The Courtship of Dani (3 page)

Dani pulled a sheet of paper from her briefcase and laid it on Jason's desk. Staring straight into his stony face, she said, "This is a copy of my resume. I carry it with me for times when I run into people like you. If you will take the time to read it, you'll see that I've been in the business for eight years. Also that I graduated from college at twenty with a master's degree in business, and have since earned a master's in computer science and a B.A. in electrical engineering."

Without waiting for a reply Dani snapped her briefcase shut and rose to her feet with great dignity. At the door she paused with her hand on the knob and looked back at her boss. "Either Bill or Roger can probably handle this job without too much trouble.

Being male, I'm sure they'll suit Mr. St. Clair much better." Her glittering eyes flicked disinterestedly to the man behind the desk then returned to Frank. "I'll wait for you in the car." Keeping a tight rein on her anger, Dani closed the door behind her with a soft click.

In the silence that followed, both men stared at the closed door. Frank's face wore a look of concern. Jason's was a harsh, inscrutable mask.

At last Frank heaved a sigh and turned regretful eyes on the younger man. "You're wrong, you know," he said quietly. "I know that Dani looks like she ought to be a model or a movie star, but believe me, it's a mistake to think that you can't have brains and beauty in the same package. Hell, the woman's iq is on the genius level. That's how she was able to zip through school so fast." He paused, but when Jason made no comment he sighed again and added in a voice that held little hope, "You really ought to reconsider."

Jason stared hard at Frank. "Is she involved with your son?"

"Well now, I uh.. .1 won't deny that I do have hopes in that direction," Frank hedged, shifting uneasily in his seat.

Derision glinted in the tobacco-brown eyes. Jason picked up Dani's resume, glanced at it and with a scornful smile dropped it into the trash can beside his desk. "Put someone else on the job, Frank," he commanded in a soft, inflexible voice, "or I hire another consulting firm."

Frank's shoulders slumped. "Very well, Jason. If you insist. But it will mean a delay. I'll pull Roger Thurston off the job he's working on and reassign him to you, but first he'll need a few days to brief Dani so that she can take over for him."

"Whatever it takes," Jason replied flatly.

For a few moments after Frank left, Jason sat in his chair, staring broodingly out the window at nothing, his face stony. Then he slowly reached down and retrieved the resume from the trash can.

A frown of concentration pulled his pale bushy brows together as he scanned the page. Then gradually they began to climb, and he emitted a soft, hissing whistle between his teeth. Reluctantly Jason had to admit he was impressed: Dani Edwards's credentials were top-notch.

Grim-faced, Jason tossed the sheet of paper onto his desk and leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the padded leather arms. He didn't doubt for a minute that a few phone calls would bear out all the facts listed, or that her former clients would sing her praises.

Conflicting emotions roiled Jason's conscience, prodding him into restlessness, and he lunged out of his chair. Like a caged tiger he paced the mammoth office, finally coming to a halt before the window that looked over the industrial complex.

Below, an eighteen-wheeler was backed up to the warehouse dock, and a crew of men was unloading its cargo of strip aluminum. Farther down, another truck was being loaded with windows and doors for shipment to a housing project. From inside the long factory came the high-pitched whine of saws and metal drills, the clatter of conveyer belts and the hum of precision machinery.

Thrusting back his suit coat, Jason splayed his large hands across his hips and stared blindly at the bustling scene. All right! All right, you were wrong! he thought harshly, his lips twisting as though the admission left a bitter taste in his mouth. She is capable. And qualified. But dammit! That doesn't change things. No matter how smart she is, if the woman doesn't have any better judgment or taste than to get involved with Lewis Manders, I sure as hell don't intend to turn my company over to her.

Jason was honest enough to admit that part of the problem was that he was attracted to Dani, and Saturday night it had infuriated him to realize that she was involved with Lewis. That he had been unable to dismiss her from his mind all weekend irritated him further. But that wasn't all of it. He had gotten where he was by a lot of hard work, careful planning, a little luck and a knack for hiring the right people—people whose judgment he trusted absolutely.

Jason raked spread fingers through his thick shock of blond hair, then his hand slid down the back of his head to cup his neck. How could an otherwise intelligent woman be so blind?

His fingertips dug painfully into the taut muscles as he recalled the way Lewis had hovered over Dani Saturday night. The way he had kissed her. Touched her. Then an even more disturbing picture began to form, one that blocked out everything else, even the factory and the bustle of activity on the docks. In his mind's eye, Jason could see Danielle naked on a bed, her shining sable hair spread out on a pillow. Her vivid blue eyes heavy lidded and glazed with passion, her lovely long legs entwined with Lewis's, while she clutched frantically at his bare back.

The hand at Jason's nape clenched painfully, and the one at his side knotted into a tight fist.

"Damn."

When Dani arrived home that evening the first thing she saw when she stepped off the elevator was Chad— propped against her door, his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans, one foot crossed indolently over the other. He was whistling softly, but when he saw Dani he broke off and smiled, straightening away from the door.

"Hi, sis."

Dani gave him a dry look, amused cynicism crooking one corner of her mouth. "Hi, yourself. I wondered how long it would be before you showed up."

She inserted her key and pushed the door open. Chad sauntered inside and as usual headed straight for the kitchen. With a sigh Dani closed the door and followed, detouring on the way to her desk to deposit her mail and check the answering machine.

When she entered the kitchen she found Chad bent over in front of the open refrigerator. "Good grief! A mouse would starve to death in this house. All you've got in here is cheese and bread, some wine and bacon and eggs."

"I returned your call yesterday, but Dad said you were out," Dani said, ignoring his complaint.

"Yeah. I went up to Lake Conroe with some of the guys. Tom's folks have a houseboat up there and they let us use it." He backed out of the refrigerator holding a round of cheese, and started rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out bread and chips and anything else that caught his eye. "Got any peanut butter? I'm starved."

"Aren't you always?" Dani ruffled his curly brown hair then reached around him and pulled out the enormous jar she kept just for him. "You must have a hollow leg."

He flashed her a grin, his hazel eyes twinkling, and began to spread peanut butter on a slice of bread. "I'm just a growing boy."

"God forbid," Dani muttered, surveying his gangly six-foot-two frame. She grimaced when he piled a slice of cheese and a dill pickle on top of the peanut butter and looked away as he bit into the nauseous combination. At twenty, Chad still had the cast-iron stomach and bizarre tastes of an adolescent. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"When I called?" Chad hitched himself onto a high bar stool and hooked his boot heels on the lower rung, his long skinny legs sticking out like bent broom straws. He popped the tab off a soft drink can and took a long swig. "Oh, I just wanted to borrow your wheels to drive up to Conroe, but when I didn't hear from you I bummed a ride with Jerry," he replied vaguely, studying his sandwich for the best spot to launch another attack.

"And to what do I owe this visit today?"

"Mmmm, Mom wanted me to tell you that she's planning a family get-together next week," he said around a mouthful of food. "She wants you to come if you can."

"She couldn't call me and ask herself?"

"She did, but she got your answering machine and hung up. You know how Mom is. That thing makes her tongue-tied. She knew I was coming over so she asked me to tell you."

"I see." And Dani was very much afraid that she did. Sophie Edwards talked daily to Charlene, Chad's twin, as a matter of course, but she called Dani only when she had to, and then it was a duty call, or, like this time, an occasional invitation. Dani tried to tell herself it didn't matter, that it was only natural to love your own child more than an adopted one, but it still hurt when she let herself think about it. "Well, tell her I'll be happy to come and I'll call her later in the week about it."

"Sure." Chad downed the last of the sandwich, polished off the cola in one long swallow, and slid off the stool. "Well, I gotta run. I need to hit the books. Got a biology exam tomorrow."

Dani followed him out of the kitchen, surprised, and faintly pleased. "You mean that's it? That's all you came by for?"

"Sure. Well, that is.. .there is this one other little matter," he amended as he reached the door. "You see, the thing is, I'm broke, and I've got a date with this really great-looking chick next weekend and—"

"How much do you need?" Dani asked wryly, stifling the absurd feeling of disappointment that pressed at her chest.
Don't be a fool. You didn't honestly think he had just dropped by to see you, did you?

Chad grinned devilishly. "How much can you spare?"

She gave him thirty dollars, and he gave her a peck on the cheek.

When Dani closed the door behind him the apartment seemed silent and empty, and there was a strange little ache in her chest. "Thanks, little brother. That was just what I needed to top off a perfectly rotten day," she murmured dejectedly as she wandered into the bedroom, absently stripping off her clothes.

Chad's presence had temporarily banished her earlier anger, but the words had no sooner left her mouth than it returned full force. With jerky movements Dani hung up her dress, stepped out of her shoes and peeled off her panty hose. Every time she thought about that interview with Jason St. Clair she felt as though she were about to splinter apart.

The man is an arrogant, opinionated, small-minded fool, she told herself icily. You're lucky not to have to work with him.

All day she had told herself the same thing, but it did nothing to alleviate her icy rage. Dani made a frustrated sound, stalked across to the antique four-poster and flung herself across the wide expanse. She lay on her back, arms extended, fingers unconsciously clawing at the candlewick bedspread. Her pink satin slip flowed lovingly over her curves, its smooth surface glowing with the rosy pearlescence of a summer sunrise.

Lord, how she hated—hated—being dismissed. And all because of that spineless parasite, Lewis!

And Frank. By all means, she told herself with a small bitter laugh. Let's not forget Frank's part in all this.

But at least, if nothing else, today's fiasco accomplished one thing; she had gotten rid of Lewis. A small, satisfied smile curved Dani's mouth as she recalled the ultimatum she had given Frank when he joined her in the car after leaving Jason St. Clair's office. He had not been at all pleased with that.

"Call him off," she'd said flatly the moment Frank slid behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz.

Frank swung his head around and looked at her warily. She was sitting ramrod straight in the plush seat, staring straight ahead, her face as expressionless as marble. "Who?" he asked cautiously.

Turning her head part way, Dani slanted him a scornful look. Her blue eyes stabbed into him like shards of ice. "You know who. Lewis. Your precious son." Sheepishly Frank looked away, and Dani's mouth twitched in a cool little half-smile. "Ahh, I see you know what I'm referring to. Well, listen to me, Frank, because I'm only going to say this once. Tell your son to give it up. To leave me alone. Because if he doesn't, I'll be forced to find other employment."

"Dani, I—"

"I mean it, Frank. I won't be put through another embarrassing scene like the one I just endured. Nor will I lose clients because of this crazy pipe dream of yours. Just in case I'm not making myself clear, let me spell it out for you. I will not, under any circumstances, marry Lewis."

Frank's shoulders slumped. "Ah, Dani, why not? You would be getting a handsome, charming, rich husband, and when the time came, I'd see to it that the running of the company was left strictly in your hands." He lifted his brows and looked at her pleadingly. "Would it really be so bad?"

"In a word—yes."

Remembering the defeated look on Frank's face, Dani's smile faded. She regretted having to squash his hopes so bluntly, but patience and subtlety had gotten her nowhere, and enough was enough.

Dani was relieved to be rid of Lewis but the resentment and anger she felt toward Jason St. Clair was by far the stronger emotion. As she lay there staring at the ceiling, she remembered clearly his sneering remarks and the hateful dismissive way he had looked at her, and she felt a strong desire to hurl something.

Alarmed, Dani sprang off the bed and stomped toward the bathroom. Just forget him. Put the whole incident out of your mind, she told herself as she shimmied out of the satin slip and tossed it into the hamper. It's not important, so just pretend it never happened.