I don't know what the hell got into that woman. If I didn't know better I'd think she was jealous. That was some kiss she laid on me and that ass in her tight skirt. . . . It was going to take me a couple of minutes before I could get out of the car and not embarrass myself.

I picked the couple of boxes out of the back seat to help cover up my crotch. However when I reached the door I didn't have a hand free to get my keys. Christina decided to help me by fishing for my keys in my front pocket. I lifted the boxes higher as she reached in.

"Those aren't my keys!"

"Oops, my mistake."

She finally grabbed the keys and then bent over, shoving her sexy ass right into my crotch so I couldn lower the boxes and began wiggling it as she tried to find the right key. The damn woman was giving me a lap dance on my front stoop!

"Oh, there it is. It just needs to be put in and turned like this!"

With one final twist and grind she opened the door. I rushed in and dropped the boxes as I hurried to my bedroom to clean up and change my boxers. I was starting to regret inviting her to stay as she laughed and yelled after me that she'd get the rest of her stuff.

She was putting things from the cooler into my refrigerator when I returned, bent over again like she knew I was coming. Then I realized she could see my reflection in the glass door of the produce shelf. I could see hers too and the shit-eating grin on her face.

I reached above her for a cold beer and dragged it along her back, purely by mistake, as she jumped and dropped the eggs she was holding right on her shoes.

I don't know how I resisted saying, "the yolk's on you." Maybe it was the look she gave me when she turned around. Two can play this game. I started singing.

"How d'ya like your eggs in the morning?

I like mine with a kiss."

I thanked my mom again for singing all those old songs as I channeled Dean Martin.

She laughed as she turned and kissed me. At the same time she rubbed her shoes on my trousers, the scamp. I couldn't believe it when she actually had the nerve to say, "I guess the yolk's on you." There ought to be a law!

We'd been musically jousting already and I know I was losing but couldn't resist one more try after he groaned at my yolk joke. So I whispered in his ear in my best seductive voice.

"Well he's not very handsome to look at.
Oh he's shaggy and he eats like a hog.
And he's always killin' my chickens
That dirty old egg-suckin' dog."

Tony's body shook and I was worried for a moment until I realized he was trying to keep from laughing and not succeeding.

"My god where did you learn that song?"

"From my sister. She was a big Johnny Cash fan."

"Do you know how much these pants cost?"

"No, but if you hum a few bars I'll try and sing it!"

I saw him reaching for more eggs and jumped into his arms. He staggered back several steps. I knew the eggs were out of reach now and was going to drop back to the floor but Tony had other ideas. This was getting out of hand quickly. It's why I didn't want to stay. I pushed him until he let me go and then he gave me that woeful puppy look, like I took his favorite chew toy away.

"Enough. It's my fault for starting it. I need to talk to Ms Lukes and my niece. You need some rest. I promised to cook for you too, so go lie down."

"I will, I promise, after your talks. Tanya asked me to talk too and I want to make sure you don't go all over-the-top with Jessica. After all I'm going to be her daddy."

It figured he'd turn that little joke back on me. Men!

I wondered if Ms Lukes would consider it unprofessional if I called her while sitting on Tony's lap. Damn, if only that paramedic had really been a minister.

I needed to get a grip here. I just wanted to put my brand on him before we spoke to that woman. That woman who promoted me, I reminded myself. I think I needed to talk to the endocrinologist about my hormone levels!

Tony had gently grabbed me by the waist and walked me into the study, sat me down on a comfy sofa and called Ms Lukes. Until her face popped up on the screen on the wall I had no idea we were video conferencing. And he let her see me like this! I could just kill him right now only Ms Lukes would be a witness. She was a woman, she'd probably understand and help me bury the body.

"Hi Christina, Tony. I'm glad you called before Dan got home. I wanted to get some things said before he was around.

First of all, Tony, I let Rick Wilson go. Yes, I know he was a big earner, but I can't have someone like him in the office. He's like a cancer and I didn't want him spreading his kind of work ethic around. That's probably one of the reasons Dan was like that on the phone. Despite my money, he likes to be independent and I can't really blame him.

I know too many wives who are totally dependent on their husbands so I encourage him. Maybe too much so. I've found out a few things that don't make me happy. I'm only telling you this so you understand I had no idea he fired you Tony. And when I found out why. . ."

"You don't need to explain Tanya. I've dealt with guys like Rick and your husband before. I just hated the way they treated my clients and Christina."

Tony smiled at me and put his hand on mine. Ms Lukes frowned. I thought it was because of his gesture. I was wrong.

"That's why I decided to split the investment firm into two divisions. As much as I hate to admit it Dan makes our clients money and along with that so do we. But most of his clients are in it for the short term and only risk funds they can lose. They don't trust us with all their investments for that reason.

Your clients, on the other hand, often invest all they have and trust you to protect their investment and income. Dan doesn't differentiate between the two. To him they are all just ATMs."

I could feel Tony tense up and then relax his grip on my hand as we listened and I didn't argue. This was a lot like what Tony had said to me when I got angry with him for defending Dan. Ms Lukes and Tony recognized this was a part of the business which is probably why she was the Chairman of the Board instead of one of her brothers.

I wish Tanya would get to the point. It was all well and good to tell us she'd fired that asshole Rick and was splitting the investment firm but while I had a clue why she wanted to talk to me she still hadn't said anything specific. I could understand that Christina needed to know because she would probably have to break out different parts of her analyses depending on which division they were for so that's probably why she wasn't working for Dan anymore. I do know Christina was smiling.

Finally Tanya got down to brass tacks and made me an offer to come back. I figured she'd want me to work for the new division as most of my clients fit the description of its client base. What I didn't expect was for her to ask me to run it!

I could tell by Christina's reaction that she was surprised too. Then she shocked me even more when she told me that Christina would have worked for me but that since we seemed to be a couple that she was going to be working directly for the corporate office.

I looked at Christina and she wasn't surprised so that must be what Tanya had told her on the phone earlier when she nearly fainted.

Tanya showed how perceptive she was when she told Christina she had no designs on me and that despite his faults she loved Dan. Christina blushed and now I understood that she had perceived Tanya as a threat and really was a little jealous.

I thought about teasing her about it and thought better of it. I wanted to live to see tomorrow. Maybe that cop was right!

I was so embarrassed. Ms Lukes certainly had me pegged. It was like she read my mind. I looked at Tony. He grinned and looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. Smart man.

Tony still hadn't given Ms Lukes an answer. I quietly reminded him what happened to his clients this last time he abandoned them. I know he felt responsible for how many of them were treated. A little guilt trip never hurts. Besides Ms Lukes was probably too polite to say he left his clients hanging. Not intentionally but it was his lack of control that allowed Dan and Rick to try and churn his clients.

Okay so maybe my whisper campaign included a little blowing in his ear and a nibble or two but Ms Lukes pretended not to notice though I detected a small grin that Tony most likely missed. It was all in his best interest of course.

I was so engrossed in my work that I almost missed Ms Lukes next comment about not just being in charge of the division here but across the nation. She was really serious about this. He managed to squeak out a yes and then she turned her attention to me.

I didn't know the CEO's of the other divisions were reading my analyses. They apparently liked them but wanted ones more specific to their needs. At least that's what Ms Lukes said. She wanted me to lead a team of analysts that could cross-reference events in other industries or like the current pandemic. She felt my talents were being underutilized. She'd read my master's thesis on 'the correlation of unrelated events on the world economy.'

I thought my professors were the only ones who had read it but one was an old friend of Ms Lukes and had sent her a copy. It was why the San Francisco office hired me!

She said she'd speak to both us in more detail later and hung up. I could see her laughing as Tony kissed me just before he managed to find the button to shut the call off.

I fended him off - eventually. I reminded him I had another kiss I needed to discuss, the one my niece planted on her driver. Tony settled back and called the cottage.

Jessica must have been in the kitchen snacking as she tried to hide the donuts in the distinctive pink and white box out of the view of the camera. She knew I loved donuts and probably felt bad that she couldn't share. I could see the powdered sugar on her lips.

"Hi auntie. How come you're at Tony's place again? I thought you were staying at the house?"

"A slight change of plans. We can talk about that later."

"Does it have anything to do with your lipstick all over Tony's ear and face?"

I was beginning to hate video conferencing!

"Never mind where my lipstick is, I want to talk about where yours is!"

"Oh, you saw that."

"Yes, we did. Those drivers are too old for you and I have a mind to call the company to register a complaint."

"It won't do you much good auntie. . . . "

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do young lady."

"I'm just trying to tell you it wasn't a driver from the ride service, that was Peter from my theater arts class. We have the lead roles in the spring school play. Or we had them. The rumor is that they are going to cancel classes after Spring Break for the rest of the month!"

"That's a shame but doesn't explain the kiss and don't tell me you were practicing for the play!"

I felt Tony's hand on mine again as he spoke.

"I think your aunt is just concerned for your well-being Jessica. As you can see you're not the only woman in the family that has been doing a little kissing. Like her, I'm concerned because I know young men and just want to be sure you don't make a mistake."

I nodded in agreement.

"Tony's right. . .."

"My only mistake was you two seeing us kissing. Just because you're over there making out like horny teenagers doesn't mean I am!"

Jessica disconnected the call and I sat there.

"Well that was us being told wasn't it."

"You're a big help. I have half a mind to go over there and. . . ."

"And what? She's a sixteen year old girl. It was just a kiss. If you press her on it, it becomes more than a simple kiss."

He was right. I hate it when that happens.

"You can call her back later, when you've calmed down. Now you said something about cooking me dinner? I hope you didn't need too many eggs because somebody dropped some."

"You, you. . . "