The Morning After: Starting from Zero Box Set

by Dallen, Maggie

  Alex scowled at her, but there was laughter in his eyes as he reached for the remote. “You are cruel,” he growled.

  “Cruel but effective,” she said. And it was true. They had worked hard that week on various ways for Alex to harness the natural charisma and confidence he exuded outside of the boardroom.

  They’d made real progress. At the end of every lesson, Lacey would videotape Alex’s speech and would go off to her office to review the footage and make notes on what areas he still needed improvement. She’d sent the most recent tape to Rick back at Ackland headquarters and had been pleased, but not surprised, that he and the team agreed with her assessment—Alex Newsom had come a long way.

  They both heard the door opening behind them but neither turned to see who it was. Dawn was always interrupting their lessons to fetch Alex for his grandfather. Lawrence Newsom Senior’s every spare moment was spent trying to cram facts into his grandson’s head. He was trying to do the impossible—fit decades’ worth of life experience into two weeks. Every time he returned to her after these meetings, her heart ached at the weariness she saw in his eyes. She’d overheard enough of their conversations to know that his grandfather was merciless in his judgment and criticism of the younger man.

  “Dawn, tell the old man he can wait,” Lacey said. “Alex and I aren’t done.”

  “Oh, you’re done all right.” The old man’s gravelly voice was like ice water in Lacey’s veins. She hurried to distance herself from Alex who had spun around to face the old man.

  “Grandfather, what are you doing here?”

  Lawrence Newsom stalked into the room, his eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him. Lacey had a feeling those eyes didn’t miss much.

  “I came to see how your lessons were coming along.”

  She watched as Alex fidgeted like a little boy in front of his grandfather as she struggled to overcome her embarrassment.

  The old man’s watery blue eyes turned to her, and she lifted her chin stubbornly. Yes, they were caught having fun, but it wasn’t as though they were doing something inappropriate. She and Alex hadn’t crossed the line into impropriety once since their little chat in her hotel room. There had been some flirting and a whole lot of fun, but no kissing and certainly no sex. Not that it wasn’t on her mind every minute of every day. She was counting the seconds until the election.

  “Mr. Newsom, I’m glad you could join—” Lacey started.

  “Lawrence, please go to my office. The CFO is waiting to brief you on last quarter’s results.”

  Alex shot Lacey a comical look of horror behind his grandfather’s back as he moved toward the conference room door. Lacey smothered a grin, all too aware that the old man was watching her every move like a hawk.

  Once they were alone, the silence was unnerving. Lacey cleared her throat. “Mr. Newsom, you’ll be happy to know—”

  Mr. Newsom started to speak as though she’d never opened her mouth. “I understand that you have a job to do here, Miss Ames. And I believe my team and I have been extremely cooperative with you and your unique methods.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lacey agreed. “You have been most accommodating.”

  It was the truth. He had watched from the sidelines as she led Alex through her personalized versions of Ackland’s program—one that was far from typical. He never intervened, even when he walked in on one of Alex’s training sessions that involved him giving a somewhat ludicrous speech about the danger of sugar consumption to the admin team in the break room.

  “I’ve given you this freedom because I have seen the results. Your boss at Ackland gives me regular updates on the status of your training.” Lacey stared at the old man in surprise. Rick had never mentioned that he was in contact with the elder Lawrence Newsom.

  Mr. Newsom regarded her with a look of amusement. “Your employer seems unaware of some of your more outlandish tactics, but I’ve kept my mouth shut because the only thing that matters to me is the result. And your unconventional methods appear to be working. That’s all that matters.”

  Despite his domineering demeanor, Lacey had the distinct impression that she was being complimented. “Thank you, Mr. Newsom.”

  His eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, Ms. Ames. I am pleased with your work, but that does not mean I don’t see what’s going on beneath my nose.”

  Lacey blinked in surprise and struggled to think of an appropriate response to the vague insinuation. “I don’t think I know what you mean.”

  The old man’s chuckle was humorless. “Don’t play dumb with me. You might be blonde but no man with half a brain would call you dumb.”

  Lacey’s shoulders straightened and her spine stiffened involuntarily at the old man’s accusatory tone. “What are you saying?”

  “I see the way my grandson looks at you and the way you look at him. I may be old but I remember what it’s like to be young. And I recognize a workplace romance when I see one.”

  Lacey cursed the heat that rushed into her cheeks. She was sure that only made Lawrence Newsom more convinced than ever that she was guilty. “I’m afraid you are mistaken, sir. There is no workplace romance. Not between Alex and me, at least.”

  He waved away her protest. “Please don’t take me for a fool.” Lacey opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. “In any other circumstances, I would be happy to see my grandson settle down with a lovely, intelligent young woman like yourself.”

  Lacey’s mouth parted in disbelief. There was no way they were having this conversation.

  “But?” she prodded.

  “But now is not the time.”

  Lacey had an idea where this was going and her hands clenched into fists at her side. “Why not?”

  “You know as well as I do why not.” His temper was beginning to flare as well. But Lacey couldn’t let it go.

  “Because of Jess. You want them to get back together,” she said.

  “I want what’s best for my grandson and this company. And in this case, that means the support of Arthur Wingate.”

  Lacey couldn’t hide her disgust. “Wingate will support Alex because it’s the right thing to do.”

  The old man’s bark of laughter gave her a start. “You’re so young. So naïve. Yes, in the perfect world, Arthur Wingate and all the other board members would vote for Alex because it’s the right thing to do. But in the real world, they will vote for the person who can give them what they want.”

  Lacey’s jaw dropped at the man’s cynicism.

  “Wingate wants his daughter to be happy and Jess, unfortunately for you, has decided that what she wants is to be Mrs. Lawrence Newsom, the third.”

  “And you’re all right with that? You’d be happy to see your grandson marry a woman he doesn’t love for the sake of the company?”

  The old man leaned against the conference room table and for the first time, Lacey noticed how tired he looked.

  “Of course that wouldn’t make me happy,” he said. “But I don’t have a lot of time left, and I need to look out for my employees. Alex understands that.”

  “That’s what Alex wants too,” Lacey said. “He wants to lead this company and ensure the jobs of all of its employees. But surely marrying Jess Wingate isn’t the only option.”

  “It’s the safe option. It’s a sure thing. It’s what Alex needs.”

  Lacey struggled to keep calm. She drew in a deep breath. “Mr. Newsom, I know you’ve lost your son and for that, I am truly sorry. But please remember that Alex also lost his father.”

  Lawrence Newsom looked shocked, but she forced herself to continue. “What he needs is for you to believe in him. Alex needs your trust more than he needs your guidance right now. He needs for you to be his biggest champion rather than his toughest critic.”

  The old man looked like he was going to protest but Lacey kept going. She was on a roll. “Making a commitment to a woman he doesn’t love may be the safe way to ensure he wins the election but at
what cost? Do you want him to be the kind of leader who doubts his leadership abilities? Or one who questions his own integrity?”

  Dawn’s sudden appearance in the doorway saved Lawrence Newsom from having to respond. It seemed he was needed immediately for a conference call that had started several minutes earlier.

  He left the room without a backward glance, and Lacey slumped into a chair. His sudden exit might have saved her job—for the moment at least. But there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t call her into his office to fire her the moment his call was through. And she couldn’t blame him.

  She dropped her head into her hands with a groan. Did she just confront the CEO of a world renowned corporation over the way he treated his grandson?

  “What was that all about?”

  Lacey hadn’t heard Dawn enter the room, but now she was perched in a chair across the table from her looking eager for gossip.

  “What do you mean?”

  Dawn rolled her eyes. “Oh please. I could hear your voice from the end of the hall. So tell me, what did the old man do now?”

  Lacey rubbed her hands over her face. “We had a difference of opinion.”

  “About?” Dawn prodded.

  “Alex’s future and the best way for him to win this election.”

  “Ah. So it was about Jess and how he wants them together.”

  Lacey’s head popped up as she turned to look at her new friend who was grinning at her. “Don’t look at me like that,” Dawn laughed. “I’m an executive assistant. I see everything that goes on around here.”

  “Okay, Ms. Know It All, what’s your opinion? Do you think Alex should get back together with Jess for the sake of the company?”

  Dawn shook her head. “Of course not. Nobody wants to see Alex miserable. Not even Mr. Newsom.”

  “But he just said—”

  Dawn waved away her protest. “Yeah, I can only imagine what he said. But trust me, I work with him day in and day out. He’s not as tough as he’d like to believe. He wants his grandson to be happy.”

  “So then why is he pushing this? Why does he want him to take the easy way out?”

  Dawn’s smile was sad. “Because he’s scared.”

  Lacey considered the other woman, unsure of what to make of this new revelation. “Scared of what?”

  Dawn threw her hands up. “Scared of losing control of the company, scared of dying, scared of losing someone else he loves ... take your pick.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes and groaned. “Great, so you’re telling me I just yelled at a lonely, scared old man?”

  “Pretty much.” Dawn stood and patted Lacey’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure he had it coming.”

  As if Lacey’s day wasn’t bad enough, that afternoon while Alex was being held hostage by his grandfather, Lacey had a run in with the she-devil herself.

  “Lacey, I’m so glad I ran into you.” Jess was making a beeline for her as she neared the elevator banks. It had been a long morning and all Lacey wanted was a minute to herself to get some fresh air and a bite to eat.

  She tried to force a smile. “Hi, Jess, what brings you to the office today?”

  Jess’s heels clicked as she crossed the hallway. “I dropped by to see if Alex was free for lunch but it seems he’s stuck in a meeting.” She pursed her lips in a pouty face that made Lacey’s stomach turn.

  “That’s too bad.”

  Jess’s eyes skimmed over her from head to toe. “That outfit is just adorable on you.”

  Lacey looked at the pinstripe pantsuit she’d paid way too much money for. Adorable was not the look she’d been going for. “Um, thanks.”

  Jess’s face brightened. “Maybe you and I could grab a bite together since Alex is tied up.”

  Why on earth would we do that? But Jess seemed to be back to her old chipper self after the not-so-pleasant chat at the club a few days earlier. She supposed whatever had transpired between Jess and Alex after she’d left the club had been enough to convince her that Lacey was no threat.

  “I was just going to grab a quick sandwich at the deli downstairs and eat it in my office,” Lacey lied. “I’ve got a lot of work to get done.”

  The other woman’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Your office? I hadn’t realized you’d moved in.”

  Lacey looked up in surprise. Or maybe Jess hadn’t quite come around. “I’m temporarily using an empty office. Just until my contract ends.”

  Jess’s smile was brittle. “And when is that?”

  “After the election on Monday. Unless they want me to stay on during the transition.”

  Jess followed her into the elevator. “I can’t imagine that will be necessary.”

  Lacey stared up at the numbers above the elevator door as the floors flew by and took a deep calming breath. She would not engage in a petty fight with this woman. The words came out anyway. “I don’t believe it’s up to you.”

  The silence was tense, and Lacey glanced over to see Jess watching her with narrowed eyes. Gone was any pretense of pleasantries.

  “I’ve talked to your employer at Ackland, you know.”

  Lacey’s mouth dropped open at that. “What? Why? Wait, you talked to Rick?”

  Jess looked amused by Lacey’s flustered response. “No, not Rick. I believe his name was Mr. Crowley.”

  Lacey could only stare at the other woman now as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened with a ding. Mr. Crowley was the big boss. He was her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss.

  Jess had already exited the elevator, and Lacey stumbled to catch up. “Why?”

  Jess looked amused. “You don’t think I’d trust Alex’s future success to just anyone, do you? I’m extremely invested in his future since I plan on sharing it with him.”

  Lacey had to hustle to keep pace with Jess’s long strides. She found herself following the other woman out the front door of the building and past the deli where she was supposedly grabbing a sandwich.

  She reached a hand out to grab Jess’s arm, bringing her to a halt. “What did you tell him?”

  The tall stunner looked at her with a mix of amusement and disdain. “I didn’t tell him much. Mostly, I asked questions. And the answers were fascinating. This job is quite a step up for you, isn’t it? You’ve come a long way from waitressing.” Lacey wished she could slap the smirk off Jess’s face. “But he assured me that you have been well trained and have had great success on the other projects you’ve been a part of.”

  Lacey swallowed down her panic. Okay, maybe this wasn’t a disaster after all.

  “He did seem interested in your methods, though,” Jess added as she turned to continue walking.

  “What did you tell him?”

  Jess shrugged. “Not much. I just passed along what I’ve overheard.” She flashed Lacey a saccharine-sweet smile. “But don’t worry, honey, he and I both agreed that we’d support any means necessary as long as it gets the job done.”

  We? Lacey didn’t know whether to laugh or scream at the woman’s nerve. Through clenched teeth, she matched the other woman’s smile. “I hadn’t realized you were such an expert on public speaking.”

  Jess laughed. “Of course I’m not. But I am an expert on Alex. I know what he needs. And right now, that seems to be you.”

  She stopped short to face Lacey, seemingly oblivious of the annoyed passersby who she’d cut off mid-stride.

  “But that ends with the election. Is that clear?”

  “What’s your point, Jess?”

  “My point is this—I am tolerating your presence for Alex’s sake. My father and his grandfather seem to believe he’s doing quite well with your particular brand of coaching.” The word coaching came out as a sneer, and Jess heaved a deep breath before continuing. “But don’t believe for one moment that I’m not keeping an eye on you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and the way that you look at him—”

  “We’re not—” Lacey tried to interject.

  “Oh, I know you’re n
ot. And you never will be. Alex might be angry with me at the moment. He’s still hurt over things that happened in the past. But I’m good for him. He needs me, and he knows it.”

  “If that’s the case, then why am I such a threat?”

  Jess raised an eyebrow as though impressed that Lacey had stood up to her. “You’re not a threat, sweetie. You’re a distraction. You may be a useful distraction at the moment, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. You don’t have a future with Newsom Industries, and you don’t have a future with Alex. Is that clear?”

  “Jess, Alex and I are just—”

  Jess cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hands. “Please spare me the excuses. Save those for your fiancé, if you still have one when you return to San Francisco.”

  Lacey’s eyes widened. Was this woman seriously threatening to ruin her fake engagement? She knew she should be furious but the image of Jess outing her to Sam her cat was just comical. But Jess’s next words drained any humor from the situation.

  “At the moment you don’t have a future with Alex, but you have a very promising future with Ackland, from what I understand. All it would take is one word from me for that bright future to come to a jarring halt. Don’t jeopardize that over some infatuation.”

  Lacey’s mouth open and shut as she struggled for words as Jess strode away and got lost in the crowd.

  Lacey wasted no time getting Rick on the phone. If her job was in danger, he would know. As usual, Rick seemed to be waiting for her call. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, blondie.”

  Lacey swallowed the rude retort that sprang to mind. “Did you know that Jess Wingate called Mr. Crowley?”

  “Yeah, he called me the minute he got off to ask what the hell was going on over there.”

  The anxious knot in her stomach grew ten times bigger.

  “Nothing, I swear.”

  “I believe you, and that’s what I told Crowley. I told him you were a consummate professional and that you can’t help it if you happen to be a looker as well.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”