Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) by Straight, Nancy (management books to read .TXT) 📕

on a conversation she and I had had about her boss and some problems she was having at work. I looked at my watch – it was still working hours for her, so I could peek in on her and see how everything turned out.

I could feel Max watching me, and for whatever reason, I couldn’t concentrate on Rachael. When I asked Max to go back into the barn, his response was instantaneous, “You will not ever be out of my sight until this Beast thing is dead, so just get used to it.”

I was a little taken back that he had decided I needed his protection. But Rewsna had been crystal about that, he wasn’t necessarily protecting me but together we were a dynamic duo. I couldn’t help but throw in, “You remember how I feel about controlling men, right?”

Max walked over to me in three easy strides, holding out his hand in some chivalrous gesture. I stood up; he led me on the sidewalk as if our conversation had ended, and we were going into the house. A tree was on my right hand side as we walked. With no warning at all, Max shoved me up against the tree with both of my hands pinned above my head.

My eyes were wide with shock and fear, my mind unable to process what was happening. Then his lips were on my neck. A few seconds later his hands released mine and his began gliding all over me. Max smiled a little mischievously, and said, “Sometimes, controlling men are sexy.”

As I stepped away from him, I was able to get my breath back, and convinced my heart it didn’t need to pound through my chest. I had to agree with him, “Sometimes, they are sexy.”

Chapter 9

I wandered into the living room with Max following me. I spread out on the couch and closed my eyes, replaying the last conversation I had with Rachael a week or so ago. I could recall the conversation perfectly.

She described her boss in an ornate manner, “He is such a prick. If I didn’t need the job so much, I would call his wife. Do you know he made me schedule a ‘date’ for him with a prostitute? Evidently this was part of my job that didn’t make it into the formal job description. He is such a slime ball it makes sense that he would have to pay for it.” Rachael was not at all happy with the collateral duties she’d been assigned and was really just venting.

I tried to be as supportive as possible, “I don’t know that I would call his wife, but you may want to keep a log of any questionable tasks he assigns you. That way if tries to fire you later, you can either keep your job, or get a pretty decent severance out of the deal.”

She got really animated when she said, “He hasn’t had the same assistant longer than eight months, so I know it’s just a matter of time before he finds a reason to fire me.”

“So are you looking for anything else, or are you just waiting for the day when he hands you a pink slip?”

“I’ve been looking.”

I replayed this conversation between Rachael and me several times in my mind, willing myself to find her. I concentrated on her office building and her apartment but didn’t have any luck at all. Rachael and I had been close friends since first grade; if I were genuinely worried about her work situation, you would think it would be a whole lot easier to see her. After nearly thirty minutes of trying, I gave up.

How in the world do I practice a skill I have no idea how to work? It can’t be like rocket science, but I did have trouble seeing Max that one time that I tried and Rewsna was with me. Maybe that’s it. Maybe I have to be alone? No, the second time I was with Joe, but was tuning him out. Max was absently flipping pages in a magazine, not really paying attention to what I was doing.

“Hey, Max, can you go in the room next door while I try this again?”

He looked over at me with a frown and shook his head, “I’m staying right here. I won’t bother you, but I’m not leaving.”

I sighed deeply, “Look, I’m trying to figure out how this thing works, and right now it isn’t working at all. I just want to see if I can zero in on Rachael if I’m alone.”

Max didn’t waiver, “Not a chance,” and returned his focus to his magazine.

I tried several more times unsuccessfully and decided to take a breather and try again later.

****

The farm was in really good shape. It is amazing what three people can accomplish; well, technically four if you count Julio the caretaker. I don’t know how long Julio had been Max’s caretaker, but he lived in the guest house out back. After Joe, Max and I arrived that day from the nursing home, Max told Julio to take a vacation, that he deserved it.

Max decided it was time for some recreation when he asked, “You want to go see Marvin and squeeze a few off?”

“That sounds great!”

Marvin was a friend of Max’s who owned an indoor shooting range. We hadn’t been there together since our first date. The day I met Marvin was the first time I’d ever shot a gun. It was a lot of fun. This might be a great stress reliever for both Max and me.

The two of us were in his truck driving down the road five minutes later. We had just turned onto the main road, “Should we have invited Joe to go along? It doesn’t seem right to leave him at the farm alone?”

Max shook his head, “Gramps will be fine, I’m sure he’s taking a nap or something. He won’t even know we’re gone.”

I had a really strange feeling, the hair