“What do you want from me?” asked, looking around.
“Just keep your ears to the ground and find out what Collins has planned for this place. We are not going quietly.”
“So in other words you are asking me to spy and report back to you.”
“You make it sound so dreadful, dear,” Lucinda Logan said a little pompously as she stared at the woman in front of her, her light blue eyes frosty. “We are just asking for your support.”
“Is that all?”
“Of course, my dear,” Lincoln said effusively. “We will let you get back to your job.”
went into her office and closed the door behind her. When she had started at the company she had been so psyched to be put in charge of the marketing division! She had put her all into it and had come up with ideas to get their products across. Telecommunications was on the rise and they could not go wrong with it. She had jumped into the foundation that funded children who were less fortunate and had recommended that they focus on schools that needed their help. Now, five years later, the company was going under. Jason Collins had said he was going to keep the company as is but the fact that they had lost so much money had her questioning whether he was able to do so. With a sudden decision she went to her desk and booted up her desktop computer. She knew of the name Collins but not of their net worth and she wanted to find out.
She typed the name into the search bar and pressed enter. Several items came up under the name and she opened them. Her eyes popped wide open as she stared at the biography. Collins Holdings owned over a thousand companies ranging from supermarkets to hotels and restaurants as well as pharmaceutical companies. This telecommunications company would be their third one and the other two they had taken over were doing tremendously well! They owned companies all over the world and were billionaires several times over! There were two brothers of them, Jason being the youngest. Michael was the elder by four years and ran the companies from Europe. He was married with two children. Jason lived in a penthouse suite a few miles out and was single but had been featured with several well-known actresses and models. Karen sat back and stared at the screen. They could very well afford to take over the company and do whatever the hell they want with it!
*****
“Are you sure about this?” Michael asked his brother over the phone.
“When have you ever known me to be unsure when it comes to a business deal?” Jason drawled as he stared at the figures he had been sent. “I am now crunching the figures and it is going to take at least six months to get profits up. The company has tremendous potential, Mike.”
“And you are terminating most of the employees?”
“At least the management staff. They are too top heavy and they are not doing a damn thing.”
“You had our lawyers look into the delicacy of the situation?”
“You mean to see if they are going to sue us for every penny we have?” Jason joked a little bit.
“This is serious, Jace. We have to cover all our bases.”
“Already done. They don’t have any grounds. They have been mismanaging the funds from the get go and there are papers and the figures to prove it. I am keeping the head of marketing; she is pretty good and knows what she is doing.”
“Pretty?”
“I never noticed,” he said in a blasé tone.
“I bet,” Michael said with a laugh. “Keep me up to speed.”
“Will do.”
He looked up at the discreet knock on the door. “Yes?”
“Just wondering if you needed anything at all.” The secretary who he had inherited for the day was tall and willowy with black hair cut in a short bob and smooth white skin. She was very pretty and absolutely knew it. “I know all the ins and outs of this company and I can fill you in.”
“I am sure you can,” Jason said lazily as he leaned back against the chair, his dark blue eyes unreadable. “I will let you know. Will you tell to come in now, please?”
“Yes.” She hesitated a bit and then commented, “Would you like some coffee?”
“No thanks, I am good.”
She smiled at him and left, closing the door behind her.
He grinned at himself wryly for a moment. He had dealt with women like her before and had never been tempted. He knew how to handle her. There was another knock on the door and he called out to the person to come in.
“Have a seat.” He gestured to one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Have you thought about what I said?”
“In between doing my job,” She told him coolly.
“And?” His eyebrows winged up as he looked at her. She certainly was a cool customer and his brother was right. She was pretty.
“I love my job here and I want to stay. If you are looking for someone to inform on the employees here you are looking at the wrong person,” she warned him.
“I have my own people for that,” he told her with a hint of amusement in his voice. “How flexible are you to working after hours? I make a very good compensation.”
“I have nowhere else to be right now so I am all yours.”
“Good to hear,” he said softly as he continued to stare at her.
“Is that all?”