“Of course you wouldn’t,” her mother said. She glanced at her daughter. “Darling, are you still doing your studies?”
Brant’s ears pricked up. “Studies?”
Kia groaned inwardly. “I’m learning Chinese.”
“And she’s doing very well, too,” Marlene said proudly. “She’s got quite a knack for languages and is already fluent in French and Italian.”
Brant regarded her with a speculative gaze. “You really are a mystery at times, aren’t you?” he said, but she could see a slight hardness back in those eyes.
He glanced at his watch. “We’d better be going.”
She nodded. “I’ll just get my things together.” She left him talking to the others, a little regretful that she hadn’t had more time to spend with her family. But, on the other hand, helping out in a time of crisis was a small sacrifice to make for the good of the company.
Then she thought of working alone with Brant when they got back to Darwin and she pushed aside a level of excitement that had nothing to do with the challenge of the project and everything to do with the man himself. She swallowed hard. Correction. This wasn’t a small sacrifice. This was going to be a big one.
Her hands shook as she quickly showered before slipping into a floral-print shirtdress with a short-sleeved jacket that was easy-wearing for travel but stylish enough for the office. Not bothering with stockings, she stepped into high-heeled sandals that complimented her long, tanned legs. A light touch of makeup and a quick deft of her hand to twist her hair up and she was ready. For battle. For Brant.
“Perhaps you can explain something to me,” he said once they were seated in the plush jet and were heading back to Darwin.
Warning shivers started going up and down her spine. “Like what?”
“Like why you didn’t tell your family about Phillip?”
She tried not to flinch. “Oh. That.”
“Yes. That.”
Her cheeks reddened. “I just want to be sure, that’s all.”
He straightened in his seat, on full alert now. “You’re not sure?”
“Yes, of course I am,” she said quickly. “It’s just that it all happened so fast. I don’t want my family to worry and I know they would.”
A moment’s pause, then he said, “Tell me. Do you love Phil?”
If she hesitated, she was lost. “Yes.”
His jaw clenched. “When do you plan on telling them?”
“When the time is right. Thank you for not saying anything today. It would have been…awkward.”
God, she didn’t like lying, but what else could she do? If she told the truth, Brant would go all out to seduce her. She’d be putty in his hands and she had no doubt she’d enjoy it. But that would be just a physical release. It wouldn’t be enough. She needed more from a man than a quick roll in the hay.
Besides, this wasn’t just about her. She couldn’t give the game away yet. How could she tell Brant the truth and dump all this on Phillip’s shoulders without giving him any warning? She didn’t think she was better than Phillip, but she couldn’t do to him what he’d done to her. No, she’d have to wait until he returned to the office in another two weeks. She just hoped she survived until then.
“I’m sure they’d be happy for you,” Brant said. “Phillip’s a great catch.”
“Yes.” She ignored the cynical tone to his voice, not quite up to verbally fencing with him right now.
About to look away, something about him grabbed her attention and she was surprised to catch a bleak look in his eyes before his gaze dropped to the papers in his lap. An odd feeling of sympathy caught at her heartstrings. Was his coming to fetch her more than just the problem at work? Had he been feeling lonely, despite a “friend” inviting him for Christmas lunch?
“Did you have a nice Christmas, Brant?”
His gaze shot toward her. “Why?”
“I just wondered.”
His smooth look made her wish she’d kept her mouth shut. “Yes, I was kept very…busy.”
She winced inwardly. “I see.” He was a womanizer, so he’d been with a woman most likely. She understood him only too well. He was just like her father.
Nine o’clock that evening Brant decided to wrap things up for the day. Exhausted, he eased back in his leather chair and flexed his fingers. He could hear the clack of the keyboard in the outer office and knew that no matter how tired he was he would still want Kia Benton.
Even today, when he’d caught her offguard at her mother’s place, she’d made his stomach knot with desire. Hell, he could still remember how he’d felt when he’d seen her dressed so casually in those tight jeans that lovingly hugged her body. She’d looked so different. So carefree and friendly.
And when he saw her with that toddler in her arms…it was as if he’d been seeing a glimpse of the future.
His and Kia’s future.
For the first time since Julia, he imagined actually being with a woman. Having more than just a physical connection. But not even Julia had roused the same level of yearning that had ripped through him today when he’d seen Kia.
But Kia was only out for one thing.
The woman needed money the way she needed air to breathe. Her assertion that she loved Phillip had sounded hollow to his ears, but even if he were tempted to forget it, he only had to remember that while her beautiful mouth might lie, the camera hadn’t. The self-satisfied smirk she’d been wearing in that photograph of her and Phillip had said it all: Kia Benton had caught her man.
He straightened in his chair, disgust tightening his mouth. So how could he even think about Kia on a deeper level? It was all this damn Christmas stuff, that’s what it was. It stirred too many memories of when he was growing up.
Not that he could complain about his childhood. His parents had been the best, practically adopting the other kids in the street. Many a time Flynn had taken refuge in Brant’s house when his father had been too drunk to care. And Damien’s parents hadn’t meant to be so distant from their son, leaving the small boy starving for parental affection. Brant knew if it hadn’t been for Barbara and Jack Matthews, his two friends may not have turned out as well as they had. It had bonded the three of them together.
Like brothers.
His mouth tightened. Unlike his own flesh and blood, who had stolen his fiancée.
He got to his feet and walked to the doorway, pushing aside the thought of his younger brother, Royce, as he forced his mind back to the business at hand.
For a minute he stood watching Kia’s fingers fly over the keyboard while she continued to type up the reams of paperwork needed to get the project back on track. He didn’t know what Phil had been thinking, putting together a package like that. It had been totally wrong, full of errors and not feasible.
“You knew, didn’t you?” he said, coming into the room. “That the presentation was all wrong?”
She blinked in surprise, then nodded. “I had an idea. I mentioned it to Phillip, but he thought he was right, so I left it at that.” She shrugged. “He’s the boss.”
“And so am I. You should have come to me.”
She arched a brow. “And tell you what exactly? That my boss wasn’t thinking straight because he’d lost the use of his leg and now I was telling him he was beginning to lose his mind, too?”
“I admire your loyalty, Kia, but next time save us both some stress and just tell me about it. I won’t go running to Phil, but I’ll find a way around it. If Phil’s not coping, we need to get him some help.”
She sighed. “Yes, you’re right.”
He went to speak, to tell her how Phillip’s judgment was sometimes suspect and had caused problems before, but then he remembered whose fiancée she was.
“Right. Let’s call it a night. Would you like to get a bite to eat on the way home?” Suddenly he didn’t want to go home alone. He had nothing waiting for him there. And no doubt they’d still have all those sappy Christmas movies on television.
She began stacking papers. “No, thanks. The pizza was more than enough.”
“We ate that hours ago.”
She looked up with a rueful gleam in her eyes. “I’m still full from Christmas lunch yesterday.”
That gleam hit him right in his chest. There was a warmth in her eyes whenever she spoke of her family that just didn’t correspond with the cold, callous player he knew her to be.
He stared at her for a minute more, then spun around and went back into his office. He supposed even criminals had their good points.
Chapter Six
The next day Kia would have loved to concentrate on the job at hand, but with everyone still on vacation, just being alone with Brant in the executive suite left her scarcely daring to breathe. It was the reason she’d insisted on working from her own office at the other end of the floor. Away from him.
Away from temptation. And out of the sexual firing line.
He’d seen right through her, but she’d still held her head high when she told him she felt more comfortable at her own desk. It had been the truth, after all.
“Bring me the next twenty pages when you’ve finished them,” was all he’d said midafternoon, the glint in his eyes telling her that even a crucial project couldn’t surpass this attraction between them.
“Aye, aye, sir,” she’d snapped, spinning on her heels and leaving the room, but not before she’d seen the arrogance in his eyes. Okay, so he was the boss, but that didn’t mean he had to “boss” her about. It only made her madder, and ever since, her fingers had been flying across the keyboard, wanting to finish the twenty pages as soon as possible so she could march into his office and slam them down on the desk.
And that’s exactly what she did—in half the time it normally took. But to her amazement, when she got to his office, he was nowhere to be seen. The adrenaline that had given her fingers strength dissipated, leaving her drained and ludicrously disappointed. She sighed. The considerate thing for him to do would have been to tell her he was going out.
She placed the papers in the center of his desk and turned to go back to her office. A figure in the doorway made her jump. For a minute she thought it was Brant. Adjusting her eyes she realized it was Lynette Kelly.
Kia breathed in deeply, her heart not quite settling back into place. “Lynette, what are you doing here?”
Lynette blushed as she took a few steps into the office. “Oh, hello, Kia.”
She looked so nervous Kia felt sorry for her. “Can I help you?” she asked gently.
“Er…I need to see Phillip. I called him at home, but there was no answer. I thought he might be here.”
“I’m sorry. He’s not.” Lynette’s face fell and Kia spoke before thinking. “He’s gone home to Queensland for a couple of weeks.”
The other woman’s eyes widened. “Without you?”
Kia’s gaze darted away then back. “I had to stay here. To work.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. She turned away. “I guess I’d better—” She spun back. “Kia, do you really love Phillip? I mean, like a woman should love a man? Please, I need to know.”
There was such anguish in her eyes, guilt stabbed Kia in the heart.
“Kia, he needs me. I know he does. I love him with all my heart and I’m swallowing my pride in front of you and begging you to tell me the truth.”
Kia couldn’t stand Lynette’s pain any longer. It just wasn’t right to keep the other woman in the dark.
She owed it to her—and to Phillip—to help straighten things out.
“No, Lynette. I don’t love Phillip. Not in that way.”
“Thank God.” Lynette swayed, then quickly gathered herself, blinking back tears. When she’d recovered, a crease formed between her eyes and she looked confused. “So why did you get engaged?”
Kia told her the truth and explained how one thing had led to another. “I’m sorry for all the pain we’ve put you through, Lynette. I was just trying to help Phillip.”
“Do you…?” Lynette swallowed. “Do you think he still loves me?”
“I know he does.”
Hope filled Lynette’s eyes and made them shine. “I have to go to him.”
Kia nodded. Behind the other woman’s delicate appearance, she sensed a strength of character she suspected would surprise Phillip. “If he gives you a hard time, tell him I said he’s a fool.”
Lynette quickly hugged her. “I hope you find someone for you soon.”
“I’m not sure I want anyone,” Kia said with a small smile. The only person who had ever really affected her was Brant. And he…well, there was nothing more to say there.
Lynette left the room, so happy she looked as if she were walking on air. Kia smiled as relief swept through her that she’d told the other woman of Phillip’s love. It was in Lynette’s hands now.
Just then, the hairs on the back of Kia’s neck stood to attention. Even before she turned toward the connecting door she was certain Brant would be standing there.
And he was. He’d been in the small conference room the whole time. A fear such as she’d never known skittered under her skin. Primal fear. Sexual fear. She only had to look at the anger in his eyes to know he had overheard.
“Um…Brant. I didn’t know you were there.”
For a moment the air hung between them like a sheet of humidity.
“So the gold digger’s conscience got the better of her, did it?” he sneered, leaning against the doorjamb, about as laid-back as a crocodile lazing in the sun.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Gold digger?” Was he crazy? “Are you talking about me?”
“Too bad, sweetheart. You missed out on marriage this time, but I’m sure you can find another man to fall for that innocent act.”