“Ms. Walters, a camera crew would be there most of the time,” Sylvia said. “And, if it would make you feel more comfortable, you could get your sitter to move in for the duration as long as she stayed in the background and didn’t perform any actual child-care duties. Your girls would be safe and well cared for.”
“No. My daughters are my responsibility.”
Sylvia sighed. “Could they go stay with their father for a month?”
It embarrassed Kelli to admit, “I don’t know where he is.”
“You don’t know where he is? What about child support?” Sam asked.
They were the first words he’d spoken since she’d walked into the room. His tone wasn’t critical. In fact, his expression seemed to be one of concern. Still, Kelli bristled. It reminded her just a little too much of how disposable she and the girls had been to her ex-husband.
Kyle had left without a backward glance while she was still pregnant. He’d never even seen Chloe. The last time Kelli had come face-to-face with him was in a courtroom when they had divvied up their limited assets and dissolved their marriage. He hadn’t sought joint custody or even visitation. He’d simply said goodbye.
“I heard that he moved out of state not long after Chloe was born.” She didn’t add that he’d done so with the college-age girlfriend for whom he’d tossed aside nine years of marriage.
For the millionth time, Kelli told herself it was Kyle’s loss. She didn’t need him. The girls didn’t need him.
“You should have someone track him down,” Sam persisted. “I can put you in touch with a good attorney.”
Pride had her lifting her chin. “I’m perfectly capable of providing for my children, thank you very much.”
“I wasn’t implying that you weren’t. But as their father, he has a responsibility to—”
“Responsibility?” Kelli issued a humorless laugh. “Believe me, that’s not a word in Kyle’s vocabulary.”
“I’ve got it! I know how we can make this show work,” Sylvia interrupted. And Kelli found herself thankful for the woman’s one-track mind. “We’ll have to bend the rules a bit, but I think it would add an interesting twist that our viewers will enjoy.”
“Bend the rules how exactly?” Kelli asked.
“You could spend the weekends with your kids, unless there’s a work function that requires your attention. We probably won’t use much of the tape from then anyway, but Mr. Maxwell would have to be included. And he’d have to handle household tasks as well as any crises that came up. As for during the week, you could slip back into the apartment around midnight, as long as you’re gone by eight the next morning.”
Sam straightened in his seat. “Um, and where will I be?”
“I’m assuming she has a couch,” Sylvia replied, one eyebrow arched. “You’ll have to stay.”
Kelli swallowed hard, but at least had the satisfaction of seeing Sam do the same.
“He c-can’t stay in my apartment,” she stammered. “What would my girls think?”
“She’s right. It wouldn’t look…appropriate.”
“That part wouldn’t be broadcast to America,” Sylvia said. She laid her palms flat on the table and split an exasperated gaze between the pair of them. “Look, we’re all adults here, so this shouldn’t be a problem. You’re not lovers, for crying out loud, and this show is not Temptation Island. So, take it or leave it. This is the last concession I’m willing to make.”
Of course they weren’t lovers. They hardly even knew one another and what Kelli did know about Samuel Maxwell the Third, she didn’t like. Still, a man in her apartment overnight?
“I don’t know,” she said.
“The payout is half a million dollars, Ms. Walters. You need to look at the big picture here.”
Kelli glanced at Sam. Sylvia had already explained that if he won, the television show would make a sizable donation to the charity of Danbury’s choosing. But he didn’t really have anything to lose. Either way, Danbury’s would still receive all that wonderful free publicity. What would she get if she lost? Sylvia seemed to read her mind.
“You’re taking night classes, right?”
“That’s right. I’m working toward my master’s degree in business.”
“This could be the best chance you’ll ever get to prove your potential in management. Consider it an internship. Better yet, consider it a way to broadcast your résumé to every company coast-to-coast. You could wind up a very hot property afterward, Ms. Walters. The last winner was interviewed on Good Morning, America and the Today show, not to mention making the cover of Time. Even the loser wound up doing Oprah.”
Kelli had to admit, her career path at Danbury’s was not looking particularly promising, and not just because the personnel director was hiring family and ignoring her applications. She glanced over at her glowering boss and took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
Sylvia nodded briskly. “We’ll assign a camera crew to each of you for the duration. You’ll have some privacy—bathroom, some financial stuff, it’s all spelled out in the folder I’ve provided—but everything else will be on the record. Not all of what we tape will air. It will be edited down to the salient points. You’ll have to sign a legal waiver, of course.
“You may ask each other for help or advice, but points will be deducted.” She glanced between them. “And not that this should be a problem, but too much cooperation and you will both be disqualified.”
As she went on, Kelli studied Sam. Nice suit. Custom-made, she was sure. A fit that perfect didn’t come off the rack. And those broad shoulders were probably the work of a clever tailor rather than a gym membership. Image was everything to corporate hot-shots. Still, if she was objective, she had to admit, the man was attractive, even more so when he smiled. His lips were drawn into a taut line now, which was a pity since he had such a nice mouth. It was a tad on the wide side with a small scar just below the bottom lip.
I wonder how he got that?
Contact sports? A barroom brawl? Neither seemed likely. Whatever the cause, the scar only added to the sensuality of his mouth.
She coughed into her hand and glanced around the room. Where had such an improper thought come from? Samuel Maxwell was her boss. He was, now that she’d made the commitment, her adversary. And if she was to win, which she certainly planned to do, she had to think of him as such. She could not afford to think of him as a man who had once caused her pulse to rev with a simple smile, no matter how sexy she found that little scar.
She coughed again.
Was the woman coming down with a cold? Sam wondered. That could work to his advantage. He was beginning to think he’d need all the advantage he could get. He sat across from Kelli, lounging in his chair and hoping he looked bored and unconcerned, but he was starting to wonder what he had gotten himself into. Swapping
