Claim Me Now: Heron Harbor, #2

By Lea Nolan

Raven Donovan isn't looking for a relationship. She's married to her job and vice president of her company. So she's blindsided when a corporate takeover leaves her unceremoniously unemployed. Reeling, she retreats to her family's beach house on Heron Harbor Island and drowns her sorrows in a bottle of tequila. And then a tall, dark, and gorgeous stranger walks through the door...

 

Jack Baines has it all—money, a good job, and he's the heir to one of the largest private equity firms on the East Coast. With his latest conquest under his belt, he should be flying high. But as much as he enjoys the thrill of the hunt, firing people takes a toll on him. So he heads to the beach for some alone time, never expecting to find a half-naked, dark-haired beauty in his rental.

 

With a storm raging outside, Raven and Jack end up sharing more than just the house. A scorching night turns into a red-hot weekend that reveals how much they have in common—including Raven's ex-company. That revelation threatens everything they've found unless they fight to build something new...together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lea Nolan
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393835080

Book preview

Chapter 1

Raven Donovan drummed her fingertips on the desk, waiting for the fool on the other end of the speakerphone to stop digging his own grave.

Kelvin, the Gametronics project manager, had been yammering on for the last ten minutes, trying to explain why his team of crack software developers would miss their deadline this afternoon. Now he was laying it on extra thick, peppering his excuses with IT jargon meant to confuse her. As if this were her first dance with corporate contracting or navigating around those who’d miscalculated when they thought they’d get the best of her.

Underestimating Raven was a mistake. Yet some people still did—until they learned better. It was the age thing, an unfortunate consequence of being a wunderkind. Being disrespected used to drive her crazy. Now, at thirty-one, she saw her relative youth as a superpower. People like Kelvin never saw her coming.

So after the mainframe melted and the servers went offline, we couldn’t complete our beta testing in time, Kelvin said.

Wholly unacceptable. Kelvin had plenty of warning about Raven’s tight deadline to roll out Paulson Diagnostics’s newest diabetes monitoring product, and his company’s software was essential to the project.

Raven’s newest brainchild was a product designed to launch Paulson Diagnostics out of the second tier of diabetes monitoring companies and land it firmly among the nation’s top three brands. She’d already enlisted a team of biomedical engineers to create a brand-new device, and Gametronics was building the accompanying app.

Everything hinged on the software that turned blood sugar monitoring into a game. If diabetics felt monitoring their blood glucose was fun, they’d be more likely to check their blood sugar. Better monitoring meant better health and a chance to make a real difference in a major disease. Of all the initiatives Raven had spearheaded in her two years as Executive Vice President of Paulson Diagnostics, this was her favorite. She was due to present it to the board in a month’s time to get approval for mass production. If Gametronics was late, Raven would be late.

And Raven had no intention of being late.

In our last call, you said you were nearly finished with the beta tests, and the team would finish early. Raven’s perfectly manicured fingers danced over her computer, switching between open tabs of social media sites. It was truly amazing what you could find on the internet.

Yeah, but then the mainframe melted, and we lost all our data, Kelvin spoke slowly, as if she was stupid. The entire team was here all week trying to get it back up and running.

Raven scanned a social media account under the name @KelRaiser and shook her head at the images posted over the last couple of days. The team had been together all right, just not tending to their servers. But she wanted to see how far Kelvin was willing to take this little charade. She made a soft, soothing noise. Sounds harrowing.

Kelvin managed a half-hearted laugh. "It wasn’t that terrible."

Raven rolled her eyes. This guy wouldn’t know how to sell a disaster if he were stuck in the middle of a category five hurricane. You just said you lost all the work you’ve done for us over the last eighteen months. Raven took several screenshots, then inserted them into an empty email.

Oh, uh, well, no. Our backups should be on our servers once we get them up and running. Which is why we just need a no-cost extension.

Ah, so there it was, finally. Kelvin didn’t just want forgiveness for missing the deadline; he wanted out of the ten percent daily fine she’d negotiated into their contract.

Nice try, but no dice. He and his team had played with enough of those in Vegas, along with a plentiful array of strippers.

A no-cost extension means you don’t face a penalty for being late on your deadline. Raven switched browser tabs and scrolled through a second account under the name @HighwaytoKel that contained . . . oh, good God. Raven hadn’t seen that many bodily fluids in one screenshot before. Didn’t these guys realize that nothing stayed hidden on the internet? Not only was Kelvin a terrible liar, but he was also unfathomably dumb for an IT guy.

Right. Because we couldn’t meet it. You know, what with the mainframe and all. Kelvin’s voice betrayed the slightest hint of panic.

You’ve had more than adequate time to get the work done. Raven downloaded a few of the choicest shots and added them to the others in the email.

But we would’ve met the deadline if it wasn’t for this week, Kelvin assured her.

On that, we agree, she answered. From the looks of it, @HighwaytoKel and his buddies had had one Kel of a week. She hoped the Gametronics boys had enjoyed their party. The ten percent penalty was going to sting.

Come on. Give us a break. We just need another day or two, three max. Kelvin had resorted to groveling.

But then you’ll be rewarded for being late. As an executive officer, I have a fiduciary responsibility to the company. I can’t authorize that kind of allowance. It wasn’t exactly true, but she wasn’t about to reward Gametronics for their incompetence and lying. She addressed the email to Kelvin and added a note: These servers don’t look out of commission.

Seriously? Kelvin’s voice took on a nasty edge.

Yes. Seriously. Raven couldn’t help but smile as she hit send.

I can’t believe you’re gonna bust our balls like this.

She’d had enough of this guy and his shit. Before you say another word, how about you check your email, Raven said, as cool as a winter wind.

A few long, silent moments followed. Raven imagined Kelvin choking on his own tongue as he viewed the images of him and his bros doing shots off waitresses in a casino bar, getting lap dances from strippers, and throwing what looked like a passed out buddy into a fountain.

Kelvin cleared his throat. Uh, yeah. So we’ll finish that beta testing report right away.

Damn straight you will, asshole. Excellent. I trust there’s nothing wrong with our data or your mainframe and servers.

It’s all good. Safe and sound. His voice was clipped, like a puppy who’d been neutered.

Perfect. Do you have an estimate for delivery?

ASAP. And if we’re late, that’s on us, of course, Kelvin said.

Of course, Raven answered brightly.

Thanks for your understanding, he said.

Not at all. You have a lot to do, so I’ll let you go.

Right, okay.

Just as he was about to hang up, Raven added, Oh, and Kelvin?

Yes? His voice trembled faintly.

You thought you could lie to me. That was a very costly mistake. You’ll be assessed a five percent penalty on your next invoice.

Gotcha.

Raven hung up, then sank back in her chair and rubbed her throbbing temples. Devious people sucked. Kelvin’s little stunt had done more than potentially hurt Gametronics’s bottom line. He’d broken Raven’s trust. If she couldn’t rely on him to tell the truth about his team’s progress, how was she supposed to depend on the integrity of their work?

Since coming on board at Paulson Diagnostics, she’d made lots of small fixes that had helped shore up the company’s short-term debt issues, but this initiative would ensure the company’s long-term survival. There was no room for failure.

Her executive assistant, Mariana Hernandez, poked her head through the doorway of Raven’s office. That was a thing of beauty. Mari always eavesdropped on Raven’s conversations. Not that Raven minded. She viewed them as mentoring exercises. Mari was smart and ambitious. With the right kind of support and training, one day, she could be an executive, too.

Raven popped two migraine busting pills from the industrial-sized bottle in her desk drawer and washed them down with iced green tea. No, that was an example of brains over stupidity. And a contractor’s unbelievable arrogance and entitlement. Look at what they were doing while they were supposedly fixing their broken mainframe. She spun her monitor around so Mari could see @HighwaytoKel’s account.

Mari stepped closer and peered at the screen. What a liar. And ew, gross. Seriously, Vegas, strippers? How cliche could they get? What were they thinking, traveling across the country in the middle of the week?

Raven shrugged. They probably figured they had everything wrapped up, left town to party, then got back and realized something was screwed up. If he’d just been honest, I might have given them time to fix it. But he chose to lie. Now it’s going to cost them a whole lot of money.

Mari laughed. I love it when you’re ruthless.

Raven shrugged. They brought this on themselves.

The intercom on the phone buzzed, and a high-pitched, faintly familiar, female voice ordered, Raven, come to the board room immediately.

Mari’s eyelids stretched wide. Who the hell—

Was that . . . Tiffany? Raven asked.

Tiffany Paulson was the youngest child and only daughter of Paulson Diagnostics’s CEO, Billy Paulson. She’d recently graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Raven had sent flowers and a check for her graduation and had yet to receive a thank you card for either.

Maybe? I haven’t seen her around in a while, Mari answered.

Was there a meeting on my schedule?

Mari shook her head. Not until eleven. And that’s with the accountants. Not the board room.

A prickling sensation rose on the back of Raven’s neck as she stood. She reached for her Prada suit jacket and slung it on. This was no casual meeting. She needed her professional armor.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Grab your laptop. You’re coming with me.

Raven strode into the boardroom in her stilettos, with Mari at her side, and appraised the situation in an instant. Tiffany was in her father’s chair at the head of the table. Her three older brothers, Dumb, Dense, and Dimwit, were seated along the left-hand side of the table. Their father was nowhere to be seen, but a female, brown-skinned stranger, wearing a killer Gucci suit with hair pulled into a severe bun, was situated in the far corner of the room.

Raven’s stomach clenched, and although she could already guess the answer, she asked, What have you done, Tiffany?

What I should have done a long time ago. Tiffany’s bright blue eyes gleamed with revolutionary zeal. She looked as if she’d just toppled the Tsar of Russia, bayonetting him herself.

Oh, holy hell.

In the near dozen years Raven had been working as a corporate fixer, she’d heard stories of families turning on each other to take over companies, but it’d never happened to her. Until now. There had to be a way to stop Tiffany before things spun out of control.

Raven took her usual seat at the opposite end of the conference table, and Mari sat at her side.

Where’s Billy? Raven asked.

Tiffany smirked. Daddy’s been outvoted. I told him to go home, but he’s locked himself in his office.

Of course. Tiffany and her brothers had recently received some additional shares from their grandparents’ trust. Together, the siblings’ shares were worth more than fifty percent of the business. She must have convinced her idiot brothers to back her against their father.

Raven could only imagine Billy’s heartache. His grandfather had started the business a hundred years ago. Back then, it was a pharmacy that also sold simple medical gadgets that his grandfather invented and had patented. When his grandfather died, Billy’s father took it over. He expanded the business, selling many different devices, but the diversification didn’t allow the company to master any particular area, so it was never especially profitable.

When it was Billy’s turn to run the company, he went the other way—focusing on a specific niche—and specialized in diabetes monitoring. He’d built a strong foundation and a solid, reputable business and had been smart enough to bring Raven on to help take Paulson Diagnostics to the next level. Now, just as he was about to achieve his ultimate goal, his own children had undermined him. Billy had to be weeping behind his locked office door.

Raven turned to Billy Jr., aka Dumb, the oldest and smartest of the brothers, which wasn’t saying much. Are you really okay with turning on your dad? This might destroy your relationship with him forever. There was no might about it. Coming back from a betrayal this deep would be impossible.

Dumb shook his head. Nah, Tiffany said he’ll come around when he sees how much money we make from selling the company.

Dense nodded. Tiffany knows what she’s doing.

What they said, Dimwit agreed.

Good grief, Mari whispered.

Tiffany most definitely didn’t know what she was doing. None of the Paulson children did. But rather than screaming that at the top of her lungs, Raven kept her emotions in check and laid her palms on the cool glass conference table. Don’t do this, Tiffany. This company has come so far already, and we’re on the cusp of exponential growth.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. I’m so tired of your promises. You talk a good game, but all you’ve done since you showed up is fire our cousins, cut our expense accounts, and screw up our relationships with our old suppliers.

Raven bit back a laugh. Your cousins didn’t work here but were drawing salaries that cost us a million dollars a year. We couldn’t justify expense accounts when you four weren’t on the payroll, and as for those suppliers, they hadn’t modernized their technology. Our new suppliers are better, cheaper, and more advanced. Those reforms pulled the company out of debt. We’re about to launch a new device that will be an industry game-changer. This company will be worth billions.

Tiffany raised a skeptical brow. Yeah, well hopefully-maybe-billions won’t pay off our student loans. But for-sure millions will. Tiffany smiled as she cast a sidelong glance at the beautiful, well-dressed woman sitting perfectly still in the corner.

Who is she? Raven asked.

None of your concern, Tiffany shot back.

Raven gestured to the woman in the suit. Who do you work for?

I’m not at liberty to say, the woman uttered with the self-assurance of someone who worked for a company with a colossal bottom line.

Raven turned to Tiffany. Come on, at least tell me what company is swooping in here to give you these for-sure millions.

Tiffany smiled. It’s a done deal. The papers were signed with Sun Co, LLC, this morning.

This turn of events was so absurd and reckless, Raven laughed. Never heard of it. Which means it’s a shell company. Let me guess, was this a leveraged buy out? She glanced at the woman in the corner whose pink lips quirked. Suspicion confirmed.

Even worse. Raven spun back to Tiffany. Did they let you keep any part of the company?

Ten percent, Tiffany answered, looking extremely self-satisfied.

Raven felt sick. Tiffany had led her family to slaughter and didn’t see the firing squad. You don’t realize what you’ve done.

"Uh, we just made bank." Tiffany snapped her fingers, and her brothers cheered.

When the fools finished celebrating, Raven said, You’ve sold your family’s fourth-generation business to a bunch of vampires.

Tiffany’s face turned ghostly white. What? Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no such thing as vampires.

"Then you’re even more ignorant than I thought. Your new partners have financed the purchase of Paulson Diagnostics with a crapload of debt. That means they’re going to restructure, fire employees, slash benefits, and suck everything good and valuable out of this company before they off-load it in about five years."

That’s not necessarily true, the woman in the corner said smugly.

You don’t have to speak to her, Kiara, Tiffany told the woman.

Ignoring Tiffany entirely, Raven spoke directly to the mysterious Kiara. Don’t insult my intelligence. I had plenty of job offers to join private equity firms when I graduated from Wharton, but I chose to keep my soul instead and fix troubled companies, rather than destroy them. Tell me, how many of my people are you firing today?

There will be some minor staff adjustments, Kiara admitted.

Raven huffed out a laugh. Minor, my ass. You’ll gut our human capital and force those who remain to pick up the slack.

Tiffany shook her head. You’re wrong. Sun Co understands our needs far better than you do, and they know how to show their appreciation of our worth.

Raven leaned in on her elbows. They only wanted this company because of the changes I put in place that made it profitable. Let me guess, you told them about the new blood sugar monitoring device and gamification app?

Tiffany looked at Raven as if she was an idiot. Of course. It’s our newest product. They needed to know what we had coming.

And I bet you didn’t counter with a higher asking price when you told them about it.

Tiffany shook her head stubbornly. No.

Raven felt the blow almost as if it were her own company. Two years of her vision, planning, and hard labor, all for some vampire capitalists to swoop in and profit from it. "Your partner knew exactly what they were buying and how much it was worth. They screwed you."

Tiff, what is she talking about? Dumb’s voice filled with unease as comprehension dawned.

Is that true? Dense asked.

Dimwit looked at Raven and tilted his head. What do you mean?

Your sister gave away your family legacy, Raven answered.

Tiffany rose to her feet, red-faced, and thrust a pointed finger toward the door. Get out! Your services are no longer required.

Raven stood up. Oh, I’m leaving, all right. I can’t bear to watch you sink this ship. She glanced at the smiling Kiara, who must have been loving this, knowing how much her company stood to profit because they’d taken advantage of a greedy and inexperienced woman-child and her moronic brothers. Raven couldn’t help tossing a little missile in Kiara’s direction, too. Enjoy today’s victory. Sun Co, LLC, got a great deal. But remember this: You can buy companies and pretty much whatever you want, except integrity. She spun on her heels and headed toward the conference room door.

Mari pushed back her chair and started to stand.

Mari, stay where you are. You’re my assistant now, Tiffany said.

Mari froze, mid-crouch. I thought I’d make sure she packed all her things.

Raven paused and shot a glance at Tiffany over her shoulder. And that I don’t steal any corporate secrets.

Oh, right. Good idea. And keep her away from the second floor. The rest of the partners and management team are down there, Tiffany said.

Back in Raven’s office, she packed her belongings into an empty box. I’m sorry you have to work for Tiffany. If it’s any consolation, she probably won’t be around long. You’ll probably end up working for Kiara.

Oh, my God.

When I find a new job, I’ll hire you back, Raven said.

Mari nearly cried. Thank you.

But it won’t be until my non-compete agreement expires in twelve months, Raven added. Her employment contract included a juicy compensation package if she was fired, but it also imposed a penalty that kept her out of the industry for a full year.

Mari’s eyes filled with panic. Oh, God.

Raven clasped Mari’s arms. Hey, you’ll be all right. We’ll get through this. She hugged Mari, then turned back to her desk to stow the last of her pictures and her aloe plant. In the meantime, I need to know how I can get revenge.

We don’t even know who the new owner is, Mari said.

Shell companies are almost impossible to crack. That’s the whole point.

I could look through my new boss’s files. Maybe there’ll be a clue. Mari grinned.

Raven’s chest warmed at her former assistant’s prying urges, but it was too dangerous. I love you for even thinking that, but don’t. It’s the kind of thing that could get you fired.

What are you going to do? Mari asked.

Good question. The possibilities were endless, but there was only one place she wanted to be right now. One place that could soothe the ever-growing hole in her chest. Raven set the box on her desk and logged into her computer for the last time. She keyed in the rental website for her family’s beach house and searched the schedule. Miraculously, it was available.

I’m going home.

Chapter 2

Fired. She’d been fired .

Raven knew it was the truth, yet after absorbing this terrible fact over the two-hour drive from Philadelphia to Heron Harbor, Delaware, it was still impossible to believe.

In her whole career, she’d never once been let go. Every job had been completed to perfection. She’d brought each struggling company back from the brink under her strong, executive leadership.

Except for this one.

The unfamiliar rejection burned like acid. She didn’t