Even as a child, Jay had understood that hard work and determination could unlock opportunities that could make even the poorest man wealthy. He’d devoured autobiographies of self-made men who had come from nothing and now ran multinational businesses. He’d dreamed of giving his mother the kind of life she deserved—one without the stress of wondering how the bills would be paid or skipping meals so her son could eat the next day. Nothing had made him happier than the day he’d enlisted, knowing he’d finally be able to make some of those dreams come true.
“That’s good to hear.” Brittany shook his hand just a fraction too long, her gaze holding his until he understood her interest wasn’t just business-related. In any other circumstance, Jay might have given her hand a squeeze, met that gaze with a smile. Brittany was the kind of woman he pictured himself with in a far distant future when he’d reached his goal of taking his company to the top. But right now he had no interest in mixing business and pleasure. Not when they were about to take the company global. Not when Zara kept intruding on his thoughts.
“If we do go ahead with the investment, Brittany will stay involved.” Thomas opened the door to let them out. “I want her to get to know our clients so she can take over for me when I retire.” He put an arm around Brittany and gave her a squeeze. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my girl.”
* * *
• • •
“I don’t trust that dude. He wants something.” Elias walked beside Jay through the vast marble-and-glass lobby of Westwood Morgan’s office building. Everything from the modern designer furnishings to the Chihuly glass sculptures proclaimed the bank’s success. One day, Jay thought, J-Tech would have offices like this.
“He probably wants an equity share in our company or something else he knows we’re not likely to give.” Thomas was no pushover, Jay reflected. He could see the value in the international expansion and would want to share in the benefits of J-Tech’s future success.
“Brittany was checking you out during the meeting,” Elias said. “She’s totally your type. Sophisticated. Professional. Classy. Smart. She couldn’t take her eyes off you.”
With a laugh, Jay opened the front door. “Maybe it’s you she wanted and she knew you were staring so she had to look at me.”
Elias shook his head as he followed Jay out. “Women like that don’t go for guys like me. I wouldn’t know what to do at a ball or banquet or charity dinner. I’ve never been to the opera, and my idea of fine dining is all-you-can-eat wings at the bar around the corner.”
“You’re making assumptions,” Jay warned him. “Maybe she spends her weekends backcountry camping and she’s the wing-eating champion of the Bay Area.”
“No way. Her nails were too perfect. If you’re a backcountry camper you keep them short so they don’t get in the way.” Elias slowed his steps as they approached Jay’s vehicle. “You gonna ask her out?”
“I don’t have time to get involved in a relationship and I’m definitely not hooking up with the daughter of the man who holds the key to our global expansion. That’s just asking for trouble.” He unlocked his vehicle. Like everything he bought, he’d chosen the Audi R8 not because he loved it, but because of what it represented. Wealth. Power. Success. Growing up in poverty had made him very aware of appearances. No one bullied kids who wore the right clothes and the right shoes and didn’t have to rely on the school to feed them every day.
“He’s not gonna turn us down if you’re dating his daughter,” Elias persisted. “He said he’d do anything for her. You two would make a good couple.”
Jay shot Elias a curious look. Elias was clearly attracted to her. So why was he pushing Jay in her direction? “If you want to ask her out, then ask her out. I won’t stand in your way. Just wait until after we have a decision about the funding and the documents are signed.”
“No way.” Elias shook his head. “I’m too messed up for a woman like her. Two years of therapy for my PTSD and I still have nightmares.”
Jay had nightmares, too, but he didn’t talk about them. Talking made them real and he didn’t want his past intruding on his present or affecting his future. He kept the trauma of his last deployment locked away and under control. If that meant he had to keep a tight handle on his emotions, then it was a small price to pay. Nothing was going to stop him from achieving his goal.
“You want to go grab a couple of cold ones and talk through the other investors on our list?” Elias nodded in the direction of the sports bar across the street.
“I’m going to pick my mom up at the daycare and take her for our usual Friday dinner. Another time.”
“It’s nice that you and your mom are close, but you gotta get out more.” Elias pulled out his phone, no doubt to find a drinking buddy for the evening. “The last time I saw you cut loose was when we took that trip to Vegas.”
That had been the day Jay’s mother had been declared cancer-free. They’d had a quiet celebration at home, but the next morning, overwhelmed with emotion, he hadn’t been able to go into the office. Somehow Elias had known what he was going through, and within a few hours they were on a plane to Vegas for a weekend of pure debauchery.
“Vegas was one hell of a good time,” Elias said.
“I wish I remembered it.”
“I wish you did, too.”
* * *
• • •
Jay’s mood lifted the moment he walked into the Sunny Days Childcare Center. Four-year-old twins Mia and Eve ran to take his hands, and five-year-old Adrian—a born acrobat—climbed on his back.
“How are my little monsters?” he asked.
“We’re not monsters,” Eve protested. “We’re kids.”
“I’m a monster.” Adrian lifted his head and bellowed a roar.
“Indoor voices, please.” Annalise Abbott, the daycare manager, greeted Jay with a smile. “Take Jay into the other room. Miss Padma is reading a story. And keep an eye on him. I recall he had a loud monster voice when he used to come here as a boy.”
Worried that Annalise might share some less-than-flattering stories about his years in the daycare center when he’d been young, Jay led his entourage past the brightly painted bookshelves and toy bins to the preschool room.
He spotted his mother in the reading circle with ten toddlers in various stages of attentiveness. Her dark hair, cut into an easy bob, was liberally threaded with gray and fell softly around her face. But her eyes, a deep brown flecked with gold, sparkled with youth despite the first lines of age fanning out at the corners. Exercise and chasing after toddlers had kept her trim over the years, and when she smiled, she looked no different to Jay than she had when he’d been a boy. She wore a red polo shirt with the daycare logo on the back, sturdy running shoes, and a pair of well-worn jeans that had survived everything from runny noses to spilled paint.