Chapter Ten
“Ms. Monroe?”
Vivien swiveled away from the windows of her office to see Josh sticking his head inside the doorway. “Yes?”
“It’s time for the board meeting.”
The board meeting. Ever since Eli, Liam, and his hot FBI Agent left Haven, and her lunch with Faith, all Vivien could think about was this meeting and what she was going to do. As the aftereffects of the concussion dimmed, the anxiety and fear of her decision swarmed in to replace them. If she went through with this, she risked so much—her position at her firm, her relationship with her clients—but if she didn’t stay, she risked everything her mother taught her to value—things she’d buried for far too long.
Taking a deep breath, she stood, straightening her skirt. The thoughts still flew around as frantically as they had for the last two days; she had no clue what she was going to say when she got in there. All she knew was her time was up.
When she walked out of her office, coffee in hand, she stopped short at the sight of Liam and Eli waiting in the reception area for her.
“We thought you might need some moral support,” Liam said, his smile not reaching his eyes. He was as nervous about her decision as she was, she realized. Yet here he was, offering her comfort, support—commodities sorely lacking in so many of her relationships. Once again, his sweetness gave her a bad case of jelly-knees. Okay, so maybe the jelly-knees came from how incredibly sexy he looked, from the unabashed admiration lurking under the concern in his eyes.
Trying to return the smile as her stomach fluttered with nerves and desire, she nodded. “I appreciate it.”
Flanked on either side by the men, she walked toward the boardroom, suddenly aware of how tall they both were. Even in her three-inch Jimmy Choo heels, they towered over her by more than a head. Both of them were strong, capable men, and even though she didn’t need them to back her up, it was nice to walk into this meeting with allies. Anything she said would win her enemies from one faction or the other.
For a moment, she thought wistfully of her life before her father’s stupid motorcycle crash. It’d been challenging, but unemotional. Pleasant, neat, and painless. She desperately wanted to get back to that, and selfish impulses tugged at her more than she’d care to admit.
She took her seat at the table; Liam on one side, Eli standing behind her chair. He wasn’t a member of the board or officially invited to the meeting, but she’d asked him to come. Maybe he could use his super-spy powers to get a better read on their problem if he was in the room with potential suspects.
The meeting started, but she barely heard anything that was said until Liam gave her side a gentle nudge. “You’re on, Your Majesty.”
“Hm? Oh. Right.” She forced herself to focus in on the matter at hand.
“Have you made your decision on who you would like to recommend to the board, Ms. Monroe?”
She’d rolled that question through her mind, over and over, trying to find a way to both protect the company and go back to her easy, predictable life in New York where she was free from messy emotions stirred up by little sisters and discerning nerd boys.
Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the deep end of the shark-infested waters.
“Yes and no. In light of recent events, I don’t think it would be wise for anyone to step in as the new CEO at this time. I would like to wait for the result of Mr. Williams’s and the police investigation into the break-ins here and at our family’s home two nights ago before I make any sort of official recommendation.” Hopefully, that would be enough time for Agent Calhoun’s team to make some progress and ferret out whether or not her uncle was behind the problems plaguing her company. “I’ll stay on as acting CEO until then, if no one objects.”
Her uncle’s face turned redder than Liam’s shirt. She half expected him to explode right then and there, but the madder he got, the more certain she was that she’d made the right decision.
Silence blanketed the room, the only sound the soft ticking of Eli’s watch right behind her ear. He probably had a lot to say, but he held his peace for the moment. Her uncle opened his mouth to say something half a dozen times, but every time he clamped it shut again.
Finally, one of her grandfather Barton’s old cronies, Mr. Bailey, spoke up. “While I’m sure we all would like to have things settled, I think this is a wise decision, Ms. Monroe. There’s enough uncertainty right now without bringing in new leadership. Does everyone agree?”
A chorus of yeses echoed through the room, although her uncle remained oppressively silent. She expected to hear from him as soon as she left the meeting. Not that it mattered. All his blustering and ranting wouldn’t change her mind, not now that it had made itself up, even if it was because the FBI was now looking into the company and he was one of the suspects.
Within a few minutes, the meeting was over. Eli was waylaid by a few of the board members who were peppering him with questions about the break-in. He gave her a reassuring nod over Mr. Bailey’s head.
Vivien made her way out of the room, willing her Jimmy Choos to take her back to her office as fast as they could. She wasn’t ready to answer a million questions yet. Without looking back, she knew that Liam was right behind her. Her traitorous body always seemed to dance with awareness these days whenever he was within twenty feet of her. She blamed that ill-advised kiss.
Someone else was there, too, but she didn’t stop to worry about it. The sooner she got back to her office, the sooner she could regain her equilibrium.
“Vivien. Explain yourself.” Richard’s order echoed down the hall as Vivien opened the door to her office.
She winced and looked over at Liam. He rolled his eyes a little but indicated for her to go on. “I think I have a few minutes I can spare, Uncle Richard. I hope you don’t mind if Liam joins us. He and I are going to a meeting together after this.”
A lie, but it meant she wouldn’t have to be alone with her uncle. The man’s anger simmered and sparked, lurking close to the surface. She’d never seen him this riled up before. Usually, he was the soul of implacability; Jed used to rant about how good Richard’s poker face was.
Without waiting for Richard’s response, she entered her office and moved to take a seat behind her desk, Liam taking the chair across from her. It probably would have been more polite to invite her uncle to the sitting area, but she wasn’t feeling particularly polite at the moment. Her behind the desk in the CEO’s office sent a clear message to Richard.
“What game do you think you’re playing, young lady?” Richard didn’t sit down. He stood, hands on his unnaturally thin hips, glaring at her as if she were a cockroach.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Richard. I thought I made myself perfectly clear in the board meeting. What needs clarification?”
“We both know that your father was playing games when he left you in charge of this company. He never intended for you to actually run this place.”
Richard’s tone held an edge of unrestrained anger, and Vivien was suddenly grateful to have Liam with her. If her uncle was being this direct in front of his potential rival, he was more ruffled by her decision than she’d expected.
“That may be true.” Viv’s voice remained even, but anger began to replace any warm memories she might have had of her uncle. “But I don’t think he counted on someone breaking into this building and giving me a concussion, or someone else breaking into our family’s home. I’ve consulted with the head of security, and he feels that it would be a bad idea for me to hand over the reins during such an uncertain situation, and I don’t like the idea of leaving Greer on her own. Liam agrees with him, don’t you, Liam?”
“A concussion? I trust you’re recovering,” Barton said, momentarily dropping his frustration to show an inkling of concern for his niece.
Vivien’s smile remained cool. “Yes. Greer and Liam saw to it I was well taken care so I could have time to make my decision.”
Barton’s chest puffed out, then deflated a little, clearly switching tactics after realizing bluster wasn’t getting him anywhere. “I thought you had a job to go back to. You don’t belong here, Vivien. You never have. Your mother wanted better for you. She would tell you to go live your life and not get dragged into Jed’s folly like we were.”
Trying to use her mother against her—and interpreting what she would have wanted to suit his needs hit a nerve. The uncle she remembered never would have gone there with her, especially not over business. There was that sensation again—the one she’d gotten when she ended things with Christopher—the one that felt like she’d been slapped without anyone touching her. This was apparently what happened when you bucked too hard against someone used to being in control.
“My mother would have wanted me to do what was best for what is left of my family. I do have a job to go back to.” Viv’s jaw tightened. “And I will. But I have a responsibility to this company, its employees, and, more importantly, my sister, to see that whoever is trying to cause problems for MT is taken care of before I turn things over to someone new. Until then, I’ll use the six weeks of vacation and sick time I’ve accrued over the last several years.”
Glaring at her, it was evident the wheels in Richard’s head continued to turn. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the office, leaving a cloud of expensive cologne in his wake.
…
Liam sat in front of Vivien’s desk, staring at the bouquet of red roses perched on the corner of her desk. Probably from someone trying to do some last-minute sucking up before the board meeting.
He was still trying to process her announcement. She was staying. Something he or Eli or Sophia said stuck and she was staying. She shocked the hell out of him, that was for sure, but he was also more relieved than he’d imagined. Having her in charge made everything a little easier to deal with, especially when it came to keeping her uncle in check.
Liam turned his attention back to Vivien, a newfound respect growing for her. That was the first time he heard her acknowledge any sort of emotional connection to Greer. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs so that the pencil skirt pulled tighter over her lush thighs. She was a study in contrasts, with her frothy white blouse and angel-blue skirt accented by killer red heels and the bright-red lipstick staining her cupid’s bow mouth.
The second Barton was out of sight, Viv deflated a little. Glaring at the roses, she stood, dropped them in the trash can by her desk—crystal vase and all—then collapsed back in her chair.
Apparently, she had a problem with roses. He filed that away to dissect later.
“You okay?” he asked.
A weak smile tipped up the edges of her mouth, emphasizing the curve of her full bottom lip. “I’ll let you know when I do. Did I really agree to stay until this mess was over with?”
Liam tried to gauge his own reaction to her decision. She was staying. For now, at least. She’d made up her mind, so she’d stay no matter the cost. She was Jed’s daughter in that area at least; she wouldn’t tap out once she took on a challenge. He could practically see the heels of those expensive shoes of hers dug into the foundation of MT. While the long term was still up in the air, Liam latched on to the fact that she wasn’t running the first chance she got.
Briefly, he considered filling her in on the call he’d gotten from the Dallas Police detective in charge of the ongoing investigation into Jed’s crash, but he pushed that thought aside. Telling her would only complicate things, especially since the detective seemed to be stuck in limbo—no real progress, but still enough suspicion to keep the case open.
“You sure did, Your Majesty. For better or worse, you’re stuck with us for a while.”
Her eyes shot green icicles his way, tearing at his skin. “Don’t call me that. Just because I’m not a free spirit like Jed or a sensitive artist like Greer doesn’t mean I’m the Ice Queen. Being pragmatic and responsible never hurt anyone.”
He bit back a smile. He liked to see the fire slip through the protective barrier she kept such a firm grip on. Knowing that he got under her skin, like she got under his, gave him a little kick of adrenaline. Or testosterone. He didn’t care which. All that mattered was that she got to him, and he got to her.
“Pragmatic and responsible have their place. Hell, they’re adjectives that most people would use to describe me, but you, you hold yourself back with military precision. You’re all work, work, work, and you want everyone else to be exactly like you.” He leaned back, propping his feet up on the edge of the desk, to see what she did. “If you’re going to do some good here, you’re going to need to lighten up. Just a little.”
“Lighten up?” One expertly sculpted eyebrow rose dangerously. Too bad for her, he found her too sexy to be intimidated by the back-off look she’d obviously perfected over the years.
“Yes. We need Viv Monroe, sassy, sexy, and savvy woman, not stoic, cool, Queen of the Boardroom Vivien Monroe,” Liam said, not holding back his challenge, knowing she’d rise to the bait.
For a moment, their eyes locked, wills clashing and mingling with the undeniably heat between them. Neither of them spoke, refusing to give an inch.
They both jumped at a knock on the glass door. Vivien motioned Eli in, rubbing at her temple.
“Glad you’re staying, boss.” Eli smirked, to Liam’s surprise. This was the first time he’d seen him smile.
“Had to choose between the rock and the hard place,” Vivien quipped, gesturing for Eli to sit down.
Eli settled into the chair, his posture correct and polite compared to Liam’s own slouch. “I think you made the right decision, ma’am.”
“Good Lord, Eli, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me ma’am?”
“Sorry, but you’re the boss.” Eli turned his attention to Liam. “Now that she’s staying we need to come up with a game plan.”
Liam glanced at Vivien, noting the mildly annoyed expression that told him they were treading a thin line. “I’m assuming priority one is going to be keeping her and Greer safe.”
“Absolutely,” Eli said. “We—”
Vivien cut him off. “Back up, gentlemen. Priority one is MT and its intellectual property. End of discussion. Greer and I aren’t at risk.”
“Bullshit.” The word was out before Liam knew what he was saying, but all he could think about was the mystery still lurking around Jed’s accident and the thought of what could have happened to Vivien in this very office. Vivien and Eli both looked surprised. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did I or did I not find you almost unconscious not three feet from here less than forty-eight hours ago and didn’t someone try to break into your house that same night?”
“Because someone was breaking in to try to steal stuff from my computer or to steal more game ideas,” she retorted.
They both looked to Eli for confirmation. The poor guy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “To be fair, our investigation has been inconclusive so far, but Agent Calhoun has her team examining the police reports. Right now, we don’t know if the primary target was Vivien or the computer. We certainly don’t know if it’s in any way related to the copycat games. It could be all of the above.”
“Until then, I think we need to go with the better-safe-than-sorry philosophy. Especially given how pissed off your uncle was,” Liam jumped in before Vivien could say anything.
“You and Greer are here at MT most of the time, so we won’t have to do too much,” Eli added. “We’ve already had Greer under guard since the day after the attack.”
“What’s your definition of ‘too much’?” Vivien asked.
Eli was all business now, so Liam let him go. Better to let Mr. Security be the bad guy, as long as he didn’t bring up the accident investigation. Liam had other battles to fight.
“Simple: anytime you’re not here or at Haven, you and Greer aren’t alone. A member of the security team is with you anytime you’re in public. We’re fixing the old gate at Haven and putting a pass code entry on it, and we’ll make sure the community guards do regular drive-bys. I’ll take a look at the alarm system and see if there are some upgrades needed.”
“And the company? If my uncle is behind this—and I’m still not convinced he is, we need to keep an eye on him.” Vivien ignored the bodyguard idea—for now. She doubted her sister would be so sanguine.
“We’ll do our best to monitor him, but there’s only so much we can do. We’ll speed up the upgrades, which will help, and I’ve brought in one of the best computer forensics guys I know in the private sector to trace the hacking attempts and see if they can find where the system was compromised and what might have led to the copycat games.”
Eli talked for a few more minutes about security plans, and Vivien asked every question that came to Liam’s mind. “All right. Eli, there are a few things I need to go over with Liam given recent developments. Can you get things rolling on your end?”
“Sure, no problem.” Eli stood and left, giving Liam a sympathetic look.
“Now, where were we? Oh yes. I believe you were telling me I needed to lighten up.”
Liam didn’t flinch away from the tractor beam of her gaze. “Well, it certainly wouldn’t kill you.”
“Lighten up.” He half expected her to cross her arms and stomp her foot. “Lightening up is probably what got us in this mess in the first place. Jed spent too much time with his head in the clouds rather than making the smart business decision he should have been making with a company this size.”
Shrugging, Liam looked at his dingy sneakers. Idly, he wondered if she even owned a pair of shoes that didn’t have heels. “You might have a point there. But you could always try to find a balance between being you and being one of us.”
Dark-red brows quirked up. “Balance, huh? And how, oh wise one, would you suggest I do that? Walk around in ten-year-old printed T-shirts and sneakers?”
He studied her, his eyes wandering over her body, trying to picture her in one of his T-shirts. For some reason, the only context that came to mind was an early morning where her hair looked like she’d been kept up all night by something other than work, and she wore his shirt and nothing else.
Yeah, with those mile-long legs and luscious curves, she’d definitely do justice to his shirts. But that wasn’t what she was talking about. Focus, Hale. “Casual clothes wouldn’t kill you. Leaving at a human hour every night wouldn’t, either. Maybe getting to know some of the staff who doesn’t have ‘vice president’ or ‘director’ in their title.”
He hesitated before pushing on. “It might help if people saw you and Greer together and acting…you know…”
“No, I don’t.” Vivien’s frown was more puzzled than angry, which was wildly comforting. “I’m a woman of many talents, Liam, but mind reading is not one of them.”
God, I hope not. “You and Greer acting more sisterly would go a long way to getting people to relax. They don’t know you, but they do know her. Hell, most of them watched her grow up. They instinctively associate her with Jed, with the way of life they’re familiar with. You’re a stranger, and they don’t know what to expect.”
A war of emotions played across her face. Anger and hurt were definitely there. So was frustration. But anger seemed to be winning. He braced himself for the fallout.
“While I…appreciate the feedback,” she said tightly, “there’s a lot you don’t know about me and my family.”
“So you’ve said.” He shrugged. “But I do know your sister, and I know she’s hurting and needs to know she’s not alone in this.”
Vivien shook her head. “Okay, sure. Greer hasn’t exactly been receptive to me, but whatever you say.”
He wanted to point out Greer was grieving, but that wouldn’t help his cause. Instead, he held up his hands in surrender. “I’m offering a piece of free advice. I’m not saying you have to do anything. Think about it, for your sake and Greer’s.”
If she cared as little about Greer as she let on, she wouldn’t be here in the first place, and she damn well wouldn’t be living at Haven. Greer’s inheritance hinged on Vivien claiming her own, which had to piss Viv off. Yet here she was.
Deep down, she wanted some sort of relationship with Greer. What little he knew of her past told him that Vivien’s emotional upbringing was limited, at best. While his father flitted in and out of his life, his mother was the most open, loving, supportive person he knew. She taught him feelings were okay, even if you had a Y chromosome. Vivien seemed to have missed the emotional connection lessons.
She sat up, sliding her chair closer to the desk, her short, well-manicured fingers tapping on the keyboard. “I’ll do my best to take some of your advice, but keep your nose out of my relationship with my sister. That’s more than you want to deal with, nerd boy.”
Liam stood. He could take a hint; he was dismissed from the royal presence. “I’m glad you’re staying, Vivien.”
“Just promise me you, Eli, and your FBI girlfriend will work your asses off to get this over with as soon as possible.” She never looked away from her computer screen.
“She’s not my girlfriend, and I always work my ass off—Your Majesty.” With a cheeky salute, he left the office, a spring in his step. She was staying. This was either going to be a great thing for him or he’d find himself flat on his face with high heel-shape bruises all across his back.