All He Really Needs (11 page)

He glanced at her, fully expecting her to be angry; instead,
she looked a little bruised but mostly curious. “Do you read the company
background checks on every woman you date who works for Cain Enterprises?”

“No! Jesus, this was nothing like that. It was a mistake.” She
nodded slowly, but she didn’t lose that hurt look. He was so focused on the
background check and her reaction to that that he almost didn’t catch it. “Wait
a second. What do you mean, every woman I date at Cain Enterprises?”

“Well, you know…” She gave a little shrug and looked
embarrassed. “I’ve seen how you are with women around the office.”

“You think I sleep with everyone at the office I flirt with?”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t get anything done at work.”

She pursed her lips as if lost in thought. “What about Jenna
Bartel?”

“Down in marketing?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s happily married with five kids.”

“But she’s always flirting with you!”

“Well, yeah. Five kids. She’s desperate for adult
conversation.”

“Okay.” She seemed to be scrounging for another name. “How
about Peyton in HR?”

He nodded appreciatively. “Oh, she’s great.”

“So you dated her?”

“No, she’s a lesbian. And in a long-term relationship.”

“Okay, what about Chloe Young in R&D?”

This time he cringed just thinking about the disaster that
would be. “She’s engaged to Ryan Thomas.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. And he’s one of those medieval Ren Faire types.
Owns a broad sword and everything. No way I’m messing with that. He’d kill
me.”

“Hmmm,” she mumbled.

“So have I convinced you?”

“Yes.”

“The real question is why you needed convincing.”

*

Sydney hesitated. Well, the answer to that was
transparent. It was easy to believe they were having a no-strings, just-sex
relationship when she thought she was one conquest out of many. She wanted to be
the rule, not the exception.

She felt her cheeks turning pink, and she refocused her
attention on the bumpy spot on her purse strap.

“I can’t be the first woman you’ve dated who works for Cain
Enterprises.”

“Why not?”

She blew out a breath of frustration. Why not indeed? Because
it implied she was more important than she thought she should be. Because it
meant maybe this was something special. And she so didn’t need those kinds of
thoughts in her head. Instead of going down that twisted path, she asked, “So
you’ve honestly never slept with someone from Cain Enterprises before me?”

He snorted derisively. “I’d have to be an idiot to make a
regular practice of it.”

“Why do you say that?” Sure, she knew why she thought sleeping
with coworkers was a bad idea—despite the fact that she was doing it—but she’d
also worked enough places to know a lot of people did it anyway.

Instead of answering outright, he asked, “Do you have any idea
how much money I’m worth?” Then he muttered a curse. “Or rather, how much I
would be worth if my father hadn’t lost his mind.”

She didn’t know any precise numbers. “Not really. But I can
guess, based on what the company’s worth and how much stock your father owns.
From working with Dalton, I gather that, before your father’s little trip to
fantasy land, he intended for your mother to get ten percent of the company
stock and for each of his three sons to get thirty percent.”

Which would officially put Griffin into the crazy,
stratospherically rich category. Something that made her really uncomfortable if
she thought about it too much.

“Exactly. Everyone I work with can make a guess and get within
a couple million dollars of my potential worth. Would you want to date someone
under those circumstances?”

“Good point.”

“Besides, it’s not just the money. If I made a mistake and
trusted the wrong person, it wouldn’t be just me paying for it. It would be the
whole family. The entire company.”

She couldn’t help asking, “Have you made a mistake like
that?”

“Once. I was young and stupid. It could have been a lot worse
than it was.” His hands clenched on the steering wheel and he gave it a little
twist, like he was stretching out his arm muscles while he was trying to decide
what else to tell her. “But mostly I just learned from watching the way my dad
operated. He had women he slept with all over the world, but he rarely let any
of them close. Of course, after Sharlene left him, that’s when it got really
bad. He didn’t trust anyone after that.”

“Is that why you think this affair he had with the heiress’s
mom must have been before he got involved with Sharlene?”

He seemed to ponder that for a second. “Yeah, I suppose so,
though I didn’t think it through before now.”

“Here’s what I don’t get—I’ve worked with Dalton for nearly a
year now, and I’ve never seen any indication that he’s even half this
paranoid.”

“He’s not,” Griffin agreed. “But Dalton’s different. It’s like
what you said about the way he looks at you.”

She nodded, knowing what he meant. “Like you’re a resource, not
a person.”

“Exactly.” He drummed out another beat on the steering wheel.
“It’s not even that he really thinks that. That’s just the perception he gives.
But no one would ever look at Dalton and think that he was vulnerable. If you’re
going to invade a castle, you don’t try to blast your way through the front
gate—you look for the weakest spot in the defenses. You try to find the back
door and sneak in that way.”

“Wait a second. You can’t think that’s how people see you!”

“Of course it is.” He shrugged. “I’m the second son. I’ve never
been a serious contender for power within the company. I don’t have a real job
there.”

Even though she’d had the same thought, she bristled in his
defense. “You have a real job!”

“Do I?”

“Of course you do. You’re the CEO.”

He raised his eyebrows in mocking question. “Really? I’ve been
interim CEO for about five minutes.”

“And before that you were a VP.”

“A VP of what, precisely?”

“You were the VP of International—” But then her memory failed
her and she couldn’t remember what exactly he did internationally.

“International…” he prodded.

“International something.”

“Any idea what I do—or rather did—as VP of International
Something?”

“Well, you…travel a lot. And I’m sure you…have a lot of
meetings. And…”

“Come on. Seriously, can you describe my job?”

“Well, no. But I’m sure
you
could.”

“Look, I don’t do a lot at Cain Enterprises. I’m the first
person to admit it. If it wasn’t a family business, there’s no way I’d actually
work for Cain Enterprises.”

Interesting. And it made her wonder what he would do if he had
picked his own profession.

“But you do actually care about the business. You clearly pay
attention to what’s going on. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have even had opinions
about how to handle the change in leadership.”

“Of course I
care
about it. If Cain
Enterprises’ stock tanks, it’s my inheritance that goes down the drain.”

“That’s really what you care about? The money?”

“Hell, yeah.”

“I don’t believe that.” Or maybe she just didn’t want to
believe it. When he didn’t say anything in response, she felt a growing sense of
unease. Finally she prodded. “You can’t be serious about that.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t believe you only care about the money.”

“Really? You need me to tell you again how much money it is?”
he asked glibly. “Because I only need to care about each dollar a tiny amount
for it to really add up.”

“You’re not that guy. You don’t even drive a flashy car. You
drive a sensible hybrid.”

“Maybe I just care about the environment.”

She frowned. Yeah, okay. She could see that. If he cared about
the environment and worked for a company that did land development and oil
exploration, maybe that was how he balanced it out. “Still, it’s a sedan. It’s
like the least fancy car ever.”

“Hey,” he said, his voice all mock offense. “Don’t diss my car.
It’s a great car.”

“But surely there are other hybrids that are a little more—”
she mentally fished around for a word that wouldn’t be dissing his car
“—stylish.”

“Sure. That’s why I have a Tesla parked in the garage under my
condo, but it’s not like I’m going to drive that puppy to work every
morning.”

She didn’t even know what a Tesla was, but she could guess.
Somehow, knowing he owned a fancy sports car annoyed her, even if she didn’t
know jack about fancy sports cars. Even if it fit every preconception she had
about him.

Yeah, when she’d first met him—hell, even when they’d first
started sleeping together—she’d thought he was just some charming playboy type.
But in the past few days, her opinion of him had shifted. And the truth was, she
kind of liked the guy who cared more about Cain Enterprises and who drove an
unimpressive sedan.

That charming playboy? He was a great guy to sleep with.
Fantastic in bed. Loads of fun to hang out with. But that other guy—the guy who
worried about the family company and drove a sensible car? That was a guy she
could really care about.

Not that she wanted to care about him. That was just a
heartache waiting to happen.

The truth was, she was perilously close to caring way more
about him than she wanted to. The last thing she needed was more reasons to like
him.

No matter what else happened, no matter how their relationship
seemed to have changed in the past few days, it was just an illusion. The
relationship had taken on this false sense of intimacy. The no-strings, just-sex
relationship they’d started out with four months ago had gotten very muddled.
Things went downhill the second they stopped having sex. Now that they were
sharing their histories and emotions, this felt like a real relationship. Like
something that might last.

But she knew that was an illusion. He needed her right now. His
entire life had been thrown into turmoil over the past six weeks. First with his
father’s proclamation and then again when Dalton quit. Griffin needed her right
now because their affair was the last vestige of normalcy in his life.

But she had to be careful. She couldn’t let herself forget that
this emotional attachment he seemed to feel for her was temporary. Once his life
got back to normal, he wouldn’t need her anymore. She just had to make sure that
she didn’t still need him.

Eleven

G
riffin couldn’t stand the unnatural calm
that had overcome Sydney. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

“There isn’t anything to say.”

“That sounds like code for you’re pissed off at me,” he
surmised. “You must be mad at me about the background check.”

“No. I’m not.”

“Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be? I’ve invaded your
privacy.”

She tilted her head to the side as she seemed to consider.
“Well, yes. I suppose.”

He watched her carefully. “So then you should be mad.”

She frowned. “Possibly.”

“Possibly?”

“Sure.”

“Possibly?” he repeated.

“Actually, I’m more than a little curious as to why you want me
to be mad.” There was puzzlement in her gaze but no real emotion. It was like
she was purposefully distancing herself from him.

And frankly, it
did
piss him off.
What the hell was wrong with her?

“You want to know why I want you to be mad? Do you have any
idea how crappy I felt about reading that file?” They’d finally reached the
downtown exit, and he maneuvered the car onto the exit ramp. “The least you
could do is be pissed off at me.”

She arched an eyebrow, speculation in her eyes. “Let me see if
I’ve got this right…you’re mad at me because I’m not mad?”

He fumed for a moment while he formulated an answer. The
building that housed Sheppard Capital was only a block off the loop; driving
into the parking garage bought him a few minutes. He pulled into one of the
visitor parking spots and killed the engine before answering.

“I just don’t get it. You should be pissed.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It should be.”

“No,” she snapped. “It shouldn’t be. Don’t you understand?”

Now her words were laced with the kind of indignation he’d been
expecting all along.

“Apparently not.”

“That girl that I used to be, that terrified seven year old,
she has nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“But it’s true.” Sydney flung her car door open and jumped out.
She slammed the door shut and waited until he’d climbed out, too, before saying,
“That girl, the one who refused to talk to anyone at school because she was
terrified that she’d be taken away by Child Protective Services. That girl, who
used to Dumpster dive just to get enough food to eat. I am not that girl
anymore. I haven’t been that girl since I was eleven.”

He watched her carefully from across the roof of the car,
taking in the steely determination in her eyes, the firm line of her mouth, the
furrow of her brow. The gentle slope of her neck, the way her ample chest rose
and fell as she sucked deep breaths into her lungs. He might not have guessed
she was upset at all, if those deep breaths didn’t hint at a racing heart.

Sydney was such a crazy bundle of contradictions. Hard, but not
inflexible. Vulnerable, but not weak. And so completely different than anyone
he’d ever met.

Her outburst—brief though it was—had told him more about her
than any other conversation they’d ever had. As strong as she looked, as smart
and competent as he knew she was, he had seen a totally different side of her.
He had now glimpsed the child she’d once been. Alone, defenseless and afraid.
The idea of that girl was burned into his brain, like the afterimage of a flash
of lightning. It streaked across the sky with wicked speed, but it was still
strong enough to burn the retinas. The very idea of that young girl was going to
stay with him.

And even though he wasn’t the kind of guy who coddled his
girlfriends, even though he wasn’t big on displays of emotion himself, he had
the undeniable urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her.

As strong as that instinct was, equally strong was the warning
bell roaring in his head that if he so much as tried it, she’d bolt. So instead,
he just stood there, waiting for her next move.

Over the next minute, she incrementally got herself back under
control. Then she straightened and gave the hem of her sweater a tug. A single
strand of red-gold hair had slipped free from the knot at the base of her neck
and she tucked it back behind her ear.

Finally, she slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder and
headed for the parking garage elevator. “You coming?” she asked over her
shoulder.

He nodded, following her. Would she ever stop amazing him? He
didn’t think so.

The funny thing was, with every other woman he’d ever been
with, sex had been the most interesting part of the relationship. But with
Sydney he found her as fascinating outside of bed as she was in it. Maybe
more.

For a relationship that had started out being just sex, it was
getting surprisingly complicated. He had never meant to be this involved with
her. He could only hope that because his awful invasion of her privacy hadn’t
scared her off, then dealing with his complicated family garbage wouldn’t,
either, because the truth was this new side of Sydney intrigued him. He wanted
to see more of her. He just hoped he got the chance to.

*

As they took the elevator to the tenth floor offices of
Sheppard Capital, Sydney was painfully aware of Griffin beside her, watching her
carefully. She had the definite feeling that she’d failed some sort of test
during their conversation in the car. She didn’t know what Griffin had expected
of her.

Had he been itching for a fight? Was he looking for a reason to
end things between them? She just didn’t know.

She honestly hadn’t been upset that he’d dug around in her
past. She was a little disconcerted about what he’d learned because that was
information she didn’t share with anyone. Those were things not even Tasha knew
about her. She’d worked hard to put that all behind her. It had taken years of
therapy to make peace with her past. But she honestly felt like she had moved
on. She was a competent adult now. Not that child. No, her life wasn’t perfect,
but she had a good job—one that paid well and challenged her. She had her own
house. She had the stability she’d never had as a kid.

Everything in her life was fine. Fine.

And once they found the heiress, things would go back to
normal. They had to because she wasn’t sure how much more upheaval she could
take.

For now, she just wanted to get through this meeting with
Sharlene without incident.

But as the elevator doors opened, she could still feel the
tension in Griffin. She could feel him watching her carefully. To smooth things
over, she gave Griffin a playful nudge in the ribs as they walked into the
reception area of Sheppard Capital. “Wow. Clearly breaking up with your father
was a good move for Sharlene.”

“Yep. Unless she preferred to be penniless and powerless,”
Griffin quipped as he guided her farther inside.

She was acutely aware of the feeling of his hand at the small
of her back. Even though he was barely touching her, she felt each fingerprint
like it was a brand on her bare skin.

To distract herself, she asked, “What exactly was she doing as
your father’s assistant that she managed to go from that job to this one?
Because suddenly I feel like I’m not pulling my weight.”

Griffin chuckled. “Don’t worry. I seriously doubt Sharlene had
any skills as an assistant that you don’t have. But you have to remember
Sheppard Capital was in serious trouble when Jack Sheppard died unexpectedly.
The company needed anyone they could get. Sharlene stepped in to get it done. I
don’t think she had any special skills or knowledge. She’s the CFO because she’s
earned it. Because she’s fought tooth and nail to keep it going.”

“You almost sound like you admire her.”

“Almost?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. He then approached
the desk of Sharlene’s assistant, introduced himself and Sydney and asked to see
Sharlene.

At the mention of Griffin’s last name, the assistant’s lips
curled away from her teeth a little, like she found him distasteful, even though
she felt obliged to offer him a seat. For the first time since they’d set off on
this little adventure, it occurred to Sydney that it might be strange for them
to just show up at Sharlene’s office without an appointment. It was like
opposing armies in a great battle. One didn’t just show up in the enemy’s camp
without first sending an envoy to establish safe passage.

“Have a seat,” the assistant said, her voice dripping with
disdain. “I’ll see if she’s available.”

In her head, Sydney translated:
have a
seat while I verify that my boss would never stoop low enough to see
you.

Just a few days ago, Sydney might have thought Griffin didn’t
even notice the woman’s unpleasant reaction, but she knew him well enough now to
realize that he probably did but wasn’t showing it.

Sydney stood there, feeling suddenly nervous, knowing that the
assistant was no doubt sending an instant message to Sharlene, wherever she was.
It was what she had done whenever someone showed up unexpectedly and wanted to
see Dalton. It was an easy and silent way to find out if he wanted to see the
person or have them sent on their way.

Whatever response Sharlene had given was not what the assistant
expected because a moment later she glanced from her computer screen over to
them, her expression equal parts confusion and suspicion. Before she could say
anything, the door to Sharlene’s office flew open.

“Griffin, dear!”

The woman who stood there—Sharlene, presumably—looked to be in
her early fifties. She had platinum-blond, carefully styled hair. Everything
about her, from her hair to her flawless skin to her elegant pantsuit, spoke of
a woman who knew how to take care of herself and spared no expense in doing
so.

She took a few steps into the front office, then held out her
arms wide. With obvious affection in his expression, Griffin stood, then met
Sharlene halfway across the office. Despite the sizable heels on Sharlene’s
pumps, the woman barely came up to his shoulder.

Sydney was reminded all over again how very tall Griffin was.
At just over five-nine, she wasn’t a small woman herself, but she’d quickly
gotten used to the fact that Griffin was at least five inches taller than she.
Griffin was the first man she’d ever dated who had made her feel delicate and
feminine. However, beside Sharlene, Griffin looked like a giant. He even lifted
her clear off her feet for a moment before setting her gently back to the
ground.

Sydney glanced over at Sharlene’s assistant, who looked as
shocked as Sydney felt by the unexpected display of affection.

Finally, Sharlene released Griffin—but kept a motherly hand on
his arm. “Come in, come in.”

Griffin started to follow Sharlene into the office, then
glanced back at Sydney, giving her a nod to indicate that she should follow.

Sydney watched Sharlene’s expression as she rose to follow
them. Disapproval flickered over the woman’s face but was quickly replaced with
a distant but polite smile.

“And you are?” she asked.

“This is my assistant, Sydney Edwards. She’s helping me with a
project I’m working on.”

“Interesting,” Sharlene murmured as she gestured toward the
love seat and pair of chairs nestled in the corner of the room. “I believe the
last time I was over at Cain Enterprises, your assistant was Marion Green. I
didn’t hear that she’d been let go. What a shame. She was with the company for
so long.”

Griffin sat in one chair, so Sydney claimed the other. Sharlene
sat on the loveseat, crossing her ankles to the side and draping her arm over
the furniture.

Griffin smiled, as if he didn’t find Sharlene’s line of
questioning odd. “Marion is still with the company. I suspect that even if we
let her go, she’d keep coming to work every day.”

Sharlene laughed. “Yes, I suppose so. Well, come in, come in
and sit down. My assistant will get drinks. Griffin dear, the last time you
visited me at work you were still drinking chocolate milk. Somehow I suspect
your tastes have changed. Let me guess.” She tapped one perfectly manicured nail
against her chin. “Your father was always a Scotch man, but you don’t strike me
as the type to drink during the day. Shall I have her just bring coffee?”

Griffin nodded stiffly. Sydney got the impression he didn’t
want the coffee, but he also didn’t want to be rude. He went on to explain the
situation with Hollister and his missing daughter before ending with, “We think
we know who the woman who wrote the letter might be.”

“You do?” Sharlene asked in surprise. “Then you’ve narrowed it
down from a fairly extensive pool.”

Griffin ignored Sharlene’s comment and said, “We had a nanny
who lived at the house from the time just before I was born to when I was an
infant. Apparently, she was pregnant and she had some sort of relationship with
Hollister. My mother remembered that you helped hire the girl. Or at least found
the service that sent her over.”

“Hmm…” Sharlene tilted her head to the side and tapped her
cheek. “I might have. But I need more to go on than that. What else can you tell
me about her?”

“Not much,” Sydney admitted. “But we have her photo. Would that
help?”

“Certainly.” Sharlene smiled broadly.

Sydney pulled the folder out of her bag and handed it to
Sharlene, but at that moment, Sharlene’s assistant came in to offer drinks, and
Sharlene didn’t even look in the folder until the assistant had left. Then she
made a great show of flipping through the pages within it.

“Is that photo supposed to be in here?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sydney said. “It should be on top.” She took the folder
back from Sharlene, riffling through it herself before admitting, “I’m sorry,
the photo must have fallen out in the car. I’ll go get it.”

Sharlene grabbed her arm. “Nonsense. Griffin was raised better
than that. He’ll go.” A feline smile spread across her face. “Besides, this will
give us a chance to talk.”