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“Looks like costs are up and assets are down?”
Nothing like stating the obvious. Everyone at the table had a copy of her report in front of them. “Well, yes, but—”
If he cut her a break, he’d never hear the end of it. As it was, he wanted to wipe the smug look off Emersyn’s face. How could she know he was attracted to Rowan? Shit. He focused on the woman hemming and hawing. “This is your first board meeting. We do not allow words like but.”
She bit her lip, and he suspected that was to keep a forbidden word from being uttered again.
“Try again,” he said.
The frown he caught on Emersyn’s face satisfied him. He needed to squash any ideas his sister had that he might want something more personal with Rowan.
Rowan stood, drawing his attention back to her. She didn’t just stay put; she began to walk around the conference table, causing everyone to crane their necks to follow her as she spoke, including the irascible Richard Silverman. Gerard hid a smile as the man scowled while he struggled to follow Rowan around the room.
Her ploy worked well. It focused everyone on her instead of their laptops or paperwork. Gerard had used that strategy himself and gave her props for it. No sign of nerves remained as she spoke, her voice steady and upbeat.
“Mr. Barrett, Ms. Barrett, and board members: As you know, change doesn’t happen overnight, and it takes money to affect change. You’ve validated your belief in that strategy multiple times, like with the Bonner deal.”
That had turned into one of the largest companies Barrett Investment had brought into the fold, and they’d spent heavily on promotion to get it. Rowan had done her homework.
“No insult to the current board intended, but when I took over management of the Global MegaCorp Division, I saw deflated and overburdened employees.” She’d come back around to her chair and leaned over to glance at her laptop, then straightened and began another round of the room. “Yes, I spent money. And no, we didn’t accomplish as much as we would have liked, bu—” She glanced his way, then began again.
“There were mitigating circumstances. If you look at the comparison on page three of the attached report—” Rowan paused both speech and stride while everyone opened the document and glanced at the page in question.
The woman had good instincts. Gerard’s admiration rose another notch.
Rowan picked up where she left off. “Pre and post numbers prove that productivity is up. And as soon as we are fully staffed, I project we’ll exceed your minimum requirements by at least ten percent.”
“That’s a pretty bold statement,” Silverman observed, interrupting Rowan. His deep, gravelly voice intimidated just about everyone he spoke to. Hell, Gerard had almost declined the position of CEO when his father retired solely because of his crony’s stalwart ideas and making sure things happened his way.
Rowan straightened, her expression seemingly neutral. Only those who knew her well would have recognized the hint of pride just below the surface. “I stand by my words.”
Damn. He admired her confidence and her attitude. She could hold her own with the likes of Richard Silverman. That was saying something. His internal caution light blinked, reminding him that her confidence could hide treacherous intentions. He needed to remember that. Keep it at the front of his mind so he wouldn’t get distracted.
What would she be like between the sheets with that attitude? His pants grew tight as the thought took hold. Focus, man. Trying to forget the vision of Rowan in nothing but a sheet, he watched Richard, who’d made it very clear that, in his opinion, neither Gerard nor Emersyn were CEO material. Ever since he and Emersyn had taken over, Silverman had fought every change they’d tried to institute. The man grew red in the face but kept his thoughts to himself. Never an easy sell, he’d be the hardest board member for Rowan to spin in her direction.
“I think,” Emersyn said, “that we need to give Ms. McCarthy’s plans some time to come to fruition. She’s only been here a month.”
Five weeks, actually. Well, almost. And that was five weeks longer than Gerard’s peace of mind could handle. Every time he saw her, he wanted to spend time with her. He’d avoided her floor and had handled as much as he could long distance. Rowan both tempted him and infuriated him. Each and every time he told her to do something, she came back with alternatives. Still, he’d seen small movements in the right direction, so he’d kept his distance and given her room. Either she’d succeed, or she wouldn’t.
Gerard glanced around the table. No one offered more comments. “When Ms. McCarthy was hired, she was given six months of autonomy to turn the Global MegaCorp Division into a cohesive unit and to show results. I suggest we give her that time.”
Everyone voted in agreement, some grudgingly, and they went on to the next item on the agenda.
“Has everyone reviewed the current status report?” Gerard asked.
“Another downturn, I see,” Richard said.
Leave it to him to state the obvious.
“Not by much, but yes. We still have a comfortable profit margin.”
Betty, the wife of San Francisco’s current mayor, tapped the report. “This has been happening for a while now. A couple years?”
“There’s been fluctuation, but not all downturns,” Gerard answered smoothly despite the turmoil churning in his gut.
After a lengthy discussion, where Silverman clearly voiced his disapproval of the joint CEOs handling of the company—more than once—they finally moved on to new business.
“I have a new item for the board to consider,” Emersyn said.
