Corporate Affair

8

Kalinda awoke hours later to find dawn pearling the sky outside the massive windows. She blinked, stirred warmly and finally opened her eyes to find herself wedged between the back of the sofa and Rand’s lean frame.

They were still wearing their business suits, she realized, minus the jackets. Her camel skirt and white, bow-tie blouse would never be the same. Sometime during the night Rand had located a blanket and pulled it over both of them before going to sleep himself. Kalinda shifted position carefully and found herself snugly cradled, Rand’s arm firmly wrapped around her.

She managed to prop herself on one elbow, desperate to stretch cramped muscles. Her hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders and she felt terribly mussed and sleep-tousled.

In the pale morning light Rand’s firmly etched features appeared more relaxed. There was an unmistakable contentment in the eased lines around his mouth and eyes. His shirt had been undone at the collar, tie removed.

For a long moment Kalinda stared down at him, absorbing each detail along with the fact that she loved him. That look of contentment, she now realized, wasn’t because he’d spent the night by her side. It was because Rand Alastair was finally back where he wanted to be. He had emerged from his year and a half of retirement to resume the fast-paced, perilous life he had known before opting out of the business world.

For how long would he see Kalinda as his means of getting back into the high-powered atmosphere he’d once dominated? Helping Brady Data Processing fight off a hostile merger attempt could only be a stepping-stone for such a man. Kalinda might have been the one to galvanize him into realizing he was bored with retirement, but how long would she hold his interest once the transition back to the business world had been made?

If her time with Rand was fated to be short-lived, why was she telling herself that she must control the passion in the relationship? Why shouldn’t she be taking advantage of the precious, stolen moments? With luck she might have weeks, perhaps even a few months before he got swept up completely in the world he’d left behind. But it was already going to be incredibly difficult to say good-bye. How much worse would it be if the affair went on for months? The thought of watching Rand grow bored with her was frightening.

She was staring at him, wondering unhappily how she would explain her feelings to Rand when the chestnut lashes flickered against his cheekbones and lifted. The hazel gaze gleamed at her with sleepy contentment.

„Good morning, Miss Brady,“ he growled lazily, moving the hand that cradled her up to snag luxuriously in her hair. „You have an interesting way of conducting late-night business conferences. Do you always go to sleep in the middle of them?“

„I don’t appear to be the only one who dozed off at this particular conference,“ she replied, warming under the possessiveness in his gaze. „Perhaps you should serve coffee instead of cognac when you conduct your late meetings.“

„My only regret,“ he murmured, his mouth quirking with an intimate, teasing expression, „is the unfinished business we failed to get through.“

Kalinda knew her cheeks were reddening under the complacent, very male look in his eyes. But before she could frame a properly light retort, the hand in her hair was moving to urge her head down to his.

With a muffled sigh Kalinda let herself be pulled across Rand’s chest, her hair tumbling over his shoulders as he kissed her with slow satisfaction.

„I think we’ve got time to tie up a few loose ends,“ he whispered against her mouth.

Kalinda tried to take a firm grip on her new resolutions. „I agree,“ she said lightly and saw the pleased look on his face. „And I think an early-morning walk would be just the way to do it“

„A walk!“

„Ummm. A little exercise to get us revitalized for the new day.“

„If it’s exercise you’re after, I have a better suggestion,“ he began determinedly, sliding his fingers up her throat and encircling the nape of her neck.

Kalinda resisted the temptation and the want in him with every atom of restraint she possessed. She had to start drawing the line. She had to ease out of this relationship before it became impossible to do so.

„Consider this little suggestion of mine as an order from your boss,“ she said, easing herself to a sitting position beside him.

He regarded her with a measure of fascination. „I’m not accustomed to taking orders,“ he finally pointed out.

„As you said yesterday, things have changed a bit in the business world since you opted out a year and a half ago!“

„Some things are basic. They never change.“ He reached for her.

„I’m serious, Rand,“ she said quietly, evading his arm. „I want to go for a walk. We… we need to talk.“

He hesitated, as if testing the determination in her and then he shrugged eloquently. „Okay, boss, if that’s really what you want“

They must have made a rather strange sight, Kalinda decided later as they walked briskly along the path of a nearby park. It was one of many such islands strung throughout the city. There were more than one hundred and fifty parks in Denver and Kalinda would have been willing to bet that few of them were being used at this hour of the morning by a couple dressed in business suits that had recently been slept in.

But it was invigorating. The beginning of a Colorado summer day shone down on them and to the west the mountains seemed to hold out the same promise they had for generations.

„Do you do this a lot?“ Rand grinned wryly, clasping her hand as they walked.

„Of course not. I’d be afraid of getting mugged!“

„You think I can protect you?“ he asked, slanting her an interested glance.

„If anyone dares menace us we’ll just tell him who you are and use your reputation to scare him off!“

He winced. „That took you by surprise yesterday, didn’t it?“

„Your reputation? Frankly, yes,“ Kalinda said simply, inhaling the morning air. „I’m told you really were the shark you joked about being that night at the party.“

„Does that worry you?“ he asked with surprising hesitation, not looking at her.

„Should it?“

„No. It’s supposed to convince you I’m the sort of man you admire,“ he said softly.

„Which brings us to the subject I wanted to discuss,“ Kalinda said, amazed at the calm in her voice.

„I had a feeling it might,“ he sighed. „What’s wrong, Kalinda?“ His fingers tightened around hers, as if he were preparing for physical struggle.

„There’s nothing wrong, Rand. I just want to make it clear that I meant what I said yesterday morning about maintaining a… a businesslike relationship for a while. There’s a lot we have to learn about each other…“

„You were upset about finding out about my past, weren’t you?“ he interrupted harshly. „But, honey, it’s that past which is going to help your company. Don’t you see?“

„I see. And I’m grateful. But that’s not the point.“ She tried to speak rationally, keeping her emotions under control. But it was difficult with him looking at her like that, as if she really were more important to him than business.

He drew her to a halt on the path, turning her so that she had to face him. „Then what is the point, Kalinda? What are you trying to say?“

She faced him bravely. „Rand, I’m grateful for your help in this crisis. But, please, don’t confuse your feelings about coming back to the business world with… with any feelings you might have for me!“

„What the hell are you talking about?“ he rasped, his hands tightening forcefully around her upper arms, his face darkening.

„Please,“ she begged earnestly, gray eyes wide with concern for him, „don’t be angry. I’m just pointing out the obvious. You’re finding it exciting to get your feet wet again in the world in which you were once so successful. It was very clear yesterday that you were enjoying yourself. And if it’s what you want, then I don’t mind having been the catalyst that drew you out of the mountains, really I don’t…“

„Catalyst!“

„Yes! Remember how I asked you a couple of times if you were bored with your trout fishing and the little gallery? You denied it, but I think the truth is that you were getting restless. After a year and a half, you felt the urge to compete and win getting the better of you. When I came along representing a portion of the world you’d left behind, something clicked, didn’t it? I became an excuse, a reason, for coming back to Denver and picking up the reins of business.“

He stared at her. „You’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you?“

„Is my conclusion so very far from the truth?“ she whispered sadly. „Are you going to deny that you’re enjoying yourself as you begin to wheel and deal again?“

„That’s a very neat trap you’ve worked out, Kalinda Brady,“ he muttered icily, hazel eyes hardening as he surveyed her face. „I can’t very well deny the fact that there is something in the business world which challenges and interests me. You saw me at work yesterday. I never stayed up half the night working on a piece of pottery!“

She nodded in mute understanding, trying to hide her unhappiness.

„And I’m not going to deny that I might have been growing bored with my lifestyle in the mountains. A year and a half of fishing and part-time employment can be a bit more than relaxing. It can make a man restless…“

„I knew it,“ she murmured, lowering her eyes as she listened to the confirmation of her fears.

„But you’re caught in the trap with me,“ he went on relentlessly, lifting her chin with thumb and forefinger. „You made it very clear in a lot of little ways that you weren’t interested in an affair with a lazy trout fisherman and pottery-maker! You wanted a man from your own world. Okay, you’ve got him. I not only understand and function very well in your world, Kalinda, I can dominate it if I wish. I’m giving you what you asked for in a man. Don’t you dare try to back out of our deal now!“

Kalinda froze at the cold, hard edge in his voice. „We didn’t have any sort of ‘deal,’ Rand!“

„We do now,“ he countered and crushed her lips beneath his own as if to seal it.

It was a harsh, ruthless, dominating kiss, with none of the warm, seductive persuasiveness she’d known in the past It was as if he was intent on letting her know that he could dominate not only the world in which she made her living, but Kalinda, herself.

His mouth moved aggressively on her lips, forcing them apart and giving her no option but to accept the invasion of his tongue. Desperately Kalinda tried to pull away, break the ruthlessness of the kiss, but he only wrapped his arms around her and forced her closer. In the chill morning air he molded her body to his own, letting his inner heat trap her.

When she tried to free her lips, he used his teeth to nip warningly and she crumpled against him at the first threat. He accepted the surrender as if it were his due, not taking his mouth from hers until she had stopped fighting him completely.

When at last he lifted his head to gaze forbiddingly down at her helpless face, Kalinda sagged in his arms.

He let her bury her face against his shoulder, holding her with bonds of steel.

For a long moment they stood silently. Kalinda knew she was trembling with reaction. Not just to the kiss, itself, but to all the male implacability that lay behind it. He did want her. Regardless of his other reasons for following her out of the mountains, he wanted her. Would that ever be enough?

„Don’t fight me, Kalinda,“ he finally got out on a hoarse thread of sound. „Please don’t fight me!“ He turned his lips into her hair, kissing her gently now, almost apologetically. She felt a tremor go through him and knew he was shaken by the moment.

„Is that a warning, Rand?“ she managed, her words muffled by the fabric of his jacket „Are you saying I’ll get hurt if I don’t go along with what you want?“

His grasp on her tautened. „I would never hurt you, honey. But I can’t let you go, either. I need you too much!“

„Rand…“

She wasn’t sure just what she was going to say under the tension of the moment, but whatever it might have been died in her throat as he gently set her a little ways from him and forced a quirking smile.

„Don’t say anything more this morning, sweetheart For both our sakes, I think we’d better get back to business. Come on, let’s go find ourselves some breakfast“

Without waiting for a response, he tugged her gently down the path.

The rest of the day passed much as the preceding one. Rand was constantly on the phone to banks, old acquaintances who owed him favors, and people who knew an astonishing amount about the inside workings of David Hutton’s fledgling empire. When he wasn’t using her telephone, he was going through the endless paperwork generated by a thriving enterprise such as Brady Data Processing.

„You know, this whole thing is turning out to be quite an education,“ Kalinda observed truthfully at one point as they munched sandwiches and prepared once more to stay late at the office. „I’m going to be a much more aware businesswoman when this is all over!“

He smiled, a genuine flash of humor. „That’s one thing that can be said about a company that gets caught up in a merger battle. Management is never quite the same thereafter.“

„A matter of facing reality, I suppose,“ she nodded seriously.

He took her home that night around ten o’clock and he didn’t try to invite himself inside. Kalinda thought he looked rather preoccupied, in fact, and wondered at his almost casual good-night kiss. But she didn’t argue with it She knew she needed the time to herself.

But she came to no revealing conclusions as she lay alone in her bed. Instead, she found herself dreaming that Rand was beside her. When she went into work the next morning, she didn’t try to deny her own eagerness to see him again.

He was there ahead of her, already on his second cup of coffee apparently and he looked up inquiringly as she sto6d in her doorway.

„I give up,“ he smiled. „Why the frown?“

„You’re drinking too much coffee,“ she said with automatic concern as she walked into the room and seated herself behind the mahogany desk.

He glanced down at his cup in surprise. „An old habit, 1 guess.“

„A little caffeine goes a long way. I think you should switch to tea.“

He studied her determined expression for a long moment and then pushed aside his half-finished cup. „Whatever you say, boss.“

That made her grin. „There’s nothing quite like a truly deferential, obedient employee!“

„I’ll make a bargain with you. I’ll be deferential and obedient on the job if you’ll be deferential and obedient after hours!“

„Facetiousness and flippancy in employees, however, is not condoned in the offices of Brady Data Processing!“

„I’ll try to remember that. Now, suppose you pour me a cup of tea?“ he suggested smoothly, eyes gleaming.

She thought about that. „If I do you’re liable to get the notion you can manipulate the boss.“

„The only time I intend to manipulate the boss is in bed,“ he growled, leaning forward with just enough menace to make her sit back in her chair.

„You have been up in those mountains too long,“ Kalinda complained, jumping to her feet and striding quickly over to where a pot of hot water simmered on a hot plate alongside a pot of coffee. „You’ve forgotten your office manners!“

„I’ll rely on you to keep me in line,“ he chuckled as she returned with a mug of tea. He accepted it with a smile but there was something in his eyes that told her he’d meant what he just said. He’d rely on her to keep him in line? That didn’t make any sense.

„What's the battle plan for today?“ she questioned in a decidedly businesslike voice, eyeing him pointedly.

„Today we plan dinner,“ he announced, sipping the hot tea and watching her interestedly over the rim.

„Dinner!“

„Dinner at the restaurant where David Hutton will be dining tonight,“ he amended casually.

She stared at him. „But why?“

„Financial maneuvering is only half this battle,“ he explained calmly. „Psychology is a critical aspect, too.“

„You want him to see you out with me?“ she hazarded as his line of reasoning clicked in her brain.

„By now he knows I’m involved with Brady. Tonight he’ll find out just how much.“

„But why?“

„So he’ll see that there’s no point in trying to subvert me,“ Rand told her carelessly.

„Subvert you! Good lord! Rand, are you telling me he might try buying you off?“

„He already has. I got the call last night after I’d taken you home.“ Rand appeared totally unconcerned. „It’s a logical step. I didn’t talk to Hutton directly, of course, I just received a feeler from one of his higher-ranking employees.“

„My God!“ Kalinda shook her head, unable to believe it. „What… what did you tell the person who called you?“ Somehow she had never envisioned such a ploy on Hutton’s part. She knew such tactics were used but they had never impinged on her world. Kalinda found herself wondering for the first rime if sharks could be bribed.

„What do you think I said?“ Rand muttered gruffly.

She stared at him, assessing, remembering, analyzing and finally came up with the only possible conclusion. „You told him no, of course.“

„Why ‘of course’?“ he demanded interestedly, watching her intently.

„You would never break your word to us,“ she replied positively, relaxing slightly as she realized it was the simple truth.

There was a tension-filled moment as they sat regarding each other in silent understanding and then Rand smiled gently.

„Thank you, Kalinda.“

She shrugged. She trusted him. There was nothing more to say on that subject „So why are we having dinner in the same restaurant tonight?“

„Because he’ll try upping the offer again and again, thinking he only has to find the right price. I want to squash that notion flat I want to start closing doors on him as rapidly and as solidly as possible so that he begins to panic.“ Rand spoke intently, a frown of concentration creasing his forehead. „If we can turn the tables on him quickly enough, I think we can get him to withdraw the offer. He has to know we’ve got a whole series of options and we’ll use every damn one of them until he’s out in the cold.“

„Have we really got a whole series of options?“

„Yes, but most of them are expensive. It would be nice if we can kill his interest before we have to resort to them.“

„What’s the worst possible case?“ Kalinda asked bluntly.

„A friendly merger with another company,“ he told her, not shielding the truth.

She groaned. „I was afraid of that. A white knight?“

He nodded, tossing down the stack of papers he had been reading. „That’s what the ‘friendly’ company is usually called in cases like this. It can be done, Kalinda. I have contacts. We can find a friendly suitor for Brady Data Processing who will agree to merge with us on our terms. It’s better than turning everything over to Hutton!“

„I know. But even in the friendliest of situations, Brady Data Processing will lose some of its autonomy.“

„If it comes to that, we’ll negotiate very carefully. But there’s another option, I think. You have surprisingly good credit for a company this size. Your assets are solid and generally rather understated. I think, with a little fast talking, we might be able to get that line of credit expanded.“

„For what purpose?“

„So that Brady can better Hutton’s offer for its own shares,“ he said quietly.

„A tender offer for our own shares? That would be expensive,“ she whispered thoughtfully. „Credit costs a fortune these days. Interest rates are high…“

„I notice from your records that you’ve been shy of using bank credit in the past, Kalinda.“

„I have an instinctive dislike of being in debt, I suppose,“ she admitted dryly. „A holdover from Dad.“

„But borrowed money is the way big businesses are run these days. Brady is going to have to recognize that if it wants to stay competitive and autonomous.“ Rand spread out a financial report and began talking in detail.

Kalinda listened, fascinated with the expertise she was witnessing. Where would Rand Alastair have been today if he hadn’t dropped out a year and a half ago? The thought crossed her mind that he might be the one trying to take over Brady Data Processing. She wouldn’t have stood a chance!

Properly appreciative of the importance of fighting David Hutton on all levels, Kalinda dressed with care for the important evening. She chose a dinner suit of rich, printed velvet The small, shaped jacket fit over a softer velvet skirt and a silk blouse complimented the chic combination. Over it she flung a dashing sequined and fringed shawl. Hair sleek and held with a glittering comb, she looked sophisticated and elegantly sure of herself. Which was exactly the note she wanted to set in front of David, she told herself.

As she dressed she thought again of how close she had come to confronting him in the little mountain town. Even if Rand Alastair failed to save Brady Data Processing, she would always be grateful for his having put a stop to the ill-advised attempt at revenge. She didn’t even want to think of all the disastrous complications that might have ensued. Somehow, she knew, David would have used the confrontation against her, perhaps to compromise her in front of her own staff. There was no doubt about it, she’d had a close call. What if Hutton had gotten word to Brady management that the company’s president was secretly meeting its biggest enemy?

Her gray eyes were sparkling with inner excitement when she opened the door to Rand that evening. And as she took in the sight of him in a hand-tailored evening jacket and dark trousers, she acknowledged that the excitement she was feeling wasn’t just for the adventure of combating David Hutton.

„We both look dressed to kill this evening, don’t we?“ she laughed as they stood admiring each other.

„Very appropriate,“ he murmured, taking her arm. „That’s exactly what we’re going to try to accomplish. A little killing.“

„How did you know where David would be dining tonight?“ she remembered to ask fifteen minutes later as Rand turned the Lotus over to a valet parking attendant and started her toward the expensive restaurant.

„I’m afraid I made use of your secretary,“ he admitted.

„George?“

„I can see why you hired him. George is a very competent person. He managed to get the information out of Hutton’s secretary without even giving her a clue about what was going on behind the scenes.“

Kalinda had a mental image of George smoothly extracting the information he wanted and grinned. She was still smiling as they were shown graciously to an intimate table for two.

Rand saw Kalinda idly taking in the candlelit scene of white linen, shining silver and fresh flowers and grimaced.

„Please don’t tell me Hutton used to bring you here a lot,“ he ordered gruffly, reaching for the wine list.

„He didn’t The place wasn’t open back then,“ she smiled obligingly. She thought fleetingly of the whirlwind courtship David had given her and resized with a start that the memory no longer had any power. She felt neither the flash of anger or the hurt she’d once known.

„Good,“ he stated evenly. „I wouldn’t want any misty memories coming forth to mar the image we’re trying to establish tonight!“

„There aren’t any,“ she replied easily, smiling at him across the flickering flame of the candle. She met his eyes with total honesty and he nodded, apparently satisfied.

„But I could use a little guidance on how to play the coming scene,“ she went on determinedly. „Are we supposed to create the impression of boss and consultant holding a dinner conference? Or should I let him think you’re an old friend of the family who stepped in to give me a hand because of a friendship you once had with Dad? Or…“

„I never met your father,“ he reminded her with an enigmatic smile.

„But it would lend a nice touch to the ‘image’, wouldn’t it?“ she suggested seriously, struck with the brilliance of her own idea.

„Just follow my lead, all right?“ he said repressively.

„But what, exactly, is your lead?“

„You’ll see… Ah! Here he comes now. Looks just like his picture.“

Kalinda stiffened, the sense of adventure going out of the evening as reality intruded. She looked at Rand, watching for some sort of signal, some indication of how to greet David.

And then the other couple was beside the table and Rand was getting politely to his feet as David came to a pointed halt.

„Good evening, Kalinda,“ the well-remembered voice said suavely. „I hadn’t expected to see you here tonight I don’t believe you ever met my wife. Darling, this is Kalinda Brady. She and I are presently involved in some business negotiations.“

Kalinda could have screamed at the harmless way in which he said that, but she looked beyond David’s handsome features to the face of the woman she had used as one of the arguments for not going through with the confrontation with David.

It was a lovely, charming face, a face that said the other woman knew nothing about the darker side of her husband’s nature and preferred it that way.

„Good evening, Mrs. Hutton,“ Kalinda said politely, holding out her hand. It was taken graciously as the other woman smiled and said something polite in return. And then Kalinda glanced at Rand, preparing to introduce him.

„I don’t believe we’ve met,“ Rand was already saying smoothly, before Kalinda could get the proper words out of her mouth. He looked straight at David. „I’m Rand Alastair, Kalinda’s fiance.“