Читать книгу Cinderella And The Ceo - SUSAN MEIER, Susan Meier - Страница 10

Since Deke was unfamiliar with the town, he accepted a ride to the plant with Laurel the next morning, but they hardly spoke. He spent most of the drive trying to get accustomed to seeing her in tight jeans, a loose ragged T-shirt and steel-toed boots. It didn’t seem fair that a woman could look that good dressed that badly, and Deke convinced himself that was why he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away from her.

Forcing his eyes in the direction of the passenger-door window of her Toyota, he reminded himself that he was at this plant to find out how an audit could be off by over three hundred thousand dollars. At this point, he didn’t know if someone had made an honest mistake, if someone had embezzled money or if someone was stealing inventory. He only knew regular procedures kept confirming the mistake without giving any clue as to a reason for it. Because he could very well be dealing with a thief, he couldn’t be too cavalier about this problem or preoccupied with a pretty woman.

But he try as he might, he couldn’t stop sneaking peeks at Laurel, and he knew he had been blessed that her daughter’s softball team needed a coach. Since the season started in less than two weeks, he had been forced to call an emergency practice. Tonight he would be busy with a gaggle of eight-year-old girls, not six feet away from Laurel watching TV, smelling that wonderful scent she wore.

When they arrived at the factory, Laurel immediately showed him to the Human Resources Department. She introduced him to the director who would monitor his progress during his training, and Deke forgot all about his gorgeous landlady. He had passed the first hurdle in his charade, when Laurel accepted him as a trainee, but upper management might not be so easy to fool. As far as he was concerned, this was his real moment of truth.

Because Bertrim was the name of his mother’s first husband and Deke’s deceased father, and not the name of the stepfather who actually ran the corporation for his mother’s family, Deke didn’t give a second thought to anyone recognizing his name. And since he had played minor-league baseball for more than a decade, the Human Resources director didn’t question his late start in business.

It almost seemed his unusual life was tailor-made to allow him to slip into a subsidiary unnoticed, and when he came to that conclusion, he got his first inkling that all this was awfully darned lucky—and coincidental.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that he had been set up. The realization hit him like a runaway fast ball. He wasn’t sure if he had been sent here to actually get the training he was supposed to be pretending to get, or if he was being tested to see if he was smart enough to take over when his stepfather retired, but he did know he had been set up.

Insulted, furious, Deke didn’t know what to do. He had worked for this corporation in one form or another since he was sixteen. True, he had never been at the top, but he knew the ins and outs…sort of. He didn’t know everything. Even he admitted he should be at his stepfather’s side every minute of the next two years.

All right, maybe he did need some training. But he didn’t need this entry-level stuff. Besides, it was embarrassing. And time-consuming. Surely he could learn a hundred times more at his stepfather’s side than he could learn from the supervisors at one little subsidiary.

Reining in his temper and his frustration, Deke became his usual controlled, disciplined self, not about to say or do anything out of line until he ascertained what was really going on. The HR director walked him to a section of the plant floor that was cordoned off by wire fence and looked like a cage. He led him through the mesh gate, called Laurel from a workstation at the back of the area and told Deke that this was his first stop in his working tour of the plant. She was the person who would provide his first four weeks of training.

Given the number of coincidences, Deke wasn’t taking anything for granted anymore. Not even Laurel’s easy acceptance. For all he knew she could be in on this scheme, too.

The thought that she might have conspired with his family brought him up short. He suddenly recognized that for the past twenty-four hours, while he had been blinded by her beauty and eagerly trying to think of ways to do right by her, she could very well have been taking notes on his abilities. Worse, through the course of the afternoon that followed, he suspected his performance was not worth writing home to mother about. He knew it for sure when he punched a hole in a bag of foam peanuts and sent them raining down on the entire department.

By the time four o’clock rolled around, Deke was so angry he could have spit nails. He didn’t mind that Laurel had him doing menial labor, so he would understand the intricacies of her department, or even that he wasn’t gifted as a shipper. It was the fact that no one talked with him about needing to be trained or needing to prove himself that bugged the hell out of him.

“So, ready to call it a day?” Laurel asked about ten minutes before quitting time.

Not sure how to deal with her, Deke rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Through no fault of Deke’s they were within a foot of each other. Though he was preoccupied with not being told the truth why he was at this plant, he nonetheless had to steel himself against reacting to Laurel’s alluring scent. He knew it would be total insanity to look into her sexy green eyes. But in shifting his gaze, he only succeeded in noticing that her complexion was smooth and clear. Radiant, in spite of eight hours in a grimy manufacturing plant.

“I heard you called a softball practice for after work,” Laurel said.

Deke struggled not to growl with frustration. It was almost sacrilegious that his family would drag softball into their scheme.

“Yes, I did.”

“Good. I’m sure the girls are eager to get started.”

“Most of them are,” Deke agreed, walking away because he didn’t want to get any more involved with his “boss” than he had to. All things considered, she probably was the person who reported his progress to his family. And after the day he’d spent, running to keep up with tasks the other employees seemed to be able to do in their sleep, he doubted her account would be a good one.

But Laurel stopped him by touching his forearm. “I really appreciate your doing this.”

Warmth radiated from the spot she touched on his arm, but more than that, her genuine smile of gratitude brought his thoughts to a crashing halt. How could he accuse her of being in on any kind of conspiracy? If she knew anything about his family’s plan to test him, a woman of Laurel’s level of sincerity would never be able to hide it from him.

Which meant she didn’t know his family had probably paid the old coach to retire for a summer, and she really was appreciative of his coaching her daughter’s softball team.

That knowledge inspired a burst of male pride in Deke. After hours of losing the battle with foam peanuts, pleasing her made him completely forget that she’d spent the day treating him like a peon. Worse, he had the urge to please her again.

Deke almost groaned. In thirty seconds of conversation and with one touch on his arm, Laurel made him forget he was here to please his family, not please her! How was he supposed to quickly, efficiently ascertain what his family wanted from him so he could do it and get the heck out of here, when the world’s biggest distraction was always close enough to touch?

“You’re welcome,” he said, then walked away from her.

The truth was, this would be a lot easier if she was in on his family’s scheme. At least then his anger would keep him sane. Without that, his wayward reactions to her could really throw a monkey wrench into things.

“All right, that’s it for the day,” Deke called to the noisy group of eight- and nine-year-old girls who were performing various softball drills on the grassy playing field. “Melody and Rachel, you gather the equipment this afternoon. Tomorrow we’ll have a schedule of whose turn it is to make sure all the balls and bats get into the duffel bag for me to take home. I’ll also have a printed practice schedule for your mothers. Right now, you guys, er, girls, can hit the showers.”

Audra tugged on his pant leg. “We don’t have showers, Mr. Bertrim.”

“Okay, then,” Deke said, glancing around to try to figure out what the appropriate dismissal line would be.

“Go to your mother’s car. Get on home. Get outa here,” he said, and started to chuckle. This was different, but fun, and so far the girls were nothing but enthusiastic little charmers.

“See you, Mr. Bertrim,” Sally Walker sang as she ran by him.

“See ya.”

“See ya.”

The chorus continued until all the girls were off the field and jogging toward the vehicles awaiting them in the gravel parking lot. Only Audra stayed behind.

Deke glanced down at her. “So, how’d I do?”

She shrugged. “Most of the girls like you because you’re cute. So you didn’t do too bad, but tomorrow we’re really going to want to play ball.”

“And you will,” Deke agreed, picking up the duffel bag that contained the equipment and slinging it over his shoulder. The hour-and-a-half of exercise was exactly what he needed to clear his head and put everything into perspective. He was heir to the throne of his family’s business, and apparently they thought he needed some training or a test of his abilities. He didn’t like that he hadn’t been told the truth, but he wasn’t so arrogant that he wouldn’t respect his family’s wishes. Or Tom Baxter’s. Because in two years Tom would be Deke’s right-hand man. And Deke needed to win Tom’s respect as much as he needed to win his stepfather’s. After thinking all this through, Deke realized he wanted to prove himself. And quickly. So there would be no doubts.

And so he could get the hell home, away from the temptation of a woman who would drive him insane if he had to live with her for three long months. A woman whose daughter was currently yanking on his pant leg.

“But there’s nothing wrong with some practice drills to get you into shape.”

Audra looked at him. “We’re eight. All we do is exercise. We don’t need to get in shape.”

Laughing because she was downright adorable, Deke ruffled her hair. “Smart little thing aren’t you?”

“My mother had me tested to see if I was gifted.”

Deke stopped by his small white rental car, rifling in his pants pocket for his keys. “Are you?”

“Borderline,” Audra said, shrugging. “But don’t let that scare you.”

“Hey, I don’t care if you have green hair. All I care is that you catch the ball, throw the ball and hit the ball when you’re supposed to.”

Audra grinned. “Me, too.”

Because the softball field was only a few blocks from Laurel’s home, Audra and Deke made the trip in minutes. When he pulled the car into the driveway, Audra bounded out as if her pants were on fire. Deke followed her up the sidewalk and into the kitchen.

“So was it fun?” Laurel asked Audra, but she looked at Deke.

“It was great, Mom.”

Deke smiled and nodded, confirming that the situation would probably work out. He saw Laurel breathe a sigh of relief.

“I made beef stew,” Laurel announced, and as she said the words, Deke smelled the spicy, rich aroma. But he also smelled something else. Something sweet. Cinnamon.

“And an apple pie,” she added, turning away from him to the stove, as if embarrassed to face him.

Instead of the sexual reaction he usually felt any time he was in Laurel’s company, warm and fuzzy emotion enveloped Deke when he realized she’d made that pie for him…that’s why she was embarrassed. Just from watching Audra play, he knew softball meant a great deal to her, and because Laurel was grateful to him for saving her daughter’s summer, she’d baked him a pie.

Thrown off balance because no one had ever done something so personal, yet so practical for him, and he didn’t know how to respond, Deke said, “I love pie.”

She risked a peek at him. “Most people do.”

“Thank you,” Deke said, overwhelmed with a gratitude that felt very much like amazement. People had given him gold money clips encrusted in diamonds, but it wasn’t the same as having somebody bake a pie for him. He got the sense that pleasing Laurel was the best thing in the world a man could do, but as soon as he got that feeling it amended itself. What he really felt wasn’t that pleasing her was the best thing a man could do, but that pleasing her was somehow his job—or maybe his destiny.

Which was preposterous. He had a destiny all lined up, one that had been waiting for him since birth. He didn’t need another one.

“You’re welcome. Now go wash up and we’ll eat.”

“Yeah, wash up,” Judy said with a laugh. “We’re starving.”

Deke hadn’t even realized Judy was in the room until she spoke, and he knew this situation was throwing him for so much of a loop that he wasn’t paying enough attention to what he was doing. If he didn’t soon gather his wits and keep them, he might accidentally give away his real identity. And that wouldn’t just be stupid, it would be trouble.

He left the kitchen quickly, scolding himself about keeping a tighter rein on his feelings and reactions. As he rinsed the grime off his face and hands, he reminded himself he had already acknowledged he found this woman dangerously attractive. He couldn’t be noticing things like how generous and sweet she was, and he also couldn’t be lingering on his own unexpected male need to please her. That would be pointless and absurd. Since he knew he was being tested, he had to be on his toes at all times, not constantly distracted by a woman he hardly knew.

When he entered the kitchen, he felt normal again. But in spite of the lectures he’d given himself, when Laurel joined them at the table, he found himself stealing glances at her.

She was the strangest woman he’d ever met. Not strange as in weird, but strange as in different. She wasn’t the pampered professional he saw during his stints in the corporate office. She worked in a manufacturing plant, in steel-toed boots and a hard hat. Yet, she still looked, smelled and baked like a woman. A really feminine woman. Someone who cared for and catered to her family. Someone who made him feel like family, too.

Deke was accustomed to getting special treatment, but Laurel wasn’t treating him well because he was the son of the people who owned controlling interest in the stock of the company she worked for or even because he’d been voted Pittsburgh’s most eligible bachelor three years in a row. She didn’t know any of those things about him. She’d baked him a pie because she was a nice person, someone grateful to him for what he had done, not who he was.

The feeling that inspired was so appealing and so seductive he could have savored it all night. But he didn’t because it once again undermined his control, making him vulnerable to saying something that might actually give away his identity.

And he couldn’t say or do anything that would cause Laurel to guess who he was until he passed his test. He didn’t doubt that he was sent here to figure out the reason for the audit discrepancy, that was the test. But as it stood right now, he didn’t have a clue if he was looking for a thief, an accounting error or an embezzler as the answer to the riddle created by his parents. And his biggest worry was that it might take him more than the scheduled three months to figure it out.

But when he realized he might be here for more than three months, it didn’t bother him as much as it had back at softball practice. The truth was, he sort of felt as if he had fallen into heaven. He had a challenge that would stimulate him for eight hours each day. When he left work, he drove to a ball field and literally got to play like an eight-year-old for two hours. And when he was done, he got a reward. Spicy, melt-in-your-mouth stew with dumplings and homemade apple pie.

Unable to help himself, Deke surreptitiously reached down and grabbed about a quarter inch of skin on his forearm and pinched. When it hurt, he knew he wasn’t imagining this. The only problem was, he wasn’t exactly sure he should enjoy it so much, either.

He expected Laurel to argue when he volunteered to help with the dishes, but she readily accepted his offer, because she needed to spend time supervising Audra’s homework and getting Sophie ready for bed. While Judy filled the sink with warm soapy water, Deke cleared the table and found a dish towel. In fifteen minutes he and Judy had the kitchen cleaned and then Deke drove Judy to her home across town. He discovered that Laurel’s mother was a widow, had been since Laurel was four, and that she had a slight heart problem that precluded her from working, so she baby-sat Laurel’s kids after school and on their days off. Sometimes she came to Laurel’s to care for the girls, though she preferred it when the girls came to her house. But the four of them always ate dinner together because they were family, and that was what family was supposed to do.

On the return trip Deke wondered if he’d landed on some distant planet where everything that happened was good and pure. Lost in thought, he nearly bumped into Laurel in the downstairs hall, the little alcove where the doors of the three bedrooms converged.

He caught her by the shoulders to steady her. Because she was wearing a sleeveless robe, the velvet touch of her naked skin against his palm ricocheted through him, and he remembered this situation had its peril after all.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered, her eyes huge because she had been frightened.

“I’m sorry. I promised Audra I would say good-night.”

When Laurel took a step back, trying to shrug out of his hold, Deke realized he still had his hands on her shoulders and quickly dropped them to his sides.

“Okay,” she whispered. “But just peek in the door and say good-night. If you actually go into her room, she could talk for hours. And she needs her sleep.”

“I’ll just peek in,” Deke agreed, lowering the volume of his voice, too. He didn’t know what it was about this woman that got to him, but she had something that could make him forget to do the simplest, most logical things like lower his voice, almost as if he couldn’t think in her presence. Or maybe it was more that when he was in her presence, he couldn’t think the way he was accustomed to thinking. All his habitual thought processes slipped away as if everything was new. Her lack of pretense and artifice, her treating him nicely when she didn’t know who he was, her appreciation for things he did actually made him feel differently about himself.

But he also recognized something more. Something physical that defied description. The woman was so attractive to him that wanting to touch her was instinctive. The most normal, most natural urge in the world.

And he had to struggle to control impulses he could normally quash with one rational thought.

He made a move to go around her, to get to Audra’s room, but Laurel stepped in his path. He stopped, thinking she’d done that accidentally, but when she didn’t move out of his way, Deke glanced down at her. She licked her lips and Deke’s breath froze in his lungs. The woman was going to kill him if she didn’t stop doing things like this.

“What?” he whispered harshly, desperately seeking any act of self-preservation.

She licked her lips again. “Look, I don’t know how to say this, but…but Audra’s very special.”

“I know. And if you’re worried that I’m somehow going to hurt her, don’t. I’ll keep the relationship centered around softball.”

She stopped him just by catching his gaze. “I know. I trust you.” She combed her fingers through her thick silky hair. “That’s what bothers me. I seem to be able to trust you very easily. Very naturally. What I’m trying to say is thanks.”

Again Deke was hit with a strange surge of emotion that completely defied description. It was warm. It was fuzzy. But it was deeper and more intense than a mere surface sentiment. He recognized the pride that filled him knowing he’d done something that obviously pleased Laurel, but that pride was edged aside by stronger, more potent, more important things. From what she’d said about trusting him easily and the way she seemed uncomfortable with it, he knew that she felt this instant attraction, too, and wasn’t sure how to handle it either. He wasn’t imagining this. He wasn’t crazy.

“So, thanks,” she finished, bringing him out of his reverie.

The soft feminine tone of her voice warmed him all over, even as it filled him with need. He swallowed.

“You’re welcome.”

Another minute ticked by with Deke unable to do anything but stare at her, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do with all these brand-new feelings. Laurel was different from the women he knew. Very different. At home, she was also very different from the tough drill sergeant who ran the Shipping and Receiving Department for Graham Metals. He liked her. She liked him. But he didn’t have a clue what he should do right now.

Pittsburgh’s most eligible bachelor three years in a row absolutely, positively, definitely thought he should kiss her. But the guy who was supposed to become chairman of the board when his stepfather retired thought he should run like hell in the other direction. He had a big job ahead of him and Laurel Hillman was the kind of woman who could steal a man’s soul. She was already distracting him from his purpose for being at her factory. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that getting involved with her would ultimately distract him from his destiny. She would change his life. And he didn’t want to change his life. He liked it the way it was.

But there was no denying that he wanted to kiss her. No denying that he was curious about the feel of her lips against his and the taste of her mouth.

Still, looking into her big green eyes, Deke also knew he couldn’t ignore the fact that a kiss would change things. And he couldn’t afford that. He was excited about the challenge of proving to his family that he was completely, happily, shrewdly capable of running the family empire. But to do that he needed to be focused. He couldn’t be distracted by a pretty woman or a romance.

He backed away. Laurel stepped to the side and he headed for Audra’s room.

“Good night,” he said to Laurel, grabbing the door handle to open Audra’s bedroom door. “Good night, Audra,” he called, then closed the door and all but ran away from them.

“Good night,” Laurel whispered, watching him go, touching her lips, confirming for Deke he had done the right thing. If he had kissed her, this situation would have probably spiraled out of control.

In her bedroom, Laurel bundled herself in her covers and tossed and turned for two hours.

She normally didn’t do things like this. She normally didn’t want to kiss her boarder. But this time she wanted to.

She really wanted to.

And it scared the life out of her.