by Mia Ford
“You need to own it in this meeting, Raelyn,” Leon reminds me. “Prove that you kick ass.”
I blow out a couple of sharp breaths and nod. “I know. I do, you’re right.”
“Remember who you are. Remember where you came from. Remember what you can do.”
“Yes, right. I can do all of those things. No problem. Nothing to worry about at all.”
He squeezes my shoulder, ever so lightly, to give me some reassurance, then he nods towards the building. It’s time to go in, to face the music, to get this done. My heels clip clop along the ground, somehow, making my pulse race even faster, I even get a little dizzy, but I keep moving forwards into my future.
This is good, I try to convince myself. This will be good for all of us.
But I falter a little when I get inside. Somehow, in here, it’s even more impressive. All white and sleek, like it’s designed to make people feel intelligent. R. Owens Parts is all about producing the best product, but it seems like Lace Enterprises wants to project a certain image as well. An utterly terrifying one.
“R. Owens?” the guy behind the reception desk ask Leon.
“Err, no. I’m Leon.” He steps to one side. “This is Raelyn Owens.”
“Ah I see. I do apologize. Welcome, Raelyn. Please, take a seat and I will contact Mr. Lace.”
Mr. Lace refers to Carter Lace, the leader in this industry. The man who I have been trying to catch up with. I never ever thought that I would end up teaming up with him, but I think the risk might be worth it. I hope.
“Mr. Owens.” A warm voice bursts into the room, followed by a man who does something funny to me.
He’s tall and very strong looking, almost bursting out of his shirt, and he’s strikingly handsome as well. Better looking than any of the guys I have been forced to date through the Internet. With sparkling blue eyes and a smile that lights up a room, he’s gorgeous. And as he runs his hand through his cropped dark hair, I become consumed by butterflies. This is trouble, I can’t be feeling this way about this man. Not a chance in hell.
“No, I’m not Owens,” Leon speaks out again. “I’m the production manager. This is Raelyn Owens.”
“Oh.” Carter stops and he runs his eyes up and down me, the criticism evident in his eyes. “You’re a woman.”
I bristle, any thoughts of desire for this man melting away in an instant. “Yes, I am.”
I have faced this before, the expectation that I shouldn’t be as far as I am in business because of my gender, which really winds me up. Aren’t we in the twenty first century? Shouldn’t we be beyond that sort of sexism now? Does it matter what I have between my legs? Honestly! Immediately, I’m turned right off of him.
“Yes, I am,” I reply coolly. The only good thing about his stinking attitude is that it shakes my nerves off. “I have always been one. Is that an issue? Does it affect how I can do business?”
“Clearly not. You have done very well; I just prefer not to work with women.”
I narrow my eyes at him. This is ridiculous. I should not have to face this sort of adversity. I want to turn and walk away, to put this behind me, but I know that I need this. I do. It’s the only way I can progress.
“Well, I think you will find it fine working with me,” I tell him through gritted teeth.
“Hmm, okay. Well we need to go through to my conference room and sign all the paper work.”
As he turns, I shoot Leon a pleading look, but he simply shrugs as if I shouldn’t get wound up by that. Maybe he’s right, perhaps this is all just a little test to see what I can handle. I will show him that I can take anything. I hold my head up high and I waltz into the meeting room, determined to win this little game. I might not yet fully understand the rules, but that doesn’t matter. I’m playing anyway, and my competitive side means that I’m playing to win as always. Carter Lace might have met his match for the very first time…
Woah. I have to admit that as I walk into the room, I’m struck by the lack of females inside it. Maybe that wasn’t just a throw away comment to wind me up. Maybe he doesn’t work with women. Well, if he’s going to work with me then he will just have to get used to it already.
We take our seats and listen as the lawyer goes through all the details with us again. I take it all in even though I don’t really need to because it’s ingrained in my mind. I wouldn’t consider signing anything without combing through it thoroughly and learning every single word. As I hear the words, I watch Carter intently. It seems like he is purposely not looking at me which gives me full reign to really see him.
He is good looking, in an objective way, I suppose. My initial instinct was right, but his arrogance shines through and makes him far less attractive to me. There is no way that I could ever like a man who doesn’t have respect for me just because of my gender. That’s enough to tempt me back to online dating… well, almost, I’m still not about to give in to Abbi’s demands just yet. I have all of this on my plate. This deal, the subsequent move to a brand new office, and now the possibility of dealing with this asshole every day…
Finally, the explanations end and it’s time to sign. I hesitate with my pen over the paper, trying to think of the pros and cons one last time. I had a list before, but it’s changed now that I have actually met Carter. He isn’t like I expected him to be, he is so much worse. I need to think about seeing him every day…
Although, I suppose I can avoid him as much as possible and just concentrate on my part of the business, just like I always have done. Just because we will be working alongside Carter, doesn’t mean that we will be with him. Just in the building and using the equipment. Our paths don’t have to cross unless we want them to.
I need this, I remind myself, even with the voice in my mind a little shaky. I can’t expand without this.
I have to do it. I have to connect the pen to the paper and sign. I don’t have a choice. I glance up to see Carter watching me curiously, which brings an intense blush to my cheeks. I don’t really know why, but the intensity of his gaze heats me up, it makes me feel all weird, like he can see right into my mind and he knows everything that I’m thinking. I have to snap my eyes away before I fall apart. I can’t lose my strength now!
I sign, but I don’t feel a sense of elation or relief. What I’m doing is just trying to anticipate what will happen. This will either be the best decision that I have ever made, or the worst. I’m not too sure yet. I can’t look at Carter again to figure it out either, because I’m scared of falling apart all over again.
“I will show you around,” Carter snaps, breaking me from panic mode. “Let you see your new office.”
He leads me and Leon to a smaller building next to his which will become our office. It’s nice. Nowhere near as sleek as his place, but good enough. Better than what we have already, not that I’m going to tell him that. Then we go to see the production line and I see Leon light up like a Christmas tree. I have to admit that I’m impressed to. I can already see how much more we can produce here, and how much faster. This is exactly the sort of expansion I was looking for, it’s like a dream come true. I just have to sell my soul to get it.
“That was amazing,” Leon exclaims with excitement as we finally leave the office. “Oh my God, did you see that? It’s incredible there. The best place that I have ever been. I cannot wait to work there. Don’t you feel the same way? Like it’s going to be the best thing that you have ever done in your life?”
“Hmm.” I can’t muster up quite the same enthusiasm. Carter has left a bitter taste in my mouth. His sexism and attitude has really pissed me off more than it probably should. “I sure hope so.”
“What’s up? Oh, is it Carter? Yeah, I get it.” Leon nods. “He’s a bit of a dick. I see that, but it doesn’t matter, does it? You won’t have to see him much when we start. Plus, I think he’s just a bit snippy because he’s threatened by you. And rightly so. You are a kick ass independent woman who has stolen business from him so much that he’s had to resort to ma
king you a part of his company.”
“You think?” I glow. I can’t help it. I prefer to think of it that way. “I hope so. He will only feel more threatened when we get there as well. That’s when he’ll learn that I’m not the one to be messed with.”
“Exactly. Raelyn Owens, you are going to be the woman who takes him down, and I cannot wait to see it.”
I start to see things from Leon’s point of view, more and more the further away we get. This is an opportunity, and I need to see it for what it is. For myself, my business, everything that I have built up and my employees too. They all deserve the best and this will be a stepping stone to getting there.
Screw Carter Lace and his bullshit. It doesn’t bother me at all. Not anymore.
“So, what do you think will be better?” I ask Leon, focusing on the good parts.
“Oh, where do I begin? Just absolutely everything…”
I really hope that he’s right.
5
Carter
“What the fuck was that?” I growl at Gary. “That was messed up, wasn’t it?”
“Er… it was?” he stammers back. “I don’t know, I thought it went okay…”
I shoot him a dagger filled look. How can he be so naïve? I don’t want to work with women, I thought that much was obvious. I keep any females far away from me on purpose and I don’t really want to change that. I wouldn’t have signed any of those papers if I wasn’t so damn excited about the deal.
“Urgh, that woman is just so much of a nightmare,” I spit out. “She’s going to cause us serious issues…”
“That sweet looking red head?” Gary gives me a confused look. “She seemed nice to me.”
“Well, she won’t be. You can just trust me on that one. She will cause problems. I guess it’s just lucky that she’s going to be in the office next door so I don’t have to see her every day. If I just focus on that…”
“Right, sure. I see. Well, I think I need to get back to work now…”
Gary practically runs from the room in his desperation to get away from me, which I suppose makes sense considering my mood. I would want to get away from the black cloud hanging over my head as well. But I can’t. I’m here and stuck with it, just like I’m going to be stuck with Raelyn. The first woman who I will have to be around a lot, every single day almost, since Anna. It really isn’t going to work out well.
I grab my cell phone, needing to take my temper out on someone else now. Someone who is actually to blame for what has happened. My delightful private investigator, Lee. He is the best of the best, there is not a chance in hell that he didn’t know that Raelyn is a woman. He should have told me; I should’ve been warned.
“Hello?” He doesn’t even sound guilty as he answers. He knew my meeting was today. I called him to thank him. I need to know what the hell he’s playing at. “Everything okay, Carter?”
Ah, he asked me a question. Maybe he does understand after all.
“No, everything is not okay, Lee. I just had my meeting with R. Owens.”
“Ah, and that went well, I presume. You got everything signed.”
“Oh yes, but that isn’t the issue, is it?” I snap at him. “And I think you know that.”
“Can I ask why? It seems like a damn good deal to me.”
“Because she’s a woman and you know my feelings on women.”
“Because of your ex, I know.” Lee was a part of my life even then. We don’t need to be best friends for him to have seen how it utterly destroyed me. He might not be one to have small talk with me, but I sure as hell moaned a lot to him during that particularly challenging time. “But that was a long time ago now.”
“This has nothing to do with that. I just don’t need any trouble. This doesn’t feel good at all.”
“Can you please explain why then? Because as far as what I saw, Raelyn is an astute business woman who is fantastic at her job. So good, in fact, that she posed a threat to you which no one has really done before. I know that through all the façade that intrigues you, and that’s okay. There is a reason I didn’t specify that she was a woman, and that’s because I know what’s best for you. Even if you don’t realize that now. It will be good for you to work with Raelyn. She is incredibly good at what she does. You can both learn from each other.”
I pace the room, silently mulling this over. It isn’t what I wanted to hear, but I know that Lee has never steered me wrong in the past, so as much as I don’t like it, maybe I should listen.
“Look, Carter, just give it a try,” Lee continues. “See how it works for you both. The paper work is signed now anyway so you don’t have much choice. Try to make the best of it. You might be surprised.”
I think what annoys me the most is the effect that she had on me. Aside from the annoyance, I felt a spark. I could see something within her that intrigued me more than I want from any women. I would much rather just hate her like I do to all women, but she has something buried within her that tempts me.
She’s beautiful as well. Sweet and sexy in a unique way. All pixie like with her red hair and nice eyes. There was even a little pull inside of me that wanted to just hold her… but that might be sexual frustration. After all, it has been a while. Perhaps that will all change once I get used to her being around.
“Sure, you’re probably right, Lee. I will see what I can do.”
“You never know; this might just be the best thing that you have ever done.”
“Hmm, it might. Or it might be the worst,” I reply wryly.
“Only time will tell,” Lee laughs. “Right, well I will speak to you soon.”
“Yeah, bye, Lee. Thanks for calming me down. I appreciate it.”
He did that mostly by just talking to me, which he doesn’t normally do, but the sense of calm remains with me for a while afterwards as I ponder over his words. I suppose it’s time to change things up a bit to see what happens. Business is all about experimenting and I’m in the forefront of that. I’m always pushing boundaries and seeing what I can do next to make things better for me and my employees. This is just more of that.
So, let’s just see how it goes. I don’t have any other choice…
I sigh loudly and watch Raelyn with the others moving into the new office, anticipation coursing angrily through my veins. I still haven’t yet worked out how I’m supposed to feel about this, so I’m just in a mix. On one hand, this is good business decision in so many ways. If we can crack this, then it will be amazing. But on the other… well, everything else. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to end up comfortable.
“She is beautiful,” Gary comments next to me, making me jump. “Isn’t she?”
“Who do you mean?” I bristle uncomfortably. “And you aren’t here to comment on who is and isn’t beautiful.”
“I mean Raelyn,” he chuckles back. “Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed or I won’t believe you.”
Of course I’ve noticed. I won’t ever tell anyone, but I’ve been thinking about her a lot ever since we signed that contract. She keeps creeping into my dreams. Not in a sexy way. She is just there sometimes, smiling sweetly and blushing, making my heart skip about ten beats as she does. Weirdly, I haven’t dreamt of Anna at all since I first met Raelyn. I don’t want to interpret what that means.
It’s just because she’s the first woman that I’ve had close contact with in a long while, that’s all. Nothing to worry about at all. I’m not going to get all bogged down by it because Gary has made some stupid remark.
“I don’t know. She’s just a person. Not something that I’m particularly worried about.”
“Hmm, I’m sure.” Gary cocks his eye teasingly. “I think you might like her.”
He’s trying to wind me up, I can sense it, and it takes everything that I have not to scream at him. But that will only make him worse. He’ll really think that he has something on me which he doesn’t. I don’t like Raelyn at all.
“Get back to work, Gary. This has nothing to do with
you.”
“Yeah, yeah sure. I understand. You want to perve over her by yourself.”
“I’m not perving, I’m just watching them. Seeing if they are getting there, okay.”
“Why don’t you go out there and offer them help. I’m sure she would love a hero. A big strong man to come along and pick up all the boxes for her. Flex some of those muscles of yours that you work so hard for.”
“I think she’s quite capable of doing everything by herself,” I reply wryly. “She needs no hero.”
“Hmmm… maybe that’s what you like so much about her.”
He walks off to my rolling eyes. I did not need that today, especially when at some point I am going to have to talk to her. I have put it off so far, but I cannot avoid it forever. I’ll have to make sure that she has everything that she needs and things are alright… even if I don’t want to. I would prefer to chat with her than think about what Gary just said because that isn’t why I like her at all. I don’t like her one bit.
Maybe I have forgotten how to speak to women, I think idly. It has been a real long time.
I suppose I am going to have to get over myself now. I can’t think like this forever. Not when the ball is already rolling. And Raelyn is here, taking me out of my comfort zone.
I stuff my hands into my pockets as I walk outside. The cool air washes over me, but it doesn’t really do anything to calm me down. My heart is pounding wildly in my throat, making me feel sick. It’s too late for me to turn back though, because others have seen me. Not Raelyn, but the other people who are a part of her company. I need to save my face. I cannot show even a scrap of weakness or it will come back to bite me on the ass.