At the Tycoon's Command

by Shawna Delacourt

  Kim straightened from where she had kneeled to greet the dog. She had hoped the rest of the day wouldn’t be awkward, but it was apparently a wish that would not be fulfilled. “I needed to do some work before tomorrow’s open house. I didn’t want to leave it until the last minute and take a chance on not getting it done in time. It’s important for me to be able to sell my father’s house as quickly as possible so I can pay off the rest of his debts and settle his estate.”

  Her words grabbed his attention. “If you sell the house right away, where will you stay for the rest of the summer while finishing your work contract here?” He could offer her temporary housing in one of his guest rooms and then maybe…he stopped his wandering thoughts. What was he thinking? Wandering…his thoughts weren’t wandering, they were galloping full force toward a situation that could only be described as the first step in making a commitment.

  “I’ll worry about that when the house sells. I could always commute from my apartment in San Francisco, even though it would be almost an hour drive each way. There are people who drive that kind of a commute to and from work every day.”

  A quick jab of disgust hit her. Her contracted work arrangement—he certainly wasn’t going to let her forget about it. She took a calming breath, then walked to the desk in the reception area and picked up the file folder Jared had left there. Last night had been a horrible mistake, but she couldn’t undo what had happened. All she could do was move forward in a strictly businesslike manner and try to avoid any unpleasant situations for the balance of her required summer work schedule.

  And somehow she had to bury her feelings and deny what she had reluctantly admitted to herself was her love for Jared Stevens—a love that obviously would never be returned.

  “What do you plan to do tomorrow while the real estate agent is holding the open house?”

  “I plan to go to my apartment in San Francisco, water my plants and pack a larger suitcase with more clothes than what I brought with me. I’ve been living out of that suitcase for quite a while now, washing the same clothes over and over again. I’d like to wear something different for a change.”

  “Oh.” He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I held breakfast for you. I assumed you’d come back so we could eat together.”

  “I’ve already eaten.” She looked at Jared in time to see a hint of disappointment flicker across his face.

  “Where do you want to start on the charity project?” She didn’t want to prolong any personal conversation. She was there strictly for business. “Do you have any ideas you want implemented? Do you want me to communicate directly with your client?”

  “My client dumped the entire thing in my lap before he and his wife left for Europe. He said to let him know when everything was finalized, that he didn’t really want to be bothered with any step-by-step progress reports. Everything he provided me, with regard to instructions, information, likes and dislikes, is in that file folder. So…do you have any thoughts?”

  Thoughts? Yes, she had one immediate thought. Maybe this charity fund-raiser was the perfect solution to her dilemma. It would allow her to fulfill her contracted work arrangement with Jared while functioning autonomously without constant communication and the need to go to Jared for a list of menial little chores.

  She pulled together her best business manner. “Well, the first thing we need to do is set a date and location for the function. We can’t make any other arrangements such as hiring the caterers or an orchestra or booking any entertainment until we can tell them when and where. We can’t have invitations printed and sent out until we have the when and where finalized.”

  “Sounds good to me. I thought maybe the ballroom of one of the large downtown San Francisco hotels.”

  She cocked her head in surprise. “A hotel ballroom? How large an affair did you anticipate? I had assumed it would be something you would do here.”

  “No…I think it would be better if we held it at a hotel. It would be closer to people’s homes in town. Those who might imbibe a bit too much champagne would be able to take a cab home or stay at the hotel overnight. And it would be a location that would be able to accommodate hundreds of people, a room large enough for eating and also dancing.”

  “That sounds reasonable. So, I guess my first order of business is to book the hotel facility. Did your client have any specific date in mind?”

  “He suggested late September or the first of October. Since this is now the first of July, that gives us most of three months to get it together.”

  “No…it gives me only two months until the first of September when my contracted work schedule is completed. After that, the last-minute details will be yours.” Her words came out harsh, much harsher than she intended them to be. She attempted to recover and get on with the business that needed to be done today.

  “Does your client have any type of a theme he wants to use?”

  “A theme.” Jared stared at her for a moment as he wrinkled his brow in concentration. “I hadn’t really thought of that, and he never mentioned it. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Not at the moment, but I’ll see what I can come up with. Do you want me to start work on this now or wait until Monday morning? Do you have an invitation list? I’ll need to know how many people we’re talking about.”

  “The names for the invitation list should be available in a few days. Part of it is coming from my client’s office and the other part is coming from the charity organization. There will be duplicate names between the two lists that will need to be eliminated and everything put into one master list. That will give you the maximum number to work with. I don’t know what percentage of those invited usually attend this type of an affair. After all, the bottom line is the amount of checks that come in rather than the number of people who attend the fund-raiser in person.”

  “Yes, but you don’t want to incur a large amount of unnecessary expenses that will take away from the net amount going to the charity. If you arrange food for five hundred people and only two hundred people show up, you’ll still have to pay for five hundred people.”

  “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “Do you have a San Francisco phone book?”

  Jared pointed to the desk. “There’s one in the bottom drawer.”

  “I should begin by getting price information from the hotels and I’ll most likely need to wait until Monday for the right people to be at work. In fact, by using a hotel ballroom the deal would include catering and bar setup rather than needing to handle that separately. Of course, it will still require coordination with the banquet manager as far as food, drink, table decorations, flowers, valet parking and other things of that sort are concerned.”

  Kim remained at the office for another three hours. She made a list of all the major hotels and their phone numbers, then she made a second list of everything she needed to discuss with the hotel to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

  She purposely stayed busy, not looking up to see what Jared was doing or taking a break that would give them an opportunity to talk. She welcomed the busy work schedule the charity event would provide her. She welcomed having some place to focus her attention and energy so she didn’t have an opportunity to think about what had happened with Jared—to think about a future without the man she had grown to love in such a short time, but a true love nonetheless. A love she now knew would not be returned.

  Jared watched her as she worked. He didn’t want to hover over her, but he didn’t want to be very far from her, either. He tried to occupy his time by doing little chores around the house, but his thoughts kept going to Kim and an idea that had started in the back of his mind.

  As the afternoon progressed he formulated a plan. He would buy her father’s house, an anonymous cash transaction. That way he could insist on an immediate closing so he would have possession of the property. He would offer her the opportunity of staying in one of his guest rooms free so she could complete
her summer work schedule. It would be a business arrangement, no different than her working off her father’s debt. There was no reason to assume it would necessarily be a prelude to a commitment.

  Jared slowly shook his head and dismissed the plan. It was an incredibly stupid idea. Even in his desperate state of mind he recognized it as a blatant attempt to manipulate her. But he had to do something, and so far everything he had done from the moment she woke up that morning had been wrong.

  He had handed Kim her clothes as if to say he thought it was time for her to go home. Then, when she returned, he had been caustic in the way he had asked where she had been, as if he were criticizing her or accusing her of something. A very uneasy feeling settled inside him. His life had been totally under control and running along without any major problems until he tried to collect a long overdue debt. Now all of a sudden he didn’t seem to be able to handle the simplest things without agonizing over them and then messing up anyway.

  Kim Donaldson had muddled his mind, or perhaps mesmerized would be a better word. He had never had this happen before. Was this what it was like to be in love? If so, then it was too painful and he wasn’t so sure he wanted anything to do with it. He clenched his jaw as he searched inside himself for some composure and determination. Buying her father’s house, trying to manipulate her to get what he wanted was definitely a lousy idea.

  The sounds of Kim putting the reception area in order in preparation for leaving interrupted his thoughts. He left his office to intercept her before she could get out the door. He wanted to try to smooth the feathers he had unintentionally ruffled.

  “I want to thank you for working today even though it’s not one of your regular workdays. It’s a huge relief for me to know that the fund-raiser is in capable hands and will be properly taken care of.”

  “Uh, thank you.”

  He heard her hesitation and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. He didn’t know what else to say. Perhaps things would be better when Monday morning arrived.

  They had made love and then he had done the last thing he wanted to do and the worst possible thing he could have done. Instead of drawing her closer, he had put a wall between them. And now he had to figure out how to tear down that wall and repair the damage he had done.

  “I’ll see you Monday morning?”

  “Sure.” Kim didn’t know what to make of Jared’s attitude. First he had practically told her to get out of his bed and go home. Then he had a very accusatory tone to his voice when he questioned why she had been gone so long. And now he seemed to be wanting to make it up to her, but hadn’t said anything about it.

  She was very confused. Perhaps things would look better on Monday morning. She grabbed her purse and left his house.

  Seven

  The insistent ringing of the phone finally penetrated Kim’s sleep and roused her to consciousness. She squinted as she stared at the clock on the nightstand. Three o’clock in the morning? Who in the world could be calling me at this hour on a Monday morning? It’s probably a wrong number…some drunk who can’t find his way home. Maybe whoever it is will give up if I don’t answer it.

  After three more rings she finally grabbed the receiver and managed to croak out a curt response to the intrusion. “Who is this and what do you want at this hour?”

  “Get over here right now.”

  She sat upright and tried to shake the sleep from her mind as she attempted to make sense of the call. “Jared? Is that you?” Sarcasm enveloped her words. “Does this mean you need someone to change the channel on your television for you? Do you have any idea what time—”

  “Now—I need your help right now. Hurry!”

  The phone line went dead as he hung up without even saying goodbye. Kim was wide awake and angry. How dare he insist that I come to his house in the middle of the night! Not even an explanation of why, just an order to be there. There was nothing in our letter of agreement that said he had the right to wake me up in the middle of the night and demand that I go to work. It would serve him right if I went back to sleep and ignored his demand.

  She reluctantly climbed out of bed, then stood in the middle of the room as a realization struck her. The edge in his voice seemed to be desperation more than anything else, and he had said he needed her help. Was there a genuine problem to deal with? Was he okay? Had he been injured? Was he ill? A new surge of panic rushed through Kim. He said he needed her help, and it sounded urgent. She threw on her clothes, then dashed to her car.

  A few minutes later she arrived at Jared’s house. Before she could ring the bell, the large double doors swung open. The sight and sound that greeted her were the last things she would have imagined.

  Jared held a crying toddler in his arms. The look on his face was a clear combination of panic and stark terror.

  “Do you know anything about babies?”

  “I used to baby-sit a lot in high school and college.”

  “Good.” He frantically held the noisy bundle toward her. “That makes you an expert in my book.”

  A startled Kim took the child from him. “Where did—”

  “I changed her diaper and tried to feed her, but she won’t stop crying.” Jared looked at Kim, his eyes pleading as much as his tone of voice. “Can you do something? Can you make her stop crying? Crying this much can’t be good for her. She’ll make herself sick.”

  Jared wore only a pair of jeans. He was barefooted and bare-chested. His broad shoulders, hard chest and strong arms brought back memories of their lovemaking. His tousled hair made him look as if he had just climbed out of a warm bed, the same bed she had shared with him a couple of nights ago. Her heart pounded a little harder. She quickly turned her attention to the crying child, as much in an attempt to rid her mind of the erotic thoughts prompted by the sight of a half-naked Jared Stevens as it was to tend to the needs of the toddler.

  “You said her. What’s her name? How old is she? Whose child is she? Where did she come from?” It was quite a revelation. This very assertive, take-charge man appeared to be genuinely afraid of the noisy little girl.

  Jared seemed not to hear her questions. “Can you make her stop crying? I didn’t know what to do.”

  Kim looked around. They were standing in the doorway, the cool night air streaming in around them. She didn’t see any other people, nor did she see anything that might belong to the toddler. She tried again to get Jared’s attention. “Where are her parents?”

  “She was given to me. That makes me responsible for her.”

  “Someone left this child here?” Her incredulity at what he had said came out in her voice. “What in the world are you talking about?” She kicked the front door closed and headed toward the living room, looking for a place to sit down.

  “No, not there.” A moment later they arrived at the den. A bit of frustration pushed at her. His thoughts and manner were totally scattered, and she didn’t seem to be able to get through to him with her questions. She spotted a duffel bag next to the sofa and a blanket on the floor.

  “Jared…” Kim watched as he paced up and down. She put a little more volume into her words. “Jared, could you please spread the blanket on the sofa so I can put her down?”

  His head snapped up and he looked at Kim as if he had just become aware that she was in the room. “What? Oh…the blanket…the sofa…sure.” He did as she asked.

  “What’s her name?” Kim placed the toddler on the blanket. She managed to suppress the amused chuckle that tried to escape when she saw the ludicrous way the diaper had been put on the child. Jared had definitely been way out of his element when he had tried to change the little girl.

  “Her name is Chloe.”

  Kim opened the duffel bag and searched through the items to see what supplies were available for taking care of Chloe. There was one small box of disposable diapers, pajamas, some cookies, a drinking cup and a raggedy teddy bear. She adjusted and fastened the diaper so it was a proper snug fit, then handed the stuffed bear to the little girl,
who eagerly took it from her.

  Kim sat on the edge of the sofa and held Chloe in her arms until the child had quieted down. She continued to rock her until the toddler fell asleep. Her attention was focused on the little girl, but she caught glimpses of Jared out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her with what seemed to be a combination of admiration and gratitude. She gently placed Chloe on the blanket and pulled the other side over the child to keep her warm.

  Kim stood up, took a deep breath and slowly expelled it. “I think she’s finally asleep.”

  “Yes…I noticed the quiet.” The relief echoed in his words and showed on his face. “Thanks for your help. It never occurred to me that it would be as easy as giving her a teddy bear.”

  She shot Jared a curious look. “Well, it wasn’t quite as easy as all that. She was very upset, and I’m sure she was also scared being taken from her bed in the middle of the night and handed to a complete stranger.”

  Kim sat on the sofa and fixed her gaze on Jared. She saw the uneasiness in the depths of his green eyes. “Now that you have me over here at this horrible hour, I think you owe me an explanation. What is this all about. What did you mean when you said someone gave Chloe to you? Who left her? Who are her parents? Why did they leave a little girl here in the middle of the night?”

  Jared took a steadying breath as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I’m not sure I know the complete story. I’m told that Chloe is eighteen months old.”

  Kim paused as she turned the next question over in her mind before asking it. “Are you her father?”

  Jared shot her a pointed look, a combination of amusement and annoyance. “I don’t know her mother’s name, but Terry is apparently her father. It was Terry who brought her here about midnight and dumped her on me.”