* * *
Amber’s boss, Herbert Nywall’s, expression was stern as he rose from the table in her compact office on the seventh floor of the Coast Eagle building.
Max Cutter was the company’s chief lawyer, so Herbert had had no choice but to acquiesce to his request to speak privately with Amber. But it was obvious Herbert was becoming frustrated with the increasing interruptions of Amber’s day-to-day duties.
She didn’t blame him.
“Can this wait, Max?” she asked, earning a look of shock from Herbert.
“I’m afraid not. Sorry, Herbert.”
“Not at all,” Herbert responded with false cheer. “She’s all yours.”
“We’re pretty busy today,” Amber told Max as Herbert closed the door behind him.
“You can’t pretend this isn’t happening.” Max took the chair across from her at the two-person meeting table. It was wedged between her desk and a bookshelf in the windowless room.
“Believe me, I’m not pretending anything isn’t happening.” In the past three weeks, her life had been turned completely upside down.
Nothing was remotely normal, and now Cole Parker had appeared, somehow insinuating himself into the circumstances. She didn’t quite know what to make of him. He was opportunistic, that was for sure. And he had definite designs on Coast Eagle.
But Zachary’s reaction to him had been astonishing. And her own reaction was just as bizarre. Yesterday, she’d fought a ridiculous urge to throw herself into Cole’s arms and trust him completely.
Max got straight to the point. “Roth’s pressuring the board to appoint him president.”
The news surprised Amber. It also worried her. “I thought they were going to wait to choose a president.”
“That was the agreement. But he wants it bad, and half of the board members are convinced he’ll win the custody battle. If he does, he’ll be the guy deciding who stays on the board. They want to ingratiate themselves now while they have a chance.”
Amber understood their dilemma. She even sympathized. If Roth obtained custody of Zachary, he’d be ruthless in his revenge on board members who’d stood against him.
“Plus,” Max continued, “they see strength in him, decisiveness and intelligence. They think he’ll make a good president.”
“I don’t like him,” Amber blurted out. “And I don’t think he’d make a good president.”
Max sat back in his chair. “That was definitive.” He seemed to be considering her words. “Is it because of the situation with Zachary? Because that would certainly be understandable.”
“It’s because he recklessly spends company money. He wants to refurbish or replace the entire fleet with no regard whatsoever for the debt load. He’s a shopaholic on a massive scale.”
Max quirked a smile. “Interestingly put, but not inaccurate from what I’ve seen.”
“They can’t make him president.”
“The board’s deadlocked. We need to appoint another board member to break the tie.”