“Let me be as clear in return,” she said finally, looking across at him.“I can’t and won’t blindly offer you my loyalty.That’s not something I give away.It has to be earned.”She brought up her chin a fraction of an inch.“It’s an extension of respect.”
“Well said,” he acknowledged.
“Until I know more about you and your ethics, I won’t give it to you.”Her voice had dropped and he could hear the emotion—nervousness as well as conviction—mixed in.She was testing him as surely as he was testing her.“If you can’t accept that, Mr.Donovan, then I’m afraid I’ll have to offer my resignation.”
“Do you always speak your mind, Ms.Lane?”
“I figured you were a man who appreciated knowing what I’m really thinking.And the truth is, I’m still sitting here because the Newmans asked me to.Not because of you.Because of them and our employees.I think it’s highly inappropriate that I came in to find a new name plaque on the wall and everything removed from his office.Samuel Newman is beloved here.By everyone, not just me,” she returned.
“So I’ve heard.”And that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.Newman Inland Marine often appeared on yearly lists of the best companies to work for in Houston.He knew the man was regarded as a saint, benevolent in ways CEOs weren’t renowned for.But it had come at a cost.Newman accepted excuses when he shouldn’t, forgave mistakes that should have cost a person their job, allowed employees to be paid for working fewer hours than they reported.And finally, he’d sheltered the tugboat skipper who had been involved in a costly accident.
Truth was, Newman had approached Donovan Worldwide.It had been a desperate move to protect his company’s future.The man had already paid out tens of thousands because of the accident.Findings from an investigation were scheduled to be released within a month, and Newman was smart enough to surmise the results might damage the company’s reputation.
“The fact that they are now working for one of the Donovan companies will not be received well by most,” she said.
He clenched his jaw, but then, realizing it, forced himself to relax.
“And for Mr.Newman’s sake, I will help you today.He said he planned to meet with senior staff to introduce you.I understand you were also going to visit the docks.”
Setting aside everything she’d said in order to concentrate on business, he filled her in on the details.“Newman was supposed to have arrived by seven.He would have introduced you to me.Then we would have asked the most senior management team to join us in the boardroom at eight.”
“Tight timeline.”She glanced at a wall clock.“But doable.Did he give you a list of names?”
“It should have been in my email by Saturday noon.”
“But it wasn’t?”
“That’s why I was going through HR files.”
She reached beneath her desk to power up her computer.
“He had further suggested we have a company-wide meeting early this afternoon.”
“We’ll stick with that plan.What was the message?”
“He was retiring.”
Her eyes narrowed.“You expected people to believe that?”
“I beg your pardon?”
She picked up her coffee and sipped from it.He couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t offered him the other cup.And he refused to ask for it.Truth was, he could do with a shot of coffee, badly enough to consider hiring Thompson away from his big brother, Connor.This deal had been in the works for a few weeks, which meant it had moved shockingly fast.Due diligence took him months, even a year.
But branching into logistics was a natural extension for Donovan Worldwide.As it was, their shipments were handled by a brokerage firm.Most of the time that worked well.But if they could broker for others, there was money to be made, and Nathan had been looking at opportunities for a long time.
Starting their own logistics business was always a possibility, but the potential to scoop up a company that was in a perilous condition had galvanized him and the team.
That had meant, however, that he’d operated on less than four hours sleep a night for at least the past several weeks.
“Mr.Newman has always been honest with the company.Transparency is one of our core values.”
“So everyone knows that the tugboat captain had a previous accident?”
She opened her mouth.Before she spoke, she closed it again.“He was exhausted.Had a newborn baby at home.”
“And?”
Unflinchingly she met his gaze and asked, “Are you always a cold-hearted bastard, Mr.Donovan?”
