A look of hurt crossed the pretty blonde’s face before she quickly masked it. “As you wish, Dad. I’ll make sure that the solar energy division will be the best in the world when I’m finished with it.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Just make sure it’s not a waste of our resources,” her father ordered. “I’ll leave you three to finish going over the details.”
Boswell Senior disconnected from the call, leaving the room in an awkward silence.
Conrad decided to be the one to speak first. “I think we should sit down and go over the details.”
Both of the Boswell siblings did as he suggested, resigning themselves to the fact they were going to have to work with Conrad.
* * *
Tiffany wasfurious with the situation. She couldn’t believe her own father put her in it. The man sitting across from her was insufferable, and though she hated to admit it, pleasing to the eye. He had features that made him extremely attractive, with a strong jaw, an angled nose, and chiseled frame. Add to that, his thick head of dark brown hair and matching eyes, and any woman could be swayed to his side. She had to remind herself, Conrad wasn’t just any man though. He was the enemy of her brother, and thereby her entire family, including her.
The man had a reputation as being a shrewd businessman, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to boss them around at their own company during the process. Add in the fact that he didn’t get along with her brother, and this couldn’t be a worse predicament during a critical time of transition. She needed to bide her time until she could find a way to get rid of him.
“You both understand the first steps in what we need to do to make this work, correct,” Conrad said in a way that made it more of a statement rather than a question.
The way he took possession of the room and acted like he was in charge made her want to spit fire.
“You do know I have a degree from Harvard business school, don’t you?” Tiffany pointed out, wanting to make him understand she was more than capable of comprehending the basics of any business plan.
“I do, but this is your firstactualjob, isn’t it? Perhaps it would be good for you to let a more seasoned expert navigate this process,” Conrad countered.
She hated the fact he thought he could question her merit for being there, that he had the audacity to make it seem like he had more of a right to run her family company than she did. If he thought he could push her around, he was mistaken.
“If you can show me said expert who knows how to integrate solar technology into an oil company, I would be happy to defer,” she stated snidely. “Until then, I’ll be taking lead, and if I deem your advice useful, I’ll take it.”
Roger let out a chuckle, leaning back in his chair. “Conrad, you might have come in here thinking you were going to be able to bulldoze right over us, but you were completely mistaken. Tiffany Boswell is a force to be reckoned with.” Standing up from his chair, he added, “Since I can see my sister has this well in hand, I’m going to take off. I have a fiancée and a son waiting for me to take them to dinner.”
Once they were alone, Conrad folded his hands on the table, then jerked his head towards the door Roger just exited through. “I can see he hasn’t changed; still trivializing everything important and playing it off as charming.”
Tiffany narrowed her eyes with anger. “I’d be careful what you say about my brother. Our entire company is loyal to him, as I am.”
“Really?” Conrad probed, rubbing the stubble on his chin as if he didn’t believe her. “I’ve heard the whisperings that many doubt your brother capable of doing this job, though watching you in action, I’m starting to wonder if it’s simply the fact everyone’s been focusing on the wrong Boswell sibling. You might be the only salvation left for this company.”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere with me, Mr. Gaines, nor will your attempt to cause division between me and my brother. We’re each other’s biggest supporters; you won’t be able to come between us.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Conrad said with a smirk. “I was simply giving my observations.”
“They hold little weight since you’ve known me all of an hour,” she replied dismissively. Wanting to get as far away from him as possible, she added, “Let’s finish this up. I’ve got other more pressing business to attend to.”
As they continued their meeting, all Tiffany could think about was how much the smug man infuriated her. It was going to be a hard several months being forced to work side-by-side with him. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to do it, then she remembered she could ask for God’s help. Silently, she sent up a prayer, knowing she was going to need every ounce of grace and patience God could give her.
3
It was definitelya two cups of coffee morning, Conrad decided as he stood from his chair in his home office. He headed down the hall and made his way into his modern kitchen which had every gadget imaginable, but he seldom used them except for coffee. He hit the button on the state-of-the-art espresso machine and waited for it to brew the beans into a shot and then let it add steamed-milk to the top.
He took a long sip. Ah, perfection. It was so worth the investment of getting the machine they used at The Brew House. No more running to the coffee shop around the corner from his apartment building in order to get his fix of the delicious drink.
Conrad made his way back into his office and took the seat behind his desk once more. The numbers for his solar company’s first quarter since acquiring the new technology were impressive—far better than he could have hoped for, which meant it would look just as good to the Boswells. He moved over to the merger plans for his panel technology into Boswell’s solar energy division, wanting to make sure he was ready for Monday morning.
Tiffany Boswell’s pretty heart-shaped face came floating into his mind, and he realized given different circumstances, he would find himself wanting to get to know her on a personal level. Considering she was the kind of distraction he didn’t need; he would have to make a concerted effort to keep his relationship strictly business. He knew some men who were fine with using a woman to get what they wanted, but Conrad wasn’t like that. He wanted revenge on Roger, but not by using his sister romantically to do it.
A ding drew his attention to an alert that popped up on his computer screen. Was it the score of the latest football game? He wasn’t an avid sports fan, but he did enjoy watching an occasional game. Plus, it was always important to stay current on the latest news and cultural activities for when he had social events for business. He needed fodder for the endless trivial conversations the elitists liked to droll on about.
He clicked the alert and a video started playing.
“Today onEntertainment Now, we have an exclusive interview with Brian Stone, a former employee of Gaines Energy. Mr. Stone worked directly for Conrad Gaines, the owner and CEO of the largest solar energy company in the world, and the most notorious Manhattan billionaire.”