overwhelming temptation to stay just a little longer and watch her sleep.
Chapter Eleven
In the morning, there was a message on her BlackBerry instructing her to meet Ellis in the Dungeon with Wade. She arrived to coffee and pastries from Wade’s favourite bakery and a huge glass of iced tea that he’d brewed up in the coffee maker. Ellis and Wade were already settled around the Formica table that looked like it came straight from a 1950s diner. When she joined them, and everyone was settled, Ellis spoke around a mouthful of maple bar.
‘Marston thinks you’ve been neglecting Scribal for another project, but Wade set me very straight on that little misunderstanding.’
Wade cleared his throat loudly, and Ellis glared at him. ‘I’m getting there, damn it.’ He turned his attention back to her. ‘Dee, I apologise for my bad behaviour yesterday. Clearly I didn’t understand the situation, nor did I bother to listen when you tried to tell me.’ He held her gaze. ‘Did you sleep?’
She found herself blushing, remembering him helping her into bed, remembering dreams in which he hadn’t been such a gentleman and leaving her to sleep, dreams in which he had crawled right in next to her and ravished her, dreams that had her reaching for her vibrator to ease the tension before she hopped in the shower this morning. ‘Yes, I did sleep,’ she managed.
He studied her for a long moment, almost as if he didn’t quite believe her, and just when she was about to get defensive, he took a deep breath and offered her a warm smile. ‘Good. Now then, tell me what’s so damned important about Trouvères that you’d risk my wrath and Marston’s tantrums?’
She smiled back, and for the first time in three weeks she didn’t feel like she was walking on eggshells.
Wade slid the files on Trouvères and Scribal across the table to her. She thanked him, then returned her attention to Ellis. ‘I’m sure you know that Trouvères specialise in paper recycling, Ellis, but what makes them so special is they’ve recently perfected a new technology that can take waste paper, almost any kind of waste paper, and recycle it into quality stationary.’
‘We’re not talking about the bumpy grey stuff you get in green shops,’ Wade added. ‘We’re talking about the kind of stationary you could use a fountain pen on. What Trouvères has to offer could very well change the face of the paper industry.’ He nodded to Dee, and she continued.
‘This technology would be even better than growing Marston a new supply of trees. It would be like growing him a new forest every day. And it would stop Jamison in his tracks.’
Dee opened the file and handed him two pristine sheets of paper the size of wedding invitations. ‘One of these is recycled by Trouvères. The other is virgin stock. I’m willing to bet you can’t tell which is which.’ She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fountain pen. ‘Go ahead. Test it.’ While Ellis doodled on the strips of paper, she went on, ‘Trouvères is a family operation started by the Rousseau twins, Claude and Yvette. The company’s always done well for itself, but with this new technology the sky’s the limit. The problem is they don’t have the capital for the scale up they need to make it work.’
Ellis held the two pieces of paper up to the light. ‘But Marston does.’
‘Exactly.’ She shoved aside the doughnut box, opened the Scribal folder, and flipped through the information. ‘Ah, here it is. Marston has a plant just outside Atlanta that’s facing a shutdown. The resulting loss of jobs would be devastating for the community. He has another plant, possibly two, that could go the same route if something doesn’t change. They’re all older plants, and amazingly enough, their outdated design makes them perfect for conversion and refitting to the Trouvères technology.’
‘And I’m sure we can engineer those conversions,’ Wade said. ‘I’ve designed a template for
Chapter Eleven
In the morning, there was a message on her BlackBerry instructing her to meet Ellis in the Dungeon with Wade. She arrived to coffee and pastries from Wade’s favourite bakery and a huge glass of iced tea that he’d brewed up in the coffee maker. Ellis and Wade were already settled around the Formica table that looked like it came straight from a 1950s diner. When she joined them, and everyone was settled, Ellis spoke around a mouthful of maple bar.
‘Marston thinks you’ve been neglecting Scribal for another project, but Wade set me very straight on that little misunderstanding.’
Wade cleared his throat loudly, and Ellis glared at him. ‘I’m getting there, damn it.’ He turned his attention back to her. ‘Dee, I apologise for my bad behaviour yesterday. Clearly I didn’t understand the situation, nor did I bother to listen when you tried to tell me.’ He held her gaze. ‘Did you sleep?’
She found herself blushing, remembering him helping her into bed, remembering dreams in which he hadn’t been such a gentleman and leaving her to sleep, dreams in which he had crawled right in next to her and ravished her, dreams that had her reaching for her vibrator to ease the tension before she hopped in the shower this morning. ‘Yes, I did sleep,’ she managed.
He studied her for a long moment, almost as if he didn’t quite believe her, and just when she was about to get defensive, he took a deep breath and offered her a warm smile. ‘Good. Now then, tell me what’s so damned important about Trouvères that you’d risk my wrath and Marston’s tantrums?’
She smiled back, and for the first time in three weeks she didn’t feel like she was walking on eggshells.
Wade slid the files on Trouvères and Scribal across the table to her. She thanked him, then returned her attention to Ellis. ‘I’m sure you know that Trouvères specialise in paper recycling, Ellis, but what makes them so special is they’ve recently perfected a new technology that can take waste paper, almost any kind of waste paper, and recycle it into quality stationary.’
‘We’re not talking about the bumpy grey stuff you get in green shops,’ Wade added. ‘We’re talking about the kind of stationary you could use a fountain pen on. What Trouvères has to offer could very well change the face of the paper industry.’ He nodded to Dee, and she continued.
‘This technology would be even better than growing Marston a new supply of trees. It would be like growing him a new forest every day. And it would stop Jamison in his tracks.’
Dee opened the file and handed him two pristine sheets of paper the size of wedding invitations. ‘One of these is recycled by Trouvères. The other is virgin stock. I’m willing to bet you can’t tell which is which.’ She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fountain pen. ‘Go ahead. Test it.’ While Ellis doodled on the strips of paper, she went on, ‘Trouvères is a family operation started by the Rousseau twins, Claude and Yvette. The company’s always done well for itself, but with this new technology the sky’s the limit. The problem is they don’t have the capital for the scale up they need to make it work.’
Ellis held the two pieces of paper up to the light. ‘But Marston does.’
‘Exactly.’ She shoved aside the doughnut box, opened the Scribal folder, and flipped through the information. ‘Ah, here it is. Marston has a plant just outside Atlanta that’s facing a shutdown. The resulting loss of jobs would be devastating for the community. He has another plant, possibly two, that could go the same route if something doesn’t change. They’re all older plants, and amazingly enough, their outdated design makes them perfect for conversion and refitting to the Trouvères technology.’
‘And I’m sure we can engineer those conversions,’ Wade said. ‘I’ve designed a template for
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