Risking the Vine (Romancing the Vine Book 1) (23 page)

Chapter 22

On Monday Jac arrived at work early, counting on no one else arriving before her. Peace reigned in the cube farm, steadying the severe case of nerves bounding around her stomach.

Doubts about the course of action swamped Jac as the clock on the corner of her desk ticked away the minutes until her meeting with Ted Fleury. Panic fizzed like a bottle rocket.
What if I’m making a bad choice? A decision based in anger because he didn’t give me the promotion he promised?

She pulled her purse onto her lap, searching for the check she’d shoved in her wallet. Practicing yoga breathing helped, as she flicked her thumbnail over the corner of the eight-inch strip of safety blue paper. It didn’t take long for her jittery nerves to settle.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Two seconds later, it buzzed again. Jac swiped her finger over the screen to reveal a message from Luke.

Not that you need it, but good luck with your meeting
.

His next message melted her heart all over.

I love you
.

Okay, it came on a text, not uttered through his gorgeous, talented mouth. But the sentiment was far from impersonal. In her mind, she heard the echo of his whispered profession of love not only from Saturday but again last night.

As she was typing her return message, the phone buzzed a third time. Pressing ‘send,’ she switched to the new message. Her smile grew larger as she read Jules’ text.

I’m Team Jac all the way. Go kick some ass
.

In the next cube over, Allen cleared his throat for the tenth time in the past five minutes. The irritating noise overshadowed the sound of Jac’s laugh.

From the window in her cube, a flash of yellow captured her attention. Ted had arrived in his canary-colored Corvette a mere fifteen minutes before their scheduled appointment. He eased into his reserved slot in the ‘rock star’ parking section, front and center by the main door. Right next to Deidre’s new ride.

Crap, when had she arrived? Jac popped up to peek over the fabric-covered walls toward Deidre’s office. As expected, the door was closed against intrusions.

A little nervous and a lot sick to her stomach, Jac beat a fast retreat to the ladies room. She lurked there, practicing her speech, until it was nearly time for her appointment with Ted.

Drawing a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and smoothed an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Time for a short pep talk.
I can do this. I made the smart choice.

Everything had aligned for her; the loss of the promotion, the unexpected windfall of funds, the support from friends and family. And Luke.

Her fingers slipped the first time she grasped the door handle. Scrubbing a damp palm over her straight red skirt, she breathed deeply again, trying to slow her racing heart and calm the boiling churn in her gut. Jac exited the bathroom, head held high.

Confidence accompanied her to her desk where she retrieved her formal letter of resignation. With another deep, calming breath, she headed to Ted’s office.

Before Jac had time to reconsider—not that she would—she stood outside his solid wooden door, fist poised to rap on the portal. Suddenly, down the corridor Deidre’s office door flew open, crashing against the wall as she barged into sight. Lips pursed together, eyes narrowed, the woman stalked toward Jac.

“What are you doing? Get back to work,” she barked.

The woman needed some serious lessons on winning friends and influencing people. It appeared power had gone straight to her bleached blond head. Deidre oozed impatience as she propped her hands on her hips and tried to stare Jac down.

“I have a meeting with Ted,” she replied, despite the fact it wasn’t any of Deidre’s damn business. Tension gripped Jac’s neck in a painful vise. She shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to roll the sudden tightness away.

Dismissing Deidre, she concentrated on knocking on the door. Her heart clutched at Ted’s gruff, “Come in.”

A quick flick of her wrist later, Jac was past the point of no return. Deidre tried to crowd in after her. Jac didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “This is a private meeting, Deidre.”

The woman continued to splutter as Jac shut the door in her face. Heart racing, she pivoted to address Ted. Every word she’d rehearsed in her head, each damn syllable, vanished at the sight of his stern face. A lifetime passed while Jac stood still as a sentry next to the door.

“I’m very busy today. Let’s hear it. What can I do for you this morning, Jacqui?” His sparse smile appeared forced, as if inconvenienced to have to meet with her.

What the hell is wrong with everyone this morning?
She was a good employee and should be treated with some degree of respect. Ted and Deidre deserved each other.

Anger trumped good sense. She did what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do. Instead of the speech she’d practiced, she blurted, “I’m done, Ted. I quit.” Temper gave way to dizziness. Her head spun as she nearly lost her breath. She eased back against the door, grateful for the solidity of it. Pressing her lips together, Jac focused on breathing in and out through her nose.

She’d done it. She’d followed through and quit her going-nowhere-fast job to pursue her avocation. Her dream.

Ted’s brows lifted toward his receding hairline. He unfolded his lanky body from his chair and stood, his knuckles whitening against the blotter on his desk. “What the hell does that mean?”

“As of two weeks from now, I will no longer be working for MedServices. I’m sure Deidre will be just fine on her own.”

Although his expression didn’t change, a shadow passed through his eyes. The concept it might be panic made Jac inordinately happy.

The chair squealed in protest when Ted dropped into it, his posture defeated. He propped an elbow on the armrest and rubbed his temple.

For a moment he stared out the corner windows toward the trees lining the parking lot. “Is it the money? I’m sure you were counting on the extra income you were expecting with the promotion that went to Deidre.” He swept his gaze back to her. “I can probably work something out.”

The words of her speech came flooding back. She straightened away from the door and stepped across the room. Slipping her formal letter of resignation onto his desk, she rested her hands on the back of the chair across from him. “I won’t lie and say the extra cash didn’t matter. God, who doesn’t want more money? But me quitting isn’t about the money. It’s about respect, Ted. You promised me that promotion.”

Hell, he’d dangled the carrot for so long, it had practically sprouted roots. “I’m ready for the responsibility, the clients like me, and I’m damn good at solving problems. For whatever reason, you gave the job to Deidre. For crying out loud, Ted, I’ve spent the last few days cleaning up a half-a-dozen messes she’s already created with her incompetence.”

“I appreciate your contribution to fix the things Deidre has messed up. I’m worried if you leave, she’ll never learn.”

For fuck’s sake
. Jac wanted to rail at him that the woman started working for MedServices at the same time she had. Pretty much the only thing she’d learned in all that time was how to cheat at Words With Friends. And really, who needed to cheat at an online game of Scrabble?

Instead, Jac kept her voice even. “Deidre should know the job inside and out by now. No one held my hand, yet I learned the billing system anyway. Surely you have confidence in her. You promoted her.”

Brows lowered, Ted couldn’t hold her gaze for long before he shifted his eyes away. In that moment Jac realized he truly regretted his decision.

He scrubbed his hand over his chin. “Can you give me more than two weeks?”

“I’m sorry, Ted. I can’t. I’ll be moving to Eugene soon.” Jac shot her hip and rested her palm on it, tipping up her chin. Cutting the strings here was liberating. So why was the awful weight of disloyalty sitting on her shoulders?

Because she wasn’t the type of person to leave anyone in a lurch.

Her work ethic, and the need to help, rose on a cloud of disgust. “I’m willing to work as a consultant of sorts for the next two months if it helps.”

“Thank you. I do appreciate the offer.” Ted’s voice was tight, his face somber. “Am I going to lose any more employees over Deidre’s promotion?”

“You’d have to ask them.” Jac sure as hell wasn’t about to tell him she was certain everyone in her unit was actively job-hunting. “You should consider sending Deidre to the team building camp I attended last week. It’s a class operation and she’ll learn a lot. It wouldn’t hurt.”

Ted rolled his eyes and folded the letter on his blotter in thirds. When he finished, he stood and offered his hand. “I made a mistake. I’ll probably regret it for a long time. But my sister can be a dog with a bone. To keep peace in my family, I had to promote Deidre. I’m going to miss you. What are you going to do?”

Stunned by his admission, Jac took his hand. “I’ll be restarting my family’s herb farm. I’ve already lined up a wholesale customer. The learning curve is steep, but I think I’m up for the challenge.”

He gave her a genuine smile, one that reached into his eyes. “Jacqui Bishop, I have no doubt you’ll be a success. I hate to lose you, but I’ll wish you good luck anyway.” Picking up her letter of resignation, he circled round the desk and escorted her to the door.

Once there, he turned in the opposite direction and his shoulders slumped as he stepped into Deidre’s office, shutting the door behind him.

As Jac slipped back into her cubicle, happiness charged through her. She’d closed another door on her old life, and the new career she’d chosen stretched in front of her the way the vines at Team Vino had marched over the hillside.

Pulling her phone from the drawer, she typed in a text.

I did it
! She added a smiley face and pressed ‘send’ to shoot the message to Luke.

Nerves jumped in her tummy and adrenaline blasted through her. She’d done it. Jac had everything she’d wanted. A new job, a new home.

A new love.

Chapter 23

Despite being dog-tired, Luke’s spirits unfurled like a banner being hoisted on a flagpole. Three days ago, the nurses had presented their best and final offer in the negotiations. By sheer dint of will, he’d browbeaten Brian into accepting the terms outlined in the bargaining agreement.

He’d convinced his boss, the attorney, and the HR rep that a full-on strike wasn’t in the best interests of the center. A picket line would make the nurses’ sick-out this week look like a picnic in the park.

Once they’d done a final review on the numbers and the budget, he’d shoved the pen in Brian’s hand and stood over him as the man scrawled his signature on the dotted line. Since then, Brian had barely spoken half a dozen words to Luke.

This morning, Luke had run into him in the cafeteria. Clearly pissy, Brian had pointedly stood, picked up his tray, and stomped off, leaving Luke standing with a steaming cup of coffee burning his fingers. He would have thought the cold anger seething in his chest at the intentional snub would have instantly iced the brew.

Brian’s behavior rivaled a pouting three-year-old, which in turn pissed Luke off. The guy’s demonstration of his displeasure escalated during today’s weekly staff meeting. At one point the so-called professional CEO of the medical center yelled across the room for Luke to “shut the fuck up.”

It had taken every ounce of willpower Luke could summon not to vault over the wide conference table and plant his fist right on Brian’s snarling snout. A glance around the table confirmed Luke’s theory that most everyone present thought Brian Evert was nothing more than a dick with ears.

Luke typed a virtual reminder on his laptop to find the business card of the recruiter who’d placed him at St. Simeon’s. Her services would certainly be needed again.

At the end of the regular Thursday meeting, Brian smacked his pen down on the table. His belligerent tone grated worse than sand in board shorts when he growled, “Luke, stay a moment. Everyone else, please give us the room.” He shoved his chair away from the table and stood, feet planted wide.

Luke couldn’t remember ever seeing a group of people moving so fast to stow their belongings into briefcases. Brian stood by the door, arms crossed, bouncing on his toes. To call his stance combative was an appropriate choice of words. The legal staff, the doctors’ representative, the facilities director, and the Director of Nursing evacuated the room.

Luke should have been concerned about the prospect of this impromptu meeting. He was fairly certain he’d be getting his ass handed to him. At the very least, he was heading for probation, all because he did his job. He refused to feel bad that he’d helped the management team negotiate a contract which ensured the ongoing financial success of the hospital.

Wasn’t that what the exercise at Team Vino was all about? Hadn’t he just learned the importance of getting along with co-workers and maximizing the team’s efforts? He’d taken to heart the lessons he’d learned there. He just hoped Brian saw it the same way.

Luke took a stance next to the conference table, hands propped on his hips, and waited for whatever line of bullshit was about to spew from Brian’s mouth. Once the douche had shut the door after the last person, he did an about face, leaned his back against the wall, and gave Luke what amounted to the stink-eye.

Since he hadn’t called the meeting, Luke said nothing while he waited for Brian to pronounce sentence on him.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The man’s breath erupted like a premature ejaculation. “Rossi, your negotiations with the nurses’ union cost the company a million dollars.”

“Really? Because I thought my negotiating saved us two million.” Luke spoke around the knot in his throat and struggled to keep his tone even. He didn’t want to continue working here, but he hated the stigma of getting fired.

“How do you figure? You reduced bonuses by forty percent. Your creative accounting will result in an average five percent cut in pay for administrators in top management.”

While the average was five percent, Brian’s reduction came in the highest at fifteen percent. Luke was pretty sure the personal pay cut was motivating his boss’ aggression.

Luke jammed his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for Brian’s throat. Of course the dickhead would be concerned about his own pay. “We polled the staff before we ever began the talks with the union and every one of them agreed to the pay cut. We’d stand to lose better than forty percent of our revenue if the medical staff went out on strike. The way I see it, I didn’t fry up your bacon. I saved it.”

“The board agreed to hire you because of your reputation as a negotiator.”

“A reputation I lived up to during these contract talks.” Luke narrowed his eyes and stared Brian down. “We managed to avert the strike, a feat you went out of your way to make damned hard. What, you thought I’d negotiate in favor of management’s side? The only thing I was interested in achieving with these talks was the ongoing success of St. Simeon’s. I believe I accomplished that particular goal.”

“I disagree. And I’m sure the board will also. As soon as I speak to them, I predict your services will no longer be required. Our attorney is drawing up a separation agreement.” Brian pivoted to stare out the window.

The damn jackass couldn’t even make eye contact while telling a valuable employee he was going to be fired.

“I have a contract.” Luke squashed the anger rising in his gut. He’d expected this, but it was still a shock. He’d gone above and beyond in the time he’d been here. The staff liked him, and he was fucking great at his job. “Breaking that will cost you even more money.”

Brian pushed off the wall, but didn’t move away from the door, as if afraid to approach Luke at the table. “Your contract will be taken into consideration when we draw up the papers. Seriously, Rossi. What did you think would happen? That the board would just roll over when they find out you jacked around with executive compensation? And what about the doctors? Your bonus cuts affect them, too.”

That was bullshit. Luke had an email message trail where the doctors’ ombudsman suggested the cuts as a way to contribute to the bottom line. Luke had shared the proposed offer with the board and the professional staff. Not a single one of them had said no. And the percentage cut was tiered so the docs would hardly notice their bonuses were a bit less.

Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t the board rather see the nurses compensated justly? I thought that was the directive they sent three weeks ago. We’d have started in a better negotiating position if the arrogant doctors had behaved like professionals around the medical staff. That’s what brought this to a head.”

Brows lowered over glaring eyes, Brian raised his voice. “Don’t bring the doctors into this discussion. In fact, don’t say anything else. I’m convening an emergency meeting of the board on Monday morning. I’d do it this afternoon if all the members were in town. You’ll be informed of our decision.”

He raised his left arm and made a show of checking his watch. “You should consider clearing out your office. I don’t believe you’ll occupy it for much longer. Oh, and I need your proposed budget for the accounting staff’s compensation package. We’ll be examining it very closely. I believe there were some irregularities.”

No fucking way
. The jackass thought Luke was cooking the damn books? Frustration reared its ugly head in the form of a curse Luke couldn’t keep from blurting out. Which earned him one final scowl before Brian jerked opened the door and scurried out without another word.

Luke dropped his chin to his chest and expelled a harsh laugh. This entire week was all jacked up. He’d worked like a dog, not just at the bargaining table, but helping out on the wards. He hadn’t had more than three hours of sleep during the negotiation phase. And he’d finished a new budget to present to the board for a vote in record time. Getting that ready had cost him and his staff twelve-hour days.

Four extra hours for three days of his life that he could have spent with Jac. All because Brian Evert decided playing hardball was
not
a dick move.

I’ve sacrificed enough, goddammit. It ends now.

He shoved his laptop into the case; crammed his spreadsheets into a side pocket. He focused on the table littered with pens, crumpled papers, dirty water glasses, and coffee cups. “Fuck it. Housekeeping will clean it up.”

At least he did stop by the coffee maker in the corner. As he flipped off the power switch, the grow-hair-on-your-chest aroma from the already burned brew slapped him in the face. The smell alone was enough to make him quit drinking coffee forever. As he snatched his briefcase from the table, the conference room door eased open.

The Director of Nursing, Roberta Fleming, stood in the door. “Got a second, Luke?”

Christ, now what? A vein in Luke’s forehead throbbed angrily to life. If she wanted to bitch about the agreement, he thought his head might just explode. She’d probably lurked in the hall, waiting for Evert to leave so she could take her swing at haranguing him.

Huffing out a breath, he said, “I was just on my way out.”

She didn’t take the hint. A quiet snick filled the air as Roberta pushed the door closed. The heels of her shoes scuffed on the tiled floor as she sashayed across the room. “I wanted to thank you for everything you did for my staff during these negotiations.”

Luke blinked hard and dropped his briefcase onto the nearest chair. It wasn’t even close to what he’d expected her to say. “You’re welcome. At least you appreciate the effort.” He slanted his gaze away from her earnest expression.

“Uh-oh. Evert threatened your job, didn’t he? I could tell he wasn’t happy with what was unilaterally a fair agreement.”

“I’ll deal. They hired me for my negotiating skills. I’ll work it out.” Luke despised the note of forced confidence he heard in his own voice.

She stepped forward to rest her hands on the back of the chair across from him. “You know, I’ve watched the events of this past week unfolding. I’ve seen everything you’ve done to help out. You’ve pitched in on the wards, and I’ve heard through the grapevine that after you finished your fill-in shifts, you retreated to your office to work some more on the bargaining agreement.”

“I’ve only done as much as any other management employee.”

Her laughter was derisive. “Not all of them. I didn’t see Evert on the line or in the office, slaving through late hours with you. He shot a ten over par on the golf course Saturday evening, and ordered filet and a bottle of white for dinner, according to my sources.”

Of course he’d gone out to play while there was work to be done. The snort that had built for the better part of the past five minutes finally escaped. “Really? White? Everyone knows you order red with steak.”

Roberta laughed and waved a hand as if dismissing his boss as inconsequential and inconvenient. Maybe incompetent would be another ‘I’ word to describe him. “Brian’s leisure pastimes are not what I wanted to speak to you about. As part of the process for hiring you, I’ve read your résumé. I was impressed.”

“No idea where you’re going with this, Roberta.”

“Ever think about being a Duck?”

Luke laughed. “Only when it rains.” He was still unsure what she was trying to say.

“A friend of mine is the administrator at the University Health Center. They serve students at the University of Oregon. The Ducks, you know?” At his blank expression, she shrugged and continued. “Anyway, the health center is hiring a new CFO. There will also be some teaching opportunities associated with the job. You came to mind.”

“In Eugene?” This could be the answer to his dilemma. If St. Simeon’s broke his contract, he’d be a free agent. He could go anywhere he wanted. And with the kind of severance settlement he planned to negotiate, he’d have time to make up his mind.

If he took a job in Eugene, he’d be with Jac. At the moment, being with Jac topped his list of priorities. Certainly the prospect of being able to teach again just sweetened the appeal of a job as a Duck.

“Yep. I kind of figured once our agreement was ironed out, you might be in a position to have to find a new job.” Roberta’s observation stopped Luke’s wandering thoughts dead in their tracks.

“How’d you figure?” he asked.

“History repeats itself around here with entirely too much frequency. Brian fired the last CFO to negotiate a union contract. Too bad you accounting types aren’t union. Your jobs might be a bit more secure.”

“Well, shit. I’d have expected this outcome if I’d known that. Probably not the kind of info Evert would share with prospective candidates.” Would the knowledge have changed Luke’s decision to relocate here?
Maybe
. But he’d never have met Jac if he’d known. And meeting her might be the luckiest thing to have happened to him.

Rebecca shifted her weight to one leg and jutted her chin. “My take, after years of working with him, is that Brian Evert is selfish. And a selfish man would never share anything capable of making him seem less than . . . well, attractive, for want of a better word.”

Damn straight the bastard was selfish. He’d more than amply displayed the trait during the negotiations, with all his digs about the bonus structure modification. It wouldn’t do Luke any good to mention that now. “No comment.”

“There’s another thing I like about you. You’re discreet.” A smile stretched across Roberta’s face, lighting her pale blue eyes and creasing deep lines into the skin around them. “What I wanted to ask is whether you’d mind if I forwarded your qualifications to Dan, my friend at the health center.”

“Actually, I believe I’d like that. I’m wondering why I haven’t heard anything about this on my association’s loops. Normally, this kind of plum opening would be all over the place.”

“Job isn’t listed yet. They’ve held off.” She drummed her fingers on the chair and studied her feet before meeting his gaze again. “The truth is, I’ve already sent the résumé I had. They’re holding off listing it until they knew the outcome of our talks.”

“What?”