The Missing Heir

“They can’t make him president.”

“The board’s deadlocked. We need to appoint another board member to break the tie.”

Amber shook her head. Max had broached the subject of board appointments with her two weeks ago.

“You know I don’t want to do that.”

“I know you don’t.”

“I don’t want to run Coast Eagle.” She knew she wasn’t qualified to take the helm of the company.

“Well, you’re the only one who doesn’t.”

Amber came to her feet, taking the three steps that brought her flush against the front of her desk. She turned back. This was a terrible office for pacing.

Max spoke again. “If you appoint the right person, a majority will agree on a different interim president and Roth will have to back down. If you don’t appoint anyone, MacSweeny will flip. It’s only a matter of time. And then Roth’s in.”

Amber spoke more to herself than to Max. “And the spending spree begins.”

For some reason, her thoughts turned back to Cole Parker. In the car Saturday night, he’d said it was her responsibility to take control of the company for Zachary. She’d disagreed with him at the time, but the advice stuck with her.

She let the memory take shape, and his image came clear in her mind. The streetlights had played across his handsome face. He was sexy in a suit, sexier still in his blue jeans the next morning at the penthouse. And the memory of him holding Zachary? The tenderness had touched a chord deep down inside her. It shouldn’t have turned her on, but it did. The truth was, everything about Cole turned her on.

All that probably meant she shouldn’t take his advice.

She looked at Max, bringing herself back to the present. She had to agree that letting Roth plunge the airline into debt wasn’t in Zachary’s best interest. Any thinking person could see that. And what Max said was true. At the moment, she was the only person who could legally appoint a new board member.

If she didn’t do it, no one could.

“Who?” she found herself venturing. “If I was to appoint someone, who would that be?”

It had to be someone they could trust. It also had to be someone who didn’t have to fear Roth if he won the custody battle. It had to be someone who understood the airline, who brought true value to the board and who could be strong in the face of divided loyalties, uncertain times and extraordinarily high stakes.

She couldn’t think of a single person who fit the bill.

“You,” Max told her softly.

“No.” She gripped the back of her chair and shook her head. “No.” It was unthinkable. “No.”

“You underestimate yourself, Amber.”

“Coco chose me because she knew I would love Zachary. She had no idea it would put me in this position with the company.”

“Coco had no idea about anything,” said Max.

Amber didn’t know how to respond to that. Her sister wasn’t the most analytical person in the world. It was fair to say that Coco had operated on emotion rather than logic. It was also fair to say that Coco had never really grown up. She’d wanted what she’d wanted, and she’d usually wanted it right away. She’d never spent much time worrying about the impact on others.

“There’s no one else,” said Max, spreading his palms.

“There has to be.”

“It’s one vote. You take the appointment. You go to one meeting. You vote. You leave. And the new president takes over the reins.” He glanced around her small office, all but wrinkling his nose. “You can come back here an hour later and take over your regular duties.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my job.”

“Nobody’s saying there is. Though not many new billionaires would keep working in this particular office.”

“I’m not a new—”

“Amber, please. I can see that your instinct is to be humble. But you’re Zachary’s guardian. Anytime you want to exercise it, you have control of a billion-dollar company.”

“Temporarily.”

“Maybe. But maybe not.”

She slid back into her chair, propping her elbows on the table. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s very simple.”

She couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t dare let her head run away with any aspect of the situation. There was too much at stake for her to let her guard down.

She tried to explain her feelings to Max. “I can’t let myself think it’s real until it’s really real. You know?”

“Amber, this is no time to be superstitious.”

“I can’t jinx custody of Zachary. I can lose anything else, but not him.”

“Coast Eagle needs you to step up.”

Her stomach went hollow, and her pulse began to pound. It wasn’t exactly what Cole had said, but it was close. Two apparently smart men were telling her the same thing.

“How long do I have to decide?”

“Twenty-four hours. After that, we may lose MacSweeny.”

“Let me think about it.”

Max gave a sharp nod. Then he rose. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here.”

* * *

“Max is a very intelligent lawyer,” said Destiny over Zachary’s cries.

They were in the penthouse kitchen, Amber jostling Zachary and Destiny doling out linguini and salad.

“You’re a smart lawyer, too,” said Amber.