"Look." He halted beside her as they reached the bottom of the stairs. He took her shoes from her hands and gently put them on her feet, then rose up to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry for all the inconvenience, Ms. O'Sullivan. You really shouldn't have put yourself to all this trouble. My answer is still no."
"No problem."
"I think you should stick to your neck of the woods, though, from now on. Especially in that car. Thieves could strip it in five minutes."
"So why haven't they?" She glanced around, noticing a crowd of onlookers.
Nick smiled.
"Because of you?"
He nodded.
"My what clout! You must be a pretty big man here. And you can certainly put me in my place, can't you?"
"Me?"
"You. But I'm not accustomed to taking no for an answer. I can see where that clout might be hard to give up. But for your family's sake, I hope you reconsider. I know the man that owns most of this property, and he isn't going to sit still. You've got to get out of here, Nick."
He couldn't stop the smile. She was full of determination. Kelsey's eyes lit as she looked at him. She had pretty eyes and a pretty smile. So why did she hide behind those glasses? And what else was she hiding under all those rich clothes of hers? Would she fit him like a glove, like he fantasized she would? God, he had to quit thinking in those directions.
"Okay, I'll leave you alone, Nick. I promise I won't chase you anymore. I'll do my best not to call your mother again, although I do like her. I think we could become very good friends. This might be your last chance. It's an obtainable goal. I can help. I can offer you the chance, a real chance to get away from here, if that's what you really want."
"So you're my last chance?"
"Maybe I'm being presumptuous." She shrugged indifferently.
"Nah, you're probably right," he sighed.
"Listen, I admire principles in anyone. That's probably what attracts me to you. But there's a time to be smart. You don't have to like me, just work for me. This is only a job, Nick. At least consider it. You have to see it as a job or it would never work in the first place. I'm not after a relationship. Call me if you change your mind. Please."
She put her hand on top of his, and looked him in the eye.
"I like you Kelsey. But like I said, you got the wrong guy."
She handed him a number scribbled on the back of a credit card receipt. Their hands touched again, and he felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. She started the car and without looking back she sped away.
Nick clutched the paper in his hand, then held it up to his nose and inhaled the same sweet perfume. God, she smelled sweet, sounded sexy, and her offer was tempting. But could hot dogs and caviar ever mix
CHAPTER FOUR
Kelsey stared out the window of her office, not really seeing anything. The same sadness that ripped her world apart months ago replayed in her mind, a sadness that must never go away. She closed her eyes, willing the mental image of the small unadorned casket to go away. The short, private service she had attended for her baby seemed only yesterday. The pain today was the same as then.
"Are you all right?" Jackson, her private secretary asked softly as he entered through the connecting doors of his own office.
She straightened and got to her feet. "Y-yes, I'm fine, Jackson."
"Are you sure you want to pursue this?" He held the Leonetti file in his hands, concern furrowing his brow.
"Yes, Jackson. I just had a melancholy moment, that's all."
She stood and managed a weak smile, "I guess seeing Ralph brought back memories. How I thought I could have loved the man is still beyond me. He hasn't changed a bit. I wonder if anyone has ever broken through that hard exterior to his heart."
"Ralph was a hard life lesson. I only hope you're not letting yourself in for more hurt with this Leonetti character. "Jackson made no effort to mask his concern for Kelsey.
She saw soft brown eyes-honest eyes—and sexy. Lord, Nick had eyes a woman could get lost in. Nothing like Ralph's cold gray eyes. Nothing like Ralph at all.
"Oh Jackson, Nick's nothing like Ralph. Besides, this isn't going to become personal. I won't let it. But Ralph and Nick are like night and day. Nick would think nothing of walking off a job to tend his family. Ralph would die first before he'd let family come between him and a deal. It's amusing when you think about it. A man like Ralph, with his Harvard education, and his social position, still can't hold a candle to a man like Nick."
"That's in this Nick Leonetti's favor."
Kelsey poured herself a cup of coffee, offering Jackson some, which he declined. Jackson Luther Montgomery was above all else, her best friend and right now, she needed a friend. She'd always need Jackson—to just be Jackson. "I'm drinking this for courage. Just being in the same room with Ralph will be upsetting."
"I could handle the negotiations for you."
She could always count on Jackson to try to protect her, like a mother hen would a chick. "No, I've got to face him again. I want to get on with my life now. He's a closed chapter. He can't hurt me anymore."
Just then the intercom buzzed, "Ms. O'Sullivan, Mr. Ralph Butterfield is on line 3."
"Want me to take it?" Jackson offered, his finger dangling over the button.
"No, that's okay. He must be running late."
Kelsey hit line three with a stab of her finger, "Yes Ralph?"
"Yes, I'm running behind schedule. Hold off for another twenty minutes or so? I'm tied up in traffic." The sound of his voice agitated her.
"I'll do my best, but most of them are your stock holders, not mine. Why didn't you just call your secretary to handle it?" She replied not bothering to hide her frustration with the man.
"Because you should be in there right now, hobnobbing with them. You're a woman you should use it. Twenty minutes won't kill any of them. Serve them some coffee or something. I know you're not much on entertaining Kelsey, but I'm sure you can handle a few minutes alone. After all it's for the family business." Ralph's voice held a hint of anger.
"I'm not a waitress Ralph, but I can stall as well as you," Kelsey affirmed.
"This merger is as important to you as it is me, so try not to overload your mouth, or embarrass the company. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Kelsey's teeth gritted and her eyes rolled, but one glance from Jackson and she managed an edge of control. "I'll do my best not to make a scene, Ralph."
Her hands were shaking as she hung up. "If he was this phone, Jackson, I think he'd be a dead man, by now."
Jackson cleared his throat. "He certainly hasn't changed, has he?"
"No, if anything he's worse. It's not my company holding its breath, it's his."
Kelsey's face was red with anger, and she shook from her own fury, but she managed a weak smile at Jackson.
Jackson inspected her, as he always did before she faced the Board of Directors. Flicking a small piece of lent from her coral jacket he met her gaze. He reminded her of a general inspecting his troops. Giving herself a few minutes to recoup she buzzed the intercom, "Paula, check the conference room and see how many have arrived. Serve them some coffee and stall for a few minutes."
"Yes ma'am. Oh, and your mother is on line three."
Great! Her mother just when she needed to stay focused, Kelsey groaned. "I'm in no mood to talk to her this morning."
Jackson nodded, and buzzed the intercom. "Put Mrs. O'Sullivan on the line please, Miss Summers."
"Yes, Mr. Montgomery."
"Mrs. O'Sullivan," Jackson beamed, in his element now. "How good to hear from you today. What can we do for you this beautiful morning?"
Kelsey sat back in her chair to watch Jackson at his best. He was a master at handling her family, especially her mother.
"O-oh, hello Jackson, I wanted to speak with Kelsey," her mother replied, her voice rising with each word.
Jackson shot Kelsey a sly grin. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mrs. O'Sullivan, but Kelsey is in a board meeting and can't be disturbed this m
orning. May I take a message?"
"I just knew you were going to put me off again Jackson. And you're so good at it too. But of course she can be disturbed."
Jackson grimaced at the phone comically and rolled his eyes.
"I'm her mother for goodness sake. You'd think I wasn't a welcome intrusion."
"You're always welcome; Mrs. O'Sullivan, but you know Kelsey. She left strict orders about being interrupted. She's working on the McGregor account today and you know how important that is to the merger. I'd be happy to give her any message you care to leave, though," Jackson glanced at Kelsey again with a knowing smile.
"Now I know why Kelsey hired you, Jackson. You are the best at fending calls I've ever run across in all my years. And believe me, I've run across a few. I only wished I'd found you first. Well, you're practically one of the family anyway, so just tell her that Taylor Huntington was over the other day and she is invited to his yacht party on Friday. I think he's about to pop the question. And I do so want her to make a good impression."
Knowing Kelsey as well as he did, Jackson didn't hesitate to refuse the party for her. "I'm afraid she won't be able to make it, Mrs. O'Sullivan. Her calendar indicates she has a prior engagement."
"Prior engagement? Whatever are you talking about Jackson? Kelsey hasn't dated in months." Her mother insisted adamantly. "Are you trying to throw me off again?"
"Not at all. Kelsey has a date with a Mr. Nicholas Leonetti," Jackson replied reading the name from the file in his hand. He glanced up at Kelsey's smiling face.
"Leonetti? Nonsense! I don't know a Leonetti, do I?" Her mother asked sounding somewhat confused by this news. "Is he in plastics, Jackson?"
Even the older Ms. O'Sullivan tended to lean on Jackson's thorough knowledge of things out of her realm.
He glanced at the file and checked Nick's application quickly. "No ma'am. I think Mr. Leonetti is in concrete."
Concrete? How clever, Kelsey marveled.
A slight exaggeration on Jackson's part, but she found it amusing. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling aloud.
"Concrete? Did you say concrete, Jackson? How odd. I see. My little girl has been busy, hasn't she? Concrete? I know almost every conglomerate this side of the Red River. Probably one of those new tycoons. Tell Kelsey to call me when she has a spare moment from all those board meetings, will you? I'd like to hear more about this man in concrete."
As he hung up, Kelsey let out a roar of approval. "Oh Jackson, what would I ever do without you? And just how did you come up with concrete?"
"It struck me that a man with that many jobs, had busted more than his share of concrete to get them." Jackson looked smug.
"Now that I don't have to concentrate on getting out of that stupid yacht party, I can start working on convincing Nick. You know, Jackson, I may need guidance with this man. He really is out of my realm. I've come to realize in a very short amount of time that the poor have a lot of foolish pride."
"Are you comfortable being out of your realm?" Jackson probed, worry still lacing his voice.
Kelsey sank into her chair feeling surprisingly light hearted. "Oddly enough, I'm very comfortable with him. So comfortable, I'm a little frightened by it. I know we're from entirely different cultures and backgrounds. And yet, we seem to meet on some neutral territory. I've never been one to class people Jackson, you know that, but I'm afraid I have to be careful with this particular problem. I can't be sure of course, but I think Nick wears his principles on his sleeve."
Jackson studied her a long time, his expression thoughtful. "Then it's our job to make him compromise those principles. It can be done, but are you sure you want to be the one to do it?"
"What choice do I have? Since I believe he's perfect for the job."
Jackson looked thoughtful. "If you think so, then. I like this man, education or not. What we must do then, is make him realize that sacrifices have to be made to sometimes accomplish the impossible."
"What are you saying?"
"Samson was tempted."
"By love, Jackson, not money."
"Hmm, but temptation is still temptation, no matter what resources you use." Jackson smiled, his eyes calculating.
~~~
"And all I thought I was getting into was a job," Nick remarked as he pulled the old battery from the '59 Ford and set it on the counter. "This battery must have been put in by the factory. I don't even recognize the brand."
"Hey, I've heard of those sperm bank places. Like a regular baby-making factory. If she's paying you to go, why not?" Rodney Newsome joined into the conversation, brushing a strand of long hair from his face and pushing it over his bald spot. "It's not like you'd be havin' sex with her. Not personal or anything. It's all sort of scientific. Nothing to it. Got a brother-in-law that went to one of those places and that's how they finally had a kid."
Jimmy, the younger mechanic peeked his head out from under the Ford's hood, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Doesn't sound like as much fun as sex? I mean it's no big deal, why not? This is the nineties, Nick. And she's willing to pay you for it, too. Sounds like a good deal to me."
"Call me old fashioned, but it's not the way a kid should get started in this world." Nick protested.
"Ya gotta go with the times, Nick. It's a new world today. Things are just done different. Maybe you're making too much of it. It's not like it would really be your kid, you just sort of donated parts, so to speak," Rodney added.
Nick chuckled. He glanced at Rodney, the old man he had hired three years previously. Rodney scratched his overhanging belly seriously as he studied the battery. "Sure ain't no 'Die Hard', is it?"
While they were replacing the battery, three young teenagers strolled into the garage and Nick acknowledged them with a smile. "Be with you guys in a second."
Jimmy spotted the kids and motioned to Rodney to shut-up.
"Hey Filipe, where'd the black eye come from? You been messing' with the Hoods again?" Jimmy laughed.
"Somethin' like that." Filipe nodded.
Nick moved towards the young man. "What happened?"
"They caught him with Chino's sister." Another youth laughed.
Just great, Nick thought. Kids getting beat up, maybe even killed, because they couldn't keep their hormones under control. He'd been working with these teenagers, trying to teach them how to stay alive, and out of trouble. Obviously, he hadn't shown them enough, by the looks of Felipe. He playfully punched Filipe's shoulder. "Okay, Romeo, I think you need another lesson in offensive defense."
~~~
Kelsey was just biting into a tuna sandwich when the phone rang. She had been relaxing on the patio, in her sleek new peek-a-boo bathing suit, trying to decide if she wanted to go over the McGregor stock reports, or just lie there and sunbath.
Dorothy, her housekeeper was out shopping so Kelsey answered the phone herself. "O'Sullivan residence."
"Hello, Ms. O'Sullivan, please."
"This is she," she ignored the quiver running down her spine from the deep drawl of Nick Leonetti's voice, which she recognized instantly. How could a man's voice have such an affect through a telephone line? And when was the last time a man's voice had affected her at all?
"I didn't recognize your voice," his reply was throaty.
"Mr. Leonetti, how nice of you to call. I hadn't expected to hear from you. Have you reconsidered, perhaps?"
"Let's just say I'd like to talk to you about this deal a little more. I've been talking with some of the guys down at the garage, and they say this is really nothing at all. That it's more scientific than anything else. But I want you to know up front, that if I do it, I want to do it, and get it over, clean and dry, you know what I mean? The less personal, the better."
Kelsey felt a disappointment she couldn't explain. However, Nick had reconsidered. She couldn't dwell on her attraction. This was business, and he seemed to be coming around to her way of thinking. Perhaps Jackson had been right. There would have to be sacrifices on both
parts. So he wasn't attracted to her? Had she wanted him to be? She had down played her looks intentionally. No complications, she reminded herself sternly.
"Hey, are you still there?"
"Uh, yes, I'm sorry. I'm here. Look, why don't you drop by this afternoon and we'll talk about it," she suggested.
"Sure, I guess I could do that."
Her heartbeat quickened. "Great, in an hour then?"
"Okay, but I'll need directions on how to get to your place."
After giving him her address and directions to her Morningside Heights apartment, she hung up the phone. Immediately, she flew out of her chair, glancing at herself in the hall mirror. The bathing suit would never do, even if something deep inside of her wanted to show off. Now was not the time. Especially since she felt so vulnerable with Nick. She'd change into something more conservative.
While showering she debated what to wear. And then she needed the glasses. Oh, dear, the glasses. She'd left them at the office, when she put her contacts in. Those glasses had become a shield for her, and she wanted them on when she faced Nick.
She'd just have to phone Jackson and have him drop them off. If Nick saw her looking like this, he might get other ideas, and she wanted this to be strictly business—didn't she? Yes, she told herself firmly, of course she did. So why was her heart racing?
Half an hour later, Jackson brought her glasses by. Dorothy had returned and answered the door. When Kelsey heard the door bell, she went to meet him.
Jackson handed her the glasses, his skepticism obvious from his expression.
"Stop fretting Jackson," she reassured him. "I know it seems ridiculous, but I don't want to confuse the whole issue here. If I represent myself one way, I've got to play it out that way. Besides, it's for my own protection. He's too good looking. Too nice! He let me know he wanted this finished as quickly and discreetly as possible. No hang-ups. He's agreeing to this because someone has convinced him it is scientific. Thank God for whomever."
"You think he might want to see you and the baby later?"
Kelsey froze, sorting her options. "I don't know. But you can start working on a contract to the effect that he can't. I've gone this far I don't want any screw-ups now. I've already spoken to him about it. He'll just have to agree. And don't look at me like that Jackson. I don't want any hang-ups either!"
Nick's Baby Page 5
