Romantic Acquisition (22 page)

“Kate, what’s wrong?” he asked a few minutes later.

“Nothing,” she said and tried to smile.

“Something’s wrong. 
You got quiet all of a sudden. 
Why won’t you tell me about it?”  They were already pulling into her driveway. 

“I guess I’m just tired.  I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Do you have the time to come with me for a detour?” he asked.

Kate looked at him but his face didn’t give anything away.  “Sure.  What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll see,” he said and picked up his phone.  “Do you have time to show it one last time?” he asked after dialing a phone number.  “Great.  I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes,” he said and hung up the cell phone.  He quickly turned his car around.

“Where are we going?” she asked. 

“You’ll see,” he said. 

No matter how many questions she asked, he wouldn’t divulge their new destination.  After a few minutes, he turned down a wooded street.   They only went about two miles before he turned onto a driveway. 

Kate gasped when the trees opened up to a beautiful, Georgian house with dozens of windows and
wonderfully landscaped yard.  The front steps led up to a carved, wooden door with stain glass windows at the top.  As soon as they stepped onto the top step, the front door opened and a man was standing there, smiling.  “Come on in, take your time,” he said. 

“Kate,” Carlo said, turning to the stranger, “this is Mark Godwin.  He’s my real estate agent.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Kate said. 

“Likewise,” Mark said and shook Kate’s hand.  “Go ahead and show her around.  I’ll wait outside.  No hurry,” he said and closed the door behind him. 

“What do you think?” Carlo asked.

Kate looked around.  “I’m guessing you’re thinking of buying this house?” she asked, looking around and loving the way the front entry way was lined with golden wood that warmed the area surrounded by a black, marble floor.  There was no furniture, but Kate could picture a large round table in the center of the circular area with a vase overflowing with flowers.  “It’s lovely,” she whispered, loving the way the house wrapped around her, feeling warm and cozy without being small. 

“I thought you’d approve,” he said, watching the delight in her face.  “Go ahead, check out the rest of the house.”

“This is so completely different from your current place.  Why the change?”

“Because someone ridiculed my apartment so I actually looked at it.  I realized it was a little stark.”

Kate laughed.  “You mean you’d never really looked at your apartment?”

“Well, I’d lived there, but I never took the time to actually see the place.”

They were walking through the kitchen and Kate ran her hand along the black granite countertops.  The cabinets were white and the walls were Kelly green, making the room feel happy and alive.  The cooking area was perfectly set up with the refrigerator close enough to counters, sink and pantry.  Whoever was cooking wouldn’t be running from one area to another.  There was a double stove and a walk in pantry with shelves that rolled out so arms could easily reach the very last item. 

“This is a cook’s dream kitchen,” she said, noting the windows that allowed sunshine to stream into the eating area.  The kitchen was connected to a large family room with a gas fireplace.  That room flowed directly out to the patio and a large pool area with trees draping over one side. 

There was a large library, living room and dining room on the main floor with huge amounts of floor space.  Upstairs, there were six bedrooms, all larger than her whole house.  The master bedroom had it’s own private balcony, hot tub and dual showers.  Kate loved everything about this house except the idea that Carlo would eventually share it with his future wife. 

She wasn’t sure why he was getting a home with so many bedrooms, but she supposed that there weren’t many homes this large with only one or two bedrooms.  And she’d already met some of his friends so there would be plenty of room for those friends to visit. 

“It’s lovely,” she said, thinking that it looked like an old English manor home.  “Are you going to buy it?” she asked as they walked down the brick sidewalk to Carlo’s car. 

He looked back over to the house and nodded.  “If you really like it, yes.”

Kate nodded.  “I love it.  You’ll be very happy.”
  She tried to keep the emotions from her eyes and her face, knowing how perceptive Carlo could be. 

They drove back to her house in silence. 

Once they were in her driveway, he
shut off the engine and turned to face her. 
“
I didn’t sleep well last night either,” he said, noting the small smudges under her eyes.  “
I’m coming in this time, Kate
,” he said and challenged her to deny him
. 
“
Last night I thought you might need your space
so I didn’t come back from
New York
until this morning
.  But I need you tonight.”

Kate looked at his handsome face in the dim light coming from her porch light.  “Okay,” she said.  She knew where he stood now.  There was no more hope.  But she could have him for as long as he wanted her, couldn’t she?

They got out of his car and went inside.  They didn’t even turn on the lights.  As soon as the door closed, Kate turned around and fell into his arms.  He picked her up and carried her through the only available door which he correctly assumed was her bedroom.  He laid her in the center and slowly took her clothes off
.
  Once she was completely naked, he leaned over and took her mouth with his.  “You’re mine, Kate.  Don’t forget that,” he said.

Kate didn
’t
answer, but she pulled his sweater over his head, her hands touching his chest, roaming everywhere, needing to feel him, to remember him and experience the magic only his touch could give her. 

They made love until after the dinner hour.  By that time, neither one had the energy to get up and make anything.  “
B
esides,
you can’t go into the kitchen
right now,” she said, rolling over to prop her chin on his chest. 

He stared back at her, one eyebrow raised in question.  “Are you going to explain why?” he asked when she didn’t comment further.

“It’s a mess,” she said, in a matter of fact tone.  “
I went to the store and bought cookie ingredients.  It is now all over the kitchen.”

“Why were you upset?” he asked.

Kate blinked.  “Upset?”

“You told me you baked or tried a new recipe whenever you’re upset,” he ran his fingers through her silky hair, straightening out some of the tangles he’d just put into the strands.

“Oh, yeah.”

“So?” he asked, pulling her hair slightly.

“Well, I guess I got a little depressed last night.”

“What about?”  He was completely still, waiting for her answer.

Kate wasn’t about to tell him that she’d missed him so much she could barely think about anything else.  “My mom called,” she lied.

“Don’t you and your mother get along?”

“Sure we do.  She’s great.  I started thinking about the holidays coming up and got a little depressed.  I’m starving.  What are you going to do about it?” she asked, changing the subject to something she didn’t have to lie about.

“But we can’t go into the kitchen?” he clarified.

“Correct,” she answered, smiling brightly at his handsome face. 

“Okay,” he
laughed
and reached for the phone.  “There’s only one solution,” and he dialed information to get the local pizza delivery store.  An hour later, they were sitting on her sofa devouring a pizza with extra cheese, sausage, pepperoni, green peppers and black olives. 
Kate was laughing as he told her stories about his sisters-in-law and the way each of them met
his brothers
.  They all seemed like very romantic stories and Kate liked the way the family stood together
,
as if the rest of the world were outsiders. 

They made love again and fell asleep early.  Kate awoke early the next morning to find Carlo already showered and dressed again.  He leaned over her and gave her a hard kiss.  “I’ll see you a little later at the office,” and he was gone. 

Kate sighed.  It was Monday.  She glanced outside and didn’t see anything.  It was still dark outside.  How could that man survive on so little sleep
?
she wondered.

Kate rolled over, pulling the covers over her nakedness.  There had been no reason to
put on a nightgown last night
since Carlo would just take off her clothes again to make love to her
throughout the night. 
 

Kate slept until her normal waking hour of
six o’clock
.  The alarm went off and she rolled quickly out of bed, both eager and wary of seeing him this morning.  She dressed in an antique pink skirt with embroidery on the bottom edge and a pink
, V neck
sweater.  She felt extremely feminine this morning as she drove into the city.

The office was busy as usual
when she arrived.  She dropped off her purse and coat in her own office then headed directly for the conference room, eager to see Carlo this morning so he could wink at her, give her his secret look that told her he was thinking about the night before, just as she was.  B
ut the conference room was empty.  With a frown, she made her way
back
to her own offi
c
e.  At the last minute, she turned directions and went towards David’s. 

Kate didn’t know why she went that direction.  Something just told her she needed to check in with him.  It was an odd feeling since she usually avoided his office as well as several of his other vice presidents, feeling as if there was something wrong about her being in that area of Jamison’s headquarters. 
She didn’t have anything specific to report, nor had he asked for a status on any of the issues brewing. 

The door
to David’s office
was cracked and
his
secretary was away from her desk. 
Kate
was about to knock, but the voices inside stopped her hand.  “Don’t let this out of the bag,” David was saying angrily.  “There’s a lot at stake.  If
ATI
gets wind of this, everything will fall apart.”  She recognized David’s voice and wondered what he was talking about. 

“Do you think the rest of the staff know anything about it?” an unfamiliar voice asked. 

“No.  They keep their noses out of my business and I stay out of theirs.  We all like it that way,” he laughed
humorlessly
. 

“What about that woman you’ve put as their point of contact,” the new voice questioned.

“
Kate? 
She’s oblivious.  Too much loyalty
to my old man
and too little big picture thinking,” David said.

Kate
didn’t understand why they
were talking about her.
  Whatever they were
discussing
sounded unsavory.
  But then she banished that thought. 
Her thoughts were becoming
nefarious for Jamison’s.  David was a mediocre manager at best but she didn
’t
think he would do anything illegal. 

Emba
r
rassed by the fact that she had been eavesdropping, Kate quickly knocked on the door and pushed it open slightly.  Smiling, she found David, “Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if you knew where the
ATI
team was?”