He narrowed his eyes back at her. “You think you’ve figured me out?”

She looked mildly surprised but she nodded. “You don’t think of yourself as a boss because you don’t want to be a boss because you think people don’t like bosses.”

Damn, she maybe had figured him out.

He liked the idea of her knowing him. Jane knowing him made him think she could also help him be better at all the things he wanted to do. Which meant that maybe he was figuring her out too. She wouldn’t put up with his bullshit.

She’d be like Grant. Except she had gorgeous lips and curves and he wanted to get naked with her.

Actually, she’d be better than Grant in another way too. Grant actually gave him a long leash at times. Grant told him when he was being a dumbass and definitely got pissed off at him, but Grant cleaned up his and Ollie’s messes and just took care of things he didn’t want them dealing with because they were business partners, and he had to keep Dax out there doing his thing.

Dax definitely liked the women who would show up in fairy or princess costumes to cosplay characters he’d created. That was huge for his ego, no question. He loved having fans. But in spite of the fact that he resented every time his father tried to get him to stop messing around, he knew he actually needed someone who would say, “Your farts do not and never will smell like cookies, so knock it off.”

Jane wouldn’t care about his ego staying big enough that he could entertain a crowd of thousands at Comic-Con. In fact, if things went well and progressed the way he’d like, they’d get to a place where she would prefer he not hang out with hot cosplaying princesses.

He’d also bet a million dollars she’d make him clean up his own messes.

“You think I need people to like me?” he asked. That wasn’t exactly it.

“You brought coffee to eighty people your first day of work.”

Fair enough. “Well, of course, I like when people like me. But actually, I want people to feel… better off because I’m around.”

Her expression softened. “I think you’re pulling that off.”

He liked that. “Yeah?”

“Well, you’re down here learning about how this place works and what the workers think even two days after realizing you’re not going to be around me enough to try to seduce me. And you brought in a TV, not to win people over or help people kill time, but to help them actually interact with each other outside of what they’re doing at work. And you appreciate the fact that these people are correcting what you’re doing even though you are their boss.”

He basked in that for a moment. He couldn’t help it. Jane Kemper was a tough girl with a heart of gold, and her giving him five minutes of consideration—and deciding he wasn’t a total fuck-up—was pretty damned great.

“Wow,” he finally said softly, looking right into her eyes. “I am pretty awesome.”

She blinked once. Then again. Then rolled those gorgeous eyes—Piper might not actually have the prettiest eye roll after all—and blew out a breath. “Okay, boss man, tell me the rest of this brilliant plan.”

Boss man. Huh. Maybe he could be a boss. Maybe being a boss didn’t mean being a hard-ass and someone people hated or were intimidated by. Maybe the things he did were boss-like.

“Okay,” he said, filled with a confidence that was unlike the kind he was used to. This wasn’t cocky confidence. This wasn’t I-just-nailed-that-design confidence. This was this-could-really-matter confidence. He liked it. “The factory already works because the employees are divided up into various areas that specialize in certain parts of the production. There are managers and so on. But they have specific work hours, and people are paid based on how much they work, not how they work.”

“Okay,” Jane said. “Go on.”

“But how they work and how they feel about their work matters. It shouldn’t just be punching a time clock. It should be about being a part of a team. I get that we can only care so much about snack cakes,” he said. “But we can care about the people around us, the people we’re working with, and how they’re working.”

She nodded. “I think most of us already do.”

“I do too. I’ve already seen it. Which means, this will be an easy adjustment and one people will embrace. It will reward them for what they’re already doing. Working as a team.” He scooted his chair forward, leaning in, excited the more he talked. “Each area becomes a team. There’s no manager. There’s no hierarchy. Everyone is the same. You work together to figure out when everyone works and what they do. Someone needs longer breaks because their carpal tunnel is flaring up? That person takes those breaks and works a longer day. You need shorter breaks more often? Take them. You need shorter days but want to work six days a week? Or longer days and work only four? You want to come in later on Fridays or earlier on Tuesdays? Great. Everyone knows what they need to get done and then they’re in charge of making it happen.”

She was frowning but she was listening. “But no one keeps track? How do they get paid?” Jane asked.

“The team is given a percent of the overall company earnings. Every piece of the factory is important. Equally so. We couldn’t run without the mixing and baking area, but we also need packaging and shipping. We need the maintenance crew and the business office and… everyone. We all rise or fall based on how everyone else does.”

She watched him, her wheels clearly turning. Finally she nodded. “Okay.”

“Really?” He was a little surprised. “You think it’s good?”

“I didn’t say that.” She pushed back from the table. “But it’s not bad. As a starting point. It will never work exactly like that, but I like the thought you’ve put into it.”

“Yeah?” She didn’t think it would work, but she liked the general idea. For some reason that made Dax feel downright triumphant.

She stood. “I think that you’ve really thought about this a lot and clearly researched some things, and obviously, you’ve been paying attention around here.” She pushed her chair in. “And that is all great.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“And I think you just need to do a lot more of it. Ask questions. Talk to people who have been doing this work for a long time. Don’t assume anything.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She started to turn away but then faced him again. “And… you made me realize something.”

“I did?”

She nodded. “I’ve thought for a long time I could just come to work, put in my time, and then go home. I thought this was just a job and that’s what I wanted because I have so much going on outside of work.”

He nodded.

“But…” She paused, then went on. “Some of the guys built a ramp at my dad’s house for his wheelchair when it got to the point he couldn’t do the steps with his walker anymore. They just showed up one Saturday and did it. Just like that.” She swallowed. “And when my sister needed her tonsils out last fall, they covered my hours, but then they went even further, and a bunch of people from my department brought her ice cream and magazines, and they didn’t forget to bring me strawberry cobbler and wine.”