RAGE (The Rage Series Book 1) (5 page)

              The man's expression was immediately humble, as he released her hold on her hand. “I wasn't aware that they were as advanced as Adeline professed, really.”

              “Oh, shut your mouth, David. How couldn't you know? You've been selfish keeping these beauties to yourself.” Though Adeline's words were harsh, it was in her nature to speak the way she did. It was how she showed admiration, and Charlotte was used to it.

              “Well, now they belong to Mathers. I'm glad you're pleased.” David smiled, and Charlotte had to make a concerted effort not to melt into a messy puddle on the tiles below her feet. It was ridiculously unfair that the man was so goddamn attractive, and it was going to mean trouble.              “Another understatement,” Adeline replied bluntly, making the man towering over her smirk indulgently. “But you know, David, we can't even put these designs on ice for future production until Charlotte's familiar with the specs. She's going to be the one to get people on board for production.”

              The younger woman stared at her tech specialist, her eyes wide. What Adeline said made perfect sense, but she was sure it would take an eternity to learn the ins and outs of the devices, especially at the rate they were producing them.

              “I can take some time off from working with the team to show her the basics,” David offered, taking a sip from the coffee cup he held. Charlotte tried not to stare at the veins of his exposed forearm, taking note of the strength there.

              “That should be fine. Only for an hour or two a day though. We need you down here to oversee the rest of the prototypes in development.”

              “I'm sure the teams down here can handle it,” he said, kindly. “You have my designs and painstakingly detailed notes.”

              “No.” Adeline shook her head firmly. “We need you. We can't afford any mistakes in the first stages of software development.”

              “Of course.” Unlike most of the department staff who cowered before the redhead when she barked demands, Charlotte noticed that David seemed to take them as commonplace. When Adeline sniped at him, he only nodded and smiled. It was remarkable.

              “So, every morning from nine to eleven? Charlotte?” She was broken from her reverie by the woman's command, and her head jerked to take in the redhead.

              “Yes. That sounds good.”

              Hell, what had she just agreed to? Ten hours a week in close quarters with a gorgeous hunk of a man who quite literally heated her blood? She was in trouble.

              “I look forward to it,” he replied.

              Was he
flirting
with her? The gleam in those dark eyes was too subtle to tell, but Charlotte thought there was a definite chance. There was a large part of her that warned against spending any length of time in private with the man, but Adeline was right. She needed to know her products if she was ever going to pitch them effectively to the stockholders.

              “Right now, I'm looking forward to seeing those software tweaks within the next hour.” Adeline broke the moment in her customary way, making Charlotte glare at her, slightly irritated. “Get to work, pretty boy.”

              “Right away.” Draining the last of his coffee, David dropped his cup in the trash before moving away. His white coat was so tight that Charlotte could see the muscles of his back contracting as he walked, and her mouth dried.

              “Stop it.”

              Adeline's warning made her frown as she feigned innocence and said, “Stop what, Addy?”

              “Looking at him like he's a filet mignon with butter sauce. It's obvious.”

              Charlotte's face turned pink. “I wasn't staring.”

              “Right. And the sky isn't blue. You saw what you came to see. Now, get back up to your office. I'm sure there are a million and one calls on hold for you. You'll have a whole two hours with the man on Monday. Not,” she eyed the younger woman shrewdly, “that anything inappropriate should happen during that time.”

              Clearly, Adeline was in Mama Bear mode.

              “Addy, I swear I won't touch the man. I just need him to give me the specs on the prototypes. You said it yourself.”

              The redhead just eyed her skeptically before pointing at the doors that led back to the lobby. She was the only person in the building, by virtue of her long relationship with Charlotte, her closeness with her family, and her position, who would dare to speak to the CEO of the company like that. Thankfully, she did it only in the most discreet settings.

              In fact, Charlotte mused, as she took the elevator back up to her office, the fact that her friend had busted out her Mama Bear attitude in front of David, who had only been around for a week, proved just how nervous she must be about something developing between the two of them. Breaking the rules always made Addy nervous. Beyond that, she'd been by Charlotte's side after a string of bad boyfriends tried to take advantage of her position and her wealth.

              David could hardly be like them. He had a brilliant mind that more than occupied most of his time, and he didn't seem to salivate over her like most men did when she entered a room.

              When she returned to her office, however, all her thoughts about their newest employee were put on hold. There was, indeed, a plethora of people holding on the line to speak to her, and as she settled in to address their questions and concerns, she was all business.

              Her job always came first. Anything less and she'd bring the wrath of her father down upon her head.

              That night, Charlotte didn't leave the office until eleven. She and Addy were pouring over plans to start distributing the new and revamped Web Glass, and they had had their heads together until the Addy was nearly falling asleep at the desk.

              Charlotte had to buy a coffee from the deli on the corner before catching a taxi back to the Upper West Side. When she entered her loft apartment and dropped both her bag and her briefcase on the floor by the door, she breathed a sigh of relief. All she wanted was to take a bubble bath, have a glass of wine, and collapse into her feather bed.

              “Hard day?”

              The young woman jumped as a raspy baritone issued from behind her. She whirled before scowling to see her father sitting in the living room, sipping whiskey as he watched her.

              The man had bought her the flat, and as such, he had keys to it; but, in her opinion, he abused the privilege far too much. He always appeared at some ungodly hour, as if he were afraid their conversations would be overheard, and he never even furnished the most simple of greetings.

              “Hi, Dad.” She sighed, rolling her eyes as she strode past him. She might as well pour that glass of wine now. She was likely to need it.

              Emerson Mathers had been youthful and enthusiastic when he'd first started Mathers Incorporated. He had dark blonde hair and blue eyes that he'd passed down to her, as well as a trim physique. He'd once cut quite the figure as he strode through city holding her hand, riding on the high of his own success. However, ever since the third or fourth year that the company had been up and running and the tech development department had begun to turn incredible profits, he'd withdrawn and become suspicious of anyone who sought to get close to him.

              Though she'd often craved his attention as a child, she'd found the way he treated others somewhat off-putting. He was cold and calculating when he spoke of mergers and money, and he could be downright rude if he thought a client couldn't offer him anything the company needed. Atop that, he hoarded his profits like a packrat, drawing the disdain of others and his daughter alike.

              At sixty-five, he was balding and had a large belly from drinking expensive foreign beers. Of course, he covered his sagging frame with the finest suits and had even attempted hair implants several time—although they had never really taken. However, nothing could detract from the skeptical nature of his beady blue stare.

              “You've been coming home pretty early lately.”

              She wondered why her father thought that eleven-thirty was early. The work day ended at five. “What, do you have people following me?” she inquired wryly, pouring herself a glass of cabernet sauvignon and immediately taking a gulp.

              “Only for your own safety. You know you have to be careful of those who would take you for all you have, Charlotte.”

              “You know, not everyone's out to get us, Dad.” She flopped down on a chair across from him, taking her rampant blonde curls down from the up-do atop her head and running her fingers through her hair to ease the tension in her scalp. “There are a number of firms who would benefit us greatly if you wouldn't be so stubborn about giving them the opportunity.”

              “They're greedy,” he replied, his tone ending any argument. “You make no mistake. When I started this company, there were rapacious men who wanted to take everything from me, and that's still the state of the world today.”

              “Yes. Our competitors are writhing in the mud as we're sitting here drinking champagne from golden cups,” Charlotte responded, sarcastically. “I can feel their malice.”

              “Hey.” Emerson sat upright at her comment, pointing a trembling finger at her. “I'm just warning you to be cautious. You never know who could just waltz into the building and tear everything down.”

              “If you're so worried about our security, why don't you come back to the company?” Charlotte's entreaty was earnest. Though he'd told her he was stepping down as CEO to take stress off his own shoulders, he caused her an exponential amount more with his behind the scenes meddling. Perhaps if he came back, she would breathe a bit easier. “I know you said you don't want to work on the top, but maybe you could do some work in the tech department. After all, the company is built on designs that you—”

              “I told you that I've never been able to develop those prototypes effectively.” He cut her off so sharply that she was startled into silence. “Don't mock me.”

              “Dad...I'm not,” she said, trying, as she had been doing for a lifetime, to appease him. The man couldn't trust anyone. “I swear.”

              He couldn't even show affection to his own daughter.

              “That's all anyone ever wants to do these days—mock me.” The man drained the remainder of his whiskey before placing the empty glass on the glass-topped coffee table before him. Rising, he graced her with a long look. “If you don't want to listen to me, fine. But don't come running when something threatens to shit on your little utopia.”

              “Dad—”

              Before she could say anything else, he had crossed the living room to exit the apartment, closing the door behind him with a fierce snap.

              Her mouth pressed into a tight line of frustration, and Charlotte drained the rest of her wine in one swallow before pouring herself another glass.

              The man was damn infuriating,
and
he was paranoid as hell. There wasn't a single company in the world that hadn't faced its share of scandal, and she'd hoped that eventually he would just feel lucky that Mathers seemed relatively free from drama, for the most part. Instead, he waited with baited breath for something terrible to happen, and his attitude dragged her into the gutter with him.

              Sighing, the young woman rose from her chair and crossed back into the foyer. After rummaging through her bag for a moment, she came up with her phone, the latest Uphone model. She dialed Addy's number and within seconds, the phone was ringing.

              Adeline picked up after about a minute. “Why are you not asleep?”

              Charlotte groaned, dragging her feet as she started up the stairs to the second floor of the elegantly decorated apartment. “Dad was waiting for me when I got home.”

              Addy made a low sound of surprise at the statement. “What did he want?”

              “What does he usually want?” The blonde flopped down on her expansive king-sized bed, enjoying the softness of the four-hundred count sheets. “To tell me how to run his company.”

              “He stepped down because he didn't want to have a heart attack, and now he wants to give you one.”

              “Yeah, something like that.” Charlotte sipped her wine thoughtfully. “Addy...would it really kill him to say a little thank you? To tell me he's proud of me?”

              “I'm sure he's proud, Charlotte.” Her friend's response wasn't without empathy. “But you know how he is. It's hard for him to let people in.”

              “I'm his daughter,” she argued, taking another sip of wine. “His own damn flesh and blood. What, does he think
I'm
going to steal the company out from under him? He can have the damn thing if it comes to that. I'll retire tomorrow.”

              “Don't you dare,” said Adeline, her warning low and serious. “You've been one of the best things for this firm. Since you've taken over, our client policy has become lax enough take on clients that your father would have laughed out of the office.”