“I can tell you’re all confused how this will help us out of the little bind we’ve found ourselves in, but I would really like him to explain things.” Ralph looked down at his watch. “He should be here any minute.”

She was about to ask her grandfather just what was going on when a knock on the door stopped her.

“Ah, here he is now.” Ralph rounded the table with more pep than one would expect in a seventy-five-year-old man. When he pulled open the door, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “As I can see by the looks on your faces, to most of you this man needs no introduction but spare an old man his manners. Everyone, this is Falon Wolfe.”

The slow inspection that started at the tips of a pair of obviously expensive leather shoes stopped somewhere in the vicinity of the third button from his belt. She felt her stomach drop as she looked into the face of a man she thought she would never see again. Never wanted to see again.

Memories—mortifying, ridiculous memories—rushed back and she felt her face flush. She tore her gaze away from cataloging how good the last nine years had been to him. What was he doing here? Her stomach dropped as it filled with razor-winged butterflies. Dear Lord, she was going to be sick.

She could only sit and watch Falon shake her grandfather’s hand and smile charmingly at the rest of her coworkers. The same confident walk she remembered from years ago carried him across the room with the same predatory grace that could hypnotize a girl into losing articles of clothing. She shook herself. Well it wasn’t going to work on her. Not this time. No matter how the liquid pooling in her belly and the sudden acceleration of her heart rate tried to convince her differently.

“Yowza—what a hunk,” Marcy whispered. She couldn’t contain the reflexive snort at her friend’s words. If she only knew. Catching Marcy’s questioning eyes, she felt that men like Falon Wolfe were probably right up her alley.

***

Falon stood at the head of the long table taking in the motley mix before him. Six pairs of eyes looked back at him expectantly as he tried to remember how he had let his grandfather talk him into this mess. He said that he owed Ralph Maxwell some sort of favor and the man’s business was failing. His grandfather’s persistent heckling that Falon needed to remember what it was like to do something nice for another human being was the only true driving force behind his agreement to take on this job. That, and to get the man to stop looking so guilty. The past was the past. He had moved on and the old man needed to learn to do the same.

He was doing this job nearly pro bono at that! If that wasn’t nice, he didn’t know what was. And maybe he didn’t, but what did it matter? He hadn’t gotten where he was today by being nice to every person he ran into in the business of business. Most of the time, these people needed a firm hand. That was his specialty. One last look around the room gave him the sinking sense this was one of those cases.

“Good morning, everyone.” He smiled at their expectant faces. “I’m sure you’re all aware why I am here. It’s no secret that I am the best at what I do, and that’s taking companies on the downward spiral and turning them around to be profitable again. That’s just what I plan to do here. And if you will all bear with me over the next few weeks as I familiarize myself with the way things work here, and how I can best get Maxwell, Williams, and Blake back to the forefront of the talent industry, I promise to do everything in my power to make sure we’re a success.”

“And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?” He zeroed in on the little redhead who boldly held his gaze. His eyes narrowed. There was always one determined to rock the boat. “I’ve seen what you have done with other companies, Mr. Wolfe, are you planning on using the same tactics here?”

“I am willing to do anything to make this agency a success again.” He paused just long enough to make her uneasy. “Aren’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

He watched as a slow, mischievous smile raced across her lips and something tugged at his memory. He shook off the sensation when she began speaking again.

“I would give almost anything for this company to be what it once was, Mr. Wolfe. Almost anything. But I would say that I would draw the line with what you did with Browning, Inc., Faraway LTD, and a list of other companies that you pulled from the gutter.”

He was struck speechless, which was a wonder in and of itself, as she practically sneered the end of her little speech. Air quoting to add a bit of drama. He could only stare at the woman in utter amazement. Who did she think she was? Anger began to uncurl in his gut. They had called him in to save their asses and she was criticizing his business strategies?

“What did he do at those places?” the woman sitting next to the little imp asked. She answered her coworker without taking her eyes off him, and he couldn’t help noticing the fire burning in their tawny depths. If he didn’t know any better, he would say this was personal.

“He dismantled them completely. Restructured and rehired nearly every position with the exception of those in charge.” Her smile grew. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Wolfe?”

The room erupted. He was unaware five people could make so much noise. Letting them take a moment to work it out of their system, he glared at the little troublemaker. His eyes promised that if it came to it, she would be the first to go. He turned to Ralph Maxwell, who was staring at her in disbelief. Apparently this wasn’t normal behavior. Shaking it off, he decided that enough was enough.

“People. People, please.” He raised his voice only enough to gain their attention. “What your coworker here has so kindly pointed out is true. Ah, let me finish. It is true that after examining several companies and their business strategies I made the call to restructure. That isn’t to say that it will happen here. It isn’t a secret, I wasn’t hiding it, and your employer here is well aware of my track record. As I am sure most of you are. I am the best at what I do for a reason, and you’ll have to trust me to make the right calls for Maxwell, Williams, and Blake, or this will never work.”

He let his eyes fall on the little troublemaker again and felt an odd sense of disappointment mixed with the satisfaction that he had successfully cowed her. For some reason, a part of him was hoping she would have a little more fight in her. Looking down at her lowered head, he fought his instinct to reach out and tilt her head to meet his eyes. He wanted to know what was going on behind those amber orbs and that thought, more than anything, had him turning his attention back to the rest of the room. He wasn’t there to probe the depths of one mouthy redhead’s mind; he was there to get the agency back on track and get the hell out of dodge.

“All right, Mr. Maxwell here has been kind enough to lend me an office that is no longer in use. I will be setting up shop there until I have assured that this agency is stable again and headed in the right direction. I will be making rounds over the next few days to get to know what each of your jobs entails and developing a strategy from there of how we can be more efficient.”

He wasn’t sure, but intermixed with the sound of chair wheels on the carpet he thought he heard a snort coming from the direction of the red-haired minx. His lips twitched and he had to fight the unexpected grin that threatened to surface. Telling himself he was only mildly thrilled by the idea of the challenge of taming her, and not the way she looked in that tight pencil skirt.

“Thank you so much for doing this.” Ralph Maxwell’s voice drew his attention from watching her sway out of the room. “I know that you don’t normally work with companies such as mine and that you’re doing this as a favor for your grandfather, but I just want you to know how grateful we are.”