Mistress to the Magnate: Money Man's Fiancée Negotiation

Her eyes went wide. “I did that?”

Her surprise made him laugh. “Yeah. At that point I had no choice but to rescue you. So I walked over and asked you to dance.”

“How did my date feel about that?”

Ash grinned, recalling the shocked look on the kid’s face, the indignant glare as Ash led Mel onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. “He didn’t look very happy.”

“What did he do?”

“What could he do? I was CFO, he was a lowly junior rep. I could have squashed him. Although, if memory serves, someone else eventually did. I don’t think he lasted long with the firm.”

“So we danced?” she said, a dreamy look on her face.

“All night.” Ash had been the envy of every man at the party. At the time he’d still been reeling from his divorce and the ego boost was a welcome one. It wasn’t until later that he realized just how thorough of a boost she intended to give him.

“Then what happened?” she asked.

“You asked if you could see my office, so I took you there. The instant the door closed we were all over each other.”

She swallowed hard, looking as scandalized as she was intrigued. And maybe a little turned on, too. “Then what?”

“You really have to ask?”

“We had sex in your office?” she asked in a hushed voice, as if she worried someone would overhear. “Right after we met?”

This from the woman who had never hesitated to tell him exactly what she wanted, when she wanted it, in the bluntest of sexual terms. Language that would make a lot of women blush. Or blanch.

He grinned and nodded. “On the desk, on the sofa, in my chair. Up against the plate-glass window overlooking the bay.”

Her cheeks flushed bright pink. “We did it against a window? “

“You’ve always had voyeuristic tendencies.” He’d never met a woman more confident, more comfortable in her own skin, than Melody. Though he would never admit it aloud, her brazen nature could be the slightest bit intimidating at times.

But obviously now something had changed. There was a vulnerability in her eyes that he’d never seen before. A hesitance she had never shown. Truth be told, he kind of liked it. And maybe it softened him up just a little. He may have supported Mel for the past three years, but he would never make the mistake of thinking that she depended on him. Had she not met him, she would have managed just fine on her own.

He’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone need him.

“I can’t believe I slept with you on the first date,” she said. “I can’t imagine what you must have thought of me.”

“Actually, with my divorce barely final, it was exactly what I needed.”

“You were married before?”

“For seven years.”

“Why did you split up?”

“I guess you could say it was due to a total lack of appreciation.”

“What do you mean?”

“She didn’t appreciate the hours I worked, and I didn’t appreciate her screwing her personal trainer in my bed.”

She sucked in a surprised breath, clearly outraged on his behalf. “She cheated on you?”

“For quite some time as I understand it.” He wondered how Melody would feel if she knew she had done the same thing? Although, as far as he knew, never in his bed. But that was just geography. Cheating was cheating.

Melody tightened her grip on his hand. He hadn’t even realized she was holding it. It occurred to him suddenly how cozy this little scenario had become. Too cozy for his liking.

He pulled his hand free and looked at his watch. “It’s late. I should let you get some sleep.”

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked, looking troubled. “Because if it bothers you to talk about your ex, we can talk about something else.”

Frankly, he was all talked out. He wasn’t sure what else to say to her. And he wished she would stop being so. nice. Not that she hadn’t been nice before, but she’d always had an edge. A sharp wit and a razor-edged tongue. Now she was being so sweet and understanding, she was making it tough for him to hold on to his anger. To be objective.

“You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s just, well, it’s been a really long day. Maybe I’m the one who’s tired.”

“I’m sorry, I’m being selfish,” she said, looking truly apologetic. “I didn’t even take into consideration how hard this has been for you.”

“It has been a long couple of weeks not knowing where you were,” he said, which only made her look more guilty. “I’m sure I’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”

“Go,” she said, making a shooing gesture. “Get some sleep.”

“Are you sure? I can stay longer if you want me to.”

“No. I’m tired anyway. I’ll probably watch a few minutes of television then fall asleep.”

He had the distinct feeling she was lying, because honestly, she didn’t look the least bit tired. But he wasn’t going to argue.

“I’ll be back first thing tomorrow,” he assured her, rising from the edge of the bed.

“Thank you,” she said, her expression earnest.

“For what?”

“Telling me those things about myself. It makes me feel a little less … lost. Even if it wasn’t quite what I expected.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and leaned down to brush a kiss across her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he walked from the room he heard the television click on. He couldn’t help feeling the slightest bit guilty for leaving her alone, but he had a charade to plan.

It turned out that Ash didn’t need the help of the tech guys at Maddox Communications to hack into Melody’s computer. After only five or six tries, he figured the password out all by himself. His birthday. The fact that it was something so simple surprised him a little, but he was grateful.

His first task was to remove evidence of Melody’s affair from her computer, only she must have been very careful because he found nothing, not even a phone number or an entry in her calendar, that suggested she was sneaking around.

As for the baby, there were a few doctor appointments listed on her calendar, and the history in her Internet browser showed visits to several children’s furniture store sites and a site called Mom-to-be.com, where it appeared she had been tracking her pregnancy—she was fourteen weeks and four days on the day of the accident—and blogging on a page for single mothers.

Apparently she had every intention of doing this alone. Was it possible that the father of the baby was nothing more than a one-night stand? A glorified sperm donor?