Broken Pieces (Healing Heart Book 1) Read online

  “As long as you call me Lorie.”

  Jemma smiled at her again, “Deal. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to Clay’s office.”

  That made Lorie’s footsteps falter a bit. “Clay, as in Clay Hale, CEO?”

  “Well, of course,” Jemma replied. “Clay is very passionate about the home for orphans so he will be hand picking all of those involved with its day-to-day operations to make sure they meet his standards.”

  Jemma stopped in front of a frosted glass door with the name and title Clay Hale, Chief Executive Officer etched onto its surface. She looked at Lorie, “Ready?”

  Lorie was sure that Jemma was just giving her a second to wrap her mind around the fact that she was about to interview with one of the most influential CEOs in business. She took a deep breath and nodded at Jemma. “I’m ready.”

  Jemma opened the door and motioned for Lorie to enter ahead of her. When Lorie walked in, Jemma stepped up beside of her and introduced her. “Clay, this is Lorie Young here to interview for the director position at Hale’s Children’s Haven.”

  Lorie grinned slightly. It was the first time she’d heard the intended name of the new children’s home she hoped she would be running soon, and she had to say she liked it. When Clay Hale stood from behind his desk and walked around to stand in front of her she almost forgot to breathe. Of course she had seen pictures of him before; she had the internet. However, none of those pictures had prepared her for the man who stood in front of her. She had to focus to keep from allowing her eyes to roam up and down his body. He was tall and fit. Not muscle bound like someone who lived at the weight benches in the gym every day, but toned enough to indicate he clearly worked out and took care of himself. He had wavy auburn hair that was short on the sides and a couple inches longer on the top. His eyes were a striking emerald green with flecks of darker green in places, and his smile could melt the panties off of a goddess. Lorie had never had her body react to just seeing a man the way it was in that moment.

  Clay held his hand out and she did the same. His handshake sent chills through her body and she felt like he’d somehow managed to caress her whole body with that one touch. She noticed his eyes had darkened and his breathing picked up a bit at the contact. Maybe he had felt the same thrill she had. He cleared his throat, “Nice to meet you, Lorie.” He turned and gestured to the couch and set of chairs on the side of his office. “Please, have a seat.”

  “Thank you.” When she looked back for Jemma she was surprised to see that the woman was gone and the door to Clay’s office was closed again.

  Clay took a seat on the chair across from her and she drew her attention back to him. “Lorie, I’m going to cut right to the chase. I have reviewed your resume and checked with your references to include speaking with a few of the children you’ve helped throughout your career, and I like what I’ve learned.”

  Lorie was shocked that he had tracked down her kids and talked to them about her. She expected him to be thorough given the important nature of the position for which she was being considered, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about him interrupting her kids’ lives. “I’m sorry, you said you spoke to some of my kids?”

  “Your kids?” It was clearly a question, and not the first time the way she referred to children she had helped had earned questions.

  “Yes. They are my kids. They may not live with me in my home, but they stay in my heart. I know the names of every child I have helped and I still talk with several of them on a regular basis. For many of my kids, I was the first person who ever showed them true affection and they all hold a special place in my heart. Even if I never give birth to children of my own, my life will be full because I have loved and helped so many.” Lorie blinked rapidly to rid her eyes of the unshed tears that had pooled in them. Thinking about her kids often made her emotional, especially when she was remembering where they came from and how she’d helped them find families who will love them the way they deserved.

  Clay stood and walked over towards his desk and when he returned he handed her a tissue. Instead of taking his seat back in the chair he sat down on the couch beside her. Lorie dabbed under her eyes with the tissue then she looked Clay in the eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I can’t believe I let myself get so emotional during an interview.” Clay held up his hand and she stopped talking.

  “Don’t apologize for caring about the children you’ve helped.” Gone was the smiling man who had made her insides turn to liquid. The man who looked at her in that moment was a lost boy. Lorie saw the pain in his eyes and she knew without a doubt that something horrible had happened to him when he was young. Her heart broke for him. It was a pain he hid right below the surface despite all of the money and success he now had; then again, Lorie had seen enough to know that money didn’t buy happiness. “That is exactly why I want you for this job.”

  Lorie blinked repeatedly while staring at Clay. She guessed she was waiting for him to say more…something. She really hadn’t been interviewed at all. She got the feeling he’d dug through her life even more than he’d mentioned and had his mind made up about her before she ever received the call from Jemma to come in for an interview. “This was never an actual interview, was it?”

  The serious expression Clay had been sporting fell away and his smile was back in place. “I like to be thorough, and I don’t believe in wasting my time or anyone else’s.” Lorie smiled back at him and nodded. He made sense and she had to admit that he made a good point. She wasn’t a fan of having her time wasted either. “You still haven’t answered me though,” he said, and she looked at him not understanding. “Do you accept the position?”

  “Oh, of course, absolutely. I would be honored to be a part of Children’s Haven.” Lorie knew she was smiling like a fool, but she wasn’t able to stop herself. She knew that she had done a lot of good in her ten years as a social worker, but this was a whole new opportunity to help children in need and she knew without a doubt she could make a difference. “Thank you for this great opportunity, Mr. Hale.”

  “Clay,” he corrected her.

  Lorie chuckled. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Clay.”

  “We are having a fundraising dinner for the home at our hotel on Main Street Saturday night. Is it too short notice to ask if you can attend? It would be a great opportunity for us to get you out there as the face of Hale’s Children’s Haven.”

  Lorie felt a bit of anxiety mixed with excitement course through her. She had really done it; she was going to have her dream job and with the backing of someone like Clay Hale she was going to make sure that the children who stayed at the Haven had a great life. “I would love to attend. I’m assuming that the attire for this event will be formal?”

  “You assume correctly,” Clay answered. She was sure she had seen him rake his eyes over her body for a moment. Maybe he was trying to picture her in a gown? It was quite the leap from the suit she was currently sporting and he was probably just struggling to picture it. “Do you think you’ll have time to get a dress? The company will reimburse you for whatever it costs.”

  Lorie’s eyes went wide at that. She had heard of some businesses that provided their employees with uniforms or even clothing allowances, but never something like paying for a ball gown so that their employees would be able to attend a party. Sure, it was a work event and she had limited notice but still. “Not to sound ungrateful, but is that normal practice? For the company to pay for clothes for the employees?”

  He smiled and from the look on his face she got the feeling that she was not the first employee to ever ask that question. “No, I am not in the habit of using company funds to buy clothes for the staff, but special events are different. If I am going to require any of my employees to attend events that I am throwing and insist they wear tuxedos or gowns, then I believe that it is only fair the company pays for that attire.”

  “I think most CEOs would disagree, but I am certainly not going to argue with you.”

  Clay stood and held
out his hand. When she took it and stood he smiled and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “I believe you were already informed that we plan to open within the next few weeks. How would you feel about going to check out the place you’ll be working at soon?”

  “Oh, I’d love to see it,” Lorie told him. “When would be a good time for me to visit there?”

  “I blocked out time in my schedule tomorrow if you can be available, let’s say around eleven in the morning. That will give us time for you to check out the home and then we can grab lunch when we are through there.”

  Lorie was speechless. She had not realized he intended on being the one to show her around the children’s home. That wasn’t something CEOs did. Hell, at most companies if you weren’t another member of the executive management team you could work for the company for years and never even meet the CEO. Here she was being invited to tour her new place of employment and have lunch with the big boss within the same conversation in which he hired her. There was something different about Clay Hale, and she had a feeling that was a good thing. He was special. She didn’t know him all that well yet, but in a short time it was already obvious that he was an exceptional boss and a good person. When she had left her apartment that morning she had hoped she would be getting the amazing job he’d already offered her, but she had a feeling that meeting Clay Hale was going to bring a lot more good to her life than she had hoped for.

  “I would like that a lot.”

  “Great,” Clay said. “Just meet me here and we’ll ride over together.”

  Clay walked her to the door and shook her hand once more before she turned to leave. She could have sworn she could feel his eyes on her while she made her way to the elevator, but when she turned around she was met with his closed office door. She quietly laughed at herself. Clearly she’d gotten lost in her own wishful thinking. She would focus harder on keeping her mind on business tomorrow. She wouldn’t mess up this opportunity just because she was attracted to the boss.

  ***

  Clay

  Clay watched Lorie walk to the elevator. He had known he wanted to hire her before she ever walked through his door. What he hadn’t expected was to find himself so attracted to her. It wasn’t just her looks that had piqued his interest, although he had to admit she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was so passionate about helping children in need. It was clear that she loved the kids she had helped when she talked about them. The way her face had lit up, and her smile. Oh God, her smile when she thought about the children she helped had made him feel a warmth in his heart he had never experienced before. Then he’d invited her to tour the home with him tomorrow and thrown in a lunch date. Shit! He better get Jemma to move some things around on his schedule because he had definitely not scheduled time to spend a couple of hours with Lorie.

  What the hell was going on with him this week? First, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from checking out detective Spencer Cole, and then he started making hasty lunch dates with his brand new employee. Before Lorie stepped into the elevator, Clay quickly turned and shut his office door. The last thing he needed was for her to catch him ogling her backside. That would not be the proper way to begin a new business relationship. He just needed to get laid. That had to be what his problem was. Then he would be able to work with Lorie without imagining her naked and bent over his desk every time he looked at her. “Ugh!” he groaned. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Get it together, Hale.”

  He walked over to his desk and when he logged into his computer he saw the file where he had accumulated the evidence against Josh. He stared at it for a minute and a plan formed. Maybe it was time for him to deliver this to the detective. He picked up his phone and dialed Jemma’s extension.

  “Yes, sir. Did everything go well with Ms. Young?” Jemma asked as soon as she picked up the phone. Jemma had been the one to push Lorie’s resume his way, and she had helped him with all of the extra research he did to find out just how good she was with children. She was definitely rooting for Lorie to get the job.

  “Everything went well, Jemma. Lorie will be the Director of Operations for the children’s home. That’s actually why I called you. I need you to clear my schedule tomorrow from eleven until two. I will be accompanying Lorie to the home to give her a tour.”

  “I’ll take care of that right away, sir.” He could hear the smile in her voice and knew there was something she wanted to say that she was holding back.

  “Just say it, Jemma. We both know it will drive you crazy if you don’t.”

  She giggled, which made him laugh. “I was just thinking about how beautiful she was. Thought that might have something to do with you wanting to take her to lunch tomorrow.”

  Clay’s heart skipped a beat. Had he really been that obvious? Hell, Jemma hadn’t even been in the room with them, and he hadn’t said anything about the fact that he had offered to take Lorie to lunch. “Jemma, is there something you need to tell me?”

  “Like what?” She really sounded confused.

  “Like, do you have my office bugged? How did you know I offered to take her to lunch?”

  He swore he heard her roll her eyes through the phone. “Sir, I have been to the children’s home, and while it is very large it isn’t nearly large enough for you to need three hours to take someone on a tour. I figure, leave here at eleven, spend an hour at the home, then take her to lunch, and come back to work at two.”

  “It is scary how easily you can read my mind sometimes, you know that?” Clay smiled. Jemma could easily read him. That was why she made the best assistant. He had actually been really surprised that she hadn’t picked up on what he was up to when he was investigating Josh.

  “That’s why we work so well together.”

  “True. I’m going out for a bit. I have to deliver the evidence I gathered against Josh to the detective who took him into custody. I’ll talk to you when I return.”

  “I’ll be here.” Jemma hung up and he put his phone back down on the receiver. He already had hard copies of the evidence printed and in large envelopes ready to go, so he gathered it all up and headed out to his car. Hopefully, Spencer would be around the office so he would get to give them to him in person. His pulse picked up speed at that thought and he smiled. Yeah, he definitely needed to get laid.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Spencer

  Spencer stared at the paperwork on his desk. He was so tired of seeing the worst of what humankind had to offer. He had always wanted to help people, so when he graduated high school he went straight to the police academy knowing that would be a surefire way to make a difference. He would never regret that decision, but since then he had seen horrible things. Things that most people would never imagine another person would be capable of doing. Once he became a detective it only got worse. Now it was him who was in charge of working those cases. The ones where children were beaten, raped, and even killed. Where bodies had to be identified through dental records or DNA because they were too mangled for a loved one to make the I.D. He hadn’t expected this job to have such a huge impact on him emotionally, but he had clearly been an idiot. There were nights when he wasn’t able to sleep at all; woken up by nightmares about the cases he hadn’t solved. He was fucked up in the head, and he was lonely. Not many people wanted to stick around when he would continuously wake up in the middle of the night yelling and drenched in sweat from the nightmares. That and he never let himself get too close to anyone. He was too afraid of losing them. Struggled too much to keep work out of his personal life. What if some gangster he helped put away sent someone to teach him a lesson? He would never be able to live with himself if someone he cared about got hurt, or worse killed, because of him. So he had just stayed single. Better to be lonely than risk it. Spencer was beginning to think it might be time for a career change.

  “Hey, Spence, someone is here to see you.”

  Spencer looked up when Henry called his name. Before he had the chance to get up and
go see who could possibly be there for him, Henry gestured in his direction and Clay Hale walked past him heading in Spencer’s direction. Spencer stood and shook the man’s hand when he came over. Just like in Clay’s office, the second their hands touched Spencer felt it throughout his entire body and he swallowed hard. Thor’s lightening shooting through him wouldn’t have left such an impact. He hoped the other man hadn’t been able to notice the thundering of his heartbeat and how Spencer’s breathing hitched every time they had any kind of contact. “Mr. Hale, what can I do for you?”

  “Please, call me Clay.” Without being prompted, Clay took a seat in one of the chairs by his desk, so Spencer followed suit and sat back down in his own chair.

  “Alright. What can I help you with, Clay.”

  Clay leaned forward, closer to Spencer, and he was caught off guard by how much he liked Clay’s nearness. He could smell the other man’s cologne. It was spicy and masculine, and for some reason that turned Spencer on. He cleared his throat and looked away from Clay for a second, trying to clear those thoughts from his head. He needed to be professional. Clay Hale had certainly not driven down to the police station to get ogled like some sex object.

  Clay held a folder out to Spencer and he took it. He opened it up and looked inside seeing several financial documents from Hale Inc. “It’s the evidence against Josh,” Clay said. “I told you that I would get it to you.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t expect it would be you who delivered it.” After the words were out of his mouth Spencer cringed. That had definitely sounded a lot harsher than he’d intended them to. “It’s just, I figured you would have an assistant who took care of things like this for you.”

  Clay smirked. “I do have an assistant, but if I had let her bring this down here then I wouldn’t have got to see you, now would I?”

  Spencer’s mouth dropped open and he just stared at Clay. Clay’s voice had been low and clearly laced with something sensuous; maybe even sexual. He wasn’t sure how long it took before his brain and mouth reconnected so that he was able to form words again. “Yeah, well, thanks for bringing this.” He held the folder up. Spencer had no idea how he was supposed to respond to what Clay had said, so he chose to act like he hadn’t heard it and changed the subject a bit. “Have you been able to find a viable candidate to take his place yet? I’m sure that being without someone to work at your company’s head of security is something you would want to remedy as quickly as you can.”