Covet (16 page)

“Convenient excuses, old man. That’s all those are. I always knew that wasn’t the real reason you ended things with you. You can’t fool me, Ian, especially when it comes to women. So, spill. What’s the real truth behind your broken engagement to Davina?”

Ian scowled at his phone, thinking darkly that if his irritating younger brother was in the room at this moment he’d gladly throttle him. “If you must know,” he admitted reluctantly, “I suppose I just didn’t love her. I liked and respected her, enjoyed her company, but there simply wasn’t anything –
there.
No fire, no excitement, no missing her desperately when I was away and counting the minutes until I could see her again. And I realized that I couldn’t settle for anything less, didn’t want to get married simply because everyone expected it of me at that point in my life. If I ever do decide to marry, then it will be because I’ve finally met a woman who does stir up those sort of emotions.”

Colin gave a low whistle. “Well, I’m impressed, old man. You are a bit of a romantic after all, aren’t you? Not quite so much of a stuffed shirt or coldhearted bastard as you’d like everyone to believe, are you?”

“I can be when the need arises,” retorted Ian. “Especially when I receive a pointless, annoying phone call while I’m trying to get some work done. Now, was there anything else you wanted to tell me besides the fact that Davina has a new fiancé?”

“Actually, that wasn’t the reason I called,” admitted Colin quietly. “I was planning to call you before I saw her at lunch. It’s about the job. Specifically, the new job Father and Uncle Richard have asked me to take on.”

“Oh?” Ian’s interest was suddenly piqued. “And what exactly would that be?”

Colin hesitated for a few moments before replying. “I’m being appointed Regional Director of our Asia/Pacific Division. Moving to Hong Kong within the month. And quite frankly still reeling from the shock.”

Ian thought privately that Colin wasn’t the only one to be shocked at this very unexpected news. He knew that his younger brother had done a lot to curb his wild ways over the past year, and had become far more serious about his place in the family business, but he would have never imagined that their father and uncle were ready to place quite so much faith in him.

“Well, I suppose congratulations are in order then, little brother,” drawled Ian. “That is, I assume you’re pleased with this promotion?”

“Yes, of course,” agreed Colin. “I admit it will be a hell of an adjustment to live in Hong Kong, not to mention adapting to all the different cultures where our hotels are located. But it’s definitely an honor to be given a position like this one, especially considering my age. Not to mention – well, you know better than anyone, I suppose.”

“You’ve toned down the hellraising over the last year or so,” acknowledged Ian. “When was the last time your name made the tabloids?”

Colin chuckled. “About that long, I would guess. And believe me, Father and Uncle Richard raked me over the coals very thoroughly before they agreed to give me the position. I’m sure they’ll be watching me very closely for the first few months.”

“I wasn’t even aware the position was open,” admitted Ian. “What happened to Rupert?”

Rupert Chalmers had been the Regional Director of the Asia/Pacific Division – the newest and smallest of the three regions where the company owned properties – for the past four years. Ian knew that the other man had been in a bit of a snit when he hadn’t been given the directorship of the North and South American properties – the position that Ian had held for almost a full year – but hadn’t heard of any repercussions as a result.

“Let himself get lured away by the competition,” replied Colin. “He’ll be heading up the European division for Brookfield’s. Guess he was so anxious to return home that he didn’t bother to read Brookfield’s latest earnings report.”

“They’ve definitely left themselves in a very vulnerable position,” agreed Ian. “Ripe for the plucking for anyone looking to buy them out. In fact, it’s entirely possible that we could be the ones to acquire them if the circumstances were right. But let’s forget Rupert, shall we? You deserve this, Colin, especially after you’ve turned things around so completely this last year. Congratulations.”

The brothers talked for awhile longer, discussing where Colin planned to live in Hong Kong, the two day layover he would be taking in San Francisco en route to his new job, and the challenges he would face living in a very different sort of culture. The conversation ended with Ian reminding Colin to let him know when his flight would arrive in San Francisco so that he could arrange for his driver to pick him up.

Ian had a smile on his face as he disconnected the call, having admittedly been taken aback by Colin’s announcement. His younger brother had constantly been something of a hellraiser, dating back to their childhood when Colin had always been up for a dare, had always been the one of her three sons to cause their mother some sort of grief. Ian couldn’t recall how many broken bones, scrapes, and bruises Colin had suffered over the years, or how many times he’d needed stitches. As Colin had entered his teens, he’d wholeheartedly discovered the opposite sex and started causing the family – in particular their mother Joanna – a very different sort of grief. And once he’d graduated from university and began working for the family firm, the PR department at the London headquarters had worked overtime to keep his most recent exploits under wraps as much as possible. Still, even with their best efforts, hardly a week had gone by without a photo of Colin and some scantily clad model, actress, or socialite splashed all over the tabloids.

Joanna had practically begged Ian to let Colin move in with him, hoping against hope that her sensible, no-nonsense middle son might have a calming influence on the fun-loving, out of control youngest one. Ian had suffered Colin’s presence at his London townhouse for nearly two years, during which time he’d been constantly regaled with very detailed recaps of his brother’s sexual exploits of the previous evening. At least, thought Ian dryly, Colin had rather grudgingly abided by his brother’s insistence that he was never to bring one of his many women to the townhouse. Ian was admittedly something of a stuffed shirt, and extremely selective about the few women he himself had been involved with over the years. He’d also been very conscious about maintaining the family’s image and reputation, figuring that one irrepressible son was more than enough for his mother to fret over.

Davina Burkhart, the woman he’d been engaged to for barely six months, had been someone he had been acquainted with for a number of years before they had ever started dating. Her parents moved in the same social circle as the elder Gregson’s, and several of Ian’s closest friends also knew Davina well. Therefore, they had been thrown together on multiple occasions over the years, and eventually began to see each other. Ian knew now that his heart had never really been in the relationship, and that it had been at the prodding of his family and friends that he’d ever considered becoming engaged. He had liked and respected Davina, enjoyed her company, and knew that she would indeed have made him an excellent wife. She’d been educated at the very best private schools, was both intelligent and sophisticated, and had been raised with the same sort of privileged wealth that Ian and his brothers had always known.

But aside from the obvious things they’d had in common, Ian had come to realize that they had nothing else to hold them together. There was no passion, no romance, and even though Davina was considered a beautiful woman, he’d felt little physical attraction towards her. They’d had a sexual relationship, of course, but it had been so clinical and almost impersonal that Ian had often had difficulty in becoming aroused in her presence. And for all of Davina’s physical attributes – classically lovely features, gracefully slender figure, glossy dark brown hair, impeccable fashion sense – she had been almost entirely lacking in passion and emotion, with Ian sensing quite clearly that she had simply been going through the motions during their physical encounters.

He hadn’t discussed any of this with Colin, of course. Despite the fact that his younger brother cheerfully shared very intimate details about all of his varied sexual experiences, Ian was extremely closed-mouthed about his own. He’d never been one to brag about his conquests, few of those that there had been, and had rarely availed himself of one of the many women who’d practically thrown themselves at him over the years. He was both old-fashioned and something of a control freak, and preferred to be the one doing the chasing instead of the other way around. The larger part of the problem was that there had been precious few women in his thirty-five years whom he’d ever felt the urge to – well, chase.

The intercom on his office phone buzzed, and he depressed it immediately, knowing it was his PA Andrew Doherty – the only person he’d ever worked with who was possibly more dedicated to his job than Ian himself was.

“Yes, Andrew?” he asked, wishing at times that the young, all-too-serious man in the outer office wasn’t quite so efficient or attentive to detail.

“Just reminding you about your weekly staff meeting, Mr. Gregson,” replied Andrew briskly. “The conference room is all ready for you, sir. Less than ten minutes until the start of the meeting.”

“Thank you, Andrew. I’ll be on my way shortly. I don’t expect this meeting to last very long, especially since we have a full day ahead of us. Which team member will be on hand today?”

“It’s Sarah’s turn, sir. And I’ve already checked to make sure she has everything in order. But please be sure to let me know if there’s a problem, sir. Sarah is not always – well, the most attentive to details. Something I need to address with her immediately.”

Ian gave a tiny smile, thinking that poor Sarah likely did a satisfactory job for the most part, but that living up to Andrew’s extremely high standards was nearly impossible for the average employee to achieve.

“I’m sure it will be fine, but I’ll make a note of anything amiss,” assured Ian.

He set aside the report he’d been reviewing when Colin had called, knowing he would have to finish looking it over after the meeting had concluded. When he was in the office, he made it a point to hold a weekly meeting with his management team, a group of roughly ten or twelve higher level managers who worked here on the executive floor. The Gregson Group leased four floors of this high rise office building in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District, with the executive quarters on the uppermost of the four.

Each manager had their own PA assigned to them, but there was also a team of a half-dozen administrative assistants to handle special assignments and any overflow from the management staff. The six assistants reported directly to Andrew, and received their assignments from him. One of their duties was to take turns handling the various meetings held here on the executive floor, mostly ensuring that any food and beverage service was set out, that any A/V or other required equipment was on hand, and taking notes or distributing printed materials as necessary.

Ian had little to do with the support team on a daily basis, more than content to leave their supervision to the very capable Andrew. But he always took care to be gracious and appreciative of any work they did for him, and especially at the various meetings that the six of them took turns overseeing. It was not, he acknowledged ruefully, always such an easy task for him, especially when certain team members persisted in their attempts to flirt with him or gain his attention in some other way.

Alicia Spencer was by far the worst offender in that regard. She was certainly a pretty enough young woman, though she reminded Ian of an ice princess with her fair skin, pale blonde hair, and even paler blue eyes. He had never felt even the slightest attraction towards her, especially given the rather haughty airs she put on, and it had been a source of great annoyance to realize that her parents were part of the same social circle that Ian had been welcomed into upon his move to San Francisco. Alicia seemed to think this gave her something of an “in” with him, particularly since she also attended a number of events where he was present.

Ian had read over each of the team members’ resumes carefully, and learned that Alicia came from a rather privileged background – though still nothing close to his own upper-crust upbringing in England. He’d encountered dozens of young women very much like Alicia over the years, both professionally and socially, and nearly every one of them had considered themselves the perfect match for someone of Ian’s wealth and social standing. Alicia, though subtly, had made it very clear that she was ready, willing, and able to be far more to Ian than a member of his management support team.

Unfortunately for Alicia, he had no interest in her whatsoever, especially since the company had a very strict policy concerning the management staff dating employees under their direction. Ian was especially diligent about personally adhering to this policy, and went to great lengths to keep his relationships with his employees strictly professional. It was a well known fact both here at the regional headquarters and at each of the hotels under his direction that Ian Gregson did
not
date employees under any circumstances. He had become extremely adept over his thirty-five years at warding off unwanted female advances, whether it was one of his employees, a guest at one of his hotels, or someone in his social circle. He’d quite deliberately cultivated a reputation of being a cold, indifferent bastard, and for the most part it kept the majority of those avaricious women at a distance.

Some women, however, had taken a bit longer than others to get the message. At least Alicia was discrete about the hints she dropped from time to time, and had never been so bold as to flat out proposition him. Unlike his Business Development Manager – the very flirtatious, exceedingly aggressive Morgan Cottrell.

It had taken the predatory Morgan less than forty eight hours after Ian had arrived at the San Francisco offices to make her move on him. He grimaced now in distaste to recall the way she had very deliberately dressed for her pathetic attempt at seduction – short, tight suit skirt; sheer, low-cut blouse; spiky stiletto heels. She’d practically reeked of strong, musky perfume, and her overly made-up face had looked almost clownish. She was a few years older than Ian, nearly forty by now, and had clearly gone to great lengths to preserve her youth – platinum blonde hair that couldn’t possibly be her real color; the use of both Botox and fillers to smooth away wrinkles and plump up her lips; and breast implants that did not look the least bit natural.