Tamera swallowed the bite of succulent pineapple and turned to Cole, who was eyeing her beneath heavy-lidded eyes. Damn, so he had noticed the groan.
“Help yourself,” she gestured toward the spread. “We can set all the plates over there if you’d like.”
She picked up the tray of fresh fruit and went over to her long, granite-topped table by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corner.
Cole just wheeled the cart over and began arranging the plates. “Were you really hungry when you ordered or do you plan on keeping me here until the hotel is built and open for business?”
Eyeing all the food, she laughed. “Sorry, it all sounded so good at the time, but now that I’m looking at it, it is an awful lot.”
Fresh fruits, peeled shrimp, her favorite veggie wraps, some bread with raspberry dipping sauce, wine.
Okay, so maybe she did want to keep Cole here, so what. She wanted the man on a purely physical level and there wasn’t a thing wrong with that. Was there a woman alive who didn’t appreciate broad shoulders, tailored suits, dark, exotic looks and an edge of cockiness?
Was it her fault her memory was good and she recalled all their nights together so many years ago? No.
She was a woman with needs. That didn’t mean she had to act on them.
End of story.
“I had no idea you were a member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
Tamera glanced up as Cole reached for a wrap, handing it to her on a small square napkin embossed with the restaurant’s logo.
“How did you know?”
“I saw the small card a child had made you hanging next to your certificate in your den.”
Tamera’s throat closed up. “Emily made that card for me two weeks before she died.”
Cole eased down in a leather chair across from her. “I apologize for bringing up bad memories.”
“It’s okay. She was the sweetest little girl, though.” Tamera recalled the frail six-year-old with bouncy blond curls and bright blue eyes. “She also called me Tam because my name was hard for her. She’s the only person, other than you, who’s ever called me that.”
Cole reached across and placed his hand over hers. “You don’t have to tell me. I was just caught off guard when I saw that picture.”
“We met when the foundation called and asked for monetary donations. I never can resist helping children, so I took the check personally to the office and there was this little girl and her mother. The little girl looked so full of hope with her big blue eyes. Her mother, on the other hand, looked lost, sad.
“I immediately took to Emily and she to me, so I became more and more involved. She made me that card because the foundation sent her to Disneyland and I went with them. All she wanted was to meet Minnie Mouse.” Tamera looked over at Cole, tears clogging her throat. “Do you know what it’s like to give someone such a simple gift, knowing there’s nothing else they want? I could’ve bought Disneyland for her, but it wouldn’t have changed the fact that she was going to die.”
When a tear escaped, Tamera pulled her hand from beneath Cole’s and swiped angrily at her face. “Sorry. I just get so worked up thinking how unfair it is that people have to suffer such a horrible disease while I go about my life making more money than I could possibly spend and living any way I desire.”
“She had cancer, didn’t she?” Cole asked, his voice low.
Tamera closed her eyes. “How did you know?”
“I assumed since you’re still so torn up that it was hitting close to home for you right now.”
Yes, it was. But rehashing the past and dwelling on the inevitable with her father was not going to get Victor Lawson’s hotel designed and built.
And it certainly wasn’t helping her situation with Cole. That chip on his shoulder seemed to disappear and make room for her when she needed to lean on him.
Tamera shook aside the glum thoughts. “Let’s talk about the design, okay?”
Cole eyed her as if he wanted to say or ask something else, but in the end he nodded. “Okay.”
But instead of approaching another topic, they ate in silence, for which Tamera was grateful. Cole obviously still could read her well enough to know when she needed space. He also probably still knew how much she hated being seen as vulnerable or weak.
Tamera feared, though, if he kept offering subtle support, she’d take him up on it…and then some. Thank God he hadn’t. If she landed in his arms again, especially under emotional circumstances, who knows what would happen.
Oh, who was she kidding? She knew exactly what would happen and she was nearly to the point she didn’t care.
Nine
“What about carrying out the columns throughout the hotel, even in the suites? That way the weight-bearing walls won’t take up so much space and we can keep the rooms open for that airy feeling.” Tamera’s Sharpie moved in a quick, swift manner as she refigured some very rough sketches and glanced up to get Cole’s reaction. “What?”
He’d shed his Italian jacket and silk tie just after they’d eaten and loosened the top two buttons of his cobalt blue dress shirt. And every moment since he’d done so, that golden skin peeking through the V of his open collar taunted her.
“I think you need to call it a night,” he told her, his thick, dark brows drawn together in worry.
Tamera glanced to her glass desk clock. “It’s only ten, Cole. We used to work well into the night when we were in college.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, hovering in the air between them, she wished to snatch them back. She’d been getting on him about rehashing their past, and that was certainly a place she couldn’t keep revisiting, but the statement just slipped through her lips.
“Maybe I’m getting too old for all-nighters,” he commented.
Those deep brown, heavy-lidded bedroom eyes told her different. A determined man, a powerful man like Cole didn’t think twice about pulling all-nighters…whether it be the bedroom or the boardroom.
Tamera rolled her eyes. “Please, you’re not too old. That implies I’m old and I’m not.”
He stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders and massaging the tension away stroke by delicious stroke. Mercy, the man did know exactly what to do when she needed something. She didn’t even have to ask.
“You’re still just as beautiful as you were, Tam,” he told her in a low, sexy tone. “Age only improves you. But I do think you’ve reached your limit today. We can work more tomorrow.”
Eyes closed, she leaned into his hands and enjoyed, just for a moment, what he was so graciously offering. His smooth words settled over her, giving her a brief sense of calm she so desperately needed, craved.
Why couldn’t they be meeting for the first time? Why did all of her memories of this man come with an ache in her chest that she could never ease?
“Do you have plans this Friday night?” she asked.
His soft laughter filtered through her quiet office, making her even more aware of the fact they were in this massive building all alone. Even the janitor had left at eight.
His hands stilled on her shoulders as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You’re the only plan I have.”
Why did that threat sound so thrilling?
“Fine. We can meet here when you get off.”
He began massaging once again. “No, we need a change of scenery to keep our creative juices flowing. Let’s go back to my yacht. It’s private, it’s supposed to be a nice evening, maybe we can work topside under the stars.”
Seduction. He was trying to seduce her. She was just intrigued enough to see his course of action. And, she had to admit, she enjoyed being on his yacht. It was quiet, and if the staff was off that day, there should be no interruptions.
“Would you offer this deal to just anyone that you’d be working with on a project like this?”
“What deal?”
Tamera turned in her chair, causing his talented hands to fall away from her shoulders. “Meeting
, once again, on your yacht.”
Cole shrugged, placing his hands in his pant pockets. “I’m not working with just anybody, Tamera, I’m working with you.”
And that was the problem, she was starting to like working with Cole…a little too much for her comfort level. What was worse, she had a feeling he knew where her emotions were headed…straight to him no matter where he led her.
“I’ll provide the food,” he continued as if she’d already agreed to step into his web of deceit. “Just e-mail me all those files we worked on.”
She studied him, seeing him for the young man she’d fallen in love with. He’d shown so much potential to be a powerful CEO then. Of course, the man Cole was today was not exactly the man she’d envisioned.
She hadn’t expected the cocky demeanor or the take-charge attitude where everything was his way or no way. But in the back of her mind, she still kept that vision of him as a husband, a father. He’d be just as powerful in running a family as he was running a multimillion-dollar company. What happened to make him so hard and brash the majority of the time? Every now and then, though, she appreciated, and was attracted to, those moments when he slipped back into the man she used to know.
“I’ll make sure I’m at the yacht by five,” he told her, moving around her desk to the club chair where his jacket and tie lay. “If there’s any problem, just text or call me.”
That was it? He was just going to leave without attempting to kiss her? After the whirlwind way he swept into the room he was going to exit without any fanfare?
Mixed signals, anyone? What game was he playing with her?
Tamera gestured over to the table where the spread of half-empty plates and silver platters full of fruit and wraps lay. “Do you want to take any of this food?”
“No. Why don’t you save it for your lunch tomorrow? There’s enough for your assistant, too.”
Tamera smiled. “You make millions of dollars each year and you are worried about leftovers?”
His face sobered as his eyes captured hers. “No matter the amount of money I make, I still remember where I came from.”
As if she needed another piece of her heart to melt at this man with whom fate had mockingly reunited her. She couldn’t get swept into another entanglement with him. Seduction was one thing. Sleeping with each other, if that’s where this was headed, was one thing. Keeping her heart intact and to herself was a whole other matter.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t go to waste,” she promised. “See you tomorrow.”
He walked back and leaned down so they were eye to eye. “Go home and get some sleep.”
The way he loomed over her as she sat in her office chair made her feel uneasy, and even though he demanded instead of asking, she knew he was concerned.
“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”
“I’ll wait to walk you out.”
Crap. She’d wanted to do just a couple more things before she called it a night. But more than likely he knew she was lying, so that’s why he called her on it. “All right.”
There wasn’t a woman, no matter who she was and what she’d been through, who didn’t want to be looked after, cared for, in some regard. If Cole wanted to make sure she didn’t overwork herself and see that she got to her car safely, then who was she to put up a fight? A little white knight routine every now and then would go a long way in helping her get through this ordeal with her father.
“Let me get all the lights and my purse.”
“I’ll wrap up the food and put it away.”
Tamera gestured. “The refrigerator is through those doors over there in my makeshift apartment.”
Cole laughed as he dropped his jacket and tie back in the chair they’d just vacated and went over to the food. “Why am I not surprised you have an apartment in your office?”
“Because I’m sure you do, too.”
He turned around, still smiling. “You know I do.”
Her heart lurched just a bit because she did know. They’d always joked that when they were big in the corporate world they’d need an apartment in their office because they’d never want to leave. Making money was all that had mattered to Cole back in the day, while being powerful enough to fill her father’s shoes had been her main objective.
Guess they both got their wish. But as she looked back, the old saying came back to bite her in the butt… “Be careful what you wish for.”
5:15. Tamera pulled her BMW into the marina and cringed. She hated being late, but today was the day from hell and there was nothing she could do about it. TGIF at least.
She glanced down at her clothes and groaned. Still wearing her running shorts, sports bra and racer-back tank, she knew Cole would wonder what on earth she’d been doing.
Tamera grabbed her purse and her sketches that they’d worked on at the office and made a mad dash down the dock toward Cole’s million-dollar yacht. The palm trees overhead rustled in the breeze, mocking her. The sun beat down, making her already break into a sweat. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to appreciate the swaying palms, the pristine white boats docked here or even the sultry heat.
No, her day had been spent inside, talking with health care workers about her father and then administering to his needs. She didn’t have time to focus on the simple things…not when her father’s life was slowly drawing to a close and his entire empire hinged on her making this deal a success.
It was the least she could do for a legacy he’d handed down with the utmost faith in her abilities.
Tamera held her hand over her brows to block the sun as she stared ahead to Cole’s yacht. He stood on the dock watching for her. The sun illuminated his broad shoulders, making him seem even more dominating, more powerful.
“I know, I’m late,” Tamera said in a rush as she reached him. “I’ll apologize for both that and my less-than-professional appearance.”
After he assisted her on board, he climbed on himself. “Just get back from a workout?”
“I wish.” She followed him down into the galley and laid her sketches on the table and her purse on the sofa. “I was leaving for my morning run when the hospice nurse called and said they needed to see me right away. Needless to say, I didn’t take time to change.”
“Everything okay?” Cole grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and passed it to her.
Tamera unscrewed the cap and took a cool, refreshing drink. “Nothing that we hadn’t expected. His blood counts are off and his medications needed to be adjusted.”
Cole leaned a hip on the edge of a barstool. “So why did they call you so early?”
“Because he had a bad night and was asking for me.” Guilt crept up and nearly suffocated her. “I hate that he’s in an unfamiliar place with strangers. I wasn’t there when he needed me.”
Cole closed the small gap between them and took her by the shoulders. “Go back to your father.”
Shaking her head, she clutched the water bottle. “No, I need to do this. He was resting when I left, so he’s fine. The nurses have my number and will call if they need to. I’ll swing by there when I leave here anyway.”
The muscle in Cole’s jaw ticked. “You run yourself too thin. The nurses have everything under control. You need someone to look out for you for a change.”
She brushed him aside and bent to get her sketches. “I don’t have time to be spoiled or pampered, Cole. I have to work.”
Besides, she thought, there was no one else to take care of her. Her father was all she had left. Oh, she had friends and business associates, but if something were to really happen to her, who would she turn to?
Cole? What would he do? He was nothing more than a business associate at this point. Right?
“If you insist on stressing yourself over this, then at least have a seat.” He gestured to the small work area he’d set up with leather club chairs and a glass table. “The offer remains, though, I can work on this tonight and we can go over it sometime over the weekend if you want to leave.”
“Cole, I’m fine. Can we just work?”
Obviously he was concerned about her. The way he kept staring at her as if he were waiting for her to pass out or break down and cry was disconcerting. But she’d be damned if she’d show weakness. It was bad enough that she’d fallen asleep in his arms the other night, no way could she appear to be anything less than on top of her game now.
Cole nodded. “Whenever you want to eat, I had my chef prepare some food and we can dine out on the deck.”
“I’m not hungry right now. I’ll let you know.”
Cole booted up his laptop while Tamera spread out her sketches. As they worked in harmony, it was really hard not to recall another place and time when they’d worked without speaking a word and their ideas just melded together into one glorious plan.
They’d had such high hopes of being partners in a firm one day. Now here they were, working together, but to gain prestige in their own individual companies.
After about an hour, Tamera’s cell rang, jarring her from her groove of design.
She rushed forward to her purse and pulled out her BlackBerry. “Hello.”
“Mrs. Stevens? This is Camille from the hospice center.”
Tamera turned back to Cole, who gestured for her to take her call in the bedroom.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, stepping into the captain’s quarters, closing the door. “Is my father okay?”
“Yes, yes dear,” the elderly lady assured her. “That’s why I’m calling. The day nurse told me you’d been here all day. I was off last night, but I heard he had a bad evening. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’m pulling a long shift and I’ll be here ’til morning. Right now your father is eating a bit and he seems content. I just wanted to keep your mind at ease.”
Tamera sagged on the king-sized bed with relief. “Thank you, Camille. You don’t know how much I appreciate all you guys are doing to keep him satisfied.”
“Oh, dear, that’s our job. We’re here for Mr. Stevens and his family. Have a good night.”
Tamera disconnected the call and rested her elbows on her knees, head and cell in her hands.
From Boardroom to Wedding Bed? Page 7