Читать книгу Accidentally Yours - Сьюзен Мэллери, Susan Mallery - Страница 7

KERRI PULLED into the driveway in front of her tiny garage and wondered if maybe offering to sleep with Nathan King had been a mistake. He was just cold-blooded enough to take her up on the idea, if only to prove her determination had limits. Which meant she was going to have to prove him wrong by saying yes.

The man was good-looking enough to be appealing under other circumstances, assuming she was into tall, dark and ruthless. But he wasn’t her type. She preferred a man who had a heart. Like Brian, she thought as she got out of her car and waited for Nathan to pull up behind her and do the same.

Her late husband had been perfect—or at least perfect for her. Funny, caring, giving, loyal. Oh, sure, he’d been male, so there were times when he’d made her crazy, but not crazy enough to ever regret marrying him. She knew she’d gotten lucky when they’d met and fallen in love—something she wasn’t expecting to happen again. Lightning didn’t strike twice. Besides, all she cared about these days was getting Cody better. There was no time or energy left over for anything else.

“A strange man in the middle of the day. What will the neighbors think?” Nathan asked as he followed her up the steps and into her small two-bedroom house.

The rental was much like all the other places she’d found over the past few years. Run-down and cheap. The latter was her only requirement. Unfortunately, it usually came attached to the former.

Kerri smiled at him, then led the way into her kitchen. “The neighbors all know who you are. They’re going to think the truth—that you’re here to talk about the money you’re giving to Dr. Wallace’s research facility.”

“I’m here to talk about our deal.”

“Same thing.”

She motioned to the chairs flanking the narrow table in the corner. “I’ll make coffee. It’s that or water. I save the milk for Cody. He needs it more than you do.”

“I didn’t realize there was a milk shortage.” He shrugged out of his jacket and sat at her table.

“There isn’t. Have you priced milk lately? Do you know how much a boy Cody’s age can drink in one sitting?”

“No—to both.”

Right. Because it would never occur to him to check the price of anything. She would bet that he had someone to do his grocery shopping for him. She focused on that because it was a whole lot easier to think about than to remember that Nathan had already been through what she was desperate to avoid—the loss of a child.

“Coffee is fine,” he told her.

She nodded, then dumped the old grounds in the trash, put in a filter, new ground beans, water and flipped the on switch. Unable to put off the inevitable, she turned to face him.

Even sitting, Nathan was a big guy in a relatively small room. She had a feeling he was one of those people who used up an unfair amount of air. He had to be, because it was oddly stuffy in here.

“I’ll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork,” he told her, his expression determined. “Everything will be explained in detail, including the fact that you won’t tell anyone about our deal. You and your son will be available whenever I ask, to do whatever I ask. Charity events, press functions. From now until the zoning commission meets in six weeks. In return, I’ll give Dr. Wallace and his lab fifteen million dollars.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I have terms.”

He glared at her. “No, you don’t. This is not negotiable, Ms. Sullivan.”

“Of course it is. Everything is. And if you’re going to use your money to get me to sleep with you, you should probably call me Kerri. It makes things more special.”

He stood. There was no mistaking his temper. Anger burned hot and bright in the room, making her think that if she could harness a little of that energy, she could cut down on her electric bill.

“I am not using my money to get you to sleep with me.”

“That’s what you said. Before. At the salon.”

“You offered.”

“I was making a point. I will do whatever it takes to get Cody better. Even deal with the devil.”

“You mean me?”

“You’re not the devil.” She tilted her head and stared at him. “You’re a powerful, egotistical man who is too used to getting his way and doesn’t care about other people very much, but you’re not the devil.”

The anger turned icy. “How flattering. Have you considered that you may want to hold off on insulting me until after the money has been transferred?”

She smiled. “You’re not going to change your mind. For what it’s worth, I am grateful.”

“That’s not immediately obvious.”

“Would you be more comfortable if I fawned?”

“No.”

“Then think of me as refreshing.”

“Is that what you call it?”

She smiled. “Some people find me very charming.”

“They see you as a steamroller and move fast to get out of your way.”

“I’m a mother on a mission.”

“The same thing.”

He wasn’t going to back down and she could get a serious cramp in her neck if he continued to loom over her like some annoyed, threatening, tall person.

“I can’t totally be at your beck and call,” she said, changing the subject. “I have a job and a life.”

“You have a job and now I’m your life. I’ll respect your work hours.”

“Why do I doubt that?” She walked to the cupboard and pulled down two mugs. They were both chipped. She looked through her selection, but none of them were in great shape.

Nearly as bad as the chips were the gaudy logos on the front. Every one of them had been a freebie. Billionaire Nathan was just going to have to work around that, she thought as she poured coffee and handed it to him.

“I’ll take it black,” he told her, “what with milk being so scarce.”

“Don’t mock me. I’m poor.”

“Don’t assume about me. I’m rich.”

She sighed. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

“You’re blackmailing me. Why should I?”

“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

He put down the coffee untasted. “I’m not interested in being a gentleman, Kerri. I’m interested in winning. I will honor my part of the bargain—see that you do the same. If you don’t, I promise you’ll regret screwing with me.”

She set her mug next to his. “You can’t do anything to me that’s worse than what’s already happening.”

Something dark and painful flashed in his eyes. “I can still make your life hell. I’ll have my secretary phone you and set up an appointment. We’ll meet in my lawyer’s office.”

She wanted to snap at him, but the truth was, he could have ignored everything she’d done and not given her the money. Because of him, her son had a chance. Annoying or not, the man deserved to have her meet him at least halfway.

“Okay. Look, I’ll try to help when I can, but I have Cody to think about. So at least give me some notice?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Are you going to want me to show up at fancy stuff? If so, wardrobe could be an issue.”

“I don’t know.” He pulled a business card out of his wallet and put it on the counter. “This is my direct number at work and my cell number. If you need to get in touch with me.”

She picked up the card and waved it. “How much would a tabloid give me for these phone numbers?” she teased.

His eyes narrowed. “That is confidential information.”

“So I can call whenever I want, right?”

He picked up his jacket and walked to the front door without speaking.

“Okay, fine. I won’t play fast and loose with your personal info. Do you need my phone number?”

He turned back to her. “I have a file on you, remember?”

“I try not to.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Cody will be home in a few minutes. You could stay and meet him.”

“No, thank you. I have to be back in Seattle.”

Translation—he wasn’t interested in her son. She reminded herself he’d given her the money and she owed him. “Then I’ll just be here, quivering in anticipation of your phone call.”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “If only that were true.”

DR. ABRAM WALLACE SLAMMED shut the door to his truck and walked into Bill’s Food and Feed to pick up his weekly order. Bales of hay topped by bags of dog food stood to the left of the open double wood doors. On the right a galvanized tub held ice chilling imported asparagus and a basket of hothouse tomatoes. Bill catered to everything that ate—human and animal alike.

Abram stuck his hands in his coat pockets as he walked and kept his head down. He nodded as he passed a couple of women talking, then moved straight to the counter.

“Hey, Professor,” Bill, a large man in his fifties, called out. “I got your order all ready. Looks like Linda’s making you meat loaf. Lucky guy.”

Linda, Abram’s assistant, hadn’t mentioned making dinner, but it was something she took on once or twice a week. He didn’t pay attention to food and only ate because it allowed him to keep working. If it was up to him, he’d eat the same thing day after day. But Linda insisted on variety and making homemade meals so he wasn’t always heating up something from a can.

“You must be excited,” Bill said as he passed over a large box containing Abram’s order. “About the money for the research facility. Nathan King’s giving you fifteen million dollars.”

Abram gave him a blank look.

“You haven’t heard?” Bill paused. “You know, so you can start up again. Healing those sick kids.”

Abram avoided newspapers and he didn’t own a television. Linda kept him informed of any major events and reminded him to vote every few years.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled. Money? For research? He’d closed down the lab years ago. After the fire, he’d had to. There was no going back. He couldn’t do that again. Couldn’t take the chance.

“You’re going to open the lab,” Bill insisted. “With the money. Everyone’s talking about how it will save the town.”

Abram took his order and left. Fool, he thought as he retraced his steps to his car.

There was no saving Songwood. It was too late for both of them. Linda had asked him once why he stayed. He hadn’t answered her, but he knew the reason. He’d killed the town. The least he could do was stick around and die with it.

“YOU’RE AN IDIOT,” Jason Hardy said as he led the way into a small conference room.

“So you’ve said.”

“Just trying to do my job. You shouldn’t have gone up to Songwood by yourself.”

“You’re repeating yourself,” Nathan told him as he walked over to the table against the far wall and poured himself a cup of coffee. “At what you make an hour, you should be more original.”

“You’re not cooperating,” Jason muttered. “I have a bad feeling about all this.”

Nathan reached for the container of cream, then paused as he remembered Kerri Sullivan hoarding milk for her son. As if milk was hard to come by. Although given her paycheck and her medical expenses, perhaps it was a luxury.

He remembered his mother complaining about the amount of food he’d put away when he’d been a teenager. But there had been affection, at least from her. His father was another story.

Involuntarily he turned to look out the window. The conference room offered a sweeping view of Puget Sound, including the spot where Nathan’s towers would go. Too bad his old man wasn’t around to see them built. Not that the dead could ever admit they were wrong.

“If word of this gets out, you’re screwed,” Jason said.

Nathan shrugged. “It’s a calculated risk. There’s a confidentiality clause in the paperwork. Kerri and I will keep silent. And you’re bound by client privilege. Who else is going to know?”

“I don’t like it,” Jason told him. “You should have let me handle this.”

“It’ll be worth it.” Nathan sipped his coffee. “The fifteen million means nothing to me. If using Kerri Sullivan and her kid gets me my permits, I’m happy. If I’m happy—”

“I’m happy,” Jason said with a shrug. “You’re the boss. I just worry you’re getting in over your head with her.”

“Kerri? No way. She’s nobody. A hairdresser.”

“She was capable of getting you to back down and hand over fifteen million. Just be careful.”

Nathan appreciated the sentiment, even as he found the idea of Kerri having any impact on him laughable.

“How long have you known me?” he asked Jason.

“Seven years. Close to eight.”

“How many times have I screwed up?”

“None.” His attorney nodded. “I agree with what you’re saying. Just be careful.”

“You’re paranoid.”

Jason grinned. “That’s why I make the big bucks.”

There was a knock at the conference door and then Kerri stepped inside.

She wore a dress and high heels, surprising Nathan. Her hair hung loose and she’d put on makeup. She was still farm-girl pretty. Not his type. But she would make a good impression on the people who mattered.

Nathan ignored her and glanced at Tim, who stood behind her.

“Any trouble?” he asked his driver.

Kerri sighed. “I was a very good girl. I was ready on time and I told funny stories nearly the whole ride here.”

Tim’s face remained impassive as he said, “No, sir.”

“We shouldn’t be more than an hour. Then you can take Ms. Sullivan home.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kerri smiled at Tim. “You should call him Nathan. I think he’d like that.”

One corner of Tim’s mouth twitched. “I appreciate the advice, Ms. Sullivan.”

“Oh, sure. Now it’s Ms. Sullivan. And we were so close just a short time ago.”

Tim closed the door. Kerri glanced around, then walked toward Jason.

“Hi. I’m Kerri Sullivan. You don’t look like a lawyer. Nice haircut, by the way. So, are you going to protect my rights, too? Should I call legal aid and get my own representation?”

Jason shook her hand. “Everything is very straightforward, Ms. Sullivan.”

“You are so lying.”

Jason grinned. “Not as much as you’d think. I kept things simple. Mr. King provides the money to the research facility, you allow yourself and your son to be—”

“Exploited?” she asked sweetly.

Jason ignored that. “You and your son allow Mr. King to present himself in a more favorable light.”

“Lucky us.”

Nathan stayed by the window, watching rather than participating. He admired Kerri’s bravado when it was obvious, at least to him, that she was terrified. Her hands trembled slightly and she kept inhaling deeply, as if consciously telling herself to breathe. None of the indicators were blatant, but he knew what to look for. It always paid to know what the enemy was thinking and feeling.

Not that she was his enemy. She was too far out of her league for that. He kept thinking he could squash her like a bug, if he took the time.

Except he couldn’t—he needed her. He, who prided himself on needing no one.

Jason led her to the conference table and set a folder in front of her. “Here’s the paperwork. If you would please look it over before you sign.”

She opened her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper. “I have a few requests of my own, first,” she said.

“Excuse me?” Jason asked.

Nathan ignored him and turned his attention to Kerri. “The hell you do.”

“I mentioned it when you were at my house.”

“You were kidding.”

“I was at the time, but when else am I going to be able to negotiate with the great and powerful Nathan King?” She fluttered her lashes at him. “I’ve been reading about you online. You’re even richer than I thought. So I’m going to need a little bit more to cooperate.”

“Did I mention the money hasn’t been transferred yet?” She was bluffing, he thought. She had to be, but damn, she was good.

“You’ll do it.” She pushed the list toward Jason. “The top two are not negotiable.”

Nathan took another sip of coffee. “Read it,” he said, intrigued even as he prepared himself to be taken.

He could guess what she would want. A new car. Hers was a piece of crap. Some dented, rusting import with an engine that missed and bad tires. Maybe some cash. He eyed her cheap handbag. A shopping spree. The women he knew always wanted to go shopping.

“New baseball uniforms for the Songwood high school baseball team.” Jason looked up at him. “Apparently their old ones were destroyed in a flood.”

“They store their equipment in the basement,” Kerri said. “A pipe broke last week and everything was ruined. They’ve been fund-raising and they’re doing pretty well, but they aren’t going to have enough for new jerseys. The pants, too. And before you ask, you don’t get to put your name on the back or anything. This isn’t about you.”

If he’d been drinking, he would have choked. Baseball uniforms?

“Ah, a commitment to provide all the turkeys needed by the First Baptist Church of Songwood for their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners,” Jason continued. “Two thousand tulip bulbs for the Songwood community center to plant in the fall. A new fence for the elementary school playground and five thousand dollars for the local library.”

She had to be playing him, Nathan thought. No one got him alone with what they thought was a blank checkbook and asked for tulip bulbs. That, or she was an idiot.

“What about for yourself?” he asked.

She looked at him. “I have what I want. Money for research. I wish I could just buy a cure, but I can’t. This is the next best thing. You made that possible and I appreciate it.”

“I can tell,” he said drily.

“No, I mean it. You’re paying for a miracle. How often does that happen?”

Nathan shifted uncomfortably. He looked at Jason and nodded. “Fine.”

Kerri beamed. “Seriously? All of them? I should have asked for low-cost housing for the needy.”

She didn’t mean herself, he thought, amazed when he would have assumed he was beyond amazement. She had nothing but her current paycheck in the bank. No savings, no IRA, no nothing.

It was a game. A strategy. She would reveal herself soon enough.

“There’s just one more thing,” she said, smoothing her skirt. “It’s personal.”

He put down his coffee and folded his arms over his chest. Here we go, he thought. Now they were going to see the real Kerri Sullivan.

“I need help with something.” She stared at Jason, rather than Nathan. “Something big. I need to fly.”

“You want a plane ticket?” Nathan asked.

“No.” She sighed.

“You’re not getting a private jet.”

She turned to him. “I don’t want a private jet. I want to fly. By myself.” She held out her arms, as if they were wings. “Or maybe walk on water, although that could be more problematic.”

Great. He was making a deal with someone insane. That would help his stress level.

She looked back at Jason. “When my son was diagnosed, he got depressed and I was terrified he was going to give up. He was only five. I decided that I needed to give him a reason to live. A reason to think he would make it when other kids couldn’t. I told him I had superpowers and because he was my son, he had them, too.”

Jason was good, Nathan thought. His lawyer barely blinked.

“Superpowers?” Jason asked.

“I have a costume and I do tricks. I’m Wonder Mom. I arranged for Cody to see me lift a car, which was pretty cool. But he’s older now and honestly, my last stunt was with a cat and I don’t think he believed me. So I was thinking if I could do something special, that would be good.”

Jason cleared his throat. “Do you have an idea how you want to make this happen?”

“Fairy dust?” Nathan asked.

Kerri ignored him. “A harness and a crane for the flying. A platform just under the water for that. I don’t know and I don’t have the resources.” She looked at Nathan. “You do.”

He held up both hands. “You’re Wonder Mom. How can a mere mortal possibly help?”

Kerri narrowed her gaze. “Is he always an ass?”

Jason started to choke on his coffee. Nathan waited patiently until the other man managed to croak, “No. Not at all.”

“You should make that sound more convincing,” Nathan murmured.

Kerri faced him. “What does it matter to you? You’ll assign some secretary to find me what I need and be done with it. It’s nothing to you and it’s everything to my son. Do you get that?”

Nathan had been called a lot of names in the past eighteen or twenty years, starting when he was in college and taking rich kids for their allowance at high-stakes poker games. He’d been written up in newspapers and magazines as a heartless, money-hungry bastard who would rather rape the environment than spend an extra buck on saving whatever microscopic insect he was displacing with his buildings.

He’d been told he was heartless, soulless, lacking in morals, and he’d felt nothing. But when some corn-fed, blond hairdresser looked at him like he was slime, he felt…guilty.

What the hell was up with that?

He felt awkward and uncomfortable—emotions he didn’t allow himself. This was his meeting. He was in charge. Who did she think she was?

“Kerri, you’re asking a lot,” Jason said. “Maybe if there was—”

“Do it,” Nathan told him.

Kerri’s eyes widened. “Just like that?”

“Like you said, I’ll assign some secretary to take care of it. What do I care?” He made it a point to never care. That’s why he was the best.

“Okay. Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

She frowned slightly, as if not sure what was up with him or what he had in mind. Good. He liked her off balance.

“Then we have a deal,” Jason said.

Kerri nodded and reached for the pen. She added the “Wonder Mom” clause to her list, then started to sign the documents already prepared.

Jason grabbed them. “You have to read them first.”

“Why?” she asked, taking them back and signing them. “We all know I don’t have a choice. Mr. King gets what he wants and I get what I want.”

Nathan still wasn’t sure he liked her, but he was beginning to respect her. “Still not a deal with the devil?”

“Still not.”

“Then maybe you should call me Nathan. What with us doing business together.”

Her eyes widened, as if she remembered their conversation from a few days ago during which she’d told him to call her by her first name because sleeping together otherwise would be awkward. Only he wasn’t going to sleep with her.

Yet as she stood, he found himself looking her over, taking in the curves underneath her loose dress.

She shook hands with Jason, then looked at him. “I guess I’ll go find Tim.”

“I’ll walk you down.”

She smiled. “Still don’t trust me?”

“I want to keep an eye on you.”

“Because I might run off with a stapler? It’s a law office, Nathan. What possible trouble could I make here?”

“You’d be surprised.”

He led her to the elevator, then pushed the Down button. “Jason will mail you a copy of the documents you signed.”

“I know he will. He seems very efficient. And nice. I didn’t expect that from a lawyer.”

“Have a lot of experience with them?”

“Not really. Is he married?”

Annoyance exploded hard and hot inside of Nathan. “Is that the game? You can’t get me, so you want Jason? He makes a lot of money, but unfortunately he does have a wife. They just had a baby.”

Kerri patted his arm. “You have quite the temper. Do you know what all that built-up anger is doing to your cardiovascular system? It’s not healthy.”

The elevator arrived. She stepped on, then looked expectant. He put out a hand to hold the door.

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“That’s because I thought it was rude.” She sighed. “I saw a sign in one of the big corner offices on the way in—It’s A Boy. I wondered if it was his. I was going to send a card. Nothing more.”

Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like an idiot. He was confident he’d been a lot younger and somehow his father had been involved.

He got on the elevator. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words unfamiliar and hard to form.

“You should be.”

“That’s gracious.”

“You assume the worst about me.”

How was this his fault?

He was a master of negotiation. He didn’t get flustered or confused or run out of things to say. But this woman made him crazy.

He turned to tell her that, then realized he couldn’t admit the weakness. She looked up at him expectantly, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He kissed her.