An Executive Decision (Executive Decisions Trilogy)

by Grace Marshall

  ‘I doubt it,’ Ellis said. ‘I would imagine he’s salving his guilt by telling himself the clear-cut will generate jobs for the locals in Valderia.’

  Ellis stood and paced. ‘There has to be another way. You’re right, Wade. None of what we have is enough. But there has to be something we’re missing.’

  ‘What about our lawyers?’ Wade asked.

  ‘They’re on it, but it takes time, like everything, time we don’t have.’

  Dee’s BlackBerry rang into the tense atmosphere and both men stared at her expectantly. Her uncle had been in touch several times since they’d landed in Portland, always with tidbits that were helpful but not enough to sway the situation. But this time it wasn’t her uncle.

  ‘Ms Henning. Alan Marston here.’

  ‘Yes?’ It was all Dee could manage through her shock. Marston was the last person she expected to hear from.

  ‘Ms Henning, your secretary told me I’d find you in the Dungeon with Wade and Ellis, which suits me down to a tee, since I want them to hear what I have to say, as well as you. That is if you will be so kind as to put me on speakerphone and not just hang up on me like I so richly deserve.’

  She looked up at Ellis and Wade. ‘It’s Alan Marston,’ she finally managed. ‘He wants to speak to all of us.’ Then she put him on speakerphone.

  ‘Al,’ Ellis said. Wade didn’t say anything.

  ‘Ellis, Wade. I wanted all three of you present when I eat crow and apologise to Ms Henning.’

  Dee felt her way to a wing-backed chair that looked like it belonged in Wade’s grandmother’s sitting room rather than his office, and dropped into it.

  ‘Ms Henning? Are you still there?’

  She nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her, only hear her. ‘I’m here.’

  ‘I owe you a very big apology, ma’am. I was wrong. And I have always prided myself in being able to admit when I’ve made a mistake and do my best to rectify it, and, well, this one was a doozy. It should have been good enough for me that Ellis felt you worthy to be his executive assistant. I’ve known him long enough to know he only chooses the best. He told me Beverly played no small role in his choice of you for the position, something I’d have seen for myself if I hadn’t been such a stubborn old jackass. I’ve gone over everything. Not just the artwork with which you decorated my cocktail napkins, but everything, like I should have from the beginning. I was swayed by Jamison’s offer before I even gave you the benefit of the doubt. Well, Ms Henning, I’m giving it to you now. I’m ready to talk turkey if you haven’t offered that fine deal to someone else.’

  ‘You’re not going through with the deal with Jamison Holdings?’ Ellis asked.

  ‘No. The man was pretty bent out of shape about that. Said he’d ruin me. I told him I’d like to see him try.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Al,’ Ellis said. ‘I’m glad you’re back on board with Pneuma, but I’m sorry you ended up on Jamison’s bad side. Not a good place to be.’

  There was a moment of silence, and they could hear Marston shifting and settling on the other end of the phone. ‘He’ll find someone else who will take the deal, you know. I’ve not solved your problem, Ellis. I’ve only made myself a better deal; a deal my conscience could live with.’

  ‘Don’t you worry, Al,’ Ellis said. ‘We’ll take care of Jamison.’

  Marston chuckled softly. ‘Figured if anyone could you could, Ellis. Now, Ms Henning – seems a bit formal to call you Ms Henning. Don’t think I was ever that formal with Beverly. Is it all right if I call you Dee? After all, the two of us’ll be working closely together from now on.’

  ‘Of course, Mr Marston.’

  ‘It’s Al. Just Al. If we’re gonna work together as a team like Beverly and I did, then it’s just Al.’

  ‘Al.’

  ‘Dee, I want to move on the alliance with Trouvères ASAP. Time’s wasting and if I have to fight that bastard, Jamison, I’d prefer it were from a position of strength and with good allies.’

  ‘Of course, Al. I’ll get right on it.’

  ‘Good. That’s good. I know ya’ll are busy, so I’ll let you get back to it. I’ve made some notes and a few observations, Dee, that you might find helpful for the next time we meet. In the meantime, Ellis, Wade, good luck.’ He hung up.

  Dee sat, too stunned to move. Ellis reached over and turned off the speakerphone on her BlackBerry, then he stood and offered her his hand. ‘Congratulations, Ms Henning. When you deal, you don’t mess around.’ He pulled her up from the chair and gave her a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.

  Wade followed suit in an unaccustomed show of enthusiasm. ‘It feels like old times again,’ he said. ‘I’ll order a celebratory pizza with everything, then we can figure how to kick Jamison’s ass and save some trees.’

  After lunch, Ellis and Dee both returned to their offices to business as usual. Dee was already in New York in her mind. Ellis had never known anyone as focused as she was. She said she could be ready for a quick turnaround. The Rousseaus were sending Daniels to finalise the deal. Ellis wasn’t pleased about that, but it couldn’t be helped. Daniels couldn’t get away from other business until next week, so there was at least a few days of respite.

  Maybe Ellis would be able to join her for part of the closings. But she really didn’t need him there. And maybe she’d think he didn’t trust her. Maybe she’d think he thought her not capable of closing such a big deal alone. None of that was true. It was Daniels he didn’t trust, and he wasn’t keen on the two of them being together on the other side of the country, especially not since Daniels had made his intentions very clear. Still, he reminded himself, it had been his arms Dee had spent the night in after Marston’s disastrous party, not Daniels, even when she’d had every reason to run to him. That thought gave him a cold shiver. It didn’t bear thinking about, her running to Daniels. She was with him now, and they were a team. That was what mattered. And he had no intention of ever giving her a reason to want an alliance with anyone else.

  They’d been unable to connect for the rest of the day. She got called away to a meeting across town with a client she hadn’t met with since Beverly’s death. It was mostly a meet and greet, but it was important. It was essential to establish relationships. Ellis insisted she go home after the meeting. He knew she was running on adrenaline and in need of a good sleep. He still felt pangs whenever he thought of how close to exhaustion she had driven herself earlier and how he could have prevented it if he’d been paying attention. She was a little bit crazy that way, but then he supposed it took one to know one. He had insisted she go home. By herself. To rest. And he had done the same. However, he’d found he didn’t rest nearly as well without her in his arms. Had he really gotten used to having her in his bed that easily?

  He was always in the office early, but he was a little earlier than usual the next morning because he knew Dee would be there. He also knew there would be no one else at Pneuma Inc., and try though he might, he couldn’t convince himself to stay away from her.

  It was only a little past seven when he knocked softly on her office door. She was already busy at her laptop, but she offered him a warm smile and motioned him in.

  ‘Meeting go well with Frazier?’ he asked.

  ‘Great, yes. I think we’ll get along just fine.’

  ‘Good. That’s good. No surprise. Good people over at Frazier. Easy to work with.’ He forced a laugh. ‘A real change from Marston.’

  She smiled. ‘A real change, yes. Any progress with the Valderian situation?’

  ‘Nothing new,’ he said. He felt suddenly nervous and giddy in front of her. Well, he couldn’t actually say what was on his mind, could he? He couldn’t tell her that he couldn’t begin his day without seeing her, that he’d hoped … Jesus, he didn’t dare even admit to himself what he actually hoped. This was work, for chrissake! This was her office! It was one thing in a hotel room, or in a limo, for him to take her like a horny water buffalo, or even in his lounge after hours when they we
re both under stress, but this was working hours – well, almost. It was the Executive Sex Clause, a small voice in the back of his head reminded him. She had agreed to it. She certainly seemed to enjoy it. And they were in the executive suites. Instead of just asking for it, he said, ‘Did you rest well?’

  She shrugged. ‘It was hard to settle after last week. I couldn’t shut my mind down, you know?’

  ‘I know. Me neither,’ he said. He couldn’t tell her that he’d been unable to sleep because she wasn’t in bed next to him. He couldn’t tell her he’d had to rub one out while thinking about her in order to get any sleep at all. ‘Then I guess it’s pretty much business as usual, isn’t it?’

  She nodded. ‘Business as usual, yep.’

  ‘I thought we might need a little debriefing session after the change of landscape with Marston and all, and we really didn’t get a chance to discuss it yesterday.’

  ‘Of course. I’ve taken a few notes.’

  Even with his internal dialogue running amok in filthy ways, he was still unprepared for his reaction when she bent over her desk to drop several files in the drawer. Suddenly he found himself fighting back a visceral urge to lift her skirt and take her from behind right where she stood. He made an effort to breathe deeply, struggling to keep his brain in control of his cock.

  It wasn’t about sex this morning, he tried to convince himself. He needed her to know that she had his support where Marston was concerned, and that he completely trusted her to handle the alliance with Trouvères. But when she turned to reach for her jacket, the early morning light shining through the window rendered her blouse transparent enough for him to make out the contour of her breasts caressed in the lace that held her fullness. His hands ached with muscle memory as he recalled the way he had held her the first time, the way he had cupped her and kneaded her with hands made awkward by desire. In a vivid flash of memory, he was with her again in Paris, and there was no Marston, no Jamison, no pending disaster, just the two of them. Suddenly it was no use; his brain lost the battle for control.

  ‘Don’t,’ he whispered, moving into the room and closing the door behind him. ‘Don’t put that on.’

  She let the jacket slide onto the back of the chair, her eyes questioning.

  ‘I can’t think when you’re like this.’

  ‘Like what, Ellis?’ She followed his gaze to her breasts and blushed. ‘Maybe the jacket would be better.’

  ‘No.’ He crossed the space between them and reached out to brush an anxious nipple with the pad of his thumb at the same time his mouth brushed hers.

  She caught his wrist and held it just beyond the reach of her breast. ‘Ellis … Here?’ Her voice was a whisper millimetres from his lips. He could hear the tremor in it.

  He raised her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles where they encircled his wrist. ‘Yes, Dee. Here and now. I need you. We need each other if we’re going to get through this.’

  She held his gaze as though she were searching out his secrets, but relaxed her grip on him and laid his hand against her breast. He felt the slight arching of her back as she pressed herself into the cup of his palm. From under the computer desk in the corner, he pulled an armless chair and seated himself in front of her. She stood looking down at him from beneath a flutter of lashes and half-closed lids. ‘Unbutton it.’ He nodded to her blouse. As she did so, he slid the skirt up over her hips, running a finger along the tops of her stockings, planting a kiss on the silken mound of her panties while he watched the uncovering of cleavage and marvelled at the distortion of lace stretched over taut nipples.

  The tensing of muscles low in her belly and hips brought silk and body heat closer to tongue and teeth, making his mouth water as he tugged and nuzzled his way past fabric to flesh. Just when he could almost taste the salty-sweetness of her, she placed a restraining hand on his head and pushed him away.

  ‘Unzip them.’ She nodded to his trousers. For a second his attention was focused on releasing himself, a task that suddenly seemed more difficult than usual. She watched almost dispassionately until his erection was free, then she stepped out of her panties and positioned herself on his lap, and for the first time since they’d been in the shower together in New York, he felt like himself again.

  An hour later, they made it to his office, freshly dressed and ready to work. At least, Dee seemed ready. Ellis had only thought to have a quickie, but he could never get enough of her. He’d always known he had a high libido, and he’d channelled it nicely into his work after what had happened at Caltech, but from the first time he touched Dee it was as though the dam had burst and there was no stopping the flood of need. They should talk about it. Surely they should talk about it, maybe discuss how the Sex Clause had worked so far. That would be a short discussion. It had been bloody genius so far. At least, that’s what he thought. He hoped Dee thought the same. He was about to force the issue when the phone rang.

  ‘Ellis, it’s Stacie. Please don’t hang up. I’m so sorry about what happened the other night at Al’s. I called to apologise. You did tell Dee it was all a misunderstanding, didn’t you? Everything is OK between the two of you, isn’t it?’

  Even over the phone, and with the drumming of his pulse in his ears, her contrition was palpable. Stacie lived from her emotions, just as his brother did. But neither of them had ever been very good at keeping their emotions to themselves, or out of other people’s lives. ‘I can’t talk. I’m in a meeting.’ He glanced up at Dee, who sat at the conference table looking over her notes.

  ‘Is Dee with you?’

  He didn’t answer.

  ‘Ellis, just listen for a minute. I’ll be in Portland this weekend. I’ve got a business meeting. In fact, I’ll be travelling back and forth a lot in the near future. I’d really like to see you.’

  He hoped Dee wouldn’t notice the heat in his face as he thought once again about the disaster at Marston’s party. ‘Is this Garrett’s idea?’

  ‘It has nothing to do with Garrett. I haven’t even talked to Garrett. I just want to apologise for what happened. Ellis? Are you still there?’

  ‘I accept your apology, so there’s no need for you to see me.’

  ‘Ellis, wait –’

  He hung up. He wanted that to be the end of it, but the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach warned him that it probably wasn’t.

  Just then, there was a knock on the door. His secretary arrived with the morning mail. The day began in earnest, and running Pneuma Inc. once again took priority.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The minute Tally got into the limo, she could tell Jamison was not in the best of moods. She had had been careful not to wear anything from her growing new wardrobe to their meeting, just in case. She didn’t want to anger him further.

  He spoke without a greeting, his voice cold and brittle. ‘Marston’s turned downed the offer.’

  Tally felt like the bottom of her stomach had fallen away. ‘I don’t understand. You said it was a done deal.’

  ‘That’s right, Ms Barnes, it should have been. It should have been.’ He didn’t raise his voice, but the near hiss of a response was a lot more threatening than if he had.

  She wanted to ask what happened, but a cold clutch of fear tightened in her chest. She was alone with the man. He was clearly livid, and he was Terrance Jamison. He could do whatever he wanted. She sat quietly, shoulders stiff, stomach knotted, eyes locked on the white-knuckled clench of his fist in the seat next to her. Other than the little incident with the necklace he’d never touched her. Surely he wouldn’t … Still, she kept her mouth shut and waited.

  She waited, but he said nothing. The limo pulled into rush-hour traffic. There was no offer of champagne, no discussion of strategy, just Jamison, fists clenched, staring straight in front of him as though she weren’t even there.

  The longer the silence continued, the tighter the knot in her stomach became. She tried to breathe deeply, fearing she might be sick. The realisation that she was too scar
ed to speak was like a hard slap. She had never in her life been too scared to speak. But this time it was different. She had done her homework, later rather than sooner, silently kicking herself for being too lazy to do what she should have done right up front. And she hoped against hope that it wasn’t too late. She didn’t have to dig too deeply to understand why Jamison was enemy number one for Pneuma Inc. And she didn’t have to Google much to find out that Pneuma Inc. was not the only company which saw Jamison in that light. If she were honest with herself, she would say the man deserved their hate. But that didn’t help her any. That didn’t make her situation any easier. So she sat in silence, cold sweat beading against the back of her Ralph Lauren silk blouse.

  At last he spoke. Instantly, she wished he hadn’t. ‘You’re no good to me if you can’t give me information.’

  ‘I have given you information. I gave you exactly what you asked for, more than you could have ever gotten any other way. It’s not my fault that it didn’t work out.’ For a horrifying second, she thought he was going to hit her, but he squared his shoulders and glared at her, the muscles along his jaw looking as though they could crush iron.

  Then his face broke into a smile and the soft chuckle that followed was stunning. ‘Of course you have, Tally. I couldn’t have asked for more from anyone. And –’ he ran a hand over the linen skirt covering her thigh ‘– you’ve been very well rewarded for your efforts, I’d say.’

  ‘I’ve given you company secrets that could land me in jail. Well rewarded seems pretty relative to me.’

  Suddenly the large hand resting on her thigh became a claw, digging deep into the muscle beneath the skirt. Pain shot through her leg and she cried out, unable to keep back the tears that filled her eyes. Then, as quickly as it happened, it passed. He smoothed the fabric of the skirt and folded his hands serenely in his lap as though he were about to say a prayer.