His to Keep (Beauty and the Brit) (21 page)

The tall, blond man stood. “Sir?”

“What’s going on in the office? Surely you have the pulse on the employees and their concerns. What’s happening that I should know about?”

James’s eyes slid away. “I’m not sure what you’re asking, Mr. Chapman.”

“Is everyone content?”

“Um…”

“For fuck’s sake man, are there any problems? Complaints? Is anyone unhappy and is there anything I can do about it?”

“Well, Gina in sales is going on maternity leave in two weeks. I know that parties are frowned upon.”

“No, no. Have a party or whatever the hell you people do to celebrate a baby. I’ll start a fund, yeah?”

James’s head bobbed. “Also, Charles’s wife is in the hospital. She broke her leg.”

This was how it started. Show concern for one of them, and it never stopped. People were so bloody needy. Iain sighed. “Which one is Charles?”

“Glasses. He’s in PR.”

“Tell Amelia to send flowers.” This liaison idea was a good one. He needed other people to tend to this type of thing. He was busy. Amelia was busy. She shouldn’t be required to take care of all these details. “And tell everyone to select two groups. Liaisons and a team to take care of this type of thing—flowers and parties and whatnot.”

“Yes, sir.”

Iain walked out without looking back this time. He didn’t want to get mired in any more minutiae today.

When he reached the lobby, Iain signaled to his driver. “Get the car.”

The man jumped out of the chair where he’d been chatting with the building’s security guards. “Yes, Mr. Chapman.”

Iain stood on the hot sidewalk, letting the sun wash over him while he waited. Brynn Campbell was going to regret walking out on him. It was the bloody final straw.

When Iain walked into the TDTC office, he took
a good look around. Shabby. The carpet had been worn thin in places. Pieces of the vertical blinds had snapped off, giving them the appearance of a gap-toothed smile. Even the droopy, fake plant in the corner seemed ready to call it a day.

He walked up to a dark-haired woman. “I’m here to see Brynn Campbell.”

She stood, pointing at him with her chocolate bar. “You’re that Blue Moon guy who kept calling the other day.”

“Right.”

“I’ll see if she’s busy.”

“She will be. But point out her office anyway.”

She considered a moment. “She said you went to eleven. I can see that. She’s over there.” The woman indicated a narrow door on her right.

“Thank you.” See—he could do polite. It just took up so much damned time.

Iain stared down two men sitting in the center of the room. At his unflinching glare, they lowered their eyes. Damn, he was doing it again. Dominance just came naturally to him. All this friendly, open business felt disingenuous.

Iain didn’t bother with knocking. He walked into the boxlike room. Felt as though the walls were closing in on him, it did. How could Brynn stand to lock herself away in this tiny hellhole? He shut the door and leaned against it.

Brynn’s eyes grew huge when she saw him. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve heard the coffee is outstanding. What do you think?” With one step, he stood directly in front of her, his suit jacket brushing the front of her dress. “The question is, why are you here? You’re meant to be in my office, questioning my employees.”

“I’m not doing it anymore. According to you, Delaney is limping toward failure. I have other clients, real clients, who need me, and you don’t.”

“I do need you.” Iain barely recognized his own voice. He’d come here to vent his frustration, his anger, but it had all dissolved the second he’d walked into this shithole of an office. Brynn reduced him to a schoolboy, made him forget his goals, his commitments. She’d become more important than any of it. “I need you, Brynnie. I’m an ass. I can be cold and uncaring. Unfeeling. Wrapped up in meself and blind to anyone else’s problems.” He paused. “You can stop me at any time, you know.”

“Keep going. You’re on a roll.” She crossed her arms.

“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

“Why should I?”

“What happened to the sweet little Brynnie who wouldn’t say boo to a goose?”

“Maybe she’s finally learning to stick up for herself.”

Iain couldn’t help but admire that. It wasn’t easy for her—he could see it in her eyes, the way she had to force herself to meet his gaze head on.

“I’m sorry for the cruel things I said, love.”

Her arms fell. “Me too. I feel terrible. I’m sorry I ran away. It’s my fallback. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

How could he not? “Course I will. I’d forgive you of just about anything.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you, Iain. And just for the record, Tash isn’t taking advantage of me. She misses her family. I know what that’s like. When my mom got sick, my world turned upside down. That’s what’s happened to Tash—everything she knows is gone. I’m not going to abandon or give up on the people I care about.”

He tucked a curl behind her ear. “Does that include me?” Iain swallowed and impatiently awaited her answer. He wanted to matter to Brynn. This wasn’t a fling—it wasn’t temporary. Not for him.

“I do care about you. More than I should.”

“I care about you too, Brynnie. It’s bloody inconvenient, isn’t it?”

She laughed and drew her finger down the length of his tie. “Very. I don’t want to like you, but I can’t seem to help it.” Her navy eyes were full of humor, and her smile made Iain sigh in relief.

“Can we put this behind us?” He placed his hands on her shoulders and used his thumbs to rub the soft skin at the base of her throat.

“Yeah.”

He gave her a heated kiss, and when she wrapped her arms around his waist, Iain’s world shifted back into its proper order. Reluctantly, he lifted his mouth from hers. “I’ll let you get back to it. And I’ll follow your suggestions about morale. I already talked to James in HR.”

She smoothed her hand down his chest. “Give it six months. If it doesn’t work, you can go back to scowling at everyone.”

“Deal. Can I see you tonight?”

“I don’t know. I need to check on Tasha.”

Iain bit his tongue. “I can bring dinner over for the three of us—if I have to.”

She smiled. “I’ll call you, let you know.”

He opened the door.

“Hey,” she said.

Iain glanced back.

“It took a lot for you to come here and apologize. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome.”

* * *

Iain had a lunch meeting with his investment group. These meetings always went on too long. The Pecan Grove was doing a steady business, but no profit yet. One of their busiest nightclubs routinely came up short of money at the end of the night. It had been going on for three weeks now. So the group voted on an audit and an in-house investigation.

After the meeting, Iain smiled, lingered for a bit, chatted up his partners. While he never doubted that getting in with this group had been a good move, Iain liked having a more hands-on approach with his projects, which was why he needed someone like Trevor Blake as an investor.

Iain left the meeting with a renewed sense of purpose. He wasn’t going to let this apartment project flounder. The time to move was now. If Trevor didn’t want to invest, he’d surely have other contacts. Sunday dinner with Brynn’s family was the perfect time to meet Trevor, feel him out, and see if he’d be receptive to a deal.

Before heading back to the office, Iain stopped by Tyler’s school to watch his football game. He cast an eye over the parents in lawn chairs, screaming instructions and encouragement in equal parts. Iain noted there were as many dads as there were mums. These parents took time out of their busy day to come and watch their kids play. He had a hard time wrapping his head around that. According to Iain’s mum, his father hadn’t even shown up at the hospital when Iain was born. Too busy getting plastered. The old bastard had his priorities after all.

Tyler was a bit shorter than most of the other boys on the team. Iain wondered if he was self-conscious about it. But the lad could kick. When he scored a goal, Iain felt a smile tug at his mouth. Found himself clapping and shouting with the other parents.

It was a close game, 6–7, with Tyler’s team taking a hit. As the lad ran toward him, Iain greeted him with a smile and a pat on the back. “Nice goal.”

Tyler’s ginger hair, drenched with sweat, clung to his forehead. He had Amelia’s blue eyes. “Thanks. What are you doing here?”

“Came to watch you play.”

Tyler took a long pull on his sports bottle. “Mom sent you here to lecture me, didn’t she?”

Iain didn’t know the first thing about parenting,
but
he knew this kid, had since Tyler was in nappies.
“Yeah, she did. She’s worried about you. Come on,
we’ll stop and get something to eat on the way to the office.”

“I usually get a ride with Todd’s mom.”

“Not today, mate.” Iain placed his hand on Tyler’s damp back and directed him to the car. “So how often does your mum come and see these games?”

“Only on Saturdays. It’s cool. She has to work.”

Iain instructed his driver to take them to a burger place. Tyler ordered enough food for his entire team and then proceeded to gobble down every bite. Reminded Iain of himself at that age. All arms and legs. Davy’s mum would fix a huge tea, knowing that he and Marc would invariably show up and eat her out of house and home. Fish fingers—that’s what Mrs. Franklin usually served. The melancholy ache that always accompanied memories of Davy wasn’t as sharp today.

Iain set aside the past and fixed his gaze on Tyler. “Why are your grades on the decline, mate?”

Tyler shrugged and lowered his head.

“Oh, that moody bullshit might work with your mother, but it ain’t going to work on me. Answer the question.”

Tyler stared out the window. “Some of the guys have started making fun of me, for being so small. It’s like, embarrassing. They say stuff online and it pisses me off.”

“As it should. Are these knobs on your football team?”

Tyler faced him. “You’re in America. It’s time to call it soccer.”

“Never.”

“No, the guys on my team are fine. It’s some of the other guys in my class.”

“How is this affecting your game with the ladies?”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “What ladies? Girls don’t even notice me. I have red hair and freckles, and I’m short.”

“So naturally you should fail your classes to prove that you’re brainless as well, eh?”

“It just doesn’t seem to matter.” He shrugged again.

“You like your footb…soccer?”

“Yeah. It’s the best part of the day.”

Iain whipped out his phone and pulled up a picture of Wayne Rooney. “Take a good look at this bloke.” He showed Tyler the screen. “Not exactly George Clooney, is he? But he’s brill on the field. Focus on what you’re good at. And if you want your mum off your back, get the grades up.”

“It’s easy for you. You’re tall and girls like you. But for me, life sucks.”

“It sucks for everyone, mate. But if it’s all too bloody difficult, then give up. Fail your classes, forget that fancy school I’m paying for, and get kicked off the football team. It’s your life, innit? Never pictured you as a quitter, but I’ve been wrong a time or two.” He swiped the screen and checked his email.

“You’re terrible at this.”

Iain’s brow rose. “At what?”

“Pep talks.”

“What are most pep talks like?”

“You’re supposed to tell me I’m smart. That I shouldn’t listen to the dicks who tease me. That I’ll grow up and all this will be behind me.”

“Is that what your mum tells you?”

“Yeah.”

“Has it worked?”

He flopped his sweaty head against the back of the seat. “No.”

“They’re not physically beating you, are they?”

“No. They just call me a leprechaun. They post gnomes on my wall.”

“Then I’m going to tell you straight, yeah? This doesn’t just apply to school, it applies to your life. You can let the fuckers have power over you, or you can have power over yourself. But you can’t do both. So you need to decide. Simple as that.”

Tyler remained silent for the rest of the drive. When they reached the office building, Iain climbed out first, handed the driver a couple of bills for the mess in the backseat, and waited for Tyler to emerge with all his gear.

Iain followed the boy inside. Once they stepped on the lift, Iain nudged Tyler’s arm. “You’re really quite good as a forward, but you leave yourself open. Need to look up every once in a while and watch for your teammates.”

They stepped off and walked down the hall to the Blue Moon offices. As Iain reached for the door, Tyler glanced up at him. “I want the power.”

“Yeah. So what are you going to do about it?” Iain asked.

“Ignore the haters.”

“That’s a start. And here’s what I’ve learned in business. Everyone is self-conscious about something. Study your opponent. Really watch him. Find his weakness. Then use it against him.”

Tyler nodded. “Got it.”

The rest of the day passed quickly, but Iain made sure he spoke with Ames before she left. “You need to hire yourself an assistant.”

“What?”

“Hire someone, train them, then you can cut out early when you need to. No reason for you to stay till after six each night.”

Amelia’s lips pursed. “What are you trying to say, Iain? That I can’t handle my job? Because I assure you, I’m on top of my game, mister.”

Iain briefly closed his eyes, then stood. “This is what I get for trying to be considerate. I don’t think you’re falling down on the job, Ames. I just think Tyler would like it if you showed up at his football matches. If you were home a little earlier, you could spend more time with him. He needs you right now. He’d rather eat his own tongue than admit it, but it’s true.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Amelia whispered. “First you’re talking to employees, and now you’re concerned about Tyler’s soccer matches? This is Brynn’s doing isn’t it? I’m going to have to send her a thank-you note.”

“Oh, come off it. You know I’m crazy about Tyler, but I never thought of it until now. And just because I’m mucking about with that lot out there”—he pointed at the office door—“doesn’t mean I’ve lost my edge.”

“No one’s accusing you of that, Iain. It’s just you’re…acting like a person instead of a dictator. Everyone’s noticed. They like the change.”

He rolled his eyes. “I haven’t changed. I’m just giving Brynn’s ideas a try. They’re going to fail in the end. It’s all tosh.” But maybe Brynn was right about a couple of things. He could behave like more of a human being and less of an asshole. People did respond to friendly patter. Iain still didn’t see the need for it, but others did. Made them feel appreciated. Perhaps it wasn’t complete rubbish.