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“Sounds like they reciprocate. Some of them are very concerned about how I’m going to treat you.”
She took a deep breath and reached for a jar that held pencils. Cupping her hands around it she pondered how much she wanted to divulge.
“I’ll talk to them about that,” she said. “They shouldn’t be speaking to you that way.”
He reached out and placed his hand on her arm. Sensation shot through her, awareness of the man beside her nearly overwhelmed her, warmth and something more made her feel flushed and awkward and needy and…
She lost her grip on the cup, and pens and pencils tumbled out, rolling off the desk.
She lurched to grab them, but Etienne’s grip was gentle but firm. “Leave them, Meg. And…don’t speak to the others about how you want them to treat me. I have to form my own relationship with them. I’m capable of doing that. What I’m not capable of is reading minds. I think I need to know more of what happened here before you left. As it is, I seem to be the only one in the dark.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. It affects how everyone thinks of you and me. It affects how you approach your work.”
“I wouldn’t cheat you of my time or effort, not after we made a deal!”
“I know that, but you might be too careful, too controlled.”
“That’s not such a bad thing. I’ve been meaning to work on that self-control all my life.”
He smiled then. “Self-control has its time and place. Not yelling at your employer is a good example of self-control.”
“I haven’t yelled at you.”
“You’ve lectured me,” he teased. “You told me not to let the employees talk to me in a disrespectful manner, and right in front of them, too.”
“That was bad,” she agreed, but she couldn’t seem to keep from smiling.
“It was,” he said, but he chuckled when he said it.
“Okay, reminding myself not to try to protect you from Raymond, the man at the copier, is a good example of self-control. What’s a bad example of self-control?” she asked.
“Not voicing your opinions or offering your ideas because you think they might be seen as too wild and crazy or that others might criticize you or make fun of you.”
She grew solemn then. “That’s a tough one. I’ll have to think about it.”
“Did Alan criticize your ideas?”
So…they were going to discuss Alan.
“Why do you say that?”
“Your friends…They’re worried about you because of Alan. I can understand that, because you told me that he fired you. But, what I can’t understand is why.”
Oh, no. She so didn’t want to do this.
“He wanted me gone.”
“Obviously.” Etienne waited.
Meg stubbornly decided to dig in her heels. “These things happen.”
“No.” Etienne slowly shook his head. “I’ve run many companies, had thousands of employees, but…look at your work,” he said, gesturing to the mock-ups she’d made in the middle of the night last night. “You told me you would come up with ten good ideas and you did it in a matter of hours. They’re good ideas, and you mapped out the pros and cons of each one. You suggested possible options for changes. You circulated among the employees and thought up new ways to make things run more efficiently. You understand Mary’s obscure accounting procedures. You know this company inside and out. You should be the last person standing if this company should go down, not the one who gets kicked out. What happened here, Meg? I can’t be in the dark.”
“Is that the only reason you need to know?”
“No, it’s not. I don’t like seeing people mistreated. I also don’t like asking this of you, and ordinarily I wouldn’t pry, but you were the brains of this company and Alan was the owner. You were asked to leave. I’m trying to piece this company back together, and if there are secrets or undercurrents that are still in place, then…”
“There aren’t any undercurrents. They ended the day Alan asked me to leave.” Meg closed her eyes. Tightly. “But yes, there were undercurrents prior to that. Alan and his brother had nothing to do with Fieldman’s when they were younger, but three years ago, after they had both been out in the world for a while, they came back and joined the company. Alan was more outgoing, more take charge. He…he paid attention to me and eventually we became involved. He gave me a ring, but we didn’t set a date even though we’d been engaged for a long time. Then Mary died and she left the company to him. His brother left immediately. And soon after that, Alan hired a new woman, promoted her over me and fired me. I had served my purpose.”
“You’re saying he pursued you only because Mary loved you.”
“Yes. Because I was Mary’s favorite employee, marrying me became his ticket to the CEO position. But I hadn’t realized that he was simply using me to beat out his brother for the position. I had no idea there was a contest going on.”
Etienne swore in French and then he swore some more. “No wonder your friends warned me. I’m surprised they didn’t do more. Had I been in their shoes I would have.”
“You’re not to blame for my ignorance.”
Etienne swore again.
“Stop swearing,” she told him.
“I wasn’t.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t know French, so you could have been saying ‘Pass the pretzels’ for all I know, but it sounded very much like swearing, so it’s the same difference.”
“Then I apologize, but, Meg…you have to know that you weren’t the one at fault here. The man was and is an ass. He didn’t deserve you.”
“Nonetheless I was going to marry him and now I’m not. End of story. It’s over. It’s ancient history. I’m completely fine now.”
Except of course she wasn’t completely fine. A woman like her, one who had faced rejection and untrustworthy people all her childhood and who had thought she had finally managed to make a place for herself using only her wits, didn’t easily get over the shock of knowing she’d fallen victim to a con man. She had given Alan her heart and her trust and had been made to look like a naive fool.
“I hope when we’re done here that you’ll be able to tell Alan Fieldman that you’ve won. Sometimes men aren’t to be trusted.”
She blinked at that.
“You?”
“I’m no saint, Meg. I may not lie to you the way Alan did or make promises I don’t intend to keep, but don’t fall into the trap of believing that I’m better than I am. The one good thing I can say for myself is that I never make promises I can’t keep to women anymore.”
“Not even about this business?”
He gave her a grim smile. “I have high hopes for this business, but there are no guarantees. Mistakes are sometimes made that can’t be called back.”
Meg was pretty sure that he was thinking of his wife then, but she had no right to ask. She appreciated the gentle warning, however. Maybe he had just been trying to tell her that he wouldn’t be like Alan, but she had needed a reminder that it would be dangerous to get too close to Etienne. And there was no secret about that. She already knew that he was a man who would only be in her life for a short while. His world and hers would not intersect once he returned to France.
“I should get back to work,” she said.
He looked down at her then. “When I made that comment about women and promises, I hope you know that I wasn’t implying anything, Meg. I didn’t mean that you might be thinking of me romantically. I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to presume that.”
He ran one hand back through his hair and Meg couldn’t help laughing.
“What?”
“You,” she said. “Since we met two days ago, you always seem so self-possessed, so in control and calm and cool. Now you’re flustered because you’re worried I might have thought you were warning me not to fall in love with you.”
“I never thought you might be.”
Which only made her laugh again. “Etienne, have you looked in the mirror lately? Half the women in the office, old and young, are smoothing their hair and reapplying their lipstick when they hear the office door open. I’ll bet they’re all horribly disappointed when it’s me and not you who appears.”
“But you’re their friend.”
“Yes, but I don’t have a Y chromosome, broad male shoulders and a French accent. I don’t think you need to apologize for warning women away if there’s no chance you’re going to fall for them. It’s only fair to let them know you’re not available.”
He shook his head. “Yes, but it still feels arrogant to say so.”
“Better than letting them think you might be interested.”
“Should I wear a sign saying that I’m not available?”
She grinned. “That would be interesting, but I don’t think it’s necessary. In an office this size word gets around quickly.”
“Ah, the rumor mill. Who starts these rumors, I wonder.”
“In this case,” she said, with a mock curtsy, “I will.”
“Meg Leighton, spreading rumors?”
“Spreading the truth,” she corrected. “It’s a tough job but hey, someone has to volunteer to do it.” And she sighed.
“You are a very admirable woman,” he said.
“Ah, more pretty compliments. I love them,” she teased. Where had this man been all her life? And where would he be in two months?
Gone. The answer came in a flash. She’d be wise not to forget it.
CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_30ba967c-0c29-5f37-96a0-86bac2dc4d4e)
THE next few days went by in a blur of work, work and more work. The entire company had to be inspected, taken apart and put back together, and Etienne marveled at the enthusiasm with which Meg and her team tackled every task. He might be the planner and the one with the experience, but once he had made a decision, Meg led her troops full steam ahead into whatever he asked them to do.
What’s more, she was a creative genius, so when he suggested that, besides updating their product, they needed to make the building suggest the appearance of a thriving concern, she drew up some ideas.
Now, here she was beside him, looking a bit uncertain. “Problems?” he asked.
“I…It’s the paint for the office.” She fidgeted with the poppy-red scarf at her waist. Meg’s penchant for color wouldn’t quite let her go the monochromatic route, Etienne had noted, and red was her favorite. It was a charming habit.
“There’s a problem with…paint?”
She sighed. “I’m sure that you wouldn’t find it a problem, but…see, I feel perfectly comfortable handling the books or the employees or the orders, but as for choosing paint…I’d really, really appreciate your input. I have this teensy little habit of fixating on colors that are overly bright.”
She did. He adored that, but for this, she was right. The office needed to have the right look for the brochure they were making.
“All right, let’s go buy paint.”
Meg shook her head. “Oh, there’s no need. I stopped by the store and picked up some color cards yesterday. I narrowed it down, picked out a few and got some samples to try on the wall. I just want you to tell me what you think of the results. I found a corner of the room where I painted a few squares. All you have to do is tell me which square is the right one.”
She led him into the main room and over to the spot she had indicated. There were four large colored squares painted on the chalk-white wall. There was a very pale almost invisible blue, a classic colonial-blue, a bold darkish blue and the last, a dazzling electric-blue.
“That last one looked better on the card,” Meg explained, clearly embarrassed. “I just…I need to see things, but even I can tell that one won’t do. It’s a bit shocking, isn’t it?”
Just then, a man stepped up to the water cooler not ten feet away. He stared at the squares, pretending to shield his eyes.
“Whoa, Meg, did you do this? Take it easy, will you? You’re going to blind me with that bright blue.”
Meg smiled self-consciously…and noticed that Etienne had moved to her side.
“What does that man—Jeff?—what job is he involved in?” Etienne asked, his voice low.
“Excuse me?” she said, lowering her voice to match his own.
“What task in particular is he working on?”
“He’s…I believe he’s working on the payroll statements.”
“All right. Good. Ask him when you can expect them on your desk. Say it calmly but firmly,” Etienne instructed.
“Is there a reason you need to know? He’s right there.”
“And you’re right here, too.” Etienne said. “A woman who wants to establish her place in the business world and wants to know how to do it.”
She looked at him for several seconds, then took a visible deep breath and turned with a curt nod despite the concern in her expression. The other man was almost ready to leave the water cooler. “Jeff, excuse me, but could you tell me how far along you are on those payroll statements? I’d like them on my desk sometime today. It’s not something I can wait on.”
The uncertain woman had been replaced by a cool, confident one. The man did a double take. He looked at Etienne with a question in his eyes, but Etienne ignored him, so the man turned back to Meg.
“Today?”
For a moment Etienne saw Meg hesitate. She didn’t want to push the issue.
“I know you can do it,” she said softly. “I have faith in your abilities, Jeff.”
The man gave her a shaky and grateful smile. “Thank you. And getting them to you today won’t be a problem, Meg…I mean, Ms. Leighton,” he said.
Her answering smile was glorious and if the man had looked as if he’d been hit with a rock before, now he took on the expression of a man who had been hit by Cupid himself. “Thank you so much, Jeff. Your expertise and promptness is making things run so much more smoothly.”
“In an hour, Ms. Leighton,” Jeff said. “You’ll have them in an hour.” He smiled at her again as he moved away.
Etienne waited for him to be gone. Then he turned to Meg.
