I Need You Now

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  He put his coffee down and leaned forward on the desk. “Can you do both jobs at once? That’s an awful lot of work to place on you, especially with the accounting department being pushed so far behind with all these errors.”

  I wanted to reassure him that he could have faith in me, so I leaned against his desk and looked him straight in the face. “I suspect that a couple of your workers have been goofing off and only half-ass doing their work. It’ll take a few days to help catch the department up, but I think I can handle that and taking a closer look into things. I want to gain the trust of the employees so they’ll start talking with me—feel them out for any issues they might have with my sister, the new manager, or the company itself.”

  “Why would they have an issue with the company?” He looked a bit confused by my train of thought.

  “I feel, like you, that this may be an attack against my sister and the new manager because of hatred or jealousy. But it could just be coincidence that they’ve picked them to be scapegoats while they’re really after something bigger within the company itself.”

  I remember Dane telling me how the company got started, but I didn’t have the answer to some of my questions. “Sir, do you have board members who’d have any issues with wanting to take over the company or any family members who think they should be running it? Is there any potential for a hostile takeover?”

  He shook his head. “No on all counts. The company is privately owned by the Prescott family, always has been. We’ve always been in agreement with the going-ons of the business, with no chance of a takeover. As for our family, the generation running it selects the new person to take over and lead us into the future. They make the selection and the family has to vote on it and agree.” He looked deep in thought for a moment. “I can’t think of anyone, even extended cousins, that would have issues with how things are currently being run. So that theory is out.”

  “I’m sorry to ask those questions, but I needed to have a better understanding of the whole picture. How about your firewall? Are you sure this is an inside job?” One thing Ethan had taught me is that no firewall is foolproof, no matter how much money you paid to maintain it.

  “I had my team run tests on the system to see and nothing seems to be amiss.”

  I rubbed my forehead with my hand. I’d hoped there would’ve been some indication of where I could look, but this truly was a mystery that would be difficult to put together. But I was determined.

  “I wish I had a quick answer for you, Alexander, but I don’t. This is going to be one of those cases that will take a bit of time to unravel. I’ll go back to the beginning when it first occurred and see if anything has changed in the way the person is handling things. Sometimes the guilty party gets either bolder or sloppier with their actions. I’ll use your chart of suspects and try to befriend them, along with a few other people in their department. See if anyone is flying under the radar.”

  He continued drinking his coffee and listening. “Sounds like you have a plan, Nate.”

  I offered, “It’s going to take longer than I first thought. If you’d like, the offer to wave my fee still stands. I’ll easily do this for free to clear my sister’s name.”

  He held his hand up. “I won’t hear of it. You’re family now and any member of the family that works here gets paid, just like any other employee. I would like to resolve this as quickly as possible, but I want to make sure we get the right person. Take all the time you need.”

  The buzzer went off on his phone. “Yes, Marjorie?”

  “You asked me to let you know when the accounting manager arrived.” She held a bit of a giggle in her voice. I wondered what that was all about.

  “Thank you, dear. Please let the manager know we’ll be right down.”

  Alexander disconnected the call. “We might as well get you settled in. Please remember to call me Mr. Prescott in front of everyone. Only use my first name outside of the office.”

  I followed him out of his office. “Yes, Mr. Prescott.”

  A small laugh escaped his lips as he pressed the button for the regular elevator to take him down. “Accounting is on the sixth floor. You’ll come in pretty much the same way you did today, but instead of taking my private elevator, you’ll use the regular one.”

  The ride down was smooth, only the lobby button seemed to be depressed. I guess some of the employees were making their way in to work.

  I was surprised to see a nicer office space than I was used to. I knew the top floors were private offices, like the ones Mr. Prescott, Dane, and Marissa had, but I had no clue the elegance extended to the worker bees. I’d been used to seeing poorly constructed cubicles and people crammed into tight spaces to work, making for miserable employees. This place had private desks, ample storage, and little half walls created to give a person a sense of space, but not limit them to the rest of the department.

  I followed Mr. Prescott down the hall and to the right to an office that was constructed of glass walls that had been hazed over for privacy. “It looks like she’s here. She likes to keep to herself in her office so she can work.”

  I had to do a double take. All this time I’d assumed the manager was a guy. I didn’t know what to make of this. I hated working for dominant men, because our personalities always clashed, but hopefully this woman wasn’t too dominant or this would be the assignment from—

  I let the thought slip my mind as Mr. Prescott knocked on the door. I couldn’t see anyone moving, but heard the footsteps of someone in heels come toward the door. He’d only been able to get out, “I’d like to introduce you to your new temporary assistant manager—”

  “You! What the hell are you doing here?” The voice was unmistakable—it was Gianna.

  “Is that anyway to address your new assistant manager? Come on, Gianna, play nice. We need his help to catch up the department.” Mr. Prescott was trying his best to smooth over any issues, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to work this case or not.

  She crossed her arms, shook her head, and took a defiant stance. “There’s no way! I can’t work with him.”

  I was tired of being silent. “What? I don’t get a say in this? What if I don’t want to work for an overbearing Miss Know-It-All bitch!”

  Mr. Prescott turned his head back and forth between both of us and then stated laughing. “I take it you two have met?”

  I was the first to speak. “She rudely woke me early on Saturday, then I had the misfortune of splashing her when I jumped in the pool. We haven’t gotten off on the best of terms yet.” I wanted to make sure she heard the yet, just to try and get under her skin.

  “He’s a total Neanderthal. He’s a pompous ass! I can’t work with someone like him. It’s bad enough I have to live under him.” She shook her head and stomped her foot.

  God, how her foot stomp made her look sexy as hell. It was too bad she didn’t. She’d worn sexy clothing over the weekend to emphasize what God had given her, but now she just looked like a school marm hell bent on putting me in detention.

  I had to smirk at the last little remark. Her look quickly froze me to the spot. “Do you find something funny, Mr. Michaelson? If you have something to say, then say it. I don’t like people talking behind my back in my department.”

  Holy hell. She was calling me by my last name.

  I didn’t care that Mr. Prescott was still standing there. I stepped toward Gianna. Her eyes grew big in fear. I guess she was used to getting her way here, but not with me, not ever. I got right up in her face, close enough to detect a perfume that I was familiar with and worked quite wonderfully with her scent. If she thought she could wear a little of Victoria’s Secret Tease and “tease” me with it, she was wrong.

  “I already know your bark is worse than your bite. You told me that one yourself. But you will work with me, I don’t answer to you, and as far as your last little comment—You only wish you could be under me!” I made sure to put a double entendre in my words. It would definitely give her somethi
ng to think about.

  Mr. Prescott tried hard to hold in a snicker, while Gianna’s mouth was gaping like a guppy out of water. It took her a few minutes to gather her train of thought. “What do you mean, you don’t answer to me?” She turned to her employer. “See how insubordinate he is? I can’t work with this. Can’t you fire him and get me someone else?”

  He raised his hands, still trying to stifle the laugh. “I’m sorry, Gianna, but your department is already behind and Nate has the experience needed to catch you up. He shouldn’t be here for too long, since the forensic accountant will start auditing the files tonight to try to figure out what’s going on in Sales and here in Accounting. He’ll answer to me and me alone, so if either of you have a problem with one another, then you’ll have to talk to Marjorie and find time in my schedule to come and talk to me.”

  He motioned between the two of us. “I need you to make nice with one another and promise not to have a blood bath down here while I head up for a conference call in ten minutes.”

  I watched as Gianna’s demeanor changed subtly. Her eyes were downcast as she responded. “Yes, sir,” in a hushed tone.

  Hmm. That’s the third time I’ve noticed her eyes become downcast when being addressed in a dominant manner. Could she have some submissive tendencies in her somewhere?

  “Yes, Mr. Prescott,” I finally answered, realizing he was waiting for me.

  “Please get Mr. Michaelson acquainted with the files and let’s put him to work.” He turned and started to walk off.

  I WAS THANKFUL MY uncle kept up the act that I was merely an employee and not family. I had just started warming up to the idea of Nate as a friend and now this was sprung on me. How the hell was I supposed to work with him every day and see him at night and on weekends where we lived?

  It was forbidden—well, not forbidden per se, because Jackson and Gabriella hooked up, along with Dane and Marissa—for a manager to date an employee. There were some exceptions to the rule. He was just a temporary, so he wouldn’t be a permanent fixture here. But then again, I was having enough problems with Cameron trying to push my buttons and demeaning me as a capable manager, let alone as a woman, while Karen just ridiculed anything I did. I couldn’t play favorites and I wouldn’t let anyone in my department know I’d already met him.

  I walked up to Nate, who was smiling broader than a Cheshire cat. I guess he thought he had me beat. I held my head high, my shoulders back, and I stared him in the face. “You may have Mr. Prescott fooled, but you don’t fool me. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I refuse to let you win.”

  My frustration level had hit an all-time high, because the Italian in me came out and my hands were all over the place explaining my stance on things. “This is my department and you’ll play by my rules. Do we have an understanding?”

  His face was lit up with amusement. He pulled his feet together, threw his arm back, and saluted me. “Yes, ma’am, or is it sir?” His laugh was barely audible.

  I was about to lay into him when I heard Cameron come in. “So I take it we have a new employee? I hope this means Rachel isn’t coming back.”

  Just what I didn’t need: Cameron coming in early today. I turned back toward Nate. “Mr. Michaelson, if you’ll wait for me in my office. We’ll discuss your duties and what is expected of you here in a minute.”

  “Sure, boss.” Nate was playing me again.

  I waited until he reached the doorway of my office to lay into Cameron. “Why do you continually have a problem with women? Rachel is on maternity leave. She hasn’t decided whether she’s coming back yet or not. Mr. Michaelson was hired to help offset the backload of work within this department and help us catch up.” I walked up to him and got right in his face as I asked, “Do you have any problems with that, Mr. Heath?”

  “No, I don’t,” he muttered softly, almost to himself.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear that.”

  Cameron spoke up this time. “No, ma’am.”

  I turned and headed toward my office. “I didn’t think so.”

  I could hear him utter the word “bitch” under his breath, but I didn’t care to go a round with him this morning after already doing one with Nate.

  The week was already off to a shitty start and it just kept getting worse. I might as well get Nate started. It would be interesting to see if he was as good as my uncle believed.

  I walked through the door to my office and was surprised when it closed on its own. “What the hell?”

  Nate’s firm body came up against the back of mine, his hand encircling my waist, while his lips whispered in my ear. “How long has that little fucker been giving you trouble?” He was pissed and his breathing was accelerated to prove it.

  I pulled his arm from around my stomach and turned to him. His stance was protective and his mood was serious. “Cameron’s hated me since the first day I walked through the doors of this business.”

  His eyes glared. “And?”

  I took a deep breath in, not wanting Nate to know my whole story, but realizing I wouldn’t get him out of my office until I gave it. “Fine.” I placed my hand on his chest, hoping it would soothe him. “Cameron Heath had just been made manager of the internship program here at Prescott International. I was one of the interns from the local university. He seemed to give the men preferential treatment and treated the women as glorified secretaries. He’d made it well known that he’d never allow me to be offered a position here at the company, because he hated women with any balls about them.”

  Nate stepped back, giving my body a once over while holding onto my shoulders. “Sorry, don’t see any balls here, a brick wall maybe, but no balls.”

  His statement caught me off guard and I laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever. “I should hope not. I don’t think a set of them would look good in the bathing suit I had on the other day.” Damn, I shouldn’t have said that—now he was looking at me with hungry eyes.

  He pressed his lips into a hard line, expecting me to go on with the story. “I’d managed to get placed in the accounting department, since that’s what my degree’s in. The former manager, Mr. Wilson, took a shining to me and offered me an entry level position. I was able to easily adapt to the industry and was slowly moved up based on my abilities. After a few years, I made assistant manager when Ms. Turner retired, and then eventually I was pushed into this position when Mr. Wilson retired about four months ago.”

  He looked puzzled, with his hand rubbing his chin. “So how did Cameron end up in your department if he was the manager of the internship program?”

  I loved this part and had no problem talking about it. “Cameron had been accused a few times of being prejudiced against women. If there were several men in the internship program, only they got the job offers, not the women. This last time, he had only two men and a ton of women to deal with. One of the female interns had her ideas stolen by one of the guys, with Cameron’s encouragement. When she and her friend tried to complain, he threatened to flunk her from the program and cause her not to graduate.”

  I was surprised to see Nate’s face full of pain and anguish, while his fists clenched. Could he be that caring underneath all that sinew? He nodded for me to continue.

  “I was called in to verify if he’d been prejudiced toward me or any of my peers, which of course the answer was yes! They’d wanted to fire him, but because of his knowledge they offered him a demotion, and felt the best form of punishment would be having to take orders from one of his former interns—me.”

  I don’t know what compelled me to say anything further. “That’s why I keep people at arm’s length. I don’t want anyone to get to know the real me. I want to be a puzzle”—my hands reached up to grab his, still holding my shoulders, and removed them—“that no one can figure out . . . not even you.”

  I walked around to my desk and took a seat, motioning for him to take one as well. “Let’s get down to business, Mr. Michaelson.”

&
nbsp; He took a seat and relaxed, acting as though I didn’t bother him. “You know you can call me Nate.”

  “We’re at work and I’ll address you as one of my employees, despite the fact that you answer to Mr. Prescott.” I reached over, grabbing several folders of information that needed to be inputted into the system.

  “You can start with these. There’s at least a week’s worth of backlogged information that needs to be entered into the sales projections and into the accounting worksheets. Are you familiar with our software?”

  A cocky smile spread across his face. “I’ve been using this software longer than you have. But I do have a question in regards to sales projections. Isn’t that the sales department’s job? Why are we handling them?”

  “The work belongs to the managerial team of the sales department, Mr. Prescott’s son and his wife. They’re on their honeymoon and we offered to help them out since the spreadsheets are set up in similar fashion to our own. No one on their team seems to know how to do the spreadsheets and we have a bug in the system that keeps offsetting numbers, so we want to keep a close eye on them.”

  He seemed to digest what I’d told him. “So how many work in your department?”

  “We have six employees, not including myself, plus a new intern. However, one of our employees is currently on maternity leave, that’s why you’re here to help pick up the pace.”

  I watched as he shook his head and muttered something under his breath. I didn’t like anyone to talk behind my back. “What was that?”

  He shook his shoulders and waved his hand in a dismissive fashion. “Sorry, I was just thinking about your department being overstaffed and what an asshole that guy is.”

  It looked like he was hiding something, but I didn’t have time to dig, since I knew the reports would already be in shambles. I knew my uncle, my father, and a couple of the higher ups believed I was innocent, but I had a few of the vice presidents calling for my dismissal already, my guess was that it was all thanks to Cameron.