“He ever take on anything this big?”
Thiers shrugged. “Not sure but you can ask him. He’s up to the job, you saw him.”
I pushed out a full breath. Thiers was right. Rick, for whatever reason, felt like the right person to handle this. He was an outsider, didn’t have any ties to Townsend Industries, my father, or the high society world I came from. He didn’t have skin in the game, and he was sharp. He knew his stuff, and from Thiers and other clients of his I’d talked to, he was highly intelligent and capable. All of the traits I would need to get to the bottom of these leaks and stomp them out.
Chapter Nineteen
Then
Deborah
“And have you had a chance to look over the finances for the new Enchanted line?” my manager, Steve, questioned as we sat down to lunch. We were back at the Crown Jewel restaurant. I’d grown a little nostalgic for this place since it was the first time I’d seen Robert again after five years.
I briefly thought about how much had changed in the past eight months since that day. Not only had I reunited with Robert but he and I weremarried.A little over six months now.
“Deborah.”
I blinked and looked across the round table at Steve who was staring at me, a knowing grin on his face.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Marital bliss, huh?” His eyes moved from mine, lowering to my hands as I held them in front of me.
I glanced down and realized I’d been twisting my wedding ring as I stared off into space, daydreaming about my husband. This was becoming somewhat of a habit.
“Is it obvious?” I asked. I tried to keep my marriage to myself while at work. Not only did I not want to talk too much about Robert, knowing everyone was interested because of his last name, but I also didn’t want to give my supervisors any ammunition to look me over when it came time for promotions. While women in the corporate world had come a long way, there was still much left to be desired when it came to breaking through the glass ceiling, so to speak. The fact that I was now married to an extremely wealthy man, felt like it had almost everyone I worked with making bets as to when I would announce my resignation. They had another thing coming.
“Oh, only to someone who is looking at you,” Steve said.
I ducked my head.
“Don’t be ashamed,” he quickly added. “This world is too small and too crazy to pretend like you’re not happy.”
An odd feeling came over me at the sadness I saw in his face, but it quickly disappeared, and his friendly smile returned.
“Back to the Enchanted line.”
I pulled out the file I’d brought with me to lunch, and we began discussing the financial issues surrounding the production of this new cosmetic line for our company. We spent the hour talking about financial projections, marketing strategies, and the cost of branding and advertisement.
“We’ll need to meet with marketing and advertising next week to nail down these numbers. You know they do not enjoy this kind of stuff.”
Laughing a little, I shook my head. “I’m well aware. But it’s a necessity.”
“If you don’t mind, I’m going over to the building next door for a meeting.”
I quickly nodded and waved Steve off. “No problem. I’m just going to head back to the office.”
We parted ways, and I checked the time on my watch to see it was only about ten of one. I’d make it back to the office by one and would give Robert a call. We often talked at some point during the afternoon, if only for a few minutes since both of us were busy at work.
“Still eating at the Crown Jewel? Must be why you dumped me for your rich boyfriend.”
I turned, the hairs on the back of my neck raising at the sneer I heard in Cohen’s voice. I faced him to see a deep frown marring his usually handsome face.
“Cohen …” I was a little stunned at the almost menacing glare he was giving me.
He blinked and his features seemed to relax but only slightly. “Deborah Tate, how nice of you to join us peasants at the Crown Jewel of all places. How is your boyfriend doing? What was his name? Randy? Roy—”
“Robert,” I stated firmly, knowing full well he knew the name. “Robert Townsend, and he’snotmy boyfriend.”
