Cathy Thacker - His Marriage Bonus

“I guess you’re right,” Lauren commiserated as she leaned against the railing that lined the back of the elevator and looked up at him. “Whether we like it or not, business—any kind of business—is tough. To stay on top, you really have to be on your toes all the time, not just between the hours of nine to five.”

Like now? Mitch wondered, excruciatingly aware this problem had conveniently happened during the hours of his first arranged date with Lauren, at a time when his father was oddly, and unusually, out of touch with the office.

His instincts kept telling him it was all just a coincidence.

Bitter experience, and his involvement with his ex, told him to be on guard for something more complex and deviously underhanded.

“WHY WOULD I HELP bail you out?” Payton asked, after he had let them both into his apartment. He looked just as suspicious as Mitch felt when Mitch had first learned of the problem.

Excruciatingly aware that although the two of them were tentatively discussing a merger, they were still chief competitors, and not in any way bound to do favors for each other that would hamper their own capacity to do business, Mitch looked Payton straight in the eye. “Because Deveraux Shipping Company will pay you to ship those cars as soon as they arrive at dawn tomorrow morning. And I know you have more shipping capacity than you need right now, thanks to the purchase of those brand-new, state-of-the-art container ships you bought last spring.”

Payton studied Mitch with something akin to respect while Lauren waited nervously nearby. “We’ll get the full fee?” Payton ascertained.

Mitch nodded, knowing now was where it would get particularly tricky, and said, “Minus a ten percent referral fee, of course.” After all, he reasoned practically, Deveraux Shipping had to make something on the deal. Given how thin their profit margins were these days, the lost revenue was going to be hard enough to absorb as it was.

Payton sipped the vanilla-flavored protein shake he had been preparing when they arrived. Despite the way he was dressed—in a golf shirt and slacks—he remained the hard-edged businessman. “That’s highway robbery,” he growled.

“It’s also business you wouldn’t have if I weren’t putting it in your lap.” Mitch took a drink of his own smoothie and found it disgustingly bland and chalky. With effort, he kept from grimacing, even as he noticed Lauren had simply put hers aside. But then, maybe she’d had one of these vitamin-laced health concoctions before. “You don’t have long to decide,” Mitch continued. “If you can’t help me, I’ll go to the next shipping company on my list.”

Lauren crossed her legs and continued to watch the byplay between the two men. She might say she hadn’t the least enthusiasm for the family business, but there was no doubt she had understood and latched on to every word that was being said, both here and earlier, in the Deveraux offices, Mitch noticed. Which meant he was going to have to be more careful than he had expected, because the merger hadn’t happened yet. And might not happen, if at any point during the week Lauren changed her mind and refused to keep her deal with him. Or Mitch failed to convince his own father it was what they needed to do, not just to survive, but to grow.

“Then you will have lost this chance to pick up the extra revenue,” Mitch continued, glancing at his watch, knowing that like it or not, his time was running out. He was going to have to call both LC Motors and Specialty Foods shortly and tell them what was to be done.

Payton Heyward grinned in a way that said he appreciated Mitch’s aggressiveness in solving this problem. “One of my ships just came in this morning. I’ll have them send it over to your docks.”

The two men shook on the deal. Payton consulted the clock above the mantel. It was eleven. He narrowed his eyes at Mitch and Lauren thoughtfully. “I thought the two of you were supposed to be on a date this evening.”

“We were. Are,” Mitch said.

Lauren nodded, her affection for her father shining through now as clearly as her pique with him had earlier that day. “Wherever Mitch goes, I go,” she parried. “At least between the hours of six and midnight.”

Payton harrumphed, looking less than happy about the detour their date had taken, despite the additional business it had brought his company. “Then get back to it,” Payton advised, showing them to the door. “You two have wasted enough time on business, when you should have been courting, as it is.”

“Well, that went a lot easier than I thought it would,” Lauren remarked as they headed back out to Mitch’s car. She turned to Mitch with a sexy smile. “I half expected him to tell you no, and then get on the phone and steal the extra business out from under you.” She paused, shook her head, sighed. “I don’t know what’s happened to him, but he hasn’t been as aggressive at going after business lately as he has been in the past.”

Maybe there were reasons for that, the same reasons that were suddenly prompting Payton Heyward to consider a merger. Uneasily, Mitch realized his father was probably right on the money about one thing. Payton Heyward hadn’t told Mitch everything, just as he hadn’t told his own daughter everything. Hence, it was up to Mitch to use whatever means necessary to discover what was going on behind the scenes, and make certain that Payton wasn’t using Mitch and the Deveraux Shipping Company to bail him out of a messy financial situation or quietly failing business. The last thing Mitch wanted to do was drive his own family company into ruin because he had failed to investigate the obvious.

Oblivious to the grim, suspicious direction of Mitch’s thoughts, Lauren continued, “Take tonight for instance. Since it’s a weeknight, and he’s here in the city, my father’d normally be out courting a major client and showing him the sites. Instead, according to his doorman, he was home all evening, alone. That’s unlike him, Mitch.”

“Maybe he’s just getting older. And can’t keep up the same pace he used to.”

“Maybe.” Lauren sounded unconvinced.

They lapsed into silence until they arrived at the Deveraux mansion. Lauren’s car was parked on the street right where she’d left it before dinner with his father. “I’ll follow you home,” Mitch said.

Lauren consulted her watch. “We still have another forty-five minutes.”

“So we’ll have coffee at your place,” Mitch said with a shrug. “Unless you’d rather go somewhere else. There’s a gourmet coffee shop up on King Street that’s open until midnight—”

“No. My place will be fine.”

Lauren led the way, and five minutes later they arrived at the double house Lauren owned. The stuccoed brick town-house style villa was two rooms wide on both floors and surrounded by palmetto trees and overlooked South Battery. And that evening, as always, the view of the water beyond the seawall was staggeringly beautiful. Moonlight shimmered on the water—ships, some moving gracefully across the water, some at anchor—were visible in the distance.

Mitch inhaled the tangy scent of saltwater as Lauren led the way up the brick sidewalk, across her welcoming porch, and let them inside. The interior of her home was decorated with floral fabrics and antiques.

As soon as Lauren walked in, she went to her answering machine and pressed the button to retrieve her messages. The first two were from clients, confirming or changing dates to view houses. The third was enough to stop Mitch in his tracks.

“Hi, Lauren. Ron Ingalls calling you back. First, just let me say I think it’s great what you’re trying to do for your father. I’m not sure it’s going to be possible—the guy’s no pushover. But sure, I’d be glad to help you try and get what you want. I’m actually going to be in South Carolina on Wednesday, so maybe the two of us can meet then. In the meantime, I’ll try and find the information you need tomorrow and get back to you. Later.” Click.