Whatever You Like (12 page)

“Right now? I feel just dandy. Talk to me later when the meds wear off.” His eyes twinkled with mirth. “You ever broken an arm or a leg, Roderick?”

“Yes, sir. Broke my arm playing football in high school.”

Cleveland sized him up. “Wide receiver?”

“That's right.”

“Were you any good?”

Roderick shrugged. “I was decent.”

“Come on,” Cleveland guffawed. “I bet you're just being modest. Guy your size? With those hands? I bet you were named All-State and had college recruiters fighting over you.”

Roderick smiled. “I may have received one or two scholarship offers.”

Cleveland grinned. “That's probably another understatement, but okay, I'll play along. So what happened? You broke your arm and decided football wasn't for you?”

“Poppa!” Lena chided, throwing an apologetic glance at Roderick. “I'm sure Mr. Brand didn't come here to be interrogated.”

“I don't mind,” Roderick drawled, his eyes glimmering with laughter. “To answer your question, Mr. Morrison, I never intended to pursue a career in professional football. It wasn't my passion. Running my own company someday?
That
got my juices flowing.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lena could see Morgan's lips curving in a slow, lascivious grin. Apparently Lena wasn't the only one whose hormones had reacted to Roderick's use of the words
passion
and
juices flowing
in the same breath. Her “juices” hadn't stopped flowing since she met him.

“I can definitely respect that,” Cleveland was saying. “It takes a lot of courage to go after what you want.”

“Persistence helps, too,” Roderick added, flicking a glance at Lena that was so subtle she wondered if she was the only one who'd caught it.

Cleveland smiled affably. “It's rewarding when your persistence pays off, as yours obviously has.”

Lena shot a stricken look at her grandfather, relieved when she realized that he was referring to Roderick's company—not her. “I understand that you've recently expanded into the Japanese energy market,” Cleveland continued. “That was quite a deal you landed. Congratulations.”

Roderick smiled. “Thank you, sir. I had an angel on my side,” he murmured, giving Lena another one of those secret looks.

“One of my comrades at the retirement home is a big fan of yours,” Cleveland said, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents between Roderick and his granddaughter. “Abraham's the one who got me into reading the
Wall Street Journal
and
Financial Times.
When you were named Businessman of the Year, Abraham was so excited you'd have thought his first grandchild had just been born. Come to think of it, I don't even think he broke out cigars for
that
occasion.”

Roderick chuckled. “He sounds like quite a character.”

“Oh, he is,” Cleveland agreed with a laugh. “If you
ever met him, the first thing he'd do is give you pointers on how to run your business. Doesn't matter how much he admires and respects you. He just has to throw in his two cents. He does the same thing with Lena's singing.”

“Singing?” A spark of interest lit Roderick's eyes as he looked at Lena. “I didn't know you could sing.”

An embarrassed flush crawled up her neck. “Everyone can sing. Some better than others. I fall into the ‘others' category.”

“What?” Cleveland laughingly scoffed at the suggestion. “Don't listen to her, Roderick. She's just taking a page from your modesty playbook. My baby girl sings like a bird. Which is no surprise, considering who she's named after.”

Roderick smiled slowly at her. “You're named after Lena Horne?”

She nodded, grinning wryly. “No pressure, right?”

“You should ask Lena to sing ‘Stormy Weather' for you. Or ‘Love Me or Leave Me.'
Ooo-wee.
” Cleveland laughed, shaking his head. “She'll have you wrapped around her little finger after that.”

Roderick smiled faintly. “I think she already does,” he murmured, holding Lena's gaze.

She swallowed, then swallowed again when the knot in her throat wouldn't dissolve.

Cleveland looked from one to the other with undisguised interest. “So where did you two meet anyway?”

The blood drained from Lena's head. “Meet?” she croaked.

“Yeah.” Cleveland smiled whimsically. “No offense, baby girl, but I didn't realize you traveled in the same
social circles as billionaire CEOs. So I'm just curious about how you and Roderick met.”

“Oh.” She licked her dry lips. “We, ah…”

Roderick watched her, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“We met, um, at—”

From the foot of the bed, Morgan went into a violent coughing paroxysm that drew her grandfather's concerned gaze. “Are you okay?” he asked her. “You need some water?”

Morgan gasped, vigorously nodding her head.

“Lena, pour your sister some water.”

Lena jumped up, only too happy to do as he'd told her. As she handed the plastic cup to her sister, she mouthed,
Thank you.

Eyes glimmering with mischief, Morgan mouthed back,
You owe me.

I know,
Lena replied.

Turning back toward their grandfather, she announced briskly, “All right, Poppa, we're going to leave now so you can get some sleep.”

Cleveland frowned. “But—”

“No buts. You've had a long day, and you really need to rest. But don't worry. Morgan and I will be here when you wake up later. We'll get something from the cafeteria and have dinner with you. Okay?” Not giving him a chance to argue, she leaned down and kissed his forehead, then gave Morgan and Roderick a look that warned them there'd be hell to pay if they didn't follow her out of the room.
Now.

Roderick chuckled softly. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morrison.”

“Same to you, son. Say, do you have a pen? I'd love to have you autograph my cast.”

Ignoring the dirty look Lena gave him, Roderick smiled. “Sure. I'd be honored.”

Cleveland grinned broadly. “When Abraham finds out that I met you, he's gonna be so jealous. Lena, give the man a pen.”

“Sorry, Poppa. I don't have one.”

“I do!” Morgan piped up, earning a glare from her sister.

As Roderick began writing on the cast, Cleveland glanced up at his granddaughters. “He'll be out in a minute,” he said, all but shooing them out the door.

The last thing Lena wanted was to leave Roderick alone with her grandfather, who was clearly up to something. But before she could object, Morgan grabbed her hand and dragged her from the room and down the hospital corridor.

When they were a safe distance away, Morgan squealed excitedly, “Oh my God! You're sleeping with him!”

“Shhh!” Mortified, Lena glanced up and down the hallway to make sure no one had overheard her. Thankfully, the only person around was well out of earshot.

Turning back to Morgan, she demanded, “What makes you think I'm sleeping with Roderick?”

Morgan snorted out an incredulous laugh. “You're kidding, right? It's so obvious!”

“How?”

“For starters, every time he just looked at you, Lena, I expected your clothes to go up in flames. It wasn't the lewd, crude stare you get from a guy at the club who's checking you out and wondering how he can get in your panties. No, girl, Roderick looks at you with pride of ownership.”

“Pride of ownership?” Lena scoffed.

“Yeah. Like he's already
been
in your panties and has memorized every dip and curve of your body, so every time he sees you, it's like he's reliving the experience all over again.” Morgan shuddered, fanning her face with her hand. “I'd
kill
to have a smokin' hot guy look at me that way!”

Lena knew “the look” her sister was talking about. Knew it all too well.

“You spent the weekend with him, didn't you?” Morgan persisted, a knowing gleam in her eyes. “You didn't go out of town on business. You were with Roderick. Fess up.”

“Fine,” Lena groaned in defeat. “You're right. We were together.”

“I knew it!”

“No, you don't, Morg. It's complicated.”

“I don't see why. Girl, that man is even finer than he looked on
Oprah.
Those eyes, those lips, those shoulders, those hands. That
voice.
And you were right—he smells delicious!” Morgan sighed deeply. “I never thought I'd say this, Lena, but I hate you. I really hate you.”

“Hey!” Lena laughingly protested.

Morgan grinned. “I'll only forgive you if you tell me that he has a brother.”

Lena chuckled. “Actually, he has a tw—” She broke off abruptly as Roderick emerged from her grandfather's hospital room.

He glanced down the corridor, his dark gaze latching onto hers.

“Like a heat-seeking missile,” Morgan murmured.

Lena blushed. Not wanting to stand there ogling Roderick as he sauntered toward them, she turned away and pretended to admire a pastel seascape, the kind
of generic painting that graced the walls of hospital corridors everywhere.

Morgan, on the other hand, had no qualms about ogling Roderick. As he drew closer, she intoned under her breath, “What a man, what a man, what a man.”

“Shhh!” Lena hissed. “He'll hear you!”

Morgan grinned unabashedly.

When Roderick reached them, Lena turned and plastered on a gracious smile. “Thanks for bringing me to the hospital, Roderick. I really appreciate it. But you don't have to stick around any longer. I'm sure you have things to do.”

He looked amused. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No.”
Hell, yes!
“It's just that I don't want to take up any more of your time.”

“I don't mind. And I promised to drive you home, remember?”

“That won't be necessary. I can catch a ride home with Morgan.”

“Actually,” Morgan interjected, “my car's a mess, and you always complain—”

“I'll deal with it.” Keeping her serene smile in place, Lena said to Roderick, “See? There's really no reason for you to stay.”

“Unless you really want to,” Morgan told him.

Lena skewered her with a look. “Would you mind giving us a minute?”

Morgan divided a glance between her sister and Roderick, then grinned. “No problem. I need to return a phone call anyway.”

As she strolled off, Roderick smiled at Lena. “I like your family. I can tell how much you guys love one another.”

“Thanks,” Lena muttered, then added sullenly, “They seem to really like you, too.”

His smile deepened. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“I'm not so sure it isn't. By the way,” she said accusingly, “thanks for letting me twist in the wind when my grandfather asked where we'd met.”

Roderick grinned unrepentantly. “I was waiting to hear your answer. I wanted to see how good you are at thinking on your feet.” He shook his head, tsk-tsking. “Not very good at all.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I wouldn't have had to come up with any answer if you hadn't put me in that position in the first place! I thought I told you to stay in the waiting room!”

“You did,” Roderick said mildly. “But I wanted to meet your grandfather.”

“Why?” she burst out in exasperation. “It's not as if you and I are dating!”

“We're doing something.”

“We're having sex. Wild, unbelievably hot sex. That doesn't warrant me introducing you to my family. Now they're going to have all these questions for me, questions I can't answer!”

Roderick's expression softened. For the first time, she detected a trace of guilt in his eyes. “Let me take you and your sister out to lunch,” he gently suggested. “I'll have you back before your grandfather wakes up.”

Lena shook her head, dragging a hand through her hair. “Thanks for the offer, but I'd prefer to stay here in case Poppa needs anything.”

“That's what the nurses are for.”

“I know. And they're perfectly capable. But I'd really rather not leave. In fact, I'm going to need my evenings
free this week to stay with Poppa while he's hospitalized. Given his age and health issues, the doctor wants to keep him for observation for a few days before he goes back to the retirement home.”

Roderick nodded. “I understand.”

“So you don't mind that I might not be able to see you this week?”

He smiled at her surprised tone. “I'm not an ogre, Lena. I know that you have priorities, and your grandfather is one of them. If we have to postpone spending time together, then so be it.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Of course.” He paused. “But you should know that your grandfather asked me to take you to dinner and a show sometime this week.”

“He did
what?
”

Roderick's lips twitched. “He asked me—”

“I heard you,” Lena interrupted, frowning. “Why did he ask you that?”

“He said you're always going places alone. Museums, restaurants, movies. He thinks you're lonely.”

“I'm not lonely,” she snapped, flushing with humiliation.

“Your grandfather thinks you are. So he wants me to take you out on another date—”

“Another?”

Roderick grinned. “He seems to be under the impression that we've just started dating. And since you didn't correct him—”

“Neither did you, obviously.”

His grin widened. “I didn't have the heart to do it. And it wasn't really my place.”

Lena scowled. “Your ‘place' was the waiting room,
where you were supposed to stay out of sight. But,
nooo,
you just had to go rogue.” She groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. “This is just the beginning. First he's planning our dates, next he'll be planning our wedding.”