"And now?"

  She set her jaw. "Nope. My dogs are my kids. I don't trust men, especially because they seem to have a wandering eye."

  Dr. Jenkins approached the table. Vicki watched Connor, acting as if the principal had caught him red-handed doing something bad. It amused her, but the overbearing oaf of a boss didn't frighten her in the least.

  "Connor. It's good to see you out and about." The old man darted his eyes at Vicki as he grinned, but still talked to Connor. "I heard you're discussing the dogs."

  "Yes, sir." Connor didn't offer more and even lowered his eyes.

  Vicki had to save Connor. "You said you're here with your wife and um…secretary?" She almost laughed, being that amused at the thought.

  Jenkins turned toward his table and gave a wave to the young woman. His wife had her phone to her ear, so she wasn't about to notice.

  "Yes, I am," he said. "Have a good night." And the oaf walked away. He didn't even mention any other catering jobs he had for her.

  Connor glanced around and leaned up closer to her. "You probably upset him. Things won't be good if he's upset." Connor picked up his napkin and played with it in his hands.

  She had to stop this but wasn't sure he'd listen. She also didn't have those fancy letters after her name that would make him listen. But she had to try.

  ~~~~~

  Chapter 20

  Connor hated being in this position. Jenkins reminded him of his overbearing advisor in grad school—all bark and a lot of bite. Connor looked like a weakling, and the horror of that time in his life came back all at once.

  Vicki leaned closer. "Breathe, Connor. Take a breath and calm down. Jenkins can smell fear, just like my dogs."

  He'd been glancing off to the side, suddenly realizing that her words rang true. He directed his attention at her face in awe and sat up straighter. "You're so right. I have to turn this around so I'm the alpha dog here." Maybe that article wasn't too far off the mark, about how humans and animals tended toward pack mentality.

  "Why are you so afraid of him?" she whispered.

  "If he fires me, I'm out for good. I'd be blackballed and will never be allowed to work again, in any field."

  "Any field? Explain that to me."

  He sighed. "Not here. When you're done, I want to pay the bill and get out of here. I don't want anyone else hearing this."

  She appeared to be surprised but lifted her hand for the waitress. The woman came running to the table. "I'd like the bill," Vicki said.

  "No charge, according to the manager," the woman said.

  "Yes, I want to pay," Vicki said. "This has turned out to be an excellent evening and I want to pay."

  Connor couldn't let her do this. He had to be the man, or Jenkins would smell someone who couldn't handle a date, even though this wasn't a date.

  "I want to pay," Connor said. "Honey, this one's mine." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed the waitress his credit card.

  "Are you sure?" Vicki asked.

  "I have to." He darted his eyes to the side.

  The waitress walked away.

  He leaned closer to her. "Jenkins can't see you paying," he whispered. "That wouldn't look like I'm doing what he wanted me to do."

  "I see. I'll pay you back, then."

  He chuckled. "Never. But I would like to talk to you about something else, if you're game. I think I'm going to need help."

  "Need, as in the future?" She chuckled. "You need it now. No question about it."

  The waitress returned with the receipt, his card, and a pen. "Thank you," the woman said. "Have a good night and congratulations." She walked away.

  Connor smiled at Vicki. The thought was hilarious that they'd been dating for months.

  After Connor returned the card to his wallet, he left the woman a sizable tip, stood up, and pulled on his coat. Vicki stood up, as well, shrugged into her coat, and grabbed her purse. They left the restaurant and Connor vowed never to return, since Jenkins came here.

  Once they were out of earshot, Vicki leaned up closer. "I want so many explanations, I don't even know where to start."

  "Yep. You'll get them, too." He beeped open the doors and they both got inside.

  Once he turned on the car and backed out, he knew he had to explain. "Let's start with the toughest one," he said. "I want to explain why, if I'm fired, I'll never work anywhere again."

  "I'm dying to hear this one." She even chuckled and warmed her hands in front of the vents.

  "Well, let me go back a bit in history. My parents are John and Gina Kelley. You've never heard of them, but they're big shots in our town in Minnesota. Dad's a professor at the Alexandria Technical and Community College. He teaches Behavioral Health and Human Services. My mom's a fourth-grade teacher in an elementary school." He swallowed hard. "I have one sister, Melanie, who's a self-proclaimed inventor and a political activist, even though she's never invented a thing. She couch-surfs for a place to live and works at menial jobs because she's going to make it big someday, after she fights for what's right, according to her."

  "None of that is earth-shattering, but your sister needs to screw her head on straight for a bit."

  He chuckled as he drove. "You have no idea. She's been rebelling for over 12 years now. She finally did get a job at a library but didn't show up for work, so they fired her. She'll figure it out in time, but Dad has his hands full trying to deal with her. My mom's given up, using tough love instead. Melanie doesn't live in our hometown, but moved to St. Cloud, about an hour away, to learn to be independent."

  "Why can't that let you move jobs? This doesn't explain that."

  "None of them are the problem," he said. "My mom has a famous sister-in-law who everyone can't stand, including all of us. When anyone hears her name, they shy away from the entire family. I have to tell people I've never heard of her, just so I can be left alone. Otherwise, we've all be spat at, yelled at, and even things have been thrown at us. One time, she came to visit, and all our tires were slashed in our driveway. There was a note left that told her to go home and stay home."

  "There's only one person I can think of that would elicit that type of hate. Is your aunt Joanne Kirk?"

  He nodded, hating his family tree. "Jenkins knows it and is holding that over my head, as well. I have to toe the line, or he'll make it known that I'm related to her."

  "Her husband died of mysterious circumstances, making her the owner of Grapeleaf Modeling."

  Everyone seemed to wonder how he actually died. "Uncle Mitch was a good guy and realized she was an idiot after they made it big. But she threatened him more than once when he was alive. I even heard it."

  "Interesting. They also make clothing that has a bad reputation—including grape leaves for clothing, and other questionable items."

  "The dung shirt," he said with a sigh. "That was all after Mitch died by mysterious circumstances."

  "That shirt came to mind." She chuckled. "You're not your aunt, though. What Jenkins is doing is so wrong, it makes me want to take him down even more."

  If only that could happen. "Aunt Joanne has so many enemies, she has to live in a gated community in Minnesota, with round-the-clock guards. Melanie even modeled for her when she was a lot younger. Every time I tried to get a job up there, Joanne's name would come up and the interview would be stopped immediately."

  "Why would the name even come up?" Vicki asked.

  He grunted. "Because everyone up there seems to know who's in my family. My parents at least kept their jobs since they worked there before Uncle Mitch died."

  "Whatever happened to Mitch? Did she kill him?"

  The media had asked the same question, more than once. "I asked her that, by the way, at one of the family reunions. She said to ask one of his mistresses and then walked away."

  "What does that mean?"

  He shrugged. "I have no idea because I'm pretty sure he had no mistresses. He was a good guy. But now you see why I don't put myself out there for people to know who I am. I don't flirt for the same reason. The less friendly I am, the better. I try to just stay professional and stay away from any gossip about her."

  "A lot more makes sense, too," she muttered. "We have to fix this for you. No one down here would associate you with her, so you are free to move on from this job."

  "Oh, yes, they would know. Joanne has our entire family on her website. I asked her to take it down, that it was hurting my reputation, and she laid into me for over an hour about how I was ashamed of our family. I haven't spoken to her since." He patted the steering wheel. "That happened about a year after she bought me this car for a graduation present. I was expected to become a sycophant and bow down to her. It took me that long to get up the nerve to tell her to take my picture off that site. I was afraid she'd take my car. I couldn't afford anything at the time because of school bills."

  "Would people know to go online to see you?"

  He shot her a solemn expression. "She puts that picture on social media all the time, and even put our names and occupations underneath. I wouldn't be surprised if she even published our addresses and phone numbers because she's a spiteful woman."

  "Without your permission?"

  "Without any of our permission. My parents are livid about it, but what can we do? She has lots of money and powerful lawyers."

  Vicki seemed to be amused. "Maybe I should sit for the bar and take her on, along with Dr. Jenkins. It wouldn't even take me long because that's a gross violation of someone's privacy. Did you know she was going to use it online?"

  "No. She doesn't even own the picture. Melanie took it and Joanne stole it. Melanie's not happy with her about it, because Joanne's making tons of money off that shot."

  Vicki grinned. "I'd love to take this on. Give me permission, please?"

  He kept driving, glancing at her often. "You don't work as a lawyer."

  "No, but I know someone who does, who's dying to get his name out there to get more clients. May I ask Dan?"

  "I don't know. Mom and Dad may not be happy if I do. I'd lose my family."

  "Would Melanie want someone to take Joanne on?"

  Connor just laughed. "I doubt it. She's a free spirit and I can't stress the word free enough. But that doesn't fix my problem. Jenkins has me in a spot I can never escape. What can I do?"

  "Lay low for now. Use my dogs and get on his good side. I'm formulating a plan for all of this, and I promise, you'll come out unscathed and smelling like a rose in the end."

  Now he was really worried.

  He pulled into her driveway and they both got out, heading inside. "I really want to discuss this," she said, and unlocked the door. "I also want to pay for dinner." They went inside, and the dogs hadn't moved from their spots. Vicki even unlocked Max's crate and the dog didn't stir, but still snored.

  "You're not paying," he said. "That's my treat. I'd never let a woman…I mean someone else pay for dinner. It's just not right."

  "Old fashioned man. That's a nice change of pace in today's world."

  "Was Pete like that?"

  She chuckled. "Yep. He didn't think women could compete with men. We used to battle it out and laugh about it. He also didn't like me being a cop. He wanted me to stay at home and cook and clean for him, and then wait on him after work. He was definitely an alpha male." She pointed to the couch. "Have a seat."

  She walked out of the room, so he sat down on the couch. He didn't want to involve her in his problems, but at the same time, it was good to have a friend who didn't hate him because of his dead uncle's wife.

  Vicki brought a pile of paper and a pen to the living room coffee table and sat on the floor in front of it. "Here's what I propose for that Joanne issue. My brother's always looking for a way to make another buck. If he took on your case, pro bono, with Melanie as the client, he could put Joanne in the hot seat. I'd be his paralegal. I want to look into that death of your uncle. Would that be acceptable, eventually?"

  "I guess so. I want to know exactly what's going on, though, so she won't hurt you."

  Vicki laughed. "No way. Not a chance. I'm going to write everything up, so you can see what I have in mind. Then I want you to revise it, so it makes sense to you." She wrote out a table, included the main headings at the top, with spaces down below. "First, I want you to write up how you dealt with my two dogs, and how you trained the owner to handle them."

  "Wait," he said. "I didn't train the owner."

  "You will. I want you to make an article out of it and include how these two dogs helped a child and the owner. Explain some of how this all happened, but don't mention that you thought I'd abused children." She even laughed. "I'd never do abuse a child, ever." She wrote a few things below that title. "Also, negative words for people and animals are about tone as much about the words. I'm working on that, and I think it's spot on. I'm adding that here, to remind me, as well. Put it into the article."

  At least she'd been listening to him.

  "Next, I want to make a plan for Jenkins." She wrote his name at the top and then addressed Connor. "He told me he has another job for me, so we'll see what he gives me. We have entirely too much work, but the money is nice." She returned to the paper. "I want you to research how to handle a difficult client or boss, knowing this is Jenkins." She wrote below his name. "I also want you to describe how to take on the alpha male in a group, so they realize you're not an underling."

  He sat back. "This all seems to be work for me."

  "Yes, because I'll create another one for me next." She wrote his name at the top.

  She then wrote Joanne's name for the next header. "I want you to either give me Melanie's number or ask her if she wants to take on your aunt. If she does, give her my number." She wrote her home, business, and cell phone numbers at the bottom. "I know you have these numbers already, but I put them here in case you can't find them. I really want to talk to her."

  "It depends on her mood at the moment. She's been a difficult child since birth and very emotional."

  "I can handle that." She moved on to the fourth column. "Next, I want you to find other jobs around here that you can do. They can be anything you'd like to do. If you are fired, I don't want you to be caught off-guard." She wrote 'new job' at the top and explained it below.

  He eyed all the work on the paper. "Anything else? This is a huge list."

  "Just one more thing. I know in most professions; you have to do things to get to the top of the heap. Is it writing papers for psychiatry, or what else? Research?"

  "Anything helps. You're very right. Also, we're expected to network at professional meetings. I don't go because I don't want people to know who I'm related to."

  "That has to change," she said. "Or you'll always be the little runt at the bottom of the food chain."

  "I'm not the alpha dog type."

  She pointed to her dogs. "They think you are. You can be, and you don't have to be all macho about it. There are a ton of people in history who were in charge yet were very calm in their delivery. Jenkins isn't the alpha at your business, but he wants to think he is. He's just a bully with an inflated ego that's probably oversexualized."

  Connor just laughed. She was so right.

  She handed him the paper. "That's for starters. Work on it, and by Saturday, I want some answers for some of those things."

  "You're taking control?" he asked.

  "Never. I want people to think I'm in control, but personally, I'd rather sit back and let others handle things. You were so right about that at the business, too. Life is so much better." She wrote out a table for herself. "For me, let's see…I want to take Joanne on, but first, I have to hear from Melanie, unless you want to be the client."

  He shook his head. "I'd rather not get involved. I don't need my name dragged through the mud."

  She stared at him for a moment. "Does Joanne have any sort of mental classification, like maybe narcissistic, or paranoid, or even a sociopath?"

  "Yes. And possibly more." He chuckled. "I'm not going on the record for any of that, either. If Joanne thought I even considered her to have mental issues, she'd sue me."

  "And would Dan ever love that." She chuckled. "But we'll let that go. What should my headers be here?"

  "Don't drink," he said. "Sleep more. Learn to handle the dogs. Find out what you really want out of life."

  Her mouth fell open. "Those are all really good, but some of that's really tough." She wrote them all down.

  "Now that your business is running more smoothly, I suspect most of those might be easier to handle."

  She stared at the paper. "That last one. Find out what I really want out of life?" She pointed at the house. "I already have that."

  "I don't think you do," he said. "Logically, you're hiding away in this house with no other outlet. You need a social life. You need to date again. And you need a family. You don't really have that."

  She sighed. "That sounds like your life, too."

  "Yep." He sat down beside her on the floor. "Go out with me, just for fun. We can do this together." He wasn't sure where that came from, but he liked it once it came out of his mouth. He even smiled.

  Now to be shot down in a barrage of gunfire. But at least he'd tried.

  ~~~~~

  Chapter 21

  Vicki just stared at the man. Yes, he was good-looking, but she never considered him to be a date. She didn't consider any man as a date since she'd moved to Colorado.

  He sat back up on the couch again. "I'm sorry. I overstepped my bounds."

  She moved from the floor and sat beside him on the couch. "Why would you want to date me? We're friends, right?"

  "Yes, and usually, that's the best type of date." He chuckled and leaned back on the couch, just watching her.

  "I'm a bit confused here." She had to ask. "Are you doing this because Jenkins told you to?"

 

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