Bachelor CEO (McDaniels #1)

Chapter Twelve

Upon leaving McDaniel for the day, Miranda had gone back to her apartment and sulked. Then she’d grabbed a pen and paper and made a list of all the reasons why she should hate Chase McDaniel. Eventually she’d calmed down and made a list of all the reasons why she’d be a great CEO.

She didn’t get very far on the second list, so she set it aside. She knew by Monday she needed to be prepared. Walter might make the argument for her, but if the board, or even Chase, pinned her for specifics, she had to be ready. The board meeting would be like a job interview from hell, times one hundred.

Chase had told her to go to a spa, for goodness’ sake. Her ire again bubbling, Miranda kicked off her shoes and glanced at her toes. Okay, she could use a pedicure. But that didn’t make him right.

She looked around her apartment. On the table were flyers from the real estate agent advertising about half a dozen houses for her to look at this weekend. House hunting would have to be postponed.

Sitting in this apartment would also have to wait. If she stayed another minute she’d go berserk. Miranda went to her bedroom and changed clothes.

She knew what she needed to do.

AFTER SPENDING THE afternoon trying to work, Chase gave up. His concentration was shot. He was still mad about the fight ahead. And he couldn’t get Miranda off his mind. He should hate her. Oddly, he didn’t. For the past ten minutes he’d instead been thinking about that first time on the island. There had been purity in their actions. No agendas. No secrets. Just two souls finding each other.

Okay, he needed a break. He needed to get out and run or bike, but the temperature outside had cracked triple digits—100 degrees.

He’d have to swim. He could do at least an hour’s worth of laps in his grandfather’s pool. He’d bring the work on his desk home and finish it tonight, after he’d exhausted himself. It was only an hour or so until quitting time anyway, not that he ever punched a time clock.

After telling Carla his plans, Chase left for the day.

“SO I THINK THE REAL issue is, do you love my grandson?”

Miranda hadn’t been prepared for the question and she stared at Leroy, who sat on a chaise longue in his great room, where he had a fantastic view of the landscaped backyard.

“I…”

She stuttered and shut her mouth. She certainly hadn’t anticipated this question when she’d arrived at the McDaniel estate an hour ago.

The nurse had indicated it was fine for Miranda to visit, so long as she didn’t cause Leroy any undue stress.

Causing him stress certainly wasn’t her intention.

If anything, she was the one freaking out. Leroy appeared to be calm and serene. Though he’d lost weight, his skin color was healthy and his eyes were sharp, as always. It had been great visiting, up until he’d dropped his question like a bomb.

“I can tell you’re rather shocked,”

Leroy said. He adjusted the light throw covering his legs.

“I just wondered if it’s your feelings for Chase that have made you so upset,”

he continued.

“I’m not upset,”

Miranda protested. And where had this come from? She and Leroy had been discussing the fall festival.

Leroy’s hand trembled as he reached for his cup of water, a sign he still had recovering to do. “Ah, but you are. I could tell as soon as I saw you.”

“Well, it’s not because I love Chase.”

Miranda managed to force the words out. No way could she be in love with Leroy’s grandson. “We snap at each other and get on each other’s nerves. He resents me for the position you gave me. He usurps my authority.”

“I figured that would happen the moment the doctors and my grandkids told me I couldn’t work for a while. I knew he’d march in and take over. Are you going to let him?”

She’d gotten comfortable talking to Leroy since Chase had left, but this question she avoided. “Your family doesn’t intend for you to go back.”

“I know that, too. It doesn’t surprise me a bit. They’ve lost both parents and all their grandparents but me. And I’m eighty. They have every reason to be overprotective. Doesn’t mean I’m going to let them bully me around, though.”

The nurse entered and Leroy let her check his blood pressure. She also refilled his water cup. “It’s for my health. Doctor’s orders. And I plan to be around to hold my next great-grandchild. Cecilia’s getting close.”

“I saw her at the hospital. She looks very pregnant.”

“Don’t remember much of that weekend, but the doc says that’s okay. I remember everything else from my life, or at least the good parts, so that’s all that counts. Have you considered the reason you and Chase get on each other’s nerves might be because you belong together?”

“Really, I don’t think so.”

“No? I disagree. Did I ever tell you about my wife? Heidi lived on the next farm over. We’d grown up together. But let me assure you, we weren’t childhood sweethearts. No sirree. She and I fought over everything. See, she was smart and so was I, and there could be only one high school valedictorian. I was certain it would be me. Sure didn’t plan to let her win. Wasn’t going to lose to a girl.”

Miranda nodded. She had no idea where Leroy was going with this, but she found his story fascinating.

“Now, at the time the war was going on. The end of it, sure, but the Japanese hadn’t surrendered. I was too young to enlist. My father also needed my help with the farm. We actually had a little money, so my mom hired Heidi to watch my little brother—you met Harvey—and do some of the cooking and cleaning. Both of Heidi’s older brothers died fighting for the cause.

“But Heidi, boy, she held her head up. She refused to look at her job or our buying their farm and letting her family stay there as pity. And you know what? That girl who I used to throw worms at, whose tongue could be barbed wire, ended up being the love of my life. She covered her crush by being ornery and rude. Luckily, I wised up before I threw away what was right in front of my nose. I called her bluff.”

“So who was valedictorian?”

Miranda asked.

“She was. I failed a final in my math class. I didn’t have time to study, since I had to get the spring planting done. Took a high B+ in the class.”

“And she gloated.”

Leroy chuckled. “Oh no. She yelled at me that I’d failed on purpose. I kissed her, told her she was going to marry me, and well, look how it all worked out.”

“You’re a cocky man, Leroy.”

“Yeah.”

He grinned, and Miranda could see where Chase got his smile. “I could be bold when I wanted. Funny how life works. My mortal enemy the love of my life. So back to my grandson. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“With malice?”

Leroy shook his head. “No, I’ve seen true hate. His eyes certainly don’t contain that. It’s something very different altogether, and it’s not the way he’s looked at other women, either. Maybe you two ought to have a heart-to-heart. Clear the air. See if you can find some common ground.”

“Perhaps,”

Miranda replied, not wanting to tell Leroy that it was far too late for that.

He fingered the throw. “Did you know that Heidi earned a scholarship because she was valedictorian? She attended college. Became a teacher. She taught for a few years before we had Chase’s father. Heidi was worth failing a test for, that was for sure. Besides, I didn’t need that money. I was going to be a farmer and build a company.”

The sly fox. “So she was right. You duped her.”

Leroy’s eyes twinkled. “No. I took myself out of the running and gave her what she needed. In return, she gave me the best years of my life. No man could have been happier.”

There was a lesson in his words, Miranda was sure, but figuring out exactly what Leroy was trying to tell her would have to wait, because the front door slammed and Chase strode into the room.

Leroy must have been wrong. Chase’s face could reflect pure hate. And rage.

He didn’t even attempt to hide his anger. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“CHASE!”

The rebuke came not from Miranda but from his grandfather. “That is no way to greet one of my guests!”

Chase shouldn’t have been surprised. In Leroy’s book, you defended all women, even if they were wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Chase quickly assessed the older man. He seemed fine. Frail, yes, but otherwise okay.

“She’s not a guest,”

Chase responded, tempering his volume. “She’s an employee and one determined to take over our company.”

“This is my house, and if I say she’s a guest, then she is. As for taking over the company, you seem to be the one doing that.”

Chase’s scowl deepened. “Not if Walter Peters gets his way.”

Leroy’s lips pursed. “What’s he got to do with anything?”

“He’s presenting a motion to the board on Monday to force me back on vacation and leave Miranda in charge.”

Leroy adjusted his covers. “Oh? Is that all? Well, maybe that’s a good idea.”

Miranda sat there, swiveling her head left to right as if watching Ping-Pong. “I’ll leave you two to discuss this.”

Chase’s glare pinned her to the seat. “Admit you know about Walter’s motion.”

Her chin came up slightly. “I do. But that’s not what Leroy and I were talking about or why I came here.”

She faced his grandfather. “Walter told me his plan earlier today. It was his idea.”

“Which I’m sure you were thrilled about,”

Chase retorted.

“Walter’s a curmudgeon, that’s for sure.”

Only Leroy didn’t seem too perturbed by the current events. “I think you two should talk about this. No better time than the present.”

He rang a little bell and his nurse appeared. “I think I’d like to go to my room,”

he told her.

“I’ll get your wheelchair,” she said.

“I can help you,”

Chase offered, immediately concerned. He shouldn’t even be discussing business. He’d promised his siblings. But trust Miranda to come here and try to shore up her position. When he’d seen her car in the driveway, he’d known exactly what she was doing.

“You’re wrong. Leroy, this is not going to work. I’m leaving now,”

Miranda replied. Without waiting for either man’s approval, she darted out.

“You ran her off,”

Leroy accused as the front door slammed.

“Me?”

Chase couldn’t believe his grandfather’s protectiveness of Miranda. “Don’t tell me she’s got you under some kind of a spell. You can’t side with her over your own family.”

“Who says I’m siding with anyone?”

Leroy snapped. “I wanted you to go away for a year to make up your mind about what was truly important. First chance you get, you’re right back here.”

“You had a heart attack. Where else would I be?”

“Well, I’m better now.”

“No, you aren’t,”

Chase argued. “You’re eighty, whether you like it or not, and you have to take care of yourself.”

“I’ve been taking care of myself for years. It’s you who needs to take care of himself, Chase. You need to figure out what you want, what will bring you joy in life.”

“I want to be CEO.”

Leroy shook his head. “And that’s it?”

“What else would there be?”

Chase asked. Leroy had totally lost him. “I don’t want to see McDaniel go into the wrong hands.”

“Miranda isn’t the ‘wrong hands.’ She doesn’t have any stock options for two years. She earns a flat salary, which as this is low-cost-of-living Chenille, is less than she could have gotten by staying in Chicago. Any bonuses are paid exclusively on performance and need board approval. She has no vested interest in running the company into the ground. She won’t even see a raise for six months.”

Chase hated when his grandfather was right. Still…“She has no vested interest at all. Not like I do. Not only do I have stock, but it’s my last name on the letterhead and the building.”

“Isn’t there a way for both of you to work together?”

Leroy asked.

“Not when she’s staging a coup.”

Leroy’s eyes narrowed and he waved away the wheelchair. “Give us a few more minutes. This job is that important to you?”

“I’m good at it. This is what I want, more than anything.”

“Even if it means never finding the love of your life?”

Okay, this was a different tactic. Chase leaned back, trying to figure out where Leroy was going with all this. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

“Running a company is nonstop, especially one that has your name on the door and the letterhead.”

Chase knew that. “So?”

“You may never find love. You’ve always said you won’t settle for less.”

He squirmed. “Then I’ll deal with it. If I don’t have any kids, there’s always my nieces and nephews. I’m sure some of them will be interested in business. I’m not sacrificing anything.”

Leroy didn’t look convinced. “You’d be a bachelor the rest of your days.”

Chase bristled. “It’s not like I can’t find a date if I want one. I’m sure I could find a wife, too, if I need one that badly. You’re the guy who’s always called me a playboy.”

“Perhaps you were once, but you shouldn’t give up on finding the love of your life.”

“I’m not sure there is such a thing.”

Leroy frowned. “It exists. I had it.”

“I meant for me,”

Chase clarified. Although he didn’t like admitting it, maybe it was true. Maybe he was destined to be a bachelor for the rest of his life.

Leroy’s eyes shone with pity. “That’s sad.”

Chase made a fist and then uncurled his hand. “I’m being realistic. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. You’ve always taught me to sacrifice for my family.”

His grandfather shook his head. “I never taught you that. No one should give up true love. Our family would be fine without you as CEO of the company.”

Leroy remained silent for a moment before saying, “Was there a reason you came by today other than to tell me about Walter?”

“I wasn’t here to tell you about work at all. It’s hot outside and I need to exercise. I came by to swim.”

“Ah. You should get to it then.”

Leroy rang the bell and the nurse appeared instantly with his wheelchair. She must have been waiting outside the door.

Chase watched his grandfather’s exit. How many times could a man screw up in a day? First Miranda, now Leroy. Monday couldn’t come soon enough.

If he did get voted out, at least the torment would be over. He headed to the pool, changed into his trunks and dived in.

LEROY’S BEDROOM overlooked the backyard, so he knew that for the last hour Chase had been tearing up and down the pool as if training for the Olympics.

It saddened Leroy that his grandson couldn’t see what was beneath his nose. Chase had finally met his perfect match, and he was about to toss his chance at love away because of his stubborn pride.

Leroy couldn’t let him do that. He reached for his phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. “Hi, Walter,”

he said. “It’s Leroy. What’s this I hear about a motion?”

THERE WAS NO WAY she could be in love with Chase McDaniel.

Absolutely no way.

But ever since leaving the estate, Miranda hadn’t been able to get the conversation out of her head. She’d replayed it over and over, analyzing Leroy’s words from every angle.

She was not in love with Chase.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. The line from Hamlet had been one of her catch phrases since her junior year of high school. She was denying what she felt for Chase because she feared risking her heart.

Like Leroy and his beloved Heidi, she and Chase got on each other’s nerves because they were fighting for the same thing. They had connected in the most fundamental way possible, and the result had been earth-shattering. But they were so busy proving who was better, warring to be named McDaniel’s CEO, that they’d each missed the truth.

She was worth failing a test for, that was for sure. Besides, I was going to be a farmer.

The full meaning of Leroy’s words suddenly became clear. He’d stepped out of Heidi’s way. Was that what he thought she should do for his grandson—especially if she had fallen in love with him?

After what he’d said to Chase, Miranda wasn’t certain of anything.

A knock sounded on her apartment door and she looked out the peephole.

Chase.

“Come on, Miranda. I know you’re in there because your car is outside. We need to talk. Open up.”

He paused. “Please.”

She slid the chain free and turned the knob. Chase’s hair was damp, as if he’d just climbed out of the pool or the shower. He wore shorts and a T-shirt and looked damn sexy.

She couldn’t love him. He was a cad. A jerk. An insensitive boor. Yet when they’d made love she’d felt complete for the first time. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“We have to find some common ground before Monday or the company is going to end up in civil war,”

Chase said. “Please.”

“Okay.”

She held the door open and let him step through. Her apartment was basic, just a one bedroom unit in a small, four-building complex. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Do you mind? I really could use some water. I’ve just finished swimming.”

Her kitchen was visible, separated from the living-dining area by a breakfast counter. While Chase took a seat on one of the bar stools, Miranda filled a glass from the water dispenser on the refrigerator. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

He took a long sip. “My grandfather was pretty upset. You and I need to come to some sort of agreement.”

She squared her shoulders. “If you’re asking me to step down, I won’t.”

Chase sipped more water. “Well, I won’t, either.”

It figured. “Then we’re at an impasse.”

Looking for a distraction she turned around and began straightening her kitchen towels.

“What is it for you? Why this particular company? I have lots of friends. I can find you a corporate job somewhere else, perhaps a start-up where you can get in from the very beginning if you want. Big or small, you name it.”

She whirled around, towel in hand. “You’re trying to buy me off?”

“It’s obvious from today that we can’t work together,”

Chase stated. “If it’s about money, let me know. I have a trust fund. Name your price.”

“You can’t buy me. I’m not for sale.”

He ran a hand through his damp hair. “I still think you’re taking the situation personally. This is business. This is what I’ve wanted ever since I was little. I promised myself when my dad died that I would helm McDaniel and I would do a good job. You can’t take that from me.”

“What about what I want? This is also my chance. I want to fulfill my parents’ dreams, too.”

“You’ll have other chances. There are dozens of companies that would snatch you up. I’m a McDaniel. Where am I supposed to go? McDonald’s? Kraft? It’s not fitting.”

His argument was reasonable, but coupled with her own doubts, and the cryptic advice Leroy had given her, she couldn’t take any more. Already her head was about to explode. “I really think you should leave now.”

He drained the water and stood. “Promise to think about it.”

“I won’t promise you anything.”

He threw his arms up. “Look, I’m really sorry things got this far. We never should have made love, and my grandfather never should have concocted this ridiculous idea. Unfortunately, we can’t take anything back. Just think about my offer. And, please, don’t go see Leroy again. He had to go back to bed after we left. I don’t want the situation between us to cause him grief.”

She couldn’t help herself. Chase had tried to buy her off, and trashed the night they’d shared. He’d gone for the jugular, and she wouldn’t let him get away with it. “You’re the one causing him grief. You’re the one disappointing him.”

His eyes widened. “Me? Hardly.”

“Oh, there you go. Mr. Perfect. All he wants is for you to be happy. Instead you take the first opportunity to throw his gift back in his face. Did you ever think that the only thing he really wants is for you to be happy, like he was? Work doesn’t keep you warm at night.”

Chase’s face paled, proving she’d hit a nerve. But there was no turning back now.

“Do you know what we were talking about when you arrived and jumped to the wrong conclusion?”

she asked. “We were talking about your grandmother and how they met. Did you know he failed a test so that she’d be valedictorian in high school?

“Your grandfather loved your grandmother,”

Miranda declared, when Chase remained silent. “She was more important to him than fleeting glory. He also knew she needed the college scholarship. No wonder you’re such a big disappointment to him. You sacrifice for your family, but you want recognition for being a martyr.”

“I do not, and I don’t have to stand here and take this.”

Chase strode to the front door and opened it. Miranda followed on his heels.

“No, you don’t have to take it. But you should do a little thinking yourself this weekend. About what you’re going to do if the board backs me instead of you.”

He stood outside on her stoop. “That will never happen.”

She couldn’t contain her reaction. Upset with the stupid feelings she’d had for this man, she needed to lash out. “We’ll see what unfolds on Monday. You stand a good chance of losing.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, because I highly doubt it. You’re forgetting who I am.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Oh, I know exactly who you are. A high-and-mighty fool who’s about to take a fall.”

He had the gall to laugh. “Not going to happen.”

“Wrong. And let me tell you something you can take to the bank. I don’t love you.”

He looked as if she’d smacked him in the face. “What?”

She hadn’t intended to blurt out anything Leroy had said, but it was too late now. She tried to regroup and calm her frazzled nerves. She could not let Chase read anything more into this than it was. Which was nothing.

“Your grandfather asked me if I love you. For some reason he thinks you and I should be all happily ever after. As if I would want to be with a man like you.”

Chase clamped his arms across his chest. “He asked you that.”

It was either be mean or cry. She couldn’t show him how hurt she was. “He did. I hated to disillusion him. I’m sure you do that enough.”

A strange expression crossed Chase’s face. “He thinks you’re in love with me.”

“You wish,”

she said, and then the weight of the day came crashing down and she did the first thing that came to mind. She ended the conversation by slamming the door.

CHASE WALKED DOWN the steps and headed to his car. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he’d arrived at her apartment. He certainly hadn’t foreseen what she’d hurled at him last.

His grandfather thought Miranda was in love with him.

Surely that had to be the dumbest idea Leroy had ever come up with. But somehow it made sense. Chase felt as if he’d found the missing puzzle pieces he needed to have a complete picture.

He drove back over to his grandfather’s. Leroy was sitting in the great room again. “I don’t want to get into it,”

he warned.

“Neither do I,”

Chase replied. “I just have a question for you. It’s about Miranda. Why did you ask her if she was in love with me?”

Leroy put his magazine down. “Because you two look at each other the way Heidi and I did.”

Chase sank into a nearby armchair and absorbed that. He felt numb, as if he’d been the world’s biggest fool. “So Miranda hasn’t made any declarations?”

“No. She thinks you hate her. Why should she?”

“No reason,”

Chase said quickly.

Leroy shook his head. “Like nothing happened on those late nights at the lake? You two didn’t have a little fun on the dock?”

His head shot up. “What did you see?”

Leroy grinned. “Thanks for confirming my suspicions.”

Chase groaned. So much for being discreet. Leroy had gotten him with the oldest trick in the book.

But instead of gloating, his grandfather sighed. He didn’t revel in discovering the truth. “I’m an old man. We get up a lot in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. While I didn’t see anything, it’s pretty easy to figure out something’s going on when the boat’s missing and the boathouse light is on until the wee hours of the morning. I guessed you weren’t down there by yourself.”

“I’m very attracted to her. We got involved.”

“It’s good for you to admit it. Everyone else can see how you look at her. Why do you think I kept trying to push you two together?”

“But it can’t work. We’re both after the same job. It’s not something we can share. One of us has to go. And I don’t want it to be me.”

Leroy tapped his fingers on the chair. “I see.”

Chase stood. “I just wanted you to know.”

“So do you love her?”

Chase froze. “When I first met her I had this wild idea that she could be the one. But I’ve learned things aren’t always what they seem.”

“They often aren’t. But sometimes they are.”

Chase shook his head. “Not in this case. I’ll abide by whatever decision the board makes on Monday. I don’t want to cause you any more stress or give you any more reasons to be disappointed in me.”

“I’m not disappointed. I never have been. I love you. Always will.”

Chase nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little. “I appreciate that. I’ll come by sometime tomorrow and check on you.”

“I’m not made of glass. And Chris is coming to stay for the weekend. I got a new crossword book.”

Crossword puzzles were Leroy and Chris’s thing. “Okay then. I’ll call you.”

Chase was almost to the foyer before his grandfather called his name. Chase paused. Leroy looked so small sitting in his chair, and Chase got a sense of just how frail and precious life really was.

“Your father would be very proud of you, Chase. Remember, this isn’t about doing the right thing for the family. It’s about doing what makes you happy. I had it all. So can you.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“I don’t. Now, go home and drive safe. Oh, and Chase? Admit the truth to yourself.”

Chase frowned. “About what?”

“That you love her.”

He laughed shortly. “It wouldn’t matter even if I did.”

Leroy shook his head and gave a small, sad smile. “Get your priorities straight. That’s what this year was supposed to be about. Love is all that matters.”

Yeah, right, Chase thought as he drove home. Love might be all that mattered, but love also broke your heart. He’d loved his parents and they’d died. Love brought pain.

As for Miranda, too many harsh things had been said between them to make things okay. You could glue together a broken glass, but it wouldn’t hold water.

Even if he loved her—which he didn’t, he added quickly—all they’d had was great sex. He liked the way her short black hair lay against her cheek after lovemaking. He adored the way her lips were puffy after a long, passionate kiss. He remembered how she felt in his arms and wanted her there again. He’d probably never stop wanting her.

But you couldn’t build a relationship on that. Hell, they couldn’t even work together without arguing. Any relationship between them was doomed. Come Monday, one of them would stand and one of them would fall.

He prayed he’d be the one left standing, and as he did, he suddenly understood where his grandfather had been leading him.

Buildings and letterhead didn’t keep you warm at night. Miranda Craig was probably the love of his life. Chase might win and be named CEO, but he was going to lose something priceless.