RAGE (The Rage Series Book 1)

by MJ Riley

  Her job always came first. Anything less and she'd bring the wrath of her father down upon her head.

  Chapter Six

  That night, Charlotte didn't leave the office until eleven. She and Addy were pouring over plans to start distributing the new and revamped Web Glass, and they had had their heads together until the Addy was nearly falling asleep at the desk.

  Charlotte had to buy a coffee from the deli on the corner before catching a taxi back to the Upper West Side. When she entered her loft apartment and dropped both her bag and her briefcase on the floor by the door, she breathed a sigh of relief. All she wanted was to take a bubble bath, have a glass of wine, and collapse into her feather bed.

  “Hard day?”

  The young woman jumped as a raspy baritone issued from behind her. She whirled before scowling to see her father sitting in the living room, sipping whiskey as he watched her.

  The man had bought her the flat, and as such, he had keys to it; but, in her opinion, he abused the privilege far too much. He always appeared at some ungodly hour, as if he were afraid their conversations would be overheard, and he never even furnished the most simple of greetings.

  “Hi, Dad.” She sighed, rolling her eyes as she strode past him. She might as well pour that glass of wine now. She was likely to need it.

  Emerson Mathers had been youthful and enthusiastic when he'd first started Mathers Incorporated. He had dark blonde hair and blue eyes that he'd passed down to her, as well as a trim physique. He'd once cut quite the figure as he strode through city holding her hand, riding on the high of his own success. However, ever since the third or fourth year that the company had been up and running and the tech development department had begun to turn incredible profits, he'd withdrawn and become suspicious of anyone who sought to get close to him.

  Though she'd often craved his attention as a child, she'd found the way he treated others somewhat off-putting. He was cold and calculating when he spoke of mergers and money, and he could be downright rude if he thought a client couldn't offer him anything the company needed. Atop that, he hoarded his profits like a packrat, drawing the disdain of others and his daughter alike.

  At sixty-five, he was balding and had a large belly from drinking expensive foreign beers. Of course, he covered his sagging frame with the finest suits and had even attempted hair implants several time—although they had never really taken. However, nothing could detract from the skeptical nature of his beady blue stare.

  “You've been coming home pretty early lately.”

  She wondered why her father thought that eleven-thirty was early. The work day ended at five. “What, do you have people following me?” she inquired wryly, pouring herself a glass of cabernet sauvignon and immediately taking a gulp.

  “Only for your own safety. You know you have to be careful of those who would take you for all you have, Charlotte.”

  “You know, not everyone's out to get us, Dad.” She flopped down on a chair across from him, taking her rampant blonde curls down from the up-do atop her head and running her fingers through her hair to ease the tension in her scalp. “There are a number of firms who would benefit us greatly if you wouldn't be so stubborn about giving them the opportunity.”

  “They're greedy,” he replied, his tone ending any argument. “You make no mistake. When I started this company, there were rapacious men who wanted to take everything from me, and that's still the state of the world today.”

  “Yes. Our competitors are writhing in the mud as we're sitting here drinking champagne from golden cups,” Charlotte responded, sarcastically. “I can feel their malice.”

  “Hey.” Emerson sat upright at her comment, pointing a trembling finger at her. “I'm just warning you to be cautious. You never know who could just waltz into the building and tear everything down.”

  “If you're so worried about our security, why don't you come back to the company?” Charlotte's entreaty was earnest. Though he'd told her he was stepping down as CEO to take stress off his own shoulders, he caused her an exponential amount more with his behind the scenes meddling. Perhaps if he came back, she would breathe a bit easier. “I know you said you don't want to work on the top, but maybe you could do some work in the tech department. After all, the company is built on designs that you—”

  “I told you that I've never been able to develop those prototypes effectively.” He cut her off so sharply that she was startled into silence. “Don't mock me.”

  “Dad...I'm not,” she said, trying, as she had been doing for a lifetime, to appease him. The man couldn't trust anyone. “I swear.”

  He couldn't even show affection to his own daughter.

  “That's all anyone ever wants to do these days—mock me.” The man drained the remainder of his whiskey before placing the empty glass on the glass-topped coffee table before him. Rising, he graced her with a long look. “If you don't want to listen to me, fine. But don't come running when something threatens to shit on your little utopia.”

  “Dad—”

  Before she could say anything else, he had crossed the living room to exit the apartment, closing the door behind him with a fierce snap.

  Her mouth pressed into a tight line of frustration, and Charlotte drained the rest of her wine in one swallow before pouring herself another glass.

  The man was damn infuriating, and he was paranoid as hell. There wasn't a single company in the world that hadn't faced its share of scandal, and she'd hoped that eventually he would just feel lucky that Mathers seemed relatively free from drama, for the most part. Instead, he waited with baited breath for something terrible to happen, and his attitude dragged her into the gutter with him.

  Sighing, the young woman rose from her chair and crossed back into the foyer. After rummaging through her bag for a moment, she came up with her phone, the latest Uphone model. She dialed Addy's number and within seconds, the phone was ringing.

  Adeline picked up after about a minute. “Why are you not asleep?”

  Charlotte groaned, dragging her feet as she started up the stairs to the second floor of the elegantly decorated apartment. “Dad was waiting for me when I got home.”

  Addy made a low sound of surprise at the statement. “What did he want?”

  “What does he usually want?” The blonde flopped down on her expansive king-sized bed, enjoying the softness of the four-hundred count sheets. “To tell me how to run his company.”

  “He stepped down because he didn't want to have a heart attack, and now he wants to give you one.”

  “Yeah, something like that.” Charlotte sipped her wine thoughtfully. “Addy...would it really kill him to say a little thank you? To tell me he's proud of me?”

  “I'm sure he's proud, Charlotte.” Her friend's response wasn't without empathy. “But you know how he is. It's hard for him to let people in.”

  “I'm his daughter,” she argued, taking another sip of wine. “His own damn flesh and blood. What, does he think I'm going to steal the company out from under him? He can have the damn thing if it comes to that. I'll retire tomorrow.”

  “Don't you dare,” said Adeline, her warning low and serious. “You've been one of the best things for this firm. Since you've taken over, our client policy has become lax enough take on clients that your father would have laughed out of the office.”

  “And yet he's still trying to micromanage. I swear, sometimes I can't see how we're related.”

  A pleasant buzz was beginning to set in, and it helped her push her father's behavior to the back of her mind. It was Friday, and she had a free weekend staring her in the face. She just wanted to relax.

  “Did you mention Marscomb to him?” Adeline asked.

  When Addy mentioned the name of their new tech developer, images of him immediately formed in her mind—his delicious body, roguishly long hair, and that mouth.

  “Charlotte?” Adeline tried again to get her attention.

  “Oh, no. I didn't.” Guiltily, she came back to the conversatio
n. “Why would I? He'd leap all over me for letting the guy in without hiring a fucking private investigative team, and then he'd jump down your throat for hiring him in the first place. How could I let him do that to one of our greatest assets?”

  “I knew you couldn't have been so brainless.”

  Charlotte grinned at her friend's bluntness. “Aww, you're so sweet.”

  “Yeah, like goddamn sugar. Now, let me go. I'm tired.”

  Chapter Seven

  The weekend passed without event, unless she counted Addy’s call informing her that her mornings with David were going to be switched to evenings at the request of the accounting division. They would be meeting with her every morning for the next few weeks to go over figures. Charlotte received the news on Sunday afternoon and, funnily enough, she'd done an admirable job of putting the man from her mind up until that point.

  On Saturday, she'd gone shopping before taking in a Broadway show, and at night she and some of her girlfriends had seen a performance by one of her favorite jazz bands in the Lower East Side. That morning, she'd grabbed brunch at one of her favorite cafes and had just been just settling in to watch a movie in her bedroom when Addy called.

  As soon as she'd hung up, Charlotte had realized that in twenty-four hours she'd be alone—in close quarters—with sexy techie, David Marscomb. It was truly unfair, really, that he had to be so startlingly gorgeous. He had to have a girlfriend, a smart, humble man like him. The ladies must be lined up around the block.

  Charlotte found herself wondering what kind of women would he date. Brainiacs like him? Or would he go for something more subtle? Was he the type to discuss his work constantly, or did he woo women like a romantic Lothario into his bed and work his way into their hearts?

  Christ, she couldn't even imagine what it must be like to sleep with the man. He was built like a mountain. All that gorgeous muscle, hers for the taking, and those deep, intense eyes focused on her as he ran his hands all over her body. “Whoa,” she said aloud, catching herself.

  In her five years as CEO, she liked to think that she had done a pretty good job of keeping her distance from the men who worked for her. There had been a few she'd been attracted to, and each and every time, she'd managed to maintain her professionalism. She had worked with them, and when their business was done, she'd gone back to her office, and the guy had gone back to his department, no harm done.

  Admittedly, none of them had been as intriguingly intelligent and mind-blowingly gorgeous as David Marscomb. But, why should that matter? With her father breathing down her neck and a plethora of new prototypes emerging from the tech department, the last thing she could afford to do was swoon over a man.

  Even one like him.

  “Slow your roll, Charlotte,” she said softly to herself, as she forced herself to reconsider her heating body and wayward thoughts. “You can do this.”

  It would be like any other interaction she'd had with male employees. She'd work with him, they'd shake hands, and then they'd part ways. Hopefully, once he'd cemented his position in the department and begun to impart his designing knowledge on the rest of the techs, it wouldn't be him that she'd have to work with so often. She'd grow used to his presence, and she wouldn't have to worry about Addy beating the man to a pulp for looking at her askance.

  Settling back against her pillows, Charlotte started her movie. It was one of the most recent thrillers, and she had to admit that one of the perks of wealth was that she could see movies still in theaters from the comfort of her own home. The male lead was one of her favorites, and she and Addy usually swooned over him together.

  When the man came on screen now, however, she could only notice that he wasn't as tall as she'd thought before, and his eyes weren't gray.

  Chapter Eight

  She was cleverer than he would have thought.

  As David stood over Charlotte Mathers, watching as she poked and prodded the MCube tentatively, he was forced to admire the speed with which she absorbed information. As he'd grown up, he'd been under the impression that her father had probably bought her perfect grades, and she'd almost certainly never actually had to study for a test. However, the software for the MCube was no small task to understand. He'd expected that it would take days for him to teach her how to start the thing.

  Instead, within an hour, she could easily turn it on and off, switch between its various modes, and give it manual commands. “So, this here is where you would input the engine code for your car and the key for your locks?”

  She gazed up at him with eyes that were the color of the Mediterranean—clear, bright, and the perfect blue—and indicated an open prompt at the bottom of the screen that she'd pulled up on one of the faces of the cube.

  “Yes. That’s right.” He hid his surprise that she'd figured it out on her own.

  “And it starts the car for you. Starts it, locks it, and finds it if it's been stolen...” She trailed off, as she fiddled with the device. “Amazing.”

  For being the daughter of one of the most odious and selfish men on the planet, Charlotte was impressive. He told himself it was easier to find things that he admired about her rather than try to fight them. It would only make his pursuit of her seem more genuine.

  So far, they'd been working together for three days. In that time, he'd shown her most of the basic functions of the MCube, and she'd soaked up the complicated information like a sponge. She leaned over his shoulder, barely managing by standing on her toes, and watched avidly as he manipulated the technology. Then, she remembered how he'd demonstrated the technology with a nearly photographic memory.

  He was impressed.

  Certainly, almost as impressed with her as she was with him. He'd been an employee of Mathers Incorporated for less than two weeks, and it already seemed that most of his coworkers knew his name and reputation. He supposed he could have been more subtle in the way he introduced his designs to the department, but after years of planning, David was eager to make himself a necessity to them. That part, in particular, was instrumental to his scheme.

  He remained humble, and that was no trial. Though he'd been confident in his ability to get hired on at Mathers, David had never been the type to brag about his work. He designed technology because he enjoyed it. He built for the rush that assaulted him when he realized that he had come up with something that could change the world.

  No doubt his father had felt the same thrill. He could remember the awestruck look on the man's face as he'd poured over parts and designs at his workbench, making sounds of elation when he'd discovered how something came together. His father was why he was here, and no matter what sort of charms Miss Charlotte Mathers had in her arsenal, he wasn't going to forget that.

  However, her charms were numerous. For starters, the woman was absolutely gorgeous. He knew that she must have recently celebrated her thirtieth, and she carried the years wonderfully. There wasn't a single line on her tanned skin, and she wore only the smallest bit of cosmetics to enhance her beauty. She didn't need makeup. Her eyes had a natural almond shape to them and were entrancing in the right light, and her facial structure was absolutely breathtaking. Combine those features with a sweet, full mouth and a head full of blonde curls and she would make any man weak at the knees.

  However, there was more.

  She poured herself into suits that emphasized the curves of her hips, her tiny waist, and her ample bosom. All in all, she had an hourglass figure that he was sure many women envied, and upon more than one occasion, he'd envisioned wrapping his hands around that waist, lifting her onto her desk, and having his way with her.

  He was sure he'd get the opportunity soon enough.

  Though they hadn't spent much time together, it was enough for him to know that she was attracted to him. Now, all that was left for him to do was stay focused, through his own answering lusts.

  “These parts...” He looked over to see that the woman had taken the thing apart and was gazing inside it with wonder. Of course, he'd taught her
how to open the device but not to examine it as she was. For a moment, he merely stared at her, highly amused. “Where could we source from?”

  “Malaysia, the Philippines, any southeastern Asian country, really. They'll have the lowest rates, and it will be easiest to distribute from there.”

  “We could open ten or twelve new factories, just for these two implements here.” She looked up at him, her enthusiastic smile so genuine that it gave him pause. “Can you imagine how many jobs we'll create? How we can boost the economy in the smaller cities? It will be amazing.”

  Her mention of jobs and the economy made him pause. David had been certain that the woman would simply have dollar signs in her eyes when she contemplated what the development and sales of the MCube could do for Mathers. He had seen such reactions from the rest of the techs in the lab, and they'd spoken several times of rising salaries and bonuses.

  Charlotte, however, seemed to have other concerns.

  He'd heard mention from her coworkers that she often participated in charity funds and had donated millions to causes across the world; but, he'd merely assumed that she'd done it to further the name of her father's company or to appear generous. He thought it was a ploy that rich men used to show a humane face to the world while they lived in their penthouses with their gigantic carbon footprints.

  However, the look on Charlotte's face suggested that it wasn't the profits that interested her most, but the impact they'd have on the communities from which they sourced. To be honest, he'd never considered such a thing, and that she would...well...

  It led him to believe that the woman wasn't half as heartless as her father.

  Such thoughts were dangerous, and he quickly buried them. “You can see here,” he pointed to another portion of the device, changing the subject. “These parts we can get from South America. I've already looked into the suppliers.”

  “Excellent.” She moved to take a look, and as she did, her hand brushed ever so slightly against his.