Marian had spent the whole week at Cuvier Shipping. She couldn’t say she’d really worked; instead, her time had been spent reading a large book on shipping that had just about put her to sleep. She had cleaned her desk three times. Her knowledge regarding the shipping business was about the same as when she’d walked in the door.
They were paying no heed to her, hoping to push her out before she even got started. Since his temper tantrum that first day, Louis had hardly spoken to her. And while his ignoring her somehow stung, she was determined not to give up. It would take more than a lack of attention to drive her out.
Today would be different. Sometimes taking matters into one’s own hands was called for and this could be one of those times.
She walked out of her office and down the hall to where Henry Chatham, the accountant, sat working on the books. If no one would teach her the business, then she would work her way backwards through the ledgers. She would use the files and whatever else she could to teach herself. Just because the men in the office were united against her, she would not let them stop her.
“Excuse me,” she said clearing her throat to draw Henry’s attention.
He glanced up at her as if she had two heads and six arms. “I’m looking for the general ledger.”
“Uh,” he glanced around nervously. “I know it’s around here somewhere, but I don’t see it right now. How about if I bring it to you?”
“That’s fine. I’ll expect it on my desk in ten minutes,” she said, before turning and walking away.
She suspected the leather bound book that kept all the financial records for the company was not really missing. Henry refused to share the information.
Ten minutes passed and when Marian looked up from the newspaper she sat reading, Louis stood in her doorway, filling it completely. He wore a dark suit with a white shirt that contrasted with his bronzed skin. His dark blue eyes gazed at her, warm and intense, causing a shiver to trail along her spine.
“Handsome” wasn’t the word to describe him. His looks were rugged, with broad shoulders and muscled forearms, though his lazy, confident gaze drew her to him. He was the first man in years whose appearance she’d taken notice of, and Louis’s certain smile told her he knew she’d observed him.
“Yes, Mr. Fournet?” she asked trying to ignore his self-assured grin.
“Louis,” he replied.
“What can I do for you, Louis?” she asked, her honey-sweet voice emphasizing his name.
He smiled. “I hear you’re looking for the general ledger.”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Why?” he asked, his brow raised.
“Because I am part owner of this company and I intend to find out what’s going on,” she said sweetly. “Now, you can tell Henry he has an additional ten minutes before I fire him.”
Louis laughed. “Behind that innocent face and all that black silk is quite a spitfire I’d say.”
She shook her head. “No, just a determined woman who, no matter how much you push her, is not going away.”
“Not yet anyway,” he replied smiling congenially.
“Not ever,” she returned sweetly, wishing she could take her eyes off his full lips, wondering what they would feel like to kiss.
Jon barged into the room. “Louis, Priscilla Morgan is here to see you.”
Louis glanced at Jon and then again at Marian. “I’ll tell Henry to bring you the ledger. Excuse me; I have more pleasant matters awaiting me.”
He turned and walked away and she couldn’t help but watch the way he strode across the room with a determined step. Yet when she spoke with him, he seemed more playful than serious. Which was Louis Fournet, the serious businessman or the playful bachelor? Or some randy combination of both?
A few minutes later, the balding accountant strode into her office, a big ledger in his hand. “Mr. Fournet said to bring this to you.”
Marian smiled at the accountant and took the ledger from his hands. “Thank you, Henry. I appreciate your promptness. And I know that you realize if you ever question my authority again, it will be your last day with Cuvier Shipping.”
The man frowned, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Marian watched him as he hurried out the door. She sighed and turned her attention to the ledger. Taking a sheet of paper, she made some notes as she flipped through the ledger to see who Cuvier Shipping was doing business with.
Ten minutes later, Marian heard the soft trill of a woman’s voice and glanced up from the accountant’s book to see a woman with a full figure, who had tumbling blonde curls, and a soft angelic face. Priscilla Morgan was everything that men adored in a woman.
She watched Louis laughing and talking with the pretty woman, participating in a flirtatious ritual that amused Marian, yet made her sad. He leaned toward the woman telling her something for her ears only and Marian couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a man’s attention. So many years had passed without even a flirtatious smile from her husband. Had they ever been this enamored with one another?
The woman smiled coyly at Louis and Marian watched him respond to her banter with his own teasing response, just as Jean once reacted to her so many years ago.
Louis responded like her dead husband. They had been business associates and friends who had much in common. And the very fact they seemed alike should be enough to keep Marian’s thoughts off the dark-haired man with the bewitching blue eyes, perhaps too much like Jean Cuvier.
Marian returned her attention to the ledger and tried to concentrate on the names and figures before her eyes. Each time she heard the woman’s laughter, the words seemed to blur on the page as her concentration shifted to the people across the hall.
Why couldn’t she just block their laughter from her mind? Why did the woman’s voice seem more like a purr that made Marian’s heart ache? With a sigh she returned to the ledger page, more determined than ever to learn all she could about Cuvier Shipping. Her focus had to remain on the company and her children, not her Don Juan of a business partner.