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“Ah, but they’ll be Sanders babies, not Jacobsens,” Lilly’s husband Andrew said as he entered the conversation.
“Oh please, Andrew. My dad doesn’t care about that.”
“No, but you know the old coot wants a great-grandbaby with the surname Jacobsen.”
Lilly shot her husband a look of mock disgust. “My father is not an old coot.”
“I work with him. Yes he is.”
Lilly’s Jacobsen-blue eyes twinkled. She and Andrew had been married for over thirty-five years, and as president of Jacobsen Enterprises, Andrew was Grandpa Joe’s right-hand man. “Okay, I’ll admit he is. But maybe these great-grandbabies will keep him so busy that it’ll stop him from meddling so much.”
Andrew laughed, put his arm around her, and pulled his wife closer to his side. “Nah. I’m sure he’ll just turn his attention to your brother’s children. What do you think about that, Shane? Even though Claire’s the eldest, it’s only you and Nick who can pass on the Jacobsen name.”
“Huh?” He hadn’t been paying attention. Both Lilly and Andrew peered curiously at him.
“You aren’t worried that you’re next in Grandpa Joe’s quest to marry off his grandchildren?” Andrew asked.
Was he next? Grandpa Joe had made no secret of his matchmaking and meddling in Darci’s and her brother Harry’s lives. So was he next? Shane shook his head. Time to put an end to that idea. “You know I love my grandfather, but if he hasn’t been able to get me into the family company, do you really think he can pick my wife? He’ll have better luck with Nick, not me.”
Andrew laughed, which didn’t sit well with Shane. “Are you certain? I wouldn’t put it past him to start with you.”
Great. “I won’t let my guard down.”
Andrew gave Shane a manly pat on the back and Shane had the feeling Andrew knew something he didn’t. “You do that. Be sure you do that.”
“Dinner,” James announced.
AT THE END of the main course, Henrietta leaned toward Shane. As always, his grandmother smelled of fresh lavender. “Isn’t it wonderful news about Harry and Megan? This old house has been too long without tiny babies.”
Not knowing how to respond, Shane simply nodded. His grandmother smiled, and then placed her warm left hand over his right one. “You do know the pressure is going to be on you?”
Not again. “I’m not getting married.”
Henrietta patted his hand. “Oh no dear, not that. My husband thinks I don’t know anything, but there’s a bond between a mother and her son. Do you think Blake doesn’t tell me what’s going on? I know Joe’s been trying to get you to the corporate offices for quite a while. And with Megan’s job opening up, he’s really going to want you. After all, you went to Princeton like he did.”
Shane set his jaw stubbornly. That had been the one and only thing he’d ever done that had pleased his grandfather. “Family is family, business is business. I don’t want to mix the two.”
Henrietta gave him a sympathetic smile. “I know, but your grandfather will never understand that. When he sees what he wants, he goes for it. How do you think he won me all those years ago? Stole me away from Steve Boswell. I didn’t think your grandfather could be the one. But somehow he wormed his way into my life and swept me right off my feet. One day I just realized that although he wasn’t what I’d expected the dream to look like, he was the one that would make it all come true.”
Shane frowned. “Well, I’m not liable to just fall for someone he waves in front of my nose. Love is much more than that.” Isn’t it?
“Of course it is. But love isn’t just a feeling. It’s also a choice. You young people are much more modern these days, so much so that I think you wait for a moment that never comes. Speaking of not coming, what happened to that nice assistant you have? Lindy? I was so disappointed that she wasn’t able to be here tonight. But Joe said he’d ask her why tomorrow.”
That caught Shane’s attention. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes. I think he’s meeting her at 9:00 a.m.”
“Really.” The honeybaked ham that had been dinner flipped in Shane’s stomach.
“Dessert,” James said. He placed a coconut cake confection down. Despite the beauty of the dessert, Shane didn’t think he could tolerate one bite.
Shane stared down the table to where his grandfather sat deep in conversation with Megan. So Grandpa Joe was meeting Lindy tomorrow. Grandpa Joe’s words resounded in Shane’s head. Maybe I should just steal her away from you.
Was that why Lindy had refused to come tonight? Was that why she’d cut him out as a friend? Was she going to Jacobsen Enterprises without him?
Shane’s eyes narrowed. Grandpa Joe was as elusive as an eel when necessary. Shane would just have to wait and ask Lindy tomorrow. After all, she never was very good at hiding things from him.
BY NOON Shane found himself pacing the small confines of the room that served as his and Lindy’s office. He’d expected her long before this.
Suddenly he heard the front door. He sat in his chair for a brief moment before rising again. Casual. He needed to act casual. He stepped into the living room just as Lindy shut the front door.
Trying to remain calm, he leaned himself against the doorjamb. And then, his body quickening, he just stared. Lindy wore a suit. While he’d seen her before in professional office clothes, something was different. Just when had she gotten those legs? Legs that seemed to run on forever and disappear underneath that short blue skirt? Wow. He’d always thought her pretty, but now…he’d never reacted to Lindy like this before. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. “Forget to call me again?”
Lindy drew herself up. The smile she gave him didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought I told you that I wouldn’t be in until noon.”
It was her cool tone that did it, the truth she didn’t reveal, that caused Shane to straighten and walk toward her. Despite her heels adding to her five-foot-seven-inch height, Shane’s six-foot frame still towered over her. To hell with being casual. “So tell me, are those clothes just for my benefit?”
“I thought I’d dress up for once. We always dress so casual,” Lindy replied. She shifted her weight, and Shane stepped closer to her. Lindy blinked.
“Oh Lindy, be honest. Do you think I wouldn’t figure it out?”
“You know?” Panic covered her face, sending powerful emotions flooding into her big brown eyes.
“Of course I know.”
“I didn’t think you’d…I mean, I didn’t tell you because—”
“I’m not a fool, Lindy. So tell me, did you enjoy your meeting with my grandfather?”
HIS GRANDFATHER. Lindy wanted to laugh with the irony of it all. She’d been thinking, she’d thought, oh, thank goodness. He still had no memory of Friday night.
Lindy took a calming breath to still her racing heart. “Yes, I met with your grandfather.”
“And?” Shane leaned closer.
Lindy sidestepped Shane and put her briefcase on the coffee table. Obviously Cleo had been in to clean already. The place was spotless. She turned back to face Shane. Might as well get it over with. “With Megan’s announcing her pregnancy and her decision that she wants to stay at home after the baby, your grandfather plans to do some reshuffling of employees. When the time comes he’ll fill Megan’s spot with someone from his Jacobsen Stars upper-level-management program, but right now he thought I would be perfect for a midlevel position that is currently open.”
“I see.” Shane ran a hand through his hair. “Just as I expected. He said as much when he came over here Saturday. You do realize that this is all just a ploy to get me into the company? Steal the assistant so the grandson will follow?”
After working for Shane for three years, Lindy knew the entire family situation. But it didn’t matter. “I told you I have career aspirations, Shane. There are a lot of benefits to working for Jacobsen. Not that I don’t enjoy working for you, but at least at the broker’s office I came into contact with other people.”
He frowned. “We get a lot of requests for money from the foundation. You’re in contact with people all the time.”
“Sure, on the phone. I have no work colleagues that I do things with.”
“You have me.”
That, of course, was the problem. Lindy took a calming breath. “Besides you.”
“Is there something wrong with working in a small office?”
Yes! We made love all night! “No, but it’s not enough. Not anymore.”
Shane again raked his hand through his blond hair, a sure sign he was agitated. “I don’t understand you, Lindy. Everything was fine Friday afternoon and today it’s night-and-day different. What the hell is going on? Has your roommate been on your case about me again?” He paused, his blue eyes searching her face. “I can see from your expression that she has.”
Adopting a defensive posture, Lindy squared her shoulders. “Tina’s only looking after my best interests.”
“And you don’t think that I am?”
Not in the way she needed. But she couldn’t tell him that. Thus, for a moment Lindy paused, remembering the conversation she and Tina had had. Tina had called Shane a playboy who would never grow up. Then she’d said, “Lindy, you’re a personal assistant to a man with too much money. He’s never had to do a day of work in his life. That’s not a job. In my book, that’s called baby-sitting. Heck, because of this man you can’t even have a real relationship with anyone. Craig’s a nice guy and you’ve never really given him a chance. Just a few odd dates here and there.”
No, for three years Lindy had given Shane the best of her, never once asking for anything in return. All other men paled when judged by the Shane factor.
Lindy looked at Shane, whose expression still showed that he was waiting for her answer. She searched desperately for the right words, finally settling on, “I think that I need more.”
Shane moved across the room and stood close to her. “More what? Money? Done. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. I’ll pay you—” he named a figure that was astronomical, and more than what Grandpa Joe had offered earlier. In less than a minute he had practically doubled her salary.
“I—” Lindy choked as she tried to speak. The salary he’d offered would allow her to save for the down payment on a house. She’d be able to move herself into a comfortable financial position, one that would secure her future. Money was her absolutely weakest spot because she’d grown up with hardly any.
So, was she prostituting herself if she stayed? Could she stay with him for a short while longer? Resolve filled her as her mind overrode her emotions. She should take Shane’s counteroffer back to Grandpa Joe. That’s what she should do. She steeled herself. Yes, that’s what any good businesswoman would do.
He must have sensed her indecision because he stepped forward and took her hands in his. Heat and warmth from his touch immediately spread through her. His gaze gently held hers. “Lindy, I need you. Stay.”
Emotions poured through Lindy, overriding the common sense and mental control she’d been struggling to hang on to. Her ability to reason and think flew out the window. It had always been like that with Shane. All he ever had to do was touch her or look at her with those blue eyes, just as he was doing now, and she’d be swept away. She couldn’t resist him.
He was her downfall.
“One month.” The words escaped from her mouth, buying her time. “I’ll decide at the end of a month. I’ll give you at least one more month, and then decide after that what I’m going to do.”
A jubilant smile lit up Shane’s face, and Lindy turned her head away. He dropped her hands, allowing her a fraction more self-control as the heat from his touch subsided. “You know I’ll convince you to stay longer.”
“We’ll see.” She struggled to calm her racing heart.
Shane, however, was now back to business. “Since we have at least a month, can we now get things back to normal between us?”
She doubted things would ever be normal between them again. But what was one more lie? “Sure. Now I’ve got a lot of work to do. Those foundation requests that you were expecting arrived in today’s mail. As soon as I process everything I’ll get them ready for you.”
“That sounds fine.”
Lindy gathered her things and headed into the office. Up until today she’d always thought it was overly large. But now, with Shane’s desk so close to hers, the space seemed impossibly small. How could she work right beside him?
One month. She could do one month. That would give her time to renegotiate the job with Grandpa Joe, and then make a move to Jacobsen Enterprises. She’d give herself one month to begin to heal her heart and say her final goodbyes to Shane.
“I REALLY DON’T THINK you should go to work today.” Tina stood in the doorway to the apartment’s hall bathroom. “Whatever you’ve got, Lindy, you’ve got it bad.”
Lindy wiped her mouth on the wet washcloth that Tina handed her. “Really, I’ll be fine. Those chicken taquitos we had for dinner yesterday just didn’t sit well. I was burping them up all night.”
Tina leaned over, averting her eyes as she flushed the toilet for Lindy. “Well, there they go, or at least their remnants.”
Still clutching the washcloth to her lips, Lindy got to her feet. “I feel funny. Do I feel warm?”
Tina put her hand on Lindy’s forehead. “No. No fever. I think you probably just had food poisoning.”
“That’s what I think, although I don’t know why it didn’t claim you, too.”
“I only ate one of them. You had like six or seven. Anyway, why don’t you go back to sleep? I’ll call Shane and tell him you aren’t coming. I’m going to be home all day, since my next flight assignment isn’t until tomorrow morning.”
Lindy’s eyes widened in panic. “You can’t call Shane! I can’t call in sick. This Friday will end the month I promised him, and I’m giving him my two weeks notice. Until then, I don’t want him to think that anything’s wrong. You know I’m going to Jacobsen. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Tina nodded. “And it’s about time. But you really aren’t well.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want him worried. I’ve got to go in. I’ve got so much to do. I want things to be settled by the time I tell Shane that I’m leaving. As it is he’s not going to understand. We’ve had a pretty good truce this past month.”
Lindy put the washcloth down and reached for her toothbrush and the toothpaste. “I’m sure I’ll feel better now that all this stuff is out of my system.”
“If you’re sure. You call me if you need me. I can always come get you.” Tina stepped out of the room. “That’s what friends are for, you know.”
Lindy studied her pale face in the mirror. Besides her stomach upheaval, her nose was stuffy. She pressed her fingers to the sides of her throat. About this time every year, she always ended up on antibiotics. She was allergic to something that arrived each spring and even though her glands weren’t swollen yet, it must be getting close to that time. She’d give it another day and if she didn’t feel better, she’d call her doctor.
SEVERAL HOURS and one package of Hostess Ho Ho’s later, she was feeling much better. She took a drink of her bottled water and leaned back in satisfaction. She’d finally finished organizing all the files. They were in great shape for whomever took her place.
“Ho Ho’s?” Shane remarked as he entered the office. “You’ve become quite the junk-food nut this past week. First M&M’s and now Ho Ho’s. What did you eat for lunch?”
“Caesar salad.”
“Impressive. Where’s your trademark banana?”
“I finished that earlier.” Lindy looked up. As always, Shane was dressed in a polo shirt and jeans. “Is there something you need?”
“Yes. I need concert tickets and dinner reservations.” He rattled off a name and a date at her and hastily Lindy wrote it on her scratch pad.
“How many?”
“Two. I’m taking Cathy Barnes.”
Lindy looked up sharply. Having arrived in St. Louis a month ago, blond bombshell Cathy Barnes was the new gossip and sex-help columnist for one of St. Louis’s alternative dailies. She also hosted a call-in radio talk show—and was set on being Mrs. Shane Jacobsen. Lindy had immediately hated her. “Is this a date?”
Shane looked up from the mail he was going through. “So what if it is?”
Lindy placed her hands carefully on the desk, gripping the edges of the cherry-wood surface for support. “Organizing your dates is no longer in my job description.”
“And how is that different than if I was taking out a client?”
“You don’t have any clients.”
“Foundation people then,” Shane argued. His jaw set stubbornly. “When did you get so difficult?”
She ignored that. “Take it or leave it. At least your grandfather treats me like a professional and not a personal slave. I am not getting you concert tickets so that you can go out with Cathy Barnes. She’s a snake.”
Shane’s face creased in surprise. “What is with you? If I didn’t know you so well, I’d say you were jealous.”
Lindy flattened her palms against the smooth surface of the desk, in an attempt to regain some self-control. Jealous? Always. But she’d learned to live with it. Until she’d slept with Shane Jacobsen. Now the thought of him being with anyone else, especially after her, was unbearable. She trembled. Just two more weeks and she would be free of him, and hopefully able to put the green-eyed jealousy monster behind her.
“No.” She stared at him, a sudden courage evident in her eyes. After all, what could he do? Fire her? She already had a new job.
Shane finally blinked, his expression telling her he didn’t understand, or like, the situation at all. “Fine. You don’t have to get involved. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure.” Shane watched as Lindy turned back to her computer keyboard. Just what was up with her now? She was so unlike Lindy. The old Lindy never refused him anything, or ate junk food. Or looked so pale.
He didn’t have time to think about it because just then an overseas call came through. But he did think about it an hour later when he decided not to call about the concert tickets. No, without Lindy running interference, his dating life was about to go down the tubes.
He leaned back in his desk chair and studied her for a moment. He probably needed a break from the singles scene anyway. Ever since Easter, Grandpa Joe had been sending e-mails about women he thought Shane should meet. Shane had refused to even acknowledge that he’d received the correspondence.
“I need to take this to the post office,” Lindy said. She stood up. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No.” And then he understood. He’d been right. Something was wrong. He knew it instinctively, and his instinct had never failed him. “Lindy? Are you okay?”
“I’m—” Lindy put a hand to her mouth, turned and made a run for it. Shane followed her to the bathroom and pressed his head against the closed door. The sounds coming from inside told him all he needed to know.
“I’m calling a doctor.”
“I’m fine!”
Shane smiled despite himself. She was so stubborn. “You’re hacking up a lung.”
“And you’re a hypochondriac. Really, I—” She stopped, overcome by another bout of nausea.
Shane grimaced. Lindy really was sick. He’d been right to trust his instincts. After all, it was his intuition that had made him millions on the stock market, and freed him from his beloved Grandpa Joe’s tentacles.
To give Lindy some privacy, Shane went in search of his cell phone and dialed his sister. “Hey, Bethany.”
“Shane. What’s up? You caught me right between patients.”
“Lindy’s sick. She’s throwing up in my bathroom. Maybe I’m paranoid, but you know what happened to Dan. I’d better be safe than sorry.”
“Yes, I remember. Hold that file a minute, Marge, it’s my brother. Okay, I’m back. What are her symptoms?”
Shane paused. “She looks pale. She’s not been eating right. She’s throwing up.”
“Does she have a fever?”
Did she? Shane frowned. “I don’t think so. But her nose is very congested.”
He heard Bethany sigh. “She’s probably got a virus, Shane. It sounds like she just needs some rest. Tell her to take some decongestants for the stuffy nose and if she has a fever tell her to take two acetaminophen tablets every four hours. If she’s not better in another twenty-four hours, or if she runs a fever, she needs to see her doctor.”
Shane frowned. “That’s it?”
His sister sounded busy. “Yes, unless she’s pregnant.”
“She’s not pregnant.”
“Then she’s got a virus. Call me later if you need to, but right now I’ve got to go because I’m way off schedule.”
“Thanks.” Shane set the phone down and walked back to the bathroom door. “Lindy? Are you all right?” He heard the telltale flushing and then the sound of water running in the sink.
“I’m fine,” Lindy finally called. “I think it was the salad. The dressing must have had a lot of egg in it. You know I’m allergic to eggs in large amounts.”
“Bethany says you probably have a virus. You need to rest and take acetaminophen.”
Lindy opened the door. She looked even paler, if that were possible. Shane was really concerned now. He stepped aside to let her leave the bathroom.
“Maybe it’s the yearly allergy thing I always get,” she said. “Just a different variation this time.”
“Or you could be pregnant.”
HE MEANT IT as a joke to cheer her up, to lighten the moment. She could see the good intentions written all over his face. But his joke wasn’t funny. Could she be pregnant? Fear filled her. Had Shane used a condom? She couldn’t remember. No. She couldn’t be pregnant. Fate couldn’t be so cruel. Sure, she wanted children, but not now. Not like this.
“I’m not pregnant,” Lindy said, but doubt crept into her mind and took root. After all, she was late. But her cycle being late was nothing new. Not every woman’s cycle ran like clockwork, and Lindy was often as much as fifteen days late. She gave Shane a reassuring smile, although her mind was hardly reassured. “Stop being worried. I’m fine now. I’m sure it was just the egg in the Caesar salad.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I want you to take the rest of the day off. Go home. Rest. Sleep.”
“Really, I have those letters to do and—”
“They’ll wait. I insist you go home.” Shane followed her to her desk. Lindy took a long sip of water. Her stomach again felt queasy.
“You know I’m going to win this battle,” he said quietly.
A small smile crept onto Lindy’s face. She did know. When his friend Dan had started having strange symptoms it had been Shane who had insisted Dan go to the hospital. Shane’s paranoia had saved Dan’s life. At moments like this, it was one of his best attributes. Even though she knew she didn’t have meningitis as Dan had, Lindy caved. “You win. I’m going home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Do you want me to drive you?”
Lindy’s heart overflowed. Sometimes Shane could be so thoughtful. If only—she pushed those fantasies out of her head. In two weeks, she’d be out of Shane’s life forever. She had to remember that she was just his employee. “That’s sweet, but really I’ll be fine.”
His brow furrowed. “Okay, but if you need anything you call me.”
“Sure,” Lindy replied. For one last moment she let herself revel in Shane’s concern.
He smiled at her. “Go home.”
“Going,” Lindy said. Fifteen minutes later she pulled into the drugstore parking lot. She glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. Before she’d only looked pale. Now she looked afraid.
Could she be pregnant? Shane’s words had planted the idea in her head, and once she’d gotten to her car she’d thought of nothing else. And she was queasy, throwing up, and late with her monthly cycle.
She reached up and felt her throat. Her glands were normal. She blinked. This was all going to turn out fine. Just fine.
She went into the store. Minutes later, she exited with a pregnancy test that promised results in as little as three minutes. She’d also bought a jumbo-size bag of Hershey Kisses, her favorite stress food. After all, it was Murphy’s Law. Be prepared for the worst and it wouldn’t happen to you. Or something like that.