The Merger Read online

  The Merger

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Merger

  The Keller Family Series

  Book 9

  By

  Bernadette Marie

  5 Prince Publishing

  Denver, CO

  www.5princebooks.com

  Copyright 2014

  This is a fictional work. The names, characters, incidents, places, and locations are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real.

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC

  PO Box 16507

  Denver, CO 80216

  www.5PrinceBooks.com

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63112-036-7 ISBN 10: 1631120360

  The Merger

  Bernadette Marie

  Copyright Bernadette Marie 2014

  Published by 5 Prince Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles. For any other permission please contact 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC.

  First Edition/First Printing December 2014 Printed U.S.A.

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC.

  For Stan,

  Our Merger has made for one amazing adventure!

  Thanks for being my partner in business and in life!

  Acknowledgements

  For Stan who has backed my wild adventures 100% since the minute I met him.

  For my Fab 5 who are my greatest successes to date!

  For Mom, Dad, and Anni who have given me those shoves up the ladders I was climbing when I needed it.

  For Connie, Clare, and Marie who have helped me build (what is in my head) an empire to making dreams come true.

  For Cate and Connie who polished my contractual commitment so that it shined.

  For all men and women who dream big!

  Dear Reader,

  Spencer Benson is all grown up and making those executive decisions we first saw his father make. Now at the helm of Benson, Benson, and Hart, Spencer is merging companies and building new communities.

  Lawyer Julie Jacobson never intended to make Spencer’s life difficult, but she had a job to do. Little did either of them know that their clashing personalities would eventually merge them together.

  The Keller/Benson family has been so warmly welcomed by readers looking for that family connection and I know that The Merger won’t disappoint. As we get to know the grown Spencer Benson, we get to reunite with all our favorite Keller/Benson couples.

  I’ve also included the first chapter of Avery Keller’s book, The Escape Clause, at the end of the book for your enjoyment.

  Happy Reading!

  Bernadette Marie

  The Merger

  Chapter One

  Oregon was a fine place. Perhaps, Spencer Benson thought, he’d like to come back someday and visit as a tourist. However he was into his fifth month of merger negotiations with Pacific Line Lumber, and his desire to ever fly out to the Pacific coast again was waning.

  He pressed his head to the back of the boardroom chair as he listened to the eighty-year-old owner of the company reminisce, again, about the day his father had taken down the first tree to build their family house…and an empire was born.

  Spencer had a great appreciation for family business. He was part of one. His great-grandfather had started Benson, Benson, and Hart. His grandfather took over. followed by his father. His cousin Ed had been holding the CEO position for years now. It was time for him to rise to the position. However, taking five months to close a deal wasn’t making him any friends back home.

  A moment later the door opened and Spencer felt the twinge in his chest start as it did every time that bitch of a lawyer walked in the door. Julie Jacobson had found a million little flaws in the proposal. He’d like to not see her face again.

  Okay, he thought, it wasn’t a bad face. She wore her blonde hair back in a ponytail most times. Her eyes were brown. He’d noticed that as she’d burned holes through him for the past five months with them.

  Today she hurried into the boardroom dropping a stack of paper on the table. It toppled over, slid to the floor, and she scrambled to pick it all up as every man in the room watched.

  Okay, he’d later admit he’d rather have watched her fume over the papers and thought it was just, but he wasn’t that kind of man. Spencer rose from his seat and walked across the room to help the frazzled lawyer with the mess she’d created.

  When everything was stacked back on the table, she turned those brown eyes on him. They were bloodshot and full of sadness.

  “Thank you,” she said very softly as if not to let the rest of the room hear her.

  “My pleasure,” he lied and walked back to his seat.

  The meeting continued with interludes from the owner as he reminisced about this or that. A brief five hours later, they finally broke and Spencer gathered his things and headed back to his hotel.

  As he walked through the lobby, his phone rang. It was his father and he toyed with the idea of not answering it. However, that wasn’t like him.

  “Hey, Dad.”

  “Make any progress?”

  Spencer blew out a breath. “You know that bitch of a lawyer is making me crazy. We’re up to replanting. How many trees and seedlings will we replant each year to replace everything we use. We’ve gone over that.”

  His father laughed. “And how many will we?”

  “I don’t know,” he said pushing the button to the elevator. “I have a lot of math to do tonight.”

  “This is your project. You’ll do fine with it.”

  “Sure, you just don’t get what a bitch this woman is,” he said just as he noticed that very bitch step into the elevator as the doors closed. He let out a grunt. “Dad, I’ll talk to you later.”

  He turned off his phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

  Julie Jacobson didn’t turn to look at him. She didn’t say a word to him. But there was something going on. Something was wrong. Why was she in the hotel elevator?

  Was she crying?

  Oh, who cared? She deserved to cry. She was costing him time and money each time she opened her damn mouth in that boardroom and he was tired of her. Let her cry.

  The elevator opened again and another man walked in, looked her up and down then pushed a button. The elevator rose a mere two floors before he got off. Spencer watched as Julie literally stomped her foot in aggravation for the stop.

  They rode in silence for a few more floors and then the doors opened and he began to step off, but the blood that ran through him wouldn’t let a woman suffer. He lodged his hand in the door and looked at her. She was indeed crying.

  “Ms. Jacobson, are you okay?”

  She lifted her head. The bitch didn’t seem to be in there. This was a broken woman with troubles. He could see that. She only nodded and he accepted her answer.

  “Okay, then, have a pleasant night.” He stepped back again, but when her head lifted again and the sadness burned through him he couldn’t handle it. He
tucked his foot back into the door forcing it open.

  “Mr. Benson, what are you doing? I’d like to get to my room, please.”

  Ah, there she was, he thought as the door closed behind him.

  “You don’t look okay. I mean something’s going on and I just want to be here if you need someone.”

  She let out a grunt. “You hate me. I know you hate me. I’m costing you time and money.” So, she was a mind reader. “My private life, on the other hand, isn’t any of your business.”

  He nodded. He could accept that.

  She lifted her hands to wipe away the tears and he noticed the tell tale sign of a wedding ring having recently been taken off. There was an indent in her finger and a white line where it must have been worn for years.

  “Would you be interested in having a drink?”

  She turned to him and those brown eyes bore right through him. “Are you kidding me? You want to take me out for a drink? I’m the lawyer for the company you’re trying to buy. I don’t think that would look very good, do you?”

  He hadn’t thought of that. “No. You’re right. I just…”

  He only had a moment to catch his breath before the woman lunged at him and pushed him up against the wall of the elevator. Spencer was ready for the knee to the groin, but her mouth coming down on his, her tongue pressing into his mouth, her hands in his hair—none of this he’d expected.

  Spencer was gripping the bar on the wall, but the man in him decided that a woman throwing herself at him would be better to hold. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her to him even tighter. Heat rose between them. The moan from her throat was enough to make him go light headed as the blood traveled away from his brain.

  When the door opened, Julie stood straight and stepped away from him. As Spencer moved to her, she held up her hand and straightened her shoulders.

  Her breath was coming in great big gasps. Pink colored her cheeks and those brown eyes didn’t hold fire.

  “Good night, Mr. Benson,” she said as she stepped out of the elevator.

  Goodnight? What in the hell? His body wasn’t quick enough to chase after her before the doors closed and she was out of his sight.

  The blood was rushing back to his head and he thought he might need a very cold shower when he got back to his room.

  What was that all about? Bitch one moment—panting horny woman the next?

  Who needed it? This was just the force and fire he needed to walk into that meeting tomorrow and say take it or leave it. He’d had enough of Pacific Line Lumber and their legal staff.

  As the door opened, Spencer stepped out onto his floor and went straight to his room. He slid the keycard into the lock, and then again, and again. He hated these stupid pieces of plastic. Finally, the door beeped and he pushed it open.

  The lightness in his head took over. He was going to need to sit down.

  He knew this feeling. He’d had it before. Crap! That woman had kissed him senseless. That’s what it was.

  Something was up with the blonde with those dark, burning eyes. Never before would he have imagined a woman like her in tears. No, something was hurting her—or someone. He’d make sure to take the time tomorrow and find out what was going on.

  Spencer lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. The heat of that kiss swam in his head again. Her hips under his hands. Her body pressed to his.

  Oh, hell, she’d messed with his mind.

  Tomorrow, she’d finally see his fire. She wasn’t going to mess with him like this. All hell was going to break loose tomorrow.

  For now, though, he was going to take a very long, very cold shower.

  Chapter Two

  Once again, Spencer sat in the boardroom at Pacific Line Lumber, and once again he waited for the moment that bitch of a lawyer, with those amazing lips, walked through the door.

  They’d already started breaking ground on the first Benson, Benson, and Hart residential neighborhood project, which he’d made happen. Since he hadn’t locked down the merger with the lumber company, costs were already going to go over budget, which meant they’d have to raise the cost of the houses. Every day she opened her mouth it cost him more and more.

  When the door opened, Steven McDaniels, another lawyer, walked through the door and set his briefcase on the table.

  “I’m very sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll be wrapping things up here.” His dark suit was pristine. His salt and pepper shaded hair gave him some distinguished credibility, but the man had never spoken during the negotiations when he was in the room. Now he was wrapping things up here?

  He began to pull out papers and pens from his leather case while Spencer kept his eye on the door. It never opened again and the meeting began with, “Congratulations. We have finally decided to accept all of your terms.”

  Papers were set in front of him, and all the while the eighty-year-old man at the head of the table talked about hard times and how this would be a new start for the company.

  “I’m sorry,” Spencer interrupted not even having listened to the man. “Where is Ms. Jacobson?”

  The man in the suit pushed his shoulders back. There was a flash of something in his eyes. Anger? Sadness? Spencer wasn’t sure. “She’s no longer with the company. I’ll be handling the final portion of the merger.”

  Spencer sat back in his seat as Steven McDaniels began to explain the paperwork. Spencer had merged more than one company with Benson, Benson, and Hart. He knew what the paperwork said. He wondered if this man was the reason Julie Jacobson was crying in the elevator last night before she jumped on him and landed that mind-blowing kiss. Had he taken over her position on this merger?

  “Mr. Benson?”

  Spencer looked up at the man and realized he’d zoned out, back to that elevator.

  “Sorry.”

  “I was asking if you had any objections to the new clause wording in the contract.”

  Spencer rubbed his eyes. He needed to pay some damn attention before this guy suddenly owned Benson, Benson, and Hart and he walked away with nothing but Julie Jacobson on his mind.

  ~*~

  Friday mornings were usually quieter around the office and that suited Spencer just fine.

  He’d taken the red eye out of Portland just to get the hell home. If it rained in Nashville today, he was going to be pissed. He’d had enough cloudy skies and mist on his face to last a very long time.

  His mood further soured when he saw his brother’s car parked in his parking space. Tyler didn’t even work for their father’s company. Why was he there and parked in his space?

  With more force than necessary he pushed open the door to his BMW, stepped out, and slammed it. He needed to get a freaking grip on his mood. His brother was forcing him to walk an extra car space, not walk around the whole damn building.

  He slid his key into the private elevator, stepped inside, and rode it to his father’s office.

  When the door opened, he heard them all cheering. He didn’t have to see their faces. He knew exactly who stood there.

  His mother, Regan Benson, ran to him and enveloped him in her arms. “Oh, I missed you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “I missed you too.”

  His father, Zach Benson, was there to pat him on the back, “Thought maybe you’d bitten off more than you could chew.” Spencer gave him a chuckle and accepted the jab.

  As he stepped into the office, his brother Tyler stood there with his wife, Courtney. He hadn’t even seen them since the wedding. Things had become so hectic for him that he’d neglected his family. He was sure that was why they’d all joined him on this fine Friday morning.

  “You parked in my space,” Spencer said as he held out his hand to Tyler.

  “Couldn’t help myself,” he said with a laugh pulling his brother in for a hard hug.

  Spencer looked at Courtney who kept a proper smile on her face as she took in everything with her ears. If anyone knew he wore a mask of happiness it was his vision-impaired sister-in
-law.

  “It’s nice to see you, Courtney.” He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Been a few days since you shaved, huh?”

  That was just like her, “Didn’t think I needed to impress anyone. I should have thought about you. I should always try harder to impress you.”

  She giggled and touched his arm. He tensed under her fingers and she nodded, but kept her smile. He’d been caught and she’d corner him later.

  “You always impress me, Spencer.”

  His cousin Ed and Spencer’s half-sister Darcy stood near the window. Darcy was leaned up against the credenza rubbing her pregnant stomach while Ed bounced their little girl Emily in his arms.

  “Well done, cuz,” Ed shot him a smile, “You almost went over budget.”

  That made Spencer laugh. “No Benson, Benson, and Hart job goes over on time or budget.”

  “We taught you right.”

  Spencer walked to his sister and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m a pro,” she said with a groan. “Six more weeks. I can do anything for six more weeks.”

  Spencer laughed as he ran a hand over Emily’s thick dark hair. They’d adopted her eight months ago and then become pregnant a moment later. They’d have their hands full for a little while.

  “We have bagels and coffee in the boardroom. I got your favorite schmear,” his mother said as she took his hand and began to lead him there.

  He might have been annoyed as he drove into work, but his family always had a way of making things better. Always.