Too Good to Forget

Chapter 5

A dual rush of ice and fire pebbled her skin. Oh, God.  She knew that profile. She knew that full, sardonic curve of lip and sharp blade of nose. Recognition slammed hard against her chest as Marcus Whitfield, the only man she'd ever loved, the father of her child and the millionaire who'd stolen her breath as easily as he'd claimed her virginity, stepped up to the microphone and addressed his shocked audience.

"Thank you, Ben, for your comprehensive overview of the coming transition, and thank you, Xavier's employees, for agreeing to meet with me today." He smiled, a stunning flash of white teeth, while his newest batch of employees quietend to a stunned silence. At six foot five, and dressed in an immaculate navy silk suit, Marcus oozed confident command and tempered sexuality from every pore. It was no wonder they all gaped at him like he was a pagan hunter brought in from the wild.

"Please," he said, as effortlessly comfortable before a crowd as he'd always been. "Be seated."

This had to be some sort of a dream.

He couldn't be here. He was supposed to be in London.
London

Marcus scanned the audience with his encouraging smile while Coleen, unable to move, remained frozen in place until his gaze caught hers and held.

"I realize this may come as a bit of a sock," he said without breaking eye contact. "But I want to reassure you all that for now, at least, your positions are secure." His voice, that same deep voice that had haunted her dreams since she'd fled London, left no room for doubt in her quailing heart.

He was real. Very, very real.

"Your job discription might change a bit," he continued, " but Masters has assured me that you are each valuable employees who will be willing to meet me halfway. Unless you prove otherwise, you can expect to remain on the payroll indefinitely."

Marcus was in New York. Here.

"In return for this job security, however, I will expect flexibility and loyalty from each of you." 

"You best know now that I will not tolerate dissention within the ranks."

Dissention within the ranks? Her reawakening pulse ricocheted through every disbelieving cell, while hid grim expression, intense and hard where before it had been warm, made icy fear clutch within her chest.

"I am willing to listen to your concerns and consider your input, but I advise you to prepare yourselves for change. The Xavier must be brought back into profitability if it is to survive the next decade. We will have to work together to make updates in a timely fashion. If we do no, Master's legacy will fail."

But she is unable to move while he continued.

"Toward that end, I will maintain an open door policy so that we can build a working relatiobship as we move forward together."

She needed to escape. Now. Except with Kathy in tow where would she go? Her stomach seized in denial, her throat closed up, and a tremor claimed her hands.

His eyes narrowed to slits of glinting blue. "Do you have a question?" he asked her, an edge of ice underlying the velvet smoothness of his tone.

Suddenly aware that she was still standing, she dropped like a guillotine into her chair, her limbs too much to check her descent.

"Coleen?" whispered Harold as he gripped her forearm. His warm brown eyes darkened with concern. " What is it? You are pale."

"I'm fine," she managed to say. Her pulse careened as her thoughts raced frantically. Did Marcus know about Kathy yet? Did he suspect the truth? Ben was such a gossip, he'd probably told Marcus about her status as a single mother. What if Marcus tried to take Kathy away? Feeling trapped, she closed ger eyes and hauled in a steadying breath. Panicking wouldn't help anything. She had to be calm. She had to think.

Maybe she was overreacting. Marcus wasn't the type to be interested in his staff's lives outside of work. He might not have eveb recognized her across the crowded conference room. She wore her hair up. Motherhood, sleepless nights and worry had stripped her of her youthful blush. And it had been five years since he'd seen her.

Besides, even if he had learned about Kathy, he had no reason to suspect she was his daughter. They'd used protection everytime without fail. He'd seen to that. He'd made it very, very clear that he never intended to have children.

She didn't need to worry, she told herself while struggling to calm her thudding pulse.

He wouldn't want her again. And he certainly wouldn't want Kathy.

Wasn't that why she'd left in the first place?

The rest of the meeting passed in a blur. But when he announced the schedule for supervisor meetings the following day, her panic kicked back into gear.

"I'll meet with the lobby supervisors at eight a.m." he said, "followed by housekeeping at nine, Doux Reves and dessert management at ten, guest services at eleven, maintenance at noon, and La Tour d'Or management at one. If you cannot attend for any reason, please notify me as soon as possible so that I can make alternative arrangements." He closed his binder and scanned his seated employees a final time before thanking Ben and adjourning the meeting.

Everyone stood to leave, their low murmurs rising like the hum of bees moving to a new hive. Coleen joined them, grappling with her reaction to his announcement regarding personal meetings. Blending in with an anonymous crowd of employees was doable. But maintaining her poise in a face-to-face interview would prove for more difficult, especially when she didn't know how much he knew.

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