“Are you a lawyer, Mr. Westport?” asked Everett Vereb, the CFO. Kenzi was right: he was as bald as an eagle.
Nash shuddered at the thought. “Thank heavens, no.”
Raquel twisted her fingers together. “Oh, fiddle. Didn’t I tell you? This is my new brother-in-law. Kenzifinallytied the knot.”
Nash barely held back his scowl. Raquel’s dig at Kenzi’s single, or not-so-single, status was unprofessional and unwarranted. He was so going to stick it to her, right here, right now.
He dug deep and pulled out his old business façade, the one he’d sworn off with the swagger and the unending confidence and the bravado that made his mouth taste coppery. Brushing the dust off the power suit, he faced the execs. “Thanks, Raquel, for the warm welcome into Hazel’s and into the family. I’m honored to be a part of both, and grateful that Kenzi agreed to be my wife.”
Raquel’s face was stony at best. She opened her mouth to respond, and he cut her off. “It’s a pleasure to be here today. I’ll be filling in for Mrs. Westport, who was unexpectedly called away at the last moment.” He flipped open his binder, thankful he’d had a moment to peruse it before having to dig deep with an audience. “If you’ll open your binders, we can begin.”
Papers fluttered like the flapping of birds’ wings. So far, no one was challenging the fact that a complete stranger was about to give them a thorough look at the company they’d been at for over thirty collective years.
“Let me just start by saying that nothing in here is going to come as a shock. It’s not unusual for a company to suffer when the owner is absent.”
“It’s not like there hasn’t been direction,” Raquel threw out, obviously meaning herself.
“Between Mrs. Westport andMs. Donegal’s direction, the company has almost maintained its sales figures—an impressive feat in an industry that thrives on product development.” Nash didn’t pause to see if Raquel caught the reference to her single status. He’d meant it as a barb; no one disparaged his wife while he was in the room. “Let’s talk distribution channels. Several of the specialty shops are …”
Nash talked, taking questions and asking them too. By the time the meeting was over, his old suit was shiny, and he’d melded right back into the high roller he’d once been. He did a mental fist pump and patted himself on the back for a job excellently well done. The committee was made aware of their role in choosing the next CEO. He hadn’t shied away from mentioning Raquel’s desire to sell the company—he faced that charging horse right on.
The sky was clear, the praise was strong, and he was once again the man of the hour.
Raquel left the room without talking to anyone, her chin level but the smell of defeat in her wake. She’d thought he was a novice, a prop Kenzi used to get the vote, and she’d been ever so wrong.That’s right!He wanted to pound his chest in victory.
After shaking hands and accepting matrimonial congratulations on behalf of him and Kenzi, he stormed to the front desk, the going-to-war adrenaline pumping through his veins. No one had commented which way they planned to vote, which was fine for now.
Ben grinned, his wide-set eyes getting wider. “That went well.” He offered Nash a fist and they bumped knuckles.
Now that he’d gotten the executive committee and his sister-in-law in line, it was time to move on to his wife. “Thanks. Listen, can you get me a car?”
Ben picked up the phone and pressed a button. “I need a car up front for Mr. Westport.” He replaced the receiver. “Anything else?”
Nash shook his head. “I’ll be out in just a moment.” He jogged into Kenzi’s office to retrieve his things and found Raquel standing in front of Kenzi’s desk.
“You handled that well.” She eyed her fingernails.
“Thanks.” Nash’s stomach sank all the way to the ice cream freezers in the basement at the predatory look in her eyes. His shiny executive suit constricted his movement, and he hardly breathed, waiting for her to speak.
“It doesn’t matter that you told them I wanted to sell the company. I can ensure their jobs are safe. All I have to do is convince them that Kensington won’t be able to run the company as well as Dad did—especially if I step out of the picture.” She took three steps, moving with all the sound of a panther on the prowl. “What was it you said in there? That what little success we had was because of Kenzi andme?”
“Kenzi’s five times the executive you’ll ever be.”
Raquel shrugged. “There are skeletons in her closet too.” Her mouth formed into an O and she covered it with her fingertips. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“What do you want, Raquel?” Nash ground out.
She sashayed past him as she spoke. “For now, I just want you to know that I’m keeping an eye on you.” Her false innocence grated on his last nerve.
He snagged his laptop case and headed for the exit. He needed to have a talk with Kenzi—now!
