Page 17 of Love to Hate You

I turn my body toward her, looking down at her, and she shifts in her chair. “By listening. It’s a skill I learned during the past two years, and I plan to put it to good use. I want to speak with everyone who works here and whatever you’re currently doing, I want to do it better. The best way to accomplish that is with employee and client input.”

Charlie bristles and re-crosses her legs in the opposite direction. “Sometimes too much input muddles things,” she says and crosses her arms. “Makes things more confused and murkier than they need to be.”

“Kind of like your face right now,” I tease. Shock fills her face and those stunning aquamarine eyes narrow.

“What?”

I lean down, closer, and in a low voice say, “You’ve got a storm brewing behind those eyes, Charlie. Better lock it down.”

Her mouth drops open in a perfect “O” then snaps shut. For a brief moment, I stare at those pouty, glistening lips of hers and wonder if the gloss tastes like anything. Strawberries, maybe?

Standing back up to my full height, I straighten my sleeve and then look back over at the board and my useless siblings who all appear bored out of their mind. Except Tanner. He’s actually listening to what we’re saying.

“So please feel free to stop by my office and talk to me about anything. My ears are open and I’m anxious to know what we can do to make this place better in every possible way. I expect the next three months’ transition will go smoothly especially with Charlie’s help.” I look back down at her and, wow, she is not happy. “Know that my siblings and I appreciate the warm welcome and we plan to keep this ship running. Hopefully better than ever before. If the board doesn’t have any questions for me, my brothers and sister are going to talk further now.”

Crew looks up from stuffing a half-eaten donut in his mouth and makes a face. Sawyer sighs and Sierra looks on the verge of falling asleep. Tanner merely nods.

“No questions. Yet,” Mark Jenner says and stands up. The rest of the partners follow suit, and we all shake hands. Charlie shakes their hands as well and walks with Mark to the door. After saying goodbye, I expect her to shut it behind her and give us some privacy. Instead, she surprises me by closing it and walking back over to address us all.

“I hope I can briefly interrupt,” she begins, and I notice Sawyer sitting up straighter in his seat.Traitor.“I’m Charlie Langley and, first off, my condolences. Despite his genius, Thomas wasn’t always smart when it came to his children. I witnessed it firsthand,” she says and glances at me. “Despite that, I know he meant well, and he loved this company. More than anything, I want to stress that the success of TB Tech is my main concern and priority. It always has been and will continue to be so while I’m Interim President and hopefully after.”

And hopefully after…

She thinks I’m going to can her;I realize. Suffer through the next three months with her attempting to call all the shots and then boot her out the door with a generous severance package. I’m not going to deny it– the thought has crossed my mind. A few times. But after seeing her today, I’m not so sure that’s a possibility anymore. Something about Charlie Langley has me too jazzed. Excited in a way that I haven’t been since…

Hell. Since ever.

If she doesn’t fight me every step of the way while Interim President, I’m seriously considering keeping her on and promoting her to a partner. I’m also curious if maybe we can find some other, more creative uses, for that sharp tongue of hers.

8

CHARLIE

Trying to put off updating my resume and dealing with a headhunter, I decide to play nice. At least in front of Nash’s siblings. They have no idea about our cantankerous past and I don’t want them to know either. Unless Nash told them about me, but why would he? As far as I’m concerned, I want them to see an open door and a smiling face. I’m going to need as many allies as possible and having some of Nash’s brothers and hopefully his sister in my corner is key.

It’s a coup, actually, and when the time comes to overthrow Nash, I’d love to have a couple of them side with me. A little salt in his wound.

After speaking to his siblings, I head out, return to my office and mentally go over my first impressions.

I can tell Sawyer will be the easiest one to draw in. He has a flirty, laidback way about him and doesn’t look like he has a care in the world. I have no idea what he does for a living but from his deep tan and the muscles straining against his t-shirt, I’m guessing it’s something outdoors that requires manual labor.

Tanner, on the other hand, holds his cards close to his vest and isn’t as easy to read. He seems to respect Nash more than Sawyer and I think they have a better relationship. But no one is overly close. I can feel the tension and awkwardness that hangs between them all.

Nevertheless, Tanner is the quiet one and those are always the ones to keep a close eye on because they’re unpredictable.

The twins, Crew and Sierra, are the easiest to read in terms of them having zero interest in the day-to-day operations of TB Tech. During our meeting, Crew was too busy stuffing his face with pastries to pay much attention and Sierra was off in another world. I’m not sure where she was but it definitely wasn’t here. It’s clear to me that she has other interests and probably a dream she’s chasing. And I don’t see her letting her father’s company get in her way. Both of them will cash their checks but, other than that, they could care less about the decision-making processes around here.

Nash cares, though, and I can see how he’s kissing the partners’ asse’s and trying to schmooze it up. Like he’s the prodigal son who’s come back to make things right. To my dismay, they all seem to be falling for it, too, so I need to make sure I’m on my game at all times.

There’s also a weird energy happening between us and I’m not sure what is going on with Nash. I caught him looking at me a few times during the meeting and there’s something there that wasn’t before. It’s bizarre to even contemplate, but it’s almost like he’s checking me out.

I’m sure I’m wrong. Nothing sexual has ever existed between us. And it never will.

As I’m debating how best to lure Sawyer over to my side, there’s a knock on my door. I swivel my leather chair around and see Nash. “Got a sec?” he asks.

I stifle a sigh and clench my jaw. Talking to the enemy isn’t on my agenda at the moment but I’m a little curious to see what he wants. Maybe get a glimpse of what he has up his sleeve. “I suppose so,” I say with great reluctance.

Nash walks in, all long-legged swagger, and I can’t deny that the man knows how to wear a suit. It fits him like a glove, covering his lean, muscular form and broad shoulders so perfectly that it must have been custom-tailored. He stops at the other side of my desk and crosses his arms. I get a whiff of the sandalwood aftershave he wears and something inside of me flutters.

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