by Rose, Carol
“Of course, you are,” Wendi said smoothly. “You have every right to decide who to hire and who to fire. I can’t imagine a more important decision than the one of picking the people who will carry on your dream. You are the core of the company. You’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into it. Who better than you to decide it’s future?”
“No one,” Michele responded absolutely. “I am the heart and soul of this company. Of course, I am getting up in years and I don’t want it to die with me.”
“Don’t be silly,” Wendi chided. “You’re not old! With a spirit as young as yours, you’ll probably live forever! And what’s so amazing is how you’ve dedicated yourself to this dream. You really deserve to take a break! Have some fun. That’s the real reason you might want to consider changing your responsibilities here. You and Uncle Carl should go see Europe together. I know it would be a relief to me to see him enjoying himself at this point in his life. You, too. You work too hard.”
“Well, I have given my life to the business,” Michele replied before sighing. “You’re such a comfort to me, Wendi. I can’t believe Eden’s giving you problems. She’s usually so helpful.”
Wendi preserved a tactful silence, her face humble.
Michele fussed with a stack of paper on her desk. “I specifically told her to help you.”
“Maybe she thinks she’s been helping,” Wendi said. “But it feels more like she’s working against me.”
“I’ll speak to her about it,” asserted Michele. “I’ll take care of it.”
***
Two days later, Alex drew Eden into his arms as her apartment door closed behind them. Tucked against his chest, her chin angled up to receive his kiss, she was both firm and soft, her seductive femaleness beguiling his senses.
Kissing her deeply as he held her tight against his body, he felt himself stir in readiness. Automatically, his brain jumped in to assert its dominance over his body.
He wasn’t here tonight to fulfill his longing for her. Not yet. There were goals to accomplish and with her professional life in such turmoil, she wasn’t ready to move their relationship forward. He couldn’t let himself forget that. He didn’t want to screw this up on any of the levels he was juggling with her.
He’d had an ulterior motive in getting to know her, but Eden was the priority now. He’d known from the start that this was more than business for him.
“I’ve missed you,” he said when he lifted his mouth from hers.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she said, her smile responsive despite the shadows in her eyes.
Alex frowned, holding her at arms’ length as he studied her face. “Are you having more trouble with Wendi and Michele? What’s happening to make you unhappy?”
She looked startled for a second before her smile brightened, the wattage upped as she drew him further into the room. “No. Nothing unusual, that is. Just typical corporate crap. You know, no one doing their job. Everyone pointing fingers at everyone else. One of our other vice-presidents has had a car accident. He’s going to be all right, but I’m picking up some of the slack while he’s out. I’ve also been assigned the development position for a new anti-aging product that’s being researched in Europe. Michele’s pouring a lot of money into what may be less-than-successful product from the initial results. Same old crap. But I’m okay. Can I get you something to eat? Or a drink?”
“No, maybe later,” he replied. “I grabbed a bite earlier this evening while I was working at my desk.”
“So,” she said, turning to face him on the couch. “This is our strategy planning session. How are we going to get control of the company so I can exact my revenge?”
Alex met her gaze, noting the lightness in her voice, at variance with her troubled expression. Despite the fact that she was saying just what he needed to hear from her, an alarm bell pinged in his head. If his instincts were on target, Eden was agreeing reluctantly to his plan to bring the company down. She didn’t feel she had any choice, he was sure. In that case, he wouldn’t expect her to be impatient to embrace plans to bring the company down.
Never one to ignore his intuition, he said, “So, you’re excited to get started on this?”
Her expression shifted, her tense smile ebbing away.
Eden put a hand up to rub at her forehead. “No, I’m not all that thrilled. I’d love to find a solution that didn’t involve taking the company apart, but there doesn’t seem to be one. The situation the way it is now is unbearable. I don’t know how long I can last with Michele insisting I run everything past Wendi and Wendi leaving all her work in my lap. I hate having things work out this way, but I can’t let them run over me. That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m comfortable with putting my employees out-of-work. That’s bothering me the most.”
“Of course,” he said, reaching out to brush his hand along her face in a comforting gesture. She had to see the necessity of what they were doing.
“I realize,” he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders, “that you hate having to deal with this. If Michele wasn’t an idiot, you’d be working to bring the company into an improved profit position and ensuring a bright future for all the Michele Cosmetics employees. Unfortunately, Michele is a fool. If we don’t act quickly, the company will be snapped up by another corporation and you’ll have squat for all your years of investment.”
“My life,” she said with a wry smile. “Let’s face it, I’ve put my career ahead of a private life and at this point, I’m not guaranteed to have the traditional female options outside of work. I’ve put myself into this company. It’s all I have.”
Alex found himself laughing softly. “You’re not a fifty-year old woman, honey. You still seem to have plenty of life left. Plenty.”
She smiled at him wryly. “Thanks. I guess I feel foolish for investing so heavily into Michele Cosmetics. I trusted her and my job has always taken priority. I just never thought Michele would let me down so badly.”
“You have a strong sense of loyalty, don’t you? To the company. To the people who work there and to Michele herself. Despite everything?” he found himself asking. He liked that about her, despite the fact that the situation wouldn’t let her act on it.
Flashing him a startled glance, she didn’t disagree. “I guess so. We don’t always get things the way we want them. But I know what I need to do. I think you’re right. I shouldn’t let them screw me over. So, how do we go about setting up a takeover bid? If you start buying stock, won’t that tip them off? And won’t it take a fair amount of money?”
Eden was a take-charge kind of woman. Action of any kind would help her deal with the challenges she faced, Alex realized. “Well, the first thing we do is talk about ways to negatively impact the stock price.”
She looked at him. “How do we do that?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “I have a contact with Wall Street Weekly who I can get to do an article on the industry—small, regional cosmetics companies. It might be a good idea if you get in touch with her independently and offer to be an unidentified source. You could give her an inkling of the trouble you’re facing at Michele Cosmetics. The article will have ripple effects to weaken the company’s image.”
Eden struggled to disconnect from the wave of dismay. The thought of stepping forward and putting her betrayal of Michele into action left her stomach in knots. Was she really ready to go out on a limb and give negative insider information on her own company? She already felt a crazy sick feeling in her stomach just lying to him about the anti-aging product. So far the results looked good, but she’d kept them to herself. She especially didn’t need to tell Alex the truth about the product’s market potential. It would give him even more motivation to get his hands on the company and its assets.
Maintaining her part in the conversation with rigid effort, she said, “Won’t the reporter at Wall Street Weekly think its odd for me to
contact her? I couldn’t let her use my name. Would an article with an unnamed source do enough damage to lower the stock price?”
“It’s a good start.” Alex picked up her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “She’ll know who you are and refer to you as a ‘knowledgeable source.’ Then you might want to have lunch with someone you know at one of the company’s competitors. Ask about the job market, sound anxious and vaguely refer to ‘lawsuits’ being able to bring an entire company down. But don’t be specific.”
“You’re really good at this,” she said, her voice tight in an effort to keep her bitterness at bay. His determination to takeover Michele Cosmetics wasn’t personal, she knew, but he’d crossed over into personal territory when he started dating her with an agenda.
Alex looked at her, his gaze searching her face. “Are you okay with this? I need you to be okay with it.”
A verbal denial crowded in her throat, barely held back. She knew she had to play this carefully, but deceit at this level didn’t come naturally to her. White lies were not even her usual preference, but she had to play a part and play it well to satisfy him. In the natural course of things, she’d be a little skittish, even a little tearful. She had to get it right or Alex would smell a rat and if he spilled his information too quickly to the board, she was screwed.
He’d already bruised her pride and threatened her heart. She was damned if she’d let him kill her company.
“I—I am conflicted about selling Michele out,” she said, delivering the words as a reluctant admission. “She’s really been a role model for me. I felt like I could trust her completely…but I know I can’t let her run over me. I don’t really have a lot of choices here.”
“True,” he said, the doubts she’d seen in his eyes disappearing.
“So, will an article and a rumor be enough to bring the stock prices down?” Her stomach churned in her effort to stay visibly relaxed—comfortable with him, yet uncomfortable with the course ahead of her.
She’d never yearned to be an actress. This double-dealing didn’t quite sit right, but dammit, she’d do what she had to do. Getting to the top of the heap in any business took some scrambling. She’d done a little on her way up the ladder at Michele Cosmetics.
“No, the article alone won’t be enough,” he acknowledged. “We’ve got to get a major stock holder in our corner. I’d like to convince one of them to vote with us. That’s where you come in again. I told you I need to know everything personal you have on your major stockholders. We can then proceed to get them behind us.”
Immediately, Eden’s mind sprinted into action. Who were their biggest stock holders outside of Michele herself, the board of directors and the top-level executives? The short list of really major stock holders registered inside her head silently. Which of them would be most vulnerable to sell? Most resistant to Alex’s snake oil manipulation?
“I can get you a list of the major stock holders,” she said doubtfully, forcing herself to stay open and innocent-sounding. “But that’s public record, isn’t it? Hasn’t your…study of the company yielded those names?”
“Yes. It’s all public record, of course, but it’s not enough to know who owns how much. I need to make sure we can swing them into line with our plans. I need personal info.”
“Oh,” she said, her thoughts racing. “You need me to tell you about the big stock holders. What exactly do you mean? I don’t really know all their dark secrets.”
Alex chuckled. “I’m not asking you to blackmail them into siding with us. I simply need your assessment on who’s more vulnerable and may need to sell their stock. Who is in conflict or in bed with Michele? Who holds strong opinions on what company issues? That sort of thing.”
“Oh,” she said, “I can get you that info.”
Apparently he drew the line at blackmailing board members. Was it possible that he didn’t think he was doing the same to her? He’d never actually uttered the words as a threat, but she knew he had the power to bring her world down around her ears.
For a moment she battled with a longing to belt him. Why the hell couldn’t he be as good as he’d seemed at first? Why couldn’t the cancer-research-funding, hospice-volunteering philanthropist be the real guy?
She felt an intense, piercing regret and fought to keep from yanking her hand away and belting him for not being the man she’d hoped he was.
“Great,” Alex said, “when we examine the info, we’ll decide who to go after and you can arrange a discreet meeting.”
“Me?” she said, the word rising.
“Yes, you,” was his reply. “You’re an insider, remember? They’ll trust you more.”
“Oh, right,” she said, thinking furiously. “Right. That makes sense.”
God, she had to produce an actual stock holder and expose him or her to Alex’s brand of charm and logic? Who the hell was she going to throw to the lions? Who even could she trust with the truth?
CHAPTER FIVE
“Hey,” Brian said, sticking his head in Alex’s doorway, “I heard an interesting rumor this morning.”
“Come in,” Alex invited, placing the telephone receiver in the cradle. “What did you hear?”
“Something on the Michele Cosmetics deal. I happened to be talking to John Minor, the attorney for Millennium Tech? Anyway, we were discussing the disposition of some of their assets in Michigan and he happened to mention that it was too bad they didn’t have larger facilities in that area because he’d heard of a company looking for more space.”
“Who?” Alex asked.
“Beauty by Georgette,” Bryan said with satisfaction. “Aren’t they Michele Cosmetics’ primary regional competitor?”
“Yes. That’s the company owned by Eden Merritt’s uncle.”
“Well, we should start cultivating them for an offer on the Michele Cosmetics Michigan plant. It may be just what they’re looking for and we could snag their interest with offering a property that’s already set up for their industry needs.”
“That’s great,” Alex said. This was what he loved about his work, the almost serendipitous money-making opportunities.
Bryan sat back in his chair, a big grin of satisfaction on his face. “I thought you’d love that. Now, once we have Michele Cosmetics under control, we can terminate the existing plant employees and pretty much offer it ‘as is’ to the Beauty by Georgette people.”
Alex’s brows drew together in a frown. Terminating employees—with a reasonable compensation package—was standard procedure, but he couldn’t help remembering Eden’s hesitance to put her people out of work.
“Shall I put out some feelers?” Bryan asked. “Just to check on their interest in a property we may have in a few months?”
“Of course. That company will be a good sales possibility,” Alex agreed, options pinging in his head. “But don’t mention anything about the specifics.”
“No,” Bryan said, getting up. “That’ll wait.”
“We might,” Alex said slowly, “want to offer them a better deal, eventually.”
“What do you mean?” Bryan paused in leaving.
Alex shrugged. “It might be in our favor—as well as the Michele Cosmetics’ employees—to offer a package deal: factory and personnel.”
“Okay,” Bryan’s expression was puzzled, “but we don’t usually protect employees.”
“I know,” Alex said offhand. “It might make a sweeter deal, in this case, though.”
Bryan shrugged. “Okay. Whatever you think. I’ll put out some very casual feelers.”
“Do that,” Alex said, picking up the phone as his friend left.
He always preferred win-win situations and this could work out best for everyone. Particularly for Eden’s conscience. The possibility made him feel more cheerful.
***
“So…,” Eden said slowly, hearing little over the r
oar of anger and disappointment in her ears, “you’re saying I’m not treating Wendi nice? She’s not going to be ready to replace you as CEO? Is that your point?”
Michele Broussard’s laugh was short. “No, Eden. It’s not a matter, yet, of her replacing me, but Wendi needs to have the opportunity to adapt. She’s taken a huge leap from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics and we’re very lucky to have her. All I’m saying is that you could be more helpful.”
Your precious Wendi is no good! She wanted to say. Wendi will steal from this company just like she did from her last one.
Eden’s throat constricted with the effort to keep the words from spilling out. But she knew it wouldn’t do any good to tell Michele about Wendi having left her last job under a cloud of suspicious. The elderly woman couldn’t see the truth.
“How do you want me to be more helpful? I’m not sure I understand.” Her gut burning, Eden managed to keep her voice level.
“Wendi says you’re not being open with her,” Michele said. “That you withhold information she needs to make decisions on the Passions line.”
“What decisions has she been trying to make, Michele? She handed that line back to me within a week of you assigning to her. She’s not dealing enough with the line to make any decisions.” The older woman was her boss and once a friend, but Eden couldn’t keep the snap out of her voice. Michele needed to see the truth about her protégé. “I’m doing the work because she won’t do it.”
“Wendi can’t very well do her job if you interfere,” Michele declared, her face disapproving. “I would think you’d hesitate before making an enemy of the person who may very well be running the company in five or ten years.”
Keeping her anger firmly in check, Eden couldn’t resist pursuing the topic of Wendi’s eventual promotion. “I’d like to ask you about that, Michele. I was under the impression that I was in the running for that position when you decide to retire.”