What’s wrong?”
She wasn’t surprised by his puzzled expression. In the five years she’d worked for him, she had never taken time off other than her annual two-week vacation. But she wasn’t about to explain what she didn’t fully understand herself. He wouldn’t want to hear her explanation anyway.
And really what could she say to him? Oh, by the way, I love you and it breaks my heart to think of you having a child with another woman.
No, she needed space to regain her perspective and come to grips with the fact that no matter what it took, Luke would find a way for his outrageous plan to work. She wasn’t part of it.
Walking to the door, she turned. “To borrow one of your favorite phrases when you don’t wish to share details…let’s just say I feel like taking the time off and leave it at that.”
“All right, that’s it.” As he hung up the phone, Luke sent his desk chair sailing backward and quickly rose to his feet. “I’m going to put an end to this ridiculousness once and for all.”
Grabbing his suit jacket from the coat tree, he stuffed his arms into the sleeves and headed for the door. Nothing had gone right since Haley walked out of his office yesterday and she had just called in “sick” for tomorrow. Facing another day with Ruth Ann, the temporary secretary, was completely intolerable and he wanted to know what the hell was going on. He didn’t for one damned minute buy Haley’s weak excuse that she just didn’t feel well.
“I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the afternoon, Ruth Ann,” Luke growled as he passed the woman seated at Haley’s desk. “If you can figure out how, forward all my calls to my cell phone, otherwise just take messages.”
“A-all right, Mr. Garnier,” she answered in a whiny tone that further irritated him. “W-will there be anything else?”
“No.”
Ruth Ann’s voice not only resembled the sound of fingernails scraping the surface of a blackboard, she looked and acted as if she was scared to death of him. And that was only scratching the surface of the many problems he had with Haley’s temporary replacement.
To say the woman was absolutely incompetent would be the understatement of the year. Ruth Ann couldn’t make a decent cup of coffee, couldn’t find anything in a simple alphabetic filing system and found the phone to be an utter and complete mystery to her. She somehow reached the public relations coordinator for the Tennessee Titans football team while attempting a conference call with his satellite office in Atlanta.
He needed Haley back on the job immediately. She kept his office running like a well-oiled machine. Not to mention the fact that she made a damned fine cup of coffee.
As Luke navigated the late-afternoon crosstown traffic, he dismissed his current woes with Ruth Ann. He was on his way to find out what the problem was with Haley and believed she would be back on the job the first thing tomorrow morning.
But as he turned the SUV onto the street leading to Haley’s apartment complex, his thoughts strayed to his other dilemma. He still needed to find a surrogate. A woman he could trust, as well as have all the qualities he wanted for his heir. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
Oh, he knew several women who would be willing to volunteer for the job, and some of them even possessed a few of the traits he wanted for his son. But there wasn’t one he could trust to bear him an heir without the benefit of a signed legal agreement. He needed a trustworthy and loyal woman like Haley—one with intelligence and business instincts to match his own. A woman as trustworthy and loyal as Haley. And one who kept herself in good physical condition, was easy on the eyes and enjoyed good health like…Haley.
Parking the Escalade in front of Haley’s apartment, Luke took a deep breath before he switched off the engine, exited the SUV and briskly walked to her door. As he pressed the doorbell, he stepped back and waited impatiently for her to answer. When the door swung open, he didn’t bother waiting for her to invite him in and brushed right past her into the small living room.
“Luke, what are you doing here?” she asked, looking as surprised as he’d ever seen her.
Smiling, he reached around her and closed the still wide-open door. “I wanted to let you know that I’ve chosen the perfect surrogate.”
“No offense, Luke, but I really don’t want to hear anything about this. I don’t care who you choose, I just don’t want to hear about it,” she declared, folding her arms beneath her breasts in a defensive manner.
The action called attention to the size and shape of the pert mounds and the fact that she obviously wasn’t wearing a bra. Without a second thought, Luke let his gaze drift lower to her trim waist, shapely hips, then down the length of her long, slender legs.
Damn! If there was ever a woman built for making love, it was Haley Rollins. Odd that he had never noticed how enticing her figure was. Of course, he’d never seen her in a pair of Daisy Duke cutoffs and a hot pink tank top before, either.
As he raised his eyes to her face, he marveled at how feminine she looked. At the office, she always wore her long blond hair straight and most times tied back at the nape of her neck. But today she wore it loose and the soft curls caressed her heart-shaped face and drew attention to her delicate features.
“Luke.”
There was a warning in the tone of her soft voice. A warning that he’d never heard before and found completely intriguing. And one that he had every intention of ignoring.
When she impatiently tapped one bare foot, he grinned. “Who are you and what have you done with my business minded executive assistant?”
She glared at him. “I’m not working today, remember? I can wear whatever I like at home. And besides, I wear these when I’m cleaning. Now, would you please tell me why you’re here, Luke?”
He grinned. “I’ve already told you. I’ve chosen the woman to be my surrogate.”
“And you felt compelled to share the news with me?”
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t all this have waited until I returned to the office?”
“I don’t see any reason that it should.” Walking farther into the room, he shook his head. “I only made my choice a few minutes ago. On the way over here.”
“Good for you,” she said, sounding less than enthusiastic.
He pointed to her couch. “Have a seat and I’ll explain.”
“Fine.” Clearly running out of patience, she sat and looked up at him expectantly. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I had several requirements in mind when I made the decision to hire a surrogate. There is only one woman I know who meets all my expectations and who I can trust with something this important,” he summarized.
“I know I’m going to be sorry that I asked, but what are you looking for?”
“I want an intelligent woman with excellent business instincts.” When it looked as if Haley intended to speak again, he held up his hand to stop her. “I also want her to be reasonably nice looking and in excellent physical condition.”
