had been six months since he’d initialized the hostile takeover of her family’s company Infinity Games. It was now January in Southern California where they lived, and that meant chilly weather, but no snow. And he was more than happy to concede that he was very chilly toward Emma and all the Chandlers. He could even acknowledge it was a coping mechanism.
Since then, his cousins had weakened and fallen in love with the other two Chandler sisters. But Kell hadn’t forgotten the way they’d struggled growing up under the bitter tutelage of their grandfather, Thomas Montrose. There had been only one thing that Grandfather Thomas had wanted and that was to see all Chandlers suffer as he had when he’d been cut out of the profits and left to see someone else developing his dreams. And the message had sunk in with Kell, the eldest grandson, who’d spent the most time with the old man. Kell’s dad had been a navy SEAL killed in action and his mom had lit out for greener pastures.
“So...” Emma said after the silence stretched on, their call for help unanswered. “I guess one role you might need to fill is building maintenance.”
He chuckled. “That would be a waste of your skills.”
“It would, but I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be stuck in here now if I was in charge of it.”
“Have you thought of anything else you can do in Playtone-Infinity Games?” he asked.
She rubbed the back of her neck and glanced over at him. He’d always thought her eyes were pretty. The color of the California sky on a late autumn day when it was clear and so blue it almost hurt to look at it.
Her long reddish-brown hair was pulled back in a chignon but a tendril had escaped to curl around her ear. He didn’t want to notice it, but he did. He also couldn’t tear his eyes from her lips. She had a kissable mouth, he noticed. Her lower lip was full and just looking at it whetted his appetite.
She wore a black Chanel dress with a gold accent at the neck that made hers seem long and slender. He recognized the designer because his last girlfriend had worked for Neiman Marcus and had paraded haute couture in front of him all the time.
“The only viable idea I have for a new role is to make the company’s charitable arm more of a foundation. There are a few things I’ve been wanting to implement but there was never time in my schedule.”
“Like what?” he asked. Creating a foundation would be great for the tax write-off. They were about to see some huge gains in profit from the merged company and he didn’t want it all to go to taxes.
“Shouldn’t I save this for the meeting in forty-eight hours that decides my fate?”
“Just run it past me,” he said.
“I’ve been working on a prototype game at home for my tablet that would help kids with reading. I know there are other reading apps and software out there but they don’t work with Sammy. So I started focusing on what he likes and working to his skills.”
“That’s a lot of customization,” he said, but already he saw the potential in the idea. If they distributed a learning game through a foundation they could get their software into the hands of kids as they were just starting to play. So that once they were older they’d gravitate toward the Playtone-Infinity family of console and handheld games.
“Yes, but I’ve been talking to some of the teachers at the nursery school and they said most kids fall into four or five categories for learning so we’d create different versions based on those categories and then roll it out in test groups. What do you think?”
“I like it. I like it a lot. But you’re going to need more than just one game to keep your job.”
“I realize that,” she said. “I’ve been jotting down some notes on what the charitable trust could look like and working on the job description for the chairman role.”
“Fair enough. After your initial meeting with the board in forty-eight hours, why don’t we have a meeting next week in your office. You can show me your prototype and your ideas for the structure of the foundation. If it’s viable we’ll discuss a way to make it work.”
“Really?” she asked. It was almost too good to be true.
“I just said so,” he said sarcastically.
“But I thought you were going to take out your revenge on the Chandlers by firing me,” she said.
“Well, if you keep talking about it then I will just fire you outright. But we’re family now. You and I share a nephew and an adopted niece. I’ve always been focused on revenge, but now that I have what I want, maybe I need to look at the future a little differently.”
Her youngest sister, Cari, had a child with Kell’s cousin Dec. They were engaged to be married, which meant one day soon Emma and Kell would be related. Also, her middle sister, Jessi, and Kell’s other cousin, Allan, were engaged and were guardians to their late friends’ baby, Hannah.
“I’m not sure I can trust you now,” she said.
“Given our family history I’d feel the exact same way. But I would have to be a total bastard to say yes to your idea and make you work hard to save your job, then not let you keep it.”
“It’d be the perfect revenge,” she said. “Listen, I don’t want to deny that you are entitled to your position. I will work hard, but only if you are going to give me a fair chance at actually keeping my job.”
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to change my mind about firing you, but not impossible.”
She tipped her head to the side and walked forward, putting both of her palms on his chest and leaned toward him. “That sounds like a challenge, Kell Montrose, and I am more than willing to accept it.
“We can both agree that you’ve made no promises and that I will have to work twice as hard to get your acceptance, but when I do, and I can guarantee that I will, you will have to keep me on not because I’m a Chandler but because you are a man of your word and we made a bargain.”
Dammit it to hell and back. She was right. He was a man of his word, and now he’d have to stand behind the commitment he’d just made.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked. “There’d be no shame in walking away from Playtone-Infinity Games. I’m prepared to offer you a very generous severance package that will make you a rich woman. You’d never have to work another day in your life after this.”
Her gaze met his and he saw the steely determination in her eyes. “I can’t. I have a son, and Playtone-Infinity is his heritage too. What kind of example would I be setting if I just walked away.”
Kell had to admit, he respected her for that. She was his enemy—that hadn’t changed—but there was something about her attitude that made him want her to stay.
And to be perfectly honest it would be the coup de grace in his war against her grandfather, Gregory Chandler. True the old man was dead, but Kell couldn’t help but think of how much it would piss him off to see his granddaughter bargaining with a Montrose to keep not only her job but also her pride.
The elevator jolted back into motion, tossing Emma off balance. She let her leather bag slip to the floor as she threw out her arm to try to catch herself. Kell grabbed her and steadied her.
A
