Prologue
William Montgomery was feeling pretty good about himself right now. As the orchestra played, he watched as his youngest son Lucas danced with his new bride, Emma. They made a beautiful couple and as far as William was concerned, his role as matchmaker was a complete success.
Looking around the room he saw that everyone was laughing and smiling and having a good time. It filled his heart with joy. This time last year, Lucas was a brooding loner who had cut himself off from just about every aspect of life. But thanks to William’s interference, and the help of Mother Nature, Lucas had found himself and fell in love with the beautiful Emma Taylor, now Emma Montgomery. He had no doubt that there’d be a grandchild in his near future.
A server came over and refilled his champagne and William smiled at him. Why hadn’t he thought to do this before? He had three sons who seemed content to stay single and not settle down. Well, he had three sons, now he had only two to worry about. Mac and Jason were both over by the bar talking with some business colleagues that William had invited. Why were they talking business when there were eligible women in the room?
William sighed wearily. Had he taught his sons nothing? For all of the business skills he’d imparted on them, they seemed clueless, at least to him, where women were concerned. Not that he thought either of them was living the life of a Monk, but it would be nice if one of them had a girlfriend.
Or at least a date for their brother’s wedding.
“Stop frowning, William, it’s our son’s wedding.” His beautiful wife of thirty-five years came and sat down beside him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “There’s nothing to frown about today.”
“Says you,” he mumbled.
“What could you possibly have to be unhappy about? Emma and Lucas are deliriously happy and in love. The wedding is lovely and everyone is having a good time.”
“Look at them,” he motioned to their sons by the bar.
“What about them?” she asked.
“When are they going to find women and fall in love and get married?”
“Oh, William, for crying out loud. We’re not even done with this wedding and you’re already trying to plan the next one?” she laughed.
“I just want to see them happy.”
“Who says they’re not?”
“Do you remember Lucas a year ago?” he asked, taking his eyes from his sons to focus on his wife.
“You cannot compare Jason and Mac to what Lucas was going through; the situations are completely different.”
“On some levels, yes. But basically they are too wrapped up in business to have relationships. I don’t want them to work their lives away; they deserve to have the kind of love that Lucas and Emma have and that you and I have.”
She smiled and cupped a hand to her husband’s cheek before leaning in and kissing him softly on his lips.
“What was that for?”
“For being wonderful.”
He smiled. “I know that for a while Lucas wasn’t thrilled with me for interfering in his life but maybe this time…”
“Don’t you dare!” she scolded. “You were lucky where Lucas and Emma were concerned. They already had feelings for one another; you just had to nudge them along. Neither Jace or Mac are in that position.”
“Not yet,” William said and then turned to kiss his wife again and then watched as she stood to go and talk with some of their guests.
William Montgomery was feeling good about himself right now. He had a purpose and a plan was beginning to formulate. All he needed was for lightning to strike twice.
Chapter One
“She has to be married.”
“Excuse me?”
“Whoever it is that we chose, she has to be married.” Jason Montgomery was adamant on this point. There was no way he was going to get caught with someone looking to snag the wealthy boss.
“This is about Lucas isn’t it?” The head of human resources eyed him with a mix of suspicion and humor. In her late fifties, Ann Kincade had been with Montgomery’s for almost twenty years and had watched William Montgomery’s sons grow up. “Honestly, Jason, you are making a big deal out of nothing.”
“Am I?” he asked incredulously. “Ever since Lucas and Emma hooked up, I have gone through four different assistants. Why? Because now they all think that they can hook up with the boss.”
“That’s a slight exaggeration, Jason,” she admonished.
“Is it?” He stood and began to pace his office. “First there was Rose…”
“Rose got promoted to being your father’s assistant when Emma left. That had nothing to do with you.”
Jason sighed with frustration. “That wasn’t what I was going to say. When Rose moved over to the main suite, you replaced her with Janice.”
“She was a very nice woman; great organizational skills.”
“She was a damn stalker who I found watching me through the bushes at home with binoculars!”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. But then there was Lynda…”
“Cougar on the prowl. She didn’t want to work; she wanted to find a rich, younger husband to take care of her.”
“And her typing skills sucked.”
One of Jason’s dark eyebrows arched at that comment but he said nothing. “Then there was Claire.” He stopped and stood in front of Ann, his arms crossed over his chest. “Do I even need to remind you of that little debacle?”
Ann looked down at her pile of files in her lap. “I still think it wasn’t what it looked like.”
“The woman was sprawled out on my desk in her underwear. What do you think it looked like?” he shouted. A growl of frustration escaped before he could stop it and he raked a hand through his hair. “Now I have this trip coming up that I need to take an assistant on and I don’t have an assistant! I’m walking around on eggshells here because I feel like everywhere I turn, there is someone looking to marry me!”
“We’ll have to put an ad out and look for male assistants,” Ann suggested.
“There’s no time for that and what if he’s gay?”
Ann let out a hearty laugh before she could help it. “Oh, Jason, do you hear yourself? Now you think that men are going to be after you, too?”
He sat back down behind his desk and put his face in his hands. “I’m going crazy here, Ann. I have a lot to do to prep for this trip; there’s a lot riding on it and I can’t spare the time to be fending off women who are hoping to be the next Mrs. Montgomery.”
“Is it absolutely necessary for you to have someone go with you?” she asked seriously.
“It’s a long trip with meetings set up with dozens of potential clients. I need someone to be with me taking notes and organizing contracts and getting them back here to the office. I can’t do it all myself. As it is this went from a ten day trip to about three weeks. What am I supposed to do?”
“That’s a long time to ask anyone to travel with you, especially if they’re married. No one is going to want to be away from their spouse for three weeks.”
Jason frowned. “Damn, I hadn’t thought of that.”
Ann started sorting through the employment profiles she held in her lap. “As of right now there are no male candidates. You could always take one of the junior execs with you to…”
Jason shook his head. “No, the ones that I talked with can’t be spared for that length of time.”
“What about a temp?”
Again he shook his head. “I need someone with a working knowledge of the company. I won’t have time for hand holding and training. I need someone who can step right in and get to work. I’ve got less than two weeks before I leave and I’ll need every minute of it to get organized.”
Placing the files down on Jason’s desk, Ann stood and f
rowned. “What you’re asking is impossible.”
“I’m relying on you to make it possible,” he countered.
“Jason, be reasonable.”
“I would love to be reasonable, Ann, believe me. Right now there is nothing about this situation that makes things easy for me, either. I cannot afford to take someone with me who ‘accidentally’ shows up in my bed or worse, makes a spectacle of themselves at a corporate event. I don’t want to lead anyone on or give them the impression that they are with me to play corporate wife!”
She stared at him until Jason started to feel like he was going to squirm. “I’ll see what I do, Jace; but I can make no promises.”
He nodded and then she was gone.
****
Maggie Barrett did her best to live her life under the radar.
Getting called into the boss’s office did not fit with that motto.
She had barely stepped into the executive suite when William Montgomery’s assistant Rose told her that Mr. Montgomery was expecting her. With a heavy sigh and a straightened spine, she walked through the doors.
“Maggie!” William Montgomery boomed. “How have you been?”
Taking the seat that he indicated, Maggie sat down and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat before responding. “Fine, Sir. How are you?”
“Great, can’t complain,” he said with a sincere smile and then he reached for a folder that was on his desk. His expression turned slightly more serious as he read the contents. Quietly he closed the folder and studied Maggie. “Ann tells me that you were offered a promotion.”
Maggie nodded. “Yes, Sir, I was.”
“And that you turned it down.”
Again, she nodded.
“Care to tell me why?”
“I’m perfectly happy with the position that I have.”
“You are overqualified for the position that you have, Maggie; you and I both know that. Now why don’t you tell my why you really turned down the job as Jason’s assistant.” His tone was firm but gentle; exactly how he knew Maggie needed to be talked to.
Her shoulders sagged slightly. “You and I both know why I took this job, Mr. Montgomery. I’m not looking to be anyone’s assistant ever again. I’m very happy working in customer service.”
“Answering phones all day in maddening,” he replied. “The move up to an assistant would mean that other people would be fielding the calls and you could actually do the kind of work that you are more than capable of doing.”
It probably wouldn’t look good for her to cry in front of her boss. Not that he hadn’t seen her do that before but it wasn’t something she wanted to repeat. “I appreciate your concern, Mr. Montgomery, I really do. I’m just not willing to be put into that type of situation ever again. I can’t.” Her voice trembled on the last word and Maggie silently cursed herself for showing weakness.
It was never William’s intention to upset Maggie and sitting there looking at her as she fought to keep her composure, he hated himself even more for what he was about to do. “Maggie,” he began, “I am not the type of person who throws his weight around. I think you know that about me.” She nodded. “We have a situation that you are the only one qualified for. I’m not asking you if you want the position, I’m telling you that I want you to take the position.”
Maggie’s head snapped up as she stared at him with eyes wide. “But you know why…”
William held up a hand to stop her. “Believe me, I remember quite well why you feel the way that you do and I think that by now you should know that I am one of the good guys. Have I ever done anything to make you doubt me?”
Silently, Maggie shook her head.
“Have I asked anything of you in all of the time you’ve worked for me?”
Again she shook her head as she stared down at the floor.
“I wouldn’t ask this of you, Maggie if it wasn’t important. You are the only person that I trust for this assignment.”
Raising her head, her brown eyes filled with tears, she asked, “Why? Why me?”
William sighed. “Ever since Lucas and Emma fell in love, Jason has had sort of a target on his back. We can’t seem to keep an assistant for him. He’s been stalked, propositioned…you name it, these women have done it. Most men would be flattered but Jason takes his work very seriously and he needs someone who’ll do the same.”
“I still don’t understand how this involves me.”
“When I took you in with Montgomery’s, Maggie, you asked me to do what I could to protect you, right?” She nodded. “One of the things that I did was lie for you; as far as anyone in the company knows, you are a married woman. You and I are the only ones here that know differently.”
Maggie considered his words. “So you think since everyone believes me to be married that I’m a safe bet for Jason’s assistant?”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Jason isn’t looking to seduce anyone and he certainly isn’t looking to be seduced. I would think that you, more than anyone, can understand his position.”
She blushed. Maggie tried to never think about the way that she had come to work for William Montgomery and in the three years that she’d been here, this was the first time they’d even remotely referred to it. “I can respect the situation, Sir; I just don’t feel comfortable…”
“Maggie?” he interrupted gently. “It’s time. You’ve hidden yourself down in customer service long enough. I hired you without knowing a damn thing about you; the woman I met needed help and I gave it. I’m asking you to return the favor.”
How could she say no to that? The man had given her a safe haven; a job where she didn’t feel hunted or that she was there for any other reason than to do her job. “How can I be sure that I won’t find myself in the same situation I was when you met me?”
William’s expression softened as he looked at her. “Maggie, I give you my word that you will never, ever find yourself in such a position; not with Jason and not with anyone here at Montgomery’s.”
She stood and looked down at her boss. A simple nod of her head was the only response that she gave.
William rose to his feet and faced her. “If at any time, for any reason, you feel like something isn’t right, I want you to promise me that you’ll call and I’ll believe whatever it is that you tell me and I’ll get you out of there, okay?”
Again, all she could do was nod.
“I’ll let Ann know to get the paperwork started and I’ll let Rose know that you’ll be working with her the rest of the week to get acquainted with things up here and I’ll arrange for you to meet with Jason.” A wild look of panic crossed Maggie’s face and William made a quick decision. “We’ll meet with him together; you and me, okay?”
Maggie took a steadying breath and agreed.
Then silently prayed that she hadn’t just made the second biggest mistake of her life.
****
Trapped.
That was the only word that came to Maggie’s mind as she frantically tried to figure a way out of the situation. She could either go back upstairs to the hotel room that her boss had reserved for the two of them – unbeknownst to her – or she could sleep on the street.
Martin Blake had been the model boss; for a year she’d been his executive assistant and never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that something like this would happen to her.
Maggie looked around the lobby in search of what, she didn’t know. She had no money, no form of transportation and no form of ID. Martin had seen to that. They were three thousand miles from home on the other side of the country; he was smart to choose now to hatch his disgusting plan. There actually was a conference going on but Martin had very little interest in it; his interest was in seducing Maggie.
She felt sick. Any moment she was sure she was going to be ill. Collapsing on one of the opulent sofas in the hotel lobby, tears began to fall. “What am I going to do?” she cried gently, knowing that no one was there to answer her.
“E
xcuse me, miss,” a gentle voice asked. “Are you okay?”
Tears streaming down her face, Maggie looked up and saw a man in his possible late-fifties staring down at her, his face one of calm concern. Who was he? Did Martin send him to find her?
“I…I’m fine,” she lied.
The man sat down at the opposite end of the sofa, not wanting to scare her more than she obviously was. “Are you sure? Is there someone I can call for you?”
The thing was, there wasn’t anyone that Maggie felt she could call about this situation. She didn’t want to alarm her family and she had no close friends and no one who would be able to pay for a flight home for her – especially when she had no ID to present when she got to the airport. Shaking her head, a fresh wave of tears began to fall.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be okay. Please, tell me what’s going on? Do we need to call the hotel management? The police?”
As much as Maggie had wanted to say yes, Martin’s taunting words came to mind. As she had been clawing to get out of the hotel room he mocked, “Go ahead and call the cops or hotel security. I’ll just tell them we had a lovers spat and you are trying to blackmail the boss. I believe they call that extortion and it’s a crime, Mags.”
“No!” she cried, coming back to the present. “No, please…no one needs to call the cops or security. I’ll…I’ll be fine.”
The man looked at her with obvious disbelief. He had a briefcase at his feet and he reached for it, pulling it into his lap and opening it. Without a word, he handed her his card. “I’m William Montgomery. I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s where my company is, too. It’s been in my family for three generations and, God willing, it will go to my sons and they’ll carry on long after I’m gone. I’ve got three sons; always wanted a daughter, though,” he said lightly.
“I don’t normally come to these conventions; seem like a great waste of time. Most of the attendees are here looking for a break from work, not to learn more about how to do their jobs more effectively.” He sighed wearily and then smiled. “We drew straws, my sons and I, to see who would come and check this place out. I lost.” He gave a light chuckle and felt relief when Maggie gave a small smile. “I’m too old for nonsense like this. Conventions are a young man’s game.”
Trust in Me Page 1
