His blue eyes regarded her for long, uncomfortable moments. Finally, he said intensely, “I want a second chance, Kelsey.”
Her own eyes felt unnaturally bright. “I think I would like that.”
His right hand reached for her and Kelsey slipped her left hand in its warmth.
“I need to ask you a favor,” Jarred said. She gazed at him silently. “I need you to work for Bryant Industries.”
“What?” she asked faintly. He’d never wanted her to work for him! There had been a time when she’d desperately wished for it to be true, but Jarred had apparently felt very strongly that she stay out of his business.
“There’s a spy within the company,” he said now, and very succinctly he told her about all the times Trevor had succeeded in stealing projects from his company. Kelsey listened with growing dread and a terrible sense of the inevitable. It made so much sense. Trevor hadn’t scooped property from Jarred’s hands through honorable means; he had someone on the inside.
“Who is it?” Kelsey asked when Jarred stopped explaining.
“We don’t know.”
“We?”
“Will and I talked about it.” After a moment’s pause, Jarred admitted, “He’d like me to think you were behind it.”
Kelsey’s brows shot up. “Me? How? Why?”
“He thinks you loathe me.”
Kelsey flinched at the word. Until recently, she had thought just those kind of thoughts. “I don’tloathe you,” she responded.
Was it her imagination or had he relaxed a bit at her words? Was the all and powerful Jarred Bryant actually afraid she might still detest him? Even now, when she felt she was being painfully obvious about her feelings?
“Will you do it?” he asked.
“I don’t know how I can just turn around and quit working for Trevor and start working for Bryant Industries. No one will believe I’m sincere about it. They’ll think I talked you into it or worse. They’ll think you’re incapable of making those decisions, and they’ll make my life a living hell!”
“Is that a no?”
Kelsey felt the warmth of her husband’s hand, witnessed the tenseness of his expression, considered the impotence he must have felt at not being able to handle all the problems of the company on his own. “I’d love to work for Bryant. I just won’t have a friend to turn to—if you know what I mean.”
“You’ve got me,” he said simply.
And with a burst of shocking clarity, Kelsey knew it was true.
Chapter Six
“We’re putting you in my office for the moment,” Will told Kelsey as he walked with her down the silverycarpeted hallways of the upper floors of Bryant Industries. “I’ll be pinch-hitting between my office and Jarred’s. If you need anything, check with Meghan. She assists me and Sarah Ackerman. Or there’s Jarred’s personal secretary, Gwen, whom you know, although she’s not here today. Migraines,” he explained unnecessarily. Kelsey knew all about Gwen’s condition.
“Thank you,” she said.
“No problem.”
He opened the mahogany-stained cherry door to his own spacious office, where two desks resided with expanses of gray carpet to spare. Will’s desk was mahogany and placed in a commanding spot in the middle of the room. The other one—clearly a new addition—was a smaller black Techline model with a matching credenza.
Shocked as they had to be by this new arrangement, Kelsey appreciated how quickly Jarred’s employees had responded to the news that she would be working for them. And though she sensed that Will was bemused by the turn of events, he had graciously welcomed her to the offices and had obviously done everything he could to accommodate her. So far, her predictions of being a pariah hadn’t come true, although she suspected this acceptance was a mere facade covering a deep, underlying worry.
Still, it was better than being barred from entry, which in her wilder fantasies she’d believed might actually occur. There was no way anyone at Bryant would be happy about the new employee.
And later today, she was going to have to go to her office at Taggart Inc. and finalize a few things there. The daunting task of telling Trevor of her new employment lay ahead of her.
I hope I’m not making a terrible mistake, she told herself. She was giving up her job—the one aspect of her life these past few years that had helped get her through the pain of her dying marriage.
“This’ll work great,” she said. “I really appreciate it, Will. I know this has got to be strange for you. It’s strange for me, too, but I think Jarred and I have turned a corner in our relationship.”
“I just hope you have his best interests at heart,” Will said soberly, checking his watch.
“I do. I know it may take a while for you to believe that, but I’ve been given a second chance and I refuse to squander it.”
“Good, good. I’ve got to get to a meeting. Are you okay here? We can go over some of the deals in progress later, but I’m a little busy at the moment.”
She could feel his reluctance about including her. She couldn’t blame him. Jarred really must have put the squeeze on Will to get him to even mention the fact that she was to have carte blanche with the most intimate of Bryant Industries’s secrets.
“I’ve got some ends to tie up, too,” she said. “Let’s start in the morning then.”
“I’ll be in at seven. Show up whenever you’re ready.”
“Seven it is,” she said evenly, not to be intimidated.
With a nod, Will left her to her own devices, and Kelsey seized the opportunity to collapse in her new desk chair, her brain running in wild, frazzled circles. What was she doing? Why had she agreed to this? Did Jarred really trust her so much, or was this some kind of Machiavellian test?
And was she right to tell Will that she wanted a second chance? What if he were the one passing sensitive information to Trevor?
Kelsey pulled herself up sharp. Though she had quickly accepted that Trevor was taking, or even buying, information about Bryant Industries, it still bothered her that she could think so little of her soon-to-be ex-employer. With a deep search of her own soul, she realized she had never fully trusted Trevor, whose self-involved ways revealed so much more than she’d ever credited. She’d been so wrapped up in her own marital woes that she’d just thanked the heavens for her job and career. She hadn’t cared to look at Trevor’s faults, though now, armed with this new information from Jarred, she saw they were extremely glaring.
Shaking herself, she jumped to her feet. No time like the present to go to her office, put things in some semblance of order, then tell Trevor of her intentions. If he wanted her to stay on longer she was more than willing to, but in her heart of hearts she knew that as soon as he heard she was moving to Bryant Industries, he would show her the door and dust his hands after she left.
A moment later there was a knock on her door.
“Come in,” she called.
A young woman peeked her head around the doorjamb. “Hi, I’m Meghan. Did Will tell you about me? Anything you need, just ask.”
“Thanks, Meghan. I’m okay for the moment.”
“It’s nice to have you on board, Mrs. Bryant.”
“It’s nice to be here,” Kelsey responded with an inward smile at the girl’s rather obvious attempts to work office politics. “And it’s Kelsey. Please. I don’t respond well to Mrs. Bryant.”
“It’s nice to have you on board, Kelsey,” Meghan said with a spreading grin. “I’m right down the hall when you need me.”
“I’m sure I’ll be looking for you soon.”
As the door closed behind Meghan, Kelsey thought, Maybe there are a few good souls here.
With that encouraging idea clearly in mind, she slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder and headed for the unavoidable clash with Trevor Taggart.
“God almighty,” Jarred muttered through gritted teeth as he collapsed on the bed. He’d walked. He’d walked.But it had damn near done him in.
Of course they would throw a
hissy fit if they knew he was wandering around his room without a “spotter” in attendance. He didn’t truly blame them, since he was as unsteady as a newborn lamb. But he could walk. If he moved really, really slowly, and if he dragged the leg that was still mending, his nerves screaming with every step.
Well, so what? He didn’t have tons of time, and he recalled how often he’d been marveled over by friends, family, and physicians because he had bounced back quickly from some injury.
Still, it was an utter bitch to recover. An utter, utter bitch.
“That’s a mighty frown you’ve got on your face, son,” a familiar voice said.
From his ungainly position on the bed, Jarred snapped a look at the newcomer. His father came toward him, looking for all the world as if he’d aged a century since Jarred’s accident.
Struggling upward against the pillows, Jarred said in true alarm, “Dad!”
“Are you okay? You look a little pale,” Jonathan responded with a frown, ignoring Jarred’s concern.
“I’m fine.” He hesitated, examining his father’s silverwhite hair, realizing how little he’d noticed it had changed until this moment Was it his imagination or his dicey memory? Or had his father changed from a dynamic man to a near invalid overnight? “Where’s Nola—umm… Mother?” he said.
“Actually, she’s at the offices. I decided to come see you rather than have a face-off over there.”
“Face-off? Because of Kelsey?” Jarred asked.
Jonathan rubbed a hand over his face. “Why did you install her over there? You know”—he struggled for the right words—”she won’t be accepted by the staff.”
“I don’t really care.” Jarred moved his shoulder and grimaced. God, he wished he could hurry up this healing process. “I’m not going to be there for a while, obviously, and I want her to help me.”
“But, Jarred, she’s not the person to ask.” Jonathan sighed and looked around vaguely. “You’ve got Will. And Sarah. You can rely on them. You always have.”
“Whom do you rely on?” he asked, the question popping from some deep well of subconsciousness. It was unfair. Totally unfair. His father’s reign at Bryant Industries’ helm had nearly cost the family the entire company.
But I want to know. And they think I have amnesia. I can ask this.
Jonathan blinked. “Your grandfather had everything in place. It was as complicated in those days as it is now.”
“That sounds like a rehearsed line,” Jarred said carefully.
Glancing around for a chair, Jonathan half fell in the one currently pressed against the wall parallel to Jarred’s bed. Jarred instantly tried to stand to help his father, but he was yanked up short by a stab of pain.
“Don’t do that,” Jonathan declared, lifting a palm that trembled ever so slightly. “Don’t overtax yourself.”
“I’m just worried about you.”
“Do you even remember me?” Jonathan asked with uncharacteristic bitterness.
“Yes.” Jarred eyed him with concern. “What do you mean? I know who I am and I know Will and Sarah and Nola and you and Gwen.” He stopped when a shudder swept his father’s shrinking frame. “And Mary,” he added. “And Kelsey.”
“You’ve been told about us all.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “But hearing it resonated within me. I knew it as truth. My memory will come back,” he said, feeling like a traitor himself. The lie tasted like ashes on his tongue.
“Yes, yes. Good. I want you back, son,” Jonathan declared in a voice grown husky with emotion.
A long moment passed between them. Jarred could sense his father had something on his mind, but it appeared he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “What is Nola doing at the company? I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I have a feeling she won’t help Kelsey’s transition.”
“She called Kelsey to welcome her back in the family,” Jonathan revealed. “She’s trying, Jarred, She wants what’s best for you. That’s all she ever wanted.”
“She wants what she thinks is best for me,” Jarred contradicted. “It’s not the same thing.”
His father’s silver brows shot up and he looked, for a moment, like the man Jarred suddenly recalled from his past: amused, gentle, a bit of a dilettante, but a man whom people responded to and enjoyed. A ladies’ man. One whose roving eye landed on Will’s mother and whose affair with the same woman nearly cost him his marriage.
Except Nola Bryant was as strong a force as any category four hurricane. Nothing could divert her from a path once she’d chosen it, and after she’d cast her eye on Jonathan Bryant, the outcome was predictable. And she also wanted Bryant Industries for her son, which meant keeping her husband on as tight a leash as she could handle while the reins of the company passed. Since then she’d held on to him for appearances’ sake, and because Jonathan Bryant’s philandering ways had diminished with age.
“I’m glad you’re pulling through this,” Jonathan stated now in a voice that sounded alternately frail and emotional. “These past few weeks, I’ve suffered through the worst moments of my life, and I’ve spent time on my knees praying to God that my own mistakes hadn’t caused me to lose my son, and then thanking Him for your life. I don’t deserve His forgiveness for what I’ve done, but I’ll take this and save it close to my heart. Thank You, Lord.” He raised his eyes skyward, his fists clenched together in a zealot’s prayer of gratitude. “Thank You. “
Jarred felt a quiver of real fear. His father had never been fervent, had never shown the merest trace of religious belief, had never mentioned God in Jarred’s hearing. It had been Nola who had taken her son to church when he was young, though that was more for appearances’ sake than for any grand devotion. Still, Jonathan Bryant had never, ever, ever mentioned the Lord in anything but a passing allusion.
“Dad…?”
Jonathan had closed his eyes, his body swaying a bit until Jarred suffered real concern that he would fall out of the chair. But then he came to himself, smiling a bit at his son’s alarm. “Don’t worry about me. I’m making my peace with God. He gave me an extra chance.” With that, he climbed to his feet and shuffled over to give Jarred a kiss on his forehead.
In the wake of his father’s departure, Jarred realized that every muscle he possessed was tense and stiff. This was not his father. This was not the man he’d known his entire life. Somewhere in their conversation he’d switched from being concerned about Kelsey working at the company to reveling in the joy of God’s ultimate forgiveness.
Forgiveness for what?
He was still pondering that when Sarah Ackerman strode into his room. Her expression softened a bit upon seeing him awake. “There you are,” she said. “You look much better. Really. It’s incredible.”
“I feel… stronger.”
“Good,” she said with feeling. “I was worried. We were all worried. Things have been in an uproar. We’ve lost deals because your signature wasn’t available, and we’ve been putting off other documents, waiting for you. You could appoint Will as your proxy, just until you’re back at work. We need to keep going. Deals are churning and churning, but they’ll never get finished without some direction in the company.” Hearing herself, she added diffidently, “I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but there’ve been some concerns, of course, especially today, since we have a new member on our staff.”
“Kelsey isn’t going to sell us out,” Jarred said evenly.
“I wish I had your confidence. She was only at the office a matter of minutes before she left for Taggart Inc. I wonder what she’s telling him now.”
“She’s turning in her resignation,” Jarred said wearily. “She’s got to meet him face-to-face.”
“I’m sure.” Sarah’s sarcasm didn’t register on her face, which could have been cut from stone. Not a lighthearted being. This woman was really not a hell of a lot of fun. Jarred couldn’t imagine why people felt he’d ever been interested in her, unless…
Unless you le
t them think the worst because it suited your purposes.
“I’m counting on you to help her make this transition,” Jarred told Sarah. “It’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry, Jarred. I disagree. I think you’ve made your first emotional decision, and you’re the one who’s always said you can’t run a business on emotion.”
“I said that?” To her nod, he added, “There might be some truth in that, but I don’t know if anything’s that black and white.”
She stared at him as if he’d grown antlers. “I see. Well… are you going to give Will the power to sign for you?”
With a feeling of near childish delight, Jarred said, “Actually, I’m thinking of turning that task over to Kelsey.”
Felix meowed plaintively from his carrier as Kelsey tucked his small cage under her arm, then closed and locked the door to her condominium. “Don’t think I don’t know how you feel,” she said to the anxious feline. “It’s been one hell of a day, and it isn’t over yet.”
She drove straight from the city, her eyes glued to the road, her thoughts as fretful and anxious as Felix’s. Her meeting with Trevor had not gone well, and that was the understatement of the year. She’d met him at his office with all Taggart Design’s pending invoices, her appointment calendar, and her book containing the phone numbers and addresses of all the people her division dealt with. Everything else was in files in her office, but knowing Trevor, he could leave everything for months before it occured to him that he might actually have to do something about it.
“What’s this?” he demanded, when she appeared lugging a heavy briefcase—damn near a suitcase—of her most pressing work.
“I’m quitting,” she said gently. “If you want me to, I’ll come in afternoons to finish works in progress, but I have a feeling you won’t want that.”
Not Without You Page 10
