In Over Her Head (Corporate Chaos Series Book 1)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Her mother was dying, and the whole reason she had taken the job at Draconia was to get the drawings for Tanner so she could get the money needed for the operation to save her mom.

  She walked over to her mother, whispered, "Mom, I love you," in her ear, and kissed her on the forehead. Her mother didn't move. She was deep in a morphine-induced sleep.

  Marly left the room, walking slowly down the hall in a daze, deep in thought. As she approached the nurses' station, a familiar voice wafting out of the family room struck a chord deep inside her.

  Her brows dipped together. She knew that voice. Not from the hospital, but she couldn't quite figure out from where.

  She stood to the left of the door and peeked into the room. There were about a dozen kids inside, some in wheelchairs, some sitting on the floor on large beanbags, most with IVs attached to their frail arms. In front of them, facing away from her, was a man reading a book to them.

  Marly's heart stopped. The man was Jasper Kenney.

  She couldn't believe it. It made no sense. Why would Jasper Kenney, of all people, be reading to a bunch of sick kids? He seemed kind of uptight and so… well… important and disconnected.

  Marly tiptoed back to the nurses' station. "Excuse me. What's going on in there?" Marly pointed toward the room.

  "We have story time for the kids a few times a week. This particular one is kind of late every week, but it's meant for the kids who have labs and testing done late in the day on Tuesdays. We found it helps them relax and calms them so they can sleep," the nurse replied, busy looking at charts.

  "That's really great. Do the people who read to them work here?" Marly asked even though she already knew the answer.

  "Some do, but not the one run on Tuesdays. He is a volunteer. Really nice guy. The kids love him. He's pretty easy on the eyes, too! He's a donor here, too. In fact, I'm pretty sure the family room exists because of his generosity." The nurse leaned in and whispered, "We call him our guardian angel."

  The nurse slipped back behind the desk to answer the phone, and Marly made a beeline for the stairs, rushing past the room where Jasper sat.

  She had sat in that family room many times before. It was an area for the cancer patients and their families, and it was wonderful. It had several computers in it, a huge library, tons of toys, a massive television, and a kitchen with a coffee bar. It made the difficult situation everyone on that floor faced a bit easier.

  Had Jasper paid for all that? Why? She didn't think the executives at Draconia were the philanthropic type. In fact, she was sure Bill, Steve, and Edward would never donate their time to read to critically ill children. She wouldn't have thought Jasper would, either, but here he was.

  Marly realized she actually didn't know very much about him. Apparently, he was the type to read to ill children. And he was a fair boss and shrewd businessman. Not the monster she'd read about.

  Marly felt an unwanted tug at her heart. Jasper Kenney was turning out to be nothing like she'd thought he'd be. He was actually likable—very likable. And if the butterflies in her stomach and hitch in her chest every time he was near her were any indication, she could easily fall for him.

  And that would be a huge mistake because it would make screwing him over that much more difficult.

  Jasper closed the book just as he caught a glimpse of fluttering dark curls out of the corner of his eye. His mind wandered to Marly. Why did he keep thinking about her? She kept creeping into his thoughts at inopportune moments, and it was unsettling. Jasper hadn't met a woman that crept into his thoughts like that in a long time.

  For a split second, he let himself entertain the thought that he could have a relationship with Marly. There were so many reasons that would never happen. Besides, he barely knew the girl.

  Edward would be outraged, not only because she was an employee, but because Edward thought Marly was overweight. A jolt of rebellion flashed through Jasper. He was tired of doing what Edward would think was the right thing. Maybe it was time he stood up to the old man, once and for all.

  Jasper said goodbye to the kids and the nurses and headed out into the hallway, his chest tightening when he caught a whiff of vanilla and lemon. Marly.

  Was she here?

  He whirled around and saw nothing but an empty hallway. Great, now his mind was playing tricks on him. He turned back around, walking faster, stifling a sneeze. He couldn't wait to get home and bury himself in work that would stop these insistent thoughts about Marly West from messing with his brain.

  12

  "Hey, stranger. What's new?" Marly turned around, waiting for Sarah to wade through the after-lunch rush and catch up to her in the vast Draconia lobby.

  "Hi! Same old, same old here," Marly said.

  "I heard through the grapevine you did well on your presentation for Jasper." Sarah grinned as they stepped onto the elevator.

  "You did? From who?" Marly was surprised. She knew it couldn't have come from Veronica.

  "I overheard Jasper talking on the phone yesterday about it," Sarah said, rummaging around in her bag for something. "Something about making you in charge of a new line or something? You go, girl!"

  "New line? No, I think you misunderstood. I suggested a new line. That's cool he's thinking about it, but I'm sure he'd have Bill or Steve head that up."

  The elevator stopped on Marly's floor, and Sarah shoved a Tupperware container at her as Marly exited the elevator.

  "Here. Try this, please. I'll call you later on!" Sarah yelled as the elevator doors shut.

  A thrill of excitement buzzed through Marly. Jasper had liked her presentation! But the excitement was squashed just as soon as it came. With her mother as sick as she was, Marly couldn't feel excited about much, and anyway, it didn't matter if Jasper liked her presentation. She had no future at Draconia.

  She turned on her computer, and a meeting reminder flashed on her monitor. Shit! She had a meeting with Jasper in ten minutes.

  When did that get booked? She hadn't seen anything about it all morning. It must have been Veronica, screwing with her probably and turning off the option for the attendee to confirm on purpose. She was such a bitch!

  Marly grabbed her purse and raced to the bathroom. Her hair looked like an unruly mess, one of the hazards of walking to work. She smoothed it down and put a dab of lip gloss on over her full lips. She brushed on a bit of bronzer. As if Jasper cared about her looks.

  Back at her desk, she called upstairs to Sarah.

  "Hey, I guess I have a meeting with your boss in a few minutes. I'm gonna come up now. Can you let me in? I don't want to deal with you know who," Marly said. Better not to reveal that she knew the access code.

  "Of course I can. See you in a few minutes," Sarah replied.

  Marly got off the elevator and pulled Sarah aside. "Thanks. I'm pissed I had a whopping ten minutes notice for the meeting. Any idea what it's about?"

  "I looked it up, but there were no details about it. Sorry. I mean, usually we wait for people to accept the meeting request, you know? Veronica's just an ass at times about this stuff. It's happened before, so don't feel bad," Sarah explained.

  Marly was relieved to hear it had happened before. She was starting to feel that Veronica St. James had it in for her, and she had no idea why.

  "That makes me feel better. Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate it." She really meant it. Sarah was a good person to know at Draconia.

  Sarah tapped on Jasper's door, and Marly was flooded with a sudden rush of nervousness. The memory of seeing him reading to the children at the hospital surfaced, and she relaxed a little, knowing he had a softer side. Should she mention it? No, she was sure he didn't want anyone from work to know, and she would have to explain why she was there. She didn't want Jasper or anyone else feeling sorry for her.

  "Hi, Marly. Come on in," Jasper said in a professional, welcoming tone. Marly eyed the coffee table. Hopefully, this meeting wasn't about the drink incident. Maybe now that she'd made her presentation, Jasper had no need f
or a klutzy drink-spilling fatty on his sales team, and he was calling her here to fire her.

  Marly thanked Sarah as she passed by her, and headed toward one of the chairs across from Jasper's desk. She felt stupid for not knowing what he wanted to meet about and decided she needed to let him know she wasn't sure why she was there, in case he thought she was unprepared.

  "Hi, Jasper. I came up as soon as I saw the meeting request this morning, and there wasn't an agenda, so I'm not sure if you needed me to bring anything with me," she ventured.

  "I just wanted to talk about the plus-size line you spoke about yesterday. I'm a little surprised Veronica didn't attach the agenda for you." Jasper was typing on his keyboard and didn't look up at Marly. "I can print your presentation from here anyway."

  "Sorry about that. I actually had a binder of it for you, but it disappeared prior to the meeting yesterday." Marly hoped she didn't sound whiny. So there had been an agenda. She was almost certain now that Veronica was purposely trying to make her look like an idiot, and she wasn't going to let that happen. Screw you, Veronica. Two can play at this game.

  "Looking over the plus-size line proposal, I was intrigued. The revenue you projected is extremely high. I assume you did your research with whoever would be our main competitor? Not Theorim, since they don't have a plus line. Yet," Jasper said, emphasizing the word "yet." Marly squirmed in her chair at the mention of Theorim. It reminded her that she needed to get Tanner his damn drawings ASAP.

  "I did all the research. VasDenso Designs would be our main competitor. They don't have the same following as we do, so I do think this could be something we could quickly surpass them in sales-wise."

  "Excellent. VasDenso had a record quarter recently." Jasper plucked a spreadsheet off the printer behind him and studied it.

  "Yes, they did. The plus line increased their sales by twenty-eight percent." Marly could recite the numbers in her sleep—the information was ingrained in her head. "There's an entire movement toward larger sizes for women. Bluntly, I don't think a double-digit size is "plus," but most designers do. The reality is some women who are in great shape wear larger sizes. So why discriminate against them, and have lines stop at size eight?"

  Marly didn't want to come off as an angry curvy girl. The fact she had lost so much weight and still had to buy many clothes in the Plus or Misses sections pissed her off. She wasn't fat. It was time top designers started realizing women were embracing healthy lifestyles versus starving themselves to fit into tiny sizes.

  "I like the fire in your eyes when you talk about this. I'm putting you in charge of this new line. It's due in a few weeks, so you have your work cut out for you." Jasper sat back in his chair, staring intently across the desk at Marly.

  "What? Me? No. I… I mean, thank you, Jasper, but that is a really big r-responsibility, and I have only been here a few m-months," Marly stammered.

  Dammit! It would be her dream come true to be in charge of a whole clothing line, but she couldn't do it. She needed to focus on getting those fall designs for Tanner. She could not be distracted with a huge responsibility that would be all for nothing once her treachery was discovered.

  "I wouldn't give you the task if I didn't think you could do it. Don't you think you can handle it?"

  Across the table, Jasper's blue eyes glimmered with the challenge. Instead of the cold, sharklike stare she'd seen at the first meeting, she saw something deeper under the surface. He was trusting her with something that, if not done correctly, could cause his company to potentially go out of business.

  The sad truth was she could handle the job. She was ready for this responsibility, but she couldn't accept. Unless...

  An idea sparked in Marly's brain. She knew this new responsibility would give her higher access to the company design portfolio and tools. Maybe this new job could be the way to save her mother and have her dream, too.

  She looked Jasper directly in the eye. "I can do it."

  Marly's heart stuttered as Jasper's face broke out into a dimpled grin. Damn, the guy was cute. And her boss. And one of the most eligible bachelors in New York with plenty of more interesting women than Marly to hang around with.

  "Good. I noticed your laptop at the meeting. It's an older one. I've arranged for a new one for you, and you have access to whatever you need as well—all the past designs, the new fall line, and the other designers. You should get it sometime today. We will have to work closely on this because of the timeline and critical nature. You're okay with that, right?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Good. I think this project is going to be very good for the company." Jasper returned his attention to his computer.

  Marly pushed herself up from the chair. "Well, if that's all, then I guess I'll go back to my desk and get started."

  "Yes. Thank you." He never even looked up from the computer, proving Marly's theory that he had no romantic intentions toward her whatsoever.

  She headed to Sarah's desk.

  "How'd it go?" Sarah asked.

  "Good. Great, actually." Marly had decided it was best not to talk too much about what the meeting had been about. She wasn't sure Jasper wanted people to know about it, although she highly doubted it was a secret.

  "When you're done chitchatting, I have some errands you need to run for Mr. Kenney." An obnoxiously loud voice interrupted them. Veronica.

  Marly rolled her eyes, making Sarah giggle.

  "Yes, ma'am!" Sarah semi-yelled back at Veronica, who was now walking away in a huff.

  "She's so uptight. I think I've had maybe two decent conversations with her!" Sarah said to Marly as they both headed down the hall.

  "Well, that's two more than I've had." Marly stopped at the elevator. "I'll talk to you later."

  Sarah split off toward Veronica's desk, and Marly got on the elevator. Once she was inside, the reality of what she was just put in charge of started to settle in, and a seed of doubt gnawed at her stomach. Could she really pull it off?

  Her cell phone blared an ominous Darth Vader ringtone just as she sat at her desk. Tanner. She'd programmed the tone specifically for him because it was always doom and gloom whenever he got on the phone.

  "When will you have the rest of the drawings?" Tanner demanded.

  "Gee. No hello or how are you? Tanner, I need some time. I mean, I gave you four already. They are still working on them here as it is," she lied.

  "Marly, you know the deal. And I assume you need the money sooner rather than later. Or is your mother on the rebound now?" Tanner asked.

  Marly cheeks burned. Tanner knew her mother's cancer was not "on the rebound." She needed the procedure and subsequent chemo after for a remission to even be possible.

  "Don't you think I would have given you them all if I could have by now, Tanner? I'm working on getting them as soon as I can for you. They aren't exactly something I have access to. I'll talk to you later." Marly hung up.

  To hell with Tanner Durcotte. Her mother was dying, and Tanner was the only person who could help her. Some family friend he was. He'd known they were broke and that they needed money for her mother's procedure when he'd come to her with the plan for her to get a position at Draconia and steal the designs. Once she turned them over, he would pay for everything.

  Getting the job had been no problem—she was more than qualified—but getting her hands on the designs turned out to be a lot harder than she'd anticipated. Who knew they kept them so closely guarded?

  Tanner had never mentioned a deadline, but now he was putting the screws to her. But even if he wasn't turning up the heat, she needed to get them to him right away—her mother was slipping away fast, and soon she would be too far gone for the procedure to help.

  Marly tapped the keys to wake up her computer. She would have to work fast if she wanted to put her new plan into action.

  Jasper was surprisingly excited that Marly had accepted the position. Sure, the new plus-size line would be a boon for the company, but his excitement went beyond that.
Marly's excitement and passion for the new project was contagious, and he hadn't felt that passion for a project in a long time—not since his mother had been alive and he'd been a junior executive learning the ropes. And he hadn't sneezed once when looking over the designs. Another sign—Jasper liked to think it was from his mom—that he was doing the right thing. She'd always teased that his sneezing indicated an opportunity right under his nose that he shouldn't let pass by, and once he accepted that opportunity, the sneezing stopped.

  Jasper knew that passion fueled greatness. Neither Bill nor Steve had ever shown that type of enthusiasm.

  Jasper looked over the financial report he had just been sent from the CFO and leaned back in his chair. Gazing out his office window, he watched a bird fly around the patio, darting from one piece of furniture to another.

  He rubbed his fingers on his chin, something he did when he was worried. The company was not doing well, and he needed something drastic to pull them out. He'd entrusted Marly with a lot of responsibility, but somehow he knew he had made the right decision.

  Edward would be pissed about the plus-size project, but for once, he wasn't afraid of what his father thought. Draconia was his company now, and he'd do whatever it took to make sure they succeeded.

  13

  Marly slammed her hands on her desk in frustration. She wasn't able to log on to her computer because IT had already set up her new one, which was nowhere to be found. It was already four in the afternoon, and she needed that computer today! She picked up her phone and dialed Sarah's extension.

  "Hey, do you know anything about a new laptop Jasper had IT get me?" She didn't want to deal with the IT department directly. They took forever, and she knew Sarah would have an answer.