Semiautomatic Marriage (2 page)

Even though Adam had only been in her presence a few minutes, he’d already recognized that there was more to her than her appealing looks. An undeniable toughness and resilience radiated from her. He’d bet she could put any leering male in his place with a sharp word or a well-aimed kick. It wasn’t hard for him to imagine her in a doctor’s white jacket, a stethoscope around her neck and a bedside manner that could either charm or deftly manage the most unruly patient. No, she wasn’t at all what he’d
expected. He wondered if they were handling this all wrong. There was nothing to do now but plunge ahead and be as honest as he could.

“It wasn’t an accident that you received the generous stipend,” he explained. “You see, Carolyn, Arthur Stanford has a personal interest in you.”

“How could that be? I told you I didn’t know Arthur Stanford,” she replied firmly. “I’ve never heard his name, as far as I know. And I have no reason to believe he’d have a special interest in me.”

Clearly she wasn’t about to accept the truth until she had more facts to back it up. Adam suspected this strong fiber in her personality was going to play havoc with his plans. He tried to keep his tone neutral, as if they were discussing something that wasn’t going to change her life forever.

“It’s true, isn’t it, Carolyn, that you’ve grown up without family and without knowing who abandoned you as an infant?”

She nodded. Her unknown roots had been like an albatross around her neck since she was old enough to know what the word
orphan
meant. She’d always been treated like a changeling, not belonging anywhere, not to anyone. She’d learned very young to make her way in the world alone, and as far as she was concerned that wasn’t going to change.

“I don’t see why my background is of interest here.” She firmed her chin as she locked her gaze on him. “What is this about?”

“I know that what I’m going to tell you, Carolyn, will be a shock. I guess there’s no way to prepare you for the news, so I’ll just come right out and say it.” Adam had the foolish urge to reach out and hold
her hand, but realized she’d reject the gesture. “Arthur Stanford had a very personal interest in you, Carolyn, because he was your grandfather.”

Grandfather.
The word exploded in Carolyn’s head like a grenade. She tried to say something, but for once in her life, her mouth wouldn’t work. Almost instantly shock turned into disbelief. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. With great effort, she found her voice.

“Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that the money I’ve been receiving is from Arthur Stanford and he’s my grandfather?”

He nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. There’s no doubt about it. You’re Arthur Stanford’s granddaughter.”

Her whole life, Carolyn had dreamed of belonging to someone of her own flesh and blood, longing to know what family genes she carried. She’d fought all her battles from a sense of aloneness, and as she looked into Adam’s reassuring face and gentle eyes, she pleaded silently,
Please, let this be true.

He must have read the plea in her expression, because he smiled and took her hand. The warm contact gave her the reassurance she needed to believe the impossible.

“I have a complete report here,” Bancroft said, handing Carolyn a folder.

Both men fell silent as she read the file.

For the first time Carolyn learned the mystery of her birth. Her mother, Alicia Stanford, had been a sixteen-year-old who ran away when she discovered she was pregnant. Her affluent family’s efforts to find her ended unhappily a year later when she returned home with a terminal disease. She refused to
say what had happened to the baby and would not identify the father. Apparently nothing was done to try to locate the baby until a few years ago.

Carolyn learned that she was just starting medical school when the investigators her widowed grandfather hired finally tracked her down, and the millionaire began to support her education.

“He knew for four years that I was his granddaughter!” Disbelief gave way to deep disappointment. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he keep it from me?”

“We don’t know,” the lawyer admitted. “When your grandfather arranged for your financial grant, he insisted on total secrecy.”

“He received continuous updates about you,” Adam told her. “He knew that you went to work for the financial firm Champion Realty and Investments right out of high school and could have worked your way up in that company. From all the reports, Carolyn, you certainly could have a career in business, as well as medicine.”

Bancroft shoved his glasses up his nose and cleared his throat. “And that brings us to the legal matter at hand. The good news. The matter of his will.”

Both men looked at her in a way that made her breath catch. “He left me…something?”

Adam couldn’t resist a chuckle. “More than just something, I’d say.”

Bancroft beamed. “Arthur Stanford made a new will just a few months before his death. Carolyn, you’re the primary beneficiary.”

The lawyer proceeded to inform her that Stanford had bequeathed her fifty-one percent of Horizon
Pharmaceuticals, his elegant mansion and other considerable monetary assets.

She stared at both men incredulously, her blue eyes rounding. What kind of macabre joke was this? She’d never been one to believe in fairy tales, and she certainly didn’t believe in this one. It had to be a hoax! A cruel manipulation of some kind.

Seeing a red flush mounting her neck, Adam said quickly, “It’s true, Carolyn. Your grandfather died several weeks ago, and all the legalities are settled. There were just a few necessary verifications to make before telling you.”

“You’re expecting me to believe that Arthur Stanford bypassed everyone else to leave a fortune to his long-lost granddaughter?”

“Yes, Carolyn, that’s exactly what has happened.”

“What about the other people in his life?” Carolyn demanded as a blessed logical detachment allowed her to get her emotions under control. She wanted facts. She wasn’t about to accept anything at face value. Especially not a Cinderella story like the one they were trying to lay on her. “There were other people in his life, weren’t there?”

“Yes,” Bancroft answered readily. “There is one son, your mother’s older brother, Jasper. He’s mentioned in the will, but in a lesser way.”

“Why would Arthur Stanford do that? I mean, I don’t understand why he didn’t leave his son the company and everything else.”

Adam spoke up. “Maybe because Jasper ran two companies and property of his own into bankruptcy, and his father had to bail him out. Obviously Stan
ford didn’t want the same thing to happen to Horizon.”

“And there’s no one else?” she asked with a dry mouth.

“No blood relation, other than Jasper. You’re the only one,” Bancroft answered. “Jasper is a laboratory scientist at Horizon, and your grandfather left him some stock, but you hold the controlling interest. Jasper never married, but he has maintained a five-year romantic relationship with Della Denison, a very capable career woman, who also works at Horizon. They live in the Stanford mansion, along with Della’s two children, both in their twenties.” He paused. “Apparently your grandfather found this arrangement amicable.”

“But it may not continue to be so when you take up residency there,” Adam warned her. “Remember, Carolyn, in the end you will be the one to decide if any changes need to be made. Everything has been put on hold since your grandfather’s death.”

“Until all the legalities are finalized,” Bancroft said, “I can arrange for generous funds to be available to you to take care of your immediate financial needs.” As he continued to expand on the details of the will, Carolyn’s doubts began to fade, and a flood of questions took their place.

Adam leaned toward her and waited for her eyes to meet his before he said, “It’s important that I share some disturbing facts with you now, Carolyn, before you move into the role of a wealthy heiress.”

Heiress.
The word lacked any meaning for her. She’d never had enough money to cover her monthly expenses. Her secondhand car had more than a hundred thousand miles on it. At the moment
she was unemployed since no one had jumped at her résumé or brand-new medical degree.

“Your grandfather’s death was a surprise to everyone,” Adam told her. “Very unfortunate.”

“Was he ill?” she asked, wishing she could have been at his side. Her medical training might have counted for something if she could have cared for him.

The way Carolyn’s expectant gaze was fixed on him made Adam wish he had more than just empirical facts to tell her. He knew she was in for another shock. “No, it wasn’t illness that ended his life. I’m sorry I have to tell you that your grandfather was a victim of a hit-and-run driver.”

She stared at him, a sickening lump lodged in her throat. Maybe her grandfather
had
planned to reveal himself to her, but met an untimely death before it happened. She felt an even greater loss, knowing how he’d died.

“Stanford was killed in a waterfront location, and there seems to be some question whether his death was accidental.”

At first his words refused to penetrate. Then she said in disbelief, “You mean someone deliberately hit him?”

“We don’t know. That’s why I’m here, Carolyn.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a badge. “I’m a federal investigator, and among other things, I’m assigned to cover your grandfather’s suspicious death.”

“You’re not a lawyer? I mean, I thought—”

“I work for the FDA. Mr. Bancroft asked me to be here because he knows I’ve been investigating
Arthur Stanford’s affairs. Since you are his beneficiary, you’ll be able to help me.”

“Help you? With what? I don’t see—”

“You’ll be in a position to look into every aspect of the company and have access to family affairs.”

She gave a shaky laugh as she shook her head. “I have no idea what you have in mind, but I certainly need more time and information before I can handle any of this.” She stood up. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but my head is reeling. You’ll have to excuse me.”

“I know this is a lot to absorb in such a short time,” Adam readily agreed. “But time is of the utmost importance, Carolyn. I hate to pressure you, but…”

“I never make decisions under pressure. Whatever you have to say, Mr. Lawrence, will have to wait.” She used her professional tone, masking the racing of her heart.

An heiress. A mansion. Horizon.

She gave them both a mechanical smile and hurriedly left the office. Maybe all this was on the up-and-up, but her emotions were in such a tangle at the moment she couldn’t be sure. Could it really be that her grandfather had found her? She wanted to believe the unbelievable, but her intuition was quivering like an antenna trying to catch warning vibes. The handsome Adam Lawrence, obviously, wanted a commitment of some kind from her. What was his real agenda? Why had the lawyer included him in the meeting? There’d been moments she’d instinctively responded to his smile and the touch of his hand, but now she wondered if he’d been deliberately manipulating her emotions.

With her thoughts whirling like an off-center helicopter, she crossed the lot to her car, parked at the back of the small brick building. Her hands trembled as she unlocked the door of her old car. After sliding into the worn front seat, she sat there for a long minute. She needed to go home, go over all the legal papers again, get on the Internet and see what information she could pull up on Horizon Pharmaceuticals. As her analytical approach to problems settled her emotions, she turned the key in the ignition.

The engine refused to turn over. After repeated tries she slapped the steering wheel in exasperation. She’d been having trouble with it for more than a month, but had been trying to put off the expense of car repair as long as possible.

She silently swore and then tried again, but no luck. The irony of the situation hit her when she looked out the window and saw Adam Lawrence walking across the parking lot, heading for her car. It was obvious from his expression that he’d heard the starter grinding.

She had little choice but to roll down the window and nod at his friendly “Won’t start, huh?”

His grin only made her feel more testy.
Brilliant deduction. Were all FDA agents so perceptive?

“Would you like me to try?” he offered.

“Thanks, but don’t bother.” She didn’t want to prolong the embarrassment. It didn’t take a mechanic to know that the old car was heading for the junkyard. What to do now? Leave it? Take a bus home and see if her AAA insurance was still in force? “I think I’ll just let it sit for a while.”

“How about I run you home and you can call someone to look at it?”

“No need to put you to that trouble,” she answered quickly.

“It’s no trouble. Just tell me how to get there. I’m still trying to find my way around Seattle.”

As she hesitated, he saw a flicker of indecision in her eyes. He could tell that she was tempted to accept his offer. The stalled car could be a blessing in disguise. Her sudden departure from the meeting had left him wondering how to initiate further contact with her. It was imperative to move quickly to enlist her help. He was relieved when she nodded.

As they walked to his car, he made an idle comment about the gathering rain clouds. “There’s more rain here in a week than we have in a whole season back home.”

“The natives call it liquid sunshine,” she informed him with a faint smile.

“I grew up in New Mexico. Ever been there?” he asked, hoping to make the situation seem casual and friendly.

“No, but I don’t think I’d like it,” she said frankly. “I’d miss the water.”

He could tell from her pensive expression that her thoughts were beyond any casual chitchat. Not that he could blame her. She’d been given a double whammy. Learning the identity of her grandfather would have been shock enough, but the inheritance on top of that would knock anyone for a loop. He knew from her case history that she possessed a dogged will that had obviously shaped her life. The vulnerable innocence about her was utterly deceptive. She wouldn’t be easily persuaded to fall in line with his plans.