Fallen

by Natasha Grace

  Fallen

  Natasha Grace

  Synopsis

  After finding out that her husband of three years has been cheating on her, the only thing recently widowed Samantha Collins wants to do is to put her old life behind her. The first thing on the checklist? To sell her husband’s share of the hedge fund he started with his best friend.

  Only Luke Darren has different plans.

  More comfortable with running the day–to–day operations of the firm, Luke has always stayed in the background, letting Jason become the face of the company. But now that Jason’s gone, clients have been leaving in droves. The last thing he needs is for Samantha to leave as well. It would be the last straw for the customers who were already on the fence about pulling their money out and Luke couldn’t risk that.

  But soon, working with Samantha is wrecking his concentration. He’s been in love with her for years and with Jason no longer in the way, being friends just isn’t enough and he soon finds himself wanting more!

  Fallen

  A Billionaires of Manhattan Novel

  © 2018 Natasha Grace

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written consent of the author except in case of brief quotes embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  “Sam! You’re here!”

  Samantha Collins had just set her briefcase on her desk when she found herself engulfed in a tight embrace by Karen Parker. “Thank goodness you’re back. The analysts have been arguing nonstop since you’ve been gone.”

  Sam smiled as she pulled away from the bubbly, red–headed accountant. She’d been hesitant about coming back to work and having such a warm greeting eased her worries.

  “Knowing them, they’re arguing about who has to do the blue–chip stocks.” No one wanted to spend their time reviewing boring, stable companies when they could be looking for the next big thing.

  But since she’d had no experience in analyzing companies when she’d joined her husband’s hedge fund, Harkin Capital Management, three years ago, she’d offered to take those dull companies off their hands. She’d figured there was no better way to learn what separated average businesses from the highly successful ones than to study those that had survived the test of time. To her surprise, she’d enjoyed the work, so she’d continued to do it.

  Karen laughed as she raised a hand. “I’m pleading the fifth.” After a few moments, she sobered. “How are you holding up?” she asked, a probing look in her brown eyes, and Sam’s throat tightened. Though she was grateful and humbled that so many people cared about her, questions like these reminded her of all that she had lost.

  “Coming back here is a lot harder than I’d thought,” Sam admitted.

  It had been two weeks since Jason died, but being at the office made the wound seem fresh. Memories of her husband filled the place, and it was just so easy to imagine him strolling into her office with that heart–melting smile of his, asking if she was available for lunch.

  Her chest ached at the knowledge that he’d never do so again, and she inwardly groaned. This was exactly what she’d been avoiding when she’d decided to return to work—the wallowing. It seemed as if all she did now was cry or grieve.

  She’d hoped that the work would help keep her mind off of losing Jason, but she’d forgotten that Harkin Capital Management was Jason. His personality and vision filled every inch of the office and always would.

  “Oh, honey.” Karen grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Karen gave her an encouraging smile before she gestured towards the door. “I better get going before someone looks for me. It’s been so crazy here lately. Let’s do lunch when you’re up for it.”

  Once her friend was gone, Sam removed her coat and hung it on the coat rack. A quick glance outside showed that it was still snowing. She’d always loved the winter and everything that came with it—the snow, the hot chocolate… But now all those things were reminders of the icy roads that had taken Jason away from her. She’d never be able to look at snow again without remembering its deadly cost.

  Forcing the thought away, she turned towards her desk and picked up the condolence cards that had been left there. As she stuffed them into her briefcase, she spied the annual report she’d abandoned two weeks ago when she’d gotten the call about Jason’s accident.

  A computer manufacturer she was monitoring had released it that day and, though it was a little late now, she figured she would finish reading that first. Who knew? She might catch something the market had missed.

  She had barely finished the second page ten minutes later when the words began to blur. She couldn’t concentrate.

  All she could think about was Jason and how she’d probably be in his office going over the day’s schedule if he were alive. Sighing, she pushed her chair away from the table and walked towards the floor–to–ceiling windows. The Manhattan skyline lay before her, but for once, the view that she’d always admired failed to make an impression. Like the office, the city was filled with memories of her husband.

  To the right was the familiar facade of the art deco hotel where Jason had proposed four years ago. He’d told her that they were meeting a client, but in reality, he’d booked the whole restaurant and had invited all of their closest friends. Then in front of everyone, he’d gotten down on one knee and had asked her to marry him.

  She’d been so happy. It had felt as if she’d finally gotten everything she’d ever dreamed of. She’d never expected it could all be taken away from her or how quickly it had happened.

  An icy road. Jason driving too fast—

  “You’re back.”

  Startled, she turned to find Luke Darren, her husband’s friend and business partner, standing in her doorway. He looked exhausted. There were bags under his eyes and his jet–black hair looked as if he’d run his fingers through it quite a few times. As she’d seen so many times over the years when they were working against the clock, his collar was undone, and his tie loosened. But unlike those times, it was well into the morning.

  “Have you been here all night?” she blurted without thought.

  He rubbed his five o’clock shadow. “Yeah. We just finalized a deal with Leeds.”

  “Leeds—the grocery chain?” she asked, surprised. Though she hadn’t been in one of their stores recently, she’d thought they were doing well. New locations seemed to be popping up all over the city. Had they been overaggressive with their expansion? Was that why they’d approached the company for money?

  “Yeah. They were in danger of not making the payroll. Their entry into Pennsylvania hasn’t been going the way they’d hoped.”

  Guilt that she’d spent the past two weeks at home while Luke had obviously been hard at work dug at her, especially when she realized that she wasn’t the only one grieving. Luke hadn’t just lost his best friend, he’d lost his business partner as well. And knowing how much of a control freak he was, she was positive he’d taken up most, if not all, of Jason’s responsibilities in addition to his already full workload.

  “Is there anything I can help with?” she asked and immediately regretted the words. Though they’d settled into a pseudo–friendship over the years, she knew what Luke really thought of her. Hell would freeze over before he admitted he needed her help. He didn’t even want her w
orking at the company.

  “Yeah,” he said and she blinked. Exactly how long had she been gone?

  “We’re running maintenance on all our holdings and deals. I can have Sheila send you a list of some companies to look over.”

  Sheila Thompson was Luke’s personal assistant and had been with the company for what seemed like forever. Sam wasn’t sure where they’d found her, but she’d always thought it a miracle that they’d found someone who wasn’t terrified of Luke.

  “We’re doing all the companies at the same time?”

  They usually only did reviews if a new report came out or if some new development arose. Running maintenance on everything was crazy—not to mention a lot of extra work. A company’s financials were already reviewed by at least three different people before Harkin bought a single share. To review everything again without any additional information just seemed insane. What exactly was he expecting to find?

  A shadow crossed Luke’s features. “Yeah. With the Cervco trade and Jason’s death, we can’t afford to have any weaknesses in our portfolio.”

  Her stomach dropped at the reminder of the Cervco fiasco. She’d forgotten about that. The software company had been one of Harkin’s bigger holdings until it was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for falsifying earnings. Overnight, the stock price more than halved. They’d sold all their shares immediately to limit the losses, but the damage had already been done.

  Luke’s words were a stark reminder that Jason’s death had a far–reaching impact. Her decision to take two weeks to privately mourn suddenly seemed selfish when she thought about all the employees Harkin was responsible for—not to mention all the money they’d been entrusted with.

  “Sure.” She’d help any way she could though she was surprised at Luke’s willingness to accept her offer. This was the same guy who’d been so against her working here that he’d lied and told her that Jason had been having an affair. He must really be swamped.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “So how’s the company been doing otherwise?” She’d heard about two customers pulling their money out. Hopefully, there hadn’t been any more.

  Luke hesitated before fully stepping into her office and closing the door behind him. “I think we might lose Peter.” Peter Ricci was one of Harkin’s top managers. Along with Jason, he headed one of the company’s two flagship funds while Luke handled the other. Harkin Capital Management had only consisted of a single fund when they’d first started, but Luke and Jason had soon added more to meet their customers’ varied needs. “He’s upset that I chose George over him to lead the distressed fund.”

  “Oh.” Though she’d known that Jason’s responsibilities would be divided among the remaining managers, it hurt to know that someone else would be replacing him. But that was just the way of things. Life went on even if you didn’t want it to. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she murmured. Peter leaving the fund would be a blow for sure, but she agreed with Luke’s decision.

  Though George’s returns weren’t as big as Peter’s, at least he could take criticism and accept when he’s been wrong. The chances of another situation like Cervco happening with George in charge was a lot less.

  “It’s better him than George, right?” she asked, knowing the decision couldn’t have been easy. Peter was one of the first employees they’d ever hired.

  Luke nodded and took one of the seats in front of her. The silence in her office was deafening as the seconds ticked by and he just stared at her desk. Luke had never been much of a talker, but this was a little much, even for him. She was just about to ask him how Janet, Jason’s assistant, was doing when he ran a hand down his face and sighed.

  “And around four hundred million has been pulled from the company since Jason’s death.”

  Four hundred million? That was almost a third of what they managed.

  “How?” she sputtered.

  How could they have lost so much business in such a short amount of time?

  “You know that Jason’s always been the face of the company.”

  “But everyone knows about you, too.”

  Jason had always been showing her articles Luke was mentioned in. Luke didn’t entertain interview requests the way Jason had, but people still knew about him and his role in the company.

  Didn’t they?

  “Not as much as they knew about Jason,” Luke said, looking pointedly at her.

  She shook her head wordlessly. How could Jason’s death have caused such an exodus? Though it was true that he was the face of the company and had been a huge part of the fund in the early days, he’d taken a step back in recent years to focus on his charity work, leaving Luke to handle the company’s day–to–day operations.

  And, sure, many of their clients had been personal friends with Jason, but Harkin’s managers were also very good at what they did. Before last year, Harkin Capital Management had beaten the market every year since its inception. Friendship and connections aside, the company made money for their clients. Lots of it. She couldn’t imagine them throwing it all away just because Jason had died.

  “How could you not have told me?” she finally asked Luke.

  If she’d known things had been this bad, she would’ve come back to work earlier. It might not have been much, but at least she could’ve tried to help. Remembering that Jason had left his portion of the company to her, she numbly realized that she and Luke were equal partners in Harkin now. She should’ve been there.

  “I didn’t want you to have to deal with this on top of everything else.”

  Even Luke was coddling her. She would’ve laughed if the idea wasn’t so ridiculous. He’d never been her biggest fan.

  A sudden thought occurred. “Wait—do we have to lay anyone off?” A redemption hit that big would have drastic effects on the company’s bottom line.

  “As of right now? No. We’ve always been conservative about our overhead costs. But if we keep losing clients…” He shrugged, and a shudder ran through her. She’d seen so many hedge funds trim their staff over the years. The analysts and the portfolio managers usually ended up okay, but many of the others—like the traders and the administrative staff—didn’t. The thought of laying off the people who’d become family to her made her ill. She’d never thought that this could happen to Harkin. The company had always seemed so strong.

  “Do you mind sitting in on the Tuesday meeting?” Luke asked. “George is leading it, but I would feel more comfortable knowing you were there as well.”

  “You’re not going?” In all the time she’d been at Harkin, Luke had never missed the weekly meeting between the company’s portfolio managers and analysts. He was just too hands–on a manager to leave it to anyone else. And now, not only was he going to miss one, he wanted her to be his second pair of eyes? Her sense of bemusement increased as she simply nodded in reply.

  “Thanks.” He smiled as he stood. “I’m really glad you’re back, Sam.”

  A part of her wanted to remind him of a time when he hadn’t wanted her here, but she resisted. Rocking the boat would help no one, especially since she planned to continue working at Harkin. The company had meant so much to Jason. She wanted to keep it alive for him.

  “I am, too,” she murmured and was caught off guard by how much she meant it. She genuinely loved her work and the people she worked with. She belonged here. And Luke would just have to deal with that.

  Chapter Two

  It was time to let bygones be bygones. Or at least, that’s what Samantha told herself as she made her way across the trading floor towards Luke’s office later that week.

  She’d quickly gotten back into the pace of things at Harkin and had made quite a dent in the list of companies Luke had asked her to review. Thankfully, those she’d reviewed so far were in good shape and on course to meet their projected targets.

  One of the extra precautions Luke had instituted during the review was to make sure that none of the analysts audited their own wor
k. He’d split up the work anonymously so that they wouldn’t know what the others were checking unless they told one another.

  It was a smart move, and one she was especially grateful for. She’d always had a suspicion that the other analysts were wary of saying anything critical about her reports because she’d been the boss’s wife. Hopefully, the ability to do the analyses anonymously would give them carte blanche to say what they really believed about her work.

  Because of their workloads, Sam hadn’t seen much of Luke since her first day back, and though they’d always avoided each other in the past, they couldn’t continue to do so. Now that they were partners, they had to make sure that they were on the same page, and they couldn’t do that if they were never in the same room together. They were going to have learn to get along, and since Luke wasn’t in any hurry to change the status quo, it was up to her to reach out to him.

  And it was well past time.

  Sure, he’d pulled a dick move when he’d lied and told her Jason was having an affair all those years ago. But maybe he’d thought that he’d been protecting Jason somehow. There were a lot of people who believed Jason had married beneath him, and Luke was probably one of them. If that was the case, she couldn’t begrudge someone looking out for his friend—no matter how misguided he’d been.

  But still, some lingering resentment remained. At the time she’d been appalled at how low he would sink to convince her to leave Jason and therefore, the company. She knew how much Jason had loved her. But for the sake of Jason’s friendship with Luke, she’d never told him about the conversation. Instead, she’d distanced herself as much as possible from Luke and had only been polite as was needed.

  But everything was different now. Avoidance and politeness no longer cut it.

  She sighed as she tightened her grip around the small box in her hand. In it was one of the two watches Jason and Luke had bought after the company had collected their first year’s management fees. Even then, they’d known that they were going to be a success. They’d been so confident about it that they’d spent most of the year’s earnings on these watches without another thought. It’d been a foolish thing to do, but they’d wanted to make a statement to themselves that the money they’d made that year was nothing compared to what they’d make in the future. And they’d been right. Those extravagant, expensive watches were a dime a dozen to them now.