Boss (4 page)

Since that wouldn’t help anything, she took a breath to steady her emotions. “The prognosis is good, apparently.”

“Glad to hear that.”

“Are you?” she challenged. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to antagonize him, but he was the only outlet for her frustration. Indeed, he appeared to be the reason for it.

Nathan sat back in his chair. The concern was replaced by a flash of annoyance, flitting through his eyes with the heat of a brushfire. “For someone who wasn’t part of the negotiations, knows nothing about me or my relationship to Newman, that’s out of line.”

“Are you calling me ignorant?”

“Uninformed,” he countered. “And I will certainly educate you as we go along.”

The resounding finality in his voice sent a shock up her spine. This man’s reputation appeared well-earned. He was controlled, relentless.

“You’re the backbone of this company, Ms. Lane,” he went on.

She shook her head. “Mr. Newman is.”

“Was. In his own words, you were his most trusted advisor. No one else but you knows who everyone is, how they fit, what their value to the company is. If the company is to survive, let alone grow and thrive, it will need your assistance.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility for an executive assistant.”

“You’re a hell of a lot more than an executive assistant, and you know it. According to your file, and what Newman said, you’re the equivalent of a senior manager or VP. You’ve got a master’s in—what is it called—Global Energy Management?”

He
was
informed.

“I’d hazard a guess that you know as much about the business as anyone here.” He checked his watch, an odd-looking contraption. It was more than a timepiece, she realized.

“We’ve got about forty minutes until the office workday officially starts,” he said. “Some of the managers will start to arrive soon. Rumors will start. The press will find out. We need to get ahead of this.” He raked a hand through his hair.

It was at that moment that she saw him as a fallible human. He’d counted on Samuel notifying people. He hadn’t shown up this morning planning to handle this alone.

“Are you in, Ms. Lane?” he asked, voice tight. “Will you offer me your loyalty?”

“That’s a hell of a request, Mr. Donovan.”

“It’s more than that,” Nathan countered, keeping his voice even. “It’s a demand. I only surround myself with people I can trust implicitly.” Even though he’d seen pictures, read her employment file, knew about her ambitions, heard how intelligent and indispensable she was from Newman, Kelsey Lane was nothing like Nathan had expected.

He’d arrived slightly after five this morning, and later he’d vaguely heard her enter the suite. The way she’d shouted good morning had penetrated the haze he’d been in since he’d started reading through the biographies of all key personnel, from tugboat captains to the CFO, memorizing names and accomplishments, envisioning each person’s role in the success of the company. It wasn’t just the cheeriness in her voice that had gotten to him, it was her tone. It was a bit lower than he had expected, containing a sexy rasp that made him think of anything but business.

The first sight of her when he’d stood in the doorway had momentarily taken him aback. Her hair drifted over her shoulders and teased the middle of her back. In the photographs he’d seen, she’d probably been wearing it up.

She was also considerably taller than he’d anticipated. Her business suit was professional, her slim-fitted skirt finishing a couple of inches above her knee. Her white silk blouse clung to her torso, and her jacket had obviously been tailored.

Nothing about the ensemble was inappropriate, except in his thoughts. She wore stockings that he’d mentally replaced with fishnets.

In his mind, he’d traded in her heeled pumps for stiletto sandals before he’d shaken his head to clear the vivid image.

Then she’d tipped back her head and met his gaze, and he’d been captivated by her eyes. They were more hazel than green, beneath dark, well-sculptured eyebrows.

The absolute most fascinating—and dangerous—thing about this woman was the sexual attraction that walloped him.

Even though he was often surrounded by beautiful women, both at work and at Deviation, it had been a long time—years, perhaps—since he’d had this sort of reaction. And it intrigued him. Kelsey didn’t seem to intimidate easily, was fiercely loyal and, according to Newman, innately intelligent about how the business operated. Nathan respected that. Brains, beauty and no interest in him? He was done for.

His watch vibrated in a way it never had before. Annoyed and curious, he glanced at it.

He saw a hovering pink heart icon. As he watched, it beat even faster.

Fuck.

Had Bonds been serious? The thing could tell when he was attracted to a woman? The damn thing had lines on it when he was working out. How was it possible the watch knew the difference between exercising and lust?

No mistake, though. Lust was a powerful, precise word. And he felt it for this woman. He couldn’t help but picture her on her knees, looking up at him, hazel eyes full of anticipation and trust, and maybe highlighted by a dizzying brush of trepidation.

Determinedly, he shoved aside the thought and pulled his shirtsleeve over the watch’s surface. He continued to remain silent while she sorted through her response, though he guessed what it would be.

She’d brought two coffees with her this morning, which meant she’d thought of Newman on her way in. Nathan was betting that her genuine concern for others would trump her antagonism toward him.

He merely had to wait for her to reach the same, inevitable conclusion.

“Let me be as clear in return,” she said finally, looking across at him. “I can’t and won’t blindly offer you my loyalty. That’s not something I give away. It has to be earned.” She brought up her chin a fraction of an inch. “It’s an extension of respect.”

“Well said,” he acknowledged.

“Until I know more about you and your ethics, I won’t give it to you.” Her voice had dropped and he could hear the emotion—nervousness as well as conviction—mixed in. She was testing him as surely as he was testing her. “If you can’t accept that, Mr. Donovan, then I’m afraid I’ll have to offer my resignation.”

“Do you always speak your mind, Ms. Lane?”

“I figured you were a man who appreciated knowing what I’m really thinking. And the truth is, I’m still sitting here because the Newmans asked me to. Not because of you. Because of them and our employees. I think it’s highly inappropriate that I came in to find a new name plaque on the wall and everything removed from his office. Samuel Newman is beloved here. By everyone, not just me,” she returned.

“So I’ve heard.” And that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Newman Inland Marine often appeared on yearly lists of the best companies to work for in Houston. He knew the man was regarded as a saint, benevolent in ways CEOs weren’t renowned for. But it had come at a cost. Newman accepted excuses when he shouldn’t, forgave mistakes that should have cost a person their job, allowed employees to be paid for working fewer hours than they reported. And finally, he’d sheltered the tugboat skipper who had been involved in a costly accident.

Truth was, Newman had approached Donovan Worldwide. It had been a desperate move to protect his company’s future. The man had already paid out tens of thousands because of the accident. Findings from an investigation were scheduled to be released within a month, and Newman was smart enough to surmise the results might damage the company’s reputation.

“The fact that they are now working for one of the Donovan companies will not be received well by most,” she said.

He clenched his jaw, but then, realizing it, forced himself to relax.

“And for Mr. Newman’s sake, I will help you today. He said he planned to meet with senior staff to introduce you. I understand you were also going to visit the docks.”

Setting aside everything she’d said in order to concentrate on business, he filled her in on the details. “Newman was supposed to have arrived by seven. He would have introduced you to me. Then we would have asked the most senior management team to join us in the boardroom at eight.”

“Tight timeline.” She glanced at a wall clock. “But doable. Did he give you a list of names?”

“It should have been in my email by Saturday noon.”

“But it wasn’t?”

“That’s why I was going through HR files.”

She reached beneath her desk to power up her computer.

“He had further suggested we have a company-wide meeting early this afternoon.”

“We’ll stick with that plan. What was the message?”

“He was retiring.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You expected people to believe that?”

“I beg your pardon?”

She picked up her coffee and sipped from it. He couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t offered him the other cup. And he refused to ask for it. Truth was, he could do with a shot of coffee, badly enough to consider hiring Thompson away from his big brother, Connor. This deal had been in the works for a few weeks, which meant it had moved shockingly fast. Due diligence took him months, even a year.

But branching into logistics was a natural extension for Donovan Worldwide. As it was, their shipments were handled by a brokerage firm. Most of the time that worked well. But if they could broker for others, there was money to be made, and Nathan had been looking at opportunities for a long time.

Starting their own logistics business was always a possibility, but the potential to scoop up a company that was in a perilous condition had galvanized him and the team.

That had meant, however, that he’d operated on less than four hours sleep a night for at least the past several weeks.

“Mr. Newman has always been honest with the company. Transparency is one of our core values.”

“So everyone knows that the tugboat captain had a previous accident?”

She opened her mouth. Before she spoke, she closed it again. “He was exhausted. Had a newborn baby at home.”

“And?”

Unflinchingly she met his gaze and asked, “Are you always a cold-hearted bastard, Mr. Donovan?”

The words hung between them, a challenge more than a question. Any other employee would be fired for insubordination, and he suspected she knew that. But because he needed her, and because of the genuine note of emotion in her voice, he held on to the edges of his fraying temper. “You don’t protect one person at the potential risk of the entire company, Ms. Lane. Perhaps you didn’t learn that in business school?”

“Not everything is so clear in life. Have you ever given anyone a second chance?”

“When someone in accounting has an arithmetic error? Sure. But when the risk is this high? Not ever.” He paused momentarily to be certain she understood his position. “When his wife gave birth, Seward could have applied for a leave of absence. There are provisions for that. Paid leave, even. Instead, he took medication to stay awake. His history will come out during the investigation. And because Samuel protected him—and continues to do so—the company could be held liable.”

Her shoulders slumped.

“The potential fines may still cripple the company. Seward should have been fired after the first incident. The company has a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol. Showing leniency sets a bad precedent. As my first act as CEO, I am terminating him. You can let HR know, or I will. Which do you prefer?”

Her hand shook as she put the cup back on her desk.

He saw her eyes narrow, barely disguising the anger in them.

“I’ll do it.” She nudged her chin up.

“Donovan is taking a risk here. A big fucking one, Ms. Lane.”

“Don’t expect me or our employees to appreciate that,” she replied infuriatingly. “Painting Mr. Newman as a villain, or inept, will only make you look bad.”

She was right about that. “So what is your recommendation?” he asked.

“We’ll say that Mr. Newman realized he had some health issues and wanted to spend more time with his family. You have been working behind the scenes at an effortless transition. The timing had to be ramped up.”

He nodded.

“You’re stepping up to help him out. We’ll do our best to make you look good. Like a hero.” She gave a half shrug, as if that weren’t possible. Then without giving him the opportunity to respond, she continued, “At this morning’s meeting, we’ll announce the date of Mr. Newman’s official retirement party.” She nodded and began scribbling notes on a pad. “We’ll host a company-wide event, a barbecue or something, for Mr. Newman as soon as he’s able.”

“We’re watching the budget.”

“Employee turnover will cost you much more than a party,” she countered. “I’d suggest you don’t rob people of the opportunity to say goodbye and pay their respects. Many people have spent their careers here. Unheard of in today’s business environment. Like it or not, you will be the target of their anger.”

He didn’t want to be swayed. After Connor’s wedding and the centennial celebration, he’d had enough events to last him for the next decade. All he wanted was an evening at Deviation to recharge. On the other hand, he recognized she had a point. “Very well.”

She nodded. “You’ll need to present him with some sort of token of appreciation. A plaque, award…” She tapped her pen. “Something. And it will be a good time to distribute corporate goodies. T-shirts, duffel bags, lanyards, the like.”

“Budget, Ms. Lane,” he said.

“Don’t be a penny-pinching miser, Mr. Donovan.”

This woman… In all his years in business, he’d never worked with anyone who challenged his authority as much as she did. “Do you often have frivolous gatherings?”

“You mean morale boosters?” she corrected, undaunted. “Yes. Twice a year for the entire company. With pizza parties for each profitable quarter.”

“You’re serious.”

“Each team has discretionary spending for that that purpose too. Teambuilding.”

He sighed. At least he saw areas to cut spending going forward. “Is that something you arrange?”

“No. I generally hire it out.”

“Good. My sister-in-law’s company, Encore Events, will handle it.” At least he’d have some form of control that way. “Sofia Donovan. Call her once you’ve come up with a date. She’ll be in my contacts. And add it to my calendar.”