Winds of Heaven Read online

  “Oh, really?” His gray eyes proclaimed a cynical disbelief. “Would you sign that in blood?”

  Kylie held back a useless retort and suppressed the flood of disappointment she felt at his words. “Still afraid of a mutiny?”

  His hand moved to the stem of his glass, and he watched her appraisingly before answering. “At the moment it seems a distinct possibility.”

  “You know,” she said, her voice deliberately provocative, “if you’re that insecure in your job, perhaps you should take the assertiveness course.” She rose and faced him squarely. “Excuse me. I think I should phone Alex and let him know there’s a slight problem.”

  “Why don’t you do that.” Nick stood, too, an impatient challenge mirrored in his eyes. “And while you’re at it, ask him if there’s a ‘slight problem’ with your accommodations.”

  Kylie’s knees threatened to melt beneath her, but she kept her expression under strict control. “That’s already been taken care of,” she announced, quelling a rising uneasiness, “I’m staying in company housing.” Her words ended in a horrified silence. “You mean you’re staying there, too?”

  “Exactly.”

  Kylie drew a deep breath. “Well, then, all the more reason to call Alex now. He’ll be able to straighten everything out.”

  Before Nick could command her to stay, she turned and walked toward the restaurant lobby. Alex had better be able to straighten out the tangle, she thought, her anger finding a new target. Although it didn’t seem likely, he might not be aware of Nick’s presence in town and the problem with the housing. But Alex must have known when he signed the contract that Cousin Nick wouldn’t approve. Well, innocent or not, Alex was about to find out just how assertive she could be.

  Kylie felt Nick’s gaze follow her across the room, and inadvertently she remembered the gentle laughter in his eyes when he’d first touched her arm in the airport. She muttered an oath under her breath. A low, heartfelt “Damn.”

  Damn, Nick thought as he watched Kylie walk from the dining area. As he settled back in his chair and sipped at his now-watery margarita, he wished Alex were close enough to bear the brunt of his frustration. It was apparent that another test of executive power was in the offing. One of those battles that cast Alex in the innocent, just-trying-to-do-my-best-for-the-company role and Nick as the villain. If only Aunt Rosemary wasn’t so insistent that her “little Alex” be president of Southwest Textiles. And if only his grandfather hadn’t laid the responsibility for seeing that nothing went wrong squarely on Nick’s shoulders.

  Frowning into his glass, Nick wondered if Alex had scheduled Kylie’s flight to coincide with his own. It was exactly the sort of thing that delighted Alex. Setting up some sort of confrontation and then letting it take place while he, Alex, was safely away from any possible repercussions. It might be unfair, but Nick felt Alex could take full credit for this disastrous evening too.

  Disastrous, he repeated silently as he visualized the furious sparkle in Kylie’s dark eyes. For an evening that had begun with such promise, it had certainly deteriorated rapidly, and Nick wasn’t even sure how it had happened. He could only remember that stubborn look on her face as she’d defied him.

  It was almost funny. Would be funny, if only she weren’t so lovely. He drained the contents of his glass and muttered a low, heartfelt “Damn.”

  Chapter Two

  The office of Southwest Textiles was large and comfortable. Rays of early morning sunshine spilled through the window, providing the room with natural light. Woven rugs in vivid colors and designs adorned the rough-textured walls. Even in her present mood Kylie had to acknowledge the pleasant atmosphere of her surroundings. As she settled into a chair her gaze slid over the burnished desktop to the cactus plant that occupied one corner. It wasn’t the best example of desert flora, she admitted, but she felt a certain affinity with the thorny cactus. Spending a relatively sleepless night on the narrow sofa in Alex’s apartment had been bad enough, but when she added the pouty hostility of his current live-in blonde….

  Well, it was no wonder the morning had gotten off to a bad start. And to think she still had to face Nick Braden and somehow convince him to honor her contract. Fat chance of that happening, her mind jeered. Not after last night.

  The memory of her retreat from the restaurant warmed her cheeks with embarrassment. When she’d phoned Alex and asked him to come and get her, she’d told herself that she and Nick both needed some time to think things over.

  But that wasn’t true, she thought now. It had been cowardice to leave, pure and simple. Cowardice, too, to send Alex to pick up her luggage once she was safely entrenched in his apartment. And during the restless night she’d wished a dozen times that she’d stayed and brazened it out with Nick.

  Kylie smoothed the polished cotton fabric of her skirt. She’d hoped the navy-blue sundress with its crisp, bolero jacket would make her look and feel professionally cool, but her confidence still hovered near ground level. The echo of Nick’s voice telling her she was fired still thundered in her ears, and now—now she’d set herself up for another humiliating repeat.

  The sound of tuneless whistling interrupted her dreary thoughts and directed them to the other occupant of the room. She tightened her lips and tapped one slim index finger against the other as she watched Alex fuss with the coffee maker. It was obvious he wasn’t accustomed to the appliance, and Kylie had a feeling that on top of everything else he was about to ask her to make the coffee.

  Irritation furrowed her brow as she decided to lay the blame for this whole awful situation at Alex’s feet. The least he could have done was warn her there might be some opposition to the seminar, but when she’d pointed that out to him last night and again this morning, he’d told her not to give it another thought. “Leave everything to me,” he’d said. “I’ll take care of Nick.”

  Kylie would have liked to believe him, but common sense told her Alex was no match for his cousin. If Nick meant to rescind the contract, then she doubted that Alex could do a thing about it. If any persuasion took place, it was strictly up to her, and she didn’t expect much support.

  Alex straightened and cast a helpless glance at Kylie. “Do you think you might—?”

  “No.” The denial vented a tiny portion of her frustration but didn’t really ease her tension.

  A frown almost marred the perfection of his profile, but he caught himself and restored the amiable facade that grated on Kylie’s nerves. If there was anything worse than knowing a disaster was imminent, she thought, it was having someone assure you there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

  “Mr. Jamison?”

  The door opened, and a young dark-haired woman stepped into the office. Her blue eyes met Kylie’s brown ones with friendly inquiry but widened in alarm at the sound of Alex’s voice.

  “Bunny! Thank God! Where have you been?”

  Rosy color flooded the woman’s cheeks as she turned. “Oh, Mr. Jamison, I’m so sorry I’m late. There was an accident on the highway, and the traffic was backed up—”

  “Never mind, Bunny. Just fix some coffee for us, would you? I can’t seem to get it right. The first pot was thick enough to chew, and when I added water, it leaked all over everything.” Alex lifted a soggy towel to illustrate his words, and Kylie thought he looked like a naughty child explaining a spill to his mother.

  Bunny hurried to take the towel from his hands. “Mr. Jamison, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be doing that. Here, let me. I’ll get this cleaned up and make fresh coffee at once.”

  Alex stepped back with a self-satisfied look that lowered him another notch in Kylie’s estimation. As he walked to the desk she watched Bunny wipe the water from the table and floor.

  “Your secretary?” she asked, expecting Alex to make an introduction.

  “Yes. That’s Bunny.” He seated himself behind the desk and clasped his hands on the desktop. “All right, Kylie. Why don’t we get started with the preparations for this seminar?”
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br />   Surprised that he’d ignored the common courtesy of an introduction, Kylie lifted her brows and glanced pointedly at the other woman.

  “She’ll have the coffee ready in a few minutes,” Alex said, misinterpreting the reason for Kylie’s gesture. “Bunny’s very efficient.”

  He bestowed the compliment in a cavalier tone of voice that made Kylie wish Bunny would efficiently pour the coffee over him. “Now, what should we tackle first?” he asked.

  Kylie wanted to suggest they start off with a short course in office etiquette. But, with an inner shrug she decided this was neither the time nor the place. So she ignored his rudeness and concentrated on her own problems. “First we need to discuss the housing arrangements and decide where I can live for the next few weeks.”

  “You’re welcome to stay with me,” he offered halfheartedly.

  “You’d have a whole lot of explaining to do if I agreed to that, now, wouldn’t you?” She refused with a shake of her head. “No thanks, Alex. It’s a little overcrowded at your place.”

  He grinned. “I thought it was kind of cozy last night.”

  “Well, you’re the only one who thought so,” Kylie said dryly. “Your…roommate didn’t seem to take to the idea of sharing the apartment, even for one night.”

  “No, she didn’t, did she?” He didn’t seem bothered by that fact, Kylie noted as his eyes took on a pleased sparkle. “She tends to be possessive at times,” he continued in a thoughtful tone. “And she was annoyed because I brought you home with me. I suppose if I expect a welcome this evening, I’d better make it up to her.” He turned to his secretary. “Bunny, call the florist this morning and have something sent to my apartment for Miss Vandemere. A dozen—no, better make that two dozen red roses.”

  “Miss Vandemere prefers pink.” The hint of curtness in Bunny’s voice was instantly disguised, but Kylie was sure she hadn’t imagined it. “You always send her pink roses, Mr. Jamison.”

  “You’re right, Bunny, as usual. Make it two dozen pink roses.” He turned to Kylie with a chauvinistic wink that set her teeth on edge. “That takes care of placating my roommate for the moment. Now, what shall I do with you?”

  She knew he was referring to the housing arrangements again, but she couldn’t resist some feminine retaliation. “Oh,” she said with wide-eyed innocence. “I prefer yellow roses.”

  Alex started to chuckle, then faltered into a fake cough as he watched her uncertainly. “Yellow?” he finally asked with a weak smile, making an obvious effort to regain his aplomb.

  Kylie bit back a laugh and nodded. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Alex. Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. My pleasure. Uh—Bunny? Would you—?”

  “I’ll take care of it for you, Mr. Jamison.” Bunny set a steaming mug on the desk before him and turned to Kylie. “Would you like some coffee, Miss…?”

  “Richards,” Kylie answered, sharing the amusement shining in Bunny’s blue eyes. “But please call me Kylie. And you’re ... Bunny?”

  “Stephanie,” Bunny said almost hesitantly. “Stephanie Scott. Mr. Jamison is the only one who calls me Bunny.” A blush crept into cheeks already rosy with color. “He hired me a few years ago just before Easter. You know, Easter…Bunny.”

  Kylie managed to catch her jaw before it dropped. Her gaze flew to Alex, who appeared to be absorbed in sipping his coffee, and then she looked again at his secretary. Stephanie’s obvious embarrassment was the only thing that kept Kylie silent.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Stephanie.” Kylie employed her best putting-people-at-ease voice and added an encouraging smile. “And I don’t care for any coffee now, but when I do, I’ll get it myself. Thank you.”

  Stephanie nodded and started toward the door. “Is there anything else, Mr. Jamison?”

  “No.” He paused, then called to her again. “Bunny? Nick’s in town. You might keep that in mind.”

  A look of understanding passed between Alex and his secretary before she walked from the room and closed the door behind her.

  Kylie arched her brows. “That sounds highly suspicious, Alex. You should be more careful. I might be a corporate spy.”

  “I almost wish you were.” His tone was serious, not at all like the bantering reply she’d expected. “It would be poetic justice if there were something to hide. I’d love to see Nick’s face when….” Alex broke off with a shrug and leaned back in the chair. “There isn’t anything suspicious about it. When my cousin pays a visit, Bunny runs interference for me and keeps him out of my hair.”

  “I thought you told me you could handle Nick.”

  “I can,” he said with a fierce frown. “And I will. You can ignore Nick’s threats and go ahead with your plans for the seminar. I hired you, and he’s not going to veto my decision, even if I have to take this to the Board of Directors.”

  Kylie assumed an expression of mild interest, but anger uncoiled inside her. It was beginning to sound as if Alex were using her to seek some sort of corporate advancement over his cousin, and she didn’t like the idea one bit.

  The thought that she and her newborn company might be pawns in a game of executive politics tightened her fingers into fists. Well, whatever the reason for this tug-of-war, she refused to get caught in the middle. She was here to do a job, and she intended to do it. And when she was through, Alex Jamison and Nick Braden would feel the sting of her success.

  She relaxed her fingers. “All right, Alex. I’m ready to begin this morning. First I want to do some basic background research on the area, so I’ll need a car or some other means of transportation. It will probably take two or three days to gather the information I need, so we can schedule the first session for a week from today. I’ll need one or two people to help during the actual sessions, and as soon as you can manage it, I need a list of employee names and a job description for each. And I mean a real job description, not just their working title.”

  “This is a little more involved than I thought,” he said. “You should have told me to take notes.”

  “I shouldn’t have to tell you things like that, Alex. As an executive, you owe it to yourself and the company you work for to use your time efficiently. Trusting your memory almost always means repetition, and repetition wastes time. With a minimum amount of effort you can train yourself to take concise notes that will make your time work effectively for you.”

  “Sorry I mentioned it.”

  She smiled at his rueful expression. “You’re going to get your money’s worth from this seminar, Alex.” Whether you like it or not, she added silently.

  “That’s reassuring,” Nick commented from the doorway. “Considering how much this amusing little diversion is going to cost him.”

  Alex practically catapulted to his feet, and Kylie’s heart jerked in a startled duplication of his action as her gaze swung toward the doorway.

  Nick filled the space, his shoulders leaving only a narrow margin on either side. He seemed taller than she remembered and even more attractive. His dark hair feathered away from his rugged features, and his gray eyes scanned the room with lazy interest. In a light-blue suit with a pinstripe shirt and dark tie, he looked powerfully male, devastatingly male, and Kylie felt her skin tingle with the sheer physical awareness of him.

  “Good morning, Kylie. Alex.” Nick advanced into the room with an air of command. Alex straightened his tie, adjusted the lapels of his tan western-style sports coat, and stepped from behind the desk, allowing Nick to take the position of authority.

  Kylie watched this silent power play with a blend of resentment and comprehension. It was impossible not to resent Nick’s confident, take-charge manner, but his action was somewhat understandable. Nick had only done what Alex clearly expected him to do.

  Making a mental note to give Alex top priority on her training list, Kylie kept her gaze focused on Nick.

  He sat in the chair Alex had vacated and lifted a typed report from the corner of the desk. Apparently ignoring everything and ever
yone around him, Nick began to shuffle through the pages. Kylie felt herself bristling, even though she felt sure he had no conscious intention of patronizing either Alex or herself. But conscious or not, it was a maneuver that accomplished exactly that, and she recognized it. Nick was in command, and she would have to wait on his convenience. Well, that sort of thing might intimidate Alex, but it wouldn’t work with her, and Nick might as well discover the fact right now.

  Sitting straighter, Kylie released a throaty ripple of laughter, calculated to catch him off guard. When he looked up, she met his eyes with reckless daring. “You look rested, Nick. It must be wonderful to enjoy the sleep of the innocent when you have so much on your conscience.”

  He made no answer, but the faint tightening of his lips assured her of his attention. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, sensing rather than seeing Alex’s warning glare. Then, with an inner shrug she decided it was time Alex showed some backbone.

  “After all,” she continued, speaking to Nick in a mildly accusing tone, “it can’t be every day that you ruin a perfectly good dinner by attempting to fire your dinner companion from her job and then appropriating her bed for your own use. That’s almost unforgivable.”

  “I was willing to share, but you chose Alex’s accommodations instead, so don’t blame me if you had to sleep on the sofa.” There was a note of challenge in Nick’s voice. “And while we’re on the subject I think it’s almost unforgivable that you walked out on me last night. You might at least have let me know you were leaving with Alex.”

  “I knew that with your perception you’d figure it out for yourself. I hated to embarrass you by sending a Dear John note with the waiter.”

  His eyes flashed with steely amusement beneath the dark threat of his brows. “You’re right. It’s much less embarrassing to stare for more than half an hour at an empty chair.”

  Kylie lifted her shoulders in a sympathetic shrug. “Life is lonely at the top, you know.”