Hearts Under Construction. Diann Hunt

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СКАЧАТЬ a risk when I asked you. I’d hoped you would stay.” Jax quickly added, “But I understand it’s a trial thing. No promises.”

      Cole nodded.

      A knock on the door caused them to turn.

      “Come in,” Jax said.

      Ellie stepped inside and paused. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you had someone still with you.”

      Jax perked up. “No, no, come on in, Ellie.” He stood and walked over to her.

      “I need to be going, anyway,” Cole said.

      Jax closed the door then turned to them. “No, I need to talk to both of you, won’t you sit down?”

      Cole settled back into his chair, and Ellie sat down in the remaining one beside him. Jax returned to his seat. “We’re going to be working closely together. All of us.” Jax looked at them in turn. “Cole’s going to relieve me of some of my responsibilities out on the job sites.”

      “But, I—”

      Jax held up his hand. “I know you’ve been doing that, Ellie, but it’s too much for one person. Of course—”

      “Too much for one person, Jax? Have I not handled things well by myself? Remember the Ollis job? Didn’t I come through for you when there was a mix-up with the contractors? How about the Person house, didn’t I handle the cabinetry problem without your help?”

      “Well, yes, Ellie, you did, but—”

      “Then I don’t see why we need to change things. We were handling situations just fine before. Why the change? Why couldn’t you leave things as they were? It makes no sense, Jax.” Her eyes flashed, she straightened in her chair. “Just last week, wasn’t I the one who wouldn’t give up when—”

      Jax held up his hand to silence her, but anger wouldn’t shake her free.

      “—the Mills were—”

      “Ellie.”

      “—angry about the—”

      “Ellie.”

      “—foundation crack? Didn’t I put in extra hours to get that matter settled? And when—”

      “Ellie, enough.” Jax’s eyes pinned her. “As I was saying, Cole will oversee things, and he’ll need you to carry out assignments that he can’t do.”

      She paused a moment, took a deep breath, then blew it out. “I see. In other words, he’s my supervisor.”

      Jax studied the pencil in his hand before looking up at her. “Yes, Ellie, he is your supervisor.”

      Cole watched her. He knew she was upset, but he didn’t know how to fix things. “Look, I—” He almost reached for her hand, but the look on her face stopped him cold.

      Their eyes locked for one electric moment. “That’s fine. I’m glad I don’t have to do all of that by myself anymore. Makes my job easier.”

      Jax put on a pleasant expression. “Great.”

      Alex rang over the intercom, notifying Jax of an important call. The three decided to meet later.

      Cole followed Ellie out the door, not nearly as convinced as Jax that things would be so great.

      Chapter Two

      The next morning, after making the necessary notations, Ellie shook hands with the Wilsons and said goodbye. She felt energized after every house deal. Of course, things didn’t always run smoothly, and the pesky modifications could drive her crazy at times, but all in all, she decided, she loved her job. Maybe she’d reward herself with a mocha.

      She heard Jax’s voice as she neared his office. Perhaps now was not a good time. But Jax had insisted that since they hadn’t met again yesterday, due to unexpected calls, he wanted to meet with her today. She peeked around the doorway. Still talking on the phone, he motioned her to enter. Ellie took her place in the chair.

      “All right, Chad, do what you need to do to keep them happy. Drop the price, throw in the appliances, whatever.”

      Jax lifted a weak smile toward Ellie and shrugged.

      Poor Jax. Business was not his forte. He wanted to teach. Who could have known his father and mother would die in an auto accident and leave him the family company? It saddled him with a profession he wouldn’t have chosen for himself.

      Jax hung up the phone. He smiled and leaned over the desk. “So what can I do for one of my favorite employees?”

      “You’d better be careful. Alex might hear you,” she teased.

      He waved off the matter and reached for his mug of coffee. “We’re not exactly engaged, you know.”

      Ellie smiled at her friend; Jax was more like a brother than a boss. They’d met six years prior when his family had joined her church.

      After a quick swallow, Jax put his cup down and looked at her. “I guess you want to know about Cole?”

      “Well, the thought had crossed my mind.” She smiled at him. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Jax, but—”

      He held up his hand to stop her. “It’s all right. You have a right to know what’s going on.”

      Jax got up and walked over to close the door. He settled back into his chair and took a deep breath. His eyes fixed on his desk. “It’s like this, Ellie.” He stopped long enough to look up at her. “I needed someone to relieve me of some responsibilities.”

      “But why—why Cole?”

      Jax gave her a sympathetic look. He got up and walked around the desk to the chair across from her. “Look, Ellie.” He grabbed her hand. “You’re an excellent worker. I know you wanted this promotion, and I’m sorry I couldn’t offer it to you, but honestly, Cole has more experience in the business realm. He’s just a better fit for the job.”

      “So you feel he is more qualified?” Her nose pointed up.

      Jax nodded. “It’s not that he’s better than you, just more experienced.”

      The words pierced her pride, exposing raw layers of pain. She said nothing.

      “Things won’t change all that much. You’ll go on doing what you’ve been doing.”

      “But you said yourself he is my supervisor, right?” She knew her question sounded childish, but right now she didn’t care.

      Jax shrugged. “I guess, technically, yes. But you don’t have anything to worry about.” He squeezed her hand like an encouraging brother. “Your work is better than good enough. You’re the main one keeping us going right now. If you weren’t writing those offers and overseeing the construction sites, I don’t know what I’d do. Chad, Morgan and Tim do their best, but they just don’t have the drive that you do.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ