The Corporate Raider's Revenge / Tycoon's Valentine Vendetta: The Corporate Raider's Revenge / Tycoon's Valentine Vendetta

“Okay, I’ll check into it.”

“We’ll have to scramble now to get the lobby and reservation desk operating again somehow. You know how proud my father was of that main lobby. He’d commissioned sculptures and artwork personally to suit that location. I’m praying none of that art was destroyed.”

Preston rose instantly. “Don’t worry, Elena. I’ll take care of it. Will you be around this afternoon?”

Laney sighed. “No, I have an appointment with…well, it’s something I can’t neglect. Trust me, I wouldn’t leave you with this mess if it wasn’t very important.”

Preston smiled. “I’ll handle it. You can count on me.”

“I do,” she said in earnest. “But call me if you find out anything more about Phoenix, okay? You can reach me at home tonight.”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” he said as he turned to leave. Then he swung back around to add, “I had a nice time at dinner the other night, Elena.”

“Me, too.”

“And just for the record, you’re doing an excellent job here at Royal.”

“Thank you,” Laney said, grateful for Preston’s constant support. She wished she could feel the same way, but in fact, Laney felt as though the entire hotel chain were crumbling around her feet.

Three hours later, Laney’s mood had gone from bad to worse. She’d visited her ob-gyn and he had confirmed her suspicions: the recent pregnancy tests she’d taken at home weren’t false positives. She was six weeks pregnant. That meant Evan Tyler was the father of her baby.

She drove down the 405 Interstate in a state of shock. She thought she had a handle on this and fully expected that her suspicions had been correct, but when the doctor announced, “You’re pregnant,” the full impact of her situation struck her with stunning force. The baby was due next spring. Her baby. The reality that in less than eight months, she’d be holding her own little helpless child in her arms, struck her anew.

She was really pregnant.

A life for a life, her father would say.

It was strange how true that was in her case. Just weeks before her father died, Laney had conceived a child. And even stranger yet was that Nolan Royal would never know his grandchild because Evan Tyler, the baby’s father, might very well also be responsible for his death.

Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them quickly to clear her vision, but she couldn’t wipe away the searing pain of losing her father. “I miss you, Daddy,” she whispered quietly, her hands rigid on the steering wheel. He may not have been a perfect father. He’d expected so much from her, but he’d also loved her very much. It was as if when her mother died, he’d thrust all of the love he’d had for her mother onto Laney. And he’d looked to Laney for that same kind of devotion.

Both her mother and father were gone now and the dawning knowledge that she was alone in the world but for some distant relatives, brought agonizing sadness.

When her queasy stomach grumbled with hunger she was reminded that she wasn’t really alone. A baby grew inside her. She smiled at the thought. Regardless of all else, she would love this child. The two of them would be a family.

Laney got off the freeway at Sunset Blvd. and drove home, ready to soak in a hot tub and then try to eat something. The doctor had warned her about staying healthy in body and mind. She needed nourishment. He’d offered her a prescription for her nausea, but Laney hated taking medication so she hadn’t swallowed one pill yet. She wanted to try to conquer the queasiness on her own.

She hit the remote to her garage and pulled her car inside, just as another car pulled up in her driveway. She got out of her car, closing the door, curious about the shining silver sports car that had appeared out of nowhere.

She walked to the edge of the garage, squinting in the afternoon sun as a man stepped out of the car wearing faded jeans and a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

For a second her heart raced—memories of casual walks on a Hawaiian beach with a handsome stranger kicked in. Laney glanced at his pant legs when he strode up the driveway. Staring curiously, her throat tight and dry, she barely managed, “Boots?”

“Born in Texas.”

Laney nodded, as if that made all the sense in the world, but it had shown her just how little she’d really known about the man she’d once called Ty.

“Did you follow me?” she asked, puzzled. She’d put nothing past him.

“No. Just good timing.”

“That’s debatable. We have nothing to say to each other, Mr. Tyler.” She wouldn’t ask how he’d found out her private home address. A man like Evan Tyler had ways to get the information he needed. Hadn’t she learned that brutal lesson, firsthand?

He twisted his mouth. “Mr. Tyler again?”

She’d ticked him off and took childish satisfaction in that. “I’m not going to allow you to buy Royal out, so please, get off my property.”

“You need to listen to reason, Laney. Take a drive with me. We’ll go somewhere peaceful and talk.”

Laney wanted to put a protective hand to her trembling stomach, but she didn’t dare. And she couldn’t quite block out the doctor’s routine inquiries today about the baby’s father—health history questions she couldn’t answer. Laney would have to get those answers soon.

Once again, she fought off tears. “Evan, please leave me alone.”

“You’re emotional right now, but—”

“Damn right, I’m emotional. My father just died! And you were the last person to see him alive. If you don’t think that makes me emotional and sorry I ever laid on eyes on you—”

“Hey! Calm down.”

Evan closed the gap between them. He kept his hands to himself, thankfully. If he touched her, she feared she’d melt into a puddle of tears. Her emotions were that close to the edge.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I just told you.”

“No, it’s something else. You’re pale as a ghost.”

“You have that effect on me.”

Evan lips pursed tight. “Laney, come on. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not being ridiculous. I want to know exactly what you said to my father that day.”

“And I want to speak with you about The Royals. Seems we both want something. Since now isn’t a good time for you, have dinner with me tomorrow night and I’ll answer all of your questions.”

Laney hesitated. Her stomach clenched. She was finally hungry, which didn’t happen often these days. She needed a peaceful meal and a nice warm bath. Then she planned on crawling into bed. What she didn’t want to do was have an emotional breakdown in front of Evan Tyler. She couldn’t let him see her that way. She wasn’t ready to tell him about the baby, but she desperately did need to find out if he had anything to do with her father’s heart attack. “Okay, fine. I’ll meet you for a quick business dinner.”

He shook his head. “I’ll pick you up at eight, tomorrow night right here. And I won’t be wearing my boots.”

Laney watched him drive off as myriad emotions swam around in her head. Flashes of the man she’d known at the Wind Breeze wouldn’t stop infiltrating her thoughts. She’d caught rare glimpses of that man when he glanced at her. She’d only wished he were half the man she’d known on that island. But at best, he was a coldhearted driven businessman out to raid her father’s hard-earned company.

“Well, baby,” she whispered, as her stomach growled with hunger again. “That was your daddy.”

Evan drove into the underground garage at the L.A. Tempest and parked the car in his personal space, his mind focused solely on Laney Royal. When he should be thinking about ways to get her to sign on the dotted line, all he really could focus on was how he could get her back in his bed.

There was just something surprising about the beautiful Miss Royal. Maybe it was the challenge she represented to him. He wanted her company, but after spending time with her, he found he wouldn’t mind any fringe benefits that came along with the deal. She’d managed to cure his own boredom at the Wind Breeze, breaking up his business routine and allowing him to enjoy moments of sheer relaxation. And when they weren’t relaxing they were hot for each other, tangling in and out of the sheets. He squeezed the vision of her smooth, supple body under his out of his head before his pulse escalated and his temperature rose. Every time he thought of her that way, his body surged like a damn power strip in a blackout.

Hell, she clearly couldn’t stand the sight of him. She believed that he had something to do with the death of her father.