~~~
The sun played across Maddy’s face as it filtered through the sheers that covered the floor-to-ceiling windows in the room. Slowly, she stretched and opened her eyes, enjoying nature’s morning noises drifting in through the open window. It was so wonderful to feel the warmth of the Australian summer sun after New York’s bitter winter chill. At that moment, her cold New York office was the farthest thing from her mind.
She had been elated when Jason escorted her to the corner guest room. It was light and airy, with windows on one side that looked out on a beautifully manicured garden below, and a small terrace balcony on the other side that overlooked an Olympic-sized swimming pool where subtle splashes could be heard as someone took a morning swim.
Maddy’s heart skipped a beat as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. This is just crazy, she mumbled to herself as she thought about how she had secretly watched from the shadows of her bedroom as Jason swam laps in the pool yesterday. I don’t have time for this. But, her heartbeat quickened in anticipation as she walked over to open the terrace doors.
Yesterday she had watched breathlessly as Jason’s powerful arms pulled his sleek body effortlessly through the aqua blue water, the sun glistening off his rippling muscles. There was no denying that she was attracted to this man more than she wanted to be, more than she should be.
For crying out loud, he is going to be my boss, she admonished herself. However, in spite of just cautioning herself, she opened the terrace doors and let out a soft sigh, wondering again what it would feel like to be held in those powerful arms.
What are you thinking? She questioned herself again, blushing. You are going to be working with this man. He is going to be your boss! You can’t have those kinds of thoughts about him. It’s very unprofessional. But the thoughts refused go away.
She had not had a serious relationship since graduating college, and she preferred not to dwell on the past. It was too painful. She had appreciated Sharon’s attempt at setting her up a few times with blind dates, but nothing ever came of them. Whether they were ho-hum boring, had over-inflated egos, or wanted to get too friendly too fast, she had decided it would be better and less frustrating to just concentrate on her career for the time being. She knew Sharon disapproved, but it was her life and she intended to live it how she wanted, and right now that did not include men.
So why do you get all weak in the knees every time you look at Jason or Derek? her inner voice poked her. She ignored it.
Stepping quickly to the terrace doors, she softly opened them, anxious to watch Jason’s glistening body as he swam, all the while knowing nothing could ever come of it. Still, it can’t hurt to just look again, can it?
Maddy watched, enthralled, as Jason smoothly stroked his way to the other end of the pool and returned. He rolled over on his back and floated, exposing the hard muscled beauty of his chest and flat stomach. She inhaled sharply and her eyes opened wide when Jason rotated his body to face the house and she realized the man in the pool was not actually Jason but Derek Nichols!
Immediately, she reached to close the terrace doors, but her hand stopped in midair as Derek swam gracefully to the edge of the pool and pulled his body up. Supporting himself on powerfully muscled arms, the water glistened, accentuating his perfect torso; droplets of silver sparkled in the morning sun as they dropped from his body. Maddy caught her breath as he turned and stared up at her, a wickedly sexy grin spread across his face. Embarrassed at being caught, she quickly pulled the doors shut. Butterflies rioted in her stomach and her cheeks were on fire as she made her way across the floor to the bathroom.
What is wrong with me? She was beginning to doubt her sanity as she stared at her reddened face in the mirror. How can someone who I dislike with a passion make me feel all foolish and lightheaded? What am I thinking, letting both these men affect me this way? Am I turning into some kind of a wanton hussy? Oh, Mom. I wish I could talk to you about this. She sat down on the side of the tub holding her head in her hands.
She knew she could talk to Sharon or even give Grandma Lydia a quick call. But no, she preferred to work this out on her own. She would have to figure out why Derek, whom she despised with a passion, could trigger such feelings when she wasn’t even attracted to him. In fact, she hated him for his macho attitude. It practically mirrored her father’s, and she would never let another man treat her that way ever again.
Never! she vowed, scowling angrily as she stood. Never!
She quickly booted Derek from her thoughts and sighed dreamily as she concentrated on Jason. Jason, who was everything Derek was not. Jason was kind and considerate. He regarded her as a lady, and most of all he recognized her as a person with brains, not some bimbo with a head full of air looking for a man. While the two of them had strolled arm in arm through the garden last evening, Jason had listened to her ideas for the future designs she planned to pursue. He did not dismiss them as 'childish’ the way Martin and her father would have. He had also assured her that she had nothing to worry about from the board.
“They always follow my lead,” he had said when he took her hands in his. The sensual feel of his hands on hers sent a tingling sensation through her body and her heart rate increased. She could feel the warmth of his body as he had leaned in closer, his eyes drifting to her lips and lingering. Her imagination ran rampant, as she imagined his lips on hers. At that moment, her lips parted of their own accord. She could feel her heart racing. He leaned closer. His male scent engulfed her and did crazy things to her body. It became increasingly harder to breathe. She tilted her head up in anticipation of his kiss, but he stopped short and leaned forward, planting a brotherly kiss on her forehead before saying good night. She stood staring after him, her mouth agape.
What the…? She stared after him, bewildered.
Chapter 9
Derek watched from his room as Jason pulled out of the driveway in his black Range Rover. How he would love to be a fly and ride along to see what the old boy was up to. It couldn’t be good. Last night, passing Jason’s office, he had accidently overheard him on the phone talking to someone. He could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was enough to tell him something was up, and that whatever the message was, it wasn’t what Jason wanted to hear. However, what Derek had heard led him to believe that all was not kosher with Cornish International, and that bothered him. He decided to do some checking into just what Mr. Jason Cornish was trying to pull off.
He couldn’t do anything about it at the present, though, so he grabbed his towel and trunks and hit the stairs two at a time. It was early yet and he had time for a swim before breakfast. The smell of chlorine greeted him as he rounded the corner of the bathhouse and slipped through the door to change. Emerging, he dove into the sparkling blue water. It felt good. Just enough of a chill to invigorate the body. He swam twenty laps before rolling over on his back to float. Opening his eyes, he surveyed the pool area. It was perfect for entertaining large parties, something he imagined would fit Jason’s lifestyle. The wide expanse of the patio was flanked by a row of five cabanas. On the other side, a large outdoor kitchen filled an area between two buff stone half walls. Off to the side, several tables with big hunter-green-and-white striped umbrellas and chairs with matching cushions clustered together. A row of chaise lounges upholstered in white fabric flanked the pool on the other side. The area could probably accommodate a group of twenty or so.
Paddling with his arms, he rotated to view the house. It had clean, angular lines and lots of glass, making the inside feel like part of the outside.
This is the type of house Maddy would design, he thought. Modern, clean, yet still warm and inviting. He felt a stirring in his chest as he thought of Maddy. He closed his eyes. Memories from last summer’s company picnic popped in his mind. The memory he had tried hard to forget of Maddy in her tantalizing turquoise bikini that had complemented her bronzed skin and copper colored hair floated across his mind. The memory of her graceful body d
iving into the pool, leaving only a slight splash behind. The memory of her melodious laugh when she and Sharon had shared a joke. His heart rate quickened. He felt a stirring in his lower regions.
This is foolishness. She hates me. He opened his eyes. That’s when he spied the object of his thoughts standing just inside the open terrace doors to her bedroom. He swam over to the edge and purposely leveraged himself up out of the pool with his arms, knowing that it would show off his physique to its best advantage. He held the pose, the water dripping from his body as he turned, looked right at her, and grinned wickedly. Had he imagined it or did she wait just a little too long before closing the door? He laughed as he fell back into the water.
Derek imagined the blush on her cheeks and his heart turned over. A wave of desire swept through him. What’s the matter with me? he thought, sighing. I’ve ruined whatever chance I might have had. She hates me. He pulled himself up out of the pool and grabbed his towel. Maybe I can’t have her, but I will make sure Jason doesn’t get his hands on her either.
~~~
Jason greeted Estelle Jenkins, his secretary, with a scowl. He was in no mood for her usual bright and cheery attitude this morning. He snatched the pages of yellow message slips from her outstretched hand. Estelle shook her head and reached for her cup of tea as she watched him stalk off toward his office.
The pages of messages fluttered like leaves down on to the desktop where Jason tossed them. He slouched down in his chair as the last message settled on the edge of the desk and drifted off to finally land on the floor. He ran his hand down his face, remembering what he desperately wanted to forget. Mark Clauson, project manager for all of Cornish International’s construction jobs, had called last night to report that he had all of the sub-contractors lined up and ready to begin as soon as the contract was signed. That was the good news. The bad news was that there seemed to be some question about the permits. The Office of Permits had informed him that construction would be held up until it could be sorted out, and it seemed the man in charge of Special Permits would be out of town for some time.
After wreaking havoc turning the papers on his desktop upside down, he finally punched the intercom button. “Estelle! Where are those permit forms?” he bellowed. “I left them on my desk before I left for New York.”
“Yes, I know you did,” Estelle replied, calmly shaking her head. “I put them in the file where they belong, per your instruction.”
“Oh,” he mumbled, barely audible. “Well, do you remember who the lead inspector on the permit request was?”
“I believe it was Henry Duncan,” she replied, smiling at the change in his voice. “Is there something wrong with the permits?”
“I do not know,” he groaned. “Do you have Duncan’s number?”
Jason wrote the number down and called. Henry Duncan’s assistant informed him that Henry would be out for the rest of the week. Maybe longer. He was not sure. Would Jason like to leave a message?
No. He would call back later, Jason told the assistant. He slammed the phone down.
Another week’s delay. I cannot afford another week’s delay. All of this should have been taken care while I was in the States, he groused inwardly.
He placed a call to Mark and after a loud verbal dressing down, he told him to track down Duncan and find out just what was going on. The subcontractors would have to wait.
“Make sure this is taken care of immediately!” Jason yelled at Mark. “We can’t afford another delay.”
He sat several seconds glaring at the phone receiver he had just slammed down. As his anger with Mark slowly abated, Jason glanced at his watch. It was almost ten-thirty. Still in a nasty mood, he called the Quay and made reservations for three. He had hoped to get Maddy alone, but that did not seem possible, at least for lunch. He couldn’t very well leave Derek to his own devices, at least not until after the board meeting. His lack of hospitality would look suspicious if Derek were deliberately ignored at this stage.
He rang Alfred’s extension and directed him to pick up Maddy and Nichols from the ranch. The board meeting was scheduled for two-thirty and he wanted to take Maddy to lunch at the Quay before the meeting. It would not be as intimate as he had hoped now that Derek would be tagging along.
The thought of having Maddy all to himself after the meeting sent a rush through his body. There had been no opportunity to get her alone for any length of time since Derek took every opportunity to show up wherever Maddy and he happened to be. All he needed was some quiet alone time with Maddy. He was positive she was already attracted to him, and with a little luck, he would have her falling in love with him in a matter of days. Then the next step would be easy. He felt an adrenaline rush as he thought of all of the money he could get his hands on once he had Maddy all wrapped up.
Tonight would be his chance. He had arranged for his sometime paramour Jacqueline L'Amour to be Nichols’ dinner companion. They would all dine together, and then, somewhere around ten or so, he would slip away with Maddy. Leaving Jacqueline to take care of Nichols.
The old boy doesn’t know how lucky he’s going to be, he chuckled, recalling just how talented Jacqueline was.
He picked up the agenda for that afternoon’s meeting, set up by the board chairman. After Maddy and Derek made their presentations to the board, there would be a brief time allotted for looking over both proposals and designs, and then there would be a motion made to unanimously accept Maddy’s design by acclamation. Of course, the motion would be followed by some discussion time, but the board chairman assured him it would be brief, if it happened at all. All of the board members understood what they were expected to do.
Chapter 10
Maddy let the hot water flow over her body for several minutes. It felt so good, easing the tension out of her muscles, making her forget the feelings that Derek had stirred in her. She stayed until the water began to cool and she felt much better. At least, she now had some control over her emotions.
Why do I let Derek get under my skin? He is the most obnoxious, sanctimonious man I’ve ever met. She frowned. And, arrogant, too. How can anyone be that in love with himself? Not like Jason, who is the perfect gentleman at all times. She smiled to herself at the thought of Jason. Always conscious of my feelings, always putting me first.
She stepped out of the shower and grabbed the big fluffy ivory towel lying on the wrought iron stool beside the shower stall. Wrapping the towel around herself, she sighed and closed her eyes. Yes, Jason is perfect. A wave of anticipation washed over her body as she hugged, herself imagining Jason’s strong arms wrapped around her, the feel of his body next to hers, the feel his of lips on hers. She looked up, caught her refection in the mirror, and blushed.
Oh dear! I am turning into a wanton hussy after all. She caught herself up short and scowled at her reflection. This has to stop. I am here to do a job, not look for a relationship.
~~~
Derek paced back and forth at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer, waiting for Maddy to appear. Alfred was already parked in the driveway, waiting. Derek was frustrated that the vision of Maddy in that yellow sundress as they left for dinner last night, refused to go away despite all his efforts to erase it from his memory. She had taken his breath away. His eyes had wandered over her, feasting on every detail—the neckline that lay softly on her skin, exposing just enough of her creamy breasts to set his heart racing; her deep copper locks that hung in soft curls and gently brushed her shoulders as she moved gracefully down the stairs. The soft curve of her petal-pink lips as they tilted up at the corners; her eyes that had sparkled, full of mischief. The full skirt that ended just above her perfect knees and swayed sexily with each step, outlining the curve of her thighs. Sexy, white, strappy heels had accentuated her slender ankles and graceful calves.
It took him only a moment to realize he had been staring at the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Desire had billowed up in his lower region as she had turned her gaze on him, but her eyes had ling
ered for only a brief moment before turning away. He felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach as he realized it hadn’t been him that her eyes were seeking. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as her lips parted into a full-on beautiful smile. Jason rushed forward, his hand extended, waiting to assist her down the final few stairs.
Well, what did you expect? Derek’s inner voice jabbed him. She’s not going to look at you that way unless you do something about your attitude.
Derek let out a long sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. Despite knowing that Maddy would rather see him hung up by his thumbs than give him the time of day, he knew something had to be done before she fell head over heels for Jason. As amicable as Jason appeared, Derek couldn’t help but feel that something sinister lurked just below the surface. The whole situation seemed off. Maybe the call he had placed back to New York to his friend who had his finger on the pulse of the construction world would answer that question. Now, more than ever, he had a sinking feeling that Maddy could be in real danger.
Sharp, stiletto heel clicks on the foyer’s tiled floor brought Derek back to the present. He turned and looked into a pair of startling, sky-blue eyes surrounded by flowing blonde waves.
“Hi.” The woman’s sultry voice sent tingles up Derek’s spine. “You must be Derek, my dinner companion for tonight.” She extended her graceful hand, palm down.
“Ah … well … ah,” he stammered, losing himself in her eyes. “I guess I must be.” He took hold of her hand and held it. “And, you are?”
“Jacqueline L’Amour,” she said, gently pulling her hand away. “I see that Jason has been remiss in not telling you of the plans for this evening.” She tilted her head slightly to one side assessing Derek as her cherry red lips parted in an alluring smile. “Not to worry,” she said provocatively placing her hand on Derek’s arm. “We will have a wonderful time.”
The Royals of Monterra Page 4
