“Our employees,” she corrected and had the satisfaction of seeing him grit his teeth.
“For now, yes. Jacob left you his half of the company, but do you really think he meant for you to do the job? Are you even sure you want to?”
“I won’t know until I try, will I?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Hayes Corporation is my world and I’ll protect it.”
“From me?” she asked, all innocence. “Do I look that dangerous to you?”
A slow, tantalizing smile curved one corner of his mouth, and his eyes seemed to darken in the shadows. “Oh, yeah. You’re plenty dangerous.”
She’d never thought of herself that way, and Terri had to admit that a part of her liked hearing him say it. A swirl of something unexpected rose up from the pit of her stomach, danced around her chest, then reached up and closed her throat. Terri had to force herself to breathe. She was way out of her depth here. This man was unlike any other she’d ever known and she had the distinct feeling that if she put one foot wrong on this new path she was walking, the fall would feel like she was dropping from the roof of the StarFire.
“My father wanted me here.” It felt good to say it aloud. To remind them both that she had a right to be there.
“He did.” Cooper nodded. “But I wonder if he wanted you to stay.”
She didn’t know. Had no way of ever knowing. But whether Jacob Evans had intended for her to stay in Vegas and make the corporation her life or not, she felt that she owed it to herself to give it a chance. Jan had told her to grab the brass ring and that was just what she was going to do.
“It’s my decision, not Jacob’s.”
“Is it?” he countered. “Or are you thinking you owe something to the father you never knew?”
Heat that had nothing to do with arousal swept through her. “Are you deliberately trying to get me to leave?”
“If I was trying,” he said, “you wouldn’t know I was trying.”
“Well, that’s ambiguous enough.”
“Just honest,” he countered.
“And confusing as well as not very welcoming.”
“Blunt again.” He smiled. “I like it.”
That smile was lethal. Note to self: remember that. He used that oh-so-rare smile like a weapon—to disarm and distract. And she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She was going to build a life here and she had to keep on her toes around Cooper Hayes.
As she stood there, Cooper walked to the table, set with fine china, crystal glassware and heavy silver, poured each of them a glass of straw-colored wine, then handed her one of the glasses. Grateful, she took a sip to ease the tightness in her throat. Naturally, it tasted wonderful. She’d already learned that Cooper Hayes did nothing by half measure.
“Look,” he said, “we’re both in a situation we didn’t expect.”
“That’s fair,” she murmured.
That half smile erupted again. “All I’m saying is that we take a few days. See what happens. You learn what you can about the business...”
“What I can?” she repeated.
“There’s a steep learning curve. No offense intended.”
“Hmm.” She wasn’t sure about that no offense thing. Studying the wine in her glass, she mused, “You know, Utah actually has television now. And the internet. We’re still learning how to use it, of course, but we’re pretty quick.”
His lips twitched and tugged at something inside her. “Point taken. Fine. Sit in on meetings. Ask questions. Get familiar with the place.”
“I’ve talked to a few employees already,” she said, accepting his unsaid apology for expecting her to be stupid or something.
“That’s not what I meant,” Cooper told her. “You won’t learn about the company by talking with random employees.”
“You’re wrong about that,” she said. “Who better to tell me what working here is like? The higher-ups sitting in offices? I don’t think so.”
* * *
Cooper considered that for a second and realized she might be onto something.
“You’re...unexpected,” he mused.
“What a nice thing to say.” She practically beamed at him and Cooper felt the punch of that wide, delighted smile slam into him again.
“Is it?”
“Well, sure.” She walked a little closer to the Plexiglas wall, but stopped well clear of it. “I’ve always done the expected thing, you know? A’s in school to please my parents. Business courses in college because it was the right thing to do in spite of my major. My job at the bank. Dating nice, boring guys.” She sighed a little. “I’m a rule follower with a rebel soul.”
He laughed at that and she gave him a narrow-eyed look over her shoulder. He held up one hand. Couldn’t afford to piss her off, could he? He was here to pour on the charm. Making her mad just defeated his whole plan. “Didn’t mean to laugh. But if you’ve got a rebel soul, why don’t you let it out once in a while?”
“In a way, I do.” She set her wineglass down onto the table. “I say what I think, even when it gets me in trouble.”
She intrigued him in spite of how he tried to keep her at a distance. “If it gets you in trouble, then why do it?”
“Because lies come too easy to people and that’s annoying. I’d rather know the truth, hard or not, than some comfortable lie.”
“And how’s that working for you?”
She actually winced. “Sometimes, not so great. Not that I try to deliberately hurt anyone...”
Yeah, he was getting that. She seemed genuinely concerned with...hell. Everything. So no, if he was being brutally honest, he couldn’t see her out in a flame war. In his world, lies were the currency of the realm.
Business deals were always smoothed over with exaggeration. Dates were ended with promises of another even when he knew there would never be one. Partnerships were announced when nothing had ever been said about it before. Hadn’t Jacob lied to Cooper for years? In not telling anyone about the daughter he would leave everything to, he’d lied. He’d let that lie grow. Allowed Cooper to make plans based on the lie.
So maybe she had a point about the power of the truth. Too bad the truth wouldn’t help him any.
A bell sounded and Cooper set his wineglass down then strolled to a door behind a huge potted tree. He opened it and a waiter pushing a room service cart came through. “You don’t have to serve it, James. We’ll take care of that.”
“Yes, sir. Good night, sir. Ma’am.”
When he was gone, Terri murmured, “I’m not sure I like being a ma’am.”
“You don’t look like one, if that helps.”
She whirled around to meet his gaze and Cooper saw the flash of pleasure in her eyes. He’d like to see more of it.
“What do I look like?”
“Trouble.”
She grinned. “Unexpected and trouble. Good for me. You know, those short sentences of yours are starting to be appealing.”
“Why waste time on words?” he asked, moving in on her.
“No idea,” she said, and he swore he could see the pulse point in her neck throbbing.
He hadn’t planned to have a taste of her; in fact, he knew the idea could scuttle all his plans, but now that was all he could think of. Here, under the night sky with the city lights glimmering all around them.
“What’re you doing?” she asked, her voice a soft hush of sound.
“Thinking about kissing you.”
“How much longer are you going to think about it?”
That was all the invitation he needed. He grinned and pulled her in close, threading one hand through her hair to hold her head in place as he closed his mouth over hers. The taste of her seared him. It was more than he’d expected. More than he’d found before with anyone else. Instant heat. Instant need swamping him. He parted her lips, and h
is tongue swept into her mouth to tangle with hers. She sighed and her breath slid inside him, adding even more intimacy to this stolen moment.
He’d been thinking about her for days. Thinking about doing just this, which is why he’d been avoiding her. Catching glimpses of her in the office or on the casino floor was one thing. Now he had his hands on her at last and he reveled in it.
He slid one hand up beneath the hem of her red silk shirt to cup her breast over the lace of her bra. She trembled and his body responded in a flash. He wanted to feel her. Wanted to explore every inch of her and take his time doing it.
She sighed and leaned into him as his thumb stroked across the tip of her nipple. Cooper swallowed a groan and dropped his hand down to her butt, cupping, squeezing, pressing her up against his aching groin.
Deepening the kiss even further, he shifted his hold on her so he could cup her center. She jolted in his arms and instinctively spread her legs farther apart. It was good, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly. He needed to touch her. Now.
“Don’t let me interrupt.” A voice sounded out from somewhere behind them. “No, wait. Yes, let me interrupt.”
Five
Cooper broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Terri’s. Dammit. He knew that voice. He hadn’t heard it in almost two years, but he wasn’t likely to forget it. “Celeste.”
Terri looked past his shoulder and her mouth dropped open. “You’re Vega.”
Cooper turned in time to see Celeste Vega’s gorgeous features brighten into a pleased smile.
“Ah, you know me. Isn’t that lovely?” She stalked toward them, slid the gold chain of her bag off her shoulder and dropped it onto a chair. Picking up Cooper’s wineglass, she took a long drink and smiled at Terri again. “Yes, I am Vega. I always loved to come to Las Vegas. The headlines would read, Vega in Vegas. Such symmetry,” she cooed.
Cooper buried the groan building in his chest. His body ached, his temper was quickly on the rise and he was fresh out of patience for his former lover. “What’re you doing here, Celeste?”
Rather than answer, she finished off his wine, handed him the empty glass and said, “I wanted to see you, of course. And how delicious that I find you here, on the roof, where we share so many lovely memories.”
Cooper felt Terri stiffen beside him and he could have cheerfully tossed Celeste out of his hotel on her beautiful ass.
Reluctantly, Cooper gave the intruder his full attention because anything less would be dangerous. She was still beautiful. Celeste Vega’s striking face had graced the covers of hundreds of magazines. She’d walked the runways in Paris and New York and remained the toast of Europe.
Almost six feet tall, Celeste had short, dark brown hair, shot through with strands of gold and red, cut into a style that hugged her jawline. Her caramel-colored skin seemed to glow against the white silk shirt and slacks she wore. Her almond-shaped, golden-brown eyes could tempt a man into just about anything and in the past, her sultry gaze had worked on him. But as he still had the taste of Terri in his mouth and the memory of her lush body pressed against his fresh in his mind, Celeste’s surprise arrival did nothing for him.
Besides, why would he be glad to see her? Nearly two years ago, Celeste had walked out on him in favor of a much older man with a title and a few billion more than Cooper.
“Again. What’re you doing here, Celeste?”
She pouted. It was an expression meant to seduce and it had actually worked on him, once upon a time. He was wiser now.
“Why, I almost feel that you’re not happy to see me,” she said, pout still in place.
“And how did you get up to the roof?” he demanded.
“Ah, one of your lovely minions opened the elevator to me and before you ask, no, I won’t tell you who. You would no doubt torture them for their kindness.” Brushing past him, one hand to his chest, she continued, “Cooper, introduce me to your new playmate.”
“I’m Terri. Terri Ferguson.” She held out one hand that Celeste ignored in favor of air kissing both of Terri’s cheeks.
“Well, aren’t you adorable? I can see why our Cooper was so eager to get you on the rooftop for one of his famous private dinners.” She tossed a sly smile at Cooper, then dropped one arm around Terri’s shoulders and steered her toward the table where dinner waited. “Oh. Dinner for two. We’ll share, yes?”
Cooper swallowed back the rush of irritation that was nearly choking him. But on the other hand, maybe it was a good thing she’d crashed the party. She’d kept him from going too far too fast with Terri. Celeste was a force of nature. There was no point in trying to get rid of her. She wouldn’t go, short of having security escort her out.
She was beautiful and treacherous and Cooper wondered what the hell she was up to.
* * *
The following morning Terri sat at her birth father’s desk and looked at the stacks of files piled up in front of her. She’d asked for information on the Hayes hotels and now she had enough reading material to last her a year. But to understand this company, she had to immerse herself in it.
She still felt like an impostor. Even more so now, after meeting Celeste Vega the night before. Clearly, the world-famous model and Cooper had had a relationship. And just as clearly, he wasn’t happy that the woman had dropped in on him.
Famous rooftop dinners.
Those words echoed in Terri’s mind. Last night she’d thought he’d done something special. Just for her. Was she really no more than one more link in a chain of Cooper’s women? But as soon as she thought it, she let it go. She wasn’t one of his women. She was half-owner of this hotel—this corporation. Whatever else went on between her and Cooper, that one fact wouldn’t change.
One kiss was hardly a relationship. Though granted, that one kiss was pretty spectacular.
She shivered just remembering the feel of his mouth on hers. Of his hands sweeping up and down her body, the breath-stealing, soul-shaking response that had clattered through her.
Yeah. Okay. Maybe it wasn’t a relationship, but it was definitely something. But a better question would be: Did she want more from Cooper than simple respect and acceptance of her right to be there? She didn’t know. Oh, her body knew exactly what it wanted, but that didn’t mean it was going to get it.
“Doesn’t matter,” Terri murmured, while her mind ran an obstacle course of scattered thoughts. “I’m here now. That’s what matters.”
Sitting in her birth father’s office she tried not to feel intimidated by what Jacob had left her. That was a useless endeavor, though. Beyond the closed door of her office, people were busy, running the company she’d stumbled into. And she...was trying to catch up.
Resolute, she snatched the top folder off the stack and looked at the photo on the front. Hayes London. The hotel looked like a small castle and she had no doubt at all that on the inside, it was a true palace. As good a place as any to start, she told herself.
Then her phone rang, signaling a video chat, and Terri reached for it like it was a rope tossed to her in a raging river. As soon as she answered, Terri smiled. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, baby girl.” Carol Ferguson looked great. At sixty-five, she was fit and pretty with short, stylish blond hair that would never give in to gray. “How’s it going?”
“I don’t know.” Terri held her phone and sat back in her chair. “How’s Daisy?”
“Really?” Carol asked, both eyebrows rising high on her forehead. “You want to talk about your dog?” She shrugged. “Okay, we’ll start there. Daisy’s great. She’s taken over the couch completely, bullied the neighbor’s beagle, dug up your aunt Connie’s tulip bulbs and is, right now, snoring.” She turned the phone so that Terri could see her adorable mutt spread-eagled on her mom’s brown leather couch.
“So, now that you know Daisy’s fine, how about you tell me how you are?”
“F
irst,” Terri said, wincing a little, “tell Aunt Connie I’m sorry about the bulbs.”
Her mother waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Connie can’t grow weeds. Those bulbs never would have bloomed. She’ll do what she always does. Buy plants in pots, bury the pots and then take credit for growing the flowers.”
Terri laughed, delighted at the description because it really was so Connie. And wow, it felt good to relax and laugh with someone who loved her. Who understood what she was going through.
“Now, talk to me, sweetie.” Her mom’s face held the I’m-not-taking-no-for-an-answer expression Terri was all too familiar with.
“Okay, then. This hotel is amazing,” she said and chuckled at the use of that word again. Seriously, she was going to have to buy a thesaurus or something. “Mostly, everyone’s been very nice. I’m staying in Jacob’s suite at the very top of the hotel and—”
“Ouch.” Her mom winced. “Too bad they didn’t have suites on the ground floor for you.”
She grinned. It was good to have people who knew you that well. “I’m dealing. I even went out on the roof last night with Cooper.”
“Is that right?” Carol made a hmmmm of interest. “Cooper, huh? Is he as pretty in person?”
“Prettier, though he wouldn’t love that description.”
“Men so rarely do. On the roof? Why?”
Well, now, that was the question, wasn’t it? She’d thought it was to share the view. And a romantic dinner. Now she wondered. “He wanted to show me the view and it’s beautiful, if scary, to be looking down from about a million feet in the air.”
“Uh-huh. Anything else?”
“Well, Celeste Vega showed up.”
“The Vega?” Her mom’s eyebrows rose even higher. Not surprising. Terri’s mother was practically addicted to those magazines at checkout counters. She bought them every week and was up-to-date on all the celebrities. She could tell you who was married, getting divorced, going into rehab. Her celebrity love was wide and vast. “Is she as beautiful in person or is it all airbrushing? I’ve wondered about that. You know you can’t trust pictures. These days they could make a troll look like a beauty queen.”
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