“I keep remembering back to the night when you first talked about Thom and your hopes to get him for your Valentine date. You were so excited about the prospect. And now that you’ve accomplished your goal, I figured you’d be dancing around the building in anticipation of tomorrow. Instead you look about as perky as a wet hen.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m not a farm girl. What does a wet hen look like?”
“Droopy. Instead of clucking and running around the chicken yard strutting her stuff, she’s standing at the edge of the flock trying to shake the water off her feathers. In your case, you look like you’re trying to shake off a flood of tears.”
His assessment, corny as it sounded, was so accurate it was eerie. Instead of dancing, she was brooding. And though she was a girl who rarely ever shed a tear, these past few days there’d been several times she’d had to fight them off.
It shouldn’t surprise her that Mason could read her so well. He seemed to pick up on her feelings, even when she was trying to hide them.
She straightened her shoulders and leveled him the most confident look she could muster. “I’m sure I need to freshen my lipstick. But I don’t believe I look anywhere near shedding a tear. As for me dancing around the department, Dennis is a very lenient boss, but he might not appreciate the merriment.”
A faint smile twisted his lips and Sophie couldn’t help but look at them and relive the kiss they’d shared. Tomorrow night he’d surely be kissing his Valentine sweetheart. Each time she’d asked him about his date, he’d skirted the answer. Sophie didn’t have a clue as to who he might be dating, but she knew one thing: She fervently wished it was her.
“I’m glad I don’t need to drag out my handkerchief and wipe your cheeks.” He glanced at the digital clock on her desk. “I’ve been here too long. I need to get back to work.”
He started out of her cubicle. Before Sophie realized what she was doing, she practically leaped out of her chair and blocked his path.
“Mason, before you go, I—” Not knowing how to express her feelings in words, she rose on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek.
His brow arched in question and she said, “That’s for the pudding. And for helping me shake the water off my feathers.”
She expected her comment to gain a smile from him, but she couldn’t find a speck of amusement on his face. Instead, he gently patted her cheek.
“If I don’t see you before tomorrow evening, good luck with your plans. Thom is a lucky man.”
As she stood there watching him go and wishing she had the right to run after him, her cell phone jangled with a text message.
Crossing to her desk, she picked up the phone and read the message. The sender was Olivia.
We’re waiting on you in the conference room. Have you forgotten?
Oh, Lord, the moment Mason had shown up with the pudding, she’d forgotten all about the family meeting.
Hurrying now, Sophie dashed off a note to anyone who might come looking for her, then grabbed her handbag and left the cubicle.
The last thing she needed today was to listen to Ben talk about digging up more of their father’s indiscretions. But Sophie was a Fortune Robinson and she, along with the rest of her siblings, needed to help hold their fractured family together.
Moments later, she stepped into the conference room and felt every eye on her as she sat at the long table where her four brothers, Ben, Wes, Graham, and Kieran sat waiting, along with her three sisters, Rachel, Olivia and Zoe.
“Hi, everyone! I’m sorry,” she apologized, her voice breathless from rushing. “I got busy and forgot the time.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sophie. Five minutes isn’t going to kill us,” Graham, the cowboy of the bunch, spoke up.
“That’s right,” Rachel replied. “Since I don’t get over to Austin that often, it’s given me a little extra time to visit with everyone.”
After her older sister had married Matteo Mendoza and settled down in Horseback Hollow, the family didn’t see her nearly as often. Sophie missed her sister, but on the other hand, she was very glad that Rachel had found true love and happiness.
Sophie took a seat next to Olivia and glanced around the group. “Have I missed anything?”
Wes said dryly, “Not unless you count hearing Ben describe his baby daughter’s burps as big news.”
Ben leveled a sardonic look at his twin brother. “Just wait, Wes. Your time is coming. When you and Vivian have a daughter, she’ll be the smartest most beautiful child on earth.”
Wes chuckled. “Viv wants twins. I can only hope they’re boys.”
A few teasing shots were passed back and forth between the siblings until Ben decided to get down to business.
“I’m sure all of you have been wondering what I’ve called this meeting about,” he said.
“I think we all pretty much assume you have more news about Dad,” Wes said, then added dully, “As if we haven’t already had enough.”
Ben glanced around the table at each of his siblings and Sophie’s stomach clenched in a tight knot. Wes was right. The family had already been forced to accept so many discoveries about their father. She wasn’t sure she could bear any more surprises, but from the look on Ben’s face, she feared she was about to get one.
Ben continued, “As you all know, Keaton and I have been doing more digging into Dad’s—uh, past connections and—”
“Don’t you mean transgressions?” Wes interrupted.
Frowning at his twin brother, Ben said, “Call them whatever you like. But the truth is we’ve discovered we have a half sister and she’s living right here in Austin.”
Sophie felt as if someone had slapped her across the face. She wasn’t just stunned. She was sick to her stomach.
“Ben, you must be joking,” Graham spoke up. “How could we have a half sister living right under our noses and not know it?”
Glancing around the table, Sophie noticed that all her siblings, except Olivia, appeared to be shocked.
“This is hardly a joke,” Ben retorted.
“Who is she? Do we know her?”
The questions came from Zoe who’d been so instrumental in persuading their father to admit he was actually a Fortune by birth.
Ben answered, “Chloe Elliott. Her mother is Janet Reynolds.”
Rachel gasped. “The woman who lived down the street from us? You can’t mean her! That’s indecent!”
“Indecent or not, it’s the truth,” Ben assured her. “Keaton and I have covered every angle concerning Mrs. Reynolds and her daughter. Chloe is definitely our sister.”
“Illegitimate half sister,” Sophie couldn’t stop herself from pointing out. “Dear God, when is this going to stop?”
Wes’s expression turned grim. “I have a feeling this is just the beginning.”
From the very start, Wes had been against digging into the mystery of their father’s birthright. He’d believed opening a can of worms would hurt everyone in the family more than help. Sophie could now see just how right her brother had been.
Ben said, “The way I see it if we have more brothers and sisters out there somewhere, then we need to know it.”
Ben could think in those terms, but not everyone else in the family had to side with him, Sophie thought.
Glancing to her left she could see that Rachel had gone pale. To her right Olivia appeared maddeningly indifferent and, if anything, Zoe looked sad. As for Sophie she was so angry and disgusted it was all she could do to keep from scraping back her chair and running from the room.
It was one thing for their father to have had a discreet affair in London years ago, far away from his family here in Austin. But this affair with Mrs. Reynolds had been carried out right under their noses! It was embarrassing and sickening!
From down the table, Kieran asked, “Does Mother know about this yet?”
“I’ve given her the news,” Ben stated. “She looked grim, but for the most part she took it pretty calmly. I tried to
encourage her to talk about the situation, but she hardly said a word. So I decided not to press her.”
The nauseous feeling in the pit of Sophie’s stomach turned to a cold, lead weight.
No one understands your father like I do.
Only days ago Sophie had tried to talk with her mother about her marriage. Charlotte’s calm acceptance of her husband’s infidelity had both infuriated and puzzled Sophie. But hearing about a second illegitimate child might change her mother’s attitude. Would this finally push her to file for divorce?
“Of course Mother didn’t say much,” Wes muttered. “She was too crushed.”
Ben nodded. “Facing the truth isn’t easy.”
No, it was more like hell. Sophie could attest to that. These past few days she’d had to accept the truth about Thom. She’d had to take a long look at herself and the bad judgment she’d used in thinking he was the perfect man for her. The man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Yes, the truth was painful.
“We all need to rally around Mother,” Graham said. “She needs to know her children love and support her.”
After Graham expressed his thoughts, everyone at the table began talking at once. Except for Olivia. She appeared totally unaffected by the news.
Infuriated by her sister’s attitude, Sophie asked, “What is it with you, anyway? How can you sit there so calmly? Saying nothing?”
Olivia shrugged. “What is there to say? We’ve known for some time now that Dad has been unfaithful throughout his marriage. I’m sure Chloe isn’t going to be the last one to show up with a connection to our family name.”
Unfortunately, Sophie believed her sister was right. And if more of their father’s other children started showing up, just exactly what would their mother do?
Even though her parents lived pretty much separate lives, the notion that her mother might actually divorce him shook Sophie deeply. Perhaps because she was the baby of the family, and the last symbol of them ever being connected in a loving manner. Or maybe it was the fact that Chloe Elliott appeared to be so close to her own age; it made her feel even more deceived.
“I’ll never trust another man in my life!” Sophie muttered angrily.
Olivia showed more surprise over Sophie’s bitter remark than she had over the news about their father hooking up with Mrs. Reynolds. “What about Thom?”
Her jaw set, Sophie snatched up the handbag she’d placed beneath her chair. “Thom who?” she asked sarcastically.
“Sophie! Get a grip,” Olivia said. “You can’t let this get to you.”
“I can’t keep sitting here listening to any more of this, either. You can fill me in later!”
Before Olivia or anyone else at the table could stop her, Sophie rushed from the room, hoping she could get back to her desk before she burst into tears.
*
The next morning Sophie stared glumly at her image in the cheval mirror. The cream and black patterned dress she was wearing looked okay, but it hardly screamed romance. It was Valentine’s Day, the day she’d been so eagerly looking forward to. Under any other circumstances, she would’ve taken great pains in choosing her outfit, especially knowing full well that many of the women at Robinson Tech would be dressed in something red or pink and as romantic as one could get and still be appropriate for office wear.
But after yesterday and Ben’s announcement about Chloe Elliott, Sophie was in no mood for Valentine’s Day or a special night on the town. The father she’d known and loved had turned out to be a habitual cheater. And Thom’s sexy veneer had turned out to be just that. A coating on the surface with nothing substantial underneath.
On the very day she should be feeling on top of the world, Sophie felt like the dregs of a nasty drink. And the day was only going to get worse, she realized. Once she arrived at work, she was going straight to Thom and call off their date. Then she was going to have to sit at her desk for the remainder of the day and wonder about the lucky lady who would be dancing with Mason tonight. Kissing Mason.
*
Nadine stared suspiciously at the single pink rose Mason sat on her desk.
“What is this? It’s not my birthday, thank God. Forty-six is quite old enough,” she told him.
Mason gave her a cheeky smile. “Surely forty-six is not so old that you forgot today is Valentine’s Day. Got a date for tonight?”
The platinum blonde picked up the rose and drew it to her nose. “No. What about you?”
“I doubt it. Unless by some miracle things change between now and then.”
Nadine continued to hold the rose and Mason could see she’d been touched by his little gift. Too bad he couldn’t present Sophie with a rose and make her forget all about that damned Thom Nichols.
Nadine frowned. “Are you still thinking about the boss’s daughter?”
“I’ve never stopped thinking about her. But it looks like she’ll be on a big romantic date with Thom. The creep. I’d really like to hogtie him, put him in a dark closet somewhere, and not let him out until tomorrow.”
Nadine laughed. “Forget about Thom. Why don’t you go to Sophie and persuade her that you’re the man, not Thom?”
“Because it won’t work. I’ve tried to make her notice me. But it hasn’t seemed to help.” He’d even kissed Sophie. And though she’d seemed receptive, she’d certainly not talked about dropping Thom.
“Then you need to use a different tactic. Knowing you, you’ve probably been too nice. Give her a little alpha-male treatment. Show her you can take the bull by the horns.”
“This isn’t a rodeo, Nadine.”
“No, but this is Texas and we Texas women like our men tough.”
“Tough. Gotcha.” Mason curled his arm and made a muscle. “How’s that?”
Laughing, Nadine left her chair and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for the rose, sweetie. Now get out of here. Go get your little black book and find yourself another date for tonight. Any woman that would actually want to go out with Thom Nichols isn’t worth having.”
Mason was back at his desk, trying to get his mind focused on work when he was summoned to a meeting with the director of marketing. Marketing was the last department he wanted to visit today. The thought of seeing Thom’s gloating face put a bitter taste in his mouth, but there was nothing Mason could do about it. Except hope that Thom was gone to another part of the building.
*
“Sophie! Over here! Do you have a minute?”
Sophie paused in the middle of the marketing department to see Elsa, one of Robinson Tech’s longtime employees, hurrying toward her. Thin and prematurely gray, the woman always had a weary look about her, but today she appeared completely stressed.
“Is anything wrong, Elsa?”
“Not exactly. I’m just extremely worried, that’s all. I’ve been wanting to talk with you about the health insurance changes.”
You and about a hundred others, Sophie thought dismally. “I realize it’s a jarring change, Elsa. It has been for most all the employees. Was there something specific that concerned you about the policy?”
She nodded. “My thirteen-year-old son. A part of his face was accidentally burned a few months ago. He’s healed now. But once school is out this summer the doctor wants to do another surgery to reduce the scarring. Under this new policy the procedure will be considered cosmetic, which means they won’t pay. Sophie, this isn’t just a vanity case! My son is disfigured and—”
Sophie reached out and took a firm hold on the woman’s shoulder. “You don’t have to say more, Elsa. I understand completely. And I want you to quit worrying about this. The new policy won’t take effect for a couple of months, so there’s still time for the surgery. I intend to talk to my brother about this whole situation. Ben will make the right decisions, I’m sure.”
A measure of relief came over the woman’s face. “Thank you, Sophie. You’ve already made me feel better.”
Sophie gave her a few more encouraging words, then walked to Thom’
s desk. When she didn’t find him there, she was about to look elsewhere, when he suddenly stepped up behind her.
“Are you here to see me, Ms. Fortune?”
As much as she disliked him leaving the Robinson off her name, she tried to put on a pleasant expression as she turned to face him.
“Yes, actually, you’re the man I’m here to see. Elsa sidelined me.”
“Yes, I noticed,” he said with an impatient roll of his eyes. “She’s always whining about something. I honestly wish the woman worked on a different floor.”
She could hardly believe his unfeeling attitude. “I wouldn’t be saying anything bad about Elsa. She’s a good woman and a hard worker.”
He must have detected the sharp edge to her voice because his brows lifted briefly in surprise and then he said, “Surely you’re not up here to discuss another employee with me.”
“No.” She glanced around her. People were coming and going; a small group was gathered at the water cooler. It was hardly the perfect spot to cancel a date. “Is there somewhere around here that’s more private?”
A leering grin suddenly spread across his face. “By all means.”
Taking her by the arm, he led her to a small room that was used for private meetings.
Once they stepped inside and he shut the door, he planted a swift kiss on her cheek. It was the first time he’d ever displayed any sort of affection toward her during working hours and she wondered why she was suddenly seeing a different side to him. Had he been picking up on her discontent?
Feeling worse than awkward, she attempted a pleasant smile. “Do you have a minute? Or am I interrupting your morning?”
“I’m waiting on a few of my coworkers to join me. We’re working on an advertising idea to promote Robinson Tech’s newest tablet. If things go as planned I may have to fly to California to negotiate the details of a new TV ad.”
Too bad he wasn’t leaving today, Sophie thought. It would have spared her this uncomfortable task.
Her Sweetest Fortune Page 12
