The Baby Contract
Page 19
“To be acknowledged. I want what I’ve always wanted, Troy.”
His hand dropped to his side. “A hundred guys could have done what you did.”
It took her a minute to believe he’d said it.
“You’re better than that, Mila. You’re more than those hundred guys put together.”
She stared hard at his implacable expression. “Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t you dare tell me I’m too good for you to hire.”
“You are too good for me to hire. I want you in my life, not as some employee, as a woman, as the woman—”
“No,” Mila cried out.
He couldn’t do this. He wouldn’t do this.
“Hear me out,” he said.
Dread trickled through her. “What about last night?”
“Last night had nothing to do with any job.”
“But—”
His expression turned sour. “You said you’d never sleep your way into a job.”
She wasn’t talking about the sex. She was talking about rescuing Drake and Kassidy. “I showed you what I can do. I proved to you I was just as good as any man.”
“Did I ever, even once say I wanted you to prove something? Did I ever offer to hire you? Did I ever give you any false hope?”
“I thought...” She’d thought he’d come around. She’d thought after yesterday he’d be forced to see she could do it.
Drake kicked and vocalized in the background, tossing cereal rounds to the floor.
“I want you in my life, Mila,” said Troy.
“But not in your company.”
“I want you forever, not just until the first bullet—” He abruptly stopped, balling his hands into fists.
“You have no faith in me.”
“I’m a realist. I can’t pretend I’m not.”
She set down her cup and backed for the door. “And I can’t pretend I’m a failure.”
“I never said—”
“I’m not a failure, Troy.” A sharp pain gripped her chest, tightening in the hollow space around her heart.
She’d deluded herself. She thought because she loved him, he loved her back. And if he loved her, he had to respect her.
She was wrong. He’d never respect her. Nothing had changed. He would never change.
It was over. She might be a Stern, but she’d failed anyway. She’d absolutely failed.
* * *
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Troy demanded, glaring at Vegas’s back where he sat in the control room.
“Tell you what?” Vegas asked without turning.
“That she was here. That she came back.”
Troy’s world had functionally ended two weeks ago when Mila walked out. He went through his days by rote, missing her every single second.
“She’s been back a bunch of times,” said Vegas.
“What?” Troy stared at the monitor that was trained on the obstacle course where Mila was dragging herself through the mud.
Vegas turned in his swivel chair. “To practice. She never gave up on herself. She’s hell-bent on finishing it.”
Resentment rose in Troy, anger at Vegas for keeping him in the dark. “Who else knows?”
“Everyone.”
Troy saw red. He didn’t dare speak. He wanted to fire the entire company.
“They’ve helped her,” said Vegas. “Charlie, Edison, me. We’ve all shared our best techniques.”
“Nobody goes near her,” Troy shouted. “Nobody.”
“Boss?” Charlie asked from behind him.
“Better get out of here,” warned Vegas.
“Why?” asked Charlie.
Then Troy faced him, and Charlie’s eyes went wide.
“What were you doing with Mila?” Troy demanded.
Charlie held his palms up in surrender, backing into the hall. “Nothing. Nothing, boss. I just gave her a few pointers on the obstacle course.”
“They like her,” said Vegas.
“I like her, too,” Troy shouted. “That’s why I want to keep her alive.”
“She’s not going to die,” Vegas stated with impatience.
“Not on my watch,” said Troy.
“She’s no more likely to die than you,” said Charlie.
Troy all but growled at him.
But Charlie took a bold step forward. “You’re wrong in this.”
“That’s not your call.”
Had Charlie lost his mind?
“Can Vegas take you?” Charlie asked. “Hand to hand, can he not take you every single time?”
Troy wasn’t walking into that trap. It wasn’t the same thing.
“Does that make you useless?” asked Charlie.
“Watch your—”
“Take me?” Charlie spoke right over Troy. “I’m not that big. But I can shoot a gnat from five hundred yards. And Edison? Even I can take Edison. But give him some common cleaning products and a remote car starter and he’ll level a city block.”
“It’s not the same thing,” Troy ground out.
“It’s exactly the same thing,” said Charlie. He pointed to the video monitor. “We like her. We need her. Diversity makes us stronger, and we want her on the team. We voted.”
“You voted?” Troy couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“It was unanimous.”
“Since when does voting have anything to do with decisions at Pinion?”
“I certainly have a vote,” Vegas said quietly.
Troy and Charlie turned to look at him.
“But you’re wrong if you think it’s the same thing,” Vegas said to Charlie.
Troy was supremely thankful for Vegas’s sanity.
“It’s different with Mila,” Vegas continued. “It’s different because Troy’s not in love with you, or with me, or with Edison.”
“I’m not—” Troy stopped himself. Did he really want to deny it out loud?
“Here’s the thing,” Vegas said to Troy. “You can love all of her, or you can love none of her. You don’t get to pick and choose.”
Troy didn’t accept that he was trying to pick and choose. He was only trying to keep her safe. Any man would do that for the woman he loved.
Vegas canted his head to the monitor. “Look at the clock. She’s going to do it this time. She’s going to make it through the obstacle course.”
“There’s no way.” But Troy took in her position on the course and the time left.
Charlie whistled under his breath.
Excitement took over Troy’s stomach.
“You blow it with that woman,” said Vegas, “I really am going to knock you senseless.”
“Better me getting hurt than her.” Troy was distracted by the monitor.
Vegas came to his feet.
Troy glared at him, half expecting to get into a fight.
But Vegas took a step toward the door. “Somebody’s got to be down there to meet her.”
“That’ll be me.” Troy wasn’t letting anyone else near her.
“Then you’d better offer her a job,” said Vegas.
Everything inside Troy rebelled.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Then again, how could he not?
“Your choice,” said Vegas. “But if you don’t, I will. There’s no way Pinion is passing on a candidate with her scores.”
“I’ll go,” Troy repeated.
“And?” Vegas prompted.
“And I’ll hire her,” Troy ground out.
He turned on his heel, brushing past Charlie to stomp into the hall.
How could she do it? She was about to defy the odds, to defy logic, maybe even defy the laws of physics. She was one in a million, one in a billion.
She wanted what she wanted, and he was powerless to say no. He was madly, passionately, hopelessly in love with her.
Then his footsteps grew lighter as he trotted down the stairs.
He was offering her a job. And then he was offering her a ring. And then he was begging her to spend the rest of her life with him and with Drake.
He burst through the back exit, sprinting toward the finish line of the obstacle course. She was a quarter mile away, running her heart out as the seconds ticked down on the clock.
She was going to make it.
She had to make it.
Suddenly, her ankle gave way beneath her. She fell to the dirt, and his heart lodged in his throat. He had to forcibly stop himself from rushing to her aid.
She pulled herself to her feet. She staggered a few steps, losing precious time.
“Come on, Mila,” he said under his breath.
She broke to a jog, then to a run, steadier with each step.
There was less than a minute left on the clock. He wanted desperately to give her more time.
Then she saw him.
Her steps slowed.
“No,” he called out.
She stopped.
“No!” he shouted at her. “Go. Run. You can do it!”
He heard voices behind him and realized half the building had emptied to cheer her on.
A smile came over her face, and she started again, running faster. He backed off, over the line to wait for her to get there.
She closed in on it while the crowd counted down the seconds.
She made it across with six seconds left, and Troy punched a fist in the air. He grabbed her, hugging her tight around the waist, hoisting her muddy body into the air.
“You’re hired,” he told her. “You are so, so hired.”
Then he kissed her while the crowd rushed around, patting her on the shoulders, congratulating her.
He slowly lowered her to the ground.
She was grinning from ear to ear.
“Charlie,” he said, never taking his gaze off Mila. “Better get someone to build a new locker room.”
“Yes, boss,” said Charlie.
“Everybody else?”
“Yes?” they answered in unison.
“Get out of here.”
There were good-natured chuckles as they all backed off.
“Mila,” he whispered, brushing her muddy hair from her sweaty forehead.
“Yes, boss?” she answered.
“You’ll take the job.”
“Yes.”
“And will you marry me?”
Her clear green eyes went wide in her muddy face.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much.”
She hesitated for a moment.
He stilled, waiting with apprehension.
“Can I do both?” she asked in a hesitant voice.
It was his turn to grin. “I’m sure hoping you will.”
“I’m hired?” she confirmed.
He laughed. “You’re also engaged.”
“I don’t know which will make my family happier.” She came up on her toes to kiss him.
He couldn’t seem to stop himself from pressing his luck. “Which makes you happier?”
She brushed her hand across his cheek. “That I get to love you, and be with you, and share your entire life.”
“Good answer, my love. We are going to make one heck of a team.”
* * * * *
If you liked this tale of instant family, pick up these other baby stories from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Barbara Dunlop
BILLIONAIRE BABY DILEMMA
THE MISSING HEIR
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
And don’t miss the next BILLIONAIRES AND BABIES story
STRANDED WITH THE BOSS
from Elizabeth Lane
Available October 2015!
If you’re on Twitter, tell us what you think of Harlequin Desire! #harlequindesire.
Keep reading for an excerpt from PURSUED by Tracy Wolff.
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Desire story.
You want to leave behind the everyday! Harlequin Desire stories feature sexy, romantic heroes who have it all: wealth, status, incredible good looks...everything but the right woman. Add some secrets, maybe a scandal, and start turning pages!
Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Desire every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
http://www.harlequin.com/harlequinexperience
SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
When the tycoon discovers that his enemy is pregnant with his child, nothing will stop him from pursuing his heir...and the woman he risks losing his heart to...
Read on for a sneak peek at
PURSUED
the second story in New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff’s The Diamond Tycoons duet.
He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
Desi Maddox knew that sounded excessive, melodramatic even, but the longer she stood there staring at him, the more convinced she became.
His emerald gaze met hers over the sea of people stretching between them and her knees trembled. Her heart raced and her palms grew damp with the force of her reaction to a man she’d never seen before and more than likely would never see again.
It was a deflating thought, and exactly what she needed to remind herself of what she was doing here among the best and brightest of San Diego’s high society. Scoping out hot men was definitely not what her boss was paying her for. Unfortunately.
Wanting to free up her hands, she turned to place her glass on the empty tray of yet another passing waiter. As she turned back, though, her eyes once again met dark green ones. And, this time, the man they belonged to was only a couple of feet away.
She didn’t know whether to run or rejoice.
In the end, she just stared—stupefied—up into his too-gorgeous face and tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make her sound like a total moron. Her usually quick mind was a blank, filled with nothing but images of high cheekbones. Shaggy black hair that fell over his forehead. Wickedly gleaming eyes. The sensuous mouth turned up in a wide, charming smile. Broad shoulders. And height. He was so tall she was forced to look up, despite the fact that she stood close to six feet in her four-inch heels.
“You look thirsty,” he said, and—of course—his voice matched the rest of him. All deep and dark and husky and wickedly amused. “I’m Nic, by the way.”
“I’m Desi.” She held out her hand. He took it, but instead of shaking it as she’d expected, he held it as he gently stroked his thumb across the back.
It was so soft, so intimate, so not what she’d been expecting, that for long seconds she didn’t know what to do. A tiny voice inside her was whispering for her to escape from the attraction holding them in thrall. But it was drowned out by the heat, the sizzle, that arced between them like lightning.
“Would you like to dance, Desi?” he asked.
She should say no. But even as the thought occurred to her, even knowing that she might very well get burned before the night was over, she nodded.
Don’t miss PURSUED by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff, available October 2015 wherever Harlequin® Desire books and ebooks are sold.
www.Harlequin.com
Copyright © 2015 by Tracy L. Deebs-Elkenaney
ISBN-13: 9781460386729
Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Dunlop
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com