Affair with the Rebel Heiress (2010) (2 page)

She didn't manage to stifle her chuckle.

"You're imagining me named after other car brands, aren't you?"

Her gaze shot to his. "How did you know?"

"It's pretty common. People usually think one of two things and you just seemed the type to wonder, 'What if he'd been named Chevy?'"

"Are you saying I'm predictable?" Even though the lighting was dim, she could see that his eyes were whiskey-brown. And just as intoxicating as the tequila in her drink.

"Not at all," he reassured her. "You could have been thinking Dodge."

"It was BMW, actually. I can't see you as something as clunky as a Dodge." Was she
flirting
with him? What was wrong with her?

"So you're a woman who appreciates precision engineering."

Actually, I'm a woman who enjoys precision in everything.

The words had been on the tip of her tongue. Thank God she swallowed them. Instead she asked, "What's the second?"

"Second what?"

"You said people usually think one of two things. If the first is other car names, then what's the second?"

His lips quirked in either amusement or chagrin. "They wonder if I was conceived in the back of a Ford."

"Ah." Perhaps that had been chagrin, then. And was that the faintest hint of pink creeping into his cheeks? As if he were just a tad embarrassed. "And were you?"

"That," he said firmly, "is a question I was never brave enough to ask my parents." They both chuckled then. A moment later he added, "But I have three sisters and their names are not Mattress, Kitchen Table and Sofa, so I think I'm safe."

She nearly asked what the names of his three sisters were, but she stopped herself. Somehow that seemed inappropriate. More personal, even, than the discussion of his conception. She didn't know Ford. Didn't want to know him longer than the length of this song. Personal details like the names of his sisters didn't matter. So instead, she gave in to her temptation to rest her cheek against the strong wall of his chest and to breathe in deeply.

After a moment he said, "I hope you don't judge Dale too harshly."

"Dale?"

"The guy hitting on you earlier."

"Ah. Him." She'd forgotten he even existed.

"He's been going through a rough divorce. His wife left him for a guy who's twenty-three years old."

"Ouch. That's got to be hard on the ego."

"Exactly. Which is why he's been a mite irritable lately. But what exactly did you say to him that made him so mad?"

She cringed, hesitating before answering him. "I said he looked like Elmer Fudd."

Ford seemed to be suppressing laughter. "I can't imagine why that offended him. Everybody loves Elmer Fudd."

"That's what I tried to tell him!"

They both chuckled. But then she looked up. For a moment, space seemed to telescope around them, blocking out everything else. The smoke, the crowd, even the blare of the music faded until all she could hear was the steady
thump-thump
of the bass echoing the thud of her heartbeat.

She felt her nerves prickle in anticipation. Desire, hot and heavy, unspooled through her body. Her very skin felt weighed down. Her thighs flushed with warmth.

Who knew that laughter could be such a turn-on?

Their feet stopped shuffling across the floor. That ridiculous grin seemed frozen on her face for an instant, but then it faded, melted away by the intensity of his gaze. There was a spot just over his ear where his otherwise straight hair curled. Before she could
think, her fingers had moved to his temple to tease that wayward lock of hair.

He took her hand in his, stilling her fingers. He cleared his throat, and she expected him to say something, something funny maybe, something to lighten the tension between them, but he said nothing.

Who had ever imagined that she'd feel this needy lust for a stranger? Not just a stranger, but a cowboy. A Texan. When she'd sworn she'd never even set foot in this damn state again. She
so
hadn't seen this coming.

That's when it hit her. Here, tonight, was a night out of time. She would never be here again. She would never see him again.

In this strange place, with this man she didn't know, she had complete immunity. Freedom from her well-planned life. From her routines and her expectations of herself.

Tonight she could do whatever she wanted with no consequences. She could allow herself to do what she would normally
never
do. She could be stupid and reckless.

Without giving herself the chance to harbor second thoughts, she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. His mouth moved over hers with a heated intensity. The sensual promise in his kiss made her shiver. She arched against him, letting her body answer the call of his. She slipped her hand into his and walked off the dance floor, tugging him along behind her.

As she wove her way through the crowd, the tempo of her blood picked up. After a lifetime of carefully
planning, of controlling her actions and emotions, he could be her one rebellion. Tonight could be a vacation from her life.

And even if this was a mistake, he'd make sure she didn't regret it.

Two months later

"Y
ou've got to stop moping around," Jonathon Bagdon said, then added, "And get your feet off my desk."

Ford, who'd been sitting with his work boots propped up on the edge of Jonathon's desk while he scraped the tip of his pocketknife under his nails, looked up for the first time since his business partner walked in the room. "What?"

Jonathon swatted at Ford's boots with the leather-clad portfolio he'd been carrying. "Keep your feet off my desk. Christ, it's like you're ten."

Ford's feet, which had been crossed at the ankles,
slid off Jonathon's desk. He lowered them to the floor and ignored the insult.

"The desk is worth twenty thousand dollars. Try not to scuff it."

Finally Ford looked up at his friend, taking in the scowl. He glanced over at Matt, the third partner in their odd little triumvirate, who sat on the sofa, with one leg propped on the opposite knee and a laptop poised on the knee. "Who shoved a stick up his ass this morning?" Ford asked Matt.

Matt continued typing frenetically while he said, "Ignore him. He's just trying to bait you. He doesn't give a damn about the desk."

Ford looked from one to the other, suddenly feeling slightly off-kilter. Together the three of them formed FMJ, Inc. He'd known these men since they were kids. They'd first gone into business together when they were twelve and Jonathon had talked them into pooling their money to run the snack shack at the community rec center for the summer. One financially lucrative endeavor had led to another until here they were, twenty years later, the CEO, CFO and CTO of FMJ, a company which they'd founded while still in college and which had made them all disgustingly rich.

Jonathon, though always impeccably dressed and by far the most organized of the three, might impress some as overly persnickety. But those were only the people who didn't know him, the people who were bound to underestimate him. It was a mistake few people made more than once.

In reality, it was unlike Jonathon to care whether or not his desk was scuffed, regardless of how much it was worth.

Still, to mollify Jonathon, Ford abandoned the chair he'd been sitting in and returned to his own desk. Since they worked so closely together, they didn't have individual offices. Instead, they'd converted the entire top floor of FMJ's Palo Alto headquarters to a shared office. On one end sat Jonathon's twenty-thousand-dollar art deco monstrosity. The other end was lined with three worktables, every inch of them covered by computers and gadgets in various stages of dissection. In the middle sat Ford's desk, a sleek modern job the building's interior designer had picked out for him.

With a shrug, he asked, "Is Matt right? You just trying to get a rise out of me?"

Jonathon flashed him a cocky grin. "Well, you're talking now, aren't you?"

"I wasn't before?"

"No. You've been picking at your nails for an hour now. You haven't heard a word I've said."

"Not true," Ford protested. "You've been babbling about how you think it's time we diversify again. You've rambled on and on about half a dozen companies that are about to be delisted by the NYSE, but that you think could be retooled to be profitable again. You and Matt voted while I was in China visiting the new plant and you've already started to put together the offer. Have I left anything out?"

"And..." Jonathon prodded.

"And what?" Ford asked. When Jonathon gave an exasperated sigh and plopped back in his chair, Ford shot a questioning look at Matt, who was still typing away. "And what?"

Matt, who'd always had the uncanny ability to hold a conversation while solving some engineering problem, gave a few more clicks before shutting his laptop. "He's waiting for you to voice an opinion. You're the CEO. You get final vote."

FMJ specialized in taking over flailing businesses and turning them around, much like the snack shack they'd whipped into prosperity all those years ago. Jonathon used his wizardry to streamline the company's finances. Matt, with his engineering background, inevitably developed innovations that helped turn the company around. Ford's own role in their magic act was a little more vague.

Ford had a way with people. Inevitably, when FMJ took over a company, there was resentment from the ownership and employees. People resisted, even feared, change. And that's where Ford came in. He talked to them. Smoothed the way. Convinced them that FMJ was a company they could trust.

He flashed a smile at Matt. "I can do my part no matter what the company is. Why do I need to vote?"

While he spoke, he absently opened his desk drawer and tossed the pocketknife in. As if of their own accord, his fingers drifted to the delicate gold earring he kept stored in the right-hand corner.

The earring was shaped like a bird, some kind of sea
bird, if he wasn't mistaken. Its wings were outstretched as if it were diving for a fish, its motion and yearning captured in perfect miniscule detail.

Ford's fingertip barely grazed the length of its wingspan before he jerked his hand out and slammed the drawer shut.

It was her earring. Kitty Biedermann's. The woman from the bar in Texas.

He'd discovered it in the front of his rented pickup when he'd gone to turn the truck in. Now he wished he'd left it there. It wasn't like he was going to actually return the earring to its owner.

Yes, when he'd first found the earring, he'd had Wendy, FMJ's executive assistant, look Kitty up, just to see how hard it would be to hunt her down. But then Kitty Biedermann turned out to be a jewelry store heiress.

What was he going to do, fly to New York to return the earring? He was guessing she didn't want to see him again any more than he wanted to see her. But now he was stuck with this stupid bird earring.

As much to distract himself as anything, he rocked back in his chair and said, "Okay, let's buy a company. What do they do again?"

"What do you mean, what do they do?" Jonathon grumbled. "This is the company you researched."

Ford nudged his foot against the edge of the desk and set his chair to bobbing. "What are you taking about? I didn't research a company."

"Sure you did." Jonathon held out the portfolio.
When Ford didn't take it, Jonathon settled for tossing in on Ford's desk. "The same day I sent out that first list of companies to consider, you e-mailed Wendy and told her to dig up anything she could find on Biedermann Jewelry. Since you seemed interested in them, Matt and I voted and..."

Listening to his partner talk, Ford let his chair rock forward and his feet drop to the floor. With a growing sense of dread, he flipped open the portfolio. And there was the proposal. To buy Biedermann Jewelry.

His stomach clenched like he'd been sucker punched.

Had Wendy misunderstood his casual,
Hey, see what you can find out about Kitty Biedermann?
But of course Wendy had. She was obsessively thorough and eager to please.

With forced nonchalance he asked, "Have you put a lot of work into this deal yet?"

"A couple hundred man hours," Jonathon hedged. "Biedermann's is circling the drain. We need to move fast."

Matt normally wasn't the most intuitive guy. But he must have heard something in Ford's voice, because he asked, "What's up, Ford? You having doubts?"

"It's a pretty risky deal," he said simply. Maybe he could gently redirect their attention.

But Jonathon shook his head. "It isn't really. Biedermann's has always been a strong company. They've been undervalued ever since Isaac Biedermann died last year. But I can turn them around." Jonathon's lips
quirked in one of his rare grins. "Kind of looking forward to the challenge, actually."

Ford had seen that look in Jonathon's eyes before. Jonathon was ready to gobble up Biedermann's. Any minute now he'd be picking his teeth with the bones of Biedermann's carcass.

Unless Ford stopped him.

Which he could do. All he'd have to do is explain about Kitty. And the earring.

But what was he really supposed to say?
Don't buy the company because I slept with her?
He usually preferred relationships to last a little longer than one night, but he wasn't above the occasional fling when the chance presented itself. He'd never had a problem walking away the next day. He just wasn't a long-term kind of guy. He wouldn't even remember her name if it hadn't been for that lost earring.

"So what do you say?" Jonathon asked. "We all in?"

"Sure." And he sounded convincingly casual about it, too. He pushed his chair back and stood. "Hey, I'm going to the gym. That damn chair makes my back hurt."

"Don't be gone long. We've got work to do."

"When do you leave for New York?" he asked.

"Not me, we," Jonathon corrected. "As soon as I can get the board to agree to a meeting."

"Great." It looked like he was going to be able to return that earring after all.

Kitty sat at the head of the conference table, concentrating all of her considerable acting skill on
looking relaxed. Today was the first of what would probably be many meetings to negotiate the deal with FMJ. She would never feel good about this, but what choice did she have? Everything she'd tried on her own had blown up in her face. Marty, Biedermann's CFO, had assured her this was her only option. Her last, best hope to salvage anything from Biedermann's.

Still, the thought of selling the company twisted her gut into achy knots. Beidermann's had been in her family since her great-great-grandfather had moved to New York from Germany and opened the first store in 1868. For her, Biedermann's wasn't just a company, it was her history, her heritage. Her family.

But it was also her responsibility. And if she couldn't save it herself, then she'd hand it over to someone who could, even if doing so made her stomach feel like it was about to flip itself inside out.

She should be more comfortable sitting at this table than most people were in their own bedrooms. And yet she found herself strumming her fingers against the gleaming wood as she fought nausea.

Beside her, Marty rested his hand over hers. He seemed to be aiming for reassuring, but his touch sent a shiver of disgust through her.

He stroked the backs of her fingers. "Everything will be all right."

She stiffened, jerking her hand out from under his. "I beg your pardon?"

"You seemed nervous."

"Nonsense." Still, she buried her hand in her lap.
She didn't handle sympathy well under normal circumstances. Now it made her feel like she was going to shatter. He looked pointedly at the spot on the table she'd been drumming on, to which she replied, "I'm impatient. They're seven minutes late and I have a reservation for lunch at Bruno's."

Marty's lips twitched. "You don't have to pretend with me."

Something like panic clutched her heart. So, he thought he saw right through her. Well, others had thought that before. "Don't be ridiculous, Marty. I've been pretending to be interested in your conversations for years. I'm certainly not going to stop now."

For an instant, a stricken expression crossed his face and regret bit through her nerves. Dang it. Why did she say things like that? Why was it that whenever she was backed into a corner, she came out fighting?

She was still contemplating apologizing when the door opened and Casey stuck her head through. "Mr. Ford Langley and Mr. Jonathon Bagdon are here."

Awash in confusion, she nearly leaped to her feet. "Ford Langley? Is here?"

Then she felt Marty's steady hand on hers again. "Mr. Langley's the CEO of FMJ. He's come in person for the negotiations."

She stared blankly at Marty, her mind running circles around one thought. Ford Langley.

He was here? He was the CEO of FMJ? Impossible. Ford Langley was an ignorant cowboy. She'd left him in Texas and would never see him again.

She must have misheard. Or misunderstood her assistant just now. Or misremembered the name of the stranger she'd slept with. Or perhaps through some cruel trick of fate, the CEO of FMJ and the stranger shared the same odd name.

Each of these possibilities thundered through her mind as she struggled to regain her composure. Mistaking her confusion, Marty must have spoken for her and told Casey to show in the people from FMJ.

She barely had time to school her panic into a semblance of calm before the door to the conference room swung open and there he was. Fate had pulled a much crueler trick on her than merely giving two men the same name. No, fate had tricked her into selling her beloved company to the same man to whom she'd already given her body.

What had he expected?

Okay, he hadn't thought she'd jump up, run across the room and throw her arms around him. But he sure as hell hadn't expected the complete lack of response. The coolly dismissive blank stare. As if she didn't recognize him at all. As if he were beneath her notice.

Her gaze barely flickered over him as she looked from him to Jonathon. Then she glanced away, looking bored. Someone from Biedermann's had stood and was making introductions. Ford shook hands at the right moment, filing away the name and face of Kitty's CFO.

She looked good. Lovely, in fact. As smoothly polished as the one-dimensional woman in the Nagel
painting poster he'd had on his wall as a teenager. Beautiful. Pale. Flat.

Gone was the vibrant woman he'd danced with in The Well two months ago. By the time the introductions were done, one thing had become clear. She was going to pretend they'd never met before. She was going to sit through this meeting all the while ignoring the fact that they'd once slept together. That he'd touched her bare skin, caressed her thighs, felt her body tremble with release.

Which was exactly what he should do, too. Hell, wasn't that what he had
planned
on doing?

Just as Jonathon was pulling out his chair, Ford said, "Before we get started, I wonder if I could have a word alone with Ms. Biedermann."

Jonathon sent him a raised-eyebrowed, do-you-know-what-you're-doing? kind of look. Kitty's CFO hovered by her side, like an overly protective Chihuahua.

Ford gave the man his most reassuring smile while nodding slightly at Jonathon. He knew Jonathon would back him up and get the other guy out of there. Jonathon wouldn't question his actions, even if Ford was doubting them himself.