Chapter 16 ~ Carter ~
"F rancis!" As I entered my office the next morning, I felt like a new man. The sex with Isabella had awakened my spirits, and I was ready for anything. Good. There were some things I urgently needed to address here.
Really urgently.
And that's exactly what I was going to do now.
Maybe I should have sex with Isabella every day, then everything in this company would run like clockwork.
Nonsense, Carter, what are you thinking? Just because the woman turns you on like no other doesn't mean you have to get the idea of daily...
"Yes, Mr. Jenkins?" My assistant poked his head through the door at just the right moment. Who knows what other thoughts I might have had otherwise. I might have thrown all my principles overboard. I shook my head at myself.
"Has Donovan Hayden Ellesmere contacted us again since our meeting?" I wanted to know.
"No, Mr. Jenkins. I haven't heard the name since you left for the appointment with him. Were you able to achieve anything?"
"Not yet," I told Francis and ordered, "Connect me with Mr. Ellesmere."
Mr. Ellesmere. That sounded much better than that ridiculous combination of names that Donovan placed so much value on. If we hadn't lived in the USA, he probably would have bought himself a title of nobility. And Abigail would have become Princess Abigail. The thought made me grin. I couldn't imagine a more unladylike princess.
The phone on my glass designer desk rang.
"Mr. Ellesmere for you," Francis reported. My assistant was really efficient. Anyone who could get a busy man like Donovan on the phone without any fuss had done a great job.
"Donovan. Nice of you to make time for me," I greeted my ex's father with a feigned cheerful voice.
"You have ten minutes. Maximum. More like five." Donovan's voice would have better suited a cold winter day, it sounded so frosty.
"I wanted to revisit our conversation." Donovan had made it clear that his decision was final. But I didn't give up so easily. Only those who give up have already lost, right?
"I think we discussed everything."
"Donovan. My brother doesn't even have the capacity to produce the entire order in such a short time. The Elecar Corporation may have expanded its production lines. Cameron hasn't done that. He's far too little of an entrepreneur for that. Far too risk-averse."
"He'll increase the capacities once he has my order." Donovan remained stubborn.
"Then it's much too late and you know that too. He'll never be able to meet the delivery deadline." To be honest, I had no idea what work Cameron had or hadn't done in his company recently. But I knew him. He had never been a real entrepreneur. Not a pioneer. He was one of the imitators. He would probably come out with a battery as good as the one my engineers had just invented in a few years.
By then, I would already be on the market with the next innovation.
Always one step ahead.
That's how you make money and profits.
That's how you get on the front page of the New York Times.
Sure, you suffer a setback once in a while. But the gains are usually much greater.
Provided I didn't run into an old stubborn goat like Donovan Hayden Ellesmere, who was completely under his daughter's thumb.
"I can't give you the order, Carter. With every battery that would be installed in one of our cars, I would think of Abigail. And that I owe my success to the man who plunged her into misery." Now Donovan was really laying it on thick.
And it was really getting on my nerves.
What was this about?
Couldn't he separate business from personal matters?
Every reasonable man did that!
Carter! Calm down! You need to make him think. What do you want? To push Cameron out, yes. But first, it's about getting a foot in the door again. If half of the test vehicles were equipped with Cameron's products and the other half with yours, that would be a first step. You can see where to go from there!
"I understand that, Donovan," I feigned. "But Abigail and I weren't as happy together as it seemed. I'm sure she'll recover soon and find new happiness. She deserves the best man she can get. Unfortunately, that's not me." After this speech, I felt like I had a knot in my tongue. I had rarely uttered so many lies at once. The man who eventually ended up with Abigail had my deepest sympathy. He would spend his life between tirades and fits of jealousy.
Who did I wish that on?
Only one name came to mind.
Cameron.
If I had known what Abigail was like, I wouldn't have stolen her from him. Or I would have just had a brief fling with her after her and Cameron's wedding, to pay Cameron back for what he had once done to me.
"Abigail wants to see you again, Carter," Donovan said. "If you at least agree to meet with her, I'll consider equipping an additional test vehicle with a product from Carco Batteries ."
I could hardly believe my ears. On one hand, it sounded... brazen, but on the other hand, it was going better than expected. Donovan must have been under tremendous pressure from two sides to make such an offer on his own. First, there was Abigail with her whining. And then there was the internal pressure at Elecar Corporation . Donovan wasn't the only member of the board. Surely others had carefully studied the submitted documents and concluded that Carco Batteries ' products were technically superior to Cameron's - even though Donovan had claimed otherwise during our meeting at the hotel.
"A test vehicle! That sounds wonderful, Donovan," I buttered up the old geezer, grinning triumphantly. "I'll contact your head of development right away and coordinate a delivery with him."
Better to strike while the iron is hot.
"As long as you also coordinate a meeting with Abigail." Donovan wouldn't let up.
"You know I'm engaged, Donovan. I don't want to mislead you." I remained unyielding as well.
"I know. It's just about a meeting." Donovan now sounded almost pleading. I liked that.
"All right," I sighed. I would keep the meeting as short and impersonal as possible. It would be best to have Abigail meet me at a windy location during a storm. That way, I wouldn't be able to understand any of her reproaches. And she wouldn't be able to endure the outdoors for too long.
And I would take my time setting up the appointment.
"It won't work out with the meeting this week, though. I'm very busy. Cameron's wedding is coming up." My tone left no room for argument.
I was indeed very busy.
I intended to screw the beautiful Isabella a few more times.
At the thought, my cock twitched slightly. At first. Then more and more. Until it finally pressed against my pants. God, if Isabella had been here in the office right now, then... I imagined her body.
Naked.
In front of me.
On the desk.
How much longer was Yolanda on vacation?
Should I offer Isabella to fill in here?
What did she do for a living anyway?
We hadn't even talked about that.
"Then we're agreed. As soon as your meeting with Abigail has taken place, you can deliver." Donovan sealed our deal.
"I'll be in touch," I replied curtly and ended the conversation. I had no desire to meet with Abigail, but I guess I couldn't avoid it.
You have to think strategically, Carter. What's one meeting compared to a huge contract? An unpleasant appointment versus... your photo on the front page of the New York Times.
Nothing. It was nothing compared to that. Just a small sacrifice. Now I would banish Abigail from my mind and think about the beautiful Isabella instead. She kept sneaking into my thoughts anyway. I put my feet up on my desk and closed my eyes.
Ah, that body.
Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy my fantasy for very long. The ringing of my phone interrupted my thoughts after just a few seconds. I grunted in annoyance. Who dared to disturb me again?
Cameron.
The guy really always called at the most inconvenient times.
"What do you want now?" I began the conversation irritably.
"Donovan Hayden Ellesmere just sent me a message. This is MY contract. Keep your hands off it."
I laughed mockingly. "Cameron, Elecar Corporation is awarding this contract. To the company of their choice. YOU don't get to decide anything."
"What did you promise Donovan to make him change his mind?"
"Nothing," I lied.
"You can't care much about your fiancée if you're so easily meeting with Abigail again," my brother needled.
Damn it.
Did that old gossip Donovan have nothing better to do than call Cameron right after our conversation and tell him everything in detail? Angrily, I clenched my left hand into a fist. Did Donovan want to play Cameron and me against each other? Then he'd better watch out. I made a mental note to speak with the other board members of Elecar Corporation later that afternoon. In the end, I would get the contract. And preferably without ever seeing Abigail again.
"If our grandmother finds out that you're meeting other women while you're engaged..." Cameron left his sentence unfinished. I knew what he wanted to say anyway. If our grandmother found out about this, I could kiss my inheritance goodbye once and for all.
I would have to be very, very careful at the wedding. Of course, no one knew about the deal between Isabella and me, but Cameron would certainly try to squeeze information out of Isabella at the party or find out something in some other way that he could use to harm me.
"You'd better watch out," I now threatened Cameron in turn. "You also know what happens if open conflict breaks out between us and we stop talking to each other."
Then our grandmother would disinherit us too.
"If something's fishy with you, I'll find out. You'd better watch yourself." Cameron sounded biting. He must really be afraid of losing the contract. And his inheritance. The thought amused me more than anything else I had heard today.
"Take good care of your company." I could threaten just as well as Cameron.
My brother didn't reply. So I simply hung up. Everything had been said. I had nothing more to tell him. The idiot had kept me from thinking about more pleasant things for long enough. Like Isabella's body.
But no sooner had I hung up than my phone rang again.
"Carco Batteries switchboard, hello." I answered the call slightly irritated, without even checking who was calling. At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind. I hoped it wasn't Isabella. I didn't want to look ridiculous in front of her at all.
"Got a new job?" A male voice.
Don.
"It almost feels like it," I grumbled.
"Well then, I have a message for your top boss. A certain Carter Jenkins." Don played along with my game. I grinned. My best friend was always up for a joke. That was one of the things I liked so much about him. Don continued: "Carter Jenkins hasn't been reachable for the past few hours. So Tony, the boss of his motorsport club, called me. The spare part for Carter's quad isn't particularly easy to get."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I flared up, dropping my role as switchboard operator.
"Now, don't get so worked up," Don tried to calm me down.
"If the quad isn't ready in time for the race..." I began. Don interrupted me. He was one of the few people I let get away with that.
"If worst comes to worst, you can use mine."
But at that moment, I was so upset about Tony's delay that even Don's offer couldn't calm me down. "Sorry Don, but technically it's just not the same."
Don sighed. "You're right, of course. But Tony's news isn't that bad. The spare part will arrive the day before the race. He can still install it in time. You just won't be able to do any major test runs."
"That's way too late!" I burst out angrily. "Tony should really have better connections and get parts faster."
"I told him that too," Don replied.
"At least I can count on you." I meant that, too. Today hadn't really been that bad so far. But not that good either. Again, I caught myself thinking that I would have liked to see Isabella here right now.
"Did things work out with your... fiancée?" Don wanted to know.
"Yes, everything's going great so far," I replied.
"Congratulations. On your engagement." Don laughed loudly.
I joined in.
And felt somehow strange.
As if part of me wished the congratulations were real.
That was out of the question.
Absolutely not.