by Leanne Banks
“From what you’ve said, it’s our job to consider the issues from all angles. If we knew each other better personally, we would better appreciate the views presented.”
A long silence brimming with disbelief filled the Jag. “Mr. Fortune,” she finally began.
“Jason,” he corrected.
She dipped her head, but didn’t say his name. “I’m going to be very frank. It would be stupid for us to become involved. I sense very strongly that I am not your type. And you are not mine.”
He admired her intuition at the same time that it annoyed him. “And what do you assume is my type?” he asked, deliberately keeping his irritation from seeping into his voice. He glimpsed a glint of fire in her eyes instead of intimidation.
“I’m going to guess your type is cool, sophisticated, intelligent, biddable perhaps to the point of being submissive. I’m not cool. My hair won’t allow me to be sophisticated. I may be intelligent, but I just never mastered the ability to be biddable and submissive,” she said with a smile that could either make him howl with arousal or cut him to ribbons.
“And what is your type, Adele?”
She took a slow, deep breath and exhaled. “I’m not sure I have a type, but if I did, I would say I prefer a man who is intelligent, compassionate and confident with a sense of humor and isn’t—” She broke off as if she were searching for the right words. “I prefer a man who doesn’t have any hang-ups about power or control, particularly controlling me.”
“You would say you don’t have any hang-ups about power or control?” he asked, unable to keep the amused disbelief from his voice.
“I don’t—” She met his gaze as he parked the car. “Okay, it’s possible I might have some control issues, but I don’t have a power problem.”
“Neither do I.”
She chuckled. “Of course not, Your Majesty.”
He paused, shaking his head at her. “You’ve got to be the most challenging woman I’ve ever met.”
She shrugged and lifted her hands. “See? Not your type.”
He reached for her hand and put his thumb over her pulse at her wrist, then pressed his mouth to her palm. Her pulse raced and her lips parted. “If you’re not my type, then how do you explain your response to me?”
“I—I can’t.”
“Ah,” he murmured. “An unanswered question.” He smiled wryly. “My weakness. If there is a question I want answered, I will do everything in my power to solve it.”
She bit her lip. “Is this your way of telling me you’re hard-headed?”
“Persistent,” he told her, still stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “Driven.”
“Then I guess you should know I’m no pushover.”
“I won’t need to push you,” he said. “You are a woman with a strong mind and heart. Before all is said and done, you will come to me.”
She seemed to hold her breath for a moment before exhaling. “Has anyone ever told you that your confidence is just a smidge over the top?”
“On the contrary,” he said. “I’ve been told my confidence is justified.”
Throughout breakfast Adele struggled to keep her attention fully on the material she’d brought with her. She tried, without success, to find a place on Jason’s face that didn’t distract her. First, his cheeks, but they were too close to his intelligent and seductive amber eyes. Then she alternately tried staring at his nose and chin, but they were too close to his mouth, and looking at his mouth reminded her of how he’d kissed her last night and the sight of his lips pressed against her wrist. It was all too easy for her mind to take the images further. He would be an incredible lover.
But not for her. Adele glanced down at her plate and saw that sometime during the course of the past hour, she had eaten breakfast. She wondered how it had tasted. Sighing, she closed her folder. “So as you can see, between the issues of teen pregnancy and determining what tribal customs can be permitted while the children are staying at the hospital, we have a lot of ground to cover.”
“You’re very thorough,” he said.
“That’s my job. The more thorough I am, the more smoothly and effectively the hospital will run. Thank you for breakfast.”
“You’ll want to get settled in today. If you need anything, give me a call,” he said, and handed her a card. “You’re invited for dinner at my house tomorrow night.”
“Oh—” Adele automatically started to refuse.
“You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
Adele blinked. “Afraid?” she echoed.
“Of your reaction to me,” he clarified.
“Um, no,” she said, but wasn’t sure that was the truth.
“Good.” He gave a slow smile that grabbed at her stomach and pulled. “I can drop you by the company car lot so you can get mobile.”
As they left the country club restaurant, Adele noticed the surreptitious gazes he drew. She wondered if he noticed or took them as a matter of course. In a way he might as well be royalty in this town. He was a complex man, and if she weren’t careful, she could very easily find herself fascinated by him. His confidence and intelligence were almost overwhelming, but she could have found a way to dismiss him if he hadn’t displayed a sense of humor. Especially about himself. The combination was almost irresistible, but she would resist.
Jason stood in front of the window, watching his six-year-old daughter, Lisa, play in the backyard. Her long dark hair flew behind her as she pumped on the swing. His mother was right. She’d been without a mother too long, but Jason still carried too much guilt from the death of Lisa’s mother to get married again.
“Solving a world crisis or putting together another deal?” his mother asked from the doorway.
Jason turned at the sound of her voice and smiled. “Neither. Just watching Lisa.”
Jasmine Fortune stepped beside him, putting down the shopping bag she carried. “She’s the most beautiful six-year-old in the world.”
Chuckling, Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Some days she’s six. Some days she’s gunning for sixteen. I’ll be fine until she turns thirteen.”
“You’ll be fine, period. You’re a devoted father. It would be nice if you took another wife and gave your deprived mother more grandchildren, but—”
Jason shook his head. “You’re getting me confused with Tyler again. I’m not the one who needs the marriage lecture.”
His mother smiled sweetly and gave his cheek a peck. “Don’t worry. I have enough marriage lectures to go around. I’ve learned from the best.”
“Kate,” Jason said.
“Of course. She believes it’s her duty to make sure all the Fortunes are married.”
“Whether they want to be or not,” he muttered.
“Happily married,” Jasmine said.
“Save it for Tyler, Mom.”
Jasmine sighed. She lifted the bag. “I was at the store and saw a few things Lisa might like.”
“Clothing or toys?”
“Just a couple of each,” she said.
“You spoil her.”
“And you don’t?” she asked archly.
Jason tried not to spoil his daughter, but it was difficult. He always felt as if he were making up for the loss of her mother.
“What were you thinking when I came in? You didn’t even hear me ring the doorbell.”
“Cara,” he reluctantly admitted. “I can’t imagine my life without Lisa, but if I hadn’t pressured her to have Lisa, she wouldn’t be dead now. Her diabetes wouldn’t have gotten out of control, and she would probably still be alive.”
“And you would be divorced,” Jasmine said bluntly. “She didn’t love you the way you needed to be loved, the way you deserved to be loved.”
Jason couldn’t argue that the marriage had been unfulfilling for both of them, but he still would have protected Cara with his life.
“You’ve blamed yourself too long for this,” Jasmine said. “You know Cara didn’t take care of her diabetes during
the pregnancy.”
Jason jammed his hands in his pockets and looked out the window. There was no use discussing it. He couldn’t bring Cara back, and he still felt responsible. He searched for another subject. “What’s with this ethical consultant Kate has brought in?”
“I’ll take the hint. You don’t want to talk about Cara. Kate has only good things to say about Adele O’Neil. For some reason I expected someone more demure, but she’s a firecracker.”
“I agree with that,” he muttered, remembering her sharp tongue and sweet scent. “What else do you know about her?”
“Not much. I understand she’s not easily intimidated,” she said, setting her shopping bag on the couch. “Tyler told me she took you to task over a disparaging remark you made in an elevator.”
He rolled his eyes. “I apologized.” He turned to study his mother. “This wouldn’t be one of Kate’s famous setups, would it?”
Her eyes widened in innocence. Jason couldn’t tell if the expression was feigned or not. “I can’t imagine that it would be.”
“Good,” he told her. “Because she’s not a suitable wife for me or mother for Lisa. She has a temper and can be brutally blunt.”
“Gorgeous hair, though,” Jasmine said absently, then waved her hand. “But you’re probably right. You might not be her type, either. Not every woman wants to marry a Fortune. By experience, I can tell you the men can be quite arrogant.”
“And the Fortune women?” Jason asked, irritated with the similarities between his mother’s words and Adele’s.
“Are perfect,” she said, pointing at Lisa. “See for yourself.”
“You’ve always been too smart for your own good,” he told her.
“I’ve had to be smart to keep up with your father.” She glanced at him sideways. “This Adele, she really has gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”
Three
A good night’s sleep and a set of reliable wheels worked wonders for Adele. The sporty sedan she drove toward the Fortune headquarters responded to her touch like a dream. She wore another black suit today that helped make her feel on top of things, and she was early. All these things helped her feel in control, and Adele had the uneasy impression that Jason Fortune had the ability to cause massive shortages of her control.
Adele refused to focus on that. The sun was shining, and she was going to have a terrific, controlled day. She glanced around her, taking in the different surroundings. Large saguaro cacti, aspen trees and paloverde grew beside the road. In the distance she saw low, rugged mountains. She braked at a stoplight and noticed a car on the side of the road up ahead. An elderly man was pulling something from his trunk that looked like a jack.
Adele frowned. Although appearances could be deceiving, Adele thought the man looked a bit unsteady on his feet. The light turned to green, and she pulled forward slowly. As she drove past the large sedan, she saw the flat tire and caught sight of an elderly woman in the front seat.
“Darn,” she muttered under her breath. This was one of the rare times she wished she carried a cell phone. Most other times she thought they were annoying and intrusive, which was why she refused to carry one.
She pulled in front of the man’s car and got out. “Sorry you got a flat,” she called to the man. “Can I give you a lift somewhere?”
He shook his white-haired head, his gnarled hands trying to turn a tire wrench. “No. Thanks, anyway, but I’ve got to get my wife to Tucson for an appointment with her heart doctor.”
If Adele remembered her geography correctly, then she guessed Tucson was about twenty-five miles away. She couldn’t drive the couple and make her appointment with Jason. She also couldn’t, however, imagine leaving this man to struggle with changing the tire.
“Well, uh, would you let me help you with that?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “That’s very nice of you, young lady, but I can handle it.”
A gentleman with a touch of male ego, she thought. Her heart softened. She understood independence. She also saw that the man was having a tough time. “I’m sure you could handle it. I bet you’ve changed a lot more tires than I have. Your wife looks a little uneasy sitting here on the side of the road. She’d probably like you to hold her hand. Maybe you could give me instructions while you comfort her.”
The man glanced at his wife, then back at Adele. “Are you sure you can do this? You’re a little thing.”
“But scrappy,” she assured him, and extended her hand. “My name is Adele O’Neil.”
The man’s face lit. “Ah, an Irish lass. I’m John O’Malley. I’m much obliged.”
“No problem,” said Adele, kneeling next to the tire. “Let’s hope your lug nuts aren’t stubborn. Any tips?”
John proceeded to give Adele thorough instructions. Although Adele had taken a class on car repair and emergencies, she nodded throughout his suggestions. She was just fastening the lug nuts to the spare when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the blur of another car pulling in front of hers.
She glanced at her watch and winced. Her chance to be early for her meeting with Jason had turned into “maybe on time by the skin of her teeth.” “Almost—”
“Jason Fortune. Can I help?”
Adele heard Jason’s smooth voice and broke a fingernail with the wrench. She rubbed her hair from her face. “Under control,” she said, and wished she felt that way. She didn’t look at him. “Almost done.”
“Thank you, young man, but between the two of us, Adele and I took care of things. She just needed a little instruction from me.”
“Instruction?” Jason echoed as if he couldn’t imagine Adele accepting instruction from anyone.
“Did you say your name was Fortune?” Mr. O’Malley asked. “Is your family building the new children’s hospital?”
“Yes, we are,” Jason said. “Adele, let me finish—”
“I’m almost done,” she said firmly.
Adele forced herself to pay attention to the task at hand and lowered the jack. She caught sight of his shoes and glanced away. She didn’t like how aware she felt of him, as if she’d just eaten a dozen Twinkies and her pulse was racing from a sugar high. She tightened the lug nuts once more, then grabbed the tools and started to rise.
Jason steadied her with his hand under her elbow. She inhaled quickly and caught a whisper scent of musky aftershave. Feeling his gaze, she bit her lip at her body’s response. She deliberately smiled at the elderly man. “I hope you make your appointment on time, Mr. O’Malley.”
He took the tools from her and hobbled to the back of the car. “I’m sure we will, thanks to you.”
Adele bade the man farewell.
“Why didn’t you let me help you?” Jason asked as the O’Malleys drove away.
“Because I didn’t need your help,” she said, reluctantly looking at him. The combination of his strength, intensity and carved features did something to her. She had half hoped he would grow warts overnight so he would be less attractive to her.
“Why didn’t you call the company auto service? They take care of this kind of thing all the time.”
“Number one, Mr. O’Malley isn’t employed by Fortune Construction. Number two, I don’t carry a cell phone.”
He stared at her in surprise. “You don’t carry a cell phone. You’ve got to be kidding.”
Adele brushed off her hands and walked toward her car. “No kidding,” she said. “I think they’re annoying and intrusive except during emergencies, and emergencies rarely occur.”
He shook his head. “The company provides phones for key employees. We can get you wired in no time.”
Adele frowned. “That’s not necessary. I told you—”
“It’s entirely necessary. While you are here in Pueblo, you are a key employee of Fortune Construction. If you should have difficulties with your car or need to contact me, then you will need a cell phone.”
Adele sighed. “Are you this pushy with all your employees?”
“My
employees are not this independent. This represents a safety issue.”
He had a point. She hated to admit it, but he had a point. While she might dispute the key employee comment, Adele had to agree that if she had difficulties with the company car in unfamiliar territory, then she probably needed access to assistance. She made a face. “Okay, you’re right. You win.”
“Do you hate accepting help that much?”
Adele looked square into his lion eyes. “Don’t you? If you had been changing that tire and I offered to help, would you have accepted?”
Jason paused a half beat. “No.”
“Why?”
“Because I would want to finish what I started.”
Adele nodded.
“And I would want to protect you from hurting yourself.”
Adele stopped mid-nod, feeling an odd thud in her stomach as Jason’s eyes searched hers. She was barely aware of the traffic that whizzed past them.
“You’re not accustomed to having someone protect you, are you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not. I do my own protecting.”
“Even the men in your life?”
There hadn’t been that many men, Adele thought, and certainly no one on whom she’d felt she could depend. She shrugged and reached for her car door. “I do my own protecting.”
Jason covered her hand with his, sending a dozen sensations through her. Adele glanced up at him.
“Maybe,” he said in a voice that seemed to resonate inside her, “you need a different kind of man.”
Ten minutes later Adele’s brain recovered from the meltdown effects of Jason Fortune as she followed his Jaguar past the security gatehouse to the glass-and-marble building that housed Fortune Construction.
I don’t need a man. That was what she should have told him when he’d opened her car door and assisted her inside. But her brain had scrambled from his touch, the sound of his voice so close to her and the seductive suggestion that she might need a man—a man like him.
She’d learned she didn’t need a man to survive in this world. The question was whether or not she wanted one. Whether or not she wanted a man with enough confidence for ten men, a man who burned with passion, a man clearly at ease with his sexuality, a man who she sensed could make her burn for him. A man who would protect her.