his mother had denied even knowing him, and had gone so far as to summon hotel security claiming Sterling was harassing her and her family.
That night Sterling had cried himself to sleep. But upon waking the next morning his small face had been expressionless, and in a solemn little voice he'd said, “Mr. Edward, I'm okay now. Some kids don't need mothers anyway. It's just gonna be me and my dad, just like always. All I need is my dad. And I want to go home now.” That day Chandler had made a special trip into Charlotte to get his son to take him home.
“Mr. Stewart?”
Colby's voice invaded his memories of the past. “Yes?”
“You aren't eating.”
He smiled. “I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, dear.”
During the next half hour, they talked about a number of things, but Colby couldn't help noticing how Edward Stewart stayed clear of any conversations regarding Sterling. He suggested places for her to see while she was in town and provided her with the names of a number of good restaurants.
“I really enjoyed having breakfast with you,” Edward finally said, when breakfast was over and they stood to leave the dining room. With a smile he took her elbow and started to guide her toward the elevator.
“Going back to what you said earlier, about certain decisions you have to make, I strongly suggest you think Sterling's proposal over very carefully before making any decisions. Once you sign that contract, there's no turning back. And trust me, it's airtight. Sterling made sure of it. He doesn't want to encounter any problems later on.”
Colby nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get much more out of Edward Stewart than that little bit of advice. After all, his loyalty was to Sterling. When they arrived back on the tenth floor, he paused outside her hotel room door. A wry smile touched his lips.
“I happen to think, Ms. Wingate, that you could possibly be the best thing to happen to Sterling in a long time.”
Colby was taken back. “What! How can you even think such a thing?” she protested.
Mr. Stewart held up a hand to silence her. “Just listen to what I have to say for a moment.”
Colby conceded and he continued. “Have you ever heard the story of Samson and Delilah?”
“Of course.”
“Then I suggest you think about it. Samson was bigger than life but all it took was a woman like Delilah who eventually had him eating out of her hands.”
Colby frowned. “I don't want Sterling Hamilton eating out of my hands. I don't want to have anything to do with him, period.”
“But to save your brother's company, you'll have to have something to do with him,” he replied simply. “Goodbye, Ms. Wingate. If I don't get the chance to see you again before you leave California, I hope you have a safe trip back to Virginia.” He turned and headed back toward the elevator.
An hour later, Colby found herself pacing the confines of her hotel room after reading the report once again. She'd hoped she had misread the document last night, but, unfortunately, that hadn't been the case.
Time was running out. Sterling would probably be returning to his room any time now and would seek her out for a decision…a decision she still had not made.
She paused long enough to take in a deep frustrated breath as she tried weighing her options. She had considered telephoning the president of Morton Industries to plead with him to leave Wingate Cosmetics alone, but deep down she knew Sterling was right when he'd said it wasn't all about money. The man also wanted to get even.
She began pacing the floor again.
Surely there was something someone could do. She refused to believe the situation was as hopeless as Sterling claimed. Wingate Cosmetics' board of directors consisted of a number of highly intelligent men. Surely one of them could come up with a solution. And the only way to find out was to come clean and tell James everything. Only then could he come up with a plan to save his company without Sterling's help, which was contingent on her agreeing to his proposal.
She picked up the phone and began dialing. There was a three-hour time difference between California and Virginia. So James would be at the office. Efficient as ever, his secretary, Shirley Timmons, picked up the phone on the second ring.
“Wingate Cosmetics, may I help you?”
“Hi, Shirley, it's Colby. Is James in?”
“No, Colby, he didn't come into the office today.”
“What! Is something wrong?” she asked, frowning. She'd never known her brother to miss a day from work.
“Not that I know of. He called this morning and asked me to clear his calendar and reschedule all of today's appointments. You may be able to reach him at home.”
“Thanks, I'll do that.”
After ending her conversation with Shirley, Colby quickly dialed the telephone number to her brother's home.
“Hello?”
“James, are you all right? Is anything wrong with Cynthia?”
She heard his soft chuckle. “No, honey, everything's fine.”
Inwardly, Colby sighed. “Then why aren't you at work?”
“I decided to take the day off,” he said. “The company can do without me for at least one day. Cynthia had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to be there.”
Colby nodded. She was glad he'd finally put Cynthia before Wingate Cosmetics.
“I'm glad.”
“So am I. All of my hard work has paid off and the company is doing super these days. I'm at a point where I can finally relax and devote more time to Cynthia. She deserves that and more. I don't know how I could have made it the last couple of years without her.”
Colby agreed. Cynthia loved James very much, and during the past few years she had been a patient and understanding wife while James devoted most of his time to making the company a success. “How's she doing?”
“The doctor said everything's looking okay, but she's not out of danger yet. The first four months are the most crucial, so she's at a delicate point right now.”
Colby heard a tinge of worry in her brother's voice. “I'm sure things will be fine,” she rushed in to assure him. She knew just how much having this baby meant to both James and Cynthia. It was Cynthia's third pregnancy, and the other two times had ended with her losing the baby by the fourth month.
“All we can do is to continue to pray and hope for the best. I believe things will work out for us this time,” he said.
“I believe that, too.”
“How's California?”
“Nice.”
“And how's that friend you went to see?”
His question
