Made for Me (Danielle Grant Book 1)

by Sarah Gerdes

  “Go in strong. Stay strong. It’s the only thing they respect around here.” Glenda didn’t elaborate on what Danielle should stay strong about. But her words were forefront in Danielle’s mind as she entered Ulrich’s office.

  “Sit down, please,” he said formally, shutting the door after her. “Straight to business then,” he began. Crap. She was going to be fired. Well, she might as well get herself mentally prepared to be sued as well.

  “To say the management team is unhappy would be an understatement. We had a special meeting this morning and the senior partners met with counsel. Before I get in to that, Danielle, I have to ask you this, and I need an honest answer. Were you involved with Andre before your introduction with Georgy or after?”

  Danielle didn’t hesitate. “Before,” she answered, watching Ulrich’s head hang down, like he couldn’t believe it. “But Ulrich, what you need to understand is that I met Andre the second day I was here, through my good friends at their restaurant. It wasn’t until one week ago, when Georgy brought him in to the office, that I learned he was a client, by virtue of his family.”

  Ulrich raised his head, a bit of life coming back in to his face. Still, he was skeptical. “You are telling me that for that entire time—three months—you two didn’t talk about your work, and you didn’t run a check on him?”

  She was offended. “Of course I ran a check on him. Do it yourself! It comes up clean.” Ulrich hesitated for a moment, and his eyes grew wide.

  “No, here he is,” Ulrich disputed as he typed on his computer.

  Danielle shook her head. “Sure he’s there now, because he was added to the account, but if you look back when I started and search on Andre Mettler, he’s not there.”

  Ulrich glared at her. “Mettler? Georgy’s last name is Mettleren.”

  Danielle sat still. “Andre told me months ago it was Mettler and that’s the name I searched.” Ulrich’s fingers tapped across the keyboard, his eyes scanning the screen. A minute passed, then two.

  “Well,” Ulrich said in a low voice. “The press indicates Andre goes by Mettler, a shortened version of the family name used by the younger generation. And you are correct. His name didn’t come up prior to the date he was added—either by Metterlen or Mettler.”

  Danielle exhaled, her relief infinite. “And no, we didn’t talk much about my work. All he knew was that I worked for MRD at the trader’s desk. He had no idea that I worked on his father’s account, and I had no idea he was related to Georgy.”

  Ulrich quietly considered this information and again tapped on the keyboard. He intently watched his screen. “This might change everything.”

  Danielle waited until he finished typing and his eyes stopped darting back and forth across the screen. She imagined him instant messaging Lars and Jacqueline, requesting the paperwork for her release being put on hold—momentarily.

  “I’ve just informed Lars,” Ulrich said. “Your meeting with him will be delayed a half an hour while he meets with the partners. Danielle, you may get a reprieve, but I’m not positive.” Danielle wasn’t sure how she felt—at the edge of the guillotine and given a delay, only to be hung anyway.

  “But Danielle, this doesn’t answer the question as to why you kept seeing him after you knew of his affiliation with the firm.”

  Danielle appealed to the man’s sense of romance. “It’s only been a week,” she said defensively, then realized how lame the response sounded. “The bottom line is I was waiting until the weekend.”

  He raised an eyebrow and she imagined him trying not to scoff. “Because seven days were going to make a difference?” Danielle nodded, feeling the rush of emotions associated with letting go of a relationship that wasn’t broken. “It’s that serious?” Ulrich asked, his eyebrows pushing so hard he made wrinkles on his forehead. Danielle barely moved her head, but it was enough. “What does Andre want you to do?”

  “Quit and work for another firm.”

  “And be with him?” Danielle nodded again. “You did tell him the consequences of such an action?”

  “As well as Georgy.” Danielle wanted him to know.

  Ulrich’s fingers began tapping again, his eyes flicking back and forth to hers. “And what did he say?”

  “Georgy told me not to leave, but to also not stop dating his son.”

  Ulrich stopped typing. He picked up the phone. “We need to talk,” was all he said. His eyes went across to an unidentifiable point on the wall. “Be right down.” His attention turned back to her. “What are you going to do Danielle? If it comes to a hard decision.”

  “You know what I’ll do,” she said evenly. “I’ll honor my commitments.”

  Ulrich stared at her hard, pressed his lips together and stood. “I hope so.”

  Forty-minutes later, Glenda told her that it was time to meet with Lars. Danielle buzzed his door and waited for the familiar click to admit entry. Lars didn’t look up from his computer as she approached. She’d only heard of disciplinary discussion with bosses, having never experienced one herself. Of course, her employment history consisted of two firms, so it wasn’t like she’d had a lot of opportunities to screw up.

  “Please have a seat,” he said flatly, without looking at her. She approached his desk, the set-up unfamiliar. Before this, they’d always had collegial chats in the sitting area.

  She sat, legs crossed, hands folded on her lap and waited.

  “David was rather disappointed to learn of the turn of events.” Lars’ gaze was still on the screen. Danielle kept her hands flat, though they pressed hard against one another. She imagined David being shocked and appalled about her continuing the relationship once she learned Andre was a client, and he was likely pissed off about losing future revenue.

  Danielle remained quiet, listening to the laser printer spitting out sheets of paper. Lars’ handsome face had grown only more so with the contained fury that she saw moving beneath the surface. The muscles under his jawline were fixed, his eyes burning with controlled anger.

  Lars reached back, retrieving his printouts. Danielle pushed her shoulders straight, determined to leave this office with the knowledge that at least he was appreciative of all the millions she’d made him.

  “I don’t need to explain that you committed the singular act I said was unacceptable,” he began, his emotions in check. “Was I in any way unclear?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I understand you didn’t know Andre was related to Georgy prior to the meeting in the conference room. Is that correct?” Danielle nodded once. “And that you began a partnership with Andre and Lani and Stephen Hamlin months ago, is that also correct?” Danielle nodded again, not surprised to learn they knew everything. They must have run a full search on her over the weekend. “Further, Georgy told you to remain in our employment but also keep dating his son. Is that correct?” Danielle affirmed that it was. “Are you still seeing Andre?”

  Danielle hedged her bets, just in case she and Lars didn’t reach an agreement. “I’ve not had the final conversation with him, no.”

  Lars’ expression modified subtly as he processed her words. The lips that she’d stared at so much over the last few months pressed, spreading the heart shape fuller and wider. This man didn’t have a bad look, or a bad day, not even when he was consumed with anger, as he was now.

  “So you have already decided to end things?”

  Danielle replied with the same objectivity that he was using. “We made a deal Lars, the first day I was here. What do you expect me to do?” Please, say you will make an exception to the rule, she silently voiced to him. And if you don’t, I have numbers to back up that I’m invaluable to the firm.

  “As the managing director of the firm, you know what I want you to do. I’ve already spoken to Georgy on this matter. He won’t allow a change of accounts.” Lars paused, waiting for a reaction. “That information doesn’t look like it surprises you.”

  Danielle’s thumbs rubbed one another. “Georgy is rather vocal in
his opinions.”

  “He’s also a good client that I don’t want to see leave the firm. Nor do I want all of his referrals and those of his other clients—all directed at you—to go elsewhere.” Here it comes, thought Danielle. He’s going to tell me my job is safe, but to be discrete.

  “I’ve spoken with the partners Danielle, and we recognize your contribution. It’s been significant. These,” lifting the papers in the air, “show you have been, and are, the top performer in gold and currency. In truth, you don’t even have any real competition.” He slid the papers toward her, which she left sitting. She didn’t need to look at the documents to confirm what she’d seen on the boards week after week.

  “You have a choice to make. Go elsewhere with the accounts remaining here until the twelve months are up or stop seeing Andre. If you elect to resign, we won’t go after you for back pay. Your numbers far exceeded the quota we gave you, even after we doubled it, so we’ve come out ahead. However, you will be liable to pay a percentage of any money that follows you elsewhere. You will also be liable for the money that would have gone to Russelz in commissions under our agreement.”

  Danielle swallowed hard. They weren’t firing her outright because she was too valuable, just as Georgy said. They—Lars—were basically issuing a cease and desist against Andre. No exceptions. No bending of the rules. She would have to give up Andre for the remainder of her contract and then leave.

  Danielle recalled Glenda’s comment about being bold and figured she didn’t have much to lose.

  “Are you telling me that you’ve never dated a client?” she asked him.

  Lars raised his chin slightly. “No, and I will also volunteer that it ended badly for everyone involved.”

  “Here or in the States?”

  Lars pushed his lips to one side. “New York.”

  “Why is it the rules apply to me and not to you?”

  “Because I have a billion dollars staked in this firm, you don’t. More importantly, I don’t make actual trades. I make some for me personally, but the clients are managed by objective, unaffiliated traders, not me.”

  She remained calm. “By definition, Lars, you manage every single client. You meet the big ones when they sign, you are present for update meetings. Are you telling me you don’t have influence over who comes here and stays on?”

  Lars leaned forward like a cat staring down a much smaller animal. “Although you raise good points, my job is not in question here. Yours is.”

  “Fair enough,” she responded. “So let’s make this about me for a second. I’ve now brought in five billion more than MRD previously had. How much have I personally made you?”

  Lars’ eyes flicked. “438 million and change.”

  “Remember that the next time you see me alone at your company functions and don’t give me any shit about it.” She’d intended to sound detached, but she came across bitchy, and that wasn’t her intent.

  Lars was nonplussed at her declaration. “Danielle, I didn’t make this choice. You did.”

  Danielle pulled her eyes away from his, looking out to the water. This had been an amazing journey, full of unexpected surprises and emotional highs. Some of the best memories of her life had occurred in this country. As her father said, she’d fallen in love regardless of her intentions not to do so, but how hard had caught even her by surprise.

  In that split second, reason righted itself. She knew Zurich was a better place for her to be than back home, where her dating life was non-existent and the career track marginal. She and Andre could still have a relationship, albeit a truncated one. They could talk on the phone. Email. Skype. It wasn’t as if they were forbidden to do anything. Further, they were business partners. She’d see him at meetings. Non-professional interactions, as the attorney had said.

  “You’re right Lars,” looking him in the eye. “It is completely my responsibility and not yours. I’m sorry.” She said no more, but waited for him to speak, which he didn’t do for many seconds. Looking at him, she felt the rise of an emotion close to anger, but it crested into the fascination she often felt when she was in his presence.

  “Danielle, there are many smart, attractive men in this town. Not all are clients.”

  No, she thought. Some are co-workers, sitting right in front of me.

  CHAPTER 25

  Meet me. Your place or mine. Tonight.

  Those words, texted to the man she loved, were the hardest Danielle had ever had to type. She’d already cried in the shower, as she got dressed and then cried again as she stared at the darkness outside. One moment she had control over her emotions, and the next, the floodgates opened. Yes, phone and email were lines of communication, but to not feel his touch…the warmth of his back as she leaned over him on the bike…

  She decided against calling her father, terrified he might pull the trigger if he knew she was giving up love to have a life that she called working. She called Lani, who listened with a sympathetic ear as Danielle gulped back her sadness. When Danielle was well into her pragmatic, problem-solving mode, Lani got Stephen on the phone and they discussed the options on the partnership with Andre.

  “If it’s uncomfortable, I can buy him out,” Danielle reminded her friends. “Or he can remain a silent partner as stipulated by the contract. I promise I won’t make it difficult for him to the come to the restaurant. I’ll let you know so we won’t have any tense situations.”

  Stephen jumped in. “Danielle, you don’t know how he’ll respond. He already mentioned you being in his life for the foreseeable future. I don’t think he’s going to go away quietly.”

  Danielle didn’t either, and in fact, she hoped he wouldn’t. They could have one, last, wonderful evening of intimacy together before they needed to stay apart. She also hoped he would be willing to wait the length of the contract. But when she brought this up to her friends, they weren’t optimistic.

  “Couples go ‘on-hold,’ sure,” Lani said, “but that’s in an open relationship. They sleep with other people. You really want that? To see him on the arm of another girl in the restaurant and wherever else?”

  Danielle didn’t, but she had a flicker of hope that he would want to wait and that their feelings for each other would be strong enough to weather this storm.

  Andre asked her to come to his place, and she opted to drive. She arrived at 9:40 and rode the elevator in silence, walking down the hall just a few paces before he came out to meet her. He pulled her to him.

  “I’ve been worried,” he breathed into her hair. “My father told me he spoke with Lars,” he said, leading her to the couch. Danielle nodded. Andre rubbed the back of her neck like he was easing the muscles of a fighter taking a break from the rink. “You obviously met with him. Are they going to let you continue managing the accounts, just as Lars told Dad they would?”

  “That’s the only part Lars told Georgy?”

  Andre’s blue eyes shaded as he blinked in concern. “There was more?”

  Danielle nodded. She had mentally rehearsed what she was going to say to him, but the words that had sounded so good before seemed inane and ineffectual.

  “Did they fire you?” he asked.

  Danielle drew her knees to her chest, the bottom of her chin grazing the tops of her knees. “They were going to, right up to the moment they learned that I didn’t know you were a client before the meeting with Georgy.”

  “So they didn’t fire you, and you didn’t have to resign.” His face bordered on triumphant. “And you get to keep our account. Why aren’t you thrilled?”

  “Because the only reason I didn’t get fired and why I still get to keep your account is that they required I not see you anymore.” Andre didn’t blink as he searched her face.

  “You didn’t agree to that, did you?” Danielle buried her head in her knees, and when she lifted her face, she couldn’t see him through the tears in her eyes.

  “What choice did I have?” she cried softly. “I need to take care of my father and I have a re
sponsibility to the restaurant.”

  “You have the choice to be with me. Let me handle everything that’s required, financially and otherwise.”

  She swallowed. “That’s not right. I can’t sit around, unemployed while you pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills.”

  “Of course you can,” he said, wiping a tear from her jawline. “I will pay for everything, and you can live with me. We’ve been practically living together anyway.”

  “No, Andre, we have been sleeping together while we live and work separately during the week, which is very different from living a life together.”

  “And that was going to be my point. With you living here we can be ourselves, all the time.”

  Danielle rolled her eyes heavenward. “Me, unemployed, completely and utterly dependent on you. You think you want me to be waiting by the door when you get home, day after day? You think I want to be waiting by the door?”

  Andre was still, his eyes locked on hers. “Yes, I was rather hoping you would.”

  Danielle glanced around her, at his beautiful apartment, his beautiful…self, and struggled with the opposing emotions she felt in her head and heart.

  “Andre, I want us to be together, but not this way. We can talk on the phone and we can email. Skype. We will still have meetings with Lani and Stephen. I can still go watch your hockey games. We just can’t…” The words caused her throat to constrict.

  “Danielle, I love you. I told you before, I want you in my life.”

  Danielle’s mouth was dry. “No,” she said, shaking her head. She stretched out an arm, trying to connect with him, hoping it would help him see it her way. “Andre, can’t you see this is killing me? Don’t you know how much I love you back?”

  Andre’s blue eyes went from warm, earnest pools to sheets of ice. He shook his head, his lips pressing together tightly, and she thought she saw a quiver before he abruptly stood up and turned around. One hand was on his hip, the other up by his forehead, and she saw his reflection in the mirror before him. He was rubbing his eyes, his shoulders slightly bent.