Under a Georgia Moon: Georgia Moon Romance Book 1 (23 page)

Glancing at the clock, he realized he wouldn’t be able to pick Addie up at eleven. He reached for his phone to text her he’d probably be a half hour late. The good news was Mr. Barclay announced he was leaving for a last minute business meeting in South Carolina, and wouldn’t be back until Monday. So, in addition to cutting today short, Chase planned on taking all day Friday off as well.

Sending off the text, Chase let out a frustrated breath and reached for the bottle of water he had on his desk. No longer cold, the warm liquid slid down his throat, leaving a funny, plastic aftertaste.

He replaced the lid just as Shanna knocked on his door and stuck her head inside his office. The look on her face didn’t bode well. Chase wondered if she’d figured out how Hayden had learned about his job application for Nashborough. The two of them had talked earlier, and Shanna assured Chase she hadn’t told anyone other than her husband. Chase believed her and made sure she knew that, but his secretary was upset and wanted to find out how the information had been leaked.

“Hey, Chase.” She slipped inside his office and closed the door behind her. She clutched a white piece of paper to her chest and looked at him with a worried expression.

“Is everything okay?” he said, standing up and coming around to offer her a chair.

She shook her head and remained standing. “Just remember, don’t shoot the messenger.” She offered him the paper along with a strained smile. “Mr. Barclay wanted me to give you your itinerary.”

“My what?” As he scanned the contents of the paper, his stomach lurched. This had to be a mistake. The E-ticket said he was scheduled to fly out for South Carolina this evening and he wouldn’t be returning until late Sunday night. “I don’t understand?” he said, raising questioning eyes to his secretary.

One of her shoulders rose up. “I know. I don’t either, and I’m sorry.”

Laughing mirthlessly, he laid the paper on the corner of his desk. “I can’t believe this. I have a gig on Saturday night.”

Shanna put a finger to her lips to quiet him down. She leaned forward and whispered, “Look, I need to give you a heads up. I overheard Mr. Barclay talking with someone…well, actually, it was more like arguing. But they were discussing you and the trip to Hilton Head.”

Chase sat on the corner of his desk and ran a hand through his hair. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Somehow Hayden was behind this. “What did he say?”

“The only thing I caught was the fact he promised to make sure you were gonna be there.”

“Great.”

“One more thing,” Shanna said with trepidation. “I think I know how Hayden found out about Nashborough.” Tears filled her eyes. “I did tell someone else about your job search. A few days ago I got my hair colored. The girl who does it knows me well, and knows how frustrated I am with my job and that the only reason I haven’t left is because of you.”

She sniffed and Chase grabbed the box of tissues off of his desk and held it out to her. “Whatever it is, Shanna, I’m not mad at you, okay?”

“Thanks.” She took a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “The coloring process takes a while, and we got to talking about my job. While she shampooed and rinsed my hair, I told her if you got the job in Nashville, I planned on quitting and staying home with the kids for a few months until I decided what to do.”

Twisting the tissue in her hands, Shanna continued, “I didn’t see Hayden come in, but when I went to the register to pay, I saw her sitting in the next booth over, getting her hair done. She didn’t even look at me so I figured she hadn’t seen me. I’m sorry, Chase, but she must have overheard me talking.”

“It’s not your fault, Shanna.” Chase wanted to ease the woman’s conscience. “At least now we know Hayden isn’t some computer genius who hacked into my laptop.”

 That won him a tiny smile. “You really thought that was an option?”

Despite how messed up everything was, Chase laughed. “No. I figured she would’ve paid someone else to do the hacking.” Glancing down at the itinerary, the smile on his face disappeared. “Now I just have to decide what to do about this. Maybe I’ll just wait until Mr. Barclay leaves. He’s always more relaxed if he’s away from the office.”

“I hate to tell you this, but he wants to see you in his office right now.”

This just gets better and better
. “Well, I guess here goes nothing.”

Shanna hesitated for a moment. “I really am sorry, Chase. Let me know what I can do to help you.”

“I’ll be okay.” Chase gave her an encouraging smile. “On the bright side, since I won’t be here, you should take tomorrow off.”

“Thank you, Chase. I think I will.” She opened the door and together they exited his office. “Good luck,” she whispered before returning to her desk.

Uttering a silent prayer, Chase walked down the hall to the opulent office at the end. His stomach tightened as he rapped on Whit Barclay’s door. He might have to go on this business trip, but he was coming home in time for his gig.

“Come in,” Whit barked in his familiar, no-nonsense way.

Chase pushed the door open to find his boss poised with a golf club, preparing to hit the tiny white ball. The elaborate putting green occupied a fair amount of office space. Whit took his golf seriously, trying to hone his putting skills on a daily basis.

He paused mid-stroke and flashed his white capped teeth in a showy smile. “Hang on, son.” He lowered his eyes and concentrated once more on his task. With perfection, he tapped the ball, making a hole-in-one. He chuckled and came around to stand in front of Chase. “Now if I can do that in Hilton Head, I’ll be a happy man.”

Ah, yes. Hilton Head
. Chase couldn’t wait to find out what was going on. “Speaking of Hilton Head,” Chase said, choosing his words carefully. “In this morning’s meeting I understood that Kyle was going along with you since the Winter’s account belongs to his team. I’m not sure why you need me to be there.”

Whit gave an imperceptible tilt to his head, his gaze narrowing slightly. He clearly didn’t like to be questioned. “Kyle is still planning on taking the lead. You’ll need to sit in on a couple of meetings to justify the expense, but business isn’t the reason you’re coming along.” He smiled, but it came off more as an irritated grimace. “I’m taking you on this trip, son, to give us a chance to talk. Hayden’s hinted you might want to speak to me formally and thought a little fun and relaxation with our family would be the perfect ice-breaker.”

What?
Chase barely held back a snort of disbelief. Fun and relaxation coupled with the Barclays was an oxymoron. And if Whit thought Chase wanted to talk to him formally, it meant Hayden was back to her usual manipulating self.

“I don’t quite follow you.” He kept his gaze fixed on the man in front of him. Intimidation wasn’t something Chase liked all that much and maintaining eye contact was his only line of defense. “Hayden and I aren’t dating anymore. I thought you knew that.”

Anger flashed in Whit’s blue eyes. “What I know is that my little girl has been seeing you under the radar for the past month.” He leaned in close, once again going for intimidation. “She’s been given the impression you might be providing her with a new piece of jewelry. I hope you haven’t been toying with her.”

Toying with her?
Chase stared at him with disbelief. This had to be a really sick joke—at least he hoped it was. In desperation, his eyes briefly scanned the room, looking for any sign of the practical joker. The office was eerily quiet. Well, except for the pounding of Chase’s heart. His gaze returned to Whit’s irate face.

Drawing in a deep breath, Chase rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and tried to think of a way to tell his boss about his daughter’s deception without actually calling her a liar. “There must be some kind of misunderstanding, sir. Hayden and I haven’t been dating since before she left for California.”

Whit’s eyes reduced to thin slits. “There is a misunderstanding. One you need to fix.” His lips flattened in anger. “This trip will be the perfect opportunity.”

Unbelievable
.

Chase swallowed back a sarcastic reply. “You’re right. And I’ll be more than happy to speak to Hayden and get this settled.” He narrowed his own eyes. “But I’m returning Saturday morning. I have a gig at Gracie’s Haven, and it’s been on the calendar for months now.”

The muscle in Whit’s jaw tightened. Chase had no idea what would happen next. He waited, never backing down from his stance.

“Fine.” An icy tone edged Whit’s voice. He picked up his putting iron again. Hopefully he didn’t plan on using it on Chase. He leaned on the golf club and said, “We leave this evening. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I intend to get to the bottom of this, understand?”

Perfectly
.

“Yes, sir.”

The man gave him one more cold glare before turning around, effectively dismissing him. Maybe it would’ve been better to have been fired. Chase placed his hand on the doorknob, twisted it and pulled back.

“Chase?” Whit’s hard voice made him pause.

Chase looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I’m looking to promote one of my team leaders as director of marketing. I’d hate for anything to lessen your chances.”

Was that a threat?
“So would I,” Chase said evenly.

“Good.” Whit’s lips twisted into a smile. “We’ll talk more about it later. See ya tonight.”

Shaken and angry, Chase stepped into the hall. What kind of game was Hayden playing? And what did she expect to happen? That he’d somehow see the light and ask her to marry him? Not only was Hayden obsessed, she was also delusional.

Passing Shanna’s desk, she glanced up sympathetically. “Everything okay?”

Behind Shanna, Whit’s assistant paused at the copy machine, seemingly waiting on his answer. “Yeah.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. He wasn’t sticking around here another second. “But I think I’ll head on home to pack for my
business meeting
.” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm from spilling out.

Shanna nodded her head. “Okay. Do you need me to do anything?”

“Yes, please. Mr. Barclay has agreed to let me come home early so I’d like to come home late Friday night or early Saturday morning instead of Sunday. I’d appreciate it if you could make the flight change for me.”

“Sure thing. I’ll text you the new itinerary as soon as I have it.”

“Thanks.” Chase stepped inside his office. He touched the computer, bringing up the screen. At least the program had finished loading. Saving the information, he shut down his laptop and slid it inside the protective sleeve of his briefcase. Grabbing the itinerary, he shoved it in the front pocket. Hayden had gone too far. And one way or another he planned on getting to the bottom of this ridiculous mess—even if it meant losing his job.

* * *

Wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a graphic tee, Chase jogged up the Caldwell porch steps. Already packed for his trip, he planned on spending as much as time as possible with Addie before he left for the airport.

After the sensational kisses they’d shared last night, he knew their relationship had changed. Chase admitted to himself that he might be falling in love with her. In spite of all the obstacles, he wanted to tell Addie how he felt. He knew she liked him, he just didn’t know how much. Would it be enough to make her consider living in Tennessee?

One good thing that came out of this last minute trip to South Carolina was confiding in his parents. As soon as he left work, Chase went home and found his mom and dad were both there. It felt good to tell them about the potential job in Nashville. Both of his parents were supportive of his desire to pursue his music career, but he could tell they were skeptical about how successful he’d be. Their concerns seemed to stem more from the industry, and not because they didn’t believe Chase had the talent to make it.

When he’d told them about the conversation with Mr. Barclay, he received some good advice from his dad. “Son, you be completely honest with both Hayden and her father so there are no more misunderstandings. After that, you just have to trust in the Lord.”

His mother had reminded Chase of a mother bear protecting her cub. She wanted to go over to the Barclay’s and give them a piece of her mind, especially Hayden. In the end, his dad had convinced her Chase was a big boy and could take care of things himself.

Placing one hand above the door for support, he knocked lightly and waited. Janie swung open the door and smiled. “Come on in. Addie will be down in a minute.” Furrowing her brow, she looked over her shoulder to the stairs. “She’s having a little trouble this morning.”

“What kind of trouble?” Chase asked, hoping it wasn’t something serious.

Before she could reply, he heard a grunt and the sound of someone coming down the stairs with heavy, slow steps. Between each step he heard, “Ow-ow-shoot-ow.”

The two of them watched the stairs expectantly. “She’s a little sore this morning,” Janie whispered.

He wasn’t sure if he should rush to her aid or laugh. “Does she need help?”

Janie grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “Sweetie, Chase is here. Do you want him to help you down the stairs?”

The footsteps and moaning ceased. “He’s here?” Her voice sounded alarmed.

“Yep. He’s standing right beside me.”

Another pause ensued. Then Addie let out a long breath. “It’s okay. I’m coming.” The heavy slow steps resumed, but this time without the complaints.

The telephone rang and Janie picked up the handset in the foyer. Glancing at the caller-ID, she hollered, “Sugar, I need to get this. Y’all have fun today.”

“Um-hmm,” Addie murmured.

Janie winked at Chase before going into the kitchen. A second later Addie emerged, dressed in jeans and a butter-yellow T-shirt. Her hair hung in ringlets, glistening under the light of the chandelier. “Hey.” She held onto the railing and gingerly took the last step. “I thought you weren’t coming until eleven thirty?”

Chase fought back a grin and looked down at his watch. “It is eleven thirty.”

The little lines between her eyebrows creased. “Oh. Well, I thought I could make it downstairs and loosen up my muscles before you got here.”