Second Chance on St. Patrick's Day

by Mia Ford

  “In other words, you didn’t want to let me down because I was just another notch on his very long belt.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Are you saying that I couldn’t get Conner McGee’s attention on my own?” I grinned at her from over the cup. “Because I can assure you, my dear Monique, that is not the case.”

  “I’m sure it’s not now.” She took a sip of her coffee and dabbed her lips with one finger. “So, how was it?”

  “How as in what?”

  “Your weekend with the pussy hound?”

  “It was a working weekend,” I said. “And he was a perfect gentleman.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he was.”

  “He was. Seriously.” I set the cup aside and tapped the space bar to wake up my computer. I had not had a chance to check my email this morning. I had no texts from Conner, but he had told me Monday morning was always super busy for him, but he’d text as soon as he was free. I picked up the cup and waited for the screen to come up.

  “Oh, I’m sure you worked all weekend,” Monique said. “Come on, don’t leave a girl hanging. How was it? Is he as good in bed as he looks like he’d be?”

  “Well, after we hammered out the fine points of the contract, we spent the weekend hammering each other.” I heard myself giggle and put a hand over my mouth. I leaned into the desk and lowered my voice. “Oh… my… god… Mo, I am such a slut!”

  Monique cackled so loudly that I was afraid the whole office would hear. I got up to close my door. “Shhh… not so loud. I’d prefer to keep my smuttiness to myself.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face. “I just never thought I’d hear you say something like that. You’re usually such a tight-assed, little Irish girl.”

  “Hey, I’m not tight-assed,” I said. “As a matter of fact, my ass is pretty loose. Hang on, that didn’t sound right. Oh hell, you know what I mean.”

  “Give me a break. After that one-night stand on New Year’s Eve you felt so guilty you went to confession every morning for a week.” Monique narrowed her eyes at me. “You are the least slutty girl I know. Trust me. I now. I’m an expert on the topic.”

  “Whatever.” My computer dinged. I turned toward the screen and smiled. I had an email from Mr. Conner McGee. The subject was: Benson Digital. I tapped the mouse to open the email. I bit my lip as I read his words.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense,” Monique said. “What does it say?”

  I made a show of clearing my throat, then read the email out loud.

  “Dear Miss O’Hara… Thank you for a VERY productive weekend. I think all parties will be very satisfied by the outcome. I know I certainly am… Yours truly, Conner McGee.”

  “Whooo-eee,” she said gleefully. She clapped her hands like a little kid about to get ice cream. “Girl, you are either one hell of a lawyer or one hell of a great lay.”

  I wiggled my eyebrows at her. “Actually, I’m both.”

  Chapter 24: Conner

  Reed strolled into my office a few minutes after 8 AM on Monday morning. I had been at my desk for nearly an hour already, sipping the strong coffee my secretary had waiting for me and checking my email.

  As was the norm, my inbox was crammed full of emails that had arrived over the weekend, which was a really stupid time to email someone like me because I didn’t even turn on a computer on the weekends.

  There were over two hundred emails from clients, investors, the news media, random entrepreneurs looking for funding, random nonprofits looking for donations, and invitations to attend a variety of business meetings and social events.

  My secretary would handle most of the inquiries, sending canned replies to those that warranted them and ignoring the rest. The ones that needed my attention she would prioritize and flag in the email program and I’d get to them after lunch.

  Reed came in without a word and went to the bar to pour himself a cup of black coffee from the silver service. He tried not to slosh the coffee as he sat in one of the leather chairs on the other side of the desk. He smacked his lips and gave me a tired smile.

  “You look like hell,” I said.

  “You should see it from this side,” he said with a groan. Reed spent most weekends drinking and partying and looking for wife number five. He lacked the ability to be faithful to one woman, but believed that men with wives were more credible in business than men without. Whatever. I think he just liked having a woman to go home to after he was done whoring and partying.

  “Another rough weekend, Reed?” I asked, giving him a sideways smile. He grunted something I didn’t understand and sipped the coffee while I finished typing an email to Katie. I read over it once more in my head.

  Dear Miss O’Hara… Thank you for a VERY productive weekend. I think all parties will be very satisfied by the outcome. I know I certainly am… Yours truly, Conner McGee.

  Very professional, yet filled with innuendo.

  Perfect. I tapped the key to hit Send.

  “Tell me about your weekend,” Reed said. “It was very productive, I assume?”

  “You would assume correctly, sir,” I said. I leaned back in my chair and laced my fingers around the coffee cup. “The Benson deal is done. Legal is reviewing it this morning, but I anticipate no more bumps in the road. We close the deal this Friday at noon as planned.”

  He lifted his cup and gave me a knowing grin. “Well done, my boy. And kudos to you for putting in the extra work over the weekend. Your dedication will not go unrewarded.”

  “Oh, I enjoyed the extra work immensely,” I said. “I found it to be quite… pleasant.”

  “Miss O’Hara did not disappoint then,” he said. “Will there be further negotiations between the two of you after the Benson deal is done?”

  I shrugged. “I hope so, but that depends.”

  “On her reaction after she learns that you are booting her dear Uncle Allen out of his company?”

  “I’m not booting him,” I said. “The board will.”

  “I’m not sure Miss O’Hara will see it that way,” he said. “You know how women are.”

  “I do know how women are,” I said. “I guess we’ll just have to see how she reacts to the news. Hopefully she’ll understand it’s the best thing for everyone involved.”

  “You can hope,” he said, nodding.

  Katie’s smiling face flashed through my mind. I forced it to go away.

  Reed asked, “So, how soon after we sign the contract do we put our plan into motion?”

  “The plan is already in motion,” I said. “We have a potential buyer already lined up to take the manufacturing operation off our hands for more than we’re paying for the whole shebang. We will keep the computer chip patents and license the fuck out of them. They’ll generate hundreds of millions of dollars over the next ten years until they expire.”

  Reed was grinning like a Cheshire cat because a nice chunk of those millions would go directly into his pocket as a senior partner. I’d make millions off the deal, too, but nothing like he would. He sipped his coffee for a moment and pondered the numbers in his head, adding to the list of expensive things he would buy, not because he needed them, but because he could.

  He asked, “And how big of a shit fit do you think Allen Benson is going to throw once we have taken over the board and voted him out?”

  I shrugged, because it was a moot point. “He can throw as big of a shit fit as he wants, but that won’t help his cause. He’s cashing out with a ton of dough, so he’ll have no right to bitch about anything. And no legal recourse.”

  “Because the deal was blessed by his own niece,” Reed said with a sly grin. He lifted the cup again. “That was a convenient turn of events. You banging her on New Year’s Eve, then her turning up a couple of months later to be Allen Benson’s niece slash lawyer.”

  “Yes, I guess it was.” I picked up my cup and started into it for a moment. The realization that I was not just betraying Allen Benson’s trust started to gnaw at
me. I was betraying Katie’s trust, as well. Or at least that was how she would see it.

  Ordinarily, that would not have bothered me. It was, after all, just business. And nobody was really getting screwed here. Allen Benson would walk away with millions and his beloved employees would get to keep their jobs. Probably. It wasn’t my fault that he was too stubborn for his own good.

  “Feeling a little guilty, are we?” Reed asked after a moment of silence.

  I didn’t see the need to lie.

  I said, “Yeah, a little. Maybe.”

  “You really like this girl?”

  “Yes. I think I do.”

  He shook his head. “She has no right to be upset, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “I mean, it’s not like you used her.”

  I held up my hands. “I know.”

  “She reviewed the contract in good faith, and you responded in kind.”

  “Yes, Reed, I know.”

  He kept pressing the point, thinking it would make me feel better about what I’d done. He said, “If she had raised the topic of the patents you would have spelled it out for her. Right?”

  “Yes. Right.”

  “It’s not like you were hiding anything to screw anyone over.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Reed, I know all that.” I held up my hands to shut him up. “Enough already. It’s just business. Period. End of story.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “And yet, you still feel a little shitty.”

  “A little.”

  “Well, you did nothing wrong as far as I’m concerned,” he said. He took another sip of coffee and grinned at me. “The fact that you banged her all weekend had nothing to do with the deal.”

  “She probably will not see it that way,” I said, frowning into my cup. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that she will see it as a betrayal. She’ll accuse me of using her and probably never want to see me again.”

  “Oh well, that’s her loss then, isn’t it? It’s not like you don’t have women lined up around the block, Conner. And Cassandra Leone on speed dial. Christ, if I had that woman I’d never want another.”

  I gave him a little nod, even though I was starting to feel more like a heel by the minute. I knew that the moment Katie heard that Allen Benson was being booted off the board and the manufacturing operation being sold; our little romance would probably be over.

  I had four days to enjoy her company.

  After that, all bets were off.

  Oh well. That was how things worked in my world.

  It was just business.

  Keep telling yourself that, a little voice in my head whispered. You fucking asshole.

  I ignored what my heart was saying.

  It had never made me a dime.

  Chapter 25: Katie

  Conner was busy Monday night with some business dinner he had already committed to, but we spent Tuesday night together at his penthouse in Manhattan. The sex was even better and hotter than the weekend before, if you can believe that. We were getting to know one another’s personalities and quirks. We were figuring out each other’s bodies. What we liked. What curled out toes. What buttons to push. What sent us over the moon.

  We spent Wednesday night together at my place. It was nothing like Conner’s penthouse. His master bedroom was larger than my entire apartment. But he said he loved the “coziness” of my little place and loved snuggling in my bed, which was half the size of his.

  Thursday night we went back to his penthouse after dinner and spent the evening making love. I drifted off to sleep around midnight lying in his strong arms. I was happier than I had ever been in my life. I knew that it was silly of me to be thinking such things so quickly, but I was starting to imagine my life being Mrs. Conner McGee.

  Before Conner left for the office on Friday morning, he seemed a bit on edge. Ordinarily, he was laughing and joking and doing his best to get me out of whatever clothes I had managed to put on. Friday morning was different. He didn’t say much when we woke up. Or while we showered together. Of course, neither did I. It was hard to talk when you had your mouth full.

  He got out of the shower first because he said he had to get to the office, so I finished up while he toweled off and got dressed. I was standing in front of the wide bathroom mirror doing my makeup when he can in to say goodbye.

  “Are you okay, Con?” I asked as I stared at him in the mirror with the makeup brush paused at my cheek. “You seem a little edgy this morning.”

  He adjusted his silk tie and smiled at my reflection. “A little edgy?”

  I turned and put my arms around his neck, careful not to dust him with makeup from the brush. He was already dressed in a blue Armani suit, white shirt, and matching tie, so I didn’t hug him too tightly. His dark hair was swept back, and he had just a hint of stubble on his chin. He looked like he had just stepped out of a magazine ad.

  “Are you nervous about today?” I asked.

  We had not talked about the impending purchase of my uncle’s company. We had been so busy getting to know one another and having a good time in bed that business never came up. Besides, that was none of my business. I had looked over the contract as a favor to Uncle Allen. That was the extent of my involvement. As my pops would say, “I had no dog in this fight.” Besides, I trusted Conner. He was as good as his word.

  He cocked one eyebrow at me. “Nervous? Why would I be nervous?”

  I pulled my arms from his neck and smoothed my hands over his lapels. The firmness of his chest beneath my hands made me sigh. I said, “I don’t know, maybe because you’re buying my uncle’s company today and you’re a little nervous because of me.”

  “I’m not buying the company,” he said quickly, defensively. “Price Bean & Whitlock is. And it’s Reed’s deal. I just handled the financial details for him.”

  His reaction made me frown as I stared into his eyes. It wasn’t like Conner McGee to give credit to others for his hard work. I said, “Of course, Price Bean & Whitlock are footing the bill, but none of this would have happened if not for you.” I kissed the tip of his nose. “You made this happen. I’m very proud of you.”

  For a moment, I thought I saw a look of sadness in his dark eyes. Then, he gave me the smile that melts me in my panties, pecked me on the lips, and turned to leave.

  “Will I see you tonight?” I asked, holding onto his hand as he tried to back out the door.

  He gave me a little smile that looked like it took a great deal of effort and said, “Yes, of course, if you still want to.”

  He was gone before I could ask him what the heck that meant.

  If I still want to?

  Why on earth would I not?

  Chapter 26: Conner

  The deal was done at exactly 12:27 PM on Friday afternoon.

  The shit hit the fan exactly two minutes later.

  We were gathered around the long table in Reed’s mahogany-paneled conference room putting signatures to the contracts that would formally make Price Bean & Whitlock the majority shareholder in Benson Digital, Inc.

  Price would own fifty-one percent of the company stock and hold three board seats. Allen Benson would retain a ten-percent stake in the company, as well as his seat as CEO, and the rest of the stock was owned by current shareholders.

  Reed and I were on one side of the table with Vincent Simms, our corporate attorney and his paralegal, Pam, who was taking notes. Directly across the table from us sat Allen Benson and his in-house attorney Jeff Chase. Lined up next to Allen were the three existing board members of Benson Digital. Sitting next to me were the two new board members Price Bean & Whitlock had appointed before the ink was dry.

  “That about does it,” Vincent said, snapping the top on his expensive Monte Blanc pen and tucking it inside his Brooks Brothers suit. He gathered up all copies of the agreement and stuck them neatly into a blue folder and slid it over to Pam.

  Allen Benson started to push himself up from the table, but Reed cleared his throat and held up a f
inger to stop him. “Before you go, Allen, we need to take care of some pressing business.”

  The color started to drain from Benson’s face as he lowered himself back into the chair. Poor guy. He looked like a deer in headlights. His eyes darted between Reed and myself. He asked, “What sort of pressing business?”

  Reed gestured to the two new board members who had already been sworn in. They knew what was coming. Everyone did except Allen. I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.

  “Since we have the entire board here I thought we could address a couple of things,” Reed said. “You’re chairman of the board, Allen. If you’ll be so kind as to call the meeting to order.”

  Allen Benson stared at Reed for a moment, his eyes going narrow and dark. He growled the words. “This meeting of the board of Benson Digital is hereby called to order.”

  Reed had taken one of the three board seats as Price’s representative, so he got to his feet to run the meeting. His assistant, Carla, who had been sitting quietly in one corner, got out of her chair and went around the table passing out a single sheet of paper to each board member. It was the formal tinder offer from Amalgamated Industries to purchase Benson Digital’s computer chip manufacturing operation.