Kate Takes Care Of Business

by Rachel Cartwright

  “You suppose correctly, Mr. Griffin.” Her father sounded rigid with anger. “But whatever our differences, both Mr. Hallman and myself have only the company’s and the shareholder’s best interests at heart.”

  “I wouldn’t have assumed otherwise, sir, but with all the rumors—”

  “And that’s all they are. So, if you want to report the truth you’re going to have to wait until our press meeting, unless it’s your intention to misinterpret something Kate might say. I have to trust that she has the common sense to know better. We can’t afford more damaging lies in the media.”

  Listening, Kate heard her father repeat the words “damaging lies,” echoed by Reid’s repeated denial about the reason for his informal lunch with her.

  Anger, succeeded by determination, swept over her. Was her father doubting her intelligence and tact? Was Reid interested in more that just a chance to apologize for ignoring her since April?

  That settled it. She could and would learn every aspect of her father’s business. She wouldn’t stay on the outside and attend these meetings just for moral support any longer. Kate had absorbed much over the years listening to her father discuss business with Mr. Hallman and the other members of the board. She had ideas about how to improve operations and this was the time to tell her father about them.

  Her cell chimed on the dresser. As she expected, it was a text message from Sterling.

  Bored with the party and people. No fun without you. On my way to NYC. See you soon. Love. Sterling.

  Sterling had just taken delivery of his built to order Brabus Rocket 800, his “Benz on bennies” as he liked to call it. He and his father were crazy about cars and Sterling even raced occasionally on the European circuit. He bragged that it was the fastest street legal sedan in the world and didn’t mind blowing an insane amount of cash because he liked to drive their friends around in style to the clubs and parties.

  Sterling didn’t care about speeding tickets. “You have to pay to play,” was his standard excuse. He preferred taking the back roads and if he didn’t get caught he would be in New York before the night was over.

  Kate touched up her blush feeling at once excited and pursued. Knowing that Sterling was racing toward her was enough to prevent any possibility of falling under the charming spell of the handsome young man on the other side of her bedroom door. Seeing her closest friend tonight would take her mind and her father’s off the troubling presence of Reid Griffin.

  Her parents had always loved Sterling like family and it was no secret that Dad would have loved her to marry his business partner’s son. A marriage like that would go a long way to smoothing over the rough piece they were going through now with their current disagreements.

  Sterling had just squeaked by and graduated from Harvard with an undergrad business degree but Kate knew he did that more to please his father than anything else. Still, thanks to his father's influence, Sterling had a choice of good positions waiting for him at the company.

  And eager young woman at the country club.

  Most of the girls in their crowd envied her affair with Sterling. The-way-too-flirty-for-her-own-good Bridget Sutton in particular who assumed Kate would be the lucky one to marry him leaving her stuck with boring Jeffrey Wexler.

  Well, she and Sterling did have their secret promise, didn’t they? And, maybe, if Kate changed her mind they wouldn’t have to wait until they turned forty. Kate emerged from the bedroom with her Carolina blue eyes glinting.

  Her father turned to her. “Just got a message from Sterling. Better not wander too far or stay out too late. He’d be disappointed to arrive and not find you here.” He looked at Reid. “He’s like his father, very concerned about the people he cares about.”

  Kate snickered. “Jealous, you mean.” From beneath her long dark lashes, she shot a glance at Reid. She wondered how he was taking her father’s “look but don’t touch” warning, but she couldn’t tell anything from Reid’s thin smile. She titled her head to the side. “You do realize that no one goes to the Boathouse for the food except tourists.”

  Reid’s appreciative eye traveled from her face to her tight jeans. “But you can’t beat the view can you?”

  Kate felt a warm glow flow through her. “Then I hope there’s a cab waiting for us downstairs. My father and I are on a tight schedule.” She took a step closer to him. “We will be back in time to meet my friend, won’t we, Mr. Griffin?”

  Reid grinned at her. “I won’t keep you any longer than I have too, Ms. Winslow.” His firm mouth curled as if on the edge of laughter.

  Unless you want me to. Reid’s expression answered her unspoken thought. Kate kissed her father on the cheek. “I’ll call when I’m leaving.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The view from the Boathouse was wonderful. From under their patio umbrella, Kate gazed out at the swans gliding by on the placid water. She was glad Reid had chosen a relaxing retreat from the stress and worry of the hotel filled with demanding stockholders eager to have their meeting.

  The food might be forgettable, the service uneven and there were too many tourists for her liking, but surrounded by water and trees, Kate felt that there were just the two of them in this small, serene corner of her busy world.

  “And that’s why it took me this long to get back to you. I thought you had a terrible time that night and I didn’t want to make you angry and scare you away by being one of those pushy, dumb-ass guys who can’t figure out when a woman is telling him politely to get lost.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “I like you too much, Kate, and I’d never do anything to jeopardize our friendship. I only hope you can forgive me . . . and give me another chance.”

  A part of Kate reveled in his open admiration and respect for her. She appreciated Reid’s honesty but it wasn’t the first time she’d heard an explanation like that. Sterling had said something similar and they might never have had the affair she’d desperately desired unless she made the first move.

  Kate looked down at his hand over hers. She knew she wasn’t a prude in private but sometimes she wanted to be literally swept off her feet by a man as in picked up and carried to a big, clean, comfortable bed for some intense, mutual ravishing and cuddly canoodling after that.

  Maybe it was just an overly excitable teenage girl’s fantasy or if it actually happened it wouldn’t be the most amazing sex she’d ever had in her life but there it was—an unfulfilled desire that woke her from her dreams with a sweet, aching need that had yet to be satisfied.

  Still, back in the real world, she caught herself thinking that things weren’t so bad in this one small corner. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

  “So . . . do I get a second chance?”

  Kate laughed. “No so fast, mister.” She withdrew her hand. “I don’t think I should let you off that easily.”

  Reid picked up his imported Dutch beer and looked out on the water as he sipped. He was slim but hard-muscled in his light red cotton shirt. She liked that he had left an extra button unfastened. He definitely looked as if he’d been working out since the last time she saw him.

  Kate smiled. Nothing wrong with a man showing off a little . . . when he’s got something to show. Every admiring glance she stole told her that his arms looked more than capable of picking a girl up and delivering her safely to any waiting bed she might desire.

  “Nice,” Kate said.

  “What’s that?” Reid turned his gaze from the water.

  Kate blushed in embarrassment. Had she been staring at him a little bit longer than she should have without being obvious? She looked away from him and out at the water. “The lake, I mean, it’s nice to be here if you can’t get away and swim in a real—” She realized that she was babbling and stopped.

  Reid sipped his beer. Another tense minute passed before he spoke in an offhand voice. “Sterling Hallman’s family has a big vacation home on Chesapeake Bay, don’t they?”

  Sterling? Why was he asking about him of all people? Kat
e began to wonder just exactly what it was that Reid wanted of her. Studying him with pensive curiosity, she cleared her throat. “They’re wealthy now but it wasn’t always that way and I can tell you that Mr. Hallman worked almost as hard as my father for every dollar he’s made and lost along the way.”

  “Then . . . you could have more than a lake.” He made a sweeping gesture toward the water. “You could have an ocean with a castle on the beach if you married Sterling Hallman.” His lips twisted into a cynical smile

  I don’t believe this. He says he wants a second chance but he keeps asking me about Sterling? Puzzled and more than a little agitated by Reid’s interest in the Hallman family, Kate pushed her plate of chicken salad away. “I don’t need to marry a man for his money. In fact, unless I was destitute and starving that’s the last reason I would marry at all.”

  Reid shrugged. “It would make sense though, wouldn’t it? Maybe your father and Sterling’s would find some compromise then for the sake of the company . . . and the marriage of their only children.”

  “Is this really what you wanted to talk to me about?” A cynical inner voice cut through her thoughts. Dad was right. She pressed both hands over her eyes as if they had been burned with too much brightness from the sun.

  Kate pushed her chair back from the table. “If Sterling and I do get married, it won’t be a mercenary, corporate takeover for the sake of each family’s profit. We grew up together and our mothers were best friends, before—” Kate turned away and shivered as she remembered the last time she saw her mother alive.

  “I’m sorry.” Reid held his head high with pride. “But I’m just trying to understand where I fit into the big picture. I can’t hope to compete with a spoiled rich kid like Sterling Hallman and I don’t want to end being the fool if I try.”

  The finality in his voice only made her feel colder inside. Yes, she was angry with him but she could understand how the wealthy people she took for granted everyday might be a threat to the confidence of someone not used to living in her world. Reid was only being honest about how he felt and that was something she valued in a man.

  The sun was almost gone for the day and Sterling would be arriving soon expecting to take Kate and her dad to dinner. “It’s getting late.” She checked her cell for the time and messages. She gasped in frustration. Shit! You bastard. Sterling’s clock ran on Sterling time. He wasn’t going to make it for dinner after all. Likely got up late with bigger hangover than you expected, didn’t you?

  Reid leaned across the table. “What’s the matter?”

  “My friend won’t be arriving for dinner.”

  “Let me guess. Sterling Hallman?”

  Kate rose and brushed back her hair. “I have to get back to the hotel.”

  “You need a break from hotels and stockholders. How about I take you out somewhere different instead?” He held out his hand.

  “Where?”

  “Maxwell’s. Been there before?”

  “Wow, I mean no but I didn’t think you were the hipster type.”

  “Maybe not but it’s closing soon. It’s one of the last great places to really kick back unless you’ve got something against the Lower East Side.” The lively twinkle in his eye only excited her more. “And don’t you feel like doing just that, my dear Miss Winslow?”

  Kate glanced away, feeling the onset of another blush attack. Oh my, yes, and much more than that if this keeps up, Mr. Griffin.

  Reid took a deep breath. “We could also meet a couple of my friends if that’s okay?”

  “Anyone you should warn me about?”

  “No, just fellow scribes from the trenches. Ever read Liz Presley’s blog?”

  “Any relation to Elvis?”

  Reid laughed. “C’mon. You’d like her if you met her and . . . Liz always as a date so no awkward third wheel scenario, promise.”

  Kate smiled with twisted lips. She doubted very much that she would like Liz Presley, earnest hardworking girl that she might be. Still quietly fuming over being stood up by Sterling and torn between attraction and suspicion, Kate couldn’t help but say something a little snarky. “After reading some of your columns and blogs I’m surprised your friends still speak to you.”

  The corner of Reid’s mouth pulled into a slight smile. “Me too. I guess that’s why they’re so important to me.” His seductive eyes and disarming smile rekindled the feeling Kate had when they’d first met. “And we all need our friends to help us through, don’t we?”

  Desire rose again inside Kate, something she had not felt since their romantic carriage ride, and now she was not sure how she would handle something and someone who made her shiver with delicious anticipation like this.

  A dreamy concerto drifted out from the patio speakers, quickening her emotions, awakening longings that had been touched by loneliness and regret. She moved a little closer to Reid and his arms closed around her.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, “bright and beautiful. I can’t stop thinking about you, Kate.” Reid’s mouth found hers and his lean, strong arms pulled her to him. This time it was no fleeting butterfly kiss. His lips demanded more and Kate answered.

  Her arms went around his neck and her body strained against his. She felt his firm yearning through his thin khakis and, conscious only of her pure, unashamed longing for him, pressed herself harder against his hungry body. What are you doing to me, Reid Griffin? We’re so different but none of that matters when I’m with you.

  Kate drew away a little and looked at him. Were her eyes filled with the same surprise and wonder too? She hesitated for a moment, then, without fully understanding why, took his warm hand and walked away together.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Maxwell’s was everything Kate imagined it would be and then some. The funky dive-bar vibe and décor were cool but she didn’t expect it to be almost completely packed with smoking hipsters and wannabe artists. The music was just a few decibels short of loud but at least the DJ was playing a decent song she liked.

  Kate and Reid edged their way through the crowd. “Hope you don’t mind,” Reid said, without much apology. “I should have mentioned it’s one of the few places you can still smoke in the city.”

  Now he tells me? Kate frowned. We could have went out for dinner near his place then if things worked out . . . She stopped her erotic mind from wandering. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

  “I don’t . . . really. The occasional one with a beer, that’s all. There’s a patio out back if it gets too much for you.”

  Feeling self-conscious and out of place, Kate wondered if this had been a good idea to meet Reid’s friends. Well, they weren’t blowing smoke in her face or spilling beer on her new low-cut black silk top so those were definite pluses to start the night.

  This definitely was different from Sterling and their country-club friends. The mixed tobacco and beer odor was nothing a good shower couldn’t get out of her skin so for one night she decided to let curiosity get the better of her misgivings.

  Reid guided Kate toward the back of the bar. He paused and looked around, no doubt hoping to see his friends. Kate glimpsed a young woman standing and waving to him from the table near the patio entrance.

  Reid’s relief was visible in his broad smile. “Great. Liz has a table for us.”

  He propelled Kate toward the tall slim girl who bore little resemblance to the woman that she’d imagined. Taller than Kate by a good two inches, the real Liz Presley was a smooth, exotic creature. She had mahogany hair that she wore up-swept; narrow tawny eyes and a startlingly pale face slashed by a sensuous scarlet mouth. Her eccentric gold satin top accentuated her striking coloring ... and more ample, revealing cleavage.

  “Hi, Reid.” She greeted him with an exuberant hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Reid laughed. “Liz Presley, this is my friend, Kate Winslow.”

  “Adam Winslow’s daughter?” asked Liz, her eyes traveling over Kate in a way that made her feel awkward in the presence of a woma
n only a few years older but who already appeared to be sizing up her competition.

  “Yes, pleased to meet you, Liz.” They sat down around the table. Kate glanced at the empty fourth chair. She immediately shot a look at Reid. “Will your other friend be here soon?”

  Liz pursed her lips. “Ahh, sorry. Steve couldn’t make it. He’s working on a freelance assignment. The deadline is nine tomorrow morning.” She turned to Reid. “And we all know what that’s like.”

  Reid nodded and smiled at Liz. Kate felt her jealousy pique which, after a few moments, she almost rejected as being absurd. So much for not being a third wheel. Thanks Liz.

  Kate listened patiently as Reid and Liz talked about their latest assignments or the ones they hoped to land while the harassed looking waitress took their drink order. A pitcher of draft for Reid and Liz. Just to be different, Kate ordered a daiquiri.

  Liz poured a glass for herself and Reid. She took a sip and turned to Kate. “So how do you think your meeting will go this year? Richard Hallman and your father aren’t reading from the same press releases these days. Why is that?”

  “They’ve agreed to disagree for now but I’m sure they’ll reach a compromise. They always have before.” Kate congratulated herself on her cautious reply. Dad would have approved.

  “But this time I hear it’s different.”

  Reid gulped his beer and frowned. “Don’t try to interview her, Liz. She’s not into company politics, are you?”

  Kate took two quick sips of her daiquiri. Wow, they make them strong here. Better go easy. “Just because I don’t sit on the board of directors doesn’t mean I don’t have any ideas on how to improve domestic operations.”

  “Really?” Liz arched her carefully lined brow. “Then don’t keep us in suspense. We’d love to hear your ideas, wouldn’t we, Reid?” she asked in a teasing tone that did nothing to hide its condescension.