One Week (HaleStorm) (18 page)

“You said you’d give me a chance to explain.” He came in and pushed the door closed behind him. “Looks to me like you’re already out the door.”

“I left a message with my supervisor. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’ve asked to be replaced for the duration of the time that you need a contractor onsite from PermaSolv.”

Michael grabbed her hands in both of his. “I need you.”

“I’m not convinced I’m the best person to serve your company’s needs right now. I’m distracted, I’m confused, and frankly I don’t think I can take the guilt of running into your pregnant wife in the hallway one more time.”

He pressed their foreheads together. “You don’t understand what’s going on. And I need you on this project. Fuck. I need you, period.”

Her swallow echoed in the nearly empty apartment. “I have to be honest, I’m feeling confused and scared right now. I haven’t let my heart make my decisions for me since I was twenty-one and developed a silly, immature crush on my boss.” Her chest rose and fell with the force of her breath. “And right now, not only do I feel stupid for getting duped, but I feel like I did something really terrible.”

Michael squeezed Elise’s arms. “You have no idea how much I want—”

She shook her head. Tears slid down her cheeks. “Don’t. This is all so much to handle right now. I showed up here last week thinking maybe if I was lucky I wouldn’t see you at all, you know? Now everything is upside-down.”

“You have to let me explain.”

Elise raised her chin, staring him in the eyes with a sniffle. “Explain.”

Michael collapsed on the sofa. He patted the space next to him with hope that Elise would sit as well, but she stayed standing, staring. “All right. First of all, Becca has been banned from the premises of my office building. I already had her on a watch. When I last spoke with security I told them not to let her in anymore. She kept showing up to, I don’t know, try to claim ownership on me. Make people think she was still rightfully my wife. Possibly even to gain access to the information that helped her farm my clients to Microstrive. It’s hard to say for sure. Whatever the reason, she’s done. And with any luck, she’s on the last crazy train out of town. I’ll buy her the ticket myself.”

At that news, Elise did sit. “You’re saying
she
was the one who tanked all those projects?”

Michael nodded. “I didn’t think her capable of it at first, but yes. Over the past few years she’s been with me at every fundraiser, company party, client dinner....” He closed his eyes against the horror. “She knew the employees, the points of contact for some of the customers. The disgruntled folks, and the people still working at HaleStorm. She made it look like she and I were still a happy couple to get insider information. Then either out of spite or some twisted bid to save our marriage—the jury is still out—she sold the information to Microstrive. Her plan was to have the company worth nothing so I’d cash in the business and move on.”

Deep lines formed in Elise’s perfect, pale forehead. “That is...
so
fucked-up.”

He reached over and smoothed his thumb over her skin. “You know, I don’t remember much about my mom. She had some mental health issues too. Given that, she might have been wrong when she said faces would freeze that way. Let’s not risk it though. You’re too beautiful.”

She breathed a laugh and pushed his hand away. “Stop.”

But her anger appeared to have diffused and for that he nearly kissed the carpet at their feet. “I will if you will,” he said.

She looked up. “What about your wife being pregnant?”

He did a “search me” gesture. “I don’t know if she’s pregnant or not, but I know for sure it couldn’t be mine. Either way, she’s lying.”

“You’re sure?”

He slipped a piece of hair that hung in her eyes and moved it behind her ear. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I would not do that to you. To us.” Michael’s heart thumped hard, like it wanted to beat its way out of his chest to get to Elise. “The day you showed up at HaleStorm, I had already handed her the papers. And it was well overdue. She’d rescheduled on me three times. Now I know why. She’d been stalling for time.”

She put her fingers to her lips. “I want to believe you. Everything that’s happened though, all the lies and the what-ifs? I’m not so sure I can keep doing this.”

The way the war went back and forth on her face, it hurt to watch. Michael’s chest tightened. “If you need time, Elise....” His body went numb even thinking it, but he would give her whatever he needed. This was his fuck-up, and it was his to fix. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to prove that I’m serious.” His palm slid over the satin of her cheek. “I am so in love with you. I loved you five years ago, and I was too stupid to realize. If I had to wait for you as long as I have, I can wait a little longer until this feels right for you.”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. Another tear splashed from her cheek to her collarbone. “I love you too. I just feel like there are so many ways I could get hurt here. Worse than I have. I need to think a little, at least. Maybe I need to go home for awhile.”

Uh-oh. His pulse picked up. “You mean to visit your mother again?”

“Not there, no.” She sniffled. “She was doing much better when I left, and I think I need to remember that her mental health isn’t my responsibility.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“I mean home to my apartment. I need to feel like I have my own life again for a little while. I feel like you’ve hung out more with Jeff than I have.”

Michael smiled. “That’s hardly true.”

“You know what I mean.”

He squeezed her hand, wishing desperately he could kiss her, but she was overwhelmed enough. “One favor. Stay and help me get this company back on level ground. You’ll report directly to someone else. You and I can take a step back, if that’s what you need. You’re great at what you do, and I need your brain. Please.”

Uncertainty played across her face. “I already called my supervisor at PermaSolv.”

“I’ll un-call them.”

She laughed. “All right. I’ll stay. To help with the shaky projects.”

“Thank you.” Instead of a kiss, he went for a hug. It was a start.

***

E
lise charmed the customer at the presentation. HaleStorm Engineering was praised for its assiduousness in responding to the validation issues. One project saved. Half a dozen or so to go. Excellent start to the morning.

After lunch, Michael met his brother David in the HaleStorm Engineering lobby. “Thanks for meeting me.” He held out a hand to his brother.

His brother accepted the handshake with understandable hesitation. He glanced around as if he expected hidden cameras. “After our last meeting I thought maybe our next communication would happen through attorneys.”

Michael cleared his throat and gestured for David to follow. They passed the elevators in the main lobby and instead headed down the hall on the ground floor past HR, through accounting, the kitchen, and the admin department. Michael pointed out the primary areas to David and waved hello to a few people before they headed up to the executive floor.

David turned to him when they got on the elevator. “Uh, I know it’s been awhile, but I’ve seen the building. What’s with the tour?”

“Like you said, it’s been awhile. I figured I’d give you the lay of the land.”

“Because?” David craned his neck forward, pretending he strained to hear Michael’s answer.

They stepped off the elevator. “We’ll talk in my office, Michael said.

When they entered Michael’s office, he didn’t sit at his desk but at the small round table he occasionally used for planning meetings. “There’s something you need to know. Right now there’s a potential threat to the financial stability of HaleStorm Engineering.”

David laughed. “Oh, so now that the company is in the shitter you’re willing to play ball?”

Michael sighed. “No, I’m trying to do the right thing. But you need to have all the information.”

David rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay. What’s the deal?”

Michael picked up a pen on the table and tapped on the surface. “I know you’re pissed Dad left the company to me. I know you’re also pissed about his affair with my mom. I can’t do a thing about what happened thirty-five years ago.”

David grunted and shifted in his seat.

“You also have to know,” Michael continued, “That you turning your back on him hurt him deeply. Especially when he was dying.”

“I didn’t turn my back on him. I was supporting my mother.”

“Be that as it may. He missed you. You know that’s why I got full control. It wasn’t vengeance, it was hurt.”

David’s sigh was audible. “I missed him as well. I’m not always sure I made the right choice but I made the best one I could at the time.” His gaze flicked up to Michael and then out to the cityscape beyond the window. “He came to speak with me one day. I turned him away at the door. Six months later I read about his death online. I have... a great deal of regret.”

Michael nodded. “As do I. Which is why I’d like to offer you the opportunity to help me run HaleStorm.” He smiled slightly at David’s dubious expression. “Like I said, right now things are rocky. They were rough when Dad got sick and it’s really gone downhill. I need a strong management team to get this situation stabilized if we’re going to stay afloat.”

“So what do you propose?”

Michael ticked off fingers. “I had to fire my information officer, and my new VP would rather write code than do anything that’s actually administrative. I’d like to offer you the position of Senior VP, starting as quickly as you’re willing to come aboard. I’ve got a contractor in-house right now to help bridge the gap left by my missing CIO, and if possible I’d like you to work with her on handling the clients who are threatening to leave. They’re going to need dedicated resources and I’d rather not pull project managers that are already stretched too thin.”

David nodded slowly. It looked like he was thinking. “How likely do you think it is we can save these projects?”

“Some of them?” Michael swiveled in his chair. “I think we’ve got a damn good shot. The projects were sabotaged by my ex and I think the misunderstandings can be explained. Everything is stalled by their contractual requirement to give thirty days notice anyway. We’ll have to spend that time kissing a whole lot of ass.”

“And the others?”

“Do you pray, David?”

David shook his head. “Shit.”

“I’m not going to lie. Microstrive has their hooks in with some of these guys. Their sales lead may not be playing aboveboard. This could be an uphill battle.”

David narrowed his eyes at Michael. “What even makes you think I have the experience to take on a colossal risk like this?”

“I Googled you. You served as the Chief Operating Officer for Limly Systems from 2008 until just four months ago, when you announced that you were stepping down to spend more time with your family.” Michael looked down at his brother’s folded hands. “Although, I see you don’t wear a ring.”

David sat back in his chair. “Charles Limly was my father-in-law.”

Oh. “Aha.” Michael cleared his throat. “Was. My condolences.”

David shrugged slightly. “Thank you. It’s an awful lot of starting over.”

“I hear you.” Michael stood. “What about Josh? I called him but got no answer. I’d really like to have you both on board.”

“He’s got a bigger chip. I can talk to him.”

“Thank you.” Michael smiled at his brother. “Why don’t I introduce you to Tom and Elise, and you can let me know what you think?”

Elise was bent over Tom’s desk when they approached. Tom may not have been appreciating the view, but Michael couldn’t help himself. He’d promised to keep things strictly professional for as long as she needed, and he would. Goddamn though, it would not be easy.

She turned when he and David entered the room, smiling broadly as they approached. No, it definitely would not be easy.

E
lise pushed at Jeff’s shoulder. “Would you stop yanking on my arm, please?”

“Come on, you’ve been moping around here for weeks. Come with me.”

“Not weeks.”

“Weeks.” Jeff stepped back and threw his arms wide. “Look at me, I’m in my grown-up clothes.”

“You look so handsome,” Elise agreed. “Which is why I can’t go with you.” She gestured to herself. “I’ve been wearing sweats and eating Cherry Garcia all day.”

“So?” Jeff bounced on the balls of his feet. “Just throw on something that isn’t sweats. Please?” He stomped over and grabbed Elise by the shoulders. “Honey, I sold my first million dollar home.
My first million-dollar home
. Feel that fact. I’m going to take this guy his keys, and I’m going to get a commission that’s going to pay our rent and groceries for like an entire year.” His head bobbled as if independent from his body. “You
do
get that, right?”

Elise laughed. “Okay. This is a big deal, and I will make myself presentable so I can come and cheer you on.”

She went into her room and rifled through her closet until she found a clean dress that would be suitable enough to wear while Jeff gave some rich guy his new house keys.

“Make sure you put on a little makeup,” Jeff yelled through the door. “The buyer is pretty hot, and if you’re not planning to call Michael anytime soon I think we need to start looking into hooking you up.”

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the closed bathroom door, trying not to cry. When she opened it, she gave Jeff her best effort at angry eyes but he looked too much like an excited puppy. “Let’s just go,” she said. “I told you before Michael is off-limits.”

“Oh. You meant talking about him? I thought you meant touching him.”

She smacked his arm. “Don’t be silly.”

“You love me.”

“Lucky that I do.”

It was lucky for Elise, actually. Even in his frenzied effort to get up to speed with his Aunt Karen’s real estate business, Jeff had been there. Elise had been grateful, as always, for the shoulder.

She missed Michael terribly. For a while, he’d pursued her, but her fear had been too raw. By the time she’d come to her senses, he’d stopped calling. Elise decided maybe that had been fate telling her the way things ought to be.