The Merger Read online

  The moment she hurried through his office door he stood and moved to her.

  “You have fifteen minutes to decide whether you’re going or not,” he said.

  “I’m not. Spencer, I can’t just show up there again a week later. Besides, I don’t know anything about this build really and it isn’t about the build. It’s about your supplier.”

  He turned from her and paced again raking tunnels into his hair with his fingers. “I guess I just needed someone there to comfort me.”

  He moved to her and took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together.

  “Julie, this has been the craziest week of my life,” he said looking down into her eyes. “When you dropped those papers in that boardroom I was a goner.” Lifting his hand to her cheek he caressed. “Maybe you don’t have to go. I think I was looking for companionship that wasn’t just my father and my cousin.”

  “They’re going too?”

  “They have to. Essentially my dad owns PLL, well the company, and he heads that.”

  “I’ll be right here when you get home,” she said raising her hands to his chest. “And I’m only a phone call away if you need to know something.”

  Spencer lifted her hands to his lips and pressed kisses to her knuckles. “I might take you up on that.” He waited a moment and thought about asking her about her ex-husband. She’d never mentioned who he was. Why? What was there to hide? Steven’s affair was common knowledge, yet she’d never mentioned she was married to another lawyer on the payroll.

  His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he looked at the screen. “That’s Ed. I need to go.”

  Julie hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a long, deep, satisfying kiss. “Remember we talked about parking out at the site and looking at the stars?”

  Spencer nodded resting his head to hers. “I remember.”

  “Maybe by the time I get back the other land will be ours too. We can check out the view from there.”

  “Let’s make a plan to do that when you get home.”

  He nipped her nose with a kiss. “It’s a date.”

  The driver opened the door for Spencer when he saw him walking toward the car.

  Spencer slid into the back next to his father. “You’re alone? Where’s your assistant?”

  “Julie pointed out this is a supplier issue not a build issue.”

  The thought crossed his mind that he hadn’t even introduced Julie to his father, but he was sure Ed had filled him in.

  “Julie is the lawyer from PLL,” he admitted.

  His father nodded. “It was mentioned to me.”

  “I hired her to work on site. She has a good eye and her background makes her very organized.”

  His father nodded again. “Are you justifying your employee?”

  “No. Maybe,” Spencer shrugged. “It wasn’t fair of me to ask her to go back there. They fired her a week ago. Though I’d like to know why they did that at the end of negotiations.” He’d ponder that later. “She’s not ready to walk through the door there again.”

  Both Ed and his father laughed. Then his father pulled a ten-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to Ed.

  “Thank you, sir.” He laughed as he put it in his pocket.

  “What was that about?” Spencer asked.

  “Your dad has more faith in you. He figured you’d sweet-talk her and she’d come. I thought you were way out of your league and she’d talk you out of it.”

  “You bet on me?” Spencer looked at his father.

  Zach Benson shrugged his shoulders. “I was rooting for you.” His father was grinning. It was unnerving. “I took your mother on a business trip like this once. I figured you were getting serious, even though I haven’t officially met her yet.”

  “I know. You will. I’ll bring her to the birthday party and then everyone can meet her officially.”

  “So I take it she isn’t a bitch anymore?” His father asked crossing his arms over his chest.

  Spencer shook his head feeling deflated. “No. I wish I hadn’t said that to anyone. I don’t think I ever really meant it.”

  His father patted his knee. “Spence, one thing about this family, we all know you pretty well. I don’t think any of us took it to heart.”

  “Good. Besides, Avery and Tiffany like her. I’d say they’d have been the best judges.”

  His father nodded. “You’re a brave man. You put your new girlfriend under the nose of your keeper.”

  “Tiffany is not my keeper.”

  That caused Ed to snort out a laugh. “Whatever. You’ve kept Tiffany on a leash for years just like Avery has with Pete.”

  He didn’t like the term on a leash. “Tiffany has always done what she wants. She’s even been married. She wasn’t mine to have.”

  “Maybe not, but I think that was because she’s not your type. You like someone a little more like-minded, who goes after what she wants. Grounded, but courageous. You know, the kind that will pick a fight—because she’s a lawyer. And someone who would leave where she lived and cross the country to start all over again under the watchful eye of a man who despised her. That’s gutsy.”

  Spencer threw his head back against the seat. He supposed it was gutsy of her. And she had stood up to him. She was sure she didn’t want to make this trip with him. Who could have blamed her?

  He thought while they drove through the streets of Nashville on their way to the municipal airport, without her there he could do some prying. He could see what Steven McDaniels was all about.

  ~*~

  It was a wonder that such a bad day could actually get worse.

  Julie sat at her desk with the file for the perfect house on the perfect lot in front of her. It was to be a corporate house and they wanted her to design it. She’d never heard of the company before and she was sure if they had execs moving into a full house for a family she would have heard of the company. Regardless, there was a little pang of sadness that Spencer’s house design on that lot with a view wouldn’t be personal to someone.

  She closed the file. It wasn’t the house and she knew it. It was that lonely feeling when someone was missing and that someone was Spencer.

  It wasn’t just that he was missing from her afternoon either. It was that he was in Oregon where her life had been a mere week ago. Only Spencer had been there too. But so were Steven and Libby.

  Julie hadn’t told Spencer who her husband was. What if something was said? Steven had a temper. She was sure Spencer did too, but he was professional enough to keep it tucked away.

  The door to the trailer opened and Tiffany stepped inside. “Are you done brooding for the day?”

  “I’m not brooding.”

  Tiffany gave a deliberate roll of her eyes. “You haven’t left your desk since you got back here. You should have gone to Oregon with him. Who cares if you run into your lying, cheating, sack of shit ex-husband.”

  Julie wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. Not yet.

  Tiffany sat down in the chair in front of Julie’s desk, crossed her legs, and admired those shoes Spencer had once bought her. The pang of jealousy that ripped through Julie was enough to make her sick.

  It was interesting, she hadn’t trusted her own husband—of course his track record wasn’t stellar. But she trusted Tiffany and Spencer. If they said they were just friends with benefits, then they were. If they said they’d not partake in those benefits, she believed them. The interesting part about that was Julie didn’t tend to usually believe people. She was a lawyer. She always wanted proof.

  “Do you want to go home and change?” Tiffany asked standing from her chair.

  Julie simply stared at her. “Change for what?”

  “We’re going out.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

  “I don’t care what you think. Mr. Accent from Spencer’s building called and wants us to meet him at Tootsie’s.”

  Julie gave that some thought. “The British guy? Ar
e you kidding me? Tiffany, he made a pass at me when I went to Spencer’s the other night. You can’t be serious about going out with him.”

  Tiffany tossed her hands up in the air and let them fall. “What is it with you getting in the way of me going to bed with a hot man? First you take Spencer and now Clark?”

  There was a humorous tone in her voice, but Julie didn’t like it all the same.

  “I haven’t slept with Spencer.”

  Tiffany gave her another eye roll and mimicked her sentence. “Your loss. And because you seem like the kind of girl who focuses on one relationship at a time, I know you’re not going for Clark. And I’m only going because I have to hear his pillow talk.” She shook her body and smiled. “That gives me chills just thinking about it.”

  Julie certainly wasn’t up for a night out. Then again, maybe it would take her mind off Spencer. Okay, that wasn’t going to happen. But for a few hours she could worry about it less.

  ~*~

  Shipments of lumber were now en route to Nashville. How the trucking company could claim that their funds hadn’t been good was beyond him. The financials of PLL were solid, that was why he’d sought it out as the company to buy, that and the reputation for quality manufacturing.

  Spencer, Ed, and his father sat at a small table in the hotel, each with a drink in their hands. The three of them were silent.

  Ed had called Darcy to check on her. His father had called his mother. Spencer itched to call Julie, but after the ride to the airport that morning, he didn’t want to seem desperate. He’d make the call back in his room.

  “I think we need to do an internal audit,” Ed said looking down into his drink. “I know what all the paperwork said when they presented it to us. I know our auditing of the company before purchase showed the company was financially stable, but I just still can’t get over the fact that the trucking company nearly cut loose a contract of that size. BBH doesn’t have a bad reputation anywhere.”

  His father nodded. “It wouldn’t be the first company I’d taken over where things got sloppy after I took ownership. It’s hard to let go when something has been in the family for generations.”

  “Why sell it then?”

  Spencer gripped the arms of the chairs. “Maybe to keep it from an heir.”

  His father focused on him, gave him a long hard stare, and then nodded with a cluck of his tongue. “Simone’s father was like that. He’d have sold off every oil rig to make sure she paid for her indiscretions.”

  “Avery isn’t an indiscretion,” Spencer argued.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice. And likewise, I think his purchase of this vineyard is playing the opposite game.”

  Ed motioned to Spencer with his glass in his hand. “You think one of Grayson’s kids had something to do with this?”

  He shrugged. “The granddaughter.”

  “She’s not even involved with the company, is she?”

  Spencer shook his head. “She’s having an affair with one of the lawyers.”

  “That’s a nasty word,” his father said picking up his glass and sipping.

  Spencer stood. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to head up.”

  “You’re staying a few more days?” Ed asked.

  “Just a few. I think the internal audit is necessary, but let’s see what happens if I’m just here.”

  “You’ll be home by next weekend?”

  Spencer smiled. “Yes. I hear I have a pink and black birthday cake ordered.”

  His father laughed. “That girl has tried to outdo you every year since you were born.”

  “It’s a damn good thing I love her like I do.”

  He held out his hand to his father who shook it, then stood and pulled him in for a hug. “Keep us posted.”

  “I will.”

  Ed stood and shook his hand. “Don’t doubt yourself. This was still a good buy.”

  He gave him a nod and headed toward the elevator with that thought still in his mind. It was a good buy. It would net them a near fortune—in time. But first, Spencer had to find the leak.

  He rode the elevator up to his room. Leaning back against the rail he closed his eyes and thought of the ride a week ago. Never in a million years would he have thought Julie Jacobson would have kissed him like she did.

  The kisses after that had only grown in intensity and now he realized he was longing for them—needing them.

  He hated not being with her and wasn’t that funny because a week ago he’d hoped to never see her again.

  Spencer tunneled his fingers through his hair. It was more than kisses. Even once he did get to make love to her, which he was hoping to seduce her into soon, it wasn’t going to satisfy him. He came from family and there was something about Julie that made him think about it more and more.

  The failure of her marriage wasn’t hers. He was sure she was a good wife. The very thought gave him a jolt. A week ago he hadn’t considered a wife for many more years. But now it was in his head.

  There was a lot of time to mull it over. Sure he had relatives that jumped into marriage and it had worked. Heck, Clara and Warner had even eloped. That wasn’t his style, but neither was jumping into things that weren’t thoroughly thought through.

  As the door to the elevator opened and he walked toward his room he thought about the merger. Julie obviously wasn’t the person to let things go too fast either. That was evident by the amount of time the negotiations took.

  Sliding the keycard into the lock, he thought about how her face would flush when he’d question her. Her eyes were deep brown when she was presenting something, but when contradicted they flashed.

  They got even darker when she was aroused. The thought crossed his mind. She enjoyed her job as a lawyer, when she was working to make a change, as much as she enjoyed the affection Spencer gave her.

  He kicked off his shoes and pulled his tie off from around his neck. Throwing it on the bed, he pulled his phone from his pocket.

  Maybe she should take that bar and work in Tennessee. His legal department could use someone as passionate as Julie.

  Then again, maybe that was just his wanting her near. She’d be working on the same floor of the Riverside Building then.

  Spencer sat down on the bed and pulled up her number. He placed the call and waited.

  “Hello.” Her voice was so familiar to him now. It only made the need for her grow.

  “Hey,” he said feeling the pang of sadness now that he heard her voice. It was crazy, but he was missing her. “How was your day?”

  “You know, it was horrible. But I’m bigger than that and I’m moving forward. How was yours?”

  “Sounds like we had similar days. Looks like I’ll be here at least the rest of the week. But it might go into next week.”

  “Oh,” her voice dipped. “Well, you’ll get what you need out of it. Anything I can do here on this end?”

  Spencer smiled. That was just like her. Making sure everything was covered. “I’ll let you know. So what happened in your day?”

  “You’re gone,” she said and that made the pang deepen. “Chuck was in a rage over the lumber, of course. Got my heel stuck in the stair grate of the trailer, and yes, I know I shouldn’t wear them on site. It’s habit.” She laughed. “And now I’m getting dressed so I can go out with Tiffany to Tootsies.”

  “You’re going out?”

  “Accent man wants to meet her. I guess I’m her keeper? Watchful eye? I don’t know. I don’t like that guy. He made a pass at me the other night.”

  Spencer stood and paced the floor. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “Didn’t seem important at the moment when it happened. I’m just not in the mood to go out.”

  “Tell her no.”

  There was a sigh that softened his spine. “No. I can’t always just focus on my job or on you,” she said nearly on an inaudible sigh and that twisted inside him. “I’ll go for a few hours. See the sights.”

  “You can stay at my place when y
ou’re done. It’s closer.”

  “No. If I haven’t stayed with you, I’m not going to stay without you.”

  He sat back down again. “While I’m gone, think about staying when I get back.”

  “Spencer…”

  “I know. You’re not ready for a rebound. It’s not going to be one. And we haven’t been friends for months and now I want you to stay.”

  “I want to stay. Let’s just see how it goes.”

  He pressed his fingers to his eyes. “Let’s do that.”

  Julie said her goodbyes and disconnected the call. With one final look in the mirror she decided she looked good enough to have a beer in a bar and that was when she heard a knock at the door.

  Tiffany was early.

  Julie walked through the apartment and pulled open the door. There in the dark stairwell stood a man and a gasp instantly jumped from her throat.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. We need to fix this light out here. I didn’t know it burnt out,” he said

  “It was on earlier,” she countered and now wished she’d looked out the peep.

  “I’m John Forrester. Spencer and Avery’s uncle.”

  “Oh.” She stuck out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  John shook her hand and smiled. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Avery wasn’t home or I would have had her introduce us.”

  Julie nodded. “She’s not due back until…” she paused. “Well, before next weekend.”

  John’s brows furrowed. “Where is she?”

  “France.”

  His lips tightened and even in the dark stairwell Julie could see that wasn’t a welcomed answer. But the look was only a flash and he smiled again.

  “I take care of the property and usually I check it out before they rent it. Just to make sure everything is okay. Do you mind if I look around? I can come back sometime when you have someone else here. I understand that.”

  And she figured he really did. Why did she feel he was completely safe? Julie wasn’t one to rely on someone’s word as a judgment of their own character. The lawyer in her needed proof, but she supposed Spencer had already given her that. This man was part of his family and from what she’d already learned that family was tight.