“He doesn’t know how much time he has,” Rock continued, his voice solemn. “The doctors are optimistic but he doesn’t want to take any chances. Whatever time he has left, whether it’s going to be measured in months or years, he wants to take full advantage of it. He loves the company but now he wants to spend as much time as he can with his wife and children.” He shook his head then smiled. “And he told me he’s got seven grandkids to play ball with. Even without the company he’ll have his hands full.”
Dana nodded, and with her new understanding of the reasons for her boss’s hasty departure her resentment toward Rock St. Stephens dissipated. The man had stepped in to help a friend, not to force him out. “But why didn’t he tell us before he sold the company?” she asked. “We would have understood.”
Rock shook his head. “He didn’t want anyone to know. He hated the thought of being pitied.”
“But we wouldn’t have-”
“Maybe not, but a man’s got his pride.” Rock almost sounded impatient. “He wanted this to be presented as strictly a business transaction, so let’s leave it at that.” He looked at her pointedly. “And I trust that this information will remain between the two of us.”
Dana frowned. What did he think she was? A tattletale? She didn’t air her annoyance, though. Instead, she asked, “So what do we tell the staff today? They’re going to come to this meeting expecting answers.”
“I know.” Rock leaned forward and rested his folded arms on top of the desk. “Here’s what we’ll say…”
**
Not bad. Rock was feeling more than satisfied as he closed his office door behind him and walked across the room toward the plate glass windows overlooking New York’s Fifth Avenue. He’d met with the staff of thirty-eight employees – a much smaller group than he’d ever worked with before – and had given each of them a chance to say their piece. Some said a lot, some said very little, and there were a few who looked like they had no idea what to say.
No matter. He’d answered all the questions thrown at him and had given the team the reassurance they needed. Without giving away too much, he’d told them that Mr. French had opted to enjoy an early retirement with his wife and had asked him, an old family friend, to take over the reins and do right by his staff. They didn’t have to know that his time with them was limited. He had other, much larger companies to run. But for now, he’d focus his energies here and leave his other businesses to his competent cadre of managers.
Because at this corporation, his newest acquisition, there were questions to be answered and a major mystery to solve.
The fact was, Richard had shared a serious concern with him. Someone was embezzling company funds. Despite record sales of luxury vacation packages the company had shown no increase in its cash balance over the previous year. Something fishy was going on. But without real evidence, Richard had been loath to start making reports to the police. And so he’d begun doing his own investigation, checking the company books at nights when everyone had gone home. And then had come the disaster that had rocked him back on his heels. Cancer.
Now it fell to Rock to figure out what was going on. That had been at the forefront of his mind when he’d met with the employees and he’d paid close attention to every one of them, from the vice president of sales, Dennis Laing, to his sales agents, and from the financial controller, Sean Johnson and his team, to the human resources manager, the marketing representatives and the receptionist. And, of course, his own executive assistant, Dana Daniels.
Although, where Dana was concerned, Richard seemed to have gotten it in his head that she was above suspicion, something about having recruited her right out of college and being a mentor to her.
Rock had no beef with that but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to investigate her just as thoroughly as the rest of the staff, no matter how distracting she was.
And she was distracting, with unreadable eyes of an intriguing color, a cross between hazel and violet. Amethyst, maybe? If you could describe eyes like that. He liked the way she wore her hair, letting it fall in soft waves down her back, the tendrils framing the softness of her cheeks. But it was the pout of her lips, so determined and defiant, that got him. The set of her mouth spoke of an impudence that was nothing short of provocative. And despite the fact that he wasn’t much of a movie buff and never followed the Hollywood crowd, he couldn’t help but notice her resemblance to Angelina Jolie.
As he remembered their first meeting Rock could not help smiling to himself. Ready to get down to business, he’d declined the receptionist’s offer to walk him to Richard’s old office and there he’d seen her, back to him, and even though he could not see her face he could read her defiance in her rigid stance - her back straight and her shoulders square.
And then when he’d heard her defiant declaration he’d known immediately he was in for a rough ride. This woman would be no pushover. He could see…and hear…that.
But no matter how strong-willed she was, she would fall in line soon enough. She’d better. He was here on a mission – to rescue the company from the parasite that was sucking it dry. And he would let nothing, not even a beauty like Dana Daniels, stand in his way.
Because he would find the culprit. He had absolutely no doubt about that.
CHAPTER TWO
“Claire Francis, don’t you dare sit in that chair. You know that’s my favorite spot.”
Dana marched, tray in hand, over to the table by the fish aquarium. It was so relaxing, watching the Clownfish and Angelfish and Guppies as they floated in the lightly bubbling water.
Claire laughed, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “Here comes big, bad Dana with fire in her eyes.” She plopped her lunch tray onto the table and waved a hand. “Join me. I’ve been wanting to connect with you all week, anyway. Your timing is perfect.”
Dana grinned as she slid her tray to the spot across from Claire. “I never could bully you.”
Claire laughed and reached for a French fry as she sat down. “And why should I let a little pipsqueak like you bully me? You’re half my age.”