by Jill Sanders
She felt the blood drain from her face as she watched the chaos unfold before her. Most men were running away from the tower, but the one she cared about had run toward the disaster.
She sat in the truck, twisting her hands together as a huge section of the tower came tumbling down. It hit the platform with a loud thud that echoed and she watched in horror as the metal and wood shattered under its weight. The booming crash shook her body, even from her position yards away.
Her heart beat erratically as her breath caught in her throat.
Finally, she watched as two figures emerged from the dust. They were moving with a frantic urgency on the platform, tossing heavy items and working to lift a heavy beam. She spotted Tyler’s silhouette immediately. Both men were completely covered in dust and grime.
Tyler yelled something to the men nearby. Several rushed forward to help as another plume of smoke and dust enveloped them. She held her breath, waiting.
It must have taken only a few minutes, but to her, it felt like hours before the men descended the stairs. Half a dozen men stood around talking at the base of the stairs, as Tyler motioned around as he gave directions.
She could hear the sirens getting closer from a distance and figured it was safe to get out of the truck when the ambulance drove right up to the stairs. Tyler talked to the EMTs, directing them up onto the platform. When they disappeared into the rubble, Tyler moved down the stairs toward her.
She tried to hold in her emotions, but she was so thankful to see that he was unhurt.
“What happened?” she asked as she stopped next to him.
Tyler glanced over at her, then he took her arm and pulled her a few feet away. “The drilling rig elevator exploded,” he said, still walking toward the truck. He didn’t stop until she was standing back where she’d been a moment earlier. “We lost a section of the drill.” His voice was strained, and he sounded off, dazed.
“Is everyone alright?” Her eyes moved back to the crowd of men.
His eyes turned back to her and she could see anger and frustration fighting with sadness. “I’m going to need to deal with things here. I’ll call Rea and have her come get you.”
“I can drive back myself,” she said, making sure she sounded confident. She didn’t want to be in the way, and she couldn’t help. “Tyler, was someone hurt?”
He sighed and took out a handkerchief from his back pocket, wiping his face as his gaze returned to the rig. “There’s a worker—Glenn—he’s trapped.”
“I’m sorry, Tyler, how can . . .” she started to ask what she could do, but he shook his head.
Tyler looked toward the truck and sighed. “Are you sure you can make it back okay?” He was still trying in vain to remove the grime from his face. Only his eyes and lips were visible through the thick layer of dust and grit.
She nodded, not letting her nerves show.
“Okay.” He leaned down to plant a kiss firmly on her lips. “Take it slow.”
He turned and walked back toward his men, who were standing around, shaking their heads.
She climbed up into the driver’s seat of the truck and turned the keys. She’d gotten used to the loud rumble of the motor and the feel of it underneath her.
She put the truck in reverse and lightly tapped on the gas, sending the truck slowly backward until she could turn the wheel and put it in drive.
It probably took her twice the time to reach the trailer as it had taken John to drive out there. She’d been so afraid of getting stuck in the mud that she’d pulled off several times and sat as she tried to think her way out of the situation. However, after several sketchy spots, she realized how useful the big tires really were.
Still, when she drove up, Rea was on the stairs and on her cell phone. Kristen could see that the woman had been crying.
“You made it okay?” she asked after tucking her phone in her pocket.
“Yes, was that Tyler?” Kristen asked.
“He was worried about you,” Rea said, taking her shoulders and walking her into the trailer.
“How’s it going? Were they able to free the man who was trapped?”
“Yes. They pulled Glenn out and he’s on his way to the hospital.” Rea broke into more tears and wiped them with a tissue she had tucked in her hand. “He’s only worked for us for a few months, but still.” She sniffled. “I can’t imagine what went wrong. We’ve always prided ourselves on our safety record. We’ve never had something like this happen before. Never.” She sniffled again and Kristen pulled her back into the warmth of the building so they could both wait for Tyler to bring more news.
This kind of situation was exactly why he didn’t want Kristen on the dig site. He looked around at the destruction and thought of what could have happened had she been standing on the platform when the rig elevator had blown. Other companies had lost men in similar accidents. He felt his entire body shake with the thought.
Glenn had been trapped under several of the pipes. The man’s leg had been broken, that much was clear. But he couldn’t tell what else might be wrong, and he worried about more bad news coming from the hospital.
As John drove him back into town, for the first time in a long time, Tyler was completely worn out. Physically and mentally. He wanted John to drop him off at his place so he could have a hot shower and fall flat on his bed and clock out, but he knew there was still a lot to do. He called the hospital but hadn’t been given any new information on Glenn. He was told that if there were any changes, they would call him.
When he walked into the trailer, Rea wasn’t at her desk. Glancing down, then wiping the dust from his watch, he realized it was lunchtime. Heading back to his office, he came to a complete halt just inside his office door.
The last thing he expected to see was Kristen, holding what looked to be a meeting in his office, with an older man in a suit that, no doubt, cost more than he cared to imagine. The duo turned and looked at him. Kristen looked tired and he could read frustration in her body language. The man, on the other hand, looked pissed but completely under control.
“Your boss isn’t in right now,” the man said dismissively, turning back to Kristen.
Since he was in such a foul mood, it shocked him that he had to hold in a chuckle. He walked over to drop into one of the chairs across from Kristen, who happened to be sitting in his at the moment.
“Mr. Burnett,” Kristen started, but one look from him and she shut her mouth quickly.
“This is a private conversation.” Charles Burnett, Kristen’s boss, leveled a steady gaze at Tyler, crossing his arms over his chest and letting his annoyance show.
The man was younger than Tyler expected, somewhere just shy of fifty. Good-looking enough that he wondered if there had ever been something between Kristen and her boss.
Still, he sat back and watched the show, since he was too tired to argue.
“Do you have business with the McGowans?” he asked.
“I’m here to talk to my employee.” Mr. Burnett nodded toward Kristen.
“Then why are you in the boss’s office?” Tyler asked.
“We were just—” Kristen started, but again, Charles cut her off.
“I don’t think your boss will mind if we used his office for a little chat. I’ve just arrived in town and need some privacy with my employee. You can wait out in the hall.” The pompous man stood and gestured to the door.
“Enough!” Kristen jumped up from his chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Charles Burnett, this is Tyler McGowan. Tyler, my boss, Charles Burnett. Now, I’m going into town to grab some lunch while you two men play your stupid games.” She slammed his chair back and walked past the two men.
He couldn’t hold in a laugh when she slammed his office door, sending several pictures to the floor. Thankfully, he’d never had the glass replaced in any of them so they hit the floor with a dull thud.
Tyler’s gaze returned to Charles Burnett and he saw recognition and frustration surface on the other man’s fa
ce. Without saying a word, Tyler rose, picked up the pictures, and took his time hanging them back where they belonged.
Then he walked behind his desk and sat down. “Now, maybe you’d be so kind as to tell me what you’re doing in my office?”
Putting up his confident veneer again, Burnett said, “Like I said, I just arrived in town and Kristen was catching me up on where we stood.”
“We stand in the same place we did before. We are not interested in selling McGowan Enterprises.”
Mr. Burnett looked him over silently. Tyler knew what he looked like. He was a mess. Besides wearing worn jeans, his thick denim jacket, and his trusty boots, he was also covered in at least half an inch of dirt, oil, grime, and blood. His hair was probably standing straight up since he’d run his hands through it multiple times since the blowout.
“I’m in town to help convince you otherwise,” Mr. Burnett said smoothly.
“And you think I was impressed with that little display? Showing me how you would treat my employees?”
The man looked like he was debating what to say. “Mr. McGowan, I apologize for my behavior. I hope we can start over. I think you can understand why I didn’t recognize you.”
“Why is JB interested in my business?” He figured asking the question face-to-face was his best bet for getting an answer.
Mr. Burnett motioned to the chair. Tyler nodded and waited until the man settled across from him.
“JB Holding acquires many different kinds of businesses. McGowan Enterprises has shown a great profit in the past few months. We’ve noticed that you’ve acquired one of your competitors since taking over the business. We’d like to take your company under our wing and continue with that growth.”
Tyler had heard the standard bullshit so many times already.
“Why don’t you give me an answer that you don’t read from a cue card? Why are you so adamant on buying us out?”
The other man leaned back slightly and Tyler realized there was nothing he could do to get a straight answer from him.
“Like I said, we believe we can take your business to the next level.”
Tyler stood, tired of the game. Kristen’s boss followed him. “Until I get a straight answer from you, my answer will continue to be a resounding no. It will be a no after too, but until I hear some truth from you, I’m not going to be wasting any more time on JB’s offers.” He walked over to his office door and opened it. “I’m sorry you came all the way to Montana for nothing. I hope you’ll take some time to enjoy its beauty while you’re here.”
That seemed to get a rise out of the man. “I’m only here for two nights. Then we’ll be heading back to Manhattan.” He moved past him. “Until then, I’ve left the latest proposal on your desk.” The man reached out his hand for Tyler’s. Tyler hesitated for a moment, then shook it and shut the door behind him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kristen stood outside in the crisp air, hoping it would cool her temper some. It didn’t. By the time Mr. Burnett walked out, she was ready to give her notice.
First, he’d shown up unannounced. Then he’d treated Tyler like he was . . . Her anger deflated when she realized Mr. Burnett had treated Tyler the same way she had when she’d met him at the airport.
How had so much changed in such a short time?
Mr. Burnett walked out and took her arm. “Come on, let’s go find someplace decent to eat lunch and talk.” She followed him for a few steps, then realized there was a new BMW sitting in the gravel parking lot.
“You rented a car?” she asked.
“I flew into Helena this morning. The first charter flight I could get here was next week.” He rolled his eyes as he opened her door for her.
When she slid into the leather seats, she looked up and saw Tyler watching them from his office window. Her heart sank a little.
If Mr. Burnett was in town, she would have to put the brakes on her trysts with Tyler.
She glanced over as he got behind the wheel and pulled out of the parking lot, spitting up gravel as he went. She doubted she’d get a moment alone with Tyler again, now that her boss was here. Would she get a chance to say good-bye to him?
She kept her eyes glued out the window to hide her feelings from Mr. Burnett. How could she have known that she’d feel so much so quickly? Her mind played over every option as he drove into the small town.
“Is there any place to eat around here?” he asked once they reached the outskirts of town.
“The Dancing Moose. It’s up here on the right.” She pointed. The place was packed when they drove up.
“This is decent?” Mr. Burnett asked.
She sighed and nodded. “Unless you want to eat and try to hold a meeting at a strip club.”
He parked the car and then turned and looked at her. “You’re joking?”
She shook her head and got out of the car, not waiting for him to help her out. She’d gone to lunch several times with her boss before. Most of them had been pleasant enough, but one thing had been made clear: they had nothing in common to talk about other than work.
There were no empty tables, and the place was abuzz with locals talking about the accident at the dig site. Mr. Burnett complained about the wait, but it wasn’t too long until a spot opened up. They waited as the waitress wiped down the table. Mr. Burnett looked even more annoyed when the woman handed him a menu. Kristen knew that the pages were sticky and there wasn’t anything really healthy to eat. It was well known around the office that Charles Burnett was a fitness fanatic.
She ordered her usual, the turkey sandwich on rye and a side salad. Mr. Burnett ordered a salad and the pea soup.
“So.” He leaned forward. “Bring me up to speed.”
She sighed. “There’s nothing really to tell. I went to one of the dig sites today—”
He waved his hand, cutting her off. “I left the new offer with Tyler McGowan.”
She shook her head. “To be honest, I’m not sure he’ll even look at it.”
His eyes narrowed. “What have you been doing up here? Besides sending me reports of the McGowans full of fluff.”
All of a sudden, her mind flashed to how she’d spent last night and she felt her face heat. She was thankful that their waitress walked by and refilled her water glass at that moment.
“There wasn’t a lot I could do. Every time I bring up the offer, they shut me down. I’ve told you, they’re not interested in selling until they know what JB plans to do with the company.” She fidgeted with her hands under the table.
He looked like he was thinking. “What about the mother? We can use her as a pressure point. You must have found out something more on this family. From what you’ve sent me, they’re . . . boring. They don’t take risks financially, have no big loans, pay their employees on time.” He sighed and leaned back as if he was trying to sift through the facts she’d passed along. “What about personal lives? There has to be something there we can . . .” His eyes moved away from hers. “Something that can give us more insight.”
“No,” she said, a bit too loud. When his eyebrows rose she shook her head. “I mean, the brothers respect their mother’s opinion, but they’re the ones in charge. As far as personal lives, I don’t know much. I thought you wanted me to . . .”
“I wanted you to dig deep. If I remember, those were my exact words.” He frowned over at her.
“What do their personal lives have to do with business?” she asked.
Mr. Burnett shook his head slowly. “What about these protesters?”
“Like I’ve said, they haven’t made much of a noise.”
“And the break-in at the hotel?” he asked, changing tacks.
“The police are investigating, but they’ve released the suspect . . .” Her voice trailed off as she realized that if Tyler was right, if Brian had ransacked her room because of her closeness to Tyler, she couldn’t let her boss know.
Once again, she was thankful that the waitress showed up with their salads. She leaned b
ack as their salads were delivered.
He waited for her to finish. She shook her head, unsure what to say.
“It was nothing. Just a break-in,” she lied.
He sighed. “Too bad we can’t convince the protesters to make a little more noise. Especially given the new incident.”
“Why would we?” She set her fork down, not liking where this conversation was going. “You’re not thinking of forcing the issue, are you?”
His eyes moved to hers. “We’ve been given the task to get the McGowans to sell at any cost,” he said quietly.
She felt a shiver run down her back. “By who?”
He leaned back. “Let me worry about the logistics. You just do your best to convince them to sell.”
“I have been doing my best.”
“Really? Because I would think that after two and a half weeks, you’d have one of the brothers eating out of your hands.” His voice was low, his expression nasty. “At least you’d have more information about their personal lives that could be of some benefit.”
She felt her skin crawl as she looked up at him. Just then, someone coughed lightly at the end of their table.
“I thought that was you,” Trent said, smiling down at her. “Who’s this?” He turned to her boss, his hand out. She wondered if the lunch could get any worse.
“Trent, this is my boss. Charles Burnett, Trent McGowan.”
The men shook hands. “You’re the man trying to buy us out?” Mr. Burnett nodded and Trent laughed as he sat in the seat next to hers. “Too bad for you. Making a trip all the way out here from the city for nothing. Of course, when you leave, if you want to leave Kristen here, we’ll be more than happy to have her for ourselves.”
She knew Trent meant it as a joke, but still, she watched Mr. Burnett’s eyebrows shoot up as if he were sprouting a new plan.
“Well, if it’ll make a difference,” Mr. Burnett said, earning another laugh from Trent.
“Nothing can make us sell.” His smile dropped slightly. Then he turned to her. “Heard you were out at the drill site when the elevator blew.”
