Christmas Secrets

“Fighting with Amber makes you hungry?”

“It makes me something, that’s for sure.”

He crunched down on the sweetness. Fighting made him want to grab her and squeeze her tight, kiss her hard and press their bodies together. It didn’t matter what insanity swirled around them, he couldn’t forget the night they’d made love, and he couldn’t quell the overriding urge to do it all over again.

Amber wasn’t going to crack.

It was nearly ten o’clock at night. Zachary had barely napped during the afternoon. He’d fussed through dinner and pouted through his bath. She’d even given him an extra bottle, going through their entire bedtime routine a second time in the hope he’d catch on.

Now he was in his crib, kicking his feet and sobbing. His covers were on the floor. His head was sweaty, and his hands were wrapped tightly around the painted bars.

Her phone rang over the noise, and for a crazy second she hoped it was Cole. If he called her and asked to come over, it wasn’t the same as giving in, was it?

Unfortunately, the number was Destiny’s.

She moved into the hallway, and Zachary’s cries increased behind her.

“Hi,” she said into the phone.

“How’re you doing?”

“Not great.”

“Is that Zachary?”

Amber leaned against the wall of the hallway, sliding down to sit on the plush carpet. “He doesn’t want to settle.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Not even his fault. Honestly, I feel like sobbing right along with him.”

“Luca said you saw Cole today?”

Amber knew she should remember his annoying behavior, her anger and his new set of lies. But instead she remembered his touch, his voice and those now-familiar gray eyes.

“At the kids’ party,” she answered Destiny. “Wait, when did you see Luca?”

“Earlier tonight.”

“Why?” What was going on?

“Nothing’s going on. I like Luca, Amber. I’m not giving him any information. He’s not even trying to ask. We both know we have to be circumspect.”

Amber clunked her head back against the cool wall. “I’m sorry. You’re entitled to a personal life.”

“He did say something, though.”

“What’s that?”

“He said that by not helping Cole, you’re de facto helping Roth.”

Amber gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “I thought you were going to say something much more personal. Like you had beautiful eyes or he wanted to see you naked.”

“Oh, he definitely wants to see me naked.”

Amber firmly pushed her own problems away. “You should let him.”

“Excuse me?”

“You want to. I can hear it in your voice.”

“There’s nothing in my voice that says—”

“Go for it. Your celibacy won’t help me. In fact, it’ll probably distract you from helping me.”

“You want me to have a one-night stand?”

“I had one.” The memories rose one by one in Amber’s mind.

Into the silence, Destiny’s tone turned reflective. “You think you’re the better for it?”

“Not at all. But I’m stuck in the middle of a preposterous circumstance. You’ll be fine.”

“You want some company? Need some reinforcements?”

“You don’t need to come all the way over here.”

Not that Amber wouldn’t welcome the support. Maybe Destiny could take a turn holding Zachary. He was still crying, and it was all but impossible to steel herself against his sadness.

“I’m five minutes away,” said Destiny.

“You are?”

“Just left a meeting at Bacharat’s. You know, that private lawyers’ club? You’re on my route home.”

“Then, yes, sure. Stop by.”

“Sounds good. It might take me a few minutes to park.”

“See you then.” Amber disconnected the call.

Feeling a bit lighter, she headed back into Zachary’s bedroom. He had pulled up on his feet and was gripping the top of the crib rail. His cheeks were flushed red and damp with tears.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she said out loud, lifting him into her arms. “How can I help?”

He cried harder.

She racked her brain. “What about some music? Want to watch videos?”

Zachary seemed to have a fondness for country and western, especially the drawling male singers.

With no better ideas, she carried him to the living room and tuned in the country station. It didn’t fix the problem, but at least it gave something to blend with his cries.

Then the knock came on her door.

“I know you’re too young to understand,” she said to Zachary as they crossed the living room, “but my arms are about to get a rest, and that’s a very good thing.”

She swung open the door.

Cole stood in front of her, Otis at his heels.

She was stunned. “You’re supposed to be Destiny.”

“I saw her in the lobby.”

At the sound of Cole’s voice, Zachary swung around.

“She said she’d give me ten minutes,” said Cole.

“Destiny sent you up?” Amber didn’t want to believe it.

Zachary reached for Cole.

“You want me to take him?”

Amber caved. “She’ll be up in ten minutes?”

Cole cracked a smile. “I bet he’s asleep by then. He looks exhausted.”

Amber was weak. In fact, she was defeated. “He’s the one and only reason I’ll let you in.”

“I’ll take it.” Cole gathered Zachary against his shoulder and moved into the foyer.

“What’s goin’ on here, partner?” Cole rumbled.

Zachary laid his head onto Cole’s shoulder and his cries turned to shuddering breaths.

She couldn’t resist. She smoothed the sweat from Zachary’s forehead, brushing her fingers across his downy, fine hair. “Poor little guy.”

“You’re very patient,” said Cole.

“Not always.”

There were times when she couldn’t help feeling frustrated and resentful. She was doing everything she could for Zachary, but it wasn’t enough. Sometimes she thought he was being miserable just to make her jump through hoops. But in her saner moments, she knew he was far too young to be manipulative.

“You need to do anything?” he asked her as they walked to the living room. “Hungry, thirsty?”

“Don’t be nice.”

A smirk appeared on his face. “Okay.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t try to ingratiate yourself by helping me with Zachary. It won’t work.”

Otis picked a spot beside an armchair and flopped down.

“Then do you think you could whip something up for me?” asked Cole. “Maybe a dry martini and a few hors d’oeuvres?”

“Shut up and mind the baby.”

Cole grinned. “He’s doing fine.”

“I hate that you can do that, you know.” It wasn’t fair at all.

“Accident of genetics.” Cole lowered himself into an armchair.

It was yet another thing that ticked her off. When she was soothing Zachary, she couldn’t sit down. She had to stand and sway or he’d cry his head off.

“This whole thing is an accident of genetics,” Cole repeated.

“You want some hot cocoa?” she asked. She couldn’t help remembering the last time they’d shared that particular beverage, but she needed something soothing right now.

“I was just messing with you. Don’t go to any trouble.”

But it wasn’t any trouble. “It’ll only take a minute, and I’m having some.”

He hesitated. “In that case, sure.”

She left for the kitchen.

“You need any help?” he called behind her.

“You’re already helping.”

“Points for that?” he asked.

The question stopped her cold. She couldn’t help remembering the last time they’d joked about points. He’d asked to spend the night, then they’d slept curled together in her bed. If only they could go back to that moment, even just for a little while. Because what she really needed right now was a broad shoulder to lean on. Unfortunately, leaning on Cole’s shoulder was out of the question.

She heated up the cocoa and returned to the living room.

“Sorry,” he told her.

“For what?” She set a steaming cup down on the small table beside him and took the end of the sofa opposite to where he sat.

“For making that points crack.”

He obviously remembered the last time.

The sweetened air seemed to still around them. Her mouth went dry, and her heartbeat thudded thickly in her chest. She braved a look at his face, and their gazes held. The ticking of the clock seemed to grow louder.

Cole broke the silence. “The reason I’m here…”

She was half afraid, half excited about what he might say. She distracted herself with a sip.

“The reason I’m here,” he began again, “is because we can’t let Roth win, and that means I need your help.”

She didn’t want Roth to win. But she didn’t want Cole to win, either. Her throat closed up, and her chest pierced with pain.

She had a desperate urge to rip Zachary from his arms. She didn’t care if he cried. She didn’t care if she never slept again. She wanted to hold him every second of every day from now until someone forced her to stop.

“I…” she tried. “How can…” To her mortification, a tear slipped out.

She rose from her chair, surreptitiously swiping the tear away. “He’s asleep. We can put him in his crib now.”

“Sure,” Cole agreed easily, rising with Zachary in his arms, watching her closely.

She walked down the hall to the nursery. There, she straightened the rumpled sheets and folded a fresh blanket onto the mattress.

A yellow nightlight glowed in the corner, highlighting the cartoon giraffes, elephants and lions on the wall. Soft stuffed animals decorated every surface.

Cole moved beside her and eased Zachary down onto the white flannel sheet. He pulled his arm from beneath Zachary and stepped back. The baby didn’t stir. Amber covered Zachary with a knit blanket and a patchwork quilt. Then she stroked her palm over his warm forehead.

“Good night, sweetheart,” she whispered.

She straightened, her heart aching all over again. She gripped the top of the crib rail, struggling to draw a breath.

Cole’s strong hand came down on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She swallowed. Her voice came out on a pained whisper. “I’m so frightened.”

“I know.”

She shook her head. “No, you don’t. You can’t possibly understand.”

She was going to lose Zachary, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

He gently turned her. She didn’t stop him as he drew her into his arms. It didn’t seem to matter that he was one of the enemies; she accepted the strength he offered.

His voice was deep and steady. “I know you can’t let yourself believe anything I say. But I want what’s best for Zachary. I promise I’ll do what’s best for Zachary.”

She tipped her chin to gaze up at him. She wanted so badly to believe it was true. She needed some hope to hang on to.

Minutes ticked slowly past.

He reached up to brush her chin, his voice low and sexy. “You are amazing.”

She knew she had to pull away. She had to shut this down before it went any further. His eyes were smoldering, his desire completely obvious. His hand crept into her hair. His gaze zeroed in on her lips, and he bent his head.

He was going to kiss her.

She wasn’t going to stop him.

His lips touched hers, warm, soft and gentle.

She stretched up, leaned in, let her arms twine around his neck as he took the kiss deeper. She’d missed him. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him.

Her world was dissolving around her, and he felt like the only anchor point. His hand splayed her back, pressing her close. A moan rose up from her chest, and she met his tongue. Flicking flames of desire rose up inside her, heating her body, sensitizing every nerve ending. She needed to get closer, to feel his skin.

But suddenly, he drew back. “We can’t do this.”

She was mortified. What was she thinking? What was she doing, throwing herself into his arms?

He braced his hands around her upper arms, putting a few inches between them. “We need to talk.”

“Talk,” Amber managed to agree.

He put a hand lightly on the small of her back, guiding her from the nursery, down the hall, back to the living room.

She went straight to the far corner of the sofa, struggling to pull her dignity around her.

She could feel Cole’s gaze on her from where he sat in the armchair. But she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She couldn’t imagine what he thought of her. He’d deceived her, used her to gain information about Coast Eagle, Samuel and Zachary. And yet she’d been willing to leap into bed with him a second time.

There was something terribly wrong with her.

“What will Roth do?” Cole asked into the silence. “If he wins custody, what will he do?”

Amber struggled to move past emotion to logic. “I expect he will hire a nanny. I hope he keeps Isabel, but I don’t know that he will.” She had to stop for a breath. “Then he’ll use the power of his guardianship to get appointed president of Coast Eagle.”

“He won’t want to be chairman of the board?”

“He wants to be hands-on. He wants to run the company day-to-day. His first plan is to update or replace the entire fleet. He thinks he’ll be able to increase our market share enough to cover the debt.”

“You doubt that?” asked Cole.

“His projections are dangerously optimistic.”

Cole gave a contemplative nod.

Amber forced herself to ask the burning question. “What will you do?”

His gaze was level and honest. “I don’t know.”

“How can I trust you?”

“You can’t. You shouldn’t.”

She scoffed out a laugh at that.

He took a sip of his now-cool cocoa. “All you can do right now is go on what’s certain. Roth’s got the advantage over me, and he cares about Roth, first, last and always.”

“You’re saying you’re the lesser of two evils.”

“I know you can’t bring yourself to trust me yet. But you know for certain you can’t trust Roth.”

“That’s not at all comforting.”

“I know. But it’s all you’ve got.”

Amber knew he was right. She hated it. But it was true.

Nine

As a significant shareholder in Coast Eagle, no matter how things turned out in the long term, Cole knew he needed to understand the company. He and Luca had both been in daily contact with Aviation 58 since arriving in Atlanta, but Luca now offered to take over as much as possible on the Alaska operation.

Luckily, even leading into the busy holiday travel season, things seemed well under control at Aviation 58. There were no unexpected maintenance issues, passenger load was as predicted and the Alaskan weather was cooperating surprisingly well.

Cole entered the Coast Eagle building and was immediately recognized. Security greeted him and called up to the executive floor to announce his arrival.

As he exited the elevator, he was greeted by the receptionist, Sandra, who was exceedingly welcoming and polite this time. She introduced him to Samuel’s personal assistant, a fiftyish man named Bartholomew Green. Bartholomew had a British accent and was dressed in a dark formal suit, a matching vest, crisp white shirt and a gold tie.

Samuel’s office was also ostentatious, with a huge, ornately carved cherrywood desk, and a massive credenza with cut-glass decanters. A sofa and two armchairs had diamond tufted, dark leather upholstery, while expensive oil paintings hung on the walls. Cole couldn’t help wonder how his down-to-earth mother had fallen in love with the man he was learning about.

“Will you be moving into the office today, sir?” asked Bartholomew.

“I will,” said Cole.

The last thing in the world he wanted to do was step into his father’s shoes. But he needed to make a statement. Roth, the judge and everybody else had to see he was taking the reins—even if it was only temporary.

He took in Bartholomew’s attire once more. He supposed he’d have to update his own wardrobe, and he was going to make the same recommendation to Amber. She was next on his list of things to deal with at Coast Eagle.

“Can you set up a meeting with Max and the vice presidents for this afternoon?” Cole asked Bartholomew.

“Do you have a preferred time, sir?”

“Two o’clock.” Cole couldn’t have cared less about the time, but he needed to be the guy making the decisions.

“The east boardroom?”

“Sounds fine. Can you direct me to Amber Welsley’s office?”

“She’s in accounting. That’s on the seventh floor. Shall I show you the way?”

“Is it overly complicated?”

Bartholomew seemed to allow himself a small smile. “Left when you get off the elevator, first hallway on your right.”

“I think I can manage. No need for a tour guide.”

“Very good, sir.”

“Anything else I should know?” Cole asked, curious to know where Bartholomew’s loyalties would lie.

“What would you like to know?”

Cole paused to gauge the man’s expression. “What do you think is important?”

An intelligent light came into Bartholomew’s eyes. “Mr. Henderson had a lot of faith in Sidney. I believe that was appropriate. He also had a lot of faith in Roth. I believe that faith may have been misplaced. He also understood the need to deploy Julius in certain situations.”

“Such as?”

“Would you like me to be blunt?”

“Always.”

“Julius is a pit bull. But he’s Coast Eagle’s pit bull.”

“What about Max Cutter?”

“Max Cutter will be completely up front and honest with you. If I had to guess, I’d say he can’t wait to get out of the president’s role and back to the legal department.”

Cole agreed with that assessment. Max had said as much himself.

“And Amber Welsley?” Cole asked.

“I knew Mrs. Henderson a lot better than I knew Ms. Welsley.”

“Impressions?”

“She has always struck me as hardworking but below the radar. I’m not certain she thought very highly of Mr. Samuel Henderson.”

“He married her baby sister.”

“Indeed. Though I’m not certain she was a fan of Mrs. Henderson, either.”

“May I rely on your discretion, Bartholomew?”

“You may.”

“Good to know.” Cole was impressed with the man so far.

“If I may, sir?”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t asked about Samuel Henderson.”

“That’s because I don’t want to know.”

Bartholomew was silent for a moment. “Very good.”

“Is that a problem for you?”

“Not at all.”

Cole looked through the doorway to the outer office and Bartholomew’s desk. “Give me the lay of the land here.”

Bartholomew moved to stand beside him. “You’ve seen reception, and my desk is right there. The office to your right is the president’s. Max isn’t using it, because he already has an office on this floor. Around the corner to your left is Roth, next to him is Julius, and Sidney is around the corner from the president’s office. The east boardroom is next to Sidney, and the west meeting room is next to Julius. After that, you’re through reception to the director’s offices and the executive lunch room.”

“Is everyone in today?”

“As I understand it, yes.”

“Thank you, Bartholomew.” Cole exited the office and made his way to the elevator in the reception area.

Under Sandra’s veiled curiosity, he pressed the button for seven. He could well imagine the conversations and speculation would start the second the door closed behind him. That was good. He wanted people to wonder.

On the seventh floor, he took a left then a right, quickly finding Amber’s office.

Her door was open, and he was taken aback by the small size. She sat at her desk, head down, writing on a financial sheet.

“There’s an adding error on report sixteen,” she said without looking up, obviously hearing him arrive. “I know we have to pull the soft commitments in manually, but we need to make sure the formulas are—”

She spotted Cole in the doorway. “Sorry.” His presence seemed to fluster her. “I assumed you were my assistant.”

“Nope.” He walked in.

She sat up straight and set down her pen. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.” He glanced around. “More to the point, you’re here.”

“I’m usually here.”

“This is your office?”

“It is.”

“So the office of the assistant director of finance?”

“That would be me.”

He braced himself on the desk across from her. “Not anymore.”

She drew back. “Have I been fired?”

“Promoted. Or haven’t you been paying attention?”

“Being temporarily nominated as guardian is not a promotion.”

“You’re chair of the board.”

“For the next five minutes.”

“If you want people to take you seriously, you need to look the part.”

“Pretending I’m the real chair of the board would be embarrassing for everyone involved.”

He straightened. “I don’t get you.”

“I’m not that complicated.”

“Yes, you are. But that’s not my point. We need to use every weapon at our disposal. One of the strongest, if not the strongest we have is the fact that, for now, we are in charge. Get up.”

Her brows shot up. “Excuse me?”

“There’s an empty office on the top floor—you’re moving in. Right now.”

“You can’t order me to—”

“Amber.”

She set her jaw.

He ignored the expression. “Your biggest weakness is that nobody can picture you at the helm.”

“That’s because I’m not capable of taking the helm.”

“Who says?”

“Reason and good judgment?”

“They’re wrong. And you’re wrong.” His tone hardened. This was too important to mess up. “And if you don’t march yourself up to that corner office right now and start giving orders, then you haven’t done your best by Zachary.”

“I have done everything—”

“No, Amber. You haven’t. Right now, between the two of us, we control sixty-five percent of Coast Eagle. Let’s start acting like it. Let’s let the world see us at the helm. That way, they’ll know we can do it.”

She glanced around her office, the three computer screens, the stacks of reports. “But—”

“First stop, your boss’s office to give him permission to replace you.”

“Give away my job?” The prospect clearly distressed her.

“Temporarily. Trust me, Amber. And if you can’t trust me, trust Destiny. Phone her now. I know she’ll agree.”

Amber’s lips compressed as she obviously thought through the situation.

“Being seen in charge is our best weapon,” he reiterated. “Don’t throw it away.”

“Okay.” She came to her feet, expression determined. “I’m willing to try anything.”

Cole felt a surge of relief. He’d known she was stubborn. But he’d also known she was smart. Luckily, smart had won out.

“I’ve never even set foot in this store,” Amber whispered to Destiny.

The next step in Cole’s stated strategy was to deck both of them out in what he called a power wardrobe. From what Amber could see, that meant spending a whole lot of money.

“I’ve never shopped here, either,” Destiny answered. “But I know some of the senior partners do. I’ve heard them mention the name.”

“I don’t dare look at the price tags,” said Amber, glancing around at the gleaming floors, marble pillars and leather furniture groupings with complimentary designer water and champagne.

“What price tags?” asked Destiny. “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”

“I think I might break out in hives.”

Cole and Luca entered the store behind them.

“This ought to do it,” said Luca with obvious satisfaction.

Cole took in the high, brightly lit ceilings. “It’s nothing like the Fashion Farm back home.”

“Are you two going upstairs?” Destiny nodded to the sign for menswear.