Reluctant Romance (3 page)

“You remember Tristan Dunn…Tristan, my daughter Risa.” Dan Kennedy waved his hand between the two as they shook hands and mumbled greetings to each other.

“Connor should be here shortly,” Tristan said. “Seems he’s having a bit of a hard time remembering how to navigate the streets here.”

Or lost track of time with his latest floozy, Risa caught herself thinking.
 

The waiter appeared at Risa’s elbow.

“Can I get you a drink?”

Risa pursed her lips considering it. She didn’t drink much, but maybe a little cocktail would help take the edge off of being forced to act nice when “nice” was the last thing she was feeling. Glancing down at the back of the menu, she noticed a list of fancy martinis.
 

“I’ll have a pomegranate martini,” she blurted out.
How much harm could a fruity martini do?

She looked up to see Tristan smiling at something over her shoulder.
 

“Here’s Connor,” Tristan said.

Risa turned in her chair. Connor Dunn made a stunning appearance in a well-tailored navy-blue suit. She noticed several of the female patrons staring at him as he sauntered over to their table.
 

“Risa, Dad…Mr. Kennedy." Connor nodded greetings to all, stretching across the table to shake hands with the older men. Risa couldn’t help but notice how the blue silk hankie in his top pocket highlighted the deep sapphire color of his eyes.
 
Her heart gave a little flutter and she bit the inside of her cheek.
 
Such thoughts about Connor could only cause more problems for her.

Her father and Tristan were already seated on the other side of the table which left the seat next to Risa for Connor. Her stomach burned as he pulled out the chair. By the look on his face, he was about as happy with this dinner as she was.
 

The martini appeared in front of her. Risa took a long sip, then, straightening her back, she settled in her chair and prepared for battle.

###

Risa’s stomach grumbled as the waiter placed the bread basket on the table. She’d ordered a large steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and a salad, but since she hadn’t eaten in almost eight hours, the bread had an irresistible appeal.

She grabbed a piece, slathered it in butter, and bit in. The creamy butter and savory, rustic bread tasted like heaven. She hoped it would counteract the effects of the martini, which coursed through her veins at a dangerous speed.

Across the table, her father raised his glass. “A toast to the marriage of Dunn International and Healthy-Pet!"
 

Risa almost choked on her bread.
Marriage?
 
Reluctantly she raised her pomegranate martini, shoving it into the middle of the table to clink glasses. She noticed Connor seemed just as reluctant to raise his bottle of beer.

“So, how did the tour go?” Tristan looked from Risa to Connor.

“Umm…well, it was just a preliminary tour. I showed Connor the offices and our clinic." Risa glanced at Connor, noticing a nervous tic in his cheek. Apparently Connor thought it went just about as well as she did.

Connor cleared his throat at his father’s expectant look. “It’s still early in the process."
 

“I’m not sure I was successful in conveying how important the clinic is to the company, though. I hope it’s not going to be a casualty of the acquisition,” Risa said.

Tristan raised his eyebrow at Connor. “What about the clinic?”

Connor lifted his beer, taking a long swig. “Well, it doesn’t seem to be a profitable piece of the puzzle. I still need to look into the finances though."
 

“Oh, I’m sure it will all workout fine!” Dan’s voice was jovial. “Drink up, we should be celebrating!”

“It is a little premature to celebrate.” Connor raised his eyebrows, looking from Risa’s father to his.

“Don’t be silly,” Tristan said. “The evaluation is just a formality, right?
 
I’m sure you’ll find everything is in order. Dan and I
really
want this to go through, don’t we, Dan?”

Tristan turned to Dan, who nodded. “Yes, absolutely. I’m sure you kids will make it happen.”

Risa stared across the table. Dan and Tristan were looking at her and Connor as if they were children who had no choice but to obey.
 

She dropped her gaze, picking at the edge of the napkin in her lap. It was clear neither her father nor Tristan would change their minds.

Her only hope was to get Connor to convince his father the company was a bad investment.
   

“What kinds of things would you be looking for?” she asked, glancing sideways at Connor, then at his father.

Connor shrugged. “Good solid profits, an aggressive five-year plan, proper accounting practices. You know, that sort of stuff.”

“What about the employee packages, benefits, and such?”

“Yes, well, that all figures into the financials.”

Risa tore a piece from the bread on her plate and cut her eyes over to Connor. “Anything specific that you look for?”
If she could find out what exactly he was looking for, maybe she could make sure he didn’t get the answer he wanted.

He looked at her with furrowed brows. Risa pretended to be more interested in her bread than what Connor had to say, popping the piece into her mouth then dusting the crumbs onto her plate.
 

Connor opened his mouth to speak. Risa’s ears went into hyper mode, straining to hear what he had to say…but he never said a word. The waiter picked that exact time to appear with their dinner plates, interrupting the moment.

The table fell silent while everyone dug into their meals. Risa finished off her martini. A pang of guilt stabbed her while she thought about her father’s dreams for retirement. He wanted the money from the sale of Healthy-Pet so he could travel the world, golfing and just enjoying life. She didn’t want to deny him that, but she couldn’t let the Dunns turn their company into something that was just about money and profits.
 

Digging into her steak, she felt a blanket of reluctant resignation settle over her. She would have to do whatever it took to make the company look like a bad investment. But she’d have to be smart about it.
 

Connor was no dummy. It would be disastrous if he figured out she was purposely making things look bad for the company. If anyone found out, she’d be risking her reputation, her relationship with her father, and the company she was so desperately trying to save.
 

###

Connor savored the last bite of his cedar plank salmon. A gourmet cook himself, he wondered if he could get the recipe from the chef. He was always looking for good recipes to add to his collection.

He glanced sideways at Risa. Wisps of curls that had escaped from her braid, framed her face making her look young and vulnerable. Connor felt his heart beat faster when she looked over at him with her wide hazel eyes. He looked away, pushing the unwanted feelings aside.
 

His eyes narrowed as he thought about the earlier conversation. Was Risa fishing to find out exactly what kinds of things he was going to look at in order to determine if they should buy Healthy-Pet?
 
And if she was…why?
 

“…remember how we used to barbecue on Sundays?” Connor heard his father asking Dan Kennedy.

Dan laughed. “You used to burn the hot dogs every time!”

“Do you kids remember that?” Tristan asked Risa and Connor.

Risa smiled. “I remember catching hell for eating all the watermelon.”

Dan laughed. “You always did love watermelon.”

“And I still do.”

“Dan, I can’t believe you still live in the same house,” Tristan said.

Dan nodded. “Now that Angie’s gone, I can’t bear to move. Seems like the whole life we built is in that house."
 

Tristan put his hand on Dan’s arm. “I know what you mean.”

Connor felt his heart clench remembering his own mother. She’d passed right around the same time Angie Kennedy had. It was still a raw wound for both him and his father. He imagined Risa and her father shared the same feelings.

Connor looked across the table at the two older men. When their families were young, they had lived in the same neighborhood and had been friends. The Dunns had moved two hours away once Dunn International started to grow, but Tristan and Dan had remained friendly. The death of their wives had brought them even closer together these past two years, causing the men to form a strong bond.

Dan brightened. “The neighborhood is still great, though. And so convenient
 
to everything.”

“It is a great location,” said Tristan. “Good-sized lots, close to shopping, the highway and the airport. I bet it looks even nicer now with mature landscaping.”

Dan nodded. “Hey, I thought I saw your old house was up for sale.”

“Oh, really?" Tristan chuckled. “That was a great house. I bet they’re asking a lot more than what I sold it for twenty years ago.”

Connor thought back to his boyhood home. It
was
a great house. A center chimney cape with a big yard. Just what he was looking for now. Maybe he would take a ride by while he was in town. Just for a look.

The waiter appeared peddling dessert and coffee. All four passed on dessert but took him up on the coffee.
 

 
“So, how long do you think the evaluation will take, Connor?" Tristan asked.

“The usual time as any acquisition. About a week. Barring any unforeseen circumstances.” He shot a sideways look at Risa. “Hopefully everything will be ready for us and easy to access. That will make things go faster.”

Risa nodded.

“Great, I’d like to get this wrapped up as soon as possible.” Tristan rubbed his hands together.

Connor focused on his coffee, adding cream from a miniature pitcher and stirring. Beside him, Risa blotted her lips with a napkin.

“Excuse me,” she said. Pushing back from the table, she stood, grabbed her purse, and walked toward the bathroom.

Connor couldn’t help but notice her dress clung to her in all the right places accentuating her slim waist and generous breasts. As she walked away, he noticed she wobbled a little. Probably unsteady on those high heels, he thought. Like she wasn’t used to them, which he found very appealing in contrast to the high-society girls and models who were usually thrust upon him by well-meaning friends and business associates.

Connor turned back to his coffee with a sigh. Risa Kennedy was attractive. And smart too. But smart could be dangerous. He had a funny feeling she was up to something. He could think of only one reason why she would be fishing to find out exactly what the evaluation would entail - the company had things to hide and she needed to know just which ones to cover up.

Connor didn’t know what she was trying to hide, but he did know one thing for sure. He’d better keep a close eye on the beautiful and dangerous Risa Kennedy if he knew what was good for him and his father’s company.
 

Chapter Four

A trail of crumbs fell from Risa’s pumpernickel bagel onto the floor under her chair. She didn’t have to worry about cleaning them up. Bailey was on it in a second, inhaling every crumb. After she was done, she fixed her soft brown eyes on Risa’s bagel in case there was a repeat performance.
 

Risa’s stomach flip-flopped, tossing the bagel around uncomfortably. She had gotten in early to meet with Caitlyn before Connor and his accounting expert arrived. It was almost time.

She shoved the rest of the bagel into the bag, ignoring the look of disappointment on Bailey’s face. Pushing the chair away from her desk, she stood, brushed the crumbs from her slacks, and made her way to the door.

Risa looked back at Bailey, still under the desk searching for crumbs. “Stay." Bailey hardly gave her a glance.
 

Risa’s shoulders sagged as she walked down the hall to the accounting section. She wasn’t proud of what they were going to do.
 

Reaching Caitlyn’s office, she could see the petite blonde engrossed in papers spread out on her desk. Risa tapped softly on the side of the door. Caitlyn jumped.
 

“Oh, hi. Come on in.” Caitlyn stood up, running shaky hands through her silky hair.

Risa walked over to her, standing close so no one would overhear. “Are you all set?”

Caitlyn nodded. “I’ve done a little creative rearranging of files. Some of them are not where they should be. They’ll produce a database error when he tries to look at them so it will seem like a computer glitch.”

“Good. So you didn’t change any of the records?”

“No. That would be a last resort. We don’t wanna go there. I figure if he can’t look at the files, he can’t find…well, you know." Caitlyn’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“And if he can’t see all the financials, he won’t know if the company is doing well or not. Plus the glitches will make it seem like we aren’t organized, or using best practices."
 

“Right.”

“Perfect. Hopefully that will be enough to give them a sour taste about Healthy-Pet.”

Risa sensed the nervous energy coming from Caitlyn.
 

“You can pull this off, right?" she asked.

Caitlyn let out a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Okay.” Risa looked at her watch and started toward the door. “I’ll be back around ten with Connor and his accountant. Good luck.”

Caitlyn smiled and gave a thumbs-up.
 

Risa walked back to her office on shaky limbs. She hoped Caitlyn’s diversions would work. If the accountant couldn’t see the full financials, how could he evaluate the company? It was smart to hide them through a veil of missing files and computer glitches.
 

Risa knew Caitlyn would do her best; after all she had just as much of an interest in keeping their little secret hidden as Risa did.

###

Back in her office, Risa busied herself with trying not to look at the clock every five minutes. At precisely ten o’clock, Meredith ushered Connor and a middle-aged man in an expensive suit through the door. Risa stood and came around the desk.