Read Online Asking for Trouble by Rosalind James - Free Book Online Page A

tonight. “Don’t tell me,” she said. “You guys are
pregnant too.”
    “No,” Alec said with a laugh. “No, Desiree says it’s not
time yet. And as you all know, she’s the boss.”
    “I am not the boss,” she protested. “You’re the boss.”
    “Maybe at work. Maybe. Huh, Joe?”
    “Maybe,” Joe said, his little smile crooking the corner of
his mouth. “Technically.”
    “Announcement?” Dave reminded his son.
    “Yes. Announcement. This one will make you happy, Dad,” Alec
said. “This one’s just for you, your real Christmas present. You know that
foundation we set up?”
    “The one Desiree set up, you mean?” Dave asked, a decided twinkle
in his eyes now.
    “Go on, rub it in. Yes. That one. We figured out—all
right, she figured out that for now,
we shouldn’t try to hire a whole staff and all that, eat it up with expenses.
She says we should wait till we’ve built up the capital. But we’ve made our
first big donation, to Project Second Chance.”
    “What’s that?” Mira asked.
    “Foster kids,” Dave said. “Right?”
    “Right,” Alec said. “They do mentoring and college
scholarships and support and all sorts of good things. And they’re based right
there in San Francisco, so Rae could do her due diligence without leaving me
lonely.”
    “Desiree’s idea, I assume,” Dave said.
    “No,” Rae put in. “No, Joe’s, actually. I knew I wanted to
do something along those lines, but I didn’t even know they existed. Turns out
Joe’s a donor.”
    “Good for you, Joe,” Susie said. “I didn’t know that.”
    “Rae’s doing more than I am,” he said, his expression even
more wooden than usual. “She’s the one getting involved.”
    “They’ve asked me to join the board starting in July,” Rae
explained. “And since I’d looked over all their statements pretty thoroughly .
. .” She shrugged and laughed. “You know me. I’m going to want to tell them how
to do things anyway, I might as well put myself in a position to do it. Although
it’s really Joe who should be on the board. He’s the one with the history.”
    “I’m not good at being on boards,” Joe said. “Not too good
in meetings.”
    “No, that’s true,” Alec agreed. “You’re not. Give the money
and go away, that was my idea too. But of course Desiree had to get involved.
Such a managing woman.” He sighed.
    “Oh, you love it,” she said.
    “Mmm. Could be.”
    “But,” she said, serious again, “they do really good work.
And oh!” She jumped in her chair. “I just had a thought. About you, Alyssa. Oh,
this could be perfect.”
    “Me? Me what?”
    “You want to do something different, right? You said,
something that mattered. I don’t know what that is, but there’s a job there, at
Second Chance, that I think would be just right for you.” She was getting
really animated now. “They’ve got an opening for an Assistant Director of
Development. They’re planning to hire in the New Year. What do you think?”
    “Uh . . .” Alyssa was taken aback. “In San Francisco?”
    “Well, yes. You said you were looking for a change. Maybe
not that much of a change, though?”
    “No,” Alyssa said. “No, actually, it sounds good.” When
she’d graduated from high school, she’d wanted nothing more than to move away
from her family, get the chance to be her own person. Live a little, not be the
preacher’s daughter anymore, not be expected to set an example. San Diego State
had been the answer to a very unholy prayer, and she’d never got farther north
than LA in all the years since.
    But now, the idea of being closer to her brothers, her parents
was . . . good. She had no real ties in southern California to hold her,
nothing but friends she didn’t see enough. Too much sprawl, too much traffic,
too much time at work, lives that were full of jobs and partners and,
increasingly, kids.
    “Why not?” she decided. “Why not move? Except, well, I don’t
have any background with