boss offered me a partnership in his design firm.”
“Wow, congratulations.” Anna lifted her coffee cup in a mock toast. “That’s wonderful, Megan.”
“Thanks. It sure is tempting.”
“I’d love it if you moved back here.”
Megan’s expression grew warm, but wary. “Yeah, it would be great to live near you again, but I don’t know.”
“You loved Miami when you lived here.”
“I know. But Jade has only ever known life in Indianapolis. And she’s starting preschool this fall.”
“The best time to move,” Anna said. “You can start her here. Garrison, Inc. donates to an excellent private preschool. I bet I could get Parker to pull some strings and get Jade in there.”
Megan pulled back, a little smile tugging at her lips. “Do you know that since I got here about twenty minutes ago, you’ve mentioned Parker Garrison about six times?”
Busted. “Have I? I hadn’t noticed.”
“I did,” Megan said drily. “So I guess you’re enjoying your promotion from the humble HR department to the lofty executive suites.”
“It’s different up there,” Anna admitted. “It’s more exciting. And I’m so busy. It’s my whole life.”
“It’s your job,” Megan corrected gently, using a voice she probably used on Jade when the child wanted soda instead of milk. “And I didn’t say you mentioned Garrison, Inc. I said you mentioned your boss.”
“I guess I have. But he’s…” How could she possibly explain what it was like to work for someone like Parker?
“He’s a Garrison,” Megan said, rolling the name on her tongue as if it tasted bad.
“Yes, he is,” Anna agreed. “And he’s also…” She willed herself not to turn all dreamy and stupid. “Very…”
“Arrogant.”
“Well, sometimes. But he’s…”
“Demanding.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “He likes things his own way, but he can be…”
“A snake.”
Her jaw dropped. “No. I don’t think he’s a snake, Megan. He’s confident and a leader, he’s smart and he’s—”
“Flat-out gorgeous. They all are.” Megan took a deep drink then thunked the cup back on the table. “Don’t get sucked into it, Anna.”
“Sucked into what?”
Megan leaned on the table. “I’ve done enough work for the Garrisons to know what they’re made of.”
“You consulted, Megan, as the interior designer when they refurbished the Garrison, Inc. offices. You don’t really know them. It’s not the same as being in their face day after day.”
“Oh, I was in their face plenty,” she volleyed back, more blood deepening the delicate dusting of freckles across her nose. “Don’t forget what happened to you, Anna. You are a living example of what can happen to a woman who is wooed by a man who isn’t above using her,” Megan said.
“He hasn’t used me,” she said, defensiveness making her voice tighten as she stood. “And I already gave him the ‘we can only be friends’ speech this past week at dinner and he’s been nothing but business since then.”
“It’s gone that far? You had to give him that speech?”
“Not that far,” Anna mused, turning off the oven and taking a minute to refresh their cups. “We’ve only kissed. In London. That’s all, I swear.”
Megan held her cup for a refill. “Why?”
“Why was that all or why did we kiss?”
“Oh, I know why you kissed,” Megan said wryly. “You kissed because you were in a ridiculously romantic place and wildly attracted to each other and he whispered in your ear and you melted.”
Anna laughed as she put the coffeepot back and sat. “Oh, you think you know everything.”
“Not everything. But I know enough.”
The need to share the truth was powerful and if anyone would understand, Megan would. “We kissed because he told me he suspects there’s a spy in the company and I planted one on him to drag him away from that dangerous train of thought.”
“A spy?” Megan’s eyes popped. “No wonder you’re freaked.”
“Can you imagine if he found out that I was stupid enough to let my boyfriend infiltrate my boss’s computer system and steal technology secrets at my last job? And then got blamed for it?”
“You’d be okay,” Megan said. “I mean, you’ve been at Garrison for four years or so.”
“But now there’s the Internet. How long would it take before someone searched my name and found articles in the local Indianapolis papers accusing an administrative assistant of being a corporate spy?”
“You were innocent, Anna. Michael Montgomery finally admitted he did it.”
“Yes, I know that and you know that, and even my former boss knows that because the confession happened in the privacy of a conference room in Indianapolis.”
“Barry Lynch dropped all charges.”
She nodded. “Yes, he did. The boss dropped the charges and the boyfriend fled town and no one bothered to call the papers and inform them except me, and the reporter wasn’t interested. Called it an ‘old story.’ But my name is still media mud.”
Megan sighed, obviously unable to deny that. “Barry Lynch is still running FiberTech outside of Indy. Why don’t you call him and ask him to vouch for you?”