'You've made that very clear in your public statements, and we all appreciate it,' Paul replied. 'But the fact is, the public perceives us as the bad guys in black hats, while you're Snow White. Companies don't want to do business with us anymore. It's as if we're tainted, and they're moving toward our competitors in droves. We've discontinued the Falcon 101, but that's had little effect. The price of our stock has become a sick joke. Every division of the corporation is in jeopardy.'
Paige looked up from the pattern she had been tracing on the table with the tip of her finger. 'Suze, this is my fault. I'm hopeless at managing my stock. When I attend FBT business meetings, my mind wanders; everything is so boring that I can't keep my thoughts focused. I never have the slightest idea how I'm supposed to vote. That's why I gave my proxy to Cal. And look what that led to.'
'You didn't intend to hurt the company,' Susannah said.
'But she did hurt it,' Clemens interjected. 'And neither Paige nor I want that to happen again. FBT has nearly three hundred thousand employees. Entire communities depend upon us. Many of the small towns where we have plants couldn't continue to exist if we closed down. And we're losing, Susannah. Everything is slipping away.'
Paige leaned forward. 'I want to give you my permanent proxy, Susannah. I want you to vote my shares.'
'Paige, I appreciate the vote of confidence, and I want to help you, but that's one thing I can't do. It would be a direct conflict of interest. My board of directors would never permit it.'
'They would if you resigned,' Paul said quietly. 'If you left SysVal, put your own shares in trust, and took over as chairman and CEO of FBT.'
Susannah sat stunned. They wanted her to take control of one of the biggest corporations in the United States, to take her father's old position. A hand grasped hers under the table and squeezed. The solid comfort of that big hand steadied her.
Paul studied her with great seriousness. 'FBT must regain moral credibility if it's to survive. Right now, you're the only one who can give it back to us.'
Susannah shook her head. 'I'm sorry. Truly I am. I'll help you any other way I can, but leaving SysVal is absolutely out of the question.'
For the first time since he had come in to join them, Mitch spoke. 'Susannah needs a few days. Let her have some time to think it over.'
'I don't want time, I-'
'I don't think a few days will hurt,' he said smoothly.
She wasn't going to get into an argument with Mitch in front of Paul Clemens, and so she nodded. 'Very well. A few days.' But even as she spoke, she knew that nothing in the world would make her leave SysVal.
She had no sooner gotten home that night than Mitch appeared at her door. He was still wearing his business suit, and he hadn't even loosened his necktie. As much as she had been anticipating this moment, now that it had come, she wanted to postpone it. The past month had been nerve-wracking, but as she stared at him standing on her doorstep, she finally admitted to herself that she had loved that primitive feeling of being sexually stalked by the man she loved.
How could the reality ever match the expectation? Mitch would be a good lover, but in her heart of hearts, she didn't believe that he would be a great one. He was too neat, too proper. As she gazed into his face, her stomach began to feel queasy. What if she shocked him? What if he liked women who were more restrained in the bedroom?
'I-I'm sorry,' she stammered. 'I can't invite you in. I've got a bad headache.'
'You've got a yellow streak,' he replied.
She slammed the door on him and went into the living room, where her hands trembled as she snatched up a magazine she had no intention of reading from the glass-topped coffee table. Why did she have to be such a sex maniac? As passionately as she felt about him, she would never be able to hold herself back. When he found out what she was really like, he would probably run from the house in terror. Maybe he'd send her a memo. FROM: Mitchell Blaine TO: Susannah Faulconer SUBJECT: Inappropriate Bedroom Conduct…
He walked into the living room and pocketed the key she had given him when she'd moved into her new home in mid-August.
'I want that key back,' she said.
'No, you don't.'
She stared at the lushly printed draperies Paige had picked out for her. She loved him so much and she wanted everything to be perfect, but this was real life, not a fairy tale. Remembering that they had something other than sex to discuss, she took a seat on the couch. At least she could postpone the inevitable a bit longer. 'I'm not leaving SysVal.'
'I don't think you have a lot of choice, Susannah.'
'Don't say that!'
He sat down next to her and leaned back into the soft cushions. How could he be so relaxed when she was so uptight? 'Somehow I can't picture you living the rest of your life with the fate of three hundred thousand people on your conscience,' he said. 'Not to mention all those small towns.'
'I don't belong at FBT. It's old and stodgy and conservative.'
'True. And it's been badly mismanaged ever since your father's death.'
'You know as well as I do that they only want me as a figurehead. They'll expect me to use Paige's proxy as a rubber stamp for the majority opinion. Those men don't have the slightest intention of giving me any real power.'
Mitch chuckled. 'And aren't you going to have a wonderful time showing them the error of their ways?'
She switched tactics. 'I don't have a college degree.'
'I've got three of them. You want one?'
She tried another path. 'I want to have a baby.'
His face softened. 'Do you? That's great. That is really great. I hoped so, but we haven't talked about it.'
'We haven't talked about anything!' She jumped up from the couch. 'Don't you understand? The president of SysVal can definitely be pregnant. At SysVal anything is possible. But can you honestly, in your wildest imagination, see the chairman of FBT breastfeeding through a board meeting?'
'Not the old FBT.' He smiled, rising to stand next to her. 'But the new FBT? The one with an updated product line, a streamlined management structure. The one with onpremises child care. Ah, Susannah…'
For a moment they let the vision sweep over them. It was a vision of a new corporation, one with a strong moral center and a commitment to the world it served. A corporation for the twenty-first century.
He took her hand. 'You're thirty-two now, practically an old lady, and I'm thirty-eight. SysVal is a company for kids. We have so many talented people working for us that we barely know what to do with them. Let's get out of their way and let them run with it for a while.'
'We both can't just walk out. That's impossible. And I'm not going to FBT without you. Our relationship aside, you're the best marketing man in the business.'
'I'll stay at SysVal until the new team is in place and the board members' nerves have steadied. Then I'll join you.'
He tilted up her chin with his fingers, and his eyes were soft with the depth of his feelings for her. 'I love you, Susannah. Oh, God, I love you so much. All those years, watching you married to Sam. Sometimes I thought I was going crazy.'
'I know, Mitch. Oh, my darling, I love you, too.'
He dipped his head. A warm, hard mouth settled over hers. His big hands splayed over her back, ran up along her spine, tangled in her hair. His mouth was open, his kiss deep and aggressive. It was a man's kiss, a kiss that gave as well as took. Her breasts crushed flat against his chest as he pulled her closer. She accepted his tongue and gave him her own while she wrapped her foot around the leg of his trousers. He clasped her head between his big hands. It felt so right to be kissing him, so perfect to be in this solid, respectable man's arms. Oh, yes, she had been absolutely right to put little boys behind her.
His hand slid down over her breast. 'Time's up, sweetheart,' he said hoarsely. 'I've been going crazy. I can't wait any longer.'
At the touch of his hand on her breast, her nervousness came back in a rush. He was a good kisser, but kissing was only part of it. 'Mitch, I'm not sure…'
He drew back and studied her for an agonizingly long moment. Then he tilted his head toward the hallway.
