скачать книгу бесплатно
By the time she dressed and descended the stairs, Ryan and Mariah sat at a small table in the breakfast room pouring over a computer-generated document. They were so engrossed that neither heard her soft footsteps on the stone-tiled kitchen floor.
A weak winter sun spilled through French doors and gleamed on the two dark heads bent close together. Mariah’s face was a study in attentiveness, soaking up the attention from her daddy. Ryan was in profile, his angled jaw free from the stubble of last night, his firm, sensual lips in motion. His mouth fascinated her and she tried hard not to imagine that he was probably a dynamite kisser. When the corners tipped up to smile at his daughter, she nearly swooned. Gone was any hint of the despair she’d imagined last night. Exhaustion and imagination could be the only sensible explanation for Ryan’s odd reaction to her silly comment about pregnancy.
Gone, too, was last night’s deliciously rumpled traveler. This morning he looked polished and professional. Unfortunately, he also looked every bit as yummy.
She felt like the governess mooning over the lord of the manor in one of those gothic novels. A most disconcerting flutter of awareness invaded Kelsey’s being. That would not do. It would not do at all. Wasn’t she supposed to be immune to good-looking, successful men after what happened with Mark?
As if he felt her stares, Ryan glanced up. The remnant of his smile was still in place. She smiled back, fighting a blush because of her wayward thoughts.
“Good morning. I see you survived the night.” Amusement danced in his eyes. She wrinkled her nose at him and he laughed. “There’s fresh coffee in the carafe if you’d like some.”
With a shake of her head, Kelsey touched her tummy. “No thank you.”
Though she was long past morning sickness, her stomach had tangled into a thousands knots. Might as well face it. She’d have to be very careful around Ryan Storm. Something about him disturbed her in a dangerously elemental way. To make matters worse, she felt obligated to him. Neither feeling sat well. But she also firmly believed Mariah needed her, and right now, Kelsey needed to be needed. She and her baby also needed this job.
“Join us then,” Ryan said, pulling out a chair next to his. “I’d like to get things settled quickly and get to the office.”
“You’re going in to your office this morning?” She’d expected him to stick around and observe her with Mariah today.
“Daddy’s time is very valuable,” Mariah said gravely.
Well, so was everyone’s. Wasn’t time with his child valuable, too? His attitude wiped away any thoughts of how hot he was.
“I’ve already checked your references, which are excellent by the way.”
“I knew that,” she groused. The fact that he was up early after minimal sleep, checking references and looking so good added to her irritation. She still felt like roadkill and probably looked worse.
Ryan didn’t seem to notice. He pushed the computer printout toward her. “Mariah and I were going over the list of duties and responsibilities. I’ll leave those for you to look over. If you have any questions, my office number is there as well as my private cell. Do not give that to anyone.”
As if she would.
“Here’s Mariah’s schedule.”
“Schedule?”
“Janine worked out a schedule of study so Mariah could make the most of her time.”
Kelsey had a feeling she and Janine would not have gotten along. “But she’s only six. Why don’t you let us play it by ear for a few days and then decide exactly what course of action we want to take?”
“I want her educated, Kelsey. That’s why I hired a teacher. Just stick to the schedule and we’ll get along fine.” The words were mild, but the meaning was tempered with steel. She was not to question his authority. And she shouldn’t, of course. Mariah was his child.
“Okay. I can do that.” She hoped.
“I’ve also left full instructions about the alarm system and other household concerns. A housekeeper comes in daily. She’ll prepare lunch, take care of the house and prepare dinner before leaving. Her name is Abilena Rueda. How’s your Spanish?”
“Poor to nonexistent.”
“Abilena understands a bit of English, but if you need her to do something, tell Mariah. Her Spanish is coming along fairly well.”
“Daddy bought me some CDs,” Mariah said proudly. “Acquiring a foreign language has become a necessity in today’s global market. Isn’t that right, Daddy?”
Ryan got that helpless look on his face again. The one that said Mariah’s intellect both pleased and frightened him. “That’s right, peanut. Knowledge is power.”
Returning his attention to Kelsey, he pointed to a number on one of the sheets of paper. “Is the salary sufficient?”
Kelsey squinted, her contacts still a little watery. When the numbers focused in, she gasped. “Sufficient? Ryan, with this amount I can begin to pay off some of my—” She caught herself in time to keep from blurting out the painful truth of her finances.
But Ryan was every bit as bright as his child. His gaze narrowed as he studied her face. “If you need money just say so. Finances are not a problem here.”
Heat rushed up the back of her neck. Money didn’t used to be a problem with her either, but times change. “I can take care of it.”
“I want your focus on teaching Mariah, not on worrying about finances. If you need money, tell me.”
Humiliated but also grateful, she said, “That’s kind of you, Ryan. Really. But I can handle it.”
“Sure?” He seemed sincerely concerned.
“I have some old debts from the move. No big deal. Don’t worry. I have everything under control.” Right, and she could run the Boston marathon in five minutes in high heels.
“All right. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.” He took another sip of his coffee and pushed away from the table to slip into his jacket. “I’ll see you lovely ladies later.” He glanced at his daughter. “That’s called alliteration—lovely ladies later.”
“Alliteration.” Mariah savored the word on her tongue as if it was good chocolate.
“Kelsey can teach you more about that.”
“Cool.” Mariah hopped down from her chair and followed him through the kitchen, through the foyer to the front door where he crouched down for a hug.
Kelsey had followed the pair, though she didn’t know why, and the sweet moment between father and daughter squeezed her heart. He might be clueless, but Ryan appeared to be a caring daddy.
Three days later, as she checked Mariah’s schedule, Kelsey was having second thoughts about Ryan Storm’s parenting skills. It was six o’clock and the man had not yet appeared. Again. And the child was still studying as if she were taking the bar exam in the morning.
By now, their schedule was practically memorized and Mariah knew it better than Kelsey did. After all, Miss Janine, who Kelsey did not like at all, had manufactured this form of child torture some time ago. Mariah seldom complained, but an occasional sigh told the tale. Janine’s regimented, unimaginative idea of educating a small child took a toll, both on the teacher and the student. Kelsey, who loved teaching, had never been so bored in her life.
“I think this is about it for the evening, don’t you, sweetie?” she asked, gently closing the ancient-history book. “How about a game before bedtime?”
“Chess?” Mariah asked.
Kelsey thought if she lost another game of chess this week she’d die of humiliation. “How about something else? I think my brain needs a rest. How about—” She looked around for ideas.
“Monopoly? I’m really good at that.”
Kelsey laughed. “I’ll bet you are. Another tycoon in the making.”
But she got the game out anyway, as eager for some fun as the child.
They were in Mariah’s muted blue playroom which was more of an office than a fun place to hang out. The chest full of toys and games wasn’t opened until recess which occurred three times a day—fifteen minutes in the morning, immediately following lunch and mid-afternoon. The rest of the time was spent in study. After dinner each evening, Mariah could read or play educational games before an early bedtime. From morning until night, every minute of Mariah’s day was regimented as strictly as the military, which meant Kelsey’s day was, as well. No shopping excursions. No visits with neighbors. No opportunity to get reacquainted with her beloved native city.
Frankly, she was suffocating.
To make matters worse, she’d seen Ryan only once, for less than an hour, and Mariah hadn’t seen her father at all. The man was a workaholic to the extreme. He rose before either she or Mariah and returned long after Mariah, and sometimes she, had retired for the night. When he was at home, he disappeared into his office with a plate of food left by Abilena, not to be seen again that evening.
Several times each day, he phoned to check on Mariah, but the calls were brief and to the point. “How are things going? Good. Need anything? No? Bye.”
Mariah, bless her little heart, was a trooper about her father’s apparent indifference. Kelsey’s thoughts were not so generous.
During the Monopoly game, Mariah paused time and again to listen for the garage door opening, the hope in her expression apparent.
“Do you think Daddy will be here to tuck me in tonight?” she said, adding a hotel to Boardwalk.
“He’ll have to hurry. It’s time for your bath now.”
“What about our game?”
“Let’s leave it to finish another time.”
Mariah looked doubtful. “Janine never let me leave things out. She said I had to learn the importance of taking care of my possessions and not to take things for granted even if my daddy is rich.”
Though the statement carried some truth, the manner in which it was said rankled. Had Janine been jealous of this child?
“Tell you what. You get your bath. I’ll put the game in a safe place and then we’ll snuggle up and read in bed for a while. Deal?”
Snuggle time was fast becoming a part of their routine that both of them enjoyed.
“Deal!” Mariah’s brown eyes danced as she skipped off to the bathroom.
After straightening the play room, Kelsey slipped into her robe and rejoined the sweet-smelling, freshly bathed child. Mariah was already in bed, her dark hair curled into squiggles across the pale pink pillowcase.
Intentionally choosing a simple, silly, rhyming Dr. Seuss book, Kelsey joined her. Together they giggled and snuggled, talked and made up stories.
When Mariah began to yawn and her eyelashes drooped for the third time, Kelsey pulled her close for a hug. She smelled of soap and shampoo and the cool essence of childhood.
“Time for lights out, precious.”
Mariah cast a longing look toward the doorway. “I guess Daddy got stuck at the office,” she said trying to rationalize why her father had not arrived. “He’s a very busy man.”
“Would you like to give him a call? Tell him goodnight? I’m sure he’d like that.” She wasn’t sure of any such thing, but she could hardly bear the disappointment wafting in waves from Mariah.
At the eagerness in the child’s face, Kelsey reached for the telephone.
Ryan answered the cell phone on the third ring. “Is something wrong?”
“Mariah wants to say goodnight.”
“Oh. Sure. Put her on.” He sounded distracted. Not that she cared. Mariah was more important than whatever he found to do at this time of night.
The father and daughter spoke for a couple of minutes. All the while, Kelsey watched Mariah’s face, listening to her sweet chatter, her delighted giggle at something Ryan said, and finally the wistful “I love you, Daddy” before returning the phone to Kelsey and snuggling down onto the pillow.
“He’s nice,” she said with a smile before letting her eyes flutter closed against soft, round cheeks.
Kelsey thought her heart would crack right in half.
Mariah had no mother and an absent father. She had no friends or doting relatives that Kelsey had seen. Mariah Storm was truly a poor little rich girl. And her father didn’t have sense enough to see a problem. Either that or Mariah was an afterthought, a responsibility and nothing more.
It was time to have a little heart-to-heart with the man of the year. And he probably wasn’t going to like it one bit.
CHAPTER FOUR
DOG TIRED, RYAN TOSSED his jacket and tie over a chair as he entered the town house, eager to flop down for an hour or so in front of the tube and think about nothing. The house was quiet and dark, as it always was when he arrived home. Only the hum of the refrigerator and the snick of the heating unit broke the silence. Mariah would be asleep by now. He’d sneak in later and grab a kiss.
The nanny must have gone to bed early, too. At nearly six months along, she probably tired easily. Amanda had.
He dashed that train of thought immediately and poured a glass of wine, his only concession to relaxation other than workouts in the basement of the office building. A gym for employees was one of the perks of working for Storm International. Healthy bodies translated to healthier work habits, better production and fewer sick days.
Kicking off his shoes, Ryan collapsed in the overstuffed leather chair and pointed the remote. As a kid, he’d dreamed of the day he could say he was a millionaire. Others had erroneously considered him rebellious or lazy, but he’d been plotting the future, figuring angles and working his tail off while others slept.
Lord, he was tired. But a man didn’t stay on top without working sixteen hour days. One slip and he’d be back in the slums again, grubbing for every dollar. The mere thought of returning to those days spurred him to work harder and harder. He would never allow Mariah to live the way he had as a youth.
Setting his glass on the hexagonal table, he leaned his elbows on his knees and scrubbed both hands over his face. Maybe he should go on to bed. His day started early.
“Ryan.”
At the soft voice, he jerked his head up. Kelsey stood in the wide entry of the living room. He hadn’t heard her come down the stairs. She wore a long blue robe of some soft-looking fuzzy material that covered her from neck to toe and turned her eyes aquarium blue. In the loose, flowing garment, her pregnancy was hardly noticeable.
“Hi. I thought you were in bed by now.”
She smiled and moved into the room, taking a seat on the couch across from him. After slipping off a pair of slip-on house shoes, she curled her feet beneath her.
Ryan’s stomach dipped at the pleasantly domestic sight. In the faded light of one small lamp, Kelsey looked pretty and soft and vulnerable. Forcing his gaze away, he reached for the wine glass.
Ryan Storm had a hard and fast policy never to get personally involved with an employee. Never, never, never mix business with pleasure. And yes, after a very long day of haggling and dealing, looking at Kelsey was pure pleasure. But he’d seen too many CEOs fall to the wayside over a pretty assistant.
Trouble was, he also had a policy never to hire a beautiful woman to work in his house. Janine had been hired in part because she was older and matronly. He’d never expected the woman, who seldom left the house, to find husband number three and move away. He was still puzzled about that turn of events.
What had he been thinking the night he’d insisted on bringing Kelsey home with him? She was pretty and pregnant. Good grief. He was an idiot.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Her mahogany hair was swept away from her forehead and clipped with a tortoiseshell barrette. Straight and simple, her hair fell to her shoulders, gleaming in the lamplight as she moved. Her pale skin was scrubbed clean so that she looked fresh and young and innocent. If he breathed deeply, he was certain to catch the scent of fragrant soap and shampoo.
He would not allow himself that luxurious temptation. “Shoot.”
She made a huffing sound. “Don’t tempt me.”
Puzzled, he tilted back in his chair. “Sorry. Did I miss something?”
“Constantly.”
No matter how lovely she looked, the woman was talking in riddles. A straight-shooter, riddles always annoyed him. “Look, Kelsey, I’ve had a long day. Could we have this conversation another time?”
