Gary Landis stopped at the foreman’s office as a courtesy to his immediately superior. Two weeks prior, he had scheduled the afternoon off, but he still wanted to make sure his boss, Hank, was aware of his departure.

“Don’t worry, Gary,” Hank assured him. “You’re already off the clock, so get your ass to that game. Have a cold beer for me.”

Gary grinned as he waved his understanding to his supervisor. He quickly spun and headed for the exit, but ran into a problem. Before he could slow his momentum, Gary collided with a woman.

It wasn’t just any woman. She was the granddaughter of the owner of the company. Gary had never been introduced to the young woman, but he well knew who she was. Everyone in the company knew who Monica Henderson was.

She was the apple of her grandfather’s eye as well as his heir apparent. Her thick blonde hair whipped across Gary’s face as he instinctively brought his hands to her shoulders to prevent her from falling to the floor on the rebound. As brief as the contact was, Gary had felt her ample bosom hit his lower chest before she caromed backward.

“Ma’am, I’m so sorry,” Gary sincerely apologized. “It was entirely my fault. Are you okay?”

Monica Henderson looked Gary directly in the eye before turning her head to stare at his left hand which remained on her shoulder.

“The sooner you release me, the sooner we’ll be able to put this incident behind me,” Monica stated coldly.

Gary was still admiring the beauty of the young woman as she spoke. He had seen her in the building a few times, but had never had the opportunity to see her so close and so clearly. Her eyes shined like diamonds and her skin was flawless. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Gary! Let go of Ms. Henderson’s shoulder.” Hank’s commanding voice broke through Gary’s paralysis.

Monica Henderson had been in a hurry and hadn’t been paying much attention to her surroundings. She had an important meeting in ten minutes and had forgotten to place an order for a lunch delivery. She was especially concerned since she had promised to have deli sandwiches available for her new clients after their meeting.

She had seen Gary operating a large, complex looking machine several times as she crossed the factory floor for various reasons. While he obviously wasn’t her type, she admitted to herself that he was a good looking man. The fact that he was working as a machine operator for her grandfather indicated he was nowhere near her status. Accordingly, she had never bothered learning anything about him.

Monica had no trouble detecting the interest in Gary’s eyes as he slowly removed his hand from her shoulder. That was when she realized he was the answer to her lunch problems. Her obvious irritation morphed into a beautiful smile as Gary stood mesmerized by the transformation. She was a vision.

“It was partly my fault, too. I should have been watching more closely,” Monica told Gary as she looked into his unblinking eyes. “You can make this little incident up to me by picking up an order I’ve just placed at The Village Deli.

“Here’s a hundred dollars to cover the bill. You can keep any money left over. Please deliver it to my office by one. Thanks so much,” Monica added as she handed Gary a bill and immediately rushed away.

“Nice looking girl, isn’t she?” Hank asked rhetorically. “It looks like you’re going to be late for the ballgame, but being noticed by Monica Henderson is worth it.”

Once Monica left Gary’s line of sight, he found himself once again in control of his thoughts and actions. He looked at Hank and chuckled.

“She didn’t notice me. She noticed a way to get a schmuck to do her bidding. Women like her don’t even know guys like me exist. I’ll be getting to the ball game on time.”

“What about her lunch order?” Hank asked. “How are you going to manage that and get to the game?”

“Let me give you the money if you’re worried about her,” Gary suggested as he offered the bill to Hank. “I’m giving you the chance to get in good with the future boss.”

“I’m not going to get in the middle of this,” Hank declared firmly. “I’m not taking a bullet for you either, so think about your future here before you do something rash.”

“I’ve been planning on taking Frankie and Brent to opening day for weeks. They’re expecting me to pick them up in a few minutes,” Gary stated. “We both know she’s way out of my league. She was just using me to solve a problem she was having. Lack of planning on her part does not an emergency make, at least not for me.”

“It’s your neck on the line,” Hank warned. “When she has me called on the carpet I’m going to tell her grandfather the truth. I’m not lying for you.”

“I wouldn’t ask you, nor expect you to lie,” Gary replied. “I need to get going or I won’t make it before the seventh inning stretch.”

It was just after three when a seething Monica Henderson stepped into Hank’s office.

“Where’s that bastard who stole my money?” Monica demanded. “You’d better tell me he was hit by a cement truck on his way to pick up my order or I’m going to have him arrested, fired and impoverished even more than he already is.”

“It was on Fifth and Main as he tried to cross against traffic. The impact knocked him clear out of his shoes,” Hank stated with a sad shake of his head.

“Oh my God! Was he badly hurt?” Monica asked.

“Naw, he really went to the opening day baseball game of the Tides. Gary promised a couple of kids who he’s mentoring that he’d take them. He’ll be back in tomorrow if you want to talk to him then.”

“You think this is funny? I had important clients in my office and I had promised them we’d have a sandwich while we worked through lunch. It was extremely embarrassing for me.

“Maybe you forget who I am,” Monica continued. “My grandfather is going to be pissed when I tell him how that man stole my money and he won’t be very happy about you making a joke out of it.”

“Actually, I think Sam will get quite a chuckle out of it,” responded Hank. “He pulled some great pranks on the guys when he worked the floor years ago. I was his helper for a year and I saw him pull some funny sh ... stuff.”

“We’ll see who’s laughing tomorrow,” Monica replied with some heat. “I’m going to tell Grandpa about this man leaving work to attend a baseball game and taking my money like he was going to pick up my order. He’s a liar and thief.”

Sam Henderson was hanging up the phone as Monica stormed into his office. She couldn’t help but notice his grin as he motioned for her to have a seat.

“Gramps, I want to report a guy named Gary Landis. He runs one of the machines. He agreed to pick up a lunch order I called in since I was busy with a meeting. I gave him a hundred dollar bill to pay for it, but he left work and went to a ball game instead.”

“So, what exactly, is your complaint, Monica? Did he tell you that he’d pick up your lunch order? You think he knew he would never get back with your order and just took your money?”

Monica considered her story. She had not been raised to lie and she realized she was, at the very least, exaggerating.

“He didn’t actually agree to pick up my order. It was more of an unstated understanding. He took my hundred dollar bill quick enough. He knew I expected him to use it for my lunch order.”

“When did you promise that you’d supply the vendors who you were meeting that you’d supply lunch?” asked her grandfather.

“Last week when we made the appointment. I told them that I’d have sandwiches for them since they were on such a tight schedule and we had to meet during the lunch hour,” Monica replied.

“You made an appointment and promised a lunch to these people almost a full week ago? Ten minutes before the meeting was due to begin; you were looking for someone to pick up your order?”

“Yeah, it does sound pretty lame, doesn’t it?” Monica admitted. “I forgot about it until I looked at my schedule half an hour before they were supposed to arrive.”

“So what do you feel Mr. Landis did wrong this morning?” Her grandfather patiently asked.

“I guess for having a life of his own, for not kowtowing to my demands and maybe for taking my money knowing full well he’d never pick up my order,” Monica reluctantly stated.

“That’s much better, Monica,” Sam Henderson gently responded. “Own your mistakes and learn from them. Organize your meetings better and keep extensive notes. It’ll serve you well.”

“Let me give you another word of advice. You’ve been working here for a few months. How many people working for this company have you actually met and spoken with who are not in management?”

“I think I know everyone in the office,” Monica answered. “I really haven’t had time to meet the people working the manufacturing side.”

“Really? You’re here for over eight hours every day and you’ve never found a few minutes to get to know the people who make our product?” Sam questioned. “Who do you think is responsible for making this company profitable? The people in the office or those making the products we ship out?”

“They’re all equally important,” Monica quickly responded.

“Okay, let’s go with that answer. If you feel that’s the case, why have you only met with office personnel?”

“Because I’m pompous and a bit judgmental?” Monica asked contritely.

“That could be overstating it, but not by much,” Sam asserted. “You’ll be running this company someday. I can’t stress enough to you how important it is for the person in charge of a company to understand as much about the dynamics of the business as possible. An important part of that is getting to know the people working for you, as well as their hopes and dreams.

“A good example is this little bit of information. The same Gary Landis you had a problem with this morning is one of our most productive, highly respected employees. The other associates like him and follow his example. You probably couldn’t pick a worse person to have a problem with.”

Monica was unable to hide her surprise. “How can you say that, Grandpa? When he bumped into me, I had to insist that he take his hands off my shoulders. He stared at me for the longest time, especially my cleavage. I don’t think you know him as well as you like to believe.”

“Monica, I may be getting older, but I’m not blind. You wear clothes that enhance and display your curves. Gary is a straight male. You’re very beautiful, probably more so than any other woman he’s ever seen. I can’t blame him for staring at you. You’d be disappointed if he didn’t. Now that I think about it, I would be, too.”

“He still owes me a hundred dollars,” Monica insisted as she realized she was getting nowhere complaining about the man to her grandfather. “I’m not going to let him get away with taking my money.”

Gary was not surprised when Hank summoned him to the office early in the shift the next day. Monica Henderson was waiting for him when he stepped inside. Hank simply nodded to Gary and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

“You took a hundred dollars of mine as well as embarrassing me in front of customers. Did it ever occur to you that your job is dependent on the continuing sales of the product? Securing the business of those customers was far more important than a ball game.”

“You pretty much told me to keep the change, so I did,” Gary carefully replied. “You assumed that since I was so infatuated with your beauty I would do your bidding, regardless of any conflicting obligations I may have had. I promised two kids that I’d take them to opening day. They’d been looking forward to it for weeks. I had requested yesterday afternoon off and it was cleared with management.”

“You stared at me, at my chest and my face,” Monica stated. “That’s not infatuation. It’s plain creepy behavior. In fact, you’re looking at my chest right now. What is wrong with you?”

“Ma’am, I’m only looking at the parts that are showing,” Gary responded with a grin. “Is there anything else? I need to get back to my job.”

“You mean anything else like an apology, the return of my money and the decency to stop looking at me like I’m a tasty morsel? When can I expect my money back, or will I have to withhold it from your pay?”

“You must have learned something in the time you spend getting your business degree. You can’t withhold money from my check over a personal dispute like this, so that’s an empty threat,” Gary reasoned. “You can’t walk around looking that damn good without expecting men to look at you as closely as possible. I haven’t done anything to apologize for, but if it means so much to you, be here at Hank’s office at shift change. I’ll have the money then.”

“You’re going to get into so much trouble talking to women in the work place like you just did to me. It isn’t just creepy, it’s wrong and it’s illegal. I’m giving you a break this time because Grandpa asked me to be easy on you, but it won’t turn out so well for you if you maintain your misogynist attitude. I’ll be here to collect my money. You can be sure of that.”

Monica stepped into Hank’s office a few minutes before shift change and was surprised to find a thin girl of about eleven wearing thick glasses. A boy who was obviously her brother was sitting next to her in one of the two guest chairs in the room. The boy quickly jumped up and pointed to the chair he had just vacated.

“Ma’am, you can have this chair. We won’t be here much longer anyway.”

Curiosity got the best of Monica. Two children sitting in the foreman’s office during work was a bit out of the ordinary.

“Why are you kids here? Does Hank know you’re in his office? Do you have a parent working here?” Monica asked in rapid succession.

“We don’t have any parents,” replied the girl. “Hank told us to wait here. We came to thank the lady who paid for our lunches at the game yesterday.”

“Yeah, it was great!” the girl’s brother added. “I had five hotdogs and seven root beers.”

“Don’t forget the ice cream sundae you had on the way home,” his sister reminded him.

Monica was chuckling at the boy’s food consumption when Hank entered the room with Gary in tow. The two kids’ faces lit up when they saw Gary. It was quite evident that they both held him in high regard.

“Frankie, this nice woman is Ms. Henderson,” began Gary. “Miss Henderson, this pretty young lady is Frankie Banner. They good looking boy next to her is her older brother, Brent. They have something they want to tell you.”

“Gary told us that you gave him the money for our hotdogs and sodas. We’d like to thank you for being such a nice lady,” Frankie stated sincerely. “He said you were very pretty and that you liked baseball. Maybe you could come to a game with us, if Gary’s able to take us again?”

Monica shot a hard look at Gary before giving the two kids a warm smile. “Gary wasn’t supposed to tell you about the money I gave him. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t ever go to baseball games. Is Gary your uncle or something?”

“No, but we wish he was. We met him at the park one day when Grandma passed out on the bench. He helped her feel better and gave us a ride home. He’s been our friend ever since,” Brent revealed. “Grandma is getting sicker all the time and Gary’s been helping us get meals and to school. He’s really cool.”

“Okay, kids. My shift is over and it’s time to head home. What do you say that we stop at the grocery store and get something we can make for dinner? Your grandmother won’t have to worry about it and she can rest some more,” Gary suggested.

As the two kids headed for the door, Gary paused long enough to pull a bill from his shirt pocket and offer it to Monica while out of their view.

“I was just being a jerk about the money,” he admitted with a grin. “Here’s your hundred back. We’re even now.”

“You don’t think very much of me, do you?” Monica demanded in a low voice so the kids would not hear her. “I’m not taking that money. All you had to do was tell me you spend it on those two precious kids. I’m not the cold bitch you seem to think I am.”

In what seemed to be developing into a habit, Gary looked at her for a long time. He finally nodded to Hank before telling Monica, “Thanks. The kids really enjoyed themselves.”

As soon as Gary closed the door, Monica turned her attention to Hank. “Who are those kids and what is their connection to Mr. Landis?”

“Like they said, their grandmother had a medical problem at the park and Gary helped them out. He found out their mother had died from a drug overdose and their father’s in prison for murder in a drug deal gone bad.

“Gary’s taken them under his wing. They live with their grandmother over in the ‘Meadows’ low income housing complex and have it pretty tough,” Hank added. “Gary’s pretty worried about what’s going to happen to them when the grandmother dies or becomes totally infirmed.”

“That’s too bad,” Monica stated with a sympathetic sigh. “Life isn’t fair. The kids are so polite and well mannered. The grandmother deserves a lot of credit.”

“You didn’t meet them when Gary first became involved. Those kids were hellions,” Hank said. “Gary’s been a very good influence on them. That’s for sure.”

It was two weeks later when Monica overhead her grandparents talking. It was during one of her grandmother visits to her grandfather’s office. Monica often left the door open between her office and her grandfather’s so she could learn more about his management techniques.

“Gary’s going to be here in a minute. He wants to see you, Martha. I think it’s about those kids he’s been helping. He sounded concerned.”

Monica heard a light knock on her grandfather’s door and then Gary’s voice. “I hate to be a bother, Martha, but I didn’t know where else to turn. Thanks, for giving me some of your time.”

“You know I’ll always make time for you, Gary,” Martha Henderson replied. “What can I help you with?”

Monica was quite surprised that her grandmother was on a first name basis with Gary Landis. How did that happen? When did it happen?

“You know how I’ve been trying to help the two kids I met at the park a few months ago,” Gary began. “Their grandmother’s been given a very short time to live. I tried to have the kids move in with me, but child services got involved. They don’t feel a single man would be able to provide a suitable home for two kids, especially when one of them is a young girl.

“I know you serve on a lot of boards and have some influence in the community. I was hoping that you’d vouch for me and that it might help my chances.”

“That’s a tough one,” Martha admitted. “Do you have a steady girlfriend or fiancé by any chance? I think that would greatly improve your chances. What they really want is a stable family with a husband and wife. You can understand their reasoning.”

“I do understand how that may be the optimum outcome, but doesn’t it seem like those kids would be better off with an adult who already cares for them, already knows them and is willing and able to adopt them?” Gary asked.

“Of course I do, but there are probably married couples in the foster care system who would be willing to give the children a home. The system is going to turn to those couples first. If no one is found, I’m sure you’d be considered and I would give you my full support,” Martha promised.

“That doesn’t sound very encouraging to me. Frankie and Brent have their hearts set on living with me. I guess I’m feeling the same toward them,” Gary admitted. “The odds of me finding a wife or even a supportive woman are pretty slim at this juncture. I don’t know any woman who would even consider marrying me. You may have noticed that I’m a bit lacking in charm and charisma.”

Martha looked toward the open side door as she spoke a tad bit loudly. “It’s possible there are women out there who find themselves in an untenable situation as well. If you could find a woman who, for reasons of her own, needed a husband immediately, you might be able to work something out. Your plight could be the answer to her problem.”

Gary looked to Sam for some sort of explanation but Sam simply shrugged his shoulders.

“I can’t imagine a woman finding herself in that sort of quandary,” Gary stated carefully as he tried to determine what sort of hint Martha might be giving him. “If you happen to know one, however, I’d probably be willing to marry her no matter how homely, overweight and shrewish she might be.”

“How can I resist that lead-in?” Monica asked from the open doorway. “I know what you’re suggesting, Grandma. I’m having trouble believing you think I should marry this man just to secure my trust. Wouldn’t I be better off hiring someone, or just finding some random guy at a club?

“Mr. Landis and I are not exactly the best of friends. I certainly wouldn’t consider having him in my bed and I doubt I could endure him in my house.”

“You were referring to your granddaughter?” asked a stunned Gary. “I can’t imagine her having any problem that would be severe enough to cause her to consider marrying me. Women as beautiful as she is have wealthy, successful men waiting in line for a chance to date her. I’m not enjoying this joke very much.”

“Listen to me, both of you,” Martha Henderson demanded. “The fact that you two are not exactly best friends is a plus. This would be strictly a business decision without any emotional entanglements. One thing I know about you both is that you are honest. If you commit to something you’ll do your best to make it work.

“Monica’s grandfather on her mother’s side, left a considerable amount of money in a trust when he died ten years ago. It simply stated that Monica’s mother’s children would assume possession of the trust at the age of 25, or when they married, whichever came first, after the age of 21. Monica is an only child, so she always assumed that she would inherit the trust when she turned 25.

“It’s recently come to our attention that Monica’s mother plans to marry a man with three teenage children from two different marriages Monica’s mother, Sherry, has reportedly agreed to adopt them. If that happens they could argue, possibly with success, that they are entitled to a share of the trust.

“However,” Martha continued, “if Monica were to marry before she has any step-siblings she would clearly be the only child and immediately be entitled to the entire trust.”

“I’m not totally opposed to having siblings and sharing the trust, but we strongly suspect Mom is being scammed by a clever con man. We want to remove the possibility of a large financial gain for him from the situation,” Monica clarified. “That would be the acid test for his intentions.”

“That doesn’t explain why you don’t pick someone from a small herd of men who would love to marry you. Why me? I don’t need your money,” Gary stated.

“Bingo!” Martha blurted. “I have explained to Monica that you’re an honorable man who would not try to take her money nor force yourself upon her if you shared a home.”

“I have to be honest. I didn’t want to resort to getting married to solve this issue. I was hoping Martha could pull some strings and find a way for me to adopt the kids as a single man,” Gary revealed.

“I’m sure Ms. Henderson is a wonderful young woman, but I doubt our marriage would survive very long,” Gary stated. “She’s strong willed and spoiled. I can’t see her being a mother figure to the two kids.”

“This isn’t supposed to be a long term thing, you opinionated jackass,” Monica practically snarled. “I’m beginning to think no amount of money could make being your wife bearable.”

Monica’s grandparents had insisted to Monica that Gary Landis was the perfect solution for her trust fund dilemma. She very reluctantly agreed to discuss the idea with him, but she wondered if she’d soon regret any interaction with the man.

Sam Henderson had been quietly listening to the exchange. “I’ve heard enough. I am asking you both to accept this proposal. I admit that it isn’t ideal, but it could benefit you both as well as the two children. Gary, will you do this?”

Gary felt trapped. Sam had been extremely kind to him since he began working for him at eighteen. He was worried that Monica was an exceptionally sharp woman and would quickly see through him.

Reluctantly, Gary nodded. “Okay, Sam. I expect you’ve already asked your lawyers to draw up prenuptial agreements. How soon does Ms. Henderson need this to happen?”

“Thanks, Gary,” Sam beamed. “Would the day after tomorrow be too soon? I took the liberty to make an appointment at City Hall.”

“I have a few questions,” Monica stated. “Where are we going to live? How can I be sure he’ll respect my privacy? What will I be expected to do for those kids?”

“Gary has a very nice home. If you insist on privacy in your marriage, you can use a separate bedroom with its own bath and a lock on the door. He’s a perfect gentleman, so you’ll have no problems there,” Martha declared.

Monica made a mental note to ask her grandmother how she knew so much about Gary and his home as soon as she had the chance.

“You just have to be civil to Frankie and Brent,” Gary added. “I’ll be the parent figure. You can go about your usual routine, except you can never bring any dates, lovers or boyfriends to my house.”

“That would be awkward for me, too. I’ll forgo dating until we see how this all works out. We’re going to have a lot of discussions about rules and expectations,” Monica predicted.

The next morning found Gary Landis and Monica Henderson applying for a marriage license. The following morning, the couple was married in a quick civil ceremony. Sam, Martha, Frankie and Brent were the only witnesses.

“Don’t you have any relatives you could have invited?” Monica asked Gary. “I know we’re trying to keep this whole thing low key, but your parents will probably be pissed at you for not inviting them.”

“I haven’t seen my parents since the day I turned eighteen,” Gary responded. “We agreed to go our separate ways and it has worked fine so far.”

“I’m so sorry for asking such an insensitive question,” Monica apologized. “I didn’t realize you were estranged from your parents. There’s so much we have to learn about each other.”

“I’m sure you’ll do your best,” were Gary’s thoughts to himself. He had serious doubts that the whole marriage thing would be anything but a complete disaster, but he felt compelled to do his best for the two kids. His fondness for the two siblings was going to create major problems down the road. He was sure of that.

As soon as the ceremony was over Sam and Monica headed for the office of the lawyer who handled the trust fund. Martha and Gary immediately visited the Child Protection Services office to begin the process of adopting the siblings. Their grandmother was in hospice and not expected to survive much longer. It was obvious that Martha carried no small amount of influence. Gary was assured that he and Monica were on the fast track for adoption of the children.

Monica was not especially conceited, but Gary’s lack of enthusiasm for being married to her was disconcerting. He would not be getting any of her money but he would have a wealthy, attractive wife. It seemed like that would be worth a smile or two. He had mentioned a couple of times that he found her very attractive. He didn’t appear to be gay, but he remained aloof and somewhat distant.

She only agreed to her grandparents’ scheme because they had stated complete confidence in Gary’s character, plus it could be the difference between a nice inheritance and a few million dollars. She had promised herself that she would help out her new step-siblings if it turned out their father was truly in love with her mom. Monica had serious doubts about that being the situation. In any case, she would be able to keep her mother living in relative comfort if she lost her money to a con man.

Gary was very concerned about living with Monica. He felt he could keep the two kids in the dark about his secret life but Monica would be another story. He had no illusions that she would pick up on any mistakes he made. He had realized years ago that he needed to avoid close relationships in order to fly under the radar.

“I need to see where I’m going to be living, so I’ll know how many outfits I can fit into my closet. I will have a closet, won’t I?” Monica asked with a worried look.

It occurred to Gary that Monica assumed that he lived in some sort of hovel. “I know that you must have a lot of clothes, but you’ll have plenty of room for a reasonable amount.”

“You live here?” Monica asked in surprise as Gary parked his car in his garage. “This is a really nice house. How much property do you own here?”

“The house sits on a 17 acre tract. There’s a stream in the back and lots of room for the kids. They’ve been here a few times and seem to like it.” Gary was obviously proud of his home.

Monica was ecstatic when Gary showed her the suite she would be using. She had her own bathroom and a large walk-in closet.

“Could I ask how you can afford all of this? I know how much you make at our company and it isn’t enough to support what I’m seeing here.” Monica reasoned.