Читать книгу Temporary To Tempted - Jessica Lemmon - Страница 11

Three

“Today’s the day.”

Gage rubbed his hands together and then fired up the espresso machine in the executive break room.

“What day’s that?” Reid, back from his recent trip home to London, asked.

“The day that Andy Payne guy comes to save Gage’s rear end,” Sabrina answered as she tipped the half-and-half into her mug.

“Not my rear. Our rears,” Gage corrected. “This is going to help boost sales, yes, but this will also take some of the pressure off Flynn.” He grinned at Sabrina. “You’re welcome.”

Last year Gage had come up with the perfect solution for the senior staff at Monarch Consulting, who had been giving Flynn holy hell. When Flynn’s father died, leaving Flynn in charge of the company, a lot of the men and women who were used to the way Emmons had run things hadn’t taken too kindly to Flynn. Gage’s suggestion—brilliant suggestion—was to focus on sales, create a huge boom in business, which would satisfy shaky investors and give a needed boost to everyone’s bonuses. It was hard to complain when extra money rolled in.

“Oh, I’m welcome, am I?” Sabrina chuckled.

“If it’s gratitude you want, mate, just ask,” Reid commented.

Gage didn’t want gratitude, but he did want results. The company had felt as if it was teetering on a foundation of marbles last year and he hadn’t liked it at all. Monarch Consulting was the workplace Gage had called home since college. He didn’t want to work anywhere else. He loved what he did, loved his friends and in no way wanted to end up working at a fish hatchery like his parents. Flynn’s success as president ensured all of their successes.

Flynn stepped into the room, picking up on the conversation. “Let me guess. You have your panties in a wad of excitement over the arrival of the guy made of smoke?”

The guy who was the key to stabilizing Monarch, bringing in extra money and a business boom?

Hell, yes.

Andy Payne was a fixer of sorts who was known for not being known. He’d been interviewed but never filmed, and his About page was devoid of a photo or any description of him as a person. Gage wasn’t sure if he bought into the hero-worship BS surrounding Andy Payne’s reputation, but the man’s results were rock solid. Every employee had signed nondisclosure documents before Payne’s arrival.

Plus, if this Andy guy was half as good in person as he was on paper, Monarch would be set and Flynn’s leadership would go unchallenged. Succeeding was the only option. Gage had never taken a backwards step since he’d set foot in Monarch and he wouldn’t start now. He had goals to double the company’s revenue, and making his sales department shine would tuck in nicely with that goal.

It was a big goal, but Andy Payne was a big deal. With his help there wasn’t anything standing in Gage’s way.

* * *

Andy strolled into the Monarch building wearing her best suit. Bone-colored, with a silky black cami under the jacket, her Jimmy Choos an easy-to-navigate height. She had to work in them, after all.

She’d never understood any woman’s desire to sacrifice form for comfort. She wasn’t a fan of compromise.

Andy hadn’t accepted her fate from the weekend, either. Yes, she’d quit the dating app that’d been a total waste of resources. And, yes, she had felt the sting of embarrassment about propositioning a handsome stranger at a bar, but that didn’t mean her search was over. There was still a chance, though slim, to find a stand-in date. Maybe she would meet a nice guy on her way out of this very building. Or maybe at the resort.

Doubt pushed itself forward but she fervently ignored it. Instead she allowed herself to feel the familiar thrum of excitement as she rode the elevator up to the executive floor. First days were her favorite.

She’d done extensive research on Monarch, noting that the only photo of the staff was one gathered outside the front of this very building, their faces tiny and nondescript. If businesses were to entrust Monarch with their well-being, they needed to see the trustworthy faces who worked here.

Unlike most businesses, Andy had worked hard to keep her identity under wraps. She had no qualms about pulling a bait and switch on day one. By then everyone was invested and her reputation had preceded her. She never blatantly led her clients to believe Andy Payne was male, but much like the assumption that a surgeon was always a man, so, too, was one made that the wild success of her Fortune 500 business must be attributed to someone with a penis instead of a pair of breasts.

The pay gap that existed between men and women didn’t exist for her, thanks to her subterfuge. Her clients paid what was asked, and it was too late to pull the plug once the contracts were signed. She wouldn’t apologize for it.

She was absolutely worth it.

She was the best at what she did and she endeavored to leave every business better than she’d found it. Monarch was going to be another link in a long chain of satisfied customers.

With a flip of her hair she exited the elevator on the executive floor. Three huge offices with glass walls stood empty, a front desk staffed with a young blonde woman in front of one of them. Andy was early, so probably the executives hadn’t come out of the coffee or break room yet. Muted voices and laughter came from an unseen room in the back.

One of those voices likely belonged to Gage, the senior sales executive who’d hired her.

“May I help you?” the assistant asked.

Andy addressed her by her name, advertised on the nameplate on the front of her desk. “Hello, Yasmine. Andy Payne for Gage Fleming.”

“Andy Payne?”

“That’s me.” She grinned.

“Oh, of course, Ms. Payne. We have you set up in the conference room as you requested.”

Yasmine quickly recovered from her surprise at discovering that Andy was a woman. Good for her.

In the conference room, Yasmine pointed out the projector and offered to fetch Andy an espresso.

“Americano, if you can.”

The other woman dipped her chin in affirmation and left.

Andy unloaded her bag on the table—a rigorous sales plan and a dossier on Monarch minus details on the man she was meeting, since she’d learned virtually nothing about him via the website.

Done right, they could implement her suggested changes in the week and a half she had before she would have to fly to Ohio for Gwen’s wedding.

Gag. Just the thought of that bit of unfinished business rankled her.

But Gage Fleming had hired Andy on her merits at business, not based on whether or not she was datable. She shoved aside all thoughts of the wedding and focused on what she did most—what she did best—fixing companies.

Flynn and Sabrina left the haven of the break room, Gage and Reid following behind. On their walk to their offices, Gage asked Reid, “How was your trip?”

His British friend, coffee mug lifted, grinned. “Grand.”

“Because of...”

“Suzie Daniels. A pretty American in a foreign land who needed companionship from a local who was willing to show her a good time.” Reid rested his palm over his heart. “I showed her repeatedly. Lucky lady.”

Gage had to chuckle. Reid was a playboy and a half, but he was also a nice guy. No doubt Suzie Daniels had kissed him farewell and hadn’t regretted a single minute of their time together. Gage hadn’t been as fortunate with his past hookups. He must throw off a serious boyfriend vibe. The women he dated always wanted more, always wanted it too quickly and weren’t happy when he declined. The last woman he dated had told him he’d wasted her time and said she wished she’d never met him. Ouch.

“And your weekend?” Reid asked, stopping next to Gage’s office.

“Went to From Afar with Flynn and Sabrina on Friday night for a drink after work. After they left, the strangest thing...” Gage fell silent when he spotted a flash of red hair in the conference room. And when her head lifted slightly and he caught sight of her profile, he recognized her instantly.

She was the woman who’d attempted to buy him like a suit off a rack. The more he’d thought about that interaction the more it had bothered him. Not because he felt cheap or used, but because the beauty who’d invaded his dreams had truly believed the money was going to seal the deal with them. As if she didn’t have enough confidence to strike up a conversation about what she needed, but instead felt the need to offer him cash.

“Holy hell.” Gage grabbed Reid’s arm and dragged him back into the hallway they’d just exited, Reid complaining since he’d sloshed coffee onto the carpet and narrowly missed his shoes. Gage had done a good job of spilling his own coffee on his shirt. Hot liquid burned through the pale blue button-down, and he swore.

“What just happened?” Reid shook coffee droplets off his fingers.

“She’s stalking me.” Gage scrubbed at his shirt with one hand.

“Who?”

Reid peered around the corner and Gage slunk farther into the hall. When he’d concluded that the redhead was “crackers,” he’d thought he’d been half joking. Apparently, he hadn’t.

“That’s the woman I was just going to tell you about,” Gage whispered, though there was no way she could hear him from the conference room. “She approached me at the bar Friday night and offered to pay me two grand to spend a weekend with her.”

Reid’s eyebrows lifted, wrinkling his brow. “And you said no.” He stole another peek and regarded Gage dubiously. “Why?”

“Because she’s insane?” That seemed the only reasonable explanation now.

“You’re the insane one, my friend, if you didn’t snap her up and have your way with her right there on the bar top. Hell, I wouldn’t have charged her at all.”

“The offer wasn’t for sex. It was for me to fly to Ohio and attend a wedding. She wanted me to pretend to be seeing her or something.”

“Oh.” Reid’s disappointment was obvious. “That’s not the same thing at all.”

“No. It’s not.” Gage returned to the break room and set his mug aside. He grabbed a dish towel and scrubbed at the coffee stain low on his shirt.

Reid wasn’t far behind. “What’s she doing here?”

“I have no idea.”

“Gage?” Yasmine stepped into the break room. “Andy Payne is here to see you.”

“Perfect timing.” Gage gestured at his soiled shirt. “Tell him I’ll be right out. Who’s the redhead?”

Yasmine blinked. “Andy Payne.”

“Andy Payne is the fixer, love,” Reid told her gently. “We want to know who the vixen in the cream-colored suit is.”

“Andy Payne,” Yasmine repeated with slow insistence and enough confidence that Reid and Gage exchanged glances.

“She’s Andy Payne?” Gage asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that the woman who approached him at the bar was the “guy” he’d hired to whip his sales team into shape.

“Surprising, right? How sexist are we?” Yasmine shrugged. “I thought Andy was going to be a dude, too.”

Reid smiled to beat all. “I believe I’ll go with you to meet this Andy Payne, Gagey. Do bring up Friday for my benefit, yeah?”

“No,” Gage growled, his head still spinning with the new information. “I’ll go alone to meet...her.”

As he exited the break room, he muttered, “Again.”