***
Marian sat at her desk, gazing at the empty office across from her. A week had passed since Louis kissed her in an attempt to run her off and still they were at a stalemate with neither one of them winning out.
Well past noon, Louis had yet to show up for work and she wondered what he could be doing. While she knew his whereabouts were none of her concern and she should not worry, she could not help but wonder where the man could be hiding.
The thoughts went round and round in her head, while she tried to trace back journal entries to see who the company was paying. This week she’d learned that shipping manifests were long and incredibly dull, and her mind kept wandering back to the image of the man across the hall.
Feeling his mouth covering hers, his hands gripping her, feeling his lips moving against hers, intruded more often in her thoughts than they should. And now along with that image came the burning question of how would she feel with his arms wrapped around her? Would it be comforting and soothing? Or wild and wanton? Or was it possible to have wild, wanton, and soothing all in the same embrace?
Doubtful. And she shouldn’t really consider the question. After all she would never experience his embrace, so why torture herself with wondering? But still, the thought intruded.
The sound of shouting startled her and she jumped from behind her desk. What was that?
“Get him in here, now!” yelled a man, the silence when he finished deafening.
Hurrying to the door, she glanced out, half-afraid of what she would find.
“What do you mean Mr. Fournet is not here! I told him if this happened again, we were through! I mean to tell him just how much he’s cost my company with this damn lost shipment!” shouted the man.
An irate customer wanted Louis and she was here alone!
Marian walked down the hall, her feet carrying her toward the counter, while her thoughts seemed rattled and she shook nervously. She didn’t know what she would do, but she must face this customer.
What if he refused to speak with her because she was a woman? Ridiculous, she could convince him. For the sake of Cuvier Shipping and Philip, she had to.
As Marian approached the reception area, she felt like she was headed to the gallows. Her heart pounded inside her chest and her palms sweated, but she knew she could not stand by and do nothing.
As the co-owner, she was the one to take this man’s complaint, but she didn’t know what she would tell him.
“Sir, I promise you I would not hide Mr. Fournet from you,” Henry Chatham said, his voice rising with growing frustration. “I wish he were here to handle your complaint.”
Marian reached the counter, her gaze taking in a red-faced man who towered above her. Brown eyes snapped in anger, his pupils were large and dark. She swallowed the butterflies that seemed to rise from her stomach.
“You tell that French bas—”
“Excuse me, is there a problem?” Marian asked, her voice soft, but firm.
The large man halted, seeming almost ready to explode with rage, as his face turned an even darker shade of red at the sight of her.
“Damn yes, there’s a problem. Just who the hell are you?” he demanded.
Marian swallowed, drawing on a reserve of strength she hadn’t known she possessed. She pulled back her shoulders, lifted her chin, and met his angry gaze.
“I’m Marian Cuvier, part owner of Cuvier Shipping. Can I be of service to you?” she said politely.
“If you weren’t a damn woman, I’d give you the chewing that Fournet deserves,” the man bellowed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Marian said, ignoring his comment about women, though she wanted to kick him in the shin. Somehow she felt like he was still swearing at her, though only in polite tones.
“Morgan! George Morgan of the St Martin Sugar Refinery.”
Marian recognized his name from the ledgers.
This man was no ordinary customer, he was their largest account He controlled one of the largest sugar plantations in Louisiana, not to mention the fact that he also had a business that moved coffee and bananas around the United States.
Somehow she to calm down the customer and retain his business.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Morgan. Would you like to come back to my office where I’d be happy to discuss any problems you may have with your shipments?”
Her even tone and offer of help took the sting right out of his anger as he stared at her, stunned.
“Ma’am how’s a woman going to help me?”
She smiled, thinking a woman could do so much for him. “I’m Jean Cuvier’s widow. I own half of this business. You have my guarantee that I will work out some plan that will make you happy with Cuvier Shipping again, Mr. Morgan.”
Where moments ago there had only been the sound of shouting, now silence filled the room as he stared at her, along with all the other men in the room. For a moment she thought he was either going to yell at her or laugh, she didn’t know which. The fear that they were about to lose their biggest account almost overwhelmed her.
Mr. Morgan glanced around at the men who stood gazing at them. “Well one thing I can say for you, you’re the only one who has offered to help me. The rest have been scurrying out of my way, including this swamp rat behind the counter.”
“Then you’re willing to sit down and discuss the problems?” she asked, putting her shaky, perspiring palms together to hide them.
“Hell yes, I’ll discuss them with you. But I’m going to expect some improvement. You’re not going to just mollify me with talk and no action,” he bellowed.
“Fair enough. Let’s see what we can agree to.” She held open the gate for him. “Shall we?”
Marian could feel every eye in the room on them as they walked down the hall toward her office. For the first time since she’d started working at Cuvier Shipping she felt like she was in a position of power. For the first time she was going to actually do something beneficial for the company.