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Mr. Deerfield stepped to the head of the long conference table as the man beside him turned to face the group. Cath stared at him with stunned, sickening surprise. For a moment heat swept through her and she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
He did have broad shoulders. She remembered rubbing her hands over them, feeling the hot skin, the taut muscles. His lips appeared chiseled, but she remembered how they’d molded hers, bringing wild passion to a mere kiss. For three glorious weeks she and Trace Williams had been constantly in each other’s company.
Two days after they made love, he’d stopped calling, stopped returning her calls and dropped out of her life completely.
She swallowed hard. Oh. My. Goodness. She had slept with the new head of Signals, Inc.
She felt as if she’d throw up. She glanced over at Sophie who was looking at the head of the table with all attention.
Nobody knew. She’d kept their affair quiet last summer, not wanting to be teased about a whirlwind romance. Thank goodness for discretion.
If she could get through today, she’d make sure nobody ever knew. She had to get to him, make sure he didn’t mention anything thinking people might already know about their dating.
Please don’t let him say anything, she prayed, wishing she could slink down in her chair, slip beneath the table and hide forever. She had to find a moment to speak to him alone. Assure him no one knew—and no one need ever know.
They’d met when he’d begun coming to the gym where she worked out several times a week. Dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt, he looked fabulous. She’d been instantly drawn to him the first time he’d showed up. Before her session had ended, he’d asked her out for coffee. From then on they’d found many times to meet during the week and on the weekends.
She tried to remember all the details of their dates. But her head throbbed and she felt slightly ill again. She so did not need this.
What would their past do to a future working relationship? He couldn’t fire her outright, could he? She wished she’d had some prior inkling it would be Trace Williams taking on the helm of Signals, Inc. What was she going to do?
Mr. Deerfield nodded at the group and began to speak, “As you all know, I’ve talked about retiring for a long time. Mrs. Deerfield has finally convinced me to act, not dream. Many of you know the Board met two weeks ago to finalized negotiations with my successor. I spoke with some of you individually last Friday in an attempt to make a smooth transition between my leaving and the assumption of power by our new CEO. “
He turned and smiled at the man at his side.
“I’d like to introduce Trace Williams. He takes over with the full and enthusiastic endorsement of the Board of Directors. He has an impressive background with electronic firms–most notably in taking troubled companies and turning them around to make them more profitable than ever. A copy of his impressive résumé is in the packet Ellie will give each of you on the way out. The Board of Directors and I do hope you all will be able to push Signals, Inc. to new heights under Trace’s guidance. I expect each of you to give him your full cooperation and support.”
Mr. Deerfield waited for the polite applause to die down, then nodded to the man on his right.
“How about each of you introduce yourself, give the department or division you head up and say anything else you think Trace may need to know for now. He’ll be meeting with each of you individually before the week is out.”
Mr. Deerfield checked his watch.
“However, let’s keep it brief, I have a lot to review with him myself before I take off for the Bahamas.”
There was some good-natured teasing for a moment. Then Hank Brownson began the introductions with the explanation he ran the accounting department.
One by one each person around the table introduced himself or herself and gave a brief description of their area of responsibilities. Sophie’s turn came fast. Cath felt sick. She was next. She heard Sophie explain she was the head of Human Resources, then the silence that followed.
Cath looked at Mr. Deerfield rather than into the dark familiar eyes of Trace Williams.
“My name is Cath Norris. I’m the under-director for European operations.”
She could say nothing further. For one awful moment she wondered if Trace would rescind the promotion promised and refuse to let her move to the Brussels office.
She’d been working toward that particular position for more than ten years. For the last five she’d studied French assiduously. Recently all her vacations had been in Europe to familiarize herself with the different countries and to practice her language skills. She’d devoted fifteen years of her life to becoming the best international marketing employee Signals, Inc. ever had.
For one heart-stopping moment she wondered if it all had been in vain.
So if bad things came in threes, was this the end? Maybe she’d make a miraculous recovery within the next ten minutes. The news from her sister wouldn’t hurt so. And Trace would send her to Europe with a bonus in her pocket.
And pigs would fly.
As Neil Patterson introduced himself, Cath leaned back in her chair. She had no illusions that life would change in an instant. Her only hope was that she could make it home before collapsing. Looking at the bright side of things, if she were home, he couldn’t fire her, could he?
Once introductions were complete, Trace gave a short speech. Upbeat and direct, he challenged everyone to rise to new level of expectations. It motivated without casting any aspersions on Mr. Deerfield and his stint at the helm. Cath was impressed.
She’d been impressed before—last summer. They’d spent endless evenings walking around San Francisco after working out together at the gym, enjoying the city when the crowds were gone and when the weather was at its best. Talking about everything under the sun, or so she thought. He’d never mentioned his exact job. And she had only said she was in marketing. She was not defined by her job.
