What the World Needs Now

By Nancy Madison

In this romantic comedy, the rocky road to love just got rougher. Jake Malone's dead sure he doesn't need anyone to complete or complicate his life.

Meeting the self-assured loner, Carly Anderson disagrees and vows to pursue Jake until he catches her. In her quest, Carly's helped or hindered by a wanna-be Stallone, a larcenous film producer who preys on lonely women and a granny with a black Labrador and a Harley.

ISBN 1-59431-055-6 Romance

Cover Art Maggie Dix



CHAPTER ONE



?Damn it, woman. No self-respecting male pays for his ex-wife?s honeymoon with another man.? Jake Malone?s temper soared, pushed to the limits of his endurance by Rhonda?s call.

Glancing at the heaps of projects stacked around his office that June morning, a wave of resentment hit him. His ex-wife might have nothing better to do than talk on the phone, but he did.

?You expect too much. Don?t I already cover all of your expenses?? Without waiting for her answer, he continued. ?I even pay for your sculptured fingernails.?

Now Rhonda wanted Jake to subsidize her elopement with a man who?d picked her up at the grocery store. Freddy Benton wore designer jeans and was twenty-five years old, ten years younger than Rhonda. This Freddy also claimed to be a film producer. Some producer, with one lousy cat food commercial to his credit.

?If I?d known you?d be so hostile, I wouldn?t have called you in the first place.? Rhonda sniffed into the phone. ?I should just hang up.?

Didn?t he wish. From his desk Jake picked up a picture of a little girl, their 12-year-old daughter Deb. He took a deep breath. ?It?s too bad Freddy?s short of funds. He shouldn?t promise you a honeymoon in Spain if he can?t afford the trip.?

In a way it was partly his fault. If their marriage hadn?t failed, Rhonda wouldn?t be trying to find happiness with another man. With that in mind Jake softened his tone and offered a compromise. ?There?s one way I can help. If you haven?t already made other arrangements for Deb, I?ll keep her while you?re in Spain.?

No sooner did the words leave his lips than he had second thoughts. How could he keep their daughter? With two new client companies and two more pending, he was already working sixty to seventy hours a week. Maybe if he stopped taking time for meals and didn?t sleep, he?d have enough time to do everything?

?If Freddy?s income isn?t enough to support you once you?re married, you might be able to get a job with the school system.? Rhonda hadn?t worked since Deb was born. She had a college degree but education was no good without motivation.

During their marriage if he even hinted that she might find another teaching position, Rhonda became ill and had to go to bed.

?I?m not like you, Jake,? she said tersely. ?Just because you?re a work horse doesn?t mean I have to be one.?

All at once the light dimmed in his office, the piles of paper on his desk and credenza seemed to grow taller until they loomed around him. He felt hemmed in on all sides.

How he longed for the days before their marriage. At that moment Jake remembered the old wooden carousel horse Deb used to ride at the State Fair. A woebegone creature with chipped paint, it was doomed to repeat the same monotonous circle until beyond repair and junked.

?How about Napoleon? Can you keep him, too?? Rhonda referred to the family Pekinese.

?I suppose. Unless you want to drop him off at the kennel.?

?Well, if you must know?they said not to bring him back.?

?Why, for Pete?s sake?? Rhonda had a knack of creating a problem where none existed. And her problems soon became his since she always expected Jake to provide the perfect solution. What was it this time? Did she forget to pay the vet?s bills?

?Napoleon?s been acting so peculiar I took him to see a pet psychiatrist,? she said.

?You?re kidding.? Some shrinks specialized in treating the neurotic pets of the rich. He had a good job but was far from being a millionaire.

?No, he?s been quite nervous since you left.? Though she didn?t come right out and blame him, her tone implied the dog?s condition was all Jake?s fault. He had filed for divorce though it was by mutual agreement.

They?d married when Rhonda found she was expecting Deb, and they?d stayed together for twelve years because of Deb. They didn?t love each other but both adored their child.

?Nervous? In what way?? Though he?d learned long ago that it was wiser to ignore her unspoken accusations, a sense of dread seeped into Jake?s heart. What could a Pekinese do to warrant visits to a shrink?

?He?s started biting everybody,? Rhonda explained. Her voice broke and she sobbed into the phone. ?Jake, Napoleon even bit my Freddy.?

?Maybe he doesn?t like Freddy?s designer jeans.? Jake chuckled as he imagined a pint-size dog biting the gaunt redhead.

?It isn?t funny,? she said. ?Doctor Gandhi thinks the problem goes back to Napoleon?s childhood, I mean puppyhood. I don?t know about that, but the post office has stopped delivering mail to our house.?

?Don?t tell me, let me guess. Napoleon bit the mailman??

?Just a nip.?

?Okay.? He sighed. ?I?ll stop by for Deb and Napoleon this Friday and keep them until you get back. How long will you be in Spain??

?Oh, just two weeks.? Now that he?d taken charge of her problems, Rhonda sounded almost carefree. ?We?re staying at a resort on the beach. And while we?re there, Freddy plans to see a man about doing a film.?

Following the call, Jake tried to concentrate on a problem troubling the owner of a chain of nursing homes. The conversation with Rhonda had broken his line of thought.

After several attempts to focus on his work, he eased back in his desk chair, rubbing his tired eyes. The corners of his mouth turned up in a grin at the image of Freddy being pursued by Napoleon, a five pound monster.

* * *

That week Friday rolled around sooner than Jake would?ve liked. Somebody ought to invent a week with more days.

Leaving work Friday evening he joined the commuter traffic headed west on I-30, exiting thirty minutes later onto an Arlington thoroughfare. A few blocks later he turned into an attractive neighborhood of older homes.

The family home he?d bought five years ago was now occupied by Rhonda, Deb and Napoleon, and sometimes if Jake?s suspicions were correct, Freddy, though Rhonda would never admit it.

Parking his Volvo in the driveway, Jake crossed the well-manicured lawn then entered the two-story brick-and-frame Colonial.

Deb, their pigtailed, bespectacled daughter waited inside, suitcases stacked behind her in the hall.

?Hi Hon.? Eyeing the luggage, Jake gave Deb a quick hug. ?Whoa. You?re just staying at the condo for a couple of weeks. Don?t tell me you need all of that stuff.? At the sight of her trombone, Jake shuddered. Like her mother, Deb was tone deaf.

?Mom thinks I should practice every day.? Deb?s voice drooped. Bringing the musical instrument wasn?t her idea.

?Tell you what,? he whispered so Rhonda wouldn?t hear from the next room, ?Why don?t we just forget and leave it here??

?That?s fine with me, Dad.? Her face brightening, Deb gave him a look of gratitude.

Rhonda walked into the room so Jake reassured her that Deb would be fine. ?You know I wish you the best, Rhonda,? he said. ?You?re sure about this guy?? He wasn?t.

?I love him, Jake.? She radiated happiness. ?You?ll like Freddy once you know him better.?

He nodded, not wanting to cast a damper on her joy.

* * *

While Jake drove Deb and Napoleon to the condo, the family pet perched on Jake?s lap. The Pekinese remained quiet until other cars passed them, then he raised up on his hind legs, pawed the window and barked.

Easing the little dog back onto his lap, Jake spoke to Deb. ?What?s this I hear about Napoleon? He?s biting people??

?Yeah. I think he misses you,? his daughter said. She took Napoleon from her father, held him in her arms.

?I?ve missed you, Deb.? Jake glanced over at his daughter. ?Sorry we don?t get to see each other much. With all of our group?s new clients, I?m swamped.?

?It?s all right, Dad.? She placed her hand over his for a moment before removing it to pat Napoleon.

What he told his daughter was no exaggeration. At the present all Jake did was work and he did his job so well, his boss, the Healthcare Audit Partner for the Dallas office, kept loading him down with new clients.

It?d been a long time since he?d taken Deb on an outing. Before his promotion, they used to go to a movie or roller- skating weekends.

?Now that school?s out for the summer, I guess you and your mother are spending a lot of time together.?

?When she?s free. Mommy?s clubs keep her busy.? Deb frowned. ?Do you know a good groomer we can call for Napoleon??

?What happened to the one we?ve always used??

?He nipped the lady?s finger so we can?t go back there.?

?That doesn?t sound like Napoleon.? He didn?t want their pet hurting anyone. And he sure didn?t want to get sued. ?Someone at my office was talking about a mobile service for pets the other day. They groom people?s pets in their vans right in the customers? driveways. I?ll call them and get Napoleon an appointment.?

Jake reached over and ran his fingers through the Pekinese?s shaggy fur. ?We better do it soon while we can still find the dog. Right now Napoleon resembles a mound of fur that barks.?