Read Online Double-Cross My Heart by Carol Rose - Free Book Online

own dreams with it?
    Leaning back in her chair, she took a deep breath and considered the problem. Tough situations called for tough decisions. Maybe she needed to ramp up her own ballsiness and get into the game alongside Michele, Wendi and Alex.
    Reaching for the phone, she dialed Jessica’s number, her head buzzing with possibilities as she caught a sample lipstick threatening to roll off her desk.
    “Jessica?” she asked when the phone was answered.
    “Hey,” her friend responded cheerfully, the sound of Sesame Street audible in the background.
    “Where have you been all morning?”
    “At Greg’s mother’s,” Jessica replied. “Why? What’s up? Has that old battle axe done something else stupid?”
    “No,” Eden responded, knowing her friend was referring to the woman who had been her boss and was still Eden’s. “Actually, I’ve discovered that Michele isn’t my largest problem.”
    “What do you mean?” Jessica’s voice sharpened.
    “Greg hasn’t called you?”
    “No,” her friend said tersely. “I’ve just walked in this minute and my cell phone is dead. Why? What did he find out?”
    “Alex Holt started buying Michele Cosmetics stock three months ago.”
    “My God. Three months ago?” Jessica fell silent for a moment. “That’s it, then. From what Greg was telling me last night, your Alex is a barracuda. He’s very efficient and he doesn’t move on a company unless he’d pretty sure of himself.”
    “He’s obviously not ‘my Alex’,” Eden pointed out grimly, “and I don’t care what the hell he’s got planned, I’m not giving up easily.”
    “Well, what can you do? I mean if your uncle is such an asshole, you can’t work at his company? Unfortunately, he’s hit it right on the nose about your job potential in the cosmetics industry. I mean, that’s partly why I’m sitting home with baby food in my hair. This is a competitive biz. You’re caught in a catch-22. Another cosmetic company might be willing to hire you, but you know they’d expect you to give over on what you know about Michele’s products. They wouldn’t be as finicky as your uncle, by any means. Still, if the company goes down, does it matter?”
    “No one’s as finicky as George,” Eden said, her voice strong. “But I don’t want to be part of the company going down. I’m not willing to do that to the people I’ve worked with for the last twelve years. I’m to the point that maybe I don’t mind giving Michele the shaft. She as good as promised me I’d be running the company when she retired and then she screwed me over by getting with Carl and bringing Wendi in. But I do still feel a loyalty to everyone else who works here. They’re like my family. Heaven knows, they may be the only family I have in my old age.”
    “Don’t be silly. You still have time to have kids,” Jessica scolded before saying, “If you won’t sell out Michele’s formulas, you’ll need to look at other industries. Throw the net a little wider.”
    “I’ve thought about that,” Eden conceded. “But just getting a job somewhere else in some other corporation isn’t what I want. My expertise is in this business, so I’d probably have to take a pay cut. I’d have to start over learning an entirely different business. I’m good at this and it’s what I want to do. Besides, Michele Cosmetics is vulnerable. My getting a job somewhere else won’t solve that problem.”
    Cradling the phone against her shoulder, she absently picked up a tiny jar of hand lotion from the latest batch sent for her approval and tilted a dollop out on her hand. The scent of vanilla mixed with a faint floral undertone immediately surrounded her.
    Jessica went on, “If the company’s in trouble, though, why be finicky about selling the formulas and other proprietary information to a competitor? With Alex going after Michele, she’s not going to be in business much longer. She won’t need the formulas. You’ll just be selling them