Page 10 of The Swap After Hours

“You’ll be fine,” Jean reassured me. “But try not to take it personally if he gets a bit…prickly. That’s just who he is.”

“I can handle prickly,” I assured them. I thanked the two women then followed Kelly back to her desk where she got me set up with a new ID badge and a company issued laptop and tablet.

I spent the rest of the day getting acquainted with the office and everyone who worked on that floor, and sat in on a couple of meetings where I took a copious number of notes on my new laptop.

During a break, I did some research online, wanting to understand more about Marshall Industries and what exactly it was my boss did. What I found was rather fascinating.

Marshall Industries was in the business of acquiring companies from around the globe which others considered “sinking ships.” They would take them apart, restructure them, and make them profitable again.

It was a risky endeavor, and any mistake could prove extremely costly for the company, which was why Mr. Marshall preferred to oversee all acquisitions personally. According to an article in Forbes, he had an uncanny knack for determining which companies had the potential to thrive and which were simply lost causes, a skill which had made him exceptionally rich over the years and had earned him the respect of the business world.

I could see why so many people wanted to find out more about him. Besides being extremely wealthy and handsome, he was somewhat of an enigma. Like Doug had said, not one article or recorded interview revealed anything about the man’s personal life.

The only thing anyone knew about him for sure—outside of his business dealings—was that he was gay…or at least bisexual, thanks to a few photos taken of him at various charity functions and business openings.

There was always a handsome man by his side, but never the same man twice. The public, of course, gobbled it up, loving what the press had labeled a billionaire playboy.

That level of mystery in a highly public figure was rare and only made him more intriguing to people, but it made me feel sorry for him. What would it be like to have people watching your every move? To have to have everyone around you sign an NDA just so they wouldn’t sell personal information about you to the highest bidder. How would you ever trust anyone if that was your life?

I didn’t have a lot of friends, but I had Doug who I trusted with my life. Did Donovan Marshall have anyone like that in his life?

I arrived early again the next morning, this time with two banana nut muffins. I placed one on a napkin and laid it on his desk. “Don’t worry. I didn’t buy them,” I rushed to assure him when he looked like he might protest.

“My best friend is an amazing chef. He made these for a brunch he was catering for and had a few left over. Oh, wait. I suppose I should’ve asked if you have any allergies, especially to nuts.”

“I don’t have any food allergies. Thank you. This was thoughtful of you.” His words sounded stilted, and I wondered if perhaps he wasn’t used to anyone doing nice things for him. The thought caused an odd ache in my chest.

“Oh, thank goodness. You’re going to love these then. Go ahead, try it.”

With a bit of a put-upon expression, he picked it up and took a bite then glanced up at my expectant face, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “This is excellent, actually,” he admitted, almost begrudgingly.

I practically beamed at him. “Isn’t it? Doug is a magician when it comes to cooking and baking. He wants to open his own restaurant one day, but right now, he’s saving up and working on getting his name out there by catering…”

My words trailed off when I caught the frown on my boss’s face. I’d been rambling again. I only ever did that when I was nervous and something about Donovan Marshall made me nervous.

“Anyway, I should probably get to work now. We have a full schedule today,” Moving over to my desk, I picked up my tablet. “You’ve got a meeting with the Grayson company at eight-thirty, then a video conference with Mr. Wu at eleven. I made reservations at De Marco’s for your lunch with Erikson’s Shipping at one, and four o’clock is the ribbon cutting at Holland International.”

When I glanced up, his emerald gaze was fixed on me. I thought he almost looked pleased, but I had yet to see him actually smile. In fact, I wasn’t convinced he knew how. The man had probably come out of the womb with a scowl on his face.

Suddenly, a picture of my boss as a little boy, dressed in a three-piece suit and carrying a briefcase into school popped into my head, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

Although, that image may not have been all that far off. After all, he probably came from money, his parents paying for him to go to the finest private schools.

He spoke, pulling me from my internal musings. “I’ll need you with me most of the day. However, it’s not necessary for you to attend the ribbon cutting, so you can stay here and focus on your other tasks.”

“Yes, Mr. Marshall,” I answered dutifully.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful, but for whatever reason, I seemed hyper aware of my boss’s presence at all times. I wasn’t sure what it was about him that unnerved me so much, but I was fucking exhausted by the time the weekend rolled around.

CHAPTER 4

DONOVAN

“Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you. Now, if that’s all, I’ll leave you to iron out the details with our legal team.”

I reached across the table and shook hands with the two representatives of the Swedish company whose failing business I’d just managed to acquire. I had no doubt this particular venture would be able to turn a hefty profit.

I nodded to Eloise, the head of our legal department, then walked out of the conference room, Trevor Reed at my side as we made our way back to my office. It was his third week as my PA and already, he’d proven what an asset he was going to be.

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