Boardroom Proposal

by Way, Margaret

  The flow of words ceased as he bent over her, gathered her up into his arms and held her tight against his heart.

  That night their lovemaking went beyond the bounds of sensory rapture entering the realm of the sublime as though each knew only in the other would they become whole. Nothing was held back. Where Drew led, Eve followed, rising to his immense desire, matching him, until the flame burned so bright it devoured them in its radiant heat. This was one dream that had come true.

  Afterwards as they lay limbs entwined, spent with joy, the phone on the bedside table rang. “Don’t answer it,” Eve whispered, then her mind inevitably jumped to Ben in hospital “Better, I suppose.”

  His answer was swift and warm. “Relax, Ben’s okay.”

  He was a mind reader.

  “Forsythe,” Drew answered. There was a silence. Eventually he said. “Tomorrow is out I’m afraid, Susan. It’s a full day but what about Wednesday? Say 1:00 p.m. at Carrington’s?”

  Eve who had been lying languidly on her side, one arm flung across his chest, spontaneously pulled away.

  Don’t do this, she thought, trying to get a rein on her dismay. Don’t spoil this precious time.

  “Evie, what is it?” Drew asked after he replaced the receiver. Though he wrapped one arm around her silken body, she sat up on the side of the bed.

  “Why would she be ringing you this time of night?” Eve was demanding. She was completely naked, her beautiful skin suffused with the honey glow from the lamp. His mind leapt to some love verses from Solomon and his satiated body stirred in renewed desire. “It has to be getting on for eleven o’clock.”

  “She did apologise,” Drew answered mildly. “She’s just come in from a friend’s. Eve, I don’t want you to leave me tonight.”

  “I think I’d better.” Though she was doing her level best to fight it off, Eve felt emotionally chilled.

  “Eve.” Drew’s warm, seductive voice turned hard. “Don’t do this.”

  “All right, let’s talk about Susan.” She turned on him, her expression quite passionate.

  Drew looked at her searchingly. She was outraged. “I’d be pleased to, if only you’ll come back here beside me.” He didn’t wait for her answer, but drew her without warning back into his bed. “Angel,” was what he murmured. “Don’t let Susan disrupt the wonderful memory of tonight.”

  It was exactly her own thoughts. But she had to know. “What does she want with you, Drew?” she asked huskily, lying over on her back and staring up into his face.

  “She’s going through a bad time, Evie.” He took her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers gently.

  “I know that, but I need to understand exactly why. She’s mourning your father, but I feel I have to tell you she’s more taken up with you than you realise.”

  “Oh, God. I guess so. Increased dependency, I suppose. She needs a shoulder to cry on.”

  Eve came to life with sudden passion. “Not yours,” she cried, suddenly pummelling him. “You’ve just taken on a fiancée.”

  “So I have!” He gave an aroused laugh, grasping her by the shoulders and landed an almost savage kiss on her mouth. It stopped Eve’s struggling and kept her silent for quite a few moments after. “Susan is my father’s widow,” Drew finally explained, putting an arm beneath her head. “She needs me at the moment. I can’t just bundle her out of my life.”

  “I understand that, but you can’t realise how obsessed she is with you,” Eve said anxiously.

  “Evie, please give me a chance,” Drew begged. “My father was a businessman before he was anything else. He had a prenuptial agreement drawn up prior to the marriage. Susan signed it.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  Eve sounded so shocked, Drew’s mouth quirked. “It’s true.”

  “That wasn’t terribly kind, let alone romantic. You must let me know if I’m supposed to sign one.”

  Drew laughed. “Dad wasn’t a great romantic, Evie. He was a hard-headed realist. Susan has been very well provided for. But I’m my father’s heir. Family assets remain within the family. That was Dad’s credo.”

  “So Susan wasn’t family?” Eve’s voice was ironical.

  “I agree it’s hard—” Drew stroked her shoulder “—but Dad and Susan made their own arrangement. Each had something the other wanted. The thing that upset me is, something happened before Dad’s death. Something that created a great deal of tension. Susan blames herself.”

  “Perhaps she has reason to.” Eve’s attitude was quieter now. She still retained the memory of Susan’s face when she had surprised them in the library the night of the Capricornia party. Brilliant as he was, it was perfectly possible Drew had unconsciously turned a blind eye to Susan’s deepening feelings. It was his way of respecting his father’s marriage.

  “The house is mine,” he told Eve now.

  “You mean, Susan has to go?” Eve tipped back her head to stare into his eyes.

  “That’s what makes it sad. I feel sorry for her. Dad might have left it to her in her lifetime but he regarded it as the family home.”

  “And Susan wasn’t family, of course.” Eve echoed her earlier comment wryly.

  Drew shook his head. “It’s a fact of life marriages break down. Maybe Dad was haunted by the fact Susan was half his age.”

  Eve settled her head deeper into his shoulder, letting a moment pass. “She did try to have a baby.”

  “I wish she had succeeded,” Drew said. “It would have given her something to live for. All I’ve ever offered Susan is comfort, Evie. You are going to have to accept that once and for all.”

  Eve reached up to press a kiss on his chin. “Forgive me, I’m just the poor old victim of a damaged childhood. I hate all my own doubts, Drew. I hate the things I say to you. But you can’t afford to be too off guard around Susan. She’s pushing for a relationship.”

  “No!” Drew’s denial was taut. “For God’s sake, Evie. That’s truly impossible. Even if you were Susan, I couldn’t marry my father’s widow.” He broke off, his expression stark. “Hell, I wouldn’t like to be faced with that one. Susan is beautiful, intelligent, refined. I’ve always found her sweet and gentle. She’ll remarry. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. Dad left her a rich woman.”

  “And you’re having lunch Wednesday?” She was hideously aware her tone was dry.

  “She doesn’t want to stay in the house though I offered it to her for as long as she liked,” Drew explained. “She wants to move out.”

  “I’m sympathetic to that. Where to?”

  “Now here’s the dilemma.” Drew’s tone combined genuine unease with involuntary black humour.

  “I just knew there’d be one. They don’t seem to go away.” Eve manoeuvred herself out of the bed, reached for Drew’s dark ruby robe and put it on.

  “You look wonderful in that.” Drew let his eyes run up and down her body, wondering why he had never seen her in that deep rich colour. She was all ruby, alabaster and gold, her eyes as jewel-like as the emeralds on the porcelain box.

  “Don’t change the subject, Drew,” she warned him.

  There was a slight look of strain in Drew’s eyes. “I don’t want to. I don’t need Susan on my doorstep, but she’s shown a lot of interest in the penthouse unit beside this, as have a lot of people, I should add. If she’s serious, I can’t stop her buying. It’s well known Ian Fraser is about to put it on the market.”

  “And Ian Fraser is a good friend of yours, isn’t he? You could stitch up a deal over drinks.”

  “Possibly.” Drew sensed he was losing ground. “But even if Susan did buy, I wouldn’t be remaining here long. As soon as Susan vacates the house I’ll move in. I’d like to live there, unless you have something else in mind.”

  “Nope,” Eve said sharply. “Meanwhile you can buddy up with Susan?”

  “You’re jealous. I love it!” Drew raised mocking brows.

  “No, no, jealousy has nothing to do with it. It’s simply not an arrangeme
nt that suits me.” Susan at the door, run out of sugar. A few friends are coming for dinner, you must join us. Stay on for a nightcap. It was exactly what Drew needed to avoid.

  “There should be a whole lot more fiancées just like you,” he laughed. “Seems like you’re trying to protect your man.”

  “I sure am.” An answering flash of humour crossed Eve’s face. “I’m having enough problems letting our engagement sink in. I never set out to marry the boss. I was totally in awe of you at the beginning.”

  “Easy, Eve. Don’t lie. You let me know I was far from perfect the very first day.”

  The very first day he made her knees weak. “When do you want to get married?” she asked, giving him the sweetest of smiles.

  “That’s better,” he murmured. “Much better. As soon as possible. I want us to be together morning, noon and night. Live in a haven of love. The full mourning period for Dad isn’t quite up. How does late September sound to you? A spring bride.”

  A spring bride! The very thought filled her with elation, excitement and at another level, extreme agitation, and it couldn’t be denied. She was, or she had been, an organised working girl. A career woman performing very well at a high executive level. How would she go as a wife? She had quite a few hang-ups to handle. Everyone had such wonderful dreams to start with. Her own mother had had such hopes, but there were dangers pressing in from all sides. Why, when she was so confident in her work, did she have such a terror of failure?

  “I figure out I could do with an answer.” Drew smiled.

  “Don’t you think we need more time?”

  “Just look at me,” Drew said, lounging so gracefully, so arousingly, in the bed. The white sheet was pulled taut across his lean hips, the light gilding his bronzed shoulders and chest. “Does it make any sense our being apart?”

  Eve stabbed a hand through her long hair. “Couples live together. That kind of thing.”

  “Sorry, Evie.” He slanted her a short burning look. “It’s not on. I want you for my wife. After we’re married we can live together.”

  She stared back at him, saw the devilment that was always in his dark eyes.

  “I didn’t say you have to give up your career, though I’d hope you’d want children, as well.”

  “Of course.” Eve whirled to face him directly. “I’ll adore any children we have.” She walked back to the bed and sat down on the side of it. “Being realistic, I couldn’t walk off and leave a small child. That would make us all unhappy. But at some stage I think I could manage both a family and a career. I’m supposed to be an achiever, after all.”

  “Evie, darling, you are.” Drew touched her shoulders tenderly, then drew his robe slowly down her slender arms. “I don’t doubt between the two of us we’ll manage.”

  “Oh, God, Drew,” she said as he began to caress her. Her body was like hot wax under his hands. She could feel herself melting.

  “I told you I’m not letting you go home.”

  “You’d rather we walk out together in broad daylight.”

  “Have you forgotten? You’re my fiancée.”

  Any other protest was drowned by the sheer power of desire.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DREW’S and Eve’s engagement was not received with universal delight. Susan and Carol were shocked. And they weren’t alone. Any number of women had their noses out of joint. Who was Eve Copeland, anyway? An employee? Someone who worked on financial strategies? There were plenty of well-bred, eligible young women who had known Drew from childhood. Any one of them could have made Drew Forsythe a suitable wife. Drew was enormously rich. Enormously handsome. Enormously popular. It was unbelievable he would consider marrying a young woman of no established background. No name. No position in society. A young woman, moreover, he had known for less than a year.

  It was Carol once again who tried to make the most trouble, getting the gossip going, peppering it with half truths, half lies. In her unprecedented jealousy she even moved closer to Susan, who herself was filled with a terrible black dismay, but blessed with the sense to hide it.

  Sitting over lunch close after the formal announcement had been made, Carol tried to prod Susan into some satisfactory reaction. It wasn’t enough to see her hands shaking badly.

  “Of course she was after him from day one.” Carol’s voice was cold. “That’s why these girls get their fancy business degrees, so they can go after their bosses.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t like that, Carol,” Susan said. “I understand Eve had an excellent job with Pearce Musgrave.”

  “And who, pray, is Pierce Musgrave?” Carol asked haughtily, then pushed the salt away. “Oh, Pearce Musgrave the merchant bank! I’m not sure I see that as a wonderful recommendation. She has no parents. Did you know that?”

  Susan shook her dark head, wondering why she had come. “She has a father, but apparently she doesn’t see him. Her parents divorced when Eve and her brother were quite young. Her mother unfortunately was killed in a road accident.”

  “So it’s just like I said. She has nobody.”

  “She has Drew,” Susan cut in very brusquely, then made quite an effort to modify her tone. “Hasn’t she?”

  “Sure.” Carol sighed in exasperation. “You can’t fool me, Susan. You’re as upset as I am.”

  “I can’t think the marriage will happen, that’s why.”

  “A million bucks it does,” Carol said emphatically. “Unless we do something about it.”

  Ben, too, though prepared, was nevertheless stunned at the speed of events. Since childhood he and Evie had been so very close, now another man had entered Evie’s life. Much as he liked and admired Drew, Drew was such a dynamic character, Ben thought, he could put a gap between himself and his sister. Much as he tried to hide it, Ben felt sad. Emotional attachments are the very devil, he thought. In many ways Eve had been more of a mother to him than the woman who had borne them both.

  “We want you to come and live with us while you’re doing all your studying,” Eve told him one night as they were watching TV.

  “Wh-a-a-t!” Ben who was comfortably lounging, sat up straight. “Hell, Evie, that’s an awful idea.”

  “Awful?” Eve looked back at her brother in amazement. “I think it’s great. Drew wants to talk to you about it.”

  Ben found the remote control and turned off the television. “Your husband-to-be, who incidentally is mad about you, has no objections to taking in your brother?” He gave a short laugh. “You’re kidding.”

  “Heck, Ben, this is a surprise. I thought you’d be pleased.”

  “I can fend for myself, Evie.” Unfortunately it wasn’t strictly true. Drew had already helped. In lots of ways.

  “Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Especially with newly married couples.”

  Eve showed him a deeply disappointed face. “Gosh, Ben, we won’t be in one another’s pockets. You’ll see the house on Saturday night. It’s huge. My first tiff with Drew and I wouldn’t have to lay eyes on him for a week. Anyway, we thought you would want your own privacy. There’s a self-contained flat that was often used by guests. It has its own entry. It even has its own garage. I’ve seen over it. I’m sure you’d love it. You’d be very comfortable and private when you wanted to be. You can invite your own friends.”

  Ben held his head briefly. “You’re telling me Drew genuinely wants this?”

  “Ben, dear,” Eve said gently, “I can swear to it. Whether you like it or not, you’ve got a big brother.”

  “And you didn’t try to fix it?” Ben looked at her with searching hazel eyes.

  “Lord, no.” Eve held his gaze. “Naturally I want you close to me and I want you to be happy. You’ll be moving off soon enough, Benjamin Copeland, M.D.”

  “I’m not sure, Evie.” Ben turned the television back on, all of a sudden looking a lot brighter. “Let me think it over.”

  “It will be hard to disappoint Drew,” was all Eve said.

  The following Saturday night was the e
ngagement party or the “shindig” as Ben kept referring to it. It was to be held at the Forsythe family home, with Drew already in residence. One hundred guests had been invited. Eve’s own list had amounted to no more than fifteen. Mostly friends and partners from her university days. Lisa, of course. And Ben. All the rest were Drew’s extended family and friends.

  Eve spent two hours getting ready, her excitement a little clouded by nerves. So many people would be looking at her, assessing her, making their judgments. They’d never heard of her, of course. Could this marriage work? Susan would be there. They could hardly have left out Sir David’s widow. Susan, who had left rather a large hole in her bank account buying the penthouse apartment to capture a highly elusive prey.

  Now Drew was in residence in his old family home and he and Eve were engaged. Though some people didn’t look on marriage as binding, let alone an engagement, Eve thought wryly. Drew was a man for whom any woman would risk getting burned. At last she was dressed, staring at herself very critically in the mirrored doors of her wardrobe. She had made up her face a little more than usual. Eyes, mouth, the extra shimmer of special foundation. Her blond hair had been dressed high and away from her face by Raymond, a long gleaming bell that fell smoothly over her shoulders. If all eyes were going to be fixed on her, they wouldn’t be able to fault her appearance. Her dress was lovely, shimmering, strapless, bead-encrusted pale green chiffon.

  “Yes, yes, yes, a Grace Kelly kind of dress!” Lisa had exclaimed as soon as the boutique owner returned with it over her arm. They had almost settled on a beautiful spring floral but when Eve tried the gown on there was no question about which one to buy.

  When she went into the living room, Ben, wonderfully attractive in the first formal clothes of his life, a beautifully cut dinner suit and black tie, gave a long almost soundless whistle.