Boss (29 page)

“That’s your call,” he told her.

She’d forgotten Nathan had added her number into the Bluetooth system when she’d borrowed his car.

It was well before the time she would have expected to hear from the HR department.

“Push the green phone icon,” Nathan told her. “Unless you want to take it in private.”

She answered the call, and Lawrence got straight to the point. “Seward’s boss called in sick.”

Understanding dawned. “It’s Seward’s first duty day,” she said. The day they’d been intending to terminate his employment. “Where are you?”

“Home.”

And since he lived in Kingwood, which was north of the city, Lawrence wouldn’t be able to drive to the docks in time to be there before Seward climbed aboard his tug. “Let me figure it out.” Since she didn’t want anyone knowing she was with Nathan at this time of the morning, she added, “I’ll call you back in five minutes.”

She ended the call.

“What do you recommend?” Nathan asked.

“We have a couple of options.” She tapped her fingers on the armrest. “We can ask another field supervisor to send him home for the day.” She raced through pros and cons. “That’s not my preference. He’d suspect something was up, and we don’t know how he’ll react.”

“Or?”

“Let him work today as normal. But I think you’d find that unconscionable.”

“I would.” After signaling, he changed lanes to pass a slow-moving vehicle.

“We’ve customarily had a specific way of handling terminations. We want to give the employee time to process the whole thing, ask questions, come to terms with it and let them keep their dignity. And we want to ensure no damage is done to company property, not that I’m particularly concerned about Seward. But…” The man had a family to support. “Since he’s receiving no severance, the situation is potentially more volatile. And we have the question of what to do with the rest of the crew, calling someone in, moving people around, figuring out how to deal with the work that won’t get done.”

He nodded.

“You should fire him,” she said.

“Oh?” Eyebrows raised, he glanced at her.

Kelsey glanced at the clock. “We have enough time to get to the docks if traffic flows well and we turn around immediately.”

His jaw was set and he was silent.

“That’s the best option,” she said. “We don’t have time to get anyone else from HR out here. But I can ensure we have a security guard in place. While you’re handling it, I can update the field supervisors and get schedulers working on the logistics. Honestly, I don’t see a more workable plan.”

He nodded.

“You don’t mind?”

“It’s part of the job.”

She searched his features and found nothing except determination.

He turned the vehicle around and headed for the highway.

“Do you need me to program the GPS?”

“I’ve been to the docks a couple of times,” he reminded her.

He took a ramp that gave her a view of the sun bursting brilliantly over the horizon, showing how vast and endless the city seemed. Because of where she lived and worked, it was sometimes easy to forget that.

Kelsey phoned Lawrence and updated him, and she asked for instructions on where to find the final paycheck and termination letter.

“They’re in Jameson’s top right desk drawer. The schedulers have a key to the office. The desk is unlocked.”

Nathan was greeted cordially by the crews onsite, and she figured it was a good thing he’d already been out here to meet them. The security guard ambled over, lifted a hand in acknowledgment then continued his rounds.

Barb, one of the schedulers, looked up when they entered the small office located about two hundred feet from where the tugs were moored.

“We’ll need access to Jameson’s office,” Kelsey said after exchanging pleasantries.

Though the woman gave a puzzled frown, she went to a locked cabinet and returned with a key.

She and Nathan went into the man’s office.

Kelsey moved aside a half-empty cup of old coffee and wiped crumbs off the chair before sitting behind the desk and pulling out the paycheck and termination letter. After double-checking that everything was in order, she stood and offered the papers to Nathan. “I’ll send Seward in when he arrives.”

He nodded and took the seat she’d vacated.

Her heart pounded when Seward walked in. Kelsey hated every part of this. It was easy to be distracted with the planning. It was another to be face to face with a man whose future was going to be devastated. “Seward,” she greeted.

Around them, people had fallen quiet, except for one of the schedulers who was talking on the phone.

“Hey, Kelsey. What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Donovan would like to see you. In Jameson’s office.”

The man glanced toward the office, then he looked back at her. “What’s going on?”

She noticed Nathan standing in the doorway. “Come on in,” he said. His voice was both calm and firm.

Seward’s eyes widened. He obviously knew what was happening.

“Captain Seward,” Nathan said. “This way.”

Kelsey gave Barb a pointed glance, and the woman got back to work. Others took their cue from her.

Seward walked slowly into the office, and once he was seated, Nathan closed the door.

“He’s getting fired, isn’t he?” Barb asked Kelsey when the security guard walked in.

“Mr. Donovan has had to make a difficult decision. We’ve got work to do. We have a tug with no skipper. Presumably we now also have an idle crew?”

The office fell silent again.

“Barb? Show me the schedule and give me some suggestions on what we need to do.” She had no intention of making the decisions, but she needed people to get back to work, and she didn’t want anyone overhearing the conversation in the office. The more dignity Seward could maintain, the better.

Barb sighed. “I hate this.”

“Me too,” Kelsey agreed. But she owed it to the company and Nathan not to let this turn melancholy. Everyone in the room was aware of Seward’s accident and the circumstances. “The schedule?”

With a nod, Barb turned her computer screen for Kelsey to see.

Because she wasn’t fully concentrating, the words appeared jumbled. She shook her head to focus her attention. To her, logistics were a complicated chess game and the key to success was looking toward the end of the day and working backward.

One of the other field supervisors joined them and within a minute or so, suggestions began to flow.

The meeting between Nathan and Seward lasted considerably longer than she’d anticipated. Numerous times she flicked her gaze toward the office, her tension growing.

But she schooled her features so that she projected confidence.

The tugboat crew was reassigned, timing was sorted out, extra loads were assigned and everyone returned to their jobs.

She jumped when the door opened.

Nathan walked with Seward while he collected his personal belongings then he escorted him to the front door.

From there, the security guard followed Seward out.

She exhaled.

The office would have a pall over it for at least a couple of hours, maybe more, she knew. Seward was liked by most people, but she was sure there had been some who’d wanted him fired from the beginning. She doubted anyone would think that Donovan was randomly firing people just because he was the new boss. Still, any time an employee was let go, it seemed to take time for balance to be restored.

It would take some time for her to recover, as well.

Nathan spent a few minutes visiting with the staff and she went back into Jameson’s office to call Lawrence and let him know that things had been handled.

When she joined Nathan, he asked, “Ready?”

She nodded.

“How did it go?” she asked when they were on the road.

“As expected.”

Because of the way he gripped the steering wheel, his watch was exposed. She saw a 3D pulsing red heart floating just above the screen. She’d only seen pink previously, and she wondered if the thing was reacting to his mood.

“Coffee?” he asked. “I figured we could stop at Marvin’s.”

She nodded.

While he drove, she responded to email. He was quieter than usual, and that struck her as odd. Maybe the whole thing had bothered him and he wasn’t as big of a heartless hard-ass as she’d labeled him.

He dropped her off in front of the shop and told her he’d go and park then join her.

She ordered them each a slice of quiche, and she had his coffee and her mocha on the table when he walked through the door.

The man who entered the restaurant with a cheery hello to Marvin was different than the man she’d ridden with. Nathan’s face was more relaxed, his movements less rigid.

“You did well this morning,” he said as he slid into a seat across from her.

“So did you.”

He took a sip of the coffee then nodded appreciatively before saying, “Coming from you, that’s a compliment.”

Kelsey sighed.

“I know you disagree with my decision, but you put that aside. As I suspected, others in the company have taken their cue from your behavior. Loyalty is the hardest when you disagree with a course of action, and you showed impressive leadership ability. I appreciate your support of Donovan Logistics.”

“I like Seward and his family,” she said. “I spent some time with the Newmans on Tuesday, and Mrs. Newman let me know that the company really would have been in trouble if it hadn’t been for Donovan’s flexibility in moving up timelines. She told me you’d pulled off something close to a miracle.”

He shrugged. For the first time since she’d known him, he looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I’d prefer that we could have kept Seward.” The next bit, she had a difficult time admitting to herself, much less him. “I was thinking on a micro level, a personal one. But I understand you’re looking at the company as a whole.”

“Sometimes, Kelsey, it’s easier to come in from the outside. I wasn’t burdened by an existing relationship with Captain Seward,” he said. “Making difficult decisions, some that you wish you didn’t have to, is what separates success from failure in business. It’s about the bottom line. You don’t have to like a particular course of action, but you have to be willing to commit to it. A good CEO can’t risk the entire company for one individual.”

“Career advice?”

“Probably worth every penny you paid for it.”

“It was free.”

“My point exactly.”

Marvin’s daughter brought over the quiche, complemented by fresh-cut fruit.

Since it was already late, they ate quickly then took their beverages back to the office.

A new blossom had opened on the hibiscus, the yellow a bright, welcome sight. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said. “Where did this come from?”

“Aunt Kathryn. She has them everywhere. Something about the color and having them indoors is soothing. As if that’s not enough, she makes the blossoms—or whatever you call them—into tea.”

She smiled. “Nice of you to indulge her.”

“I didn’t.” He shook his head. “If it died, I’d never hear the end of it. I figured the thing had a better chance of survival if you were taking care of it.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“We’ve got a lot to do,” he said. “Be ready to leave at five.”

Though she was still sad about Seward and her heart wasn’t in either her job or the evening ahead, she knew better than to argue.

Nathan went into his office and closed the door.

She sat back and exhaled then leaned forward when her office phone rang. “Nathan Donovan’s office,” she answered.

“Is this Kelsey Lane?”

She glanced at the caller identification screen. It read BHI. “Yes.”

“This is Lara Donovan. Nathan’s sister-in-law.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Donovan. Let me see if—”

“Please, call me Lara,” the woman interrupted.

Kelsey heard a hint of a soft Cajun drawl in the woman’s voice.

“I called for you, actually. Not Nathan.”

“For me?” She frowned. “What can I do for you?”

“I know this is a little unusual. Your name was on a list that crossed my desk.” Lara paused. “We’re hiring for the CEO position for one of BHI’s oil and gas holdings.”

Momentarily, Kelsey’s heart stopped, and she was certain she had misinterpreted Lara’s meaning. Feeling as if she were doing something she shouldn’t, Kelsey looked at Nathan’s still-closed door. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me off guard.”

“You’re certainly someone I’m interested in talking with,” Lara went on. “We’d have to make sure we’re a match. And of course, we are considering other candidates.”

She couldn’t begin to understand the ethical ramifications of this conversation. Nathan’s sister-in-law was reaching out to his executive assistant, someone he’d identified as key personnel, and yet…

Lara was talking about a C-level position, something that had been on Kelsey’s goal list since she’d started college, the motivation that got her through. The first time she’d spoken with Nathan, she’d told him her long-term plan was to run a company. If she left, he wouldn’t be entirely surprised. Annoyed, perhaps, but not surprised.

“Ms. Lane?”

“I’m here.” Her first instinct was to ask Lara if she was sure she’d called the right person. Her second was to show cool interest and give herself some time to think. “Is the job in the Houston area?”

“It is.”

“And pay range?”

“Commensurate with experience,” they said simultaneously.

Lara laughed. “I see why Nathan likes you.”

It jolted her to realize Lara had heard positive things about her. “Does he know we’re talking?”

“No. And it’s up to you whether or not you say anything. In fact, unless you make the shortlist—in this case, top three candidates—I won’t be mentioning this conversation to my husband.”

“I’ll admit to being a little uncomfortable.”

“I can understand that,” Lara agreed. “Donovan Worldwide, and now BHI, believes each division should be run by the best possible person. We don’t intentionally poach from each other’s companies. But it happens.”

“So if I went to work for you?”

“Under the organizational structure, you’d be accountable to BHI’s board of directors.”