Jill wished she could have had as much time to sleep in and visit as she’d planned before leaving Nate and Charlotte’s house. After a restless night and getting up early to shower and pack, there was no denying she was bone-deep tired. Dressed in a gray pencil skirt, cream silk blouse, and a yellow, short-sleeved cardigan, she went down to the kitchen for the sumptuous brunch Charlotte had promised.
Leaving her suitcase and purse against the far wall, Jill sat down across from Charlotte and gaped at the Quiche Lorraine, freshly squeezed orange juice, and chocolate croissants spread before her. “You never fed me this well before you got married.”
Charlotte grinned and poured Jill a cup of coffee. “I didn’t have a chef to do all the work. How was your meeting?”
“Successful, but it made me sad to say goodbye to Señor Patena. He and his wife were so good to me while I was in Argentina.”
“We have to say goodbye today too.”
“You know I’ll be back. Especially if you feed me like this.”
“Yeah, but I’m mad at Nate for taking you away from me so soon.”
Jill grinned at her. “You should totally keep him in the doghouse for a few days.”
As they laughed, Nate walked into the kitchen with a briefcase in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Taylor, Charlotte’s six-year-old son had a small bouquet of his own. When Nate took the flowers over to Charlotte and dropped a kiss on her head, Jill knew there was no way he was staying in the doghouse for very long. She smiled at her friend’s happiness, but her heart twisted in pain. She’d likely never know how it felt to be loved like that.
But then Taylor waved his flowers in front of Jill’s face to get her attention. “These are for you.”
The ache in her chest eased as if the sun had risen in her soul. She looked at Taylor’s innocent young face framed by rumpled bed-head and melted. “These are for me? Here, give me a hug.” She pulled him close and squeezed him till he started squirming, then gave him a noogie for good measure.
“When will you be back?” Taylor asked.
Jill grinned. “You’ll have to beg your step-dad every day to fly me back for a visit till he gives in, okay?”
“Okay,” Taylor said. He sat down at the table and grabbed a chocolate croissant.
“Are you ready, Jill?” Nate asked.
She got up, steeling herself to go back into business mode. “Ready. My bags are by the door.” Stupid suitcase—it was a metaphor for her life.
“Great. Let’s get going. We’ve got work to do on the flight over.”
“Will you be back tonight?” Charlotte asked Nate.
He nodded. “Even if it’s late, I’ll make it back.”
Jill hugged Charlotte, waved at Taylor, and followed Nate outside. His driver opened the door to his limo and they slipped inside.
Nate talked about the job ahead as they drove, and Jill kept focused on the task of learning as much she could about the businesses she’d be working with, filing away the info. She’d spent years training her memory so that she could keep every detail ready, just a thought away. But this morning, a small part of her mind was distant, taking in the country scenery passing by the windows. She felt in her gut that this job was going to be a big step in her life, and she was nervous about it. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she felt it in the unsettled, almost nauseous feeling in her stomach and the tension in her shoulders.
Maybe it was because this might finally give her a chance to prove she was more than just the daughter of the head of the firm. Her co-workers thought she had an advantage, she knew, but they didn’t understand the steeper curve she was up against to prove she deserved her position on her own merit. But this job was big. If she could pull this off, surely it would earn her the respect she deserved. Maybe even from her dad.
Nate’s expression changed as he settled into business. After they discussed what Nate wanted her to do, he said, “When you are reviewing Elysian and Gourmand’s, do what you can to make them profitable. They were both struggling when I bought them, but I hadn’t figured out exactly why before I sold them to McDaniel. Do what you can to keep them from being mangled in the corporate machine.”
Jill glanced down at her tablet, looking over the list of businesses Blake owned. “I never like to see any business closed down, but sometimes it’s the only option. I just hope Mr. McDaniel considers his employees as much as his bottom line.”
Nate nodded. “He’s a good man. I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else, despite the scandal about his mother.”
“What happened?”
“She was convicted of insider trading and a whole slew of other unethical business practices. She was their CEO so it nearly destroyed their image. Their stocks plummeted and the whole company fell into chaos. McDaniel stepped up after his mom got sentenced to ten years in prison. He saved the business from going under.
“What else do you know about him?”
Nate leaned back and shrugged. “Not a whole lot about his personal life. In fact, next to nothing. But he’s the exact opposite of his mother, and everyone knows it.”
Jill stored away all this information. From what she knew, Nate was a good judge of character. Blake might be arrogant and judgmental, but if he was honest and conscientious, she’d be able to work with him.
Thirty minutes after taking off from Nate’s private airstrip in Alabama, they landed in Dallas. Another hour later, because traffic was terrible, they arrived at the two towers of glass and steel. The words on one building read “Square Towers” in glinting, silver letters that were nearly two stories tall. It was an impressive sight, made more so by the fact that they’d been built on the outskirts of the city, away from downtown, so they dominated the landscape.
Nate’s driver pulled up by the front entrance on the north tower, and Jill followed Nate out of the car. Inside the lobby, the ceiling soared three stories high. With nothing but glass and steel beams, it was a wonder of industrial design.
Nate knew exactly where he was going, only waving at the girl at the reception desk as he passed.
“Welcome back, Mr. Haverton,” she called.
“Thank you.”
In the elevator, Jill squared her shoulders and took deep, calming breaths. She scooted the straps of her bag further up her shoulder and fought the urge to check her hair and makeup. She was usually much more in control of her nerves.
“You look fierce,” Nate said, looking amused.
Jill relaxed and smiled at him. “I’m putting on my game face.”
“Impressive. I’m glad you’re on my team so I don’t need to be intimidated.”
The elevator doors opened and they walked into a spacious office area with sections of desks clustered around the floor. The bright afternoon sun glared off metal and glass from every angle. Blinking, Jill saw an older woman with fly-away hair talking on the phone and staring at her computer screen. A plaque that said “Secretary” stood on the front of her desk, which stood in front of a row of offices and boardrooms. However frazzled she looked, she was clearly the gatekeeper. Nate approached, and Jill stood to his left as they waited for her to get off her phone.
She turned and saw them. Her eyes widened. She put a hand over the receiver and motioned, “Second conference room on the right. They’re expecting you, so go right in.”
Nate nodded and waved his hand for Jill to go ahead of him. She strode to the conference room door, the click of her heels on the tile floor giving her confidence. Stepping inside, she was met with a room full of strange faces. All discussions stopped as everyone turned to look at her. She saw a tall, balding older man with a grim face and a handsome man with a nice set of shoulders and an arrogant bearing. Until introductions were made, all she could do was nod at them when they eyed her curiously.
Across from them sat a short young man, surely just out of college, with bright red hair and a scruffy beard. His badge said “Camden” on it, but he was the only person wearing one. He must not be an executive. Maybe tech support? The only other stranger in the room was a beautiful woman with fierce, calculating eyes and an air of proprietary ownership.
But the one who drew her eyes the most was the man at the head of the room.
Blake faced her with his arms crossed and a direct but somehow warm expression in his eyes. He wore a black t-shirt and slacks, at odds with the more formal dress of everyone else, but it didn’t matter. He owned the room. Unfortunately, she was already much too aware of him. Seeing him in this setting made her pulses race.
“Well, if it isn’t our guardian angel,” Blake said, a faint, wry smile hovering on his lips.
“Do you feel in need of saving, Mr. McDaniel?” Jill asked.
“Not yet, but one never knows. We’re glad to have you on board.”
Jill heard Nate close the door behind them and moved to make way for him to come in. “I’m happy to be here.” She thought about teasing him about his choice of dress but decided this wasn’t the place. Blake needed to maintain his authority if, as she suspected, this was a gathering of executives from his newly acquired businesses.
Nate pulled out a seat for her, then sat down opposite Blake, who continued to stand. “Thanks for arranging this meeting on such short notice,” he said.
“Of course,” Blake said, though Jill caught a hint of irony in his voice. “This is no more than a chance to introduce everyone and to share the long-term goals for our merger,” Blake said, addressing the room. “I’ll be meeting with each of you individually. I’m sure all of you know Nate Haverton. This is Jill Harris, who will be working with all of us as our post-merger integration team leader. She comes from a highly respected consulting firm and will be a great asset, I’m sure.”
Jill smiled carefully, doing her best to project just the right mixture of friendliness and assurance into her expression. Her smile was met with different reactions from each of them. Indifference from the balding guy, thinly veiled skepticism from the good-looking man, disdain from the woman, and open interest from the young guy. She took a deep breath. This was the part of her job that gave her the greatest challenge—handling a variety of personalities and relationships and forging them into a working team. This was going to be interesting.
For the next hour, Blake led the group through projections and the goals for each company under the Square Enterprises umbrella, though those were still under review and would be the focus of Jill’s work. He ended with a smile, saying, “That’s all for now. Thanks for coming.”
Everyone stood, and Jill stepped back to let the others pass by her. She knew Blake would want to speak with her and Nate now. As the good-looking man, Trevor Walton, walked by, he smiled at her. It was a smooth, well-practiced smile, meant to charm her. It didn’t, but there was no reason to let him know that.
“I’m looking forward to working with you,” he said. His voice was pleasant but set off warning bells inside her. She’d learned long ago to pay attention to her instincts.
“Thank you, Mr. Walton.” She smiled at him. “As am I.”
His eyes swept over her, not overtly, but enough that Jill knew he had other things in mind than just business. Still, as long as he behaved himself, she wouldn’t shut him down quite yet. There was nothing worse than working with a pouty, rejected man. But if he stepped one toe out of line, she’d put him in his place so fast his head would spin.
When Trevor left, Jill walked to the other end of the room where Blake stood. The beautiful woman still sat at the table taking notes while Blake talked to her. He hadn’t introduced her during the meeting, so Jill had already determined she must be his personal assistant.
Blake saw her approaching and paused. “I haven’t introduced my assistant yet, have I? Jill, meet Ivey Brinton. If you want anything, she’ll be happy to help you get it.”
The woman looked up. Her lips were tight and her eyes cold. “That depends on what she wants, of course.” It was meant to sound like a joke, but Jill understood what she meant when her eyes flicked to Blake and back. “Should I call you Mrs. Harris?” she asked.
Jill sighed. So the woman was interested in her boss, huh? And not just interested—downright possessive. Well, as far as Jill was concerned, she could have him. “No, I’m not married. And I don’t plan on that changing anytime soon, so just call me Jill.”
“I’ll stick with Ms. Harris,” she said, standing and gathering her stuff. “It doesn’t matter much. You won’t be here for long.”
As she strode out of the room, Blake asked, “Found an admirer already?”
She looked down and saw that he had noticed Taylor’s flowers peeking out of her bag. “Oh, I find admirers wherever I go, but these are from someone important.”
Nate chuckled. “I’ll let him know you think so.”
Blake looked between them, clearly not thrilled at their inside joke. “Well, whoever he is, I’m afraid he’s going to you for a while. I intend to keep you very busy.”