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Big-city Bachelor
Ingrid Weaver
A millionaire's worst nightmare…Just when complete control of his company seemed within his grasp, Alexander Whitmore found himself sharing ownership…with a country bumpkin! Surely innocent, fresh-scrubbed Lizzie Hammill would sell him her shares and hop the next plan back to Packenham Junction. And surely this pesky throbbing in his heart was anger, not attraction…A woman's dream come true?After years as a perpetual baby-sitter and bridesmaid, Lizzie had every intention of giving the Manhattan boardroom a whirl. She just had to ignore Alex's objections…and his bedroom eyes. The sexy businessman was everything Lizzie dreamed of in a husband, bus she had to take care. Alex could soon own the company–and her heart!
It was nothing but chemistry
It was bound to happen to Alex eventually, considering the monklike existence he’d been living. But of all people, why did the chemistry have to happen with Lizzie Hamill?
He couldn’t explain it. She wasn’t his type. He’d never been attracted to unsophisticated women, or innocent smiles or uncontrollable red hair. Yet, the more he was around Lizzie, the stronger the attraction became. It had only been twelve hours since she’d burst into his life—how powerful would the attraction get if she stayed around longer?
Good God, he didn’t want to risk finding out.
Dear Reader,
May is the perfect month to stop and smell the roses, and while you’re at it, take some time for yourself and indulge your romantic fantasies! Here at Harlequin American Romance, we’ve got four brand-new stories, picked specially for your reading pleasure.
Sparks fly once more as Charlotte Maclay continues her wild and wonderful CAUGHT WITH A COWBOY! duo this month with In a Cowboy’s Embrace. Join the fun as Tasha Reynolds falls asleep in the wrong bed and wakes with Cliff Swain, the very right cowboy!
This May, flowers aren’t the only things blossoming—we’ve got two very special mothers-to-be! When estranged lovers share one last night of passion, they soon learn they’ll never forget That Night We Made Baby, Mary Anne Wilson’s heartwarming addition to our WITH CHILD…promotion. And as Emily Kingston discovers in Elizabeth Sinclair’s charming tale, The Pregnancy Clause, where there’s a will, there’s a baby on the way!
There’s something fascinating about a sexy, charismatic man who seems to have it all, and Ingrid Weaver’s hero in Big-City Bachelor is no exception. Alexander Whitmore has two wonderful children, money, a successful company….What could he possibly be missing…?
With Harlequin American Romance, you’ll always know the exhilarating feeling of falling in love.
Happy reading!
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Big-City Bachelor
Ingrid Weaver
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ingrid Weaver admits to being a compulsive reader who loves a book that can make her cry. A former teacher, now a homemaker and mother, she delights in creating stories that reflect the wonder and adventure of falling in love. When she isn’t writing or reading, she enjoys old Star Trek reruns, going on sweater-knitting binges, taking long walks with her husband and waking up early to canoe after camera-shy loons.
Ingrid recently received the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense Novel.
Books by Ingrid Weaver
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
828—BIG-CITY BACHELOR
WHITMORE AND HAMMIL
Alex’s cooking tips—
1. Put spaghetti in pot and bring to boil. (Don't forget the water!)
2. When smoke alarm sounds, dinner is ready.
WHITMORE AND HAMMIL
Lizzie’s management tips—
1. Give bonus to staff members who share and play nicely together.
2. Ignore client tantrums, but offer oxygen if client turns blue.
Contents
Prologue (#u2e8ea92e-bcc8-5444-b79d-63dc0f43eab9)
Chapter One (#u81a91c40-6d85-549b-bd53-cb5b4db48680)
Chapter Two (#ud17a3f45-3e1f-5df4-8d44-679e83814a27)
Chapter Three (#u9ff13973-6116-5d4f-8128-69722ced4678)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
“We may have a slight problem, Alex.”
Leather groaned as Alexander Whitmore pushed away from his desk and leaned back in his swivel chair. The day couldn’t get any worse, could it? The presentation for the Starcourt account had bombed this morning. By noon the housekeeper had called with yet another threat to quit—this time the twins had painted her cat purple. Blood was throbbing at his temples in a prelude to one of his little-men-with-big-sledgehammers headaches, but somehow he forced himself to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, he regarded his lawyer warily. “How slight a problem?” he asked.
Jeremy Ebbet touched a hand to the knot of his tie and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid that Roland didn’t sign the papers before he…departed. It was so sudden, you see. No one could have foreseen this…occurrence.”
Roland. No. It wasn’t possible. The man was haunting him. “We had reached an agreement more than a week before the accident,” Alex said. “That was over a month ago.”
“Well, there was a letter of intent.” Jeremy repositioned his briefcase across his bony knees, pressing his feet together tightly at the ankles. His steel-rimmed glasses flashed opaque in the light from the window, giving the gaunt lawyer a distinctly insectoid appearance. “Unfortunately, when I met with Roland’s attorneys this morning I discovered that Roland didn’t sign the letter, either. He did initial the changes, so I’m sure he wanted to go through with the sale. The terms we had worked out were exceedingly generous.”
Generous? Alex ground his teeth. He would have been forced to liquidate more than forty percent of his assets in order to meet Roland’s exorbitant demands. But it would have been worth it to finally have complete control of Whitmore and Hamill, the company they had founded thirteen years ago.
Alex Whitmore and Roland Hamill. They were as different as two men could be. At first, the tension their conflicting management styles had created had been good, providing a stimulating, electric environment that contributed to their rapid success. With Roland’s flamboyance and Alex’s solid dependability, Whitmore and Hamill had become one of the busiest advertising agencies in Manhattan.
Yet as their success had grown, so had Roland’s restlessness. He’d gradually withdrawn from the day-to-day running of the business, leaving the tedious responsibility of making money to Alex. Aside from swooping in every now and then to pick up his half of the profits and exercising his fifty percent control by hiring an assortment of loose cannons and prima donnas, Roland hadn’t been part of Whitmore and Hamill for more than two years. The buyout had been inevitable.
But then Roland Hamill had tried to race a freight train to a crossing and had lost.
Alex raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to ignore the confused emotions that arose whenever he thought of Roland. Analyzing his feelings was something Alex had never had the time nor the inclination to do, yet he knew that he felt the loss of his partner on more than a business level. Sure, he’d wanted to be rid of him, but not like this.
It was a senseless death. Reckless, irresponsible and completely avoidable. And spectacular. Like most things about Roland.
“That fifty percent is mine,” Alex said, clenching his jaw.
“I’m sorry,” Jeremy said, holding up a copy of the agreement. “Without a signature on this paper, we would have a difficult time proving our case in court.”
“In court? It won’t come to that, will it?”
“For the sake of the business, we should try to avoid a legal challenge at all costs.”
Alex stretched forward and picked up the paper by one corner. If only he’d insisted that Roland sign the paper before he’d left that day. If only it hadn’t been foggy and the road hadn’t been slick. If only the freight train had reached that crossing ten seconds later.
If only Alex had followed his instincts and had said no to Roland Hamill thirteen years ago.
But Alex rarely allowed himself to follow his instincts. He didn’t act impulsively or let spontaneity interfere with logic. All that was better left to the Rolands of the world.
So even though he wanted to crush the useless paper in his fist and pitch it across the room, even though he wanted to kick something, hard, instead he controlled his frustration and scanned the printed lines once more, hoping he would find some way to salvage this mess. “What about our original partnership agreement?” Alex asked. “Can’t I get control through that?”
“I checked the contract very carefully before I came here today.”
“And?”
“Since all the original loans have been paid off, Roland owned his shares outright. They are considered part of his estate.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What happened to his estate?”
“He bequeathed the entire thing to his last surviving blood relative.”
“I thought he didn’t have any family. No one came to the funeral.”
“Evidently there had been a falling out three decades ago.”
“Knowing Roland, that doesn’t really surprise me,” Alex muttered.
“It took the entire three weeks since his accident to track down and verify his beneficiary. Clarke, Parker and Stein, who are acting as Roland’s executors, notified her only yesterday.”
“Her?”
“A niece.” Jeremy shuffled his papers again and traced the name that was printed on the top one. “A Miss Elizabeth Hamill of Packenham Junction, Wisconsin. As I understand it, she is the only child of his deceased older brother.”
The hammering in Alex’s temples spread to the back of his head. Had he really thought the day couldn’t get any worse? “Do you mean to tell me that half my company, fifty percent of this business, is now owned by some stranger in Hicksville?”
“Uh, Packenham Junction. It’s a dairy farming area. Evidently they’re famous for their cheese.”
“Cheese. Cheese?”
“And dairy products.”
“If he wasn’t already dead, I might kill him myself,” Alex muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“Roland. I think he did this deliberately.”
“As a matter of fact, he did. There was no question of his competence at the time he made his will. Once it is out of probate and all the appropriate papers are signed, Miss Hamill will be…uh…”
“My new partner.”
“Correct.”
Alex tossed the useless agreement onto his desk and tightened his hand into a fist. “I don’t suppose she knows the advertising industry? Has a degree in business? Experience in marketing?”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I haven’t had the opportunity to investigate her background. We only became aware of her existence this morning.”
Alex rose slowly, moving with the unnerving grace and the deceptive patience of a big cat. With a sound disconcertingly close to a growl, he paced across the room. He looked at the framed awards that decorated the wall, testimony to the life he’d built. He’d come a long way since he’d scrawled his plans on a grimy basement windowpane.
Success bought wealth, and wealth bought security. Not just for him, but for his sons. The twins would never have to go through what he did. They’d never have a moment’s worry about the food they ate or the clothes they wore. Their playroom alone was larger than the place he’d lived in as a child. There was nothing they didn’t have. And once complete control of Whitmore and Hamill was in his grasp, their future would be assured.
“I don’t care if she’s a Nobel laureate in economics,” he said finally. “I won’t share my company with another Hamill.”
Jeremy cleared his throat. “But according to the law—”
“We’ll make her an offer.”
“Excuse me?”
“For Roland’s shares. Make her an offer as soon as possible.”
