Ultimatum: Marriage / For the Sake of the Secret Child: Ultimatum: Marriage / For the Sake of the Secret Child

Blake Davis was a heavy donor for Houses for Hurricane Victims.

“He sounds really annoyed,” she said. “He isn’t the only one. The phones have been ringing off the wall.” She handed him a list of names and phone numbers.

Jake had expected trouble, and he was prepared to deal with it. Under no circumstances would he have even considered abandoning Alicia and their newborn baby. In time, the trouble would blow over.

“I’ll take them in my office.”

Without preamble Coulter told Jake he’d learned about his marriage to Miss Butler from concerned taxpayers, so he was afraid he was going to have to hire a new architect to finish the concert hall near the French Quarter.

“Sorry, Claiborne, I know she’s not her father, but with her last name and his close association to you through Houses for Hurricane Victims, there’d be too much political fallout if we didn’t terminate our relationship with you. We can’t have any taint of scandal on this public project, especially after Katrina.”

Jake picked up line one next.

“I was very disappointed by the news of your marriage to Mitchell Butler’s daughter,” Blake Davis said. “Very disappointed. Until this, I told myself you weren’t involved in all that money disappearing. Needless to say, your marrying Butler’s daughter would give even a naïve fool second thoughts. I’d look like an idiot if I didn’t bail, damn it.”

Before Jake could defend Alicia, Raymond Lewis, his top designer, barged into his office and slammed a legal document on his desk.

Jake waved the phone at Lewis, indicating he was busy. Ignoring Lewis, he spoke into the mouthpiece. “I’m not involved with the money disappearing. Neither is my wife. She has nothing to do with any of her father’s illegal activities.”

“Save it for the jury. George is going to call you a little later and withdraw his support as well. Without us, HFHV is history.”

“You know who you’re punishing—the people who’ve been waiting for houses for two years.”

“That should keep you up nights—not me!”

Jake sighed. He’d known when he’d married Alicia there would be fallout. What he hadn’t realized was how determined he would feel about protecting Alicia.

No sooner had Davis hung up than Lewis leaned threateningly over his desk.

“What?” Jake set the receiver down. “What’s wrong?”

“Your wife for starters. My letter of resignation is on your desk.”

Jake glanced down, speed-reading the document. He tore it in two. “This is ridiculous.”

“Not to me. When you fired all my top designers the other day, I still believed you were a man of integrity who was being unfairly judged by the media,” Lewis said. “When I heard you secretly married, I wised up about you fast.”

“Sorry you feel that way. I believe my wife is innocent.”

“Who do you think you’re kidding? Mitchell must have bought and paid for you. You’re dirty, and he’s threatened to spill what he knows unless you promise to take care of his little girl while he’s in the slammer.”

“You’re very wrong. I wouldn’t give that bastard the time of day.”

Lewis didn’t stay to argue the point. Turning on his heel, he stalked out, banging as many doors as he could, thereby causing such a ruckus, people stopped what they were doing and stepped out of their offices to watch.

Vanessa rushed into Jake’s office. “Your face is a dangerous shade of red. I’d tell you to sit down, but you’re already sitting. What exactly happened in here?”

“Lewis called me a crook and quit. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a familiar refrain. Not that I didn’t expect something like this when word got out.”

“Sorry the honeymoon had to end so fast.”

What honeymoon? Jake thought bleakly.

“What do you say we get back to work—unless you’re going to call me a crook and quit on me, too.”

“I can’t afford high-minded principles. I’ve got three growing sons to support. You should see my grocery bills.” She smiled encouragingly.

“Glad somebody believes in my character.”

She laughed. “Cheer up. When you’ve sunk this low, there’s nowhere to go but up. Your wife’s a beautiful woman. Seems kind of sweet, too. You could have done worse.”

“You think so?”

She nodded.

Odd the way Vanessa’s faith in Alicia eased his tension. Vanessa had excellent instincts.

“And she’s a breeder. You don’t always know that when you tie the knot. Your kid will be better off if the two of you figure out how to be happy together. I hope you give her a chance.”

“You are not my therapist! Out!”

“That’s my cue.” She saluted him and made a brisk exit.

You could have done worse. And she’s a breeder.

Jake leaned back in his chair and massaged his brow. He’d been married to Alicia what, two nights? Not that he felt married exactly. No—he felt frustrated and lonely.

He never felt lonely. He liked being alone. Hell, besides having had no sex, they’d hardly spent any time together. Why was this bothering him so much when he hadn’t even wanted to marry her?

Yesterday after breakfast, even though she’d locked herself in her bedroom, he hadn’t wanted to leave her. To give her the run of the house, he’d stayed outside doing odd maintenance jobs like throwing out a plastic storage box full of mildewed life preservers. And all that time, he’d been wondering if she was as aware of him as he was of her.

So much for the first day of his marriage to his very sexy wife. This morning, he’d hoped that when he left for work he’d quit thinking about her. He’d been glad that, unlike her, he had somewhere to go where maybe he could get his mind off her. But even here he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.

He’d known their marriage would cause more problems, at least in the short term. Not that it was fun to deal with the onslaught of attacks from all directions. Still, they were going to have a baby. Every time he remembered how pale and haunted Alicia had looked when she’d turned up on his doorstep with her news, he felt more determined than ever to stand by her.

When the phone rang again, he cringed. Fortunately it was only his twin brother.

“You’re a lucky man,” Logan said.

“Good to know somebody thinks so.”

“Alicia didn’t know a damn thing her father was up to.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Mitchell lied to and manipulated everybody. I know how he was with her because she and I went out … for a while. But then, you already know that,” Logan trailed off awkwardly.

“Right.”

Jake didn’t like Logan reminding him he’d been there first with Alicia any better than he’d ever liked Logan telling him what to do or think.

“Every time I took her anywhere, people envied me,” Logan said.

Jake frowned. “Well, she’s married to me now.”

“True. And how did that happen so fast? Last time we talked, you said she didn’t want to date anybody. Then my CEO and you went to the feds and Butler really crashed in flames.”

If he’d felt closer to Logan, maybe he would have told him about the pregnancy and explained the sense of responsibility he felt toward Alicia. But for a lot of years Jake had kept Logan in the dark about his life. So, for now, Jake wanted to keep it that way.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to the wedding. If it makes you feel any better, we didn’t invite anyone. Well … except for my secretary, who brought her son … but only because we needed a witnesses. Frankly, Alicia and I wanted to keep our marriage quiet as long as possible. Not easy when satellite trucks and photographers are camped on our doorstep.”

“Well, the papers and Internet are full of it this morning.”

“They’re all damning me as a crook the equal of Butler—so you see why I wanted to keep things quiet.”

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