by Opal Carew
His serious expression softened with his smile.
He slid his arm around her and drew her close. His lips brushed hers, lightly at first, then he deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth as completely as he’d claimed her heart.
“Of course I love you,” he murmured, then kissed her again, his tongue swirling in her mouth, making her knees grow weak.
Their lips parted and his deep blue eyes held her mesmerized.
“Do you really have any doubts?”
She could see it there in his eyes, shining bright. She shook her head.
He smiled. “Good.” Then he slapped her ass lightly. He picked up the soap and handed it to her, then stepped back. “Now you have some washing to do.”
She ran her gaze up and down his deliciously naked body. “But mine is such a bigger job than yours.”
He chuckled, his eyes glittering in amusement. But when she soaped up her hands and stroked down his chest, then wrapped both hands around his cock that glitter changed to something else. The flesh hardened in her hand and soon she knew he would back her against the wall and drive deep inside her.
* * *
Chelsea stepped from the gate into the boarding area, rolling her carry-on behind her. It had been a long flight from New York to San Diego and she was tired. She had to get a cab home and unpack, then catch up on her emails, but she just wanted to fall into bed. She sighed, already missing Zane. The memory of the kiss he’d given her as he’d bid her farewell at the airport still curled her toes. He’d promised he’d come to visit her soon but until then she’d be aching for him.
The security doors slid open as she approached and she walked into the busy terminal.
When she saw Bill waiting for her, she smiled.
“Hi. I didn’t expect you to pick me up.”
“It’s no problem. Did you have a good flight?” he asked as he walked with her to the baggage carousel.
“A little bumpy but other than that it was fine.”
The carousel was already turning, with several bags already being claimed by passengers. After a few moments, she saw her red bag glide down the ramp. She retrieved it then Bill took the handle and they walked through the airport together. When they finally reached his car, he loaded her luggage into his trunk and they both got in.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I thought we might go to dinner.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m beat. I just want to go home and go to sleep.” It was still early evening, but she was still on New York time.
“Okay.” He started the car and pulled out. “So how did your trip go? Did you talk about your company with your guardian?”
This morning at breakfast, Zane had made some interesting revelations. Like the fact that he had implemented many of the ideas she had suggested. In fact, he’d done them better than she’d thought possible. Her biggest concern had been environmental issues—making No Limits a greener company—but the suggestions she’d made hadn’t been practical. Zane had taken her ideas and sought out innovative solutions to accomplish the same goals.
If she had paid more attention to the reports he’d sent her over the past couple of years, she would have known he’d been trying to incorporate her ideas. In fact, he’d told her years ago that he would do what he could, but she’d taken that as a brush off. She’d become disheartened and decided it was better not to care than to fight.
“Zane and I did have some interesting discussions. He’s actually made some big steps toward making No Limits environmentally friendly.”
“That’s great.”
She glanced at Bill as he drove. Neither his face nor his voice convinced her he actually thought it was great.
“Do you have something on your mind?” she asked, concerned he was worried about some problem at work. “You seem preoccupied.”
“No.” He smiled, shooting a quick glance her way. “I’m glad you had a good visit. I’m just a bit surprised. I thought you and Zane didn’t get along, but then you spent the weekend with him and now it feels as if things are good between you.”
His concern surprised her, and disturbed her a little. She wasn’t sure why, but just a feeling. Was it because he sensed that her relationship with Zane had made a fundamental shift? Was it possible that the fact that she was in love with Zane showed all over her face? She wasn’t quite ready for the world to know. She was still getting used to the fact herself. But would Bill judge her?
Or was her niggling worry that he wanted to start a relationship with her actually true? Bill was a great guy, but she just didn’t think of him that way. If he had hoped for a romantic relationship, however, that could make for problems.
“Yes, things are a lot better between us. But don’t worry. I’m not about to abandon Quiet Thunder.”
He frowned. “No, of course not. I never thought you would.”
But for some reason, his words and his demeanor didn’t seem to match.
He pulled in front of her apartment and she got out. He fetched her luggage from the trunk.
“You sure about dinner? Even a coffee?” he asked as he rolled her suitcase to the door.
“No, I’m really beat.”
“Okay. Uh… just so you know… A board meeting has been called and it’s on for tomorrow afternoon.”
“What? Why didn’t I know about this?”
“It happened last week, but I thought you’d be back on Friday.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you on your weekend away.”
“What’s being discussed at the meeting?”
“We can talk about that tomorrow.”
She was about to protest, but he’d already turned to walk back to his car. She wasn’t happy that he’d withheld the information. He may have meant well, knowing she’d stress about it, but she didn’t like being kept in the dark.
When she finally reached her apartment, she dragged her luggage into the bedroom, then shed her clothes and climbed into bed. As tired as she was, though, sleep did not come. Even thoughts of Zane and the wonderful, life-changing weekend they’d spent together, wasn’t enough to distract her from the worry of this sudden meeting.
* * *
Chelsea walked into the office the next day a bit bleary-eyed. She hadn’t slept well and she was concerned.
“Where’s Bill?” she asked when she saw Sandy.
“He’s out at a meeting with a new client all morning.”
Chelsea frowned. “We were supposed to talk about the board meeting this afternoon. What can you tell me about it?”
“Sorry, I don’t know anything about it. I didn’t even hear about it until yesterday and Bill just asked me to set up the boardroom for it. Why? Do you think there’s some problem?”
“No, I’m sure it’s nothing major,” she lied. She didn’t want Sandy worried about her job.
As she walked back to her office, she sucked in a breath. She was overreacting. Ever since they went public and had to have a board oversee the company, she’d felt like there was someone looking over her shoulder, but everything had been fine. Most of the board meetings were actually pretty mundane.
She went through her emails and got caught up on a few outstanding issues, then she went and talked to Dan in research about a problem with the newest battery they were adding to their product line. They already had a lot of interest from a couple of the major cell phone companies.
The morning slipped by, which always happened when she was able to roll up her sleeves and get involved in the design process, something that rarely happened now that the company had grown to over forty people and Bill insisted the two of them needed to lead, not just work in the trenches. But being an engineer was her passion, as it had been with her parents.
Her cell phone rang and she picked it up.
“Hey, it’s Sandy. Where are you? The meeting starts in ten minutes.”
Chelsea glanced at her watch. “Oh, damn. I’ll be right up.”
She’d totally lost track of the time, missing lunch entire
ly. Dan thanked her—they’d gotten past his initial problem and had made headway in resolving a new issue that had arisen.
She hurried to the elevator, catching it just as the door was closing. When the doors whooshed open, she walked to the boardroom, drawing in deep, calming breaths. She could see through the glass that the board members were already seated at the large, glossy mahogany table. She saw Bill walking down the hall toward the room.
“Bill, we never got a chance to talk this morning. Do you want to fill me in on what’s going on?”
His lips compressed. “Maybe we should just get in there.”
But there were unfamiliar faces in the room and that made her nervous.
“Not until you tell me what the meeting is about and who those two men are.”
Bill glanced to the two well-dressed strangers sitting at the board table.
“All right. There’s no easy way to tell you this, but…I received an offer to buy the company.”
“But we don’t want to sell.”
“No. You don’t want to sell. I do. And I have the support of the major investors.”
Her eyes widened. “You talked to them?”
The cool, determined look in his eyes was her answer.
“Look, Chelsea, this is not a bad thing. We’re going to make a shitload of money on this deal.”
Her fists clenched. “I don’t care about the money.”
“Well, I do, and this time you don’t get the final say.”
The final say? In her whole life, when had she ever gotten the final say?
He gripped her arm. “Come on. We’ve got a meeting to attend.”
She tugged her arm free. “And what if I don’t go?”
He shrugged. “That’s your choice, but we’ll have quorum without you. I’ve ensured that our silent partner and a representative from the company that owns the majority of the public shares will be present. We have a majority vote without you.”
Bill turned and walked into the boardroom and sat down at the table. Chelsea followed him and sank down in a chair.
The chairman started the meeting and went through the usual review of the past minutes, et cetera. Chelsea barely heard what they were saying over the pounding of her heart. Then her breath caught when he announced that an offer had been made on the company.
Bill was called up to explain the offer. After this, the chairman would call for a vote and, if Bill truly did have the support of the investors, she was screwed. She, Bill, and the angel investor had twenty percent each, and the other forty percent were publicly traded shares. She knew that almost half of those shares were owned by one company, a fact that had always made her a little nervous, but not as much as now when she knew that Bill, the angel investor and that other company owned enough shares for a majority vote.
Oh, God, she was going to lose the company.
“Are we ready to vote?” the chairman asked when Bill finished speaking.
“Wait.” The tall stranger in the navy suit stood up. “I just received word that the owner of my firm wants to be present for the vote personally. He’s at reception.”
Bill stood up. “I’ll bring him in.” Then he disappeared out the door.
The tension was unbearable as Chelsea sat waiting for her world to crumble beneath her. Finally, she stood up and walked out of the room, determined to do something. She walked down the hall then turned toward the reception area
Then she saw him. Zane standing talking to Bill.
But Bill had never met Zane before. Why would he…?
Then Bill shook Zane’s hand.
“I’m glad you’re on board,” Bill said. “It’s a good offer.”
Her heart sank. Oh, my God. Zane is the other major stockholder.
She pushed aside the shock. With everything that had happened between them on the weekend, he must have bought the shares to protect her. He was here to help. Somehow, he would make it all right. She knew it in her heart.
“You will be voting with me?” Bill asked.
“Of course,” Zane said. “As you say, it’s an excellent offer.”
Chelsea sucked in a breath. Her heart compressed and she felt nauseous. Zane was betraying her.
Zane glanced in her direction.
“Chelsea.”
“You know each other?” Bill asked in surprise.
But Chelsea ignored him. “I can’t believe you would do this.” Anger seared through her. “That you would betray me like this…” Oh, God, her voice was shaking. She couldn’t… she wouldn’t let him see her tears.
She turned and hurried down the side corridor toward the elevator, racing past Sandy, then jabbed at the elevator button.
“Hey, Chelsea, you’re white as a ghost. Everything okay?” Sandy asked.
Chelsea just shook her head, relieved when the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, then pushed the button to close the doors. But her heart sank even more when she realized Zane wasn’t following her.
Oh, God, had last week and this weekend been all about keeping her preoccupied so she didn’t know what Bill was up to? Everything Zane had said he felt for her…she realized now it had all been a lie.
* * *
Chelsea flinched at the pounding on her apartment door. Zane had texted to say he was on his way over, and someone must have let him in the front door.
“Chelsea, let me in,” he said in exasperation, the knocking getting louder.
She’d been refusing to acknowledge him for a good ten minutes, but clearly he wasn’t going to give up. She walked to the door and turned the lock.
When she opened the door, the sight of his handsome, determined face threw her totally off balance.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
He pushed past her. “We’re going to talk about this.”
She closed the door and turned to him. “There’s nothing you can say—”
“That’s not true. Now come and sit down.”
She walked into the living room but refused to sit. Tears welled from her eyes and all the things she’d wanted to say to him over the past hour…all the pain he had caused her… bubbled to the surface.
“I don’t understand how you could…” Her throat tightened, choking off the words.
She drew in a breath, trying to calm herself. “When I was younger, I trusted you. Then our parents died and you turned into my father and never listened to me or cared what I wanted. But then… this weekend… you turned everything around. You convinced me you …” She choked up again. She sucked in a deep, wobbly breath. “You convinced me you were in love with me.”
“I am.”
“Not just you loving me like someone you’re obligated to take care of...” she continued, ignoring him.
“That’s not—“
“But like you were really in love with me.”
“Chelsea—“
She turned her back on him and walked to the window, unable to look at him anymore.
She felt him approach and wanted to stride away. To get as far from him as she could. But her legs wouldn’t move. If she forced them, she knew she’d stumble.
His hand rested on her shoulder.
“Chelsea,” he said softly. “I do love you. With all my heart.”
She spun around, glaring at him with a ferocity that shocked her. “And that’s how you show it? By working with my partner to sell my company out from under me?”
“That’s not what happened.”
“I just talked to Sandy. She told me about the vote.”
“She wasn’t in the meeting. Please, let me explain.”
“No!” She marched away, forcing her legs to move. One step after another. Propelling her away from him.
Just as she reached the door, ready to exit the apartment, he spoke.
“Chelsea, stop.” He used that tone. The one that reached inside her somehow and compelled her to do what he said.
She hesitated, her hand hovering on the door knob.
“I di
dn’t take your company away from you. I worked against your son-of-a-bitch partner.”
A hand squeezed around her heart, accelerating her breathing. Could it be true?
She turned slowly.
His somber blue gaze locked on hers. He was telling the truth. She knew he was.
He’d never lied to her. He always told her the truth, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
But it wasn’t like him to take the losing side of a battle.
“So you came here to vote even though you knew we couldn’t win?”
Her twenty percent and his fifteen wouldn’t beat the combined twenty plus twenty shares of Bill and the angel investor.
“Why do you think we didn’t win?”
Hope fluttered inside her but… she didn’t understand.
“I…” She shook her head. He knew the math as well as her. “Bill said he had the support of the angel investor.” She wanted to grab onto the hope Zane offered and cling to it, but she knew better. “An angel investor wants to prosper from his investment and from the offer Bill received. No sane investor would say no.” Only someone like her, who was passionate about the company… who had pride in having built it from her own ideas and vision… would keep it in the face of an offer like that. “He’d have to be an idiot to turn it down.”
His lips quirked up. “I don’t think of myself as an idiot.”
She shook her head. “What?”
He stepped closer, then took her hand in his. It was so warm, his fingers enveloping her cold ones.
“I said I’m not an idiot. I’m the one who invested in your company when you were starting out. Through a separate corporation so you wouldn’t know.”
Her eyes widened.
“And before you go there, it wasn’t to keep any kind of control over you. I knew how much you wanted this. I wanted to make sure that no one could ever take it away from you.” He squeezed her hand. “Ever.”
“You…” Her throat was so tight the word sounded strangled. She tried again. “You’re the investor? You…voted against Bill?”
He smiled and drew her toward him. “You didn’t really think I’d ever let anyone hurt you like that, did you?”
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Her head rested against the smooth wool of his suit, her tears dampening the fabric.