The Darkest of Shadows (11 page)

There seemed to be a strange edge of excitement in the office when I arrived on Monday morning. It certainly wasn’t coming from me—I was feeling tired and drained—but something was clearly up.

“Lilly!” Sally came bowling up to me in the foyer, almost like she had been waiting for me. “Have you heard?” she asked excitedly.

“Obviously not.” I smiled at her in welcome. “Please do enlighten me.”

“Parsons sold the company,” she exclaimed excitedly.

My stomach dropped to an alarming level. “Who to?” My hand reached out to grasp hold of her arm. “Sally.” She was bouncing around so much she didn’t hear my question. I resisted the urge to slap her and asked again. “Sally, who did he sell to?”

“No idea,” she exclaimed, as we both piled into the lift. “No one does. Only got word out on e-mail this morning that it’s sold, effective today.”

That was quick. Or maybe not. Maybe the process had been in place for some time, and they were only now telling the staff. But surely Patrick would have been aware of it before now. As it turns out, I never had to ask Patrick. The answer to my question waited for me in his office.

I wasn’t expecting him to have company at this hour, so I didn’t knock; I just surged through his door in my usual manner, the words already leaving my lips before I even saw him sitting at his desk.

“Patrick. What’s going on?” My words faded into the silence of the room and before I knew it, I was backing up, backing out of that office and backing away from what it contained.

“Lilly?” Patrick’s voice had no effect on me. My gaze had locked onto one person: Lawrence Monterey, who sat quietly and confidently in the chair across from Patrick’s desk.

I backed into the door, a door that shouldn’t have been there. I had left it open when I came into the room, but now it was shut. My eyes closed for a second as my body finally acknowledged the two presences on either side of me, on either side of the door. Monterey’s two guards were never far from him; in fact, I berated myself for not paying more attention. I should have known they would be there.

A hand closed over mine as I tried to get the door open behind me. I jerked away and stepped back into the room a pace.

“Are you all right?” Patrick moved around his desk and stopped just before me. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s he doing here?” I barely got the words out and I could see that they confused Patrick, because he shot a look between Lawrence Monterey’s calm features and my very pale ones.

“Lilly, Mr. Monterey just bought the company from Samuel. He’s here to finalize the details.”

I could feel my control slipping; I could feel my careful hold on sanity tip closer toward that place I never wanted to go. I wrapped my arms around my body and stared up into Patricks’ shaken face.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered in apology. “I’m intruding.”

“Stay.” Lawrence’s voice echoed loudly in the room. “I was just discussing the staffing situation with Patrick, and you should hear this, too.” He announced.

I don’t believe I wanted to hear it, and part of me hoped beyond hope that if they laid people off, I would be one of the first.

Patrick returned to his seat and he indicated for me to take the one next to Lawrence, but that was about as likely as Sally learning to mind her own business. I chose instead to circle around them both and stand beside the window. I needed the serenity that the view out these windows usually gave me; any small amount of peace was welcome.

“As you can appreciate, we have a large workforce in the UK, and some of the key responsibilities of this company will be managed by the team that I already have in place. There are going to be some cutbacks; it’s inevitable, and it is important for the future success of this venture,” Lawrence explained. “There will also be some amalgamations concurrent with the purchase. Some of the smaller entities will be moved and, in some cases, broadened, but it’s probably most important right now to finalize the management structure, because it’s from that level that the rest of the organization will move forward.”

Patrick nodded in understanding. As hard as it was, no doubt, to hear, it was the reality of big business; and management knew all too well about the expendable nature of their employment. I think in that moment, both Patrick and I believed that he was probably going to be one of the expendable ones.

“Marie Whitney and Peter First’s positions are no longer viable. Their positions can be covered by the HR and finance team I already have in place within my other companies. Ashlan Moroney will be asked to stay on, if that’s what he’s interested in doing. He is a rare mind and an asset to the company.”

Patrick and Lawrence shared a long, silent stare; both of them knew that Patrick was next. “Your position is a bit difficult,” Lawrence went on. “Every time I purchase an existing business, I always get rid of the highest-level managers; their loyalty is suspect, and experience has proven that the best outcome for everyone is if I put my own people in the more visible roles.”

“I see,” Patrick said slowly, and I could see how much this hurt him. He loved his job and had given up much—his whole family, to be precise—for what he enjoyed doing. It was painful to see him become a casualty of big business.

“The position you hold will be made redundant, and one of my own people will step up to be the Managing Director of Operations,” Lawrence continued, and I felt my heart sink. “However, I am aware of your skills, and I am conscious of what you bring to this organization. I would prefer not to lose your particular assets if I can help it.”

Why did that sound like a bargaining statement?

Lawrence met Patrick’s gaze for a long moment, before he pulled out the wild card. “I’d like to move some of the offices around.” He continued. “I’d like some of your staff transferred to our main corporate offices here in London, and there will be some other location changes later on for specific people.”

Patrick shot me a strange look before turning his attention back to Lawrence. “Which staff?” he asked outright, and I wondered why that bothered him. For me, all that mattered was that I was probably going to get a new boss, someone of Lawrence’s choosing—but then I wasn’t terribly worried because I wouldn’t be around long enough to care. All it would take was some travel arrangements, and I could be anywhere in the world.

“Lillianna will be transferred to my offices,” Lawrence stated simply and sharply.

It took a moment for his words to sink in. “What?” I stammered pushing away from my position by the window. “What did you say?” I asked him.

“I would like Lillianna to accept the position of my own personal assistant,” Lawrence announced and I watched as Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “I am currently without the services of a dedicated aide, and from what I hear about her skills, she would suit me perfectly.”

“NO.” I think I might have yelled that. “No. Thanks for the offer, but no.” I tried for a calmer response the second time.

Patrick spoke quietly, almost to himself, “I think you might find, Lilly,” he told me sadly, “that the fate of both our jobs rests on your accepting that offer.”

“I don’t understand.” What the hell was going on here?

Lawrence, for all the time that I’d been in the office, still hadn’t addressed me directly; and even now, when I was rejecting his offer, he still didn’t take the time to even turn in my direction. He addressed his comments directly to Patrick, like there was some answer that Patrick needed him to give.

“I’ve just purchased a mining venture in Australia,” he told Patrick. “It’s extensive, volatile, and highly profitable, and I need a Managing Director of Operations. The position covers that, but it also oversees all my business interests in Australia and around Asia.”

“You want me to trade Lilly for a Managing Director’s job?” Patrick’s voice was slow and even, while I was pretty sure that I’d stepped into another reality. Were they serious? I just couldn’t get my head around what I was hearing.

“I’m offering you an opportunity to further advance your career.” Lawrence met his gaze. “What you do with that opportunity is your own affairs.”

That slide I was so worried about was quickly becoming a landslide, and if I didn’t get out of this craziness soon, I would find myself in a rubble at the bottom of a painful ride—and I had promised myself that I would never go there again.

It only took me a moment to realize that this didn’t mean anything. I stepped forward into the room, drawing both their attention. My back was ramrod straight and my mind clearer than it had been in some time.

“Take the job, Patrick,” I told him with a nod. “You are good at what you do, and Mr. Monterey would be lucky to have you work for him.” Patrick wasn’t sure what to make of my little speech.

“Mr. Monterey.” I finally drew his eyes to me. “I thank you for your offer, but I regret to inform you that I must decline.” I regally inclined my head to them both and walked purposefully toward the door. This time, the two gorillas didn’t make any attempt to stop me.

I opened the door and, with my hand still on the handle, I turned back to them both. “I hereby tender my resignation from whatever company I’m currently employed with. I won’t be giving my two weeks’ notice, as I think it is unwise for all of our sakes for me to stay. Enjoy your life, gentlemen.”

“Lilly!” Both Patrick and Lawrence called my name as I moved out into the office that Sally and I shared.

She had obviously heard what I had said and sat with her hands covering the lower part of her face, tears leaking silently from her compassionate eyes. I smiled to reassure her and grabbed my bag off the desk where I had thrown it when I came in, but Patrick’s voice stopped me before I could go any further.

“Lilly, don’t do this.”

“Do what, Patrick?” I asked him. “I’m sorry that this is happening, but you will get another job. If not with Monterey, then you will find another one. You’re brilliant, and if he doesn’t see it, then that’s his loss.”

“Don’t make rash decisions when your judgment is clouded by anger,” he told me seriously. “You should take the job, Lilly.”

“Why?” I asked him in surprise. “I don’t need the job.” Then understanding dawned. He wanted the job in Australia. He wanted it very much, and he wanted to accept the trade that Lawrence was offering.

As I stood there staring at the man who had just whored my services off to another man for a job, I felt sick and dirty and unbelievably angry. And the cause of all this trouble stood silent and attentive just behind him. He was waiting for me to say yes; he expected it, anticipated it.

“You son of a bitch!” I hissed. Then in a voice that was low so that only Lawrence and Patrick could hear, I added, “Fuck you, Patrick. Fuck you for thinking I’m a whore.” I spat the words at him, letting the pain and anger show like a black cloud in my eyes. Then I turned to Lawrence. “And fuck you, Lawrence Monterey. You will never own me!”

And with those final words, I stormed out of the office and out of the building and, finally, out of both their notice.

.

Six

“In the office, Sloane.” Lawrence voice interrupted the stunned silence.

With an encouraging prod from Lawrence’s guards, Patrick walked back into his office and slumped down on one of the lounges.

“Shit.” Patrick’s words echoed quietly around the room.

“That could have gone better,” Lawrence admitted, as he took a seat across from Patrick. Lilly’s reaction wasn’t quite what he’d been expecting. He was a little pissed with himself, actually, because he should have known better; he should have anticipated something unusual.

“Are you kidding me?” Patrick’s head shot up in annoyance. “She’s never going to trust me again. I can’t believe that I just did that. What the hell was I thinking?”

“You were thinking about your own future,” Lawrence declared.

“What future?” Patrick slumped down in the chair, he looked defeated. “You know she was never mine to bargain with in the first place,” he added, after a long minute of silence.

“Yes.” Lawrence admitted truthfully.

“Then why all this?” Patrick waved around the room.

“You had to acknowledge that. You had to let her go in your own way.”

“What for?” Patrick asked. “So she would walk straight into your arms?”

Lawrence snorted in amusement. “I doubt very much that she would do that.”

“You don’t know her at all,” Patrick countered. “She’s not what you think. She is damaged in a way that I don’t understand.” He didn’t say it in an attacking way, simply stating a fact.

“I know everything about her,” Lawrence announced. “I know all her secrets.”

Patrick looked stunned. “You had her investigated?” His voice edged up in volume, but then just as suddenly his face was overcome with a horrified expression. “Oh, my God!” he stammered. Then he leaped up from where he was sitting and started pacing the room, his fingers running haphazardly through his hair. “You are crazy. Fucking crazy,” he announced.

Lawrence couldn’t hide his amusement; he almost looked embarrassed to have been caught out.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Patrick exclaimed, turning back to stare at Lawrence. “You paid one hundred million pounds to get Lilly in your bed!”

Lawrence shrugged, but offered no explanation, because he couldn’t deny it.

“She won’t do it, you know.” Patrick’s words stumbled over themselves. “She just isn’t like a normal woman, and she isn’t impressed by who you are. You don’t understand her. Hell,” he huffed in exasperation, “I don’t understand her, and I’m sleeping with her.”

“Not anymore, you aren’t.” Lawrence didn’t try to hide the edge to his voice or the fierce surge of jealousy that rolled through his body at Patrick’s words.

Patrick shot him an equally fierce scowl. “No,” he agreed. “You made pretty sure of that didn’t you?”

“She will come to me of her own free will. I have a great deal of patience.”

“You’ll break her if you try and force her to do your will,” Patrick warned.

“I’ll never hurt her.”

“What do you want with her? If you know her as well as you think you do, then you should also know that she isn’t the happily-ever-after type.”