The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange by Elizabeth Lennox

‘recently’” she countered.   She actually hadn’t had any speeding tickets, was in fact a very cautious driver but she liked hearing him laugh so she continued with the pretense. 
    He groaned and shook his head. “You’re never getting into the driver’s seat of that vehicle, Kallista .”  But he laughed and led her over to the table. “Are you hungry?”
    “Starving,” she relented and sat down across from him at a beautifully decorated table with white roses and more of those lovely off-white hydrangeas along with candles in the center.  It wasn’t a long table, actually just big enough for two, but she wasn’t surprised when a servant came out with two covered plates. 
    When the servant had finished placing the food in front of both of them, then disappeared again, Kallista ventured a conversational topic that she’d been dying to open with him, but worried that she might come across as ignorant.  But since she had been to several events lately with him and still didn’t know, she decided to just ask him and get it out of the way.  Better to let him know about this gap in her knowledge now rather than in a year or two after their wedding.  “Can you tell me a little bit about what you do?” she asked. 
    He started telling her about some of the companies he had acquired and why, how they helped the overall parent company expand and Kallista was amazed at how interconnected all of his businesses were .  She’d been prepared to try and listen attentively, but as he spoke she became fascinated by his strategy.  While some people had a five year career plan, Hector had a twenty year growth plan and not just for his core company, but for the smaller companies that he had acquired.  He was even one of those amazing people who didn’t forget the immediate issues, knowing the short term goals that needed to be worked in order to achieve the long term target. 
    “You aren’t one of those guys that comes in and fires everyone once you’ve bought out the company, are you?” she asked as dessert was being served.
    Hector looked right back at her, not backing down even an inch .  “You’re not one of those bleeding heart liberals who think the government owes everyone a job, are you?”
    She laughed and relented, understanding that she wasn’t going to get concessions out of this man.  Nor would she respect him if he did . “Not at all.  I am a firm believer in every person figuring out how to add value to this world.  I don’t agree when people claim that the government should create jobs.  I think people should create their own opportunities, while the government makes sure that the playing field is fair for everyone and not making it easy for just a select few .”
    “But business isn’t fair.”
    She was startled and looked up at him with a slanted glance.  “It should be.”
    “And what if I’m one of those guys that fires everyone?  What would you say?”
    She took a sip of her ice water and considered him for a long moment.  “You aren’t, are you?”
    He shrugged as if to act like firing people was a casual activity, but the look on his face told her that he wouldn’t take those kinds of actions lightly.  “I’m not shy about letting go of the dead weight.  So anytime I purchase a company, some people are let go.”
    That was an interesting statement, she thought.  Leaning forward, she asked, “How do you determine which people are let go?  How do you define ‘dead weight’ ?”
    “I have a team of people who come in and are trained to analyze what people are doing and how efficient and effective they are at their jobs .”
    She quirked an eyebrow at him.  “How is that done?”
    “There’s no secret to it, really.  A fresh set of eyes is usually all it takes.  Sometimes the old management just plugs along, letting people do their job when the reality is that most workers are only about fifty percent occupied.  The rest either slough off their work to