CHAPTER1
Eden dropped into the chair behind her desk and kicked off her heels.
She looked across the space she shared with her father's executive secretary. Nora wasn't there, so she propped her elbows on her desk and rubbed her temples.
Thank goodness it's Friday.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes. She couldn't wait to get Chinese takeout and go home and soak in a bubble bath. Thankfully, her father didn't have any social plans this weekend for which he needed her by his side.
The door to her father's office opened and serious, strait-laced Nora walked out, wearing her typical black skirt with a white blouse. Shealwayswore black and white. "Your dad wants to see you before you leave today," she said in her no-nonsense tone as she rounded her desk.
Of course he does. He's going to ruin my date with my bubble bath, I just know it.
Eden wondered what her father wanted but she didn't bother voicing the question, because Nora’s response would be a shrug followed by, "Why don't you go ask him and find out?" The woman never engaged in what she deemed inane conversation.
For someone who enjoyed interactions with others, it made work stuffy and boring for Eden.
She hadn't always hated her job. When she'd first come to work for her father's company five years ago—yep, nepotism at its finest—she'd enjoyed her job. As the assistant to her father's personal secretary, she'd been tasked with planning team building and social events; the fun things stiff, inflexible Nora hated most.
But Eden had proven herself knowledgeable about the company and the work they did which quickly—thanks to nepotism—earned her the position of Head Market Analyst. Which meant she now spent ninety percent of her workday dealing with complaints from their clients.
She attended countless meetings where she explained to company administrators and CEOs how to improve their marketing tactics and increase their customer base according to market trends. Only to have to explain six months later to those same executives why their company was still in decline; because they'd failed to follow the prescriptive plan DuPont Data Analytics laid out for them.
Boring meetings with egotistical CEO's. Just one reason Eden hated her job.
She let out a sigh and slipped her heels back on. Rising, she entered her father's office with barely a tap on the door.
"Hi, honey. How did things go with Burton manufacturing?”
"Exactly as expected. They still want to blame their loss of revenue on flaws in our analysis."
"Did you set them straight concerning the time and money they'd save by adding additional automation?"
"I did." The words came out through a tight smile. Additional automation meant laying off hundreds of employees. Yet another reason she didn't like her job. Many times, what DuPont Analytics prescribed as the best plan of action for the company turned out to be the worst for their employees.
"The sooner Old Man Burton catches up to the times, the better off they'll be," her dad said.
What Old Man Burton needed to do was retire, but Eden didn't blame him for not wanting to step down, since his son planned to take the company in a totally different direction than what he wanted. Although at the rate things were going, there wouldn't be much left by the time Junior got a shot at it.
They talked for several minutes about some of the other meetings Eden had attended that week. Tense meetings where she pointed out all the things bosses were doing wrong in running their businesses. She tried to get to know the leaders behind the companies and what drove them, but sometimes people were stubborn and unwilling to make changes. Never mind that they paid DuPont Analytics a lot of money to tell them what to do.
It wasn't until Eden pointedly looked at the clock on the side wall of her dad's office that he cleared his throat and straightened the papers on his desk.
"I'd like you to come over for dinner tonight." The words were spoken in his usual brusque, business-like tone and without eye-contact.
There goes my bubble bath.
A sensation of heaviness swept over Eden, leaving her feeling exhausted. "I wasn't aware you planned to entertain tonight."
"It's a last-minute thing, but I have a surprise for you." Still not meeting her gaze, he stood and shifted papers to his briefcase, almost as though dismissing her.
"Surprise?" Eden stood too. "So, is this business or personal?"
"Both."
What kind of surprise could he have for her that was both business and personal?
"Who are your guests?"
