Lady In Red

by Fayrene Preston

  She looked at him in surprise, her expression unknowingly revealing that he had been right. “No, of course not.”

  He smiled. “Yes, you are. You thought Bobby’s presence would act as a shield. I’m sure in your wildest dreams you never figured that Lily would kidnap Bobby for some nighttime skateboarding.”

  How could a man who played with toys be so intuitive, she wondered, her lips twitching with reluctant humor. “No, I didn’t.”

  He tilted his head to one side, considering her. “You’re sitting there with some kind of armor wrapped around you to protect you from me, and I don’t know why you feel you need it, what it’s made of, or what to do about it.”

  “You do pretty well without knowing,” she murmured, grasping a silver knife and drawing a line in the tablecloth.

  “I don’t even know what that remark is supposed to mean,” he said, baffled.

  It meant that her insides heated at a mere glance from him. “Didn’t Lily say something about coffee? I can serve us if you’ll show me where it is.”

  “I’ll get it in a minute.” He rested his forearm on the table and leaned forward. “Tell me, Cassidy. Tell me why you’ve got your arms held out, holding me off, and I haven’t attempted so much as to touch you tonight.”

  She sighed, glanced at him, then dropped her gaze back to the knife. “Actually I’ve already told you, and you didn’t listen. But the truth is, I don’t want a relationship with you or anyone.”

  “I heard you at the time. I hear you now. But what I want to know is why?”

  Her fingers tightened around the knife’s hilt. “It’s simple. I’ve always found it better to go it alone.”

  “Maybe that was because you’ve had to.”

  “No. It’s because I’ve wanted to.”

  “Okay, then, let me repeat my original question: Why?”

  The knife slipped from her fingers to the table with a dull thud. “I'd really like a cup of coffee, Zach.”

  He reached across the table and grasped her wrist. “And I’d really like an answer. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense. You’ve obviously decided you can trust me, because you’ve told me about the theft that’s about to go down.”

  “That’s business, Zach. What you want to know is personal.”

  “If you can trust me with the business information, you can trust me with things that are personal.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t see it that way, and I think it’s time Bobby and I left.”

  “No. Not until I have an answer. Cassidy, every time we kiss, it’s like instant combustion. The problem comes when we’re not kissing. You become guarded and cautious and try your best not to let me touch you.”

  She eyed her wrist pointedly. “I don’t seem to be doing too good a job, do I?”

  “Cassidy.”

  She exhaled heavily. “All right, all right. Just sit back, will you? You make it hard for me to breathe when you're close.”

  “That's very interesting,” he said softly, but he did as she asked.

  She passed a hand across her forehead, trying to clear her mind of Zach and his nearness, so she could tell him the story he wanted to hear. The tactic was only partially successful. Her mind cleared, but her body remained tantaliz- ingly aware of him. “I told you that I became Bobby’s legal guardian when I was nineteen.”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I was already in college then, and working. And I met this man. He was a professor, and his name was Gerald Merrick.”

  The fingers of his hand slowly curled inward until his hand was a fist, but his tone continued to be soft. “You fell in love with him?”

  “Yes I did.” Her face took on a distant expression as she cast her mind back to that time. “I thought he was wonderful, and I wanted him to think I was wonderful too. Our dates started out at the local coffee shop, but we quickly dropped the coffee shop as a meeting place in favor of his apartment. I didn’t have a lot of free time, but I stole what I could. A really nice lady watched Bobby for me, and I was blissfully happy. Then one day Bobby was sent to the hospital from school with appendicitis, and he had to undergo an emergency operation.” She paused, her eyes clouding as she remembered. “I was so scared, and I was all alone. After what seemed like forever, the surgeon finally came out and told me Bobby was going to be fine.”

  “That must have been a relief.”

  “It was, so much so that something sort of short-circuited inside me. And all the fear I had been holding in and the relief I felt that it was over got the better of me, and I broke down and began sobbing. The doctor told me to go home and get some rest or I was going to end up in the bed next to Bobby’s.”

  “I hope you did.”

  She shook her head. “I just couldn’t make myself go home to an empty apartment and be alone. I desperately needed to be held and reassured and loved. So I went to Gerald's.” She looked at him. “I guess you know what happened next.”

  “Why don’t you tell me,” he said gently, the knuckles on his fisted hand nearly white.

  “There was another girl in his bed, of course, and I was completely blindsided.” Her voice cracked, but she went on. “It never occurred to me that he didn’t love me as much as I loved him. It never occurred to me that he wouldn’t be there for me when I needed him.”

  She fell silent, and when she didn’t continue, he said, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  She laughed with deliberate lightness. “That’s what life is about, isn’t it? Lessons? That particular lesson taught me never again to need or depend on anyone.”

  “You sound very hard, Cassidy, but I don’t believe it for a minute.”

  Her eyes narrowed on him. “Believe it. I’ve done very well over the years without anyone.”

  “I believe that part. I only have to look at Bobby to see what a very capable and loving person you are. He’s a great kid, and you’ve done a tremendous job raising him. But I'm talking about a whole new ball game now. I’m talking about you and me.”

  “The same rules apply.”

  “You’re wrong. There aren’t any rules where you and I are concerned.”

  Much to her dismay, she could feel herself begin to tremble. “Zach, you’re a very persuasive man. As far as I can tell, everyone in your life seems to adore you, and I'm sure there are plenty of women who would love to be sitting in my place right now, but - ”

  “Before you start with the buts, I’d like to say something. You once accused me of not playing fair - ”

  “You don’t.”

  “Neither do you, Cassidy. You’re judging me because of something some man did to you years ago. Do you call that fair?”

  He was overwhelming her again, sapping her strength with his own particular brand of logic. Irrationally, she felt as if she were now losing by yards, rather than inches, at a time. “It’s worked up until now.”

  He smiled slowly. “Like I said, it’s a whole new ball game. All I ask is that you give me a chance. ”

  “I’m not sure I can, Zach. I’m not even sure I want to.”

  “You do, you know. Somewhere deep inside where you can’t stop the feeling, you do. And even though you’re fighting it, you also may be giving me a chance.”

  He took hold of her hand again, and heat crawled up her arm. She tried to pull away, but with a knowing smile he held fast.

  “Cassidy, sweetheart, please stop fighting me.”

  She swallowed against a lump of emotion in her throat. “I’ll stop fighting you when you stop touching me.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Not a chance.”

  “Then ditto.”

  Twinkling lights danced in his eyes. “It’s going to be fun, you'll see.”

  “Fun? Fun?” Incredulously, she searched her mind for a proper retaliation, but at that moment Bobby and Lily burst into the room.

  “Lily’s a skateboardin’ maniac!” Bobby said, aglow with admiration. “You should have seen some of the moves she ma
de.”

  “I showed him my special loop-the-loop where I skate down our driveway and up the side of Mr. Fenwick’s garden wall.”

  “The neighbors love her,” Zach said to Cassidy.

  Lily suddenly tensed as her expert gaze scanned the dinner table. “Zach, what in the world is wrong with you? You haven’t even given Cassidy any coffee or cake. Come on, Bobby. You can help me cut the cake, and I’ll give you a big end piece.”

  “Great,” Bobby said, disappearing after Lily. Zach looked at Cassidy. “Fun,” he said softly. “You’ll see. You can depend on me.”

  The baby doll rested against a pile of books on the mahogany credenza. Sitting in front of Zach’s desk, Cassidy stared at her, thinking how real she looked. She could see how a little girl could fall in love with its sweet face, soft body, and delicate hands and feet. She switched her attention from the baby doll to Zach. He was reclining in the big leather chair behind his desk, looking relaxed, magnetic, and terribly sexy in gray slacks and a blue open-necked shirt.

  “I didn't hear anyone who sounded familiar to me yesterday,” she said, “so today I’m going to make it a point to go around and introduce myself to those people on the list Marsha gave me, the list of people who worked the benefit party. Also I’d like to learn more about your four supervisors, as well as the security systems in these buildings.”

  His forehead grooved with thought, Zach nodded as he pushed a Hot Wheels Custom Corvette back and forth across his desk. “All of that can be arranged.”

  She studied him for a moment. “You look troubled. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m having a really hard time believing that Will, Janet, Mitchell, or Brad could steal from me.”

  “Tell me a little about each of them.”

  He gave a final push to the small car and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “Will is a young wunderkind. He came to me straight out of school, and I’ve never seen anyone more enthusiastic about their work.”

  “What about Brad? That suit he had on yesterday was an Armani, and Armanis don’t come cheap.”

  Zach laughed. “A dress code never seemed real important to me. I’ve always told my employees to dress in whatever makes them comfortable. Brad loves designer suits and gold watches. Will loves T-shirts and jeans. Everyone else seems to fall somewhere in between.”

  “What kind of car does Brad drive?”

  Zach made a face. “He just bought a Porsche, but Brad’s a good guy, and I can’t believe that he would steal simply because he has expensive tastes.”

  “Why not? People steal for a lot less, believe me.”

  He smiled at her. “Cassidy Stuart, the cynic.”

  “More like the realist. Tell me about Janet.”

  “She’s smart and very competent. She’s worked for me for five years, and in all that time I’ve never had a minute’s problem with her.”

  Cassidy pushed herself out of the chair and ambled around the office. “You left out one thing in your description of her. She’s attractive.”

  “You’re right. She is.”

  She glanced at him out of the side of her eyes. “Has there ever been anything between you two?”

  “Nothing.”

  She had stopped in front of the credenza, but his flat tone drew her gaze once again. “Why not? Do you have a rule against fraternizing with employees?”

  “No. I’ve never been attracted to her sexually, that’s all.”

  “Oh.” She looked at the doll, wondering exactly who he had been attracted to in the past. He had said his employees were used to him taking his girlfriends to work with him. How many had there been? she wondered. Other than normal curiosity, no one had seemed the least surprised to see him showing her around. Apparently he showed women around all the time. Broodingly, she touched the delicate lace trim on the baby doll's dress, then fingered the soft material. The doll was so precious, she thought. She couldn’t remember ever having a doll, but she must have…

  “Have you ever wanted a baby of your own?” Zach asked.

  Her hand jerked away from the doll. “No, of course not.”

  “Why ‘of course not?’ Wanting a child is a perfectly normal thing.”

  She returned to the chair in front of the desk. “I’ve had Bobby- ”

  “He’ll be going off to college in another year, and you’ll be by yourself. You’re so young. You could have lots of babies.”

  Heat flushed up her throat to her face. “I don’t want lots of babies, Zach.”

  His shrug indicated she was entitled to her own opinion, no matter how crazy. “I do.” He leaned farther back in his chair, kicked his feet up on the desk, and crossed one ankle over the other. “In fact, I want a whole horde of babies.” She blinked. “You do?”

  He nodded. “I’ve got a big house, and I can’t think of anything nicer than having every nook and cranny filled with happy, healthy, giggling children.”

  He’d be a wonderful father, she thought unexpectedly. He had more than his share of patience and humor, and he was gentle…

  She mentally shook herself out of her reverie.

  “Good luck on finding a woman to give you that horde.”

  His gaze fixed intently on her, he smiled. “Thanks. I'll need it.”

  His smile was an assault on her senses and sent tingling warmth through her. She cleared her throat. “Let’s get back to Janet. I gather she’s single?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Do you know anything about her personal life?”

  “From all appearances, she doesn’t live beyond her income, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Exactly what I was asking,” she said thoughtfully. “Okay, what about Mitchell?”

  “Mitchell is as solid a citizen as anyone I know. He has been married to the same woman for years, and has two daughters and a son. The oldest daughter is in college, the second daughter is about to start, and the son will begin next year.”

  She grimaced. “College is so expensive these days, I can’t imagine having to put two kids through, much less three.”

  “Well if we’ve got to have a motive for this theft. I’d much rather it be because someone was trying to educate their children than someone wanted a new Ferrari.”

  “You’re not taking this seriously, Zach - ”

  “Here’s that coffee you asked for, Zach,” Marsha said as she came into the office, two cups in her hand. “Sorry it took so long, but I had to brew a new pot.”

  “No problem.” He accepted one of the cups and watched while Cassidy accepted the other.

  Marsha paused at the door, her hand on the knob. “Do you want me to close this?”

  He glanced at Cassidy. She had gotten up once more, leaving her coffee on the desk, and wandered over to the credenza and the baby doll. At this point, he was taking great care not to do anything that would make her feel uptight or as if a trap were being closed around her. “No, that’s okay, leave it open.” He switched his gaze back to Cassidy in time to see her touch the doll’s soft, baby-fine cap of hair. He smiled, then carefully wiped all traces of amusement from his face.

  “I take what’s happening very seriously, Cassidy. Only I don’t want to believe that any of the people I work with on a day-to-day basis would take what is going to be the future of Bennett Toys and sell it, no matter how high the price.” He paused. “I guess that’s why I keep hoping this is a hoax of some sort.”

  Without thinking, she picked up the doll and cradled it in her arms. “You can’t expect everyone to have the same feeling for your company that you do, Zach.” She passed her hand over the doll’s head and smiled. It seemed to her as if she caught the scent of talcum. The doll was wonderful.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course I am,” she said, unconsciously beginning to rock the baby doll. “In fact, your feeling about the company may be your blind spot. You love it so much, you can’t imagine anyone doing anything to harm it.”

  “Anything I lov
e, I love totally.”

  A sudden insight flashed into her consciousness. Her heart stopped, then after a moment started again with a hard thud. It was the dreamers who fell the hardest, not the rakes. And Zach was a dreamer. He would love only one woman and he would love her well. She found herself envying that woman.

  “So what do you think?” he asked quietly, watching her.

  “About what?” she asked blankly.

  “About the doll.”

  She looked down at the doll as if she’d forgotten it was in her arms. Hastily she put it back on the credenza.

  “Do you think she’s going to be a hit with little girls, even though she doesn’t do much but look like she needs love?”

  Cassidy returned to her chair and reached for the coffee. “She’ll probably be a big success.”

  “That’s good.”

  She frowned at his smug expression. “You can just turn off the twinkling in those eyes of yours right now, Zach Bennett.”

  He chuckled. “Why, whatever do you mean?” She glanced around the room, searching for something to throw at him, but all she saw were toys. The phone rang on Marsha’s desk outside the door, and she heard Marsha answer it with a low, melodious voice.

  “Is Bobby going to be home tonight?” Zach asked, distracting her.

  “No,” she said. “He has an early game, and then he’s going to spend the night at a friend’s house. Remember I told you that if the team wins, they’ll be leaving for the capital in the morning. He’s really excited. He and his friend want to get up and go to the bus together.”

  “Sounds great. We can go see his game, cheer him on, have dinner, and not have to worry about what time we get back.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I want to spend some more time with you, Cassidy. Away from here, and away from this damned story of yours.”

  “I don’t have a story yet. …” Her words trailed off as she heard a man speaking to Marsha. His voice was deep and husky. She turned in her chair and looked toward the door. “What’s wrong, Cassidy?”