the doorframe with his
fist. “I should never have gone to Joe Bob’s in the first place.
Then none of this would have happened.”
His statement stung like a slap to her face
and she fought the tears welling in her eyes. “No, none of it.”
They’d never have made love, never have shared intimacies, probably
never have done more than exchange stiffly polite greetings at
work.
He reached for her. “Hey, I didn’t mean I
regretted what went on between us here, Princess.”
Pain stabbed her chest and punched a hole in
her gut. She stepped back, unable to express her grief.
He shrugged. “What the hell, I can’t win. I’m
going to check on the well.”
Holly sat at the kitchen table. She shook,
not with the cold, but with emotional turmoil engulfing her. None
of this would have happened, he’d said. No matter how he denied it,
she knew he regretted being here with her. She’d seen his face and
heard the cold, flat tone of his voice.
But they’d made love. Correction—he’d
had sex, and she’d made love. And here she was falling in love with him. A man who cared
only for business and whom she’d have to meet almost daily at work.
Thank heavens she hadn’t blurted out her need for him. Did she love
him? Surely not. Lust. That’s what she felt. Strong
lust.
How could she face him in meetings after
she’d all but thrown herself at him? How could she put their time
at this place behind her? How could she stay at Marvel and face
him? How could she do otherwise?
What was she going to do?
***
Trent stopped inside the door and stamped his
feet. “Ice is definitely melting where the sun shines and softening
in the shade. Maybe we can leave by morning.” He didn’t meet her
gaze but passed behind her to pour a cup of coffee.
“ It’ll freeze again tonight, by ten
when the sun’s up good we’ll probably be able to leave.” She
pretended nothing was wrong.
His cell phone rang again and he turned away.
“Macleod. Yeah, Gordon. I’m stuck here today but should be back by
tomorrow night. I’ll be in the office early Thursday. Yeah, try to
set up another meeting. Okay.” He faced her as he dropped the phone
into his pocket. “I haven’t told him you’re with me, Holly. If you
want to tell, that’s fine, but you know how people are. I didn’t
want gossip about you making the rounds.”
Maybe he cared a little about her. “Thanks.
I’ve known some of those people since I was a child. I guess it
would seem odd to everyone and to me when I faced them.”
He flopped onto a kitchen chair and rested
his elbows on the table. He sank his forehead onto his hands.
“ Cheer up, Trent. The storm’s over and
the sun’s out. Soon we’ll be able to leave and you can reschedule
your meeting. You look as if the world’s about to end.”
He didn’t move. “It is, at least for me. You
don’t realize how important this contract is for the company.
Without it, Marvel won’t last more than another year.”
“ Why do you say that? Dad always said
we shouldn’t diversify, that we should stick to the jobs we’ve
always done. Fiberoptics is all people talk about, but we make the
best wire and cable available.” She sat across from him.
He raised his head. “For how long? You’re
great dealing with people, Holly, but do you read the sales
reports?”
Caught. “They don’t come to me routinely,
since that’s not a part of my job, but in the past I’d sometimes go
by and read them in Dad’s office.” She shook her head. “Since
Veronica left and we haven’t replaced her, I have such a heavy
workload with three hundred employees at work and my family at
home. Lately I’d just let Dad summarize it for me.”
When she heard herself she was embarrassed.
How careless she’d been. If her father had been mismanaging, she
played right into his hands by letting him interpret the company
statistics for her.
Trent clenched his jaw and inhaled. “Why
didn’t you replace this Veronica?”
“ Dad said
fist. “I should never have gone to Joe Bob’s in the first place.
Then none of this would have happened.”
His statement stung like a slap to her face
and she fought the tears welling in her eyes. “No, none of it.”
They’d never have made love, never have shared intimacies, probably
never have done more than exchange stiffly polite greetings at
work.
He reached for her. “Hey, I didn’t mean I
regretted what went on between us here, Princess.”
Pain stabbed her chest and punched a hole in
her gut. She stepped back, unable to express her grief.
He shrugged. “What the hell, I can’t win. I’m
going to check on the well.”
Holly sat at the kitchen table. She shook,
not with the cold, but with emotional turmoil engulfing her. None
of this would have happened, he’d said. No matter how he denied it,
she knew he regretted being here with her. She’d seen his face and
heard the cold, flat tone of his voice.
But they’d made love. Correction—he’d
had sex, and she’d made love. And here she was falling in love with him. A man who cared
only for business and whom she’d have to meet almost daily at work.
Thank heavens she hadn’t blurted out her need for him. Did she love
him? Surely not. Lust. That’s what she felt. Strong
lust.
How could she face him in meetings after
she’d all but thrown herself at him? How could she put their time
at this place behind her? How could she stay at Marvel and face
him? How could she do otherwise?
What was she going to do?
***
Trent stopped inside the door and stamped his
feet. “Ice is definitely melting where the sun shines and softening
in the shade. Maybe we can leave by morning.” He didn’t meet her
gaze but passed behind her to pour a cup of coffee.
“ It’ll freeze again tonight, by ten
when the sun’s up good we’ll probably be able to leave.” She
pretended nothing was wrong.
His cell phone rang again and he turned away.
“Macleod. Yeah, Gordon. I’m stuck here today but should be back by
tomorrow night. I’ll be in the office early Thursday. Yeah, try to
set up another meeting. Okay.” He faced her as he dropped the phone
into his pocket. “I haven’t told him you’re with me, Holly. If you
want to tell, that’s fine, but you know how people are. I didn’t
want gossip about you making the rounds.”
Maybe he cared a little about her. “Thanks.
I’ve known some of those people since I was a child. I guess it
would seem odd to everyone and to me when I faced them.”
He flopped onto a kitchen chair and rested
his elbows on the table. He sank his forehead onto his hands.
“ Cheer up, Trent. The storm’s over and
the sun’s out. Soon we’ll be able to leave and you can reschedule
your meeting. You look as if the world’s about to end.”
He didn’t move. “It is, at least for me. You
don’t realize how important this contract is for the company.
Without it, Marvel won’t last more than another year.”
“ Why do you say that? Dad always said
we shouldn’t diversify, that we should stick to the jobs we’ve
always done. Fiberoptics is all people talk about, but we make the
best wire and cable available.” She sat across from him.
He raised his head. “For how long? You’re
great dealing with people, Holly, but do you read the sales
reports?”
Caught. “They don’t come to me routinely,
since that’s not a part of my job, but in the past I’d sometimes go
by and read them in Dad’s office.” She shook her head. “Since
Veronica left and we haven’t replaced her, I have such a heavy
workload with three hundred employees at work and my family at
home. Lately I’d just let Dad summarize it for me.”
When she heard herself she was embarrassed.
How careless she’d been. If her father had been mismanaging, she
played right into his hands by letting him interpret the company
statistics for her.
Trent clenched his jaw and inhaled. “Why
didn’t you replace this Veronica?”
“ Dad said
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