Backfire
Page 19
“Me? But I resigned as sales director. You can’t just appoint me as the general manager.”
“I didn’t appoint you. You inherited the job as majority owner of the Saint Charles.” Chase took her hands, and Madeline realized that his were shaking. “It’s yours now, Princess. Or at least the two-thirds that I bought from Majestic. I had it signed over to you.”
“Why?” she asked, stunned.
“Because I love you, and I knew how much you loved this hotel. Even if you don’t love me anymore and can’t forgive me for what I’ve done, I couldn’t keep the hotel. It’s a part of you and should have been yours. Now it is.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t just give me the hotel.”
“Too late. I already did. The papers transferring my ownership to you are in an envelope over there on your desk. The Saint Charles is yours now.”
Madeline whipped her gaze to where a fat legal envelope rested between two vases of the roses and then back to Chase. “But what will you do? I mean, you don’t have a job anymore with Majestic. My father said you gave up your interest in the partnership and the other properties it owns in exchange for the Saint Charles.”
Chase shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about opening up a hotel consulting firm. There are a lot of hotels in New Orleans. I might be able to offer them the benefit of my experience with Majestic.”
Hope bloomed inside her. “You mean you would stay here? Not go back to New Jersey?”
“That’s right. I thought I’d stick around and see if I could convince you to let me fill the job of being your lover, maybe try to work my way up to the position of husband.”
He gave her that wicked grin, and Madeline’s heart began to stammer. Chase loved her. The knowledge washed over her, filling her with joy.
“What do you say? Any chance of you giving me the job? I know a lot about the inner workings of hotels.”
Madeline gave him a once-over. “I don’t know,” she said soberly and ruined it by grinning. “The hotel business is a crazy way of life. You’d have to put in lots of long, crazy hours. It would mean lots of overtime and you’d have to be willing to work nights.”
“I don’t mind,” he told her, tugging her into his arms. He smiled at her. Devilment gleamed in his eyes. “I do some of my best work at night.”
And then his mouth was on hers, kissing her, loving her, showing her how much she meant to him, because he didn’t think he could find the words to tell her. When he lifted his head, Chase stared into those wondrous green eyes.
“You’re hired,” she whispered and dragged his mouth back to hers. And as she opened to him, the years of loneliness, the weeks of loving her and believing she was lost to him were over. At long last he was home.
* * * * *
eISBN 978-14592-7901-8
BACKFIRE
Copyright © 1996 by Metsy Hingle
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Table of Contents
Cover Page
Excerpt
Dear Reader
Title Page
Books by Metsy Hingle
About the Author
Dedication
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Copyright