Winds of Heaven (4 page)

Irritation furrowed her brow as she decided to lay the blame for this whole awful situation at Alex’s feet. The least he could have done was warn her there might be some opposition to the seminar, but when she’d pointed that out to him last night and again this morning, he’d told her not to give it another thought. “Leave everything to me,” he’d said. “I’ll take care of Nick.”

Kylie would have liked to believe him, but common sense told her Alex was no match for his cousin. If Nick meant to rescind the contract, then she doubted that Alex could do a thing about it. If any persuasion took place, it was strictly up to her, and she didn’t expect much support.

Alex straightened and cast a helpless glance at Kylie. “Do you think you might—?”

“No.” The denial vented a tiny portion of her frustration but didn’t really ease her tension.

A frown almost marred the perfection of his profile, but he caught himself and restored the amiable facade that grated on Kylie’s nerves. If there was anything worse than knowing a disaster was imminent, she thought, it was having someone assure you there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

“Mr. Jamison?”

The door opened, and a young dark-haired woman stepped into the office. Her blue eyes met Kylie’s brown ones with friendly inquiry but widened in alarm at the sound of Alex’s voice.

“Bunny! Thank God! Where have you been?”

Rosy color flooded the woman’s cheeks as she turned. “Oh, Mr. Jamison, I’m so sorry I’m late. There was an accident on the highway, and the traffic was backed up—”

“Never mind, Bunny. Just fix some coffee for us, would you? I can’t seem to get it right. The first pot was thick enough to chew, and when I added water, it leaked all over everything.” Alex lifted a soggy towel to illustrate his words, and Kylie thought he looked like a naughty child explaining a spill to his mother.

Bunny hurried to take the towel from his hands. “Mr. Jamison, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be doing that. Here, let me. I’ll get this cleaned up and make fresh coffee at once.”

Alex stepped back with a self-satisfied look that lowered him another notch in Kylie’s estimation. As he walked to the desk she watched Bunny wipe the water from the table and floor.

“Your secretary?” she asked, expecting Alex to make an introduction.

“Yes. That’s Bunny.” He seated himself behind the desk and clasped his hands on the desktop. “All right, Kylie. Why don’t we get started with the preparations for this seminar?”

Surprised that he’d ignored the common courtesy of an introduction, Kylie lifted her brows and glanced pointedly at the other woman.

“She’ll have the coffee ready in a few minutes,” Alex said, misinterpreting the reason for Kylie’s gesture. “Bunny’s very efficient.”

He bestowed the compliment in a cavalier tone of voice that made Kylie wish Bunny would efficiently pour the coffee over him. “Now, what should we tackle first?” he asked.

Kylie wanted to suggest they start off with a short course in office etiquette.  But, with an inner shrug she decided this was neither the time nor the place.  So she ignored his rudeness and concentrated on her own problems. “First we need to discuss the housing arrangements and decide where I can live for the next few weeks.”

“You’re welcome to stay with me,” he offered halfheartedly.

“You’d have a whole lot of explaining to do if I agreed to that, now, wouldn’t you?” She refused with a shake of her head. “No thanks, Alex. It’s a little overcrowded at your place.”

He grinned. “I thought it was kind of cozy last night.”

“Well, you’re the only one who thought so,” Kylie said dryly. “Your…roommate didn’t seem to take to the idea of sharing the apartment, even for one night.”

“No, she didn’t, did she?” He didn’t seem bothered by that fact, Kylie noted as his eyes took on a pleased sparkle. “She tends to be possessive at times,” he continued in a thoughtful tone. “And she was annoyed because I brought you home with me. I suppose if I expect a welcome this evening, I’d better make it up to her.” He turned to his secretary. “Bunny, call the florist this morning and have something sent to my apartment for Miss Vandemere. A dozen—no, better make that two dozen red roses.”

“Miss Vandemere prefers
pink.”
The hint of curtness in Bunny’s voice was instantly disguised, but Kylie was sure she hadn’t imagined it. “You always send her pink roses, Mr. Jamison.”

“You’re right, Bunny, as usual. Make it two dozen pink roses.” He turned to Kylie with a chauvinistic wink that set her teeth on edge. “That takes care of placating my roommate for the moment. Now, what shall I do with you?”

She knew he was referring to the housing arrangements again, but she couldn’t resist some feminine retaliation. “Oh,” she said with wide-eyed innocence. “I prefer yellow roses.”

Alex started to chuckle, then faltered into a fake cough as he watched her uncertainly. “Yellow?” he finally asked with a weak smile, making an obvious effort to regain his aplomb.

Kylie bit back a laugh and nodded. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Alex. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. My pleasure. Uh—Bunny? Would you—?”

“I’ll take care of it for you, Mr. Jamison.” Bunny set a steaming mug on the desk before him and turned to Kylie. “Would you like some coffee, Miss…?”

“Richards,” Kylie answered, sharing the amusement shining in Bunny’s blue eyes. “But please call me Kylie. And you’re ... Bunny?”

“Stephanie,” Bunny said almost hesitantly. “Stephanie Scott. Mr. Jamison is the only one who calls me Bunny.” A blush crept into cheeks already rosy with color. “He hired me a few years ago just before Easter. You know, Easter…Bunny.”

Kylie managed to catch her jaw before it dropped. Her gaze flew to Alex, who appeared to be absorbed in sipping his coffee, and then she looked again at his secretary. Stephanie’s obvious embarrassment was the only thing that kept Kylie silent.

“It’s nice to meet you, Stephanie.” Kylie employed her best putting-people-at-ease voice and added an encouraging smile. “And I don’t care for any coffee now, but when I do, I’ll get it  myself. Thank you.”

Stephanie nodded and started toward the door. “Is there anything else, Mr. Jamison?”

“No.” He paused, then called to her again. “Bunny? Nick’s in town. You might keep that in mind.”

A look of understanding passed between Alex and his secretary before she walked from the room and closed the door behind her.

Kylie arched her brows. “That sounds highly suspicious, Alex. You should be more careful. I might be a corporate spy.”

“I almost wish you were.” His tone was serious, not at all like the bantering reply she’d expected. “It would be poetic justice if there were something to hide. I’d love to see Nick’s face when….” Alex broke off with a shrug and leaned back in the chair. “There isn’t anything suspicious about it. When my cousin pays a visit, Bunny runs interference for me and keeps him out of my hair.”

“I thought you told me you could handle Nick.”

“I can,” he said with a fierce frown. “And I will. You can ignore Nick’s threats and go ahead with your plans for the seminar. I hired you, and he’s not going to veto my decision, even if I have to take this to the Board of Directors.”

Kylie assumed an expression of mild interest, but anger uncoiled inside her. It was beginning to sound as if Alex were using her to seek some sort of corporate advancement over his cousin, and she didn’t like the idea one bit.

The thought that she and her newborn company might be pawns in a game of executive politics tightened her fingers into fists. Well, whatever the reason for this tug-of-war, she refused to get caught in the middle. She was here to do a job, and she intended to do it. And when she was through, Alex Jamison and Nick Braden would feel the sting of her success.

She relaxed her fingers. “All right, Alex. I’m ready to begin this morning. First I want to do some basic background research on the area, so I’ll need a car or some other means of transportation. It will probably take two or three days to gather the information I need, so we can schedule the first session for a week from today. I’ll need one or two people to help during the actual sessions, and as soon as you can manage it, I need a list of employee names and a job description for each. And I mean a real job description, not just their working title.”

“This is a little more involved than I thought,” he said. “You should have told me to take notes.”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you things like that, Alex. As an executive, you owe it to yourself and the company you work for to use your time efficiently. Trusting your memory almost always means repetition, and repetition wastes time. With a minimum amount of effort you can train yourself to take concise notes that will make your time work effectively for you.”

“Sorry I mentioned it.”

She smiled at his rueful expression. “You’re going to get your money’s worth from this seminar, Alex.”
Whether you like it or not,
she added silently.

“That’s reassuring,” Nick commented from the doorway. “Considering how much this amusing little diversion is going to cost him.”

Alex practically catapulted to his feet, and Kylie’s heart jerked in a startled duplication of his action as her gaze swung toward the doorway.

Nick filled the space, his shoulders leaving only a narrow margin on either side. He seemed taller than she remembered and even more attractive. His dark hair feathered away from his rugged features, and his gray eyes scanned the room with lazy interest. In a light-blue suit with a pinstripe shirt and dark tie, he looked powerfully male, devastatingly male, and Kylie felt her skin tingle with the sheer physical awareness of him.

“Good morning, Kylie. Alex.” Nick advanced into the room with an air of command. Alex straightened his tie, adjusted the lapels of his tan western-style sports coat, and stepped from behind the desk, allowing Nick to take the position of authority.

Kylie watched this silent power play with a blend of resentment and comprehension. It was impossible not to resent Nick’s confident, take-charge manner, but his action was somewhat understandable. Nick had only done what Alex clearly expected him to do.

Making a mental note to give Alex top priority on her training list, Kylie kept her gaze focused on Nick.

He sat in the chair Alex had vacated and lifted a typed report from the corner of the desk. Apparently ignoring everything and everyone around him, Nick began to shuffle through the pages. Kylie felt herself bristling, even though she felt sure he had no conscious intention of patronizing either Alex or herself. But conscious or not, it was a maneuver that accomplished exactly that, and she recognized it. Nick was in command, and she would have to wait on his convenience. Well, that sort of thing might intimidate Alex, but it wouldn’t work with her, and Nick might as well discover the fact right now.

Sitting straighter, Kylie released a throaty ripple of laughter, calculated to catch him off guard. When he looked up, she met his eyes with reckless daring. “You look rested, Nick. It must be wonderful to enjoy the sleep of the innocent when you have so much on your conscience.”

He made no answer, but the faint tightening of his lips assured her of his attention. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, sensing rather than seeing Alex’s warning glare. Then, with an inner shrug she decided it was time Alex showed some backbone.

“After all,” she continued, speaking to Nick in a mildly accusing tone, “it can’t be every day that you ruin a perfectly good dinner by attempting to fire your dinner companion from her job and then appropriating her bed for your own use. That’s almost unforgivable.”

“I was willing to share, but you chose Alex’s accommodations instead, so don’t blame me if you had to sleep on the sofa.” There was a note of challenge in Nick’s voice. “And while we’re on the subject I think it’s almost unforgivable that you walked out on me last night. You might at least have let me know you were leaving with Alex.”

“I knew that with your perception you’d figure it out for yourself. I hated to embarrass you by sending a Dear John note with the waiter.”

His eyes flashed with steely amusement beneath the dark threat of his brows. “You’re right. It’s much less embarrassing to stare for more than half an hour at an empty chair.”

Kylie lifted her shoulders in a sympathetic shrug. “Life is lonely at the top, you know.”

For an infinitesimal tick of the clock, his gaze held her, silently weighing her courage and daring her to push him too far. Then he shook his head, muttered something under his breath, and resumed his study of the papers in his hand, putting her right back in the position where she had started.

“I’m sorry,” she said blandly. “I couldn’t hear what you said. Was it anything important?”

All the amusement had vanished from his gray eyes when he looked up. “I said,
damn.
You know, Kylie, it’s not surprising that you’ve never worked with a large corporation before if you’re always so sassy to your prospective employers.”

Irritation replaced the bantering tone of her earlier remarks. “But you’re not my employer, Nick. Not even my prospective employer. I have a contract signed by the president of Southwest Textiles, and I’m answerable to him and only to him. Isn’t that right, Alex?” Without compunction Kylie threw the question at Alex and waited for him to sink or swim.

“She’s right, Nick. I hired her to teach a crash course in management skills, and she’s not leaving until it’s done.” Alex’s voice expressed more determination than Kylie had believed possible, but she cringed inwardly at his description of her seminar.

Nick stared at his cousin in pensive surprise, and then he pushed back the sleeve of his coat and glanced at his watch. “Let’s see,” he said, shifting his gaze to Kylie. “I’ve got about five minutes free this morning. That ought to give you enough time to teach me how to develop management skills.”

Kylie didn’t even blink at his gibe. “Sorry, Nick. I prefer to teach someone who has real potential.”

He leaned forward across the desk, his hands clasped and a tiny cleft of irritation etched in his firm chin. Kylie braced herself by curving her fingers inconspicuously around the arms of her chair.