by Katie Dowe
******
“I want her fired immediately,” Virginia Schulz said furiously as she took off her gloves in the limousine they were being transported in.
“Because she dared to respond to you? You were very rude, Mother.” Peter had sat there and stared at the petite woman standing up to his mother. No one had ever done that before!
Virginia stared at her son in shock. “Are you going to let her get away with it?”
“Get away with what? She did not steal company secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. She spoke her mind and I admire her for it.”
“You admire-” Virginia choked down the rest of the words as she looked at her son. “I am your mother! She is a mere employee and a new one at that.”
“I am not firing her, Mother, so forget that,” he told her coolly and buried his head in the newspaper that he had picked up when he came inside the vehicle.
Virginia fumed the rest of the journey and tried to find ways of how she was going to get rid of the girl her son had just hired!
Chapter 3
“Leah, this is Madeline, Mr. Schulz’s personal assistant.”
“Yes?” Leah sounded cautious. She had come home last night after the flight and sat around waiting to hear that her services had been terminated!
“First off congratulations, my dear,” the woman said in a pleased hushed tone.
“What am I being congratulated for?”
“You put her in her place and we are all applauding you.”
“What?”
Madeline repeated what she had heard. “She called me this morning and asked me for your file and I asked her why and she told me. She is gunning to get you fired, but Mr. Schulz is standing his ground.”
“Oh, dear. I have gone ahead and put my foot into my mouth. I thought you were calling to tell me to collect my severance pay.”
“Virginia Schulz is a tyrant and no one had ever had the gumption to stand up to her. We are all thanking you from the bottom of our hearts.”
“I am not sure I should accept the thank you.”
“You should, my dear, we insist,” the woman said with a laugh. “I am also calling you to invite you to the annual staff party that will be held on the first Saturday in October.”
“That’s next Saturday!”
“Yes. It’s a grand affair where the staff members from all over the world come together and get to know one another.”
“And I did not receive an invite before because you were not sure I would be working long enough for one?” Leah said shrewdly.
“That, and the fact that invitations went out before you were employed. Last year, it was kept in Germany and the year before Italy. This year it is being held here in our home country and promises to be as good as the ones before.”
“Will the managers be there?” Leah asked casually.
“Mr. Schulz is always present. And his mother, but don’t worry about her firing you, my dear, she does not have that kind of power. Her husband left her a very limited role in his will so she does not have a lot of say.”
“That’s terrible for her.”
“But good for us. If she was in control, not one of us would work here for long. Mr. Schulz has his ways, but he is a very fair employer. Virginia Schulz is just a plain bitch, please excuse my language.”
“Oh, don’t mind me!” Leah said with a laugh, warming up to her. She had met the woman when she had gone to the office for the interview, but the reception had been cool and unwelcoming.
“The dress is pretty formal as there will be associates there as well. I hope you will come.”
“I just might. Thanks, Madeline.”
“You are welcome, my dear.”
*****
“I have invited Candace over for dinner tomorrow night. I hope you were not planning on going anywhere.” Virginia took a sip of her wine and tested the texture of it. Peter had finally made it home for dinner and she broached the subject. The woman had indicated that she had a feeling that Peter’s interest was waning and they had to do something about it.
His dark blue eyes met hers as he cut into his veal. He usually made arrangements to have dinner away from the manor but he had some things to discuss with her. She had very little input in the business but she also had a five percent share that his father had left her with and an income every month that she was allowed. He hated the fact that his father had done this to her, but he had no say over it. The will had been ironclad.
“I have plans,” he told her briefly without emotion.
“I already invited her, Peter.” Virginia felt the anger simmering inside her. He was so much like his father, she thought in frustration. Candace had promised her that when she was married to Peter and their fortunes joined then at least Virginia would have more say in the running of the company. She would make sure of that!
“I am sure the two of you have lots to talk about,” he told her coolly. He always braced himself to have dinner with her and stay after the discussions but it was starting to wear on him.
“She would make a perfect wife for you.”
He laughed sardonically as he leaned back against the chair. “I am not interested in marrying anyone right now, Mother, and when I am, I am perfectly capable of choosing my own wife.”
“You are thirty-”
“I am not over the hill. Besides, seeing your marriage to my father is giving me second thoughts as to the institution. I am quite comfortable being single.”
He watched as a cold mask came over her face.
“You have no right to say that to me.”
“I am being honest, Mother, or is that not allowed in this family?” His thick eyebrows arched. “You married a man who pretended that you did not exist. Do you want the same for me?”
Virginia stared at her son silently, her heart aching inside her chest. She had loved his father, but Franz had never given her the slightest indication that he thought of her as anything other than a woman who had kick started his business with the money he had received when he married her and a mother to their son. “I want you to marry and stop running around making a fool of yourself.”
“Ah.” His eyes crinkled slightly in amusement. “The women from your social club talking about me again?”
“You think this is a joke?”
“The fact that you want to marry me off? I actually think it is hilarious,” he told her coolly as he pushed the chair back.
“Where are you going?”
“To my apartment.”
“I thought you were spending the night?”
“In this mausoleum?” He looked around the ostentatious living room with distaste. He had left as soon as he was able and gotten his own apartment when he was in college. After that, he had not come back home to stay. It was too much of a reminder of the coldness and emptiness of it all. “You should let me get rid of it for you and get yourself one of the apartments that are owned by the company.
“Your father and I bought this house together for our family.” Her eyes were bright with unshed tears as she stared up at him.
“What family, Mother?” Peter felt his heart harden as he stared down at the woman who had turned his hugs away so many times in the past. “You are all alone here with the staff to keep you company. Even when Father was alive, we were not a family much more now.”
“Get out!!” she blazed at him. “This is still my home and I will not have you being disrespectful to me.”
“Goodnight, Mother.” He inclined his head and with long strides he was gone, leaving her slumped over the long elegant dining table, trying to keep the tears from falling.
*****
Leah passed her hands over her slim curves self-consciously as she stared around the elegant room. She had almost not bothered to come at the last minute but had decided why not? She had dug through her overflowing closet and had settled for an ice blue dress that came just above her knees. She had despaired at what to do with her hair and had decided to leave it loos
e. It flowed past her shoulders in waves and shone from the lights above. Her makeup was minimal, certainly less than what she wore to work, and she had on silver accessories. The dress was a little too provocative, but she had worn it anyway. Her black strappy sandals were a little too high, but she preferred very high heels to compensate for her lack of height.
She was looking around for Madeline when she heard her name being called. She turned and her smile came immediately as she realized who it was. “Reginald! I am so happy to see a familiar face.”
He took both of her hands and held them away from her sides. “You look like a movie star! Man, am I glad that spouses are not allowed at these functions. My wife would certainly not allow me to talk to you.”
“I am sure that is not true.” Leah linked her hand through his arm. “Now that you are here, we can get to mingle.”
Peter saw her when she walked over to the table with Reginald and several others. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She was quite beautiful, he mused, as he sipped the champagne and stared at her. She laughed at something one of the others said and he could see her animated expression from across the room. His expression became brooding as he felt the unfamiliar tightening of his chest. He had certainly started to really notice her when she had stood up to him and then done the unthinkable and stood up to his mother. He had felt like pulling her into his arms! She was fearless! Petite, but fearless! His eyes narrowed as he saw one of the male employees touch her on the arm and say something to her. He felt the tinge of something akin to jealousy as she turned and went into his arms for a dance. He tossed back the rest of the drink and continued to watch her until an associate next to him touched his arm and turned his attention.
“Peter, my man, how nice to see you!” Brian Linton said with a wide smile on his florid face.
“Brian.” Peter greeted the man briefly with a handshake. “How are you?”
“Fighting the good fight,” he said jokingly. “My charter services are picking up thanks to you, man, and I am eternally in your debt.”
“You are welcome and it is something mutually gratifying,” Peter said with a nod. “I heard you had a spot of trouble a few weeks ago?”
“A man forced one of my pilots to take him to one of the islands. Fortunately, the pilot got away with his life, but my plane was not so lucky. The guy was caught in the end, but it put me out of my way.”
“I take it you have put in the necessary security measures?”
“I have indeed. But how do you manage not to worry with all those commercial planes you have? Not to mention the commercial vehicles that operate all over the world?” Brian asked him curiously.
“In every business, there are always risks, but we make allowances for that.” He accepted another glass of champagne and looked at where he had last seen her dancing, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Would you excuse me, Brian?”
“Of course!” the man said in his jovial voice. “My stomach is calling out for food as it is.”
******
Leah felt wilted. She had danced four times already with several guys who worked for one airline or the other. Dan, a tall rangy red-haired pilot, had taken a liking to her and had insisted on getting her number. She had given it to him and taken his because she liked him. She had danced with him twice.
“Why is it such a beautiful woman like you is still single?” he had asked her when they were dancing for the second time.
She had angled her head and looked up at him. “Why are you single?”
He had grinned down at her. “I narrowly escaped a bad marriage when I found out that the woman I was seeing was sleeping around.”
“I thought only pilots did that?” she had teased him.
“I am one of the good guys,” he had told her with a laugh. “Ask anyone around and you will get to find it out for yourself when you get to know me better,” he had added with a twinkle in his green eyes.
“Our schedules maybe will not allow us to go out at all,” she reminded him.
”I am sure we can find the time,” he had insisted. “I really like you, Leah, and I want to get to know you.”
She had hesitated and then nodded. She was sitting the dance out and had found a room where she could take off her shoes and massage her insteps and close her eyes for a few minutes. She had deliberately avoided her employer and his mother by not going to that side of the room. She glanced at the delicate watch on her wrist and saw to her surprise that it was almost eleven. She did not have to work tomorrow, which was a good thing. She went still as the shadow darkened the doorway and her eyes widened as she saw who it was!
She hurriedly put her shoes back on and got to her feet. “Mr. Schulz!”
“Ms. Grant, are you okay?”
“Yes, of course. I was just taking a breather.” Her eyes wandered over his black tuxedo and the way the material strained against his chest. His dark hair was combed back neatly from his face and his startling blue eyes probed hers. “I was just leaving.” She made to pass him but he stood in her way.
“You are leaving so soon?”
“I am not much of a night person.” She wondered if she could get past without touching him!
“You are having a good time?”
She wanted to ask him if he cared that she was but refrained from doing that. Instead, she nodded. “It was good meeting the rest of the people.”
He stepped aside and she moved past him. “I guess I will be seeing you on Monday then?” he asked her.
“You will, bright and early.” She lifted her head and flashed him a bright smile which had his eyes going to her lips. For a moment, both of them went still, caught up in something that was indefinable! It was the noise from two people passing the room that broke the spell! Leah blinked and turned to leave.
“Ms. Grant?”
Leah stiffened and turned back to him. “Yes?”
“You are leaving something.”
“What? Oh!” She hurried back into the room to retrieve her jacket that she had placed on the sofa. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head and without another word she hurried away, not breathing until she was outside and waiting for her vehicle! What on earth was that, she wondered in bewilderment. She smiled as the valet handed her the keys and deliberately did not think about it as she made her way home!
********
“I think you should tell him that you have something to do with whatever state he is going to for the next week and go with him on several of his trips when he is going. I got his schedule for this week from that wretched secretary of his. I cannot wait to fire the lot of them!” Virginia said, her lips tightening. “I am beginning to think that you don’t want this as much as you did before, my dear.”
“Aside from pinning him down and kidnapping him, I cannot do anything else,” Candace said dryly as she looked at the list. “He is going to New York tomorrow.” She wrinkled her small straight nose. “He is leaving at eight. I hate getting up so early.”
Virginia looked at the younger woman in distaste. They were seated in her private sitting room where the maid had brought them a tray of refreshment before leaving quickly. “My dear, we all have to make sacrifices. My son is cut from the same cloth as his father and dictates his own terms. I would advise you to worm yourself into his life and make yourself indispensable to him.”
“I am trying,” Candace said with a small pout. “I am just not used to having to make all the moves.”
“The advantages are many.” Virginia eyed the girl critically, silently admiring the chic rose silk pants suit she was wearing and the discreet diamonds in her lobes. Her ash blonde hair was coiled at the nape of her neck and her makeup was impeccable. She would make a perfect wife for Peter and their children would come from good stock. Maybe she would have a say in how the grandchildren would be raised! “I want you to show up everywhere he is going to be even if it is just a business affair.”
Candace looked at the woman for a moment as she poured the
tea. “You have this all planned out, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Virginia handed her one of the delicate cups. Usually she would make the maid serve, but she had not wanted the girl to linger and listen to their conversation. She did not trust them one bit!
“I don’t want to leave anything to chance. My son has little idea of what he wants.”
“Were you in love with his father?” Candace asked the question that was uppermost on her mind. She knew the woman did not talk about her personal life, but she was going to become a major part of the family so she had a right to know!
Virginia looked at her sharply as she sipped the tea. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wondered.” Candace shrugged elegant shoulders. “You said that Peter is very much like his father, so I wanted to know what that means.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Virginia asked her sharply.
“Far from it,” Candace told her smoothly. “Your son is not the easiest man to pin down and I mean that in the literal sense. The last time he took me out it was to a gallery opening where he invited me. His company had sponsored the event and he invited me to go with him. He bought me one of the paintings that an up and coming artist had painted and I took it to mean that he was finally showing interest, until he told me that he was going home alone. I have called him several times to invite out to dinner or to just swing by and be with me and he keeps telling me that he is busy. I know how I look, Virginia, but his constant refusal to take me up on my invitations are wearing me down. I want to get a feel of the man I am interested in.”
Virginia sat back against the cushions and stared at the woman seated opposite her. “I don’t like to talk about my marriage to Franz Schulz because there is really nothing to talk about.” She smiled ironically. “But I suppose I can share certain bits of information with you.” She crossed her legs and stared off across the rose-patterned wallpaper for a moment. “Franz was cold and hard. He was the most handsome man in any room and I would get a rush whenever I saw him. I was giddy when he touched me, even if it was just an impersonal dance. I remember the first time he took me in my bedroom at my parents’ place. We had just drawn up the terms of our engagement and my mother and father said we should celebrate with a nice dinner. They went out and we stayed in. After dinner, he asked that I show him my bedroom and I did immediately. He had kissed me briefly once and I had been dreaming about taking off my clothes for him ever since. The minute he closed the door to the bedroom, I felt my heart hammering inside my chest. He did not use romance, I suppose it was beneath him, but went right to the core of it.” She broke off and felt her heart picking up speed. “He tore off my clothes and took me standing up against the door. I was a virgin and I felt the pain but very quickly it was replaced by such a blinding pleasure that I did not want it to stop!” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Candace looked at the woman and felt the quickening of her pulse.