Ram stiffened. ‘Ms Mason? Why didn’t you tell me she called?’
Jenny’s eyes widened. ‘Because she didn’t call. She’s here.’
He stared past her, his chest tightening with shock.
‘Since when?’
‘Since Monday.’ She smiled. ‘But she’s leaving tonight. Oh, and she’s pr—’
He cut her off. ‘And nobody thought to tell me?’ he demanded.
‘I thought you knew. I—Is there a problem?’ Jenny stammered. ‘I thought she was still under contract.’
Blood was pounding in his ears.
Glancing at his secretary’s scared expression, he shook his head and softened his voice. ‘There isn’t, and she is.’
He could hardly believe it. Nola was in the building and yet she hadn’t bothered to come and find him.
As though reading his thoughts, Jenny gave him a small, anxious smile. ‘She probably thinks you’re still in New York. I’m sure she’d like to see you,’ she said breathlessly.
Remembering the email Nola had sent him, he felt his pulse twitch. That seemed unlikely, but it wasn’t her choice.
He smiled blandly. ‘I’m sure she does. Maybe you could get her on the phone, Jenny, and tell her I’d like to see her in my office. When it’s convenient, of course. It’s just that we have some unfinished business.’
But it wasn’t going to stay unfinished for long.
Watching the door close, he leaned back in his chair, his face expressionless.
* * *
Finally she was done!
Resting her forehead against the palms of her hands, Nola stifled a yawn. It might only be four o’clock in the afternoon, but it felt as if she’d worked an all-nighter. If only she could go back to bed. Really, though, what would be the point? The fact she was sleeping badly was nothing to do with jet lag.
It was nerves.
She scowled. Not that she had any real reason to be nervous. Anna had been right—Ram was in New York on business. But that hadn’t stopped the prickling sensation in the back of her neck as she’d walked into the RWI foyer, for even if the man himself wasn’t in the building his presence was everywhere, making it impossible to shake off the feeling that there was still some link between them—an invisible bond that just wouldn’t break.
Lowering her hands, she laid her fingers protectively over her stomach.
Not so invisible now.
For the last few weeks she’d been wearing her usual clothes, but today, for the first time, she’d struggled to get into her jeans. Fortunately she’d packed a pair of stretchy trousers that, although close-fitting, were more forgiving. She glanced down at her bump and smiled. It wasn’t large, but she definitely looked pregnant now, and several people—mostly women—had noticed and congratulated her.
It was lovely, seeing their faces light up and finally being able to share this new phase of her life. But she would still be glad when it was all over and she could walk out through the huge RWI doors for the last time. And not just because of Ram’s ghostly presence in the building. It felt wrong that people she barely knew—people who worked for Ram—knew that she was pregnant when he didn’t.
And somehow, being here in his building, telling herself that he wouldn’t want to know about the baby or be a father, didn’t seem to be working anymore. He was the father. And being here had made that fact unavoidable.
Thankfully her train of thought was interrupted as her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she frowned, her stomach clenching involuntarily.
It was Ram’s secretary, Jenny.
‘Hi, Jenny. Is everything okay?
‘Yes, everything’s fine, Ms Mason. I was just ringing to ask if you’d mind popping up to the office? Mr Walker would like to see you.’
Mr Walker.
She opened her mouth to say some words, but no sound came from her lips.
‘I thought he was away,’ she managed finally. ‘On business.’
‘He was.’ To her shell-shocked ears Jenny’s voice sounded painfully bright and happy. ‘But he flew back in this afternoon. And he particularly asked to see you. Apparently you have unfinished business?’
Nola nodded, too stunned by Jenny’s words even to register the fact that the other woman couldn’t see her.
‘Okay, well, he said to come up whenever it’s convenient, so I’ll see you in a bit.’
‘Okay, see you then,’ Nola lied.
As she hung up her heart began leaping like a salmon going upstream. For a moment she couldn’t move, then slowly she closed her laptop and picked up her jacket.
Where could she go? Not her hotel. He might track her down. Nor the airport—at least not yet. No, probably it would be safest just to hide in some random café until it was time to check in.
On legs that felt like blancmange, she walked across the office and out into the corridor.
* * *
‘Mr Walker? I’m just making some coffee. Can I get you anything?’
Ram looked up at Jenny.
‘No, thank you, Jenny. I’m good.’
He glanced down at his phone and frowned. It was half past four. A flicker of apprehension ran down his spine.
‘By the way, did you call Ms Mason?’ he asked casually.
She nodded. ‘Yes, and she said she’d be up in a bit.’
He nodded. ‘Good. Excellent.’
He felt stupidly elated at her words, and suddenly so restless that he couldn’t stay sitting at his desk a moment longer.
‘Actually, I might just go and stretch my legs, Jenny. If Ms Mason turns up, ask her to wait in my office, please.’
The idea of Nola having to wait for him was strangely satisfying and, grabbing his jacket, he walked out through the door and began wandering down the corridor. Most of his staff were at their desks, but as he turned the corner into the large open-plan reception area he saw a group of people waiting for the lift.
Walking towards them, he felt a thrill of anticipation at the thought of finally seeing her again—and then abruptly he stopped dead, his eyes freezing with shock and disbelief. For there, standing slightly apart from the rest, her jacket folded over her arm, was Nola.
He watched, transfixed, as she stepped into the lift. Her long dark hair was coiled at the nape of her neck, and a tiny part of his brain registered that he’d never seen her wear it like that before.
But the bigger part was concentrating not on her hair but on the small, rounded, unmistakable bump of her stomach.
He heard his own sharp intake of breath as though from a long way away.
She was pregnant.
Pregnant.
A vice seemed to be closing around his throat. He felt like a drowning man watching his life play out in front of his eyes. A life that had just been derailed, knocked off course by a single night of passion.
And then, just as his legs overrode his brain, the lift doors closed and she was gone.
He stood gazing across the office, his head spinning, his breath scrabbling inside his chest like an animal trying to get out.
She was pregnant—several months pregnant at least—and frantically he rewound back through the calendar. But even before he reached the date when they’d slept together he knew that the baby could be his.
The blood seemed to drain from his body.
So why hadn’t she said anything to him?
She’d been in the office for days. Yes, he’d been in New York when she arrived, but Jenny had spoken to her earlier. Nola knew he was in the building. Knew that he wanted to see her—
Remembering his remark about unfinished business, he almost laughed out loud.
Unfinished business.
You could say that again.
So why hadn’t she said anything to him?
The question looped inside his head, each time growing louder and louder, like a car alarm. The obvious and most logical answer was that he was not the father.
Instantly he felt his chest tighten. The thought of Nola giving herself to another man
made him want to smash his fists into the wall.
Surely she wouldn’t—she couldn’t have.
A memory rose up inside him, stark and unfiltered, of Nola, her body melting into his. She had been like fire under his skin. For that one night she had been his.
But was that baby his too?
A muscle flickered along the line of his jaw and he felt his anger curdle, swirling and separating into fury and frustration. Turning, he strode back into his office.
There was no way he could second-guess this. He had to know for certain.
‘Tell Mike to bring the car round to the front of the building—now,’ he barked at Jenny. ‘I need to get to the airport.’
Ten minutes later he was slouched in the back of his limo. His head was beginning to clear finally, and now his anger was as cold and hostile as the arctic tundra.
How could she do this?
Treating him as if he didn’t matter, as if he’d only had some walk-on part in her life. If he was the father, he should be centre stage.
His hands clenched in his lap. He hated the feeling of being sidelined, of being secondary to the key players in the drama, for it reminded him of his childhood, and the years he’d spent trying to fit into his parents’ complex relationship.
But he wasn’t a child anymore. He was man who might be about to have a child of his own.
His breath stilled in his throat.
Only how could he be the father? She had told him she was safe. But there was always an element of risk—particularly for a man like him, a man who would be expected to provide generous financial support for his child. Which was why he always used precautions of his own.
Except that night with Nola.
He’d wanted her so badly that he couldn’t bring himself to do anything that might have risked them pausing, maybe changing their minds—like putting on a condom.
Feeling the car slow, he glanced up, his pulse starting to accelerate.
Was the baby his? He would soon find out.
Before the limo had even come to a stop, he was opening the door and stepping onto the pavement.
* * *
Dragging her suitcase through the airport, Nola frowned. She had waited as long as possible before arriving at the airport, and now she was worried she would be too late to check in her luggage.
But any worry she might be feeling now was nothing to the stress of staying at the office. Knowing he was in the building had been unsettling enough, but the fact that Ram had asked to see her—
She didn’t need to worry about that now and, curving her hand protectively over her stomach, she breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself as she stopped in front of the departures board.
She was just trying to locate her flight when there was some kind of commotion behind her and, turning, she saw that there was a crowd of people pointing and milling around.
‘They’re shooting a commercial,’ the woman standing next to her said knowledgeably. ‘It was in the paper. It’s for beer. Apparently it’s got that rugby player in it, and a crocodile.’
‘A real one?’
The woman laughed. ‘Yes, but it’s not here. I just meant in the advert. I don’t think they’d be allowed to bring a real croc to an airport. That’d be way too dangerous.’
Nodding politely, Nola smiled—and then she caught her breath for, striding towards her, his lean, muscular body parting the crowds like a mythical wind, and looking more dangerous than any wild animal, was Ram Walker.
CHAPTER FIVE
AS SHE WATCHED his broad shoulders cutting through the clumps of passengers like a scythe through wheat Nola couldn’t move. Or speak, or even think. Shock seemed to have robbed her of the ability to do anything but gape.
And as he made his way across the departures lounge towards her she couldn’t decide if it was shock or desire that was making her heart feel as if it was about to burst.
Mind numb, she stood frozen, like a movie on pause. It was just over three months since she’d last seen him. Three months of trying and failing to forget the man who had changed her life completely.
She’d assumed she just needed more time, that eventually his memory would fade. Only now he was here, and she knew she’d been kidding herself. She would never forget Ram—and not just because she was pregnant with his baby.
Her body began to shake, and instinctively she folded her arms over her stomach.
A baby he didn’t even know existed.
A baby she had deliberately chosen to conceal from him.
And just like that she knew his being here wasn’t some cosmic coincidence: he was coming to find her.
Before that thought had even finished forming in her head he was there, standing in front of her, and suddenly she wished she was sitting down, for the blazing anger in his grey gaze almost knocked her off her feet.
‘Going somewhere?’ he asked softly.
She had forgotten his voice. Not the sound of it, but the power it had to throw her into a state of confusion, to turn her emotions into a swirling mass of chaos that made even breathing a challenge.
Looking up at him, hoping that her voice was steadier than her heartbeat, she said hoarsely, ‘Mr Walker. I wasn’t expecting to see you.’
He didn’t reply. For a moment his narrowed gaze stayed fixed on her face, and then her skin seemed to blister and burn as slowly his eyes slid down over her throat and breast, stopping pointedly on the curve of her stomach.
‘Yes, it’s been a day of surprises all round.’
His heart crashing against his ribs, Ram stared at Nola in silence. He had spent the last two hours waiting at the check-in desk for her, his nerves buzzing beneath his skin at the sight of every long-haired brunette. At first when she hadn’t turned up he’d been terrified that she’d caught another flight. But finally it had dawned on him that she was probably just hoping to avoid him, and therefore was going to arrive at the last minute.
Now that she was here, he was struggling to come to terms with what he could see—for seeing her in the office had been such a shock that he’d almost started to think that maybe what he’d seen might not even have been real. After all, it had only been a glimpse...
Maybe it had been another woman with dark hair, and after months of thinking and dreaming about her he’d just imagined it was Nola.
Now, though, there could be no doubt, no confusion.
It was Nola, and she was pregnant.
But that didn’t mean he was the father.
He felt himself jerk forward—doubt and then certainty vibrating through his bones.
If that baby was another man’s child, he knew she would have met his gaze proudly. Instead she looked hunted, cornered, like a small animal facing a predator it couldn’t outrun.
In other words, guilty as hell.
With an effort he shifted his gaze from her stomach to her face. Her lips were pale, and her blue eyes were huge and uncomprehending. She looked, if possible, more stunned than he felt. But right now feelings were secondary to the truth.
‘So this is why you’ve been giving me the runaround?’ he asked slowly. ‘I suppose I should offer my congratulations.’ He paused, letting the silence stretch between them. ‘To both of us.’
Watching her eyes widen with guilt, he felt new shoots of anger pushing up inside him, so that suddenly his pulse was too fast and irregular.
‘I wonder—when, exactly, were you going to tell me you were pregnant?’
Looking up into his face, Nola felt her breath jerk in her throat. He was angrier than she’d ever seen him. Angrier than she’d ever seen anyone. And he had every right to be.
Had she been standing there, confronted by both this truth and the months of deception that had preceded it, she would have felt as furious and thwarted as he did. But somehow knowing that made her feel more defensive, for that was only half the story. The half that didn’t include her reasons for acting as she had.
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze. ‘Why would I te
ll you I’m pregnant? As of twenty minutes ago, I don’t actually work for you anymore.’
Her hands curled up into fists in front of her as he took a step towards her.
‘Don’t play games with me, Nola.’
His eyes burned into hers, and the raw hostility in his voice suffocated her so that suddenly she could hardly breathe.
‘And don’t pretend this has got anything to with your employment rights. You’re having a baby, and we both know it could be mine. So you should have told me.’
Around her, the air sharpened. She could feel people turning to stare at them curiously.
Forcing herself to hold his gaze, she glared at him. ‘This has got nothing to do with you.’
A nerve pulsed along his jawline.
‘And you want me to take your word for that, do you?’ He gazed at her in naked disbelief. ‘On the basis of what? Your outstanding display of honesty up until now?’
She blinked. ‘You don’t know for certain if you’re the father,’ she said quickly, failing to control the rush of colour to her face.
His eyes locked onto hers, and instantly she felt the tension in her spine tighten like a guy rope.
‘No. But you do.’
She flinched, wrong-footed.
How was this happening?
Not him finding her. It would have been a matter of moments for his secretary to check her flight time. But why was he here? Over the last three months she’d spent hours imagining this moment, playing out every possible type of scenario. In not one of them had he pursued her to the airport and angrily demanded the truth.
Her heart began to pound fiercely.
It would be tempting to think that he cared about the baby.
Tempting, but foolish.
Ram’s appearance at the airport, his frustration and anger, had nothing to do with any sudden rush of paternal feelings on his part. Understandably, he hadn’t liked finding out second-hand that she was pregnant. But that didn’t mean he could just turn up and start throwing his weight around.
‘I don’t see why you’re making this into such a big deal,’ she snapped. ‘We both know that you have absolutely no interest in being a father anyway.’
Ram studied her face, his pulse beating slow and hard.
Kidnapped for the Tycoon's Baby Page 7