Everything Bared (Six-Alarm Sexy) (14 page)

Danielle slipped her hand under the tablecloth and threaded her fingers through his. The weight of their joined hands on his leg reassured him. He took a deep breath and shot her a sidelong glance. The corner of her lip quirked up, her eyes as soothing as warm chocolate. However close he was to his brothers and to Tori, he’d never felt this level of support from them. It was like he and Danielle were a team. She had his back even though she had no idea what was going on.

She trusted him.

Why that should mean so much, he had no idea. But his chest warmed with pleasure. With satisfaction.
Whoa!
This was not supposed to happen.

Dial it back a notch, Caldwell. You barely know this woman.

True. But he
really
liked what he did know about her.

Around him, conversations stopped and everyone set down their utensils. His father once again cleared his throat. “First off, I’m glad everyone could make it today. This doesn’t happen nearly often enough. But since I have you all in the same place, I need to take this opportunity to bring you up-to-date on recent developments at Caldwell Fine Furnishings.”

Danielle stirred uneasily. “Um… I’ll go inside so you can have some privacy.”

Caroline tut-tutted her. “Nonsense, dear. You’re part of the family now.”

Danielle’s eyes widened, and William was certain his own matched. Obviously, she was as unclear as he was as to the reason for her change in status. But on both sides of the table, everyone nodded. Wow. How out of the loop was he?

“Now that the pleasantries are over, I’ll start by asking William a question.” His father’s gaze lasered in on William, and it was all he could do not to squirm. “Tell me, son. Why is it I have to hear about possible layoffs from the union leader instead of from my own CFO?”

Almost deafened by the cacophony of
what
s and
no damn way
s, William slouched in his seat. If he could disappear under the table he would. Christ. He felt six years old again. Until Danielle’s fingers tightened around his own. Feigning to be reaching for Coco, she leaned in and whispered, “Remember, you have the power.”

His entire body jolted at the visceral memory her words evoked. Was she crazy? He had no power here. He worked for his father, for the board. If they said, “Jump,” he had to ask, “How high?”

“They know nothing,” she continued. “
You
are the one with all the information, all the data. Control the discussion.”

This was what she’d tried to teach him the other night. Even though his hands had literally been tied, he’d been in charge, he’d directed their interaction. He’d known how he’d wanted things to go, and he’d made it happen. This was no different.

Straightening his spine, he sat up and looked around the table before finally meeting and holding his father’s glare. “Well,
Bill
, the last few decades have been difficult ones for the company. That has only worsened in recent years.”

“No matter how lean the times, people will always pay more for quality,” his father ground out.

William forced himself to sound calm. “When people are foreclosing on their homes, they aren’t out buying custom handmade furniture, no matter how beautiful the design, or how well-crafted the product.”

“That doesn’t explain why all of a sudden, we need to lay off our staff. Some of these people have been with the company for generations. Hell, Larissa’s mother is
my
assistant.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Here’s the bottom line, Dad: Much more money is going out than is coming in. If we don’t make fundamental changes to the way we do business, we either have to lay off some staff… or we close our doors. And to be perfectly honest, if nothing changes, the layoffs will only delay bankruptcy by a couple of years.”

His family’s gasps and shocked expressions assaulted him like bullets to the chest. He fucking hated being the bearer of bad news.

“Bankruptcy! How could you let things get this bad?” Bill’s face darkened and his chest heaved like he’d been running up Madison Street past the Safeco Plaza. But the question also had William’s blood boiling.

“How could
I
let this happen? How could
you
? I get that my predecessor made bad decisions, but you let him. It doesn’t take a genius to know a company is in trouble when expenditures are greater than income.”

His father couldn’t have looked more stunned if William had punched him in the face. Had he truly not been aware of the company’s precarious financial situation?

Bill passed a hand over his jaw, scratching at the stubble already poking through his skin. “Martell always said the tax write-offs balanced things out.”

William shook his head. “They don’t. They can’t. The IRS won’t give us money we haven’t made.”

Ever the peacemaker, Drew leaned forward. “Isn’t there something you can do, William? You made us all a ton of money on the stock market. Can’t you do the same for CFF?”

The calmness of his brother’s tone, the implied support, eased William. He wasn’t in enemy territory. This was his
family
. They just wanted to understand, and to do that, they needed the information only William possessed. Danielle had been right.

“Unfortunately, no. When I made those investments for us, we were using extra money. Money we could afford to lose. I invested in high-risk, high-return ventures. We were lucky and those investments paid off. We could easily have lost everything. The laws prohibit me from making similar investments with the company’s funds. Besides, as it stands, almost every asset we still have is earmarked for the pension plan, which is even more tightly regulated.”

Chad tapped his fingers on the edge of the table, a rhythmic tat-tat tat-tat-tat, something he often did when trying to solve a problem. “You said earlier, ‘if we don’t make fundamental changes to the way we do business.’ What did you mean?”

Dani leaned into Will’s side and whispered, “Stick to the high-level stuff. You and your dad can negotiate the details once you agree on a strategy.”

Having finished his scotch, William snatched up Danielle’s Corona and took a huge gulp, almost gagging on the sour lime taste. But it helped to wet the Sahara that his mouth had become. His father was
not
going to like his suggestions.

He set the bottle down, enjoying for a moment the amusement twinkling in Danielle’s eyes.
Jeez.
He was crossing so many lines with her today. For her sake, he hoped no one had noticed. For himself, he was pretty close to not giving a fuck anymore.

“We have a few options. One, we can close some low-selling stores and eliminate the unprofitable designs from our portfolio.”

Caroline smiled. Her sad eyes tried to convey her encouragement. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

He put his hand over hers. “It would still mean some layoffs. And while it will help stabilize the losses, it won’t increase our profitability.”

“So we need a more radical approach,” Jamie said, authority ringing loud and clear in his tone and posture. And once again, William wondered if Jamie wouldn’t have been the better choice of heir to the company.

“If we want to save the business”—William glanced at his father—“and I assume we do, then yes. A second option is to widen our distribution. More sales equal more profit.”

Resting his elbows on the table, his father clasped his hands under his chin, a confused frown between his brows “I don’t understand. More stores mean more expenses.”

His heart pounding, William swallowed and met his father’s stare head on. “Not if they aren’t
our
stores.”

“Our furnishings have always been sold exclusively through our own stores,” Bill sputtered, visibly recoiling from the idea.

“I realize that.”

“No, we can’t—”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed, his face hardened. “Dad. Hear him out.”

Bill blinked at Jamie as if he’d never seen his son before, and no wonder. Jamie had morphed into full Dom mode.
Holy shit!
Danielle’s nails dug into William’s thigh. He cocked a brow at Jamie, who froze, his hand curling around Erica’s shoulder. Then Jamie’s eyes flashed in understanding. His features relaxed and he smiled. “You got any other suggestions, William?”

William pulled in a deep breath. “There’s one more strategy we can use. It’s the most radical, but also the most likely to result in long-term growth, as well as happier employees.”

“Let’s hear it,” Drew said gently.

“Since the first James Caldwell founded Caldwell Fine Furnishings, this company has prided itself on unique designs and superior craftsmanship. Unfortunately, the cost of raw materials and skilled manpower continues to rise. On the other hand, our client base has continued to shrink. The average American family doesn’t want to, or more accurately, can’t afford to spend fifteen grand on a dining room set.”

Movement at the head of the table distracted William. Bill gritted his teeth, his hands gripping his glass so tightly William worried he’d break it. “Are you suggesting we start selling at a loss? I don’t see how that helps the bottom line.”

“Not at all,” William said, forcing a reassuring calmness into his voice. “What I’m suggesting is the creation of a line of products targeted at the middle class. Products at the level of quality they expect and in a price range they can afford.”

“You want to turn us into IKEA?” Bill’s skin was red and sweaty, and his breathing seemed labored. Worry spun a knot in William’s belly. Was he pushing his father too hard?

“Dad, please,” Tori said, laying her hand on his arm. “Listen to what William is saying. You both want the same thing, to save the company. His ideas may seem revolutionary, even a little blasphemous to you, but be honest with yourself. The current ways aren’t working.”

For a long moment, Bill stared into his daughter’s eyes. Then, he nodded and turned back to William, who’d held his breath during the little tête-à-tête with Tori. Even when she’d been a little girl, Tori had always known exactly what to say, how to act, to get their father to do what she wanted. Maybe it was because she was the only girl, maybe she was just that intuitive. Whatever it was, if Tori couldn’t get through to their father, no one could.

“Son, there’s a lot of history in this company. Our branch of the family has been charged with the safekeeping of our ancestor’s legacy. Many in the extended Caldwell family, as well as all the employees, depend on us for their livelihood. I’m worried that too drastic a change will destroy centuries of tradition.”

William’s chest tightened and squeezed the air out of his lungs. He understood his father’s fears, shared them even. He wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs, then lay his hand over Dani’s, relieved that she was there, a silent support. “Tradition isn’t the only thing at stake here. No matter which strategy we eventually settle on, I’ll do my best to value the faith that has been placed in us and ensure our integrity is not compromised.”

“Fair enough,” Bill said, and the palpable tension around the table started to dissipate. They hadn’t reached any conclusions, but at least everything was out in the open. The discussion had been started; all that remained was the fine-tuning.

William was about to launch into an explanation of how the third option could work when Danielle’s phone rang. “Shit,” she muttered, scrambling to find it in her purse. Her cursing seemed to be just what was needed to break the ice. Everyone laughed as she turned a lovely shade of red. Even Coco joined in the fun. She climbed out from under the chairs to lean her paws on William’s armrest, and barked loudly in his ear. He winced, but secretly enjoyed the warm weight of Danielle’s beast against his shoulder.

Over the din around the table, William heard snatches of Danielle’s conversation. “One moment, Lieutenant Parks,” she said, pushing her chair back. William gripped Coco’s leash and steered her out of the way.

Jamie must have heard mention of the fire department as well because he stared at Danielle, his brows furrowed. She raised a finger in the universal wait-a-minute sign. She went into the house to talk and came back a few minutes later. Her shoulders were hunched up around her neck and her face had a strained, almost shocked, look. William reached out to her. “Danielle, what’s wrong?”

“There’s… ” She paused and took a deep breath before continuing in a steadier voice. “There’s been a series of tornadoes in Texas. All in the last hour. Widespread destruction. They have no idea how many might be dead, but they expect it to be in the high hundreds. The state has asked that all available canine SAR teams be brought in to search for survivors.”

“Oh my God,” Erica gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth and she turned into Jamie’s chest.

Jamie cradled her gently. “When do you leave?” he asked Danielle.

“Lieutenant Parks has booked us on the next flight out. I’ve got an hour to get to SeaTac.”

“When will you be back, Dani?” Chloe asked from her perch on Jamie’s lap. Her voice held a slight quaver that William sympathized with. He had the same question.

“Coco and I will be back before you know it, sweetie.” She smiled, then her gaze turned to Jamie. “My shifts?”

“I’ll take care of that. Focus on the mission. We’ll be okay here.”

Speak for yourself
, William wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Couldn’t say or do anything, damn it. Danielle was going off to a place of death and destruction. Alone. She was the bravest person he knew. In comparison, the issues with the company seemed insignificant. Ridiculous even. He wanted to talk to her—had to talk to her—before she left, and he could see in her eyes that she wanted the same. He pushed his chair back. “I’ll… uh… help you pack.”

She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly. “I have a go-bag in my car.”

Really? Wow.
This was unexpected, an aspect of her career he’d never considered. “I guess this happens a lot?”

Jamie came around the table and clapped Danielle on the back. “Dani and Coco are one of the nation’s best canine SAR teams. They’re always one of the first to get called when there’s a crisis. We’re really proud of you, Dani.”