Watching Ryan address the staff, Sam quickly revised her earlier opinion of him as a bored playboy. It was fast becoming obvious this was a job he enjoyed doing, and was really good at it.
She noted the light jokes with which he used to begin the meeting, putting everyone at ease before delving into serious issues. He didn’t raise his voice, but spoke in a cool, confident tone that had every ear - including hers - hanging onto his every word.
Matter of fact, the only thing he did that irritated the hell out of her was the way he ignored her presence. Other than the initial surprise he'd displayed on walking into the room, Ryan hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in her.
Sam quelled the flash of irritation at the thought and reminded herself why she was here. What should it matter if he chose to treat her like she didn't exist? She wasn't here to care about his opinion of her. It was supposed to be the other way round!
Glancing down at the screen of the iPad, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and tried to focus on the notes she'd jotted down while Ryan spoke. The words seemed to swim in a jumble, much like her scattered thoughts and she scowled, miffed at her reaction.
“Right then, I believe we’ve covered everything to do with the projects.” the note of finality in Ryan's voice had her looking up, scowl still plastered on her face. “I don't intend this to be a long meeting, wouldn't like to bore everyone to death.”
While the rest of the team chuckled at the joke, he glanced down at her, noted her expression, and raised an eyebrow, lips curving in a smile that set her pulse racing.
He looked away and took his seat, leaning forward to place his hands on the table. “But, before we go back to our duties, I would like to say one thing.”
Sam sat up straighter, mentally rehearsing the speech she'd give when he introduced her.
“I know we've all heard the news about the present circumstances by now,” he began quietly. “And I want to assure all of you that nothing will change. I apologise for shirking my responsibilities and bringing us to this point where job security has suddenly become a real fear, but I give you my word, that I will sort this out.”
The relief amongst the team was palpable. Everyone seemed to sit easier, shoulders eased and there was even a smattering of applause.
Sam on the other hand, was boiling.
What the hell was he thinking? The point of this whole appraisal was to weed out redundant staff, downsize to the most efficient team possible without affecting production.
Telling everyone their jobs were safe was undermining everything she hoped to achieve. At this rate, they were going to think she was the next wicked witch of the West by the time the ax started falling.
Damn the man!
“And on that note, let's get back to work, shall we?” Ryan smacked the flat of his palm on the table in dismissal.
Chairs scraped, murmurs rose as people made to leave. Sam sat glued to her chair, leveling a glare at Ryan who leaned back in his chair, arms clasped over his stomach, watching the exodus, lazy smile in place.
It hit Sam at that moment that his ignoring her was his way of making a statement. By not introducing her to his team, he'd effectively passed a message that this was his domain, and he would never recognise her role in it.
Well, too bad for him then, because she had every intention of making her mark.
“One minute, please.” She pushed to her feet and raised her voice to be heard over the din.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan straighten and shoot her a a frosty glare, his gaze burning into her skin.
The room froze, as all eyes swerved her way.
“The hell do you think you're doing?” Ryan murmured, his voice a low growl.
She ignored him, gesturing instead for everyone to take their seats. A few glanced over at Ryan, expectant, questioning looks on their faces, but he sat still, face like granite, though his eyes sparked grey fire.
Sam waited until everyone was seated, then began. “Thank you for indulging me with a few moments of your time. I just wanted to seize this opportunity to introduce myself to you all.”
Since your boss is severely lacking some manners.
“I'm sure the grapevine has already done most of the work, but still, it is proper to do this formally.” She added the jab for Ryan's benefit.
“To cut to the chase, I'm Sameera Bhatt, but I go by Sam. I'm going to be working closely with you all to see that we bring this department up to speed with the rest of Silvercorp.”
She made sure to lock eyes with a few people, all too aware of one gaze in particular, her skin pricking with awareness.
“Over the course of the next few days, Ryan and I will be sitting down with each of you, for an impromptu appraisal, to get a feel for -”
“What Ms. Bhatt is trying to say is, she's been hired by my father to keep us all in line. So be sure to cross your ‘t's’ and dot your ‘i's’ or you'll be sent down to the principal's office.” Ryan cut in.
Sam shot him a fulminating look, over the nervous laughter that followed his statement, fists clenched in an effort to keep from rising to his bait. He shot her a grin, eyebrows raised in silent challenge, daring her to react.
You would like that, wouldn't you? You pompous, juvenile ass!
“I'm afraid that's an exaggeration of my duties here.” Sam replied, projecting calm into her tone while she raged on the inside. “however, it is true that I will be evaluating the performance of this department, and at the end of my role here, will forward my findings to the CEO along with some recommendations.”
“I look forward to working with you, and please know that should you have any questions or require assistance in any way, my door is always open. Thank you.”
She nodded a dismissal and once the room had cleared, turned to Ryan, eyes blazing.
“What was that?” Hands on hips she glared down at him, eyes narrowing when he pulled out his phone and made a production of checking his messages, before he deigned to look up, wearing an innocent look.
“What was what?” He smiled up at her, and for the first time, Sam noticed the dimples on his cheeks, that gave him a false angelic look.
She pushed the thought of dimples aside and forced her mind to focus. “Don't try to play innocent. You know full well what I mean.”
“I don't read minds, Sam.” He gave a shrug and went back to typing something on his phone.
“You made promises to those people, knowing full well what we are going to be doing!” She kept her voice low, mindful of possible eavesdroppers.
“What you're going to be doing, you mean?” He set the phone aside and pinned her with a steely glare, all traces of humor wiped away. “I'm not going to let innocent people pay for my mistakes.”
“This isn't professional, Ryan. Mistakes aside, this department needs an overhaul if there's any hope of getting the results your father wants to see.”
He snapped the lid of his laptop shut and rose, one hand buttoning up his suit jacket. Despite her irritation, Sam had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that he looked just as arresting in a suit as he did in the casual outfit from earlier. Her fingers itched to trace the outline of his broad shoulders and biceps.
She clenched her fists instead, nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm. The stinging pain brought her wayward thoughts back to the issue at hand.
“There are other ways to achieve this vaunted efficiency,” he replied, tone tinged with steely frost. “You seem to enjoy seeing people suffer, hell from what I've seen so far, you're the type to get off on playing god with people's lives, but I'm not.”
“That is not fair,” the accusation stung, and she felt the prick of tears as his words catapulted her back to a time she'd much rather forget, when those words had been hurled in her face with bitter hatred.
She shook her head, willing the memories and thoughts away and took a deep, shaky breath, conscious of Ryan's gaze. She forced herself to meet his puzzled eyes.
“I do not enjoy playing god, Mr. Silverton, and I'm not the cruel, heartless monster you seem determined to think I am. Wasn't it you who accused me earlier today of making assumptions? Well then, pot, meet kettle.”
She spun around and stalked from the room, head held high in defiance.