The light for her second line began to flash. “I know, Jessica, but—”
She heard a tap on her door, and her assistant poked her head inside. “Sorry to bother you, but a woman on the line said something about you being her niece’s mentor and she sounded upset.”
Erika felt her chest constrict with concern. “Jessica, I gotta go. I’ll call you back when I can.” She switched lines. “Erika Layven.”
“Miss Layven, Tia’s been hit by a truck,” a woman said in a broken voice. “She won’t be able to meet you.”
Erika’s heart stopped. “Omigod, what happened? Where are you?”
“It happened this morning on her way to school. I’m at the emergency room. I don’t know what’s going to happen. No one will tell me anything.”
“Tell me where you are and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Gannon learned Erika wasn’t in the office when he sent his assistant to deliver a feature article proposal to her. “How long will she be out?” he asked, wondering at the reason for her absence.
His assistant shrugged. “I’m not sure, but Rose said she thought she might not be back in until tomorrow.”
He nodded, feeling a prickle of concern. Erika rarely missed work for any reason. After a meeting with a monthly columnist, he gave in to his curiosity and dropped by Erika’s office.
“I’d like to get Erika’s input on a feature proposal. Do you know when she’ll be back in?” he asked Erika’s assistant.
Rose shook her head. “No. When she left for the E.R., she told me to hold her messages and she’d check in at the end of the day if she could.”
Alarm shot through him. “E.R.?”
“I’m a little sketchy on the relationships, but some one named Tia was apparently hit by a truck and was taken to a hospital.”
Gannon recalled that Tia was the young teen Erika had been mentoring. He shook his head. “Do you know her condition?”
Rose shook her head sadly. “No, but how can it be anything but bad?”
Gannon frowned. “Did she mention which hospital?”
“Yes, I have it here somewhere,” she said, rustling through some papers on her desk. “Here it is. St. Joseph’s.”
“Thanks,” he said and tucked the information in his mind.
He went back to his office and sat down in his chair, trying not to think of how frantic Erika must be. He could think of nothing else. Picking up his phone, he dialed her cell. No answer. His gut twisted. Not a good sign.
But not his problem, the pragmatic side of his brain reminded him. He clicked the mouse for his computer to check his schedule. He had a full plate of his own today.
Tia’s aunt Brenda couldn’t handle the sight of the blood from her niece’s injuries, so Erika sat with Tia until she was taken into surgery. She alternately paced the waiting room and gave a hug of reassurance to Tia’s aunt.
“I should have watched out for her better. I was in a hurry to get Jason to day care. I overslept, so we were all running late.”
Erika put her arm around the young woman’s shoulders. “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself. You couldn’t have stopped that truck driver. You heard the officer. The guy was drunk,” Erika said, still furious at the cause of the accident and shaken by Tia’s close call.
“I just hope they can fix her. She’s such a sweet girl. Smart. She deserves so much more.”
“You do more than you know.” Erika tried to reassure the woman at the same time she was worried.
“How is Tia?” a male voice asked from behind her.
Gannon’s voice, she thought. It couldn’t be. She needed to drink some water or eat something. She had to be imagining things.
“Erika,” the voice persisted.
She glanced over her shoulder and was shocked to see Gannon in front of her. “Gannon?”
“Your assistant told me where you were. I thought I should check on you.”
Still unable to believe her eyes, she glanced at her watch. “It’s three o’clock. You left work early? You never leave work early.” She shook her head, incredulous.
“This sounded serious. I thought I should come by.”
Erika was too surprised to know what to think. The concern in his eyes touched her and took her completely off guard.
“Who’s he?” Brenda asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Erika said, refocusing. “Brenda Rogers, Tia’s aunt, this is my, uh—This is Gannon Elliott. I work with him.”
Brenda wrinkled her brow as if his name was familiar. “Elliott. Where have I heard that before?”
Where haven’t you? Erika thought. “The Elliotts are involved in several publishing ventures.”
Gannon extended his hand. “I’m so sorry about your niece.”
“I’ve been a wreck all morning, but Erika here has been a lifesaver.”
“I’m sure she has,” he said. “How is Tia?”
Erika responded. “Her leg is broken. It was a com pound fracture. Other than that, she has a concussion and some cuts that required stitches. It’s amazing that she survived it.”
“It was a truck?”
She nodded. “The driver was drunk. At eight o’clock this morning,” she added, unable to keep her anger from her voice.
“But she’s going to be okay?” he asked.
“It looks good. We’re waiting to hear more from the doctor.”
“I just want her to be okay,” Brenda said, wringing her hands. “And I hope the insurance on my new job will cover most of the hospital bill.” She took a deep breath. “I need a breath of fresh air if you don’t mind. I’ve never liked hospitals. Please let me know if the doctor steps in,” she said to Erika, then turned to Gannon. “Nice meeting you. I appreciate you stopping by.”
Erika watched the woman leave the room. “I feel for her,” she said. “She’s trying to cover for her sister in jail and keep her own head above water.”
Gannon moved closer to her and slid his hands into his black wool coat pockets. “What about the insurance?”
Erika winced. “The coverage may be iffy because Tia’s aunt hasn’t been working at this company long.”
He paused barely a half beat. “Let me know if there are any gaps in coverage. It will be taken care of.”
She stared at him in surprise. “Why? You barely know her.”
“But you know her well and she’s obviously important to you.”
Her stomach dipped and swayed as if she were on a ride at an amusement park. Everything he said and did was indicating that she, Erika, was important to him. “I don’t know what to say except thank you.”
“Brenda Rogers?” a male voice said.
Erika whipped around to the doctor. “She went out side for just a second. I’ll go get her.”
Erika raced downstairs to find Tia’s aunt just as she was walking inside. She escorted the anxious woman to the waiting room, where Gannon was talking with the doctor.
“Tia is in stable condition,” the doctor told Erika and Brenda. “She may need some physical therapy, but after a week or two of rest with moderate daily movement, you’ll be amazed at how quickly she recovers. Youth,” he said and smiled. “She’s groggy from the anesthesia, but I think she’d like a visit.”
“Oh, thank God,” Brenda said and grabbed Erika’s hand. “Will you go with me to see her?”
“Of course.” Erika glanced at Gannon.
“Give me a call later,” he said.
She nodded, still trying to come to grips with why he had come to the emergency room. She never wanted to overestimate her importance to him. That had been her downfall before.
By the time Erika left the hospital it was midnight and she wasn’t feeling anything like Cinderella. Taking a cab, she listened to her voice-mail messages on the way home. Her assistant had left several, and Jessica had called to gently bully Erika about Gerald.
She winced at that message and deleted it. Gannon had left two messages, one from much earlier in the day and one two hour
s ago instructing her to call him when she went home.
She replayed his messages two times and closed her eyes as she listened to his voice. She had always loved his voice, deep with just a hint of roughness around the edges.
She glanced at her watch again and shook her head.
It was after midnight. No way she was going to call Gannon Elliott after midnight.
The following morning she dragged herself out of bed, called the hospital to check on Tia and ingested three cups of coffee. She would have mainlined it if it had been possible. She didn’t fight her hair today, deciding to let it go curly as she applied what seemed like half a pot of concealer beneath her eyes.
For the sake of distraction, she rubbed on blush, lip gloss and mascara and wore a red sweater. She hoped it made her appear more alert when all she wanted was another half day of z’s.
She rode the train to her office, took off her coat and prepared to sink into her chair.
A knock sounded at her door and Gannon walked into her office. Her heart gave a little bump at the sight of him.
“You didn’t call,” he said.
“It was after midnight.”
He nodded. “You could have called anyway.”
“Still awake?” she said in surprise. “I would have loved to have been asleep then. In fact, I think I may have dozed a little on the way to my apartment.”
He cracked a half smile. “That sleepy?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. This afternoon I may pull out my yoga mat, put a Do Not Disturb sign on my door and take a nap.”
“I thought yoga was for meditating.”
“In this case meditating on the inside of my eyelids.”
He chuckled. “How’s Tia?”
“She was a little scared. She tried to put up a brave front for her aunt, and that just ripped out my heart, so I stayed until I talked with the night nurse and Tia conked out.”
“You’re a good person.”
The simple affirmation from him stole all her pithy responses. He was treating her differently and she didn’t know how to react. The way he acted could lead her to believe that something deeper than hot sex in his office was going on between them.
She glanced away to get her bearings. “This may sound strange, but Tia inspires me. She comes from this pretty terrible background with her mother being a re peat drug offender, no father in sight and an aunt who’s struggling to keep everything together. But I can tell Tia wants to do better. She’s been working like crazy on the article for HomeStyle. She’s a fighter and she’s not afraid to go for it. What’s not to admire about that?”
“And maybe you see a little bit of you in her?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it and smiled. “Now, that might be bordering on flattery. I’ve had quite a few more advantages than Tia has.”
“But you’ve got the fight and the heart.”
His gaze was doing strange things to her insides. She looked away again. “Thanks. And thank you also for the offer to cover any insurance problems. That will mean so much to Tia’s aunt.”
“No problem. What are your plans tonight?”
“Work, then hospital again.”
“How long are they keeping her?”
“Another couple of days. I may try to go over to the house and give Brenda a break in the evenings.”
He nodded. “Give me a call, and I mean that,” he added in a stern voice. “I’ll send over my car to take you home.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said. “This isn’t really your—” She shrugged. “Your thing.”
“It’s supposed to snow tonight. Are you going to turn down a ride?”
His gaze was dark with an edge of challenge. What was he trying to do to her? Confuse the hell out of her? Drive her crazy? He was succeeding.
But she absolutely refused to turn down a ride in a toasty car when the weather was horrid and she knew she would be tired.
“Thank you very much,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” he said and left the room, leaving her to wonder.
The next two nights Gannon’s car magically appeared to take her home. Erika told herself not to get used to it, but oh, the leather felt nice and the music soothed her. The second night when Carl, the driver, offered her a glass of wine, she accepted it. She talked with Gannon both nights, too.
Since Tia left the hospital on Thursday, he joined her as Erika visited the teen at home. Erika noticed him talking with Brenda while Erika played Scrabble with Tia. Hearing Brenda exclaim, Erika glanced at the two of them and saw Tia’s aunt give him a hug.
She asked him about it on the drive home. “What was that about?”
“I just told her she didn’t need to worry about the insurance and that I’d arranged for a nurse’s aide to help with Tia for the next two weeks.”
She shook her head. “When did you decide to get the aide?”
“Hey, I can be generous.”
“Yeah, I know. You fund a dozen charities.”
“More like nine,” he said. “But I have ulterior motives in this situation.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What are those?”
“I’m concerned about your work performance. My dad needs you in top condition to help Pulse win my grandfather’s challenge.”
She blinked. “I haven’t been slowing down on my job.”
“What about the yoga-mat nap?”
“That was a joke,” she said hotly.
He grinned. “I know.”
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Will you admit you’re exhausted doing double duty? Full day at the office. Long evening at the hospital.”
She clamped her mouth shut.
“Should have known you wouldn’t admit it. Okay, I want Tia taken care of so you can spend some time with me.”
His bluntness stole the air from her lungs. She felt as if she were on a rocky ledge, grappling for something to hold on to. “I thought we weren’t going to do this again.” She glanced away. “We shouldn’t have—” She broke off. “In your office, we really shouldn’t have—”
His hand covered hers, stopping her rambling. “This is more than sex, Erika. I just want to be with you. Without interruptions. Without ducking and hiding.”
She bit her lip. “How? I can’t believe you want to date me publicly.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t want to put either of us through the scrutiny.” He closed his hand around hers. “Did I ever mention that I have a condo in South Beach?”
“South Beach as in Miami?”
He nodded. “I think we should go down for the weekend.”
Her head was starting to spin. “Which weekend?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“We can use my private jet.”
All she could do was stare at him. This was just too much for her to take in.
He lifted his fingers to her chin. “You said one of your rules was to never turn down a trip to South Florida in the winter.”
Erika felt herself pulled in two opposing directions.
The beach, warm sun and Gannon Elliott’s undivided attention provided an irresistible lure. But she knew this could be one huge, honking mistake, especially if she fell for Gannon again.
The unsigned baby contract was becoming a bigger issue with each passing day. Every time she brought up the subject, he told her that his lawyer would handle it, but since it was such an unusual agreement, it would take time.
Sometimes Erika didn’t know which she feared more: running out of time to be with Gannon or facing the prospect of an impersonal sperm donation from a stranger.
Ten
No lines, no intense security inspections, no skimpy snacks or yucky food and no waiting. As Erika looked out the window of Gannon’s Cessna, she knew this was one aspect of wealth she could grow to love.
“Just curious,” she said to him as he studied a re port. “When was the last time you flew on a commercial airline?”
/>
“When I went to Australia two years ago,” he said. “No, wait. London, last year. It was a quick trip.”
“Those are out of the country. They don’t count,” she said, knowing there were more perks and better customer service on international flights.
He wrinkled his brow thoughtfully for a moment.
“Maybe when I was in college?”
Erika groaned. “You’re so spoiled.”
His gaze darkening, he shook his head slightly and slid his hand around the back of her neck. He drew her toward him. “Not spoiled enough.”
She couldn’t help smiling at his playfully dark tone. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah, being with you and not being with you makes me feel—” He broke off as if he were fighting saying the word.
“Cranky?” she offered.
He growled and the sound ruffled her nerve endings pleasurably. “Hungry all the time.”
The revelation gave her a little thrill and she smiled. “For me?”
“Yeah, you,” he said and lowered his mouth to hers.
Erika sank into the warm, seductive kiss and sighed. She lifted her hands to his shoulders and moved closer. The more miles they left between them and New York, the more she felt herself give in to their temporary escape. She knew all too well that the more she sank under his spell, the more she was going to hurt if and when Gannon lost interest…or changed his mind about her.
The reality poked at her like an annoying price tag left on her clothing. She deliberately brushed the senXsation aside. His mouth, his attention, just being with Gannon felt too good.
She pulled back slightly. “Tell me about your condo. Is it near the beach?”
“Not near the beach. On a private beach. It’s a nice getaway.”
“Do you get away much?”
He shook his head. “I bought three of them a few years ago as an investment. I turned two and kept the pent house. A couple of my cousins have used it. I stayed in it once during a business trip to Miami. My assistant called to make sure it’s stocked with food, wine and beer.”
Erika felt a dart of concern. “Does she know who—”
Dynasties: The Elliotts, Books 1-6 Page 10