AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He sighed, his only indication that he was both tired and worried. Had he lost as much sleep as she had? Because of the business or had something else kept him up? A small, devilish piece of her hoped he’d lost sleep over her. With how quickly he’d returned to being her boss, that wasn’t feasible. It was the company crisis; that’s all. Her heart shriveled a little bit further.
“Maybe it’s time for two heads,” he said.
He was probably right. She pointed to the seat he stood behind, unwilling to have him any closer to her than that.
Gerard sat and picked up the report closest to him. “You’ve gone back six months?”
“Actually, I went back three years.”
“That’s before I took over the company.”
“Yes, and about the time, Silverman became part of the board.”
“Do you think he’s behind this?”
“I don’t have any proof. Not yet, at least, but I feel like I’m closing in. I also think, if it’s him, he has someone helping.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you have, and we can figure out the best approach from there.”
Rowan told him about the patterns she’d found. Within a month of each board meeting, she’d noticed tweaks to various funds that caused a slow, cascading nosedive in over fifty percent of the funds Barrett Investments oversaw or were part of. These incremental changes were deadly for a company like Barrett.
“This is starting to look like sabotage,” Gerard said, straightening.
“Yes, but I don’t have any idea how it’s happening or who is behind it. It feels like some sort of long game plan. Data from three years ago doesn’t show this pattern.” Rowan stood and stretched her arms back behind her, then crooked her neck in various directions to offset all the bending over and intense focus.
“You look tired, and I think you’ve been pretty focused on this today. Go home and get some sleep. We can come back to this tomorrow.”
Rowan didn’t like him giving orders, even if he was right. Exhaustion had turned her brain to mud. She nodded and started to gather the papers up.
“Do you mind leaving this? I’d like to go over the specifics. I’ll lock the door when I leave so no one else can come in here.”
She froze. What the hell? “You don’t trust me?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s got nothing to do with trust. I might see a person in this pattern. I know company operations better than you.”
She noticed he never said he trusted her, and she had no brainpower left to decide whether she was more angry or hurt. Leaving everything, including her laptop, she walked out without a word. If she’d opened her mouth, she would’ve said much more than he probably wanted to hear.
By the time she got to her car, Rowan was shaking with anger. How dare he? She’d worked long and hard for this company since getting hired. Mainly to prove herself, but she also sincerely wanted Barrett Investment to succeed. The underlying mission of this company was to do no harm. She admired that and laid that truth at the feet of Emersyn and Gerard and their father. They’d chosen to run a principled company, a huge reason why she’d wanted to work here over any other financial empire.
But for him to practically accuse her of dubious conclusions at best and outright false information at worst? Oooh! She stomped her feet before getting in her car. Instead of driving home, she headed to her mom’s condo.
“Darling,” her mother said when she opened the door. “I’m glad to see you.” Rowan walked into her arms and finally let the tears flow.
Pulled toward the couch, they sank onto it, still hugging, tears still streaming down her face. Her mother patted her back, held on tight, and let her cry. It took a while, but she finally raised her head. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me lately. I’m a blubbering mess.”
“Something must be going on. I’ve never seen you cry like that.” Reaching for a box of tissues, she handed them to Rowan. “Now, dry your tears. I’m going to make us a drink, and we’ll talk this out and find the best solution to whatever problem you’re having.”
Rowan’s lips lifted in a brief, shaky smile. Her mother was the only person who could calm her down and help her see the logic of whatever situation she’d gotten herself into. When Rowan had procrastinated filling out college applications, she’d helped her see what held her back. Rowan hadn’t wanted to attend her father and brother’s alma mater, and her mother had interceded on her behalf when she chose a local school.
Then, there was that disastrous engagement to a man who only wanted an in with her family. When she found out, six months before a wedding fit for a Murdoch—according to her father—she’d run right to her mother’s arms, and she’d helped her heal in the best way possible. She’d sewn a makeshift doll that looked just enough like her ex, then handed her a stack of pins to stab it with. When Rowan had asked if this voodoo thing really worked, her mother had responded, “Oh, no, dear. You’d need some of his hair and a voodoo priest for that.”
She’d laughed so hard at the surprising statement, it had gotten her over the first hump, the worst of her pain. Well, that and several well-aimed stabs with pins.
Her mother returned, not with tea, but with two tumblers half full of amber liquid and ice cubes. Under her arm was the partially empty bottle of the same stuff.
“Thought we were beyond the tea stage.” She set the bottle on the coffee table, then pulled her hand back before Rowan could take the offered drink. “You’re staying here tonight, right?”
Both her father and brother had gotten DUIs that they’d bought their way out of. Her mother, who’d been divorced from her father for almost ten years, was a stickler for not drinking and driving. Her way of making amends for the man she’d married and the son she’d birthed.
