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“Suspects what?”
“That we…”
Barely aware of her actions, and working on sheer revulsion, she squirmed out from under him and got up, taking the sheet with her. “That we were sleeping together?” she managed, whirling to face him. Not that she knew why, but just now, he’d become a stranger before her very eyes.
“I think it’s possible,” Robby said, reaching and trying to grab her hand, which she snatched away. “Oh, c’mon, don’t be a spoilsport,” he teased.
“Spoilsport?” she could only echo, turning on him, then leaning to gather her clothes. Quickly, she slipped a knit dress over her head and shoved her feet into ballet flats, not bothering to find her panties as he rose from the bed and closed the distance between them.
Two large hands clamped on her waist, and against her will, she shuddered as he drew her against him. She might hate him at the moment, but his body was hard, hot, male and naked, and he’d left her half aroused. Suddenly, she ached for him.
“Your dad and I talked about it,” he said firmly.
Didn’t he understand that he might as well have slapped her in the face? That this was the ultimate in the loss of trust? “Whatever we’ve done here…” she managed to begin, her voice raspy, altered by the horrible sting of betrayal. “In this bedroom, and at my house…”
“I didn’t tell him anything, Ellie.”
“That’s not the point.”
“And the point is?”
“Look, we never talked about it. But mixing business and pleasure was a really bad idea. I see that now,” she managed.
His grip tightened. “Liar. You know how serious this is,” he muttered, sounding stunned.
“Well,” she defended. “I guess I did feel we had an understanding…that you and I were a couple.”
“We are.”
“But we were going to tell Daddy about us. You and me, Robby. Together.”
Dammit, this was par for the course. Like when her dad and brothers created their own little club. Her mom had tried to turn her into a girly girl, but Ellie had inherited her father’s talent and knack for business. And now…she was nowhere.
Left out in the cold. If the job was really Robby’s…she could never look at him again.
Her words were barely audible. “How could you?”
He knew what the family company meant. It was in her blood and belonged to her.
“You think I sabotaged you?”
“Did you?”
He was starting to look furious. “He came to me, Ellie, not the other way around.” Despite the fire in his blue eyes, which were turning to ice, an uncharacteristic pleading tone had crept into his voice. Not that she cared. He was the one who’d put himself between a rock and a hard place.
He added, “What should I do, Ellie?”
“Take the job, I guess,” she burst out. So what if Daddy Eddie was her father, not his? So what if she’d worked around the clock for years, just as Robby had? Once more, her lips parted in astonishment. Suddenly, she blurted out, “I don’t believe you—”
He was incredulous. “You think I’m lying?”
“Yes. It just can’t be true.” Quickly, she wiggled from his grasp, strode to the bedside table and lifted the phone receiver.
She caught him squinting at her. “What are you doing, Ellie?”
“Calling Daddy Eddie.”
Robby’s face fell. “Don’t.”
“Why?” Her eyes pierced his as Daddy Eddie’s phone rang.
“I’m sure he wanted to tell you.”
“Well, he didn’t, now did he? And I think you’re lying.”
“Why would I?”
She offered a mean shrug. “Spite?”
Robby’s gorgeous blue eyes widened a fraction. “Look, Ellie, I know you’re upset, but we can work through this…”
Ellie didn’t see how. Thankfully, her dad finally picked up. “Daddy?” Before he could respond, she continued. “I…uh, stopped by Robby Robriquet’s place just now, to…uh, pick up some files for work—”
“This early in the morning?”
“Yes. And it’s not that earl—”
“For a Satur—”
Damn her dad for interrupting and trying to distract her. “Daddy,” she said in a rush. “Robby swears—”
“I didn’t swear,” interjected Robby. “I just said—”
“That you’re promoting him over me next week when you retire, and he’s been chosen to run Lee Polls.” Been chosen. The words echoed in her mind. How could her own father deny her? “I told him this was ludicrous. Completely, utterly impossible. And I know you’ll be glad that I stepped in and corrected him.
“Why, you and I have talked about my appointment for years, ever since I was a little girl. Right, Daddy? And you know I have the highest credentials, not to mention more time with the company, overall. I mean, if you count the years I worked there in high school…”
Realizing her dad hadn’t jumped to her defense, she let her voice trail off. A long pause followed. And then her daddy said the impossible, “It’s true, Ellie.”
She barely heard what he said after that. Just a jumble of justifications, really. He suspected she was going to want to get married and have a family someday, he said, and that he didn’t want work to get in her way forever, since he loved her so much. He’d always felt badly that her brothers hadn’t done their share, so thank God for Robby. Besides which, her mother agreed Ellie needed to focus more on other aspects of life.
“Like marriage? Having a family?” Her jaw dropped. Sure, she’d been about to propose to Robby, but that was when she was going to be president of her company, too. But now…
“How far back in time did you have to go,” she finally managed, “to find a speech like that one, Daddy? The Middle Ages? The Dark Ages? Did you go to a museum?” How had her father, who had always been so supportive, morphed into a caveman? “Did Mom talk you into this?” she accused.
“No, Ellie, and this has nothing to do with your qualifications. You know that. When it came down to brass tacks, I just want a man running my ship. And that’s my right.”
“That’s illegal, I think,” she muttered.
“Well, I doubt my own daughter’s going to take me to court.”
“Don’t count on it.”
“You don’t see it now,” he said firmly. “But you’re going to want more out of life down the road.”
“I’ve been running your ship for years,” she ground out, her eyes now fixing on Robby’s. Seconds ago, those gorgeous baby blues had looked so sweet and nonthreatening. They’d turned her knees to water. Now they seemed cold and calculating, vicious and predatory. What had she ever seen in him?
“Yes…I’ve been helping you for years, Dad. My good-for-nothing brothers, your lousy sons made sure of that!”
“Ellie, please hear me out—”
She slammed down the phone, fuming. Lee Polls was hers. It was in her history and her blood. Nobody was taking it away, not even her lover—ex-lover, she mentally amended—Robby Robriquet.
Except he had.
She grabbed her purse and headed for the door and when he grasped her from behind, she shook off his touch. “Bastard,” she muttered, hating that her body still tingled from his touch as she opened the door and stepped outside, into air that was crisp for November in Mississippi. “Get away from me.”
“Ellie,” he called from the porch as she headed for her car. “You didn’t even let me talk. I want to be with you. Always. Forever. You and me. We can work this out.”
“Yeah, right,” she shouted. “You want to get married and have kids and—”
“Yes! Yes, that’s exactly what I want!”
“And I’ll cook and clean for you while you go off to my office.”
“Dammit, Ellie!”
If it had been any other company but Lee Polls, maybe she could have gotten over it. Her heart stretched to breaking. “That company is mine! Mine!”
“Come back, Ellie!”
“No…you go back inside and put on some clothes, Robby,” she called over her shoulder. “Otherwise Sheriff Kemp might arrest you for indecent exposure. And besides, don’t you have to hurry up and put on your suit and tie? Don’t you have a job to go to? My job? In the company that belongs to my family?”
“Dammit, I know this is sensitive.”
“You’re just like your father,” she yelled, striking the lowest blow she could think of. “You wanted my job and you took it, but you’re not getting me, too.”
Maybe he said something else, but she’d never know. She was already in her car. Tears were flowing freely, and she didn’t bother to stop them. By the time she’d become cognizant of her actions, she was sobbing deeply, her shoulders shaking. Through a haze of tears, she just kept moving. She stopped at her house and packed bags that would last her a while. At first, she had no idea where she might go.
Hodges Motor Lodge was an option, but that was too local. Besides, everyone would know to look for her there, since it was the only motel in town. So she made a plane reservation. Yes, she needed a vacation. Screw Lee Polls. Daddy Eddie and Robby had decided they could run the place without her, so let them.
“Just see how far they get!” she declared. They could never find the Thomas files, they didn’t have a clue about how to land that lucrative account with the Clovis family, or the contracts for upcoming national elections. Besides, her own client list was on her laptop, which she would take with her, and they’d play hell trying to decipher her notes.
“Within a week, the whole place will shut down,” she vowed. Once her bags were piled high in her car, she sped toward Delia’s Diner. Thankfully, as soon as she had breakfast, and told her best friend, Susannah, about her plan, she’d be getting far away from Banner, Mississippi.
But Susannah wasn’t at Delia’s yet. So Ellie sat in the car sobbing some more, which felt good, then she finally shoved on her sunglasses to hide her eyes. Delia’s Diner was gossip central.
She waved at a few people inside the restaurant, ordered coffee and noted that Sheriff Kemp was at the counter, flirting with Delia again. Ellie had to concentrate on not crying now; otherwise, everybody in Banner would know something was wrong and start grilling her. So she stared into space, barely noticing when her best friend came in and seated herself in the booth.
Susannah was the sister Ellie had never had. As much as Ellie loved her, though, she was always embroiled in some new drama surrounding her husband, J.D. Ever since he’d become a country star, the marriage had been heading south, and all the arguments about leaving the man had been discussed before today. So, even though Ellie was numb, her mind reeling from her own life-altering circumstances, Susannah didn’t even notice, due to her own difficulties. This made it easy to order breakfast while murmuring all the usual consolations.
Even when Susannah announced she was finally leaving her husband, Ellie merely kept nodding. Susannah threatened this at least once a month, after all. Almost as often as she threatened to kill J.D.
The man was still breathing, however, and Ellie doubted Susannah would ever free herself from the increasingly problematic relationship. Suddenly, Susannah pushed unruly wisps of blond hair from her eyes, and said, “You’ve been crying, Ellie.”
Only then did Ellie notice she’d removed her sunglasses. She guessed she’d removed them when Delia had put down their breakfast plates. Eggs could be a little unappealing seen through dark lenses. “All morning,” she said, although it wasn’t strictly true.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so fixated on J.D. What’s wrong?”
The story came pouring out. When Ellie was finished, Susannah gasped. “And Robby accepted the job?”
Ellie nodded.
“That snake in the grass! What are you going to do?”
In that instant, Ellie knew. “Go to New York and start another polling business to compete with Daddy and Robby.”
She’d been considering a vacation, but why not make it permanent? She’d done business in New York and had contacts there. Maybe such a plan would work. Had Susannah, herself, been sincere about her own plans to leave J.D.? “Come with me, Susannah.”
“To New York?” Susannah said. “To do what?”
Ellie’s mind was racing as she started offering ideas, then she finished by declaring, “To have sex with a lot of men. Every guy I can.”
She could see Susannah’s throat working as she swallowed hard. “That…uh, sounds ambitious.”
Ellie almost smiled. “I’ve always been ambitious,” she agreed.
“Well…okay. Yes. I’ll come with you.”
“Good.” But could Ellie really make this work? Could she build a competitive polling company from the ground up, then maybe even use it to take over Lee Polls? More important, could she find a man sexy enough to replace Robby Robriquet?
Chapter Two
Eleven Months Later
NEWSPAPER BUSINESS REPORTER Derrick Mills wasn’t nearly as good-looking as Robby. He was taller, less stocky, with dark hair and eyes. Still, Ellie assured herself as she took in his tailored gray suit, she would have jumped into the sack with him, if not for one little problem. Derrick was married. So she’d just have to stay on topic and continue answering his questions. Most important, she needed to gauge when it would be best to drop her bombshell.
She’d been planning her strategy for months, and now the moment was near. She had to fight not to grin. Yes, the gimmick she was going to announce would kill a few birds with one stone. She’d generate business, create media buzz for herself and erase the memory of Robby Robriquet from her life forever. And why not? She believed in her skills of statistical analysis, didn’t she? And she wanted to find someone she’d like as much as Robby.
Love as much. When the words entered her consciousness, she tried to ignore them. But she had loved the man. Surely, no one would ever turn her on in the same way. Besides, for so long, she’d just unconsciously assumed she and Robby would have…
A wedding.
A house with a picket fence in Banner, Mississippi.
Babies.
And, of course, share the joy of combined careers. Lastly, the sparks of their passion would never burn out. With one look, Robby had always set her on fire. In the office of Lee Polls, they’d shared so many laughs, too, especially since they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Now, just thinking about her ex-lover, her skin warmed, her heart missed a beat, her palms started to sweat…
