Page 47 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

“I was hoping to have this done before you got in,” Uncle Simon confessed. “By then we would have already voted.”

“Voted on what exactly?” I asked. I had a bad feeling I wouldn’t like this at all.

“The members of the board feel that you will not suit as our C.E.O.,” he replied. “You’ve abandoned the company for two whole years. What reassurance do we have that you won’t leave again overnight, without even informing the board of your decision?”

I frowned at him. “Nice try uncle but that’s not the real reason you don’t want to give up the company. Is it?”

The confidence he had oozed only a minute ago dropped and worry entered his eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I came here in all good faith to talk to you one on one,” I told hm, speaking vaguely so the others couldn’t understand the extent of what I was saying. “I know. I know everything and if you continue with this farce I’ll go into full details of exactly what you’ve been doing. I’m giving you the opportunity to resign. It’s either that or I will ensure you’re physically removed from the company.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Charles, a member of the board asked in impatience. “Simon said this was an important meeting for the future of the company, but it seems that the issue is a family one. Couldn’t you have settled this without dragging us into it? I’m a silent partner in this company solely to remain silent while enjoying the profits and I’m sure the others agree with me.”

There were grunts of agreement, but I didn’t divert my gaze from Uncle Simon. “Your call. I have all the evidence I need.”

A panicky look entered his eyes. Without a word, he grasped his folder from the table and stalked from the conference room, slamming the door behind him. Disappointment speared through me. I knew he was guilty, but the disappointment stemmed from the part of me that didn’t want to accept that the uncle I knew could have ever done the things I had uncovered.

“Can we go now?” Charles asked, already attempting to maneuver his two-hundred plus frame from his chair.

“Before you go, there’s an apology I’d like to make,” I told the group of five men and one woman who sat on the board. “I apologize for the way I left the company without calling together a meeting like this. As you all know, my wife and daughter had passed away and I needed the time to do some healing. However, I am back and will do everything in my power to ensure the Rosenbaum legacy continues in this company.”

After my little speech they left, some stopping to shake my hand and welcome me back while the others made a beeline for the door. When the final member left, I closed the door and made my way to my uncle’s office. I wasn’t surprised when I arrived to find he was gone. The secretary seemed to have gone with him as well, which was a relief. At least I wouldn’t have to find a reason to terminate her.

I had no time to feel triumph that I had finally uncovered the problem plaguing the company. No one had even suspected a thing. I wouldn’t have known just what was going on if I hadn’t decided I needed to catch up with what had been happening with the company. I hadn’t meant to scratch beneath the surface of the company, but I had and it had uncovered unpleasant surprises. The memory of Bryan’s pale face after he had been shot at embedded itself in my mind. Was Gio really responsible for the incident? He hadn’t been calling me or trying to come between us since that night. Was his lack of contact out of guilt?

The police officers handling the case had only been in contact with us once to inform us that they still had no clue as to who was responsible. After my uncle’s deception, I couldn’t help feeling that maybe Bryan was right and Gio had something to do with Bryan being shot at. I hoped to God I was wrong.

CHAPTER 22

Bryan

The shop bell tinkled overhead, startling me as I entered. I hadn’t been by Itsy Bits since opening night and had completely forgotten about the bell. Jeremy, who stood at the cashier’s desk ringing up a sale glanced toward me. His face brightened, and I found myself smiling back at him. It was refreshing to see a friendly face, and I felt guilty I hadn’t been back before this.

“Hello darling,” he greeted me with a wave. “I have been hoping I’d see you again.”

“Hey, Jeremy.” I approached the cashier desk since the customer was walking out the door. “Things have been pretty hectic lately. How is the business going?”

“Fabulous. It’s better than I’d hoped. I’m now thinking of having a website to complement the store.”

“Wow. You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?” In some ways I felt envious. He was living his dream, had everything figured out and seemed to be enjoying it, by the grin on his face. I was still trying to settle into a job. If I had learned anything in the last week and a half that I had worked at the restaurant it was that I hated it. If tension still hadn’t existed between Tate and me I would have quit already, but I needed to keep that job just in case.

“This has been my dream since as far back as I can remember,” he explained, walking from behind the counter. Today he was dressed in a mid-thigh pleated skirt which made his legs look great in the lace-up high-heeled boots he had on. Knee-high socks and a three-quarter sleeve dark sweater top completed his look. It never ceased to amaze me how comfortable he was expressing himself. The first day we had met he had been dressed in men’s wear, but these last two times he preferred a more feminine look and he killed it.

“My dream had been to make it out of the foster system,” I said with a grimace.

He turned the sign at the door to closed and walked back toward me. “With my parents, I might as well have been in foster care. Thank God I had Clay.” He gave a sad laugh and brushed his hair to one side. “Enough of all the sad talk, did you have something in mind for that gorgeous boyfriend of yours?”

“I do hope I find something. I’m not sure exactly what though.”

“Any special occasion?” he asked, giving me a salacious wink.

I could feel the heat creeping up my neck. “Something that says, ‘I want to get back to the way things were between us?’”

He sighed heavily. “Honey, don’t I know exactly what you mean. Lucky for you, I think I have just the thing for your level of novice. Would you like to join me for lunch afterward? We can moan about our sucky love life.”

I glanced at my watch. “Sure, but I’m on my lunch break. We’ll have forty minutes before I have to return to the restaurant.”

The lace lingerie set he picked out for me was perfect and I couldn’t wait to parade it for Tate later. I had to bridge the gap that had cracked between us before it widened. He also needed some cheering up after he fired his uncle yesterday. Hopefully the bit of lace would not be a waste.

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