A Texas Family Reunion

“Well, if it helps me do my job, that’s all I care about.”

Carrie perched on top of Alexandra’s new desk. “I think it will help you. Men normally are not suspicious of pretty women.” She grinned. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re joining us. Will and Jim can be a little protective, but they do let you do your job.”

“Will said you’re pregnant. Are you going to keep working after your baby is born?”

“Yes. I’ll take a couple of months off and then come back gradually. We have enough work now to keep four of us busy, so it may get a little rushed when I’m out of the office.”

“That’s okay. Will said we work as a team here, and that’s one of the things that attracted me to this job. I work well on my own, too.”

“You come with high recommendations from your sergeant.”

Alexandra actually blushed. “He’s an old friend of my father’s.”

“Whatever the reason, he sure thinks the world of you,” Carrie said with a laugh. She pushed herself off Alexandra’s desk. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Thank you, Carrie. I appreciate your friendliness.”

“We’re like a family, Alexandra. I think you’ll enjoy it here.”

Alexandra watched the pretty blonde walk back to her own desk. Carrie and her husband seemed to have a loving relationship. Alexandra hoped that was true. They were such nice people.

She’d been impressed with Will, too, and had looked forward to starting her new job. Of course, she should’ve known David wouldn’t believe she knew what she was doing.

From the moment her cousins had moved to Plano and settled just a few blocks away, she’d fought David for control. Since he was three years older, it wasn’t exactly a fair fight. And her girl cousins had followed David around, doing whatever he told them to do. She’d tried to free the girls from his will, persuade them that he wasn’t their boss, until the oldest cousin, Janet, had asked why they would want to do the opposite of what David said. He only had their best interests at heart. Their mother had said so.

Alexandra had immediately asked her own mother why they would want David to tell them what to do. Her mother had explained that some women preferred that men guide their decisions.

Alexandra was repulsed by such an idea. Her father always called her his little radical, even at five. She abandoned the effort on her cousins’ behalf, but she refused to allow David to control her life.

“Alexandra,” Jim said from his desk, “I’ve talked to my sisters, Vanessa and Rebecca, who live in Dallas. They’re very anxious to meet David, but I’ve talked them into waiting until next Monday night. That way Rebecca’s twin, Rachel, who lives in West Texas, will have time to get here.”

Alexandra nodded. “Sounds good, but I’m not sure David will continue to associate with you and your sisters.”

“Why not?”

“You heard David talk about his mother. He always tries to do whatever she wants. She only has to say she might like something and David finds a way to get it for her. He made a deathbed promise to his father to take care of his mother and sisters.”

“You can’t fault him for that,” Jim said, frowning.

Carrie joined the conversation. “I agree with Alexandra. Being protective is one thing, but taking away choices stifles a person’s development.”

“But David just tries to grant his mother’s wishes,” Jim protested.

“But how can she appreciate what she gets if she never has to lift a finger to get it?” Carrie argued.

“Maybe his mother is too old to learn new tricks, sweetheart. Anyway, it’s not our business. So we’re all agreed next Monday night would be a good time to have my sisters and David meet?” Jim asked.

“Yes,” Alexandra confirmed.

WHEN DAVID GOT BACK to his office, he found one of his best employees waiting for him.

“Hi, Pete. What’s up?” he asked as he took off his jacket and settled behind his desk.

Pete Dansky shut the office door and moved closer to David’s desk. “We’ve got problems.”

David’s head snapped up. “What are you talking about?”

“Our government contact just called me. He said we must have a spy, because someone else submitted a bid very close to ours in design.”

“That can happen,” David said slowly. “Did it have—”

“It had everything ours had except for the last bit of work you and I did. I described it to Williams and he told me it wasn’t there.”

“Then we still have a chance?” David asked.

“Yes, as long as the last bit doesn’t get passed on.”

“Are those papers in your office?”

“They’re in my safe!”

“Good. But we can’t let anyone work on them but you and me, and that’s going to slow things down. Can we meet the deadline?”

“I don’t think so. Even if you and I work day and night, I doubt we can finish.”

“So we have to find who betrayed us and fast.” David leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

A long minute passed. At last Pete said, “David? Are you napping or thinking?”

“I’m thinking. I need to make a phone call to some people who can help us.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. It’s a detective agency that my cousin works for. I’ll see if they can take our case and how soon.”

“And you think they’ll be able to find the spy?”

“Yeah, I do. What I need you to do, Pete, is list all the employees who had access to the files.”

“Okay. I’ll be back with a list in ten minutes.”

“Good.”

Once Pete had left his office, David got the number of Greenfield and Associates and dialed it. When a woman answered who wasn’t his cousin, he assumed it was Carrie.

“This is David Buford. I need to know if your firm does personnel reviews.”

“Yes, David, we do. What have you got in mind?”

He explained the situation.

“I see. Let me pass you to Jim. Hang on.”

It was a couple of minutes before Jim picked up the line. “David, Carrie explained your situation and what you want. I think we can do the job, assuming we have complete access to your employee files and are allowed to interview anyone we want. I’ve got a few things I can put off. We can start tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?”

David told him it did, and they hung up. He felt satisfied. He might not’ve seen Jim for twenty-three years, but he sensed that Jim hadn’t changed. He’d been honest as a boy, and he still was. David could trust his older brother.

THE NEXT MORNING Jim was sitting in David’s reception area when he arrived. Which was good. What wasn’t good was that Alex was sitting next to him.

“What’s she doing here?” he demanded when he saw his cousin.

Jim raised one eyebrow. “She works with us now, remember?”

“Of course, but yesterday was her first day. Isn’t she kind of green?”

Jim rose to his feet. “Suppose the three of us go into your office, David,” Jim suggested. “We can discuss things there.” Alexandra stood up, too, her face flushed with anger.

David led the way into his office. After they followed him in, he closed the door. “Well?”

“Look,” Jim said, “we didn’t hire Alexandra to train from scratch. We hired her because she’s already been trained in most things. She’s quite able to do an interview and assess the data in the files. If you have a problem with that, you’ll have to hire another firm.”

Alexandra protested. “No, I don’t want you to lose—”

Jim stopped her. “This is not your decision, Alexandra. The four of us discussed it yesterday and decided this would be our approach. It’s up to David to decide whether or not to accept what we’re offering.” He stared at David.

“Of course. I just thought…” David said. “Your wife seemed….”

“Carrie is the one who suggested Alexandra come. Alexandra has done a lot more interviews than Carrie.”

“You have?” David asked, frowning at his cousin.

“Of course I have, David. That’s a big part of a cop’s job, talking to people, either as victims or criminals.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, that’s fine. I didn’t mean to make a fuss. It just took me by surprise.”

“So you’re satisfied?” Jim asked.

“Yes, of course. We thought you could work in the conference room next door, unless you need separate rooms?”

“No, we’re going to work together. We’ll look over the files and then start pulling people in to interview.”

“Okay, sure. And I’ll take you both to lunch.”

“It would be better if you ordered in food for the three of us and anyone else you trust so we can discuss any questions we have.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, Pete Dansky. We’ll bring in lunch.”

“Great. Then we’ll see you in three hours,” Jim said with a smile and moved to the door, Alexandra following.

EARLIER, JIM AND ALEXANDRA had discussed how they would handle the interviews. Jim had suggested they take turns being the lead, and Alexandra had said she felt comfortable with that. Once they were in the conference room, they each took two files and read them.

“Anything in either of yours?” Jim asked.

“No, they look fairly straightforward.”

“Okay, let’s interview these four, one after the other. You be the lead on your files and I’ll be the lead on mine.”

The four interviews were completed in only half an hour. Jim and Alexandra put those files aside and moved on to another four. When they had questions about something in a file, they called Carrie. She found the information online and reported back.

By noon, they had cleared twenty-four employees. When the last interview ended, David and another man came into the room, loaded down with packages of food.

“How’d the morning go?” David asked.

“So far, so good,” Jim said. “You have some great people working for you.”

“We only have a couple of questions,” Alexandra said. “One person had actually worked for the company who made the duplicate bid. She hadn’t listed it on her previous employments. Her name is Judith Green.”

Both men stared at Alexandra.

“She did?” David asked. “And she told you that?”

“Alex noticed the time gap in her list of previous employers. Apparently, whoever interviewed her didn’t ask the right questions.”

“Maybe whoever it was was distracted by a pretty face,” Alexandra challenged, staring at her cousin.

“It wasn’t me!” David declared.

“It was me,” the other man said. “I remember because I did notice the time gap in her résumé. I asked her and she said her mother had been sick and she took time off work to nurse her back to health.”

Alex made some notes on her pad. “We’ll check that out, Mr.—” She broke off since she hadn’t been introduced to him.

“Oh, sorry,” David said. “This is my right-hand man and best friend, Pete Dansky.”

“Hello. I’m Alexandra Buford, and this is Jim Barlow.”

Pete shook both their hands, but his gaze returned to Alexandra. “You have the same last name as David?”

“Yes, he’s my cousin.”

“That’s right. He said his cousin worked for your company, but I thought—”

“Give them a chance to eat their lunch, Pete,” David said hurriedly.

“Right. We brought in some cheeseburgers and fries.” Pete began pulling out neatly wrapped packages. Soon they were all eating.

Jim asked, after taking a bite of his hamburger, “What does Miss Green do for the company?”

“She tests our new programs to be sure they work.”

Jim exchanged a look with Alex. “I think we should get Carrie to do a check on her mother and that illness she had. She can do it while we continue our interviews.” He pulled out a cell phone and hit a button, then proceeded to tell Carrie the details.

When he disconnected, he said, “My wife will check it out and let us know as soon as she can. Will can go out and get her some food. We’re expecting our first child, and I trust him to take good care of her.”

“Congratulations, Jim,” David said in a stilted manner, drawing a curious look from Pete. Then he returned to business. “So what’s the other question?” he asked. “Alex said you had a couple….”

Alexandra took over. “There was a man who had been fired by you and then rehired. About five years ago. He didn’t seem to have an adequate explanation for that.” She stared at David.

“Oh. That was Bill Bardwell. Yeah, he’s okay. I fired him because he fell asleep at work several times. Then his wife came to see me. They’d had a baby and then she got sick, and he was taking care of her and the baby all night long. I apologized to him and rehired him.”

Jim nodded and said, “The only decent thing to do.” He took another bite of his cheeseburger and chewed.

“You and Alex seem to work well together,” David said, watching Jim.

“Yes, we do,” Alex said instantly, as if challenging him to prove differently.

“I just wondered…I mean, Alex is very….”

Jim grinned. “So’s my wife. And she’d kill me if she thought I was hitting on Alex instead of doing my job. Your cousin is safe with me, David.”

“That’s a strange thing to accuse the man of,” Pete protested.

“I just like to make sure,” David snapped. He turned bright red and stood up suddenly. “Right. I’ll be in my office if you have any other questions.”

There was a stunned silence in the conference room after David’s abrupt departure. Finally Pete rose to his feet. “I don’t know why David’s acting the way he is. It’s not like him. He’s a good man.”

“I know he is, Pete, but thanks for saying that.” Jim smiled at him.

“You say that like you’ve known him a long time.”

Jim picked up a French fry, studying it, as he said, “I knew him when he was a lot younger.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know he’s concerned about Alex. He’s just trying to protect her.”

“I’ve told him I know what I’m doing,” Alexandra said. “He doesn’t want to believe it.”

“Give him time, Alex. He seems to be dealing with a lot right now,” Jim said. He stood and gathered up the remains of their lunch and threw it in the trash can. Then he offered his hand to Pete. “Thanks for bringing us lunch and eating with us. We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve figured it out.”

“David and I will be waiting to hear from you,” Pete said.

He left the conference room. Only minutes later, Jim’s cell phone rang. It was Carrie.

Chapter Three

Carrie said that she’d talked with Judith Green’s mother. She’d pretended to be a health insurance salesperson and Mrs. Green hadn’t been interested in purchasing any. She’d said she’d never been sick a day in her life.

When Carrie had asked about any children, whether they might need health insurance, Mrs. Green had explained that her daughter worked for Carey & Co., and they had excellent insurance.

Carey & Co. was David’s competitor.

“Well, that was a slam dunk,” Jim said with a smile. “We’d better call her back, and call David and Pete in, too.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Alex said as she stood. “We’ve finished faster than I thought we would.”

She stopped by the secretary’s desk and asked for Judith Green to be called. Then she walked to David’s office door. It was open and she stuck her head in. “David? We think we’ve found the leak. Do you and Pete want to sit in on the interview?”

“Already? You bet.” He got up and followed Alex out, asking his secretary to call Pete to join them. The four of them were together before Judith arrived.

When the young woman came into the room and saw the four people sitting at the table, she paused and then took a chair. “You asked to see me again? Is there something I didn’t tell you?”

Alexandra smiled. “Judith, Pete said you told him you hadn’t worked the six months prior to taking this job because your mother was very sick.”

“Yes, that’s right,” she agreed at once. “I didn’t mention it this morning because I didn’t realize it mattered.”

“Normally, it wouldn’t, but we’ve spoken to your mother and she denies ever being sick a day in her life.”

“You spoke— She doesn’t like to admit to being sick.” Judith seemed a little more unsure of herself.

“She also said her daughter had excellent insurance with her employer.”

“Yes, that’s true. Our company has great insurance.” She smiled at David.

“She said your employer was Carey & Co,” Alex said.

Judith jumped to her feet. “No! No, she…made a mistake.”

David spoke for the first time. “Judith, we’ll give you the opportunity to resign at once, or we’ll fire you and sue you for industrial espionage. Your choice.”

DAVID WAS VERY PLEASED with the job Alex and Jim had done. He offered to take them to dinner to celebrate the successful conclusion.

“I can’t,” Alex said hurriedly. “I already have plans.”

David wasn’t sure he believed her. Then he turned to Jim. “How about you and Carrie join me and Pete for dinner?”

“Thanks, David, but we’ll all be dining together on Monday of next week. Why don’t we celebrate then?”

“Okay, that’ll be fine. I do need to find someone else to replace Judith right away, I have to admit. We’re under a deadline.”

“Why not ask Susan?” Alex suggested. “She’s taken courses in computers.”

“No, I don’t—” David began.

“Who’s Susan?” Jim asked.

“My youngest sister,” David replied.

“Relatives you trust can be good employees,” Jim said.

Pete said, “I met her, but I didn’t know she had any interest in computers.”

“Yeah, well, my mother doesn’t encourage her because she thinks it’s not feminine to do computer work.”

Alex cast Jim a wry look.

Pete said, “That’s crazy. What’s she doing for a job?”

“She’s a salesclerk at a dress store,” Alex said, “and she told me she doesn’t like the work.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll call her,” David agreed. “I’d better call Mom, too. Hopefully, she’ll understand.”

“Tell your mom the company needs Susan. That should help,” Alex suggested.

“Yeah,” David agreed. “Why don’t you come with me to tell her about the job, Alex.”

“I told you I had plans for the evening.”

“Neil again, I suppose?” David asked unhappily.

“Yes,” Alex replied. David didn’t seem happy with her choice for a companion, but then he’d never been happy with the men she dated.

Jim said, “Thanks for the work, David, and I hope Susan takes the job, but we’ve got to get back to the office. I’ll call you about next Monday night later in the week.”

“Right, thanks, Jim.”

Pete stood beside David as the other two left. “Is your mother really opposed to women working with computers? That’s crazy.”

“I know. Mom’s that way.”

“Want me to go with you to tell her?”

David smiled. “No, I’m a big boy. I can face her on my own. You can go with me to talk to Susan, though.”

“Sure, good idea, since I’ll be the one to train her. I can see if we’ll work well together.”

They set out for the dress store where Susan worked. When they entered the place, Susan was ringing up a sale. As soon as she’d finished, David asked her if she could take a break. She got approval from her supervisor and the three of them went to a small café next door.

Once they were seated and ordered drinks, David explained their problem. “We’ve got to find someone who knows computer software to fill a sudden vacancy at the firm. And I thought of you.”

Susan’s eyes opened wide with excitement. Then she slumped back in her seat. “I’d love it, but you know how Mom is. She’ll be so upset if I—”

“I know, honey, but I think it’s time you worried about making yourself happy rather than Mom.”

“Wow, you sound like Alex,” Susan said with a giggle.

“Maybe I do. I thought Mom would change with time, but she hasn’t. Alex is right. You have the right to choose work you’ll enjoy. Maybe it isn’t in computers, but you’ll never know until you try.”

“You’ll back me up?”

“I will.”

“And I’ll be the one to train you,” Pete said, smiling warmly at Susan.

David shot a look at his best friend. Pete seemed really eager to train Susan. Taking a second look at his sister, he realized she was quite pretty. Hmm.

“Do you have to give notice to the store?”

“I think you’re supposed to, but I’ll tell my supervisor this is an emergency. It is, isn’t it?” Susan asked.

“Absolutely!” Pete said.

“Yeah, Pete’s right. It would be best if you came with us right now.”

“Then let me talk to my supervisor. They’ve got plenty of help right now. I don’t think my leaving will be a problem. Then I can follow you to the office and start this afternoon.”

“Maybe I should wait for Susan and ride with her to the office, so she won’t get lost,” Pete suggested.

David told him that was good thinking, though he knew it was totally unnecessary. But Susan wasn’t objecting, either.

He left them together and drove to his mother’s home, which she shared with her sister-in-law—Aunt Gladys, Alex’s mother.

“Mom, I need to talk to you,” David announced after he’d entered the house. His mother and Gladys were sitting together knitting in front of the television.

“Yes, dear?”

“I’ve talked Susan into quitting her job and coming to work for the company.”

That got his mother’s attention. “What? Oh, no! I can’t allow that! You should’ve talked to me first.”

“I’m sorry, Mom, but Susan has a lot of training in computer work. I think she should be using it, not working in a dress store. She doesn’t even like the job, according to Alex.”

“Alex is always trying to talk her into being independent!” his mother snapped.

Gladys laughed. “That’s my girl! Strong-minded as ever.”

“Yes, she is, isn’t she. She was at the office this morning, helping us find a spy. She and Jim interviewed and checked backgrounds and found out who had been passing our information on to the competitor. That’s why we need Susan. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll help her find another job, Mom. I’ll make sure she’s happy.”

“Who’s this Jim?” his mother demanded.

“He works with Alex at Greenfield and Associates. They did a great job.”

“Is Alex interested in him?” Gladys asked hopefully.

“No, I think she’s dating a cop,” he said casually.

“Oh! I didn’t know. She never tells me anything.”

“Well, if this Jim’s not married,” his mother said, “Alex could introduce him to Susan.”

“He’s married, Mom. Susan will find someone.” His other sister, Janet, was married, and it seemed to be his mother’s goal in life to marry off Susan.

“I had hoped you’d introduce Susan to someone, but you never have.”

“I did try a few times, Mom, but it never worked out.”

“Well, I don’t like you hiring Susan to work for our company. She shouldn’t have to work there.”

“She thinks it might be fun to try, Mom. So can I tell her you don’t mind?”

“I suppose. But if she doesn’t like it, you must help her find a nice job at once.”

“I promise, Mom.”

Though his mother protested his leaving so quickly, he headed back to the office. He found Pete and Susan in Pete’s office. He was already teaching her “Quality Assurance,” which had been Judith’s job.

“Everything going okay?” David asked.

The pair jumped as if they’d been doing something illegal.

“Oh, David, yes, everything’s fine,” Susan said. “Pete is doing a wonderful job of teaching me what to do. Did…did you talk to Mom?”

“I did, and she agrees, as long as I promise to find you another job if you don’t like this one.”

“Thanks, David,” Susan said.

“No problem. Pete, everything okay with you?”

“Sure, everything’s great,” Pete answered, but his smile was directed to Susan, not David.

David made a mental note to keep an eye on his friend. He thought a lot of Pete and wouldn’t mind having him in the family. In fact, he preferred Pete to his current brother-in-law, Janet’s husband, Jerry. He worked in his father’s stock brokerage firm and David found him pretentious and snobbish. But David’s mother was very impressed with him.