‘’You mean—you mean, you’re taking the company away from me?”
“Angel, you know that’s what I came here to do.”
“But—but you just said—you said you were sorry, that I was right, that it was men like you who were keeping me from getting a feel for the business—”
Cade frowned. “I never said anything like that.”
“You did, Cade! You said you’d help me learn—”
“Hell, you’re twisting everything.” His frown deepened. “I said I shouldn’t have let you go into that meeting thinking you were still in charge of Gordon Oil, that I should have told you—”
“You mean—you mean, you’d already reached a decision this morning?”
“Angel, you aren’t listening. I’ve just told you, I knew all along you had to be lying about that verbal agreement.” He smiled. “Oh, I was willing to figure there might be a chance in a million that it was real, but—”
“But instead of telling me that,” Angelica said, “you decided to play games.” Her voice shook. “You—you held out hope when there wasn’t any, you—you seduced me…”
“Will you stop this?” Cade’s eyes darkened with anger; he grabbed her by the arms and shook her. “Forget Gordon Oil, dammit! I love you, Angelica. Do you hear me? I love you, and you don’t need Gordon Oil anymore. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”
For a fraction of a second, the admission that he loved her seemed to shimmer in the air between them. But then it was swept aside, made meaningless by reality.
“You mean—you mean, you’ll do what you did today, Cade, you’ll—you’ll treat me like—like some poor little soul who’s incapable of thinking for herself.”
“No!” His fingers bit into her flesh. “I’ll treat you like the woman you really are. I’ll cherish you and protect you—”
“And think for me, and speak for me…” The breath sobbed from Angelica’s throat. She gave an anguished cry as she twisted free of his grasp. “I’d sooner die than live my life like that!”
Cade’s mouth thinned. “Let me be sure we understand each other,” he said. “If I gave you the choice between running Gordon Oil and marrying me—”
“This hasn’t anything to do with Gordon Oil! Don’t you see? I need to be my own person, Cade, I need to have the right to—to make my own decisions.”
“Then make one,” he said, his eyes fixed to hers. “Marry me and give up all this crap—or I’ll walk out of your life forever and give you your precious company as a parting gift.”
Angelica stared at him, her eyes wide with anguish. “Cade,” she whispered, “I love you. You can’t mean—”
“I do mean,” he said grimly, even while a little voice deep within him whispered that this scene had been played before, that he was like a man caught in a time warp, doomed to repeat history with only a change in the cast of characters. “I mean every word. Now, make a decision, and make it fast.”
She spun away from him, hoping that he was only testing her, waiting for some word from him to soften the cruel choice he’d given her.
But the moments slipped away, leaving only silence behind.
At last she turned and looked at him. Tears trembled on her lashes.
“Cade,” she said, her voice anguished, “Cade, please…”
His face turned to stone. “I’ll have the papers drawn up,” he said. “Goodbye, Angelica.”
He walked to the bedroom, shut the door after him, and just that quickly, it was over.
CHAPTER TEN
SOMEWHERE in the skies halfway to London, Cade calmed down enough to realize that the moment of high drama he’d created in that Dallas hotel suite had really been an exercise in low comedy.
He couldn’t give Angelica Gordon that damned oil company.
It wasn’t his to give.
But he’d sooner have burned in the fires of hell than pull back from that stupid pledge. It was a matter of pride, and pride was about all he had left right now.
What a fool he’d made of himself. And what an ass he’d been to have ever imagined himself in love with Angelica.
Him? In love with a woman like that? Cade almost laughed out loud. That he’d thought such a thing only proved he’d spent too many of the past months in the world’s backwaters. The women of Dumai were gorgeous—but evidently he’d missed the homegrown variety more than he’d realized.
Angelica had been the first long-legged American female he’d seen in months. And, he had to admit, her initial coldness had been a challenge.
Yes sir, he thought as he sipped his third bourbon and water, it had definitely been a surefire recipe for disaster.
Thank God he was safely out of it!
Cade smiled to himself. London was going to be terrific. He loved the place, all that up-to-date energy mixed with the still-majestic reminders of a glowing past. And the women—ah, the women were special, with their English-rose complexions and their joy in their femininity.
It would take him all of an hour to forget the Dallas mess, once he was on English soil—if he could just figure a way to hand that damned directorship to Angelica Gordon. Then he’d never have to think about her again.
He took another sip of his drink. He could always come clean with his brothers, tell them what had happened….
No. Grant and Zach would cackle with laughter at his idiocy. Besides, why should they take the fall for him? Landon Enterprises was worth less on the market with Gordon Oil dragging it down. Why should his brothers lose money because he—
Of course! Cade began to grin. The solution was painfully simple.
He would buy Gordon’s from Landon Enterprises; the directorship would be his to give away then—and his accountant might even love him for having come up with a tax loss.
The flight attendant came hurrying as soon as he pressed the call button.
“Yes, Mr. Landon,” she said, smiling prettily. “May I get you something? Another drink, perhaps?”
Her smile suggested that she might happily do more, if he only asked.
Cade looked at her. She was very pretty, he thought, very pretty indeed—if you liked hazel eyes and straight, blond hair. But he didn’t. He preferred eyes the color of emeralds, hair that was touched with fire….
Dammit, he thought, and he scowled so darkly that the flight attendant drew back.
“I want a telephone,” he said brusquely, “and fast.”
His first call was to Grant in New York. His older brother heard him out, then laughed.
“Are you nuts? You can’t buy Gordon Oil. We already own it.”
“You’re not listening,” Cade said impatiently. “I want to buy it from Landon Enterprises. Is that possible?”
“Anything’s possible. But why? The company’s a dog.”
“I have my reasons,” Cade said—and waited for the practical Grant to demand, and be denied, a list of those reasons.
But Grant only muttered something about insanity evidently running in the family, and said that if that was what Cade wanted, he’d start working on it.
Cade frowned. “That’s it? You’re not going to give me a hard time?”
Grant gave a choked laugh. “I’m not up to giving anybody a hard time lately,” he said. “Call Zach. Ask him what he needs to work up an idea of what we should charge you for Gordon Oil. I’ll get back to you.”
Cade’s call to Hollywood took Zach out of a meeting.
“I’ve got something important going on here,” he growled. “So make it fast.”
Cade explained what he wanted.
“Are you crazy?” Zach said. “Why in hell would you buy that company?”
“That’s my business. You just tell me what you need to work up a purchase price.”
Zach gave a harsh laugh. “I bet it’s got something to do with that woman who’s running it.”
Cade frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would you say that?”
His brother’s sigh was deep enough to cross t
he Atlantic on its own.
“No reason,” he said hollowly, “no reason at all. OK, get in touch with Denver. Have them phone me and I’ll tell them what I need.”
“Can you do this quickly?”
“Sure, assuming Denver holds up its end. But without Bayliss—”
Cade’s mouth thinned. “Yeah,” he said, and hung up. He sat motionless for a moment, then rang for the flight attendant again.
“Did you need something else, sir?” she said with a hopeful smile.
Cade didn’t smile at all. “Yes,” he said grimly. “I need to know how fast I can get from London to Denver.”
* * *
He was exhausted by the time he reached Denver, working on a fine edge of airline coffee, lack of sleep and a simmering anger that had overtaken him on the endless flight home.
He climbed into a taxi, told the driver where to take him and lay his head back.
He was supposed to be in London. Instead, he was back in the States.
He was supposed to be finalizing plans for a North Sea drilling expedition. Instead, he was arranging to buy a dying oil firm—and if his brothers or anybody else ever found out the reason, he’d never live it down.
Angelica, he thought, Angelica was to blame for all of this.
How could one woman have messed up his life so thoroughly in so short a time?
Cade’s jaw tightened. The sooner he closed the books on this brief and not-so-shining episode in his life, the better.
Kyra was surprised to see him, and pleased—but Cade sensed a kind of removal, just as he had with Grant and Zach.
“Squirt?” he said as he was heading to his bedroom. “Are you OK?”
“Sure. I’m fine.”
“Have you been eating right?” He frowned. “You always did skip meals. Maybe you’re not getting enough vitamins or—”
“Cade,” Kyra said gently, “why don’t you do us both a favor and stop thinking for me?”
Cade’s mouth twisted. “What is this? The new female battle cry?”
Kyra gave him a long look and then she sighed. “Get some sleep,” she said. “We’ll talk when you’re back among the living.”
Cade didn’t argue. His brain was barely functioning; he made it up the steps and into his room, and collapsed on the bed.
* * *
He awoke confused after a long, rambling dream that had involved a woman with a mane of copper curls. He’d chased her for hours across what had looked like the Texas flats, only to catch her, turn her in his arms—and discover that she wasn’t anyone he knew.
He sat up, flexed his shoulders and rubbed his hands across his face. He needed a shower and a shave and then—assuming he could find the energy—he’d go to the Landon offices, phone Zach and begin pulling together the materials he needed.
When he came downstairs, Kyra was waiting for him, along with a platter of bacon and eggs, a stack of toast and a pot of coffee.
“What?” he said, smiling. “No groaning sideboard? No obscene breakfast buffet?”
Kyra smiled, too. “I’m going to be making some changes.” she said. “Go on, eat. You’re looking at that food like a starving man.”
Cade laughed. “I must have had a meal sometime in the past twenty-four hours, but if I did, I sure as hell don’t remember it.”
When he was done, he sat back and sighed with pleasure. “That was terrific, Squirt. One more cup of coffee, and then I’m off.”
“To where?”
“To the office.”
‘For what?”
“I have to pull some papers from the files.”
“Why?”
Cade’s brows lifted. “Squirt,” he said patiently, “it’s business. You wouldn’t understand.”
Kyra’s lips tightened. “Try me.”
“Sis, look, I know you mean well, but—”
“But what? Is it too complicated for my pretty head?”
Cade threw down his napkin. “What the hell is going on here? I tell you right now, I’ve had a bellyful of this crap!”
“Well, so have I.” His sister glared at him. “Women don’t like to be treated like—like dolls.”
“And men don’t like to be despised for trying to show they care. If a man didn’t love a woman, he wouldn’t…”
Cade clamped his lips together. Then he shoved back his chair and got to his feet. “If Zach or Grant calls, tell them they can reach me at the office.”
Kyra nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said sweetly.
Cade stormed out the door.
* * *
It took almost a week for Cade to get all the information to Zach and for Zach to comb through it. But, at last, he telephoned.
“OK,” he said, “we’re almost there.”
“What do you mean, almost? I sent you everything in the files.”
“Yeah. Some interesting stuff, too. That woman who’s been running Gordon’s? She’s made some clever suggestions about restructuring the company’s debts. I’m impressed.”
I do know about finances and debt structures, and if you’d only given me a minute or two of your precious time…
“Never mind being impressed,” Cade said sharply. “Just give me a buyout price.”
“I will, but I’ll need some updated figures first.”
“Dammit, Zach, just come up with a number! Any number!”
“I don’t do business that way, Cade, and neither does any man in his right mind. Look, what’s the big deal? Call Dallas, talk to a secretary or a clerk—”
“I don’t have to talk to the Gordon woman?”
“No, of course not. Half a dozen quick questions, and that’s it.”
A muscle knotted in Cade’s jaw. “That’s it?”
“You got it, brother. Twenty-four hours later, you’ll own Gordon Oil.”
Twenty-four hours later, Cade thought as he hung up the phone, he could forget about Angelica Gordon forever.
He dreamed again that night, some hellish nightmare that had him racing down a dark corridor, banging open doors but never finding the one thing his hammering heart told him he must find…
…the one woman he must find…
“Angelica?” he said, as he shot bolt upright in bed.
After a moment, he shoved back the covers and got to his feet. It had snowed outside, the first snow of the season, and the land lay white and still in the moonlight. He stood at the window, looking at the night sky, wondering if there were any chance Angelica might be looking at the same moon and feeling what he felt, this awful emptiness where his heart should have been.
“Damn,” he whispered, and pounded his fist into his hand.
He didn’t love her. He had never loved her—and she sure as hell had never loved him. The only thing she loved was some hardheaded, selfish dream.
He pulled on a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt. Barefoot, he made his way through the sleeping house to the kitchen. He hadn’t wanted a cup of hot chocolate in years, but tonight…
Moonlight illuminated the figure of his sister. Dressed in a long flannel nightgown, Kyra sat curled on the cushioned sill of the big bay window that overlooked the mountains.
“What are you doing up?” Cade said. “It’s late. And it’s cold down here. You should be wearing a robe, and…” He frowned and cleared his throat. “Kyra? Do I—ah, do I do that a lot? Am I, uh, do I tend to be overly protective?”
She smiled gently. “You mean, are you like Father?”
“What? No! Of course not. I’m nothing like the old man. Hell, I’d never—”
“Oh, you’re not anywhere near as dominating, and you’re certainly not selfish.” She put her hand on his. “But you do like to control.”
Cade pulled his hand away. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe you think control and protection are the same, that you have to control somebody in order to take care of them and love them.”
“Great God almighty!” Cade slammed his hands onto his hips. “Don’t tell me I’ve
run into another believer in the joys of psychology!”
“Or maybe, down deep, you think you have to control someone to keep them from abandoning you.”
“What?”
“I wonder if it could have something to do with what happened the night of your twenty-first birthday?”
“What in hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, Cade.” Kyra’s voice was soft. “You know you’ve never forgotten. That girl who left you—Casey? Lacey?”
“Stacey,” Cade snapped, “and what would you know about it? You were just a baby.”
“I was fifteen,” Kyra said with a little smile. “Hardly a baby. I knew how hurt you were.”
Cade flushed. “I wasn’t hurt, I was ticked off. Hell, I was only a kid.”
“Come on, admit it. Losing her that way must have left a hole in your heart. Someday you’ll meet a woman…” His sister looked at him, her eyes wise beyond her years. “Or have you met her already?” she asked gently. “Is that what’s put the shadows in your eyes?”
Cade glared at her. “Thank you, Dr. Freud,” he snarled. “Your brilliant analysis has been more than helpful.”
He pivoted on his heel and marched from the room. Kyra watched him go, and then she sighed.
“You did ask,” she whispered, and turned her face to the window.
Zach had said Cade only needed to phone the Gordon office for the final information.
But in the morning, Cade boarded the earliest flight he could get for Dallas.
In the long run, it would be quicker, he told himself; he could get the stuff he needed straight from Emily without any possibility of a slipup, and if he called ahead, he could do it at a time when Angelica would be out of the office.
But somehow, he forgot to make the call before he left Denver. He forgot to make it when he reached the airport in Dallas, and it even slipped his mind to call from the cellular phone in his rental car.
Well, it didn’t matter. Seeing Angelica again wouldn’t bother him at all, he told himself as he pushed open the door to the Gordon office, and if Angelica didn’t like it, that was just too damned—
“Yes? May I help you, sir?”
An Indecent Proposal Page 16
