I’ve spent the last three hours sitting behind my father’s desk, reading anything that I can find that will catch me up on the direction of the company. The only problem is, I haven’t learned much. Most of the files that would be of any importance are locked away or on his computer, which is also locked.
There are a couple of reports that show decreasing sales in two casinos, but when I look at the numbers, it’s easy to see the wrong figures have been plotted. With just a few changes, the reports would show that the casinos had been increasing in sales from month to month. At least, that’s what makes sense to me, but maybe I’m missing something.
I sigh when I look through the last piece of paper that has anything to do with the company. I just wasted three hours and am no better off for it. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do this, not unless I find the key to my father’s filing cabinets or his password for his computer.
Granddad would know, but I can’t ask him. I guess I’ll just have to learn about the company elsewhere. I just don’t know how. That’s probably why I’ve been hiding out in my father’s office for the last few hours.
I get up from the desk and poke my head into the hallway. It seems relatively empty for a Thursday. I’m surprised no one has come into my father’s office all morning. It’s probably because everyone is too sad to think of him as gone. I know everyone loved him. He was a great boss, a great friend, a great husband, and a great father. At least, that’s what the minister said at his funeral. I choose to believe that.
I step into the hallway and start walking. I don’t know where I’m going. I just go.
“Hi, Ms. Felton.”
“Tony,” I say before hugging the man who is practically a member of the family. He always seemed like a brother to my father.
“How are you doing?” he asks the token question.
“I’m holding up.”
“You visiting your father’s office?” He nods in the direction of the office.
I nod.
“I haven’t built up the courage to go in there yet. When I do, I know I’ll end up crying like a weepy old man.”
I smile. “We can’t have that.”
“I should get back to work. I hope to see more of you around, Ms. Felton.”
I smile and start walking again. “Wait,” I say, turning around. “Do you mind if I hang out with you today? I just want to be around people who knew my father. It feels like home here, not like at the house.”
Tony looks at me with confusion. “Are you sure? It’s going to be pretty boring. I have some phone conferences, and then I really need to get the numbers ready for the expansion Mr. Browne asked for.”
I smile. Tony has already given me more information about the company than I have had all morning.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I take his arm and walk with him to his office. “And call me Kinsley, Tony. We are practically family.”
Oh my God! This office is a mess. It looks like a tornado came in here and blew papers into disastrous piles all around the room.
Tony, on the other hand, walks into his office with no surprise on his face. He doesn’t look like someone just came in here and ransacked his office. He actually seems to relax when he enters his office.
I walk over to his desk as Tony takes a seat behind it.
“I have to take a quick phone call, but make yourself at home. Then, I can show you some of the stuff your father and I were working on,” he says.
I nod and do my best to smile as I glance around the smaller-size office, but I’m afraid it comes across as a frown or a horribly disgusted grimace. I cover my mouth with my hand, hoping he didn’t see. He brightly smiles back at me. I guess he didn’t.
He begins dialing his phone. I wait until I hear him jabbering away at someone, paying me no attention, before I take a seat on the floor in front of piles of paper.
I feel bad for Tony. He’s my father’s age. He’s worked for the company almost as long as my father, but he will never become CEO, never even be given a chance. Instead, he will always be just the Assistant to the VP of Operations. He’s Killian’s assistant, I realize, even though Killian has only worked for the company for five years, and Tony has worked for the company for thirty. To a company this big, it doesn’t matter though who is more loyal. It matters who is more likely to get results. And after I look around this office, I know why Tony will never reach a higher position. His office is a mess. There is no way he can be organized in a mess like this.
I still feel sorry for him though. Even though I know Tony gets paid generously to do this job, I still feel sad. I have a better chance of becoming CEO than Tony ever will.
And if I am CEO, I will have to make tough decisions, like promoting a less experienced younger employee over a loyal and mature employee. That is probably an easy decision compared with the decisions my dad made on a daily basis. I’m not sure I could do it.
I swallow hard and push the thoughts out of my head. I’m not here to think about if I can make the tough decisions required of the job right now. I’m here to learn as much as I can about the company and the job. Then, I can make decisions about my future.
I dig into the pile, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. There are hundreds and hundreds of more charts and graphs with the same incorrect information on them as the ones in my father’s office. Shit. I hope my dad wasn’t relying on them to make decisions about the company. I hope Killian isn’t either.
I look at the name on them, trying to figure out who made the graphs and who wrote the reports, so I can tell Killian he needs to fire them. Then, I see it. It’s Tony. He created these graphs. If anybody ever found out, he’d be fired. My dad was the only one who would care if Tony still worked for the company or not.
I sigh. Now, not only do I have to learn about the company, I also have to find a way to make sure Tony gets better at making graphs so that he doesn’t get fired.
I give up sorting the mess of papers when I hear Tony end the call. I stand and walk over to his desk with a smile on my face. He looks stressed as he shuffles papers around on his desk before switching on his computer.
“Mr. Browne and Mr. Felton wanted to expand this hotel and casino to allow for more high-roller rooms.”
I nod as I walk over to stand behind him. “Makes sense. So, what’s the problem?”
Tony sighs as his elbow knocks the papers off his desk. He watches them scatter onto the floor of his office, but he doesn’t bother to pick them up. He just turns to his computer instead. “The numbers don’t support doing an expansion.”
“Do you mind if I take a look at them?” I bat my eyes and smile as sweetly as possible at him.
“Be my guest,” he says, getting up from his chair.
I take his seat, but I don’t want him here when I change everything. I don’t want him to know how badly he screwed up. I need to find a way to teach him. But that isn’t right now. Right now, I just need to fix this before he passes it along to Killian or anyone else who might fire him.
“Tony, do you mind getting me a coffee?” I ask. I yawn, bringing more credibility to my lie. It isn’t really a lie, I reason with myself. I could use a coffee. I didn’t sleep much last night, and I woke up earlier than I’m used to in order to have a full day here.
He smiles and nods. “I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he leaves, I turn my attention back to the screen. Everything is a mess. Everything is wrong. I pull up a new spreadsheet to just start over because it’s not worth fixing what he’s already done.
I let my fingers fly over the keys as I type in every figure that I can find into the new data points. I love the rush I get as I enter in all the figures. I love how it feels to use my brain for something other than deciding what my next pose should be. When I’m finally done, I press Enter and watch the numbers turn from just numbers on the page into pretty graphs.
I lean back in the chair with a large smile on my face as the graphs now represent a need for expansion of the casino and hotel. In less than twenty minutes, I just did what would take most people several hours to do.
“Here’s your coffee,” Tony says, entering the office with a coffee in each hand and sugar packets tucked under his arm.
I notice a small coffee stain on his shirt. God, the man can’t even get coffee without making a mess.
“Thanks,” I say.
I get out of the chair to allow Tony to have his seat back. I take one of the cups and add a sugar packet to it before drinking it. My eyes dart to Tony as I watch him stare at the screen.
“Holy shit!” Tony says. More coffee spills onto his lap from him being startled by the numbers on the screen. He covers his mouth when he realizes he swore in front of me. “I’m sorry, miss. I just…this is just…how did you do this?” Tony points to the screen.
“It’s okay, Tony. I just rearranged one little thing really. You did most of the work,” I say.
“I need to get this to Mr. Browne right away.” He hits Print, and the paper begins shooting out of the printer next to the computer. He grabs the paper and moves quickly to the doorway. He pauses at the doorway and turns to me. “Come on, Ms. Felton. You need to take some of the credit with me.”
I shake my head. “No, I really didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t have been able to figure out on your own.”
Tony shakes his head. “I’ve been working on this all week. I never would have reached this conclusion without you. Plus, you should meet Mr. Browne. Word is, he is in the running to take over your father’s position.”
I blush when he speaks about Killian. “We’ve already met.”
A wicked smile forms on Tony’s face as his eyebrows rise deliberately. “Ah, Mr. Browne is a very good-looking man.”
I stare at Tony in disbelief. He did not just accuse me of being attracted to Killian. “I am not attracted to him,” I say, answering a question that was never asked. “I’m just not a big fan of Killian. He’s cocky and self-centered and…”
“You don’t have to convince me of those things, Ms. Felton.”
Great, now, we are back to Ms. Felton.
“I have worked for Mr. Browne for the past three years. He is all of those things, but he is also a good man. Give him a chance before you dismiss him.”
I swallow hard and nod even though I don’t agree with him. I don’t want to give Killian a chance. I already did, and instead of being honest with me, he played with my emotions just because he could. A man like that doesn’t deserve second chances.
I just don’t know why all the men in my life keep pushing me to be with Killian. My father has, too, even in death. My grandfather has also, and now, so has Tony. Don’t they trust me to find my own man? To find someone better than Killian?
Tony moves his head to the side, indicating for me to follow him, so I do.
I bite my lip as I watch Tony knock on Killian’s door. Please don’t be here.
“Come in,” Killian shouts from inside.
Tony gives me a knowing smile before he pushes the door open and enters Killian’s larger office. I enter slowly behind Tony, keeping my eyes down. Maybe Killian won’t notice I’m here if I don’t say anything and don’t look at him.
“I have those numbers for you,” Tony says.
“Thank you,” Killian says. “I…” He pauses.
I know he’s spotted me. I let my eyes drift up, and there he is, staring at me with the same intense eyes. He’s wearing another dark suit. Another grim frown covers his face.
I try to move. I try to say something to make this less awkward. I can’t though. It’s like his eyes have captured me and glued me in place. I lose all my thoughts when I see him, except for how it felt to have his lips pressed against mine. I think about how it warmed me to see him smiling just at me and no one else, something I realize he rarely does. I think about how it felt when his tongue finally touched me there, and I already feel desire forming deep in my belly from just thinking about it.
I blush. That’s when I notice Killian’s own reactions change. It’s just slightly, just in a way I notice, but it’s not enough for Tony to notice. Killian’s eyes change from intense glaring to intense lust, and his lip curls up slightly into the tiniest of smiles at my reaction. He knows. He knows what dirty thoughts I’m thinking about, making me blush more.
Tony chuckles and shakes his head as he looks from me to Killian.
Killian glares at Tony. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Nothing’s funny. I just think Robert is smiling down right now, seeing the two of you together.”
“There is nothing going on,” Killian and I both say in unison.
This makes Tony chuckle again. “Not yet.” He winks at me. He takes a step closer to Killian. “Anyway, I have another call I need to get to. Have a look at the numbers. I think we finally have the data you need to present tomorrow to get the expansion you and Robert wanted.”
I watch as Tony leaves, leaving me alone with Killian. I turn to leave as well.
“Wait…” Killian says.
I don’t know why, but I wait. When I turn back to him, his mouth has dropped open slightly as he stares at the papers in his hand.
“These numbers…they actually work,” Killian says. He runs his hand through his hair. “How did he do it?” he asks himself. Forgetting I’m there, he begins typing on the computer again. “This is genius.”
I smile. Good for Tony. I take another step, but the heel of my shoe clicks along the floor, bringing Killian’s attention back to me.
Killian stands then and walks until he is blocking my exit. “How did he do this?” He holds up the papers.
I try to scrunch my face in a quizzical look, like I have no idea why Tony wouldn’t be competent at his job. But like I’ve said before, I make a terrible actress, a terrible liar. I shrug and look down, avoiding Killian’s eye contact.
His hand lifts my chin until I’m staring back at him as he furrows his eyebrows, searching my face for the answer.
“Who did this?” he says slowly while holding the papers up.
“Tony,” I say quietly.
He shakes his head. “Tony sucks at numbers. He couldn’t have done this, not even by accident.” He moves his body closer to mine so that we are almost touching. “Who did this?”
“I don’t know.” My voice is shaky.
I don’t know why he cares who did it. Killian moves closer, and I take a step back, unable to hold my ground any longer, but he grabs my elbow, holding me in place and keeping our bodies pressed together. I can feel his body breathing slow and easy against my chest, compared with my fast, quick breaths. I even think I feel his heart beating in his chest in a perfect, steady rhythm, unlike my now erratic heartbeat. He’s not affected by my body, like I am by his. It disappoints me.
He raises his eyebrows at me. His lips graze mine, and I stop breathing.
“Who did this?”
I close my eyes. “Me.”
I feel him suck in a breath. It wasn’t what he had expected. When I finally open my eyes, he’s gone. He’s back at his desk, looking everything over again, like he must have missed a mistake. If I created this, it must be wrong.
“What are you doing?” I ask when I have caught my breath again.
“How did you know how to do this?”
I roll my eyes. I hate that he just answered my question with another question.
“It’s not that hard. I just took the data that Tony had and started over. When it was organized, it was obvious to see the trends over the last six months. But based on the numbers, you should add a thousand rooms to the expansion, not five hundred. It’s a waste of money to do such a small expansion. You’ll reach positive cash flow faster with one thousand. It’s sustainable in the long-term, too, even without the holiday spikes. And one good holiday season would more than triple sales with the additional guests staying in the hotel. So, the casino expansion looks spot-on with the data.”
Killian is frowning at me. I nervously run my hand through my hair as I bite my lip. I should have kept my mouth shut. He thinks I’m wrong. He thinks I’m an idiot.
“What was your major in college?”
I narrow my eyes. “You already know the answer to that.”
He raises his eyebrows though, waiting for me to answer.
“Theater,” I say.
He nods. “You didn’t take any business classes on the side? You didn’t minor in anything?”
“I minored in French, but I didn’t take any business classes.”
Killian cocks his head to the side, trying to decide if I’m lying. I’m not.
“What jobs have you done, other than modeling?”
I have no idea where he is going with this. “I’ve only ever modeled.”
“I don’t know how you did this.” He shakes head before running his hand through his locks. “I spent all morning working on the numbers. I knew whatever Tony gave me would be useless.”
I sigh. I wish I had known that before. I wouldn’t have worked so hard to try to save his ass.
“But I never came up with these numbers. I never came up with anything half as good as this.”
I smile.
“You’re a walking contradiction, princess.”
My face falls. “Don’t call me that.”
He stands and walks over to me. “I can’t stop, princess. That’s what you are. It feels weird to call you anything else.”
I glare at him, but I’m not really angry, so I know it doesn’t come across as the angry girl I want to be.
“I want you,” he says when his body is close to me again.
I quizzically look up at him. “You want to marry me?”
He laughs. “No, I want to fuck you.”
I stare at him, wide-eyed. I don’t move as his lips come down on mine, showing me just how much he wants to fuck me. His hands find the nape of my neck, firmly holding me against him. I moan as his tongue sweeps between my lips, easily parting them. I feel his hard erection pushing against my belly.
Does he expect me to fuck him right here in his office?
Killian pulls away, but I don’t open my eyes. I’m still lost in that kiss. When I open my eyes, I’ll realize this is all a dream. He’s just toying with my emotions again. He doesn’t really care about me. He might want to fuck me, but only so he can destroy me.
“You’re not ready yet.”
“Ready for what?”
“For me to fuck you. I told you, when I fuck you, it will be because you want me as much as I want you, not because you’re running. You’re not there yet, but you will be.”
I shake my head. “You’re wrong. What makes you think I will sleep with you? I don’t even like you.”
He smirks. “You’re a terrible liar, princess. Plus, if you are talking to Tony about me, that’s a good sign.”
“Tony needs to mind his own business.”
He turns away from me to walk back to his desk. “You need to stay out of the business. Go home to your comfy house and modeling career before you get hurt.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I am capable of running this company, if that’s what I decide I want. I just showed that I could make decisions and run numbers. I just need a chance.”
He sits in his chair and just stares at me for several minutes. I don’t know why I bother with trying to convince him that I can do this.
“Okay,” he says.
“What?”
“Okay, if you think you can do this, then prove it. There is a meeting tomorrow afternoon to present the data and to give my recommendation for the expansion. You can present in my place. And if you convince everyone that you are right, then I’ll stop hounding you about giving up. I’ll even help you get up to speed on everything with the company.”
I suspiciously eye him. “And what if I don’t?”
He smiles widely now. I’m afraid he’s going to tell me that I’ll have to stop trying to be CEO, that I’ll have to give up. I’m not sure I can.
“Then, you go on a date with me.”
I relax. I can handle that. “Deal.”
“Good. I’ll send you my notes for the meeting.”
“Thanks,” I say before turning to leave. But before I do, I have one more question for him, one that’s been gnawing at me. “Why haven’t you fired Tony yet?”
He looks up at me, like I’m crazy.
“We both know he is terrible at his job. So, why haven’t you fired him?”
“Because I respect his loyalty. That man would take a bullet for this company. I know I’m going to have to work harder to do things, like create graphs that he should be doing, but that’s okay. He cares, and he is a hard worker. He would never jump ship to a competitor’s company. We need more people like that around here.”
His words shock me. I thought Killian was ruthless. I thought he would have fired Tony the second my father died since the decision was now up to him. I was wrong. It makes me wonder what else I’m wrong about when it comes to Killian. Too bad I don’t have time to find out.
I need to spend the next twenty-four hours doing everything to prepare for tomorrow. I need to impress the other executives. I need to prove to my grandfather that I can do this. I need to prove to myself that this is what I want. It might be my only chance.