Circle of Shadows

by Curry, Edna

  “But he did.” Ken impatiently brushed back the brown wave that kept threatening to fall down over one eye. “I take it you don’t approve of his selling the majority shares in the store.”

  Lili shook her head, shifting impatiently in her chair. “Of course I don’t. Especially since I already owned a quarter of the shares. As a stockholder, I feel I should have had a say in the matter.”

  Ken frowned, sipping his coffee. “I understood that he made these arrangements for your mother’s welfare, that she had no interest or experience in the grocery business. Isn’t that so?”

  “Yes,” she conceded. “But I’ve worked in this store since high school. I could have handled it and paid Mother an income.”

  “You! You’re hardly old enough for such a responsibility.”

  Lili sighed, frowning. There it was again, the old male chauvinistic attitude that she’d always had to fight. “And just how old would you say that I am?”

  His lip curled. He set down his empty coffee cup. “About nineteen, I’d guess.”

  Lili smiled knowingly. “Try twenty-six, with a business degree thrown in, and five years’ experience with the major grocery chain in the St. Louis area.”

  Ken narrowed his eyes speculatively. “Sorry. You don’t look it.”

  “So you see there was no need for father to sell out.”

  “Then why did he?”

  “Because I am a woman. In father’s old-world view, only men are capable. Women should stay home, barefoot and pregnant, and bake bread for the master of the house.” An angry flush spread up Lili’s cheeks as she admitted it. She felt embarrassed that her father should have held such views. On the other hand, she felt disloyal to her dead father for criticizing him, because she’d loved him in spite of his views.

  Ken looked at her for a long minute, running a hand through his dark hair. She returned his gaze, her chin raised in unflinching defiance.

  “I see. Well, Lili, I share his love for homemade bread. But I can assure you I know how capable women can be in business as well. I have several very able women in my organization. If you know your business, we’ll get along fine.”

  Lili stared at him numbly. “I was hoping you would agree to negate the sale.”

  “No.” There was no hint of compromise in either the word or tone.

  “My bank has promised me a loan. At least sell me back enough shares so that I would retain control.”

  “No way! I am not interested in investing as a silent partner. Your father’s terms stand. However, you are free to leave if you wish?” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “No way,” she mimicked. “Adams’ Foods has been under an Adams’ control for more years than you’ve been alive. I don’t know how, yet, but somehow I intend to keep it that way.”

  He looked at her with admiration. “I admire your spunk, but don’t let it get out of hand. I’m the boss, now, and that’s the bottom line.”

  Lili’s lips curved into a wry smile. “You mean Northern Lights Corporation’s board of directors is the boss, don’t you, Mr. Mills?” she asked sweetly.

  His lips turned upward, too. “I mean I am the boss, Miss Adams. I am Northern Lights Corporation.”

  Her smile disappeared. “I see.” Why had Robert agreed to this? “I can’t imagine Dad letting you boss him,” she said without thinking of how it must sound.

  “I didn’t. Your father remained in complete control until his death.”

  She nodded, swallowing her tears. Thank goodness for that, at least. His answer also explained why she hadn’t seen him around the store since this sale had taken place. Her mind was swirling, trying to take in all he’d told her and trying to decide what it all meant.

  “So what happens now?” she asked. “Have you met the staff? Will you be here for day-to-day operation?”

  “Whoa—one question at a time. No, I won’t be here day to day. That’s your job. I have a dozen stores to run, so I can only spend a few hours a week with each manager unless there’s a special problem, or we’re remodeling or resetting a store. And no, I haven’t met your staff, except for Sally and Arthur a while ago.”

  “Do you want me to introduce you to them?”

  “Yes, of course. How about calling a staff meeting at closing time tonight? I realize it’s short notice, but I have another appointment here in the morning, and several meetings in other towns tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure nine tonight will be fine.”

  “Good. In the meantime, let’s go over your last month’s sales figures and financial reports.”

  At her shocked face, he said, “You do have some?”

  “No, Mr. Mills. I don’t.”

  “You don’t keep records?” He stared at her with disbelief.

  “My father had his own way of doing things, Mr. Mills. While he let me help with making up ads and checking out the tills, he never let me pay bills or put together any financial statements. However, I assure you, I do know how. This is my first day back after my father’s death, and I haven’t had time to go through anything yet. If you’ll just give me a bit of time, I’m sure I can come up with whatever information you want. The last inventory was taken just a month ago.”

  She glanced at him, sure for a moment that she saw some sympathy in his face as he watched her. Instead of making her feel better, it made her angry. She didn’t want or need his sympathy. She wanted respect for her abilities and the right and opportunity to prove her own worth. She wanted to be treated as a co-owner, not an employee. How could her own father have put her in this position when he had always professed to love her? She dragged her mind back to what Mr. Mills was saying.

  “Yes. I have a copy of that inventory. It was the one we based our agreement on.”

  Lili nodded. “Rumors were flying among the help then, because we usually only did an inventory twice a year. I didn’t believe them,” she added bitterly.

  “Rumors that the store had been sold?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Didn’t you ask your father about them?”

  She remembered the tension around the store in those days, the uncertainty they had all felt. “Father was ill. No one wanted to upset him. He shrugged it off without answering when I asked him,” she said hollowly, keeping her brimming eyes on the opposite wall where her father’s favorite picture hung.

  His gaze followed hers to the black and white copy of a painting in a beautiful oval wooden frame. “Robert liked antiques, I see. Who did that one?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Surprised at his tact in giving her time to regain control, she blinked away her tears and replied evenly, “It’s Three Horses in a Storm by Rosa Bonheur.”

  “A French artist, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes. One who was well before her time. She dared to wear pants in public in the mid-1800’s.”

  He grinned. “Ah, I see why you like her. A feminist fighter like yourself.”

  Lili glanced at him sharply, wondering if he was laughing at her. But she didn’t have the energy to start a battle. Too much had happened to tax her emotions already this week. Besides, her father had given her no choice. She had to work with this man, so she had better be polite to him. “Yes,” she said, forcing an answering smile.

  “I have some phone calls to make, if I may borrow your office a few minutes,” he said, pulling out his credit card.

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll put them on my phone card. Why don’t you tell your staff about the meeting at nine, and then we’ll go eat something. I’ll explain the reports I want while we have dinner, and we’ll go over them next week instead.”

  She nodded and went to obey. There was, of course, no way Lili could refuse to have a business dinner with her new boss, even though she was sure she would gag on every bite.

  Chapter 3

  Ken helped her into his silver Mercedes and walked around to get behind the wheel.

  Lili scolded herself for being surprised at the car. Why shouldn’t
the owner of a chain of supermarkets be able to afford a fancy car? Just because her family had always had to struggle to make ends meet didn’t mean everyone did.

  “Would you like to stop at your house to change before dinner?”

  She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. When he’d said, ‘we’ll go eat something,’ she hadn’t thought he meant, ‘go out for dinner.’ “Yes, thank you,” she said, giving him directions to her parents’ house. Perhaps he intended to go someplace nice, and was hinting that she should wear something other than the simple white blouse and blue suit she wore to work.

  “I’m told there’s a nice restaurant out on Long Lake,” he commented, evidently guessing her line of thought. “I thought we might eat there.”

  “Yes, there is. The food and service are both good, and it shouldn’t be too busy on a weeknight.”

  “I made reservations for six-thirty, just in case.”

  Surprised, she wondered if he was always this efficient and organized. She had never before known a man who was. All the men she knew seemed to think that handling the details of meetings or functions was the women’s job. He had, after all, simply told her to call the staff meeting for tonight. Of course, that was her place, since they were her employees, or rather, she corrected herself, had been her employees.

  She dreaded the staff meeting ahead, knowing everyone would be angry with her father for selling out. Most of them would be worried about keeping their jobs.

  She couldn’t blame any of them if they held her responsible. Certainly she shared some of the blame for the situation. She should’ve known her father well enough to see this coming. Somehow, she should have been able to prevent it.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” he said, reaching over to touch her arm, sending a warm shiver down her spine. His hazel eyes sought hers, making her suddenly acutely aware of him.

  “They’re not worth a penny,” she protested, sitting up straighter and realizing they had almost reached her street. “Turn right at the next corner, then it’s that white house built into the side of the hill with all the evergreens behind it,” she said, digging in her purse for her key.

  He noticed and asked, “Isn’t your mother home?”

  “No, she and Aunt Agnes left for Arizona today to spend a month down there.”

  “How nice for her.”

  “She deserves a vacation,” she said sharply. “She’s been waiting on my father hand and foot for years, and especially since his last heart attack. She never can say no to a charity, so she’s been run ragged with volunteer work.”

  “I’m sure she does deserve a vacation,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”

  Taking the key from her, he opened the door, then stepped back to allow her to precede him and switch on the lights.

  “There’s a bathroom down here off the den if you’d like to freshen up,” she offered, opening the door to a book-lined room with a fireplace and upholstered chairs.

  “What an unusual fireplace,” Ken remarked, walking across to stand before the massive fieldstone structure.

  “Thank you. Dad built it himself, using mostly our own rock collection. On every vacation, we brought back pretty rocks. Mom used to have a fit about it, so we would sneak unusual rocks into the trunk of the car when she wasn’t looking. Dad used to say it took twice as much gasoline on the return trip because of the extra weight.”

  Lili blinked back tears at the recollection, and quickly turned away to hide them. “I’d better get changed. Just make yourself at home. There’s ice and makings in that small refrigerator and glasses in the cabinet above it if you’d like a drink. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “No hurry. We have plenty of time.”

  His soft voice sent a ripple of heat through Lili, making her more than a little bit nervous. Whatever was the matter with her, reacting to this man, when he’d just fatally chopped up her dreams as surely as Arthur chopped up a sirloin with a meat cleaver? Was she going to let him hurt her personally as well?

  Remembering the later staff meeting, Lili chose a simple mint green tailored dress. With her usual efficiency, she showered, changed, replaced her make-up and ran a brush through her long hair, sending the glossy waves cascading down her back.

  Ken was reading today’s Minneapolis Tribune when Lili came back down the stairs.

  He laid the paper aside and stood as she came down the stairs. “Well, that was quick! Super results, though.” He let his gaze slide over her slowly, with an appreciative smile.

  “I’m used to getting ready quickly. I’m afraid I like to sleep until the last possible moment in the morning, then make a mad dash to get ready for work on time,” she said, appalled to realize she was babbling.

  “Then if you’re a night person, we won’t have to rush to get home early tonight, will we?”

  She could think of no reply, so merely laughed.

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “Nothing, really, thanks.” She picked up her coat from the chair she had dropped it on earlier. “Ready to go?”

  “You’d better sit down for a minute.”

  She turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “Your mother phoned. I told her to call back in a few minutes because you were in the shower.”

  “You told her what?”

  “You heard me.” He smiled at her chagrin. “And you’re right, she was shocked. I’m sure she would have liked to have told me to leave immediately, but politeness won out.”

  “Thanks a lot!”

  “Would you like that drink now?”

  “May as well. A cola.” She sat down while he poured it into a glass for her, his grin showing he was enjoying her discomfort. “It’s not funny.” She glared at him. “My mother is very old-fashioned and religious.”

  “I told her not to worry. If there had been any funny business going on, I would have been upstairs in the shower with you, not down here reading her newspaper.”

  Lili gasped in shock, blushing furiously. “Honestly, you’re impossible.” The phone rang and she grabbed it before he could, although he hadn’t moved a muscle.

  “Yes, Mom,” she answered her mother’s quick and expected questions. “Mr. Mills is the man from Northern Lights Corporation that Dad sold the store to.” She took the drink Ken handed her and sipped it while she listened to her mother’s comments and gentle admonitions.

  “He was just waiting for me to change out of my uniform. We’re going out to dinner and then to a staff meeting at the store to tell them about the sale.”

  She met Ken’s gaze, then looked away. Continuing her conversation, she asked her mother how far they’d traveled that day and about their next day’s itinerary.

  Hanging up the phone she accused, “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” She frowned at him over her glass, sipping her drink.

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “I just couldn’t resist. I’m not often thought of as dangerous to girls anymore, and it’s a very flattering idea. Did she believe your explanation?”

  “Yes, of course. Shall we go?” Doing her best to keep her voice businesslike, she slipped on her coat and turned towards the door, leaving him no choice but to follow her. She snapped off the light, then locked the door behind them.

  Ken’s teasing her mother had altered her view of him, and she didn’t like it. Now he seemed like the playful hunk she had first met in the swimming pool last night. The cold businessman she had seen all day had disappeared and she wasn’t sure she could handle the change. She didn’t want to like him. If she could keep him at a distance, it would be easier to fight him.

  “Careful of your step, Lili,” he said, sliding his hand down her back a couple of inches. He rested it on her waist as he led her down the steps to his car.

  She wondered if he could sense her heated reaction to that movement. He handed her in, and she settled down into the soft plush seat. Whatever would he think if he knew? But then, he wasn’t behaving in a very businesslik
e manner, either. The glances he kept sending her way were anything but impersonal.

  When they reached the restaurant, he helped her take off her coat, and the electricity sparked again as he touched her. It definitely wasn’t just static from the carpet. His lips quirked as he glanced down at her, as if to say that he felt it, too. Taking her coat, he turned to hang it up.

  Trying to hide her confused feelings, she followed the hostess to their table by the window.

  He nodded at the sunset on the lake below. “Beautiful view, isn’t it?” The perfectly landscaped shore was artfully scattered with bushes and flowering plants, some beginning to bloom. Streaks of red and gold in various shades lit the sky and were reflected on the water a few yards away.

  “Gorgeous.”

  ***

  The Lakeview Lounge served excellent food, and tonight was no exception. Lili tried to keep her mind on business, but it kept straying to questions about his personal life. Was he married? Or seriously interested in anyone? Surely he was too good looking and eligible to be single and unattached. Why did she care? He was her enemy, and as soon as she could convince him to sell back those shares, she’d never have to see him again.

  She took a bite of the flaky broiled walleye and looked up to catch him watching her. She stopped breathing, looked quickly away, and suddenly became absorbed in buttering her hot popover.

  He didn’t seem too interested in business either. Throughout dinner, he asked questions about her life, drawing out details about where she had worked, and what her duties had been. She told herself he was only checking out her credentials for her present job as store manager, yet couldn’t help wondering if he was really interested in her, personally.

  As he helped her with her coat, their eyes met and held for a long moment. She caught her breath, then pulled her gaze away and they walked out to his car.

  She was sorry to see the evening end, and especially sorry that they had to go back to the store for the unpleasant task of telling the employees the news.

  By the time everyone had gathered in the coffee-break room for their staff meeting, Lili’s throat felt stiff with nerves. It took all of her willpower to put on a business-like front and conduct the meeting in a calm voice. Fifteen anxious faces watching her and staring with curiosity at Ken were not helping.