The Heiress's Secret Romance. Martha Kennerson
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу The Heiress's Secret Romance - Martha Kennerson страница 7
Название: The Heiress's Secret Romance
Автор: Martha Kennerson
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: The Kingsleys of Texas
isbn: 9781474086035
isbn:
“What’s this?” Kathleen’s eyebrows snapped together.
“Just a few accessories,” she explained.
Kathleen opened the box and her breath caught in her throat. “Oh no, I’m not wearing these.” She quickly closed the box and tried to hand it back to her sister. It was like the box held a deadly secret or something. It was one more thing bringing up emotions she was trying to keep buried. The loss of her mother might have fueled her career, but personally it was something she’d never completely dealt with.
“Will you stop being silly? We don’t have time to go by your house and get yours so you’ll just have to borrow my set tonight.”
“That would be a waste of trip since my set isn’t at my house,” she murmured.
Kathleen heaved a sigh and slowly opened the box as if she’d expected the million-dollar diamond-and-ruby choker and matching stud earrings had disappeared. They had each gotten a set when they’d turned twenty-one. Their father had showered them with jewelry their whole lives. He told them it brought him joy especially since their mother was no longer around to buy things for and spoil.
That was another example as to why Kathleen didn’t waste her time dating. There were too many ideals a man would have to live up to, and spoiling her had nothing to do with it. It was the unconditional love that made them want to do such nice and extravagant things for one another. Kathleen just knew that type of love would be hard to find.
“Don’t tell me something happened to yours.” Fear crossed Hannah’s face. “Dad’s going to be heartbroken.”
Kathleen frowned at Hannah as she reached for the earrings. “Don’t be silly. Most of my jewelry is in my safety deposit box. I only keep a few pieces in my home safe.” She removed the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck.
“Why not keep all your stuff in your home safe?”
“Because it’s not like I wear so much jewelry every day.”
“Good point.” Hannah adjusted her diamond necklace. “How’s work going anyway? I know you can’t tell me who you’re going after but whoever it is had better watch out.”
Kathleen smiled. She had gone up against some powerful people in her career and while ambition had never been a motivating factor for Kathleen, she knew bringing down the Kingsleys would be a big feather in her career cap. “Let’s just say it’s a really big fish that I can’t wait to catch and fry.”
“You go, girl. Ready? I just got a text. Dad’s here, and you know how he feels about being late.” Kathleen heard her phone beep. She knew she’d just received the same message. “You ready to spend your Friday night with Dad?”
“I might as well be.” Kathleen gave herself one final look in the mirror and smiled. She knew how much her mother had loved to dress up and that she’d be really happy right now. “Let’s go celebrate Mom and raise a lot of money for cancer research.” Tomorrow I’ll start the process of bringing down another company that won’t make the safety of their employees a priority.
After an eventful weekend, Morgan walked into the plant’s operations director’s office, drinking from his travel mug, to find his mother standing in the middle of the room looking out the window. She was wearing a blue pantsuit that showed off how physically fit she was, emphasizing the fact that age was nothing but a number. Her bag sat on the desk next to her personalized hard hat.
“Mother, what are you doing here?” Morgan asked, checking his watch. His mother wasn’t exactly a morning person these days, so he was trying not to let her unexpected visit concern him, but the last couple of times she’d surprised him it had been to share bad news.
Morgan was actually looking forward to getting back to work and focusing on expanding into new territories—all the things he’d been working on before Perez entered into their lives. Still reeling from the excitement of the weekend, the birth of another Kingsley and seeing how happy his brothers were, Morgan was actually considering taking Ms. Monica up on her offer to introduce him to her friend’s daughter. Although he knew that particular thought would soon pass.
Victoria turned and faced Morgan. “Good morning, son. I realize we’ve had an exciting weekend and that you might be a little out of sorts on this bright Monday morning, but I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the appropriate way to greet your mother.”
Morgan sighed and placed his cup on the desk next to his mother’s hat. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “My apologies. Good morning, and to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Is everything good with Baby A?” His heart skipped several beats at the thought that something could be wrong with his new nephew. Morgan never imagined that something so small could knock him off balance and make him feel so much.
Victoria’s face lit up with pride. “Alexander the third is wonderful,” she reassured, smiling, taking a seat in front of the desk. “I’m here because with all the excitement around little Alexander’s birth this weekend I failed to mention that you’ll be receiving a visitor today.”
“A visitor?” He reached for his coffee.
“Yes. I got a call Friday afternoon from another one of my well-placed sources in our state government offering me a few olive branches so to speak for all the trouble we’ve...our company had to endure this last year.”
“Oh, really, what type of olive branch?” Morgan questioned, narrowing his eyes while the hairs on the back of his neck rose. At this point Morgan didn’t trust anyone from any government agency.
“The only one you need to worry about is the one from OSHA. They’re sending one of their trainers to update our material and orientate our employees on some new regulatory updates.”
“They’re what?” Morgan frowned. Why in the hell would I need or want to use any of their trainers?
“You heard me, son.”
Morgan went around the desk and dropped down in the chair. He knew better than to argue with his mother about the decisions she made for the company, especially those that might have political ramifications. He had to pick his words carefully.
“Do you really want someone from any government agency in our business after everything we’ve been through? I certainly don’t. I can send a couple of our trainers for a train-the-trainer session and they can come back and train everyone else here. You realize they send their trainers to our training center for a number of different programs we conduct?” he reminded his mother, trying to keep his annoyance under control.
“I do, son, and while that sounds like a great idea, unfortunately I’ve already agreed and given my word.”
Morgan gave his head a quick shake. “When will they get here?”
Victoria gave a nonchalant shrug. “I have no idea. All I know is that they arrive today.”
Morgan grabbed his cup and took a sip. “I’ll listen to what they have to offer, but if it’s not up to СКАЧАТЬ