Page 70 of A Flower for Angus

“Aye, it was.”

When Poppy turned around to go back to the study, she saw Ralston glaring at her from the middle of the foyer. Deciding she’d had enough of his attitude, she marched right up to the man.

“What is your problem, Ralston?” she enquired. “I don’t have time for your resentful stares and nasty attitude. I didn’t have to rehire you, and make no mistake, it’s me that’s hiring you, not Edna. In fact, I could have you escorted off the premises if I chose to do so. This is officially my house now whether I want it or not. I’d sell it if not for Edna, but it’s such a monstrosity that I don’t think anyone else would want it.”

His glare faded and confusion slid over his features. “You’d sell the mansion?”

“In a heartbeat. It’s costly to maintain and much too large for just one or two people. With Adrian gone there are no more Condoloro’s to inherit, so why keep it?”

“I-I thought you wanted the mansion and brought your...yourfriendto gloat and lord it over the rest of us,” he confessed. “I was irked for Edna’s sake.”

Her hands flew to her hips. “Do I look like I’m gloating?” she snapped. “I don’t even want to be here except to try to save the company, and it’s sure as hell not for my sake. In fact, as soon as I figure out what to do, I won’t even be living in this...this mausoleum. There’s nothing here for me.”

He bowed slightly. “I apologize, Mrs. Condoloro,” he said awkwardly. “It appears I’ve misjudged you.”

Poppy waved her hand in disgust. “And for Pete’s sake, stop calling me that. My name is Poppy. Julian was the one who insisted in all the formal fanfare, I couldn’t give two shits for all of it.” She turned around and stomped back to the study with Angus following.

“It appears ye may be in need of another Angus special,” Angus remarked, locking the door and coming up behind Poppy at the desk to massage her shoulders. “Ye are verra tense this mornin’, lass.”

Poppy groaned as his fingers found sore spots she didn’t know she had. “I’m sorry, Angus, you’re probably right. I’ve got so much to do right now though, that it’s making me crazy.” She glanced at her watch. “The board meeting is at 10:00 a.m. so that gives me about two hours to figure out what I’m going to say to everyone.”

“Chief Flinders had a point. Ye could just fire the entire board.”

“Or I could temporarily suspend them until I’ve completely vetted all of them.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s it. I need to lockdown the computer system and change the network passwords so no one can access anything except me. I need to get to the office and call IT to come in.”

“Right now, I’m sure it’s still a crime scene and it will be blocked off,” Angus said with a frown. “Why can’t ye do that from here?”

She slumped back in her chair. “You’re right, we can’t even have the board meeting at the office. Then she reached for the phone. “I’ll just call everyone and have them meet here.”

Angus put his hand over hers. “I’d no advise that, lass. Think about it. If any of them are compromised, having them in the house wouldn’t be a good idea. What about a conference room at a local hotel or convention center?”

She turned around and stood up to hug him. “That’s a great idea,” she admitted. “I guess I should also have Vince come over and look at the security systems too and make sure the cameras and everything are working.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll take care of that; ye take care of yer company.” He turned her around with a slap on her rear. “Get to work,” he teased. “I’ll find us some breakfast.”

By the end of the day, Poppy was exhausted and her head was pounding—again. The board members were furious at being locked out of everything, the FBI was crawling all over the building and couldn’t give her a date when she would be allowed back in, and the story of Carma Michelina was on every channel. Not exact details, but highlights which were still enough to drop Condoloro stocks to an all-time low.

Thank heavens Angus and Vince had upgraded all the security because the phone wouldn’t stop ringing and someone had lobbed a bottle bomb over the front gate. She’d finally done an impromptu press release outside the mansion gates to address their basic concerns and reassure the public that she would do her best to get the company back on its feet.

No staff were leaving the mansion for a few days and Poppy had hired two guards to patrol the grounds until things calmed down. Vince had moved out to avoid the media frenzy. Chief Flinders had ordered patrols several times a day by his officers, and at night to keep extra eyes on things. The whole situation was making her extremely tense and irritable.

Angus was doing a round and making sure the house was secure while Poppy got a bath. When she came into her bedroom, he was waiting for her.

“Are ye ready for bed, lass? It’s going on midnight and ye need some rest. It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll say,” Poppy replied, rubbing her temples wearily. She walked over to him, put her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for being here, Angus. I’d have been overwhelmed without you today.”

“That’s what I’m here for, wee one, to protect and take care of ye,” he growled softly. He ran his palms over her buttocks in the silky, shorty pajamas. “I’m no sure of who’s going to protect ye from me though, dressed in this skimpy nightwear.”

“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to seduce you if that’s what you mean,” she replied, stiffening in his arms.

He chuckled. “It wouldn’t do ye any good if ye were, I’ll no compete with a dead man on his turf. I don’t want memories of us together for the first time intertwined with the memories ye have of this place.”

Poppy palmed the side of his face. “That’s very thoughtful of you,” she said, searching his face. She was relieved that he had put into words what she’d been thinking ever since they’d decided to come. “Is your special still on the table though?” she asked hopefully.

“Anytime and anywhere ye want, honey,” he replied, taking her hand and leading her to the bed. “In yer bedroom, in the study, in the kitchen, anywhere ye want. Just name it.”

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