Precious Surprises

The reflex to glance down her top for a tattoo was stifled by the blue dress shirt she wore. One less woman to slap him with a harassment suit, he supposed. Besides, Miss Goody Two-shoes was the least likely candidate to be his butterfly that he’d run across yet.

The doors finally opened and they took the short trip to the twenty-fourth-floor finance department. As they walked, he noticed Emma’s gaze didn’t wander like so many other visitors. Normally people were interested in the untraditional workings of FlynnSoft. Emma’s vision was fixed like a laser in front of her. Her intensity was both intriguing and a touch disconcerting. Would she be this focused on the financial reports?

He stopped at a visitor’s office and opened the door. The small L-shaped desk took up much of the space with the computer setup and phone occupying one whole side. There was a corporate lithograph framed on one wall and a ficus shoved in the corner. It wasn’t intended for long-term occupancy, but certainly it would be adequate for the short time she required it.

“This will be your home for the next few weeks. The desk is full of supplies, the phone is activated and there’s a docking station for your laptop. If you need anything, the finance assistant, Angela, can help you. She’s down the hall and to the left.”

Emma watched him gesture, then nodded curtly. Another annoyingly dismissive gesture. The woman just couldn’t wait for him to go away. What exactly was her problem? She was tight as a drum, every muscle taut, and anxious as though she itched to brush past him into the office and shut the door in his face. Why would such an attractive woman be wound up so damn tightly? She needed a drink. Or a good lay. Both couldn’t hurt. He’d be happy to oblige if she’d give him the opportunity.

“Are you all right, Emma?”

Her head snapped toward him, a slight frown puckering the area between her eyebrows. Her green eyes searched his face for a moment before she spoke. “I’m fine.”

The hell she was. But pushing her probably wasn’t the best tactic this early on, so he let it slide. He didn’t have to claim victory on the first day. He’d do it soon enough.

“You just seem a little uncomfortable. I assure you none of us bite.” He planted his right hand on the door frame and leaned closer to her to emphasize his words. “You might even find you enjoy your time with us.”

Emma’s face went pale, her eyes focused on his hand and completely ignoring his persuasive charms. When she turned back to him, she flashed a saccharine smile. Sweetly artificial. “Of course. I’m just anxious to get settled in.”

His hand fell heavy at his side. This wasn’t going as well as he’d planned. He wasn’t sure if she was deliberately being difficult or she was just like this normally. Paul had better be rushing that transaction because his wine-and-dine plan might not pan out the way he hoped. He’d just been assigned the only woman in Manhattan who was immune to him. Possibly even annoyed by him.

Maybe it was just the work environment. It was possible she stuck to strict business protocol and the casual interactions he was used to made her uncomfortable. All the better to get her away from the office, then. Give her the chance to let her hair down, kick off those heels and relax. He’d drop the dinner invitation, then leave her alone for the rest of the afternoon to stew over the possibilities. The anticipation alone would do a great deal of the work for him.

He glanced at his watch to lay it on thick. “I’d love to talk to you some more about your assignment, but I’m afraid I have a meeting in a few minutes. Would you be interested in having dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“No.”

Jonah opened his mouth to suggest a restaurant and stopped cold. Had she just said no? That couldn’t be right. “What?”

Her pale skin flushed pink and her eyes grew wide for a moment as she seemed to realize her mistake. “I mean no, thank you,” she corrected, turning on her heel and disappearing into her new office with a swift click of the door.

Three

The following morning, Emma met Harper at the twenty-third-floor coffee bar before work. She’d barely slept the night before and was seriously in need of some caffeine.

“You look like hell,” Harper said, always the honest one. When they’d first met at the sorority house, Emma wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. Now she’d come to appreciate her candor. Most of the time.

“Thanks. Good morning to you, too.”

They got into line and waited to place their orders. “What’s wrong?” Harper asked.

“I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

Harper nodded and took a step forward to call out her customized coffee to the guy at the counter. Emma watched her, her brain trying to decide what she wanted to drink, but it simply refused to function like it should. She hadn’t slept. Of course, she hadn’t told Harper why.

She’d been in a nervous tizzy. Jonah Flynn. The playboy millionaire of the software world had the matching half to her tattoo. Fate had played a cruel joke. There was not a worse match on the planet for her, much less to father her child. It was just as well she’d kept her identity a secret. He most certainly would’ve been disappointed to see who she was beyond the tequila and the mask. And fatherhood for the most elusive bachelor in the five boroughs? Yeah, right.

And yet, as she lay in bed that night attempting to sleep, all she could think about was him. How he’d saved her from the creep. How a thrill of excitement had raced through her when he kissed her for the first time. She remembered his hands running over her body as though he couldn’t get enough of her. After everything with David, it had felt incredible to be desired like that. It was a feeling that could easily become addictive and that meant it was dangerous.

She’d tried to forget about that night and had been mostly successful, but her body remembered. Being in the same room, touching him and breathing in his familiar scent had brought it all back. With a vengeance. In the dark of her bedroom, she could easily recall the sensations he’d coaxed from her body. Not once, in two years with David, had she ever responded like that. It was something raw, primal.

“Ma’am?”

Emma turned to the man at the counter, who was patiently waiting on her drink order. “Hot tea,” she blurted. Although she probably needed the jolt of a black cup of coffee, she knew she wasn’t supposed to have too much caffeine. That was a cruel irony for pregnant women everywhere.

The area was as miserably crowded as any Starbucks, so when their drinks were ready, they took them and their pastries, and went on their way back to their offices.

Harper seemed quite pleased with her new work arrangement. “I can get used to having you working here. I’d finally have someone to talk to. Everyone here is pleasant and all, but most of them have their heads in the clouds or their noses in a computer.”

Emma had noticed that. Software designers were definitely different than most of the people she’d worked with. They were intensely focused, usually not even making eye contact or saying hello in the hallway. They were all on some mission, be it to fix a software bug or beat their nemesis at some video game. That or perhaps they just didn’t know how to speak to women.

“Then why do you stay?” Emma asked. “We both know you don’t need to work.”

Harper narrowed her gaze at Emma, then shrugged. “I get bored doing nothing.”

“You could always help Oliver. He might like having his sister there at the family business.”

“Oliver doesn’t need my help with anything. Besides, this place is fun. You’ll get spoiled quickly. I save so much money with the free food. I was able to drop my gym membership, too, which saved me a bundle. Now I can use that money for Louis Vuitton handbags and trips to Paris, instead. I enjoy having income I earned on my own, not because of my last name. You couldn’t get me to leave here and I hope you’ll feel the same. We do need to make some adjustments to your wardrobe, though.”

Emma looked at Harper’s khaki capris and silky, sleeveless top, then down at her conservative suit and frowned. It was her favorite. She’d always thought the dark green had complemented her coloring. “I can’t help it if everyone here dresses like college students. I refuse to assimilate. And don’t you get your heart set on me being here past a few weeks. The minute I can get out of here, I will.”

They paused at the elevator and Harper pushed the button. “Why are you so anxious to go? Is it that bad?”

It wasn’t, but staying here a moment longer than she had to was courting disaster. Emma wondered how much she should tell Harper about yesterday. Harper was one of her best friends, but she was lacking in social couth. Anything she told her would instantly be passed along to their friends Violet and Lucy, as well. From there, who knows who would find out. Emma wanted Jonah to stay in the dark about her identity for the time being and the best way to make that happen was to keep her friends out of the loop.

“I’m just not comfortable here.”

“You’re afraid of running into him.” The remark hit a little too close to home for her taste. Harper always had a way of seeing too much where Emma was concerned. It made her an excellent friend, but left Emma little privacy, even in her own head.

There was no sense in denying it. “Yes, I’ll admit it. It would be awkward, at best, to run into him. And at worst, a conflict of interest if anyone at Game Town found out. My entire report could be compromised if anyone thought I was personally involved with someone here.”

“Or it could be the most wonderful thing ever. I thought you wanted to find him. You know, for the sake of the B-A-B-Y.” She mouthed the last part silently.

Emma didn’t respond. Harper was too wrapped up in her romantic ideas to see the situation objectively and there was no sense in explaining herself any further. She just stepped onto the elevator when the doors opened and sipped her hot tea.

“You’ve already seen him!” Harper accused.

She snapped her head to the side to confirm they were alone in the elevator. “What? No, of course not.”

Harper was unconvinced by her response. “Who is it? Is he cute? What department does he work in?”

The doors opened to the twenty-fourth floor and Emma waved at her friend to be discreet as they stepped out. “Would you keep it down? I don’t want everyone to know.”

“Okay, but you’ve gotta tell me. I can keep it a secret.”

Emma eyed her with dismay. She loved her friend, but honestly... “No, you can’t.”

Harper frowned and planted a hand defiantly on her hip. “Oh, come on. Why not? I mean, it isn’t like it’s the CEO or something. Bagging Jonah would be quite gossipworthy, but anyone else is just run-of-the-mill office news. I don’t know what the big dea—”

Emma could feel the color drain from her face and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Harper halted in her tracks, forcing Emma to turn and look back at her. Her friend’s jaw had dropped open, her perpetual stream of words uncharacteristically on hold.

“Oh my God,” she finally managed.

“Shh! Harper, really. It doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t!” Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper that was still too loud for Emma’s taste. “Jonah Flynn? Seriously?”

Emma nodded. “But he doesn’t know who I am or know anything about the baby. And I intend to keep it that way for now. You understand?”

Harper nodded, her mind visibly blown by her friend’s news. “Jonah Flynn is the hottest man I’ve ever seen in real life. He and my brother are friends, and it took everything I had not to throw myself at him every time he came to the house. I can’t believe you two... How did you not jump into his lap when you realized who he was?”

“Have we met?”

Harper frowned. “You’re right. A damn shame, though. What a prize to land. He was totally smitten with you.”

“He’s a player. I seriously doubt that.”

“If you believe the gossip, then yes, Jonah Flynn is a notorious womanizer. But that’s not the guy I’ve known over the years. And the guy you were with was willing to tattoo himself after one night together on the off chance it might reunite you someday. A playboy wouldn’t have an inch of skin unmarked if that was what he did with everyone. You were special to him. Special enough for a guy that goes through women like tissues to take serious notice.”

That was true. Emma hadn’t spied another tattoo on what she’d seen of his body, then or now. But she refused to believe there was any kind of future with him. Even if he was interested in starting something, he wanted the woman she was that night. Not regular old Emma. And she swore she’d never be that woman again. So what was the point? Telling him who she was would just torture them both and ruin the memory of that night.

And yet she had to. Or did she? Her hand dropped protectively to her belly. If Jonah rejected Emma and their child, it could scar the baby forever knowing its father didn’t want him or her. Would it be better to keep quiet? The idea was unsettling to her, but until she decided, not a word could get out. “You have to keep this a secret, Harper. No one can know. Not Violet, not Lucy, not your brother and especially not Jonah.”

“Cross my heart.” Harper sighed in disgust and Emma could see it was almost physically painful for her to say the words. “You’d better keep that tat of yours under wraps, though.”

Emma straightened her collar nervously and started back down the hallway. “I don’t make a habit of displaying my décolletage and have every intention of keeping it hidden. I’m here to do my job and get out.”

“But what about the baby?” Harper trailed behind her.

“I don’t know, Harper. What happened between us is over. Never to be repeated. Ancient history. I don’t know that the baby will change that.” Emma reached out and opened the door to her office. Sitting on her desk was a large crystal vase filled to overflowing with white lilies in full bloom. The warm scent of them was nearly overwhelming in the small space, making her happy that she was past her morning sickness. She’d never received a more beautiful bouquet of flowers in her life.

She stepped inside and plucked the card from the plastic prong. As she flipped open the envelope, she couldn’t decide if she wanted them to be from Jonah or not. His attentions, although flattering, were pointless and even dangerous if he knew who she really was. Yet her impractical, inner girl couldn’t help but wish they were from the handsome businessman.

“‘To Emma,’” she read, her stomach aflutter with nerves and excitement. “‘Welcome to FlynnSoft. I look forward to getting to know you better.’ It’s signed Jonah.”

“Ancient history, eh?” Harper said, leaning in to sniff one of the flowers. “Are you so sure about that?”

* * *

Jonah came down the hallway from the elevator, coffee in one hand, bagel in the other, and paused outside his office. There was a large and quite stunning crystal vase of white Casablanca lilies sitting on Pam’s desk. He frowned. He’d specifically ordered that type of lily for Emma because he felt they were a reflection of her: elegant, pure and refined. They didn’t make any flowers that were stuffy and aggravating.

Plus, he thought she’d see right through roses. Lilies were different, exotic. He’d spent enough on them to catch the attention of even the most difficult to please female.

He would be the first to admit he typically didn’t have to work that hard to woo the ladies. He’d been told that with his good looks and irresistible charm, the panties of every woman within a fifty-yard radius simply flew off. It made for an amusing visual, one he’d like to witness really, but he wasn’t naive. He figured their interest in him probably had more to do with the fact that he was filthy rich rather than charming. Panties were consistently repelled by obscene displays of money.

But Emma was different. Her iron underwear stayed firmly in place when he was around. And given her stiff, overly polite demeanor and cutting tongue, they were probably chafing.

That was just not acceptable. The one time he needed his way with women to work without fail... The auditor Game Town hired was priority one even if charming her would take everything he had. He was willing to shift his tactics and restrategize his game plan, but in the end, he would be successful.

Even if right now, things didn’t appear to be going so well. Emma had rejected the flowers and in record time. The odds of Pam receiving the same flowers on the same day were slim to none.

“Did Miss Dempsey bring those up here?” he asked.

Pam was beaming with the large bouquet perched on her desk. She seemed to really take pleasure in having them there where everyone who passed by, including her, could see them. Well, at least someone was enjoying them. The money hadn’t gone entirely to waste.

“Yes,” she said. “She told me she was allergic and I should enjoy them. Aren’t they pretty?”

He made a mental note to buy his assistant flowers more often. Make that all the administrative assistants. The occasional flowers probably appealed to them more than the Ms. Pac-Man machines, and he probably catered too much to the programmers with his corporate innovations. They couldn’t function without the admin staff and something like that would be great for their morale.

“Lovely indeed.” He continued past her desk to his office with his breakfast in hand and let the door slam behind him. Allergic, his ass. She swore yesterday that her choking fit had nothing to do with the flowers and he believed her. This was about her being stubborn. Never in his life had he run across a woman so resistant to him. It didn’t make any damn sense.

Jonah settled into his chair, set down his food and fired up his computer with a stiff punch of his finger. It almost made him wonder if he’d romanced her before. Or one of her friends. She had the attitude of a woman who’d been loved and left by him or someone like him in the past.

But that couldn’t be the case. Despite the lengthy list, Jonah had a great memory for names and faces. He’d never laid eyes on Emma Dempsey before yesterday. If she was bitter about men like him, it wasn’t his doing.

But it would be his job to change her outlook. The deal with Game Town was riding on it. Even if he could get his hands on Noah and wring three million dollars from his neck, the transaction would be in the records.

His phone rang, an unknown number lighting up the display. Pam had put the call through, so he figured he wasn’t about to be assaulted by a telemarketer.

“Jonah Flynn,” he said into the receiver.

“Hey, it’s your favorite brother.”

Speak of the devil. Jonah took a deep breath before he said anything, choosing each word carefully. “I’ve told you before that Elijah is my favorite brother, but Noah, you’re just the man I was looking for.”

His brother chuckled on the line. They both knew the operations of FlynnSoft had nothing to do with Noah. He occupied an office. Drew a paycheck. On a rare occasion when he was bored with his other mysterious pursuits, he helped with charity golf tournaments and presented large, cardboard checks.

“What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I came back from this trip? This call is costing me a fortune.”

“What?” Jonah asked. “About three million dollars?”

The silence on the end of the line told him everything he needed to know. Noah had taken the money but didn’t think anyone would notice it so quickly. Maybe any other time they might not have noticed it before he replaced it. But his timing sucked and Emma would find it, Jonah had no question.

“Listen, I don’t care whether you blew it on hookers and fruity drinks or built schools for poor children. It doesn’t matter. But I want it back right now.”

“Yeah, that’s a little iffy at the moment. I don’t exactly have it right now. But hopefully I will by the time I come home.”

“And when will that be?”

“Two weeks at the most.”

“Okay, fine. But if it isn’t back in my hands—in full—within fifteen minutes of you arriving in the US, I’m going to take every penny out of you with my fist.”

“Jonah, I—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You come up with three million bucks or I will make you so miserable you’ll wish you’d stayed in Thailand. Am I clear?”

This time, Noah didn’t try to argue. “Crystal. Have you told Mother?”

Now it was Jonah’s turn to laugh. “No. And I have no intention of doing it unless I have to. You and I both know her heart can’t take the stress, although it doesn’t stop you from pushing the boundaries.”

“I would never deliberately hurt Mother,” Noah argued.

Jonah shook his head in dismay. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s deliberate or not, you still do it. You never think of anyone but yourself.”

“And you don’t think of anyone but your employees and your company,” Noah countered. “You practically ignore the whole family. When was the last time you went to the estate to visit her? Or came to my apartment? Or Elijah’s place? You accuse me of blowing money on Thai hookers and you spend every bit of time and money you’ve got on vapid supermodels.”

Jonah’s jaw grew tighter with every word out of his youngest brother’s mouth. If he had the time, he’d fly to Thailand right that instant just so he could punch Noah in the face. His brother seemed to think that this company had appeared out of thin air. That Jonah hadn’t had to pour his heart and soul, in addition to all his free time, into building it and making it a success. When he did get to play, he played hard. Yeah, he didn’t spend much time with his family, but they all had their own lives, too. None of them had knocked on his door recently, either.

“The company is important to me, yes. It supports a lot of people, including you in case you’ve forgotten. I have pride in what I’ve built and I’m not about to lose it because you’re a thoughtless little prick. You do know the auditor from the Game Town deal is here, right? That your little stunt may have cost the company a huge, lucrative contract?”

“Oh hell,” Noah swore. “I completely forgot about that. I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn’t think, Noah. You never do.”

There was an awkward silence on the line for a few moments while Jonah took another deep breath.

“Do you think they’ll find it?” he asked.

“Probably. You did everything short of highlighting the withdrawal with a yellow marker. But I’m trying to clean it up. Paul’s moving some money around. Temporarily,” he emphasized, “to cover the gap until you pay it back.”

“I will pay it back, Jonah.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed. “Just don’t make me regret trusting you.”

“I promise you won’t.”

“I’ll see you when you get back,” Jonah said, hanging up the phone.

He wanted to believe his brother, but it was hard. He was never a bad kid, just one who was used to getting his way. As the youngest, his pouty lip would melt their mother’s heart in an instant, especially after Dad died. When he got older, people seemed to go out of their way to give him whatever he asked them for.

If Jonah was smart, he’d put Noah to work full-time on corporate fund-raisers. His best job fit might be applying that skill to encourage rich people to part with their money. In this economy, FlynnSoft wasn’t able to raise as many outside dollars for charity. Noah might make the difference.

That is, if his unorthodox loan didn’t cost them a huge contract and put all their donation programs on hold.

Jonah leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his bagel. The day was so complicated already and it wasn’t even 9:00 a.m. yet. Two weeks. He had to figure out how to replace or bury the stolen money until Noah came back. And then find some way to put it back in without raising more flags.

Until then, he had to find a way to get around Emma’s defenses. The direct approach wasn’t working and he didn’t want to strong-arm her. He’d never had to beg or coerce a woman to go out with him in his life and he wasn’t about to start now. It didn’t exactly set the right mood. He wanted her ready and willing, not even more stiff and distant than she already was.

It really was a shame. Emma was a beautiful woman. A sensual woman, although she seemed determined to keep that fully under wraps. He could tell by the luscious sway of her hips and the way her full lips parted slightly when he leaned near to her. She had a reaction to him. Certainly. She just wasn’t willing to do anything about it. Yet.

But he could plant the seed. Get under her skin. Whether or not she agreed to let him wine and dine her, he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she went home every night and thought about him. Whether it was with irritation or suppressed lust, he didn’t care. Either would be enough to help her lose focus, and that was the most important part.

It would take Paul a couple more days to get the money. Until then, he had some unofficial FlynnSoft business to tend to.

Popping the last of his bagel in his mouth, Jonah got up from the desk and went in search of his curvy, uptight auditor.