“I’ll see just how well my program works. If he finds the back door really fast, then I need to make some adjustments. If he’s got to work for it, then I’ve done my job.”
“How long will it take him to find it?”
“Probably two days if he really attacks the problem. Once he finds it, I’ll put in the remaining safeguards to block it. It’s just a test to see how secure the program is. In this case, the program has to be better than anything out there.” She rolled her shoulders, easing the tension in them and her neck. “The Knox Project has been kicking my ass, but I’ve finally made some headway. I should finish it on time and under budget.”
He stroked a hand down the side of her face. “No wonder you look so tired.”
She raised a brow. “You suck at sweet-talking women.”
That sexy grin came out again. “I’ll work on it. But right now I’m worried about you.” His thumb brushed her cheek and she couldn’t help leaning into his touch. “I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful and caring after talking to Margaret.”
“Hearsay, Counselor. Inadmissible for good reason. It’s unreliable at best. Lies at worst.”
“Point taken. So tell me more. The company must be doing well if you can hand out twenty-five-thousand-dollar bonuses.”
She eyed him. “I’m surprised you haven’t dug up all those details.”
“I planned to,” he readily admitted. “And it’s not hard to discover the financials on a publicly held company. But like you, I got busy with lawyer work and ranch stuff and driving myself crazy trying to come up with a way to apologize to you.”
She ran her hand over the beautiful gift. “You did very well.”
“I’m just glad you haven’t kicked me out.”
“I understand work taking over your life. It’s why my companies are doing exceptionally well. The Spencer Software stock has been up every quarter and profits have increased considerably. My success with Spencer Software has allowed me to start another business. It’s extremely successful, too, which is why I work all the time.”
“Why do you do it? You could have sold the company or had someone else run it when Sean died. Instead, you kept it going and started another company.”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t let it go. At the time the company was in the midst of going public. Sean’s death worried the investors, but there were other problems I had to fix, or the company would have imploded. And I made a promise to Margaret.”
“What promise?”
“That no matter what, I’d keep the company going, so that when the boys grew up they’d have something of their father.”
“What if the boys grow up and don’t want any part of the business?”
“That’s fine with me. They can do whatever makes them happy. The money from the business will give them the opportunity to spread their wings and find that thing they love to do.”
“Yeah, but it won’t be a piece of Sean. It’s all you. You run the company, and you do the work that keeps it alive.”
“Try telling Margaret that. She’s so focused on Sean’s death and being angry with me, she hasn’t taken the time to even ask about the company. I suppose she doesn’t really care about the details. I love what I do, but sometimes the amount of hours I work feels like the punishment Margaret wants to inflict on me.” The loneliness of it overwhelmed her sometimes.
Luke brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “Then take a break and spend the evening with me. Let me make everything up to you and show you that I really am a good guy. We’ll drive into town, I’ll take you to a great restaurant, and we’ll get to know each other even better.” Luke glanced into her room. “I hope Margaret can watch the boys. Otherwise, we’ll take them with us.”
She appreciated that he was so willing to include them. “Actually, Margaret took them over to Bridget’s place for dinner and a movie.” Sarah hadn’t been invited, which suited her. “They won’t be back for a while. You just missed them.” She yawned. “I’m not really up to going out tonight.”
Luke’s face fell in disappointment.
She just wanted to be alone with him. “I have another half hour of work to get done and sent back to my office. Let me do that and I’ll meet you at the ranch. You have a really nice firepit by the garden. Get a fire ready, and I’ll bring dinner. We’ll have a cookout and watch the sun go down.”
His eyes lit up with excitement and anticipation. “Sounds good to me.”
He stood, and since their hands were still linked, he brought her up with him. “I’ve missed you so damn much.” He pulled her hand up over his shoulder and leaned down to kiss her. Soft, warm, his mouth touched hers and she was lost in him. Completely intoxicated, she dove in for more, sweeping her tongue along his, tasting him, taking him in.
He held her so close and she felt so safe in his arms. Time, work, all the pressures in her life disappeared and for the first time in a long while she felt like only a woman, wanted and needed by a man who made her feel those things and so much more.
His lips left her mouth and he kissed his way around her face. One on her jaw, he moved up to her temple, kissed her on the forehead, and gave her one last kiss on the lips before he pulled away. Dazed, he held her by her shoulders while she regained her head.
“I’ll see you in about an hour or so. You sure you don’t want me to cook, or take you out?”
“Huh? What?”
“Dinner,” he reminded her, his grin even more vibrant—and smug.
She didn’t mind. He’d earned it. “Wow, you have to stop kissing me like that. I completely lose all coherent thought.”
A laugh rumbled out of him. “Good to know.”
She smacked his shoulder. “I’ll bring everything.”
“Hurry up. If I only get a couple hours, I want every minute of it.” He gave her a light kiss, then cupped her cheek and held her gaze. “I really am worried about you.”
“I’ll be okay. Dinner will reenergize me. You’ll see.” She squeezed his impressive biceps. “Thank you for my gift. I’ll keep all my treasures in it.”
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll see you in a little while. Don’t keep me waiting.”
“I won’t.” She watched him leave down the back steps, excited for their date and the possibility of something more, even if she hadn’t dated anyone in forever.
She sat at the table to finish her work, but the music box held her attention and she ran her hands lovingly over the wood.
Luke had been wrong. Sean had never given her anything as nice as the music box. In the beginning, she thought he just didn’t want to spend what little money they hadn’t sunk into the business on extravagances she didn’t need. Later, when they had more money, all the gifts had been work related. He’d get her a new cell phone or some new upgraded laptop. All the gifts were so she could work more efficiently, or do her job better, but she’d wanted something just for her, as a woman, as his wife.
The only piece of jewelry he’d ever bought her was her gold wedding band. She’d never had a diamond ring.
Birthdays and anniversaries they spent out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, which was nice but impersonal. It wasn’t the same as a gift chosen with love especially for her.
It hurt.
And Sean had done it to get back at her. Because although he’d had the idea for the business and loved wining and dining potential customers, she got the credit and praise for the programs. Clients started asking for her. And Sean didn’t like not being the center of attention or getting the praise he so loved.
Sean knew she wanted a family. He was only too happy to give her what she wanted so she’d be happy—and work more. He expected her to produce at the same level as before she had the boys. He managed everything during her eight weeks’ maternity leave with Jack, but the same burnout he’d had in school came back when he had to take over her projects during that time. He preferred being the salesman. The second she was back to work, he piled it on, despite her objections a
nd pleas that he hire someone to help with the load. But they were barely getting by, with small margins on projects to build a name for the company and keep the investors happy.
When Nick came along, Sean gave her barely two weeks before he was pushing her to complete one very important project after the next. It seemed everything was dire. The work needed to be done better and faster than the competition could do it.
That’s when he stopped pretending her cared about her at all. He stopped treating her like a wife and treated her like an employee. He wouldn’t give an inch on her schedule and expected her to meet every deadline. When she didn’t, or took time with the kids, he’d yell at her, give her the cold shoulder, and argue with her, amping the enormous amount of stress and pressure on her.
He’d given her the family she wanted, hoping it would be enough to keep her happy and working. But Sean barely spent any time with the boys. They hardly ever did anything together.
And the dream of having the family she never had as a child evaporated and she knew her boys would never have that either with Sean.
She knew she needed to get out, but sometimes that’s easier said than done when there are little hearts involved, there’s no money, other people are depending on you for their job and income, and investors want to see a return on their investment.
To make matters worse, Sean didn’t hide why he stopped being nice to her. She’d known almost to the minute the affair started. It wasn’t hard. The woman worked in their office. They didn’t hide it, but flaunted it in front of her. Sean left the office early with her, took her out to dinner and to exotic places for long weekends. She’d seen the bank and credit card statements documenting their affair. And all the extravagant gifts he bought her.
The expensive jewelry hurt her the most.
Trivial, yes. But it broke her heart to realize she’d been used to build the business he’d wanted but couldn’t pull off because he didn’t have the stamina to do the actual work.
It took her far longer than it should have to realize he’d never loved her. He’d simply needed her drive and talent to succeed.
Sean got caught up in his own ego and thinking the company would be the next big Silicon Valley success. But without her, it would have all come crashing down around him. His mistake was in thinking the woman who only wanted to be loved would do anything to get it from him.
She had more pride and self-worth than that, even if Sean had stomped all over them.
She’d worked hard to earn her degree and change her life.
She’d never settle for anything less than real ever again. She wouldn’t settle for a man who wanted everything from her and gave nothing in return.
Sarah ran her hands over the music box, pulled it to her chest, and thought of Luke, a man who said “thank you” and “I’m sorry” with his heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Time was passing too quickly on Sarah’s visit, and though there were still four weeks to go, Luke had no idea what he was going to do when she left. The ranch was his dream and he was finally living it. He didn’t know what he’d do if they couldn’t work out some way to see each other. Hell, he didn’t even know if she wanted to be with him. But the long drive back and forth from Carmel to Silicon Valley wouldn’t be easy for the long haul. He’d tried that in the past and failed. Plus, with the hours she worked and needing to be home with her kids, he feared they’d become some weekend thing.
And for the first time, he wanted more.
Maybe he could convince her to stay at the ranch and work from there. With technology today, she could probably do her work from anywhere. Despite what she said about needing to be at the office, if she’d just admit it, she didn’t have any real trouble working from Margaret’s.
But he was getting ahead of himself. First, he needed to convince her that they should be together. If she walked away before he had a chance to show her how much he wanted her to stay . . . It’d be like tearing himself in two. Part of him would go with her. And he’d be left wondering what might have been forever.
A soft knock sounded behind him. He turned and found Sarah standing at the back door, smiling at him through the window. He’d left a note on the front door for her to come around so that he didn’t miss her while he set up the backyard for their dinner.
He opened the door and smiled back at her. “I’m so glad you came.” He took the cooler from her hand. “Hungry?”
“Starving.”
So was he. For her.
“Let’s head on back to the firepit.”
He followed her down the porch steps and around the path to the back garden. She wore faded jeans, a lightweight baby-blue sweater, and short brown boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail. No makeup again. She looked tired but at the same time fresh and natural. He loved that Sarah didn’t hide behind all that stuff. She was perfectly comfortable in her own skin. And he found that exceedingly sexy.
Family and friends thought he didn’t want to commit to anyone. Not true. He just wanted to find the right woman.
And he was pretty damn sure she was standing in front of him.
Making a commitment to Sarah didn’t scare him half as much as losing her did. That’s why he’d struggled with how to apologize and show her that he really did want to be with her for the right reasons.
* * *
Sarah’s shoulders slumped the second her phone rang. She wanted one work-free evening and time to explore this thing happening between her and Luke.
She turned to him. “I’m so sorry. I have to take this.”
“No problem.”
She appreciated that he meant that, but still wished she didn’t have to interrupt their date. “Hi, Abby.” She sighed, not hiding her disappointment about the interruption.
“Are you okay?”
She hated making Abby concerned. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”
“You tell me what’s up.” Abby knew her too well. Last they left things on their call before Sarah headed to Luke’s, Sarah had expressed how happy she was about making up with Luke.
“I’m trying to have a date with Luke, but someone interrupted us.”
“Oh crap. Sorry. And yay! He’s the first man you’ve been interested in since Sean. This is so great.”
Sarah chuckled under her breath. “I love the enthusiasm, but if I don’t actually get back to the date it will end without it starting.”
“Okay. Sorry. I wish I could get this done some other way, but . . .”
“Abby, what is it?”
She sat in the Adirondack chair by the firepit. Luke hadn’t lit the logs yet, but he’d taken the time to bring the two chairs down from the porch. He’d even cut some flowers from the fading garden and placed them in a vase on a low table set for two with stoneware plates, silverware, and red linen napkins. Very simple and pretty. It had been a long time since she’d shared dinner with a man when she wasn’t conducting a business meeting.
She felt his strong presence behind her. Just like earlier in the day, she could feel him staring at her while she talked to Abby.
“Evan is meeting with clients, so I need your help. Accounting just notified me that Mr. Larson hasn’t paid his final installment. David’s team completed the installation two days ago and we should have received the money that day via wire transfer. Accounting checked with our bank; they don’t have anything pending.”
“Remind me how much the final payment is.”
“You’re not going to like this.”
“How much?”
“A million two.”
“Great. What’s the contract say about penalties?”
“Stan, in legal, said if they don’t pay today, there’s a five percent penalty.”
“Five percent on the final payment or the total?
“The total. Stan let George know what was going on, but Larson wouldn’t take his call. You’d think George, as CFO, could handle this problem, but he can’t get Larson on the line. Larson will only talk to you.”
“Has legal released the licensing agreement?”
“No. They said they never release them until the final payment is verified, same as all the other contracts.”
“I just wanted to make sure they hadn’t already sent it. Okay, tell Stan and George I’ll deal with this. Put me through to Mr. Larson’s office.”
Abby connected the call through to Larson Marketing. Sarah listened to it ringing, glanced at Luke waiting patiently, and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, set the cooler down by the firepit, and took the seat beside her, relaxed and unbothered by the delay.
Larson’s assistant finally picked up. “Larson Marketing.”
“Connie, this is Sarah Anderson.”
“Hello, Sarah. I’m afraid Mr. Larson is in a meeting right now.”
“Get him on the line. Now. He’s given my staff and our CFO the runaround for two days. Tell him time’s up, or I shut him down.”
“Just a minute, please.” Sarah was sure she heard understanding in Connie’s voice.
Sarah only had to wait a few seconds before Tom Larson decided that his meeting wasn’t as important as talking to her.
“Sarah, it’s so nice to hear from you. I thought you were going to be here to do the final installation. You know how I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“Tom, you knew very well I had no intention of being there.”
“Why are you hiding from everyone? I just want to meet you in person. You always send someone else.”
“Because I’m busy working on the next project. Now, you owe me one point two million dollars and you have,” she looked at her cell phone to check the time, “fifty-four minutes to make the transfer. If you don’t, you owe me another three hundred thousand and I won’t release the licensing agreement until I get paid.”
“Sarah, come on. The installation was just completed. Please be reasonable. At least give me thirty days, like any other accounts payable item.”
“I am not any accounts payable item. You knew that when you signed the contract. I’m the one who revamped your entire computer system, which I’m sure is working beautifully.”
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