Millionaires' Destinies: Isn't It Rich? / Priceless / Treasured

Melanie was willing to play along. “Sure.”

“She’s going to ask you if you don’t think I’d be a much stronger candidate if I were married,” he said. “It’s known as planting the seed. Destiny does love to dabble in her garden. She views me as one more plant she has to successfully nurture.”

“But I don’t think you have to be married to be successful, not that being a family man couldn’t add another element to your image,” Melanie said.

Richard gave her a triumphant look. “There you go. You just gave her the precise opening she’d need.”

Melanie stared at him blankly. “I did?”

“Sure. I’m a good candidate now, but put a wife by my side and I’d be even better. Guess who the wife’s supposed to be? You’re here. You’re handy. And we obviously get along well, don’t you agree?” he asked mockingly.

Melanie hated the fact that he was actually making sense. She could see Destiny happily traipsing down this path. Her high spirits were sinking fast. “Like it or not, we’re going to wind up engaged, aren’t we?”

Richard nodded, his expression grim. “It’s only a matter of time.”

Melanie sank back against the rich leather of the seat and swallowed a sigh. She’d just landed the job of a lifetime, and it came with so many strings she was going to wind up hog-tied.

Chapter Nine

Richard tried to concentrate on the fax from his European division chairman explaining why profits were down and an intended acquisition had fallen through. Nothing in the report made a bit of sense, but maybe that was because Melanie’s image kept swimming in front of him, making the words hard to read. The woman was driving him crazy, and she hadn’t even been on his payroll for twenty-four hours yet.

Not that the fault was entirely hers. He was the one who’d been manipulated into making her a part of his everyday world. He’d been expecting her to turn up at the crack of dawn, but so far there had been no sign of her. Maybe—if the gods who protected fools were feeling very kindly—she’d decided against accepting the job coordinating his campaign PR. Maybe she possessed more sense than he did.

“You look a little wiped out, my friend,” Mack said, making a rare appearance in Richard’s office at what was for Mack the ungodly hour of seven in the morning.

Richard stared at his brother. “What brings you by? I thought you preferred not to set foot in here out of fear that I might lock you into an office and put you to work for the family company.”

“I think we established what a bad idea that would be a long time ago. I know football. I don’t give a rat’s behind about making widgets, or running restaurants or whatever else all those mysterious divisions do. I was lousy at Monopoly, if you remember. I kept selling my hotels and the land they sat on dirt cheap.”

Richard gave his brother a wry look. “Frankly, I don’t remember you ever sitting still long enough to play board games.”

“There were a few rainy days when Destiny wouldn’t let me outside to play football,” Mack said. “You always whipped my butt, which did not bode well for my future at Carlton Industries. I may not be the business whiz you are, but even I could read the handwriting on that wall.”

Richard regarded him with surprise. “You steered clear of the company because I beat you at Monopoly?”

“No, I steered clear because you love it and I don’t, the same way Destiny left it behind for our father. This business ought to be run by someone who lives and breathes it. You do. Ben and I don’t. Simple as that.”

“Okay, if you’re not here to stake a belated claim on a corner office, why are you here?”

“To do a postmortem on last night, of course,” Mack said with a broad grin. “How are things going for you and your new campaign advisor? I’ll bet that was a twist you never expected when you set up that dinner at Destiny’s last night.”

“I am not up for that conversation at this hour of the morning,” Richard said, unwilling to admit how deftly he’d been maneuvered into making that decision. “I’ll see Melanie later, establish some ground rules and we’ll be okay.”

“Will that be before or after you ask her out on another fake date?” Mack wondered aloud. “Or has the grand charade been scrapped?”

Richard’s gaze narrowed. “Did Destiny put you up to coming in here this morning just to harangue me?”

“Nope. I’m here on my own,” Mack insisted. “I haven’t had this much entertainment in weeks, not since some of the guys and I stopped watching The Young and the Restless during lunch in my office. Your plot’s better, by the way. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out.”

Richard groaned. “Keep it up, Mack. You’re walking on thin ice.”

Mack grinned, evidently undaunted by Richard’s increasingly sour mood. “I liked her,” he said. “In case you’re interested.”

“What’s not to like?” Richard conceded. “Melanie’s attractive, bright. And she has a good sense of humor. She must if she’s willing to put up with all this craziness.”

“Plus she’s kind to old ladies,” Mack said with a straight face.

Richard chuckled in spite of himself. “I’d like to be around when you suggest to Destiny that she’s old.”

Mack winced. “A slip of the tongue, I assure you. Destiny is ageless.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Richard said with some regret. “Otherwise I could pretend that this is all about senility and ignore her.”

“I think we can agree that our aunt is crazy like a fox.” Mack’s expression sobered. “Maybe you should pay attention to her, Richard. Seems to me you could do a whole lot worse than having Melanie in your life in whatever capacity turns out to fit best.”

“Have you forgotten? She is in my life,” Richard said, barely containing a sigh. “I’m having them clear out a little office right down the hall so she’ll have a base right here in the building. With any luck, she’ll never use it.”

“Not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Give it up, Mack. I have enough to contend with having Destiny sneaking around behind my back meddling. Don’t you get any ideas.”

“Hey, bro, I’m right out in the open.” Mack’s expression turned serious. “Listen to me. I think you’re making a mistake if you don’t give the woman a chance instead of playing games just to pacify Destiny. Go out on a real date with Melanie. Get to know her. Let your defenses down for once in your stodgy life.”

“Now I’m stodgy?”

“You’ve always been stodgy. It’s the natural byproduct of deciding you had to be mature and responsible at the age of twelve, after Dad and Mom died. Thank God, Ben and I had you. Otherwise, we might have matured before our times as well.”

“Whatever,” Richard said, tired of the discussion. It was hitting uncomfortably close to the truth. Even with Destiny on the scene back then, he’d felt like he had to take charge, manage things to keep them from spinning any further out of control. One minute he’d been a normal kid, the next he’d been twelve-going-on-thirty.

“Of course,” Mack said a little too casually, “if you’re really not interested in anything personal with Melanie, I might be.”

That damn vein in Richard’s head started throbbing again. He wondered if it was a precursor to the stroke he was likely to have before all of this insanity ended. “Stay away from her,” he said tightly. “No matter what I do or don’t do, you stay the hell away from her.”

Mack stood up, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. “Thought so,” he gloated.

Richard glowered at him. “What does that mean?”

“You’re the one with the agile mind,” Mack said. “Think about it.”

He sauntered out of the office whistling, leaving Richard to wrestle with the riddle his brother had left behind. Not that the answer was all that difficult to unravel. He just didn’t want to see it.

Melanie passed Mack in the hallway as she was heading for Richard’s office. He greeted her with a knowing grin she couldn’t quite interpret.

“Good morning,” she said cautiously. “Have you seen Richard?”

“In his office,” Mack said. “You might want to give him a couple of minutes before you go in there.”

“Is he in a meeting?”