nodded. Dodging a man obviously in a hurry to make a plane, she pushed against Jared. He shifted her to the other side, continued walking smoothly.
“It slipped out,” she said.
More curious than ever, Jared wondered if he could get the full story from her before they met with MaryEllen’s attorneys.
CHAPTER TWO
“I HAVE to compliment you on your restraint and tact,” Jared said to Cassandra when they were seated in the back of the limousine heading for Manhattan.
“About what?” she asked warily.
After entering the limousine, Cassandra had moved as close to the far door as possible. Jared almost smiled at the distance she placed between them. Was she uncomfortable around him? Interesting. For a moment he considered testing the theory.
“Another woman would have bombarded me with questions about my marriage, my wife and why I apparently have two-year-old daughters I know nothing about,” he said instead.
“Of course I’m curious, but I do respect your right to privacy.” She tilted her head and smiled mischievously. “And I picked up quite a bit from around the office. The scuttlebutt is that you two married to pool resources so you could build Hunter Associates. She moved to New York a few years ago to open a second office and to try to crack the European market. She had two little girls you knew nothing about. If there’s more you want to volunteer, I wouldn’t interrupt.”
Startled, Jared almost laughed aloud at the unexpected glimpse of minx in his companion. He knew what she had told him was no secret—except for the babies. He was more intrigued that she had apparently picked up quite a bit. Any special reason?
“Ours was not an ordinary marriage. We married for expediency. Starting up a new company calls for a lot of hard work, long hours and money. It was easier to minimize expenses and to work long hours by sharing a home.” He wasn’t trying to justify the relationship, just explain it. Why that was important, he wasn’t sure.
“Sounds like a business arrangement.”
“Essentially.” He had almost forgotten how it started. For the last three years they had shared nothing beyond a meal in Washington. “MaryEllen wanted Hunter Associates to succeed even more than I did. She found the business environment challenging and exciting.”
“It can be exhilarating,” Cassandra murmured, watching ing him closely.
“I know. Now I understand her sudden determination to move to New York and open an East Coast office. She never came back to San Francisco because she feared she’d be stuck with the babies rather than in the trenches of high-tech business, I think.”
“Not every woman wants to stay home and raise children.”
“You don’t,” he stated with certainty. Her outburst yesterday in his office confirmed that.
“What I want right now is a chance to build a life of my own. Maybe down the road I’ll marry and have children. Then I’ll have to see what I want to do. Children are fine as long as they are wanted and loved.”
“I hear a but.”
“But I don’t want the choice taken from me.”
“As I did with this assignment?”
She nodded, looking out the window as the tall skyscrapers of Manhattan came into view. Puffy white clouds drifted in azure blue skies. Traffic was heavy, but moving steadily on the congested highway. Jared wondered if her attention was truly taken with the approaching city or if she was trying to distance herself to rebuild her anger. It had blown over quickly. He was glad she wasn’t the type to sulk.
“Be honest, Cassandra. I didn’t ask for much. A day to help get them home. Helen is working on finding a nanny. You have experience I lack. Wouldn’t you take advantage of any needed expertise?”
“Probably,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Where does that expertise come from? Lots of brothers and sisters?” He knew he was probing where she didn’t want him to, but his curiosity rose. Solemn and serious, Cassandra Bowles never gave the impression she was anything but a well-trained employee. Yet she had to have a private life—he didn’t demand his employees dedicate their entire waking hours to the job. Suddenly he wanted to know more.
“None, actually.”
“We have about thirty minutes before we arrive at the attorneys’ office. Why don’t you tell me about your experience with children.” If she wouldn’t open up voluntarily, he’d ask specific questions. For a moment he wondered why he pushed. Was it only curiosity, or was he trying to stop thinking about two toddlers waiting to meet him? He’d negotiated multimillion-dollar deals. Why was he growing more and more nervous at the thought of facing two small girls?
The silence stretched. Cassandra slowly turned and looked at him assessingly. She didn’t like to talk about her past. All her life she’d wished for a fairy-tale family, something like the Brady Bunch—a dream far from her reality. She guessed it wouldn’t hurt to explain why she hadn’t wanted to come on this trip.
“My mother died when I was seven. I had no other family, so I ended up in foster care. The home I was assigned when I was ten had lots of young children, mostly other foster kids. I baby-sat constantly over the next eight years. Once I turned eighteen, I split. No more kids for me, I vowed.”
“Until today.”
“I wish. When I got to college, I needed money. Only job I was qualified for was watching children. So I was a prime candidate for professors’ families looking for baby-sitters. Another four years of watching other people’s kids.”
“Now mine.”
“Right.” She frowned. “It’s not what I expected when I hired on with the firm. I have a degree in marketing, not child care. I want to use my mind, not be a baby-sitter.”
“Nor did I ever think I’d need a baby-sitter. But then I had no idea MaryEllen had delivered twins.” Jared lapsed into silence, again wondering how MaryEllen could have kept such an event from him. After all, he couldn’t have made her return to San Francisco to live. He should have known about his daughters.
The law offices of Sattler, Randall and Peabody were located on the thirty-third floor of a skyscraper on East Fortieth Street. A high-speed elevator whisked them quickly to their destination. Jared located the door to the offices, pushed it open and stood aside to allow Cassandra to enter. Stepping inside, he immediately stopped, his eyes on the two toddlers playing by a maroon-colored crushed velvet sofa. Dark hair caught up in wispy ponytails, matching overalls, a pink shirt and a yellow shirt on the two little girls—other than those shirts, they were identical. Both stopped playing when Jared entered, turning toward him and Cassandra, bright blue eyes staring.
Jared stood more than six feet tall. Did he seem like a giant to these little creatures? They were so tiny. For an instant he stared in fascination, wondering what they thought. Neither said a word, just stared.
“Hello, there.” Cassandra greeted the little girls and moved closer. They were precious. Her heart went out to them. Things
