At the checkout stand, Sam began to pull cash and coins from the pockets of his old coat.
“Hey, I’m buying this,” Trish said, pulling out her credit card.
“Don’t be silly, honey.”
“But it’s the company card,” she said lightly, hoping he’d believe her little white lie. “We’ll let Duke pay for it.”
Sam let out a rusty laugh. “In that case, okay.”
As they walked out to the parking lot together, Trish asked, “Do you need anything, Sam? Can I help you in any way?”
“Ah, honey, I don’t need a thing. It’s just been great to see you.”
“Are you limping?”
“It’s nothing.” He waved it off as he grumbled, “Doctor says I need a hip replacement. Can you imagine them cutting me open to stick a hunk of metal into my hip socket? That’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, Sam.” She shook her head. “It might make a big difference and get rid of the pain.”
“Maybe,” he muttered, then he jabbed his finger in the air. “Let me tell you something: getting old ain’t for sissies.”
She chuckled. “That’s what Grandma Anna always said.”
“Yeah, I know.” He laughed. “I miss your grandma a lot. She was a pip, that one.”
“I miss her, too.”
“Here’s my truck.” He gave her another big bear hug, then she helped him open the door. “You take care of yourself, honey, and don’t let that Duke fellow get you down.”
“I won’t.” She held his arm steady as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “You take care of yourself, too. Get rid of that cough.”
“I promise.” He grinned. “We’re all so proud of you, Trish.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
She waited until he was tucked inside his truck and had started the engine. Then he waved. She smiled and waved back, watching until his truck disappeared out of the parking lot. As she walked to her car, she thought about Sam and how much she’d missed him. How much she’d missed her Village family. She was so glad she’d run into him. So why did it feel like her heart was breaking?
Adam shoved another thick lease document into his briefcase. “Are we all set with the orchestra? I know the union guy was giving you problems.”
“It wasn’t a real problem,” she said, brushing off his concern. “The union rep just wanted to make sure we’d be giving the band two full breaks during the evening and I told him we would. So, no problem.”
Trish had taken charge of hiring a big band orchestra for the gala. She’d never negotiated a deal like that before, never dealt with union issues or artistic temperaments. It had been exhilarating and scary and she’d pulled it off without a hitch.
Adam tapped his fingers on the edge of his case, thinking. “What do we do for music during the breaks?”
She smiled. “I’ve got a fantastic DJ to fill in. He’ll also do some introductions and announcements. I’ve given him a script.”
“You’re amazing.”
“I know.” Her smile grew as he laughed. “I mean, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, and glanced at his copy of her checklist. “So the music is set. And the hotel’s taking care of the red carpet stuff. We’ve got limousines lined up to take guests from the airstrip to the hotel entrance. Photographers are set. Lighting is good. All the entertainment channels will be there.”
“We’ve even got an actual red carpet.”
“Oh, yeah. Can’t forget that,” he said, chuckling. “I think that’s everything. Are you finished packing?”
“Almost.” She thumbed through the pages of her list. “Oh, I’ve got the company jet flying your mother and her three friends to the resort the morning of the gala, then they’ll be back to take your brothers and their dates up in the afternoon.”
“Thanks for taking care of that.” He pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m glad we’re going up two days early.”
“It’ll take two days to get everything ready.”
“We won’t be working the whole time,” Adam said. He’d already told her he wanted this time to be a mini-vacation just for the two of them. They could do whatever they wanted. If they were in the mood for some energetic physical activity, they could go cross-country skiing or ice-skating. Or they could just settle into the spa, get a couples massage, or while away the hours in the sauna or hot tub. He’d already scheduled a manicure and pedicure for her. He’d insisted that her every wish was his command, as long as she was pampered and fluffed and ready for him every night.
Trish doubted she would spend much time being pampered, but she couldn’t help the tingles she felt when he described what he wanted to do to her.
She only had one more thing to do before they left the next day. She’d been putting it off forever, but the fact was, she needed a fabulous dress for the gala. Knowing there would be snow, she’d borrowed Deb’s down coat and gloves again. But she still had to buy a dress. She planned to go shopping tonight after work, unless she could sneak off before that.
“That’s it,” Adam said as he closed his briefcase. “I’m off to meet with the SyCom people.”
She handed him a thin folder. “Here are your notes for the meeting.”
“What would I do without you?” he asked, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Mmm, is it too late to cancel the SyCom meeting?” Trish smiled. If only. “You’d better go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned and gave her a snappy salute, then grabbed his briefcase and strolled out the office door.
Trish sighed as she stared at the mess on Adam’s desk. She would deal with all that later. Right now, she would take advantage of Adam’s absence and go find a dress.
Two hours later, Trish returned to the office, ready to get back to work. She’d bought the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen. Why that made her feel guilty, she wasn’t willing to say out loud, but at least she’d found it on sale.
After taking care of all the work on her desk, she headed into Adam’s office. Files were piled everywhere on his desk, papers were askew. There was spilled coffee and a half-eaten cinnamon scone still sitting there. How could he possibly work in all that mess and jumble?
She began straightening things, starting with piling the many files onto the file cart. She tried to match the loose papers with the files they went with. Pens and paper clips went back in the drawer, the scone was tossed out and dirty coffee mugs were hustled down the hall to the kitchen dishwasher.
After his desk was cleaned to her satisfaction, she pulled the file cart out to the cabinets by her desk and began returning them to the drawers. It took her nearly an hour, but she had almost reached the bottom of the pile. She picked up the next file wallet and checked the name. It was one she hadn’t heard of. Vista del Lago. Curious, she thumbed through the thin folders and pulled out a piece of correspondence to see what it was all about.
She got through the first short paragraph before she had to fumble for her desk chair to slide down and sit. She examined the attached notice addressed to residents of Vista del Lago, informing the tenants that they had thirty days to vacate before the building was to be demolished.
The internal company letter to Adam was marked “Personal and Confidential” and listed the reasons why the building should be torn down. It was close to the beach, so the property was worth millions. It was an eyesore with paint peeling and wood trim crumbling, so it would take too much work to restore it. The tenants were mostly senior citizens on fixed incomes, so raising the rent had proved problematic. Better to just evict the tenants and level the building.
Trish’s hands shook as she read the details of the coldly impersonal Notice to Vacate, which gave the elderly tenants thirty days to pack up all their worldly belongings and find somewhere else to live.
The letter reported that the Vista del Lago site would be the ideal place to build luxury condominiums that would garner an excellent return on the company’s investment.
She didn’t know how long she sat there staring into space. She was struck dumb, frozen, unsure what to do next. This was it, the perfect sordid information she’d been seeking ever since she first came to work for Adam.
Her mind bounced back and forth between pretending she’d never seen the letter and shouting its discovery to the rooftops.
Part of her insisted that the letter was none of her business. She should just shove the file back into the drawer and forget she ever saw it.
But how could she do that?
It was documentation, clear and stunning evidence that Adam’s company was about to tear down yet another building-this one filled with defenseless, low-income senior citizens-in order to build something more pleasing to the corporate eye, something like high-priced luxury condominiums with a view of the ocean. Much better than the ugly low-rent senior housing that was currently occupying the space.
Trish’s stomach was doing backflips and not in a happy way. The letter and accompanying notice weren’t exactly a smoking gun, but they were just the sort of dirt the local newspapers would devour like hungry hounds. It might not destroy Adam Duke, but if the press framed the story correctly, it would definitely be a blow to his company’s reputation and Adam’s personal pride would probably take a serious hit. If the news coverage was good enough and the public outrage strong enough, it might even prevent the project from going through.
It was the perfect weapon. Trish knew it. But how in the world could she use it against Adam when she was in love with him?
“No.” The word shuddered from deep in her throat as that realization sank in.
Trish rose from the chair and paced around her alcove. Feeling trapped, she went into Adam’s office and walked to the window overlooking the coastline.
“Oh, no. Absolutely not.” She whipped around, stumbling blindly back and forth across Adam’s office. She didn’t know where to go, what to do, where to hide from the stunning realization that she was in love with Adam Duke.
Barely able to take another step, she collapsed onto the couch.
How could she be in love with him?
She let out a moan, then bent over and buried her head in her hands. It couldn’t be. Please, not Adam. Despite his good qualities, despite the fact that he was her lover, he was still the man responsible for forcing her small family and her beloved neighbors out of their homes. He was the man who’d destroyed the beautiful historic building where she and her grandmother had lived and worked their entire lives. He was the man who’d replaced that lovely, venerable Victorian building with an ugly, soulless concrete block-long parking structure.
He was the same man who would do it all over again to the residents of Vista del Lago, if Trish didn’t stop him.
She sat up, glanced around. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation for his actions. Maybe he didn’t know the whole story. But that was ridiculous. The evidence was sitting on his desk. He had to be familiar with the file.
It was staring her in the face. Adam Duke was about to destroy the lives of yet another group of innocent people.
Sadness crept into Trish’s heart as the inevitability of her situation settled over her. She had to do something. She had to take a stand.
No longer sure of her motives or her feelings, Trish scanned the Vista del Lago paperwork, transferred it onto a CD and slipped the disk into her purse.
Ten
They descended the jet stairway onto the tarmac and Adam inhaled the cold, pine-scented mountain air. He could finally relax and spend these next two days with Trish, uninterrupted by the work that had consumed them over the last few weeks. He planned to keep her busy in bed when he wasn’t otherwise pampering her.
She’d been quieter than usual during the plane ride but Adam chalked that up to her usual anxiety over flying.
“I’m so glad to be back,” she said softly, staring out at the mountains they had just flown over. Then she rubbed her arms. “Oh, but it’s so cold.”
“It’s going to snow.” He took hold of her hand and led her to the waiting limousine. “The driver will take us to the hotel, then come back for the bags.”
He bundled her into the limo and held her close. As the driver sped toward the resort, he considered the woman sitting next to him. He was proud of the work she’d done and didn’t mind admitting that she made him look good. She’d been thrown into the role of his personal assistant and she’d exceeded his wildest expectations. She was a hard worker and a good sport.
But more than that, she was sexy as hell and he couldn’t get enough of her. He was amazed to realize that he hadn’t grown tired of her, amazed that he still wanted her every day and night. He knew it couldn’t last, knew that he would send her away eventually. He couldn’t say when it would happen, but he knew it would. For now, though, he refused to question the fact that he wanted to be with her all the time.
He hoped that when the breakup finally happened, Trish would understand and not take it personally. He would be careful to make sure she knew that it wasn’t her, it was him. Adam had vowed, long ago, never to become too involved with anyone. He didn’t believe in forever, certainly didn’t believe in love. He didn’t trust it. After all, people might say they love you and promise to take care of you, but then they’d dump you off at a hospital entryway and never return. He ought to know. People lied.
After all the pain he’d seen growing up, first in the orphanage, then in all those miserable foster homes, he knew it was unavoidable that people grew to hate and hurt one another. He’d seen plenty of damage done and figured that for most relationships, it was just a matter of time.
Sally Duke had been different, he told himself. The exception to the rule.
But romantic love was doomed from the start. He wouldn’t let that happen to him. And he wouldn’t let it happen to Trish, either. He didn’t want to hurt her so he was determined to avoid anything that remotely resembled a serious relationship.
And Trish had “serious relationship” written all over her.
But for now, for the next two days, he was looking forward to spending time with her and making love with her. And what better place to do that than Fantasy Mountain?
After the elevator delivered them to the top floor, he followed her into the presidential suite and watched with amusement as she twirled around, trying to take in everything. The room was spectacular, if he did say so himself. And needless to say, much bigger than the one Trish had slept in last time.
The walls were constructed of blond wood logs polished to a high sheen, except for one entire wall that was covered in river rock and formed a wide fireplace and hearth. A forest-green suede couch and charming bentwood chairs and tables made up a cozy conversation area. The wide, rounded balcony stretched the length of the suite with doors leading out from both the living room and the bedroom. In the bathroom, a soaking tub was planted in front of windows that looked out at the snow-capped peak of Fantasy Mountain.
Trish walked into the master bedroom and saw another small fireplace facing the king-size bed, framed in willow branches. She turned and faced him. “I didn’t think it was possible but this room is even more fantastic than the one from before.”
“That’s because it’s bigger,” Adam said with a grin.
“It’s definitely bigger,” she said with a smile as she wandered back into the living room. “It’s also different because we’re seeing it in the daylight.”
Adam followed her, content to watch her enjoying herself. She peeked through the gauze curtains, then pulled the cord to open them, filling the room with more light. “Oh, the view from here is beautiful.”
She turned to face him just as a shaft of sunlight bounced off her back, creating an aura of shimmering gold and bronze around her. It made him realize that she was the most stunning woman he’d ever seen.
“You’re beautiful,” Adam said, unable to keep the thought to himself.
She beamed at him. “So are you.”
“First time anyon
e’s ever said that to me.” He approached her slowly. “I hope you didn’t make any plans for the morning.”
“Plans?”
“Yeah. Come here.” He yanked her against him and kissed her in a soul-searing meeting of mouths and tangling of tongues. Then, in one swift move he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed, then stood and began to unbutton his shirt.
Trish sat up to pull off her sweater, but Adam reached over to stop her. “I’ll do that.”
“Hurry,” she said in a breathless whisper.
“Oh, yeah.” Her mouth was already swollen and wet from his kiss and so damn tempting that he had to taste her again. He knelt on the bed and swept down to devour her, his tongue plunging in and around hers. He felt himself grow even more rigid and had to force himself to control the need that was consuming him.
He reached for her sweater and pulled it up and over her head. The slinky black bra was a surprise and he grinned as he used his finger to trace the shape of her breast, then dipped beneath the lace to play with her firm nipple.
“Adam, now,” she demanded, then closed her eyes and raised her arms over her head. The movement caused her back to arch and her breasts to rise up. Adam swore under his breath and quickly unclipped her bra to reveal her soft, round breasts and tight nipples.
“Perfect,” he said, and bent to take first one, then the other into his mouth.
He moved quickly to whisk off her pants, then left a trail of wet kisses along her belly. He gazed down at the strip of black lace she wore and swore again.
“You’re so damn hot,” he muttered. With one hand, he tugged at those skimpy lace panties and caused a tiny bit of friction against her soft folds. Hearing her whimper ignited his blood. He reached beneath the lace and touched her center, then dipped one finger into her. “So wet.”
Tearing the lacy material away, he replaced it with his mouth, first kissing, then licking and finally feasting on her.
The Millionaire Meets His Match Page 12