Читать книгу A Mum For Amy - Ann Evans - Страница 9

Eight years later

MAGGIE WAS on her computer, creating a six-hundred-gallon wave tank on her AutoCad program, when Zack Davidson strode into her small office. He must have come directly from his workshop behind the building, because a paper face mask still dangled from the string around his neck and bits of sawdust clung to his brown hair like a sprinkling of snow.

He was a tall, good-looking man with impressive biceps from years of carpentry work. He’d been Maggie’s partner in Sapphire Seas Designs for four years, and right now, he didn’t look happy.

“I just got off the phone with Lou Myers,” he said. “Did you tell him he could have cherry instead of oak cabinets?”

“I did,” Maggie replied absently. She used her mouse to erase an errant line from her computer design. “He wants the cabinets to match the waiting room furniture he bought yesterday.”

“Damn it, Mags,” Zack said as he shook a tiny shaving out from underneath the collar of his shirt. “Why didn’t you tell him it was too late to change his mind? You know I’ve already cut the wood.”

Maggie tilted back in her chair. She smiled up at Zack, though she couldn’t really see his features because the Key West afternoon sunlight coming through the window cast his face in shadows. “I know. But remember customer service?”

“We won’t have any customers to service if you drive us out of business by wasting inventory. What am I supposed to do now with a bunch of oak cut for cabinets we haven’t sold?”

“Zack, do you know what Lou Myers does for a living?”

“Dentist?”

She shook her head at him in playful disgust. They’d been friends since high school, even when he was making moon eyes at her sister, Alaina, and getting the brush-off. After he’d moved down here to Key West, she hadn’t seen much of him, but eight years ago, when she’d had no place else to go, he’d been there for her. She owed him a debt of gratitude she could never repay, but he drove her crazy sometimes.

“This is why you’re still back in the workshop, you know.” She saved her design in the computer, then shut it down. “Because you won’t take an interest in the customer side of the business.”

He came to her desk, letting his weight settle against the edge so that one jean-clad leg could dangle as he crossed his arms and stared at her. “I’m back in the workshop because I like to build things. What’s your point, partner?”

“Lou isn’t just any dentist. He’s head of the Pediatric Orthodontia Society of America. That means he talks to thousands of kiddie dentists all over the country. The guy’s excited about the Atlantis theme we’re building for his front office. Really excited.”

“So?”

Maggie sighed heavily. “So once he has pictures of the finished product, he’s going to be showing them off at every convention he goes to.” She tapped her monitor for emphasis. “And he goes to a lot, according to the research I did on him. Some of his colleagues may want aquariums for their own offices. And I want Lou referring them to Sapphire Seas. He’ll do that if we go this extra mile for him.” She offered her friend a consoling look. “Cut the cherry, Zack. We can always save the oak for another project.”

Zack remained thoughtful for a long moment. Then he cocked his head at her. “Do you ever stop hustling for business?”

“No, and neither should you. Not if we’re going to put Sapphire Seas on the map this year.”

“Do you know who you sound like?”

“Who?”

“Your sister.”

That surprised her a little. Alaina’s name rarely came up between them. Partly because Maggie so seldom saw her family anymore, even though they were only hours away in Miami Beach. But mostly she avoided talking about Alaina for Zack’s sake. Her sister had broken his heart years ago, and he could pretend all he wanted, but Maggie knew he was still in love with her. He just wasn’t willing to do anything about it. Of course, Alaina was married, so maybe that was just as well.

Maggie shuffled the latest stack of bills on her desk. “Good,” she said in a deliberate tone. “It’s taken me twenty-seven years to turn into Alaina. Too bad Mom and Dad aren’t here to see it. Like they’d ever bother to come down for a visit.”

“Like you’d ever invite them.” Zack snorted. “Hell, no. You’re not bitter.”

He was right, and Maggie knew it. The fiasco of eight years ago was like a scar that wouldn’t fade. Just to be civil, she kept in contact with her parents. But it wasn’t much of a relationship, and none of them tried very hard to change it.

She stopped fiddling and stared up at him. “I’m trying to grow this business. To stick with the game plan. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Zack said with a shrug. “If it’s the right game plan. If it doesn’t keep you from enjoying yourself.”

Lately Zack had been giving her grief about her social life—or the fact that she didn’t have much of one. But after what had happened in Miami so long ago, after she’d had to depend on someone else’s kindness just to keep from ending up on the streets, Maggie had learned that there were a lot of different ways life could beat the crap out of you. What was wrong with being…cautious?

“I am enjoying myself,” she shot back. “Now stop pestering me. I’ve got work to do.”

“I liked you better when you were Alaina’s wild and crazy kid sister. You were a lot more fun.”

“Wild and crazy and fun doesn’t put food on your table or money in the bank. It only gets you into trouble.”

She suddenly realized she sounded like her father. Wow. Maybe you really could mature.

“You need to lighten up, Mags. You’ve been pushing hard for months now—”

Before she could cut him off, the phone did the job for her. She looked at Zack to see which one of them was going to answer it.

“Let it go to the machine,” Zack said.

She shook her head at him again as she snatched up the receiver. Really, sometimes Zack was the least motivated businessman she’d ever met. “Sapphire Seas Designs. This is Maggie Tillman.”

It was Teddy LaCrosse’s office up in Miami—a call she’d been holding her breath for. An entrepreneur with the attitude of Jimmy Buffett and more money than Midas, Teddy had loved the aquarium designs she’d pitched for his new South Beach project. He’d even come down to check out their studio and workshop. Maggie was ninety-five percent certain Sapphire Seas would get the job. The bid had been fair, and her designs innovative.

She crossed her fingers and raised them to Zack, mouthing who was on the line. It wasn’t LaCrosse, but his assistant, Susan. Close enough, Maggie figured. As long as the answer was yes.

They exchanged pleasantries, then Susan said, “Miss Tillman, Mr. LaCrosse asked me to call. He’d like to schedule a time when the two of you could talk. It’s about the designs you submitted for the South Beach property….”

Maggie felt her heart drop. Right then and there, she knew the answer was going to be no. She had a gut instinct about this sort of thing. Maybe because she’d been hearing the word an awful lot lately. She couldn’t control her disappointment and shock. “Oh, hell,” she said. “He went with someone else, didn’t he? I can tell by your voice.”

“Miss Tillman, I’m not at liberty to discuss this matter with you. I’m only—”

“Just tell me, Susan. I know the kind of assistant you are. There isn’t a thing that goes on in Teddy LaCrosse’s office that you don’t know about. Who did he go with? Was it Coastal Communities?”

“I’m sorry. I really can’t give you that information. Please…”

“Okay, you’re right,” Maggie said in a quick, conciliatory tone. “I’m sorry I put you on the spot. It’s just that getting this job is very important to me.”

Maggie spent the next few minutes being professional and polite with the woman—when all she really wanted to do was yell or throw something. She’d spent weeks coming up with those designs. She’d furnished LaCrosse with enough testimonials from happy clients to choke a horse. She’d practically had to take out a bank loan in order to wine and dine him properly. She’d done everything to get this job except sleep with the man, and she’d be lying if she said the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. And now, she knew it. It was all going to be for nothing.

“Then it’s set,” Susan said. “Mr. LaCrosse will be in touch with you tomorrow at two.”

Maggie shook her head at Zack, indicating failure. “There’s no way I can speak to him today?” This minute, she wanted to add.

“I’m afraid not. Right now, he’s holding a press conference regarding his plans for the resort.”

By the time Maggie tossed the telephone receiver back in its cradle, she could hardly contain her disappointment. She cupped her face in her hands and swore softly.

“You don’t know it’s a bust,” Zack said.

“In all the years we’ve been doing this, have I ever been wrong about whether or not we got a job?”

“No.”

“I can read between the lines. I got lots of practice when I lived with my folks, trying to guess when and where the next argument was going to come from.”

Zack stood, settling his tool belt on his hips. “So we don’t get the contract. We’ve been shut out before.”

“This was big, Zack. We could have bought the new oven. We could have stopped subcontracting to that toad Jefferson.”

The commercial-sized oven they needed to heat acrylic so they could seal joint seams properly was a particularly sore spot for Maggie. Although the equipment was horribly expensive, no aquarium design firm worth its salt relied on outside help for that sort of thing.

But ever since their ancient, secondhand oven had bitten the dust a year ago, Sapphire Seas had been contracting out the work. To a squinty-eyed jerk up in Marathon who thought that every bit of oven time he sold Maggie ought to come with a free overnight stay in her bed. So far she’d been holding him off, but purchasing an oven of their own would have stopped that nonsense forever.

Oh, well. Goodbye to that dream. For now.

She flung a disgusted glance around the office. “Why didn’t I try to clean this place up before Teddy came down here? Everything looks so shabby. The remodeling needs remodeling, for pity’s sake.”

“Mags, stop.”

Maggie rubbed her fingers along her jaw. “Who do you think he went with? Coastal’s the only outfit in the state that could handle a job that big.” She sat up straighter suddenly. “Wait a minute! Susan said he was holding a press conference today. You know what that means?”

“Media coverage.”

Maggie nodded. “Whatever decisions have been made could be on the Miami paper’s Web site by tonight.”

Zack headed back to his workshop and Maggie spent the rest of the day watching the clock. By six that evening she could check the Internet. LaCrosse’s press conference probably wouldn’t divulge who’d gotten the green light for the resort aquariums—too small a job in the grand scheme of things—but Maggie was hoping for something, anything that might tell her what to expect from Teddy’s conversation with her tomorrow.

By the time she closed the office, the first streaks of a pink and purple sunset were sifting over the palms that lined the short driveway to Sapphire Seas. Back at her desk, she paged through the top news stories of the day on her computer. It took very little time to find what she was looking for, and when she did, Maggie’s mouth parted in surprise. Then absolute, flat-out shock. She settled back in her chair, staring at the screen and feeling nothing but…numb.

Zack came into the office. “Find out anything, Sherlock?”

Maggie jerked her chin toward the monitor. “Take a look.”

There was a good-sized picture of Teddy LaCrosse smiling out at them from behind a podium. Although he was backed by a wall of three-piece-suit types, he wore a Hawaiian shirt and his hair clearly hadn’t been trimmed since the last time Maggie had seen him.

Zack quickly scanned the article below the picture, then looked at Maggie. “It doesn’t say anything about specific contractors. Nothing to indicate we lost out.”

“We’re not getting the job, Zack.”

“How do you know that?”

Maggie ran a finger gingerly across the screen, then let her fingertip rest on one of the men standing behind and to the left of Teddy. Oh God, she still couldn’t believe it.

Zack frowned. “Who’s the bean counter?”

Maggie hardly heard him. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man’s face. Could barely allow her finger to make contact with the image, as though it might burn her right through the glass. “He’s not a bean counter,” she said. “He’s Teddy LaCrosse’s chief architect. From Jacobson and Duquette Associates. His name is Will Stewart.”

“Will Stewart,” Zack repeated thoughtfully. “Why do I know that name? Will—” He shot a quick glance her way. “Your Will Stewart? The guy who—”

“One and the same.”

Zack blew air through his lips. “Oh, damn. You think he advised LaCrosse to go with another company because you two—”

“I think advised might be too polite a word. You know architects work closely with all the contractors. If he found out I was behind the Sapphire Seas bid, I’ll bet he threw a fit at the thought of coming within a hundred miles of me.”

“Are you going to ask LaCrosse when you talk to him tomorrow?”

Maggie moved suddenly, snapping off the computer. She rose, pulled her purse out of the bottom drawer of the desk and grabbed her car keys. “Nope. I’m going to find out right now. Tonight.”

IN THE END, Maggie didn’t make the four-hour drive up to Miami that evening. Even if she’d known where to find Teddy LaCrosse, tracking him down, forcing him into a midnight conversation, would look unprofessional and probably wouldn’t win her any points. She’d spent years trying to get a handle on her impulsive nature. No sense letting her emotions get the best of her now.

But early the next morning, as she drove up the long stretch of US-1 that connected the mainland to the Keys, it wasn’t how to win over Teddy that ate at her nerves.

It was the thought of Will Stewart.

All Maggie could think about was how her gut had kicked to see his face again.

Eight years seemed like a long time, and yet she could recall every detail of that bright spring afternoon as though it had happened yesterday. Huckabee’s arrest. Lisa, white-faced and trembling as they sat together at the police station. Someone handing Maggie a cup of coffee that spilled and burned her fingers because she, too, was shaking so badly.

Most of all, she remembered Will striding into the detective’s office, rigid with anger and fear. He had pulled his sister into a hug so tight that Maggie imagined she could hear bones creak. She felt as if she were in a dream, the kind where a person can only watch, not move or speak. She saw Will enfold Lisa, saw his head bending. It almost made her weep to witness the exquisite tenderness with which his fingers traced her face as he crooned comfort to her.

“What the hell happened?” he had demanded at last, and even his voice was white-hot.

Oh, those words. In the pit of Maggie’s stomach, something twisted even tighter. He hadn’t addressed the detective. He swung to face her, fixing her with a stare that would have scattered some men like petals on the wind. Right then, in that moment, she knew it was over between them. She felt as though some support in the pit of her stomach had been abruptly ripped away.

It took a little while, of course. There were charges to be filed and court appearances to make. It could have been worse, she supposed. Huckabee turned out to be a repeat offender. His attorney tried to persuade him to throw himself on the mercy of the court. Instead, thinking money could fix almost anything, the fool made the mistake of attempting to bribe the judge. He found himself in jail in record time.

Lisa weathered all of it surprisingly well, thank God. After three sessions with a child psychologist who pronounced her very resilient, she seemed none the worse for what had happened.

But for Will and Maggie…there was no hope.

It was clear that Will held her responsible for everything. He didn’t say it. At least, not at first. But their time together took on a new unnatural formality, a masquerade performance for Lisa’s benefit. Words between them marched and maneuvered like tense soldiers. When Maggie tried to find a way to make it right again, she was met only with Will’s cast-iron composure, so that eventually, she, too, was forced to take refuge in blank-faced complacency.

And then one night a month after the incident, everything just erupted. They opened a door between them that was impossible to shut. The argument was quick, hot and horrible. They stepped on each other’s sentences without waiting for responses. Will’s dark, fenced-in manner gave way to harsh accusations, until Maggie felt bludgeoned and desperate and the healthy instincts of self-defense rose up in her.

But his anger was fully unleashed at last, and he would hear no explanations, no excuses. They were like stars separated by unimaginable distances and would never see eye to eye. Her impulsive, immature behavior had put Lisa in danger. Maggie was the adult. She should not have given in to his sister that day, knowing how he felt.

In the end, every nugget of hope was extracted from their relationship, and there was nothing left to do but finish it. Nothing in her life had been easier than loving Will, and nothing about leaving him could have been harder. They traded one last, searing look. Operating on numb disbelief and adrenaline, Maggie walked out of Will’s house and did not glance back.

She went home, weighed down with a misery she could barely comprehend. Deep inside where it counted, she felt withered and betrayed. Grief made her unapproachable for days. She stayed in her room over the objections of her parents, who begged her to come out. She cried a flood of tears, got angry and resentful all over again, then wept into her pillow for hours. It had been unbearable to be nineteen and heartbroken, and when Maggie finally did emerge, she had thought she would never be the same again.

She was right.

A week after that final argument, she learned she was pregnant with Will’s child.

The green interstate sign announcing her approach to Miami brought Maggie back to the present. Just as well. She didn’t need to think about the mess her life had been eight years ago. She needed to stay focused on getting the LaCrosse contract. There had to be some new way to persuade Teddy to go with Sapphire Seas.

Since the South Beach project was en route to Teddy’s office, Maggie stopped there first. She saw his sleek, red Lamborghini with the vanity plates parked just outside the main construction trailer and pulled to a halt nearby. Drawing a decisive deep breath, she reapplied lipstick, swept the wrinkles as best she could from her mauve skirt and tucked her bid file under one arm.

The site hummed with activity. The LaCrosse Restoration Project—a massive resort, condo, shopping and dining complex—spanned an entire city block and seemed to be moving ahead quickly. Months ago, the land had been cleared and concrete poured. The hotel section, nearly complete, towered impressively, and Maggie glimpsed the guts of the lobby shaping up beneath it. Now, if only Sapphire Seas could be part of the excitement.

Maggie entered the trailer. Because of the strong morning light, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then she spotted Teddy, lounging in a high-backed office chair behind a desk laden with blueprints, tools and a storm of paperwork that probably kept some construction boss up late at night.

He raised his head, looking surprised to see her. “Maggie,” he said in his usual affable way. “What an unexpected pleasure! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

A person could make the mistake of underestimating Teddy’s laid-back, aging surfer-boy demeanor, but Maggie knew that LaCrosse was a tough negotiator and nobody’s fool. She reached across the desk to firmly shake his hand. “Good to see you again, Teddy.”

“I thought we were going to be talking later today.”

“I was in town anyway,” Maggie lied. “Could we chat now?”

“Sure, sure. I assume this is a business visit.”

“It is.”

He nodded toward the rear of the office. “Then you won’t mind if Will sits in.”

Maggie turned to see Will Stewart at the small kitchen counter, pouring a cup of coffee from a battered-looking pot.

She felt a jolt like an electric current turn her insides over. She hadn’t been expecting Will to be here, and considering her suspicions, she certainly wasn’t eager to speak to LaCrosse in front of him. She barely heard Teddy introduce Will as the project’s chief architect, a fact she’d already learned from the Internet.

Will inclined his head. His quick, assessing gaze played over her face, but his eyes were without depth, like polished windows with the blinds down behind them. The smile he gave her, though. She remembered that. It was no more than a tight line of acknowledgment. “We’ve met,” he said.

She wished she could think that he’d aged horribly in eight years, that somehow an overachieving lifestyle and corporate stress had whittled him down. But the truth was, the picture on her computer hadn’t done him justice. He still had that vigorous, youthful strength about him. Not a touch of gray in his dark hair. Not one inch of flab at the waistline. His clothes only accentuated his power and grace, making Maggie wish she’d opted for her best suit instead of this too-casual skirt and blouse.

She turned back to Teddy. “If I’ve interrupted anything, perhaps we could—”

Teddy waved away the suggestion and motioned for her to take one of the vinyl-covered chairs in front of the desk. “No, no. You’re here now. Sit.”

He indicated Will should do the same. That put him awfully close to Maggie, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She lifted her chin a little. No way was she going to let him know his proximity bothered her.

“Will is involved in every phase of the project, of course, so there’s nothing he can’t hear,” Teddy said. He gave Maggie a sharp look. “Tell me what’s on your mind. You look a little flustered.”

That was the last thing she wanted either man to think. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m…I just drove up this morning. I’d like to find out where Sapphire Seas stands with this contract. Do we have it or not?”

Teddy tilted his head at her. “You don’t waste any time, huh? Okay. Not.”

Her heart swooped. Just as she’d feared. “You’ve signed with someone else?”

“Not yet, but you’re out of the running, I’m afraid. I’m sorry. It’s just a business decision. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Of course. If that’s what it really was. A business decision.”

Teddy’s brow puckered. “What are you getting at?”

Maggie’s eyes flicked toward Will. He sat utterly still, but distant, as though he could hardly expend the energy to listen. It only strengthened her resolve. “I’m a businesswoman,” she said, leaning slightly forward in her chair. “I can take bad news, Teddy. But I think I deserve complete honesty. I thought my bid on this project was fair—”

“Your bid was fine.”

“Then my designs, perhaps. Did you want something different? You seemed to like what I showed you.”

“I did.”

“Then why isn’t Sapphire Seas getting this job?”

Will spoke up for the first time. “Miss Tillman, this project isn’t right for your company.”

Maggie turned her head to give him a frank but carefully civil look. “I’d like to know why. And I’d like to hear that reason from Mr. LaCrosse, if you don’t mind.”

Teddy laughed, a loud, genuine sound of amusement that drew her attention. “That’s one of the things I admire about you, Maggie. You’re not afraid to speak up.” He shook his head. “But it’s not enough.”

“Then what is?”

There was a moment’s pause. She saw Teddy’s glance cut to Will for an instant, but she refused to check his reaction or what signals he might be sending. Then Teddy crossed his arms, a silent indication that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I need a company with deeper pockets and a full-time crew,” he told her. “Your guys are strictly job-to-job. You have equipment issues. That can create inconsistencies in production and quality.”

Maggie shifted in frustration. “I told you what the company situation was when we first met and the measures I take to overcome challenges like that. That didn’t seem to be a problem then. In fact, you said you admired my entrepreneurial efforts because that’s how you’d gotten your start.”

“Sapphire Seas is young. Too young for a job this size.”

“What we lack in experience, we more than make up for in—”

“Maggie, this project is a huge investment for me, and I have to believe that an older, more experienced outfit like Coastal Communities will meet our needs more effectively.”

“Why must you believe that?” Maggie asked, running out of patience. She jerked her hand out to indicate Will seated beside her. “Because this man advised you to go with Coastal?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Will admitted quietly.

That nearly took Maggie’s breath away. She hated that he sounded so sure of himself, so superior. Inside, her blood seethed, but she’d never let him see just how much he’d upset her. “I knew you would,” she told him. “As soon as I saw your name attached to this, I knew you’d do everything you could to keep me from being involved. This isn’t a business decision. This is your personal, petty revenge.” She shook her head slowly. “It’s not worthy of you, Will. In the old days, you’d never have done something so underhanded.”

The solid power of her anger left her unable to go on. They stared at one another. At least until Teddy cleared his throat and spoke up. “Would one of you like to tell me what’s going on here?”

Will looked at Teddy. “Miss Tillman and I—”

Maggie, her heart cold and hard as a jewel, couldn’t take any more. “For God’s sake,” she snapped. “Considering the fact that we slept together for almost a year, you’d think you could call me Maggie.”

She felt her cheeks go hot, but frankly, she was pleased to see that Will was momentarily speechless. Obviously annoyed as hell, but speechless.

Teddy raised a hand to catch their attention. “Hold on, you two. I love a good tussle, but let’s keep the gloves on.”

Maggie wasn’t sure Will was listening. And she didn’t much care, because she was perfectly willing to go toe-to-toe with him now, even though she could hear her own heartbeats drumming in her ears. Will swung toward her, clearly intending to…

Well, she didn’t know what he intended, and she never found out.

At that moment, the construction trailer door was thrown wide, and a small, bustling tornado that turned into a little girl came barreling in. She headed straight for Will. When she got to his chair, she threw herself into his arms. The hard hat she wore, too big for her head, went flying, and a cascade of brown curls fell down her back.

“Daddy!” she cried. “Look! I got scared, and so did my arms.”

Maggie stared, transfixed not by the fact that the girl’s thin arms were covered in goose bumps, but by the realization that this child was evidently Will’s daughter.

In all the scenarios she’d ever imagined for his future, a house bright and noisy with children had never been a consideration. Perhaps not even a wife. Silly, really, because Will, a handsome, successful man in his thirties, must surely have caught many a woman’s eye.

She watched father and daughter interact, her mind straying into new and disturbing channels. A child. Family. Something she’d longed for once upon a time.

Some queer pang stabbed her heart, and for the life of her, Maggie couldn’t explain it.

Or make it go away.