The Pint-Sized Secret by Sherryl Woods Page B

“Not exactly, anyway.”
    “Blast it, son, I thought I told you to back off with those ridiculous suspicions of yours. Do I have to fire you to get the message across?”
    At any other time, Jeb might have welcomed exactly that. If his father fired him, he’d be free to pursue his own interests. Unfortunately, if his father fired him now, there would be no one to follow up on these insider leaks.
    “You’re not going to fire me,” Jeb said, sprawling in the chair opposite his father as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
    “Don’t test me.”
    “Dad, you just talked to Brianna. Did she seem the least bit upset?”
    “No,” his father conceded grudgingly. “She told me not to make too much of the whole evening.” His expression turned sly. “That must mean you’re losing your touch. Most women are falling all over themselves trying to trap you into marriage.”
    “Generally speaking, Brianna wants nothing from me. Friday night just gave her a chance to show Max Coleman how well she’s doing after he stupidly fired her.”
    “That makes me curious,” his father said. “How did you happen to know that Max was going to be at this event and that the promise of seeing him would guarantee that Brianna would go with you? I know she’s not in the habit of dating the men around here.”
    “Whether it’s a woman or my job, I do my homework,” Jeb said. He studied his father. Maybe this would be a good time to see just how subtle he could be. “Any idea why Max let her go? He’s not generally that dumb when it comes to business.”
    “As far as I know, it was something that just came up out of the blue.”
    Now there was an evasive answer if ever he’d heard one. Bryce Delacourt would have checked out every little detail before hiring someone who’d been fired from their last job. “Just a whim?” Jeb asked, not bothering to hide his skepticism even though the response pretty much confirmed Brianna’s explanation.
    “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
    “And you didn’t dig any deeper?”
    “I saw no need. She was right for the job we had here.”
    Any pretense of subtlety vanished. “Dad, that’s not like you. Maybe she was fired for leaking information to Max’s competitors.”
    “Okay, that’s it,” Bryce said, his complexion turning dangerously red. ‘You are fired.”
    To Jeb’s astonishment, his father sounded not only angry but totally serious. It was time to do some fast fence-mending. “Dad, I’m sorry.”
    “Not half as sorry as I am.”
    “You don’t really want to fire me,” Jeb protested.
    “No, I don’t, but you’re leaving me with no recourse. I won’t have you harassing one of our best employees.”
    It was time to cut his losses. “Okay, I’ll stay away from Brianna, at least when it comes to work.”
    His father eyed him suspiciously. “Meaning what, exactly?”
    “If she’s willing, I have every intention of continuing to see her socially. You may be able to dictate what I do when it comes to the company, but you have nothing to say about my social life.”
    “You think she’s a spy, but you want to date her anyway? I’m not buying it.”
    “Maybe you’ve convinced me she’s not a spy,” he hedged.
    “Bull.”
    “Okay, how about this? She’s a fascinating woman. Why wouldn’t I want to date her?”
    His father continued to regard him skeptically. “And that’s all it is? Your hormones have kicked in?”
    “Exactly.”
    His father sat silently, evidently weighing Jeb’s truthfulness. “Okay,” he said at last. “You’re not fired. Date Brianna, if she’s willing, but if you hurt her, son, you’ll answer to me.”
    Jeb’s gaze narrowed. “You’re awfully protective of her.”
    “Because she’s one of ours. Everybody in this company is like family to me, not just you boys. Now, I meant what I said. She’s not the kind of woman who deserves to have you playing fast and loose with her heart.”
    “Okay, okay, I get the