Rose Blood (3 page)

“I’m fucking speechless!”

“I’m giving you the rest of the day off, so go home and study DeVere’s assets. I’m real busy Rose so push off and get started.”

She left his office in a stormy daze. No way… How could he have asked all that of her? Blackmailing her and threatening her job too…

She was shaking with a mixture of shock and absolute fury as she sat down at her desk next to Harrison.

“Fancy lunch?” he asked her “You can tell me all about that cosy little closed doors meeting in there”

“Oh go fuck yourself!” she snapped in a highly annoyed tone. That little meeting had got her so riled up. She felt like stomping off to human resources and putting in a sexual harassment complaint. Not that there was any point. Mai Lin, the only other female trader who had worked in the room had tried that over the general treatment women got in here and it didn’t get her very far. Just a lot of hassle and her job being lost at the end of the day.

“There’s no need to bite my head off like that Rose!”

“I’m sorry Harry… I’ve just had a bit of a shock. Mike’s put me in charge of Marcus DeVere’s 1.5 billion private fortune if you must know and I’m meeting him tomorrow.  He’s told me to go home now and gen up”

“WHAT? NO WAY! I should have had first pop at that! I’m your senior Rose. Mike’s a complete bastard doing me over like this… It’s the private account of a lifetime! Why the fuck did he give it you…?” Harrison said angrily.

The penny suddenly dropped in his very sharp little mind.

“Oh no way… 
No fucking way
… Please tell me you’re not gonna do what I’m thinking Rose…”

“Apparently it ‘aint up for negotiation Harry… I’ve been given my orders and my job’s on the line. Extra special duties are compulsory with this one. In fact the whole account is a bloody nightmare if you ask me, the growth target is a massive 10 … Still fancy it, do you?”

Chapter 4

Rose downloaded the DeVere files on a memory stick and took them home. She would sit and study them all day and all night long if need be. She was going to know every nook and cranny of Mr Playboy’s hot assets like the back of her hand. Maybe she could avoid the other stuff she was expected to do somehow. She’d have to meet him first and suss things out. She’d seen him in the celebrity columns online on numerous occasions. He was always being photographed with some or other hot actress, glamour or super model… very girly girls in fact… She could definitely do that look as she had plenty of girly assets to offer but she wasn’t going to try and attract him. No, she was going to try a different look and a different approach entirely. A non attractive one. She would put herself in the manly mould…. She smiled to herself as she thought about it. Yes, a manly woman was what she needed to be!

She sat engrossed in her files on her laptop until 1am when she finally felt satisfied with the amount of in depth DeVere intel she had managed to absorb. She had discovered that he had made his personal fortune by going public with his two international companies and still retained a 51% majority share holding and control of each. She could see some reasonable scope for potential improvement in the private fund straight away. She now felt that the account could quite possibly reach the growth target without killing her off with worry and stress in the process too, with a little luck.

She was suddenly dog tired, no more work related stuff was going to go in her brain tonight. It was late and her mind was wandering elsewhere. In fact she was thinking about Harrison and the look on his face when she told him about all this. He looked angry and upset. About the fund primarily, but it seemed he was also upset about her, when he realised what she was expected to do on top. She felt even more of a warming towards him, in fact a real hot buzz had started. His little bit of male jealousy had really got her going somehow.

She went to bed in a strangely disconnected mood. This account was going to be a very difficult account to manage. She couldn’t be her normal self with DeVere. She would have to put on an act all the time, to be this manly woman she envisaged. Manly was not in her nature at all. Still, needs must, she thought getting herself comfortable and puffing up her pillows. She drifted off into sleep almost immediately. Her brain was exhausted from the day’s rather unusual events.

Chapter 5

She awoke the next morning at seven but lay in bed reading a book till eight, trying to relax a little. She was heading straight to DeVere’s office this morning.

Two messages popped up on her phone in quick succession.

Mike had sent her a text telling her to stay as long as she needed, take him to lunch all afternoon and all that, no expense spared. She now absolutely hated his little “and all that” catchphrase he used all the time…  it definitely had a none too subtle message today as well.  “Will do AND ALL THAT.” She replied sarcastically. She was not a fan of Mike any more… she couldn’t believe she used to feel some admiration for him. He was a complete fucking bastard!

There was a text from Harrison.

“Miss you already… keeping your customers warm and toasty for you today. Don’t get too hot over his billions – remember you’re mine”

She laughed at his possessive joke.

“Got special orders to follow – hot is what I must do”  She text him back.  Then she felt mean about it and sent another. “See you later Harry. Lets go ABO, but just us, ok?” She wanted to have a talk with him, on her own…

She got out a rather shapeless trouser suit from the back of her wardrobe. God knows why she had kept this thing so long but it was finally going to come in useful. She usually wore above the knee fitted skirt suits, despite the comments and lechery she often got in the office as a result. She liked them and liked her high heels too. The cavemen in her office were not going to dictate her clothing choices for her. She was a woman and she liked to look like one!

But not today…

She put on a baggy white shirt and large lilac tie that she’d actually worn at a fancy dress party a while back and then put on the black trouser suit. She zipped up a low heeled pair of chunky and very comfortable old ankle boots that she normally wore to go shopping and added a large sized masculine type of silver watch. She brushed her hair thoroughly, twisted it up and clipped it at the back of her head very tightly and severely with a large crocodile clip. She added a tiny amount of makeup, a slick of dark brown eyeshadow and eyeliner and a touch of mascara, no lipstick; that was far too feminine.

She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. It was quite a harsh and manly look, she looked tougher than nails. She had it down to a T. It was a real don’t mess with me I’m one of the guys look, in her opinion. She smiled widely at the concept. She was going to take this look to her office afterwards. That should raise a few eyebrows!

Mike had ordered her a chauffeured car for the day. To take her to and from the appointment at his office and she could ferry Mr incredibly rich around in style, should she need to. She couldn’t take him to lunch in a cab now could she…? That just wouldn’t do. That would be way too cheap!

She sat at her window waiting for the car to arrive with a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Never had she met anyone quite so famous or wealthy before. Well apart from the Queen. She had met her once at a charity gala she attended… but that was different. And actually, she thought, even the Queen wasn’t anywhere near as rich as he was.

He was in another league.

Chapter 6

She sat in the back of the black Mercedes as it edged its way through the traffic. She had plenty of time to spare. Plenty of time to get more and more nervous about all the whole thing.

The driver dropped her off and gave her his mobile number to call. He drove off leaving her standing on the pavement outside DeVere’s office in Mayfair. She went in and walked up to the beautiful young redhead seated at the modern white reception desk. The badge on her suit said Carmel.

“Rose Porter for Mr DeVere, 10.30 appointment. I’m a little early, 10 minutes or so…”

“Oh yes that’s right…” Carmel replied looking down at her appointment book “I do have an R. Porter here. From Polygon Investments?”

“That would be me.” Oh good… It seemed he may not know she was female yet… that was even better. Because she wasn’t going to be very female today…

“Just a moment and I’ll see if Marcus is ready for you.” She picked up the phone and informed him his 10.30 appointment was already here. “Yes, he’s ready. Go straight along the corridor, it’s the last door on the right. Don’t knock, just go straight in, he’s waiting for you.” She buzzed her in the security door behind her.

Time for the big act.

Rose walked down the corridor steeling herself for the show with a few deep breaths. She opened the door and swept into his office. Manly does it, she reminded herself remembering how confidently her male colleagues introduced themselves to others. Her eyes scanned the room quickly taking in the smart modern décor and the pieces of artwork on the walls. She walked up to his desk with her hand out in greeting. Manly styled to absolute perfection.

“Ro Porter from Polygon Investments. Pleased to meet you Mr DeVere. I am your new fund manager.”

She didn’t know how she got the words out or how she kept the smile from her face as he stood and shook her hand across his desk and she took in the surprise clearly showing on his face.  She also didn’t know how she hadn’t melted into a puddle on the floor either. Those celebrity photos didn’t do him justice at all. This was quite possibly the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.

His tall dark haired form was informally dressed in a light grey shirt hanging loosely outside his dark trousers. He obviously had no need to impress anyone, certainly not his new fund manager by the looks of it…

“Do take a seat Ms Porter. Now this is a surprise. I’d rather thought you would be male.”

“Surely sex is not an issue, is it?” she blurted out without thinking. Why on earth had she put it that way? Gender would have been a far better word… oh damn…

“It could be. I’m a very demanding client. You may not be up to it.”  He didn’t deal with women very often. Not in the business sense. They were emotional and unpredictable creatures and just didn’t have the natural gut instinct for it in his opinion. Women were far better suited to entertainment, his entertainment in fact. This one certainly looked to be tougher than average, but even so… he didn’t like the idea of Ms Porter having control of his money at all.

“Oh I’m sure I am Mr DeVere.”  She began with a small confident laugh. “There is nothing you could throw my way that I can’t deal with I assure you. Now let us begin our discussion. Let me tell you about our company, my role and what I plan to do with your sizeable fund….” Rose was playing the game of her life. She was quite enjoying it in fact. She certainly enjoyed looking at him too…

A minute or two after she launched into the details of Polygon Private Client portfolio management, she was aware of a shift in his demeanour. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. His eyes were all over her. He was evaluating something. This was not a manly reaction to her manly look. He was obviously not listening to her much either. There was something else brewing inside him.

“Miss or Mrs?” He asked her suddenly, breaking into her carefully thought out introduction.

“Does it matter?”

“I like to know precisely who I’m dealing with. So are you married, with someone or not?”

“I’m single, unattached…. Now can I please continue?” She couldn’t say anything else, it was the truth anyway. She needed to keep her options open. Her job and financial future depended on it.

“In a moment. What is Ro short for?”

“It’s short for Rose.”

“Rose… hmmm… pretty… Why shorten a lovely name like that? I am also wondering if you always wear that style of suit and tie as well?”

“I like to maintain a professional look. I work with men, I need to fit in.” That was a small white lie of course, but whatever!

“I see. You are in disguise in your world are you? You’ve developed a masculine look and name to go with it.”

“I wouldn’t put it quite like that!”

“Well I would. Take the jacket and tie off Rose and undo that painful looking hairstyle you have there and then we can continue. I like my guests to feel at home. To be comfortable with me and themselves. Fund managers included.”

“Is all this really necessary Mr DeVere?”

“Yes, it is very important to be ourselves and feel comfortable as we are. Do it now… and please call me Marcus from now on. I cannot stand formality. You are about to get your hands on my personal assets Rose… I think we can call each other by our first names, don’t you?”

That subtle little piece of innuendo wasn’t lost on her. This was not quite going as she planned. How she thought she could fool a man like him for a second was in fact laughable, not that she had thought about it very much. He must know just about everything about women, the whole nine hundred yards!  She rather thankfully unclipped her tight and very uncomfortable hairstyle and gave her head a little shake. Her waist length dark hair swung down in a glossy swoop. She stood up and removed her jacket and tie and undid the top two buttons on her shirt. She sat back down in the chair, crossing her arms and legs and gathering her now rather more womanly looking composure. She tried to appear completely unaffected by his request but her pulse was racing uncomfortably fast.

He watched her intently.

“That is far better Rose. I can see who you are now and I like what I see.”

His mind was running riot. He breathed deeply and caught a wave of her scent, her light musky female scent and the other delicious one in the background. Her subtle perfume mingling with it all. This woman was on his hot list as from this very moment. He wasn’t sure which list it would be yet, but he would have her one way or another and soon.

“So Mr De… I mean Marcus. Can we please continue? I have even let my hair down for you… are you prepared to listen to me now?” She smiled at him briefly despite her discomforting experience.