right now, poor thing.”
“Poor thing? Just a week ago you were worried she was going to fire you.”
“Well, she didn’t. And she didn’t even manage to fire you either. I just think she bit off more than she could chew. And now she’s fallen in love with the man she thought she hated. She’s probably imagining a romantic Christmas with you and her snuggled in front of a fire, and instead-”
“Betty,” he said sharply, stopping her. “It’s only been a week. She’s not confused. She’s got a lot of confidence. She’s fully aware that this truce between us is only temporary.”
“She may be saying that, but her actions proved otherwise, right?” She crossed her arms. “I can tell you right now that a Christmas tree is not going to be enough. If you feel bad about her getting her own tree, I can’t imagine how you must feel taking away her company.”
“I wish there was some other way to handle this, but there isn’t.”
Betty hesitated and said, “So you’re going through with this?”
He didn’t have to ask what she meant. He knew. Could he really destroy Lessa? “There’s no choice.”
Eight
She had just finished slipping her new red velvet dress over her head when Lessa heard a knock on the door. She glanced nervously at her aunt and said, “He’s here and I’m not ready.”
“Take your time,” her aunt said, cracking her knuckles. “I’m looking forward to meeting this Rick Parker.”
Her aunt’s gracious words didn’t fool Lessa. She knew that her aunt did not trust Rick, nor did she approve of her niece spending time with him…even if it was for the sake of Lawrence Enterprises.
“Be nice,” Lessa pleaded. “Please. Remember, he is responsible for the biggest tree you’ve ever had.”
“I just have a few questions for him,” she said in her sweetest, little-old-lady voice.
Lessa yanked a pair of stockings out of her dresser. How had she gotten so far behind schedule? She had left work promptly at five, hurrying to the store to buy a new dress for the party. But she had made one simple mistake: She had taken her aunt with her. And when her aunt had asked to stop at Rockefeller Center to see the tree and the skaters, Lessa had been unable to say no. Nor had she been able to say no when her aunt had mentioned that she was getting hungry and had asked if they could stay for tea. Lessa had had the feeling that Gran was half hoping that Lessa would miss her date altogether.
She finished pulling on her panty hose as she heard the elderly woman say, “You must be Rick Parker. I’m Virginia Lawrence. My friends call me Ginny but you can call me Virginia.”
Oh dear. “Rick!” Lessa called out. “I’ll be right there.”
She grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair. Then she thumbed through her makeup drawer, looking for a lipstick.
But Gran was just getting started. “I’m the aunt of your old boss, the man you fired, and the great-aunt of your new boss, the one who fired you.”
Lessa grabbed the lipstick and swiped it across her lips. Good enough. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” she said, practically jumping into the foyer.
“No problem,” Rick said. “I was glad to have an opportunity to meet your aunt.”
Gran smiled sweetly, but she didn’t fool Lessa for a minute. Lessa knew she had her talons out and was ready to let it rip. “Don’t wait up,” Lessa told her.
“You’ll see her home tonight,” her aunt said to Rick, as if placing a demand.
“Of course,” Rick said.
She turned back toward Lessa and said, “Try and have some fun dear,” as if she knew there was no possible way Lessa would be able to do that.
“Maybe you could make some cookies or something while I’m gone,” Lessa said with a wink. “Something grandmotherly.”
“Maybe I could give you a good kick in the-”
Lessa shut the door before Gran could finish.
“She’s very funny,” Rick said.
“I don’t know about funny but she’s feisty. I’m sorry if she was insulting.”
“I can’t say I blame her. After all, she thinks I fired her nephew.”
“You did fire her nephew.”
“Lessa,” he said with a hint of exasperation as he led her to his car. She had expected something flashy and she was mildly relieved to see he drove an SUV. As she climbed inside, she couldn’t help but wonder how many other of his women had sat in the very seat she was in. He climbed in beside her and shut the door. “We’ve been over this. I didn’t fire your father.”
She was not anxious to start this argument again. Not right then, at the start of their fake date.
He sighed and she knew he was not going to let it drop. “I was traveling almost nonstop back in those days. I had no interest in office politics. One day, I got a message stating that your father wanted me to return immediately. When I got back, he told me that he had heard from a reliable source on the board that some members were unhappy with his performance. He said he had even heard they had already picked out a successor. He asked me what I knew, and I told him. Nothing. No one had spoken to me about getting rid of him or replacing him. That night I got a call from Ward Harding. He said that the board had voted and it was unanimous. They had fired your father.”
Lessa glanced out the window at the thought of the pain her father must have felt. Ward Harding had once been one of his closest friends. “Only then did Ward ask if I would be interested in replacing your father.”
“And you said yes.”
“No. I needed time to think about it. I liked the travel and I had no desire to get swept up into office politics and become a manager. But when I found out what they planned on doing to your father, breaking their contract and giving him only a pittance of what he deserved, I felt I had no choice. Assuming the presidency was the only way I could help him.”
She would have liked to believe that Rick was totally selfless and that his assuming the presidency had been a personal sacrifice, but try as she might, it was a hard nut to crack.
“Believe it or not, that’s the truth,” he said, his blue eyes radiating sincerity.
One thing was clear. She
“He thought you lied to him. That you were the one who convinced the board to fire him.”
“He needed someone to blame. And he preferred me to his oldest and dearest friends.”
She thought about the uptight, stuffy board over which she now presided. Ward, Franklin, Constance, John, men and women she’d known since childhood. And she wanted to throttle them.
But it was the night of the Christmas party. She wasn’t about to ruin it by picking a fight with an old, opinionated and ridiculous board member. She had to change the subject. She had to prepare mentally for the task ahead of her. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she said, “By the way, I really appreciate what you did last night, helping me with the tree.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“I hope you got to your date all right. She wasn’t too mad at you, was she?” Lessa managed to say as nonchalantly as she could.
“My date?”
“I overheard you on the phone last night-”
“I hardly think a business dinner with Betty counts as a date,” he interrupted.
“Betty?” Lessa felt a surge of relief. His secretary was the mystery woman?
“Of course. I always make Betty go to these functions and she always complains. As she is always reminding me, she doesn’t need another man to take care of.”
“What’s the game plan for tonight?” Lessa asked, feeling suddenly refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Look, Lessa,” he said, “I know you’re not happy about this ridiculous pretend game. But I really think it will work.”
