Chapter Five
ZOEY
"Sandra, can I corrupt you into a lunch date?" I asked.
She looked up from her computer and then rose to her feet. "Sure, let's go. What do you have in mind?" She grabbed her purse from her desk drawer and her coat from behind the door.
"The burger place on the ground floor. It’s amazing."
She nodded. "True, it is. I usually avoid it because too many people from work eat there."
"We can always take our burgers and sit on the pier."
"I'd like that,” she said.
"We can soak up some sun too. Who knows how long we'll still have these beautiful days?"
As we went downstairs, I kept looking around, wondering if Jeannie Whitley was still here.
I could not believe she actually said that to Colton and he hadn't given her a snappy comeback.
I liked that he respected his grandmother even when she gave him a hard time.
I almost burst out laughing when she called him a wrinkly Grinch.
That was… I didn't even know what to think about it, but I was so proud that I didn't actually laugh.
Although I suspected my loud gasp gave me away.
"I met Jeannie Whitley today," I told Sandra after we picked up our burgers and went outside. finding a quiet spot farther away on the pier. "Does she often come by the office?"
"No. Actually, I think this is the first time I’ve seen her in person. But from what I understand, Colton and his brothers are alternating taking her out to lunch every week," Sandra answered.
"That’s thoughtful."
"Apparently she meddles a lot in the boys' lives."
I wanted to know more, but I wanted to be casual about it, not obvious about my intentions. I didn’t want Sandra to think I had a personal interest in Colton. Because I didn’t. This was all work related. Mostly.
"I even heard a rumor that she called herself the family's matchmaker," she added.
I laughed. "That doesn't even sound like a rumor, more like accurate information."
Sandra blushed, biting into her burger.
"Whitley Industries is very interconnected," she said after she swallowed her mouthful.
"I know the HR people from other companies, too, and, well, people talk.
All I know is that last year, all the Whitley men were single, and now three of them are married.
Or wait, is it just two and one is engaged? I'm missing some of the details."
I liked Sandra. She was a bit of a gossip, but not in a mean way. She wasn't judging, but I still chose my words carefully.
"So, she had a hand in that, huh?"
"Apparently so. I'm wondering if she has something planned for Colton too. I mean, if she does, good luck with that. The man never leaves this place for a minute. He lives for his work. I’ve never seen commitment like his."
"Yeah, he seems driven in a way that few other CEOs are," I said, taking another bite of my burger. "I wonder why that is."
"Oh, I know why it is," Sandra said nonchalantly.
"Really? Why?"
"His mom passed away when he was in college, and he switched majors after that so he could take over Whitley Biotech."
"Oh my goodness."
"Yeah, the poor woman just had shit luck. First, her husband was a total asshole, and then she got sick."
I frowned, not following Sandra. Apparently I didn’t know the whole story. “I guess I’m missing something. Why was he an asshole?”
"You don't know?" She sounded stunned.
"Know what?”
"About the Whitley scandal.”
“No." I thought about everything I'd read in preparation for the job, but nothing came to mind. "I did some research on the company, but I don’t remember there being anything about a scandal."
"It's not recent. This happened a long time ago. Their dad had a secret second family."
My eyes bulged. "What? Are you serious?"
"It was years ago. He left the boys and all the businesses high and dry, so there was a leadership crisis in Whitley Industries until his sons took over.”
Several things started falling into place. I knew Whitley Industries was an older, established company—on the third generation—but I had no idea how all this transpired. I now had a renewed sense of admiration for Colton and his brothers.
"Have you made any headway with Colton?" Sandra asked.
I smiled sheepishly. "It's not going as well as I’d hoped, but I know how to pace myself. I gave him the first documents to get started.”
She grinned. "Don’t hold your breath. He’ll probably get back to you next month. He really doesn’t pay attention to anything that isn't directly related to his research.”
"My plan was to bust into his office once I was back from lunch and read it with him." I laughed at my bravado. Yes, I’d go to his office, but there would be no bursting through the door, though it sounded good.
Sandra blinked. "You know, that’s a good plan.” She sipped her drink and added, “Better you than me. He’s used to me nagging, but maybe it's more effective if you do it. I mean, that’s why you’re here, and you don't seem intimidated by him."
I shrugged. "No, I'm not."
She laughed. "I think you're the first person who can say that within a week of working with Colton. It took us mere mortals anywhere from one month to two years to get to that point."
"Well, my time here is limited. I’ve got to make headway with him quickly so he can develop his organizational skills and be comfortable with the process.
” There was also a difference that Sandra wasn't realizing. Colton couldn’t fire me.
If he didn’t want to continue working with me, I’d still be employed by The Consulting Experts, and they’d assign me to another client.
“Besides, I’ve got experience with stubborn men.
I have two brothers who I cut my teeth on. "
"Ahhhhh, that explains it," Sandra said.
I grinned and wondered if we had enough in common to become real friends and not just work buddies.
"Want to get something sweet for dessert?" she asked. "Something to give you the strength to ride the boss's ass?"
I laughed. "I like you, Sandra."
"Back at you."
We ended up sharing a slice of chocolate cake, and she was right, it gave me a boost of energy.
I wasn't sure if Colton was back yet, but I was already preparing a speech in my mind.
I didn't want him to feel like I was trying to manage him because I wasn't. My job was to help him communicate with his team more easily as well as organize his workload. Over the years, I’d developed certain methods of collaboration and organization that he could benefit from.
It was just a matter of how I presented my ideas to him, and I knew I had a very short timeframe to convince him before he'd shut me out.
I passed by his office on the way to mine and saw he wasn't back yet. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at his lunch with his grandmother. I was betting that Jeannie Whitley had more wits and sass to share with him.
I was so grateful she’d taken that photo with me. I’d immediately sent it to Mom, but she hadn’t responded yet. I knew it would make her day. Jeannie was an inspiration to her.
Back in my office, I paced around, rehearsing what I was going to say to Colton.
I’d checked his calendar before lunch. He made it available to everyone, and he didn't have a meeting. I had half a mind to send him a request for a meeting but then decided against it. He'd have a harder time physically removing me from his office.
I couldn’t believe my "great plan" was to ambush him.
I startled when I heard his booming voice in the corridor.
I opened the door to my office, listening to see if I could hear Jeannie's voice, but I couldn’t, which meant he came back alone.
I straightened up, wishing I had thought about checking my appearance after lunch.
I ran my tongue over my teeth. It didn't feel like I had anything stuck between them.
I smoothed my hands over my skirt, second-guessing the white blouse I was wearing today.
I thought it looked too clinical, but whatever.
Okay, this is my moment. I'm going to ambush him before he gets the chance to start working on anything else.
But as I approached his office, I noticed someone else going in.
Damn it. I checked his calendar again. It now appeared he had meetings until the evening.
When on earth had that happened? I would just try to catch him after the last one ended, though I didn’t have much time because I was getting together with my brothers for drinks.
At six o’clock, I practically jogged to his office, knocking at the open door before stepping inside.
"Colton," I said with all the confidence I could muster, "I need five minutes."
He glanced up at me in surprise. "Come on in."
At least he hadn't immediately excused himself, saying he had something else going on.
Walking with determined steps, I didn't sit down, just pointed at the papers I'd laid in front of him earlier today. He’d pushed them into the corner farthest from him.
"I want us to go through these."
A smile played on his lips. No, wait, it was more of a smirk. "And you can do all that in five minutes?"
I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet. "Maybe seven."
"I like that you're persistent," he said.
"Oh good, you're not throwing me out. I'll take that as a win. So, may I begin?"
"On one condition."
"Name it."
"Tell me something. Did you overhear what my grandmother said after you left the office?"
Well, shit. That was the last thing I'd expected him to ask.
I knew Colton would be demanding, but caring about a social conversation didn't even cross my mind.
To be honest, I'd almost forgotten about it after the info dump on the family Sandra had given me, but now his grandmother’s comment was front and center in my mind again.
I tried to gauge if Colton was mad that I’d overheard or if he was amused. His expression was unreadable. The man needed to loosen up a bit. I decided to give him some sass.
"It's up to you, Colton. Do you want the truth or not?"