the expression on her face. But Roland looked as though he’d just been struck by lightning.
Zach knew exactly how he felt.
It took all his willpower not to muscle his way through the group around her, not to shove Sutton out of the way,not to let each and every man in that room know that she was
his.
Anya Valorian belonged to him. They could look, but not touch.
But, then, neither could he, he thought ironically.
Anya Valorian was his only in a business sense. She was his for Seduction. But not for—
“She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?” Kathryn Christopher touched Zach’s arm, drawing his attention down to her. His mother was dressed in white tonight, Zach noticed, and her ash blond hair was pulled back from her face, highlighting her still smooth features. Her hand on his arm seemed cool and detached.
Zach had never seen even a glimmer of warmth in his mother. The white suit she wore seemed to say it all. She dressed the way she did everything else—with pristine perfection but very little passion.
And yet, somewhere inside her, there must be some shred of feeling, Zach thought. She had offered him the CEO position in spite of enormous opposition. In spite of the way she knew his father would feel about her decision.
“Your battle is already half-won,” Kathryn remarked softly. “You’ve got people talking about Renee Alexander again. That’s quite a feat, Zach, in such a fickle market.”
She was smiling up at him, but there wasn’t a drop of affection in her crystalline green eyes. Zach frowned. “You call that a feat? Believe me, I’ve just begun. The whole world will be talking about Renee Alexander when this campaign hits the market.”
“You will be careful, won’t you?”
Zach looked at her in surprise. “Careful? As in conservative?” He laughed. “What’s the matter, Mother? Are you already starting to have doubts about your appointment?”
“I know you, Zach. I know how impulsive you can be, how headstrong and—”
“Unreasonable? Stubborn? A born troublemaker?” Zach finished for her. It was an old argument, and one he’d long since given up trying to win. He never would amount to anything but a failure in his parents’ eyes. He’d never be anything more than a wild, reckless kid who’d had a nose for trouble. He’d never be anything more than the irresponsible twenty-year-old who had killed his father’s favorite son.
Zach drained his glass. “Oh, yeah, I know the whole scenario. The old man used to delight in telling me every chance he got, remember?”
“And God knows you gave him plenty of chances,” Kathryn said, with more heat than he’d ever witnessed in her. But almost immediately the mask of indifference settled back into place.
He was the one who should be angry, Zach thought. He should be mad as hell over her lack of affection, her unwillingness to stand up for him. But after so many years, he’d schooled his own emotions too well. All he felt now was his own kind of apathy. And perhaps just a trace of regret.
What he still couldn’t understand was why she had been so adamant about his appointment.
Kathryn smoothed back her hair as though soothing the small eruption of emotion inside her. “Your father never meant to be unkind, Zach. But you
were
all those things, and you took great delight in flaunting your little rebellions in his face. I suspect you still do.”
“What’s
that
supposed to mean?”
Kathryn motioned vaguely with one hand. “What else is this little show all about? You’ve taken the industry by storm. You’ve shaken up a company that’s been wallowing in its own complacency for over a decade. You went directly against your father’s advice when you began thiscampaign, when you hired that model. You’ve done in three months what your father seemed unable to do in years. I suspect, whether you know it or not, this is your way of rubbing his nose in it.”
“Would you believe me if I denied it?” Zach asked, his
Zach knew exactly how he felt.
It took all his willpower not to muscle his way through the group around her, not to shove Sutton out of the way,not to let each and every man in that room know that she was
his.
Anya Valorian belonged to him. They could look, but not touch.
But, then, neither could he, he thought ironically.
Anya Valorian was his only in a business sense. She was his for Seduction. But not for—
“She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?” Kathryn Christopher touched Zach’s arm, drawing his attention down to her. His mother was dressed in white tonight, Zach noticed, and her ash blond hair was pulled back from her face, highlighting her still smooth features. Her hand on his arm seemed cool and detached.
Zach had never seen even a glimmer of warmth in his mother. The white suit she wore seemed to say it all. She dressed the way she did everything else—with pristine perfection but very little passion.
And yet, somewhere inside her, there must be some shred of feeling, Zach thought. She had offered him the CEO position in spite of enormous opposition. In spite of the way she knew his father would feel about her decision.
“Your battle is already half-won,” Kathryn remarked softly. “You’ve got people talking about Renee Alexander again. That’s quite a feat, Zach, in such a fickle market.”
She was smiling up at him, but there wasn’t a drop of affection in her crystalline green eyes. Zach frowned. “You call that a feat? Believe me, I’ve just begun. The whole world will be talking about Renee Alexander when this campaign hits the market.”
“You will be careful, won’t you?”
Zach looked at her in surprise. “Careful? As in conservative?” He laughed. “What’s the matter, Mother? Are you already starting to have doubts about your appointment?”
“I know you, Zach. I know how impulsive you can be, how headstrong and—”
“Unreasonable? Stubborn? A born troublemaker?” Zach finished for her. It was an old argument, and one he’d long since given up trying to win. He never would amount to anything but a failure in his parents’ eyes. He’d never be anything more than a wild, reckless kid who’d had a nose for trouble. He’d never be anything more than the irresponsible twenty-year-old who had killed his father’s favorite son.
Zach drained his glass. “Oh, yeah, I know the whole scenario. The old man used to delight in telling me every chance he got, remember?”
“And God knows you gave him plenty of chances,” Kathryn said, with more heat than he’d ever witnessed in her. But almost immediately the mask of indifference settled back into place.
He was the one who should be angry, Zach thought. He should be mad as hell over her lack of affection, her unwillingness to stand up for him. But after so many years, he’d schooled his own emotions too well. All he felt now was his own kind of apathy. And perhaps just a trace of regret.
What he still couldn’t understand was why she had been so adamant about his appointment.
Kathryn smoothed back her hair as though soothing the small eruption of emotion inside her. “Your father never meant to be unkind, Zach. But you
were
all those things, and you took great delight in flaunting your little rebellions in his face. I suspect you still do.”
“What’s
that
supposed to mean?”
Kathryn motioned vaguely with one hand. “What else is this little show all about? You’ve taken the industry by storm. You’ve shaken up a company that’s been wallowing in its own complacency for over a decade. You went directly against your father’s advice when you began thiscampaign, when you hired that model. You’ve done in three months what your father seemed unable to do in years. I suspect, whether you know it or not, this is your way of rubbing his nose in it.”
“Would you believe me if I denied it?” Zach asked, his
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