AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come on in, honey,” Frank said, motioning her into the room. She wore her customary jeans and T-shirt and a flash of guilt struck at not making the meeting more official, at not giving Tess a chance to get her professional game face on. Another mistake he’d weather.
Graham’s eyebrows drew together and he spun around as Tess stepped inside. Frank saw his body go rigid. “Tess?”
Tess’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped for a second. “Graham?”
For several seconds they stared at one another in shock.
“Wait, you know each other?” Frank hadn’t considered Tess might know the young man he’d chosen to run their family business. Graham had lived in Houston for the past six years, but since the man had grown up in New Orleans, it wasn’t impossible. But this seemed more than casual.
Tess ignored his question and closed the door before advancing toward his desk, looking confused. “What are you doing in my father’s office?”
Graham stood. “You’re Therese?”
“I prefer Tess.” She crossed her arms uncertainly and shot a look from her father to Graham. “Yeah. So back to the original question—what are you doing here? I assumed you didn’t—”
And then her mouth snapped shut as something altogether different flitted through her gaze. In that moment, Frank realized however his daughter knew Graham, it hadn’t ended well. Which meant this situation wasn’t going to be slightly uncomfortable. Nope, it was atomic-wedgie uncomfortable.
“I—” Graham made another choked face and shook his head. “You never told me your last name. You put, uh, Two-Legged Tess in my phone.”
“Thought it was cute and memorable. Big fail, huh?” she said, voice like poison darts. Even Frank wanted to duck.
He cleared his throat. “Two-legged Tess? What the hell are you two talking about?”
Graham sat like he’d been hit by bad news. “I met your daughter at the bar you recommended to me after the interview. Two-Legged Pete’s.”
“Wait a sec, you told him about Pete’s?” Tess asked, her eyes narrowing as something in her head started clicking. Her voice faded as she murmured, “At a job interview.”
Her head whipped around “You had a job interview with my dad. A job interview for what?”
Graham sank in the leather chair. Or was it cowered? “Christ, this is crazy. How are you Frank Ullo’s daughter?”
“Why are you interviewing for a position I don’t know about?”
Both of them directed their gaze toward Frank.
“Okay, okay. Tess, have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair beside Graham.
“I think I’ll stand.” She crossed her arms, her chin jutting out. “I don’t want to sit for what you’re about to tell me because obviously I’m the last to know about what’s going down at ourfamilycompany.”
“This is exactly the reason I had to make this decision.”
His daughter’s eyes glittered like icy emeralds that reminded him of his wife Maggie’s when she was pissed. “What decision?”
“If you’d sit, I’d tell you. But as usual you’re acting like your mother,” Frank said, annoyed a simple announcement and introduction could get bogged down in drama before he’d said his piece. But what had he expected from Tess?
Reasonable wasn’t her middle name.
“If it means that much to you, fine.” Tess sat. “So what’s the deal, Dad?”
“The deal is a change that’s been forthcoming here.”
“Really?” she said at a near growl. Graham averted his gaze to the sketches on the wall.
“You know I’ve been talking about retirement in the past several weeks. Now’s the time. I wanna pull back and enjoy life with your mother before I cash in my ticket.”
Tess said nothing… just stared at him. Frank nearly shifted in his chair, but refrained because he was a man, damn it. He didn’t shrink under the disdain of any woman, much less his youngest child who hadn’t even reached age thirty yet.
Hell, she was still a kid.
