“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

“You’re right,” she said, tucking Katie against her hip. Her face was hot with anger and embarrassment. “You’re absolutely right. This entire discussion is ridiculous. I apologize for my presumption. I’m sorry….” If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to humiliate herself even more.

Jon hesitated and Maryellen was afraid she’d have to ask him to leave.

Then he turned abruptly and left the room. She followed him and didn’t try to stop him when he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

Her stomach was in knots as she held her daughter close to her heart. “I blew it,” she told Katie. Hard as she’d tried to make this night special, she’d failed. She’d hoped so much that this evening would be the turning point for her and Jon, but all she’d managed to do was alienate him.

And in the process, break her own heart.

Eighteen

What had seemed such a brilliant plan earlier was rapidly becoming a problem, Zach mused at his desk. School had resumed after Christmas vacation, and Allison had started working for Smith, Cox and Jefferson today. She seemed to take pride in dressing outrageously—in a manner guaranteed to embarrass him with his associates. Zach was somewhat horrified that she’d gone to school looking like she’d just climbed out of bed, complete with flannel pajama bottoms and bedroom slippers. In his day, no principal would’ve put up with it.

Allison arrived thirty minutes late with a chain of safety pins dangling from each ear. He’d had to fight to keep from dragging her into the parking lot and telling her the deal was off. If she wanted to work in his office, she was to show up on time and dress appropriately. He would’ve done it, too, but he hated to fire his own daughter her first day on the job.

Zach decided he shouldn’t get directly involved. When he’d offered Allison employment, he’d told her she was to be an assistant to Cecilia Randall, and he was standing by that.

As soon as he had a free moment, Zach called Cecilia and Allison into his office.

Allison stood there, wearing an old sweater three sizes too big over the pajamas. He could only imagine where she’d gotten it. Cecilia and all the other women employed in the office wore proper business attire.

“Allison, this is Ms. Randall. You’ll be working with her.”

Allison glared defiantly in Cecilia’s direction.

Cecilia ignored the dirty look and smiled warmly at his daughter.

“I’ve offered Allison the job as your assistant, Ms. Randall,” he said, doing his best to ignore his daughter’s attitude. “I want you to treat her exactly as you would any other part-time employee.”

“I don’t want any favors,” Allison announced.

Cecilia nodded. “That’s good, because it wouldn’t be fair to the others if I treated you any differently.”

Zach didn’t know if handing his problem child over to his assistant was going to work. Cecilia was a new employee herself. She’d fit in nicely with the staff and done an impressive job thus far. But he wasn’t sure she was up to dealing with his rebellious, angry teenager. No one could take Allison’s attitude for long, and he felt guilty about thrusting her on an unsuspecting employee.

“In other words, I have to do what she says,” Allison muttered with a disparaging glance at Cecilia.

“Only if you want to keep the job,” Zach returned, letting Cecilia know she had firing privileges. If Allison pulled any more stunts like the ones she had this afternoon, he wouldn’t be able to keep her around.

“Is that agreeable?” he asked Cecilia.

His assistant nodded.

“Allison?”

His daughter shrugged. “Whatever.”

The two left his office, and despite a vague sense of guilt, Zach was glad to shift the responsibility elsewhere. The door started to close but not before he heard Allison taunt his assistant.

“You can fire me if you want, Ms. Randall, but remember, my dad is the one who signs your paycheck.”

Zach shut his eyes and prayed for patience.

The first week was the worst. By the middle of the month, however, Zach noticed several small changes in Allison, beginning with her timely arrival at work. And while she wasn’t going to receive any fashion awards, she wore jeans and a respectable-looking sweatshirt. He was tempted to say something when he saw her, but knew it would be a mistake to call attention to the improvement in her attire.

“Would you like me to start making copies of the completed income tax forms?” Zach heard Allison ask Cecilia as he walked out of his office. His daughter completely ignored him, but he was accustomed to that.

“Please,” Cecilia told her. “I’ve got a stack halfway to the ceiling.”

“I’ll get on it right away.” Moving quickly and efficiently, Allison hauled the first stack of files to the copy machine.

If Zach didn’t know better, he’d think…Why, it sounded as though Allison was eager to work. She actually seemed enthusiastic about her job.

Rosie noticed a change in Allison, too, and mentioned it when he saw her one Sunday afternoon toward the end of January. “What happened?” she asked, astonished.

“I wish I knew,” Zach murmured. Allison continued to display plenty of attitude at home, but some of the more pressing problems seemed to have abated. Her boyfriend, Ryan Wilson, had apparently vanished. Zach hadn’t seen the boy in weeks, for which he was profoundly grateful. Allison’s questionable new friends hadn’t been around all month, either. To top everything off, her geometry teacher phoned and commented on a noticeable improvement in her grades and attitude.

“I guess earning the money to buy her own computer is exactly what Allison needed.” Rosie relaxed, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You know what? I think what you did is absolutely inspired.”

His ex-wife’s praise felt good, especially after all the tension between them in recent months. However, Zach wasn’t comfortable accepting it. “I suspect we both have someone else to thank for the changes in Allison—someone at the office. Let me find out.”

“All right.” Rosie was just as eager to learn who or what had brought about the change in Allison.

Zach knew the person to ask. Early the next morning, he called Cecilia Randall into his office. Tax season was starting and soon he’d be overwhelmed.

“Can you sit down a moment?” Zach said, gesturing her in.

“Of course.” Cecilia slipped into the chair across from his desk.

“I’d like a progress report on Allison.”

Cecilia instantly brightened. “I’m delighted with her performance. She doesn’t have any problem doing whatever I ask and her attitude is great.”

That fact hadn’t escaped Zach’s notice. “How did all of this happen?” He hadn’t meant to be that blunt, but he didn’t have time to ask discreet questions; he needed to know.

“Happen?”

He nodded. “You saw her that first day. She was an inch short of belligerent.”

His assistant glanced down at the floor and Zach realized she was trying to hide a smile. “She’s a very nice girl,” Cecilia assured him. “I’m not having any trouble with her.”

“That was the way I used to think about Allison,” Zach said. “But everything changed after my wife and I divorced.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Allison mentioned the divorce?” As far as he knew, his daughter considered the whole matter “bogus”—one of her current favorite words—and refused to discuss it.

“Not exactly.” Cecilia let her hand rest on the tablet she held in her lap. “You see, my parents divorced when I was a kid. I know what it’s like when a family falls apart. Allison just needed someone to talk to.”

Zach yearned to explain that tearing his family apart had never been what he wanted. He blamed Rosie for being jealous and unreasonable. In retrospect, he was embarrassed that he’d been so caught up in the negative emotions that had precipitated the divorce and surrounded the whole subject for months. He found it difficult to believe that he and Rosie had haggled over every aspect of the property settlement and the parenting plan. They’d each been so determined to make sure the other didn’t get a “better” deal. That was just the beginning. They were both driven by their need to prove who was right. They’d allowed pride, ego and a sense of vindictiveness to destroy any chance of settling the divorce in a civil manner.

If he’d been able to look into the future, to witness the pain he’d brought his children—if Zach had so much as guessed how lonely and lost he’d feel without Rosie—he’d have done whatever was necessary to save his family and his marriage. Before he realized how far things had gone, it was too late.

Recently, he and Rosie had begun to communicate in a more honest and more courteous manner. He knew she was dating that widower, although they never talked about it.

However, Zach’s own pride wouldn’t allow him to admit that Janice Lamond no longer worked for him. He’d led Rosie to believe she’d gotten a promotion within the firm. By now, Allison had probably told her mother that Janice wasn’t working there anymore. Rosie must’ve gloated at the news, although to her credit, she hadn’t said anything.

“Will that be all, Mr. Cox?” Cecilia Randall asked.

For a moment he’d forgotten she was in the room.

“Yes, thank you.”

Later that night, Zach drove Allison home. Rosie was spending the night with the children, and the thought of walking into his dark apartment and making dinner held little appeal. Allison sat quietly beside him.

They hardly ever talked these days, and Zach missed their conversations. She’d spurned his attempts so often that after a while he’d given up trying.

“Did you know Cecilia had a baby who died?” his daughter suddenly asked him.

This was news to Zach. “No, when?”

“Almost three years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Zach said, completely sincere.

“She told me all about it. Her husband was at sea and she didn’t have any friends here to help her. It was awful and she decided she couldn’t stay married.”

“Ms. Randall’s been married before?”

“No.” Allison’s tone made him sound stupid for asking.

“So she’s still married to the same man?” It wasn’t any of Zach’s business, but he was trying to keep Allison talking. They so rarely spoke without arguing that he didn’t want their conversation to end.

“Cecilia and her husband went to divorce court, the same as you and Mom. The judge told them they needed to think it through before they rushed into a divorce.”

Zach could hardly believe any judge would say such a thing, especially in these days of no-fault divorce. “Not in those words, I’ll bet.”

“No,” his daughter agreed. “But close. Cecilia said she was pregnant when she and Ian got married and she wanted to make sure he wasn’t marrying her just because of the baby.”