Page 2 of Desire of a Highlander

Elodie knew she was doing it again—her mouth running away with her before her brain had a chance to intervene. But she was so sick of this! So sick of the little guys getting trodden on by the big ones. So sick of corporate greed dressed up as economics. When she’d agreed to this job, she’d thought she’d finally found a company that agreed with her ethics. More fool her, eh?

“Elodie,” Marcus said, his tone stiffening a little. “We hired you because you are the best project manager in the business. You are a professional. You know as well as I do that projects rarely run smoothly and almost always have to adapt. That’s all we’re doing here.”

Elodie scowled at him. “I think that in my contract you’ll find it said I’m the project manager of a social housing enterprise, not an executive development for people with more money than sense!”

“That’s true, but I think you’ll also find that there is a clause in your contract that says that as project manager it’s your duty to manage the project in whatever manner is necessary to meet its objectives. Well, the objectives have changed, but your obligations haven’t. If you want to keep working for us, then you’ll need to accept those new objectives.”

Elodie didn’t miss the threat in Marcus’s words. Anger seethed through her. If there was one thing that Elodie hated more than anything, it was people who thought they could bully others into doing what they wanted. Okay, so Marcus was rich. So what? All his money and influence had been inherited from his parents. Elodie wondered if he’d ever done a hard day’s work in his life and if he’d ever, even for one day, lived the kinds of lives that the people who desperately needed that social housing had.

She met Marcus’s gaze, then Amy’s, then the other three. They all stared back at her implacably. She knew what they were thinking. She’ll capitulate. She’ll tow the line. She needs this job more than we need her.

This last bit was true, of course. Her rent was overdue, her car was desperately in need of a service, and if she lost this job, she didn’t know how she would pay for either. Yes, she ought to tow the line. She ought to swallow her pride and her principles for the sake of her paycheck.

But she knew she wouldn’t. She’d been raised by a single mother who’d been an activist and campaigner all her life. How could she do less than her mother would have done? She might have been gone for several years now, but Elodie was still determined to make her proud.

So she lifted her chin and glared at Marcus Cross. “Fine. Then I quit. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you.”

Marcus blinked in surprise and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say a word, Elodie climbed to her feet, spun on her heel, and stormed out of the boardroom. She felt a small stab of satisfaction as it slammed behind her.

The receptionist looked up as she stalked through the lobby. “Are you done? I’ll need your security badge back.”

Elodie ignored her. She stomped to the elevator and stepped quickly inside. Stupid Cross Construction and their stupid back-stabbing executives!

As the doors slid closed and the elevator began to descend, she was so angry she didn’t notice the other person in the lift until a voice said, “Going all the way to the bottom, dearie?”

She turned and saw a small, elderly woman standing by the control panel. “What? Oh, yes, please. Sorry, I was miles away.”

The woman smiled, deepening the creases around her eyes. “So I see, lass. Bad day at the office, is it?”

“Something like that.”

The enormity of what she’d just done began to sink in. She’d quit her job! Oh God. How was she going to pay her bills now?

“Dinna worry,” the old woman said. “Things will work out, I’m sure. Things have a habit of doing that, ye know. “

Elodie blinked at the woman. She was short, round, and had hair the color of a stormy sky pulled back into a severe bun. Her eyes, like dark pools, glinted with intelligence and warmth.

“Do they?” Elodie replied. “I wish that were true.”

“Oh, it’s true, Elodie. Ye just have to see the right path and take it.”

Elodie started. “How do you know my name?”

The old woman grinned. “Because I’ve been waiting for ye, that’s how.”

Elodie glanced around the tiny elevator. “Waiting for me? What, right here in this elevator?”

“That’s right.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Irene. Irene MacAskill. I am mighty pleased to meet ye.”

A little nonplussed, Elodie took the old woman’s hand and shook it. Despite her obvious age, the woman had a grip like iron. “Er...pleased to meet you too.”

Irene MacAskill cocked her head and regarded Elodie with deep, dark eyes that seemed to see right into her soul. Involuntarily she tried to take a step back, but she was already up against the elevator wall.

All of a sudden, she realized that they weren’t moving. There was no sound of whirring machinery, and a little red light on the control panel was flashing to show an error. Elodie’s heart leapt into her throat.

“Why have we stopped? Have we broken down?”

She hurried over to the control panel and began furiously pressing the button to call for help.