Читать книгу Desire Collection: October 2017 Books 1 - 4 - Джанис Мейнард, Maureen Child - Страница 10

One

December 23

The calendar might say otherwise, but for Dani Meadows, today had been the longest day of the year. The morning started out okay. Business as usual. Her taciturn but oh-so-handsome boss had not by any stretch of the imagination been exhibiting a holiday mood.

She’d spent several hours locating hard-to-reach suppliers who were already in vacation mode. While most of the country was shutting down for a long end-of-the-year break, Nathaniel Winston, president and owner of New Century Tech, was looking for ways to increase the bottom line in the upcoming months. He worked hard. Dani, his executive assistant, matched him email for email, working lunch for working lunch.

The only place their schedules differed was in the fact that Dani left for home at five every day, while Nathaniel sometimes worked well into the evening.

He didn’t expect that of her. In fact, he was an extremely fair boss who never asked anything of his employees that was out of line. If there were occasionally situations where the company needed an extra measure of devotion, Nathaniel never demanded it. Such assignments were strictly voluntary. The employees who participated were compensated well.

Dani glanced at her computer screen and sighed. She’d just received another out-of-office reply. That made a dozen in the last two hours.

Nathaniel should give up and go home himself. That, however, was as likely to happen as the snow-pocalypse forecast to hit Atlanta tonight. The capital of the Peach State got ice occasionally. Sometimes a dollop of snow. But never in December.

Yesterday had been a balmy fifty-five degrees. Today, though, a cold front was predicted to move through. In Dani’s experience, that meant a miserable rain event and temps in the upper thirties. No worries. She kept her rain boots in a tote under her desk. A sprint to the MARTA station during a downpour wouldn’t hurt her.

She raised her voice to be heard above the whoosh of the heat kicking on through the vents. “Nathaniel? I’m not having any luck. Do you want me to keep a record of these calls and emails and try again the first week in January?”

A tall, dark-haired man appeared without warning in the doorway to her office. He was overdue for a haircut, but his tailored suit was pristine. Intense brown eyes and a strong jaw shadowed with the beginnings of late-day stubble contributed to an appearance that was unequivocally male.

He raked a hand through his hair, for a brief moment appearing frazzled. The show of emotion was so unlike him, she blinked. “Um, you okay, boss? Is there anything else you want me to do before I leave?”

He leaned a shoulder against the door frame and frowned. “You’ve worked as my assistant for almost two years, right?”

She gulped inwardly. “Yes.” Customarily, she went to his office and not the other way around.

Instead of answering, he glanced around her cramped quarters and frowned. “We need to do something in here. New carpet maybe. And furniture. Make that a priority when you get back.”

“Yes, sir.”

When he scowled, she backtracked quickly. “Yes, Nathaniel.” His name threatened to stick in her throat.

In the privacy of her own thoughts she often referred to him as Nathaniel, but it was another thing entirely to say it aloud, even though he insisted that all his employees call him by his first name.

She noted he had said when you get back, not we. Which probably meant he would be working in this building all alone during the holidays. He didn’t have any family that she knew of, though anything was possible. He was a private man.

It was ridiculous to feel sorry for him. The guy was a gazillionaire. If he wanted a homey, cozy Christmas, he could buy himself one.

After a long, awkward silence, Nathaniel glanced at his watch and grimaced. “I suppose I have to make an appearance downstairs?” The tone of his voice made it a question.

Dani nodded. “They’ll be expecting you.” She indicated a manila envelope on the corner of her desk. “I have the bonus checks right there.”

“You could give them out.”

She sensed he was only half joking. Just in case, she answered seriously, “Your employees like hearing from you, Nathaniel. Getting a perk from the boss himself is a nice way to start the holidays.”

“What about you?”

This conversation was taking a turn that made her palms sweat. “Payroll put a check in there for me, too,” she said.

He grimaced. “You deserve more. This place wouldn’t run half as well without you.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but the usual bonus check is fine. Let me shut down my computer, and I’ll be right behind you.”

“I’ll wait.”

She took that terse statement to mean in the reception area. But no. Nathaniel watched her every move for the next five minutes as she took care of the brief routine she repeated at the end of every workday. She decided not to take her purse and tote to the party. It would be easier to pop back up here before she went home. Because the office contained sensitive information as well as her valuables, she slipped a key card that opened the executive suite into her pocket. If the boss got trapped at the party, she didn’t want to have to wait.

At last, she stood and smoothed the skirt of her simple black dress. She’d chosen sophistication over traditional holiday colors. At five feet four inches and with plenty of curves, she tended to look like a perky tomato when she wore all red.

Nathaniel studied her in silence. There was nothing insulting or offensive about his regard. Still, she knew without a doubt that in this moment he saw her as a woman and not simply a piece of office equipment.

She picked up the envelope with the checks and handed it to him. “Shall we go?” Her heart beat far faster than it should. It was becoming more and more difficult to act normally. Feeling so aware of him rattled her. Something had to change, or she was going to end up embarrassing herself.

No one would blink an eye if she and her boss entered the large conference room downstairs together. Nathaniel Winston might as well be a monk. His reputation with the opposite sex was not only squeaky clean, it was nonexistent.

That fact shouldn’t have pleased her. But she was attracted to him, and in some tiny corner of her psyche, a fantasy flourished. It wasn’t as if she had any real shot at a relationship with him. Even so, his single status kept her reluctant fascination alive. It was impossible to be near him day after day without wondering what it would be like to share his bed.

Dani felt on edge as they walked toward the elevator and then headed twelve floors down in silence. Nathaniel had his hands jammed in his pockets. More than once she had wished she could read his mind. In the beginning, it was only because she wanted to know if he thought she was doing a good job. Now that she had a serious crush on him, her curiosity was far more personal.

Why didn’t he date? Or maybe he did go out but in secret. Not likely. What woman would put up with his workaholic schedule?

On impulse, she blurted out a clumsy conversational gambit. “Will you be traveling for the holidays?”

He shot her a sideways glance tinged with incredulity. “No.”

Poor man. She had probably shocked him. No one asked the boss about his personal life. Dani was the closest employee to him, yet she managed to be remarkably circumspect despite the many questions she had. At this point, the deliberate choice to avoid any hint of intimacy, even conversationally, was the smart thing to do.

She wanted to learn everything there was to know about Nathaniel—of course she did. Keeping a professional distance was a matter of self-preservation. By relegating the man at her side to a box labeled boss, she told herself she could keep from getting hurt.

The elevator dinged as the door opened. The unmistakable sounds of merrymaking drifted down the carpeted hallway. “Well,” Nathaniel muttered. “Here goes.”

As bizarre as it sounded, Dani thought he was nervous. Surely not. Her boss was well educated, well traveled and wildly successful at a young age. There was no reason at all for him to dread this momentary formality.

Just inside the doorway of the crowded room, Dani abandoned the man who drew attention with no more than a quick, guarded smile.

As people greeted him, she found a group of women she had known from the beginning of her employment at NCT. Several of them shared a Pilates class. A couple of others had bonded over their young children. Ever since Dani became Nathaniel’s assistant, though, her coworkers treated her with a certain deference.

She didn’t particularly like it, but she understood it.

As she sipped a glass of punch and nibbled on a cheese straw, she noted the men and women who had already imbibed to the peril of their careers. Dani had nothing against alcohol. Sadly, though, some employees lost all circumspection when they enjoyed the office party a little too much.

Nathaniel was socializing, though his posture betrayed his lack of ease. At least it did to Dani. He was playing the genial host, but he would rather be most anywhere else. She’d bet her last dollar on it.

Nathaniel was never too excited about the office Christmas party. He wasn’t a warm, fuzzy kind of guy. On the other hand, he was no Scrooge, either. At his urging, Dani had planned this lavish, catered affair complete with an open bar. The festivities had begun at four o’clock and were still going strong two hours later.

At last, Nathaniel made his holiday toast and passed out bonuses to key players of the various divisions. His speech was wry and funny and remarkably charming. Dani had to step forward when he called her name. “Thanks,” she muttered.

Their fingers brushed briefly. “Merry Christmas, Dani,” he said gruffly.

“Thank you.” Her throat tightened inexplicably. Boyfriends were a dime a dozen. She needed a good job more than she needed a fling with her boss. But for the last year and a half—the length of time she had been fantasizing about Nathaniel—the idea of a physical relationship, no matter how unlikely, had made it increasingly uncomfortable for her to work with him. So much so that she had actually polished up her résumé and sent out half a dozen applications already.

During her five years working at New Century Tech, she had completed an MBA at Emory. She was definitely overqualified for the job she now occupied, however working as Nathaniel’s executive assistant paid extremely well. Not only that, but watching him operate in the business world, learning from him, was invaluable experience.

Time moved on. People did, too, or they stagnated. It made perfect sense to extract herself from the temptation of a possible affair with the boss, and even more sense to pursue opportunities that would advance her career.

Unfortunately, all the pep talks in the world didn’t make it any easier to do what she knew she had to do.

A couple of weeks ago—as soon as she emailed the first batch of job applications—the guilt began. NCT was a great place to work. Nathaniel had been a phenomenal boss from day one. Maybe she was jumping too soon.

Still, something was beginning to change, ever so slightly. She didn’t think she had betrayed her intense fascination. Even so, she was getting a vibe from Nathaniel recently that was more personal than business.

Or maybe it was the mistletoe and her overactive imagination. If those feelings were real, she was in trouble.

A commotion on the far side of the room derailed her wistful thoughts. The maroon and navy drapes had been drawn before the party to shut out the gray December day. The heavy cloth panels, festooned with lighted garlands, gave the room a festive feel. Just now, someone had peeked out and received a big surprise.

A rain/snow mix had already begun to fall. The usually crowded thoroughfare in front of the building was alarmingly empty. Though local snowstorm forecasts were often disregarded because of one too many near misses, apparently this one might be the real deal.

Nathaniel assessed the situation in a glance and acted with his customary confidence.

“Let’s wrap this up, folks. Unless some of you want to spend the holidays sleeping at your desks, I’d suggest you head for home ASAP.”

He didn’t have to tell them twice. It was Friday on a holiday weekend. A number of the staff had saved vacation days so they could be off until after the New Year. Suddenly, there was a mass exodus.

As Dani watched, Nathaniel said a quiet word here and there, making sure that anyone who was impaired ended up in the charge of a designated driver.

In half an hour, the room was empty except for Dani and the boss, who stood in the doorway saying a few last goodbyes. Without thinking about it, she began to tidy the tables. Fortunately, there was not much food left. She chucked it all in a large trash container and stacked the trays. New Century Tech used a nearby catering company for all their events.

As she began folding the soiled tablecloths into a neat stack, Nathaniel startled her by speaking from behind her shoulder.

“Leave that alone,” he said abruptly. “That’s not your job. The janitorial staff will take care of it in the morning.”

Dani turned slowly and lifted an eyebrow. “If the snow does what they’re saying it will, I doubt anyone is going to go anywhere anytime soon.”

“That’s a lot of anys,” he teased.

“Well, I’m right,” she grumbled. “Besides, nobody wants to look at this mess when it’s three or four days old.”

“Do you honestly believe the storm is going to be that bad?”

The Weather Channel was headquartered in Atlanta. Dani knew the forecasters by name. At one time in high school, she had actually thought about going into meteorology as a career.

“They say it’s possible. Moisture is riding up from the Gulf of Mexico and colliding with the cold air. Even when the snow tapers off, we may get ice on top.”

Nathaniel grimaced. “That sounds lovely.”

His sarcasm made her grin. “Look at it this way. We only get hammered a few times a decade. Apparently, we’re overdue.”

“Well, in that case, shouldn’t you be getting out of here?”

“I’ll catch the six-thirty train. I’ll be fine.”

“What if they shut down the system?”

For the first time, a trickle of unease slid through her veins. That thought had never occurred to her. Her car was parked at a commuter lot four stops north. What was the likelihood she’d be able to drive home even if MARTA took her where she needed to go?

This time, riding the elevator up and back down was more about expediency than anything intimate. While Nathaniel grabbed what he needed from his office, Dani shrugged into her coat, tugged on her boots and adjusted the strap on her purse so she could use it as a cross-body bag. She wanted her hands free to hang on to stair rails if necessary.

Outside, the city was eerily quiet. The snow was heavier now, blanketing buildings and muffling sound. Nathaniel cursed quietly beneath his breath when he saw the conditions. “I’ll drive you to the train station,” he said, his tone brooking no opposition.

“Thanks,” Dani replied, not even bothering with a token protest. On a normal day, the half-mile walk was pleasant exercise. Under these conditions, she’d never make it in time, not to mention the fact that she’d be a frozen mess.

New Century Tech’s main parking facility was a three-level garage attached to the back of the building. For VIPs, a private side-street lot big enough for a dozen spaces provided easy access and the assurance that no clumsy drivers would back into a high-end vehicle.

Nathaniel drove a shiny black Mercedes with all the bells and whistles. Dani had been inside it only once, when she and the boss had gone together across town to present a proposal to a clothing firm seeking to update their online presence and ordering capabilities. Today, when they rounded the corner of the building and spotted Nathaniel’s car—the only one in the lot—she had a sinking feeling that Nathaniel’s offer of a ride had been premature.

The Mercedes was coated with snow, and there were no marks on the ground. Either the various vice presidents had parked in the garage today, or they had left long enough ago for the storm to cover their tracks. Something about the solitary car looked odd.

Nathaniel was the first to respond. “What the hell?”

He jogged the last few feet, Dani close on his heels. They stopped abruptly in tandem. Dani blinked. “Is that a car seat?” she asked, her voice rising an octave in disbelief.

Nathaniel lifted the wooly blanket covering the oddly shaped lump. “Good God. It’s a baby.” His head snapped around, his gaze scanning the immediate area. The blanket was peppered with tiny bits of snow, certainly not enough to indicate the child had been there more than a few minutes.

Dani, too, peeked under the blanket and gasped. An infant, maybe six months old, slept peacefully in a baby carrier. The child was covered from head to toe in a fleecy one-piece snowsuit, but even so, the temperatures were dangerously cold.

“Call 911,” Nathaniel said, his voice as icy as their surroundings. “I’m going to look around. Whoever did this must be close. My guess is they’re watching us to make sure we retrieve the kid.”

Dani was afraid to unfasten the straps and take the baby out. The heavy carrier was offering at least some protection from the elements. As long as the baby slept, he or she must not be terribly uncomfortable. The snowsuit was pink. Dani took a wild shot that the child was a girl. The baby’s cheeks were a healthy color. Her chest rose and fell at reassuring intervals.

Hoping she was doing the right thing, Dani removed her gloves and dialed the authorities.

* * *

Nathaniel was pissed. He’d received several texts in the last few days from a number he recognized all too well, offering veiled threats. Never in his wildest imagination had he imagined something like this happening to him. The escapade had his ex written all over it.

Ophelia wasn’t actually an “ex” anything. Nathaniel had met her at an in-town conference over a year ago and spent two nights in her hotel bed. That had been the end of it. Or so he thought.

He’d used protection. No way in hell was this baby his, despite what Ophelia’s rambling emails had insinuated. If she had ever come right out and accused him of fathering her child, Nathaniel would have secured a lawyer and taken the necessary steps to pinpoint the baby’s paternity.

He stood in the shadow of his own building, covered his eyes to keep the snow out of them and scanned windows near and far. Damn it. Ophelia could be anywhere. What was she trying to pull?

At last, he gave up his futile search. Dani stood where he had left her, one hand resting protectively on the edge of the car seat. “I found a note,” she said, holding it out to him. “I read it. I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have.”

Nathaniel unfolded the elegant card with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The contents were much as he had expected:

Dear Nathaniel:

I cannot care for our baby right now. You’re my only hope. When I get my life back together, we’ll talk.

Yours always,

Ophelia

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying not to overreact. Women had tried to trap men with this ruse since the beginning of time. He’d done nothing wrong. He had nothing to fear.

Crushing the note in his fist, he shoved it in his pocket and opened his eyes to find Dani staring at him with a stricken expression.

“It’s not mine,” he insisted. “I went out with a crazy woman a time or two. She’s trying to blackmail me or something. I don’t know. What did the police say? How soon can they get here?”

Dani hunched her shoulders against the wind. “They weren’t very encouraging. The snow is causing pileups all over the city.”

His heart pounded in his chest. “What about the foster care system? Surely they can send someone.”

“Do you really want to entrust a baby to a stranger on the Friday afternoon of a long holiday weekend? Most foster families are wonderful, but you hear horror stories...” Dani trailed off, her expression indicating that she was upset. Maybe with the situation. Maybe with him.

“Fine.” He sighed. “What exactly do you think we should do?”

“We?” She stared at him as if he had grown two heads. “I’m walking to the MARTA station. If I’m lucky, my route will still be open.”

Atlanta’s transit system was only partially underground. Unlike other major cities, Atlanta did not have enough snow-removal equipment to deal with a weather event of this size. Blizzards were so rare the expenditure would be wildly extravagant.

Nathaniel’s palms started to sweat inside his gloves. “You can’t go yet,” he said. “I need help.” The words threatened to stick in his throat. He wasn’t a man accustomed to needing anyone. Dani wasn’t just anyone, though. He was counting on her soft heart and her overdeveloped sense of responsibility to sway her.

“What exactly do you think I can do?” she asked. Her eyes held a mix of dubious suspicion and the urge to run.

Nathaniel recognized the urge. He felt it in spades. “You’re a woman. Help me get the kid to my condo. Let’s get her settled. After that, I’ll call a car service to take you home.” Without waiting for an answer, he unlocked the car and leaned in to toss his briefcase on the back seat.

Dani thumped him on the shoulder, hard enough that he jerked and hit his head on the door frame. “Ouch, damn it. What was that for?” he asked, whirling around.

“Are you crazy?” Dani asked. “You can’t drive around with an unsecured infant carrier, especially with snow on the ground.”

In all his emotional turmoil over realizing Ophelia had dumped a baby in his lap, Nathaniel had lost track of the weather. Now he blinked and focused on the world surrounding them. The snow was at least two inches deep already and showed no signs at all of letting up. “Good God,” he said weakly. “This is a nightmare.”

Had he said that last bit aloud? Maybe not. Dani wasn’t giving him any more of those disapproving looks. Instead, she huddled miserably against the side of his car, using her body to keep the falling snow from reaching the baby.

“We’re out of options,” he said, his brain whirling like a hamster on a wheel. “I’ll put the seat belt around the carrier. My condo isn’t all that far. Three miles. Come on. The longer we stand here, the colder we’ll be.” Without waiting for his unflappable executive assistant to protest, he retrieved the infant carrier, covered it with the blanket and scooped it up.

Holy hell. How did new mothers do this? The thing felt like it weighed fifty pounds.

Strapping it into the back seat was an exercise in frustration and guilt. To be honest, he half expected Dani to turn around and trudge away in the opposite direction, heading for the train station and home. But she joined him in the car.

The wave of relief he experienced was alarming. Was he honestly that afraid to be stranded alone with a baby, or did the idea of spending time with Dani outside the office hold a certain appeal?

She was a very attractive woman always, but today—dressed up for the office party—she exuded a warm, sexy charm that made him want to forget every one of his self-imposed rules.

Though it probably wasn’t wise, he took one hand off the wheel and loosened his tie. Having Dani sit so close to him tested his patience and his self-control.

New Century Tech was located in a trendy section of Atlanta known as Buckhead. Elegant glass office buildings stood amongst quirky restaurants and specialty shops selling everything from expensive watches to high-priced real estate. Nathaniel’s penthouse condo offered him the privacy he demanded along with an unparalleled view of the city.

Unfortunately, today’s drive was not going to be easy. Though he managed to back out of the parking space and exit onto the street, he felt the tires slip and slide beneath him. He barely managed to avoid sideswiping a fire hydrant.

With his eyes on the road and a firm grip on the steering wheel, he focused on the objective at hand. Reach his condo. Rest and regroup. What he hadn’t expected was to have Dani tug at his arm several blocks before their destination. “Stop,” she cried. “That one’s open.”

That what?

At her insistence, he eased the car off the road and parked beside a chain drugstore. She didn’t pause to explain. Before he could protest, she was out of the car and headed inside. With a shrug, Nathaniel retrieved the baby and followed Dani into the store.

The kid still slept. Had it been too long? Was she unconscious? His stomach knotted. What the hell did he know about babies? Even a bad foster family might be better than what Nathaniel had to offer.

Every inch of the infant’s body was covered except for her rosy cheeks. Still, she wasn’t wearing high-tech fabric rated for low temperatures. The little girl might be cold. How would he know?

Just about the time he had worked himself into a frenzy of doubt and frustration, Dani reappeared, her triumphant smile a blow to his stomach that took his breath and squeezed his heart.

Was he simply damned glad to have her help, or was the prospect of spending time with Dani enticing him to do something stupid? Every logical cell in his brain shouted at him to send her away. He was fine. He could cope.

Besides, though it was true he wanted Dani, he didn’t “want” to want her. As long as he kept that in mind, he’d be okay. Despite his confusion and the alarm in his gut, he didn’t tell her to go. That was undoubtedly his first mistake.

Somewhere, she had found a shopping cart. It was loaded with diapers, wipes, formula and bottles. He stared at the bounty of baby supplies, incredulous. He’d been so focused on getting the kid to his condo, he’d never even thought about the fact that he had nothing—zero—with which to care for a child, especially one this small.

If this were a test to see what kind of father he would make, he was already failng miserably.