Seducing the Enemy's Daughter

by Jules Bennett

  How would she break this life-altering news?

  She hoped Brady was happy, but she understood if he didn’t want a family. He was, after all, a businessman with a chaotic schedule. How would a wife and baby fit into the mix?

  And who’s to say he would even want to marry her, she thought as she grabbed her Kate Spade handbag. Honestly, she didn’t want Brady to marry her because he felt obligated to. Marriages that started out of obligation usually ended in disaster.

  They were still getting to know each other. Actually, they hadn’t even spoken about how far this relationship had progressed.

  Did Brady even consider them a couple? Was he just with her while he stayed on the island for business?

  She stepped onto the elevator, and because the doors shut leaving her all alone, she placed a hand on her flat tummy and grinned.

  “I love you already,” she whispered.

  If Brady took the news well and was excited, Samantha would have to make more life-altering decisions.

  Working under Miles would probably not be good in the long run.

  And even though she hated to give up Lani Kaimana, she knew making a life with her baby and Brady would be better in the long run.

  After all, how could she work fourteen-hour days and take care of a little one?

  God, all the what-ifs swirled around in her head as she passed through the lobby.

  Employees nodded and smiled, and Samantha wondered if they knew. Could they tell she was going to be a mother? Could they see it in the silly smile she knew she wore on her face?

  She needed to speak to Brady as soon as possible. She couldn’t wait to tell someone the news. But this was also the one time in her life she’d dreaded. How would she cope with a child without her own mother? Who would give her motherly advice?

  A lump formed in Sam’s throat at the thought of going through this without her best friend.

  God, what an emotional wreck she was. This pregnancy thing really did take a toll on emotions. Hadn’t she just been smiling five seconds ago?

  She headed down the hallway to check on the progress of the spa. The contractor had started on the renovations last week and Sam was already hearing the buzz about guests who were eager to return.

  “There you are.”

  Sam turned to the male voice and was shocked to see her brother.

  “Miles,” she greeted as she gripped her purse tighter. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to check things out,” Miles said.

  Sam clasped her hands together instead of balling them into a fist like she wanted to do. “You mean to check up on me.”

  “I’m looking out for my property, Samantha.”

  She quirked a brow at him. “I certainly hope you don’t consider this your property. If I recall, I’m the one that has been here busting my butt since we acquired it and you just slid into dad’s seat.”

  “Let’s not get petty,” Miles suggested. “Could we talk in your office?”

  Sam hesitated a split second before she stalked off, leading the way. The sooner she found out what he wanted and got him out of here, the sooner she could track down Brady and see what their future held.

  Because she wanted to keep the upper hand for as long as she could, Sam stepped behind her neatly organized desk and sat her bag at her feet, but did not take a seat until her door was firmly closed and Miles was seated across from her.

  “Now,” she said getting comfortable in her leather chair. “What is this impromptu visit about?”

  Miles eased forward in his chair. “As I told you on the phone, I have reason to believe one of our main competitors is here or will be on his way.”

  “Yes,” Sam agreed, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone. “And, as I told you, I can handle it and I would call you if I thought something was up.”

  “I’m also taking this opportunity to check out the whole resort,” Miles went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “I was shocked when I heard you were going ahead with some rather expensive plans. We really don’t have spa money in our budget.”

  Deep breaths, she told herself, deep breaths. In, out. “We will have a nice return on our investment. Trust me. And if there was a problem that I couldn’t handle, such as a competitor coming in, I would’ve called you.”

  Miles stared at her for what seemed like eternity before nodding. “Let me see what’s going on with the spa area.”

  “Fine.” She came to her feet. “But we have to hurry. I have a busy schedule.”

  She opened her door with a jerk, the not-so-subtle way of letting her brother know she was not happy. After she gestured for him to go ahead, she closed and locked her door behind her.

  A bit of her tension eased as they entered the open lobby and Brady stepped off the elevator looking extremely sexy in khaki shorts and a green polo.

  She turned to her brother. “Excuse me just one minute.”

  With a smile and a quick stride, Sam made her way across the marble floor. “Hey, are you going out?”

  Brady closed the gap between them. “I was going for a walk on the beach. Care to join me?”

  “You don’t know how much I’d love to, but I have something I have to take care of first.” She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll come find you later.”

  “What the hell is going on?”

  Samantha jumped around at the booming sound of Miles’s voice. “Excuse me?”

  “Miles,” Brady said.

  Sam threw a look over her shoulder. “You know my brother?”

  “Oh, he knows me all right,” Miles confirmed. “He probably knew you, too, before he ever stepped foot here.”

  Samantha’s heartbeat kicked up. From the tension surrounding her, the tone in the two male voices and the look of murder in both their eyes, she had a feeling this scene was about to get really ugly.

  “Let’s all go back to my office,” she said quietly.

  “I’d like to talk to you alone,” Brady said.

  Miles laughed. “I’m sure you would, Stone. Let me guess, you’ve been working my sister in the romance department trying to get in on some company secrets?”

  Her once-beating heart dropped. “What?”

  Brady took her arm and turned her around. “Sam, please, let me talk to you alone.”

  The pleading look in his eyes made her want to go with him, to hear what exactly was going on. But the logical side of her knew whatever he had to say could possibly destroy them.

  Oh, God. The baby.

  No, she could not get upset. She had to remain calm. There was someone depending on her now.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Miles said. “He’s a liar.”

  Sam turned back around. “You have no right to talk to me about liars. You and Father kept secrets from me from day one on this job and if I want to talk to Brady, I will.”

  “Do you know who he really is?” Miles asked.

  “His father used to own this resort.” Miles paused when the elevator dinged and a couple stepped off. “Let’s step over here out of earshot of our guests.”

  Shaky legs carried Sam around the corner with the men. They stood in an empty hallway that led to the conference room she’d wanted transformed into a day care. But suddenly, nothing mattered but the truth.

  “Has Brady told you he intends to steal this property back from us?” Miles continued.

  “I’m not stealing anything,” Brady said in a cold, flat tone. “I’m simply taking back what my father used as the foundation of his enterprise and your father stole at a moment of weakness.”

  Sam’s head was spinning. She held up her hands. “Wait. Brady’s family owned this before we bought it?”

  “Stole it,” Brady corrected.

  “How could we steal it?” she questioned.

  Brady rested his hands on his hips. “Ask your father and brother.”

  A wave of dizziness swept over her. Sam settled her back against the wall and prayed she wouldn’t pass out
.

  “Just tell me one thing,” she said. “Did you know who I was before you came here?”

  “You’re his ace in the hole. Right, Brady?” Miles asked. “I assume when you called me the other day you were referring to my sister.”

  God, this wasn’t happening. This was just another cruel trick fate was playing on her. How could she have been so blindsided, so in need of affection that she’d completely let all common sense dissipate?

  Samantha wanted out of this mess. She wanted to go back to this morning to when she’d first discovered she and Brady may have a solid future together. She wanted this nightmare to be just that…a nightmare. But she knew she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. This was reality and now she had to deal with it.

  “You called my brother?”

  Before or after we made love, she wanted to add. Made love. No, that’s not what they’d done at all. Suddenly everything she thought they’d shared was tainted by lies.

  “You had this planned from the beginning, didn’t you?” she whispered because tears clogged her throat.

  Brady’s eyes held hers. “I came here to confront a Sam Donovan, who I thought was a man, so yes, in a sense.”

  “Convenient I turned out to be a woman.” Sam’s stomach turned, bile rose in her throat. “So you decided to use me.”

  Brady didn’t bother to answer seeing as how she’d made an accusation, not asked a question.

  “Can we talk?” Brady whispered, his coallike eyes searching her face.

  “I think I’ve heard enough.” Samantha pushed off the wall and willed the nausea to cease. “I’m going to my room. I want both of you out of my hotel by the end of the day. Miles, I’ll speak with you later regarding my status with the company.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked.

  “It means I’m not sure I can continue to work for you.”

  She walked slowly away from the men. How could she continue to work for Miles when she was having the enemy’s baby? Miles—and her father—wouldn’t understand.

  The excitement she’d felt earlier had vanished, but the one thing that remained was the fact a piece of her was still in love with Brady. Well, the Brady she thought she knew.

  How could such a loving man be so conniving, so vindictive?

  Samantha barely made it back to her suite and into the bathroom before she fell to her knees and threw up.

  Fourteen

  By the time Monday rolled around, Brady was more than ready to battle with Miles over Lani Kaimana. He was just glad Cade was going to the meeting with the attorneys he’d had scheduled over another property. No way could he have gone and tried to discuss business today.

  Brady’s temper had still not settled back down from the hurt he’d seen in Sam’s eyes caused by Miles’s ill-timed interference. Not that there would’ve been a good time, he thought.

  And how could he place the blame solely on Miles? Wasn’t Brady the one who’d set out to seduce Sam? To gain her trust and access all the company’s dirty laundry to use against them?

  But, dammit, he hadn’t known he’d come to actually care for her.

  Now the need to take away everything that mattered to Stanley and Miles was stronger than ever. Everything they cared about would become his.

  After all, they’d taken away a portion of his father’s legacy and Samantha.

  Would Sam see his way of thinking? She, more than anyone else, knew the kind of men her father and brother were. She also knew the kind of pain that came along with losing a parent and how you just wanted to lay blame with someone.

  Hadn’t she blamed herself for the death of her mother? Surely she would see Brady’s side of things once she cooled off and could think rationally.

  God, was he practicing his speech to her or trying to convince himself?

  Sitting in his San Francisco office, Brady tried to catch up on his work, but the thought of Cade with the attorneys right now only made him anxious to move forward with building back their father’s company.

  He glanced at the digital clock on the lower right-hand corner of his computer screen. The meeting had only been going on ten minutes, and that was if they got started on time.

  Hell, who was he kidding? He couldn’t even concentrate on the new property they were obtaining. All he kept thinking of was Sam’s tearful recollection of her childhood and the fact she wanted Lani Kaimana just as bad as he and his brother did, but for totally different reasons.

  He thought of the way she’d made love with him, pouring all her emotions into their intimacy. The way she’d opened up about her feelings growing up and losing her mother.

  But most of all, he couldn’t stop thinking about the hurtful look in her eyes when she’d found out the truth.

  He would find a way to make this right, to make sure she got everything she ever wanted. No matter what he had to barter or pay, he’d make sure Samantha stayed on at the resort. He no longer wanted it for himself.

  And that thought made Brady freeze.

  That statement confirmed his love. He’d only recently discovered the emotion, but wasn’t sure how real it was. Now he knew. How could he have not seen the whole picture until now?

  True, he’d started this vendetta out of revenge and he still wanted to make the Donovans pay, but somewhere along the way, obtaining the property turned into making Sam happy. Truly happy for once in her life.

  Brady knew what he was about to do was perhaps the dumbest business move he’d ever made. Hell, forget business move, this was the dumbest move—period.

  He was tired of sitting around moping, tired of being alone and worrying about her. So he got into his Navigator and decided to do something.

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of the Donovans’ office building and killed the engine. If Sam knew what he was about to do, she’d probably be more furious—if that was even possible. But Sam didn’t know, and as far as he was concerned, she didn’t need to know.

  More than ready to confront any and/or all of the Donovans, Brady stepped out into the sultry summer heat and made his way into the cool, air-conditioned building. Stepping into the lion’s den didn’t sit well with him, but at this point he’d go head-to-head with the devil himself if he could prevent any more pain from slipping into Sam’s life.

  “Can I help you?” The petite, elderly receptionist greeted him with a smile. Obviously she didn’t know who he was.

  Brady returned her smile and stepped forward. “I’d like to see Miles Donovan, please. I’m afraid I don’t have an appointment, but this is a pressing matter.”

  The woman shuffled around the papers on her desk and looked over what Brady assumed to be Miles’s schedule. “He’s free for the next twenty minutes. Let me make sure he’s up for a visitor. May I tell him your name?”

  “Brady Stone.”

  He had to give this lady credit, her smile barely faltered before she picked up her phone and dialed the extension.

  Brady glanced around the cold black-and-chrome office. There was nothing warm and inviting about the waiting area, nothing that greeted the clients other than the receptionist.

  Black leather chairs, chrome-and-glass tables with a few GQ magazines, no plants, no pictures on the white walls, not even an area rug over the dark hardwood floors.

  “He’ll see you now, Mr. Stone.”

  Turning his attention back to the woman, Brady smiled. “Thank you.”

  “His office is the last door on the right,” she said, motioning down the long, narrow hall.

  Even though the door was closed, Brady didn’t bother knocking. Rude, yes, but considering the man on the other side of the door, Brady didn’t care.

  “Hell must have frozen over for you to darken my office.” Miles came to his feet, motioning for Brady to have a seat across from the large oak desk. “Either that, or you’re here on my sister’s behalf.”

  Brady didn’t take the chair that was offered. He’d rather stand. Getting comfortable in this office wasn’t
likely.

  “I want to call a truce,” he said. “Samantha doesn’t need to be caught in the middle of this feud.”

  Miles shoved his jacket back from his waist and rested his hands on his hips. “You have a lot of nerve, Stone. You tried to seduce my sister, when she had no idea who you were, in order to gain information about this company and now you’re worried about her welfare?”

  Brady swallowed, ignoring the guilt that crept up. “I’m here to make sure she doesn’t get hurt any more.”

  “I don’t intend to hurt her. And I suggest you move on. The resort and my sister will no longer be your concern.”

  “On the contrary,” Brady said. “Sam and Lani Kaimana are very much my concern.”

  Miles chuckled. “You can’t be serious about pursuing Sam. You used her as leverage to get back Lani Kaimana.”

  Anger bubbled inside Brady, but he pushed it down for Sam’s sake. “Well, now I’m not using her for anything. You may find this hard to believe, but I care for her.”

  The muscle in Miles’s jaw clenched. “Care? I doubt you care for her. Although I’m sure you care about everything we own, so maybe you’ll continue to charm her. You may even resort to begging in order to get her to come back. Whatever it takes in the name of business. Right, Stone?”

  How on earth could Miles think so little of his sister? Had their father been so cruel to Sam that Miles could just toss her aside?

  Brady clenched his fists at his side. “I don’t care what you think. I’m only concerned with Sam.”

  Without another word, he exited from the office. Maybe the meeting hadn’t gone so well, but what had he expected? The Donovan men weren’t known for their ability to get along with others. Perhaps that’s why they were failing so miserably at their business dealings as of late.

  But he would put forth an effort only for Sam.

  Brady called Abby and informed her that he’d be spending the rest of the day out of the office. He also left a voice mail for Cade to call after he’d finished with the attorney.

  He needed to clear his head. No way could he work with all the anger and rage that flooded through him. Added to that, he had to go back to Kauai, force Sam to hear his side and plead for forgiveness. She may never, ever forgive him, but he had to make sure she understood his actions.