by Jenna Harte
“Maybe he wants to make you proud.” Lexie couldn’t get a good handle on Drake, but her intuition told her his efforts weren’t just about money.
“He needs to get over that if he plans to run the company,” Oliver grumbled.
“Why?” Lexie stopped and looked at Oliver in surprise.
“Business will crush an ego that needs validation. Drake is like his father in that respect.”
Lexie was perplexed. “How’s that?”
“David always wanted praise, and he was the biggest bleeding heart you’ve ever met. There’s no room for compassion in the business world.”
“Drake doesn’t strike me as a person who’s low on ego or too big on compassion.” She rubbed an alcohol-soaked cotton pad on Oliver’s arm.
“Drake has something his father didn’t: common sense. Plus, Drake’s smart. Smarter than his brother. More cunning too. But he cares too much. That makes him vulnerable.” Oliver winced as Lexie inserted the needle and depressed the plunger.
“I don’t see how compassion can be a bad thing.” She pulled the needle from his arm, and immediately pressed a cotton ball to his skin.
“Of course you don’t. Your job is compassion. But in business, it makes you appear weak and makes you vulnerable.”
“Oliver, my compassion is something I was born with. It helps in my job, but it exists outside my job too.” She broke the needle, disposing it in the biohazard container by his bed.
“It’s what makes you good at your job. You also have moxie, and that makes you more interesting. You don’t take any guff. Not from me or Drake. I like that about you. We aren’t in the world Drake lives in. He needs to be tough to survive. His father didn’t have the constitution needed. I guess I always knew it. I did better with Drake and Derrick. They both understand the importance of the business and not letting anything get in the way of winning.”
They sure do. What Drake didn’t seem to understand was the importance of family. And now, she knew why. Oliver never taught him. It was strange Oliver had such wonderful memories of his childhood but hadn’t shared them with his son or grandchildren.
“Of course, they’ll probably run the business into the ground before it’s all over,” Oliver continued.
“Isn’t that why Drake’s here? To prevent that from happening?” Lexie prepared Oliver’s wheelchair and readied to move him into it.
“And what is he going to do when I’m dead and not here to help him?”
“I don’t see why he and his brother can’t run it together. Surely, you’ve made provisions for that.”
Oliver shook his head. “Business is still the one place where Darwinism exists. The strongest will survive.”
Lexie stopped short. “So only one of them will end up with the company?”
“That’s right.”
She turned her full attention to Oliver. “Do they know that?”
“Why do you think Drake is here?”
“What happens when one doesn’t win? What’s he going to do?”
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I was a terrible parent, and you’re probably right. But both boys are set to get a nice inheritance regardless of who runs the company. Drake is smart. He’ll survive, no matter what. In fact, of the two of them, he’s probably the only one who has skills and adaptability to find something else.”
Lexie stared at Oliver, dumfounded. “You already know what’s going to happen, don’t you? You offered to help him, but you’re just leading him on because he happens to care about people?”
“I don’t know who is going to win, but I know if Drake doesn’t win, he’ll come out okay. Just because I question his stamina in business doesn’t mean I don’t think he has skills. In fact, as I lay here waiting for the Grim Reaper to show up, I envy Drake. He has the whole world ahead of him. If he succeeds in taking over the company, he’ll likely waste it, just like I did. Maybe Drake can be made to see losing could be the best thing to happen to him. You could help him with that.”
Lexie was livid. How could a man treat his family like this? Now she understood why no one had come to Oliver’s side. He treated his family like employees. There was no love, only criticism when they fell short. He pitted the brothers against each other to get more out of them when he should have loved them and raised them to support each other. She thought Drake was insensitive and greedy, but now she realized he was doing what he’d been raised to do. Even worse, Oliver viewed Drake’s visit as a sign of weakness, just as Drake had feared.
“No, I can’t.” Lexie bit down on her temper and focused on gently helping Oliver sit up so she could assist him to his wheelchair.
“Lexie, you’re full of energy and enthusiasm. You can help him see there’s more to life than business.”
“That’s your job.” With an arm around him, she helped him move his legs to the side of the bed
“He won’t listen to me.”
Lexie looked him straight in the eyes. “Oliver, you’re lying in this bed full of regret over a lifetime of bad choices. You can’t go back and marry Kitty. You can’t go back and fix things with your son. But you can fix things with your grandsons, or at least one of them.” She didn’t give him time to respond as she helped him slide from the bed onto his feet and then into his chair. Once he was settled, she blew out a calming breath. “Drake would like to meet with you this morning. How about you two chat out on the back patio? You can start telling him about all the other great things there are in life besides work.”
Chapter Eight
“You did what?” Oliver and Drake said at the same time.
“He wasn’t doing the job,” Derrick’s voice came from the computer. “I had to let him go.”
“You can’t do that.” Drake scowled at the computer screen. “Just because he didn’t want to do it your way doesn’t mean he wasn’t doing the job. Al knows his job, Derrick.”
“I disagree.”
“Drake is right,” Oliver said. “I hired Al and gave him free reign because he’s the best at what he does. You need to get him back.”
“I’ll do it.” Drake got up from his chair and pulled out his cell phone. He moved to the corner of the room, away from the web-conference meeting.
Point for Drake. Lexie entered the room. She’d been listening outside the half-open door, waiting for an opening to enter. It was time to check on Oliver, but she didn’t want to interrupt when Drake seemed to be doing so well.
“Who’s that?” Derrick asked.
Lexie glanced at the computer to see another dark, brooding man looking back at her. There was no doubt that he and Drake were twins. He looked just like Drake, only smarmier, with slicked-back black hair and beady dark eyes. They were identical twins, but Lexie felt confident that if they tried to switch places, like the girls did in The Parent Trap, she’d be able to tell them apart. They might look exactly alike, but there was a softness to Drake’s eyes that was absent in his brother’s.
“Derrick, this is my nurse, Lexie McKenna. Lexie, this is my other grandson, Derrick.”
“Isn’t that something?” Of course she knew about technology and all it could do. She just hadn’t seen it in action before. “Hello, Mr. Carmichael.”
“Hi,” he said dismissively. “Oliver? Can we get back to this? If you’re going to rehire Snope, you’ll be usurping my authority.”
Lexie’s eyes widened. “Excuse me, Mr. Carmichael, but it’s time for Oliver to take a break.”
Derrick’s eyes darkened, and Lexie hoped sound was the only thing that could come through the computer because he looked like he was going to reach right through the screen and strangle her.
“I’m sorry…what was it? Lexie? We’re doing business here. You don’t have the authority to tell us—”
Lexie jerked back. Great day, he’s rude. It was like battling Drake all over again. Except Drake had the ability to flaunt his authority with more tact.
“It’s the agreement, Derrick.” Oliver gave Lexie
an apologetic glance before turning back to the screen. “But let me finish by saying if you think you’re going to take over, you need to know you may not always like who works for you, but if they know what they’re doing, you let ’em be.”
“So, what about the cutbacks?”
Drake moved back to the group. “I got Snope back, but I had to give him a three percent raise.”
“Raise! Jesus, Drake. We can’t afford that.”
“We’ll make it work. We wouldn’t be paying it if you hadn’t fired him.”
“We wouldn’t be paying it if you’d let me replace him.”
“With who? No one knows how to manage that area better than Snope. A new person would cost us more in training time alone.”
“I agree,” Oliver said.
Lexie wielded a syringe at Oliver, threatening to stick him in front of his grandsons. He held a frail bony finger up at her, asking her to wait. Lexie pursed her lips and held up two fingers, telling him how much time he had before she stuck him.
“Then we’ll need to let more people go,” Derrick said.
“No.” Drake shook his head. “We don’t need to let anyone go.”
“Drake, the economy is tight, and we need to get rid of dead weight.”
“Dead weight can be made more productive.”
“I have to agree with Derrick on this one,” Oliver said.
All of a sudden, Lexie wanted to stick Oliver in a way that made it hurt. Drake was fighting for the jobs of their employees. Derrick was acting like they were pawns on a chess board, and Oliver was agreeing with him.
“And what percent raise did you just give yourself, Derrick?” Drake demanded.
“Hey, I don’t see you forfeiting your salary.”
“That’s enough.” Oliver held a hand up to Lexie, who was precariously close to stabbing him. “We do need cuts and the—”
“That’s—”
“But—” Oliver interrupted Drake. “You take a look at it. See if you can’t find another solution. If there’s a way to save stores and jobs, we should do it.”
“Don’t wait too long, or we’ll be broke before it comes,” Derrick sneered through the computer.
“Good-bye, Mr. Carmichael.” Lexie shut the laptop and then poked Oliver with the needle.
“Ouch. Hey.”
She smiled, feeling much better.
Later, Drake sat in the beau parlor, staring into space. Papers blanketed the desk and were wadded up all over the floor like snowballs. Drake, for all his business-first rhetoric, seemed to have a soft spot for his employees. All of a sudden, Lexie wanted to make sure he had all the advantages and won his bid for company control. She didn’t interrupt him, but returned to the kitchen to re-do Oliver’s schedule to fit in more time for Drake.
The rest of Lexie’s day resumed as usual, ending with her sitting on the porch writing in her journal. As Claire pulled her car out from the driveway, the screen door opened. Lexie eyed Drake as he stepped out onto the porch. Had he purposefully waited until Claire was gone to find her on the porch?
“You’re not going to try and steal my notebook again, are you?” she teased, hoping he was in the mood to take it. She understood the burden he carried and respected his drive to carry it. But even big brooding businessmen needed levity.
His lips twitched upward as he sat next to her. “I was hoping you’d climb onto my lap again.”
She was pleased he was in a good mood, although wary at his suggestion. “We both know that’s not a good idea.”
“Probably not, but it could release some of the tension building between us.” He sat back, extending one arm over the back of the swing behind her.
She couldn’t argue with that. “Like an itch?”
“Exactly. Once it’s scratched, we can go on with our lives.”
“You think that will work?” One thing about itches, particularly in the mosquito-thriving south, was one scratch usually wasn’t enough.
“It’s worth a try.” He tugged on one of her curls.
She stared into his gray eyes. Was he really suggesting they sleep together simply to relieve the sexual tension building between them? “What if it’s like potato chips and one isn’t enough?”
“In my experience, these things burn out pretty quickly.”
Not the type of thing Lexie wanted to hear. A part of her wanted to jump him just to prove him wrong, except she was afraid he might be right. Or at least partly right. They’d indulge each other and then he’d be done. But Lexie wasn’t so sure one time would be enough for her, with a man like Drake. She suspected she’d like the things those large hands could do to her and would want him to do it again…and again.
“You’ve had a lot of experience in this type of thing?”
He frowned. “I’m not going to deny I’ve been with other women, but this situation, with you and me, this is a new one.”
No doubt. She only needed to look at the bafflement in his eyes to know he couldn’t understand the attraction between them. She, on the other hand, knew exactly why she lusted for him. He was devastatingly handsome, even if he was scowling most of the time. Jerk or not, she wanted those large hands on her and his fierce mouth consuming hers. But she was smart enough to know the outcome would be painful, maybe even embarrassing. She was no virgin, but she knew she couldn’t compete with high-class New York women he’d been with.
“I kind of like the fire, so I’ll pass for now.”
“Suit yourself.”
Lexie swore he meant, It’s only a matter of time. She pulled her notebook in close like a shield.
“Taking down notes from today’s meeting?”
“No. I just write down Oliver’s memories.” She pulled a paper out of her notebook. “I did make a schedule for you. Unless he has a setback, he’s generally the most comfortable and has the most energy during these times.”
She noted the quizzical look in Drake’s eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were helping me.”
She shrugged.
“Why?”
“I just don’t think it’s right how he pits you and your brother against each other.”
Drake froze. “What has he told you?” In that instant, the relaxed Drake disappeared, and in its place returned the serious, intense Drake, his steel gaze boring into her.
“You’re the one that told me.”
“But you didn’t believe me.”
“It’s not that I didn’t believe you. I just found it hard to believe, but then Oliver said it too.” She winced. Oliver’s conversations with her were supposed to be confidential.
He turned, his hand sliding back toward him but gripping the back of the swing. He leaned forward, invading her space with narrowed, dark eyes. “He told you his decision, didn’t he?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me, Lexie. What did he say? Am I wasting my time?”
She sighed. “No. He’s a man full of regrets, Drake. You heard him. He said he wished he’d married Kitty and didn’t put so much value in money and prestige.”
Drake scoffed as he straightened his body and sat back in the swing. “He wouldn’t know love if it bit him in the ass.”
This time, she turned to him, wanting him to understand how much Oliver missed out on. “He knew love, and he realized too late how empty life is without it.”
“So what’s that got to do with his decision?”
She looked down, worried about violating Oliver’s confidence. She returned her gaze to Drake. “I think he’d like for you to not end up like him.”
“But it’s okay if Derrick does?” Drake scoffed.
“I got the impression he thought Derrick’s a lost cause.”
“I don’t believe it.”
Lexie shrugged.
“So why are you helping me?”
“Because I believe compassion and success go hand in hand. And I think you can prove it.” She wanted to say “happiness and success,” but she wasn’t sure Drake knew ho
w to be happy.
“Oliver has no tolerance for compassion.”
“I hate to say it, but you care. You aren’t in this just for the money or the power. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fought so hard for Mr. Snope.” She glanced at him with a coy smile. “I’m sorry, Drake. It turns out you have a heart.”
He rubbed his hands over his face. “Then I’m doomed.” He stood and left Lexie alone on the porch.
Chapter Nine
By the third day, Lexie thought she was finally getting used to being in a constant state of wanting to jump Drake. They had all settled into a routine where Drake spent as much time as Oliver could tolerate working on business¸ then in the evenings, Drake stopped and visited her on the porch but wouldn’t sit with her. That was a good thing; she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stick to her rule of no touching.
It was late in the morning and she’d just left Oliver and Drake arguing with Derrick when there was a knock at the front door. She set her paperwork aside and made her way up the hall to the front door.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Lexie stepped aside to let her mother through the door.
“I was out and thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing. Do you have a few minutes to visit?”As usual, Lexie’s mom looked like the quintessential southern woman. She still held the tradition of never leaving the house without her hair done, make up on, and pearls draping her neck.
“Yes, Oliver’s with his grandson.”
“So family finally came?” Her mother stepped into the foyer, giving Lexie a hug.
“Sort of. We can get some tea and then sit in the sunroom.” Lexie let her mom back to the kitchen.
“Sounds good. What do you mean by ‘sort of’?”
“Well, apparently Oliver has set it up so both his grandsons have to compete to take over the business. The power struggle has caused problems, so Drake came down to see if his grandfather will help sort it all out.”
“Compete?”
“One will get the business. The other won’t.”
“So, what happens to the loser?”