Love by Design

by Violette Grey

  Emily shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. “Well, I figured that I’ll be out of a job very soon. Mr. Barkley isn’t going to fire me just yet, it’s too soon, but it won’t be long, I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Laura said. “I wish there was something I could do, but to be honest, I don’t see what there would be for me to do here. I don’t know anything…”

  The door opened and Sean Barkley stepped in. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, clearly shocked in finding the two women in the office. “I was just coming to get some files…”

  Emily stood. “What can I get for you, Mr. Barkley? I can easily get whatever you need.”

  “No, no, that’s fine. Actually, if you’ll give Mrs. Jensen and me a moment?”

  With a nod, Emily headed to the door, but not before passing on a warning look to Laura that was completely unnecessary. Laura almost laughed.

  “Please, have a seat,” Laura said with much less enthusiasm as when she invited Emily to sit with her. “What can I do for you?”

  Sean shifted uncomfortably on the cushion as he sat down. “I’m very sorry about my behavior last week. I know it was uncalled for. I really wish you would forgive me.”

  “I have completely forgotten about the incident,” Laura lied, her voice formal. “What can I do for?” she asked again.

  “Well, I wanted to talk to you about something very delicate…” He glanced up at Laura as if gaging her reaction. When she gave him none, he continued. “Look, I think it might be a little early to discuss this. Why don’t we meet in a couple of weeks?”

  “No, we can discuss anything that needs to be discussed right here, right now.”

  Sean cleared his throat. “Very well. I would like to offer to buy Terry’s shares in the firm. As I’m sure you know, Terry was the majority holder, so he was also the CEO of the company. And quite a good one,” he added quickly.

  “Yes, I’m aware of all this,” Laura said impatiently. “What does that have to do with me?”

  There was a long silence, and Laura felt a chill run down her back when Sean spoke.

  “I’m sure you will have inherited his shares, Laura,” Sean said, his beady eyes looking at her, calculating and grim. “I’m sure you would want to do what is best for the business he loved so much. And the best thing would be to allow someone who also loves it as much as he did to take it and continue to grow it.”

  Laura felt as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her. “And you think you are this person?”

  Sean looked taken aback. “Well, yes, I do. I helped him build this business. I have been with him since its inception. I have put in as much blood, sweat, and tears as he did. It’s only what I deserve.”

  It was difficult to control the sarcastic laugh that threatened to bubble up inside of her. This rat thought he could gnaw his way into becoming sole owner of the firm?

  His voice dripped with a respect Laura knew he did not feel. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I just…”

  “Oh, I got your message clearly,” Laura said as she stood. “You’re right, it’s too early to discuss Terry’s shares; it hasn’t been that long since his funeral.”

  “No, no, I agree. Let’s just put it away for now and we can discuss this more when his death is not so fresh.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, but removed it quickly when she turned her head and glared down at it. If he could only read her thoughts…

  He cleared his throat and walked to the door. “Let’s talk again soon, Laura,” he said and he left the room.

  Emily entered almost immediately after Sean walked out. “That man…” she mumbled angrily.

  Laura was fuming. She wanted to pick up something, anything, and throw it at the large plate glass window, but she knew that would get her nothing but a broken window and a huge bill to have it repaired. No, she was much smarter than that.

  Sean Barkley would learn what kind of woman she really was.

  ***

  Sean Barkley sat at his desk brewing. It was not that he was happy that Terry died; the man had been his friend for many years. Perhaps not as close the past few years as they had been in college, but certainly close enough to still be considered best friends.

  But now that Terry was gone, he—Sean—should be senior manager, not some woman who had not been involved with the business since its inception. Sure, she had the skills to run the office, he could not discount that fact, but he had worked hard to stay in Terry’s good graces even when Sean felt Terry’s abilities were faltering.

  He tapped a pen on the edge of the desk as he considered all of his options, of which were few. It irked him to no end that he had not even considered Laura wanting to take over for Terry when he had allowed that clause to be added to the bylaws. He simply never thought it would happen. Now, he could kick himself in the ass for being so stupid.

  The phone rang and his assistant, Rhonda, told him he had a call from Marcus Redly, Sean’s lawyer.

  “About time,” Sean murmured before he picked up the line. “Hello, Marcus,” he said in an overly friendly voice, as if he were speaking to a long lost friend. “It’s so good to hear from you.”

  “I had a message that you wanted to speak with me?” Redly said in a crisp voice. He had always treated Sean as second-class. Maybe once Sean got the senior manager position he would fire Redly and hire somebody who appreciated him for who he was. Right now, however, the man was who he had.

  “Yes, thank you for calling me back so quickly,” Sean said, maintaining his friendly voice with difficulty. “I would like to buy out Terry Jensen’s shares in Jensen and Barkley Architecture. Would you please draw up the paperwork for me?”

  Sean wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard the man chortle. Maybe he was hearing things.

  “I thought you had already tried to buy Terry Jensen’s shares a few years ago,” Redly said.

  “Well, he’s dead now, isn’t he?” Sean’s temper was wearing thin. “And now Laura has his shares. I’m sure she has no interest in taking over. She’s certainly not qualified to do so.”

  “Very well, I will draw up what you need.”

  Did the man sound unconvinced? It was difficult to tell over the phone. Maybe Sean was reading more into it than he should. Redly was his lawyer, not Terry’s—or Laura’s.

  “Thank you, Marcus, I appreciate it. If you could do that as soon as possible, I’d very much appreciate it.”

  He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Laura. She was so beautiful, and he had been in love with her since before he first saw her on Terry’s arm. Every time he thought of her long shapely legs, those great breasts, her long brown hair that a man could run his fingers through while they made wild passionate love…

  Well, she had rejected his gift. However, that did not mean he would not stop trying. He had gotten every woman he had ever tried for. Granted, they had not stayed, but he had won them over nonetheless.

  And he would either win her over, or he would beat her at her game. They were both pretty much the same thing.

  Chapter Seven

  Fire could have shot out of Laura’s ears as she looked down at the paperwork a courier had dropped off thirty minutes earlier. She could not remember a time she had been this angry.

  “Would you like me to clean that up?” Polly asked carefully as she peeked around the door, indicating the smashed lamp that Laura had thrown across the room several minutes earlier as she sat at Terry’s desk in his home office. Laura was sure Polly could not see the pile of books and files that she had swept off the desk before she threw the lamp.

  “No, just let me be,” she snapped, regretting it instantly. Laura knew the woman meant well, but she had no patience for anyone at the moment.

  “Very well,” Polly whispered. The door closed softly behind her, and Laura glared at the packet as if it had personally offended her itself rather than the bastard who had sent it to her. She’d make a point of apologizing to Polly later, but right now she could
only focus on what was in front of her.

  It had been two weeks since Sean Barkley had asked Laura to sell him her husband’s shares of the architectural firm. He had said he would give her time, and apparently two weeks was plenty of time in his book. Well, she did not agree. As a matter of fact, no matter of time would have been enough time for her to agree to this sale.

  She picked up the phone and dialed Terry’s office number. After two rings, Emily answered, “Mr. Jensen’s office.” It was funny that Emily still answered it that way.

  “Hello, Emily, it’s Laura.”

  “Oh, Laura, good to hear from you,” Emily said. It was clear from her tone that she as smiling. “How are you?”

  “Not so great,” Laura said in a huff. “Sean sent me official paperwork to sell Terry’s shares to him.”

  There was an intake of breath. “That asshole…sorry.”

  Laura gave a tight laugh. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” she said. “So, you said you have a degree in architecture?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I have a degree in office management, so I have an idea…” She spent the next fifteen minutes filling in Emily on her plans for usurping Sean. “So, what do you think?”

  “It’s brilliant!” Emily sounded giddy. “I would love to get him. When do we start?”

  “How about tomorrow? Let’s meet up at that coffee shop just down the street from the office. I don’t want Sean to see us meeting.”

  Emily laughed. “He won’t even know I’m gone. He has tried several times to get into Terry’s office, but I keep thwarting him and asking him if he needs help. I get him whatever he says he’s looking for and then he stomps off. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I think he wants something else in the office.”

  Laura thought for a moment. “What do you think he could be after?”

  “I have no idea,” Emily replied. “I thought I knew about every single piece of paper and file that is in that office, but you knew what Terry was like; no sense of organization at all.”

  Glancing around the home office, Laura could not agree with her more. His idea of filing was throwing papers that went together into a file folder and laying it on top of his filing cabinet. She imaged it was much the same at work.

  “OK, let’s meet tomorrow,” Laura said. “How does ten o’clock sound?”

  “You got it. Do you want me to bring anything?”

  That was a good question. Laura had no idea where to even start, but knowing that the clients were the most important, she said, “Bring the company’s client list. We’ll start there.”

  “Great, see you tomorrow,” Emily said before hanging up.

  Laura sat in the darkening room not bothering to turn on the light. She squinted her eyes in calculated anger. A plan was forming in her head and she knew what she needed to do. She knew she would have Emily as an ally, she just needed to test the waters to see what Terry’s clients would think.

  But before she could take that on, she had an apology to make. Polly had always been caring and friendly. She did not deserve to be treated so harshly.

  She got up from the desk, stepping over the unfortunate mountain of Terry’s desktop and headed out to find Polly and give her a heartfelt apology.

  ***

  The coffee shop was loud as Laura sat at a small table waiting for Emily. She looked forward to seeing her again; there was something about her that made Laura feel safe, and maybe a little warm. It made no sense whatsoever, but she pushed any concerns aside when Emily walked through the front door.

  Emily wore a black blazer that covered a blue shirt that stretched nicely across her bosom. The matching black skirt was a respectable length, and Laura berated herself for wishing it was maybe a couple of inches shorter.

  “Hey,” Laura said as she stood to give Emily a hug. Confusion rushed through her mind as the pressure of Emily’s breasts against hers brought forth a feeling much like she had when she used to hug Terry.

  But that made absolutely no sense, so she shrugged it off and sat back down as Emily went to order her coffee.

  Laura watched as Emily leaned forward toward the barista.

  She has a nice ass, Laura thought, but before she could even think about what that meant, Emily was walking back toward the table and taking the seat across from her.

  “So, I brought the client list,” Emily said, pulling a folder from her briefcase.

  “Tell me about the structure of the company.”

  “Well, there are twenty projects going on right now,” Emily explained as she pulled out a spreadsheet. “We have eight architects on staff, so most have two, and a couple have three, accounts they are designing for. Tom Prichart, Rebecca Stockton, and Jesse Flemming all have three clients; they each took one of Terry’s after the accident. Sean has two right now, and from what I can make out, those clients are not too happy with him. His communication skills are terrible. Terry did a lot of the upfront relationship building and sat in at most of the meetings Sean had with clients as a go-between. It’s not that Sean isn’t a capable architect, because he is, but he’s also…well, as we both know…and ass. Where Sean has the design skills to do the job, he lacks the people skills.”

  “And how are the three who took on Terry’s projects doing with that?”

  “They are handing things fine.” Emily shifted to a new page. “Bill Peterson, Tori Vickery, Tony Rogland, and Donald Thompson each have two projects they are working on, and their clients have had no complaints.”

  Laura was impressed. “Well, it sounds like the only possible wrench in the works is Sean.”

  Emily laughed. “It has always been Sean,” she said before taking a sip of her latte. “I don’t know what happened when the firm started, but Terry has never been able to fire him.” She shrugged. “Maybe it was blackmail, maybe a debt, I don’t know, but he always took care of Sean.”

  Laura thought for a second but was unable to think of any stories Terry had told her. “Maybe it’s just that Sean’s that good at his job,” Laura offered.

  “You know, it could be. He is really quite good when it comes to design. Maybe not as good as Terry, and certainly not the best, but his clients never had a complaint about his work; it was always just about his attitude. As long as Terry was there as a buffer, then things ran smoothly.”

  It made sense for Terry to keep Sean on if he was as qualified as Emily said. Terry never let emotions get in the way of recognizing good work. It just was not who he was.

  “So, what should we start with?” Emily asked.

  “Let’s contact all of the clients on this list. You can set up the appointments, let’s say at a separate location, maybe as a lunch meeting, so we’re away from the office. I don’t want to let Sean know our plans until we’ve at least contacted everyone we currently have projects with.”

  “I love it,” Emily said. When Emily put her hand on Laura’s, that same shot of electricity coursed through Laura’s body as it had when they had met before Terry died. Laura found it difficult to breath and she pulled her hand away just as Emily pulled hers to collect the paperwork strewn across the table.

  Laura was not sure if she’d be able to speak, but she cleared her throat and said, “We should maybe meet every evening to talk about how things are progressing. And I’d like you to be at those meeting, too, because you are the expert, not I.” Emily’s smile made Laura very happy.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Emily said. “I think between the two of us, we can pull this off.”

  “I do, too,” Laura said as she gathered her things. “You set up the first meeting for tomorrow. I think we should use a nice, but not too expensive, restaurant. What do you think of Rizzo’s? It’s just down the street and has a menu with a variety of items, so we won’t have to worry about anyone’s tastes. Plus, I know the owner. I’m sure we can get a reserved table in a quiet corner to conduct our business.”

  “Yes, I think that will work quite well. I’ll give you a call to
morrow.” Emily leaned over and kissed Laura’s cheek before heading out the door. Laura could only sit there, stunned. Not at the kiss itself, but how it made her feel when she felt it.

  When she got home, she changed into her jogging clothes and headed out the door. Her usual route took her through the neighborhood of high-end homes, down a path, past a yard with a tiny dog that yapped at her every time she made her rounds, and into a small wooded area. Away from the sounds of traffic, children screaming, and dogs barking she was able to focus her thoughts.

  The air pumped through her lungs and cleared her head. Her thoughts turned to Terry and the bind he had left her in. She missed him; he was her husband. But the hole that was left was not as big as it should have been. She was more angry with him for the mess he had left her than the fact he was gone.

  As she made a wide turn that took her back toward the house, her thoughts turned to Emily. But before she was able to really consider her feelings for the beautiful blond, a large raindrop fell on Laura’s head and she looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had snuck in while she was in the trees, and if that one raindrop was any indication, she was in for a drenching if she did not pick up her pace and get home quickly.

  She opened the front door to the house just as a lightning bolt struck, illuminating the surrounding area that had darkened considerably as she had returned home. The clouds opened up and it began downpouring, the street soon collecting large amounts of runoff that made its way to the sewer grates set out along the street.

  “Polly,” she called out.

  “Yes, coming,” Polly said, her warm smile taking in Laura’s shivering form. “Let me get you a towel.”

  “Thank you,” Laura said, feeling like a child but not caring. She had a lot of planning to do if she were to decide how she was going to keep what Terry had left her. She knew then that there was no selling, ever, to that viper if she could get away with it.

  As her resolve solidified, she knew that Emily was right. She could beat this.

  Now, what would she do about how she felt about Emily?

  Chapter Eight