by Diana Palmer
He glanced toward her plate. “Is that your breakfast? Finish eating. I can pour my own coffee.”
He seemed insistent, so she returned to her seat and a moment later, he joined her, sitting opposite her. “Pretty sweet suite you’ve got here,” he said cheerfully as he tucked into his own breakfast.
He probably figured she’d shared the room with her “fiancé,” and even though she hadn’t, she still felt her face warm. “Yes, it’s very nice. Thank you for coming again. I hope it wasn’t too inconvenient.”
His lips twitched. “Nothing’s too inconvenient when it comes to Robinson Tech.”
Her conscience nipped again and she rose to refill her own coffee cup. “Do you live near here?”
“My folks have a place in Back Bay. Too high rent for me, though,” he added ruefully. “I have an apartment in Watertown.”
With that conversational door opened so conveniently, Ella sat and cradled the china cup between both hands. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He shook his head. “Mom always said she wanted more kids, but she had a lot of trouble carrying me.”
“That’s too bad.”
He nodded around a mouthful of toast that he chased with coffee. “I was born really prematurely,” he said eventually. “Just twenty-six weeks. I spent the first four months of my life in the hospital.”
She hid her dismay. Even before Antonia had left Robinson Computers, Gerald had left the country on a business trip. Ben’s notes about his father’s schedule and whereabouts during those years had been carefully reconstructed. If Randy had been born several months early, there was no possible way that Gerald Robinson could have fathered him. Not when he and Antonia were in different parts of the world when their child would have been conceived. “Well, I’m glad things turned out okay for you,” she said. “My, um, my little brother was also premature,” she confided. “He has cerebral palsy.”
“That’s gotta be tough.”
“It’s a concern, of course, but Rory’s the tough one. He’s overcome a lot. Mostly his CP affects his legs.” She smiled. “He wants to design computers someday.”
“Then you’re marrying into the right family.”
Ella laughed because he expected it. She took a few more sips of coffee, then excused herself and went to find Ben.
He was in the bedroom, sitting at a desk near the windows with another view of the outdoor terrace. The newspaper was unfolded on top of the desk and his cell phone was sitting on top of that. But she had the distinct impression that he’d been staring out the terrace when she’d interrupted.
She kept her eyes diligently away from his unmade bed, but it was difficult. “He’s not your brother.” She kept her voice low, even though she’d pulled the doors closed after her.
“How do you know?”
She relayed the information. “There’s no way he could have been conceived when his mother was still interning for your father. The dates are just too far out of line, knowing he was so premature.”
“Maybe he wasn’t early. Nearly thirty years ago? Babies were regularly claimed as ‘premature’ to explain away a birth that came a little too soon after a wedding.”
“I’ll see if I can find the hospital records. A long hospital stay like he’s described is more than just glossing over a baby made a few weeks before the I do’s. Which there weren’t anyway, not right away. Even though Randy says his mother and Ronald Bell met in Colorado Springs, don’t forget that I couldn’t find any record of their marriage until they moved to Massachusetts years and years later. I don’t know whether or not Ronald Bell is his natural father, but for your purpose, it’s not important anyway. What is important is that Gerald isn’t.”
He scrubbed his hand down his face before he reached out and grabbed his phone. But all he did was tap the edge of it against the newspaper covered desk. “Fine.”
She wasn’t sure if he was dismissing her or not. “What should I tell him now? The poor guy thinks he’s got a crack at working for Robinson Tech.”
“Tell him the job requires relocating. Maybe he’ll lose interest.”
Ella shook her head. “He won’t.” But she left the bedroom, leaving the doors closed again. She rejoined Randy at the dining table and picked up the fancy, silver coffee server. “More?”
“Sure.” He held out his cup and she refilled it before topping off her own. “Do you mind if I ask how many other candidates you’re considering?”
“Three.” It was appalling how quickly she came up with answers, but that was the number of individuals currently on her latest list of baby mama suspects. “I do need to tell you that relocation would be necessary. Is that—”
“—not a problem,” Randy assured.
“Right.” She started to sit when she noticed the French doors opening again, and Ben appeared.
Randy noticed, too, and immediately stood, extending his hand. “Mr. Robinson. Good to see you again.”
Ben gestured at the food. “I hope you helped take care of getting rid of some of this stuff.”
Randy grinned. “My starving student days are still fresh in my mind. I try not to pass up too many meals that are offered to me.”
“You’ve got an impressive resume. And Lester Tomlinson speaks highly of you.”
“He’s BRD’s vice president.” Randy looked surprised.
“I know.” Ben’s gaze traveled over Ella for a moment before returning to Randy. He pulled a card from his lapel pocket and handed it to the younger man. “Give my secretary Bonita a call on Monday. We’ll set you up to come to Austin. Get a close-up look at what we’ve got to offer you.”
Randy eagerly took the card and he smiled brilliantly at Ella. “Thank you!”
Ben looked vaguely amused before he walked Randy toward the door of the suite. “Might want to save the thanks—working for Robinson Tech is more of a calling than a job.”
Randy’s smile didn’t waver a watt. “I’m up to the challenge, I promise.”
Ella sat down at the table, cradling her coffee, and waited until Ben returned once Randy was gone.
He gave her a glance before pouring himself a cup. “What are you looking at me like that for?”
Warmth bloomed inside her chest as she watched him. “You’re a softie,” she said. “You’re going to give him a job.”
“We give lots of people jobs,” he said dryly. He plucked a slice of bacon from the heated dish and ate it with his fingers. “Even more jobs with our latest expansion. I am not a softie.”
He was acting as if he hadn’t done anything at all out of the ordinary, when she knew just how far from ordinary this situation had been. “Actually giving him a job had never been part of your plan.”
“Plans change. Aside from trying to flirt with my HR rep, he’s got skills.”
“You’re not worried he’ll go around telling people you’re engaged to me?”
“I’ll make sure he won’t.” He sounded unconcerned and polished off the bacon slice before wiping his fingers on a napkin. “So Randy’s off the list. Who’s next? Someone in Chicago, you said?”
She scrambled a little to keep up with the sudden shift. “Uh, yes. Chicago. Nancy Belgard.”
“She was with the advertising firm my father once used.”
“Yes. I have the notes in my room if you want to go over them.”
He shook his head, glancing at his watch. “Later.”
She immediately rose and moved the used plates to the sideboa
rd. The food she and Randy had eaten hadn’t made a dent in the generous buffet. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to get ready to leave for the airport.”
“A commendable trait, considering my experience with most females. But we don’t have to race back to Austin all that fast. The sky’s clear and there’s still plenty of the city that you haven’t yet seen. Not to mention Cambridge. And your water taxi ride, of course.”
He hadn’t said a word the night before about more sightseeing. “That’s very generous of you, but—”
“I’m not generous, Ella. I’m selfish. I want what I want when I want it.”
She watched him over her coffee cup as she took a long sip. It was really good coffee.
When she was finished, she set the empty cup next to the used plates. “Saying something doesn’t make it so, Ben,” she said as she headed for the door. “So far, the only selfish thing I’ve seen you do was eat the other half of my truffle yesterday. But if you selfishly want to show me more of this fabulous city, I suppose I can suck it up and go along.” Smiling impudently, she pulled open the door, only to gasp when he followed her and reached above her head to push it shut again.
“I am selfish,” he said flatly, and planted his mouth on hers.
* * * * *
Don’t miss FORTUNE’S SECRET HEIR by
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Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781460390412
Wyoming Rugged
Copyright © 2015 by Diana Palmer
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