Survivor

by Mary Alford

  “You want my opinion?” I asked Aaron, who nodded. “The last group. The husband and wife team.”

  He agreed. “I guessed as much. Okay, call them tomorrow, give them the good news, and let the others know we’ve made a decision. I’ll leave you my credit card to take care of the expenses. Just make sure to let them know I need to have somewhere to sleep by the time I get back from New York in two weeks. Where are you going?”

  I’d started for the door as he spoke. I was exhausted, and I have to admit, more than a little ready to get away from him. Sara’s descriptive little e-mail kept popping in my thoughts every time I saw him, which served as a reminder there was another side to Aaron I’d never know.

  “I’m going home. I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t forget your first meeting is at eight.”

  “So, you’re just going to leave me here?”

  I turned back to him and grinned. “You’re a big boy. You’ll be fine. Go back to your fancy hotel and get some sleep. I think you’re going to need it.”

  As much as I wanted to get away from him, the lost little boy look in his eyes was my undoing. He appeared not to have a friend in the world, and was alone in a city.

  It was then my conscience pointed out I hadn’t been behaving nicely toward him lately, due to reasons I was still in denial over.

  As I pondered all these things, I thought about my grandparents. How many times had they given up their time to help someone in need? Aaron might not realize it, but he was someone in need. I finally gave in to my conscience. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.” He’d found my soft spot for strays and was using it to his advantage.

  “Okay, let’s go. You can follow me.”

  He was already heading for his car when he asked, “Where are you taking me to tonight?”

  I was almost tempted to keep it a surprise, but I decided I should probably give him time to back out. “The grocery store.”

  Aaron stopped and stared at me as if I’d just lost my mind. “The grocery store?”

  “Yes, the grocery store. We’re going shopping, and then I’m going to make you my specialty.”

  “Can you even cook?” he asked with genuine doubt. I threw him my best “displeased” expression before getting into my little car.

  In truth, I couldn’t cook. I was terrible at making just about everything, but that never bothered me. I could bake cookies fairly well and brew coffee. A necessity at my house. But that was about the extent of my culinary talents except for one thing. I could make Grandma Ruth’s homemade meatloaf and all the fixings to perfection. The one recipe I could manage without burning the house down.

  We stopped off at my neighborhood HEB, and I grabbed a buggy while trying not to laugh at Aaron’s childlike wonder as we made our way down the necessary aisles.

  He picked up a habanero pepper and held it out to me in amazement. “What’s this?”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Don’t they have grocery stores in New York?”

  “Yes. But I have someone who does the shopping for me,” he admitted sheepishly.

  “Must be nice. Put it back. We don’t need it.” I tossed the habanero back into the pile of them and grabbed a couple of onions and red peppers.

  “What are those for?”

  I wrinkled my nose at his ignorance. “Let me guess—you don’t cook either?”

  He didn’t bother answering, and I wasn’t sure if it was simply because he was trying to ignore my sarcasm or his attention had been distracted by the bakery section.

  “This looks good.” He pointed to a triple chocolate decadent cake. He was like a kid who’d just received exactly what he’d asked for from Santa.

  I rolled my eyes when he put the cake in the buggy. “Oh no.”

  Somehow, I managed to gather the rest of the ingredients, keeping a close eye on Aaron to make sure he didn’t add anymore unexpected items.

  “Go. Sit down, Aaron,” I told him after he helped me unload the groceries.

  He didn’t look like his confidence in me was growing much as he glanced around my tiny kitchen.

  “You sure you don’t need my help?”

  “No, I don’t. Okay, the truth is I’m not good at cooking, but I can make one thing, so relax. I promise I won’t poison you. Trust me, you’re going to like it.”

  Aaron wasn’t so sure, which was even more reason to prove him wrong.

  I have to admit, when we sat down at my table I was more than pleased with my efforts.

  He didn’t even try to hide his surprise. “This is actually good.”

  “Well, what did you think it would be?” I asked and was rewarded with the skeptical expression I hated. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

  Aaron helped me with the dishes, and then I made coffee, which we took out to the living room.

  Over dinner, our conversation seemed so natural. He’d shared some things about his past with me, and I’d even allowed myself to open up a little and tell him about growing up in Amarillo with my grandparents.

  Sitting close to Aaron on my tiny sofa, all the comfortable companionship we’d shared over dinner was gone. The silence between us was so awkward that it was almost painful. I decided it was time for him to go.

  “Are you done with your coffee?” He gave me the searching look he’d been giving me for quite some time and it made me nervous. I threw my grandparents’ good upbringing out the window. “Because, well, it’s late and we both have a busy day tomorrow, and I’m beat.” I hoped he didn’t notice the nervous tremor in my voice.

  He set his coffee cup down. “Are you trying to get rid of me?” I found it hard to breathe in the face of that look. I got to my feet and headed to the door.

  “Yes. Yes, I am. You need to leave. Now, Aaron.” I probably would have come off sounding a whole lot more confident if my voice weren’t actually shaking.

  “What’s the matter? Do I make you nervous?” Bingo, I wanted to yell him, but found I couldn’t say anything. I tried to deny it by shaking my head.

  Aaron walked slowly toward me. Very slowly. Too slowly for the new, far-too-aware-of-him girl I was turning out to be. “You’re not good at lying. Stick to what you’re good at. There’s no need to be nervous. You know I would never try anything. I gave you my word. And besides, we’ve already spent the night together.” The last part he added to get me to relax. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. I was more nervous than ever.

  “We did not spend the night together, so would you please stop saying we did.” He was laughing again, and I wanted to strangle him. I decided anger was the great motivator. I punched him in the arm and shooed him out the door before slamming it behind him.

  What was the matter with me? I never let men get to me. I could freeze them out with one little look. What was so different about Aaron?

  Sure, he had more money and a whole lot more power than most of the men I was used to bullying around, and I’m sure Aaron had never met a woman who could get the best of him, but I wasn’t like those others. Who cared if he was one of the hottest men around? It meant nothing to me because I wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone, especially not him. Besides, he didn’t need me when he had Sara and probably a whole entourage of other females following him around like some superstar.

  If I were going to continue working with Aaron, as apparently he was expecting me to, then I was going to have to toughen up a little bit. I couldn’t let him see how much he got to me. If I kept acting the way I had, he would eat me alive.

  By the following morning, I’d somehow managed to recapture some of my self-confidence. Which lasted about as long as it took me to walk into the office at seven and find Aaron had once again beat me in. He was in the middle of reading through e-mails, and I was reminded of the one that had kept me awake the night before. I had to walk away, pretend to get coffee. I needed to regroup.

  When I faced him again, I wasn’t any less aware of him, but at least I could control m
y reactions.

  “Grace, I’d like for you to sit in on the meetings today as well.” I’d been expecting him to ask me that, of course, but I wasn’t happy to hear him confirm it. “You don’t agree?” Aaron’s tone was hard.

  “No, I don’t. Aaron, think about it for a minute. These men may be fat cats simply taking up space, but most of them have been with the company for an awful long time and they have families. Do you want to humiliate them any further by telling them they no longer have a job in front of your secretary? I’m sorry but I think that’s mean.”

  “You’re not simply my secretary. You’re a whole lot more and you know it. But if it’s how you feel, I understand. I’ll meet with them alone.”

  I had to focus hard to see if he was being serious or simply sarcastic. It shocked me to no end to find he was indeed serious.

  At exactly eight that morning the first poor soul walked in, and I showed him into Aaron’s office and closed the door.

  By the end of the day, there were only three left. They waited in the conference room unaware of what had taken place during the day. None of them had any idea what their future held.

  Aaron followed me inside, and in his usual fashion, didn’t waste time. He told the group gathered there they were the future of LoneStar. Whether it failed or succeeded would be up to them. Then he proceeded to lay out what he expected from them in the coming weeks.

  “I’ll be in New York until the middle of the month. During this time, I expect each of you to do your homework. On Monday, Grace will meet with you to divide the fifty-odd remaining client accounts between the three of you. By the time, I return to Austin, I want each of you to have some idea of how to keep their business, and I don’t mean the same old tired ideas. The only thing that was keeping LoneStar afloat for this long was its solid reputation here in Texas. Gentlemen, unfortunately the word is out. The reputation responsible for the company’s success has been tarnished. We have to find a way to get it back. And I believe it goes without saying, if you can’t do the job, I’ll find someone who can. You have two weeks. Use them wisely. I expect to be impressed. Now, it’s late and I know I’ve given you all a lot to consider. Take the weekend. If there are any among you who don’t wish to continue working under these conditions, I will understand. I’ll expect you to let Grace know on Monday. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a flight to catch. I’ll see each of you in two weeks. If anything comes up before then, Grace will know how to get in touch with me.”

  Aaron motioned for me to follow him, and we left the remaining executive team in stunned silence.

  “I’m late, so whatever you have to say will have to wait. I’m afraid I’m going to have to break just about every single speed limit there is just to make the flight on time.”

  Aaron stopped gathering his things for a second to look at me. All afternoon I’d been dodging Deb’s calls. I knew the second old Al got back to his office she’d know what her fate was. I couldn’t bring myself to face her until I knew where her future stood with Aaron.

  “I want to talk to you about Deb.”

  His expression softened. “Alright, come with me to the airport. We can talk on the way.”

  I didn’t have time to refuse because he took my hand and all but forced me in the direction of the elevator. We were out of the building and in his rental car before I had time to consider I didn’t have a way back to the office.

  “What about her?” he asked once we were in the car. “Why you are so worried about Deb?”

  Aaron was right about one thing. He was definitely breaking all speed limits, not to mention his driving had me so concerned that it took me until we reached the terminal to focus on why I was there in the first place.

  “Al was Deb’s boss. She’ll be out of a job after today,” I blurted out as he parked the car in the rental slot then got out. He popped the trunk to retrieve his bag before hailing a cab for me.

  “If she’s as good as you clearly believe she is, then she’ll have nothing to worry about. My main objective was to get rid of the big salaries using up the revenue of the firm without contributing anything. We’ve managed to buy the company a great deal of time today. Deb will be okay. You have my word on it.”

  Aaron opened the door of the taxi, ushering me inside and handing the driver a stack of bills. “Take her back to LoneStar.” He gave the man the address.

  His voice softened. “I’m sorry to have to leave like this. I’ll call you tonight and we’ll talk some more. Don’t worry. Deb isn’t going to lose her job, I promise. I’ll find something for her.” I was too happy by those words to think twice about the gentle warmth in his voice or the way his hand touched my hair before he straightened and the driver pulled away, with me staring through the back window at the man my grandmother had told me was going to change my life for good.

  For the better.

  At that point, I wasn’t so sure.

  When I got back to the office Deb was waiting for me. “Come inside.” Before she could, Sally stopped by, purse and coat in hand.

  “Boss, I’m leaving.” She was being sarcastic. Sally still resented my moving up in the ranks above her, but for the time being I had bigger issues to deal with.

  “Okay, Sally. You were able to get everything done in record time. Nice work. I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

  She was suspicious, no doubt wondering if I was using a little sarcasm of my own. When she wasn’t able to determine for certain, she waved to the both of us.

  “Deb, please come inside.”

  Deb hesitated for a second longer before following me inside Aaron’s office. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going to happen? Albert just about floored me when he told me he’d been fired. He was so mad you should have seen his face! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry. He said I’m next. Is it true?”

  “No! Deb, of course not! You are not losing your job. And I didn’t tell you because I couldn’t. I’m sorry, I wanted to. I still can’t give you any details.” I’d seen the next question coming before she could get it out. “But I can tell you you’re not going to lose your job.”

  “So, what am I supposed to do then with Albert gone? Just keep sitting at a desk taking a salary for not doing a thing?”

  “For the time being, yes. But you’ve brought up a good point and it sounds like this is something we’re going to need to address with the other girls. I’ll set something up Monday once I’ve talked to Aaron about it. I don’t think he anticipated all the fallout from the meetings.

  “Do you think he cares? He’s all about the money, right? You said so yourself.”

  I wished I could deny those words. The truth was I had the same doubts Deb did about Aaron. I’d been questioning my own reasons for accepting the job since the first day. I didn’t agree with Aaron’s values any more than I did the way he conducted business. So what was I doing working for him?

  “I know and I’m not sure he does care, but maybe it’s something we can change? Or maybe I’m only dreaming. I’ve certainly had enough doubts of my own about taking this job. I only hope I don’t live to regret my decision.”

  “Maybe. I guess you never know. I mean, stranger things have happened. But just don’t forget how easy it is to get drawn into the world he lives in. It can be alluring. Don’t let yourself go there. I wouldn’t want to see you hurt.”

  “I won’t. I promise I’ll be careful. In the meantime, don’t you worry about your job or me, okay? Go home and enjoy your weekend. Are you and Brian doing anything special?”

  I needed to change the subject because I didn’t want to think about Aaron anymore.

  “Nothing much. What about you?”

  “I’m working. I plan to live in the office until I can get everything ready for Monday. No one’s going to have any excuse for not being able to find me or get to Aaron if needed. Besides, I have to go through all the files Marge left behind and get them in order.”

  “You know you’ve made one vicious enemy in her?
Watch your back. The woman is furious with you, according to the rumors.”

  “We’ve never been friends. Where’d she end up anyway?”

  Deb was laughing so hard she could barely get the words out. “In the graphics department on the bottom floor. She’s answering phones. Can you imagine? How the mighty have fallen. Just watch yourself though. She’ll do her best to get back at you in some way or another.”

  After Deb left, I spent the rest of the evening until I was too tired to think clearly going through all the files that were left in Stephen Donaldson’s office.

  It surprised me to learn Aaron had known the core client list for the company almost to the exact number. I was almost certain Stephen Donaldson would not have been eager to share any of that information with anyone, not even a prospective owner.

  It was almost ten before I finally packed it in and left the building for home. By that time, I was too exhausted to think of anything beyond how quickly I could shower and get into bed.

  I was almost asleep when the phone rang. It was a long time before I realized it was actually my phone and not part of a dream.

  I fumbled in the dark for the receiver and hoped I was actually talking into the right end. “Hello?”

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty.” The sound of Aaron’s voice had the power to make me forget all about sleep.

  I sat up in bed, fully awake and trying to focus on the clock. It was after eleven here, which meant it was even later in New York. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “Still a terrible liar. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be in bed.” Why the sound of those words coming from Aaron possessed the power to make me blush like a fool I had no idea, but I didn’t plan on considering it either. At least not with his voice sounding far too intimate and disturbingly close to my ear.

  “Sorry, I guess I drifted off. Are you just getting in?”

  “No, I actually went into the office for a while after I got here.”