Page 35 of Finding Love

The drive to the Gallant building took him less than fifteen minutes, even in the Seattle traffic. The twenty-story glass building wasn’t the tallest and didn’t stand out in the skyline, but it was the only one that Ryder owned outright. He’d known the building his entire life.

He could even remember the first time he’d visited it at the tender age of eight, when his father had decided that his son should start training to take over the business one day. There were even pictures of him dressed in a miniature version of his father’s suit and standing next to the man in front of the massive silver Gallant Corporation sign in the lobby. One such picture had sat on his father’s desk for years. Ryder had removed it shortly after his father’ death, when Ryder could stop pretending as if everything in Johnathan Gallant’s life was perfect.

The first thing Ryder noticed was that his parking spot was taken by a shiny new BMW. No doubt Mark’s, he thought as he found another parking spot.

The second thing was that when he walked through the doors, the secretary who greeted him had no clue who he was and it took several moments of frustration to finally get through to the young woman that he owned not only the building, but the business. The woman even went as far as explaining to him that Mark Lindgren owned both.

She became flustered and red faced when he pointed out that his last name matched that of both the building and business. By then, Kelly was rushing towards him, and he left the receptionist behind, no doubt in a bundle of nerves.

“That was fun,” he said under his breath as he and Kelly stepped into the elevator.

“Clare is new,” Kelly explained.

He glanced at her and realized the woman hadn’t changed a bit. Was she wearing the same outfit she’d worn the day he’d left? Even her hair was styled the same as before.

“You haven’t changed,” he said with a smile.

She glanced at him, her eyes running up and down, and then she laughed. “You have.”

He shrugged. “You could say I needed the walkabout.” He nudged her shoulder. “Thanks, by the way, for the idea.”

She smiled. “It worked for my cousin. I figured the way things were going, you needed the break. I would have never guessed that you’d be gone for so long. If I’d had a clue, I wouldn’t have put the idea in your head,” she said, just as the doors opened on the top floor. “I’ll warn you,” she said under her breath as they stepped out, “Mark is on a warpath. But something tells me you might have already guessed that.”

He nodded and followed her past the reception area, noting that every eye followed him until he stepped into the corner office that used to be Mark’s.

“You’re in here for now.” Kelly sighed. “Until you can wrestle your old office back from Mark.”

“This will do,” he said, setting his laptop case down.

“For this week, you’ll have to make do with Megan helping you out.” Kelly motioned to a young brunette standing behind her just outside the office door. “After that, I’ve arranged to resume working with you.”

He smiled. “Thanks.” He watched as Kelly disappeared, but not before giving the younger woman, Megan, a quick nod of her head.

Megan, a short, stylishly dressed brunette, moved further into the room. “My desk is just across from the door. I’ve programmed my number into your office phone,” she rattled off. “Kelly has arranged the board meeting for ten in the main conference room at the end of the hall. Is there anything you need before then?”

He thought about asking for a cup of coffee, but instantly hated being so shallow. He could walk down the damn hall and get a cup for himself.

“No,” he answered. He moved to sit down but stopped. “Actually, yes. I’ll need access. Have someone from IT come up and set up this system with the new security.” He motioned to his laptop. “I believe it’s a year out of date.”

Megan wrote something down in her notepad and nodded. “For now, the desktop system here is available. I believe your login is still active.”

“Thanks.” He sat down. When Megan turned to go, he stopped her.

He’d read some of the emails he’d received from employees, some who had been let go and some who still worked for the business. One thing was clear to him—everyone who had emailed him had one complaint, and he was determined to get the real scoop before the meeting.

“Actually…” He waved her back into the room. “Shut the door, if you would.” She did and moved to sit across from him when he motioned to the chair. He tilted his head as he narrowed his eyes. “Kelly wouldn’t have assigned you to me if she didn’t trust you.”

Megan nodded quickly. “I was an intern when you were here last year.” She smiled.

“Good, then you have an idea of what things were like.” He leaned forward. “Give me your take on how Mark Lindgren has run the business.”