‘How am I sneaky?’ she asked when she could manage to find her voice and make sure it wasn’t trembling.
‘I talked to Alan Marston yesterday, teleconference. Made him a counter-offer to the Pneuma Trouvères offer. Seems for some reason, he’s refusing to meet with Dee Henning.’
‘Oh?’
He lifted his drink again and looked down into the whirlpool he created. ‘He doesn’t like the woman. He thinks she’s a bumbling idiot with a penchant for stepping on other people’s backs to get what she wants. ’
‘Well, Alan’s a good judge of character.’
He turned on her so quickly that she nearly fell off the stool, but he hooked his finger in the gold chain again and held her in his poisonous gaze. ‘I know Dee Henning. I don’t like the bitch. But that’s personal and, I assure you, it doesn’t cloud my mind to the fact that she is neither bumbling nor an idiot, and she’s way too bright to need to step on anyone to get where she wants to go.’ He tugged the chain until it bit into the back of Tally’s neck, until her forehead was almost pressed to his. ‘So I can only assume his opinion is coloured by his interaction with you.’ He twisted his finger in the chain until it tightened around her neck just enough to feel threatening. ‘What did you do, Tally?’
‘I only sent him a letter,’ she breathed. ‘It was nothing, really.’ She tried to shake her head but thought better of it as the chain bit into her nape. ‘It’s just that I’ve done so much work on the project, work I’m not getting credit for. I just mentioned how I wished I could be on the team to be presenting our project, Pneuma’s project, to him. I only thought it would help,’ she said, her voice little more than a scratch at the back of her throat.
‘And tell me, Tally, just what do you know about the Pneuma Trouvères project? I assume you’ve been in on it from the beginning? Hmmm? I sincerely wish you’d told me that up front. Why, you wouldn’t have had to bother with copying Dee Henning’s presentation, would you? You could have explained it to me personally.’ He twisted the chain once more, and it bit into her throat. ‘Well?’
She fought back panic, wishing like hell she hadn’t been too drunk to study Dee’s presentation when she’d gotten home the other night. In fact, she had only barely looked at it, just enough to find a few key words to draft her letter to Marston. She meant to read it. She really did. In fact, she was planning to read it this evening.
The look in Jamison’s eyes was cold and unreadable. What was most frightening was that he didn’t really seem upset sitting there at a bar in public, choking a woman with her own necklace. For all the emotional cues he gave, they could have been talking about the weather. Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he released the necklace and smoothed it gently against her collarbone. ‘Tally, Tally, Tally, you’re thinking small. Dee Henning’s in the inner circle now, and she’s bright and good-looking and everyone loves her. Don’t you understand that Marston will only believe you until he talks to Thorne or Crittenden or even Dee’s secretary? What do you hope to gain but to make yourself look bad, to possibly lose your job?’
With a shaky hand, she downed the champagne she now really needed. The other hand rested protectively at her throat. ‘Do you really think that bitch will talk to Marston?’
He grunted a laugh that left little doubt as to his thought of her idea. ‘Dee isn’t your problem, Tally, don’t you get it? Dee is way too ethical to play the tattle-tale, so you’d better hope that things blow over with Marston.’
‘I don’t understand,’ she said, watching him order her another glass of champagne.
‘It’s simple, really.’ He returned to swirling his glass. ‘Dee is as good as people say she is, Tally. Maybe better.’
‘But you said –’
He raised a hand to stop her protest. ‘What I said is that she lacked experience. Technically, I could see the logic behind hiring you to the position as a safe option. But hiring Dee Henning was typical of Neumann and Thorne. They hired her because the woman has potential off the scale.’ He sounded like he admired the bitch!
He continued. ‘If you want Beverly’s job, proving Dee Henning’s incompetence isn’t going to happen. Keep pulling stunts like this and eventually you’ll get caught, and Thorne will fire you without batting an eye. You can’t do this alone. You have to let me help. I have the power.’ He stroked the necklace against her collar bone with cool fingers. ‘And the money to make things happen, to make sure we both get what we want, and that can only happen if we work together against Thorne. Trust me, Tally; I’ve locked horns with the man before. I know his weaknesses, I know how to get to him, and thanks to you and the projections you got for me, I’ve made Marston a counter-offer that will cost Pneuma Inc. one of their biggest, most loyal customers. I couldn’t have done it without you, Ms Barnes. Believe me, I’m very aware of that fact, and very grateful for all of your hard work.’ He lifted his glass in a toast, and she released a tight breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
‘What about Marston? What about the letter?’
‘Don’t worry, Tally. It’ll all blow over. At this point it doesn’t matter anyway. Marston would be a fool not to take my offer. And Marston is no fool. So you taking credit for a deal that isn’t going to happen is a moot point. But in the future,’ he said, smoothing the collar of her jacket and running a hand over the expensive fabric, ‘I would suggest you keep your head low, and your eyes open, and don’t act without discussing it with me first. Are we clear?’
‘Very,’ she said.
‘Good.’ He looked down at his watch. ‘Now I have to go. I have a meeting across Portland in an hour.’ He leaned forward and brushed cool lips against her cheek. ‘Oh, one more thing, Tally. If you check your account this evening, you’ll find a little something, a token of my appreciation for all you’ve done, and all I hope you will do in the future. And don’t worry. You’ll get Beverly Neumann’s office soon enough. Just trust me, and do as I say.’ He left without touching his drink.
Chapter Twenty-three
‘That was Marston. Dee, why didn’t you tell me he was refusing to work with you?’ Ellis stood framed in the doorway, with his BlackBerry clutched in a suicide grip. The hard set of his jaw and the tense square of his shoulders were a flashing beacon indicating the mood he wasn’t trying to hide.
Dee was already packing up her computer bag for a meeting with Jason Daniels. She had waited for Ellis to finish the early conference call he had with clients in Spain especially so she could tell him about Marston. It was literally the first chance she’d had without shaking him awake in the middle of the night, something she couldn’t have done if she’d wanted to because, in spite of everything that had happened the day before, she slept like a baby after Ellis’s tender ministrations. ‘That’s why I’m still here,’ she said. ‘I never dreamed he’d call you at 7.30 in the morning.’
Ellis came into the room and stood near the sofa, arms stiff at his side, still clenching his BlackBerry. His gaze bore into her, riveting her to the spot where she stood in front of him. ‘Marston says if I want him to negotiate with you then I’ll need to make Tally Barnes a part of the team. Why didn’t you tell me?’ Though his face betrayed nothing, she heard disappointment in his voice, which brought on a wave of guilt, making her feel like she was 13 again, and in trouble for not practising hard enough. She forced back anger. She had nothing to feel guilty about. But before she could respond, he continued, the disappointment giving way to something a little more tetchy. ‘Do you have any idea how it felt hearing such a thing from Marston? I couldn’t even say you’d already told me. Dee, do you know how that looks?’
Her legs were suddenly not very cooperative, and she dropped into the chair by the desk before her knees gave. ‘I tried to tell you last night, but you –’
He wasn’t listening. ‘Marston believes a good bit of the scheming and planning behind this deal has actually been Tally Barnes’s work.’
The room tilted around her. She pressed
her feet hard against the floor to lessen the shakes. ‘You know that’s not true.’ Her voice sounded thin and tinny in her ears.
‘It doesn’t matter what I know. Can’t you see the situation you’ve put me in?’
She forced herself to stand and meet his anger face to face. ‘It matters to me, Ellis. You’re my boss. Believe me, if Tally had helped with this deal, if the ideas had been hers, I’d have been right behind her, cheering her on.’
‘I know that, Dee. But Marston doesn’t.’ He turned away from her and paced in front of the sofa. ‘Marston won’t negotiate with you until Tally’s a part of the team. He seems to think she’s been somehow slighted, and –’
‘She’s that little personnel problem you mentioned on my first day, isn’t she?’ She followed him. ‘I saw her resume too, Ellis, remember? I recommended it to both you and Beverly. She has a right to be upset. Look, I don’t know why you didn’t hire her. That choice was yours to make, but she’s clearly gone out of her way to humiliate me in front of Marston, running the risk of sabotaging a huge deal, and you’re upset at me for not telling you about my run-in with Marston?’
He stopped pacing and turned to face her. ‘I’m sorry, Dee. I knew Tally was unhappy about you getting the position, but I never imagined she’d pull such a stunt.’
‘Well, she did.’ She grabbed her bag, shoved her way past him, and headed for the door.
He grabbed her by the arms and forced her to face him. ‘Look, I’m trying to make sense out this mess, Dee. If I’d known before, if you’d told me what was going on –’
She jerked free of his hold and stomped her foot. ‘I tried to tell you. I tried, but you wouldn’t listen to …’ She let the sentence trail off, afraid she’d make a fool of herself by crying in front of him if she continued. Her mother had always used tears as a last resort when rage didn’t work. She promised herself she’d never stoop to such behaviour.
‘Look –’ Ellis fidgeted. ‘This deal is yours. You know it way better than I do, and you need to be the one presenting it. I don’t see how I have any choice but to placate Marston and put Tally Barnes on the team.’ He raised his hand to stop her protests. ‘Besides, you said yourself Tally does have experience you lack. It might be a real benefit to you to have her.’
‘Because she’s been so damned helpful up till now.’
‘I’m sorry, Dee, but at the moment, that’s the only thing I know to do. Maybe I should have done that from the beginning. I know it’s my fault, but there’s nothing for it now.’
She bit her lip and forced back her anger. ‘You’re the boss. What? What is it you’re not telling me?’
He looked down at his feet, avoiding her gaze. ‘It’s about Marston’s birthday party tonight. He’s pretty upset with you and, well, under the circumstances –’
‘You don’t want me to go to his party.’
‘Of course I want you to go.’ He looked down at the BlackBerry still gripped in his fist. ‘But Marston doesn’t.’
She avoided his gaze and fidgeted with the strap on her bag, hoping he wouldn’t notice the burn in her cheeks. She knew Marston didn’t want her at the party. He’d hinted rather strongly, but that he’d broached the subject with Ellis made her feel even more like a misbehaving child. She caught her breath, trying to sound calmer than she felt. ‘It’s all right. He made sure I got the message. Don’t worry.’
He moved next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘If it weren’t for you, there would be no deal on the table, but it might be better if you let me unravel this mess alone. Then, after the party, once the dust has settled and Tally is on board, you can take back over. You’ve had a heavy load on your shoulders, Dee, and so early in the game. You’re not –’
She pulled away. ‘I’m not Beverly. Yes, I know. You’ve already told me that. Don’t worry, I get it.’
He followed her. ‘That’s not what I was about to say – Dee? Where are you going?’
‘I have meetings with Trouvères this morning. As far as I know, Marston has no say on who works with them yet.’ She grabbed her jacket and left without saying goodbye.
When Ellis returned to the hotel to get ready for the party, which he wasn’t thrilled about going to without Dee, he found the suite empty. He was even less thrilled at the thought that she might very well still be with Daniels. He was less thrilled still with the thought that she might actually be commiserating with Daniels. If anyone should be comforting her, if anyone should be making her feel better, agreeing with her about what a bastard Marston was being, it should be him. He’d fire Tally Barnes right this second, over the phone, in person, if the situation wasn’t so complicated. He was completely sure Marston would come around and realise that Dee was the brains behind the sweet deal he was being offered. Marston was not stupid, and he had a hell of a lot at stake. And when that happened, when Marston came around, he would see that Tally Barnes got what she deserved, whatever it was. One thing he was already certain of was that she didn’t deserve to be his executive assistant. Beverly had been right about Dee. But then the woman was never wrong, he reminded himself. Still, he wished he’d had a chance to tell Dee that before she’d left this morning feeling angry and betrayed.
As he slipped into the jacket of his tux and inspected himself in the mirror, he ached to have Dee on his arm. That’s how he’d fantasised about the evening; having Dee alongside him, basking in the limelight of her first major triumph, a triumph she so richly deserved. And he felt responsible that she was being deprived of it.
A chill passed down his spine. Was he getting too close to her? Last night, when she’d tried to tell him what had happened, he had behaved like his brother, insisting on a business-free evening, and Dee had suffered for it. This whole situation wouldn’t be nearly so painful if he’d kept a safe distance between them from the beginning. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he shouldn’t asked her to his bed again. When she was sleeping in his arms, in his bed, it seemed like something altogether different from the Executive Sex Clause, and that was a thought that scared the hell out of him.
Dee was thankful for the breakfast meeting she’d scheduled with Jason Daniels, who was more than happy to accommodate. It had kept her mind off the disaster with Marston and the knot in her stomach at wondering what Tally Barnes would pull next. Fortunately, there were no meetings planned with Marston, and though he hadn’t attended the meeting she’d led, the man wasn’t stupid either. She was sure he would have gotten detailed notes from every person in the room. She didn’t know how serious the negotiations were with Terrance Jamison, but she was pretty sure his short-term fix would be looking good to Marston with plant shut-downs looming.
Until Jason had asked her to accompany him to the party, she had managed to keep the whole nasty situation between her and Marston quiet. It was immediately clear Jason didn’t believe her excuse of a headache – not very original, but the best she could come up with under the circumstances. After she’d left Jason, she found a nice corner in a coffee shop to do a little research of her own.
She was careful not to return to the suite until she was sure Ellis had left for Marston’s party. Then she ordered room service and continued her research. She was ensconced in the middle of her bed with the laptop in front of her and a huge glass of iced tea on the nightstand when the room phone rang.
‘Ms Henning, there’s a Mr Daniels here to see you,’ the concierge said
Dee looked down at her watch. He should be at Marston’s party. She couldn’t imagine why he was here. Before she could dwell on it, there was a soft knock on the door and Jason, dressed in a black tux that made him look a bit like James Bond, stepped inside, shoving a long garment bag in her direction. ‘Dee, I need your help. We all need your help.’
She stood staring at the bag. ‘What’s going on? What’s this?’
He was already pulling her toward the bathroom. ‘It’s a gown. Please don’t talk. Just listen – preferably while you’re putting on the gown. We’re
late for Marston’s party.’ Before she could respond, he continued, ‘I know about all his bullshit, and so does Yvette. She’s insisting that you be at the party.’
‘What? She can’t be serious. Marston will have a fit.’
‘You didn’t take credit for someone else’s work. It’s absurd to even entertain such an idea. Yvette’s not sure she wants to work with such a stupid man, and she told Marston that. Things aren’t going well. Now get dressed, please.’ He pushed her toward the bathroom. ‘I’ll fill you in while you’re getting ready. We’ve worked too hard on this deal to let it all collapse because Yvette’s pigheaded and Marston’s an ass.’
Dee stopped mid-stride between the sofa and the door. ‘You don’t understand. Marston specifically requested I not be there.’ Her face burned in spite of her effort to pretend it didn’t matter. ‘I’m not welcome, Jason. There has to be another way to work this out.’ She felt the threat of tears again, and turned her back.
Before she knew what was happening, he took her in his arms, then lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. ‘Dee, Marston needs this deal, and he needs you.’ He ran a finger along her cheekbone. ‘We all need you.’
She pulled away and picked up her BlackBerry. ‘I’ll call Ellis, tell him what’s going on.’
‘Yvette’s probably already called him by now.’
She hesitated. ‘You’re sure about this?’
‘Of course I’m sure. You’re the one who’s put this deal together. Ellis’ll understand.’
Through the bathroom door, Jason filled her in on Yvette’s little scene with Marston while she dressed. The dark blue sheath showed just a hint of cleavage, but made up for it by exposing a large expanse of back. In spite of herself, she couldn’t help imagining what Ellis’s reaction would be when he saw her in something so sexy. The matching kitten heels that looked slightly vintage and very romantic made her wonder how Jason had managed to size her perfectly for both.
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