Still, no one spoke.
“Does someone want to tell me why we’re giving things away?” I demanded. I scanned the room, making eye contact with each individual I could. Some avoided my gaze, while others tried to maintain eye contact for as long as possible. I knew I could be intimidating, but it wasn’t my fault most other people couldn’t stand the heat in the kitchen of high achievement. “Someone had better answer me, or I will sit you down one by one and go through every client and every service you have ever provided, and you will explain each and every one.”
A moment later, Jillian straightened in her chair. “What kind of services are you referring to, sir?” she asked in a steady, carefully guarded tone.
I jammed my finger at the graphic on the screen, indicating the averages for several of our well-established services. “Right here,” I said, almost sighing in frustration. These people had degrees from Ivy League universities. I should not have to spell this out for them. “This number is too low. You don’t need to be an accountant to see that when an average is lower than it should be, it means we aren’t charging what we need to be. How many of you have given clients discounts without authorization from the director of sales or the marketing manager?”
No one dared to raise their hand. Jillian and Seth were starting to look annoyed, as well, turning their attention to their associates.
Mercer had been silent until that point, but now that he had a chance to draw my focus, he took it. “Isn’t it our job to make the client happy?” he spoke up. “Discounting services helps with the bigger picture. Sometimes it can convince clients who are on the fence.”
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that already. Regardless, we had a standard in place for discounts, and the numbers I saw did not fall within those standards.
“The revenue still shouldn’t be this low,” I argued. “I want all of you to go to your desks, go through your clients’ invoices for this month, and make sure every single one is being charged the rates I personally set. If I see this dip again, I will replace all of you. Associates dismissed.”
They scattered like roaches. Jillian and Seth remained sitting as their staff hurried back to their desks, hoping to get far away from me.
“Your department has one job,” I told them. “And it’s to make this company money. The only reason I’m not firing both of you right now is because you’ve proven, on more than one occasion, that you can do your jobs. If I find out either of you have signed off on more than the allotted number of discounts, I won’t hesitate to replace you. In the meantime, go through your staffs’ files and double-check everything.”
“We will,” Seth assured me.
“Seth and I will start conducting reviews first thing tomorrow morning,” Jillian added.
I felt satisfied but still furious as I left the conference room. Back in my office, I again tried to focus on work. But, the discrepancies I had found still weighed on me.
After a moment of thought, I picked up the phone and dialed Hank’s number.
Hank Conyers was the head of my accounting department, and one of the few people I trusted to do their job. He answered my call on the second ring. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hank, I need you to do something for me.”
“Always, Mr. Patterson,” Hank said. “Anything you need.”
“I need you to go through our financials from the last six months.”
There was a slight pause. “Did you not get the reports my department sent?”
“I did, but there are a few things I need you to look into,” I said. “Can you compile a list of all the accounts where the price for services charged are lower than the prices we set?”
“Of course,” Hank confirmed. “But it may take some time. We’ve done a lot of business in the last few months.”
“You have three days.”
Hank could do it; I knew he could.
I couldn’t help but feel something was off. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I intended to find out. If I didn’t have answers by the time I had to present the information to the board in less than a month, it would put my ass on the line. No way was I going to let that happen.
The day dragged on, and when my stomach gave a growl of protest, I realized I hadn’t eaten in hours. I had sometimes neglected meals, as far back as in college, when I got too wrapped up into whatever project had captured my attention. It was a habit I was trying to break.
With a glance at the clock, I saw it was close to lunch, and I figured it was as good a time as any to take a breather.
“Nora,” I said on my way out, “I’m going to lunch. Hold my calls.”
Deciding to skip the town car, I hoped a walk would help me clear my head. There was a small sandwich shop a few blocks away that I liked to frequent, and I made for it. Usually I would have had Nora pick up the food for me, but, considering the way my morning had gone, I thought getting out of the office would be just what I needed.
Apparently, luck was on my side.
I had no sooner put in my order than I noticed a certain young woman enter the shop. Her silky brown hair swished across her shoulders as she stepped through the door.
Audrey hadn’t noticed me yet, and I took the time before she did to look her shamelessly up and down. Today she wore a navy-blue sheath dress that hugged her frame and clung to her delicious hips before tapering off at her knees to show off knockout legs. Audrey had a subtle beauty, one that came from someone who didn’t fuss over their appearance too much, but who took good care of their hair, skin, and figure, nonetheless.
Another young woman stepped into the shop behind Audrey; this one tall and dark-skinned, with curly black hair and long, shiny pink nails. Audrey laughed, and I heard her say to her friend, “Go get us a table. I’ll get the food.”
Her friend walked off to do just that, and Audrey turned in my direction. The second she saw me, her smile faded.
I casually leaned against the counter, following her movements as she drew closer.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I greeted.
I should have let her be. After all, she had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me. Which, of course, was her choice, no matter how wrong a choice it was. But, I felt physically incapable of ignoring her.
“Small world.” Audrey’s voice was tight as if she were trying to maintain politeness. Part of me wondered how nice she would be if we were alone again. Probably not very.
“We seem to keep running into each other,” I mused. “What do you suppose that could mean?”
“The universe hates me,” Audrey grumbled, moving to stand next to me at the counter, her body tense and leaning away slightly.
“Hate is a strong word,” I said. “However, I don’t disagree that it has it out for you.”
Audrey’s lips twitched as if she was trying not to smile. I marked this tiny gesture down in my invisible scorebook as a point in my favor.
An employee called my number, and I raised my hand. He handed me my Cuban sandwich on rye, and I leaned in close to take it, just barely entering Audrey’s personal space. I heard her breath hitch in her throat as I did.
“Well,” she said, purposefully not looking at me as I drew back. “It was certainly … interesting seeing you again.”
Sandwich in hand, I leaned in close again so I could whisper, “It was great to see you, too.” I let my breath ghost across her ear and saw her give an involuntary shiver.
As I headed toward the door, I passed her friend who had noticed the exchange. I slowed my steps just enough to catch her hushed murmur. “You sure you don’t want a piece of that?”
I missed Audrey’s response but was delighted that I wasn’t the only one to see through her façade.
By the time I made it back to the office, I felt lighter than I did before. That was, until Nora knocked on my office door with a sour look on her face and the newest issue of New York Magazine clutched in her hand.
I sighed. “What did they write this time?”
Nora tossed the magazine down on my desk, flipping to the offending social column. “There’s a whole spread wondering who you’re going to bring to Patterson’s annual Board of Directors’ Gala this year,” she explained. “You might want to check it out.”
As Nora turned and left the office, I scanned the pages she had dog-eared. I couldn’t fathom why people found my personal life so interesting. Even I didn’t give it that much thought.
I hadn’t even considered whom I’d take to the gala. The event was only a couple weeks away, but I had been too busy to bother asking any of my usual prospects.
For some reason, Audrey came to mind, and, at first, I shook it away. However, the more I thought about bringing her to the gala, the more I couldn’t get enough of the idea. I leaned back in my chair and pressed my fingertips to my lips, losing myself in thought.
Despite our chemistry, there was no love lost between Audrey and me. Even in the bar, she had remained composed and elegant. As my date, she wouldn’t fawn over me or demand my attention. Plus, she knew the marketing world and could contribute to the conversation when I inevitably found myself surrounded by board members and investors. Plus, if the world saw me out with Ronny Pace’s pretty employee and supposed that a merger between our companies was already in the works? They wouldn’t be wrong for long.
Yes, Audrey would be the perfect date. Now, it was just a matter of convincing her to go along with it.
4
Audrey
Ronny had become withdrawn since his meeting with the Pattersons. He was usually the most social person around the office, stopping by people’s desks to talk every hour or so. He reminded me of Michael Scott from The Office, only less annoying.
Yet, over the last week, he had barely said a word to his staff, or even to me. He hadn’t called me into his office to vent, nor had he asked my opinion on anything. He hadn’t even taken me up on my offers to go out for coffee and croissants, one of his favorite midweek activities. The strangest part was that, on the rare occasions he spoke at all, his voice came out in short, clipped tones, and he only used enough words to get his point across. He seemed perpetually irritated and startled at the tiniest sounds as if he hadn’t slept for days.
I could tell something was weighing on his mind. The thing that concerned me the most, however, was that he hadn’t told me what it was. We were close in age, with Ronny being less than two years my senior and, we had been attached at the hip since we were born. Whenever he had a problem, I was the first person to know. Our parents had raised us to support our family at all costs and never to keep anything from each other. “No one can help you like family,” my mother had always said.
On Wednesday, when I hadn’t heard from him for several hours, I was so worried, I decided to check on him. I never had to knock unless he was in a meeting—which I knew for a fact he wasn’t—so I grabbed the handle and turned, but before I could open the door all the way, I heard his voice.
“No, no, I told you I can’t do it.”
With a frown, I froze, torn between following through with my original plan and ducking back out in hopes of pretending I hadn’t even been here. But I had never heard Ronny sound so scared and defeated. So, in the end, I decided to stay frozen in place, trying to discern what had him so spooked.
“No, please don’t do that,” Ronny begged. “I’ll figure out a way to make it work, just … please. Give me more time.”
My mouth ran dry and my heart rate spiked. What was going on in there? Mind made up, I pushed the door open all the way and strode in just as Ronny hung up the phone.
When he saw me, his face paled. “Aud, how long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to hear the end of your conversation,” I admitted. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, that?” His voice was pinched as if he was trying to act nonchalant. “Don’t worry about that. It’s not work related.”
I sighed, moving closer to him. I considered giving him a hug but thought better of it. Although Ronny didn’t hold his staff to a strictly professional code of behavior, he typically discouraged PDAs.
“Ronny, are you okay?” I asked. “You’ve been quiet lately.”
He nodded even as he visibly swallowed. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said a little too fast. “Did you need something?”
I couldn’t remember a time Ronny had lied to my face. His brow was sweaty, and he fidgeted in his seat, but I refused to break eye contact. Part of me wanted to push him into talking. We’d grown up together, so I knew how to get him to spill his secrets. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He looked so small, his shoulders hunched, and his body coiled tight.
“Um … I’m doing a coffee run,” I lied. “Do you want anything?”
Ronny’s shoulders relaxed, and he gave me a quivering smile. “No thanks. I’ve already had two cups today. You know me. Any more than that and I won’t sit still for the rest of the afternoon.”
I forced a smile. “Gotcha. I’ll be back in a bit, then.” I turned to leave but stopped short to add, “Let me know if you need anything, okay? I’m here to help.”
Ronny stared at me with wide eyes. His bottom lip quivered. “I will, Aud,” he said. “Close the door when you leave, would you?”
I did as he asked, but I stood with my hand on the doorknob for some time. When it was clear he wasn’t going to call after me, I sighed and walked away. After grabbing my purse, I headed downstairs to the lobby.
Caroline sat at the front desk, trying not to look bored and failing miserably. She perked up when she saw me. “Time for a coffee run already?” Then, she noticed my frown, and her face fell. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want to tell her what I had overheard, mainly because I didn’t know the context of the phone call. But Caroline was one of my best friends, and I didn’t want to shut her out. I could at least ask her about Ronny’s behavior. “Have you noticed that Ronny’s been off?”
“Since the day I met him.”
I snorted. “Very funny, but that’s not what I meant. Mood-wise, has he seemed quiet to you this past week?”
Caroline tapped her chin with her long nails as she thought. “Now that you mention it, he has been a little withdrawn,” she admitted. “Usually, he stops to chat with me in the morning to see how I’m doing, but the past few days, he’s just walked by with a little wave. Not even a hello.”
So, it’s not just me … other people have noticed it, too.
“Hasn’t he said anything to you?” Caroline continued. “You guys are practically twins.”
“I think he’s just stressed about losing Matrix,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll be back to his chatty self in no time. Do you want coffee?”
After Caroline had given me her order, I walked out onto the street. The warmth of the summer had faded days ago and given way to the cold bite of fall. Most of the leaves had changed color, although they were nowhere near as vibrant as they were in the country.
As I took a deep breath of crisp air, I thought of how much I missed my family’s autumn drives upstate to tiny towns with cute Hallmark-movie names and picturesque main streets. My sisters and I would bundle up in our gloves and hats—although we’d usually lose them before the day was over—and go running through pumpkin patches and old graveyards, kicking up leaves before the chill froze our faces. We’d stop to huddle close together and sip hot cider, giggling about one thing or another. Weather like this always made me miss my family. Having Ronny this close at hand was great, but he couldn’t compare to my mother and father and my gaggle of sisters. Still, I fondly thought back on those autumn days, as I took my time walking through the city, using it as a chance to unwind.
Aside from Ronny’s mood, I had a growing problem of my own. I found myself constantly thinking of Aaron, no matter how many times I tried not to, and I was on a continuous rollercoaster of emotions. On the one hand, feeling attracted to someone for the first time in months had my libido begging for more than just my own han
d. But, conversely, I felt ashamed. Ashamed for being so ridiculously attracted to a man I had no business interacting with, let alone fantasizing about.
He was an arrogant, self-absorbed playboy who had his eye on Ronny’s company and no scruples about how he acquired it. I shouldn’t have spared him a passing thought, much less so many hot fantasies of his hips bucking against my own.
It didn’t help that he seemed to be everywhere I turned.
Just over a week ago, I had never met Aaron Patterson, and now, I could barely go a day without seeing him. Even worse, our meetings seemed to be genuinely accidental, with no machinations on either of our parts bringing us together. I had always been a firm believer in the universe sending signs, but I had no idea why it felt the need to draw me to him of all people.
Aaron’s reputation spoke for itself. I had witnessed some of his sharpness firsthand … but I couldn’t stop thinking about my own experiences with him versus the picture everyone else painted.
People I had talked to had presented him as some sort of monster. A heartless businessman, who either cheated or tricked people out of their hard-earned money. Some even compared him to a vulture, swooping in and taking whatever he wanted from the downtrodden. It wasn’t the perfect metaphor, but I understood where they were coming from.
As for his reputation outside work—I hated to admit it, but I was a sucker for gossip, and I always had been. Aaron rarely had his picture taken—which was why he’d only seemed vaguely familiar that night in the bar—but plenty of magazines had devoted page upon page to theorizing who he was dating this week, or who had left his loft in the early morning hours a few nights ago. Of course, I didn’t believe all their accusations, but it made me wonder where the stories originated. Aaron certainly seemed to have trouble keeping the same woman around from week to week, and if his behavior at the bar that first night was any indicator, he was a man who was used to getting what—and whom—he wanted.
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