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Taylor.” Mike said his goodbyes and ended the conversation.
    Taylor updated her online calendar and added the meeting with Mike. While she was checking her e-mail for incoming orders, Brit came into the office and poured herself a cup of coffee. Her assistant lounged in one of the chairs in front of Taylor’s desk, her leg draped over the arm of the chair. Taylor raised an eyebrow, taking in Brit’s skinny jeans and knee-high leather boots. The girl’s dark hair was pulled back into a stark ponytail.
    “Good morning. Auditioning for a Robert Palmer video today?” Taylor said.
    “Don’t be mean. John’s after-closing party kept me up late. Man, he knows some wild people. You so should have come with us. We took over the top of the Hoff building after-hours. It was wicked.” Brit sipped her coffee.
    “I had some business to deal with …” Taylor said. “I’ve got a meeting out of the office this afternoon, can you handle things?”
    Brit eyed her. “Can’t be a nail appointment, you just got them done for the opening. Maybe a new cut? Or, are you finally going to try out that new masseuse over at Warm Springs Spa? I hear he’s hot.”
    “Maybe I didn’t tell you where my appointment was because I didn’t want you to know?” Taylor smiled at her friend. Brit had joined the gallery the same summer Taylor had come to work for her grandfather. Taylor had expected to have years to learn the industry under his guidance. Instead, when he’d died last year from a stroke, she’d stepped up and started managing the gallery. And other than dealing with the mess the recession had put them in, she thought she’d been doing a pretty good job. Until last night.
    “Speaking of hot guys, who was that hunk of hot with your folks last night? Everyone at the party was buzzing about him. No one knew him, so we called him your mystery date.” Brit leaned forward. “I mean, did you see his eyes? I’ve never seen that shade of blue before. And the way his tuxedo fit … Dude, I wanted to show him our back room, if you know what I mean.”
    Taylor smiled. She knew exactly what Brit meant. Jesse Sullivan had turned many heads last night, and not just those of the young women. Some of the country club members had wandered over with their cocktails to meet the mysterious man. They had used their free hands to caress his muscular arms hiding under the fabric of his jacket. The man drew women in like flies. How could she compete with that? Gallery groupies would buy stock just to spend time with the new owner. She cringed as she realized how likely that was.
    “Over my dead body,” she said to herself. This was her legacy. She wasn’t giving in that easy.
    Brit’s eyes widened and Taylor realized she had said the words aloud.
    Her assistant held up her hands in mock surrender. “All you had to say was that he’s yours. You know I don’t play in other people’s backyards.”
    Taylor shook her head. “Sorry, I …” She paused. How much did she want to tell Brit? And how long did she have before the news came out, anyway? “Look, things are complicated right now.”
    Brit picked up the sales paperwork that Taylor had already processed, and cradled the stack in her arms. Watching Taylor, she frowned. “I’m not judging or being nosy, but if you want to talk, you know I’m here. You look like someone ran over your dog and stole your truck.”
    “In other words, I look like a real life country song?”
    “Exactly.” Brit stopped at the doorway to the office. “You want me to order lunch?”
    The thought of food made Taylor’s stomach lurch. “No, I’ll grab something while I’m out.”
    Her office fell silent once Brit left. Taylor stared at a framed picture on her desk. It showed the day of her first gallery opening. William Harrison had his arm around her, and a smile the size of a Golden-Day Hollywood star. She had to fix this, one way or another.
    • • •
    Jesse sat waiting at a plastic table under a