Page 39 of The Merger
There were so many things I wanted to say to her. Pretty words of love and affection, but she’d say it was too soon. And it was, for her. I’d never done anything as impulsive as marrying a near stranger. It was reckless and had the potential for being the biggest mistake of my life.
I wasn’t stupid. I was a thirty-six-year-old man who saved other companies for a living. My entire life had been built on my avoidance of commitment. I moved from company to company, leaving each only when I fixed what was broken.
What I felt for her was deeper than lust. It was an awareness that I could love her so easily, and one night had me halfway there. I wasn’t sure if what grew over the years I waited for her was love. It was likely a mix of memory and anticipation, but I was committed to this marriage. With that thought settling in, my eyes grew heavy, and I fell asleep for the first time with my bride tucked safely in my arms.
ChapterFifteen
Sabrina
Stryker and I spent the weekend tangled together. We pushed aside any more discussion of our future or feelings. It was uncomplicated, but that bubble burst the moment we strolled into the office Monday morning. We still hadn’t addressed the rumors circulating the office. A fact I was reminded of as heads turned our way as we moved out of the elevator.
While Stryker could never be described as easygoing, he was certainly more content than the man beside me now. The more attention we gained, the more he glowered. I’d heard employees talking about how grumpy he was, which I’d not really believed, until this moment. This version of him was more formidable than I’d seen thus far.
I wanted to reassure him, but I was a little taken aback by the change in his demeanor. His dark brow furrowed to a point, and his lush mouth turned down creating a force field around him pushing away anyone who might try to approach him. He watched me, and looked at the audience we were gathering. I didn’t know what he was expecting so I remained silent.
Mrs. Bennett, his secretary, realized we weren’t going to start the work week off with any speeches or words of encouragement and approached with papers clutched in her hand. “Mr. Lawson, I have the reports you requested.”
“Set them on my desk and leave. Make sure no one interrupts,” he barked, in response.
Mrs. Bennet dropped the files and hurried out of the room.
His phone rang and I took the opportunity to escape myself. There was a cloud hanging over him, and I feared his gloom would infect the entire office before lunch.
The whispers started almost immediately. I braved going into the staff breakroom to make a cup of coffee before diving into my own reports. Jana certainly hadn’t exaggerated the mismanagement of Easton Corporation. Men outnumbered women in nearly all of the top positions. Even worse, their assistants often had more education. I certainly had my work cut out for me restructuring the staff.
Pulling employee records, I began by holding meetings with all of the top staff. Most of the employees worked hard to impress me, but there were a few who were in Maxwell Easton’s inner circle and were resistant to the change in leadership.
An older gentleman, Ambrose Jeffries, burst into my office during a meeting with one of the junior executives. “What is the meaning of this?” he shouted and threw down the appointment card in front of me.
“That is the time I requested for you to meet with me, which is not for another hour.” I went around my desk and held open my office door. “As you can see, I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
He sneered at me, refusing to leave my office. “You think you can come in here and change everything? What gives you the right?”
Taking a deep breath, I rolled my shoulders back and faced him. “IknowI can come here and make changes. It was what I was hired to do. As far as what gives me the right, you can thank Jana Greyson for that.”
His upper lip curled hearing her name. “Another woman trying to take a man’s job. Her father ran this company just fine.”
A laugh escaped me. “Did he? Is that why the SEC is poking into his finances? I suppose the fact that every department in this company is operating at a loss is an example of his fine stewardship.”
“He will be back in charge. You and Lawson shouldn’t get too comfortable.”
Forcing a deep breath, I squeezed the knob. Leaning into his space, I put all of my contempt into my glare. “You might have had a lot of power here under Mr. Easton, but those days are over. He is not coming back, and this company will be run according to the policies of Anderson Global and the newly created Anderson East. If you have a problem with any of this, feel free to reach out to Mrs. Greyson.”
“If I want to plan a party I’ll speak to her, otherwise, I’ll speak directly to the boss,” he sneered.
My fingers dug into the wood of the desk. I had to force myself to relax before I dug deep gashes in the wood. “If working for a woman is a problem for you, I’ll be happy to accept your resignation. Please let me know by the end of the day.”
The junior executive sat through the entire meeting without uttering a word but gasped in shock when I issued the ultimatum to Jeffries. More than the name was changing, and there were going to be some bumps along the way. After meeting with Jeffries, I was buried in one employee dispute after another. A few of Maxwell’s cronies decided to take the offer of retirement rather than work for Jana, even if she wasn’t running the company directly. By the time I’d dug out of the pile of employee dossiers I’d missed lunch, and a throbbing had developed behind my right eye.
My stomach grumbled, and I couldn’t deny I needed to stop and find something to eat. I hadn’t seen Stryker since arriving this morning. I thought I’d check in with him and see if he had eaten yet.
I raised my hand to knock on his door, and Mrs. Bennett squealed in alarm. “Oh, no! He isn’t to be interrupted.”
“I think he’ll forgive me,” I replied. We hadn’t had a moment to dispel the rumors, which left everyone in the office still whispering behind our backs.
Someone snorted. “Of course you would think that. Spreading your legs might get you a job, but not an all-access pass. Best to let the men conduct business. I’m sure he’ll call for you if he needs you to relieve some stress.” Swiveling my head I found Jeffries loitering near the coffee station. If I didn’t have his resignation in the next couple of hours I would be terminating him.
My face turned beet red with embarrassment, and I threw open Stryker’s door without knocking. “I said not to bother me,” he bellowed without looking up from his computer.