Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) by Sylvia McDaniel Read Free Book Online Page B

say I’m starting off on a positive
note. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the day unfolds.”
    He tried to hold it back, but the chuckle
that bubbled up from his chest refused to cooperate and he laughed
out loud at her wry acceptance of how her day had begun. “Welcome
to Cuvier Shipping, Mrs. Cuvier. Come around the gate and I’ll
introduce you to the rest of the staff.”
    “I’m glad I’ve made your day entertaining,”
she said walking through the open gate and into the back office
area.
    “Indeed you have, though I had hoped you
would come to your senses and stay home.”
    She looked beautiful, with flushed cheeks
against the paleness of her complexion. Her dark hair piled high on
her head showing off her long and graceful neck. He frowned at the
observation. Just what he needed to be noticing on her first day in
the office. All the desirable places on her neck to place his
lips.
    With a shrug she strolled past him, her black
skirt brushing against his legs. “Staying home was not possible. I
knew I had to be here.” She glanced around the office. “Where is my
husband’s desk?”
    Louis frowned at her. “Jean had his own
office, which someone else has since taken over.”
    “Then I suggest you have him removed, so that
I may occupy that space,” she said, in such a way that he knew it
would be useless to argue with her.
    “You’re definitely going to be popular with
the employees,” he remarked, shaking his head reminding himself to
let her sink her own boat “Follow me and I’ll show you around and
then take you to Jean’s office.”
    She followed Louis through the office area,
while he pointed out where different people who worked for the
business sat. It was still early enough that most employees had yet
to arrive. When they stopped in front of her new office, a man sat
at a desk scribbling in a leather- bound ledger.
    “Henry,” Louis called. The man glanced up.
“Mrs. Cuvier, this is Henry Chatham, our accountant. Henry, I’d
like to introduce you to Mrs. Cuvier, Jean’s wife.” The man jumped
up and hurried around the desk. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cuvier. My
condolences regarding your husband.”
    “Thank you,” Marian replied, glancing at
Louis expectantly.
    “Henry, Mrs. Cuvier is going to be taking
Jean’s place.” The man’s jaw dropped and Louis couldn’t help but
smile. “We’re going to need Jean’s office for her.”
    “But...” he glanced up at Marian, his face
reflecting the surprise Louis’s announcement had brought.
    “If you’d be so kind as to vacate his office,
then I can move in,” Marian said with a smile.
    The man frowned. “Mrs. Cuvier what...what are
you going to do for us?”
    Marian shrugged. “I’m not certain yet. Mr.
Fournet is going to teach me the business.”
    There were a lot of things Louis would
like to teach her, he thought, none of which had to do with
shipping, but rather a different kind of exploration. Marian
Cuvier’s curves were definitely an interesting attraction that his
eyes were naturally drawn to. The thought caught Louis off guard
before he could put a halt to the wayward idea. She hadn’t been
here an hour and already he was thinking about things he had no
business considering.
    Jean had been his partner and Marian was the
dead man’s wife. It wouldn’t do to become involved with the pretty
widow, especially considering the brief time she would be here.
    “Henry, if you’d move your work out, then
I’ll get Mrs. Cuvier settled in here,” Louis said.
    The man sighed, clearly not happy with this
turn of events. “I’ll start packing.”
    Before lunchtime, Louis had Marian ensconced
in her own office and given her a tome to read called The Merits
of Trade in the New World. The book was large enough to occupy
her for quite some time and keep her busy and out of his way, at
least until he took care of some pressing issues.
    All morning a steady stream of employees
casually strolled by the office, gazing upon the