One of a Kind Page 8

“Yes.” He sensed the lead-up to a heavy question.

  “Is there someone back home impatiently waiting?”

  Now, why hadn’t he thought of that? Being direct. He shook his head. “And you?”

  Dana shook her head. “Wouldn’t you agree that this is the worst time for me to be involved with anyone? They’d be neglected. I’m sure as things pan out—speaking optimistically—he would feel ignored.”

  “Sometimes having someone makes the trials much easier to bear.”

  She shrugged. “Are you seriously going to be my life coach, too?”

  “Now that would be an interesting addition to the curriculum vitae, but I’m not qualified. On that note, let’s eat.”

  Kent didn’t profess to have an expert taste for food. But this risotto, with large, oversized meatballs in a rich, savory tomato sauce, was damn good.

  “Here, try the creamed garlic linguini. To die for.” Dana pushed her plate toward him. Tonight, there were no frothy green drinks.

  They picked at each other’s food, sampling, sharing, teasing past each other’s boundaries. A clash of forks, a brush of hands, a bump of the knee under the table in their tightly packed situation, all generated a sexually charged bubble around them

  “Looks like we cleaned up well.” Dana looked at his plate and then hers.

  “Must have been hungrier than I felt.”

  “Interested in walking it off?”

  Kent wanted to suggest that she might like to prepare for tomorrow. He didn’t want it to end, though. “Let’s go.” Common sense won. He paid the bill.

  They took the subway back to Times Square. The lateness of the hour and lack of travelers provided empty seats. Kent waited for Dana to take a seat before he took his across the aisle. As much as he wanted to savor the feel of Dana’s body against his, he couldn’t promise any sort of self-control in a closely timed, repeat performance.

  Frisky couples accompanying them on the ride didn’t have the same restrictions. Kent looked out the window to avoid the passionate interludes. The reflection of a particular couple kissing as if their lives depended on it played out before him like a hot romantic movie scene. All he could do was close his eyes for his own version.

  Dana immediately filled his thoughts. Her mouth partly open, soft and inviting. Those dark eyes that didn’t miss anything. He squeezed his eyes tighter. His jaw clenched. Fingers curled into his palms. He wanted her so damned bad.

  * * *

  Dana slid into the seat next to Kent. She didn’t want to think about what had stirred her to make that move.

  “Look at me.” No matter the cause, the effect landed her next to his warm body. “Please?” She’d beg, if she had to.

  Right now, here under the glaring bright lights, on a rumbling train, she wanted more than a taste of a wild ride.

  Kent turned his handsome face toward her. It was all she needed. Taking a deep breath, she mounted his lap. Her hands anchored his face. She gazed into those beautiful eyes.

  “Kiss me?” Her question hung softly in the air, begging for his assent.

  His gaze shifted to her mouth. Under her fingers, she felt his chin lift toward her face.

  The kiss, the first contact, was soft, tentative, an introduction of sorts to each other’s lips. She wrenched her mouth away from contact with his. Logic wanted to intrude. Her breathing drew heavily from her chest, as if she’d hit the treadmill for a challenging mile on an incline.

  His lips, however, didn’t follow her reluctance and landed softly on the rise of her breast, just above the neckline of her dress.

  She arched back. An alarming jolt electrified her senses as his tongue scorched her flesh. Dana moaned her surrender before clamping her mouth on his to gag herself.

  Pressed together, their lips formed an X, sending and receiving erotically coded messages to every part of their bodies. She welcomed his tongue’s exploration of her mouth, guiding it along with sweeping forays of her own. Occasionally, she broke off contact to catch her breath. Her mouth opened to suck in air before it embraced his.

  Kent’s hands gripped her backside, massaging along the fleshy cheeks up to her waist. Dana’s skin shivered as his hands slid up her back until he trailed his fingers into her hair. Her scalp tingled from his touch. She practically wanted to jump out of her skin as his hands continued to explore her body.

  “I think we’ve missed our stop,” she whispered against his cheek. The scent of his cologne enticed with its addictive woodsy notes, which were definitely crafted to make a female wet with sexual need.

  Kent kissed her forehead as his hands slowly eased off her body.

  As Dana felt him withdraw from her, she realized she didn’t want it to be over. Not yet.

  Slowly, she slid off him. The fact some people had been watching them didn’t matter. Her pulse was revved so high that she didn’t care about their reactions. All she could think about was when she could get another hit, another chance, to play at that dangerous edge of fulfillment.

  Their ardor cooled as they walked out of the station and hailed a cab. Once inside, Kent sat far away from her. He hadn’t said much since they got out of the subway. She dearly wanted to have those strong hands take hold of her, his mouth to claim hers.

  One sideway glance told her that the moment was gone.

  They arrived at her hotel first. Dana paused as she got out. Even though she knew she didn’t have any supernatural powers, she willed any mental telepathy she might possess to be activated so Kent could read her mind. She’d love to have him escort her to the door, flirt with her, ask for a nightcap, push rules aside to share her bed that night.

  “Nice dinner. It’s back to work. See you tomorrow,” he said, his face partly turned away from her, as if he had already gotten bored.

  She wasn’t imagining things. He had been into her. No one kissed and responded like that if there wasn’t a connection. All she wanted was that spark to ignite and let desire blaze hot and bright. Not too much to ask. Instead, Kent retreated behind a stiff upper lip like a light switch flipped to the “off” setting.

  “Yeah.” She picked up her pride from where it had fallen.

  He moved to slide out of the car with her. “One sec,” he said to the taxi driver.

  “No need. I’m a big girl.” Dana firmly closed the car door and walked into the hotel.

  Tomorrow would definitely be a new day. She’d scrub her memory clean of Kent and continue onward. So, he wanted it to be strictly business. Nothing personal.

  Chapter 7

  “I don’t need Kent anymore.” Dana tried to dampen her desperation on the call with her grandmother the next morning before the meeting.

  “What’s the problem? You haven’t gone to the leadership retreat yet. You haven’t received his recommendations for how you can improve your business acumen.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re not CEO, as of yet.”

  “And should I be? Grandma, should I try to follow in your footsteps? So far, it’s been hard. So far, I don’t...know....” Dana bit her lip to stave off crumbling into a million pieces. She couldn’t tell her grandmother the true causes of her distress—the pressure to succeed and her strong attraction to Kent, all while wondering if she could push pause on life to deal with both. Kent’s rebuff had stung.

  The last time Dana had cried in front of her grandmother was when her mother promised to come home for Christmas. Elaine’s long absence had been cloaked in whispers and adult-talk. Dana had never been allowed to know everything, the things that she only discovered later, like the fact that her mother had wandered off in full rebel mode to discover herself and emerge from Grace’s shadow. A few letters overflowing with poetry and feelings, a spattering of photos of her mom posing with groups of like-minded rebels, and the two phone calls promisin
g that she’d be home for Thanksgiving were all Dana had received. When those didn’t happen, the next phone call was her promising a homecoming at Christmas.

  When Dana awoke that Christmas Day, she ignored the presents and went on the hunt for her mother. But there was no sign of her. Dana had cried that day, from the first hint of the sun breaking through the horizon to its evening ritual of descent into darkness. Nothing could console her. But by the early hours of the next morning, she vowed that she would not shed another tear over heartbreak. Crying didn’t change outcomes. She’d not mend her heart, just for anyone to rip it apart.

  “Dana, I know you might feel overwhelmed. I guess it doesn’t help that I’ve turned up the dial to get things in place.”

  “Whatever you need, Grace.” Dana couldn’t wait for the next two months to be done.

  “You sound sad, my dear. Look, after this meeting, I want you to come home. Don’t head off anywhere.”

  “Okay.”

  “By the way, your mom has been asking about you. She’s at your place. Arrived this morning.”

  “I’ll catch up with her later.” Dana had gotten used to her mother popping in for brief visits.

  “By the way, I’m having a small dinner party at the house in a few weeks.”

  Dana didn’t answer. Of course, she was expected to attend.

  “I’m inviting Kent, too.”

  “To a party? Seems like a bit much for a consultant.”

  “I consider him more than a consultant. He is not the enemy,” Grace chided.

  “But he’s not a friend.” Dana tried to disguise any disappointment at that fact.

  “I promised to introduce him to some of my business associates. It’ll be the perfect setting.”

  “Basically, he’s in this for more than just working with Meadows Media.”

  “Is that what you think? My dear, you couldn’t find a more dedicated man.”

  “Grandma, do you have the hots for him?” Dana bit her lip to keep from snorting.

  “If you were here, I would smack your ears. I’m a married woman.” She huffed. “I’m doing this for you.”

  “And the company.”

  “Yes, I’m interested in shoring up the longevity of Meadows Media. I am biased. When this company was just at its proposal stage, no one supported me except your grandfather. From the first to the last division I created, I’ve had naysayers—I was too young, the wrong gender, wrong color, the wrong everything. I jumped hurdles and knocked on and knocked down doors. So I’m not going to back down from what I want for the company.”

  Dana felt her grandmother’s anger unleash. She’d royally pissed off the old lady and now she was about to get a tongue-lashing for her disrespect. Although her delivery could have been better, Dana had said what was on her mind. Plus, she wasn’t directly face-to-face with Grace, which allowed her to be bolder in her comments.

  “Don’t go radio silent on me,” Grace snapped. “Meadows Media carved out a niche and stayed on top of the rest. It built this house. It was, and still is, the center of this family. And I want that legacy to continue. You are the only person in the family capable of taking up the baton.”

  Dana felt relief for the rare compliment, as well as the familiar gush of fear. Capable was a weighty word.

  “It is Kent’s job to make sure of that.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Stop fighting him.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “We’ve got a clock ticking toward the formal transition.”

  “And I have Peter O’Brien on my heels with his coup-like action.”

  “He’s harmless. Take the time to win him over. He can be your greatest asset.”

  Dana had her own opinion of O’Brien.

  “As you know, ten years ago, I retained fifty-one percent ownership, after distributing the rest. The Meadows family is the other major stockholder, with employees and private investors having a small percentage. The key now is for the family to collectively hold on to its stock. No small feat among the lot of you. But there are a bunch of stockholders that are restless and waiting to see if you’ve got the fortitude to keep this massive ship afloat and sailing into uncharted waters. Some young shark might be able to take the reins, but they will have no history, no love for what is here. Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age, but...”

  Dana heard the anguish in her grandmother’s voice. In that small hiccup of emotion, she heard a love that ran deep.

  “It’s up to you, Dana.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’ve got to believe it. You’ve got to trust.”

  “Okay,” she reiterated with more emphasis. She didn’t know how to fall in love and let it consume her. It had never happened with a man, much less with a thing—like a company.

  How had her grandmother done it? Yes, she mentioned her grandfather being at her side, but the untenable attitude of the woman who had raised her couldn’t be denied. The family had been born and raised around the company’s growing pains and massive success.

  That traditional family descent into acrimonious relationships had drifted downward to her cousins. Everyone tolerated each other under Grace’s watchful eye, but only barely. Outside of the gates of the Meadows family estate, all bets were off. Grace didn’t see a lot of her family, except on holidays, when stock dividends were distributed at Christmas dinner. There they would hold hands, pray and express well-wishes to one other. No one, not even Grace, was fooled by her family’s contrite manner. Dana felt sure that contentious vacuum had propelled Grace into a desperate act of selecting an heir apparent, in which the grandchild she had raised was the easy fruit dangling within reach. Thus, she chose Dana for this job.

  “I must say that I’m worried that you’re not getting along with Kent. Maybe I should have a word with him.”

  “No!”

  “Well, what is it, Dana?” Her grandmother’s irritation resurfaced. “Obviously, he’s doing something wrong if you are ready to kick him to the curb. I’m confident that he can complete his job. If he needs to soften his approach or try a new method, then he needs to know.”

  “It’s not that I don’t think he could do the job. I...I thought that...maybe...he could leave some reading materials and I’ll study them.”

  Grace laughed. Her grandfather called it his darling’s sweet whiskey laugh. The sound had the tone of a drunken woman noisily letting everyone know how inebriated she was. Dana wasn’t sure about the sweet part.

  “I’m sure it would be cheaper to use the coaching manual and call him, if necessary.” This option would most certainly cool off the mega flare-up of her carnally lustful appetite. Right now, if she continued to think of Kent as just a piece of ass, then Dana didn’t have to inspect the way her heart pumped harder when she thought of him, or how her palms grew sweaty, or that she had to force herself to utter a coherent thought. Jumping Kent’s bones on the train was a complete mind-to-body malfunction on her part. Never mind that, instead of pushing her aside, he joined in as if it was a game of Simon Says. Dana blamed the public display of affection on the other couples on the subway that had been romantically intertwined. They’d shot off their hormonal romantic nets to ensnare unwary bystanders like her who would never have acted on the urge otherwise.

  Her embarrassment had no limits as she thought of how Kent had barely looked at her when they got back to the hotel. She could sense the tick marks on his survey about her leadership skills:

  Leadership Skill: 0

  Floozy: 10 points

  Dana snapped back to the sound of her grandmother’s voice. “Sweetheart, this isn’t an online course that you pass after a certain number of weeks. This is boot-camp training for the big fight. And I’m sure there will be one. I want you prepared and ready to outthink those who smell blood in the wate
r.”

  Dana often thought her grandmother relished drama in any situation. Now, she was acting as if she was a retiring general, training her successor to lead an army. Having that cutthroat mind-set didn’t come naturally to Dana, but she’d try to cultivate it to win Grace’s approval.

  “And I’ll see you at the house. Now, go handle your business and report back. Goodbye, dear.”

  Dana hung up. She was the first to admit that her grandmother was intense—sometimes beyond the scope of common sense.

  She poured herself a cup of bold, dark coffee, mainly to warm up her fingers. In an hour, she would be addressing the general managers of the Meadows divisions. She relied on the caffeine to get her juices flowing and to kick out any lethargy. Her mind already worked on the key approach she’d use to garner unanimous support for her vision.

  Though Dana relied on continuing many of Grace’s plans to maintain the status quo, some were old-fashioned. Before she had interned and worked her way through Meadows, she’d also completed a summer study abroad program during her graduate studies with short stints at various corporations. While working under various management styles, she’d encountered mavericks who walked the fine lines of what was acceptable in business, who took monumental risks, who weren’t afraid of failing.

  What Dana most feared wasn’t necessarily a coup within the business. If anything, she’d come to expect one. What had kept her up at night lately was the fear that, when she shared her latest plan with Grace, her grandmother would send her packing—not only from the company, but possibly her life.

  Time to head for the next test. Dana drained her cup, then she stepped in front of the mirror to adjust her clothing. Her bangs brushed against her eyebrows and her hair hung to her shoulders in loose curls. Her stylist and her team had arrived early to get her ready. This wasn’t the time to show any signs of weakness. If it meant shaping the perception of her future employees, then she’d do that. O’Brien’s behavior had taught her that much.

  * * *

  Kent looked at the clock. As a spectator seated on the outer ring of the conference room, he likened the experience to watching a Shakespearean intrigue. The meeting was heading into its fourth hour. Food had been brought in, but no one had taken any real breaks to eat. From the intense discussion taking place, food was the last thing on the executives’ minds. If he read the mood correctly, some were out for blood. A few seemed to be reserving judgment. Those who might become her supporters weren’t confident enough to let their peers know which way the wind blew.