Page 23 of Bargain With the Boss

My mother had left three voicemails as well as a half dozen text messages asking for updates about Jude’s status.

He was happy.

She didn’t want to hear that part. Period.

I rubbed the center of my chest. That was what I’d noticed first. He was happy here in this small town with the endless lake that seemed to be the focal point on many levels. The tourism that kept the businesses afloat, the beauty that drew families in, and the prestige of lake property that trumped all of it.

Even Jude had a lake house and he’d sunk a pretty penny into getting it.

Not that he had any problem with the purchase. Between the trust our mother had created for us and our shares in A Home You Love, we were set. The Keller money she’d married into was nearly as impressive as the company she cultivated and grew.

Knowing what I knew now, it made sense why my father had been so hard on Jude. I’d assumed he was just teaching him how to be as driven as he was, but now I had a feeling it had more to do with Jude’s paternity.

Wayne Keller came from a long line of Kellers who had dozens of holdings all throughout Seattle and Portland. When my parents linked up she’d taken both of them into the stratosphere of wealth with her drive to succeed. I’d wanted to be just like her for the longest time. Over the years my mother’s strong-arm tactics had been overwhelming, now she was bordering on obsessive.

Another call came through, this one from Leah, my assistant.

“It’s early for you,” I said by way of greeting.

Leah’s voice was strained. “I haven’t slept.”

“Why?” I stepped into my heels.

“The manufacturer sent me the first looks, and the patterns are a damn mess. I’ve been on the phone with them all night to get the right toile material but the fabric company overpromised?—”

“Okay, breathe Leah.”

She dragged in a breath. “I can’t do this without you, Sydney.”

“You can. There’s a reason you’re my number two. You’re beyond my assistant at this point, you know all of this backward and forward. You know to call Joel and Marianna at our factory in Georgia to get the patterns reprinted.”

“Right.” Leah’s voice strengthened. “Marianna will make sure the right pattern goes out to the manufacturer. Mrs. Keller has just been up my—” She cut herself off.

“I know exactly who my mother is, Leah. And I know she’s going to be micromanaging more than you’re used to. Just let her scream about things and ignore her.”

“How?” I heard a thunk on the other end of the line. “How can you ignore her yelling?”

I’d been doing it all my life. Either she froze me out or made me feel like an idiot—sometimes at the same time. “Are you in the office?”

“Yes. Pretty sure I should just roll in my stackable laundry machine because I never leave this place.”

“First of all, you need to go home before midnight, no matter what. Second, go into my left drawer.”

I heard her getting up and rummaging into my drawer. “What am I looking for.”

“It’s a black case. I didn’t get a chance to give them to you before I left.”

“Looks like headphones?”

“That’s it.”

“I don’t know about blocking her out like that.”

I laughed. “No, there’s no tunes. They’re special earplugs that allows you to hear everything, but it mutes strong noises.”

“Strong noises,” Leah muttered. “How about concert decibels?”

“Exactly what they’re for.”