Takeover (Real Men Crave Curves Book 2) Read online

  As far as I knew, nobody on staff there had known we were friends. They were already gone by the time I’d arrived, which was the way I liked it.

  I’d spent more than enough time in a corporate environment after college and just being in a building like this one was enough to leave me sweating and anxious, to be totally honest. But I’d been happy to come here for Don.

  Now he was gone, and I was on my way to discuss his will. The whole thing was surreal and I still felt like I was on the outside looking in as I approached Don’s office door.

  There was a slim man in a sharp-looking three-piece suit waiting in the hallway. He was holding a briefcase in one hand and held out the other for me to shake.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Castle, even under such sad circumstances. Mr. Kettle spoke fondly of you.”

  “Glad to hear it and nice to meet you, too, Mr. Brown,” I replied, doing my best to hide my surprise at how normal I was able to sound. “Please, call me Eric.”

  “And you can call me Leland,” the attorney said with a smile as he shook and released my hand. “I’m sure you have plenty of questions. I’m here to help you as much as I can during your transition.”

  “During my what?”

  “Your transition, Eric. Your move from mechanic to owner and operator of the Kettle Auto Group.”

  It felt like someone punched me in the gut. All the air went out of my lungs and my vision went gray at the sides. I hadn’t felt like this since I’d been knocked out playing high school football.

  “What the hell are you talking about, Leland? All you said was Don had left everything to me in his will.”

  My voice came out much tighter than usual and I was having to fight down rising panic. Who would run the company hadn’t entered my mind. I’d been too busy mourning my friend and boss.

  “Somebody has to step into Mr. Kettle’s shoes and he was very adamant about that person being you. As you know, he has no family or children, so that’s not an option.”

  I was just about to give the attorney a piece of my mind and a clear-cut explanation of why I would not be stepping up to run the business when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

  There in the shadows of the office waiting room, I saw a curvy young woman with wide eyes watching us, and I forgot all about everything that I’d been about to say.

  Even in the dim lighting, she took my breath away, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Without turning back to the attorney, I asked him the only question I cared about in that moment.

  “Who the hell is that, Leland?”

  He turned to follow my gaze. “That’s Mr. Kettle’s personal assistant, Megan. Well, your assistant now, I suppose.”

  I turned back to the smaller man with a smile. “Go ahead and tell me more about this whole transition deal…”

  Chapter Four

  Megan

  Dammit! The two men were coming into the office and there was no way for me to escape without speaking to them. And I was pretty sure I looked a hot mess right now.

  Even with everything I had on my mind, I still didn’t want the sexy older man with Leland to see me at anything other than my best, which would be strange for me under normal circumstances, but I didn’t have any time to ponder that right now.

  The attorney reached me first. I didn’t know what had brought him and one of the company’s Cadillac mechanics here so late. But I didn’t like the look on Leland’s face.

  “I’m surprised to see you tonight, Megan, but in a way, it’s perfect that you’re here. I’m sure you’ve heard about the loss of our fearless leader by now and I’d like you to meet our new one, Mr. Castle.”

  I tried to keep my mouth from dropping open in shock. I had to have heard Leland wrong. There was no way this grease monkey could take Mr. Kettle’s place. I didn’t like to use derogatory terms like that. But at the end of the day, that’s what he was, right?

  I could still feel his eyes on me and I hadn’t even been introduced to him yet. That wasn’t helping his case, at all, that much I knew for sure.

  “I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood you,” I said to the lawyer. “Who is this man with you? And why are you here?”

  Leland gave a polite chuckle, as if he was dealing with a silly child, which made my blood boil instantly, and put me even more on the defensive.

  “I’m quite sure you didn’t misunderstand me. Mr. Castle is the new owner and operator of the Kettle Auto Group.”

  The mechanic took this opportunity to step up and hold out his hand, which was surprisingly clean, not to mention big and strong.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Miss…?”

  I took a deep breath and put on my most professional face, just in case this man really was going to be my new boss.

  “Barnes. Megan Barnes. It’s nice to meet you, too, Mr. Castle.”

  I slipped my hand into his to shake it and felt a jolt. I tried to write it off as static electricity, but I knew it had more to do with how handsome the owner of the hand was, rather than any kind of scientific explanation.

  “You can call me Eric,” he replied in a rumbling voice that only deepened my attraction. “I’ve never needed a personal assistant, but I must admit, I’m looking forward to having you as mine.”

  Much to my surprise and dismay, I could feel myself blushing, and even worse, I gave a little involuntary gasp when he squeezed my hand and held it in his for a lot longer than a typical handshake.

  When he finally let me go, I was able to pull myself together a bit, and return to my normal professional demeanor. I took a step back and gave him a cool smile.

  “Well, my job is to help you do your job to the best of your ability, Mr. Castle, and I take my job very seriously.”

  He gave me a crooked smile that was both adorable and devilish at the same time. Had he noticed I’d chosen not to call him Eric, the way he’d asked? Would he push the issue?

  I held my breath for a couple of seconds, waiting to see what would happen next. I surprised myself by not being sure if I wanted him to continue our conversation or not. I could feel my heart pounding, and I prayed that he couldn’t hear it.

  “I look forward to seeing more of you soon, Megan.”

  With that, he turned back to Leland and started talking about some transition plan, and I was left standing there like a school girl that had been dismissed by the principal.

  I spun on my heel and hurried out the door, down the hall, and into the parking garage. The entire drive home, my head was hammering with thoughts, and I struggled yet again to rein in my emotions.

  He might be handsome, but he’s arrogant as hell, and there’s no way he could ever take Mr. Kettle’s place. And I’ll never let myself feel that secret heat around him again. No way, not ever again…

  Eric

  Finding that juicy little peach of a personal assistant waiting for me was definitely a bonus. Suddenly, taking the helm of a massive corporation didn’t seem quite so bad.

  I spent the next hour or so going over the details of making the transition from head mechanic to head honcho with Leland.

  When I told him about my history with the business world, he seemed pleasantly surprised. He’d probably figured he was dealing with a damn grease monkey.

  Leland Brown might have worked closely with Don Kettle as his attorney, but he didn’t know him the way I did, and there was no way Don would have left his empire to an inexperienced fool.

  I’d had my shot at being a big deal at a big company before, and I’d decided to leave that all behind me and live a simpler life. One that didn’t include being strangled by a tie every day.

  “I didn’t know you had a business degree, Mr. Castle. It will certainly come in handy now.”

  Will nobody ever call me Eric again?

  I wandered around the office, letting the lawyer wait on my reply. If I was going to be a billionaire business mogul, I might as well start acting the part.

  “I made my choice years ago and I�
�ve always been happy with it. Even though Don pushed me to get back to using my degree in some capacity. Looks like he got his way in the end.”

  He’d also been pushing me to let love into my life again, but he’d lost on that one. Of course, he’d never introduced me to his personal assistant, which might have changed things.

  Leland gave that same polite chuckle he’d used on Megan earlier. It made my hackles go up, if I was being honest, but I knew I’d need the man in the days to come, so I shoved my irritation to the side.

  Still, the smaller man must have been able to sense it. He cleared his throat and pressed on. “I should make you aware that Mr. Kettle was in the middle of some negotiations that will need your attention first thing in the morning.”

  “What kind of negotiations?”

  I hadn’t meant for my response to sound so sharp. Leland jumped and held up his hands. “It’s nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow, Mr. Castle.”

  I looked at Leland with a raised eyebrow. I’d cared about Don and I still cared about his company. And my past life in the business world taught me that “negotiations” could mean some serious changes.

  But I was tired and sad. It had been a long, hard day. All I wanted to do was go home, drink some beer, and get a chance to mourn my friend in private. Not to mention dig up a suit to replace my uniform.

  “Alright then, I’ll see you in the morning,” I said and gave the attorney a dismissive wave of my hand. “Eight o’clock sharp, got it?”

  “Yes, sir! Thank you, Mr. Castle. I’ll be here.”

  I’d never liked lawyers, and it gave me pleasure to watch Leland scurry out of the office like a chastened child. It also gave me a chance to sit in Don’s chair, pour myself a drink from the bottle stashed in his desk drawer, and reflect for a bit.

  “I’m sorry to see you go, old man,” I said quietly. “I wish you hadn’t left. But I can promise that I’ll do my damnedest to fill your shoes. Here’s hoping you’re in a better place.”

  I lifted my glass of bourbon in a toast to Don Kettle, leaned back and kicked my feet up on his mahogany desk, and thought about how I’d pretty much just won the freaking lottery.

  I also thought about the curvy cutie that came with my new job. I wasn’t willing to give happily ever after a shot with anyone, thanks to my messy history with women.

  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t up for convincing Megan to have a damn good time with me in my new office…

  Chapter Five

  Megan

  I awoke the next morning with a bar of sunlight across my face. My bedroom was way too bright for my usual wakeup time and I fumbled for my alarm clock.

  Shit! I must have turned it off instead of snoozing it, and now I was going to be late for my first day with the new boss.

  I tossed off the covers and rushed through my morning routine. I barely had time to make myself presentable, let alone pay special attention to my hair and makeup, the way I’d planned to the night before.

  My sleep had been disrupted by tossing, turning, and tempting thoughts of Eric Castle. I had done my best to talk myself out of having them…

  Mr. Kettle just died! You should be mourning him!

  The man is just a damn grease monkey, Megan!

  He’s cocky and arrogant for no damn good reason!

  He’s got to be at least twenty years older than you!

  But none of those thoughts had stopped me from picturing what he looked like with his shirt off. Even thoughts of my own less-than-ideal past dealings with the opposite sex couldn’t stop me from doing that.

  I raced to the office and was damn lucky I didn’t get a speeding ticket. I flew up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator and rushed down the hallway.

  I was far from the athletic type, and by the time I slipped into my desk chair, I was fighting to get my breath back and hoping that my face wasn’t too red and sweaty.

  At least Eric wasn’t there waiting and watching the clock, the way I had feared. He was behind the closed door of the glass-walled inner office with Leland, pacing and shaking his head.

  Even though I was curious about what had the new boss all riled up already, I wanted to look as if I wasn’t flustered from being late, so I turned my attention to my computer and started checking the main company e-mail account.

  There were plenty of the usual memos and meeting schedule notifications and a couple of messages that needed to be forwarded to the Human Resources department.

  And then I saw something that made my hand freeze on the mouse. My heart skipped a beat and it felt like the room grew smaller all of the sudden.

  There was a message that had already been read with “Privileged and Confidential” as the subject line. I knew that Mr. Kettle had never been the cloak and dagger type. So, what the hell was going on here?

  I shot a glance at the inner office again. Both men were still in the middle of what appeared to be a heated conversation. Neither of them had noticed me.

  I hesitated for a moment and then opened the message. As I poured over the contents, I could feel myself going from shock to rage.

  It appeared that the Kettle Auto Group was in negotiations to be acquired by an overseas company, and the time stamp on the e-mail was just hours after Don Kettle’s death.

  I could feel my blood run cold and then start to boil as I read more. There was talk of massive layoffs and a complete “restructuring” of the corporation.

  How could this be happening? Mr. Kettle loved this company and he cared about his employees. I didn’t believe for a second that he would approve of something like this.

  Just yesterday, I’d been ready to talk to Mr. Kettle about moving up the corporate ladder and felt pretty good about my chances. And now the whole company was in jeopardy of going under?

  This had to be the work of Eric Castle. I turned to glare at the handsome older man that had turned out to be the devil in disguise.

  I knew that I had to do something to stop the Kettle Auto Group from dissolving and thousands of people from losing the jobs they depended on to support themselves and their families.

  I had to do something to stop Eric before it was too late! There was no way I’d be able to sit back and just watch as the company crumbled.

  Now, I just had to figure out what the hell that something was…

  Eric

  “So, what are these ‘negotiations’ you mentioned last night, Leland?”

  I’d breezed into the office a few minutes after eight o’clock that morning, and had been pleased to see the lawyer was already there waiting for me, although I was pained to see that my new personal assistant wasn’t.

  Even though I’d asked him a question, I forced Leland to wait a bit to respond, as I made a show of taking off my suit jacket and getting settled into my desk chair.

  Who knew I’d actually be enjoying this whole thing so soon after starting?

  I’d had a bit of tossing and turning the night before, but that was mostly due to thoughts of Megan, and not so much my feelings of being forced back into the business world.

  I’d even managed to make my peace with Don’s death. I was sad to lose the man that had been like a father to me, but he’d lived a long, fruitful life and hadn’t suffered.

  Now, it was time to focus on running his company the way he would have wanted me to run it. And that meant dealing with people like Leland Brown, even though I was already growing impatient with his patronizing chuckles and greasy lawyer grins.

  I leaned back and turned to him with an expectant look, indicating that I was ready for him to answer my question, and he gave me one of those very grins I despised.

  “Good morning, sir, I hope you slept well,” Leland said, causing me to have to battle against an eye roll. “I think the best way to proceed is for you to read an e-mail that came in late yesterday afternoon.”

  The attorney proceeded to move around the desk and approach the computer sitting there. He gave me a questioning look and I nodded my consen
t.

  Leland pulled up the message he wanted me to read and stepped back around to the front of the desk. I leaned in and took a look, expecting some kind of run-of-the-mill talk of a adding a new location or expanding a current one.

  What I saw instead sent a shock through me. An overseas competitor was laying out the details of what it would take to acquire and restructure the Kettle Auto Group and its many dealerships. It was like seeing the future autopsy of the company I loved.

  I jolted up from my chair and began pacing the length of the office, my breath coming out in angry bursts as my mind raced and my heart pounded.

  I spun on Leland, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder at the computer. “What the hell is that?”

  “Well, it’s…we thought maybe…”

  “Spit it out, man!” I demanded, trying to stop my hands from curling into fists. “Who thought what?”

  “The board was approached several months ago with this deal but Mr. Kettle refused to sell. We thought you might feel differently, given the circumstances.”

  My vision went red and my voice came out as cold as ice. “So, what you’re telling me is the board doesn’t think I have what it takes. That Don Kettle made a mistake leaving everything to me. And they thought I’d be happy to sell it off and go back to turning wrenches.”

  Leland’s eyes had gone wide and there was no hint of a grin on his face now. “Well, like I said, we thought that given the circumstances…”

  In just a few long strides, I was across the office and staring into the face of the cowering attorney. “You have five seconds to get out of here before I show you what I think of your negotiation skills. Exactly five.”

  I watched Leland scramble through the door like the devil was on his tail. Then I turned and began pacing again, my mind racing, and my fists clenching tighter with every step.

  There was no way I was going to let Don’s company die along with him. Not without a fight. But how was I going to stop this takeover on my own?