Page 12 of Just a Little Tempted

CHAPTER SIX

Raina

My first daywas going well, if I didn’t count the less than warm greeting I’d received from Simon this morning. I was starting to think he was just one of those men who naturally had rough edges. I could handle that. Who knew? Maybe he’d soften over time.

Although, honestly, I had a hard time imagining it.

But it didn’t matter. He was my boss, not my friend. He didn’t need to be warm and cuddly. I just needed someone who would pay me fairly and wouldn’t try to force me to compromise my ethics like my last employer had.

I had plenty on my to-do list, and I’d only left my desk twice, both times to use the fancy espresso machine in the break room because I needed the extra caffeine. Now, I finally had a moment to circle back to the task that had been nagging at me all day: reaching the man Simon wanted to meet with.

Harry Frazier was the CFO of a cybersecurity company that Simon and Liam had invested in over a year ago. My earlier message had gone ignored, so this time I placed a direct call, pulling Mr. Frazier’s office number from his digitized file.

“Thank you for calling Mr. Harry Frazier’s office,” a woman answered. “This is Ellen speaking. How may I help you?”

I smiled because I wanted her to hear it in my voice. I’d learned long ago that warmth could open doors that formality couldn’t.

“Hello, Ellen. This is Raina Seager from Mr. Powers’ office. I’m calling to see if Mr. Frazier has availability for a meeting, preferably in the next week?”

Speaking to his assistant seemed like the logical approach. Scheduling appointments was part of my job; surely it was part of hers too.

A brief pause. When Ellen spoke again, her voice had cooled several degrees. “Mr. Frazier is out of the office and isn’t available at the moment, so we can’t get anything on the schedule. Perhaps you could try again another day.”

My smile faded. “Are you saying you can’t schedule a meeting on his behalf?”

“Mr. Frazier is very hands-on. He prefers to handle these things himself.”

That didn’t ring true, but I wasn’t going to argue about how her office operated. “Is there another way I can reach him? Mr. Powers would like to get this scheduled as soon as possible.”

“As I said, he’s out of the office today.”

Ellen’s tone had turned glacial, and a bad feeling settled in my stomach. I was being brushed off. Before I could ask for an alternate number, I caught fragments of conversation bleeding through from her end of the line.

“I’m telling you, Harry, it’s worth the drive to Farmingdale to play at Bethpage Black,” a man said.

“You know I prefer the driving range at my country club,” another male voice replied.

My grip tightened on the phone. “Is that Mr. Frazier I hear? Has he returned to the office?”

“No.” The word came out sharp, almost defensive. “Good day, Ms. Seager.”

The line went dead. I stared at the phone in my hand, disbelief giving way to irritation.What the hell?

It was obvious now. Frazier was avoiding Simon. Why else would he ignore my message and have his assistant lie about his whereabouts?

Remembering Simon’s earlier impatience with me about getting this meeting scheduled, frustration coiled in my chest. This should have been a simple and straightforward task. Instead, I was being stonewalled, and I refused to let that define my first day. I was going to get this meeting on the books. Today, if possible. I refused to let one stubborn scheduling conflict become my first failure on the job.

I pulled up everything the system had on Harry Frazier and his company, scanning through the files until I found the most recent financial report. It only took a moment to identify the problem.

The company had experienced a significant dip in profits last quarter. According to the contract Simon and Liam had signed, they owned a portion of the company but would only see returns if its valuation increased. Until recently, growth had been steady, but that downturn changed things. The company wasn’t in serious trouble yet, but the CFO would still need to answer for the decline.

No wonder Frazier was dodging the call. The conversation he was avoiding with Simon probably wouldn’t be a pleasant one.

Too bad. It was my job to make it happen anyway. I needed a different approach. Something creative.

Navigating to the company’s website, I clicked through to the About section and scanned the management bios. It took only seconds to spot another Frazier—a woman named Melissa, listed as an executive.

Not a common surname, so it was unlikely to be coincidence and she was most likely related. A quick search on social media confirmed my suspicion. Melissa Frazier was Harry’s wife.