CarnalTakeover (17 page)

She laughed. It sounded weird. “Granddad actually approved
more money? I don’t believe it.”

“I can assure you, he has. Would you like me to call the man
and let him know about the new arrangements?”

She dug her nails into her palm, wanting to hang up, scream,
fight.

“Ms. Waite?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Ms. Waite? Are you still—”

“Of course I am. Where else would I be?” Before he could
answer, she muttered, “No need to call him. I’ll do it.”

“Excellent.” He sounded super cheery despite her froggy
voice, and told her exactly when to expect the taxi. “We’ve taken the liberty
to arrange some entertainment for Mr. King and Mr. Vincent while you’re with
them. Let’s see, the Anchorage Museum, the Native Heritage Center, Ice Museum
in Fairbanks, a few tours, specifically—”

“Wait. Hold it. This is nuts,” she snapped. “If they’re
investors, why in the hell don’t they come here? See what they’re actually
investing in?”

The caller cleared his throat. “You can explain the
operation’s potential to them while they’re having fun, Ms. Waite. They’re not
going up there to rough it.”

Pussies. Maybe she should entertain them as she had Daniel,
Nat, Junior and Red. Maybe her grandfather would like that.

After a prolonged silence, the caller asked, “Ah, are you
still there?”

Barely.

The rest of the morning, afternoon, and her flight rolled by
without Alexandra really noticing. She kept checking her voicemail and email
with both of them empty except for spam messages. She wondered what Daniel was
doing right now. If he was even thinking of her…if he ever would again.

Her doubt continued to grow.

Maybe he hadn’t had such a great time after all, and his
initial tenderness last night was because he felt bad about his decision to
dump her. When she hadn’t taken the hint, he’d simply run off.

She wanted to do the same now, to be anywhere but here. The
waitress had just shown Alexandra and her two guests to their table.

“This is surprisingly nice,” Michael said, regarding the
hotel’s blah restaurant.

Alexandra tried to comment but didn’t have the strength to
point out the obvious. That Alaska was still in America and basically
civilized. He’d probably expected them to be eating outdoors after they’d
killed their food with their bare hands.

He and Greg had dressed in Abercrombie & Fitch’s version
of “the rugged man”. They were both in their early thirties, tall, skinny and
pasty, no doubt billionaires from their internet ventures, and not wearing
wedding rings. Alexandra wondered if this was about Lucius getting her a group
date rather than him acquiring more capital for his holdings.

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Greg asked, rubbing his
pale, thin hands together.

Alexandra shuddered at the thought of them touching her.
“Turning in early.

“So we’re fresh for tomorrow,” she added at his surprised
expression. “I’ve given you a lot to think about.” She’d talked nonstop about
the operation with both of them glazing over during her endless, tepid speech.

“It’s only eight o’clock,” Greg said.

She leveled her gaze on him. “You’re free to stay up as long
as you like. Could be you’ll see the Northern Lights.”

“You mean the Aurora Borealis,” Michael said.

“That too,” she muttered, then warned herself to be nice.
Not to let her own shitty life affect their vacation in the great outdoors.

By the third day of their stay, they’d fallen into the same
depressed silence Alexandra had. She couldn’t stop thinking about Daniel and
didn’t care if anyone else was having a crappy time. Michael and Greg had
regarded the Heritage Center and Ice Museum with expressions that said this
stuff was quaint at best and boring as shit at most. During the twilight hours,
they no longer squinted to see the snowy surroundings, finally ignoring them in
favor of whatever was on their iPhones and iPads.

“If you don’t pay attention,” she finally accused, “you
won’t see anything.”

Greg didn’t bother to look up from his screen. “Without
night-vision goggles, who could see anything anyway?”

Alexandra frowned. “Then why’d you come up here in winter?”

“Your grandfather insisted on it,” Michael muttered.

She’d been right. This was Lucius’ way to set her up with
these two babies who probably needed her grandfather’s money more than he did
theirs. Next to Daniel, they looked as if they hadn’t even gone through puberty
yet. Neither of them had to shave more than twice a week. “Did he say why?”

“He wanted us to see the real Alaska,” Greg mumbled.

Uh-huh. “Which didn’t include the site, what you’re supposed
to be investing in.”

Michael answered, “The truth is, he told us you needed to
get away. You could explain everything perfectly well about the operation while
we were having fun.”

Alexandra arched one eyebrow. “Are you guys having fun?”

“No.”

They’d said it together.

“Want to go home?”

“Do you mind?” Michael asked, looking really down and nerdy.

“Not at all.” She patted his shoulder, feeling sorry for him
and pissed as shit at Lucius. “Let’s make the arrangements. No need to tell my
grandfather. Let him think we’re still here enjoying ourselves.”

Hours later, she was back in the village, cursing herself
for not having driven to the terminal on the day she’d left. She hired a taxi
to take her to the cabin, tossed her luggage inside, then hopped in her SUV.
Even if Daniel didn’t want to talk to her right now, she had to be where he was.

If he was still at the barracks.

She drove faster than she should have on her way to the
site. Once there, she searched for his pickup but didn’t see it. It wasn’t at
the terminal either, she would have noticed. Maybe he and the guys had gone to
the pizza parlor for another game of poker or pool.

Alexandra was about to head there when she warned herself
not to ambush Daniel in front of the guys. He wouldn’t appreciate it. She’d
have to wait until he came back here. Run into him near his cubicle, room or
the dining hall.

Thinking of that, she headed for her office and stopped
abruptly. A guy she’d never seen before came out of the room, holding some of
her printouts in his hands.

“Hey,” she snapped. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He spun around. Strangely enough, he reminded her of Michael
and Greg. Tall and gangly with a sallow complexion. In other words, a pussy,
even though he was dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and construction boots.
All his clothes brand spanking new.

Alexandra grabbed the edge of her papers. “Give me those.”

He held tight. “Ms. Waite?”

“Who else?” She tugged again. At the ripping sound, he
finally released them. “Who are you?” she growled. “What were you doing in my
office?”

“Getting those.” He gestured to the printouts. “They’re not
on the computer, and I needed them.”

“What the hell for?”

“To do my work.” His face was now the shade of a Hawaiian
sunset and getting redder by the minute. “I’m Todd Zimmerman, the new team
lead.”

The hall shifted so quickly, Alexandra had to brace herself
to keep from losing her balance. “What? Wait. What are you talking about?
Daniel Upton’s the team—”

“Not any longer,” Todd interrupted. “I’ve replaced him.”

Alexandra put her hand on the wall to steady herself. She
couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t happening. Daniel couldn’t have wanted to get
away from her so badly that he just left. “You’re saying Daniel quit?”

Todd’s face turned super red. “Actually, he was let go. Your
grandfather—”

“What?”

He backed away from her. “Your grandfather wants to streamline
operations. I can do that perfectly well. Mr. Upton’s projections were overly
cautious. We can cut corners easily without affecting—”

“Over my dead body,” she growled. “You’re not touching
anything here, got it? I’ll have Nat throw you off the premises.”

“Mr. Sterne doesn’t work here any longer,” he shot back.
“Nor do the rest of Mr. Upton’s team. They’ve all been let go, and your
grandfather said I’m in charge.

“Ms. Waite!” he called.

She slammed her office door and locked it. If he had a key
and tried to come inside, she’d knee him in the balls. This was why Lucius had
ordered her to wine and dine his investors. He’d wanted her off-site so he
could take over, put creeps in here who didn’t give a shit about the
environment or people’s lives.

Turning an obscene profit was all that counted no matter who
it hurt.

Alexandra punched in Lucius’ private phone number, something
she never did, not really expecting him to answer. He picked up on the second
ring and spoke first. “So you know. It’s for the best.”

She had no idea how to respond to such a cold and inadequate
comment. No apology. No trying to reason or calm her down. It was simply for
the best, and she was supposed to accept it.

Like fucking hell.

Wanting to hurt something, she shoved her laptop aside. It
skidded to the edge of her desk. A folded piece of paper peeked out from
beneath it. At the top was a large “A”.

For Alexandra? What else.

“Things are already running smoothly,” Lucius added.

Ignoring him, she read the note.

I’m assuming by now you know that your grandfather fired
me and the guys. I’m aware it’s not your fault, no matter what Lucius said. You
wouldn’t have done this. Apparently, he found an engineer willing to circumvent
the rules. I can’t let that happen. I know Lucius is your family and your
loyalty belongs with him. However, if anything happens, the people and wildlife
here will suffer. He’ll simply write it off as the cost of doing business. I
can’t have that and will be reporting him to the authorities.

Sorry.

I wish things could have been different. You made these
last days more wonderful than I could have imagined. I’ll never be able to
thank you enough.

Be happy, Twinkie Lady, and drive carefully. You take too
many risks. It would kill me if you got hurt.—D

“Alexandra,” Lucius barked. “Are you still there?”

She fingered tears from her eyes and steadied herself, her
sorrow replaced with cold rage. “Did you tell Daniel and his team that this was
my idea?”

“Of course. You’re in charge. I didn’t want them to think
that I came in and changed that. This way, they still believed you ran things.”

Even though she hadn’t.

“This will work out much better, you’ll see,” he said. “Todd
graduated from the best schools. He’s smart as hell. His father’s a big shot on
Wall Street.”

What else?

“I know this takes some getting use to,” Lucius finally
muttered at her silence. “But no one’s indispensable. Anyone can be replaced.”

“Even me.”

“What?”

“Me,” Alexandra said, more calmly than she would have
expected. “If you can replace anyone so easily, then you’ll have no trouble
doing it with me, Lucius. From this moment on, I’m not your granddaughter any
longer. I’m not family. Hell, I’m not even a damn employee. I quit. You’re
never going to see me or hear from me again.”

“You’re being absurd.”

“I’m being what Dad never was with you. Honest. Don’t bother
me ever again, Lucius. We are so done.”

“You’re being—”

She slammed down the receiver, cutting him off.

Daniel stood in the river, water rushing past his rubber
waders, his fly rod hanging limply in his hand. He tried to concentrate on the
steelhead he’d come here to catch, the taste of them grilled in butter with
garlic and red pepper.

Couldn’t do it.

His thoughts kept drifting to an entrée of peanut butter and
Beer Nut sandwiches followed by Twinkies. Hardly his favorite dessert given
that he didn’t like sponge cake at all. Not even as a kid. He’d preferred
Hostess cherry pies or their little cinnamon cakes.

Now none of that would do.

He missed Alexandra. God, like a crazy stupid teen he
yearned for her.

Three weeks he’d been away from her teasing, laughter,
heated skin, luscious curves and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Not that
he hadn’t tried, keeping busy every fucking minute.

First, he’d warned the proper authorities what might be
going on with Lucius’ project. They’d grilled him as though he were the one
stepping over the line, asking if he had absolute proof of what he’d claimed.
Like what? A video of Lucius threatening to ruin the environment or a signed
confession saying he was a selfish creep? They kept bringing up the fact that
Lucius had fired Daniel and his team. He insisted right back that he wasn’t out
for revenge over losing his job. This was about the environment, people’s
lives.

The powers that be promised to check out his story. That’s
what they called it. A story. Fiction.

He didn’t have a lot of hope that they’d do anything. But
Alexandra would. She had integrity to spare and would make things right, while
also protecting her grandfather. What a mess Lucius had left her with. How they
could have shared the same DNA was a mystery to Daniel. Maybe she’d been
adopted.

You’re thinking about her again.

Had to stop that. He concentrated on the new job he’d lined
up. In two weeks, he’d be in Canada, toughing out the snow and ice on another
project, this one good for nine months. After that, he might go overseas. Who
knew? For the next three days, he’d be in this remote campground in Washington
state, catching and cooking his meals, if he ever snagged anything.

The fog settled lower, bringing a fine gray mist. Silvery
green and muddy brown were the predominant colors of the forest, the day dreary
as hell. Fitting his sorry mood.

His line tugged. He looked up just in time to feel it loosen
again. His meal gone.

Okay, so maybe he’d be eating the stuff he’d bought in town
last night. Snickers. Milky Ways, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, PayDays. The four
major food groups.

He’d made that comment to her, hadn’t he? Daniel tried to
recall if Alexandra had laughed. Somehow, he wanted to remember her doing that.
For the millionth time, he wondered if he should have stayed and at least said
goodbye. That would have been the right thing to do, but he’d been too scared
to give away his feelings. Not that he was pissed at Lucius, which he was, but
that he needed her, everything she was. The sound of her voice, her giggles and
the way she screeched when he tickled her.

Daniel smiled wistfully at how she’d elbowed him, smashed
the Twinkie on his groin, then ordered him not to let his cells divide, as if
he had any control over that.

Damn, she was something. And he needed her more than
anything or anyone since he’d become a man.

It wasn’t a feeling Daniel liked or could dismiss. His gut
churned, reminding him how lonely he was, which he hadn’t even noticed prior to
meeting her. Shit. Why hadn’t he gravitated toward one of the other women on
the project or the few females in town? They would have been easy to leave.
He’d done it before, having fun, turning away, not thinking about those encounters
for a second. Never wondering if the women pined for him.

Did Alexandra?

She’d been ready to cry outside her cabin that morning but
that could have been embarrassment or humiliation at him being a prick. Could
be she’d already moved on since he’d been out of her life. Maybe she’d hooked
up with the guy who’d taken his place on the project.

Daniel pictured that for a second before his clenched jaw
began to throb. Loosening it, he told himself he had no right to be jealous. No
reason to judge. Alexandra didn’t screw around, no matter what she’d claimed
that night in the pizza parlor. She’d been lonely then too. He and the guys had
been there, so she had…

No. He wasn’t going to go over the past again or debate
whether he should call her to at least say “hi”. He’d come close to doing that
more times than he could count, always pulling back at the last moment. Telling
himself to stop.

He wished he hadn’t.

Hell, he wished he’d never come here. He was tired of
standing in this fucking cold water. His appetite for fish, camping and
anything except sleep was long gone.

Daniel turned back to the shore and stopped dead before he
got there. He blinked, then squinted to see through the mist.

The muscles in his face went slack.

Grayish plumes swirled around Alexandra. She stood at the
edge of the river, dressed in her puffy jacket, jeans and boots, watching him.

Every part of Daniel froze except for his outrageous joy,
thudding heart and whirling thoughts. He couldn’t comprehend how she’d found
him here. This area wasn’t a tourist attraction. He’d been incognito. Running
scared.

Sadness and longing filled her eyes as though she already
knew that. She called out, “If you want me to go away I will.”

“No,” he yelled, slogging through water to get closer.
“Don’t. How did you know I’d be here?”

She smiled wanly. “It wasn’t easy. I had to talk to
practically everyone in your life. Your parents. Relatives. Friends. Nat. He
mentioned this place. Even with that, it took me forever to find you.”

It had taken Daniel a lifetime to meet anyone like her.

“You left me a note,” she said, her voice cracking. “You
called me Twinkie Lady.” Her eyes glittered in the somber light. A tear skidded
down her cheek. “How could you have called me that and left?”

Daniel didn’t recall writing the endearment. He’d been crazy
pissed at the time, saddened too that he wouldn’t be seeing her again. “I’m
sorry.” He sloshed through the water toward her.

Alexandra backed up, hurt on her face.

He stopped.

She pulled in her arms as if she were cold or needed to
protect herself. “You couldn’t wait to get away from me that morning. Why? I
thought you had a great time. You acted like it. Then bam, suddenly you’re
racing away because you had stuff to do. What stuff?”

He lifted his hands in appeasement and suddenly remembered
his pole, lowering it. “I don’t recall.”

“That’s because there was no stuff, was there?” Her chin
trembled. “You just wanted out. Why? Did I do something wrong? Something you
didn’t like? Please, tell me.”

“You did nothing wrong,” he said, moving toward shore again.
“You were perfect. You are perfect.”

She frowned. “Bull. You shouted at me for driving too fast.
In your note you said I take too many risks. Boy are you wrong.” More tears
slipped down her cheeks. “I let you walk away without knowing why, without
telling you how I felt. I’ve missed you, Daniel. Not being with you nearly
killed me. Know why?”

He hurried out of the water, dropping his pole on the bank.

Alexandra backed up again. He followed.

“I’ve wanted you from the moment we met,” she cried. “I know
my feelings scare the shit out of you, but I can’t help it. I really like you.
Hell, I’m probably falling in love. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t stop. Can’t
you understand that? Can’t you—”

His kiss cut off her words, her tears salty on his tongue.
He hated himself for having caused her a moment of unhappiness, and held her
with all the tenderness he felt. Tension drained from her body, leaving her
limp against him.

Daniel stroked her hair. She’d worn it down as he liked.

Oh hell, who was he kidding. She could’ve shaved her head
and he would have thought she looked great. He hadn’t been yanking her chain.
She was perfect. He kissed her for a long moment, savoring her warmth and
flavor, reacquainting himself with the wonder of her, then eased away gently.

Alexandra lifted her face to his, awe, lingering sorrow, and
doubt playing across her features. “Tell me,” she murmured. “I have to know how
you feel.”

His heart beat too fucking hard, his panic returning, as it
always had, but Daniel couldn’t kid himself any longer. He’d been a goner from
the moment she’d shown up in the pizza parlor and asked if he’d wanted to play
with her. God, had he ever.

He smoothed a stray tress from her cheek. “I haven’t been
able to stop thinking about you.”

Her smile wobbled. “Seriously? Don’t lie. Please.”

“Lie? Why would I?”

“You’re afraid to hurt my feelings.”

“I’ve already done that.” He swallowed and whispered, “I’m
so sorry. I’ve been so stupid.”

She searched his face. “Why did you leave the cabin that
morning?”

Despite the chilly weather and fog, Daniel’s cheeks got hot.
“I was scared. I liked you too much.”

Alexandra tried to smile but couldn’t seem to manage it. “I
know. Well, I didn’t know for sure,” she amended. “But I considered it at least
once. If I hadn’t caught up with you, would you have looked for me?”

“I kept thinking about calling you.”

“You didn’t. Why not?”

Because he was a damn fool. “Is this really necessary?”

“It is to me.” She touched his cheek. “Don’t you know how to
answer, or is it you do and don’t want me to know how you really feel?”

He huffed out a sigh. “Until you showed up, I felt crappy.
I’ve been that way since I left Alaska and figured I wouldn’t be seeing you
again.”

“And you were just going to accept it? Tough it out until
you felt better? You wouldn’t have come looking for me? You wouldn’t have even
called me to—”

He stopped her with another kiss, this one deeper, more
impassioned than the last. When Daniel finally pulled his mouth free, he
growled, “Eventually, yeah. I would have.”

She rested her fingers on his lips. “Thank you.”

He eased her hand away and kissed her palm. “I’m the one who
should be saying that.” He couldn’t and wouldn’t fight his emotions any longer.
Hell, his resistance might have lost him these moments. Their future.

A scary thought, but he’d survive, just like guys did every
day when they fell in love.

Love. Shit, another frightening matter. If it’d been up to
him, Daniel would have stopped time so he and Alexandra would never have to
leave this spot or move on to unchartered territory. Knowing how crazy that
was, he asked, “So, what now?”

“You mean you and me?”

“What else?” With him traveling from site to site for months
on end, he wasn’t certain how this could work.

Alexandra’s smile squeezed the last of the tears from her
eyes. “We go back to Alaska and finish the project.”

“Your grandfather’s?” Daniel frowned. “What happened to the
guy who took my place?”

She rocked on her heels and grinned. “Fired his damn ass.”

There was a surprise. “Lucius let you do that?”

“If he wants me to keep being his granddaughter.”

“You actually threatened to leave the Waite fold?”

“I should have done it years ago. My dad should have done it
too.” She cleared her throat and continued, “When I found out Lucius had fired
you and the others—by the way, I hired all them back—I quit and told him he’d
never see me again. Took him a week to come around. At first, he tried to
pretend nothing happened. I kept hanging up on him. I changed my number. He
finally showed up at my condo in San Diego. He snarled a lot, never apologized
but he did cave. Big-time. Said he was getting too old for this shit and wanted
to relax a little. Told me I could run the show as I saw fit. Only me. What I
say goes.” She reached around and smacked Daniel’s ass. “Got it?”

Hell, he’d barely felt her love pat through his rubber
clothes. What she’d said was great, but his heart still sank. “I have another
job. It starts in two weeks. I’m going to Canada.”

She moaned. “Why did you do that?”

“I have to work.”

“Not there. You can’t take it.” She gripped his jacket. “You
won’t, will you?”

He’d already signed on.

“We won’t be able to see each other,” she whispered.

He tried to imagine going through these last three weeks
again, only for nine months on end.
Fuck.
This was why he’d never wanted
to fall for anyone. Love complicated his career. Made his decisions painful.
Impossible.

Alexandra’s chin quivered again. “Will you at least call me
sometime? Text? Something?”

“Please don’t cry.”

“I’m not.” A fat tear hung from her bottom lashes.

“I’ll work it out,” Daniel promised, then took a plunge he’d
never thought he would. “I’ll find someone else for them.”

Alexandra threw her arms around him, hugged hard, then
stopped and eased back. “Not the jackass I fired. I mean it. I’m in charge now.
Got it?”

Daniel rested his forehead against hers and forced himself
not to laugh. “A hostile takeover, huh?”

“More like a carnal takeover.” She ran her tongue over the
seam of his lips.

Damn, that felt nice. A delicious tingling that sent so many
waves of warmth through Daniel, he could barely speak. “Does this mean I have
to call you Ms. Waite from now on?”

“Only at the site,” she murmured. “In bed, you can start
being the boss.”

He pulled back. “Start?”

Her cheeks pinked up even more. He knew it wasn’t because of
the chilly weather.

She dragged her fingers down his jacket. “It’s been so long,
I kind of forgot what we did.”

“That right?” Daniel cupped the back of her neck and drew
her into him, sin on his mind, relief in his heart, desire in his voice. “I’ll
have to remind you.”