Help Wanted

Book 1: on the Job Romance

by Allison B. Hanson

Genres: Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance; Romantic Comedy

Synopsis

Who said mixing work and pleasure was a bad idea? For Kenley Carmichael, getting fired for sleeping with the boss’s husband is almost funny—at 28, she’s still a virgin. Not that her now ex-boss would believe it—Kenley’s got the face and figure to attract plenty of men, even if she’s never found the right one. A job at New Haven Custom Boats is a chance to start fresh and learn a whole new skill set. Trouble is, she can’t stop wishing her incredibly hot new boss would introduce her to some decidedly un-businesslike pleasure . . . Zane Jackson needs a new assistant, but when his pregnant sister hires her replacement, she chooses a girl who reminds him of the kind who broke his heart in high school. Zane might not be that shy boy anymore, but sweet, sexy Kenley makes him feel every bit as awkward as he did then—and even hungrier to kiss her. She’s the perfect woman for the job—but he wants her to be so much more. Interoffice dating can only lead to trouble—unless it leads to true love . . .

Release date: September 12, 2017

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Print pages: 220

Sample

After slamming her car door, Kenley stormed into the restaurant, madder than a hornet. When she’d first found out, her initial reaction was disbelief, but fortunately her brain quite efficiently turned the confusion into an easier emotion to express. Anger.

“I can’t believe this,” she muttered to herself while scouring the room for her support system.

Two blondes looked up and waved her over. She already felt a little better as she walked across the dining room to meet them. Good friends could fix anything. Well, good friends and whiskey.

The waitress rushed over and asked for her drink order.

“Jameson, neat.”

“Ken, it’s eleven in the morning,” Vanessa reminded her.

“Thanks. But I didn’t get fired because I couldn’t tell time,” Kenley snapped.

“Right, then.” V backed off as the waitress scampered away.

“I’m sorry,” Kenley moaned into her hands. She hated feeling helpless. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so pissed off.”

“So what happened exactly?” Rachel was obviously still confused by Kenley’s mayday text. Kenley couldn’t believe it herself.

Rachel and Vanessa had been her best friends since high school and had stayed in their hometown of Madison, Connecticut, while Kenley sought adventure in Manhattan. Both were married, stay-at-home moms with school-age children, which was the reason they were available to come at her distress call for drinks so early in the day.

Kenley didn’t begrudge them their lives. She knew being home with kids was not an easy job, and they had problems just like everyone else. They were just different kinds of problems than she faced now.

“I got fired,” Kenley said while searching for the waitress. Where the hell was her drink?

“You said that, but why? You’re the best worker they have.”

“My stupid witch of a boss accused me of sleeping with her husband at their New Year’s party.”

“But…?” Rachel still looked confused, and rightfully so. “That’s not possible.”

“It’s possible, Rach, just not probable,” Vanessa pointed out the distinction.

Yes, it was possible for Kenley to have slept with her boss’s husband at a party. It wasn’t probable because she hadn’t slept with anyone. Yet. Given the fact she was twenty-eight and still a virgin, it was highly unlikely she would finally give it up at a holiday party with a married man.

“Why didn’t you tell her you were still a… you know?” Rachel looked over her shoulder as if the Virgin Police would overhear and arrest her.

“Why should I have to? It’s none of her business.”

“That’s right! Screw her!” Vanessa blurted and took a sip of her margarita. Now, who couldn’t tell time? “She wouldn’t have believed you anyway. Look at you.”

As instructed, Kenley looked down at herself. It did seem unbelievable, even to her. Not that she was God’s gift to men, but she was at least doable, as her friends had told her many times.

She’d been a cheerleader in high school. Just that sentence alone should have taken her V-card. Through college she’d dated a lot. Just enough to move on before it got to that point. She’d done everything else, just not that.

Now, looking down at the tight skirt and fitted, button-down with some cleavage showing, she could see how someone might mistake her for a husband-stealing party whore. But looks could be deceiving. Didn’t everyone know that?

Only the two women at the table—and their spouses, because it was apparently the law to share everything with one’s spouse—knew the truth about her.

It wasn’t like she would have held on this long on purpose. It wasn’t a matter of morals or that she was holding out for some sexy, romance-novel highlander pirate to take her maidenhead. It just had never… happened.

While Rachel and Vanessa were losing everything at seventeen and eighteen, including their minds, Kenley was sitting next to her mother’s bed hoping for a miracle that never came.

She was in college before she stopped seeing her peers as immature idiots who took everything and everyone for granted. By then it would have been awkward to admit to a guy who just wanted to hook up that he was her first. Guys didn’t hang around long enough to be special when she wasn’t putting out, so it became a vicious circle. Bringing her to this point in her life where she had been fired for being sexy, even though she didn’t have a true concept of what that really was.

Irony was an asshole.

“You should take some time off. Just relax. Go on a tropical vacation,” Rachel suggested.

Kenley made a show of looking under the table.

“Sure. That sounds like a great idea. Now, where did I put my rich husband to pay for everything while I’m lying on the beach drinking? Oh, right! I don’t have one. I support myself.” She was most likely going to have to give up her expensive, miniscule apartment in Manhattan and move back home. Another small part of her withered up and died.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rachel asked, her brow raised. While Kenley might not begrudge their ability to go where they pleased at eleven in the morning, she might have been slightly bitter about the major financial back up that came from being married to a well-off man. Even if Vanessa’s well-off man was Kenley’s older brother.

“Nothing.” Kenley rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

“You need to find a better job. You were going nowhere at that place anyway,” Vanessa said. “You did everything for her, and she held you back so she wouldn’t have to find someone to replace you. You should find a job here so you can move home and be closer to your niece.” Her best friend/ sister-in-law made it sound like a benefit—which it was—but it was also surrender to her failure.

“I like living in the city.” In the city she was just another anonymous fish struggling to make it upstream. She was so busy she didn’t realize what she was missing.

“This is your chance to get out and live.” Rachel sounded like an 80s cruise ship activities director.

“Does this have anything to do with me, or is this about you feeling trapped?”

“Who knows? It will be good for both of us.” Her friend shrugged as Vanessa pulled out her phone.

Kenley’s drink finally arrived and she downed it before the waitress left. With a wince and a cough she held up the empty glass.

“Another, please,” she wheezed. The waitress—who should have been impressed—looked annoyed as she trotted off to fetch another drink.

“I don’t think getting wasted is going to help your cause,” Rachel warned.

“I will be happy to test your theory, as I have no other plans at the moment.”

“Ooh! Here’s something that would be perfect for you.” Vanessa held out her phone, expanding the print on the screen.

“It’s in New Haven.” Kenley frowned as reality reared its head. If she didn’t find another job in Manhattan right away, she would have to move.

“It’s at the marina.”

“What’s the position?” Kenley leaned over to get a closer look. Maybe this was what she needed. “It would be a fresh start. And it’s only an hour and a half from Manhattan. Not on the other side of the world. Plus I’d be closer to you guys.”

“It would be nice to see you more often.” Rachel pouted out, working her over with guilt.

“If I’m still friends with the two of you after you were both pregnant at the same time, I think I’ve proven my loyalty.” Kenley plucked the cherry out of Vanessa’s drink and bit it from the stem as they chuckled. Where was her second drink?

“You’re right. You need a fresh start where you can meet the man you’ll give your heart as well as your…” Vanessa didn’t finish the sentence, she simply pointed to the cherry stem in Kenley fingers.

“What is this dream job in New Haven?” She changed the subject.

“Like I said, it’s at the marina. It looks like they repair and restore boats.”

“I don’t know anything about boats.”

“You don’t need to. They’re looking for an Executive Production Coordinator.”

“That sounds like a fancy name for a secretary,” Kenley said.

“What was your title at your last job?” Vanessa asked with a look.

“Assistant Director of Programs.”

“And what did that mean?”

“Secretary.”

“See? It’s perfect. And it says it’s a growing company with occasional travel required.”

“Ooh, travel. It would be like having mini-vacations while getting paid,” Rachel said excitedly. “And maybe the guy will have a yacht.”

“Yeah. I’m sure it will be exactly like that.” Kenley downed her second drink the moment it was placed on the table.

“Executive Production Coordinator? Are you crazy?” Zane complained as he pointed to his computer screen. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“You have to put the bait out there,” Sidney told him in that big-sister tone he’d hated all his life. “You can’t put an ad out for a person who can do everything, including pick up your nasty work boots from the shop because you have them fixed instead of buying new freaking boots like a normal person.”

“I like these boots. They’re broken in,” he defended.

“They’re just plain broken.” She rolled her eyes. It had no effect on him anymore. She could roll her eyes until they fell out of her head, and he wouldn’t break a sweat. He was immune.

“I still don’t see why you can’t work for me part-time.” He tried using his adorable little-brother pout. Apparently it had lost its effectiveness around the time her eye rolling had stopped working on him.

“Part-time? I don’t even work full time. I work over time, Zane. I want to stay home with this kid.” She pointed at her giant stomach for emphasis. “I want to be a mom. I can’t do that if I have to fly off to God-knows-where at the drop of a hat to handle a client’s insurance claims, or oversee transport of a moldy old boat. Besides, in another month I’m not going to be able to fly until after I have the baby. Doctor’s orders,” she sang the last part.

“Uh-huh. I want a second opinion.”

Sidney’s OB-GYN was also her husband. It was both convenient and creepy.

“Come on, Zane. This arrangement was only meant to be temporary anyway. I was supposed to stay on until you got up and running.”

“I know.” It was true. He hadn’t wanted Sidney to work for him at all back in the beginning. He’d wanted to do it all on his own, but now he didn’t know what he’d do without her. “Just make sure the person can read my mind. You know how I feel about verbal communication,” he grumbled as he closed down his laptop to leave.

“You’re going to have to work on that.”

He sighed and checked his phone for the time. “I gotta go.”

“Have fun. Tell the guys I said hi. Maybe you should talk to a woman. Go out on a date.”

Zane narrowed his eyes at his sister. “I’ve had enough bossing for one day.”

She put both hands up in surrender.

When he got to the Blue Star Bar, Josh and Paul were already there.

The bartender gave him a nod when he sat down, and he nodded back. This was their silent exchange that meant he wanted a beer. Verbal communication was overrated.

“How are the kids?” Zane asked Josh.

The answer was a giant smile as he held out his phone, scrolling through photos of his children. They hadn’t changed much from the photos he’d shared two weeks ago.

“My oldest is riding her bike without training wheels,” Josh shared.

“Next she’ll be asking for the car keys,” Paul said. Since Paul worked for Zane, he’d just seen him at the office an hour ago. But this was guy time.

“Or introducing you to her boyfriend,” Zane added.

“Shut up.” Josh looked a little green at the thought. “I’m going to make sure she knows all boys are idiots.”

“Trust me, girls know that from birth,” Paul pointed out.

“How are the women folk?” Zane asked, knowing that was the next stage of the conversation. Paul was engaged and Josh had been married for years.

The smile on Paul’s face echoed the happiness that had been on Josh’s. “Taylor’s busy with the wedding. I try to help when she asks what flowers I like or if I want a black tux or gray, but honestly I don’t care about the details. I just want to marry her and go on the honeymoon.” Spoken like any man anywhere.

“I’m planning a romantic getaway for Bree’s birthday.” Josh beamed. “My mom is keeping the kids.”

“You’re not planning on number three are you?” Zane teased.

“We’re not planning anything. But if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, we’re already blessed.” Josh smiled and took a sip of his beer. These men sure seemed a lot happier than Zane.

“What’s new with you?” Josh asked.

“I’m looking for a new assistant to replace my sister.”

“Couldn’t talk her out of it, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Well, good luck,” Paul said with a wince. Paul had worked for him for the past three years and was his top mechanic. “I swear that woman is a superhero.”

“So you think I should put an ad out for a superhero instead of an executive production coordinator?”

“What is that?”

“It’s the title Sid came up with to describe all the things she does.”

“‘Goddess’ sounds more accurate.”

“Goddess of bossing me around.”

“Let me guess. She suggested you go out on a date,” Josh said.

Zane nodded.

“She’s not wrong. When was the last time you went on a date?” Paul asked.

A date. He hadn’t dated anyone in months. He’d gone out with a woman during one of his jobs in Alabama. But when the job was over so were they. He hadn’t bothered mentioning it to his friends. It hadn’t been important. “I own a business. I don’t have time to date.”

Such was the life of the sole proprietor. Too busy for anything remotely fun, but somehow it was rewarding nonetheless. He loved tearing into a new project, seeing something old come back to life and become useful and beautiful again.

New wasn’t always better, except when it came to wiring. In that case, new was better on the inside when covered up with a classically restored exterior. He prided himself on returning a crusty old sea vessel to its magnificent splendor. And though it paid quite well, he measured his success by the size of the owners’ smiles when they saw their boats after restoration.

His sister had helped him keep things straight for the past five years. Now he would be on his own. Strike that: he’d be stuck with some stranger.

After waking up on her brother’s sofa with a hangover that could kill a dead person, Kenley decided she couldn’t stay unemployed for very long. Not only was it economically unfeasible, it was also dangerous to her health.

“Hello?” Rachel answered on the second ring, sounding a little too chipper and a lot too loud.

“I just wanted you to know, after thorough analysis, your prediction that getting wasted was not going to help my cause is sound.”

Rachel giggled. “You always were a lightweight.”

“I feel like a lightweight sat on my head.”

“Feel better.”

“Thanks.”

She managed to get up and shuffle to the kitchen where Vanessa was equally chipper and loud.

“What is with you people?” Kenley complained while rubbing her temple.

“Are you ready to start the first day of the rest of your life?”

“Actually, I’m ready to crawl into a hole.”

“No. Don’t do that. You need to get a résumé together and start sending it out. I’ll help as soon I get Hannah on the bus,” Vanessa said.

“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a force?”

“It’s come up. But I’ve heard the same thing about you. You just need to get the wind back in your sails.” She paused, a smirk teasing the edge of her lips. “See what I did there? Boats. Sails. Get it?” She chuckled at her own joke as she held out a cup of tea.

“Very funny.”

“You also need to get laid.”

“Thank you.”

As Kenley took the train back to the city later that day she tried to formulate a plan. Her friends had told her what she already knew. And what her checkbook would be screaming in a matter of weeks.

She needed a job. Her father and stepmother had downsized and moved to a fifty-five-and-older community. She couldn’t stay with them. While Vanessa had offered her brother’s basement domain for the short term, she didn’t want to infringe on their romantic—and nauseating—lives.

After another cup of tea and some Tylenol, Kenley sat at her computer in her warmest pajamas to start working on her future. Three hours later she held up her two-page résumé.

“Make my life.” She rubbed her palms together before she began sending it out.

A fresh start was just around the corner.

“Sidney!” Zane called for his sister as he looked around his desk. She’d covered the entire surface with crap. Trays and other matching things, with the sole purpose of organizing his stuff. He hated when she messed up his system. Not that system was really the word for it, but he knew where things were.

“What?” she bellowed rather than get up.

“Where is the bid for the Wheeler job?” he yelled.

“It’s not Wheeler, it’s Weller, and it’s in your In bin,” she yelled back. They sounded like their parents—yelling from room to room instead of actually going to speak to the other person. And he knew it was Wheeler. As organized as she was, Sidney couldn’t remember anyone’s name.

“Which one of these bins in my In bin?” he shouted.

“The one that says in on it.”

“None of them say in.” He held up his hands in confusion as she tromped into his office, looking indignant and huge.

“This one!” She pointed to the side of the bin facing the door, away from him. “Right here.” She pulled out the file and all but threw it at him. “Have you looked at any of the résumés that have come in?”

“Um, not yet. I haven’t had a chance.” He’d not had a chance for the entire month since she’d placed the ad.

“You promised me you would look at them last week. You don’t seem to understand the urgency here, little brother. I am going to have this baby whether you’re in denial of that fact or not. If you don’t stop dragging your worn-out work boots and hire someone, you’re going to be doing everything on your own. Do you understand what I am saying?” She had The Tone. She meant business.

“Yes. I understand. Can’t you just interview the people who seem the most like you and then let me meet them? You know, so I won’t be so overwhelmed.” He wasn’t as worried about being overwhelmed as he was about the impossibility of finding someone who could replace his sister, but he couldn’t tell her that or her head would grow to the size of her enormous belly.

“Right.” Sidney narrowed her eyes at him as if she knew he was playing her. “You’d better like who I pick.”

“I will. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure I’ll love them.” He gave her a grin.

“You should stop talking now.” Her stony look silenced him as she walked out. She’d thought he was joking, but he was actually being honest that time.

“Yes ma’am.” He knew when he was pressing his luck.

Kenley was almost at the end of her rope when she finally got the phone call on Valentine’s Day. After moving in with Vanessa and her brother—with their exuberant child and vocal mating sessions—she was just about to ask her father if she could wear a disguise and move into their place at the senior community.

Hope was restored when Sidney, from New Haven Custom Boats, called. She had an interview.

It had been a month since she’d sent them her résumé. The woman apologized for the time lapse, blaming her brother who owned the company.

“I have an interview!” she screamed as soon as she found Vanessa in the kitchen.

“Yay. With who?”

“The boat place in New Haven. The one with the occasional travel.”

“Awesome. I knew that would be the one.”

“I don’t have the job. I only have an interview, but it’s a start. Freakin’ Ruth has me job-blocked from every opening in Manhattan.” Kenley was still in contact with her friend and coworker, Alyssa, who’d told her Ruth still had it out for her.

She’d also fired another person for sleeping with her husband. Alyssa’d had the right idea when she’d suggested Ruth fire her husband instead of her employees.

“Maybe this will be better. My last two interviews went well, and then they didn’t call. Hopefully her evil hasn’t spread to the New Haven area. I have my fingers crossed.”

“This is it, Ken, I feel it.”

“It would have been handy if you would have had a feeling that going to that party was going to cause a problem for me.”

“Don’t question the force.” Great. Vanessa was channeling Yoda now. “What are you going to wear?”

“My black skirt and my—”

“No.” Vanessa shook her head.

“What? I look good in that skirt.”

“This is a marina. They’re not going to want someone who looks like a supermodel.”

“I don’t look that good in that skirt.”

“You know what I mean. You need to look professional, yet dependable and efficient and not too stuffy.”

“So… my pajamas with my hair pulled up in a twist and a watch?”

“Black slacks, sturdy shoes, and a tailored shirt. Pull your hair back in a ponytail.”

“Do you have a feeling about this?” Kenley asked.

“No. I just looked it up on my iPad.” She held it up.

The next day, after outfitting herself exactly as Vanessa ordered, and spinning in numerous circles so her friend could approve, Kenley parked in front of the building that housed New Haven Custom Boats, also known as her future. She was planning on charming the bejesus out of whomever she needed to in order to get this job.

As she walked to the door she could almost hear the choir of angels singing a harmonic “Ahhhhhh.” And did a beam of sunlight just come down to illuminate the door? Maybe.

She opened the door and stood, stunned, in the room.

The lobby, which also housed the receptionist area, was not tiny, but it seemed so wi. . .