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“Wouldn’t want it any other way, right?” Autumn countered, enjoying the back and forth of their conversations. That should irritate her, but it didn’t. Not a good sign. That and the fact that Campbell Dupree was right on target with his financial savvy and his math skills. She couldn’t find anything else to nitpick about.
“That’s right.” He leaned forward in his chair, his hands dropping over the stacks of clutter on his desk. The man obviously didn’t believe in organization. “I wouldn’t have taken this job if my only purpose was to do in Maxwell Financial Group, Autumn. That wouldn’t do me any good, now, would it?”
She caught the hint of Cajun in his words. It was in the inflection, in the way his eyes gleamed, in the way he tilted his head to one side. Lethal. If this man really wanted to turn on the charm, she knew it would be killer.
Why was he showing so much restraint around her? Well, she was the boss’s daughter. And he was minding his p’s and q’s, no doubt.
“No, I guess you want to make money right along with the rest of us,” she said in answer to his question. “And you seem to be very good at your job.”
“I try.”
“Will my being here bother you?”
He gave her a look that made her think he was already bothered with her being here. And then he confirmed that notion. “Most definitely.”
“But you will behave and help me adjust, right?”
“For sure.”
“And we both agree that my father is still in charge, even if he spends more time on the golf course now than in the office?”
“He’s the boss.”
“And we both agree that we only want the best for our clients and their investments, right?”
His eyes flirted while she spoke. “Absolutely.”
“And we can be equal partners. No special privileges just because Richard Maxwell is my father. We’re a team.”
“We are most definitely a team. I’m here to work for your father and our clients. I expect you to do the same.”
“Good, then. I think I can work with you.” She prayed. She hoped. She’d have to be careful with that throwing-her-weight-around stuff.
“I know I can work with you.”
His confidence was inspiring.
He stood up, reached out a hand. She took it and shook hands with him, very much aware of the warmth of his touch, of the firm, confident way he shook her hand. Very much aware of the way his eyes locked with hers in that bold, daring look. Campbell was willing to take her on, but she figured he was also willing to toy with her just a bit. Just to keep things interesting.
“I’m glad we talked this out,” he finally said, letting go of her hand.
Autumn felt warm and cold at the same time. Maybe this was a bad idea, after all. Just thinking about being here, day in and day out, with this man around, caused her to break out in hives.
“Work,” she said, clearing her throat. “We have to focus on the work, Campbell. Not our own agendas.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Autumn got up, then stood with her hands on the back of her chair. “Okay, you have to stop that.”
He shrugged, shuffled some papers. “Stop what?”
She touched a hand to her collar, moved her head around. “That…that thing you do with your eyes.”
“It’s called looking.”
“Well, you can’t look at me that way.”
“What way is that?”
“You know what way. I’m not one of your conquests, Campbell. I’m… We have to be serious, focused, determined.”
“I am all of those things, I can assure you. And how do you know about my conquests?”
“Just a calculated guess.”
“Hmm.”
She came around the chair and leaned across the desk, her knuckles turning white as she balanced her hands on the cool glass-covered surface. “Okay, here’s the deal. I am going to stay here in Atlanta for a few months and work here at Maxwell. Only because my father needs me to do so, and only because I lost my job in New York and it’s lonely there without April and Summer. And only until I can decide what to do next. You are going to respect me, and confer with me, and treat me as an equal partner in all matters concerning this business. I go by the book and I follow the rules. I hope that’s clear.”
“Crystal.”
“And while we’re discussing this—I don’t bring personal business to work, I work hard and I work late. And if you buy breakfast, you might need to know I like my coffee black and I like half a bagel with a little fruit on the side. I don’t date coworkers and I don’t like flirting in the workplace. Is that clear?”
He got up, leaned his hands on the desk and brought his head down until they were face-to-face, nose to nose and eye to eye. “Very clear. Now let me tell you a few things about me and how I operate. I know how to make money for people. It’s a gift that I will never take for granted. I admire and respect your father, so you can rest easy that I will always put this company’s best interests first. I like to come in early and work late, but I also sometimes like to take long rides on my Harley, just to clear my head.”
“I assume you pay exorbitant insurance rates on that thing?”
“That and my Corvette, but I’ve got the funds to cover it and I enjoy my toys.”
“Suit yourself. What else do you want to tell me?”
He thought about it for a minute, as if there was so much more he had to say. “I like new experiences, and I like getting to know other people. I like my coffee heavy with cream, and I have a sweet tooth the size of this state. I don’t eat liver, but I do like gumbo made with duck or turkey, even though seafood gumbo is my favorite.”
She grinned. “Well, who doesn’t like gumbo? Go on.”
Campbell grinned right back. “So this is Campbell Dupree 101?”
“I’m learning a lot. Keep spilling it, Dupree.”
“You might not like what you hear.”
“I told you, I like to know things. I need proof.”
He gazed over at her, that challenge in his eyes again. “Okay, I have a weakness for King Cake and pralines, but I work off things like that by getting out and living a little, staying active. So don’t panic if I don’t jump when you say jump, or if it seems as if I’m not working when I really am.” He tapped a finger to his forehead. “I don’t always go by the book, but it’s always on, inside my brain.”
“Is that it?”
He nodded, still too close. “Oh, there is one other thing.”
She breathed in the scent of something fresh and clean. His shampoo or soap, and maybe a little strawberry. “What?”
His eyes moved over her face, touching on her lips. “I like to flirt. A lot. But I don’t intend to do that with you, because I am also a professional, and because I respect you way too much to make you feel uncomfortable. However, sometimes, I slip up and break all the rules. I just want to be clear on that, okay? So cut me some slack.”
Autumn stood straight up, casting her eyes down just so she could catch her breath. “I don’t like cutting people any slack,” she said, sending him a confident look in spite of the shaking of her hands. “I’ll just have to ignore that side of you—a lot.”
Then she turned and hurried out of his office, her back straight, her heels clicking a hasty path away from him and his rules he aimed to break.
He was just that kind of man—the kind who could cause a woman to break all the rules right along with him.
She needed another drink of water.
Chapter Four
“So how are things at work, honey?”
Autumn looked up from the papers she’d been going over to find her mother staring down at her. From the look of concern marring her mother’s oval face, Autumn figured Gayle was more worried than curious. Why did everyone around here seem to be walking on eggshells? Did they all think she’d have some sort of breakdown, throw a hissy fit if things didn’t go her way?
Autumn had always prided herself on being the calm one. She had watched on more than one occasion as April told people off in classic, understated tones, and she’d watched, cringing, as Summer went at people with gusto, never holding back. Autumn held back, analyzed the situation, thought things through, then determined how best to handle the situation. She didn’t throw fits.
Or at least she hadn’t until she’d come home to find a squatter taking over the family business. Now it seemed as if everyone in Cass County was giving her a wide berth. Which meant she had to be extremely diligent in her professionalism and her loyalty to her father’s legacy. She couldn’t taint the Maxwell name, after all. Especially over some handsome, irritating, smart-aleck intruder like Campbell Dupree.
An intruder who kept a worn Bible amid the clutter on his desk, she reminded herself. Don’t think about the nice parts, she also reminded herself. Don’t think of him as anything but a coworker. And most of the coworkers she’d known were ruthless and cutthroat, out to get ahead no matter who got in their way. Campbell would probably do the same, regardless of whether that meant stepping all over the boss’s daughter.
She looked at her loving, serene mother, and told herself not to allow any of her own bitterness and misgivings to cloud her mother’s beautiful face.
“We’ve been busy,” Autumn said, careful to choose just the right words. Her mother could always tell whenever Autumn was hedging. “The firm is solid, Mama. Our clients are happy and we’ve reassured most of them to ride out these latest market fluctuations. We’re planning a financial seminar in a couple of weeks, just to acquaint our clients with Campbell and me. That should bring in some new clients, too—”
Gayle held up a hand, her diamond-encrusted bracelet watch slipping down her arm. “I don’t need to know the financial status of the firm, Autumn. Your daddy brags about that with every waking breath. The man lives and breathes IRAs, SEPs and mutual funds. He’s very proud, you know. I was asking more about how things are going between you and Campbell.”
“Oh, that.” Autumn shrugged, then twirled her gold pen between her fingers just long enough to put on a blank face. “Honestly, we stay so busy, I can’t really comment, other than to say he is good at what he does.”
Very good, she wanted to add. Very good at being charming, very good at being up-to-date, no matter how hard she tried to stay ahead of him, very good at making strong coffee and crunching numbers to the point that she wanted to weep from the sheer beauty of the man’s brain, and very good at smiling up at her each time she walked into his office.
In fact, the man smiled at her even when she was frowning at him. Which was just about every time she ran into him. She’d enter frowning, and somehow, he’d have her exiting with a laugh. It just wasn’t fair. Accountants were supposed to be stoic and studious, weren’t they? Accountants weren’t supposed to ride in red shiny things or big loud machines, were they? And surely, accountants weren’t supposed to look as laid-back and unconcerned as a rodeo clown, were they? The man wore sneakers to work. He talked about all these grand, daring adventures he’d been on, around the world and back. Hiking, biking, mountain climbing, fishing, sailing. You name it, Campbell had done it. She hoped the man had a good life insurance policy.
“So you two have hit it off?” Gayle asked, looking over her reading glasses at Autumn.
“We work well together,” Autumn responded.
He was spontaneous and disorganized.
She was anal-retentive and compulsively organized.
Yeah, they worked well together, all right.
“Are you sure?” Gayle asked as she settled across the breakfast table from Autumn, a copy of the Citizens’ Journal rustling in her hands. “I mean, are you two really getting along? Your father is in such a tizzy, worrying about this.”
“Tell Daddy not to worry,” Autumn said, dropping her pen and looking over at her mother. “I don’t want him worried about anything. Campbell and I are working together and we both agree that we won’t bring personal agendas into the workplace.”
Gayle let out a gentle gasp, her eyes going wide. “But you do have…personal agendas?”
Autumn felt the flush of entrapment moving down her face. Beneath that debutante demeanor, her mother was shrewd and all-knowing. She needed to remember that. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m just saying that we know how to be professional. We’re working toward the common goal, to keep Maxwell running smoothly. And Daddy is welcome to check in on us any time he wants.”
“Oh, I know that,” her mother said, smiling. “In fact, he’s on his way to the office right now, to have a nice long breakfast meeting with Campbell.”
Autumn jumped up, shuffling papers. “He is? Then I’d better get over there. He might have questions for me.”
Gayle’s carefully arched brown brows rose as she stared up at Autumn. “No need to hurry, honey. Your father specifically wanted some private time with Campbell. You know—the old-boy network.”
Autumn could feel her hackles rising. Telling herself to calm down, she stopped stuffing papers in her Burberry briefcase. “Oh, really. And just what does Campbell Dupree have to say that I can’t hear? Is he already undermining me to my own father?”
“I didn’t say that now—”
“But you said this is a private meeting. I thought I was supposed to be an equal partner. And already they’re having closed-door meetings behind my back?”
She was halfway to the back door when she heard her mother’s low chuckle. Turning, Autumn perched a hand on her hip. “And just what is so funny, Mama?”
Gayle held a fist to her mouth. “Oh, my. You, suga’. The way you tossed all those papers in your briefcase, the way you were heading out the door, all bent on doing battle—I’d say there is a whole lot of something personal going on between you and Campbell. A healthy competition, at least.”
“Competition is good,” Autumn said, taking a deep breath and wishing she’d kept her cool about this. Obviously, her mother had been waiting for just such a show of insecurity and pettiness. “And competition is nothing personal. It’s all about business—my father’s business.”
“How could any of us forget that?” Gayle asked, still smiling. “You would walk through fire for your daddy, I do believe.”
“Yes, I would,” Autumn said, thinking that the last couple of weeks working with Campbell had been like walking through fire. At times, she felt hot and clammy, other times cold and alone. She just never knew what to expect with Campbell. And she prided herself on always knowing what to expect, had trained herself to stay ahead of the competition and the circumstances.
Her cousins prayed and planned. Autumn prayed and calculated. That was just how her brain worked. She’d need lots of prayers and lots of calculations to stay one step ahead of Campbell. After all, they had been put in charge of safeguarding the incomes of their clients. It wouldn’t do for them to have infighting, like the money changers of old. Not that she thought Campbell was corrupt. The man seemed as stable and honest as the midsummer days were long. But in spite of her trust and awe of him, Autumn was watching and praying. She hoped her own values and God’s good graces would help her in dealing with her new partner.
I won’t let him wear me down, she told herself as she tried to regain her composure. Then she turned to her overly curious, overly grinning mother. “I think I have time for one more cup of coffee, Mama. Tell me what you have planned for today. Oh, and tell me all about that new perfume you bought the other day. I might have to try some of that. You know I love good-smelling body lotion.”
Gayle smiled, made a big, long-drawn-out deal of pouring more coffee and buttering more raisin toast. “How lovely that we get to spend some time together this morning.”
“Isn’t it, though,” Autumn replied, her foot tapping on the tile floor underneath the long breakfast table. “We should do this more often.”
“Yes, we should,” her mother said, her eyes gleaming. “I have an early meeting at church this morning, but we have a little while before we both head out. Did I tell you I’m working on the stewardship committee? We’re planning a big celebration to show our thanks for having a solid financial plan and wonderful tithing members.”
“This family thrives on working with money,” Autumn said. “Even in church, apparently.”
Gayle grinned. “Money can be the root of all evil, but if used wisely, it can also make a difference in this old world. We’re able to help so many people with our mission work and with our food bank and soup kitchen. But it does take a lot of money to finance those things.”
“I guess it’s in the blood,” Autumn replied. “But I’m thankful that we’re so blessed. Which is why I have to be protective of Maxwell Financial Group.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” her mother replied.
“Neither would I.” Autumn tried to chew her toast, all the while wondering what her father and Campbell could possibly be discussing.
