Smiling, she shook her head. “Do you have animals?”
“I have a stallion named Thunder.”
Her gaze met his and she realized he’d bought a horse to make up for the one he’d lost.
“What breed?”
“Mixed. Mostly Arabian. He’s a beauty, but he’s spirited and restless and hard to handle sometimes, at least for anyone but me. I have a gardener who keeps the grass mowed and the weeds in check. He takes care of Thunder when I have to go out of town, but he keeps his distance from him. I suppose that’s best, for his own good.”
Leigh chopped carrots on a cutting board. “Do you go out of town often?”
“About once a month. Dylan and I take turns with that.”
She cut up onion and fennel and saw the water was almost boiling. She told herself to wait until they were both relaxed and eating to explain what had happened so many years ago, but suddenly she felt as if it were now or never.
“Adam, I’ve wanted to tell you—”
The lock clicked and the door to the apartment suddenly opened. Her mother came in, saying, “I finished at work sooner than I planned. Did you see that fancy car parked in the parking lot? I can’t imagine what it’s doing here.”
When Claire saw Adam standing in the shadows in the corner of the kitchen, she took a step back. “I know you, don’t I? Aren’t you…?”
Stepping forward, Adam stood before her mother. “Adam Bartlett. It’s been a long time, Ms. Peters.”
Claire’s gaze took a quick appraisal of his silk tie, his quality trousers, the shirt that still had some starch. “Where did you and Leigh meet up again?” She removed her coat and hung it next to her daughter’s on another peg.
Leigh noticed her mother had worn a black pantsuit today and tucked a multicolored scarf into the neck. At forty-three her blond hair had a few strands of gray but it looked like frosting. She’d had her hair permed recently, and it waved around her face attractively. She was only forty-three because she’d become a single mom at seventeen. That’s why she convinced Leigh to break up with Adam. That’s why she’d insisted an involvement that Leigh was too young to handle would ruin her life.
Leigh’s job at the hospital required discretion. She wasn’t about to tell her mother what was going on in Adam’s life. Before she could respond, Adam did it for her. “I ran into Leigh at Portland General.”
Claire looked at her daughter then at Adam then back at Leigh. “Well, why don’t I stay out of your way. I have résumés to type up for clients. I can work on those until supper is ready.”
“Mom, you don’t have to make yourself scarce.”
But Claire was already walking toward the computer. “I have to get the work done, honey.” After she switched it on, it made a noise it had been making the past few days.
Adam went on alert immediately. “That sounds as if your fan needs to be cleaned. Do you always keep the tower in the enclosed space?”
Clair nodded. “Yes. Shouldn’t I?”
Smiling patiently, he strode to the computer hutch and pulled out the tower from the lower cupboard. “It needs to be cleaned, now and then, just like anything else. Do you want me to do it for you?”
“Will the machine stop running if I don’t?”
“The fan keeps the unit cool so if it stops working, you’re in trouble.”
“But you didn’t come here for this. I don’t want to impose.”
There was uncertainty on her mother’s face, and Leigh knew she wondered if Adam knew what he was doing. “Have you heard of the company Novel Programs, Unlimited, Mom?”
Clair nodded.
“Adam is the CEO.”
The expression on her mother’s face was priceless, and Leigh knew Adam was enjoying her mother’s astonishment.
“I won’t break anything,” he said with a grin. “I promise.”
Chapter Three
Adam was examining research-and-development files when Dylan came into his office, coffee mug in hand. Adam knew his CFO had scheduled a meeting with distributors early this morning, and he supposed Dylan had come in to give him a report on how it had gone.
“Do you have a few minutes?” Dylan asked.
Pushing his swivel chair away from the computer, Adam faced the doorway. He couldn’t concentrate on anything this morning after his dinner with Leigh and her mother last night. He might as well consult with his partner. “Sure. Everything go okay?”
“Nothing unexpected.” Dylan sank into the chair across from Adam. “I tried to call you. Last night. You didn’t even have your cell phone on.”
“You didn’t leave a message.”
“No. I figured we could hash it out this morning. Were you out in the barn or something?”
Adam laughed. “If I’m not here working, then I must be in the barn?”
Dylan shrugged. “Yeah, that about sums it up. Are you telling me you weren’t?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Did you have another meeting with your father?”
Something sharp stabbed at Adam’s insides. “You mean Jared Cambry? No, I didn’t have a meeting with him. I haven’t heard from him. I think he only wants one thing from me, Dylan—bone marrow.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“No, I don’t.” But from Cambry’s words and actions, Adam suspected Mark was his sole concern.
“So where were you last night?” Dylan prodded. “Or are you going to be mysterious about it?”
Although Adam had told Dylan about Cambry and the testing at the hospital, he hadn’t said anything about Leigh. He’d never told Dylan anything about her. “It’s a long story.”
“So fill me in. I’ve been here since 6:00 a.m. crunching numbers and I need the break.”
Dylan worked as many hours as Adam did. Maybe if he told Dylan about the situation with Leigh, he could get a better perspective on it. After all, he probably wouldn’t be seeing her again. What were the odds he’d be a compatible donor for Mark?
“There’s a liaison at the hospital working with me and Jared Cambry to make sure the process runs smoothly. Coincidentally, I knew her in high school.”
Dylan’s brows rose. “Knew her?”
Adam wasn’t sure exactly how much he wanted to reveal. On the other hand, Dylan had had a lot more experience with women than he had. “Yeah, knew her. We dated. I was serious, apparently she wasn’t. She broke it off.” His pride meant a lot to him, and that was hard to admit, but he’d always been honest with Dylan.
“Don’t make me pull teeth here,” Dylan pleaded with a grin. “What happened last night?” He raised his coffee mug to his lips.
“I fixed her mother’s hard drive.”
Dylan had been taking a sip of his coffee, and he choked.
At Dylan’s expression, Adam smiled. “I had another session at the hospital and Leigh was there. Afterward she asked me to her place for dinner. She and her mom live together because she’s saving money for med school. Anyway, I hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in a while, so I went. Her mother came home unexpectedly and had dinner with us. The fan on her hard drive was making noise, so I cleaned it.”
“That wasn’t any more exciting than grooming your horse in the barn,” Dylan muttered.
Adam couldn’t help but laugh. “If you want exciting, you’re going to have to look elsewhere.”
Still, whenever he thought about Leigh, Adam felt excited. Whenever their arms had touched, eyes had met, the old attraction had sizzled. Claire had guided most of the conversation at dinner and he’d let her. It had been superficial, polite, entertaining. After dinner, he’d had a second cup of coffee, Leigh had walked him to the door, and that was that.
Except that wasn’t that. He’d gotten the impression Leigh had wanted to talk to him privately, and her mother’s arrival had deprived her of the chance to do that. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe the fire that licked through his blood whenever he was near her shouldn’t be fueled by any more impromptu dates.
&n
bsp; “So what did you call about last night?”
“I’m having a problem I don’t quite know what to do with. It’s Darlene.”
Darlene was their receptionist/secretary. Adam had hired her a few months ago to replace the middle-aged woman who had been with them the past few years. Janet’s husband had decided to take a job in San Diego and after a month’s notice, she’d left. Darlene was quite different from Janet, in her midtwenties, a vivacious brunette who seemed to have endless energy. That’s one of the reasons Adam had hired her.
“What kind of problem?”
“It’s taking forever for her to do my correspondence. When I ask her if it’s finished, she says she’s still proofreading it. That’s what spell checkers are for.”
Suddenly Adam realized that Dylan might have dated a lot of women, but that didn’t necessarily mean he understood them…or could read them. “Darlene likes you,” he said simply.
“That’s why my letters are taking forever?”
“You don’t get it.”
“What don’t I get?”
“She tries to make them perfect. That takes a while.”
Dylan still looked puzzled. “What does she do with your letters?”
“She types them up and sends them out,” Adam answered with a wry smile as he decided to enlighten his partner. “She has a thing for you. Haven’t you ever noticed how nervous she gets whenever you’re around? She drops things, laughs that funny little laugh. She doesn’t do that around me.”
“You are kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not. But it seems to me I’ve caught you looking in her direction more than once. Maybe it’s not all one-sided.”
“I’m dating Natalie.”
“Yes, you are. Her father has a yacht. She’s as beautiful as any Miss America. The difference is—I don’t think she has an original thought in her head.”
“Hold back on what you think of her,” his friend groused.
“I have been. You’ve been seeing her since Thanksgiving. I’ve been wondering why.”
Standing, Dylan set his mug on Adam’s desk and went over to the window, staring at the sky. “She likes to party, so do I.” He turned around to face Adam. “But she’s not a sparkling conversationalist. On the other hand, I like the rush of every man looking at her when she’s on my arm. She canceled our last date, though, and I haven’t called her for a week. Maybe we both know our time together is over.”
When Adam’s intercom buzzed, Dylan returned to staring out the window.
Adam depressed the button and asked, “Yes, Darlene?”
“There’s someone here to see you, Mr. Bartlett. A Leigh Peters. I asked if she had an appointment and she said she didn’t.”
Dylan was facing him now and looking at him with curiosity.
Why was Leigh here? Because last night her mother’s unexpected presence had interrupted whatever conversation they might have had? Because now that he was a CEO rather than a poor kid with only a college scholarship to his name, she might be interested?
There was only one way to find out.
Speaking to his receptionist, he avoided Dylan’s gaze. “I have a few minutes, Darlene. Send her back.”
Expecting Dylan to leave, Adam sat back in his chair and waited, but his partner made no move to exit his office.
A few seconds later Leigh was peeking in his half-closed door. “Adam?”
The kick in his gut when he saw her made him rise to his feet. She looked too damn good. He was used to seeing her in that blue uniform, her hair tied back. Today she wore a pale green coatdress with gold buttons. The green made her eyes even bluer. Her hair, longer than shoulder length, was caught in a gold barrette over her right temple. It waved around her face looking silky and luscious, as luscious as her curves and her long graceful legs.
Stepping around his desk, Adam said easily, “Come on in, Leigh. Meet my partner, Dylan Montgomery. Dylan, Leigh Peters.”
Crossing the room, Dylan extended his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you. Adam told me you went to school together.”
Her gaze shot to his as if she wondered what else he’d told Dylan. Then, with the composure she always seemed to possess, she smiled at his partner and slipped her hand from his. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. Montgomery. I read the article in the financial section a few weeks ago where you were quoted quite heavily.”
“For some reason I still can’t understand, Adam always sends the reporters to me.”
“You’re much more tactful than I am,” Adam explained.
“More tactful maybe, but not more knowledgeable. One of these days you’re going to have to do your own PR. Speaking of PR, don’t forget that cocktail party Saturday night at my condo. I mean it, Adam. You can’t duck this one. I have a few guests coming who can take our fall software line into the international markets quickly.”
Crossing to the door, he said, “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Peters. Adam, let me know if you come up with any ideas about the problem we discussed.”
When Dylan exited the office, he closed the door.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything important,” Leigh apologized. “This is my day off and if you have a few minutes, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Curious now, Adam motioned to the chair in front of his desk as he lodged a hip on the front edge. “Something about Mark Cambry?”
“Oh, no. Nothing that important. When I go to school in June, I’ll be taking the computer with me. I’d like to get Mom a new machine for her word processing, and I thought you could make the best recommendation. I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend, but I want to make sure she has what she needs as well as a good word-processing program.”
As Adam had indicated, Dylan was the tactful one. He himself always wanted to cut to the bottom line. “I could have given you that kind of advice over the phone.”
Leigh looked down at her hands, which were folded around her purse in her lap, and then back up at him. It would have been better if he’d stayed on his side of the desk. He was too close to her here. He could smell the gardenia scent of her perfume. He remembered that was her favorite back in high school. He could also see the little trouble lines on her forehead. Worst of all, he could reach out and touch her if he wanted to.
Without any coy maneuvering, she merely said, “We didn’t have a chance to talk privately last night.”
“You said you wanted to catch up. We did that.”
“Maybe. But we didn’t clear the air, and I’d like to do that, too. I want to tell you why I wrote you that note.”
“And why you wouldn’t answer the phone? Why you hid in your room when I stopped by?” He told himself he just wanted to clear the air, too, not that any of it mattered now.
“You know what I came from, Adam. It had always been just me and Mom, and we never had much. Mom wanted so much more for me, and from the time that I was little, we talked about me becoming a doctor.”
It was easy to recall her situation back then. “You hadn’t been able to afford med school. You couldn’t get a scholarship, and loans available to you wouldn’t have been enough to fund your education.”
“Right. So I was going to go to nursing school first.”
He waited.
After a small breath, she continued. “You know how Mom watched us when we were together. She worried about me constantly when we weren’t in sight. She finally admitted to me that she’d become pregnant her last year in high school and had barely been able to finish. Although she said many times that she never regretted having me, she also told me the pregnancy ruined her life. She had plans for college that never happened. Day care had always been hard to find, and the responsibility of taking care of a baby was monumental, especially since my father left town. He was the same age she was and not ready for the burden of a baby.”
Leigh seemed to hesitate, as if she was choosing her words carefully. “Mom saw the two of us together, the way we looked at each other, the way
we held hands, and she didn’t want what happened to her to happen to me. She wanted me to have all the schooling I needed to get without any encumbrances. She especially wanted me to live my dreams because she’d had to give up hers. Mom has always done so much for me, working two jobs for as long as I can remember. When she advised me to stop seeing you, it seemed the best thing to do.”
While Adam studied her, she didn’t look away or duck her head, and he respected that. “Why didn’t you tell me all this then? Why the note?”
“I knew if I saw you again, I wouldn’t be able to break it off. We were young, Adam, so young. Mom kept pointing that out. You had won first prize in that computer science fair and gotten a scholarship and Mom was worried about you, too. She didn’t want me to hold you back, either.”
Nothing would have held him back. He would have liked to have taken Leigh along with him, but she’d had other plans, other dreams and maybe now, seeing the success he had made of his life, she regretted that.
His intercom beeped again, and he realized he hadn’t told Darlene to hold his calls. When he pressed the button on the intercom, she said, “Jared Cambry on line two.”
This was shaping up to be some morning.
Leigh started to get up from her chair as if to leave to give him privacy, but Adam shook his head, indicating that he wanted her to stay as he took the call. “Mr. Cambry, has something happened with Mark?”
“No, nothing’s happened with Mark. And it’s Jared, Adam.”
First names was progress, Adam supposed. “All right…Jared. If you’re calling to see if the testing is completed, it is.”
“I knew it was. Leigh Peters called me.”
“I see.”
“I wanted to thank you for going through with it.”
“No thanks are necessary,” Adam said in a low voice. He might not be a match.
After a moment of silence, Jared explained, “Mark asked me to call you. He’d like to meet you.”
“We might not match,” Adam said aloud now.
“He knows that. We’ve discussed as much as we can with him every step of the way. He’s having one of his better days today, and you were on his mind this morning.”
Take A Chance On Me (Logan's Legacy) Page 4