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  “Next time,” he nodded. “Between now and then, I want you to think about how good it’s going to be next time. I intend to wake up with you in my arms.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, proving he meant every word he said. He held her until she had digested everything he’d said, until her heart dismantled the wall of self-protection that she had been quickly building since she’d met him and convinced herself that he was just another guy who was passing through his life, on his way somewhere, too busy to make a permanent commitment. But the way he held her silenced the loud voice of doubt that babbled on in her head suggesting that he was rejecting her—

  But he wasn’t. Even though she had built up this third date in her head to be something grand and passionate, really what she wanted, what she needed, was this—the closeness they were sharing right now.

  As his lips found hers again and brushed them with a whisper-soft kiss, she tore down the rest of the wall.

  Okay. So, we aren’t going to make love. Not yet. But they’d waited this long. She could wait a little longer. Because he was worth it. And because here in his arms, she felt safe and powerful...like she could actually have the life she really wanted.

  Chapter Six

  Despite a rather restless night, Caroline was in the office by eight o’clock the next morning. She had just sat down at her desk with a cup of coffee when her cell phone rang. It was Sydney bubbling over with excitement.

  “Did you see it?” she asked. “It’s fabulous. The article is absolutely fabulous. He did such a great job. You are one lucky woman.”

  “I am a lucky woman,” Caroline said, although she was still doing battle with the destructive doubt demons that danced with her thoughts, trying to seduce her into believing Drew had left last night because his interest had waned. They were having lunch today. Everything was okay. She couldn’t allow herself to think otherwise. “But I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on a copy yet because I just sat down at my desk.”

  “Okay,” Sydney continued. “When you check your email, you’ll have an email from me with a press release I wrote about the article this morning. It has a link to the story. I sent it out to our contact list.”

  Caroline turned on her computer. “My gosh, you’ve done all this and it’s not even eight-thirty? Do you ever sleep?”

  “Not last night, hon,” she said. “I was too excited about this opportunity.”

  That was precisely the reason that Sydney was so good at what she did.

  “How are things at work?” she asked.

  Sydney let out a quiet moan. “Tense as ever.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “The latest rumor predicts mass layoffs as early as next week, but that was the word last month and nothing happened. It’s beginning to feel like those end-of-the-world predictions that get everyone all stirred up and they never happen.”

  Caroline chuckled and opened the email that Sydney had sent her.

  “I’m just trying to keep my head down, do my work and stay out of everyone’s way.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” Caroline said as she opened the file containing Sydney’s press release. It had been sent from the Celebrations, Inc. account. Sydney must have been working on this in the wee hours of the morning. No doubt with her trepidations, she wouldn’t chance sending it through the Texas Star server—even if she did only sign on to access the Celebrations, Inc. account. She was much too business savvy to take a chance like that.

  “Say, I was wondering if you could please ask Drew if he could grant us permission to copy the article so we can use it in our press kit and customer literature?”

  “Sure,” Caroline said. “I’m seeing him for lunch today. I’ll ask him then. By the way, great press release, Syd.”

  “Thanks, love,” she said. “I’d better run. I won’t be doing myself any favors if I get caught on a personal call. Another rumor has it that the phone lines are tapped.”

  They both laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion. Caroline was glad to see that Sydney seemed better able to put things into perspective. She did not blame her for worrying, however. Her livelihood was at stake. Sydney did not have the benefit of falling back on a trust fund or family money. She was completely on her own. That was one of the many reasons Caroline respected her so much. As they hung up, Caroline made a mental note to let Sydney know the next time a marketing or public relations position opened at Coopersmith & Bales. Not that she wanted to steal her friend away—Texas Star was one of C & B’s biggest clients—but at least at a place like C & B, there wasn’t the constant talk about the sky falling. But then again, at the rate Celebrations, Inc. was gaining traction, pretty soon A.J. might be able to pay Sydney enough to come on board full-time at the catering company.

  After they hung up, Caroline clicked on the link to the story that Sydney had provided in the press release. The browser opened, revealing a full-color photo of the group of four friends gathered around the food display that A.J. had created. Drew was right. It was a great photo of all of them. Definitely one for the scrapbook, possibly a good publicity shot if the Journal’s policies allowed businesses to purchase the rights to their photos.

  The story, which couldn’t have been more complimentary if Sydney had written it herself, was on the third page. Caroline wondered if there was even the slightest chance that her father might overlook it.

  Ha! The chance was slim to none. He did not get to the rank he held in the business world by overlooking the details—especially a profile of a new business that would definitely need the services of an accounting firm to offer financial and tax guidance. And if, per chance, Charles Coopersmith had missed it, someone on staff was bound to bring it to his attention.

  He pretty much had all the bases covered.

  Caroline glanced at the Waterford crystal clock on the mahogany credenza behind her desk. It was eight-twenty.

  Caroline braced herself for the inevitable.

  Let’s see how long it takes him to say something about the article.

  An hour later her cell phone rang again. This time it was A.J.

  Caroline expected to have a celebratory talk with A.J. similar to the one she had with Sydney, but once they got past the initial excitement, A.J. revealed that there was, in fact, another reason for her call.

  “I don’t know how in the world I’m going to repay Drew for the recognition the Journal profile has already generated. You won’t believe this, but I received an interesting business proposal this morning.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Caroline looked up to see a scowling Margaret Daily, a Coopersmith & Bales tax accountant, paused in the doorway of her office.

  “Hold on just a moment, A.J.” Caroline held her cell phone away from her ear. “Margaret, may I help you with something?”

  Margaret was one of the younger C & B employees. Caroline guessed they were about the same age, but everything about Margaret seemed older. Much older. Especially the frown and furrowed brow that seemed to be the woman’s permanent expression.

  This morning, as she lurked in the threshold of Caroline’s office, the woman was not only scowling but she looked like she smelled something particularly foul.

  As she stepped into the office, Caroline noticed she was holding a copy of the Dallas Journal of Business and Development.

  Uh-oh. A knot formed in the pit of Caroline’s stomach and cinched tighter when Margaret held up the paper opened to page 3.

  Margaret—with her brown frizzy hair, makeup-free face and navy business suit that was half a size too small—stabbed at the article with her index finger. “Is this you?” There was such disdain in her voice that Caroline bristled.

  “Apparently so, Margaret. Isn’t that what the caption says?”

  She knew she shouldn’t let the nasty woman get to her, but who did she think she was barging in her office with an attitude, obviously spoiling for a fight? Caroline had always gone out of her way to be civil to the woman because she could tell Mar
garet was of the attitude that she had scrapped for everything she had, whereas Caroline had been installed in the office via the route of the silver spoon.

  “It must be nice to have time to bake cakes, when it’s all I can do to get my job here at C & B done. Isn’t it against company policy to moonlight?”

  Moonlight? Is she kidding? Who even uses words like that?

  Suddenly, Caroline was tired of apologizing for her circumstances. So many times, she had stepped back and let Margaret’s passive-aggressive remarks roll right over her because she did not want to be the office bitch, the boss’s daughter, the sacred one who had her way paved because she happened to have the right daddy.

  “Margaret, perhaps if you spent more time focusing on your job and less time worrying about things that don’t concern you, you might have time to bake a cake every once in a while.”

  Caroline did not want to be nasty. Really, she had tried to stop herself, but enough was enough. As Margaret stood there spewing her derision, Caroline saw her life flash in front of her eyes. This miserable woman standing before her was her coworker, her peer. Caroline had absolutely nothing in common with her, yet each day she stayed being miserable, mentally preparing herself to take over for her father when he retired. A life sentence of doing a job she did not want to do was one step closer to becoming as miserable as Margaret Daily. Not that one had to socialize with her coworkers, but this woman seemed to embody everything Caroline hated about C & B, about the world of accounting, about where her future was heading...and fast.

  Margaret continued to stare at her with an unchanged, hateful expression, but she did not say anything. Oh, but she did not have to. Caroline could virtually read her thoughts. And they weren’t pretty.

  “May I help you with anything else, Margaret? Perhaps something work related?”

  The wretched woman rolled her eyes, turned on her heel and left without saying another word.

  Caroline blinked at the place where the stink of Margaret’s bad attitude seemed to linger like a dark cloud. Talk about a chip on her shoulder.

  “Are you still there?” she said into the phone.

  “Yes, I am. Uhh...wow. Who was that?”

  “One of my fabulous coworkers. So, obviously you heard the exchange.”

  “I did, I’m sorry to say.” A.J. cleared her throat. “Well, maybe what I have to tell you will cheer you up. And your encounter with Miss Merry Sunshine will give you the impetus to come. Even if you have plans.”

  Caroline sat back in her leather office chair and switched the cell phone to her other ear, making herself comfortable. “Right, the interesting business proposal you mentioned before we were so rudely interrupted. What’s going on?”

  “So, I get a phone call this morning—no. I’m not going to tell you over the phone. Just come by the office tonight. Seven o’clock. Believe me, you’ll think it’s worth it. I’m going to call Pepper and Sydney, too. We all need to be there.”

  “I have plans with Drew tonight,” she said.

  “Even better. Bring Superman—or should I call him Clark Kent, since he might find another story in this?”

  “What are you talking about, A.J.?”

  “It’s a business surprise, and that’s all I’m going to say. I know it sounds crazy and it’s totally last minute, but it’s important that all of us are here.”

  Silence stretched across the line. Caroline moved her computer mouse and the screen saver disappeared, revealing the webpage boasting the Celebrations, Inc. story. She stared at the smiling faces of her friends and thought about what a breath of fresh air they were compared to grumpy Margaret Daily.

  “Look, just please trust me,” A.J. pleaded. “I wouldn’t ask this of you under most other circumstances. But I’ll tell you something in confidence...just promise that you won’t say anything to Pepper and Sydney. Please don’t tell them, okay? I want them to be surprised.”

  “Okay.”

  “Tomorrow, two very interesting, rather prominent people will be joining us to present this business proposition. And the offer involves all four of us.”

  “Really?” she asked as she called up a file she needed to work on after she got off the phone with A.J. “Who is it?”

  “I’ve already told you too much. Just come tonight and bring Drew. I promise it will be worth your while.”

  Hmm... In her mind, she saw Drew’s earnest expression as he promised that he would definitely make their next night together worth the wait.

  However, surely this business surprise of A.J.’s wouldn’t last all night. Since Caroline had dispensed business advice to Celebrations, Inc. as well as serving as her part-time pastry chef, she figured A.J. wanted her there to judge whether it was a sound opportunity. Caroline’s curiosity was definitely piqued.

  “As long as you’re not trying to rope us into one of those multilevel marketing schemes, I suppose we can rearrange our plans to stop by,” Caroline said.

  “Thank you! Come hungry, because I’ll have lots of food.”

  “I would be disappointed if you didn’t have a spread. But are you sure you won’t give me any more hints as to what this is all about?”

  “Tonight. You’ll see that I’ve already told you too much. And remember, act like you don’t know a thing, okay? Pepper and Sydney would never forgive me for telling you more than I told them. Then again, after they hear the news, I’d wager that they wouldn’t be upset for long. See you tonight.”

  Caroline hung up the phone and glanced up to see her father standing in the same place Margaret had occupied earlier. The look on his face made Margaret’s expression look angelic.

  * * *

  When Drew walked into the office, Bia was waiting for him with a stack of Texas Star quarterly earnings statements in one hand and a notebook in the other.

  “I have to talk to you right away,” she said.

  “Good morning to you, too, Beatrice. May I please have a cup of coffee first?”

  “I put a fresh, hot cup on your desk one minute before you walked in.” She followed him into his office and shut the door before he could object.

  Sure enough, there was not one but two cups of steaming coffee and a box of doughnut holes on his desk.

  “I brought you doughnuts,” she said. “You have to make time for me.”

  He plucked one from the open box and popped it into his mouth, washing it down with a swallow of coffee that was still a tad too hot.

  He grimaced.

  “Plus,” she said. “I have some pretty exciting news that I really think you’re going to be happy to hear.”

  His gaze shot to the Texas Star reports and then back to Bia. He knew what she was going to say before she said it. Suddenly, the doughnut felt like a leaden weight in his gut.

  “You’ve cracked the story?” he asked.

  “Welll...” she drawled. “Let’s just say, I’ve discovered a minor chink in the Texas Star armor.”

  He took another draw of his coffee. Somehow the heat did not burn him this time—probably because the possibility of a break in this story turning into something big could spell rough times for him and Caroline. Because Texas Star was one of C & B’s biggest clients and because Pepper was her best friend. But if there was a story there it was his duty to report it.

  But story was the operative word. He wasn’t into publishing half-baked stories or something-out-of-nothing stories. Nope, it would have to be valid, something they could substantiate. That’s what Bia had to show him right now.

  He breathed in deeply and blew out his breath. “Okay, B, lay it on me.”

  She studied him for a minute, and the way her gaze bore into him, it almost felt as though she were reading him.

  “I know this might cause a problem for you and your girlfriend.” She paused, as if giving him time to answer. He chose not to say anything. He knew Bia was perceptive, but some things were private.

  “I know the guidelines of when I should recuse myself. Whatcha got?”

 
Bia quirked a brow at him, a nonverbal message that said she was seeing through his bravado. She opened her notebook.

  “See this?” She pointed to two columns. “Look at how the debt-to-capital ratio increased by forty percent over the past year. The stock is selling for almost one hundred dollars a share. That’s an eighty percent increase over the past year. Yet they have gigantic debt. So if this company is so astoundingly profitable, why do they keep accruing debt? There’s a story here. I just need to keep digging.”

  Drew picked up her notebook and squinted at the figures on the page. Crap, she was right. Something wasn’t adding up. Damn it.

  He set down the notebook and rubbed his eyes. He knew what he had to do. If Caroline was not in his life, he would be all over this story. He’d make sure a reporter was living on the Texas Star doorstep...and if that didn’t work, he himself would be tempted to camp out on Harris Merriweather’s portico.

  As hard as it was to admit it to himself, after the above bases had been covered, one of the first doors he’d be knocking on for answers to his questions was Texas Star’s auditor—Coopersmith & Bales.

  Chapter Seven

  Judging by the look on her father’s face, Caroline knew the best thing she could do was to invite him into her office and close the door.

  “Hi, Dad. Please come in.”

  She tried to make her voice sound pleasant—not too cheery, but certainly not timid, as if she were admitting she had done something wrong. Despite the assertion that Margaret had made, she was not violating a moonlighting clause. She was free to have another job as long as it did not interfere with her work at the firm. She was relieved that her voice did not shake and that her father did do just as she had hoped. He came in and shut the door behind him.