had died.
But this time, something was different.
He had never met a woman like Lessa. She was brilliant, determined and feisty. Not to mention her obvious physical attributes. She was a classic beauty, with eyes that seared right through a man, the kind that haunted his dreams. But she was more than a compilation of superficial qualities. There was a vulnerability that he saw in her, a sweetness that made him want to protect her from the world.
Rick checked his watch again, then glanced around the table. The board was getting agitated. Where the hell was she? His heart filled with dread. What if something was wrong? What if something had happened to her?
No. That was ridiculous. He was certain there was a logical reason for her tardiness. He checked his watch again.
“Let’s vote,” Ward said. “I think we have a consensus anyway. We don’t need her here to fire her, do we?”
“We’re not firing her,” Rick said quietly.
“You can’t be serious,” John said. “We’re certainly not going to keep her on the board. Why should we? After all, thanks to you, she’s got a minority stake. And we all saw what she did to the company. She almost led us to ruin.”
True, Rick had once thought the same thing. The stockholders had made it clear they did not consider Lessa an asset. But they didn’t know her. They, like the board, had not given her a chance. “You’re all forgetting that I now own a majority. And I say she stays.”
The room silenced as everyone looked at him, their faces drawn and pale. “You can’t be serious,” Ward said.
“I am serious.”
“She doesn’t even have the courtesy to show up on time.”
“Maybe something happened,” Betty said quietly, voicing his own fear. The muscles in Rick’s neck tensed as the color drained from his face.
Rick pushed back his chair. He couldn’t take this any longer. He stood up and began walking toward the door.
“Rick?” Betty asked. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find Lessa,” he said. And before anyone could protest, he left.
Lessa glanced at the mud surrounding the tire. How was she going to do this without becoming a big mess? In an attempt to protect her suit she took off her pretty wool coat and laid it smack in the middle of the mud. She knelt down, fit the tire iron on a bolt and twisted.
Nothing. The bolt didn’t move.
Droplets of rain splashed mud on her clothes as she heaved the iron once again. But her efforts were in vain. She took off her gloves, as if her bare hands might do better. She tried another bolt and then another. Finally, Lessa put down the tire iron and leaned back against the flat tire still on the car. The freezing rain pelted her face and the cold wind whipped through her drenched clothes. But she didn’t mind the rain. In fact, it suited her mood just fine.
The distinct whirring of a car engine filled the air. At the sight of headlights, she jumped up, ready to flag down the motorist.
The car pulled beside her and stopped. Her heart caught in her throat as she recognized the vehicle. Rick? In a sudden stab of vanity, she smoothed her mud-spattered suit. She tucked her hair behind her ears and licked her lips.
The car stopped and Rick jumped out. He stood there looking at her, his brow furrowed in worry, his features dark and handsome. The mere sight of him was enough to make all her angst flood to the surface. And suddenly, whether it was the stress of the morning or simply the stress of seeing him once again, she felt like crying. She bit her lip, trying to gain control of her emotions. She could do this. It was almost over.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked.
She motioned toward her car. “I got a flat tire.”
“Why didn’t you call?” he asked, looking at the tire.
“No cell service around here,” she said, shivering.
He shook his head, his eyes scanning over her. Once again she was aware of how she looked, the mud- spattered suit, the motley hair. She crossed her arms as he approached. She had imagined this encounter many times in the past few days. Would she slap him and insult him? Or act cool and collected, as if he and the company meant little to her?
“What is it with you and coats?” he asked.
“I used it to kneel on. I didn’t want to get dirty.”
He took off his coat and attempted to loop it around her shoulders.
“I don’t want your coat,” she said, stepping away from him. She didn’t want to touch him or anything that belonged to him.
She might as well have slapped him. His eyes darkened and narrowed. “Get in the car,” he said.
She might not have wanted to touch him or anything that belonged to him, but she was willing to make an exception when it came to his car. She picked her wet and muddy coat off the ground and followed his instructions, stepping into the warm vehicle.
He got inside and slammed the door. When he pulled the car back on the road, he said, “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
Trapped in a car, she was helpless to escape his masculine power and deep, stirring sexuality. She couldn’t look at him without seeing the lips that had made her forget her name, the hands that had caressed her so tenderly. She could almost feel herself once again falling under his spell.
“I need your account information,” he continued, “so that I can transfer the stock back to you.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Then I need your account information so that I can pay you for it.”
Now she was getting it. He was afraid of a lawsuit, afraid that she would make a big stink at the company and drag down his net worth. Well, he needn’t have worried. She had told him once that she was not a hysterical woman and she had meant it. She planned on walking away with whatever dignity she had left.
“Look, Lessa, talk to me. We need to communicate if we’re to work together.”
“We’re not going to be working together, Rick. I’m a minority shareholder. There’s no way I’m going to keep my position on the board.”
“I’m giving you my support, Lessa. No one can do a damn thing about it.”
“You mean, whether they like it or not, I’ll stay on as chairman?”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t want to work someplace like this, Rick. How would I justify my position? The president’s mistress? Former mistress.”
“So take back your stock. You’ll be the principal stockholder once again.”
“I don’t want it back. It was a deal, Rick. Fair and square.”
“You can’t leave Lawrence Enterprises, Lessa. You said yourself that it’s meant to be. It was what your father wanted. And the work you did on the Antigua/Florida deal was very good. You took charge of it and brought it all together without my help. I need someone like that.”
“I’m resigning, Rick. It’s my Christmas present to the board.”
He hesitated. “Lessa, I bought Mara del Ray. It can be yours. To remake, do whatever you want.”
So he had bought it after all. “You were smart to buy it. It’s a good investment. You’ll see.”
“Lessa, think about this. You’ve wanted to be at the helm of Lawrence for years. Don’t let your anger toward me get in the way of your dreams.”
It was tempting, but she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t bear the idea of working side by side with Rick, knowing that he didn’t care about her. That he never would.
“I thought you weren’t a quitter,” Rick said.
How dare he insinuate that she was giving up, admitting defeat? It was taking every ounce of courage for her to leave the company she had fought so hard for. “I have no choice. I realize now that although this company still
