More Than a Millionaire / The Untamed Sheikh

“You’re pawning me off on your assistant? Trent—”

“Familiarize yourself with the file. Your first meeting with your new client is Friday afternoon, two o’clock.”

“But—”

“There are no buts, Nicole. It’s a done deal. Patrick Architectural is yours.” He dropped the file on her desk, pivoted and stalked out.

Case closed. Nobody won an argument with her big brother—especially when he was locked in stubborn mode.

Nicole flopped back in her office chair and stared at the ceiling. This could not happen. And it had nothing to do with that kiss. Nothing. Absolutely, positively nothing.

Her lips tingled as if she could feel Ryan’s kiss again, and that stirred up a termites’ swarm in her belly. And termites left nothing but destruction in their path. She was very, very afraid Ryan might kiss her again, and that she’d do something stupid like her mother and act on that lust.

No, she wouldn’t. The kiss had been a fluke, a combination of out-of-control pregnancy hormones and the strange tie she had with him as the father of her baby. That’s all. She was certain of it.

Well…mostly certain.

She could call Ryan and plead conflict of interest, but she suspected her arguments would fall on deaf ears. He was tightening the screws and he’d show no mercy. That meant she had to talk to Beth. Now. She bolted to her feet, and ignoring a slight wave of dizziness, charged out of her office.

“Hey, where are you going?” Lea called out. “You have Tri-Tech in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes. Normally she’d be at her desk reviewing the file ten minutes before a meeting. She couldn’t today.

“Are you okay?”

“I have to talk to Beth. I should be back, but if I’m not, make sure Ronnie gets his coffee with cream and three spoons of sugar, and a raspberry jelly donut.”

As the CAM in charge of each owner’s service team she knew her client’s preferences as well as she knew her own.

“Got it, boss.” Lea snapped a smart-aleck salute.

Nicole didn’t want to wait for the elevator or risk running into Ronnie coming up and have to return to her office before talking to her sister. She headed for the stairs and jogged down three flights. She was slightly winded and perspiration dampened her skin by the time she knocked on Beth’s open door.

With the phone to her ear, Beth held up one finger, pointed at the visitor chair and turned away. But Nicole couldn’t possibly sit still. She checked her watch. Eight minutes. She’d never been late for an appointment before and didn’t want to start now. She prided herself on promptness.

What felt like an eon later but was actually only two minutes—she knew because she counted off the seconds—Beth cradled the receiver and faced her. “What’s up?”

“We have to tell the family about the baby.”

Beth stiffened. “Not yet.”

“Beth, Ryan Patrick’s company just contracted us and demanded me as their CAM. I can’t do it. You and I know why, but I can’t tell Trent the reason I must be excused until you let the family in on our little secret.”

Beth bit her bottom lip, shifted in her seat and shook her head. “I’m not ready.”

“What do you mean, you’re not ready? I’ll be showing soon.”

Tense, silent seconds passed. “Nicole, Patrick and I are…having problems.”

Nicole’s heart stuttered. She knew they argued. “Every marriage has rough spots.”

“This is bigger than that.”

Her pulse fluttered. In the first few years of Beth and Patrick’s marriage, Nicole had selfishly wished for Patrick to realize he’d married the wrong sister. But that wasn’t what she wanted or needed now. If Beth and Patrick separated with Ryan circling like a shark, the custody issue would only get more complicated, and Ryan would stand a better chance of winning.

“Is it because the baby’s not his?”

Beth adjusted the pens on her desk. “That’s part of it.”

A fresh wave of panic hit. What would she do if they decided not to adopt her baby? Ryan would win and she might never see her child again.

“You’ll work it out, Beth. You’ve always worked it out before. You guys are perfect for each other. Remember?” She heard the desperate edge to her voice.

“This time is different.”

“I’ll help. I’ll talk to Patrick. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but you guys have to stay together. You love each other.” The irony of begging for the man who possessed her heart to stay married to another woman didn’t escape her.

“Nicole, sometimes love is not enough. And the timing for the announcement is all wrong.”

“You’ve known for five weeks.”

“Give me a little more time,” Beth said with a tight smile. “And then everything will be settled.”

Nicole pressed a hand over the little life causing so much upheaval and felt the extra firmness beneath the skin. “I don’t have more time. And you know we’re having the ultrasound Wednesday. You’re going to want to share the pictures. The doctor even said she’d make a video of the baby for us.”

“Patrick and I will have to watch the video later. I’m not ready to share the news.”

Surprise rocked her back on her heels. “Later? You’re not coming to the appointment?”

Beth made a show of checking her calendar. “I can’t get away.”

Nicole couldn’t remember Beth ever lying to her before. Lying for her, sure. Many times. But she knew from the look in her sister’s eyes Beth was telling a whopper this time. Beth was HAMC’s publicist and there were no urgent marketing campaigns going on now. September was traditionally a slow month, and Beth’s office was practically a tomb. It had been no big deal when Patrick and Beth had skipped the earlier routine appointments, but this time they’d get their first look at their future son or daughter.

Pain made Nicole look down. She’d dug nails so deeply into her palms she’d broken a fingernail at the quick. Blood filled the tiny crack. That was going to hurt for a while.

But not as long as losing her baby would.

Her thoughts swirled like leaves in a windstorm. Needing to collect herself, she checked her watch and realized she was out of time. Panic rose within her.

“Beth. Please reconsider. I can’t keep Ryan on my client roster.”

“I’m sorry, Nicole, but we can’t make the announcement yet. Maybe in a few weeks.”

A few weeks. Two weeks ago Beth had barely been able to contain the news, then at the picnic she’d begged for a few more days. And now she was delaying weeks?

Nicole had a bad feeling about the whole situation. Something was really, really wrong, and until she knew what it was, she couldn’t fix it.

“Beth, I need your help.”

“This isn’t high school anymore, Nicole. It’s not as simple as lying for you like I did when you skipped class or picking you up when your date dumped you on the side of the road because you refused to put out, or forging Mom’s signature on a note home from your teacher. Handle your own damned problems for once and quit screaming for me.”

Stunned speechless by Beth’s vehemence, Nicole fisted her cold fingers by her side. She was on her own and she had no idea how to handle the disaster that had become her life.

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