course you are,” Marilyn said in a more placatory tone and patted Sally on the shoulder. “You’ve always had a delicate constitution. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Marilyn closed the door behind her with a sharp click, leaving Kirk in no doubt that even though Orson’s PA had left the room to do his bidding, she certainly wasn’t happy about it.
“Have another sip of water,” he urged Sally.
He was relieved to see a little color coming back into her face.
“How is your dad doing?” he asked, determined to distract her until Marilyn’s return.
She drew in another deep breath. “He’s in an induced coma and they say he’s stable—whatever that means. It’s hard to see it as anything positive when he looks so awful and is totally nonresponsive.” Her voice shook, but she kept going. “They’re hoping to operate tomorrow. A quadruple bypass, apparently.”
Kirk pressed a hand on her shoulder. “I know your dad. He’s strong, he’ll come through.”
She looked up at him and he saw a flash of anger in her blue eyes.
“Just how well do you know my dad?”
Kirk felt a swell of discomfort, with just a tinge of rueful amusement. Trust Orson’s daughter to cut straight to the chase. “I’ve known him most of my life, to be honest.”
“And how is it I’ve never met you before last night?”
There was still a slight tremor to her voice, but he could see her getting stronger by the minute.
“Our parents were friends until my father died. After that my mom and I moved away. I was a kid at the time. There was no reason for you to know me before last night.”
He kept it deliberately brief. There wasn’t time for detail now.
“And now you’re back.” She fell silent a moment before flicking him another heated look. “You knew all along who I was, didn’t you?”
Kirk clenched his jaw and nodded. He’d never been the kind of person who lived on regret, but right now, if he could have turned back the clock and done last night over again, he absolutely would have. Or would he? He doubted she’d have come home with him if she’d known he’d soon be her boss. Would he have missed the chance to lose himself in her arms the way he had? Never have known the perfect passion they’d experienced together? Never had the broken condom, the snarky voice in the back of his mind sharply reminded him. Okay, so he’d have skipped that part.
“I see.” Sally swallowed another sip of water before speaking again. “She called you Mr. Tanner. That would be the Tanner in Harrison Tanner Tech? The new vice president?”
He nodded.
She pressed her lips together before speaking. “It seems you had me at a disadvantage right from the start. Which asks the question why you’d do something like that. Did it give you a kick to sleep with the chairman’s oblivious daughter? Never mind—don’t bother answering that.”
Sally waved her hand as if to negate the words she’d just uttered.
“Look, can we talk about that later, over dinner?”
“I do not want to go out to dinner with you. In fact, I don’t even want to be in the same room as you.”
Her cheeks had flushed pink with fury. At least that was better than the waxen image she’d presented to him only a few moments ago.
Marilyn returned to the office and set a small tray on Sally’s lap.
“There you are, my dear. Goodness knows, with your father so ill, the last thing we need is you collapsing, too. I’ve been telling your father for years now that he needs to slow down, but do you think he listens to me?” As if suddenly aware of the leaden atmosphere between Kirk and Sally, Marilyn straightened and gave Kirk a pointed glare. “Is there anything else...sir?”
“No, thank you, Marilyn. That will be all for now,” Kirk replied. He flicked a quick look at his watch. “Eat up,” he instructed Sally. “We have fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t feel like eat—”
“Please, Sally, at least try. It’ll boost your blood sugar for now and hopefully tide you through the next few hours,” Kirk said. “Whether you like it or not, we have to work together, today in particular. The last thing I want—and, as Marilyn already pointed out, the very last thing Harrison Tanner Tech needs—is you collapsing live on camera, especially during the merger announcement and even more so when news of your father’s heart attack becomes public knowledge.”
They locked gazes for what felt like a full minute before Sally acceded to his request and began to spoon up mouthfuls of the fruit.
“I still don’t want to go out for dinner with you,” she muttered between bites.
“We need to talk about last night, and we don’t have time now.”
“I don’t particularly wish to discuss last night. In fact, I’d rather forget it ever happened.”
Her words were cutting. Her anger and distrust right now felt like a palpable presence in the room. Such a contrast to the sweet openness she had shown him last night. And the tension between them was only going to get worse when she heard what he had to tell her. There was a knock at the door, and one of the communications team popped his head in.
“Ten minutes, Mr. Tanner! We need you miked and sound checked now.”
“And me, too,” Sally interjected in a shaking voice.
“Are you sure, Ms. Harrison?”
It wasn’t Kirk’s imagination—she paled again. But in true Harrison spirit, she placed her bowl on the desk in front of her and rose to her feet. She straightened her jacket and smoothed her hands over her rounded hips. Yes, there was still a tremor there.
“Absolutely certain. Let’s get this over with,” she said tightly.
“You don’t have to speak. In fact, you don’t have to do anything at all. I can handle the announcement.”
“Really? Do you think that’s a good idea given that people will be expecting to see my father? A man they know and trust—” she paused for emphasis “—and instead they’re getting you?”
There was enough scorn in her voice to curdle milk.
“They can trust me,” he said simply. “And so can you.”
“You’ll excuse me if I find that hard to believe.”
* * *
Sally wished she hadn’t eaten a thing. Right now she felt sick to her stomach. How dare Kirk have hidden his identity from her like that? What kind of a jerk was he? Was this some form of one-upmanship, lording his conquest over her before he’d even started here—making sure she knew exactly who was the top dog? And what if he tried to hold their one-night stand over her?
Sally
