Christmas Secrets

“And miss the fun?” asked Luca.

“Let’s get Amber decked out first,” said Cole. “I want to make sure she doesn’t hold back.”

“You doubt my powers of persuasion?” asked Destiny.

“You’ll make me self-conscious,” Amber told Cole.

“What better means to cure you? If you can get comfortable in front of me, the rest of the executives will be easy.” He pointed to a headless mannequin in a blazer and skirt combination. “What about that?”

The skirt was short and black, scattered with tiny white flecks. The blouse was white with a braided scooped neck. And the blazer was solid black, fitted, with the sleeves pushed up the forearms.

“I like the necklace, too,” said Cole. “And the belt. Why not try on the whole thing?”

“You don’t think the skirt’s a little short?” Amber asked. Though she would admit, the outfit looked fun.

“Shows you have confidence,” said Cole.

“I don’t have confidence.”

Cole turned to Destiny. “You see what I’m dealing with?”

“It would work with black stockings,” said Destiny.

Cole opened his mouth, but Luca elbowed him in the ribs.

A sales clerk arrived. “Do you need any help?” she asked with a broad smile.

Amber couldn’t help wondering what Cole had been about to say on the topic of black stockings. She also couldn’t seem to stop a shimmer of sexual awareness.

“She needs a whole new wardrobe,” said Cole, gesturing to Amber.

Amber shifted under everyone’s scrutiny. “Oh, I wouldn’t say I need an entire—”

“Shut up,” Destiny interrupted. She gestured back to Cole. “He’s buying, and we need her to look like a million bucks. Literally.”

“Daywear, evening, office?” the clerk asked.

“Yes,” said Cole.

“This is getting out of hand,” said Amber.

She understood the principle behind his strategy. And now that she’d had a few hours to think about it, she agreed with it. But still, it wasn’t necessary to go overboard.

“She’s been appointed to chair the board of a billion-dollar company,” said Cole.

Amber opened her mouth to disagree, but his look stopped her. Fine. Okay. She was going to stop telling people she was a fraud. She was still a fraud, but she could fake it for Zachary’s sake.

“Bring it on,” she said to the clerk. “I need to look good in the office. I have several evening meetings scheduled, and given the season, there are a few formal events, as well.”

“She’ll need shoes and purses,” said Destiny.

“Don’t forget jewelry,” said Luca.

“Do we want to do something with her hair?” asked Cole.

Amber glared at him. “Careful. You’re next.”

“I’m perfectly willing to get a haircut.”

“He’s the…” Amber paused. “What is your title? You’re going to need a title. I’m thinking a big, brass plate on the office door, Mr. Henderson.”

“The Big Cheese?” joked Luca.

Destiny gave him a thumbs-down.

The clerk smirked as she began looking through the well-spaced racks.

“Grand Pooh-Bah,” said Cole.

“I’m not joking,” said Amber. “This is your plan. You need to buy all the way in.”

“We’ve got a president. We’ve got a chair. Executive board member?”

“You can be the chair,” said Amber. “I’ll be an executive board member.”

“Cochair,” said Luca. He pointed to Amber. “Cochair of the board.” Then he pointed to Cole. “Cochair of the board.”

Amber and Cole looked at each other.

“Okay by me,” she said. It would be better than doing it alone.

Cole shrugged. “I’ll order the brass nameplates.”

“What do you think of these?” asked the clerk, holding a gold dress and a black blazer in one hand, and a navy-and-white outfit with a nautical flair in the other.

“The stuff on the mannequin, too,” said Cole.

Amber gave in. “Sure. Bring me whatever you think will work. I’m new at this.”

The clerk showed her to an airy changing room with a settee and a triple mirror.

“Come out and show us,” Cole called.

“I’m going in to help,” said Destiny, slipping past the velvet curtain.

The professional outfits were easy to find. But once they switched to dresses, things bogged down. There were simply too many choices, and all of them were gorgeous. Once she made it past her cost worries, Amber actually began to enjoy herself.

After an hour, Cole headed to menswear. Once he was gone, Destiny dived into the fun, trying on a few of the dresses herself. The women were close enough in size that they could swap back and forth. Destiny was a little bigger in the bust while Amber had the longer legs. Some of the swaps were quite comical.

Amber had accepted a glass of champagne, and now wandered over to where it sat on a glass table. She was trying on a flirty, strapless cocktail dress that was unlike anything she’d ever worn before.

The bodice was snug, wrapping her in silver beading and sequins. It had a high waist of deep jewel blue with a chiffon skirt that flowed to midthigh. Her back was mostly bare, crisscrossed in shiny, beaded straps, ending in a drop V waist. She’d also found a pair of high-heeled silver shoes that were surprisingly comfortable and seemed to go with a lot of outfits.

“This is a keeper,” said Destiny from behind her.

Amber turned to see Destiny do a runway turn in a glimmering, full-length gold sheath with a slit up the leg.

Luca’s voice drawled from the armchair where he’d stayed back to watch. “Have you got a month’s pay to blow?”

“I was going to let Cole buy it,” Destiny answered with an impish grin. “The man just inherited half a billion dollars. He’s not going to notice one little dress.”

“Sure,” came Cole’s unexpected voice. “Dresses are on me.”

Amber turned to find him looking her up and down. “Buy that one.”

She felt suddenly self-conscious, particularly knowing he’d had a good view of the back.

“I’m just messing around,” she told him. “I’ve already picked out more than enough.”

“Buy it,” he repeated. “It looks good on you.”

“I don’t have anywhere to wear it.”

“You will.”

“I don’t think you have a good feel for my social life.”

“The Coast Eagle Christmas party is on Friday. It’s formal.”

She glanced down at herself. “You call this formal?”

“What do you call it?”

“Nightclubbing.”

“Nobody’s going to complain.” He moved in a bit closer, his voice going low as Destiny and Cole engaged in their own conversation. “I’m sure not going to complain.”

The familiar shiver of arousal teased her limbs. “Stop.”

“You done?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Got shoes, purses, jewelry? Whatever else Destiny says you need?”

“I wouldn’t trust Destiny if I was you.”

“She’s right. I did just inherit a ridiculous amount of money. And this is important.” There was something in his tone, some combination of reluctance and tenacity.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you still wrapping your head around it?”

It took him a moment to speak. “I don’t think I’ve started wrapping my head around it. I’m going one step at a time. You hungry?”

The question took her by surprise. “Hungry?”

“For tonight, I think that’s the next step.”

“I could go for a pizza,” she admitted. It would feel nice to climb back into her jeans and be normal.

A grin spread across his face. “I like you, Amber. All this, and now you want to go out for pizza.”

“Double cheese if you don’t mind. And maybe a beer?”

Cole tipped his head to the sales clerk. “We’ll take everything she liked, including the dress she’s wearing.” Then he nodded to Destiny. “Her, too. She’s got an important court case coming up, and she needs to look good.”

The clerk’s eyes went round.

“Cole,” Amber protested, horrified to think that the woman might take him seriously and ring up everything.

He ignored her protest, instead speaking to Luca and Destiny. “We’re going for pizza and a strategy session. Now that we look the part, we have to act the part. Amber and I need to make a decision. Something important, positive and significant, and we have to be able to implement it fast.”

“You mean change company policy?” asked Amber.

“Absolutely,” said Cole. “You two get changed, I’ll pay the bill.”

Amber renewed her protest. “Cole, you can’t buy everything.”

He slipped an arm around her shoulder. “I know this is hard for you. But we’re doing it. And honestly, I’m through having this argument with you.”

A spurt of anger jumped to life inside her. She opened her mouth to retort, but something in his eyes stopped her cold.

Fine. He wanted to blow his money? That was up to him. She was through trying to save him from himself.

In her new clothes, and at the head of the boardroom table, Amber looked fantastic. Cole had to struggle to keep from chuckling at how the vice presidents kept shooting surreptitious looks her way. She was wearing a steel-gray blazer and skirt set, with a white blouse underneath. Lace along the scooped neckline kept the outfit from being too severe.

She’d changed her hairstyle, too. Strands were braided at her temples and partially pulled back to a knot at the nap of her neck. She looked sophisticated and professional. She also looked sexy, and it made him want to kiss her.

Then again, pretty much everything made him want to kiss her these days. Last night, watching her bite into a slice of double-cheese pizza had turned him on.

He dragged his gaze away from her, focusing on business. He and Amber both looked the part now, and they were going to act it, too, starting with some small but definitive strategic directions for the company.

“Thank you all for joining us,” Cole opened politely, although everyone in the room was fully aware their attendance at the senior management meeting had not been optional.

“Ms. Welsley and I realize this is a temporary situation,” he continued. “However, our expectation is that the status quo will continue into the future.”

“Excuse me?” Roth piped up.

Cole sent him a glare and kept speaking. “My interest in Coast Eagle is not in dispute, and I’ll be relying on Ms. Welsley for continuity.”

Roth opened his mouth, but Cole spoke right over him. “For the moment, Ms. Welsley has made a few decisions about passenger compensation.”

“Thank you, Cole,” said Amber, her tone crisp, her posture straight. “As most of you know, new guidelines on passenger compensation were developed by the U.S. Consumer Association in October of this year.”

“Voluntary guidelines,” said Roth.

“Roth,” said Cole. “If you could please hold your comments.”

Roth’s eyes blazed at the rebuke while Max obviously fought a smirk. Sidney also looked like he was enjoying himself.

“Accounting has done a comparison between overbooked flights, passenger compensation and lost passenger revenue due to last minute cancellations. Bartholomew, can you put up the slides?”

Bartholomew, who also looked a bit smug, brought up the graphic slides on the side screen.

“As you can see,” said Amber, “with a change in our policy on flight overbooking, actual monetary loss will be manageable, while the marketing and social media attention, not to mention the customer confidence and goodwill could be significant. Therefore, we’ll immediately adopt the new guidelines on passenger compensation and suspend the policy that allows overbooking. That way, our customers can be completely confident in their travel plans.”

She stopped speaking and looked levelly down the table.

Cole felt an immediate surge of pride. She was damn good at this.

“May we speak now?” asked Roth, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

“Yes,” Amber answered, even though the question was directed at Cole.

Cole’s pride in her increased.

“The monetary losses will be significant,” said Roth.

“Loses will be compensated for in the long run,” said Amber.

“Maybe in a best-case scenario. But passengers don’t want certainty. They want low prices. If you drive our prices up by even ten dollars a ticket, they leave for the competition in droves.”

“I’m not suggesting we change our prices,” said Amber.

“You’re living in fantasyland,” Roth all but shouted. “Do you have any idea what kind of a mess you’ll leave for me to clean up?”

Though he was trying to let Amber take the lead, Cole couldn’t help himself. “You?”

Roth seemed to catch himself. “Us.”

“Well, us,” said Cole, “is Ms. Welsley and me. And I agree with her assessment.”

“I agree with it, too,” said Max. He looked to Sidney. “Can you work up a marketing plan? We’ll need to hit the ground running as soon as the announcement is made.”

“I want to announce right away,” said Amber with both clarity and confidence. “I want passengers to know their remaining holiday travel plans will not be disrupted by overbooking.”

“The Friends and Family campaign is nearly finished,” said Sidney. “We can easily incorporate this as a marquee element.”

“Done,” said Max.

“Hold on,” said Roth. “We haven’t heard from Julius.”

Julius’s chin came up. He looked a bit like a deer in the headlights. It was clear he didn’t know where to jump.

“Julius reports to Max,” said Cole. “Max has made his decision.”

“That’s not how it works,” Roth shouted.

“That’s how it works now,” said Cole. “This meeting is adjourned.” He turned his attention to the president, clearly dismissing everyone else. “Max, do you have a second?”

“I do,” said Max.

Fury in his eyes, Roth rocked back from the table and stomped from the room.

With an admirably contained smirk, Bartholomew closed the door behind them all, leaving Cole, Amber and Max alone.

“At the risk of speaking out of turn,” said Max, “that was fun.”

Amber blew out a breath and slouched down in her chair. “That’s not the word I would use.”

Cole gave in to the urge to place a hand on her shoulder. “You did great.”

“He is out for blood.”

“He was always out for blood,” said Max.

“You don’t think he’d ever take it out on Zachary, do you?”

The slight tremor in her voice told Cole just how brilliantly she’d been acting while the vice presidents were in the room.

“He won’t have the chance. Because we’re going to win.” Cole refused to contemplate anything else.

He turned his attention to Max. “They’re resuming the custody hearing on the twenty-eighth.”

“Next week?”

Cole nodded.

“Who’s representing you?”

“Since Amber is supporting my petition for custody, Destiny has agreed to represent me. She knows the background and circumstances better than anyone else I could hire.”

Max’s brow furrowed. “She’s not the most experienced choice.”

“Her firm has assigned a senior partner for support. And they’ve earmarked their top research team. I’m guessing they want my future business.”

“Then that’s the best of both worlds,” said Max, his expression relaxing.

“That’s what we thought.” Cole covered Amber’s hand with his.

Hers was cold.

Max spoke up. “You know Roth’s out there soliciting the support of the minor shareholders.”

“He’s got the advantage in that,” said Amber, sliding her hand from beneath Cole’s.

“He does,” Max agreed. “They all know him. And Samuel’s vote of confidence goes a long way. And, I’m sorry to be so blunt, Amber, but they all knew Coco. That doesn’t work in our favor.”

“We’ve got genetics on our side,” said Cole.

Cole felt no admiration whatsoever for his father. But he’d quickly come to care about his half brother. And he cared more about Amber than he could have imagined. She was desperately trying to do the right thing, and the jackals were circling her now.

“Can you see any problem with the policy change?” he asked Max.

“None,” said Max.

“Any questions?” asked Cole.

“Not yet.” Max paused. “Anything else you need right now?”

Cole looked to Amber, and she shook her head.

“We’re good,” said Cole.

Max rose to leave, closing the door behind him and leaving them alone.

“You did it,” said Cole.

“I sure hope it works.”

“It will. And so will the others. This one was a good idea, a solid business decision. As the first airline to adopt the guidelines, you’re going to get some really positive buzz. The policy change will garner loyalty—maybe not all of your passengers, but enough. And those passengers will be the frequent fliers. That’s huge. It was a smart move you made.”

“We made.”

“It was a smart move, Amber. Don’t sell yourself short. They know who’s in charge now, and it’ll spread around the building like wildfire.”

“You think?” She seemed to ponder. “Sidney might tell someone. But Roth will never admit it. And Bartholomew doesn’t strike me as a gossip.”

“I’m willing to bet Bartholomew knows exactly when and how much to gossip.”

“Phase three underway?” she asked.

“Phase three well underway.” He jokingly held out his hand.

She accepted it and shook.

The contact made him instantly recall what it was like to hold her close. He wished he could pull her in for a hug. He longed to kiss her. He longed to stroke her hair and feel the length of her body pressed up against his.

“Destiny will be here in an hour,” she said, retrieving her hand once again.

Cole accepted her withdrawal, shaking off his wayward feelings. “Destiny’s been looking up precedents for blood relatives being given preference in custody cases. Do you know if Roth spent any amount of time with Zachary?”

“Not that I heard about, but Coco didn’t tell me everything.”

“I’ve been trying to predict his thinking,” said Cole. “With you, his best ammunition was that you were too inexperienced to run Coast Eagle. With me, he’ll go after my capability as Zachary’s guardian. I’m vulnerable there.”

“Not if they ask Zachary.”

Cole chuckled at that. “It is too bad that Zachary can’t talk.”

“It’s too bad Zachary’s not a puppy.”

“Excuse me?”

“With a puppy, you put him down between the two people and both call him. Whoever the dog runs to wins.”

Cole grinned. “I do like my chances with that.”

“Sometimes the simplest solutions work best.”

“Can we suggest it to the judge?”

“Only if you want him to order a psychological evaluation.”

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