The hot shower felt good even though it was quick. She put her long auburn hair up so she'd look more professional and then added a hint of makeup, which made her blue eyes stand out. Everything was going good...until she had to zip up the back of her skirt. Are you kidding me?! Sucking in her gut as much as she could, Emily was barely able to get the skirt closed. She knew she put on a few pounds during college but was unaware of how much the ten pounds collected on her waistline. Could today get any worse?
She slipped her feet in her black slingback heels, grabbed her suitcase, and struggled down the stairs to the parking lot. She hated wearing heels and avoided them at all costs. She'd just have to suffer through it. Her pantyhose were already making her feel uncomfortable. She was on a mission and was going to give Davis Enterprises something to remember her by.
She just didn't know how true that was going to be...
Chapter 2
Parker Davis leaned back on the black leather sofa in his office, located on the twenty-second floor of Davis Enterprises. He kicked off his shoes, unknotted his tie, and began to rub his temples. What a long day. Just when he thought he could get a few minutes of rest, he heard his office door open and his secretary's loud voice disturb his peace.
"Parker, the meeting starts in fifteen minutes. The rest have arrived, minus your brother."
"He's giving the first half of the presentation, where the hell is he?"
"I put a note on the kitchen counter this morning, reminding him to grab the file, but of course, he forgot it."
"Rhonda, you have to help me keep that husband of yours in check."
"Russell said to go ahead and start without him. He'll be here shortly."
"Is coffee available?" Parker continued to rub his temples.
"It has just a few more minutes."
"If you weren't my sister-in-law, I'd fire you just for that." Parker winked at Rhonda.
Russ and Parker were impossible to tell apart. They were identical twins, best friends, and schemers. Parker owned the company but Russ was second in command, having just enough callousness to get his hands on property. Parker was a king at developing land into lucrative businesses. Through both of their efforts, they'd turned the small company's worth into the billions.
They both dressed in fine black suits, black ties, and stark white shirts for formal meetings. Their identity was questioned often, and it wasn't beyond the brothers to pretend to be the other. Fooling women, however, was crossing the line, and neither had ever stooped to that. When the business first began, Russ had taken to wearing a mustache. It didn't take long for the twins to realize that covering for each other was both productive and fun. Russ shaved it off and neither had any facial hair. 6' 2", olive complexion, black hair, and dark eyes had always gotten them lots of female attention. But Russ was happily married to Rhonda and adored their two young daughters. Parker, on the other hand, had women who stayed available when he felt the urge for companionship, but as far as any relationships went, he ran far and fast.
The meeting was to start at eight. Parker had been at the office since six in the morning, and it was going to take everything he had to sit through the long meeting. Russ better get here. He looked in the mirror, ran a quick electric razor over his stubble, fixed his tie, and then headed straight for the coffee pot. Rhonda could make one heck of a pot of coffee. But nothing was going to help the situation if Russ didn't show his face. He stepped back into his office to grab his briefcase and phone his brother.
"Russ, are you on your way?"
"Yeah I'm in the back of a taxi, stuck in traffic. There's an accident."
"Are you close enough to walk?" Parker was feeling the panic.
"No, Parker, I'm not walking. Just sideline the investors with something and I'll be there as quick as I can. I would have driven myself but the Jag's in the driveway with a flat. Today couldn't go downhill much more."
"Oh yes it can. If you don't show up, it's definitely going to get worse. How much more time are you talking?"
"I should be there in about thirty minutes."
Parker headed towards the large conference room and sat his briefcase upon the dark mahogany table. Rhonda came in and took her seat, ready to take minutes of the meeting. She smiled reassuringly up at Parker, who didn't return the gesture.
The investors sat making small talk. They didn't want to overly acknowledge Parker, as they didn't know which Davis it was.
"Mr. Davis, it's after eight. I have a flight to catch if you don't mind," said Carl Stranton, an investor from Dallas. Others started to agree.
"Welcome, gentlemen. I'm Parker Davis, and unfortunately my brother Russell is stuck in traffic but should be here shortly. I'll go ahead and begin."
Emily sat in the back of the cab, trying to put some fresh lipstick on while the driver hit every bump in the road. Her hair had mostly fallen down, so she pinned it back up, having only a small makeup mirror to check her appearance. She couldn't wait to wash the gunk off and put her comfortable clothes on. The straps on the back of her shoes were already forming blisters. The sooner she got out of this uncomfortable outfit, the better.
Looking at the time, Emily figured she had nothing to lose in going to Davis Enterprises to see if she could meet with the creep who stole her grandfather's land. The last thing she wanted was to have to put this black suit back on again in the morning. Her feet were killing her.
Emily pulled the papers out of the envelope. Staring down at the official proof of the sale made her want to scream, but it also motivated her.
"Here we are, Davis Enterprises. Do you want me to wait? If you do, I'll have to go around that corner and park in the lot. It'll cost you though."
Another thing Emily didn't need was to make this trip more expensive. If she did get to talk with the person responsible for railroading her grandfather, she didn't know how long the meeting would last. "No thank you. It shouldn't be hard to get another cab back to my motel when I'm ready to go." The thought of walking five blocks back to her room in this tight outfit and heels made her cringe.
"Okay, suit yourself."
Emily paid the cab driver and then stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. People were walking into each other and none of them looked very happy. She knew then that there'd be no way she could live in New York.
Davis Enterprises was huge. She'd never been inside of a building like this before. There was a beautiful woman sitting behind a large desk at the far end of the lobby. Emily would have to find out where she was going. Nothing in the lobby, other than a huge sign that read "Davis Enterprises" on the wall behind the receptionist, gave her a clue as to where she might head. At least she was in the correct building.
"Hello, I'd like to see Mr. Davis, please."
"Which one?" The young woman smiled at Emily.
"I'm not sure..." Great. A big family stole my grandfather's land? The signature on the papers was messy. All she could read was the word "Davis".
"It doesn't matter. The Davis offices are on the twenty-second floor. I believe they're still in a meeting, but you can go up and check with his secretary. You'll need an appointment to see him."
"Okay, thank you." Emily had no intentions of making an appointment. If he was in the building, she was going to get in his face and give him this money back. All she wanted was the land and the home she was raised in.
The elevators were so fast that Emily thought she might get sick. When the doors opened, another young woman sat behind the large glass wall and smiled up at her. She reached under her desk and buzzed Emily in.
"Hello, my name is Patricia. You must be the one who needs to make an appointment with Mr. Davis?"
"No, I don't want to make an appointment. I flew all the way out here just to see him."
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Davis is in a meeting. You'll have to come back tomorrow."
"I'm not coming back tomorrow. It's imperative that I see him this evening."
"If you'd like, you can sit in those chairs and wait for his secretary Rhonda to come out. She's in the meeting as well in the conference room. You can speak to her about Mr. Davis' availability." Mr. Davis immediately swooped down to steal the property, so I'll be damned if I'm going to wait.
When Patricia got up to take some papers down the hall, Emily ran to make her move. Going in the conference room was one thing, but running into the conference room was a really bad idea.
But Emily needed to get to where she was hearing all the loud voices before Patricia caught her. When she flew in the door, her heel stuck on the plush carpet. Instead of getting someone's attention with her voice, she got the entire room's attention by falling across the floor. The contents of her purse spilling out all over the place added a nice touch. She felt her skirt tear. Emily's embarrassment didn't last long. She was definitely in the right place.
Parker nodded towards the back of the room to signal a young man to turn on a projector and dim the lights. On the large screen, several photos showed the beauty of fifty thousand acres in Springfield, Colorado.
"This, gentlemen, is our latest project. As you can see, the beauty is very obvious." Parker could hear the agreement of those in the room. "This area here will be an airport. In addition, we'll be adding a golf course and large resort. Our market will be the upper class. Up in these mountains is a top-notch ski resort, and with a road added here, commute won't be an issue. The farm house and other dwellings will be removed when we put the road in."