Chapter 2
SHELBY LIMPED A LITTLE AS she entered her father’s office building. She’d finally had to stop at a small shoe store to buy a pair of running shoes. Even so, she was sure she had a blister. She’d also kept her father waiting an hour. Worth it.
Pausing for a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darker entry area, she shifted the shopping bag holding her heels. After a deep breath to steel herself for battle, she headed toward the elevator. She didn’t miss when security recognized her; the man immediately turned his mouth to his shoulder mic and said something. They’d been waiting for her. She sighed. Really no surprise there.
She stepped into the elevator and set the bag down, glad to have a quiet moment to herself. It never hurt to mentally prepare for one of Alan’s briefings. He would never admit that her father had cameras and watched their interactions, but Alan never denied their existence either. Just as the door had almost closed, a hand shot through the opening, causing the doors to open again. Shelby jumped a little and stepped back against the elevator’s handrail.
Her Asian bodyguard, his eyes blazing and lips pulled in a thin line, stepped into the elevator. Pinning her with a hard gaze, he never moved his eyes to the side but reached over and pushed the Close Door button. As the doors slid shut, he pushed a button and the elevator didn’t move.
Wow, she’d really ticked him off. Shelby swallowed, her heart beating faster. She forced her breathing to stay steady; no way was this guy going to intimidate her. She lifted her chin, lips pinched tight, and met him gaze for gaze, keeping her hands against her legs so he couldn’t see them shake.
A familiar little twitch near the corner of his left eye broke her concentration. She squinted and leaned in a little closer. Yeah. He had to be.
“You’re one of Shang’s boys, aren’t you? I should have recognized you before.” She leaned against the elevator’s back wall, going with her I-don’t-care attitude. It always surprised coworkers who knew her in the field to see her headquarters act. Or vice versa. Well, her father had set things up so she had little choice but to work for him. It seemed only fair that he should reap the consequences. “So, are you going to get this thing moving, or are youtryingto make me late?”
The only sign he gave that she’d surprised him was a little raising of a brow. “You’ve already made sure you’d be late, Ms. Grantham,” he said, his voice stern.
“Nash.” Shelby tried not to grit her teeth.
“Grantham, as long as your father is my employer.” He pointed to one of the elevator’s “hidden” cameras. “We need to have an understanding, you and I.” He took a step closer and leaned in until their noses were almost touching, the smell of his morning coffee breath strong. It took all of Shelby’s self-control not to flinch or look away. He said, “I’m well aware of your reputation with security. It’s myjobto protect you for the duration of the current threat.”
Shang Junior stepped back, his eyes full of dislike and something Shelby wasn’t used to. Disdain. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he continued, “Do not disrespect me again with your childishness. I take my responsibilities seriously.” He pushed a button and the elevator began to move. “Youmay not care how you could be used as a pawn against your father, but I’m sure Mr. Bradley does.”
Alan. At the mention of his name, Shelby shifted uncomfortably and the fight in her fled. She hadn’t meant to worry him. Her little fit of defiance no longer satisfied her. He deserved better.
Why did her father always bring out the very worst in her, turn her into the hurtful, angry sixteen-year-old again? Why? She let out a slow breath. Because what else would a father, who had newly claimed his parental rights, do with his only child? Send her off to boarding school, of course, to get rid of the nuisance.
For a second, Shelby tried to remember how many times she’d tried to run away.Triedto run away. Shang Senior had been over her boarding school security.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Alan was one thing; her father’s minions were another. Reaching over, Shelby pushed the button again, and the elevator stopped. For Alan, she’dtryto be civil. She looked up, met, and held the guard’s gaze.
“Yes, Shang Junior, let’s be clear on this. Since you know mesowell.” Too much sarcasm. She toned down her next words. “You want to be respected; you have a job to do. Being a Shang—Idoknow your father well”—something flashed in his eyes but he didn’t interrupt—”I expect that you have his powerful code of honor.”
Shelby took a step toward him and pointed her finger between his eyes. The effect wasn’t nearly as good as his because she didn’t have his towering presence. But she’d had her nails done yesterday, and the long acrylics made Shang Junior’s eyes cross. “You don’t like me; I don’t like you. All I asked you was a simple question, and you blew me off.” Stepping back, she didn’t bother to look at him as she hit the button again to get the elevator moving. She picked up the shoe bag again and took up the I-don’t-care pose again, her hands shaking a little. Her fingers tightened around the handle, but she refused to acknowledge it or show weakness.
They rode in silence the rest of the way. The doors opened, and Shelby moved to get past him.
“Philip,” Shang Junior said, as she strode past him.
“What?” She looked back over her shoulder.
“My name is Philip Shang.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” She smiled and turned back. How funny. HewasShang Junior.
***
As Shelby stepped into the office suite, Philip Shang Senior rose from a couch to the side. Obviously a staged impression of “waiting,” since security would have informed him of her arrival. He exchanged a glance with his son, who had followed her in, but held back a few feet. She sensed that she wouldn’t be allowed another escape. Why so much diligence this time? Did her father know about the résumés she’d sent? Did he mean to block her from getting free of him?
“How are you, Philip?” She held out her hand. He’d aged over the last year, dark circles under his eyes making him look gaunt. “I thought you’d retired.”
“Not quite yet, Ms. Nash.” He did a little bow over her hand, his expression disapproving. “Mr. Bradley isstillwaiting for you.”
“Yeah, well.” Her cheeks had heated at his emphasis. “Sometimes it’s important to make a point.”
Philip Senior shot a look at his son over her shoulder, and she felt a little sorry for Junior. She’d received enough of those looks over the years. Father Shang—how was she going to keep two Philip Shangs separate in her mind?—had always had the power to shame her like no one else. It must be one of those Chinese honor things. He did it really well.
Even now, as they headed toward Alan’s conference room, she could still feel the heat of that long-ago summer evening, hear the crickets in the background. Philip Shang had appeared at the Greyhound bus stop where she waited for a bus to anywhere. She’d groaned when he’d sat beside her. For a week she’d managed to evade them and had gotten two states away from the school. A record.
