A Heart to Trust

by A. L. Brooks

  Table Of Contents

  Other Books by A.L. Brooks

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Other Books from Ylva Publishing

  About A.L. Brooks

  Sign up for our newsletter to hear

  about new and upcoming releases.

  www.ylva-publishing.com

  Other Books by A.L. Brooks

  Dare to Love

  The Long Shot

  Write Your Own Script

  One Way or Another

  Up on the Roof

  Miles Apart

  Dark Horse

  The Club

  Never Too Late for Heroes by A.L. Brooks

  (The Superheroines Collection)

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Ylva for all the great work they do to bring each book to fruition! We’re at number ten now, and I never would have believed that to be possible four years ago. Thanks for everything.

  My beta readers were awesome, diving deep into the characters’ motivations and reactions to make me really sharpen this one up. Thanks go to Katja, Erin, Amy, and Quinn for a job well done.

  Miranda pushed me on the edit, as she should, and I’m so pleased with the result—thank you. And Alexa did a fab job in catching all my misused commas and other little snafus.

  Finally, a big thank you to all the readers who have followed my career so far. The level of support I’ve received has really touched me and kept me going when sometimes I felt like stopping. This one is dedicated to each and every one of you!

  Chapter 1

  “Morning, boss!” Jenny called in the vicinity of Adrienne’s office as she threw her bag onto her own chair Thursday morning.

  Adrienne smiled at her when she placed the still-steaming coffee in front of her, along with a bag containing a croissant and a fruit cup. “Good morning. I’m going to miss this level of service after I move to California.” She sipped the coffee, then tapped her chin. “I wonder if I can train Morgan to do this for me every day?”

  Jenny snorted. “Hah, good luck with that!” She pursed her lips. “On second thought, she’s so gooey over you, she probably would.”

  Adrienne blushed. “Probably.” She sat straighter in her chair. “Anyway, enough of that. You, young lady, are a genius.”

  “I am?”

  “Yes! That idea you had to change the opening sequence in the WNBA film worked brilliantly.”

  “You ran with it?” Jenny’s heart thumped.

  “I did.” Adrienne beamed at her. “I saw the first cut last night, and I loved it.”

  “Wow.”

  “Indeed.” Adrienne leaned onto her elbows. “You have a great mind and great ideas. I wish you’d have a little more faith in yourself.” Her tone was gentle, but her gaze locked on Jenny’s.

  Jenny’s face heated and she shuffled her feet. “Thanks. I know you’ve said it a couple times, but…”

  “What?”

  Jenny shrugged. “I can admit I lack some self-confidence. And…” She blew out a breath. Given Adrienne had opened the subject, maybe it was okay to say it. “And I guess I wasn’t sure of my standing after the mistakes I made with the whole Morgan thing.”

  Adrienne sat back once more. “Okay, I can understand that. But, honestly, that was all a blip. Since then, you’ve proved yourself to me time and time again. You can forget that chapter, okay? You should think about what your next steps will be.” A small frown creased her brow. “You know, longer term. You can’t stay a PA forever.” She cleared her throat. “Well, I need to get on with some things.”

  The dismissal was a tad abrupt, but Jenny was happy to leave the awkward conversation. She was always a little freaked out by people, especially Adrienne, who told her to push for more. Pushing meant change, and Jenny didn’t like change. In her experience change usually came with big problems and heartache, and she had no desire to add those to her generally happy life. She shuddered as unwanted memories from a decade ago threatened to surface.

  No, change was bad, and her happy status quo was good. She was content working for Adrienne and pretty sure she’d be content working for whoever was brought in to replace Adrienne at the end of the month.

  She took a step back. “Okay. Any changes to today’s schedule I need to know about?”

  Adrienne didn’t meet her eye. “One. Check your inbox—a mandatory company meeting at four this afternoon. Please move whatever you need to so you can attend.” Adrienne’s voice carried a serious tone Jenny didn’t think she’d ever heard from her before.

  Jenny’s heart beat faster. She opened her mouth to speak, but Adrienne held up a hand.

  “Whatever you’re going to ask, I can’t tell you.” She looked at Jenny, then away again, licked her lips, and ran a hand through her short auburn hair. “Please just make sure you attend, okay?”

  Jenny’s gut twisted, but she bit back her words and nodded before exiting Adrienne’s office. When she got to her desk, she took a moment to breathe deeply and tried to calm her racing pulse. Whatever it is, I’ll find out later. There was no sense in worrying over nothing. She hoped.

  She booted up her laptop and eased into her chair. While her computer did its thing, she sipped her coffee and nibbled her croissant.

  As soon as her email program loaded, the meeting request pinged onto the screen:

  All-staff meeting

  Conference Room A

  4–5 p.m.

  Mandatory

  Jenny swiveled in her chair and peered through the large glass window separating her workstation from Adrienne’s office. Her boss had turned her chair so she faced away from Jenny toward the external window that looked out onto the Manhattan skyline; her hands gripped the arms of the chair.

  What the hell was going on?

  They said YES!!!! Meet me and the girls at Limelight tomorrow night for a LOT of alcohol xxx

  Carl’s text buzzed in as Jenny scooped up her phone to tuck it in her purse. The all-staff meeting was in two minutes and she shouldn’t be late, so although she was thrilled for her roommate and his big news, an appropriately gushing response would have to wait. It wasn’t every day one of her closest friends managed to get a contract to sell his jewelry at Bloomingdale’s, but she’d need more time than she had available now to congratulate him properly.

  She looked around for Adrienne. She’d barely seen her since that awkward conversation in Adrienne’s office earlier in the day, which she didn’t understand because Adrienne’s calendar showed her free all afternoon. Where had she disappeared to?

  Well, I’m not her keeper. She
knows the meeting is now, so she’ll have to get to it.

  Jenny swung back to her desk to lock down her laptop—for once having remembered to do so—and found Maxwell waiting for her.

  His body filled her cubicle; he wasn’t overweight, just tall and broad and a little imposing on first meeting. Once you got to know him, you realized what a marshmallow he truly was.

  “Hey, Max, my man!” Jenny held out her fist for a bump and chuckled when Maxwell stared down at it. “Still not up for fist-bumping, huh?”

  He shook his head.

  Jenny laughed.

  Maxwell was kind of a geek and passionate about sports statistics. Truth be told, he loved all sorts of statistics. He was quiet, intense, and never socialized with the team, but he and Jenny got on fine.

  “Okay, let’s go.” She shoved her purse into her desk drawer.

  When they reached the main conference room, it was, of course, standing room only. She and Maxwell squeezed past the guy from legal who always smelled of oranges and sidled between a small group of chattering women from finance until they leaned back against a small patch of wall near the big credenza that dominated one end of the room. Opposite them at the other end were the five main board members, the head of HR, and the head of legal.

  Adrienne had a seat halfway down the long table on the right side, but try as Jenny might, she couldn’t catch her eye.

  Maxwell leaned in. “It won’t be good news.”

  “What?” Jenny’s heart rate picked up again.

  He shrugged. “I looked back on all the previous all-staff meetings and analyzed what they revealed. In eighty-seven percent of cases, it was to announce things that led to major changes in the business. In eleven percent of cases, it was even worse, leading to job reductions. Therefore, there is only a two percent chance this will be good news. Statistically speaking, those are small odds.”

  Before Jenny could thank him for making her feel so much better, the CEO brought the meeting to order by loudly tapping his pen on the table.

  The room fell silent.

  The CEO stood and glanced at his watch. He turned to the heads of HR and legal, and when they nodded, he looked over at a woman Jenny didn’t recognize who stood in the doorway. When that woman, with a cell phone to her ear, gave him a thumbs-up, the CEO faced the room.

  “Everybody, thank you for clearing your calendars to be present right now. Today is an exceptional day in the history of TC Productions. A moment ago, it was announced to the markets that C&V Inc—who you have all heard of, I’m sure—will be acquiring TC Productions, as of today.”

  Gasps and mutters spread around the room.

  It took a moment for his words to sink in, but then it dawned. Jenny turned to Maxwell, whose eyes were serious.

  “Two percent was very small odds.” He puffed out a long breath.

  “Shit.” Jenny blinked rapidly as she turned back to listen to the CEO once more.

  “I know this is probably a shock, but we truly believe this is the best way forward for the future of the company.” He tried a smile, but in the stony silence that greeted his words, it didn’t last long.

  “For the company or for your bank balances?” The bitterness in the speaker’s tone was crystal clear.

  Rita Lapham, the HR director, stepped forward, palms raised in a placating gesture. “I know this is not how you expected your day to end, but let’s try to keep it civil, shall we?”

  “Easy for you to say!” The shout was from a woman standing in the corner opposite Jenny. “I bet your job isn’t on the line.”

  Murmurs of agreement spread round the room like a wave.

  Oh crap. Jenny pressed herself back into the wall, afraid her knees would give way. My job! What’s going to happen to my job?

  “Are you okay?” Maxwell gazed at her with concern.

  “I have no idea.” She swallowed with her fists clenched so tight, she feared she’d crack a bone.

  “So, how many of us will be out of work?” the same woman called, this time stepping out from behind a group of people to face the room.

  “I’m not at liberty to say right at this time,” Lapham replied. “But each of you will be invited to a meeting with a representative from my team to discuss what the next steps will be.”

  “But there will be job losses?” the woman pressed.

  Jenny vaguely recognized her now as someone from marketing.

  Lapham glanced at the CEO, who gave her a short nod. “Yes,” she said, “there will.”

  A mix of gasps, cries, and loud curse words rumbled around the room.

  Once more, Lapham raised her hands. “Please, stay calm. Wait until you hear from your HR representative. We hope to meet with everyone today, so I would ask you all to stay at your desks until you’ve been called. Please don’t leave the building; hear what we have to say.”

  The CEO stepped up and said something in Lapham’s ear, and she took that as her cue to step aside. “As Rita has said, it would be best if you all returned to your desks,” he said. “We’ll be sending out more details once all of those meetings have taken place. So, please, could you now leave the room?”

  Jenny slammed the stall door closed behind her and sat on the toilet. By the faint sounds coming from the other two stalls, she wasn’t the only one who sought solace in the one place you were unlikely to be interrupted. From the stall immediately to her left came faint sniffling sounds, and her heart ached for whoever emitted them. And from the stall farthest along the row came the sound of someone furiously tapping on a cell phone.

  Not ready to cry and certainly not ready to share the news with anyone else, Jenny simply sat and stared at the back of the stall door.

  TC Productions had been sold, and neither she nor any of her peers had any idea at the moment what that meant for them. Would she have a job to come to in the morning or not? And if she didn’t, what the hell would she do? It was like hanging onto a cliff edge, the stone crumbling beneath her fingers.

  Jenny’s anger at the hopelessness of her situation surged, and she swallowed down the bile in her throat. I might be okay. It might be other teams that lose people. At least Adrienne would be all right, leaving at the end of the month for her big move to California.

  Jenny’s heart skipped a beat. She remembered how weird Adrienne had been about telling her the all-staff meeting was scheduled and that she had to attend. Had Adrienne known something? And if so, why hadn’t she warned Jenny? She would have thought, after all these years together, she deserved better treatment than that. Her skin flashed hot and cold with anger. Though a small part of her mind registered she was directing her fury for the situation at the wrong person, there was only one place she wanted to be.

  After exiting the restroom, she stomped along the hallway back toward her cubicle and veered left at the last moment to rap loudly on Adrienne’s door. At the tired, “Come in,” she pushed the door open and stopped herself from slamming it behind her.

  Adrienne was in her chair but pushed back from her desk with a single piece of paper in her left hand. Her head was propped in her right hand and her arm leaned on the chair arm. “Jenny, I—”

  “Don’t!” Jenny held up one hand as she marched into the center of the office.

  Adrienne sighed and threw the piece of paper onto her desk. “Have a seat.”

  “I don’t want to sit!”

  Adrienne’s eyes narrowed. “Then at least have the courtesy to lower your voice.”

  The coldness in her tone brought Jenny up short, and she sucked in a breath, finally realizing how close her behavior was to insubordination. “I’m sorry.” Her shoulders slumped, and she pushed a hand through her hair in frustration.

  “Please. Sit down.” This time, Adrienne’s tone was warm and understanding.

  Jenny fought back tears. She sat on the comfy chair on the visitor’s s
ide of Adrienne’s desk and exhaled, willing the tears to stay locked behind her eyelids.

  There was a short silence between them, and then Adrienne said, “I found out late last night. All the senior managers like myself who hadn’t been part of the negotiations were summoned to a meeting with the CEO and informed.” She sighed. “They’ve been working on the deal for weeks. I’d been aware of late-night meetings but just assumed it was all project related, and I never heard a whisper from anyone in the industry that this was on the cards. I honestly didn’t know, and even once I did, I couldn’t say anything because they made us all sign nondisclosure agreements.”

  Jenny leaned back in her chair and breathed slowly. No point staying angry with Adrienne given what she’d just heard. “I understand.”

  Adrienne’s expression shifted to one of concern. “You’ll hear it from HR soon, but yours is one of the jobs under threat. I’m very sorry. I’m not even supposed to tell you, but I don’t care right now.”

  Jenny’s heart pounded, and her stomach flipped. “Shit.”

  “Indeed.”

  “What…” Her mouth went dry. She swallowed and tried again. “What will happen to me?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, just that all production assistant jobs are up for review, as well as all admin-level posts and a handful of managers at my level.” She shrugged. “They’ll want to streamline and get economies of scale where they can. Buying TC is great for them—they’ve wanted to get more involved in sports, and this is an easy way for them to do that. But that doesn’t mean everyone from TC will be happy.”

  “I bet you’re glad you’re already leaving.” Jenny couldn’t help the hint of bitterness that crept into her tone. It was bad enough knowing she was losing Adrienne as a mentor and manager. She’d never have imagined her own job would soon be at risk too.

  “I can’t lie—yes, I am. I wouldn’t want to get into a fight for a position, not now. In fact, I know I’ve made it easy for them in that respect. One less headcount to worry about.” She hesitated for a couple moments. “Are you okay?”