Five

That man looks at you like you’re a big old buffet and he’s been on a diet for years,” Lily said as she walked into Ellie’s office one week later. “We need to close the shades or he won’t get anything done.”

Ellie looked up and sent her assistant a stern glare since she wasn’t alone. Kyle Castalano walked in beside her.

Still, she caught a glimpse of Riley. His eyes locked with hers for a moment before she forced them away.

Steven’s son was a handsome man who always dressed impeccably. If he paid as much attention to his work as he did his clothes, Ellie would have competition for the CEO slot. As it was, Kyle seemed happy to be a vice president and likely spent his afternoons chasing his admin around the desk.

Still, he was Steven’s son, so she put up with him. She had to wonder if he was sniffing around Lily. He’d been hanging around her desk a lot lately.

“Who are you talking about?” Kyle had a large stack of papers in his hands as he glanced back through the window that let her see out into the main office and right through to Riley’s. “Not the lawyer? You really think he’s stupid enough to think sex will work on Ellie? I don’t think Ellie’s had sex in years.”

Yeah, he was obnoxious. “What do you need, Kyle?”

It had been a rough couple of days. She’d fielded calls from her sister. Shari either cried that she was being treated unfairly or screamed that Ellie was a tightwad who wanted her to fail.

Steven hadn’t been in the office. He’d checked out weeks before, as though his retirement had already started. Unfortunately, he was still the CEO of the company and she had to have his approval before moving on certain issues.

She still hadn’t heard whether Riley had sent back the buyout contract. The lawyer stuff moved far too slow for her.

Not to mention the fact that she got horribly distracted because Riley had moved into the office across from hers. It had been the office she had used before taking over her father’s. When her door was open, she could see him moving around. He was on the phone a lot and the man liked to pace, his lean body moving with the grace of a natural predator. Late in the afternoon, he would slip his tie off and roll up his shirtsleeves and she would catch a glimpse of his sun-kissed skin and the muscles underneath.

“We’ve got a problem in accounting.” Kyle placed a thick file on her desk.

“What’s the issue?” There had to be a thousand pages sitting there. Did he expect her to go through all of them?

His pretty-boy face screwed up into an expression of ambivalence. “I don’t know. They said something about money being earmarked for something and used for something else.”

So she would have to handle that, too. Nice. She put a hand on the stack. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Of course you will,” Kyle shot back. He winked Lily’s way. “I’ll see you later, hot stuff.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Not if I see you first and hide.”

“Oh, and Ellie, tell your attack dog to stay out of my business.” Kyle gestured toward Riley’s office.

So Riley was already hard at work. She’d heard he was asking for reports from department heads. “If he’s in your business, he’s got a good reason. He’s trying to make sure everything is in order for the buyout and the board meeting. Please try to get along with him.”

Kyle leaned against the doorjamb. “I’ll do whatever he needs to ensure the buyout goes through. He doesn’t have to work around me. I want to help you and Daddy Dearest out.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t give Riley too much trouble.”

Kyle put a conciliatory hand up. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll send him a copy of that accounting report, too. I’m sorry I’m being a dick. The head of finance talks over my head. I don’t understand half of what he’s saying, and I took college-level accounting.” He glanced back before continuing. “Hey, as long as I’m here, is there something going on with you and the new guy that I should know about?”

“No, why?”

He shrugged. “People are talking.”

“What people?” Ellie asked.

“Hey, you brought in a male-model lawyer. People are going to talk. You’ve spent more time with him than you have any other male employee.”

She felt herself flush but tried to keep her expression perfectly bland. “He’s very important right now. He’s here to ensure that the buyout and board vote go smoothly, so I’ll be spending even more time with him. The gossips need to find something better to do.”

“I wouldn’t expect that to happen anytime soon.” Kyle’s eyes softened. “You know I think of you as a sister. I don’t want you to get hurt. A guy like that is never going to hang around. If he’s sniffing around you, he’s likely got ulterior motives.”

Yes, Kyle could be a mean sibling. Ever since they’d met as teenagers, he’d always had a nasty edge. “I’ll be sure to keep my relationship with him professional. You don’t need to worry about me. Like you said before, I can’t be controlled with sex. Everyone knows that.”

“Hey, you’re the boss. There’s a reason you’re the boss. You’re practically perfect, Ellie. Everyone knows that. Lord knows my father’s always told me if I want to get anywhere in life, I should be more like you.”

Kyle and his father had a tentative relationship. Steven hadn’t even known Kyle existed before Kyle was fifteen and his mother showed up demanding support. A paternity test and several court dates later, Steven had found himself paying for private high school and college. He’d given Kyle a job at StratCast and they’d found a decent working relationship.

She was going to have to deal with him after Steven was gone.

There was an explosion waiting and the anticipation was killing her.

Stress was starting to eat her alive. They’d been thrown a curveball with the coolant project. Not anything that her guys wouldn’t be able to handle, but it was coming at a bad time. Now this accounting issue, and apparently there was a bunch of gossip.

Little things were falling apart, things that individually wouldn’t be an issue but together could cause serious problems. She needed StratCast to look solid.

The vote was coming up. She needed to get the buyout finished before then.

“I certainly don’t think we need another me,” she finally said, unsure of how exactly to deal with him. “I’m sorry your father said that. I’m sure his intention wasn’t to pit us against one another.”

“You’re right. He simply admires you. I think he thinks of you like a daughter. And I’m sorry to shove the accounting thing your way,” Kyle said with a grimace. “I’m awful with numbers and Sharon’s on maternity leave for another three weeks. I do have good news, though.”

“She could use some,” Lily quipped, sitting on the edge of Ellie’s desk.

“Not helping,” Ellie grumbled under her breath.

Kyle ignored their byplay. “We’ve got a reporter who wants to do an article on you as an up-and-coming female executive. Something about breaking the glass ceiling in tech.”

Ellie groaned. “I’m not CEO yet. That’s a tad premature.”

“Still, I think good press is good news. I’ll leave the number on Lily’s desk and she can set up an appointment,” Kyle said.

She nodded Kyle’s way. He might be obnoxious, but he was quite organized and his direct reports enjoyed working with him. Kyle turned and walked away.

“Now can we talk about the stud across the hall?” Lily asked. “Because if you don’t want him, can I have him?”

“He’s not a piece of meat, Lily,” Ellie protested. Just the sexiest man she’d ever met. That was all.

The sharks were circling. She’d seen them all streaming into his office in their designer suits and sky-high heels. Every woman in the damn building seemed to have found her way to the new guy’s office. They’d come bearing coffee or cookies or really big boobs.

He’d taken the coffee, shared the cookies, and thus far turned away all breasts from what she could tell.

It was only a matter of time. StratCast didn’t have any dating policies. Riley was free to sample any of the women who offered themselves up.

“Don’t you think it’s a little unprofessional?” Ellie heard herself ask. She shook her head because she was staring at him again. He was very animated when he talked on the phone. He would pace, his hand gesturing. When he put the person on speakerphone, he would often pull out the putter he kept behind the door and practice golf shots. He hadn’t brought much to his office. No pictures of family or friends. Just some books and his putter and a few golf balls.

“They’re already gossiping,” Lily replied with a shake of her dark hair. “They’ll continue to do it whether or not you actually do the deed. You might as well do the crime if you’re going to serve the time. That’s what I think.”

“They really think I’m sleeping with him?” She’d tried so hard to be professional around him.

“The women all know they would be. And the guys are jealous because you never looked at any of them. Don’t roll your eyes at me. You don’t see it. You’re the boss lady. A lot of men find that attractive. They want to see if they can tame you. So yes, they’re going to keep talking unless you want to fire Superhottie and bring in someone older and way less hunky. You need to live a little,” Lily encouraged. “I’m going to hold your calls while you deal with the accounting nightmare. But you should think about sleeping with him. Someone’s going to do it.”

It shouldn’t be her. She would have to deal with the fact that she would watch some other woman climb into Riley Lang’s bed once he got the message that Ellie couldn’t do it. He would get bored and move on and then he wouldn’t show up at her office door forcing her to eat lunch or take her out to dinner.

She’d eaten at least one meal a day with him for the last week. She’d called it business and they’d discussed their share, but inevitably they’d also talked about more personal things. She knew he liked to read thrillers, though he stayed away from anything legal because he couldn’t stand inaccuracies. He loved Indian food and his preferred cocktail was a rum and Coke. He had two brothers and a sister, though he was closest with his oldest brother.

She liked him. It made it so much harder to turn him away.

“Is Kyle hitting on you?” It was easier to ask about Lily’s sex life than think about her own deprivation.

Lily shrugged. “He hits on anything in a skirt.”

“He’s a playboy.”

A frown tugged Lily’s lips down. “I didn’t know you were that close to him. I knew you didn’t think much of him, but isn’t that a bit harsh?”

She’d never heard that tone from Lily before. Was her supercompetent, always-precise admin falling for someone like Kyle Castalano? “He dates a lot. I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

Lily seemed to shake it off. “Of course not. You wouldn’t do that. I know he’s a player, and no, I’m not into him. We’re friends. I find him amusing, but he’s not getting into my silky undies. I have better things to do with my time. The question is, what’s his place here after his father’s gone?”

That was a good point. “No idea. He’s smart and organized, but I don’t know that I would consider him true VP material. He’s often late and he dumps things he doesn’t understand on other people rather than figuring it out for himself. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I might let Riley deal with him.”

After all, the man claimed he was here to take care of the dirty stuff for her.

Kyle could shape up or ship out. She would give him plenty of time to do it, but she couldn’t have an overprivileged playboy on her management staff. Not when there were so many good people who could do the job right.

She had to keep an eye on Kyle and make decisions she could live with.

Lily hopped down and moved to the door. “I’d love to watch that meeting. Are you going to be here or in R&D?”

She stood up. She needed to go down and figure out what the hell was going on. “R&D. I’ll be down there a while.”

“I’ll be here,” Lily said. “Watching the lion in his den.”

Lily sat down at her desk and sure enough, she turned to watch Riley as he paced.

If Ellie stayed here, that was what she would do, too. Damn it. She would spend the entire afternoon drooling over the man and not dealing with the issues at hand.

She stood but before she could get to the door, it was opening and a familiar face was coming her way.

So apparently the contract had gone back out. She’d avoided Riley this morning, needing some space. It looked like he’d gotten the job done and now she had to deal with it.

“Ellie, I need to talk to you.” Steven was dressed in slacks and a golf shirt, a light jacket covering most of both. “It’s serious.”

She’d hoped to put this off for as long as she could but decided there was no time like the present. Rip the bandage off. “I’d like to talk to you as well. Won’t you come in?”

He closed the door behind him. “I was really surprised when I received the contract back with the notes from your lawyer. Do we not talk anymore?”

She’d felt bad about not calling him personally, but Riley had been firm about it. “Of course we can talk, but I think we should separate our business from the personal. I’m trying to do this right.”

His face was grave as he stared at her, every line on his face showing. “I didn’t put that clause in the contract, Ellie.”

She’d wondered how he would handle it. “So you didn’t read it before you sent it my way?”

She moved back to her desk, sitting behind it and putting some distance between them.

He pulled the baseball cap off his head and sank down into the seat in front of her. “Do you read every contract that goes out the door? Or do you listen to your lawyers? That’s what we pay them to do. Do you honestly believe I would do that to you?”

Somehow he made her feel like a teenager again. Guilt swamped her. Steven had been good to her. Sometimes he’d been better than her own father. “I don’t know what to think.”

He looked at her, dark circles under his eyes. “Someone is trying to sabotage this buyout, Ellie.”

“Who would do that?” The buyout was good for everyone. Steven was retiring. If he sold his stock on the open market, it would weaken the board. It was precisely the reason her father and Steven had put the clause in their partnership in the first place. If the buyout didn’t go through, they would be in a holding pattern. As long as she had the money to purchase his shares of the company, he had to sell them to her.

“I don’t know.” His voice was gravelly, as though he needed a drink. “I talked to legal and they say that’s not the contract they sent out, but when I asked them to e-mail me the correct one, it had been replaced on the system.”

“Ben delivered it right into my hands, Steven.”

He shook his head. “What do I do with the cooling system, Ellie? I don’t have the resources to continue the development. Right now it’s nothing but a good idea. It’s meaningless to a man like me.”

But it was a good idea that he could potentially sell. She hated the fact that she was even questioning the man, but she couldn’t help but wonder. All of Riley’s “business is war” talk had made her paranoid.

Riley wasn’t the only one who had believed business was war. Her father had been damn good at it. Sometimes he overreached, but he’d always been looking to prove how smart he was. Could his partner really be so different? Her father wouldn’t have hesitated to rip off his partner if he thought he could get away with it.

She’d learned at a young age that because someone was family didn’t mean they wouldn’t put themselves first.

“The good news is we found the error. Now we can move forward.” She tried to put the best possible spin on it.

“I need this buyout to go through.” He clutched the sides of the chair, his knuckles white.

“All right. I’ve got Riley working on it right now.” She didn’t understand the tension in Steven. “Once your lawyers approve the new contract, I’ll look over it myself and send it through.”

“That could take weeks and I need the cash, Ellie.”

“Why would you need the cash?”

“I owe some people.” His eyes slid away from hers. “That’s all. Look, it’s best for both of us if we get this thing done. I personally think your new lawyer might have something to do with this. That contract was changed. I looked through the one given to me at the beginning of all of this, and it didn’t have the clause in it.”

“Why would anyone want you to walk away with the coolant project? What would they get out of it?” Money, obviously, but Steven was right. The real money would be in developing the idea.

“I don’t know. I’m being set up here. I think we both are. I think someone has been in my house, Ellie.”

“Who would do that to you?” She kept the question calm, but was starting to wonder if there wasn’t something seriously wrong with Steven’s mind.

His jaw tightened, expression blanking from his face. “I don’t know. I have enemies. Since your father died, well, let’s just say a man starts to think about his mortality, and once he’s done that, all he can think about are his sins. Your father wasn’t a good man.”

She knew that quite well. “No. He wasn’t.”

“I wasn’t always a good man, either. I made decisions I wish I could take back. I can’t and I won’t allow a stupid mistake to hold me back now. I need the money. Two million as quickly as I can possibly get it.”

“Are you asking me for a loan?” Her money was all reserved for the sale.

He stared at her, his eyes colder than she’d ever seen them before. “I’m asking you to give me what I deserve. I hate to do this, but if you don’t give me the two million, I’ll have to back someone else with the board.”

Her stomach dropped. He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was saying. “Are you trying to blackmail me?”

“I’ve got a service to provide. If you don’t want it, I’ll find someone who does. I know all about Shari selling her stock. Between the loss of her stock and what you had to give to that dipshit male model you hired, you likely can’t outvote the rest of the shareholders. If I start talking, they’ll find someone else to back for CEO. You’ll still have a seat on the board, but until you control my shares, you won’t have the job. Sure, you might be able to force your way in next year, but do you really want to wait? Do you want to watch as someone else takes the reins?”

The CEO contract had a minimum of a year attached to it. If the board chose to, they could sign a new leader for as much as five years. She could be locked out for half a decade.

“I don’t have liquid cash, Steven. You know that. You’re going to have to wait for the buyout.”

“We’ll have to look at it as a prepayment,” he offered, his mouth a flat line.

She took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to my lawyer about working up some paperwork.”

“No.” He leaned forward. “No fucking lawyers. They mess everything up. Get me a check. I need it in a week.”

There was a knock on the door and Riley strode in. “I saw there was a meeting going on. I don’t think it’s good for the two of you to talk right now without counsel present. I know this is friendly, but let’s keep up appearances.”

It had just gotten so unfriendly. She was still reeling.

Steven stood up, his eyes softening. “I’m sorry, Ellie. If I had other options, I would take them. I’m in a corner.”

She could feel Riley’s eyes on her but couldn’t make herself look at him. Steven’s demand felt like a betrayal. Not felt. It was. She needed to stop sugarcoating things. He was blackmailing her. No question about it.

Her cash for his backing and all she had was his word. If he went back on it, there would be no calling the authorities. If anyone ever knew she’d been forced to “buy” her partner’s backing, she would be mocked, likely ousted.

She wanted this why?

“Is there something I should know?” Riley asked, looking between the two of them.

She needed time to think. Her initial response was to sit down and cry, because she’d never expected that from him.

Her second, to tell Steven to shove his backing up his ass.

She managed a smile she hoped wasn’t too tight. “Not at all. Steven was telling me about his retirement party plans.”

Her business partner nodded. “Yes. It’s one week away. That would be a very good time to get together again, wouldn’t it? I expect a nice gift from you, Ellie. Your mother raised you right. You wouldn’t let an old guy leave without a token of affection, huh?”

To the tune of two million dollars. “I’ll have to see if I can come up with something.”

“I know you will.” Steven nodded her way before turning around and striding out.

The door closed behind him.

“What was that about?” Riley asked.

She couldn’t talk to him about it. She would end up crying and looking like some spineless creature. She straightened up and stood.

“We were simply talking. Nothing to worry about.”

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. “You’re lying to me.”

“And you’re forgetting who the boss is here.” She walked past him. “I need that contract finished. Do what you need to do.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His tone had gone positively arctic.

There was nothing she could do about that. Maybe it was for the best. She turned and made her way down to R&D without looking back at the man who she’d briefly dreamed about.

It was past time to wake up and smell the gunpowder. Her friendly buyout had become a battle.

—

Riley stared as she strode away.

What the fuck had happened?

He’d been on the phone with human resources because he utterly disagreed with how a suit was being handled. The head of legal at StratCast was a jackass who thought they were still in the last century. He was going to get the company blasted by women’s organizations everywhere. The minute the buyout went through, his ass was so fired. Riley would fire the entire team and bring in his own people.

Of course he had zero intentions of allowing the buyout to go through, and when Ellie figured out what was happening, he would be the one on his way out the door.

She would be left to deal with the ramifications.

Or would she?

“Did you need something?” Ellie’s admin was standing in the doorway, her pretty face in a frown. “I can help you if you do.”

It was a clear call for him to vacate the premises.

“No, I was coming over to see if anyone needed me.” He gave her his best I’m-perfectly-harmless smile. “I’ll be across the hall if Ellie needs anything.”

“I’ll let you know.” Her smile was completely bland, and she held the door for him as he moved out of the office.

He noticed she didn’t leave the office but closed the door behind him. As he looked back, he watched as she drew the blinds.

What was she up to?

There was a good way to find out. He strode into his office and sank into his chair, watching those closed blinds as he picked up his private cell. It rang in his hands before he could dial a number.

“Bran, what’s going on? Something happened between Ellie and Castalano.”

“Oh, you should be so glad I was listening in. He’s an asshole.” Bran sounded delighted.

His brother did have a habit of stating the obvious. “I realize that. Did you hear the conversation, then?”

“Yes. I’ve taken to keeping it on in the background. Did you know she talks to herself? And sometimes she sings. Mostly pop songs, but she’ll throw in a rock ballad every now and then.”

“Bran?” Sometimes it was hard to keep Bran on task.

“Sorry,” Bran replied. “I like her. She’s cool. She’s not like a lot of bosses. She actually seems to give a shit.”

“Good. I’m glad you like her. Now tell me what Castalano said to her.”

There was a short pause on the line, and then Bran’s voice had gone hard. “He’s blackmailing her. He said he would go to the board and back someone else as CEO if she didn’t give him two million dollars.”

“That son of a bitch.” He should have stopped that asshole and dealt with him then and there.

“Yeah. I think he’s feeling the heat. Drew calling in that loan he made him is putting the right amount of pressure on the old bastard. Can we use that tape? Go to the police with it?” Bran asked.

Unfortunately there were so many issues with any kind of tape they could play for the police. “No can do. New York’s wire-tapping rules are clear. Unless Ellie would be willing to lie and state that she knew we were listening in, we can’t use it. Then there’s the issue of what he really said. Unless he threatened to hurt her.”

Bran sighed. “Not physically. He was actually really careful about it. Damn it. We didn’t expect him to go to Ellie. What happens if Ellie pays him off?”

“She won’t.” He couldn’t allow that to happen. The situation was delicate and if one card fell the wrong way, they wouldn’t get what they needed. Castalano had to be without resources. He had to be vulnerable, and paying off his debt would give him a little strength.

“I heard something else,” Bran said. “He said something about his health. According to the investigator’s report, he’s been regularly going to a building that houses several doctors’ offices. We didn’t want to get too close, but maybe we should figure out what’s going on with him. We were right to not get too close. He’s already paranoid. He thinks you’re against him.”

Which proved the man had good survival instincts. “Tell the investigator to follow him more closely. It doesn’t matter at this point. If he’s already afraid, give him something to be afraid of. Put some pressure on him and see what happens.”

“And if Ellie writes him that check?”

His stomach knotted at the idea. “I’ve got something else in play. It’s a short-term solution to the problem.”

One he hoped he didn’t have to put into play because it had the potential to decimate Ellie and her position.

“All right. I’ll let Drew know.”

“How are we doing with the stock situation?” Riley asked.

“We’re almost where we need to be. I’ve identified a few minor stockholders who might be willing to part with their shares for the right price. Don’t worry about that end. Keep an eye on Ellie Stratton. Make sure she doesn’t write that check. I’m not sure what Drew would do if that happened.”

Drew might implode. And then StratCast would as well. The way they had it set up, Ellie would still come out of this with either the company or a ton of cash. If Drew really got nasty, she could be left with nothing.

He didn’t want that for her. He needed to get her to talk to him, to trust him.

“I’ll handle it.” Which meant handling her. He glanced across the hall. “Do you hear anything now?”

He wished they could have gotten a video feed.

After a few seconds of quiet, Bran came back on the line. “Nothing. If she’s doing something in there, she’s being quiet about it.”

The door opened and Lily walked back out. She closed the door behind her and strode to her desk. Her eyes found his, and she stared for a moment.

He looked away. “Get me a report on the admin. Something’s up.”

Case’s words came back to him. He’d talked about “complexity.” At the time, his brother-in-law had been discussing how Ellie would be more complex than he gave her credit for. That had certainly proven true.

What if the whole situation was more complex than they’d accounted for?

“I will do that. I’ve got her name. And Riley, I’m sorry about last night.” Bran’s voice had gone quiet.

“About the fight? You’ve got to be more careful,” he said.

“I know. I’ll get someone on Castalano and the admin. See you tonight?”

Unfortunately, the answer to that was likely yes. “See you then.”

His pursuit of the lovely Ellie Stratton had reached a damn brick wall, and it didn’t look like he would be hopping over it any time soon.

She’d dismissed him like an employee she couldn’t be bothered with earlier. She’d given him an icy denial and then walked out like a queen. No looking back, as though she couldn’t stand to be bothered by him.

Yeah, he bought that.

He’d thought about following her. She considered Castalano a father figure and the fucker had broken her heart.

She was being stubborn and likely thought that regal act would wound his ego.

His ego was a pretty hearty thing. He was far more concerned with how she was feeling than the damage she’d done to his pride.

She would likely think he would be a dick now. Like most of the men around her. They were an older crowd. Some were genuine and kind, but a few didn’t like the idea of a young woman taking over “their” company, and he’d seen her deal with it.

If she followed her schedule, she had a late meeting and then she’d likely come back to her office and eat some piece-of-crap take-out meal. Alone.

So maybe it was time to show the queen that her knight could take care of her.

He looked out and Lily was on her laptop. She didn’t stay after with the boss, and that was something he would use to his advantage tonight.

He got on the phone and started making plans. Sometimes a good soldier didn’t go over a wall. Sometimes he blasted right through.

It was time to up his game.