SNOWFIRES (22 page)

You’re screwed, Macleod. Back to square
one.

No. He sat up. There had to be another way.
He’d never rolled over and played dead in his life. Damned if he’d
give up without a fight now.

***

Holly was on her way back from the ladies
room when she saw the Amberfield people stalk out of the conference
room. No, it was too soon. When Gordon and Vernon followed, both
their faces grim, Holly stopped them.

“
What happened?”

Gordon scowled. “We’re history, thanks in
part to that press coverage this morning.” His glare told her he
held her responsible. “Amberfield walked.” He brushed by her almost
running to his office.

“
Sorry, Holly. I think we’d all better
freshen up our resumes.” Vernon patted her arm as he
passed.

When she looked in on Trent, her heart almost
broke. He looked alone. Broken. And her evil stepmother bore a
major part of the blame. The woman wasn’t worth the bullet it would
take to shoot her.

Dear Lord, could Trent ever forgive her for
doubting him? And her family—she wondered if he could stomach being
with her knowing her family were all such screw-ups? Except Grandpa
and Nana.

Trent raised his head when Holly entered, but
looked away.

She came forward hesitantly. “Trent?” She
stopped beside him and laid her hand on his shoulder. “I heard
Amberfield walked.”

He shrugged, apparently so upset he didn’t
trust himself to answer. Or, maybe he was angry with her, held her
responsible.

Risking rebuff, she pulled out the chair
beside him and sat. “Let me help.”

He frowned and looked at her. “How? How can
anyone help? I’ve screwed up everything, thanks in part to that
damned article.”

“
You can still fix it, Trent, if you’ll
let others help.”

He stared at her. “Can’t you understand
everything is over? Lost. Finished. You were right not to trust a
gambler, Princess. I’ve lost this roll of the dice.”

She touched his fist and curled her fingers
into his. “I know you’ve always worked alone. You’re part of a team
now. Each of us has contacts, especially Grandpa. Let him help
you.”

“
It’s over, I tell you. I’m surprised
you haven’t walked out. Look, I gambled and lost and fell flat on
my ass.” He raked a hand through his hair.

“
Look, Grandpa’s still in town. If we
you put your heads together, you can come up with a new
plan.”

He hit the table with his fist. “Damn, I came
so close.”

“
Trent, about Grandpa—“

“
Look, I’m not your father. I don’t
need you rushing in to juggle the finances and bail me out,
okay?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Don’t be a
jerk. Surely you’ve noticed that I don’t treat you like my father.
And Grandpa is still the Chairman of the Board. There’s no harm in
letting Grandpa help you make a few useful connections.”

“
Aw, hell, why not?”

She stood and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“You’re about to see some fast action, sailor.” She turned away but
glanced back to see if he followed.

He struggled to his feet as if he were twice
Grandpa’s age. “Weren’t you listening? I explained why we need a
contract before year’s end. No way in hell is that going to happen.
Damn, New Year’s is just over three weeks away. And no one does
business between Christmas and New Year’s Day.”

She smiled, hoping to infuse some hope into
what appeared a hopeless situation. “So, we have about two weeks to
work a miracle.”

“
Yeah, right. A miracle. That’s exactly
what it would take.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I have things
in the works that’ll dribble in over the year—
if
, that is, the company lasts that long. Marvel
needs at least one fat contract in effect immediately to keep
production going.” He held up his hands and dropped them in defeat.
“Not gonna happen, Princess. Give it up.”

Holly touched his arm. “Please, give Grandpa
a shot. You have a problem with that?”

He shrugged, which she took for assent.

She hurried to Lila’s desk and called her
grandfather. There had to be a way to secure whatever was required.
She explained to her grandfather what had happened.

Grandpa exploded. “That bitch Geneva is the
meanest excuse for a woman ever walked the face of this earth. You
tell Macleod to hold on and I’ll be there soon’s I make a couple of
calls. Tell him I’ll set him up with some people but he’ll have to
sell the deal.”

“
Thanks, Grandpa.” Relief shot through
her. With a little help from Grandpa, Trent would make this
work.

“
See you in an hour.” On his end of the
line Grandpa slammed down the receiver without so much as a
goodbye.

She turned to relay what her grandfather had
said.

Lila looked from Holly to Trent. “I’d better
make sure the conference room is tidy and send out for some of
those rolls Joe Bob likes.”

“
You’ll figure out something once
Grandpa and his friends arrive.” Holly brushed a kiss across
Trent’s lips but he didn’t respond. “Do you hate me?”

His frown deepened but he didn’t meet her
gaze. “Why?”

“
If you’d made the first meeting, maybe
the Amberfield people would have signed. You know I didn’t want the
expansion, and fought you until I realized I’d been wrong. But I
know now you’re right, Trent. And it was my horrid stepmother who
caused that awful story.” She shrugged. “Seems you have lots of
reasons to want me roasted on a spit.”

“
Hell, I have no right to want you for
anything.” He sat at his desk. “Why don’t you get back to work and
let me do the same?”

His abrupt dismissal jarred her.
Disbelieving, she watched him as she backed up a step, a second
one, and then focused on the papers scattered on his desk. Heart in
her throat, she whirled and left the office. How could he think
this little of her?

A lifetime of old insecurities bobbed to the
surface to taunt her. Years of being the brunt of jokes because of
her father’s schemes. Memories of her father saying he’d wanted a
boy, but she was great for a daughter. Her mother’s death, her
father’s marriage to Geneva, the loss of their home. Every bad
experience of her life played through her head to chip away at her
confidence.

Why shouldn’t Trent hate her? Her stupid
dawdling had landed them smack in the biggest snowstorm of the last
three decades. If she hadn’t let her pettiness send them into the
storm, he’d have made the first meeting and things might have
worked out.

But they wouldn’t have spent that time
together. How could she regret that? She couldn’t. Would they have
become involved anyway? Maybe.

She walked slowly down the hall like a
sleepwalker. Her limbs had turned leaden. She passed people and
nodded, but she couldn’t have spoken if they had stopped her.

She went into her office, masking the pain
and rejection she held inside. “Sara, would you let me know when my
grandfather arrives?”

Sara stood. “Holly? I heard the meeting went
wrong. Is it as bad as I’ve heard?”

Wow, office gossip moved fast. “I don’t know
what you heard. Naturally Trent was disappointed his plans fell
through, but he has back ups.” She hoped she told the truth.

Sara sank back to her chair. “I can’t tell
you what a relief that is. I love this job, but I’m the newest
person in the offices. If layoffs came, I know I’d be first.”

“
No, Sara. If the company were in
trouble, production crew would go first. But things will work out.”
Holly forced a smile and went into her office.

She recalled her fascination with Trent from
before he arrived. That photo in the magazine had piqued her
interest. She didn’t know where it had been taken, but the
photographer had captured him in an office setting with a view of
the ocean through a large window behind him. He’d looked handsome,
assured, and dangerous.

From the first time they’d met at the office,
she’d sensed awareness in him. An electricity between them. So,
yeah, they probably would have eventually connected.

Grandpa called less than an hour later on his
cell phone from the parking lot. She relayed the information to
Lila then hurried to the conference room. Trent joined her, looking
as if he were on the way to his best friend’s funeral.

Grandpa and two other men came in. Dear Lord,
Carl Winston was here. Holly stood by Trent, offering her support
in spite of his earlier rejection.

Lila hurried in with rolls and coffee. Holly
gave Trent’s hand a squeeze and left with Lila. She knew her
grandfather would kick her out for this session or any other in
which big business decisions were discussed. Grandpa would say it
wasn’t “woman’s work.” At least he’d ridden in like the cavalry, so
this time she could overlook his peculiar views on women’s
roles.

***

Trent shook Grayson’s hand. “Joe Bob, thanks
for coming.”

“
Glad I was in town.” He leaned in
close. “Get ready to sell this, boy. All up to you now.”

Joe Bob straightened and gestured to the
other two men helping themselves to coffee. “Brought a couple of
friends who can help work through this problem. You know Carl
Winston and Bruce Jacobs.”

Bruce extended his hand. “We met Saturday
night.”

With a glimmer of hope, Trent took Bruce’s
hand. “Nice of you to come.”

Trent turned and glared at the man who’d
broken his confidence.

Carl looked embarrassed. “I know you’d like
to shoot me, Macleod, and I was on my way to see you today even
before Joe Bob called. Needed to tell you that minx Geneva tricked
me, told me she needed to know about you to protect Holly. It was
all supposed to be strictly confidential.”

He held up a hand to stay Trent’s protest. “I
know, I know. She had me by the short hairs and I fell for it.
Won’t happen again.”

Joe Bob asked, “You mean you’ve stopped
seeing her?”

Carl laughed. “Oh, no. I mean I’m on to her
now. That is some woman. Mean as a snake but she makes me feel
forty years younger. Gives a blow job that can suck out your
brains.”

He winked at Trent. “Of course, I might have
failed to tell her that most of my cash is tied up in a family
trust for my kids and grandkids.” He laughed again.

Joe Bob rubbed his hands together. Darned if
he didn’t look as if he were enjoying himself. “Now, get Gordon and
Vernon in here and let’s get down to business. I told Carl and
Bruce I’d let you do the talking, Trent.”

Trent phoned the two men and watched the good
humor of Joe Bob and his cohorts while they waited for Gordon and
Vernon. Joe Bob and Carl were as excited as kids with a new puppy.
Bruce also appeared upbeat.

Trent couldn’t believe it. All three
men acted as if they were
his
good friends. Best buds. Equals. Damn, he’d only met Bruce
Jacobs a few days ago.

Bruce chose that moment to approach. “Seems
strange to be back in this room. Hell, it’s odd to be at Marvel at
all.”

“
Yeah, Holly said you used to work
here. Differences with her father, I believe. No wonder. Any sane
man would have argued with Walter Tucker’s business
plans.”

“
More than differences. The man was
stealing the company blind and holding it back at the same time.
Family business, so I guess he had a right to the money, but we
argued about everything. Couldn’t take it so I went
elsewhere.”

He gave Trent a measuring glance. “I
understand you’re everything he wasn’t.”

Trent couldn’t believe it after what had
happened today, but he laughed. “If you mean poor, yeah, that’s me
in spades now. If you mean do I want a different course for Marvel,
yeah, that too. It’s stagnant. Have to have new business, broaden
products.”

Bruce nodded. “Just what I told Walter. Damn,
the man was stupid. Always had an angle, but as far as I could see
none of it involved hard work.”

Gordon and Vernon came in. Each looked as
poleaxed as Trent and each showed surprise when they saw who had
come with Joe Bob.

Joe Bob clapped Trent on the back. “Soon’s I
get me one or two of those Bavarians and some coffee, let’s get
started. You got some talking to do and we’re here to listen.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“
One
more day
for these.” Sara switched on the white Christmas lights she’d
strung around a window that overlooked the building’s reception
area. “Too bad your grandparents left before Christmas.”

“
They thought they had to go to the
ranch Friday but they’ll be back late this afternoon. Grandpa
always comes to the company Christmas buffet on the
twenty-second.”

Holly worried about everything and her nerves
were strung tight as a piano string. All last week she’d been a
wreck. Grandpa had assured her before he left that things were
going well. Be patient, he’d said, and it’ll work out.

“
So, they’ll be with you over
Christmas?” Sara straightened large red bow on the open
door.

Holly shook her head and focused on what Sara
was saying. “No. They’re going to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. I’m
supposed to go with them.” The trip no longer held the interest it
had when they’d planned it last summer—before she’d met Trent.

“
Wow, I’ll bet you’re excited?” She
blanched. “Oh, Holly, I’m sorry. I forgot this is your first
Christmas without your father. I guess it seems odd.”

Holly forced a smile. “Yes, I guess that’s
why I can’t get in the spirit of the season. I haven’t even put up
a tree at home.” The part about not having a tree was true. And she
missed her father, of course. But Trent Macleod was the reason
she’d been moping around.