Pregnant by the Rival CEO

Anna blew out an exasperated breath. “I can’t believe you think there’s a chance I can’t handle it.”

Adam fetched a bottle of beer from the fridge and returned to the table. “What about Australia? What if something like that happens when I’m gone? We’re still sorting out that mess.”

“First off, we’re not sorting out that mess, I am. And you asked me to make those changes. I was following orders.”

“If you’re going to be CEO, you have to think for yourself.” He took a sip of his beer and pointed at her with the neck of the bottle. “There will be no orders to follow.”

How she hated it when he talked down to her like that, as if she didn’t know as much about business, when she absolutely did. “And I will do that once you finally hand over the reins.” Anna tightened her hands into balls. She was so tired of her dynamic with Adam, constantly at war.

Melanie buried her nose in a bridal magazine. Surely this wasn’t a comfortable conversation to sit in on.

“When you’re ready and not a day sooner,” Adam barked. “You know we’re in a delicate position. The company stock is fluctuating like crazy. I keep hearing rumblings about somebody, somewhere, wanting to take over the company.”

She’d heard those same rumors, but had ignored them, hoping they were conjecture and nothing more. “Adam, change brings instability. I think you’re making excuses, when the truth is that you suddenly have zero confidence in me.”

“You don’t make it easy when you make mistakes. Half of the board members are old guard. They do not want to see a woman take over the company, no matter what they might say to your face. We have to find the right time.”

Anna felt as though she was listening to her father speak. Was there something about working out of that office that made a person completely unreasonable? “You mean I have to wait until you decide it’s the right time.”

“You have no idea the amount of pressure I’m under. People expect huge things from me and from LangTel. I can’t let what Dad started be anything less than amazing.”

Anna kept her thoughts to herself. Adam was struggling with their father’s death even more than she was. He might not realize it, but she was sure his iron grip on LangTel had more to do with holding on to the memory of their dad than anything else. Tears stung Anna’s eyes just thinking about her father, but she wouldn’t cry. Not now.

“I can do this. I thought you believed in me.”

“I do, but frankly, you haven’t dazzled me like I thought you would.”

“Then let me dazzle you. I have an idea for an acquisition after the conference in Miami. That’s what I’ve been trying to talk to you all week about.”

“I don’t want to spend our entire evening talking shop. Send me the details in an email and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“No. You keep blowing me off. Plus, I’m starting to think this isn’t a discussion for the office.”

“Why not?”

You might get mad enough to set off the sprinkler system. “Because it has to do with Jacob Lin. I’m interested in a company called Sunny Side, and he’s the majority investor.”

Adam’s jaw dropped and quickly froze in place. “I don’t care if Jacob Lin is selling the Empire State Building for a dollar. We’re not doing business with him. End of discussion.”

That last bit was so like her dad, and such a guy thing to do, attempting to do away with an uncomfortable subject with male posturing. It insulted every brain cell in her head, which meant it was time to forge ahead. She wasn’t about to wait for another time. It might never come. “The company makes micro solar panels for cell phones, phones that will never, ever need an electrical charge.”

“Sounds amazing,” Melanie chimed in from behind the shield of her magazine.

Adam shook his head, just as stubborn as Anna had imagined he’d be. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Yes, it does,” Anna said. “We’re talking about a revolution in our industry. Imagine the possibilities. Every person who ever wandered around an airport looking for an outlet will never see a reason to buy a phone other than ours.”

“Think of the safety aspects. Or the possibilities for remote places,” Melanie added. “The public relations upside could be huge.”

“Not to mention the financial upside,” Anna said.

Adam kneaded his forehead. “Are you two in cahoots or something? I don’t care if Jacob has invested in a cell phone that will make dinner and do your taxes. He and I tried to work together once and it was impossible. The man doesn’t know how to work with other people.”