The Missing Heir Page 7

  Suddenly, she pushed back. “We can’t.”

  Cole sucked in a breath. Of course they couldn’t. What was he thinking? They were in her place of business.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  But she shook her head. “My fault, too.” Then she glanced at her watch. “I have to go. There’s a board meeting.” She stopped talking. Inhaled a deliberate breath and took a step back. “That was foolish. I don’t know what got into me.”

  “Amber—”

  “Goodbye, Cole.” She moved for the door.

  “Can I call you later?”

  “No.” She shook her head and pulled open the door.

  From behind her desk, Sandra’s sharp gaze went to Amber, then to Cole. He tried to look casual, innocent, as if nothing more than a brief conversation had taken place between them.

  But it was hard to put his finger on the exact expression and posture that would convey those things. So he simply left the room, bid a brief goodbye to Sandra and took the elevator back to the lobby.

  * * *

  Smoothing back her hair and mentally pulling herself together, Amber reached for the door handle to Coast Eagle’s main boardroom.

  She couldn’t believe she’d kissed Cole again. She couldn’t believe she’d done it in the office. And she sure couldn’t believe she’d enjoyed it.

  She tugged open the door.

  “There you are,” said Max, rising from his seat at the head of the long boardroom table.

  The other eight members of the board nodded politely, their gazes fixed on her. They were all men, fortysomething to sixtysomething, longtime members of the Atlanta business community and the aviation industry. She knew most of them by sight, but she’d shared little more than a passing greeting with any of them.

  Max moved away from the head chair, gesturing for her to sit down in it. “Please, Ms. Welsley.”

  She hesitated over the bold gesture, but Max gave her an encouraging smile.

  She told herself she could do this. For Zachary, she could do this. She lifted her chin, walked forward and took the power chair.

  Max took the chair to her right.

  She stared down the center of the table, fixing her vision on the photograph of a red-and-white biplane at the far end of the room. She had no idea what to say.

  Luckily, Max opened for her. “Per article 17.9 of the Coast Eagle Articles of Incorporation,” he said, “Ms. Welsley is exercising her right as majority shareholder—”

  “She’s not the majority shareholder,” said Clint Mendes.

  Max peered at Clint. “According to the State of Georgia, she represents the majority shareholder.”

  “But that’s under appeal,” said Clint.

  “And until that appeal is settled, Ms. Welsley represents the interests of Zachary Henderson. Now, as I was saying—”

  The boardroom door swung abruptly open, revealing Roth in the threshold, his eyes wide, face ruddy, and his jaw clenched tight.

  “Mr. Calvin,” said Max, a clear rebuke in his tone. “I’m afraid this is a private meeting.”

  “Is this a coup?” Roth demanded.

  A hush came over the room as everyone waited to see what Amber would do.

  She immediately realized she had to step up. She couldn’t let Max defend her against Roth. She was going to be a board member, and she had to stand her ground.

  If she lost the court case, Roth would have her fired within seconds. He would have done that anyway. She had nothing left to lose.

  She came to her feet, turning and squaring her shoulders. “Please leave the meeting, Roth.”

  The silence boomed around her.

  Roth’s jaw worked, his face growing redder. “Are you out of your—”

  “Please leave,” she repeated. “This meeting is for board members only.”

  “You’re not a board member,” Roth all but shouted.

  “I’m the majority shareholder, Roth. That’s as much as you need to know. Now leave.”

  Nelson MacSweeny coughed, but said nothing.

  Roth glared at the man.

  Then he fixed a biting, narrow-eyed stare on Amber.

  But he seemed to understand that he’d lost the round. He stepped back, banging the door shut.

  Knees shaky, Amber sat down. Everyone was still looking down the table at her. But something in their expressions had changed.

  It might have been her imagination, but there seemed to be a level of respect in their eyes. She gazed levelly back. Her heart was pounding and her palms were sweating, but she wasn’t about to let anyone know that Roth had rattled her.

  “Ms. Welsley is exercising her right to appoint herself as a board member,” said Max. “As current majority shareholder, she will sit as chair. As chair, she will break any tie over the appointment of an interim president.”

  “So not Roth,” said Clint.

  “Then who are we talking about?” Nelson asked.

  “Are we taking nominations?”

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought,” said Amber. “I’d like to discuss Max Cutter as the interim president.”

  Max drew back in his seat. “I can’t—”

  “Turns out you can,” said Amber. “I spoke to a lawyer this morning.”

  “You’ll have to leave the room for the discussion,” Nelson said to Max.

  Max fixed his shrewd gaze on Amber. She didn’t flinch. If she could sit as chair of the board, then he could sit as president. There was no one else she’d trust.

  “Very well,” said Max. He rose and gathered his briefcase.

  As he passed, he paused behind her and leaned down. “I guess we’ll go down together.”

  She turned her head to whisper. “Then I guess you’d better help me win.”

  “I was always going to help you win.” He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he walked away.

  The door closed behind him and another board member spoke up. He was Milos Mandell, a former commercial pilot and internet entrepreneur.

  “Can we speak freely?” asked Milos.

  “I would think we’d better,” said Amber.

  “You seem like you understand what you just did.”

  She couldn’t help flexing a small, resigned smile. “I believe I know what I just did.”

  “He’s going to come after you,” said Nelson, clearly referring to Roth.

  “He’s right to go after her,” said Clint, glancing around at his fellow board members. “This is a coup.”

  Milos sat forward. “The coup would have been Roth taking over as president without the support of the major shareholder.”

  Clint stared hard at Amber. “You’re jumping the gun, and it’s going to cost you.”

  “While Roth will know you sided with him, so I guess you’re safe.” She let her words sink in for a moment.

  Clint was smart enough to realize the opposite was also true. Amber now knew he was in opposition to her.

  His jaw dropped a fraction of an inch. “I don’t mean... That is, I’m not...”

  “Any discussion on Max?” Amber asked the group.

  She didn’t have time to worry about Clint. She needed to get Max settled in as president, then she needed to focus on the court case, do justice to her day-to-day work and make sure Zachary stayed clean, fed and as happy as possible. The alliances, machinations and power plays at Coast Eagle were going to have to take a backseat.

  * * *

  On the staircase in front of Coast Eagle headquarters, Cole appeared and fell into step beside Amber. It was six o’clock. She was exhausted, and he was the last person she wanted to see.

  Ironically, he was also the person she most wanted to see. The conflicting reactions were due to the kiss they’d shared in the meeting room.

  “I read the press release,” he opened, turning right along with her as she headed down the crowded sidewalk toward the transit station.

  “I think that was a good move,” he continued. “There’s an element of risk, but there
’s nothing about this situation that’s not risky.”

  She stopped to turn on him, forcing the flow of people to part around them. The man had gone behind her back, kissed her senseless, and now he wanted to analyze her business decisions? “Is that really what you want to say to me?”

  Her words seemed to catch him off guard and he hesitated. Horns honked and engines revved on the street as cars breezed past.

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “Well.” She coughed out a chopped laugh. “It’s so very nice of you to approve of my decision.”

  “Are you still upset?”

  “I’m also tired, and I’m busy, and I’m going to miss my train.”

  “Then you should get moving.”

  He was right. She turned abruptly to march toward the station.

  He kept pace. “I have a hard time believing the Hendersons don’t have cars and drivers.”

  “Are you going to pretend it didn’t happen?”

  “That you joined the board of directors?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “That I kissed you?” he asked.

  “That you betrayed me.”

  “I didn’t betray you. I told you I was after the Pacific routes.”

  “Don’t pretend you’re stupid, Cole. And don’t pretend I’m stupid, either.”

  “You’re not stupid.”

  “I know.”

  “Except when it comes to transportation. Can I offer you a ride home?”

  “You cannot.”

  “Why?”

  Because he had her rattled. The memory of his kiss had taunted her all afternoon long, messing with her concentration. She wanted to know the kiss had rattled him, too.

  “It’ll get you home faster,” Cole offered reasonably. “You’ll be able to spend more time with Zachary.”

  “Go away.” She fixed her sights on the train platform.

  “Not what I was planning.”

  “What were you planning?” The question was automatic, and she instantly regretted asking it.

  She didn’t care about his plans. She wanted him out of her life. At least, a part of her wanted him out of her life. The other part wanted him to kiss her again. She nearly groaned in frustration.

  “You’re having a tough week,” he said. “You need to have some fun.”

  She dodged her way around a group of pedestrians, then skirted a trash can and a stroller. “What? This doesn’t look like fun?”

  “Well, I’m having fun.”

  “What do you want, Cole?”

  “To take you on a date.”

  His words shocked her to a halt.

  He took her arm and drew her under a shop awning, next to a brick wall and out of the flow of pedestrians. “I can only guess at how hard you’re working and how tired you must be. I want to help you take a break. Come out with me tonight. Let’s walk through Atlantic Station, see the lights, drink hot chocolate. Or we can go skating. You said skating was your favorite.”

  “I don’t like you, Cole.”

  “To be fair, you don’t know me.”

  “I know enough.”

  “You only think you know enough.” His gaze captured hers again, and the noise and commotion of the sidewalk seemed to fade.

  “I’ll sweeten the pot,” he said. “We’ll go to the penthouse. I’ll work my magic and put Zachary to sleep. Can Isabel stay for the evening?”

  “You’re bribing me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Why, Cole? The jig is up. I know you were using me to worm your way into Coast Eagle.”

  “Amber, I don’t need you to worm my way into Coast Eagle. I walked through the front door and got a meeting with the soon-to-be president without an appointment.”

  “Roth’s not going to be president.”

  “Good decision.”

  “You just switch your opinion on a dime, don’t you?”

  “I never thought he should be president.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t care what Cole thought. Still, for some reason she was glad to hear him agree with her.

  “You need to get out for a while,” Cole continued. “Take a break. Forget about everything.”

  She fought a smile at the absurdity. “What I want to forget is you.”

  His expression faltered, and she felt a stab of guilt.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Amber.”

  She was sorry she’d said it.

  Wait, no, she wasn’t. No good could come of her attraction to him. A date? The idea was absurd. He lived in Alaska, and her life was a mess.

  The best they could hope for was a one-night stand. Which, when she thought about it...

  Hoo, boy. She reached out to grip the brick wall.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m perfectly fine.” She paused. “No, make that confused. Why do you want to go out with me? And why do you still want to help me with Zachary?”

  It took him a moment to shrug. “Why not? I like you, Amber. I like Zachary.”

  “That’s too simple an explanation.” Amber raked her hand through her hair to tame it in the freshening wind.

  “I’m not complicated.”

  “I am.”

  “It’s ice-skating, Amber. What could be simpler than ice-skating?”

  “You’re trying to get your hands on our Pacific routes.”

  “Only if you want to sell them.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Fair enough. Did you know you missed your train?”

  It was pulling smoothly away on the tracks. He really was the most infuriatingly distracting man.

  “My car is only a block away. What do you say?”

  She wanted to say yes. She suddenly, desperately wanted to leave her troubles behind for a few hours and go ice-skating with Cole.

  She gave in. “Okay.”

  He grinned, and she couldn’t shake the feeling she’d been outmaneuvered.

  Five

  As they passed by the lit trees that lined the outdoor skating rink, Cole turned backward so that he was facing Amber. She wore a short white puffy jacket, blue jeans and bright yellow knit hat.

  “Impressive,” she told him with a smile.

  He was grateful that she seemed relaxed. “Hockey.”

  Since it was barely below freezing, he’d gone with a windbreaker and a bare head. The fresh air felt good in his lungs.

  “You’re a hockey player?”

  “Snow and ice sports are big in Alaska. I also snowboard and ski cross-country.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the path was still clear as they rounded a corner.

  “I swim,” she said.

  “Competitively?”

  “At resorts, usually in the leisure pool, sometimes on the lazy river.”

  He brought up a mental image. “Impressive.”

  “Yeah, I float with the best of them.”

  “I was picturing you in a little yellow bikini. It was very impressive.”

  “That’s just mean.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ll never live up to your imagination.”

  “Sure you will.” His gaze took a reflexive tour of her trim figure. “Wait a minute. Do you intend to try?”

  She laughed, and he loved the sound.

  “Not this time of year,” she singsonged.

  “If I come back in June?”

  “Maybe.” She twirled neatly around.

  “You’re pretty good yourself.”

  “Flatterer.” But her smile was bright.

  “You’re beautiful, too.”

  “I’m not interested in a one-night stand.”

  The statement took him by surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “Just so you know. I wouldn’t want you to get to the end of the night and be disappointed.”

  “Is that what you think this is about?”

  He didn’t know whether to be insulted or just plain disappointed. He hadn’t invited her out to get her into bed. But he didn’t d
eny he’d give pretty much anything for an unbridled night of passion in her arms.

  “You’re not staying in Atlanta,” she said.

  “True,” he agreed, even though he kind of now wished he was.

  “And you’re putting in an awful lot of effort flirting with me.”

  “Also true.” But only because flirting with her was so much fun.

  “So the options are limited.”

  “Maybe I’m trying to romance the Pacific routes out from under you.”

  “You know that will never work.”

  It was true. Cole couldn’t imagine her falling for something so simplistic. Then again, he wasn’t remotely interested in the Pacific routes.

  He and Luca were following a carefully planned and meticulously orchestrated expansion scheme for Aviation 58. It was on track, and he had no intention of deviating from it for the next few years. He’d never make a knee-jerk decision based on random availability.

  “You’re great with Zachary, you know.” Cole didn’t want to talk business.

  “You’re great with Zachary. I’m mostly treading water.” Then she frowned. “But if you’re ever called to testify, the correct answer is that Amber is fantastic with Zachary.”

  “I’ve never seen such incredible natural mothering instincts,” he said.

  Her frown deepened. “I’m not his mother.”

  “I didn’t mean that,” Cole quickly corrected the innocent comment. “I only meant that it’s obvious that you love him.”

  She skated in pensive silence for a moment, the lighthearted music and bright lights suddenly seeming out of place.

  “I’m sorry,” he offered, moving back to her side, reminding himself that she had grown up without the love of either of her natural parents.

  “He’s so young,” she said softly. “He won’t remember either of them.”

  Cole reached out and took her hand. “He’ll remember you.”

  “It’s not the same thing.”

  There was a deep sadness in her eyes, and it wasn’t at all what he’d planned for her tonight.

  “Hot chocolate?” he asked, nodding toward the strip of shops and cafés. “I’ll spring for whipped cream and orange brandy.”

  Her expression relaxed again. “Sure.”

  They coasted to a stop, exchanged their skates for boots and made their way through the colored lights and happy crowds. It felt natural to take Amber’s hand again as they strolled along the pedestrian street. He helped her pick out a stuffed dog and a soft rattle for Zachary. They waited while the clerk gift wrapped the toys, and Cole slung the package over his shoulder.