Boss (3 page)

A man she’d never seen before filled the doorway and she sucked in a panicked gasp. His shoulders were unbelievably wide. He had on a white long-sleeved shirt with turned-back cuffs. A light gray tie was loosely knotted around his neck, and he stood with arms folded across his chest and a slight frown on his face.

Fear and uncertainty slammed her pulse into overdrive. “Can I help you?” She reached toward her phone so she could alert security about an intruder, though how anyone could have gotten past the guards in the lobby puzzled her.

“You’re Kelsey Lane. And I promise you, you don’t need to call for help.”

Kelsey scowled. “You seem to have me at a disadvantage. Mr…”

“Donovan. Nathan Donovan.”

She exhaled in a rush and moved her hand away from the phone. Of course. Though she’d never met any of the Donovan brothers, she knew their reputation. Cool. Fearless. Calculating.

Nathan, if she remembered correctly from the numerous articles she’d read in Houston’s weekly business newspaper, was the youngest son. He reportedly had an uncanny eye for numbers, for investments. As the financial brain behind the family dynasty, he’d ruthlessly acquired business after business, streamlined them, sold some of them off and made others operate on thin margins, exhausting the remaining employees while terminating the rest. But one thing they all had in common after he was finished with them was profitability.

“I see you’ve heard of me.”

“Who hasn’t?” she returned. He was rumored to be outwardly friendly in a way that disguised his true Machiavellian personality. He wasn’t a man to be underestimated. But the bigger question was, what the hell was he doing in Samuel Newman’s office before seven o’clock in the morning?

“Was any of it good?” he asked.

“Any of…?”

“The things you’ve heard about me.”

He looked at her through shockingly green eyes, and his gaze was so intense that she had to resist the impulse to squirm. His voice was a rich, deep baritone. Though she imagined his words were meant to keep things light and invite conversation, ribbons of unease gripped her stomach.

Rather than answer directly, she hedged, “Is Mr. Newman in there?” She leaned her head to the side, but she was unable to see past Nathan’s body and into the office beyond.

Nathan scowled. “I assumed you’d be expecting me.”

A moment earlier he’d seemed at ease, welcoming. But now he looked ferocious. His jaw was locked and he took a step into the room, narrowing the distance between them.

“He didn’t call you? Contact you in any way?”

She shook her head.

He cursed, low and vicious, making her wince.

“Newman was supposed to tell you,” he said.

“Tell me what?” Her legs no longer seemed able to support her and she sat on the edge of the polished desk.

“He no longer works here.”

“But…” She grabbed for her purse and dug out her cell phone. This simply wasn’t possible. “What do you mean he doesn’t work here? It’s his company.” Newman Inland Marine had been battling some legal and financial issues, but nothing insurmountable. Or so she’d thought. She’d stayed late on Friday going over some paperwork, and she’d told her boss she had no plans over the weekend and that he should feel free to call her if he needed help with anything.

He’d looked at her over the rims of his glasses and given a tight smile before sending her on her way. When she’d said goodbye, he’d given no hint that anything unusual was happening.

She keyed in her phone’s passcode then checked the display. There were no messages or missed calls.

Literally and figuratively, Nathan stood there, larger than life, giving her space to sort through things at her own speed.

“I’m afraid I’m confused.” She didn’t want to call Nathan a liar, but…

“Ask him.” He tilted his head, indicating her phone.

After nodding, she dialed the number. She reached Mr. Newman’s voice mail.

The recording was so loud she knew Nathan could hear the tinny echo. She left a brief message then followed it with a text. Not that Samuel would respond to that. He preferred to speak to people. More than once he’d said that texting and messaging were ridiculously impersonal, and he would never do business that way. He was proud of Newman Inland Marine for the way it treated its customers. Incoming calls were answered by real people, not a voice-mail system.

Which made his current behavior all the more puzzling.

“You should have been among the first people told.”

She put the phone on her desk. “Until I hear otherwise, Mr. Donovan, I’m afraid my loyalties are to Mr. Newman. And I’d ask you to stay out of his office.”

He gave a curt nod. “While you wait for him to call back, why not look at the sign on the door?”

After scowling at him, she pushed off the desk and walked toward the double doors. With every step, she was aware of Nathan Donovan watching her, studying her.

In the hallway, she looked at the brass plaques on the wall.

Breath rushed out of her lungs.

When she’d left on Friday evening, the wording on the top one had said
Newman Inland Marine
. It now read
Donovan Logistics
.

The second plaque—the one that had been engraved with her boss’s name—had been replaced with one that bore Nathan’s. The metal gleamed, new and promising.

Unable to help herself, she traced the capital
D
with a shaking finger.

Now what?

Everything Nathan had said appeared to be true. No matter how powerful they were, Donovan Worldwide would not have been allowed to come into the office building over the weekend, replace signage and access the executive office suite. It evidently meant nothing that Mr. Newman hadn’t spoken with her. And that shocked her. She was supposed to be his greatest confidante, privy to all the things that went on in the company. What else didn’t she know?

She pulled back her shoulders from their dejected slump. She had no choice but to face her future. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Satisfied?” he asked.

He stood in the middle of the space—her space—arms folded over his massive chest. With his legs spread shoulder-width apart, he looked imposing, commanding, comfortable. As if he owned the entire freaking place. Which he appeared to.

“I’m perplexed,” she admitted. Sidestepping him, she hurried toward her desk, her shoes silent on the plush carpeting. Until now, she hadn’t noticed how small the area was. In her stiletto heels, not a lot of men had the ability to make her feel small. But with Nathan and his massive, more than six-foot-tall body in the center of the room, things seemed dwarfed.

Because she was a little uncomfortable, she sat in the custom, ergonomically designed chair behind her desk and reached for her coffee.

Then, because he stood in front of her and towered over her, she wished she hadn’t. “Do you mind explaining things to me?” she asked.

“Why don’t we go into my office?”

Her first instinct was to reply that it wasn’t his. The next was to say she’d rather stay here. Then curiosity trumped both thoughts.

Coffee in hand, Kelsey grabbed her cell phone and followed him.

The sight of the office made her gasp. In just two days it had been transformed.

Gone were all the framed snapshots of Samuel’s friends and family. The oversize picture of him and the governor of Texas shaking hands and grinning was nowhere in sight.

And that was only the beginning of the changes.

Shelf after shelf of knickknacks and memorabilia had been removed. On Friday, every key moment in Samuel’s life had been memorialized in some way, from newspaper clippings to trophies, certificates to awards.

And now… The bookcases had been ripped out. The cozy, inviting leather guest chairs facing the desk had vanished. A pair of low-slung, modernistic ones were wedged against a far wall, clearly not inviting visitors to linger.

The blinds had been replaced by a privacy screen, and a minimalistic terrarium filled with cacti sat on the window ledge. Somehow, even the scent of cigar smoke had been obliterated.

The homey green walls had been covered in a no-nonsense steel-gray paint. And the words Donovan Logistics had been stenciled on the wall in bold, black lettering.

Every trace of Samuel Newman and his caring, effervescent personality had vanished.

Nathan pulled over a chair for her. “Please. Have a seat.”

She remained standing. That didn’t stop him from sinking into a space-age-looking chair, crafted of steel and covered in a breathable mesh fabric. His desk and matching credenza dominated the room. And that was the only word for it. Dominated. The pieces were massive. Nathan had dual, oversize flat screen monitors, all bearing the Bonds Electronics logo. His cell phone was propped on a phone stand so he didn’t even have to glance down at it when it rang.

This looked like a place from which Nathan Donovan could rule an empire.

He leaned back, silent, waiting for her decision.

Eventually, she sat. The chair wasn’t as uncomfortable as it looked.

She noticed the pile of manila folders on his desk. The top one was open, and she glanced at it. Her personnel record.

Her pulse skidded to a standstill. Until now, she’d only been concerned about Samuel. But she realized Nathan probably intended to replace her, as well. Of course, her résumé wasn’t up to date. She’d invested years into her current job, building the company and relationships. If she were honest, she’d probably sacrificed too much in terms of her personal life as well.

“There have already been a lot of changes,” he said when she met his resolute gaze. “And Samuel impressed on Donovan Worldwide how important you will be to the success of the takeover.”

He hadn’t said merger. Which meant things weren’t friendly. She exhaled.

“If you’d like to continue your employment, Ms. Lane, you’re my new assistant.”

“Your…” Kelsey wasn’t often at a loss for words, so she took a drink of her mocha to buy some time. “Mr. Newman is more than a boss to me. He’s a mentor. I interned here during my undergrad studies, and he hired me after I received my master’s degree. I owe him a great deal.”

“And you can repay it by staying on, at least temporarily.”

She crossed her legs then recrossed them in the opposite direction. “I can’t make any promises until after I talk to Mr. Newman.”

“Of course.”

Her mind raced. If she didn’t know what had happened, it was likely that no one did. She had only another forty-five minutes until the rest of the employees began arriving.

“Why don’t you try him again?”

It wasn’t like Mr. Newman to ignore her calls. Then again, everything in the last ten minutes had been surreal. She dialed his number. This time, it rang.

Just when she was certain she would get his voice mail, he answered.

“Kelsey.” His voice sounded weakened, dejected.

She knew without hearing anything else that everything Nathan had told her was true. The reality she’d been trying to deny crashed into her.

Unable to have the conversation with Nathan watching her, she returned to her desk and slumped into her chair.

“I’m a coward,” he told her.

A coward?

“I meant to call you yesterday. But…” He let out a ragged breath. “Forgive me.”

Betrayal and confusion rocked her. How could he do this? Not just to her, but to the entire company, hundreds of people.

“I need your help.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. In no way was she prepared for this.

“Kelsey…”

Her business instincts kicked in, and she shoved aside her personal feelings. “Is there—was there—a plan to tell the company?”

“It was supposed to be different…” He paused. “I was going to come in and meet with the top management and introduce Nathan. We were going to go to the docks so he could meet the people formally. He’s been out there before, a couple of weekends ago.”

“Okay. And what’s the new strategy?”

She heard jostling and a woman’s voice. Then, “Kelsey?”

“Mrs. Newman?”

“We’re at the hospital, dear.”

Kelsey’s jaw went slack.

“It’s his heart.”

Before Kelsey could utter a word, Holly went on, “The doctors say he’ll be fine. But…”

Damn it.

“The company needs you.”

Over the last few years, Kelsey had talked to Mr. Newman many times, stressing the need for a succession plan. She’d encouraged him to groom senior managers to take over, or solicit from the outside. He’d been stubborn. He was going to live forever, and there was plenty of time.

Now, she blinked back a sudden burst of tears. There was no more time. Newman Inland Marine had a new owner, and the stress had devastated Samuel.

In the background, she could hear Samuel and Holly whispering, overlaying the hiss and beep of what had to be hospital machinery.

“Samuel wants me to tell you he’s counting on you. He wants Donovan to succeed.” Holly’s voice was taut with emotion, maybe frustration, perhaps anger and certainly some fear.

“May I visit him?”

Holly gave the name of one of Houston’s most renowned hospitals then added, “Not today, dear. Perhaps tomorrow. He needs some rest. But, Kelsey? He’ll get better faster if he knows he can count on you. He’s worried about the employees, as I’m sure you understand.”

She gave a tight nod, even though Holly couldn’t see her. “You can count on me.” After a few pleasantries—platitudes, mostly—she ended the call.

Kelsey put her phone down and gave a shaky exhalation, composing herself. When she looked up, she saw Nathan standing there. “How long have you been there?” And how had he moved so silently?

“Long enough.” He pulled up a chair.

The juxtaposition startled her. A few minutes ago, he’d been behind his desk, in control. Now, he sat in front of her, leaning forward, hands steepled, a concerned frown burrowed between his eyebrows. He seemed somewhat less formidable and, because of it, more dangerous.

“Heart attack?” he asked.

“Mrs. Newman didn’t exactly say.” Knowing Samuel, it could be the stress of turning over the business to someone as ruthless as Donovan. She wasn’t sure what had led to it, but she knew it had to have killed him a little bit on the inside. The knowledge angered her, made her pissed off at Donovan.