Forces of Nature (16 page)

“Daddy,” she said, “he's not his father and I . . .” Her voice trailed off. “He said he was going to talk to the board and see what he can do to stop this. Can't we just give him a chance?”

“I don't know what lines he's been feeding you or what you think you two have together, but I don't trust him any more than I trusted his father,” Joel said.

“We'll have to take Douglas at his word and see what happens,” Erin said cautiously. She locked eyes with her daughter and winked.

Crystal knew her mother would have a long talk with her father later. She nodded and slowly rose to her feet. Joel padded into the kitchen, leaving mother and daughter alone.

Erin crossed over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

Placing her hand on Crystal's cheek, she said, “You really care about him, don't you?”

“I don't know,” she said.

“You could never lie to me,” Erin said with a chuckle as she and Crystal took a seat on the sofa.

“When I first met him, I wanted to just bash his head in. I even handcuffed myself to a desk in the lobby of Welco,” Crystal said.

Erin laughed, then pointed her finger at her daughter. “You're too much. Sometimes you can just write a letter or have a real meeting with people. You should've been around in the sixties with that spirit of yours.”

Crystal rubbed her forehead and leaned on her mother's shoulder. “But when he came here, something changed,” she said quietly.

“Before or after you slept with him?” her mother sagely asked.

“Ma!” Crystal exclaimed. “How did you know?”

Erin smiled. “Do you think sex started with your generation? I see how you looked at him. I look at your father the same way. Crystal, I wish you hadn't gotten so involved with him before this issue was taken care of; now you're in a horrible position.”

She dropped her head in her hands. “Do you think Daddy will ever accept him?”

Erin shrugged. “I knew your father still held some bitterness about what Junior tried to do, but I had no idea that he was this angry about it still. Maybe he looked at Douglas and it brought back all of the hurt and hard feelings about the situation.”

Crystal nodded. “I hope Daddy will change his mind because . . .”

Erin smiled. “You love him and want a future with him?”

Crystal leaned against her mother's shoulder and sighed. “I never said that I loved him,” she said, her words not ringing true to her ears or Erin's.

Douglas paced his office waiting for Crystal's call. After about twenty minutes, he figured that she wasn't able to get away from her parents, so he called Waylon to see what happened between him and Dena. When he didn't get an answer, he could only smile and assume that his godfather had worked something out with the fiery attorney. Part of him wondered why his father felt the need to play with people's lives the way that he had. From all accounts, his father grew up loved by both of his parents. But Douglas knew what a hard man he'd been when he was a child. Ignoring his mother, flaunting his numerous affairs and disdain for their marriage while he crafted an image of a man who cared about Duval County and had brought Welco in to provide jobs for people who grew up poor as he had.

The truth about his father was a bitter pill to swallow. He couldn't understand how a man who claimed to want to do so much good for others didn't give a damn about his family. That's why Douglas had wanted to get far away from Welco and what it stood for when he went to college. That's why he'd majored in music, despite the fact that his father and Waylon told him that it would be a waste of time and energy.

Douglas Jr. had tried to make peace with his son before he died, at least that's what Douglas thought his father was doing. Now, he wondered if his father had been adding another layer to his revenge plot. Did he want this to extend from the grave?

I have to stop this,
Douglas thought as he sat behind his desk and began typing a memo to the board on his computer about halting the purchase of Hughes Farm and moving the business park to Waverly. As he hit “Print” on the keyboard, he heard footsteps outside his office. Slowly rising to his feet, Douglas quietly crossed over to the door and locked eyes with Amy, his secretary.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Mr. Oldsman asked me to come in and—”

“You don't work for Clive, you work for me. If you want to keep your job, you'd better start talking about what you and Clive have been doing behind my back.”

Amy shivered and began to cry. Douglas wasn't sure if it was an act or if he'd scared the girl and he really didn't care.

“After the hearing tomorrow, the board is planning a secret vote to remove you as CEO. Mr. Oldsman had me come in to print the information that he needed for the meeting.”

“So, you've gone behind my back to work with the board against me?” he snapped.

“What choice did I have? If I didn't do what he wanted, then I wouldn't have a job. I don't have anything but this job.”

Douglas clenched his fists and grunted. “Haven't I always looked out for you? You don't have to worry about Clive firing you—you're done right now.”

“But—”

“Save your sputtering for Clive and get the hell out of my office!” Douglas bellowed.

Amy ran from the office, dropping the tote bag she'd been carrying. Douglas saw the diary he'd been looking for a few nights ago and Clive's letter to the board spill across the floor. The letter had been an indictment on Douglas's handling of the business park and why the board needed to relieve him of his duties as CEO. That wasn't a surprise to him. Clive wanted his job and he'd known that for a while. What he didn't know was what the old man's plans had been for his father's diary.

“That son of a bitch,” he groaned as he scanned the letter, which said the board could no longer have confidence in Douglas's leadership, nor his ability to keep Welco profitable in the new economy. The letter went on to question Douglas's ideas for the future of the company and his loyalty to the standards set by his father. Clive suggested that the board appoint him as CEO until a better candidate was hired.

Part of Douglas wanted to fight, but he knew there was a different route he needed to take. Someone else could run this company, but it damned sure wasn't going to be Clive Oldsman. The board was scheduled to meet at nine, the same time he was supposed to be in court.

Douglas dialed his attorney, despite the hour, and ordered him to show up in court with a motion to make the case against Hughes Farm go away. His last act as CEO would be to right the wrongs that his father had created all of those years ago. More than anything else, he was going to finally follow his heart.

 

 

Crystal lay in her bed, frustrated, confused, and missing the heat of Douglas's arms around her. She missed his lips, his hands touching her intimately, and even his soft snoring. She couldn't help but wonder if her father would accept him and their relationship.... Wait, were they in a relationship?

Her mother was right; she had fallen for Douglas. But would she lose her father because she found love with him?

Crystal flipped over on her stomach and buried her face in her pillow to stifle a scream. Things had gone from complicated to damned near impossible. Sitting up, she sighed and reached for her robe. Since she couldn't sleep, she decided that she would have some honey tea and sit on the porch until she either fell asleep or saw the sun rise. Slipping into her fluffy slippers, she made her way to the kitchen and fixed her late night snack of tea and oatmeal cookies. She remembered her last late night in the kitchen and how a little too much whiskey turned into one of the most passionate nights of her life. She couldn't help herself as she thought about sharing that drink with Douglas, so she poured a shot of whiskey into her teacup. Heading for the porch, Crystal took a seat on the wide steps and slowly sipped her drink. Though she was an adult, drinking under her parent's nose still seemed wrong. She broke off a piece of her cookie and nibbled at it as she heard a vehicle creeping up the driveway. Looking up, she smiled when she saw Douglas's truck without the headlights on come to a stop. Setting her cookie and teacup aside, she met him on the sidewalk.

“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly as he drew her into his arms.

“When I didn't hear from you, I got impatient and decided to come over and risk the wrath of your dad for this,” he said, then captured her lips in a hot kiss that made the tea she'd been drinking seem absolutely frigid. Crystal melted in his arms, allowing herself to be completely enveloped in the strong embrace she'd been missing. Douglas smiled as they broke the kiss. “Whiskey?”

“Not as much as the last time,” she replied.

“Good, because when I carry you into that dollhouse and make love to you, I don't want to hear you blaming it on the alcohol this time,” he said, then scooped her into his arms.

“Wait,” she said, pressing her hand against his chest. “I have to know something.”

“What's that?”

Crystal sighed, closed her eyes, and then asked, “This is just about us, right?”

Douglas tilted his head and peered deeply into her eyes. “Babe, I know what that file showed you about my father and I understand your family may not trust me, but after tomorrow you and everybody else will know this is just about us.”

She stroked his cheek and smiled. Crystal felt that she could believe him and that she could even open herself up to him even more, allowing herself to easily love him. She could stop telling herself that it was lust, because the way her heart swelled when he touched her, she knew it was love.

“Crystal,” he intoned, “I hope you know that I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know,” she replied quietly, then kissed his cheek.

Douglas headed for the cottage where he had yet to sleep. Once he and Crystal entered, Douglas placed her against the wall and untied the sash on her robe. Even though she stood there in a pair of Happy Bunny boxer shorts and a white tank top, she was still the sexiest woman he'd ever laid eyes on. And the way her erect nipples pressed against the cotton tank did nothing but make his mouth water like a fountain. In a quick motion, he lifted the shirt up and covered her rock-hard nub with his hot mouth, making her scream out in pleasure. With his free hand, Douglas slipped inside her boxers, happy to find that the only barrier between them was that sarcastic bunny's face. Slowly, he pressed his finger inside her, circling her sensitive clitoris with the tip of his finger.

Crystal's knees shivered, shook, and nearly turned to liquid as Douglas used his finger to bring her to the brink, while he still sucked and licked her nipple. Before her head could catch up with what was happening, she was naked with her legs on his shoulders as he kneeled in front of her, his mouth covering the most sensitive part of her body. Crystal couldn't hold back the orgasmic wave washing over her as Douglas's tongue flicked across her throbbing bud.

“Ooh, that's it,” she cried as he began to suck her essence as if it were fresh honey. Looking down at him, their eyes locked in an expression that needed no words. Her pleasure turned him on. Quenching her desire seemed to be his only need, the only thing he wanted. Pulling back from her, Douglas quickly stripped out of his clothes, revealing his dangling erection and how much he needed Crystal.

“Come here,” he commanded. “I want you right now.” Douglas lifted Crystal in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her chest pressed against his as they kissed deeply and fell back on the sofa. He gripped her hips, positioning her on his erection. And she took him inside her, slowly riding him as if he was a prized steed in a main street parade.

“Damn,” Douglas moaned. “Damn, you feel so good.”

She groaned, drawing him deeper and deeper into her hot valley. Crystal had never felt so hot and passion filled. Douglas matched her pace, her heat, and her desire, thrusting in and out—forgetting that they hadn't been protected as he felt a hot stream of release explode from him. Crystal reached her own climax, collapsing against his chest with a satisfied sigh.

Douglas held her tightly and kissed her cheek. “What do you think would happen if your father walked in right now?” he whispered in her ear.

“You'd better be able to run really fast,” she quipped.

“Or, maybe I should tell him how much I love his daughter.”

“Is that so?” she asked, propping up on his chest with her elbow.

Douglas drummed his fingers lightly on the back of her arm. “That's so,” he replied. “Who would've thought after you locked yourself up in my office that we'd be here right now?” He ran his finger down the valley of her breasts.

Douglas smiled and inched up in a seated position, holding Crystal around her waist, and said, “I have something that I need to tell you about tomorrow.”

This was it, the other shoe was about to drop. Crystal steeled herself and waited to hear what he was about to say. Douglas felt her body tense in his arms and stroked her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.

“It's not that bad,” he said. “But things are going to change with me and the company.”

“Change how?” she asked, hoping her voice didn't convey how tangled in knots her nerves were.

“I found out what happened to the file that I'd used to start this project and my father's diary. The chairman of the board, Clive Oldsman, took it.”

“Why would he do that?”

Douglas shrugged. “I have my suspicions. If my father's diary is as dark as what was in the file at my grandparents' house, I'm sure Clive planned to use it to damage Welco's image. If the stock prices dropped, he'd be able to convince the board to fire me.”

Crystal tilted her head to the side, confused as to why Clive would do something like that. Just as she was about to ask Douglas that very question, he continued. “Oldsman never wanted me to be the CEO of Welco. He's been trying to undermine me my whole career. He thought since I'd moved away and he had become my father's right-hand man that when he died, the job was his. I guess Waylon knew my father wanted to have a Wellington in that job and he made sure I came back to learn how to continue his legacy.”

“So, Clive would risk the company just to get his way?” she questioned.

Douglas nodded. “Not only that, but he was willing to risk people's retirement plans, jobs, and future projects to get what he wanted. That sorry bastard.”

Crystal rolled her eyes. “Seems as if he's the one I should've gone after.”

“And deprive me of the pleasure of your company? I think not. The funny thing about this is, until you marched into my office with your granola and handcuffs, I didn't really care. Truth of the matter was, after this deal was done, I was going to get out of town. Be a CEO who lived someplace else, spend my money and chase women who weren't from Reeseville.”

Hearing his plans sent a ripple of jealously down her spine. Had those plans changed now? Where in the hell was he going with this story and why did he want to talk about other women while she was lying there naked in his arms? She cleared her throat and Douglas smiled again. “It's a good thing plans don't always get followed,” he said. “But I did obviously fall into a trap.”

“A trap?”

“Clive's trap with this business park,” he said. “This was built for failure. And he wants to present that to the board tomorrow at an emergency meeting.”

“What?”

Douglas explained what happened when he found Amy in his office earlier and the letter that he'd read about his shortcomings as CEO. “How can he do that?” Crystal asked.

“It's a cut-throat world in business and when you make it to the top you can only go down,” he said.

Crystal shuddered. “I'm glad that I'm not in the business world.”

Douglas wondered if he could have a quiet, sleepy life on the farm with Crystal. He didn't mind giving up the top spot at Welco—provided that Clive didn't get it—but would he be able to trade in business suits for overalls and boots?
Of course,
he thought as he looked into Crystal's eyes,
this woman may not want me around at all if Welco still comes after this farm. I have to make sure that doesn't happen.