A Sweet Deal (Crimson Romance) (8 page)

Tate returned with her coffee, fixed exactly the way she liked it, and she wrapped her hands around the warm mug. “Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver. I was drifting off in the meeting and will never make it through the afternoon without a little caffeine.”

“You got it. Is there anything else?”

She knew there was something she was missing but simply couldn’t think of it. “No, I guess that’s it for now. Thank you.”

Left alone, she sipped her coffee, expecting to savor it and enjoy the aroma. Instead, nausea gripped her and she reached for the small garbage can at the side of her desk. A couple of deep breaths and a moment later, the urge subsided and she sat back in her chair, grateful that she hadn’t been sick in the conference room. She needed sleep, and badly. Since the trip to Vegas, stress had been her constant companion, and sleep eluded her, which likely explained the drowsiness and nausea. She never felt well when she missed too much sleep. Between failing to close the deal with Morgan Confectioners and succumbing to her lust for Richard like some kind of hormone-crazed teenager, it felt like she was losing control of her life. Like she was someone else lately.

Pushing the coffee cup away, she pulled out her calendar, prepared to tackle her work with renewed enthusiasm, to regain her sense of competency. Ready to put thoughts of Richard behind her and focus on things she could control, she jiggled her mouse to wake up her computer. As she scanned the dates on her calendar, noting meetings and deadlines, the nagging thought that she was missing something resurfaced, then crystallized. Her period was late.

She was never late; this couldn’t be. It was only a week, but it was late enough to set off alarm bells. Her radiation treatments had made it impossible for her to become pregnant, hadn’t they? But she’d never been this late before. Best to find out for sure. Nothing would be accomplished until she knew, so she left early and headed for the nearest drugstore.

• • •

Richard held a finger up as his assistant, Chloe, leaned around his doorframe. The conference call was winding down, but he had asked for no interruptions and her impertinence irritated him. She bit her lip nervously and stepped inside the office, closing the door silently behind her. She shifted from one leg to another, obviously waiting for an opportunity to relay some urgent message. He finished his call without rushing, sat back in his chair, and spread his hands before him.

“Yes, Chloe, what is it?” He didn’t bother to keep the irritation out of his voice.

“Sir, Yvette Cruz from Saffron Sweets is here to see you. I told her that you were unavailable, but she insists that she speak to you. I don’t think she’ll leave.” Chloe glanced at the door, looking ready to dart out.

He sat up. “She’s here?”

Chloe nodded and took a step back. Yvette had honored their agreement of no contact for almost a month after they said goodbye at the airport. She hadn’t so much as emailed him about the acquisition. During that time, he had made it his mission to eradicate all thoughts of Yvette Cruz from his mind. By burying himself in work and spending any free time he had left over at the gym, he told himself he had managed to release the memories of that night. He had almost forgotten the way her skin felt beneath his hands, the exquisite pleasure he took in unpinning her hair and watching it shake loose around her slim shoulders, and the unbearably satisfying weight of her perfect breasts in his hands. He told himself that he could scarcely remember her delectable vanilla scent, the taste of her on his tongue, the delicious sound of her throaty laugh. No, she was a threat to his business and he didn’t want any part of her. Not even her shapely curves, her lush backside, or the exquisite depths of her mouth. Yvette Cruz was officially off his radar as far as he was concerned, so when the phone calls started coming from her office last week, his assistant was given strict orders to refuse all her efforts to connect.

“What does she want?”

“She won’t say, sir. She’ll only speak directly to you.” Chloe seemed stuck between following Richard’s directives and admitting Yvette to his office just to put an end to the uncomfortable tension.

He briefly considered having Yvette removed by security, but that seemed a bit extreme. Besides, he doubted that even that would dissuade her. She was clearly a woman on a mission, and he could make her leave today, but she’d surely continue to return until she got her audience. He refused to admit that a part of him wanted to see her again, longed for one more night with her even.

He sighed; what good was an assistant who couldn’t even keep unwanted visitors from darkening his doorstep? Having seen Yvette in action, though, he knew that Chloe was no match for her. She had won him over when he was determined to stay far away from her after all, and he wasn’t a man who was easily persuaded. Might as well see her and get it over with.

“Fine, see her in.” Surely the surge of adrenaline was his body’s way of preparing for potential battle, not anything to do with attraction.

Visibly relieved to be dismissed without further discussion, Chloe scurried out of the office so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet. Yvette walked in, and he could instantly tell that this wasn’t a professional visit. Something was different about her. The confident gleam in her eyes was gone; the sexy sashay was missing from her step. She was still achingly beautiful, reminding him of an exotic jewel in the crimson dress so fitted it could have been painted on her delicate frame, but there was more. Something in her had changed, and he saw a vulnerability that hadn’t been there before.

“Come on in and have a seat.” He indicated the chairs in front of his desk and watched as she crossed the room to sit down. She seemed to be carrying herself differently. The change was probably indiscernible to most people. Most people weren’t as unwittingly attuned to her as he was, though. Most people didn’t spend days and nights distracted by thoughts of her.

“I’m sorry for barging in like this, but you haven’t returned any of my calls.” She held her head high, and her voice was clear and confident.

“We have nothing more to talk about. Our agreement was to have no further contact. I thought you understood my reasoning, even if you didn’t agree with it. As much as I enjoyed our time together, we simply can’t be together.” He was thankful for his desk, glad to have a solid barrier between them. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her, and that would most certainly send a mixed message.

“I realize that—”

He held up a hand to cut her off. “I can’t stop my father from taking meetings with you, but I was dead serious when I said that I would do everything within my power to keep him from selling to Saffron. There’s nothing that will convince me to change my mind. Quite frankly, I’m surprised that you would go to such lengths to continue on this course.”

“I haven’t met with Michael again. I need to speak with you, and only you.” Her increasing frustration was evident. Her eyes flashed in irritation, her gorgeous mouth was set in an impatient line. She was sexy even when she was flustered.

“Like I said, there’s nothing more for us to discuss. I’m sorry that you came all the way over here, but my assistant will see you out.” He leaned over his desk to buzz Chloe. He needed to get her out of here before he gave in to the desire to keep her close to him.

“I’m pregnant!”

Richard stopped, his hand frozen in midair above the phone. For a moment, time stopped, and he was chilled to his toes. Realizing that his mouth was agape and his hand was hovering over his desk, he relaxed and took a beat to compose himself. “Congratulations.”

“It’s yours.” She sat back in her chair and watched for his reaction.

“What?” He sputtered. “I used a condom!” Not many things ruffled or even surprised him, but this was a first. The news coupled with her potent effect on him shifted his balance and disrupted his usual calm competency.

“Sure, the first time, but not after that. Listen, I know that this is a shock. It was for me too, so I don’t expect you to process this immediately. I certainly didn’t.”

“Didn’t you tell me you can’t get pregnant? How do you know it’s mine? How can you even be sure this soon?” He heard his voice climb by at least an octave, and he knew he sounded as panicky as he felt. With great effort, Richard calmed himself down. He would handle this news like he handled everything else, with authority.

“I haven’t been with anyone else, that’s how I know. You’re the father, and there’s no doubt about it. Until it happened, I truly thought that I couldn’t get pregnant after my radiation. I thought that motherhood was the one dream I’d have to let go, and I thought that I had, but then—” she paused. “I was having all these symptoms, and it started adding up once I checked the calendar. I finally decided to take the pregnancy test just to rule it out, even though I didn’t think anything would come of it. If I hadn’t caught it early it could have been weeks before I noticed, since that was the last thing I expected. The possibility of pregnancy wasn’t even on my radar. I honestly was as surprised as you are, and quite frankly, this is nothing short of a miracle as far as I’m concerned.” Her eyes shone under the office fluorescents, and her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white.

“Well, what do you need? Do you need money?” He scraped a hand across his chin, realizing too late how heartless he sounded. He needed to put an end to his spiral towards panic, but his tone was bordering on cruel, and that was wrong. This was a surprise, but he wasn’t the kind of man who treated news of this gravity with such callousness. Richard gave himself a mental shake and cleared his head. He was not this kind of man. Her lip quivered almost imperceptibly, and he regretted the casual dismissal in his tone even more. She was a corporate threat, but if he were honest with himself, she wasn’t the seductive danger that he previously assumed her to be. She wasn’t an actual enemy; it was just in his best interest to stay far away from her. He rose and walked around his desk to take the seat next to her.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was softer, more relaxed now that he was placing himself in familiar territory. Fixing problems was what he did best. “I spoke before processing the news. Just tell me what you need, and it’s yours. I want to help however I can. If it’s money, consider it done.”

Yvette leaned away from him and stiffened, eyes blazing. “I don’t want your money. I don’t need anything from you.” Her voice dripped with disdain. “I’m keeping the baby, regardless of how it will break my parents’ hearts that I’m going to be an unwed mother. It’ll kill them when I tell them what’s happened, but it’s better than the alternative.”

“Again, I apologize. I just assumed … ”

“You assumed because you think you know me, but you don’t. You assumed because you think I’m something that I’m not. I’m not interested in your money, and I’m not trying to use the baby to get anything from you. I didn’t come to you for help in getting rid of my problem.” She practically spit the words at him. “I came to you because you have the right to know that you’re going to be a father, and what you do with that information is your decision. I realize that you weren’t planning this, and you don’t have a say in it. You can waive your rights if that’s what you want, and you’ll never hear from me again. You don’t have to do anything or even be involved at all.” She was full of righteous indignation now, and Richard sensed that there was little he could say to endear himself to her. Time for damage control.

“Okay, so you’re keeping the baby. I didn’t realize that you were so traditional, and again, I apologize, but … do you even want to be a mother?” Her career had to be as demanding as his. How did she plan on managing motherhood on her own?

“I never dreamed that I’d have this chance, and I certainly never thought I’d end up having a baby with someone I’m not even involved with, but it is what it is. I honestly thought that motherhood wasn’t in the cards for me, so I’m embracing this as the gift that it is. I’ll figure everything out somehow, with or without you.”

Yvette was going to have his baby and raise him or her on her own? She wasn’t even considering … alternatives? Her family must be much more traditional than he would have guessed. He could only imagine his own father’s delight at the news that he’d be a grandfather.

He’d probably dote on the child, thrilled that the Morgan legacy would continue after all.
Legacy.
The deal. Everything he wanted wrapped up in one neat package. He’d have the company he loved and the family he’d always wanted. Ignoring the nagging thought that he would surely go to hell for even considering it, he blurted out, “Let’s get married then.”

Yvette’s brown eyes widened, and her mouth formed into the perfect “O” of surprise that he had seen that morning he’d joined her in the shower. The morning he now knew was when they could have conceived their baby. “What? You want to get married?”

“If it is, in fact, my baby, then yes. I don’t want an illegitimate child any more than you do.”

“How romantic.” She stopped just short of rolling her eyes at him.

“You came to me with a practical problem, and I offered a practical solution.” He spread his hands and inclined his head. And if his solution happened to give him control of the confections division, then that was just a bonus. “Surely being with me is preferable to going this alone.”

“I don’t consider my child to be a problem.” She sat up straighter, her voice heavy.

“Not the child, but the circumstances surrounding your pregnancy certainly seem to trouble you. If your family is as traditional as you say, this news will not go over well. Getting married will solve that problem.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how this is a good idea.” She shook her head and shifted her eyes away from his gaze.

“How could it not be? You and I are having a baby together. What could be wrong about creating a family for him to be born into? People marry for much less all the time.”

“Him?” One of her eyebrows quirked up and the smallest hint of amusement lit in her eyes.

“What?”

“Him. You said him. As in, the baby will be a boy, and you will have a son.” The ghost of a smile flitted across her mouth and gave him the encouragement to forge ahead.