by Leah Vale
The memory of his handsome face near hers sent an unwelcome tingle along her skin and brought her up short at the beginning of the brick path. She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate.
An image of Alexander’s pain-filled eyes came to mind.
So like Cooper’s.
Something in her heart shifted.
Maybe thwarting Cooper wasn’t the right approach. Maybe she should try to soothe his wounded psyche. Once Cooper was no longer tormented by the circumstances of his birth, she could win him over to the McCoy team and give Joseph what he craved--the love of at least one of his newly found grandsons.
Without becoming involved with him, of course, having learned her lesson with Rob Ward when it came to mixing business with pleasure.
COOPER ONLY HALF-LISTENED to Joseph rambling on about what a good boy his son Marcus had been. The old guy seemed to have conveniently forgotten what a sleaze of a man Marcus had grown up to be. Instead, Cooper focused on formulating a game plan.
Revealing his intentions to the woman who had to be the best-looking secretary he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting had been a tactical error. But with her being ordered to treat him like a McCoy, she wouldn’t be able to hamper him much. Though she did have the advantage of undoubtedly knowing the workings of the family company, which would take him a while to figure out himself.
He ran a hand over his whiskered jaw, considering his options, none of which would earn him any Boy Scout badges. He mentally scoffed. As if he had ever fit that upstanding mold. There had been one too many Dumpster fires and sweet cars in need of momentary liberation in his background.
But he had to keep Sara distracted. Maybe he should ask Grandpa Joe if he could have her as his very own personal secretary. Who knew? Maybe with a little encouragement, a big desk like Joe’s and long lunch hours, they could redefine the term personal.
A tapping sounded behind him, halting Joseph’s ramble down memory lane and pulling Cooper from his raunchy thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder to find the star of his fantasies standing between the doors she hadn’t bothered to close behind her when she’d stormed out.
The color was still high in her sculpted cheeks and her rich, brown hair wasn’t as sleek and controlled as it had been earlier. Her full breasts rose and fell rapidly beneath her sweater as if she were out of breath.
Hopefully, from thinking of him. The power to ruffle her would definitely be an asset to him.
"May I?" she asked Joseph.
"Of course. Come in." Joseph indicated for her to take a seat in the other chair facing the desk. Right next to Cooper. "Did you find Alexander?"
She settled herself in the chair and crossed her legs with a distinct air of determination. Even though she was wearing slacks, there was no doubt her legs were shapely. It was all Cooper could do not to smack his lips.
Her attention studiously off him, she answered, "l did. In the stable."
Joseph nodded. "Not surprising. Will he be joining us soon?" Gramps appeared eager for Cooper to meet his half brother. His hope was plain to see. As far as Cooper was concerned, Joe was definitely alone in that hope.
Sara finally looked Cooper’s way, and he was shocked by an unexpected softness that warmed her pretty green eyes to a deep jade. "l don’t think so."
His stomach muscles clenched and he pulled his chin back. Here he’d been expecting some high-sticking from her after his earlier shenanigans. The squishies surprised the heck out of him.
Joseph let out a heavy breath, which drew Cooper’s attention. The old man’s disappointment was palpable.
Cooper had to fight not to tell him that was what he got for making Alexander’s life one big, fat lie. But Cooper needed Grandpa Joe on his side for his plan to work, so he kept his mouth shut.
Pushing to his feet, Joseph grumbled, "He should be here so we can discuss the role Cooper will take in the company. Excuse me for a moment." He rounded the desk. "Sara, why don’t you go over our corporate structure with Cooper. Maybe one of the divisions will sound especially appealing to him," Joseph suggested as he walked to the doors.
Cooper looked at her in time to see her press her full lips into a thin line, as if Joe had suggested she hop up onto the desk and give Cooper a show.
Thinking it a shame, he propped his elbow on the arm of his chair and leaned toward her to lessen the two-foot gap between them. He really should make an effort to smooth things over with her. "Aw, come on, now, I’m not all that bad."
Challenge sparked in her eyes and she mimicked his movement, bringing herself face-to-face with him in a way that made Cooper’s body hum. "I’m not going to forget what you said, Mr. Anders, and we both know darn well I didn’t misunderstand you."
Her expression softened again and she gently put a hand over his, the slight contact enough to warm his blood. "But I want you to know that I understand other things, also."
While the last thing he wanted was anyone’s understanding, he smiled, liking her spirit. Whether or not she had the power to make things difficult for him, he had to keep her focus elsewhere. His gaze strayed to her full mouth. She hadn’t put on more lipstick since he’d been a breath away from her earlier, so her lips were a dusky pink that tempted him like nobody’s business. Julia Roberts had nothing on this pretty woman.
He pulled a lopsided smile. "Wouldn’t it be something if you ended up working for me? We could have a lot of fun, you know."
Those pink lips parted and she reared back, wide-eyed, wedging herself against the far arm of her chair. Before he could decide if the flare of her pupils meant the notion aroused her or horrified her, she narrowed her eyes and skewered him with a speculative look.
"You were arrested for what again?"
Appreciating her spunk, he settled back in his own chair. "Disorderly conduct. Should have been nothing more than a ticket, but it took them a while to sort everything out due to varying levels of intoxication and trustworthiness."
She made a very indelicate noise. "I can imagine. But didn’t you say something about sitting on the biggest guy in the place? Not exactly the most masculine way to fight, is it?"
Loving that she was trying to take him down a notch or two now instead of coddling him, Cooper grinned at her. "‘Sitting' isn’t a very accurate description of what I did." He stood up and stepped in front of her. "Here, let me show you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
She gasped, then protested, "No, that’s okay."
She tried to sit down again, but he turned her so her back was to him, slipped his arms under hers and brought his hands up behind her satiny neck to link his fingers, which forced her to raise her arms above her head.
"Cooper!"
Her sweet scent filling his head again, he put his mouth next to her ear. "lt’s your basic wrestling move. Quick, effective and painless--right?--though I have to confess l wasn’t as gentle with the bozo in the bar."
He felt her spine stiffen. "But he could still peel you bald." She demonstrated her point by burying her hands in his hair on both sides of his head and gathering a handful. But the tug she gave him reminded him more of what would happen in a bedroom rather
than a barroom. His blood pressure rocketed.
He unlinked his fingers so he could move his hands into her silky, thick brown hair. "He was a heck of a lot taller than you, honey, and couldn’t reach me. The more he tried, the more I tightened my hold."
He brought his elbows up just a bit, and she arched her back in response to the pressure, her full breasts straining against her sweater. Suddenly, he found himself doing some straining of his own. The woman could sure heat him up.
He had to swallow before he continued. "Which really annoyed him. I didn’t have much choice but to keep a hold of him until someone took him off my hands. Unfortunately, that someone happened to be the law."
"Very nice. Now, let go." Her voice was airy. And she still had her hands in his hair.
Cooper chuckled. Knowing it would pro
bably be a while before he could convince her to let him this close again. he murmured, "Do you have any idea how good you smell?" and indulged himself by rubbing his cheek against her hair, remembering too late
that he hadn’t shaved since before he’d gone to watch the ball game at the bar.
She relaxed against him and her fingers started moving in his hair. He could have sworn he heard her murmur, "Oh, crap."
Footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor out in the hall, clearly heading toward the den, and they both froze.
Cooper released her and stepped away, but a few strands of her hair followed him, leaving her looking like someone had rubbed a balloon against the side of her head. She fixed her wide, surprisingly censure-free gaze on him just before Joseph reentered the room.
"Hopefully, Alexander will be joining us soon," Joseph said, returning to his chair behind the desk and allowing Cooper and Sara time to regain their respective seats. His smile of encouragement suggested he was oblivious to what had just been going on in his
den. "Do you have a better grasp of things now, Cooper?"
A cough sounded from the chair next to him, but Cooper simply smiled and shrugged. "There’s still so much to know. But I’m eager for the chance to feel my way along."
Old Joe nodded sagely, definitely oblivious to what Cooper was really referring to. "You’ll get to it all, I’m sure."
Cooper couldn’t keep from glancing at Sara, who was staring straight ahead, doing a bang-up job of appearing only mildly interested, aside from the raging blush on her cheeks and elegant throat. He added, "One can hope."
She didn’t look at him, but her nostrils flared and her chin went up a notch.
Joseph asked, "Did any of our divisions snag your interest?"
Cooper cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Well..."
From the doorway behind them a deep voice said, "I know the perfect place for him in the company."
Cooper’s pulse jumped and he turned in his seat, seeing Alexander McCoy up close for the first time.
In the past, Cooper had always thought of Alexander’s physical appearance as nothing more than a younger version of Marcus’s, though their similarities weren’t striking. Now he realized Alexander was more an older version of himself. They were roughly the same size and put together the same way. Definitely the same hair and eyes. Guilt and remorse sparked white hot. How could he have doubted his mother for a second?
But because of that doubt, he’d generally tried to avoid anything having to do with the McCoys, doing his damnedest to pretend they didn’t exist. Though he was aware that the media had portrayed Alexander as the serious, down-to-business McCoy, well equipped to take the corporation into the next era.
Jaw tight, he stood and met the other man’s gaze.
Alexander’s expression was just as wary. This man didn’t trust easily. No big shock there, considering recent revelations. He wasn’t going to embrace anyone without question for a long time, if ever. Maybe making, the McCoys pay wouldn’t be as easy as Cooper had thought. Alexander looked as though he wouldn’t miss much.
But Cooper never could resist a challenge.
Apparently equally clueless to the tension between the two younger men, Joseph said, "Excellent. Where?"
Not breaking eye contact with Cooper, Alexander answered, "With his construction experience, he’d do well handling the new stores--"
Sara made an odd sort of noise, but Cooper couldn’t tear his gaze away from his half brother’s. There was so much of himself in the other man’s eyes, and so much he’d never seen before. Primarily, what it was like growing up a McCoy in name, as well as blood.
Cooper thought it amazing that Marcus had looked at this guy every damn day and lied like the dog he was.
Shifting his attention finally to Joseph, Alexander concluded, "Under the guidance of the VP of Operations, of course."
"Of course," Joseph concurred, sounding pleased.
"At least, at first. So what do you think, Cooper? You interested in working for Ms. Barnes?"
Cooper glanced at Joseph. "Ms. Barnes?"
Alexander came to stand behind Sara’s chair, a suspicious glint in his steel-blue eyes. "Let me guess--no formal introductions were made. Allow me. Cooper Anders, I’d like you to meet Sara Barnes, vice president of Operations. Your new boss."
Cooper had to snap his mouth shut for the second time that day.
Damn. He’d nearly felt up his boss.
CHAPTER FOUR
Monday morning, Cooper unbuttoned his charcoal suit coat as he turned the desk chair he occupied away from the bucolic view out the office window of Vice President of Operations Sara Barnes on the fifteenth floor of McCoy Enterprises headquarters. He faced the expanse of her orderly desk.
Just as he’d expected: no messy piles of papers, In basket clearly tackled on a regular basis, a crystal candy dish half full of red heart candies sharing a corner with a photo frame that matched the dark burgundy of her desk chair and the other pieces of upholstered furniture in the spacious corner office. The picture was of a fresh-faced Sara with her arms wrapped around an older gentleman sporting the same wide smile.
Probably her dad. The twinge of an ancient hurt made Cooper pull his gaze away. There’d been no father-son photo-ops in his life.
The day’s agenda, typed on McCoy corporate letterhead, awaited her front and center. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. My, but she was a busy girl. Hopefully, too busy to notice whatever he might be up to.
He figured she’d come blasting through the door any second, furious that he’d slipped out of The Big House—he still couldn’t believe they called their mansion that—and made it to the off1ce while she waited patiently downstairs for him to roll out of the sack.
He’d been up and ready long before dawn, prowling his new home. Sleeping hadn’t exactly been easy since old Joe had insisted Cooper move his stuff into a suite of rooms in The Big House. accommodations that were larger than Cooper’s whole apartment. He’d roamed around, feeling like a thief with a burning desire to take the one thing he couldn’t get his hands on: what was to him a false veneer of moral purity and trustworthiness still clinging stubbornly to the McCoy name.
Sorry, but in his book, if you were willing to do the crime you had to be willing to do the time. After his mother’s death, he’d made the bad choice more often than he cared to count, but at least he had always owned up to the mistakes. Unlike his hound-dog father.
Cooper fisted his hands on the arms of the chair. Marcus had gotten off way too easy becoming a grizzly snack. And clearly Cooper had a much different definition of the right thing than had Joseph.
And he’d see to it that there were consequences. Since Sara always seemed to be around, he’d initially been concerned that she’d dog his every step. But the housekeeper, Helen--Alexander’s mother, no less, still working for the McCoys as a glorified servant--had told him the first night that Ms. Barnes lived in a quaint apartment above the carriage-house-style detached garage. He supposed that qualified as a "little house."
If he hadn’t seen firsthand the adoration for the McCoys shining in her big green eyes, he would assume her loyalty stemmed from a desire to keep her cozy digs. Which happened to be located a little too close for Cooper’s comfort and did absolutely nothing to help him sleep.
But thinking about her silky hair beneath his cheek, the sweet, cinnamony smell of her breath--he jerked his gaze to the candy dish and smiled--beat the hell out of remembering the feel of Joseph’s hand on his shoulder and the warmth in the old man’s eyes. A look he’d never seen once from his mother’s father.
His smile faded and the twinge became a twist that had him clenching his jaw.
Right up until his death eleven years ago, Ned Anders hadn’t had the bank account, Swiss or otherwise, that Joseph McCoy had, though, so being stuck with
another mouth to feed hadn’t endeared Cooper to Ned any from the get-go. Joseph could afford to haul in a hundred strays t
o play grandpa with. If Marcus had
lived longer, Joe might have had to.
Cooper would have to remember to hoist a cold one to a certain grizzly bear the next time he visited what HE considered "the office." Marcus had had his quota of lives to mess up.
Cooper leaned forward and placed his palms flat on the cool, smooth surface of Sara’s desk, his arms spread wide. This particular stray wasn’t about to come crawling in on his belly, wagging his tail in gratitude for the scraps finally thrown his way. This stray had teeth, and every intention of using them.
Thanks to the new designer suits Joseph had procured for him, the McCoys would never see his bite coming. He sarcastically wondered if the county jail had been kind enough to relay the size of the orange jumpsuit they were going to outfit him in if he hadn’t made bail. Hopefully, he looked as though he was trying to make the best impression he could, not ferreting out the best way to strike a blow to the company that had allowed Marcus McCoy to charm everyone into trusting him. Everyone who didn’t happen to know the truth, that is; then his true nature would come out.
