Page 1 of A Lone Star Love Affair
One
Tony Ryder couldn’t suppress his jubilation.
It had taken years for him to acquire Morris Enterprises. Years—plus being in the right place at the right time.
Late at night, he had stepped off the elevator on the nineteenth floor of the twenty-story glass Morris building in downtown Dallas. Wall lights shed a softened glow in the empty corridor as he passed open doors. His father had made offers over the years for this company and never succeeded in acquiring it. Now one giant coup would make his controlling father back off. That made all the hours of work more than worth his efforts. Tony was growing as wealthy as his father and finally gaining the man’s respect.
Tony had grown more pleased with the offices from the lobby to the top floor. Strolling the empty hallway, he paused to look at framed awards mounted on the beige walls. Farther along was a glass-enclosed case of trophies for graphic arts achievements. He noticed the same director’s name on several awards and trophies. Moving on, he passed through open doors into a darkened office and switched on the light. He was in the graphic arts sector—a part of the company that he would change drastically. He intended to retain a few of the graphic arts people and offer the others generous severance packages, absorbing the remaining employees into his own public relations department.
He shut the light and continued along the silent, dimly lit hall, turning at the next open door into an anteroom. Light spilled inside from a doorway. Crossing the anteroom, Tony entered another spacious, elegant office. He stopped abruptly as a blonde looked up.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, surprised and curious to find someone working after ten. His first thought was that he was looking at his most gorgeous employee. As she stood, his gaze drifted swiftly over her. In an all-business navy suit and matching silk blouse, she looked as if she had just arrived at work instead of putting in extra hours. Her blond hair was secured in a roll on the back of her head. He had the strange feeling of meeting her before, but he knew he would have remembered her. A sizzling current startled him. He was caught in wide blue eyes that darkened and mesmerized. Silence stretched until he realized they were entrapped in each other’s gaze. When she touched a paper on her desk, the spell broke.
“You’re working late,” he remarked.
“I believe you, too, are working late,” she replied.
He stepped forward to extend his hand across her desk. “Sorry, I’m Tony Ryder.”
“Isabelle Smith,” she said. “I know who you are.” Her hand was slender, warm, and should have been like other feminine handshakes. Instead, the electric current he had first experienced just at the sight of her, magnified. Startled by his intense reaction, he focused intently on her, momentarily immobilized by his reactions.
“I’m here because I had something to finish. You’re visiting rather late,” she said. “Looking over your new acquisition?” While her voice was neutral, her eyes were cool and assessing. He sensed she did not approve of him.
“You’re right. And you’re the Morris graphic arts department director.”
“You’ve either done some homework about the business you just bought, or read the sign on my door.” She walked around the desk and motioned to a chair. “Please have a seat,” she said, taking a leather chair that was turned to face him. As she moved closer, he caught a whiff of exotic perfume. “I don’t know whether you actually get involved or have staff who do that for you.”
“I have staff, but I also want to be knowledgeable about my investments,” he said as he sat near her. She crossed her legs and he couldn’t resist one swift glance that made him want to look back for a thorough assessment. She had long, shapely legs. “I’m involved in whatever I own. What’s so urgent to keep you working this late when you know your department will be split up?”
“So the rumors are true,” she remarked, the frostiness in her tone increasing. “I intend to finish a few projects because we’ve already signed contracts. That won’t change with the new management. I feel I need to wind things up before you actually take charge.”
“You say that as if doomsday approaches.”
She shrugged a slender shoulder. “That seems to be your approach to your acquisitions. I’ve done my homework and you have a reputation.”
“Do I now?” he asked, amused. “Tell me what this reputation is.”
“Ambitious. Driven. What I might label ‘smash and grab.’”
He tried to bite back a smile. “I never thought of my actions in such a manner.”
“I’m sure I’m not winning kudos with my new employer, but I suspect it really doesn’t matter what I say. I imagine you’ve already made decisions about the direction you will go.”
“How would you describe yourself? You work far into the night. You’re a director. Ambitious? Driven?”
