A hint of a smooth smile touched his lips when he responded. “I'm sure they will. I don't foresee any problems, Colby. Do you?”
“None whatsoever. In fact, a name has already been chosen.”
Sterling's face registered his surprise. There was a sudden degree of coolness in his voice when he replied. “There was no need for you to do that, Colby. I already have a name picked out.”
Now it was Colby who showed surprise. The heavy lashes shadowing her cheeks flew up. “You do?” At his nod she shrugged. “Well, I guess it's negotiable.”
Sterling's dark eyebrow raised questioningly, and the line of his mouth tightened. “There's nothing to negotiate.”
Colby was stunned by his words and his curt tone of voice. “I think J.C. may have something to say about that.”
Sterling stared at her through dark, brooding eyes. “J.C.?”
“Yes, James Cameron Wingate. My brother.”
“Your brother?” Sterling stood and stared at her, blinking. Confusion lined his features, and his mouth took on an unpleasant twist. “What does your brother have to do with any of this? This is strictly a business venture between the two of us.”
Colby shook her head and gazed up at the man towering over her. “No, it's not,” she replied angrily, getting to her feet so she could face him squarely. She knew he wielded a lot of power in Hollywood, but he was wrong if he thought for one minute he was going to run roughshod over her or Wingate Cosmetics. Of all the nerve! Just who does he think he is?
“I'm sorry if you were given the impression I'm alone in this, Sterling, but James has a lot to say about what happens. After all, it will be his creation, not yours.”
Fury shone in Sterling's eyes and his face was set in a stormy expression. “His creation! How do you figure that? I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing but—”
“How are things going?”
Sterling and Colby turned their furious glares from each other to Edward Stewart as he reentered the room. His smile faded when he saw their angry looks. “Have we encountered some sort of problem?”
“That's not the tip of it,” Sterling replied heatedly, placing both hands on his hips. “She's trying to drag her brother into this! The contract is suppose to be between the two of us. No one else! I thought you made sure she understood that, Edward.”
Colby's anger was boiling and topped the scale with Sterling's stone-faced expression. “How can I not drag James into this? After all, he owns the company.”
“What company?” both men asked simultaneously, completely baffled.
Now it was Colby's time to be confused. “Wingate Cosmetics.”
The two men looked at each other uneasily. And Colby didn't miss the questioning gaze that passed between them. Then Edward Stewart spoke softly. “Ms. Wingate, just why are you here?”
Colby's eyes narrowed. “You should know that, Mr. Stewart, since you're the one who sent for me. Your office called me a few days ago and said you were ready to discuss the proposal with me.”
“And just what proposal do you think you're here to discuss?” Sterling asked in a somewhat menacing voice. A flicker of a frown appeared on his face. His expression was still dark and angry.
Colby's eyes flashed irritation. “The one I sent to you in care of Mr. Stewart asking for your endorsement of Wingate Cosmetics' new cologne for men, which has already been named Awesome.”
Edward Stewart cleared his throat. “Then you're not here because of the ad?”
Colby stared at both men blankly. “What ad?”
Sterling answered. “The one that ran anonymously in various newspapers in selected cities around the country.”
She eyed him with a bemused expression. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Sterling weighed her answer with a critical squint. “Evidently you don't,” he said with agitated calmness. “It appears that a mistake has been made, a very big mistake. Somehow your name got mixed up with the numerous women who answered the ad.”
He released a disgusted whoosh of air, shaking his head in total disbelief, wondering how such a thing could happen. “Of all the women who responded to the ad, you were the one who impressed me the most. But the funny thing about it is that you really hadn't responded at all. Yet, you were the one I chose.”
Colby lifted an arched brow. “I was the one you chose? What on earth for?”
Neither man answered.
Colby looked from one to the other, flashing them a dark look. “Have the two of you suddenly gone deaf? I asked what was I chosen for?”
A few moments later Sterling Hamilton broke the uncomfortable silence when he answered her question in a clear distinct voice. His eyes, indecipherable as water, met Colby's directly.
“You were chosen to have my baby.”
Chapter 2
Colby was stunned into silence by Sterling Hamilton's statement. When she gazed into his face, he returned her stare with bland indifference. Mr. Stewart, however, seemed to have gone a little pale.
“Now wait just a minute,” Colby said, raising her chin and keeping her expression stern. “I asked a simple question. The very least you gentlemen can do is not play games with me and give me a straight answer.”
She watched as Sterling sat down on the edge of the desk facing her. Her eyes involuntarily shifted from his face to where his slacks stretched tight across his thighs. She was so caught up in her close study of him that she was startled when he spoke.
“We did give you a straight answer. You were chosen to have my baby. That's the reason you're here and not for some cologne endorsement I most certainly won't be giving.”
A wave of anger surged through Colby. She glared at him. “You can't be serious about a baby!”
Sterling met her glare. “I am serious.”
Colby stiffened. If she didn't know better, she would think her reaction to this entire escapade amused him. “Then I suggest you do what most people do—fall in love, get married and make one!”
She could tell her suggestion hit a sore spot with him. She watched as his eyes radiated bits of stone.
“I plan on getting married and making one, but I have no intentions of falling in love,” he snapped. “Of that you can be sure.”
Colby shook her head and walked over to the window. It afforded her a breathtaking view of the city below. She turned back around and glanced at Edward Stewart. “Is what he wants to do legal?”
Edward Stewart cleared his throat before answering. “Yes, it's legal as long as the two parties involved agree.”
Colby was aghast. “What woman in her
