The Paris Affair (10 page)

“What he did went way beyond business,” Claire said from behind her father. “He was romantically involved with this woman during the bidding process. There are laws on the books to prevent companies from corrupting government officials for a reason.”

James did not budge from his spot in front of the camera, so Claire gave up and switched on her own. For a moment, all of the faces on her screen froze in place, a grotesque and comical array of half-formed expressions.

“The severance package we are proposing is beyond generous,” she said once she got the communications established. “And if we’re lucky, that’s all we’ll lose out of this. HR and Legal are still working on the final wording of the deal. I’ll email to you all the moment I receive it.”

“Folks,” said James over the top of Claire. “Sign it and send it back. Tonight. We need this wrapped up first thing in the morning, before the press gets hold of it. As always, if there’s a leak, I’ll know where it’s coming from.”

Claire fumed as she and her father switched off their video connections. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, he had stepped in front of her and taken over.

He stood and yawned. “See, CJ. That’s how these things are handled. Now lets get some dinner.”

“Is that it? Send some emails, fire your CFO, and then have a steak?” Her voice sounded shrill to her own ears.

He narrowed his eyes. “It’s business. Helmut will understand. And we’re keeping your stepmother waiting.”

She stood up and crossed her hands over her chest and glared. “Let her wait. After all, it’s business, right? Business first and foremost. Always.”

“What’s gotten into you tonight?” He planted his fists on his hips and glared right back.

I know this scene. This is where my father and I have a big loud argument and stop talking for a year.
But this time, Claire wouldn’t stomp off to her room and rage. Why the hell had she ever thought she could work with her father?

“You’re handling way too much,” she said through gritted teeth. “This was my problem, not yours. I’m the CEO, remember?”

“But you need board approval to remove another executive from office,” he fired back.

“Yes, but I didn’t need you to talk for me. What am I, sixteen years old?”

James frowned at Claire. She frowned right back. Finally he threw up his hands.

“For crying out loud, no, you’re not sixteen. And stop looking at me like that. You remind me of your mother.”

“Then maybe you should have chosen someone else to do this job. Or kept it for yourself. Why bother retiring if you’re going to continue to run the company through someone else?” Claire kept herself from shouting the words. Barely.

She had thought this could work. She really had. After all, he had called her, asking if she would accept the position. It wasn’t like she had come crawling to Daddy to ask for a handout. But she hadn’t intended on butting heads. Or letting him steamroll her.

“The board chose a candidate we thought could handle the responsibility. Were we all wrong?” he asked.

“How the hell would you know? You haven’t let me say a complete sentence without interrupting me.”

James opened his mouth and then closed it again. Claire stared him down. She wasn’t sixteen anymore. And she wouldn’t be crying off to her room anymore either. It had been years since their last yelling fight, and her father would have to learn that she’d grown. And hardened.

“Fine,” he said, tight-lipped. “It’s all yours. Have fun firing your CFO tomorrow, and prepping for the air show next week. Diana wanted to leave for France earlier than normal this year, anyway—something about a trunk show. After I get that severance contract signed, I’m officially on vacation. But you better hope you don’t need another emergency board while I’m gone.”

“I’m sure I can manage,” she said to his back as he stalked out of the room.

What on earth did I just do?
Claire stuffed her laptop back into her briefcase and rushed out the door. Her father and his wife had planned all week to take her out to dinner and celebrate her new job. But she couldn’t stomach it. As she rode down the elevators from the penthouse condo, she breathed a ragged sigh.

Getting her father to back down was a small victory. But the price might be more than she could stomach.

She now had to find the words to fire the man she’d spent the morning making love to.

“Have you ever been to Jamaica, Claire?” Helmut asked as soon as the office door closed behind him.

The glitter in his eyes sent a thrill of primal lust straight to her core, and she felt her panties growing damp at the memory of his hands on her body. His lips. His tongue.

She looked away.

Even from across the huge monstrosity of a desk Father had left in the office, her nose detected a hint of Helmut’s cologne. If she weren’t already sitting, the spicy sent would have turned her knees to jelly. She shifted her weight, uncrossing her knees and then crossing her ankles. Failing to find the cool poise that she needed.
What happens on the weekend doesn’t have to come to the office on Monday.
Yeah, right.

“Funny that you mention Jamaica.” She motioned toward the chair on the other side of her desk.

He relaxed backwards in the tufted leather guest chair and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. “Is that a ‘no?’ The weather is downright celestial this time of year. There’s a tiny, exclusive guesthouse near Negril. Their chef is the best on the island, and the infinity pool commands a view of the entire cove. I would love to take you there.”

Claire pictured Helmut swimming in a sparkling blue ocean, the sun glinting off his tanned chest as he ripped through the water.
Get a grip. Focus.
She flipped open the manila folder in front of her and glanced over the top page. One word stood out.
Jamaica.

“Is this the same beach house that you took Juliana Morgan to last April?” she asked, keeping her voice low. She had to keep a clear head here.

Helmut stiffened visibly, and then smiled. It was a half smile, more of a quirk of the lips. “Don’t worry about Juliana. We went our separate ways months ago.”

So it was true.
Claire’s heart sank. She had such a small thread of hope when she walked in this morning. Maybe it was all a huge misunderstanding. “You invited her on a vacation?”

Helmut dropped his ankle from his knee, and sat up straighter, clearly not amused by her questions. But he kept his smile easygoing. “Yes, I did. I have a contact with a villa in the south of Spain. Would that be more to your taste?”

Spain? What was he thinking? “Helmut, did you pay for Juliana’s trip? Plane tickets, meals?”

“Of course,” he said, frowning. “I was raised a gentleman. But I am a modern gentleman. We could share expenses, if that would make things more comfortable.”

Claire looked agape at Helmut. Did he really believe this conversation was about the possibility of a romantic vacation?

The buzz of his cell phone reverberated in the office, sounding more obnoxious than any blaring hip-hop song. He quickly silenced the thing without even looking.

“Venice?” he offered hopefully. “Have you ever sipped champagne in a gondola?”

Claire put down her pen and took a drink of her quickly cooling coffee. It was too sweet, but it gave her an excuse to delay. And to compose her next words.

“We are the primary contractor on the Shadow Fly project, correct?” she asked.

“Yes. If you want details, you’ll have to call in Ben. I’m just the numbers guy, remember?” He looked annoyed, but she had to finish this.

“And that Juliana Morgan worked on the team that awarded us that contract?”

Helmet clenched his jaw. “Of course I knew. How do you think we met?”

She dropped her gaze to her notes. “The contract was awarded May 15. Three weeks after you returned from your jaunt to Jamaica.”

“Your point?” He raised one eyebrow in challenge.

“Have you ever heard of the law governing kickbacks?”

“Kickbacks...what are you implying?” Helmut’s voice lowered dangerously. “Do you think I bribed Juliana with a trip to Jamaica?”

Claire recoiled at the intense fury she saw in his eyes, but she didn’t back down. This was her job, whether she liked it or not. “It certainly looks that way. At least to the government oversight committee.”

Helmut sputtered. “We didn’t even discuss business on that trip. It was just a vacation. Two consenting adults who enjoyed each other’s company. No contracts involved. When the hell did this come about?”

“The other bidder filed a complaint with the government oversight committee just before the close of business on Friday. One of the committee members told us yesterday, as a courtesy. An inquiry isn’t slated to start until later this—”

“Yesterday?” His eyes flashed.

Claire lowered her gaze again. She’d gotten the call while she was still in bed with Helmut. And then he practically snuck out of her condo while she was still on the phone. She should have stopped him. Could have stopped him. Could have told him all this up front. But she hadn’t wanted her father to know that Helmut was at her house. Besides, she thought the whole thing was some grotesque joke at first.

“I have already talked to the committee chairman, and they agree with me that it was probably an innocent coincidence,” she said carefully.

“Damn straight.”

Claire gulped. This was it. “However, if we do nothing, they won’t let us off the hook. The usual consequence for a company’s first time offense is to suspend our right to bid on contracts for six months. In exchange, we have to educate our employees about business ethics, and what behaviors constitute an appearance of impropriety—”

Helmut snorted. “What is this, the eighteenth century? Appearance of impropriety?”

Claire held up one hand, cutting him off. “There’s another condition. Your termination.”

Helmut sprang to his feet. “My what? You can’t fire me. I know this company better than anyone besides James.”

“I am aware of that, Helmut,” she said quietly. Horribly, embarrassingly aware of it. She might have an intuition for diplomacy, and a knack for leadership and for fostering productivity among her employees. But she had been painfully aware for the past week that it would be years—decades—before she could match Helmut’s breadth of knowledge of all aspects of this business.

“I’m the CFO. Only the board can—”

“They have already voted. They are offering you a generous severance package if you will voluntarily resign. It’s all spelled out in here—”

Helmut ignored her outstretched hand. She set the folder down on the desk in front of him.

“I will not go quietly,” he spat. “And James will hear about this. What do you think he will say about you firing me after we—”

“Don’t finish that, Helmut,” she warned. “Father knows. About Juliana and the Shadow Fly contract, I mean. He’s the chairman of the board. He drafted the severance package himself. Please don’t make this personal. This has nothing to do with you and me—”

Helmut spun on his heel and stalked out of the office.

Claire jumped to her feet and tried to follow him. He pushed past Steph, nearly knocking her down. Helmut’s jacket sleeve brushed a stack of papers off of a filing cabinet, scattering them on the floor at Claire’s feet. He didn’t look back.

“That went well,” Steph said.

Claire gave a wistful glance as his retreating back. “Yeah. Right.”

“I take it something happened. Between you two?”

Claire knelt down and began stacking papers. Neatly. Perfectly. Ensuring that each one was aligned just so with the one below it. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

Steph bent down next to Claire and scooped all of them, including Claire’s stack, into a loose heap. “That bad, huh.”

“It’s complicated.”