Worst Week Ever (A Long Road to Love) (12 page)

Trent’s
conclusion pissed him off. Honestly, if he didn’t hold to the belief a man is
only as good as his word, he’d fire Sam right this second, just to spite his
father.

Tired of
thinking about Sam and his father, he focused on the good part of his life. Carrie
sat on the seat facing backwards, rapidly typing on her laptop. He wanted to
pull her over to his seat, but that could result in her tripping or breaking
the laptop, so instead he moved over to hers, curious as to what couldn’t wait
until they got back to the office.

He slipped his
arm around the back of the seat, his hand resting on her left shoulder. While
playing with a strand of her golden brown hair, he read a list of what the HR
person needed to achieve in his or her job.

If Carrie’s
expectations proved doable, then he should have hired one the day his father
died.

When she
finished, she looked up at him for his opinion.

“A very wise
employee of mine keeps telling me not to create goals too impossible to
achieve.”

“These aren’t
just HR’s goals. These are
our
goals. This is what we need to achieve.”

He almost
leaned downed and kissed her serious, determined face, but pulled himself back
at the last moment. “Well, this is the first time in the history of Lancasters
an employee has given the CEO goals, but if we can achieve all this, life could
be fun, so I’ll commit to
our
goals.”

She rewarded
him with the most heartwarming smile.
God, he loved her.

When they
reached the employment office, Sam once again pretended to be a proper driver,
assisting Carrie out and holding the door for Trent.

A worrisome
thought entered his head as they walked into the high-priced office space and
took the elevator to the fortieth floor.

Could Sam
have fallen in love with Carrie?

He never should’ve
allowed the man to stay at her house. “Sam didn’t overstep his position last
night did he?”

She laughed
softly. “Are you asking if we had sex?”

He choked.
“No! Of course you wouldn’t have sex with my driver. But it would not be beyond
Sam to forget his position and act inappropriately.”

She shook her
head as if she thought his response ridiculous. “Sam behaved. Oh, I did alter
the gardener’s instructions.”

He sighed. “I
wanted to surprise you.”

She chuckled.
“Well, fortunately, you didn’t. I would have cried if I returned and found my
flower garden turned into lawn.”

“Sam called it
a patch of weeds.”

“Well, I’ve
plenty of those after a month of neglect, so Carlos promised to leave my
flowers intact, while removing the weeds.”

He frowned. “I
hope he understood you. Most of the gardening staff doesn’t speak English.”

“Fortunately,
I speak Spanish.”

Her response
surprised him. “You do? Why?”

“I thought
given the growing population of Spanish in America, it would be more useful
than French, which was the other alternative at my school.”

“That’s it?
You only had two choices?”

“How many did
you have?”

“I think every
language that exists.”

“Wow. What did
you take?”

He frowned. “I
don’t remember.”

She stifled a
chuckle. “Let me guess: something you knew you’d never use?”

“Very good. My
father wanted me to learn Japanese, so I chose something else. Ah! Finnish.”

She laughed
and pressed her face against his arm to stifle the noise.

“Straighten
up! You don’t want the headhunters to think you’re drunk.”

She stopped
muffling her laughter with his sleeve and focused on the doors. “I have a good
feeling about this.”

He smiled down
at her. “Me too.” Once they got a decent staff, he could risk making their
relationship personal and intimate.

Miss Parker,
their newly assigned Resource Consultant, read a printed copy of their
objectives and smiled at Trent. “I am so pleased you wrote this out. It will
help me find the perfect resources for you.” She leaned forward so her
expensive perfume wafted over the coffee table. “I'm not surprised you’re
unhappy with your employees. Without a human resource manager I would expect
nothing else.” Slipping him her card, she added, “You may call me anytime, day
or night. That’s my personal number, and I promise
whatever
problem you
have I will work on it until it’s resolved to your satisfaction.”

Carrie couldn’t
believe the woman’s blatant come on. She turned and studied her boss’s face.
His lips formed a tense smile. Evidently, he also felt Miss Parker’s approach
unprofessional, which meant he wouldn’t trust anyone she sent.

Carrie stood
up. “Where’s the restroom?”

The woman
never took her eyes off Trent. “Down the hall, on your right.”

Trent gripped
her hand and glared. “You don’t need one!” The growl in his words almost made
her laugh. Her big tough boss did not wish private time with the succubus.

She leaned in
and whispered in his ear. “I’m going to find a better headhunter.”

“I’ll come
with you,” he said through clenched jaws.

He started to
rise, but Carrie stopped him. “No. Stay here and distract.”

She smiled at
the woman, who had pulled back to study her with speculation. Clearly, she’d
heard Trent’s side of the conversation. Trent hadn’t a clue how to whisper.

Lord, she
thinks she heard Trent ask if he could go to the bathroom with me.

Carrie suppressed
a chuckled and hurried from the room. Passing the bathroom, she ran into a
young woman. “Excuse me, I’ve gotten turned around. Where is…darn I can’t
remember the gentleman’s name. He’s said to be the best executive recruiter—”

“Oh, Dan
Marshal. You’re almost there. Two doors down on your left.”

Proud of her
clever ruse, Carrie walked to the open door and knocked on the frame.

A man in his early
thirties looked up and smiled. “May I help you?” he asked as he stood and
smoothed out his double-breasted suit.

“I hope so. If
not, I fear we will need to start over with a different firm.”

He led her in,
closing the door behind her. “I’m Dan Marshal, senior partner. How can I be of
assistance?” He walked her to the couch and sat in the chair next to it.

“We have a
serious personnel problem and my boss wanted to fire everyone to solve the
matter.”

Dan grimaced.

Carrie touched
his arm. “I convinced him not to and suggested instead we first go to the best
executive recruiting service in the city and hire a human resource person to
assist us in determining who and how quickly employees should be replaced.” She
handed him the company goals she had lifted from the table when she left Mrs.
Parker’s room.

He leaned back
and read it twice, then studied her. “Which resource consultant received your
account?”

“A very pretty
Ms Parker.”

He tilted his
head up a bit, almost like a gopher sensing trouble in the area.

Carrie sighed.
“Unfortunately, she boldly flirted with my boss—no doubt due to his good looks
and wealth—but it has led him to believe she’s all fluff and now he won’t trust
anyone she sends.”

His hands
formed a finger tent as he breathed in and out. “I assure you, Miss Parker is
highly experienced and competent.”

“—or you
wouldn’t have hired her. Unfortunately, my boss will not risk his business on
someone he doesn’t see as the ultimate professional.”

“So you wish
me to assign you a different adviser?” By the way his fingers rapped on the
table, she surmised he didn’t want to do that.

Carrie
wondered if Miss Parker didn’t have Dan Marshal tied up in bedroom knots, as
well. “To turn matters around at this point, I need the very best, which is
you.”

The tension in
his face relaxed as he picked up the paper and read it a third time. “How many
upper level jobs are we discussing?”

“HR, Systems
Management, Sales, and Accounting.”

“No
Marketing?”

“Not
presently, but I believe once we get a news sales executive and he or she gains
Trent’s trust, he may see the value of a skilled marketer.”

“Trent?”

“Trent
Lancaster of Lancaster Chairs.”

Dan tilted his
head. “And what’s your position?”

“I’m his EA.”

He smiled.
“And who placed you?”

“I placed
myself. I'd just graduated from college and happened to walk past the lobby of
his headquarters on 8th Avenue. Trent had taped a hand written advertisement to
the lobby window. I thought it a chance to get some interview experience under
my belt, so I went upstairs and had the most intense interview of my life.”

“And took the
job.”

She nodded.
“He really needed help and from my perspective it looked like a job where I’d
be allowed to expand my wings as much as I competently could.”

“And how’s
that working out?” He formed a temple with his long slender fingers again.

She smiled
with pride. “Very well. I just came back from Taiwan, where I convinced our
facility managers cost reductions are possible if they move to a Just-In-Time
inventory delivery. I had to stay and help negotiate the contracts and
encourage them through the changes. But when I left, they seemed fully on board
and proud of their new higher margins.”

He leaned back
in his chair. “If you ever want to stop being an EA and become an E, let me
know. I could place you in a second.”

His offer gave
her concern. He knew nothing about her. How could he possibly know if she’d
make a good executive? He couldn’t. God, was he flirting with her? She stepped
back. “Thank you, but right now we need to rescue my boss before he has sex
with Miss Parker in her office and then storms out of here, demanding I find a
more professional group.” She met his gaze. “That is if you are willing to
personally handle our situation.”

He chuckled
and rose. “To be honest, the numbers don’t justify my involvement, but I am
intrigued with the situation, so if your boss really wishes a change of
advisers, I will take the project.”

Carrie proudly
returned to Miss Parker’s office with Dan Marshal beside her.

Dan opened the
closed door and walked into the office. Carrie followed. Miss Parker had joined
Trent on the couch and presently covered him like a blanket. A second later, her
boss shoved Miss Parker off him and leapt from the couch. “Good, you’re back.
Let’s go.”

He rushed from
the room. Carrie ran after him, grabbing him by the arm. “Wait, I’ve got us
someone better.”

“We’ll get
someone better at a different place.”

“No! This is
the best firm, and I got us the senior partner. He’s supposed to be the best in
the city.” She pulled harder on his arm. “Trust me!”

He stopped and
stared at her. “We can’t screw around with my business.”

“I promise
you, no screwing around will occur with the guy I found.”

“A guy?”

“Yes, didn’t
you see him? He entered the room with me.”

* * * *

Trent hadn’t
seen anything but Carrie’s look of horror when she saw the succubus trying to
seduce him. She couldn’t hold him responsible. The woman wouldn’t take a hint.
Evidently, no male had ever turned down her pheromone-laced perfume before.

Trent had
managed by reminding himself Carrie would return any moment. His desire not to
destroy their relationship before it even began enabled him to ignore his
libido, which really liked the perfume.

A vaguely
familiar man with dark hair approached and held out his hand. “Trent, if you
wish, I will handle your unique situation personally.”

The fellow seemed
to know him. Otherwise, he would have called him ‘Mr. Lancaster.’ Trent shook
his hand. “And you are?”

A faint smile
came to his lips. “Dan Marshal. We attended Harvard together.”

He had no
memory of the guy. “Oh, Dan, how are you? Carrie says you’re the best in the
business.”

“I’ve been
listed as the top executive recruiter in New York City for the last five
years.”

Trent frowned.
“You do realize we wish to replace working people, not egg-heads. Carrie,
retrieve the paper you wrote, explaining our situation.”

Dan chuckled.
“She already gave it to me. Normally, this assignment wouldn’t reach my desk,
but what you’re trying to do
—
fire
two thirds of your people in a short time
—
is
quite drastic.”

“They’ve left
me no choice. It’s like having Dutch employees during the German occupation.
They show up to work, but nothing ever gets done.”

“That’s
actually a good comparison,” Carrie said. She then turned to Dan. “I believe
their hatred for the boss began with Trent’s father, but since Trent learned
his management skills from his dad, they hate him just as much.”

Dan frowned
and held out his hands. “Hold on. I’m not putting good people in a bad
environment.”

“No!” Carrie
insisted, “Trent’s a good manager now. They just can’t see it. But I can. He’s
become an excellent boss and any hardworking, intelligent employee will like
him.”

Dan still
looked as if he wanted to cut and run.

“Good people
will like the new environment. I promise you.”

“Well, let’s
return to my office and sign a contract for locating the human resource
executive. Then we’ll go from there.”

Trent heard
the unspoken part of his statement: we’ll go from there
if
the HR person
believes the environment is viable. Which meant he planned to put someone who
would report to him in the position.

He glanced at
Carrie to see if she had picked up the nuance, but given her happiness, he
guessed not.

He wished he
could remember this guy, and more to the point, something bad about the fellow.
His gut yelled for him to walk, but he needed a concrete reason to drop ‘the
best resource firm in the city.’

* * * *

Once they
returned to the limo, Carrie sat in the seat opposite his and pulled off her
heels, replacing them with her brown flats.

“Those shoes
don’t match your suit.”

“I’ll change
into my slacks the moment we return.”

He sighed and
rapped his knuckles against the tinted window. “I’ll probably fire whoever
Marshal sends us for the position of HR.”

“Because the
person’s going to spy for him?”

A sigh of
relief escaped Trent. The man’s sophisticated charm hadn’t blinded her to his
intentions. “Precisely.”

She slouched
so she could prop her feet on his seat. He pulled off her ugly flats and
contemplated throwing them out the window, but he didn’t want to distract her
from his current concern. Instead, he tossed them on the floor, placed her child-size
feet onto his lap and gently massaged them.

She closed her
eyes and a smile formed on her beautiful lips.

“I want a
person loyal to me, not Marshal.”

Her eyes
opened and she met his gaze. “I understand, which is why I asked him to find us
a superb HR person for our crisis who will then locate a lower level executive
competent to manage our ongoing business. The truth is, the skills we need for
our crisis are not the same as the ones we’ll need in the future. This way, he
can find someone who can set us on the right path and then leave. Thus, long
term, you’ll have a person who is solely obliged to you.

“And why
shouldn’t I have that right now?”

“Because Dan
has an obligation to the executives he places. Employment’s like a marriage. If
both sides aren’t happy, it won’t work. If he sends top quality execs to you
and you turn out to be a Nazi general abusing the poor Dutchmen, his reputation
gets dinged. Nobody wants a bad matchmaker.”

Trent
continued massaging her feet as he considered her defense of the man’s side.
“He didn’t seduce you when you were alone with him did he?”

The limo
jerked suddenly to the right then returned to its lane followed by a cacophony
of horns complaining behind them. Sam never mishandled the car. He opened his
mouth to give his driver grief, but Carrie turned in her seat and spoke first.

“Are you okay,
Sam?”

“I’m fine,”
his driver snapped.

“Good. I
thought maybe a bee stung you. I had that happen to me once. I almost wrecked
the car before I pulled over. The policeman who saw my crazy driving stopped as
well, demanding I get out of the car and walk a straight line. Unfortunately,
my left leg had swollen up like a balloon and didn’t want to walk a line.”

“When did this
happen?” Trent demanded. “I want the policeman’s name?” He’d get the bastard
fired.

“My last year
of college, and I don’t remember his name now.” She nudged Trent with her foot.
“Stop glaring. The story has a happy ending. When I fell to the ground and
pulled up my pants leg, exposing my swollen leg, he hurried to the trunk of his
car, returned with an EpiPen, and stabbed me. Then he waited with me until my
friends arrived and took me and my car home—without giving me a ticket.”

“I’m surprised
he even made you walk a line. Cops are pushovers for beautiful women,” Sam
responded.

That had
sounded too much like flirtation to Trent’s thinking. “Don’t distract my
driver. He evidently doesn’t drive well when tired.” He never should have given
Sam permission to sleep in the basement of her house.

To prevent
further conversing, since Carrie would fraternize with anyone, he engaged the
privacy glass between the front seat and theirs.

Carrie pulled
her feet off his lap. “I thought you agreed to work on being nice and
supportive to your home staff? Sam’s probably dead tired. You ordered him to
drive me home, sleep on a hard bed in the damp basement of a house, which I’m
sure is not nearly as nice as his normal surroundings, and in the morning, wake
up early and take me to the city.”