One White Lie: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book One (8 page)

T
he rest of the week went off without issue. Brice stopped by her desk and asked how she was. He never mentioned the flowers, and she didn’t either. She and Brice had reached a good spot. Pleasant to each other. As one would expect in any other job.

After her lunch with Zoey, she had to admit her mind frequently wandered back and forth between who Brice had been and who he was now. Every so often, a glimpse of what was could be seen in his eyes, when they were a soft gray, not so full of anger. But she knew Zoey was wrong. The change within him didn’t have anything to do with not being with her. That change may have happened the day they broke up, but it had taken place even before she’d laid eyes on him. If his family didn’t know the cause, how was she ever going to be able to figure it out?
It’s none of my business. If he wants to be unhappy, that is on him. I don’t care in the least.

If only that were true. The sadness in Zoey’s eyes as she spoke of her brother still troubled her. If Brice didn’t care, then he needed to know others did.

Mustering all her confidence, she waited patiently for him to come by her desk for his coffee. Today was the day she would ask. What exactly wasn’t yet clear, but she was going to ask him something.

Instead, that changed with an early call from Brice.

“No calls today. Absolutely no one. Understood?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Henderson.”
A bit grumpier than usual. Glad you didn’t stop by today.

The rest of the morning went by quickly. It was almost noon, and she was about to head out for lunch. When the phone rang, she almost let it go to voice mail, but something in her said to take the call. “Good morning, B&H Advance Engineering, Mr. Henderson’s office. How may I help you?”

“Nancy, where is he? He’s not picking up his cell phone.”

She didn’t recognize the voice or the number. He also seemed so angry he hadn’t noticed she wasn’t Nancy.
We don’t sound anything alike.
No matter who he was, she still wasn’t going to transfer him, so he might as well get ready to leave a message like everyone else. She wasn’t about to be bullied. Not by him or anyone else. “Excuse me, who’s calling please?”

The man questioned, “Who is this?”

“My name is Lena, and I am Mr. Henderson’s personal assistant.”

“Since when?”

Really? Don’t tell me this is another one of Brice’s brothers because this is ridiculous.
She wasn’t about to divulge any information or play any of their games.
I should have let it go to voice mail.
Ignoring his question, she asked again but in a firmer tone. “And your name is?”

“Barrington. Asher Barrington.”

Lena felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.
Brice’s partner. Shit!

She’d never met him before, but by his tone, she knew he wasn’t a man to mess with. Even if he had been on the do not transfer list, she probably would have done so anyway. Thankfully, even though Brice and Asher were partners, he didn’t seem to work out of this office.
Let’s hope it stays that way.

“Mr. Henderson asked not to be disturbed.” Lena couldn’t help it. She knew her voice trembled as she spoke and waited for the inevitable.

“Do you know who I am?”

Softly she answered, “Yes, I do.”

The man’s voice rose as he demanded, “Then transfer my damn call now.”

Without any hesitation, she put the call on hold and rang the lab. It continued to ring. Lena didn’t want to tell Asher Barrington that Brice would not take his call. She was positive it would end in being cursed out if not fired.
Come on. Pick up.
Thankfully he finally answered.

“I said no calls today.” His voice was as gruff as Asher’s.

What is wrong with everyone today?
“Sorry. But he insisted.”

“Lena I s—”

“Mr. Barrington is on line one.” Then all was quiet. All she could do was wait.
Just take the call.

“Put him through.”

Thank God.
Before she hung up, she hit the transfer button.
Oh, how I wish I could eavesdrop on this conversation. I’m sure it’s going to be a heated one.

“Neither outcome is acceptable.” Brice couldn’t believe it.
Dammit.
Not only did he carry the weight of the entire development and testing of this project on his shoulders, but now he needed to think about the business negotiations in Trundaie as well.
This is what you get when your business partner has the tact of Dominic Corisi.
“Asher, you need to reconsider your process and each component of it. Remove the unacceptable and reconfigure with a substitution.”
One that doesn’t involve violence and destruction maybe?
“Have you considered a more diplomatic approach?”

Even over the phone he could hear Asher’s frustration.
If you didn’t act like a bull in a china shop, maybe we wouldn’t have these issues.
Brice grew up watching his father use this same heavy-muscle tactic to get whatever he wanted. It was lucrative, but what was his legacy going to be?
Take what you want. Crush what you can’t have.

Brice was equally driven but logical. He wracked his brain for the right answer. This wasn’t his field of expertise. The only person he knew who had ever dealt with any kind of overseas disaster was Trent Davis in Dubai, but the place was known for luxury, not turmoil.
And Trent’s no sweet talker either.

“Have you considered your brother Ian? He has a skillset that could be the third option you haven’t considered. Perhaps a more diplomatic approach could convince the Trundaie government to step up in this situation. The rebels are their issue, not ours.”

After the call, Brice wanted to do one thing, to focus on what he could control, his responsibility for the business, but that wasn’t going to be possible until he knew for himself what the situation looked like. Opening his computer, he googled Trundaie. It looked like they were a country on the verge of revolution, something that had been building for years. Searching deeper, he came across something new. It was brief but powerful. A new rebel force threatening the destruction of an American-based company both in Trundaie and abroad.
That’s B&H. Fuck.

Brice now understood Asher’s concerns.
This is more volatile than I thought
. What exactly had it meant by there and abroad? Asher mentioned hiring Bennett Stone as head of security. This facility was secure. This new addition didn’t have anything do to with someone trying to steal his formula. That meant only one thing.
The stakes just got higher.
Did that mean personal threats against their lives?
And what about our families and friends?

He closed his laptop again. He needed more answers, and not just the ones Asher provided. They had been friends since childhood, and he had spent more time at the Barrington’s home than he had at his own during his younger years. Asher would do a lot of things, but he wouldn’t risk his family. From what he remembered, they were all close with parents who watched out for the whole lot of them. Whatever was going on, he knew Asher would do whatever was required to fix it.
Even if I don’t always agree with your business practices, I wouldn’t want anyone else as a partner, Asher. Now fix this shit.

The phone rang again.
What the hell! How am I going to get anything done, Lena, if you keep transferring calls?
“What now?”

“Ross Whitman is on the line. He said you were expecting his call.”

He was, but that was before everything started going to hell. His intentions of finishing this project, taking a month off to sail the seas and regroup, were quickly vanishing. If he couldn’t find a way to stay on track, no one would need to worry about what was happening in Trundaie because there wouldn’t be a product ready for production. “Put him through.”

“Brice, I wanted to let you know the boat is ready to go. Unless you have decided to throw a last-minute change in the mix, you can have your boat any time.”

“Are you delivering it, Ross?”

Ross’s laughter echoed through the receiver. “Since it is in sunny California I thought you might want to take it out. Especially after that winter from hell you’ve had in Boston this year.”

After last week’s arctic blast of cold, he would have jumped at the chance to take a break. But not only was there no time, right now everything was up in the air. He wanted that boat but it was, unfortunately, going to have to wait. “Hold on to it for a while. I’ll be in touch when I’m ready.”

“Great. Does this mean you are thinking of more changes? I know you like things exactly as you want them, Brice. I’m the same way. But your idea of a minor change isn’t the same as mine. This boat is top of the line. The only thing it can’t do is walk on land or fly, and if you need either one of those—”

“Fly you say?” It was Brice’s turn to laugh. He
had
given Ross a hard time. Was it so bad he only wanted the best and wouldn’t settle for anything less? If it was that way in his professional life, why should anyone expect anything less from him in his personal life?

“Sorry I mentioned it. I’ll hold it here in port. If you need it delivered, let me know. I won’t mind taking this baby out for an extended test ride with Jill.”

“I’ll be in contact, Ross. You just hold it there.” If there was any test-driving, it was going to be done by him. In another two weeks, he would hand this project off to Asher and the plant foreman. Not entirely, but there would be a short break between completion on his end and the actual startup of production. Brice knew exactly how he wanted to spend that time. C
hristening my new boat . . . with Lena.

If he thought he would get any more work done today after that, he better think again. It was a total loss once he envisioned her lying naked on the deck in the moonlight as he touched and tasted every inch of her. His cock was already hard for her.
Maybe she would like a replay of last week.

Throwing his lab coat over the back of his chair, he headed for her office. Hopefully, she didn’t have any plans for dinner.
To hell with dinner, dessert sounds better.

As he walked down the hall, he could hear her sweet voice as it softly echoed in the empty corridor. He could tell she was on the phone but couldn’t make out with whom. As he came around the corner, her voice was loud and clear.

“I love you, baby.”

What the fuck?
His mood suddenly changed from a need for her to wanting to punch someone. At no point had she mentioned a boyfriend or significant other.
I never asked either.
Whoever it was, it couldn’t be serious.
At least not so serious that she refused me.

“Who was that?” Brice demanded.

“Sorry. That was a personal call. I’ll try not to let it happen again.”

“That’s not what I asked.” It felt like a storm was raging within him.

She looked puzzled for a moment then angry. “Do I understand you correctly? You believe you have the right to know my personal business?”

I want to know everything about you.
Brice said nothing and waited for her response.

Lena stood up, crossed her arms in front of her, and said firmly, “Let me make one thing clear, Mr. Henderson. No one, including you, has any right to ask who I speak to or what I do.”

“What you do on my property is my business. This is a secure facility for a reason. How do you know that your boyfriend is not using you to gain information about my project?”

Lena shook her head, raised her hand in protest, and responded. “I can guarantee you the person I was speaking to just a moment ago does not know anything about you or what you do. And trust me, I have absolutely no intention of ever mentioning your name to him.”

He searched her eyes for some sign of what her feelings were for that guy. The only thing she revealed was a distaste for how he’d just spoken to her.
Get in line. I rub a lot of people that way. But I always get what I want in the end.

He stepped closer, so she was only inches away. “Good. Keep it that way. What happens between us stays with us.”