Fiance by Fate by Jennifer Shirk Page B

wanted to do anything he could to help his dad, to be there for him. Jack hadn’t been there for his mom before she died. He’d been away at college and had come home only on major holidays. If only he’d been around more, paid attention, he would have seen how lonely she was, how much she’d been hurting. If he had, he couldn’t help thinking that she might not have taken her own life.
    Leonard placed a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t let my health distract you. Everything’s fine.”
    “But I think if the board knew of your health issues they might force you to step down. You have to reconsider me for National Sales Manager and not wait.”
    “We’ll see. As much I’d like to believe you’re looking to settle down, the stockholders will need to see proof. After all, old habits do die hard.” His father frowned, then motioned to the beef jerky on his desk. “You still eat that junk?”
    “Um, yeah.” Jack hastily swept the beef into a drawer and shrugged. “One habit to overcome at a time.”
    …
    Sabrina finished the last of her reports, then sat back, trying to work out the kinks in her neck. She’d been looking at her computer screen for the past hour without a break. Unfortunately, whenever she wasn’t working, her thoughts went straight to Jack.
    How in the world was she going to convince people that she and Jack were dating? They couldn’t even agree on something as simple as food. More importantly, how was she going to convince David she was interested in a man like Jack?
    What had she gotten herself into?
    Biting her lip, she decided to take a peek at Jack’s traveling schedule—just to get an idea of how often he’d be around. She called it up on her computer, and her eyes widened in surprise. Next week was jam-packed with office visits in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Jack even had a lunch appointment for every day but Friday. Tension seeped a little from her shoulders. For someone who had the reputation of playing hard, he certainly seemed to work hard, too. Jack was taking his new territory by the horns.
    Her eyes shot to Mr. Brenner’s door as she heard it open. “Sabrina,” he said, taking off his glasses, “I wanted to have a word with you before I left for the day.”
    “Of course, sir.”
    He paused and smiled down at her. “I know it’s a little soon to ask, but I wanted to know how everything was working out with you and Jack?”
    If you only knew . “Great.” She beamed.
    He cocked his head. “Really? I know he may be a little rough around the edges.”
    Ha . No kidding . But she kept silent and waited for him to continue.
    “He’s used to getting his own way. After his mom died, I may have let him run a little wild. His sister was just a young teenager then, so I had a lot on my plate. I didn’t have it in me to rein Jack in like I should have.” He shook his head.
    The strings of her heart tugged, but only for the older man standing before her. “Don’t worry, Mr. Brenner. Jack’s really been working hard,” she said soothingly. “His schedule is booked solid. It’s been an absolute pleasure to team up with him. In fact, I’m seeing a whole new side of him that anyone in this company would admire.”
    Did those words really just come out of my mouth?
    His face brightened. “Thank you, Sabrina. Keep up the good work,” he said as he walked out the door.
    She smiled at his retreating back and took a deep breath. Okay, that hadn’t been so hard. And it wasn’t much of a twist of the truth either. See? She could do this. About to go back to her computer, she heard a throat clearing. Something told her it was Jack even before she fully turned around and looked.
    When she did, there he was, giving her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. That and the devilish grin plastered all over his face told her he had heard everything she had just said about him. Heat flooding her cheeks, she spun away.
    Good , she thought, pummeling the keys on