Romantic Acquisition Page 0,2
you for the foreseeable future. I’ll be helping you through this process for as long as it takes.”
Peter and Jeff nodded and the three of them discussed the areas they would like to review and how the due diligence process works at a high level. Peter gave her a list of things he would need to get started and Kate swept up a notepad and started writing. She nodded at all of Peter’s questions, indicating she knew she could get him the information.
“What do you need?” she turned to Jeff.
Jeff also gave her a list, but it was much smaller.
Carlo watched her as she made notes. He recognized the moment when she knew she’d have to face him and was curious about her reaction to him. He was definitely having a reaction to her although he wasn’t sure why. She was not his usual type but his body was instantly aware of everything about her, every movement she made. It was as if she were a bundle of energy just trying to escape as quickly as possible. He also liked watching her facial expressions. He wondered if she knew how much she revealed about her thoughts by her facial features. Carlo couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
“What kinds of reports or data do you need?” she asked more quietly, her eyes not meeting his but focusing somewhere on his chin.
Carlo didn’t smile. “I’ll be fine with what you’re getting for Jeff and Peter,” he explained, wishing she’d look up at him so he could see her fascinating, green eyes again.
Kate sighed, the relief evident. “Okay. If you’d like coffee, it has been set up on the table behind you. There’s cream and sugar as well as several types of tea. I’ll get to work on these reports. If you need anything else, my extension is…”
“You’ll need to work in here with us,” Carlo said before she could give out her extension. “Do you have a laptop you can set up to work with us?” he asked.
Kate looked at Peter and Jeff to see if they also wanted her in there, and received duplicate blank expressions. She had been afraid of that. “Yes, I have a laptop I can set up. I’ll get these reports and will be back in about ten minutes.”
Kate left the conference room, closing the door quietly behind her.
“Why do you want her to work in here? Isn’t that a departure from our normal routine?” Jeff asked as soon as they were alone.
Carlo didn’t look at Jeff. He stared at the closed doors instead. “I think everything about this process is going to be different,” he speculated.
Five minutes later, Kate burst back into the room, her arms loaded down with reports and charts. “Here you go. This is the first batch,” she said and blew a hair out of her face as she carried everything to the table.
Jeff and Peter instantly jumped up to help her, taking the top folders that were stuffed with information and carrying them over to the table themselves.
“Oh, thank you!” she said and dumped the remaining reports onto the conference room table. She straightened up and saluted them, “Okay, off on my second trip for more,” she explained and disappeared in another blaze of white petticoat.
Carlo noticed that both Jeff and Peter were staring at the closed door. He cleared his throat to get their attention and they snapped out of their stare, jumping to find their respective reports and get to work.
It was another ten minutes, not that Carlo was watching the time, he told himself, before she reappeared. Again, she was loaded down with bulging file folders, thick reports and stacks of papers. At the very top, she had a laptop computer perched precariously. He watched as she carried everything to the table. Somehow, she was able to balance everything without the stack toppling over. He was impressed. He thought only men wanted to make one trip for everything. Apparently this fireball was the same way.
Peter and Jeff again jumped up and took some of the burden off her while Carlo watched in astonishment as his previously well trained acquisition team, who were trained to not get involved with the personnel of a target, teased this small, fascinating woman about carrying so many items in one trip. Carlo had trained these men to avoid any kind of personal involvement with target employees while reviewing data prior to the acquisition of a particular company. It didn’t matter if it was