The Successor

by Alina Jacobs

  That’s a good thing, she tried to tell herself. It wasn’t working.

  At another party held in his honor, Grant was a natural. He fit easily into the political schmoozing, Kate thought. She knew he probably found it all petty, but if he did, he didn’t show it, that she could see. He had kissed her in the car on the way over, and she could still feel the shadow of him against her skin.

  At least I didn’t give in to him, she told herself. She had wanted to, though. Grant was everything she’d ever wanted.

  “We’re meant to be together,” Grant had told her.

  How she wanted it to be true! And Alan was ruining her life. Again.

  She watched Grant walk around the room chatting to people. The ambassador to Ecuador’s sister and children had been in the clubhouse dining room as well, and he wanted to honor Grant. There were other dignitaries present, so Grant had to put on the uniform again. He looked dashing. The heavy tailored fabric highlighted his broad shoulders and narrow hips. She sighed wistfully, remembering how it felt having his arms wrapped around her.

  “Never again,” she said to herself.

  Grant made his way over to her. “You don’t look like you’re having any fun,” he said, pulling her into a side hallway. His face was inches above hers, and she looked up at him. He had his brimmed hat in one arm, and the other, he placed on the wall above her head and looked down at her softly.

  “What happened, Kate? We were so good. What happened?”

  “It didn’t mean anything,” Kate lied. “It was just a fling.”

  His face darkened, and he slammed his palm into the wall above her head, making her jump.

  “Why are you treating me like this?” Grant growled. “Is it me, or is this how you treat all the men you’ve been with?”

  “Grant,” Walter called. “I need to introduce you to someone.”

  Grant left, and Kate slumped against the wall for a moment, trying to collect herself.

  Kate wanted to try to avoid Grant during the next few days, but she still sought opportunities to be near him, such as helping him prepare for his interview at Holbrook Enterprises.

  They were in the penthouse. Kate had put them there so Grant could have a good night’s sleep and be ready for the interview the next morning.

  “You’re clearly going to land the job. The interview is a formality,” she told him. “But I’m still going to prep you. You have to do well.”

  Grant jumped up and down, trying to loosen himself up. Kate hadn’t seen that intense version of him that she had witnessed at the ambassador’s party. Grant seemed as if he was trying to be less frightening.

  “You’re going to psych yourself out,” she told him. “The interview is tomorrow morning. Then it will all be over. Just relax.”

  “Fifty million dollars,” he said, starting to pace. “I can’t do this.”

  Kate placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to keep him still. Grant drew her to him and wrapped her in a hug. She relaxed in his arms; he made her feel so safe. She inhaled his masculine scent and stood in his arms, looking out over the lights of the city skyline against a dark sky.

  “You always calm me down,” he murmured in her hair. “I need you.”

  She could feel the tension in his body, and she forced herself to push him away. “Like I said, there’s no way you aren’t offered the job, unless you do something stupid or crazy. Let’s go through your strategy.” She moved him to stand in front of her. “So you would be part of the sales team that sells data management, logistics, and weapons-defense systems and services to various organizations and government entities.”

  “Those seem like pretty broad categories.”

  “Yes, but a lot of times, the people making these decisions all know each other, so they have them all under one sales team.”

  “I think I know something about defense, at least,” Grant remarked.

  Kate frowned. “It’s sophisticated weapons systems, not some high-school dropout with a rifle.”

  “Ouch,” Grant said.

  “Sorry, but you can’t just skate by. You have to be very knowledgeable. There was talk about opening up a director-of-sales role that would be more hands-on than the VP. A lot of people are vying for the potential position. If you want it, you have to fight for it and prove you’re worthy of it. Let’s go again.”

  Kate drilled him on the ins and outs of the company, the mission, where they operated, potential untapped markets, and how Grant would be able to exploit any opportunities.

  “Feeling more confident?” she asked him. “A little more relaxed?”

  “You know what would help me chill out?” he asked her, coming up to her and resting his hands on her hips. He pushed her back against the desk.

  “That’s not happening,” she said. She felt his hand slide up her skirt. “Your father is downstairs!” she hissed at him.

  “I’ll be quiet,” he murmured against her neck. He hoisted her up on the desk.

  “Say yes?” he murmured against her neck. She shivered at the sensation of his hands running along her body.

  “Yes,” she said, pulling him down and kissing him.

  Kate knew she should fight it, but she didn’t want him to stop. He pulled off her panties. She heard the rasp on the zipper as he undid his pants. He kissed her as he entered her. She swallowed a moan.

  “You’re supposed to be quiet,” he said teasingly.

  She bit his chin, and he growled and thrust into her hard. She gasped, and her breath hitched as he moved in her, and she kissed along his jaw line. Grant moved slowly, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming out. Kate wrapped her legs around his waist as he took her. She felt him come inside her, then her body released.

  “That’s all the interview prep I needed,” Grant mumbled, kissing her neck sloppily.

  She tidied her clothes as he went to a cabinet and poured them each two fingers of whiskey. He looked like a proper corporate boss as he deftly pouring the expensive liquor and handed it to her with a flourish. He just needed to grow his hair out, and it would be as though he had been raised in New Cardiff his entire life.

  Kate savored the taste of the whiskey, letting the flavor bloom in her mouth and mingle with the taste of Grant. He leaned against the desk, and she followed the length of his body with her eyes. His suit fit perfectly, and he looked like a billion dollars.

  “We should do this more often,” he said to her as he took a sip of his drink.

  She didn’t answer him. She didn’t want to ruin the moment.

  Chapter 40

  Grant

  Grant felt a thousand feet tall the next morning. He practically skipped downstairs.

  “You seem confident,” his father said, looking up from his newspaper.

  “Yes, sir,” Grant replied with a grin. “I’m ready! Let’s do this.”

  “Did you drug him?” his father asked Kate half jokingly. She shook her head, her mouth full of granola.

  Grant wanted to say, “I’m high on Kate!” but she would probably be mad. He felt as if they had really made a connection the previous night.

  He mentally patted himself on the back for offering the whiskey. Kate seemed to like that. It was better than just dragging her into his bed. He grimaced. He probably should have done the whiskey first or actually invited her on a real date. Drinks after sex probably didn’t count. But he did need it, and she had enjoyed it. She didn’t run away after, so that was progress, right?

  The self-doubt started creeping back in as they walked into the elevator in the lobby of Holbrook Enterprises. He tried to hype himself up as if he were about to go into battle. But in the war zone, he had the advantage of bullets flying to really ground him in the present. Here, it was a series of suit-wearing upper-class men who didn’t look as if they’d seen a hard day’s work in their entire lives. They were all seated around the large reclaimed-wood table. Martin, the VP of sales, was there, as was Randal.

  Kate took a seat in the corner of the
room. Grant was asked to sit at the center of the table with his back against the door. It already put him on edge. Maybe he shouldn’t have pretended he was going into battle. The paranoia and the heightened senses were probably no good for this environment. He didn’t feel prepared at all.

  Calm, he told himself. Be calm and confident. Kate gave him a small thumbs-up, and he felt his heart rate slow.

  “Thank you for coming in for an interview,” Martin said.

  Just then, his father walked in and said, “Hey, Grant.”

  Grant had not expected him to be there.

  “We have an unorthodox corporate organizational structure,” Walter explained in response to Grant’s quizzical look. “I have human resources and sales under me. A lot of places put sales under the COO or the CFO, but our business relies so much on sales that I felt it was important for sales to be integrated in the broader vision of how we structure the company and the strategic direction our company takes. You all on the sales force have your finger on the pulse of the market in real time.”

  Martin smiled at Grant broadly. “This is why he’s been on the cover of every major financial magazine on multiple occasions. The Maverick CEO.”

  Martin pulled out copies of Grant’s resume and cover letter. “You have eight years in the US Marine Corps, and in the infantry, no less. You also have no college degree. How will that translate to working sales?”

  Grant cleared his throat. “I hear you all have developed a new type of server bank that cools more efficiently. It would be good for some of these warmer climates. With the projected boom in the developing world, this is a market Holbrook Enterprises really wants to move into. It seems simple and obvious, but these types of cultures can sometimes be hard to break into. I have contacts through the military that I could tap from people whose families immigrated here from a lot of these countries.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Martin said.

  One of the regional managers leaned forward and said to Grant, “I admit, we were thinking maybe you would concentrate on North America and Randal could move to international.”

  “I can do whatever you need me to do,” Grant said. “There is a lot of focus right now in sub-Saharan Africa with the terrorist activity there. Getting internet and data management infrastructure in these areas is in everyone’s best interest. Plus, I can hold my own in a lot of these more undeveloped places.”

  “I’m sure you can,” the regional manager replied.

  Martin looked around. “I’m sold. When can you start?”

  “I’ll be processing my final EAS paperwork in in the next few days. Once that clears, I’m all yours.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  Grant shook hands with everyone in the room then left.

  He felt charged and elevated, especially when Kate smiled at him when they came face-to-face in the hallway.

  “Sounds like you nailed it,” she said.

  “I guess so. It wasn’t as hard as I thought.”

  “I told you they were going to hire you anyway. This is a formality. The real test is if you deliver.” She looked him over critically. “We’ll need to order you some more suits, a nice coat, and your own assistant.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I work for your father. You should have your own assistant.”

  Grant didn’t like that. How was he going to win Kate if they wouldn’t even be working together anymore?

  Grant spent the rest of the day at the Holbrook Foundation, meeting with the team developing the stray dogs and veterans program. He had to stand in front of a camera and say some lines they were going to use in a commercial. He also had his picture taken, and one of the interns had him write out answers to interview questions they were going to post on the site. Nancy stopped by to see how everything was progressing. Everyone seemed to respect her opinion and listened attentively when she gave advice.

  “Nancy Holbrook rules this place with an iron fist,” one of the programmers told him. “But in a good way. She didn’t really know much about programming, so she’s been taking classes so that she could keep up with what we were doing. She’s a force of nature.”

  He met up with his father that evening at an upscale bar. They shook hands stiffly, then Grant sat across from Walter at the table.

  “They are going to formally offer you the job. Not that they weren’t going to anyways, but the regional manager was a bit tempered. You really blew them away. We recently acquired several companies that we need to integrate into the company and launch their services. We’re by no means tapped out in North America and Europe, but it would be a big win to break into the African continent and give the Chinese firms a run for their money.”

  “We’ll see,” Grant said.

  “There have been people getting kidnapped out there or attacked,” Walter told him, taking a sip of his water. “It’s not like going to Geneva for business.”

  “I can handle it,” Grant said.

  “Yes, I suppose you can.” His father paused as the waiter came by with salads. As Grant picked at his, his father asked, “Are you all right after what happened in the club house, that much death?”

  “I’m fine,” Grant said, stabbing a crouton with his fork. “That wasn’t the first time I’ve killed anyone.”

  “Yes, you mentioned it the first night I met you. I had Kate do some more digging into your activities in Afghanistan.”

  Grant’s eyes narrowed. What had she dug up? Was that why she was acting as if she hated him?

  “I did some things I regret,” he said, not breaking eye contact with his father. “And some things I don’t.”

  His father was silent for a moment then said, “So you murdered three Afghan soldiers, among other things.”

  “Yep,” said Grant brusquely.

  “How come you weren’t arrested, kicked out, or whatever they do in the military?”

  Grant shrugged. “We were out on patrol. No one in my unit liked the guys. They hated that they were pedos. So I shot them, and the official story was that I thought they were going to kill us. There was a lot of that going on—the Afghan soldiers killing us with suicide bombs or ambushes, stuff like that. I don’t regret it. There are things I regret but not that. Anything else?”

  “What about the ambush you were involved in? You received your Medal of Honor for your actions. How are you adjusting—?”

  “I’m fine,” Grant said, his grip on his water glass so tight he thought it would shatter. “Nothing I can’t handle.” If he were feeling petty, he would have made his father talk about his birth mother, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with that right now.

  “I’m sorry I brought it up,” his father said as the waiter cleared their plates.

  Grant slowly shook his head and downed his drink. “Doesn’t matter. It happened. I have to square with that.”

  “Maybe you can find some friends or invite your friends from the military…”

  “My close friends all died,” Grant said, cutting off his father.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to lose people you care about. You know we can find you some help.”

  “I don’t need it.”

  They sat in silence for another moment.

  “We would always go to Martha’s Vineyard around this time,” Walter said. “The kids would all be so excited. They could ride horses and hunt for clams on the beach.”

  “Nancy wants you to go this summer,” Grant told him.

  “I know. I don’t think I can.”

  “Everything is the first,” Grant said. “The first time you go to chow without them, the first time you go on patrol without them. You avoid it as long as possible, but then you can’t avoid it anymore.”

  His father nodded.

  “The first year’s the hardest. Then it doesn’t grow easier, but you learn to live with the pain.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Because it feels like a betrayal,” Grant finished. “Mayb
e you can find a nice girl and settle down.”

  “That’s my line. There are lots of nice young women in this town. You have your pick. You should try dating.”

  “So should you.”

  “Not with my soon-to-be-ex running around.” His father massaged his temples. “I need to do something about her. Maybe Kate has some ideas.”

  “How long have you worked with Kate?”

  “A little over a year now. She’s invaluable. She knows everyone in town and is as smart as a whip. She fell into a spot of trouble at her MFA program. I’m shady on the details, but whatever put her in my path has been fate working in my favor.”

  And in mine, Grant thought. “I’ll drink to that.”

  Chapter 41

  Kate

  Kate left Grant in the city with his father for an early dinner while she headed back to her grandmother’s house. Margaret was sitting out on the terrace.

  “There you are!” she exclaimed when Kate came out to join her. “I had Maria wait on dinner until you came home. We’re eating something light with the weather—roast beef and horseradish spread on rolls along with potato, cheddar, and bacon soup.”

  “Delicious!” Kate said, sitting down at the table. “I’m starving.”

  “I heard Grant did very well at his interview. He’s going to be offered the job, apparently.”

  “You do know everything,” Kate said, flabbergasted. “I didn’t even know they were definitely making him an offer tonight.”

  “So,” her grandmother said while Kate was placing a big spoonful of soup in her mouth. “When’s the wedding?”

  Kate choked on her soup.

  Coughing, she said, “What?”

  “I know you and Grant have been sneaking around.”

  “No, we aren’t!” Kate said, horrified.

  Her grandmother looked at her smugly. “I saw him sneak into your window a couple weeks ago.”

  “How? You were so drunk I thought you were sound asleep.”

  “I have a sixth sense about these things. And I know you’ve been riding off on your bike in the middle of the night.”