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www.millsandboon.co.uk
To Ruth Johnson,
May all your travels be happy events,
and may you have books galore to read.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER ONE
ANNA LARKIN came out of the underground station into the pouring rain. The gusting wind made using an umbrella impossible. She bent her head and began walking up Montgomery Street. Her cross trainers were getting wet, but better than soaking the high heels, which she carried in her tote bag. Her hair would be a mess, curls everywhere. But not to be helped, it was the least of her worries.
San Francisco was often rainy in late October and today was no exception.
She just wished it had been sunny—or at least dry. She was coming down with the flu. Walking in the rain would certainly do nothing to help. Bad things came in threes, she mused. First her sister’s call this weekend to jubilantly share the news she was expecting a new baby. Anna had tried to rejoice with her sister, but without the chance of having a baby herself, each time she had to pretend it didn’t matter it got harder.
Then—the flu. She was usually healthy rarely even getting a cold during the winter. She so did not need this.
Now hurrying through the rain to get to work in order to meet the new man who was taking charge of the company today was about the last straw. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.
She reached the cavernous lobby of the high-rise building in short order. Entering, she shook as much of the water as she could from her raincoat and hair before getting on one of the express elevators. She hoped there was time to dry her hair before the meeting. The natural curls always dominated in damp weather.
She no sooner stepped off on her floor than her colleague, and friend, Teresa accosted her.
“You look terrible,” she said, grabbing Anna’s arm and hurrying her along to the ladies’ room. Once safely inside, Anna peered at her reflection in the mirror. She looked worse than she felt, if that was possible. Pale with wet hanks of hair framing her face, she looked like she had the flu.
“Today’s the day we finally meet the new boss, you’re certain to make an impression,” Teresa teased. “Hurry up. He’s called for a meeting of department heads at nine.”
“I feel sick as a dog,” Anna said, slipping off her cross trainers. “I think it’s the flu. I’ve been sick all weekend and wouldn’t have come in today if the new CEO wasn’t starting. Just when I need to make a good impression if I want that promotion.”
“I thought Mr. Taylor said it was in the bag,” said Teresa, holding the tote and reaching for Anna’s high heels.
The rain had left her stockings wet, but they would dry soon enough. She took the offered heels, tossing her wet raincoat over one of the stall doors, letting it drip onto the tile floor. Better here than in her office.
Once she was standing in the shoes, she took her comb from her bag and began to pull it through her hair confining the unruly curls as best she could, anchoring them at her nape. This was not the way she normally wore it but a riot of damp curls was not going to win her any points with the new boss. What else could go wrong today?
Teresa checked her watch. “We have five minutes to get into the conference room,” she said. “I’m not going to be late to the first meeting he’s called.”
Anna checked one more time in the mirror. She looked as professional as she could given the circumstances. She pinched her cheeks to get some color into her face, double-checked her lipstick and turned to her friend. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Walking down the long hall she felt the suppressed excitement. Everyone on the floor knew Mr. Taylor was retiring. The Board of Directors had selected a new chief executive officer—but kept all information quiet lest the competition heard about it before they were ready with their announcement. Even the top level of management of Drysdale Electronics didn’t know who would be the new CEO.
Rumors had abounded over the last few weeks that he would make a clean sweep of the current managers and directors and bring in his own people. Of course that kind of rumor went around every time a new man took charge. Sometimes it was even true.
In passing the employee’s lounge, Anna dashed in to get a cup of coffee. She had not felt up to eating anything for breakfast so needed a jolt of caffeine to keep going. If at all possible, once the initial meeting was finished, she would go home and crawl back into bed. She was rarely sick and couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so wonky.
Entering the conference room a couple of moments later she immediately looked at the head of the room. Allen Taylor was talking with a man who had his back toward the gathering. The new CEO obviously. She couldn’t tell much from that view—he was tall, had dark hair with no gray in it and a wide set of shoulders. For a moment she thought there was something familiar about him. But no one even knew the name of the new man, the secrecy surrounding his appointment has been tightly capped.
He obviously wasn’t as old as Mr. Taylor, not if that black hair was any indication.
Anna glanced around, recognizing all the senior management of the home office. Slipping into the seat next to Teresa, she sipped the warm coffee, wishing she was still in bed. How long was this going to take?
Glancing around at the others, she picked up on the tension in the room. She knew they all had questions and concerns.
After her conversation with Mr. Taylor last Friday, however, she wasn’t as nervous as she might have been. He had assured her that her promotion was in the bag. By January she would be in her new position as director of the European marketplace, headquartered in Brussels. She could hardly wait.
Mr. Taylor stepped to the head of the long table as the man beside him turned to face the group. Anna stared at him with stunned, sickening surprise. For a moment heat swept through her and she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
He did have broad shoulders; she remembered rubbing her hands over them, feeling the hot skin, the taut muscles. His lips appeared chiseled, but she remembered how they’d molded hers, bringing wild passion to a mere kiss. For three glorious weeks she and Tanner Forsythe had been constantly in each other’s company. Two days after they made love, he had stopped calling, stopped returning her calls and dropped out of her life completely.
She swallowed hard. Oh. My. God. She had slept with the new head of Drysdale Electronics!
She felt as if she would throw up. She glanced over at Teresa who was looking at the head of the table with all attention. Nobody knew. She had kept their affair quiet last summer, not wanting to be teased about a whirlwind romance. Thank goodness for discretion. If she could just get through today, she’d make sure nobody ever knew. She had to get to him, make sure he didn’t mention anything thinking people might have known about their dating.
Please don’t let him say anything, she prayed, wishing she could slink down in her chair, slip beneath the table and hide forever. She had to find a moment to speak to him alone. Assure him no one knew—and no one need ever know.
They’d met when he’d begun coming to the gym where she worked out several times a week. Dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt, he looked fabulous. She’d been instantly drawn to him the first time he’d showed up. Before her session had ended, he’d asked her out for coffee. From then on they’d found time to meet during the week and on the weekends.
She tried to remember all the details of their dates. But her head throbbed and she felt slightly ill again. She so did not need this.
What would this do to a future working relationship? He couldn’t fire her outright, could he? She wished she had had some prior inkling of Tanner Forsythe taking on the helm of Drysdale Electronic. What was she going to do?
Mr. Taylor nodded at the group and began to speak, “As you all know, I’ve talked about retiring for a long time. Mrs. Taylor has finally convinced me to act, not dream. Many of you know the Board met two weeks ago to finalized negotiations with my successor. I spoke with some of you individually last Friday in an attempt to make a smooth transition between my leaving and the assumption of power by our new CEO. I’d like to introduce Tanner Forsythe. He takes over with the full and enthusiastic endorsement of the Board of Directors. He has an impressive background with electronic firms in taking troubled companies and turning them around to make them more profitable than ever. A copy of his impressive résumé is in the packet Ellie will give each of you on the way out. The Board of Directors and I do hope you all will be able to guide Drysdale Electronics to new heights under Tanner’s guidance. I expect each of you to give him your full cooperation and support.”
Mr. Taylor waited for the polite applause to die down, then nodded to the man on his right. “How about each of you introduce yourself, give the department or division you head up and say anything else you think Tanner may need to know for now. He’ll be meeting with each of you individually before the week is out.”
Mr. Taylor checked his watch. “However, let’s keep it brief, I have a lot to review with him myself before I take off for the Bahamas.”
There was some good-natured teasing for a moment. Then Hank Brownson began the introductions with the explanation he ran the accounting department. One by one each person around the table introduced himself or herself and gave a brief description of their area of responsibilities. Teresa’s turn came fast. Anna felt sick. She was next. She heard Teresa explain she was the head of Human Resources, then the silence that followed.
Anna looked at Mr. Taylor rather than into the dark familiar eyes of Tanner Forsythe.
“My name is Anna Larkin. I’m the under-director for European operations.” She could say nothing further. For one awful moment she wondered if Tanner would rescind the promotion promised and refuse to let her move to the Brussels office.
She had been working toward that particular position for more than ten years. For the last five she’d studied French assiduously. Recently all her vacations had been in Europe to familiarize herself with the different countries, and to practice her language skills. She had devoted fifteen years of her life to becoming the best international marketing employee Drysdale Electronics ever had.
For one heart-stopping moment she wondered if it all had been in vain.
So if bad things came in threes, was this the end? Maybe she’d make a miraculous recovery within the next ten minutes. The news from her sister wouldn’t hurt so, and Tanner would send her to Europe with a bonus in her pocket.
And pigs would fly.
As Neil Patterson introduced himself, Anna leaned back in her chair. She had no illusions that life would change in an instant. Her only hope was that she could make it home before collapsing. Looking at the bright side of things, if she were home, he couldn’t fire her, could he?
Once introductions were complete, Tanner gave a short speech. Upbeat and direct, he challenged everyone to rise to the new level of expectations. It motivated without casting any aspersions on Mr. Taylor and his stint at the helm. Anna was impressed.
She’d been impressed before—in the summer. They’d spent endless evenings walking around San Francisco after working out together at the gym, enjoying the city when the crowds were gone, and when the weather was at its best. Talking about everything under the sun, or so she thought, he had never mentioned his exact job. And she had only said she was in marketing. She was not defined by her job.
In fact, she’d only talked about it in great detail right before he stopped contacting her.
The penny dropped. He’d known he was being sought for this position and had stopped dating a future employee.
She wished he’d finished things before they’d gone to bed together. Not only for the awkwardness of finding they had to work together, but for the glorious event itself, which would never be repeated. She had begun to fall a little in love with Tanner, even knowing it could lead nowhere. But she’d never found making love to be so exciting, so enthralling as the night they’d spent together.
She kept her gaze on her notepad, her mind drifting to that night, try as she might to focus on his words to the group. She’d wondered if she’d somehow been lacking—beyond the obvious of course. Now at least she had a more logical reason for his lack of follow up.
Tanner Forsythe moved his gaze around the room studying the features of each of the men and women who now reported to him as they introduced themselves. He knew Anna would be in this group. That had been the sole reason he had stopped seeing her. But when his gaze locked in on her, when he heard her voice, he was surprised by a shock of awareness. They dated for several weeks. Once he learned that she worked for Drysdale Electronics, he had stopped seeing her immediately. Preliminary negotiations for his new position had already begun—and he did not date fellow employees. Especially when they would soon be reporting to him.
Should he have suspected she worked for Drysdale when he met her at the gym? As part of the compensation package he got membership. He’d gone to see if he liked the facility. It was two blocks from the office, crowded after work each day. He should have pushed more at the time to find out where she worked, but he’d been more interested in Anna herself than her employer.
He was not into long-term relationships as a rule. He’d learned his lesson well from Cindy. He wasn’t going to get suckered into anything like marriage again. But he and Anna had meshed in many areas. She made no demands, nor had he. They’d been two people who had a lot in common, and had ended up for one terrific night in bed.
He’d not been out with anyone else since he stopped calling her. The demands on winding up the former job and preparing for this one had been arduous. Nothing he couldn’t handle, but he wanted to hit the deck running. There’d be a sizable bonus in it if he increased the bottom line within a year. Tanner was into achievement.
Forcing his attention back to the meeting, he continued to listen to the different managers and directors and wondered only briefly if Anna would cause a problem. He suspected she was too professional to make a scene in front of everybody, but with women, one never knew. He’d have to make sure their former relationship didn’t throw an additional complication to the new challenge. There was enough to do to turn this business around with the competition facing it, without having to worry about any problems within.
When the last manager finished, Tanner spoke again. “I’ve inherited Ellie Snodgrass as my PA. She has a list of those to whom I wish to speak today. I’ll keep the initial meetings short. I’ve been working for a number of weeks on ideas and changes in strategy, so I hope you’ll show up with an enthusiasm for a new direction and a determination to see Drysdale Electronics regain the preeminent position in our field.”
He turned to Mr. Taylor and offered his hand. “I’ll do my best with your company, sir,” he said.
Everyone broke into spontaneous applause at the comment.
The sound made Anna feel even worse. She felt dizzy and achy and so tired she could hardly hold up her head. Her stomach ached. She hoped she wasn’t contagious. Her fellow employees wouldn’t thank her if the flu ran rampant through the office.
Tanner led the way from the conference room. Everyone scrambled to their feet and quickly left except Anna. She wanted to put her head down and cry at the unexpected turn of events. Or sleep for a dozen years until she felt able to deal with things.
“Coming?” Teresa asked at the door.
Mr. Taylor’s secretary Ellie peered in. She still had several packets left.
“In a minute,” Anna said. Ellie came in and placed the large envelope beside Anna’s notepad and left.
The silence was welcomed. Anna folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. She had to see if her name was on today’s list. If so, she prayed it was soon. Then she had the journey home—through the pouring rain, the short train ride and then the few blocks walk straight up a hill to her apartment. But once there, she could cuddle up with her cat and sleep until she felt well. Or died, whichever. It was bad enough to get the flu, but to have the shock of Tanner Forsythe as her new boss was beyond anything she’d ever anticipated.
For a moment she wished it was last August again and they had just met. First thing she’d do is tell him she worked for Drysdale.
Or maybe she should wish that they had never met at all.
She heard a sound in the hall and lifted her head. The room spun around a little, then settled. Slowly she rose, picked up her coffee cup and the thick envelope and headed for her office.
There was a note on her desk, Mr. Forsythe would see her at one o’clock.
It was only a little before ten. She had almost three hours to get through. She called Teresa’s extension.
“Human Resources,” her friend’s secretary answered.
“This is Anna, is Teresa available?”
“No, she’s in with Mr. Forsythe.”
“Have her call me when she’s free,” Anna said. So her friend was one of the first to talk to the new man. She wondered what Teresa’s assessment would be. Could Anna get her opinion about how to deal with him? She couldn’t risk revealing anything. She wasn’t even sure Teresa knew she’d been seeing someone, she couldn’t tell her she’d slept with their new boss! She’d have to decide how to handle things on her own.
Reaching for a stack of phone messages, Anna saw several were from the East Coast. She’d get those returned first, then call the local ones. Might as well make best use of her time.
Promptly at one, Anna arrived at Ellie’s desk. She’d had some soup for lunch and was feeling marginally better. The rain had tapered off. All in all, the day seemed to be improving.
“I’m here for my appointment with Mr. Forsythe,” she said. She’d brought the latest plans she and Thomas Ventner had discussed. Thomas was the current Director in Brussels. Scheduled to retire in December, he’d been grooming Anna for his position for months.
“Ben Haselton’s still in there. Be another minute or two,” Ellie said. “Tanner has been good about not running long with anyone.” She peered at Anna. “Are you all right?”
“Think I’m coming down with the flu,” Anna said. “I’m trying to stay away from everyone so I don’t pass it around.”
“Have a seat, dear. I take public transportation. There’s no avoiding some illness during the winter months.”
Anna had scarcely sat when the door opened and Ben Haselton emerged. He looked upset. Charging ahead, he didn’t speak to either of them.
The buzzer sounded on Ellie’s desk.
“Is Anna Larkin there?”
“She’s been waiting,” Ellie said, smiling at Anna.
Anna took a deep breath and rose, heading into Tanner’s office like she was heading into a lion’s den. She still hadn’t a clue how to handle this interview. Did she pretend they had never met? Accuse him of dumping her? Or try to keep a cool facade and let him take the lead?
Tanner stood near the window that overlooked San Francisco Bay. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. It had been shut for Ben and if anything personal was said, she’d just as soon Ellie not hear.
He turned and looked at her. For a moment their eyes met and she felt a catch in the region of her heart. He still had the ability to cause a flutter in her heart rate. She’d been well on her way for falling for the man. He’d called a halt and a good thing, too. She had her life mapped out and getting deeply involved with a man did not figure in her plans. She knew better.
“Hello, Tanner,” she said, hoping he’d ask her to sit before her wobbly knees gave way.
“Anna. Have a seat. I won’t keep you long. I’ve already spoken with Thomas in Brussels. He brought me up to speed on the European division. He said you had a few new ideas you wanted to try when you’re at the helm. I’d like to see them. And get your assessment of our European standing.”
So he was playing it strictly business. She could deal with that. She placed the folder on his desk. “The new plans, complete with rationale and implementation schedules, are all laid out. After you review them, I’d be happy to discuss any questions you have. Otherwise, I think you’ll find Thomas’s assessment matches mine—robust in the U.K. area, not so strong in Italy and France. We’re running into a lot of competition from local interests. But cell phones are expanding and our new components are the best around. We just have to convince all customers of that.”
He nodded, sitting behind his desk. He drew the folder over and opened it. After a minute, he looked up, studying her for a moment.
“Are you all right?”
“I will be. I think I have a touch of the flu.” If she had to say that one more time today she would scream.
“Maybe you should go on home and rest up,” he suggested.
“I’ve stuck it out this long. I can hang in the rest of the day.” She wasn’t going to have the new CEO think she couldn’t handle her job no matter what. Or that she expected any favors. Once she might have thought she knew Tanner, but now she felt he was a stranger. The man who had shown her a fabulous time for three magical weeks was barely recognizable in the hard face opposite her.
Tanner looked back at the papers in the folder, quickly scanning them. Anna was on pins and needles watching him. Each second seemed to move in agonizing slowness. With him focused on the report, she could study him with impunity.
There were new lines around his eyes, his hair was cut shorter, his business suit fit to perfection. He looked like the successful businessman he was. Had circumstances been different, she would have been immensely proud of him for achieving such a high level position at a relatively young age. He was younger than she was and already CEO of a major corporation.
She’d hesitated dating him when she’d discovered he was four years younger. She’d never been sure exactly why this dynamic thirty-four-year-old man had wanted her company. She soon forgot the age difference. They had so much in common, from liking similar kinds of movies and books, to enjoying walks along the deserted San Francisco’s streets after the businesses had closed for the day. Exploring out-of-the-way streets, eating at little restaurants that were mere holes-in-the-wall had been exciting and new with Tanner.
There had been certain topics tacitly off-limits. She rarely talked about her work, nor did he talk about his. She’d been too caught up in the dizzying feelings around him, the physical attraction as well as the stimulation of their conversation. He’d been someone special.
He glanced up and caught her eye. She froze. He couldn’t read minds, could he?
Closing the folder he put it to the left side of the desk where a stack of folders rested.
“I’ll review this in greater detail tonight. If I have further questions, I’ll call.”
Taking that as a sign the interview was over, she rose swaying slightly, feeling light-headed. She gave a polite smile and turned to go. Her hand was already reaching for the knob when he spoke again. Glancing over her shoulder she saw he’d risen and was leaning casually against the side of the desk, resting on one hip.