It Shouldn't Be You, page 15
“I can see why you're upset. No woman likes it when a man lies. Love you, you say? I’m sure he’s just saying it and doesn’t mean it. When a man says things like that and then has nothing to back it up, it’s like he’s calling you slow. Men like that are so undependable, and he leaves you alone to solve your own problems.”
“No, he doesn't. Travers would never do a thing like that. He's always there for me. In fact, he rarely gets upset with me no matter what we're arguing about,” Colleen said with a grin.
“So, how do you know he doesn't love you?”
“It doesn't matter if he loves me or not, okay. He didn’t even ask me if I wanted to get married, he told me. If he thinks he can tell me to get married, it won’t be long before he thinks he can tell me to do anything. And then the next thing you know, I'll have no more individuality. I'll do whatever it is that he wants me to do.”
Jane nodded. “Do you see Mr. Butterscotch on the bed?” Jane asked.
“Yes.”
“I have to tell you Mr. Butterscotch runs everything.”
Colleen looked at the dog who was snuggled up in the covers without a care in the world.
“He has his own personality,” Jane said fondly. “I tell Mr. Butterscotch when it's time to go out and when it's time to eat. I don't think that stops the way Mr. Butterscotch is. I do those things to make sure he's okay and because I love him. Now I'm not saying that you should be with the person who tells you what to do but what I am saying is maybe you need to learn how to train him or talk to him before you decide you just want to give up and throw it all in.”
Colleen looked at Jane, who got up on the bed and stroked Mr. Butterscotch. He promptly rolled over onto his back to give Jane access to his belly so she could rub it.
“Yes, every day, I wonder which one of us really is in control here,” Jane said.
“What am I going to do? What have I done? And that was an appalling comparison, Jane.”
“Well, the good news is that all of you young people are crazy. So if you go and apologize to him, I'm sure you two can work it out. Don’t make fun of my example. Using Mr. Butterscotch makes you a great person. I think Travers would really go through a lot for you if you actually slept on that bedding on the floor when you all had a perfectly good bed in the room. You're worried about when you fall in love and lose yourself. From what I've seen, when you fall in love, you all lose your common sense. Like sleeping on a floor when you can sleep in a bed.”
“Jane?”
“I know, I know, you want us to stay out of your business. We will. Mr. Butterscotch and I have to get some rest. We only need about twenty minutes. If I were you, I would go ahead and call housekeeping so they can clean up the room, and when he comes out of the meeting, you and that boy Travers have a talk.”
“Jane, I know I just met you but . . . thank you.”
“It's because you just met me that I can say whatever I want. Also, I've got a dog, and I'm older than you. Now be quiet while we nap, and don't forget to call housekeeping.”
Colleen watched Jane, and Mr. Butterscotch snuggle up together, and within moments, she could hear both of them snoring.
“I hope you’re right,” Colleen muttered to herself.
Liam had called Travers to tell him he would be meeting with Chairman Carstairs alone. But Travers wasn't alone. He had his brother with him. He thought he would be sweating on the inside, but he was calm. David would be the surprise Travers brought to unsettle the chairman. Now that David was here, Travers felt a sense of stability and belonging now that he had his brother with him.
Travers looked over his shoulder and saw David running his hands through his hair. While today's meeting might be an old hat for him, he could tell his brother wasn't so sure.
Travers knew going into this that Chairman Carstairs was trying to railroad them. But he was confident that between himself and his brother, they would be able to pull this off and show how competently everything was being run. Before they took their seats in front of the chairman, he leaned over to whisper in his brother's ear. “It's not a headlock, but I think I got this one,” Travers said with a smile.
David stood up, straighter, and smiled.
The chairman was dressed as if he was going to a funeral. Travers was going to make sure that it wasn't Liam's. When everyone was seated, Chairman Carstairs looked at David and then asked the million-dollar question.
“So, you are the man who stole the factory.”
Travers and David both went still, and then the chairman started to laugh.
“It looks like Travers chose correctly when he hired you because the other site was putting us at a negative ROI,” Carstairs said.
Travers put on his corporate smile and then leaned back to see what else Chairman Carstairs would send at them.
“I'm sure you understand, Mr. Warner, how concerning it was to us that the manager of the factory is your brother?”
“Not really,” Travers answered. “It's my understanding that as the COO, it's my job to go and find those who are most qualified to do the job. As it would happen, there were several others in this position before he took it.”
“Of course, of course. I want you to know that myself and the board have no problems with you at all. As a result of how well the site is doing and looking at how well your brother went ahead and managed the finances for the site, we want to make sure that you know that no matter what actions we move forward, none of them will include removing you.”
David and Travers looked at one another, a bit confused.
“I think I need some clarification, chairman,” Travers said.
“I think everything will be clearer once we look over the proposal that we showed the board and will show the executive staff. Maybe you might be a little bit more open.”
David and Travers accepted the documents that Chairman Carstairs pushed toward them. After Travers had finished quickly going through them, he had gotten the gist of what was going on. He gave the documents to David so he could read it as his leisure, but he leaned back and looked at Chairman Carstairs.
“Let's be plain-spoken chairman. If I understand the document correctly, you want to go ahead and put a babysitter next to the CEO.”
“Well, not a babysitter but definitely somebody who could give him a little bit more direction. We can see from your actions that you don't need that direction, but we think that the CEO needs a co-CEO. Certainly, you've seen some erratic behavior from him. Liam has a total disregard when it comes to his public relations and press. The hotel industry is becoming very competitive, and we need to make sure we have upstanding role models in the key roles.”
Before Travers could answer, David, interjected.
“So how does that work? Today you go ahead and say the CEO needs somebody to work with him because he can't do his job. Then tomorrow, when Travers doesn't do his or doesn't do it the way you want him to, then he will need a new COO?”
Chairman Carstairs turned toward David, and all of the friendliness had leeched from his face.
“Mr. Warner, I can see that you are passionate about your job and obviously protecting your brother. But I think you should sit this one out because the situation is a lot more complex, as I'm sure Travers understands. Running a site that does production and being the CEO are two different animals, so maybe you should let the people who are experienced take care.”
Travers had heard enough. “Mr. Chairman, I think you're mistaken. I agree that Liam has had a very volatile PR moment, but if you look at him lately, he's falling right in line with the Butler Hotels moral values. He married a sweetheart from his hometown. He's taking up the cause of a homeless woman. I don't think that we could ask for a better role model right now, even if we built it.”
“Mr. Warner, are you sure you want to take that stance? In the next couple of weeks, there will be several reviews of everybody on the management and leadership team. Are you sure that everyone on the management team will feel the same as you?”
Travers heard the implied threat and gave him a broader smile.
“I do believe I can speak for all of the leadership and management team when I say we are thrilled to be working with Liam Butler as the CEO. While the board has made some suggestions and you even brought up some concerns that we all think are valid regarding the direction Liam is taking us. All of the management team understands Liam knows where we need to go. But I have to say I'm curious Chairman Carstairs, why the sudden push to get rid of Liam?”
For a moment, Chairman Carstairs seemed confused. “I'm sorry no one told you. The person who decided to make this an issue to look at is Mr. Butler's uncle on the board, Gregory Butler. His concern was maybe he and Liam would need to Co-run Butler Hotels. Gregory has been making a passionate plea that Liam's grandmother hasn't been able to really get Liam to focus, and maybe what we need to do is just have someone else with more experience to sit beside.
“Gregory suggested this?”
“Everyone on the board knows.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Carstairs. If you'll excuse us, as long as all the numbers are in place, this is my brother's first time in New York, and we're going to catch a couple of the sights before he goes back to work.”
Mr. Carstairs nodded and shook both of the men's hands as they departed. When they got outside of the office and stepped into the elevator, Travers looked at David and shook his head in disbelief
“Just wait until Liam hears.”
“Is that a problem?” David asked.
“Well, all of this time, Gregory has been volunteering to help Liam's grandmother, so she doesn't feel overwhelmed. I think he was putting in that time because he thought she was going to give him the company. Family. It's complicated.”
“I know, I know. Do you want to go to see Liam now and let him know?”
Travers thought about how this news was going to impact Liam and how they would change what they were planning. Then he thought about Red and what happened when he left.
“No, I've got to go check on something first. I'll give you a call afterward.”
David patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck, little brother. Just remember, it's hard now, but they're worth the fight later.”
“I just hope she stayed to fight.”
Travers didn't know what to expect when he walked in the hotel door. Just as he closed the door, something told him to move to the right. When he did, a small pillow hit the door and fell down. He had never been so happy that someone had thrown a pillow at him.
He didn't know what he had done, but whoever he had helped that had earned him this second chance, he’d take it. Red was still here. She was here, and she was angry.
“Red?”
“I'm Red now, huh? I think we need to clear up a couple of things and get some ground rules.”
Rules. If she wanted to set up rules, that meant that she wanted to stay. He didn't care what she wanted—he’d give it to her.
Trailing right behind her was Mr. Butterscotch. He looked like he was her sidekick, waiting to do battle. Travers didn't know which one of them look funnier.
“I was so angry at you this morning.”
He took a step toward her, and she didn't retreat. If she would just keep talking, he should be able to get close enough to pull her into his arms. Seeing her here was one thing, but he needed the assurance of holding her to make sure she was really staying.
“Go for it, Red.”
“How could a man tell a woman she's in love with him? You have got to hear how arrogant and insolent that sounds? What woman could even admit to loving such a man as that?”
“Could you?” he was a step away, then he took another step closer towards her.
“Could I love you? I already love you, so this attitude of yours—”
She didn't even get to finish the sentence before he had taken the last step and pulled her into his arms into a deep kiss. She was stock-still, and then moments later, her body went like liquid in his arms. His pounding heart started to settle as soon as he felt her hands travel up his shoulders and locked behind his neck. Then he pulled back from the kiss and looked into her eyes.
“I'm sorry,” Travers said. She pushed out of his arms and stood apart.
“You can't say you're sorry before I finished complaining. It's a rule. Everybody knows this rule.”
“But if I already said I'm sorry it seems really inefficient to keep—” he watched her cross her arms over her chest and tap her foot.
“I'm so—please go on,” Travers said.
“Now, where was I? Oh yes, what I was saying was you can't just say we're going to get married you have to ask me. I know you are the COO of this big company, but you have to understand this is a partnership. We have to make decisions together. I need to know that you're going to be listening to me. I know we're not always going to agree, and I know we're not always going to do what I want to do. I need to know that I'll still be able to bring me to the table.”
“I wouldn't want it any other way, Red. I'm always going to ask you for your opinion. It's always going to be an us decision. I like negotiating just like the next person, but today has been really long and tough. Can you just go ahead and agree?”
She gave him a small smile and then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “What was the question again?”
“Will you put me out of my misery and marry me?”
“Yes, that one, oh, that one. Well, after careful deliberation and deep introspection, sure. I think my mind, soul, and heart have come to a consensus that—”
“Woman please—”
“Yes, I'll marry you.”
“He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
“I love you, Red.”
“I love you too, Sunshine.
Then Mr. Butterscotch barked twice. Jane came in through the front door and looked at the couple.
“It's about time. The smarter a couple is, the longer it takes. Come on, Mr. Butterscotch, whatever they have might be catchy. Looks like we're going to have to find us a new bed.”
Thank you for traveling with Travis and Colleen. I hope you enjoyed it. The next story in the town of Chusada is My last and Never, the story of Joy and Cord and Second Chances . Hope to see you there.
Or if you want to see the Love Saves Series view them all here. .
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Sincerely,
Toni
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From the Author
Resilience
It's book 2 and I'm already feeling like I've gone 10 rounds. First, let me thank you for making it here. I wasn't sure I was going to. It's the beginning of great changes in the world. Once upon a time authors were looking for traditional publishers like they were the Holy Grail.
Now authors like me have decided Indie is the way to go. I can tell you that its harder than it looks, but so worth it. I want to thank those who helped me get all the technical kinks out of my uploading process so I was able to get my first draft down from Amazon.
The only thing to do is to keep moving forward when its a dream and a life calling you are going after. I'll see you in the next book.
Toni Lynn
Susan Warner, It Shouldn't Be You
