In Good Company. Teresa Southwick
her classroom, he crossed the courtyard and entered the administration building where Molly’s boss happened to be standing by the desk in the reception area. She was blond, attractive, probably in her early to mid-fifties, and trim.
He stopped in front of her. “Hi.”
She smiled. “You’re already finished? Obviously you and Molly work well together.”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
The woman frowned. “Uh-oh. No one wants to talk if everything’s okay.”
“Yeah. You got that right.”
“There was a problem with Molly?”
He nodded. “Apparently I rub her the wrong way.”
“I’m stunned. She’s not your typical stubborn redhead. I’ve never known her to be anything but easygoing and mellow. Molly gets along with everyone.”
“Then apparently I’m her first,” he said ruefully. “I tried to talk to her about the building schedule, I think I got on her bad side. Somehow.”
Mrs. Farris looked surprised. “I don’t get it. If anyone would understand the importance of building schedules, it’s Molly.”
“Why’s that?”
“Molly’s father is a home builder. You may have heard of him. Carter Richmond, of Richmond Homes.”
“But I thought her last name was Preston?”
“That’s her married name.”
Des felt as if he’d just been hit by a big steel wrecking ball. Her maiden name gave him the missing piece of the puzzle and the picture wasn’t pretty.
He was the guy who’d done her wrong.
Chapter Two
Standing across the courtyard, Des watched Molly safely hand off the last of her kids to an authorized adult. He’d been waiting there for half an hour. Heaven forbid he was thirty seconds late; she’d be so out of there to avoid him. Which wasn’t a disaster, really. It would simply delay the inevitable. Because he would talk to her. When he did, he would up the wattage on his charm. It had only failed him once, a personal failure he didn’t intend to repeat. Dealing with Molly was business, and from now on he was all business, all the time.
Unfortunately, he had his work cut out for him with Molly. He wasn’t proud of how he’d broken things off with her in high school, but that wasn’t the worst. Had she told her father she’d seen him with another girl, prompting the man to tell her everything? It was supposed to be their secret, part of the agreement he’d made with Carter Richmond. But Des had no idea how low the man could stoop.
Clearly Molly hadn’t forgiven him for what she did know. If, by some miracle, she was in the dark about the rest, he’d be an idiot to bring it up. Right now he was looking at major damage control, which would no doubt include a long-overdue apology. He needed Molly on his side.
When she started back into her classroom, he walked quickly across the courtyard. “Wait, Molly.”
Her spine went as straight as a two-by-four just before she turned to face him. “You’re back.”
“I said I’d be here at six sharp,” he answered, noting the way the pulse in her neck fluttered like crazy.
“So you did.” Her tone was as starchy as her body.
It didn’t take a mental giant to read between the lines and figure out she hadn’t expected him to keep his word. Why should she after what he’d done? Or maybe she’d simply been hoping he’d give up and go away. If so, she was about to find out how wrong she was. She might seem stiff and uncooperative on the outside, but her pounding pulse told him that Miss Molly Preston was as nervous as a roofer with vertigo.
Charm don’t fail me now, he thought. “Look, Molly, I need to apologize to you.”
“Oh?” One auburn eyebrow rose.
“I was a jerk—”
“Yes, you were,” she interrupted. “You need to think before promising something to a child.”
He shook his head. “I meant when we were in high school.”
“So you finally figured out who I am,” she said, hostility lacing her words.
“I remembered you.” He recognized her Yeah-right expression and added, “After Mrs. Farris told me Preston is your married name.”
“Hmm.”
“I treated you badly—”
“It’s water over the bridge. Or under the dam. Or whatever. It was a long time ago,” she said stiffly.
“It was,” he agreed. “I was hoping we could put it behind us and start again.” Des studied her, the slight pucker in the otherwise smooth skin of her forehead.
She met his gaze directly and her green eyes darkened. “I don’t think so.”
It had been too much to hope that she didn’t know he’d made a deal with her father to pay attention to her. It would take several Dr. Phils to sort out the psychological fallout from that. All things considered, Des didn’t blame her for not making this easy, but the Molly he’d known years ago probably would have. When he’d started paying attention to her, he’d been playing a part, but her sweetness and sassy sense of humor had won him over. He’d liked her a lot. Oddly, he liked this tougher Molly, too.
“It was a long time ago but obviously you’re still upset.”
“About the past?” She folded her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorjamb.
“Yeah. The part where I was young and stupid.” He braced himself for her to blast him about pretending feelings for her.
“How innocuous that sounds. Why should it still bother me that you stood me up? Or maybe you’re referring to the fact that I saw you kissing Kelli Arnold at the movie you were supposed to take me to.”
“I handled it badly. I was going away to college and figured a quick break was better. Like pulling off a bandage. It hurts for a second, then it’s over.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?”
“Young and stupid is no excuse for your behavior,” she said.
“I agree. But with age comes wisdom and…” He flashed his trademark grin, the one women seemed to respond to. “And, hopefully, redemption.”
Her gaze narrowed on him. “You really think I’m upset about what happened in high school?”
Correction: most women. He didn’t see any let up in the mad Molly had going on. The good news was, she didn’t seem to know her father had bribed him to date her. If she did, nothing would have stopped her from listing it in her grievances against him. Now that he thought about it, why would Carter Richmond admit to something so slimy and underhanded? That secret was safe.
“You have every right to be upset.”
She shook her head as if he were the dumbest person on the planet. “Oh, please.”
Okay. Now he was confused. If she wasn’t in a snit about his high school transgressions, what was her problem? Maybe it was time to admit defeat and throw himself on her mercy. “Okay, then I give up. What’s bugging you?”
“I can’t believe you have to ask.” She rolled her eyes. “May I call you Polly?”
Suddenly the “aha” light went on. This was easy. Time to turn up the amps on his charm. But as he looked into her big green eyes and that flawless face, he found he didn’t need charm. All he needed was the truth.
“You’re ticked off because I didn’t recognize