Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1) (11 page)

She
sighed. There was no point worrying about it until she had to.

She
sipped her wine. Tomorrow she was back at the plant. She wasn’t sure how much
work would be waiting for her, and she couldn’t help fretting about Jack. They
had slept together again. It shouldn’t be a big deal. She’d acted on her
attraction and she was happy with the results. Bridget shook her head. Way to
analyze things.

But
she’d been high on the dive experience, she’d not been thinking rationally. Had
she made the best decision? Could she keep her work relationship with Jack
separate from her other relationship?

They’d
not agreed to keep it secret – just separate. Part of her wanted no one to
know, but the other part reminded her she’d kept her relationship with Lionel
secret too, and that had led to disaster.

Tanya
walked into the room. “How do I look?”

Bridget
turned. Tanya was wearing the new blue dress she’d bought that fit her curves
perfectly. “Gorgeous.”

“Are you
sure?” Tanya plucked at the dress.

Her
friend was nervous. Bridget couldn’t remember a time when Tanya was nervous
about anything.

She
stood up and walked over to her. “Hal’s going to swallow his tongue when he
sees you,” she assured her friend.

Tanya
gave her a small smile. “I’m so sure I want to spend the rest of my life with
him, but my nerves are humming.”

“It’s
a big deal, honey. But you’ll be fine.” She hugged her.

“You’re
right.” Tanya huffed out a breath. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bridget
stood where she was until Tanya shut the front door. What was she going to do
now? She hadn’t brought any work home with her and there was no game on
television.

She
walked in to the kitchen and checked the fridge for something to eat, then
closed it again. Nothing appealed.

She
could get some take-out but there was only
herself
to
order for. It felt a little bit pathetic today. She should be thrilled for
Tanya. She should be happy her friend had found the man she wanted to spend the
rest of her life with. Instead she felt lonely.

It
was tempting to call Jack, ask him to come over, but it was a week night. She
wasn’t breaking their deal on the first day. Besides, that would mean it was
more than just casual.

And
it couldn’t be anything more than that.

There
was always one person who could cheer her up. She picked up the phone and
dialed.
“Hey, Zita.
What’s up?”

* * *

An
hour later, after she hung up from talking to her little sister, her phone
beeped.

Checking
it, she grinned. There was a photo of Tanya and Hal, with smiles as wide as a
rainbow, both holding out their hands to show off their engagement rings. The
message read,
Great minds think alike
.

Not
wanting to interrupt their celebration, she texted,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
and
put down her phone.

It
was official. Her best friend was getting married.

Bridget
tucked her legs up under her on the sofa and crossed her arms. It was fantastic
news. Really, it was.

Half
an hour later she was still sitting there contemplating what it all meant when
someone knocked on the door. Getting to her feet, she checked the peephole. She
frowned, opening the door.

Jack
shuffled on the spot, a little uncertain. “Hi. I guess you’ve heard the news. I
wanted to give Tanya and Hal a little privacy.” He shrugged. “I know it’s a
work night, but you weren’t at work today … I can go to my mother’s if
you’d prefer.”

She
knew what he was suggesting. She didn’t hesitate. “Come in.”

Chapter 11

They took separate cars to work the next morning.
Jack left first and Bridget tidied the kitchen before she followed him.

She’d
convinced herself they hadn’t broken the rules of their deal. Her work week
started today. And she couldn’t regret last night. They’d gone straight to bed,
made love slowly, exploring each other’s bodies, and then had slept curled up
together.

She
hadn’t had a man sleep over since Lionel but there was no time to be awkward
about it in the morning. At that early hour, she was on auto-pilot; taking a shower,
grabbing a bite to eat and making some lunch.

If
her morning routine had been broken up by a brief dalliance in the shower, she
wasn’t complaining. But now she needed to get back into work mode.

She
greeted the security guard at the gatehouse, reviewed the incidents on site
since she’d last been at work, and when she deemed it time, she ducked her head
into Jack’s office and said, “Morning, boss. What’s new?”

His
grin was quick before he answered, “Production has implemented a new
communication strategy. Any messages for nightshift are to go through the shift
supervisor. He’ll make sure they’re passed on.”

“That’s
great.” It would take a little bit of time to see if it worked, but she’d be
optimistic.

“Take
a seat and I’ll update you with the progress we made on your project.”

Bridget
took the seat he offered, her knee brushing his. Heat zapped between them. She
had to get herself under control. Focusing on the paperwork in front of her,
she shifted her seat slightly further away from him, ignoring his small smile,
and got to work.

* * *

The
week at work was the best that Jack had had. The awkwardness between
he
and Bridget had disappeared and was replaced by a lovely
anticipation for the weekend. They shared the occasional secret smile, but were
able to work together without any fuss. Bridget focused on the job and got it
done.

He’d
never met anyone more dedicated and more efficient. The project she was
implementing was right on schedule and a few people had commented it was a
relief that the issue was finally being addressed. It made him question yet
again why she hadn’t been given his job.

At
the end of the day he stopped by Bridget’s office. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”

She
nodded. “Tanya’s staying at Hal’s,” she said in a low voice.

He
grinned. “Is that an invitation?”

She
looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Yes.”

Desire
swept straight to his groin. It was just as well he’d left talking to her about
this until the end of the day. He checked the hall but there were too many
people still about. “I’ll see you then.”

He
left before he did something silly, like give
himself
away. As he walked out of the administration building, his name was called.
Turning back he saw the production manager waving to him.

“We’ve
got a problem.”

Jack
swallowed his annoyance and walked back. “What is it?”

“We’ve
got an unplanned shutdown and need a safety person to help with the risk
assessment.”

Something
like that was going to take at least an hour, maybe longer depending on the
situation. Most of his team had already left and he wasn’t going to call them
back. “I’ll do it. Where are we meeting?”

“Room
three.”

“I’ll
be there in five.”

He
stuck his head into Bridget’s office. “I need to take a raincheck.”

“What’s
happened?”

“I’ve
got to help with a risk assessment for an unplanned shutdown.”

“I
can do it if you want.”

“No.
I need to sit in on one of these anyway. There’s no point both of us staying.”

“Do
you still want to come over when you’re done?”

“If it’s not too late.”

She smiled,
brightening up his spirits.
“Any time.”

He
wanted to kiss her, but he couldn’t, not here. “I’ll call.”

* * *

It
was seven o’clock before Jack was able to leave work. There was still a chance
he and Bridget could go out to dinner, but he was exhausted. He’d spent the
last two hours insisting they do a proper risk assessment and that the
likelihood and consequences were higher than the others wanted them to be. It
was all just an exercise in avoiding paperwork.

The
unit shutdown was a high risk operation which meant more safety processes than
production wanted. Well, that was too bad. They had the processes for a reason
and no one could justify why they should skip them.

When
they’d finished the meeting, he’d printed out the details agreed upon, and emailed
a copy to Kevin so he was kept in the loop. Jack couldn’t understand why these
people didn’t understand the risks they were taking. There were plenty of
examples of major incidents at oil refineries where not following procedures
was reported as one of the causes. Perhaps he needed to print a couple of those
reports out, show them to the people in charge. Maybe that would highlight the
risks to them. Just because they’d done it that way in the past and not had an
incident didn’t make it safe, it made them lucky.

He
pulled out his cell and dialed Bridget’s number. “We’ve finished.” He couldn’t
hide the tiredness in his voice.

“Why
don’t I order take-out? You can pick it up on your way here.”

He
could have kissed her. “That would be great.”

“There’s
a fantastic Chinese restaurant around the corner.” She gave him the address.
“Do you want anything in particular?”

“Just
you,” he said.

She
was silent for a moment. “I’ll see you when you get here.”

Jack wasn’t
sure what to make of her silence, but he’d figure it out when he got there.
Right now he needed to leave before something else came up.

* * *

Bridget
opened the door before Jack could knock. She’d been waiting for him. He held up
the bag of take-out food. “The hunter-gatherer has arrived.”

She
smiled, took the bag from him and kissed him. His day got a hundred times
better.

“Come
in. Do you want a shower before we eat?”

The
idea was tempting, but he hadn’t stopped at home to pick up a change of clothes.
“Let’s eat first.”

He
followed her into the kitchen.

“Sit
down. I’ll get the plates.”

More
than happy to do what he was told, Jack sat and took the plate she handed him.

“How
did the assessment go?” Bridget asked.

He
wanted to talk to her about it, ask for her thoughts about how to change the
lackadaisical culture on site, but he had promised their weekends wouldn’t
involve work. “I’ll tell you about it on Monday.”

She
frowned at him.

“No
work,” he reminded her.

Handing
him a serving spoon she nodded.
“All right.”

They
dished up the food and began to eat.

“What
do you think about Tanya and Hal’s engagement?” Jack asked. He’d only been
mildly surprised when they’d returned home flashing their rings.

“They
fit together, and they seem happy.”

He agreed.
“Tanya’s making noises about moving in.”

Bridget’s
eyebrows
raised
. “That I didn’t know.”

“She
hasn’t said it in so many words, but she’s spent the last few nights helping me
search for a place of my own.”

“That’s
being subtle for Tanya.”

He
laughed. “I thought so too.” As he ate, he wondered whether he should bring up
the idea he’d been playing with. He was about eighty percent sure Bridget would
freak out and he didn’t want that. But it would solve a few problems if he took
Tanya’s room and Tanya moved in with Hal.

Perhaps
she’d come up with the same idea on her own.

Not
wanting to spoil the evening, he kept his mouth shut. “So what time do we leave
for the dive in the morning?”

* * *

Bridget
woke early the next morning, before her alarm went off. They needed to get down
to the docks in order to make their tour, but they had to stop by Hal’s so Jack
could get his things.

Light
from outside filtered through her blinds, lighting the room so she could see
Jack as he slept. She sighed softly and carefully got out of bed so as not to
wake him. He could sleep for another ten minutes. She’d turn on the coffee
maker and take a shower. They didn’t have time for shenanigans this morning.

Closing
her eyes she let the warm water flow over her. What should she do about Jack?
The most important question was probably how did she feel about him?

She
was attracted to him. That was a given. She liked him. He was intelligent,
thoughtful, and he made her laugh. If he wasn’t her boss, she’d happily start a
relationship with him.

But
that was the whole issue. He
was
her boss. There was no skirting around
that gigantic fact.

So
the way she saw it she had three choices: forget her second rule, ignore her
past, and have a relationship. The idea sent chills through her. That wasn’t
going to work.

She
could continue how they were – weekend lovers – and keep work and her personal
life separate. But she’d already acknowledged it was getting harder and harder
to do.

Or
she could find another job. The thought made her anger stir. She shouldn’t have
to do that. She didn’t want to do it. No one else would hire her. Plus if she
did, she’d end up resenting Jack, she was sure of it.

So
really, she had no idea what to do.

The
bathroom door opened. “I didn’t hear you get up,” Jack said.

“I thought
I’d give you a few more minutes to sleep,” Bridget answered, pushing aside her
worries for now. “Do you want to get in?”

He
slid across the shower curtain, already naked. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

His
smile and his naked body sent a thrill through her. She kissed him quickly, and
then slid past, out of the shower. “I’ll make breakfast. We don’t want to be
late.”

She
grabbed her towel and ducked out of the room before he could convince her to
stay.

* * *

It
was fresh and sunny on the docks where the dive boat was moored. Half a dozen
people lingered on the jetty and Bridget introduced Jack to the dive master.

He
checked Jack’s qualifications carefully before admitting them on to the boat.
“When was your last dive?” he asked after the boat had set off.

“A
couple of months ago on Ningaloo Reef,” Jack told him.

“I’ve
heard that’s a great spot. I’ve not been there myself.”

“It’s
worth the trip.”

“I’ve
got it on my bucket list.”

While
the two men chatted about dives they’d done, Bridget spoke with one of the
other divers. The boat ride lasted just over an hour before they dropped anchor
and began to suit up.

Nerves
played around Bridget’s stomach as she put on her wetsuit, checked her
equipment and ran through the checklist in her mind.

“How’re
you feeling?” Jack asked her.

“Excited.
Nervous.” But she felt better to be buddied with Jack. He was far more
experienced than she was, and while she was sure she remembered everything
she’d been taught, if something did go wrong, he’d be able to fix it.

“Those
nerves will settle once you hit the water,” he promised as they ran through the
buddy checklist. The dive master had already taken them through the safety
briefing before they arrived at the spot, and he now pointed out the areas he’d
referred to. They were diving on an old wreck.

“You
ready?” Jack asked.

Bridget
nodded. They lined up behind the other divers and at their turn, Bridget put
the mouthpiece in her mouth and jumped in.

Immediately
on entering the water, the weight of her tank lightened. The water was cold for
a moment before her body grew used to it and it settled into a pleasant
temperature. She followed Jack a few yards from the boat, out of the way of the
other divers, and gave him the OK signal. Then, facing each other, they
descended.

The
first breath after submerging always gave her a thrill. The idea of breathing
underwater was truly foreign, but exhilarating. The ambient noise disappeared,
replaced by the bubble of the water and the rasp of her breathing.

Bridget
slowed her inhalations and exhalations, allowing herself to relax. About ten
yards away on her right, two other divers were making their way down, and she
saw her first fish. Then the wreck came into view and there were fish
everywhere. They swam lazily back and forth, darting into the shelter of the
wreck when they got too close. The metal wreck of the ship was now alive,
covered in seaweed, in sponges and in coral.