The Millionaire Meets His Match

“Chicken,” Adam muttered under his breath.

“Got that right,” Cameron said with a grin. “I can’t watch.”

“I’d better have a glass of white wine,” Sally said, but didn’t take her eyes off Brandon, who was starting to squirm.

“Coming right up,” Cameron said, whistling as he left the room.

“Now, what in the world are you talking about?” Sally said. “What’s going on?”

Brandon squeezed her hand patiently. “Mom, we know you arranged the whole thing.”

“What whole thing?”

“With Trish.” He shrugged again. “And Adam. We know Marjorie helped. We know the whole story.”

She cocked her head and stared at him in complete befuddlement. Adam’s stomach was beginning to sink. His mother wasn’t that good an actress.

Cameron walked back in and handed her a glass of pale, straw-colored wine.

“Thanks, sweetie,” she said, smiling up at him. “I think I’m going to need it.”

“No problemo,” he said, and quickly moved out of his mother’s line of sight.

She took a sip of wine, placed the glass on the side table, then cast a meaningful glance at Adam. “Can you explain what Brandon’s talking about?”

Adam frowned as whispers of worry fluttered inside him and couldn’t be stopped. Had he been wrong? Was his mother really not playing games? Impossible. He blew out a tired breath and said, “Trish is the woman Marjorie hired to be my assistant.”

“What happened to Cheryl?”

Brandon chuckled. “Oh, you’re good, Mom.”

“Cheryl got pregnant and quit,” Adam explained.

“Oh!” Sally said, clapping her hands. “Well, that’s wonderful. I should send her a gift.”

“Mom, focus,” Brandon said, sitting forward. “We know you arranged for Trish to work for Adam.”

She blinked. “I did what?”

“We know you’re trying to set him up with women. You know, so he’ll get married and have children and you’ll have grandchildren and-” Brandon waved his arms around. “You know, blah, blah, blah.”

“Ah.” Sally’s eyes narrowed. “Blah, blah, blah. Yes. Well, it’s true I want grandchildren, but I’m not sure…well, tell me again how I arranged for-what was her name?”

“Trish,” Brandon said. His patience was wearing thin.

“Right, Trish.” Sally looked contemplative. “Tell me again how I arranged to get her into Adam’s office.”

Brandon cast an anxious glance at his brothers, not saying aloud what he was so obviously thinking. Could their mother’s memory be slipping? Adam almost laughed out loud. He had no such doubts. Sally Duke was smart as a whip. She was pulling Brandon’s chain. He shouldn’t be enjoying the show, considering it was his ass on the line, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“Remember, Mom?” Cameron spoke slowly. “Marjorie arranged it for you. She got Trish in there.”

“Of course.” Sally nodded. “Marjorie’s a good friend.”

“Exactly,” Brandon said. “So you’re not denying you set the whole thing up?”

“Why would I?” Sally asked. “It sounds like a very clever plan.”

“We wouldn’t expect anything less, Mom,” Cameron said.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Sally said, then glanced over at Adam with a sparkle in her eye. “All this talk of women and plans and setups reminds me, Adam. Have you gone out with Brenda yet?”

Alarmed now, Adam stood. “Who’s Brenda?”

“Yeah, who’s Brenda?” Brandon asked.

Sally sat back on the couch, seemingly enjoying herself. “Brenda is Geraldine Sharkey’s doctor’s daughter.”

“Geraldine?” Cameron said, as he leaned against the back of the leather chair. “Your friend from the hospital guild?”

“Yes,” she said, beaming at Cameron, pleased that he’d remembered. “We play canasta together now. She wanted to introduce Dr. Brisbane’s daughter to some nice men, so I gave her Adam’s office phone number.”

“Oh, crap.” Adam glowered. The mysterious Brenda. She was the one his mom had set him up with? But that would mean… “She didn’t call. She just showed up.”

“But, Mom,” Brandon asked cautiously, “why would you send Brenda when you’ve already got Trish working for Adam?”

Sally started to answer him, then stopped. “What does Brenda have to do with Adam’s assistant?”

“Very funny,” Adam said, and started to pace the floor of the den. “Look, Trish is working for me and I’m happy with her. I don’t want any more setups, so you can call off your dogs. Send Brenda somewhere else.”

“Is she hot?” Brandon asked hopefully.

Cameron burst into laughter and Adam just shook his head.

Sally pushed herself off the couch and met Adam halfway across the room. She wound her arm through his and said softly, “Adam, you must know I had nothing to do with getting this woman a job in your office.”

“I know that now, Mom,” Adam said, leading her on a slow walk across the room.

He believed her. Which meant Trish was innocent. She hadn’t been stalking him or playing him or lying to him. And Adam had treated her badly. Dammit, she’d been a virgin. He didn’t like the guilt that had reared up inside him. He didn’t like knowing he’d been wrong. And he didn’t like admitting that he wanted Trish anyway. Wanted her now even more than he had before.

“It sounds as if you like her,” Sally said cautiously.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he warned.

She smiled up at him. “Honey, I always have my hopes up as far as you’re concerned. And you’ve never let me down.”

He let out a sigh. How could a man argue with the woman who’d given him everything? Even her meddling was a gift, he thought, because without Sally Duke in his life, he’d never have known what love was. “Thanks, Mom. You’ve never let me down, either.”

“Oh, sweetie, you’re going to make me cry.” She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug and Adam felt like a complete ass. He wasn’t about to tell her how badly he’d treated Trish. How he’d seduced a completely innocent woman. Innocent in every way.

Later, as he drove home from his mother’s house on the cliff, he thought about how he’d sweet-talked Trish, flown her off to Fantasy Mountain and plied her with champagne. The following day, she’d given herself to him. In his office. On the couch. And various other places.

He should’ve been disgusted with himself, but the memory of taking her on his conference room table caused him to harden instantly and he wanted her all over again.

He had thought Trish was a gold digger, a willing accomplice in his mother’s half-baked plan, anxious to get a piece of his hefty bank account. But she wasn’t who he thought she was. She was the real deal. To complicate his predicament, he liked her. A lot.

“Dammit,” he said, pounding his fist on the steering wheel. He would find a way to make it up to her. He would take her out, treat her like a princess. He would explain his mother’s mistake in sending Brenda to the office. Then he would make love with Trish all night long. All week long. Hell, all month long.

He knew it wouldn’t last between them. It couldn’t. Adam didn’t do forever. He would eventually let her go, but until that moment came, they could enjoy each other to the max.

Nine

Trish was losing ground.

It had been almost two weeks since that fateful evening when the elegant Brenda had shown up with her perfect hair and perfect shoes and ruined Trish’s weekend.

But by Monday, Trish knew she had to thank the woman for opening her eyes to reality. She had no business dreaming of Adam Duke when he was the one responsible for all the unhappy turns her life had taken. From that day on, Trish had been on a campaign to find something, anything the least bit incriminating that she could use against Adam. So far there was nothing, but she’d vowed not to give up.

Meanwhile Adam had sworn that it was his mother who had tried to set him up with the voluptuous Brenda. And Trish believed him. Adam had explained that his mother wanted him and his brothers to settle down, so she