Sparks

Dawn tapped her desk with impatience and sent her assistant a cool look. “That’s not why I plan to work with him.”

Simone set the paper down. “Are you sure you can do this? It’s a big job. You’ve never dealt with this kind of assignment before.”

Dawn glanced around her office at her particle board furniture and stained brown carpet. She would do anything to rebuild her life and get herself out of this place. “Am I sure that I can make The Medical Institute a viable entity? Of course. I have no doubt that I can make The Medical Institute number one in the state. I can make it a place where people in the medical profession go to first when they want to recruit medical and dental assistants and secretaries.”

“Remember it’s his institute not yours,” Simone said with caution.

“It will be our institute, eventually. A joint effort. I plan to make it very clear that it will be in his best interest to follow my suggestions.”

“How?”

Dawn smiled faintly. “As long as you make a man believe something is his idea, he will go along with it.”

“I’m not questioning your skill,” Simone said quickly, knowing how determined her boss and friend was. “I just think, perhaps…sometimes you tend to overwhelm people.”

Dawn raised her eyebrows. “Have there been complaints?”

“No, just…” She waved her hands, trying to grasp the right explanation. “People want to feel that their ideas are being acknowledged. I know that you’re good at what you do and you always get results, but you also need to let others be good at what they do.”

“They’re obviously not very good at what they do, if they have to come to me.”

“They want a consultation, not an overhaul. At times your ideas are very grandiose and that makes some people nervous. Perhaps you could start small and then build from there.”

Dawn abruptly stopped tapping the desk. “I don’t have the patience to start small. Especially when given the opportunity to do otherwise.”

Simone nodded, but Dawn knew her friend would never understand her drive. Right now she was struggling, but she knew she would eventually prosper, and when she was strong enough, she’d crush the Layton Group.

“Basing a business on revenge is not a good idea.”

Dawn’s dark eyes focused on Simone. “What do you mean?”

Simone touched the information sheet. “This is about Brandon, isn’t it? Everything you do is.”

She stood, suddenly feeling restless. “No. This is about business. Besides I’m glad he’s gone. He was a dreadful business partner. I know he has to resist lifting his leg every time he passes a fire hydrant.”

“Careful. You’re beginning to sound bitter.”

She went to the window and glanced down at the parking lot. “I might as well get it out of my system. I need the skill and patience to handle Mr. Taylor properly.”

“I doubt Mr. Taylor would like to be ‘handled.’”

Dawn turned to her and leaned against the windowsill. “I’ve learned a lot about men over the years. They usually don’t know what they want until you tell them. Well, in the case of Jordan Taylor, I’ll tell him what he wants then help him get it.”

“So who’s next?” David Watkins asked Jordan as they sat in an upscale eatery finishing a hearty breakfast. They were both large men with appetites to match. The plates between them threatened to cause an avalanche that neither noticed. David leaned over his plate as he cut his omelet, his brown dreadlocks falling forward.

Jordan glanced at his friend, wishing he could convince him to tie his hair back. He dashed hot pepper on his poached eggs instead. “Next for what?”

“In line. Since you and Gail broke up I’m sure there’s someone new.” He glanced at his watch.

“Naturally, I’m not surprised.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s April. Gail reached her four-month mark. Her sell-by date had expired.”

Jordan scowled at his accuracy. “It isn’t like that.”

“Since your divorce you haven’t been with a woman longer than four months.”

Jordan tucked into his eggs. “You’ve been keeping track?”

“Three women in the last year. Does that ring a bell?”

He sipped his coffee and shrugged.

“Based on those facts the most logical question is: Who’s next?”

“Nobody.”

“There has to be somebody. Since ninth grade you’ve always had a girlfriend.”

The waitress approached the table. Her long black hair hung in a ponytail, leaving her heart-shaped face prominent and displaying streaks of rouge from her chin to her cheek. “Are you enjoying your meal?” she asked.

Jordan nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“Would you like me to refill your coffee?”

He covered his mug. Coffee brimmed to the rim. “No, thanks.”

She smiled and left.

David rubbed his eyes. “Either I’m suffering from déjà vu or that’s the fifth time she’s come over here.”

Jordan watched her take an order from a young couple cooing at their baby. “She’s just very attentive.”

“Yes, on catching a man.” David followed his gaze. “Careful, these women have nets.”

“I don’t plan on getting caught.”

“You were once.”

Jordan tapped the rim of his mug. “Yes, I’d managed to forget my three-year marriage. Thanks for reminding me.”

David ignored his sarcasm. “It was inevitable. You’ll get caught again too. You can’t be without a woman longer than a week.”

Jordan looked annoyed. “Of course I can. I just like their company. Women intrigue me.”

“Until you get antsy and need to get rid of them.”