by Linda Cajio
When Ned was finished, he threw the pen down on the table, and, with a foul curse to all of them, left the room. Cass knew it was his last attempt at bluster.
Dallas picked up the resignation and folded it in thirds before slipping it into the inside breast pocket of his suit. He excused himself and followed Ned out of the room.
“I hated to do that,” Sheila said, shaking her head. “But we’ve been in trouble here for a long time.” She looked at Cass. “He did something to you, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Nobody said anything more until Dallas returned. Cass realized that he had made sure Ned left the building. She also realized that everyone was now looking at her expectantly. She swallowed, suddenly nervous. Hell, she thought. It was all over, and now she got butterflies.
“I suppose,” she said slowly, “that we ought to call for a vote on the stock’s going public. All in favor?”
Silence.
“Nay?”
Every hand went up.
Cass smiled. This wasn’t too bad, she thought. “Since we’re voting, I’d like to bring up the question of Lusty Lingerie. I don’t know how the rest of you feel, but I don’t think it’s the right thing for M & L. This company has built its reputation on quality lingerie for the discerning woman. With the more vulgar line, we’ve gotten away from the allure of French lace, the elegance of satin, and the splendor of Chinese silks—”
“Lord,” Sheila said in an awed voice. “What an advertising campaign we could make of that.”
Immediately everyone chattered excitedly.
“Lusty was all wrong for us, and we knew it. But there wasn’t much we could do before, with Ned outvoting us.”
“Phase it out. Sales have been lousy anyway.”
“And BasicWear has always stunk.”
“It has to go too.”
“Definitely. We should concentrate on making the original line something every woman would pay a fortune to have.”
“Designer originals! A Rudolfo negligee! A Valentino teddy! We license the best names in the business …”
Cass let them talk for a little longer, before she said, “I think we’re all agreed here. Dallas? How long before we can discontinue the other lines?”
“Production can stop at any time, and we can move the cutters and seamstresses over to the original line,” he replied, grinning at her. She found herself grinning back. “But we’ve got a lot of stock still in the warehouses. I’ll need to offer the buyers a huge discount to move the lines.”
“Do it,” she said briskly, then realized she had overstepped herself. She looked at the others. “I’m sorry—”
“You’re doing just fine,” Sheila said, chuckling.
“We could take Lusty to the European market,” Dallas added. “It’s very possible we could sell the rights to the line to another company there.”
“Maybe we should try BasicWear with the military,” said the man next to Dallas. “The damn stuff looks just like army issue anyway.”
Everybody burst into laughter.
Cass felt the enthusiasm in the room surround her, and sensed something awake and alive inside. Lord, she thought. She was enjoying herself—and deeply satisfied at helping to make a company successful. She knew M & L would be successful now. She could actually see the ad campaign Sheila had mentioned. It would be chic, just like the lingerie it promoted.…
She laughed to herself, remembering her thoughts of a few short weeks ago. It looked like she was in the respectable sex business, after all. Well, she thought, women did like lingerie. Dallas had been right. Business was business, and she enjoyed it.
“We do have one more item of business,” Dallas said as the laughter subsided.
Cass turned her attention to him. She wasn’t quite so angry with him now. But he had been wrong about her coming to the meeting alone. It had been the final decision, made without pressure from him, that had been important.
“This board needs to elect a new chairman,” he went on. “I nominate Cass Lindley.”
“Seconded,” Sheila said promptly.
Cass swallowed back the sudden threat of tears. She wanted the best for the company, but her business heart was with her own store. She had built up WinterLand from nothing to a thriving business, and she desperately wanted to build it again.
“I decline,” she said with a sad smile. “I have a business back home. But I promise not to miss another board meeting.”
Everybody laughed. Except Dallas.
“This company needs a working chairman,” she said more slowly, keeping her gaze steady on him. Something had told her all along that there would be a price for this, and now she knew it was he. “Dallas Carter was hired to turn this company around. I think he ought to do it from the top position. I’d like to nominate him for the chairmanship.”
Dallas stared at her, and the others murmured agreement.
“You’ve had your hands tied long enough here, Dallas,” she said softly as the pain shattered through her. “You were the one who knew exactly what had to be done to stop this company from folding. You brought this meeting off today, not I. We both know that. You would be the best. You’d make M & L the best.”
He was silent for the longest time.
“Not without you, Cass. Marry me.”
“Oh, hell,” she muttered, flopping back in the chair. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Hell.”
Dallas winked at her. “I think I’d be terrified if I heard anything else from you.”
“But I don’t want to give up WinterLand,” she said, wiping the moisture from her cheeks.
“I don’t want you to,” he said. “There’s no reason why I can’t commute. Or, better still, we can split our time between here and your place. Besides, what would you do for crab bait without me?”
“Now, there’s a question,” Cass said, laughing and crying at the same time. The man made perfect sense, she thought happily.
“We can have it all, Cass,” he said, smiling at her. “Marriage, children, M & L, WinterLand. All we have to do is compromise a little.”
She rolled her eyes heavenward. “A little!”
Suddenly she remembered the others in the room. She’d been so caught up with Dallas that she’d momentarily forgotten them. She looked up to discover everyone grinning at her.
“Well?” Sheila prompted. “Are you going to leave our new chairman hanging?”
“I think,” she said, “that I’d be a fool to pass up such a sweet deal.”
Dallas laughed.
“Proposing in front of all those people,” Cass chided much later as she lay with him on his bed. She had instantly liked his coop apartment, and knew she could easily adjust to it as a second home. “It would have served you right if I turned you down.”
“I believe in putting people in a position where they can’t refuse.” He rolled her over until his hips were nestled in the cradle of her thighs. “See? The best of positions.”
Cass pushed against him until he rolled onto his back. She straddled him. “This, Dallas Carter, is the best of positions.”
“I think we have a problem here.”
“I don’t.” She rested her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. “We’ll always compromise.”
They had done very well so far, she admitted. Dallas would commute through the summer, when WinterLand was at its busiest, and she would do the commuting during the winter season. She didn’t doubt that there would be compromises within compromises, but she knew they could do it. They were making a lifetime investment in love.
“I was so proud of you today, Cass,” he said, gently stroking her hair. “You were the confident businesswoman all the way through.”
She raised her head. “I was ready for the funny farm by the time I walked into that room. I got caught in traffic, couldn’t find a parking spot for the Jeep, and security almost didn’t let me into the board meeting. You could at least have told them I was coming.”
Suddenly she was bouncing up and down, and Dallas burst into laughter.
“I’m sorry,” he said, gasping. “I forgot about security. It must have been something for the major stockholder to talk her way past them.”
“Talk!” she exclaimed. “I had to show them my driver’s license, Dallas!”
His laughter doubled, and she eyed him sourly. Oh, hell, she thought, and stretched up to smother his amusement with a deep kiss.
“Dallas,” she said softly when she finally raised her head. “I didn’t need to come to the meeting on my own. I needed to make the decision to come on my own. You were right about my having to do this for myself. My shares in M & L were my responsibility, and I had to face the fact that I had left them too long in someone else’s care. The wrong person’s care. But the responsibility always seemed so overwhelming that I was afraid of doing something wrong. And by not doing anything I did do something very wrong. I plan to make up for that.”
He laughed. “Cass, you completely turned that company around in less than an hour. I don’t think you can top that one. Giving Ned the bill for your store must have scared him half to death that you had some kind of proof against him.”
“It just seemed to me that he ought to pay for the damages to the store,” she murmured, tracing the muscles of his shoulder with a forefinger. She knew getting the money would be a miracle, but the point had been made, and in front of witnesses.
“And where did you come up with the idea for the folder?” he asked. “It was perfect.”
She shrugged. “I figured nothing looks more impressive than a folder full of facts when a person wants to give a good impression.”
“What was really in it?”
She laughed. “Anything and everything. Bills of lading, old income-tax returns, half of a three-ring, notebook-style Betty Crocker cookbook. The pages come out, and they make a nice, thick pile. Good thing nobody asked to look inside.”
“If they did, you could have given them a recipe for Baked Alaska,” Dallas said with a straight face.
“What do you suppose Ned will do?” she asked. After the meeting, all of the board members had gone into Ned’s office to remove priority files. A couple of items indicated that Ned had been doing more with M & L’s finances than making bad business decisions, and the high-paying dividends had been just one of them. Only she and Dallas hadn’t been surprised. Dallas had sensed something wrong about Ned from the beginning, and she had proof of his lack of compunction. “What will the company do to him?”
“Nothing,” he said bluntly. “The truth is, M & L doesn’t need a hint of scandal while it’s getting back on its feet. There are ways to handle it quietly, like taking the embezzled money out of the shares he owns.”
“How much do you think he got away with?”
“It’s hard to say.” Dallas shook his head. “That was one headache none of us needed. I wanted him out completely because of what he’d done to you. I have to admit, though, that I thought I would need to put more pressure on him before he gave up the shares. Now I know he was afraid I knew about the money, too. Ned will probably realize the company won’t do a public investigation. He’ll disappear quietly, and gratefully, I’ll bet.” He scowled. “He bragged too much about his ‘business acumen’ to the corporate community to face any of them now.”
They were both silent for a moment. Then Cass caressed his arm and said, “How does it feel to be chairman of the board?”
“Strange,” he admitted. “I’m more used to fighting a board of directors to get what’s needed, than to being the head of it. Of course, it’s a damn good way to insure that you’ll always be at the meetings.”
Cass laughed. “I doubt I could get out of that if I wanted to. It wasn’t quite so bad as I thought it would be.” Then she smiled hugely. “You’ll notice that, while we gave the job to you, we didn’t give you any more shares than what you’ve already got.”
“I noticed,” he said. “However, there are always your shares.…”
“Forget it,” she said bluntly. “I learned my lesson, and from now on, I’ll get out of my death bed to go to those meetings.”
“Super stockholder!” Dallas pronounced in triumphant tones.
“Clown,” she muttered.
“Wait, I’m forgetting something,” he said, lifting her off him and climbing out of the bed.
Pulling the sheet up over her nakedness, she watched her nude soon-to-be husband walk over to the valet. She sighed to herself as she noted his strong shoulders, and the muscles playing across his back. Hardly a potbellied executive, she thought with pride. Her gaze drifted lower, to the taut buttocks and lean legs. That great tush.
He knelt down and took something from his briefcase. Turning to her, he held up an electric-pink, sheer baby-doll nightie trimmed in black lace. The points of the bodice were covered by two enormous rhinestones with black tassels hanging from the center of each.
“Dallas! Where did you get that horrible thing?” she demanded, sitting up and pulling the sheet across her breasts.
“From M & L. I went down to the sales department and took it off the rack before I came back to the board meeting.” He winked at her. “It’s part of the now-defunct Lusty Lingerie line. I figured you’d look great in it on our wedding night.”
“We don’t need it,” she said, flinging the sheet off her body.
He grinned widely at her, tossed the nightie over his shoulder, and headed for the bed.
THE EDITOR’S CORNER
Welcome to Loveswept!
We’re delighted to offer you another sizzling e-original next month: From rising romance star Sharon Cullen comes a tale of the fiery passion between a noble naval officer and a female pirate that’s as tempestuous and as unpredictable as the sea. THE NOTORIOUS LADY ANNE is Sharon Cullen’s first historical novel and her debut with Loveswept. Sensual and enticing, this is a book you won’t want to miss.
Also upcoming: Patricia Olney’s irresistible JADE’S GAMBLE, Linda Cajio’s sinfully sexy STRICTLY BUSINESS, and three blazing hot books from Sandra Chastain: A DREAM TO CLING TO, LOVE AND A BLUE-EYED COWBOY, and MAC’S ANGELS: MIDNIGHT FANTASY.
If you love romance … then you’re ready to be Loveswept!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
P.S. Watch for these terrific Loveswept titles coming soon: March brings Ruthie Knox’s scorching ALONG CAME TROUBLE, and some classic you’ll want to read: Patricia Olney’s moving and funny STILL MR. AND MRS., Juliana Garnett’s compelling and sensual THE BARON, Jean Stone’s exceptional and heartwarming FIRST LOVES, Linda Cajio’s extraordinary UNFORGETTABLE, and beloved author Iris Johansen’s brilliant AN UNEXPECTED SONG. In April, we’re excited about Megan Frampton’s emotional and powerfully erotic tale HERO OF MY HEART, Karen Leabo’s electric HELL ON WHEELS, Linda Cajio’s stirring novels, HE’S SO SHY and DESPERATE MEASURES, and Sandra Chastain’s spellbinding books, NIGHT DREAMS and PENTHOUSE SUITE. Don’t miss any of these extraordinary reads. I promise that you’ll fall in love and treasure these stories for years to come.…
Read on for excerpts from more Loveswept titles …
Read on for an excerpt from Juliet Rosetti’s
Escape Diaries
The Escape Diaries :
A Guide to Breaking Out of Prison
Escape tip #1:
Be prepared.
Actually I wasn’t prepared at all. I just wanted to go to bed. I was tired and cranky, sweat was puddling between my boobs, and my armpits smelled like sprouting onions. Deodorant cost one ninety-five at the prison canteen, well beyond the means of someone who earned ten cents an hour. Given a choice between M&Ms or Mennen, I’d pick the sweet and live with the stink. Repulsive, yes—but chocolate is what gets you through the day, and no one else smells any better.
If I’d stuck to chocolate, things might have turned out differently. But I had a leftover cough drop from a bout with bronchitis, and when my cellmate, Tina Sanchez, developed a
tickly throat, I gave her the cough drop. Just being a pal, right?
Wrong. You’re supposed to return unused medications to the medical director. The staff tracks pharmaceuticals the way the CIA tracks yellow cake in the Middle East. A cellblock officer caught the menthol scent on Tina’s breath and wrote her up for taking a nonprescription drug. Since I was the one who’d dished out the illicit substance, I was written up, too. Along with a bunch of other drug offenders—aspirin pushers, Alka-Seltzer peddlers, and Midol dealers—Tina and I were sentenced to garden detail.
Not exactly the Bataan death march in a suburban peas and petunias plot, but Taycheedah’s gardens are a whole different chunk of real estate. Looking out over them is like gazing at the Great Plains; you wouldn’t be surprised to see buffalo and buzzards roaming around out there.
The first days of September had been sunny and hot, and in the perverse way of growing things, every tomato on six acres had ripened on the same day. Ten thousand of the squishy red things, demanding to be handpicked before thunderstorms swept through and turned them into salsa. We picked. And picked. And picked some more. All morning, all afternoon, and into early evening. When it got to be five o’clock I thought we’d be dismissed for dinner. But no-o. You do the crime, you do the time: that was the warden’s motto. The kitchen staff sent out sandwiches and bottles of water and we ate sitting cross-legged in the dirt. Then we hauled ourselves to our feet and went back to work.
My spine was an archipelago of ache, my skin felt scalded, and my teeth were filmed with bugs. The rank, catnippy odor of tomatoes clung to my clothes. I straightened and stretched at the end of my gazillionth row, rubbing my back and anxiously scanning the sky to the west, which had turned the pus-yellow of a fading bruise. The air was thick enough to stir with a spoon. Crickets chirped storm warnings. Lightning flickered in a raft of distant clouds.
