Table For Two: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book Two Read online

  What Tessa had learned was how to keep her head low and her ear to the ground. Anyone who challenged the owner’s decision was gone the next day. She might not have all the knowledge needed to be an effective HR manager, but she knew how to shut her mouth, and that seemed to be the most valuable skill in this company. That and hide in your office.

  Unfortunately, Dean’s secretary had no such luck. When she got the call yesterday afternoon to fire her, the reason really didn’t matter. She knew it was going to be something small. God knows everyone was already walking on egg shells trying not to piss Dean off. Apparently putting through a call she shouldn’t have was unforgivable. Everyone made mistakes. God, she did. All she could do to help these unfortunate co-workers was to offer them a severance package. It wasn’t much because she was sure someone would catch on quickly and put a stop to it if it was. They are good people, good employees, and deserve so much more, but what else can I do? I have no real authority here.

  The first time she prepared the severance packet and signed it as the HR manager she had felt so guilty. Tessa prided herself with coloring inside the lines, and this by no means fell into that category, but the person she had let go was someone she knew and had a child with serious health issues, undergoing many long-term extensive procedures. Just giving her a pink slip and walking her out the door with her personal items was something she couldn’t bring herself to do. Tessa did the only thing she could think of to ease the financial burden on that woman’s family.

  At that time, she had thought it was a onetime occurrence. Once she did it for one, how could she not do it for all? Everyone had a story, some small but others were enough to break your heart. That’s when she told herself she was only doing what was right, what any other employer would do in this situation. If Dean Henderson had any experience at all he would know this and do the exact same thing she was doing. Or at least, she hoped he would. For now, she had no choice but to act independently and hope for the best. Besides no one had told her not to offer a severance, so she really wasn’t going against any orders. For all she knew it was a company policy, and she had yet to come across the proper paperwork authorizing such actions. Keep telling yourself that, Tessa. You might even begin to believe it.

  Tessa lived in reality and knew her time was limited like everyone else’s. All it would take was one mistake or comment, and it was over. Until then she was going to do everything she could for the staff. She was all they had, which in itself was scary. But that didn’t change anything. She took her responsibility to them seriously, maybe too much so. Someone had to be there for them, and right now it was her job. In whatever small way I can help.

  Once she was confident all the papers were securely back in their proper files she turned and hit the elevator button again. Not only had she lost valuable time, but she had also gotten off on the wrong floor. Like she told that guy, this floor housed the executive offices and being here only made her a target. She had been able to avoid both. Nothing today was running smoothly and if she wasn’t careful, she might bump into Dean Henderson and find herself processing her own termination packet.

  She pressed the button again as though it would somehow hear her cry for rescue and send the elevator quicker. Tessa wasn’t an overly confident person to start with. She enjoyed a job that let her stand in the background and go unnoticed. This new, unexpected role made that impossible. She looked again to make sure no one was around. Everything was quiet, yet being there was not helping calm her nerves. Thankfully the ding announced the elevator had arrived. It was time for her to get back down to the fourth floor where she belonged and the one place she felt in control and confident in what she needed to do.

  Once inside she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. How can someone I haven’t even met intimidate me like this?

  Tessa was relieved when she finally got off the elevator and headed down the hall to her office. Still holding the huge pile of folders she heard him long before she saw him.

  “Where’s your boss?”

  His deep voice echoed through the hallway. She wasn’t sure who he was referring to as there was no longer anyone above her. Hardly anyone below her either for that matter. She peered at him over the files. God, it’s him again. What the hell is he doing? Following me or something? And why would he be looking for my boss? “Excuse me? Who are you looking for exactly?”

  “Just tell the HR manager I want to see her in my office in five minutes. Is that understood?” His tone was demanding.

  He didn’t say another word as he walked past her, but she had the overwhelming feeling he was watching her closely.

  There is no way that man can be Dean Henderson. Not dressed so casually. No matter how she tried to deny the possibility, she knew he couldn’t be anyone but Dean. That explained why he was on the top floor in the first place. The only question was why he was down here looking for the HR manager.

  Apparently he didn’t recall he had fired all the others, and she now held that lovely title. She shook her head. Tessa wasn’t even sure if he knew her name as all communication they had shared so far had been over the phone, and that had suited her just fine. It hadn’t been something she’d wanted to hear anyway. By his tone now, it seemed like his foul mood had not left him. Whatever brought him down to see her today must be serious.

  Then Tessa remembered her comments to him earlier. She spoke poorly about Mr. Henderson. She knew better than to do such a thing, but at that time she was frustrated with the disaster laid out across the floor and she had spoken out of turn. Was it possible those words were about to bite her in the butt? Wouldn’t be the first time my mouth got me in trouble, but this guy doesn’t give second chances.

  Tessa placed the files on a vacant desk. As she did, she couldn’t contain her laughter. Until a few weeks ago that very desk had been hers. It was all so much simpler when she could plan and anticipate each day. Now she wasn’t able to guess what the next ten minutes held, never mind tomorrow.

  She went to her office to look in the mirror she kept in her desk drawer. Tessa needed to make sure she was presentable for her first official meeting with the temporary CEO. What she saw was not the way she had prepared herself earlier that day. Her hair, which she had carefully placed in a bun neatly on top of her head, was now wild as though she had entered a wind tunnel. Each strand going in different directions. Try as she might, it was impossible to bring any order to the mass of curls in the short amount of time she had before she needed to be in his office. My first and maybe last visit there.

  Tessa hadn’t worn any makeup, and she could see the dark circles under her eyes. It wasn’t much but she needed something. Applying just a touch of face powder and then a bit of lipstick, she headed out the door. The last thing she wanted was to keep him waiting. Actually, the last thing I want is to meet with him at all.

  It only took moments for her to find herself back on the executive floor for the second time in one day. This time, she didn’t stop at the elevators but made her way to the end where she assumed his office was located. The only sound was her heels clicking on the floor.

  She mustered all her courage and knocked on his open door. There was no way she was going to enter without his invitation.

  “Come in and have a seat,” he called from across the room, his voice gruff.

  When she entered, she noticed Dean sat at his desk with his back to her as he spoke on the phone. She wished she had the courage to ignore his request and wait outside, but she didn’t. There was no avoiding it. Tessa had to do as he said and wait for whatever he was about to hit her with. The longer she sat there, the more nervous she became. So many thoughts were running through her mind. Had he read the papers that had fallen on the floor? Did he know about the severance packages and was about to give her the ax like the others? Was he going to yell at her before he fired her? Was he already on the phone looking for her replacement? Oh, come on, Tessa. It’s just a job. You’ll find another one. Eventually.
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br />   “Bennett, I don’t care what it takes. I want the name of the person after Poly-Shyn. If Trent Davis knows who it is, then I don’t see why you can’t find out. If you’re not the right man for the job, let me know. I am sure I can find someone who is.”

  A shiver ran down her spine as his cold tone rippled through her. It was obvious this was not a threat but a promise. She knew Dean Henderson was twenty-eight and had been distanced from the family since he was a teenager. As he spoke, one would have thought him to be a man twice his age, his confidence booming through the room. It was apparent he was used to getting what he wanted. The only question that remained was: what did he want with her?

  When he got off the phone, he turned to face her. His brow arched as he asked, “What are you doing here?” It was obvious he recognized her from earlier, however, he apparently had no idea what her role was. This might work in her favor.

  Tessa swallowed hard and tried to meet his glare with her own. She was so nervous she was about to puke. It didn’t help that she was the daughter of a preacher; she had a lot of guilt when it came to lying. What choice do I have? “You asked me to come to your office.”

  He looked her over with doubt. “I wanted the HR manager.”

  “And you have her. I’m Tessa Brooks. What is it you need?” To her surprise, her voice didn’t shake one bit. This might just work.

  “You? You can’t be more than twenty-five, and you are running my HR department? No wonder I’m having so many issues with the employees.”

  She wanted to slap him. Tell him exactly why he was having so many issues. His lack of experience, his lack of respect for others’ opinions, his bullying the staff, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. “Yet I seem to be the one with the manners.” What the hell was that Tessa? Why don’t you just fire yourself now and save him the trouble?

  His reaction wasn’t what she expected. He leaned back in the chair and laughed. “Well, I guess you’re not the pushover you appear to be. What makes you think you’re ready to handle all my needs?”

  She thought it was unlikely she could, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. From what she had seen all he needed was someone to go around firing people. Which I absolutely hate doing. But better coming from me than you. “I wouldn’t have the job if I wasn’t.”

  He eyed her but she refused to turn away. “I seem to be down a secretary.”

  “You fired her yesterday,” Tessa shot back.

  Dean shrugged. “Then bring me another one from another department.”

  “I would love to, but you have fired those as well. Seems none of them could meet your requirements.”

  Once again he laughed, a deep sexy-as-hell laugh, but this was not the time to joke. There was nothing funny about what had been transpiring the last few weeks.

  “Am I missing something, Mr. Henderson, because I do not see the humor in this situation? These are people’s lives you’re playing with here.”

  Dean leaned across the desk and said, “Mr. Henderson makes me feel like I’m my father. Call me Dean. And your name is Tessa right?”

  Tessa had only met his father one time, and that man scared her senseless. Dean did the same thing but for different reasons. That made being in the same room as him very dangerous. It was going to take everything within her not to let her emotions show. She nodded but was not about to play his game. He was a controlling but intelligent man, and there was no way he didn’t know the name of the person handling all his confidential payroll and benefits. Play it cool, Tessa. You’re already saying too much. You know what happens to those who speak up.

  “Find a replacement for the secretary.”

  “Yes. I will take care of it immediately. Anything else?”

  He grinned and said, “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  So many things ran through her mind, but she bit her tongue, refusing to voice any of them. Instead, she rose from her seat and headed for the door. Over her shoulder she said, “You will have a new secretary in the morning. Please try to keep this one more than a week.”

  Tessa strode to the elevator and practically fell into it as the doors opened. She pressed four and relaxed only when she was on her way down. Her fears about being fired for speaking out quickly vanished the moment she ignored his request for a date.

  If it had been anyone else, she would have loved the attention. God knows, he was drop-dead gorgeous. His dark eyes, narrow nose, and strong jaw only enhanced his sex appeal. The only flaw he seemed to have was his cocky attitude. How she wished she could have seen the look on his face when she shot him down, but then again, if she had been looking at him, she probably would have said yes.

  Playing the “I don’t care” person was mentally exhausting, and she only did it for a few minutes. How was she going to be able to pull this off daily? Tessa might not be all that experienced, but she knew a controlling man of power when she saw one, and everything about him screamed he was not to be messed with. How she had not noticed that when they met in the hallway earlier was beyond her, but she was well aware of it now, and that was all that mattered.

  Playing with such a man wasn’t smart, but she wasn’t doing this for herself; she was doing this for her co-workers who needed someone to have their backs. The only problem was who was going to have hers if or when Dean found out what she was doing? I might need more than a severance packet when he is done with me.

  The only way this was going to work was for her to have as little face-to-face contact with Dean as possible. Too much and her lack of experience in the office might be revealed, and everything she was doing would be for nothing. She had loving parents who would let her move back home in the event everything blew up, and Tessa knew it was only a matter of time until that happened. The goal was to do everything she could until that day came. If she was lucky she might be around for a few more months. All she needed to do was convince him she was a rock, and a force to be reckoned with. A soft laugh escaped her lips as she arrived at her office. It was going to take a lot more than a pep talk from herself to start believing that. This rock practically melted when he asked me to dinner.

  Now she had two issues to deal with: his demanding, arrogant ass and her physical attraction to it. This job just gets better every day. What next?

  She sat at her desk and picked up the phone to get Dean a temporary secretary for the next morning. Apparently word on the street spread quickly; finding someone willing to come and deal with him directly was going to cost more than the standard temp rates, and they could not promise a certain length of time. The prior HR manager had left notes and emergency contacts. A name circled in red jumped out to her. Nancy. If her predecessor had reached out to Nancy, then Tessa shouldn’t feel bad doing so. After digging deeper into this Nancy person, she found that she used to be the personal assistant of Dean’s father and had left when there was a falling out between him and his oldest son, Brice, a few years back. She was tempted to call Nancy, who now worked as Brice’s personal assistant at B&H Advanced Engineering and ask for help. But she knew Dean didn’t want anyone to know his business, not even family. So Tessa had no choice but to accept the terms and wage of the temp. As she put the phone back on the receiver, she had only one thought. Please let this one last more than forty-eight hours. I do have other things to do besides clean up his messes.

  Chapter Two

  “Where the hell did you get this one?” Dean barked over the phone.

  Guess the new secretary isn’t working out. “Is there a problem with her?” Tessa really didn’t want to know what the issue was. At this point, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t subject any of the remaining staff to his wrath. That was why she chose to use an outside agency. Apparently that wasn’t going as well as she had hoped.

  “Do you need a list, or can you get her out of here before I throw her ass out myself?”

  “I’ll be right there.” Tess hung up the phone, pushed back her chair, and reluctantly left the safe confines of her office.

&n
bsp; Tessa had hardly slept at all the night before, so she wasn’t at the top of her game. This unexpected twist was not going to help. She was already doing the job of three people, and most of it she was learning as she went. If this pace didn’t stop soon, she wasn’t going to need to worry about getting fired; she was going to burn out long before that.

  When she arrived at the secretary’s desk, she found a girl who appeared to be eighteen and right out of school. This young woman looked as sweet and innocent as her name. Brittany-Lynn, looking like she was about to burst into tears, had her coat on and was holding her purse tucked under her arm. Tessa couldn’t blame her. This was one of the last places she wanted to be as well. Right now, though, she was the only person she had to do the job. It might not be possible to fix this, but she needed to try.

  “Hi. I’m Tessa. Don’t leave yet. Let me talk to Mr. Henderson and see if we can work this out,” Tessa pleaded.

  “He told me to get out and never come back.” Brittany-Lynn’s voice trembled as she spoke.

  Really? He couldn’t wait five minutes till I got up here? Tessa reached out, touched the young woman’s arm, and said softly, “He’s not much of a morning person. Why don’t you go over there and make yourself a cup of coffee? I will go and talk to him.”

  She looked at Dean’s office door then at Tessa.

  “He really isn’t as bad as he seems. Just a bad first impression, that’s all.” Tessa almost choked as the words flew out of her mouth. From what everyone had said, Dean was probably his father’s equal when it came to demanding things his way. That was a mold that should have been broken.

  Brittany-Lynn relaxed a bit before finally nodding in agreement. She put her purse in the desk and headed off to get coffee. Tessa was relieved to have bought herself a few minutes. She needed Brittany-Lynn out of earshot just in case Dean’s rampage was still going on. At least, if he fires me, I’ll have someone to walk out with.