The Expectant Executive
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Kathie DeNosky
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Harlequin🏰 Historical
HarlequinOne
“I can’t believe it’s already the first of November,” Finola Elliott muttered as she scanned the entries in her electronic planner.
There were only two months left before Patrick, founder and CEO of Elliott Publication Holdings and patriarch of the Long Island Elliott clan, retired and named one of his four children his successor to the magazine empire he’d built over the years. And Fin had every intention of being the indisputable winner of the competition he’d set up to decide who would best fill that role.
She’d spent her entire adult life working toward taking over EPH, and even though her two brothers and one nephew were all equally qualified for the position, Patrick—she hadn’t referred to him as her father in years—owed her the job and so much more. But when he reviewed the growth and profit margins of The Buzz, Snap, Pulse and Charisma magazines, Fin wanted there to be no mistaking that her “baby,” Charisma, had outdistanced the others, hands down.
At the end of the second quarter, her fashion magazine had been in the lead. Unfortunately, in the past couple of months her twin brother, Shane, had pulled ahead with his show business publication, The Buzz. But Fin wasn’t overly concerned. Everything was back on track and going her way again.
Smiling fondly, she glanced at the newly framed picture on her desk and the reason her attention had been diverted from the objective. She’d discovered that her intern, Jessica Clayton, was the baby girl Patrick had forced Fin to give up for adoption twenty-three years ago, and she and her daughter had been making up for lost time. Jessie was a wonderful young woman and they’d become quite close over the past couple of months. In fact, Fin had even accompanied Jessie to the Silver Moon Ranch in Colorado, to meet Jessie’s adoptive father and see where she’d grown up.
But now that Jessie and Cade McMann, Fin’s right-hand man at Charisma, were busy with the final preparations for their wedding later in the month, Fin needed to get back on track and regain her focus. She hid a yawn behind her hand. She just wished she wasn’t so darned tired all the time.
As she switched to the month of October to review her notes on the magazine’s growth projections for November, goose bumps skittered over her skin and a little chill streaked up her spine.
Something was missing. Where was the personal notation she made every month marking the start of her cycle?
Switching back to her entry in September, her heart slammed to a stop, then pounded hard against her ribs. She hadn’t had a period in almost six weeks?
“That can’t be right.”
Surely she’d just forgotten to record the date for October. But as she thought back, she couldn’t remember having had a period since well before accompanying Jessie to Colorado.
Stunned, Fin sat back in her high-backed leather chair and stared out the plateglass windows at the Manhattan skyline. The only other time in her life that she’d skipped her cycle had been at the age of fifteen when she’d gotten pregnant after her one night of passion with her sixteen-year-old boyfriend, Sebastian Deveraux. But there was absolutely no way she could be pregnant this time.
She almost laughed. For that to even be a remote possibility, she’d have to have a love life. And she didn’t. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been out with a man when the evening hadn’t been business-related—either courting a potential advertising client or entertaining one of the many designers featuring his or her new line in Charisma.
Her social life had taken, and probably always would take, a backseat to the magazine that had become her obsession over the years. But a sudden thought caused her to catch her breath. There had been that one night at the party Travis Clayton, Jessie’s adoptive father, had thrown in honor of Jessie and Cade’s engagement.
Fin’s cheeks heated at the thought of just what had taken place when she and Travis had gone into that charming old barn of his to check on a mare and her new foal. What had started out to be an innocent hug to express how grateful she was that Travis and his late wife, Lauren, had done such a wonderful job of raising Jessie, had turned into a passionate encounter that still left Fin feeling breathlessly weak. There had only been one other time in her life that she’d allowed herself to lose control and throw caution to the wind like that. The night she’d conceived Jessie.
She thoughtfully nibbled on her lower lip. She couldn’t possibly have gotten pregnant from that one stolen moment with Travis, could she?
Shaking her head, she dismissed the idea outright. It might be possible, but it was most definitely improbable. She’d read somewhere that the closer a woman got to forty, the longer it sometimes took to become pregnant. And at thirty-eight, she was closing in on forty faster than she cared to admit.
Besides, fate couldn’t possibly be that cruel. She’d conceived Jessie the night she’d lost her virginity to Sebastian. Surely the odds of her becoming pregnant again after making love with a man one time had to be astronomical.
No, missing her period had to be an indication that something else was wrong.
Swiveling her chair around, she reached for the phone to make an appointment with her gynecologist, but gasped at the unexpected sight of Travis Clayton leaning one broad shoulder against her doorframe.
“I know I’m not the best-looking thing to come down the pike, but I wasn’t aware that I’d started scaring the hell out of pretty women and little kids,” he said, his deep voice filled with humor.
The teasing light in his sinfully blue eyes sent a delicious warmth coursing throughout her body. If she’d ever seen a man as ruggedly handsome as Jessie’s adoptive father, Fin couldn’t remember when. Looking much younger than his forty-nine years, he was the epitome of the modern western man from the top of his wide-brimmed black cowboy hat all the way to his big-booted feet. Wearing a pair of soft-looking, well-worn jeans, chambray shirt and a western-cut sports jacket that emphasized the breadth of his impossibly wide shoulders, he could easily be one of the male models in an advertisement for men’s cologne.
“Travis, it’s good to see you again. I don’t remember Jessie mentioning that you would be visiting this week.” Rising to her feet, Fin walked around the desk to greet him. “Please, come in and sit down.”
Giving her a smile that caused her toes to curl inside her Italian designer heels, he straightened to his full height and crossed the room with the confidence and grace of a man quite comfortable with who he was and what he was about. “When I talked to Jess the other day, she sounded a little hassled from all this wedding stuff, so I decided to surprise her,” he said, settling into one of the chairs in front of Fin’s desk.
“A little paternal support never hurts,” she agreed, wondering what it would be like to have a father who was sensitive to his child’s emotional needs. Patrick’s approach to childrearing had been nothing short of dictatorial and he could have cared less how his issued orders affected his offspring’s emotions—in particular, hers.
“How have you been, Fin?” Travis asked when she sat down in the chair beside him.
The warmth and genuine interest in his smooth baritone sent a little shiver up her spine. “Fine. And yourself?”
He shrugged. “Can’t complain.” Looking around her office, his curious gaze seemed to zero in on a stack of ad proofs on her desk. “When I asked Jess how you’ve been getting on, she said you’re working like crazy to win this contest your dad set up.”
Her stomach did a funny little flip at the thought that he’d been asking Jessie about her. “The competition and helping with Jessie and Cade’s wedding arrangements have been keeping me pretty busy.”
“I’ll bet it has.” He chuckled. “All this wedding hoopla makes me kind of glad I’m stuck off in no-man’s-land until it’s time to walk her down the aisle. Jess said all I have to do is go for the final fitting on my tux while I’m in town and that suits me just fine.”
He wasn’t fooling Fin for a minute. Travis and Jessie had a wonderful father-daughter relationship and he had to be feeling a little left out for him to fly all the way from Colorado.
“This is pretty tough for you, isn’t it?”
He started to shake his head, then looking a bit sheepish, he grinned. “It shows that much, does it? I thought I was doing a pretty fair job of hiding it, but I guess I was wrong.”
Fin nodded sympathetically. “I’m sure it’s a difficult transition to suddenly be relegated to the number-two man in your daughter’s life when you’ve always been number one.”
“I can’t believe she’s old enough to get married,” he said, removing his hat to run his hand through his thick dark blond hair. Replacing his hat, his expression turned wistful. “It seems like just yesterday I was kissing her skinned elbows and teaching her how to print her name for kindergarten.”
A little pang of envy gripped Fin’s heart. She’d been cheated out of so much when Patrick had forced her to give her baby daughter up for adoption.
They sat in silence for several long moments before Travis spoke again. “I know this is short notice, but I stopped by to ask if you’d like to join Jessie and me for supper this evening. We’ll be meeting at some place she called the Lemon Grill.” He grinned. “If the name is any indication, it sounds like a place a man could get a decent steak.”
Fin smiled. “I’m sure you can. It’s a charming little bistro with excellent food.”
“Then you’ll join us?”
She should decline the invitation outright. She and Travis had absolutely nothing in common beyond their love for Jessie. But for reasons beyond her comprehension, Fin was drawn to Travis and had been since the moment they met.
“I don’t want to intrude on your time with your daughter,” she hedged.
He shook his head. “She’s your daughter, too. Besides, I wouldn’t have asked if I hadn’t wanted you to join us. And I’m sure you want to spend as much time with her as you can now that you two have found each other.”
Her heart filled with emotion when he referred to Jessie as her daughter, too. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
When he took her hand in his much larger one, a tingling thrill streaked up Fin’s arm at the feel of his work-callused palm against her much softer skin. “I’m positive.” The warmth in his incredibly blue eyes assured her that he did indeed want her to have dinner with them. “What man wouldn’t want to be out with the two best-looking women in this whole damned town?”
The truth was, spending the evening with Travis and Jessie was far more appealing than sitting alone in her too-big apartment eating take out and going over spread sheets filled with Charisma’s growth projections and profit margins. Surely one more night of putting off the task wasn’t going to hurt her chances of winning the competition for EPH.
“Wh-what time should I meet you at the bistro?” Why did she suddenly feel like a teenage girl being asked to the homecoming dance by the best-looking, most popular boy in school?
“Eight.” Still holding her hand, he rose to his feet, then pulled her up to stand beside him. “I guess I’d better let you get back to work if you’re going to win your dad’s contest.”
“I suppose that would be a good idea.” Why didn’t she sound as resolute about it as she would have before he appeared at her door?
He leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “Then I’ll see you this evening, Fin.”
Her skin tingled where his lips had been and before she could find her voice, Travis touched the wide brim of his cowboy hat in a gallant gesture and turned to walk away.
As she watched him disappear into the outer office, she felt the need to fan herself. Dear God, the man was six feet four inches of pure sex appeal and could heat up a room faster than a blast furnace. His kiss had only been meant as a friendly gesture, but her heart had skipped several beats at the touch of his lips to her suddenly overly sensitive skin.
“Was that the model for Calvin Klein’s new cowboy cologne?” Chloe Davenport asked, entering Fin’s office. She glanced over her shoulder at Travis.
“If so, could I sign up to be his cowgirl?”
Fin laughed at her executive assistant. “No. That’s Travis Clayton, Jessie’s father.”
“You’re kidding.” Fin watched the young woman take another lingering glance before closing the office door. “He’s the real deal, isn’t he?”
“If by that you mean that he’s a working cowboy, then yes, he’s the real thing.”
Chloe sighed wistfully. “If they grow them like that in Colorado, I just might have to head that way sometime.”
Fin laughed. “And leave that cute little apartment you have in Chelsea?”
“Ooh, that would be a problem. I finally have it decorated just the way I want it,” Chloe said, handing Fin the latest accounting reports. “I suppose I’ll just have to stay in New York and content myself with finding an urban cowboy.”
Fin nodded, distracted by the report. “What’s the latest word around EPH? Anything going on with the other magazines that I should know about?”
The young woman shook her head. “Not that I’ve heard. You and Shane are still the top contenders for CEO. The Buzz’s growth and profit margin is slightly better than Charisma’s, but the consensus in accounting is that Charisma could still come out the winner.”
“G-good.” Suddenly feeling a bit dizzy, Fin walked around her desk to sit in her high-backed chair. She definitely needed to see a doctor.
“Fin, are you okay?” Chloe asked, her pretty young face marred with concern.
Nodding, Fin gave her a weak smile. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
“I’m worried about you, Fin. You’ve been working way too hard.” Chloe frowned. “You’ve always been driven, but these past ten months you’ve made workaholics look like total slackers.”
“I’ll be fine, Chloe.”
Her assistant looked doubtful. “Are you sure about that?”
Smiling, Fin nodded as she handed the report back to her assistant. “Now, go give these to Cade and tell him that I want to meet with him first thing in the morning to go over these figures.”
“Anything else?”
Fin checked the clock. “No, I have a few phone calls to make, then I think I’m going to take off the rest of the day.”
Chloe looked thunderstruck. “You’re kidding. You never leave before eight or nine in the evening and more times than I care to count, I’ve found you sleeping on your couch when I arrive for work. Are you sure you’re feeling all right? Should I call someone?”
“No, you don’t need to call anyone.” Smiling, Fin hid a yawn behind her hand. “I have a dinner engagement and I think I need a short nap to make it through the evening. Otherwise, I might fall asleep between the appetizer and the main course.”
“That wouldn’t be good for business,” Chloe agreed, shaking her head as she walked to the door.
Fin didn’t bother to correct her assistant as the young woman quietly closed the door behind her. Dinner this evening had nothing whatsoever to do with business and everything to do with pleasure. Her only concern was deciding which she was anticipating more—the pleasure of spending time with her newfound daughter or her daughter’s adoptive father.
Travis felt like a fish out of water. The concrete and steel of New York City was a far cry from the wide open spaces he was used to and the Lemon Grill was to hell and gone from the little diner he sometimes frequented when he drove over to Winchester County for the stock auctions. Here he sat in an upscale café in the middle of Manhattan with a prissy little waiter sporting a pencil-thin mustache and slicked-back hair, hovering around him like a bumblebee over a patch of new spring clover.
“My name is Henri. It will be my pleasure to be your server this evening.” The too-polished character smiled, showing off a set of unnaturally white teeth. “Would the gentleman like something to drink while he’s waiting on his dinner partners?”
Travis frowned. The little guy sure spouted out a lot of words to ask a simple question. He was more used to being asked straight up what he wanted to drink instead of being referred to like he was some sort of third wheel.
“I’ll take a beer.”
“Would the gentleman like a domestic brand or imported?”
Unable to resist teasing the pretentious little man, Travis grinned. “I can’t say what the gentleman would like, but I’ll take domestic.” As Henri started to leave the table, Travis added the name of a beer brewed exclusively in the Rocky Mountains.
“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t carry that particular brand,” Henri said, his apology as fake as his cap-toothed smile. Rattling off a list of the beer the restaurant had available, he asked, “Would the gentleman like to choose one of those?”
“Surprise me.”
“Very well, sir.”
As the waiter hurried away to get his drink, Travis spotted Fin entering the restaurant. She briefly spoke to the hostess, then when she headed his way, he couldn’t help but marvel at what a beauty she was. With her straight, dark auburn hair stylishly brushing her shoulders, and looking like a model in her black form-fitting dress, she looked far too young to be the mother of his twenty-three-year-old daughter.
Standing when she approached, he thought his heart would jump right out of his chest when her perfect coral lips turned up in a warm smile. “I hope I’m not too late. The crosstown traffic was particularly heavy this evening.”
“You drove?” He held the chair for her while she seated herself at the small table. “I remember Jessie telling me that you’d never learned to drive.”
Fin’s delightful laughter caused an unexpected heat to settle in the pit of his belly as he sat back down. “Guilty as charged. I’ve never even been behind the wheel of a car.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Hell, he’d been driving around the ranch in either a truck or on a tractor since he was ten years old and he’d taught Jessie to drive when she was twelve. “You’ve never—”
“No. When my brothers and I lived at home, we always had drivers to take us wherever we wanted to go. Then, after I moved from the Hamptons into my Manhattan apartment, there was no need to drive. Everything I need is so close, I walk a lot. And when where I want to go is too far to walk, I use the corporate limo or take a taxi.” Her eyes twinkled wistfully as she added, “But I’ve always thought it might be fun to learn how to drive a car.”
“The next time you visit the Silver Moon, I’ll teach you,” he said, unable to wipe what he was sure had to be a sappy grin from his face.
Her eyes held a warmth that stole his breath. “I’d like that, Travis. Thank you.”
The thought of Fin coming back to his ranch for a visit had his heart pounding like the bass drum in a marching band. But it was the slight blush on her porcelain cheeks and the warmth in her pretty green eyes that caused the region south of his belt buckle to tighten. She remembered what happened between them when she visited his ranch last month, the same as he did.
“Would the lady like something to drink before ordering dinner?” Henri asked, returning to their table with Travis’s beer.
For reasons Travis didn’t want to dwell on, the man’s appreciative grin when he looked at Fin irritated the hell out of Travis.
“Just some water with a slice of lemon, please,” Fin answered the prissy little guy. As he moved away to take care of her request, she asked, “Where’s Jessie? I was sure she’d be here by now.”
Travis shook his head. “I don’t know. She said something about going with Cade to pick up airline tickets for their honeymoon after they got off work. But that was a good three hours ago. Surely it doesn’t take that long to…”
His voice trailed off when he felt Fin’s soft, delicate hand touch his. “I’m sure she’s fine, Travis. I overheard her and Cade talking about a stop at the jeweler’s to pick up gifts for their bridesmaids and groomsmen. Maybe it took longer than they had anticipated.”
As he sat there trying to force words around the cotton suddenly coating his throat, Henri placed a glass of water on the table in front of Fin. “Sir, you have a phone call. If you’ll follow me, you may take the call at the hostess’s desk.”
When Travis glanced at Fin, she smiled. “It’s probably Jessie telling you that she’s held up in traffic.”
“I hope you’re right.” He briefly wondered why his daughter hadn’t called his cell phone, until he remembered that he’d turned it off when he entered the restaurant.
Excusing himself, Travis quickly made his way to the front of the restaurant. Even though Jess had been living in New York City for the better part of a year, it still made him nervous to think of his little girl on the mean streets of a big city. He’d relaxed a little after meeting her fiancé, Cade McMann, and being assured that the man had every intention of keeping her safe and making her happy. But if something had happened to her, Travis would have Cade’s head on a silver platter for not taking better care of her.
When the hostess handed him the phone, he was relieved to hear his precious daughter on the other end of the line. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Where are you, angel? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to meet you and Fin for dinner this evening.” There was a short silence before she added, “I’ve, um, got a headache and I think I’ll turn in early. You don’t mind having dinner alone with Fin, do you?”
“Of course not, princess.” Travis glanced over at the beautiful woman waiting patiently at his table. He’d have to be as crazy as a horse after it got into a patch of locoweed to mind spending time with her.
“Good. I’m sure you’ll both enjoy yourselves. The Lemon Grill has great food.” Jessie’s voice was a little too enthusiastic and she didn’t sound the least bit under the weather. “Please give Fin my apologies and tell her that I’ll see her at the office tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll do that, angel.” She wasn’t fooling him for a minute. Jess had been after him for the past couple of years to get out more and revitalize his social life, as she put it. And unless he missed his guess, his little girl was trying to play matchmaker between him and her biological mother.
“Oh, don’t forget, Daddy. We’re supposed to meet for lunch tomorrow, then go to the men’s store to have you fitted for your tux.”
“You’re still going to make me wear that monkey suit, are you?”
“You’ll be the best looking monkey at the wedding,” she said, laughing. “I love you, Daddy. See you tomorrow.”
“I love you too, Jess.”
Handing the cordless phone back to the hostess, Travis walked over to the table where Fin sat waiting for him. “Looks like it’s just the two of us for supper tonight,” he said, settling into his chair.
She gave him a questioning look. “Jessie isn’t coming?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “She said she has a headache and intends to go to bed early.”
“Since your other dinner partner won’t be joining you, would you care to order now?” Henri asked, suddenly appearing at Travis’s elbow. The man had obviously been eavesdropping on their conversation.
Tired of the waiter’s obtrusive presence, Travis gave him a look that had the little man quickly fading into the background without another word. “What do you say we go somewhere we can talk without old Ornery over there hanging on our every word?”
Fin looked puzzled. “Ornery?”
“Henri. Ornery.” Travis grinned. “Same difference.”
She gave him a smile that did strange things to his insides. “I think I know of a place where we can talk uninterrupted.”
“Sounds good to me.” Raising his hand, he motioned to Henri.
The little waiter was at Travis’s side almost immediately. “Would the lady and gentleman like to order now?”
Fin spoke up before Travis had a chance. “No, we’ve changed our minds and won’t be dining with you this evening.”
Leaving Henri to hover over someone else, when they stepped out onto the street, Travis put his arm around Fin to shelter her from the chilly November wind. Her slender body pressed to his side sent his blood pressure up a good fifty points and brought back memories of the last time he’d held her close. His body tightened predictably and he felt as if his jeans had shrunk a size or two in the stride.
“What’s the name of this restaurant where the waiters leave the customers alone?” he asked when he finally got his voice to work.
“Chez Fin Elliott.”
His heart stuttered and he had to remind himself to breathe. “We’re going to your place?”
Nodding, she smiled. “If you don’t mind missing out on your steak, I thought we could go back to my apartment, order in some Chinese and talk without having someone else hanging on our every word.”
He wasn’t wild about egg rolls and chop suey, but he’d have to be a damned fool to pass up spending the evening alone with one of the most beautiful women he’d ever had the privilege to lay eyes on.
Before she had a chance to change her mind, Travis raised his arm and waved at an approaching yellow car. “Taxi!”
