One Special Moment

“Please don't let it be him,” she said under her breath. She slowly walked to the door. “Yes?”

“Ms. Wingate, it's Edward Stewart.”

A quick glance through the peephole confirmed Mr. Stewart's identity. She was relieved it wasn't Sterling, but curious as to why his attorney would be paying her a visit before eight in the morning. She opened the door with a quizzical expression on her face.

“Mr. Stewart, this is a surprise. I hadn't expected to—”

“Ever see me again,” he interrupted. He managed a smile as he looked at her. “I can understand your surprise but it's no greater than my own.”

Colby raised a brow, but before she could respond, Edward Stewart continued. “Sterling had an unexpected appointment this morning. He called and asked me to be your escort to breakfast.”

Colby couldn't help but grin at something so absurd. “My escort?”

Edward Stewart nodded and grinned back. “Yes, and it appears I'm just in time. You were about to leave.”

She shook her head. “I don't need an escort, and I don't know why Mr. Hamilton would think I would.”

“Neither do I, but let's just humor him, shall we?”

Colby frowned. “I'm in no mood to humor Sterling Hamilton. The man is despicable.”

Edward Stewart's laugher was not what Colby had expected. She allowed time for his amusement to subside before asking, “Did I say something funny?”

A rueful smile touched his lips. “I apologize for my outburst, Ms. Wingate, but you're so unlike the women who're usually around Sterling. I find your candidness refreshing. I don't know too many women who think Sterling Hamilton is despicable. Most of them think he's the best thing since the banana split.”

Colby raised her eyes toward the ceiling. She knew that, unfortunately, Cynthia was one of those women. “Then that explains why Sterling and I can't get along.”

At Edward Stewart's confused expression she added, “I'm allergic to bananas.”

Colby shook her head when the man burst out laughing again. To her way of thinking, it didn't take much to amuse him.

“My dear, you must join me for breakfast. If you don't do it to humor Sterling then do it to humor me. I'd love your company.”

Colby hesitated for a second then said, “In that case, it will be my pleasure.”

Moments later they entered the hotel's elegant dining room and were given a table near a window with a scenic view of Sunset Boulevard. After Colby accepted the menu from the waiter, she looked out the window and was amazed at the number of Mercedeses and Jaguars that went by.

“Coffee, Ms. Wingate?” Edward Stewart asked.

Colby turned to him. “Yes.”

After the waiter poured their coffee and left to give them time to look over the menu, Edward Stewart shook his head, chuckling. “After you left my office yesterday, it took me a good twenty minutes to calm Sterling down.”

“He was that mad, huh?” she asked, smiling, getting a little satisfaction in knowing she'd been the cause of Sterling Hamilton's anger.

“No, he wasn't mad. He just couldn't contain himself for laughing so hard,” Edward replied, chuckling as he informed her.

“Laughing?” Colby looked up sharply from pouring cream into her coffee. It had not been her intention to be funny yesterday. “And just what did he find so amusing?”

“The fact that you walked out on him,” Edward answered. “No woman has ever done that before.”

Colby rolled her eyes. “Then it's about time someone did. He has a lot of nerve in what he wants me to do.”

“He's determined to go through with it.”

Colby shook her head. “I know, and that's the sad part.”

The look Edward Stewart gave Colby hinted that he agreed with her. And for some reason she got the feeling he was trying hard not to expose his own thoughts on the matter. “Sterling has his reasons for taking the approach he's taking,” he finally said.

Colby snorted. “I can believe that. The man is a cold, calculating, arrogant, egotistical, conceited person who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Any decent man wouldn't use what's happening to my brother's company as a bargaining tool to force me into doing something I'm totally against.”

Edward Stewart slowly expelled his breath, frowning thoughtfully. “I know Sterling didn't make a good impression on you, but believe it or not, he's none of the things you just described him to be. In all actuality, Sterling is the most decent man I know.”

“Then you must not know too many people.”

Edward Stewart chuckled. “On the contrary, I know a great number of people and like I said, Sterling's the most decent person I know. He's a warmhearted individual and a loving man who would make a wonderful father. His own father, Chandler Hamilton, was that kind of man.” He smiled. “The media was in awe over the relationship between Tiger Woods and his father, but even their close relationship can't hold a light to the one Sterling and Chandler had.”

“Had?”

“Yes. Chandler passed away unexpectedly last year. He died in his sleep from a heart attack.”

“Did you know him personally?”

“Oh, yes. My friendship with him went all the way back to when the two of us were kids growing up in a small lumberjack town in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Colby hesitated a moment before asking, “Did you know Sterling's mother as well?”

Edward Stewart set down his coffee cup. A long, weary sigh escaped him. “Yes.”

Colby decided to press for answers to questions that bothered her. She was sure Mr. Stewart wouldn't hesitate to let her know when she was inquiring about something that wasn't her business. “I understand she wasn't around while he was growing up.”

Edward Stewart lifted a brow. “Sterling told you that?”

“No, but it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. I get this feeling that as far as he's concerned, the whole idea of motherhood sucks.”

Again Colby got the distinct impression Edward Stewart was desperately struggling not to say something. At that moment, the waiter came to take their order. After he left, she decided to pick up where they'd left off. There were things she needed to know about Sterling's childhood; things she needed to understand.

“Mr. Stewart?”

“Yes?”

“I know as Sterling's attorney you're very loyal to him, and I can appreciate that. But I want you to try and understand my predicament. I have some important decisions to make. They are decisions that will not only affect my life and Sterling's, but decisions that could very well affect the life of a child.”

She breathed in slowly in an attempt to steady her voice, which had gotten rather shaky. “Sterling expects me to give him my decision today. Even now, I'm still totally against what he wants me to do. But I'm also torn by the thought that my brother might lose his company without Sterling's help. But when you think about it, me being the one chosen for what Sterling wants to do doesn't make any sense.”

After taking a sip of coffee, she continued. “Sterling claims he did a thorough investigation on me. In that case, I would have been the last person he would have chosen. I love kids. I was named Teacher of the Year in my hometown last year, and I'm on various committees that benefit children. Someone who loves kids as much as I do wouldn't easily give one up. He should have sought out a woman who doesn't like kids or who's indifferent to them.”

She took another quick sip of her coffee. “If a builder wanted to tear down an old building, he wouldn't employ the services of a person who's a member of the historical preservation society to do it, would he?”