Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (7 page)

He slammed his fist against his desk.
“Damn!”

A more stubborn female he’d never met!

***

Marian had spent the whole week at Cuvier
Shipping. She couldn’t say she’d really worked; instead, her time
had been spent reading a large book on shipping that had just about
put her to sleep. She had cleaned her desk three times. Her
knowledge regarding the shipping business was about the same as
when she’d walked in the door.

They were paying no heed to her, hoping to
push her out before she even got started. Since his temper tantrum
that first day, Louis had hardly spoken to her. And while his
ignoring her somehow stung, she was determined not to give up. It
would take more than a lack of attention to drive her out.

Today would be different. Sometimes taking
matters into one’s own hands was called for and this could be one
of those times.

She walked out of her office and down the
hall to where Henry Chatham, the accountant, sat working on the
books. If no one would teach her the business, then she would work
her way backwards through the ledgers. She would use the files and
whatever else she could to teach herself. Just because the men in
the office were united against her, she would not let them stop
her.

“Excuse me,” she said clearing her throat to
draw Henry’s attention.

He glanced up at her as if she had two heads
and six arms. “I’m looking for the general ledger.”

“Uh,” he glanced around nervously. “I know
it’s around here somewhere, but I don’t see it right now. How about
if I bring it to you?”

“That’s fine. I’ll expect it on my desk in
ten minutes,” she said, before turning and walking away.

She suspected the leather bound book that
kept all the financial records for the company was not really
missing. Henry refused to share the information.

Ten minutes passed and when Marian looked up
from the newspaper she sat reading, Louis stood in her doorway,
filling it completely. He wore a dark suit with a white shirt that
contrasted with his bronzed skin. His dark blue eyes gazed at her,
warm and intense, causing a shiver to trail along her spine.

“Handsome” wasn’t the word to describe him.
His looks were rugged, with broad shoulders and muscled forearms,
though his lazy, confident gaze drew her to him. He was the first
man in years whose appearance she’d taken notice of, and Louis’s
certain smile told her he knew she’d observed him.

“Yes, Mr. Fournet?” she asked trying to
ignore his self-assured grin.

“Louis,” he replied.

“What can I do for you, Louis?” she asked,
her honey- sweet voice emphasizing his name.

He smiled. “I hear you’re looking for the
general ledger.”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Why?” he asked, his brow raised.

“Because I am part owner of this company and
I intend to find out what’s going on,” she said sweetly. “Now, you
can tell Henry he has an additional ten minutes before I fire
him.”

Louis laughed. “Behind that innocent face and
all that black silk is quite a spitfire I’d say.”

She shook her head. “No, just a determined
woman who, no matter how much you push her, is not going away.”

“Not yet anyway,” he replied smiling
congenially.

“Not ever,” she returned sweetly, wishing she
could take her eyes off his full lips, wondering what they would
feel like to kiss.

Jon barged into the room. “Louis, Priscilla
Morgan is here to see you.”

Louis glanced at Jon and then again at
Marian. “I’ll tell Henry to bring you the ledger. Excuse me; I have
more pleasant matters awaiting me.”

He turned and walked away and she couldn’t
help but watch the way he strode across the room with a determined
step. Yet when she spoke with him, he seemed more playful than
serious. Which was Louis Fournet, the serious businessman or the
playful bachelor? Or some randy combination of both?

A few minutes later, the balding accountant
strode into her office, a big ledger in his hand. “Mr. Fournet said
to bring this to you.”

Marian smiled at the accountant and took the
ledger from his hands. “Thank you, Henry. I appreciate your
promptness. And I know that you realize if you ever question my
authority again, it will be your last day with Cuvier
Shipping.”

The man frowned, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Marian watched him as he hurried out the door. She sighed and
turned her attention to the ledger. Taking a sheet of paper, she
made some notes as she flipped through the ledger to see who Cuvier
Shipping was doing business with.

Ten minutes later, Marian heard the soft
trill of a woman’s voice and glanced up from the accountant’s book
to see a woman with a full figure, who had tumbling blonde curls,
and a soft angelic face. Priscilla Morgan was everything that men
adored in a woman.

She watched Louis laughing and talking with
the pretty woman, participating in a flirtatious ritual that amused
Marian, yet made her sad. He leaned toward the woman telling her
something for her ears only and Marian couldn’t help but wonder
what it would be like to have a man’s attention. So many years had
passed without even a flirtatious smile from her husband. Had they
ever been this enamored with one another?

The woman smiled coyly at Louis and Marian
watched him respond to her banter with his own teasing response,
just as Jean once reacted to her so many years ago.

Louis responded like her dead husband. They
had been business associates and friends who had much in common.
And the very fact they seemed alike should be enough to keep
Marian’s thoughts off the dark-haired man with the bewitching blue
eyes, perhaps too much like Jean Cuvier.

Marian returned her attention to the ledger
and tried to concentrate on the names and figures before her eyes.
Each time she heard the woman’s laughter, the words seemed to blur
on the page as her concentration shifted to the people across the
hall.

Why couldn’t she just block their laughter
from her mind? Why did the woman’s voice seem more like a purr that
made Marian’s heart ache? With a sigh she returned to the ledger
page, more determined than ever to learn all she could about Cuvier
Shipping. Her focus had to remain on the company and her children,
not her Don Juan of a business partner.

***

Louis sat staring across the hall feeling
morose as he stared at Marian Cuvier. Silk-wrapped and smelling of
lilacs, the woman with her stubborn will of iron had entrenched
herself in Jean’s office these last weeks. Nothing seemed to bother
her enough to send her running home and losing this battle between
them was maddening.

He hated losing any battle.

Worse, little-by-little Marian seemed to be
charming and winning over the men who ran Cuvier Shipping. Slowly
she had managed to break down their resistance and he could see
subtle changes in their attitudes and even in their language. He
hadn’t heard a swear word ring out in the office in over a
week.

At first he scoffed at her attempts to bribe
the men with fresh baked goods each morning. They were smarter than
to let their stomachs lead their minds. Now he was considering
donning an apron and bringing in a full-course meal, just to show
them they were being bought off.

But then this morning as he walked in, he’d
overheard a conversation between Marian and Henry. She’d been
talking to him about his wife and children. She’d called his wife
by name. Until that moment, Louis hadn’t even known his accountant
was married!

And that wouldn’t have been so surprising,
but he’d overheard her do the same thing with the new man, Sean.
Maybe it was coincidence that she knew Henry’s wife’s name, but
with Sean the only way she could have known anything about his
family was if she’d asked.

She was getting to know the employees,
finding out about their personal lives, even going so far as to
bring a baby gift to Joe, a new father in the office.

Hell, he didn’t know half the employees’
first names, let alone who their wives and children were. Like a
politician running for office, her campaign to undermine him and
make him look bad was working!

Then there had been her frequent diggings
through the files, doing research, or so she claimed. He had
nothing to hide, just the same her investigations were driving him
crazy. What could she be looking for?

For the thirtieth time that day he caught
himself staring across the way at her. Past five o’clock on a
Thursday afternoon, only a few employees remained. Marian sat
sifting through some papers.

Sitting across from her, staring at all that
dark hair twisted up off her graceful long neck, imagining what she
looked like beneath the black gown that encased her body, and
wanting to dispel the sadness he sometimes saw reflected in her
gray eyes, was making him uneasy. How could he work with her for
the next few months, until he sold the business?

Maybe he could scare her away. What would a
woman like Marian be afraid of? Somehow he had to convince her to
stay home or he would take advantage of that cherry red mouth. The
realization caused him to smile at how easy the answer seemed.
There was one thing he’d wanted to do almost since the day he first
met her, and it would certainly send her running. Suddenly he
stood, unable to wait any longer.

Louis strode across the hallway, his steps
sure and even, until he found himself standing in front of her
desk.”You’re still here. Why?” he asked.

She glanced up at him, her face an innocent
mask. “I was just trying to finish up the last of the ledgers I’ve
been going through. Very interesting what our customers transport
on our boats.”

He shrugged and then leaned across the desk.
“Marian, I need to talk to you.”

“Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“No. It must be now,” he demanded.

“Okay, let me just finish this ledger and put
it back.”

He reached across the desk and shut it for
her. “Now!”

She gazed up at him, her eyes widening at his
urgency. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Louis placed his hands on her desk, gripping
it and leaned in closer to her. “You are a gorgeous woman working
in a man’s business. For the last three weeks, I’ve sat across from
you and tried my damnedest not to show that I notice how beautiful
you are. How your lips beckon me every time you flick your tongue
across them. I’ve tried to deny how I feel, but I can’t do it
anymore.” Her eyes widened and she leaned back away from him.

Louis stepped around the desk, took her chair
and whirled her around to face him. He grasped her forearms and
roughly pulled her to her feet and toward him until she stood just
inches away. Her lips glistened, tempting him not to hesitate, but
to do the deed.

“Really, Louis, I’m not falling for this
ridiculous attempt to persuade me not to come back,” she said, her
voice breathy and tremulous.

He smiled. “Good, because this is not an
attempt, Marian. This is for real.”

He’d only meant to scare her away, but when
she called his bluff, he reacted by covering her mouth with
his.

Yet the moment he planted his mouth over
hers, all thoughts of frightening her disappeared. The sensation of
her mouth pressed against his, her breasts crushed against his
chest, sent delight spreading through him. Right where he hadn’t
anticipated feeling anything for Marian Cuvier.

He sampled her warm, soft lips, suddenly
intent on exploring this surprising new sensation. She didn’t
resist him as his tongue began a careful exploration of the
fullness of her lips. The sweet taste of her mouth left him craving
for more than just the taste of her. And as the reason for the kiss
vanished from his mind, he was tempted to further his study of her
mouth as he savored Marian.

She sighed the sound deep in the back of her
throat, just before she pushed him away. She leaned away from him,
her eyes wide with dismay as she covered her mouth with her
hand.

“Oh,” she gasped.

Then before Louis could recover from the kiss
and gather his wits about him, she jumped up from the desk. She
grabbed her reticule.

“I... I must go. Edward ... is waiting,” she
said, her voice breaking up.

“Marian,” he called, still a little stunned
by the impact of her kiss.

“I ... Goodbye!” she said, and ran out the
door.

Louis stood there, shocked. What just
happened? He’d kissed her, but somehow something more than just the
pressure of their lips had taken place. Marian’s response confused
him, but even more his own reaction shocked him. He liked kissing
Marian. He liked it so much he wanted to do it again. But Marian
was his business partner, not someone you wanted to play with and
then send away.

A heavy sigh escaped him. Maybe kissing the
widow wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe she just reversed
the situation and he should be the one running scared.

M
arian returned to
the office the next morning, although with some reluctance. Louis’s
kiss the night before awakened all kinds of thoughts and images.
Things that she hadn’t thought about in years. Feelings she had
buried, once it became evident that Jean would no longer be
frequenting her bed.

The pleasure that burst inside her at the
touch of Louis’s lips against hers had surprised and frightened
her. She sat behind her desk and touched her fingers to her mouth,
the memory of his kiss still fresh in her mind. So many years had
passed since a man kissed her, let alone made her feel passion.
Surely her response yesterday had been an accident. If he were to
kiss her again, she would probably feel only the texture of his
lips and nothing of the pleasure. Whatever reaction he’d evoked
yesterday afternoon had been a mistake.