Page 3 of Help Wanted

“See? It’s perfect. And it says it’s a growing company with occasional travel required.”

“Ooh, travel. It would be like having mini-vacations while getting paid,” Rachel said excitedly. “And maybe the guy will have a yacht.”

“Yeah. I’m sure it will be exactly like that.” Kenley downed her second drink the moment it was placed on the table.

* * *

“Executive Production Coordinator? Are you crazy?” Zane complained as he pointed to his computer screen. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“You have to put the bait out there,” Sidney told him in that big-sister tone he’d hated all his life. “You can’t put an ad out for a person who can do everything, including pick up your nasty work boots from the shop because you have them fixed instead of buying new freaking boots like a normal person.”

“I like these boots. They’re broken in,” he defended.

“They’re just plain broken.” She rolled her eyes. It had no effect on him anymore. She could roll her eyes until they fell out of her head, and he wouldn’t break a sweat. He was immune.

“I still don’t see why you can’t work for me part-time.” He tried using his adorable little-brother pout. Apparently it had lost its effectiveness around the time her eye rolling had stopped working on him.

“Part-time? I don’t even work full time. I work over time, Zane. I want to stay home with this kid.” She pointed at her giant stomach for emphasis. “I want to be a mom. I can’t do that if I have to fly off to God-knows-where at the drop of a hat to handle a client’s insurance claims, or oversee transport of a moldy old boat. Besides, in another month I’m not going to be able to fly until after I have the baby. Doctor’s orders,” she sang the last part.

“Uh-huh. I want a second opinion.”

Sidney’s OB-GYN was also her husband. It was both convenient and creepy.

“Come on, Zane. This arrangement was only meant to be temporary anyway. I was supposed to stay on until you got up and running.”

“I know.” It was true. He hadn’t wanted Sidney to work for him at all back in the beginning. He’d wanted to do it all on his own, but now he didn’t know what he’d do without her. “Just make sure the person can read my mind. You know how I feel about verbal communication,” he grumbled as he closed down his laptop to leave.

“You’re going to have to work on that.”

He sighed and checked his phone for the time. “I gotta go.”

“Have fun. Tell the guys I said hi. Maybe you should talk to a woman. Go out on a date.”

Zane narrowed his eyes at his sister. “I’ve had enough bossing for one day.”

She put both hands up in surrender.

When he got to the Blue Star Bar, Josh and Paul were already there.

The bartender gave him a nod when he sat down, and he nodded back. This was their silent exchange that meant he wanted a beer. Verbal communication was overrated.

“How are the kids?” Zane asked Josh.

The answer was a giant smile as he held out his phone, scrolling through photos of his children. They hadn’t changed much from the photos he’d shared two weeks ago.

“My oldest is riding her bike without training wheels,” Josh shared.

“Next she’ll be asking for the car keys,” Paul said. Since Paul worked for Zane, he’d just seen him at the office an hour ago. But this was guy time.

“Or introducing you to her boyfriend,” Zane added.

“Shut up.” Josh looked a little green at the thought. “I’m going to make sure she knows all boys are idiots.”

“Trust me, girls know that from birth,” Paul pointed out.

“How are the women folk?” Zane asked, knowing that was the next stage of the conversation. Paul was engaged and Josh had been married for years.

The smile on Paul’s face echoed the happiness that had been on Josh’s. “Taylor’s busy with the wedding. I try to help when she asks what flowers I like or if I want a black tux or gray, but honestly I don’t care about the details. I just want to marry her and go on the honeymoon.” Spoken like any man anywhere.