All He Really Needs by Emily McKay Read Free Book Online Page B

At first, he hadn’t courted that image on
purpose. He simply hadn’t wanted the job. But he had wanted the inheritance that
would one day be his, and his father had made it clear that he’d never have one
if he didn’t accept the other. As it turned out, being a piss-poor executive
left him plenty of time to work for Hope 2 O. Being known as the lazy one had made
his life easier. Everyone he knew thought him either incapable or unwilling to
work, so no one ever expected jack from him. No one within Cain Enterprises,
anyway.
    Generally speaking, he was okay with people thinking he was an
ass and a playboy. So why was he annoyed that Sydney believed that, too?
    Did he honestly think she somehow looked past the image he’d
carefully cultivated to the man beneath? Would he want her to if she could?
    It was hardly a fair question.
    And Sydney was still standing before him, waiting for his
response. And also looking rather nervous. She kept rubbing the pad of her thumb
across the edge of her iPad cover as she frowned down at it as if she couldn’t
quite figure out where it had come from.
    Finally, she straightened her shoulders and said, “If that’s
all?”
    He pushed himself to his feet and sighed. “You’re right. And
I’m not annoyed.” Maybe if he said it often enough, he’d believe it. “I have no
reason to be. If I act like a jerk, I have no one to blame but myself if that’s
how people see me.”
    Her expression was guarded, so he couldn’t tell whether or not
he’d placated her when she said, “Fine. I’ll make that appointment for you with
Merkins and have a draft of the letter to the officers.”
    “And let’s see if we can get the board up here for a meeting by
this evening. They’ve all seen that email from Dalton this morning. I don’t want
to give them too much time to think about things.”
    She had her iPad out again, making notes. After a second, she
glanced up. “You might not realize this, but Dalton usually gives at least one
week’s notice because several of the board members—”
    “Are out of town? Yes, I know. We’ll video conference them in.
Before we do anything else, we need to get me confirmed as interim CEO. Promise
them it’ll be a short meeting. I don’t want to give them time to debate the
alternatives.”
    “Very good.”
    “Also, I’ll need to meet with Marion this afternoon and let her
know I’ve changed positions.”
    “Will she expect to move up with you?”
    “Probably not. She’s used to coasting by without doing too much
work. Besides, we’ll need her to hold down the fort in the office of the VP of
International Marketing until we can find someone else to fill that job.”
    She nodded, then closed the iPad again.
    “Sydney—” he coaxed before she could vanish for good.
    But she ignored the tone he’d used.
    “Shall I schedule the meeting with Merkins for first thing in
the morning? Say, eight o’clock?”
    He did a quick mental review of his personal schedule. “Make it
nine-thirty.”
    “Nine-thirty?” Sydney asked, frowning. “By then, everyone will
have been at work for several hours. Gossip will already be spreading. You need
to get her on your side straightaway.”
    She was right, of course. Except he had a virtual meeting with
a bank in Nairobi set up for eight in the morning. It had taken him two weeks to
get the financial officer of the bank to even agree to the meeting. Rescheduling
it would be a nightmare.
    “I have another obligation at eight,” he said, hoping she
wouldn’t argue with the note of finality in his voice.
    He should have known better. Sydney set her jaw at a stubborn
angle and flipped open her iPad again. “You don’t. I took the liberty of having
your assistant, Marion, forward your schedule to me earlier. Your morning is
free.”
    “Marion doesn’t have my complete schedule. I have a phone call
to make at eight.”
    Sydney blew out a breath as though she was trying to muster her
restraint. “Can you push it