Czytaj książkę: «At Odds With The Heiress»

One

Logan Wolfe slowed his stride as he entered the fifth floor executive office, taking a moment to appreciate the feminine tableau silhouetted against the backdrop of the Las Vegas Strip. Although all three Fontaine sisters were brunettes of a similar height and bone structure, they could not have been less alike in attitude, style and background.

The three were half sisters who’d known nothing of each other until their common father, Ross Fontaine, died five years ago. When their grandfather, Henry Fontaine, chairman and CEO of the multibillion-dollar Fontaine Hotels and Resorts, found out that Ross had two illegitimate daughters, he tracked them down and brought them into the family fold. They’d both changed their last names to Fontaine and accepted important roles in the company in order to participate in a contest, devised by their grandfather, to see which of his three heirs would run the Fontaine empire when he retired.

“Good morning, Logan,” Violet Fontaine called, waving him over. “Grandpa, Logan has joined us.”

“Good morning, Logan.” Henry Fontaine’s deep voice sounded from the speakerphone. He was based in New York City where the company had their corporate office and kept in touch with his granddaughters through a weekly conference call.

“Good morning, Mr. Fontaine. I hope I’m not intruding.”

“Not at all,” the CEO said. “In fact, I have to run to another meeting. Violet, dear, once again, I’m sorry for your loss. Call me if there’s anything I can do for you.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.”

As Harper Fontaine pushed the button that ended the call, Violet gestured to the empty chair beside her. Logan sat down and gave Violet’s hand a sympathetic squeeze.

“I was sorry to hear about Tiberius. How are you holding up?”

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “Even though we all knew he had heart problems, it was still such a shock. He was a live wire. His energy never seemed to stop. I figured he’d live forever.”

Logan had been friends with Violet for seven years, since he and his twin brother, Lucas, had decided to expand their growing security company to Las Vegas. Violet was the grounded middle sister who had a girl-next-door charm. Her mother, Suzanne, had been a showgirl at one time, but after a brief affair with Ross Fontaine and the birth of her daughter, she’d gone to work for Tiberius Stone, owner of the Lucky Heart Hotel and Casino. Twenty years her senior, Tiberius had fallen in love with Suzanne and they’d moved in together. Growing up, Violet had shadowed Tiberius around his hotel and by the time she graduated high school she knew more about running a casino than people twice her age.

In fact, Tiberius Stone was the reason the three sisters were solemn this morning. Violet’s surrogate father had been found dead of an apparent heart attack in his office at the Lucky Heart the day before.

As Violet dabbed at her eyes, Harper spoke up. “Have you had breakfast, Logan?”

The Fontaine sisters met every Wednesday morning for breakfast at one of the three luxury hotels they managed for their grandfather. Sitting side by side on the Las Vegas Strip, each property was a unique reflection of the sister who ran it. This morning, they were enjoying breakfast at Fontaine Ciel, Harper’s property and the newest jewel in the Fontaine crown. Taking a cue from the French word for sky, Harper had designed her sixty-story tower to showcase panoramic views of the Strip. In the most expensive suites, high above the city, eighteen-foot walls of windows were designed to give guests a sense that they were floating just below a dome of intense blue. The signature color was echoed everywhere in the two-billion-dollar hotel.

“Thanks. I’ve already eaten.” He’d been up for three hours already. First his morning workout. A touch-base meeting with Lucas and then the trip to Fontaine Ciel to check the progress of the team testing the security system his company had installed in the soon-to-open hotel. “But I’ll take a cup of green tea if Violet doesn’t mind sharing.”

“There’s more than enough for two.” Violet’s hazel eyes were warm as she filled an empty cup and nudged it over to him. “It’s good to see that someone besides me appreciates the virtues of green tea.” She looked pointedly at the sister to her left.

“Right,” Scarlett murmured, speaking up for the first time. “Heaven forbid Logan would try anything that’s bad for him.”

Scarlett Fontaine, voluptuous, charismatic and just plain sexy, had a knack for getting under Logan’s skin. In his opinion, the breathtakingly beautiful former actress was the last person who should be running a billion-dollar hotel and casino. Without a college degree or business experience, she relied on her abundant charm to get things done, and it rubbed Logan the wrong way how much she’d accomplished with such techniques.

She popped a bite of sugary pastry into her mouth. Her soft murmur of enjoyment made the hair on Logan’s arms stand up. He was a millisecond too slow to brace against the shock wave of awareness. Compelling and unwelcome, lust rushed through him, leaving a destructive tangle of longing and fury in its wake.

From the moment he’d entered the room, he’d done his best to ignore the once-popular child star. Being near her aggravated his composure. She exuded sexual energy the way Harper projected professionalism and Violet radiated optimism. Many times Logan had watched Scarlett shake up a roomful of men by simply appearing in a doorway. That he was similarly affected despite his best efforts to remain immune pissed him off.

He liked things that he could control. Computer systems. Fast cars. Any risks he took were carefully calculated to result in the best possible outcome. “Chance favors the prepared mind” was a motto he lived by. Scarlett would counter with “Fortune favors the bold.”

“I’ve tried plenty of things that are bad for me,” he retorted. Avoiding the allure of her witchy green eyes didn’t make him immune to their impact. “I like living a healthy lifestyle. Both physically and mentally.”

Scarlett gestured with her chin in Violet’s direction. “You two are perfect for each other.”

Logan agreed. He wanted a woman who matched him. Someone who shared his views about healthy living and maintaining a balance between work and home. Not a fiery siren who would turn his routines upside down and rock his world.

Violet shook her head, the melancholy in her eyes clearing for the moment. “We’re too much alike. We’d bore each other to death. No. I think Logan needs someone who will challenge him.” Violet got to her feet and aimed a wicked grin at Scarlett. “Someone like you.”

There was a slight hesitation before Scarlett’s dismissive laugh. Logan cursed his curiosity as he watched the exchange. What had caused the delayed reaction? His pulse spiked. He sat back with crossed arms and watched Violet exit the room. The pause didn’t mean Scarlett had considered the idea. She’d never given him any reason to believe she suffered the same sexual attraction that plagued him. Quite the reverse.

In fact, Logan wasn’t sure she was interested in any of the men who pursued her. She doled out flirtation like candy that her admirers gobbled up, all the while keeping them at arm’s length. Which made them all the more determined to have her.

For the past five years, since she’d left her acting career behind in Los Angeles and moved to Las Vegas to run Fontaine Richesse, Logan had watched her disappoint one suitor after another. He’d decided she was a coldhearted woman who enjoyed tormenting men, and kept his own desires firmly in check. A challenge when she took great pleasure in teasing him.

Shifting his focus to what had brought him to Harper’s office this morning, he gave her an accounting of what he’d found during his consultation with his team regarding her security system.

“There won’t be any problem having the cameras adjusted before your soft opening,” he concluded.

“Good.” She’d been making notes as he spoke. “One less thing to worry about.” She glanced at her watch. “If there’s nothing else, I have a meeting in ten minutes.” A line appeared between her brows as she muttered, “That’s providing he bothers to show up this time.”

“Actually, I did have one more thing,” Logan said. “A favor, actually.”

He caught Scarlett’s sudden interest in his peripheral vision. She leaned her elbows on the table and watched intently. He would have preferred to make his request to Harper in private, but with her hotel opening only ten days away, her time was limited.

“My niece is in town for the rest of the summer and I wondered if she could shadow you for a couple weeks. Observe a businesswoman in action.”

Harper, the oldest of the three women by a year, was Ross Fontaine’s only legitimate child. She had the training and the ambition to take over for her grandfather when he stepped down in two years. Harper’s mother came from old East Coast money and had insisted her daughter be raised in New York City and educated at an Ivy League school. Her style was elegant and professional, from her smooth chignon to her black designer pumps.

“You’re the perfect role model,” he finished.

“The perfect role model,” Scarlett echoed, her throaty voice rich with laughter. “The ultimate professional.”

Logan glared at her, realizing he’d laid it on a bit thick. But the task his sister and brother-in-law had handed him was outside of Logan’s expertise.

“I’d love to help,” Harper retorted. “As soon as the hotel opens.”

“I was hoping you could start showing her the ropes sooner.”

“I don’t know how I can....” Harper sent a hopeful look in Scarlett’s direction. “What about you?”

“My schedule is wide-open,” Scarlett said, her gaze as steady and watchful as a psychiatrist’s. “I’d be happy to help.”

This was not at all what Logan had in mind. His relationship with Harper was professional and cordial. What happened between him and Scarlett could only be called acrimonious. His niece was already a troublesome seventeen-year-old. Under Scarlett’s influence, the girl would become completely unmanageable.

“Unless Logan doesn’t think I’m role-model material,” Scarlett continued when he didn’t immediately jump on her offer. Her ability to read his mind with unnerving accuracy gave her an unwelcome advantage over him.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Harper appeared oblivious to her sister’s subtext. “Besides, your hotel is operational. She’ll get a much better sense of how things run. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have an internationally famous pain in the ass to meet with.”

Logan stared after Harper, cursing his bad timing. He should never have brought up his problem within earshot of Scarlett.

“Tell me about your niece,” Scarlett prompted.

“I don’t need your help.” Being subtle was not the way to handle Scarlett.

“No,” she said in a sugarcoated tone, “you don’t want my help.” She added coffee to her cup, lifted the rim to her mouth and blew across the surface. “There’s a difference.”

Captivated by the small O formed by her bright red lips, he took far too long to respond to her gibe. “Very well,” he agreed. “I don’t want your help.”

“How old is she?”

Logan took a couple seconds to grind his teeth. Despite being trapped between frustration with his niece and the woman sitting across the table from him, he told her what she wanted to know. “Madison is seventeen. She’s my sister’s youngest.” And in the past three months had driven Paula and her husband, Randolph, past the edge of patience.

“Madison? As in the capital of Wisconsin?”

“As in Madison Avenue.” Logan winced. “Her father owns a large ad agency in New York City.”

And Paula was a partner in a prestigious law firm. Madison had inherited both brains and ambition from her parents. She’d graduated second in her class and had been accepted to four prestigious universities. If she’d wanted, she could’ve swiftly climbed any corporate ladder she chose. Instead, to both her parents’ horror, the teenager had decided to become an actress.

“And he’s hoping she’ll follow in his footsteps? From your sour expression I’m guessing that’s not what she wants to do.”

“She’s refusing to go to college. She turns eighteen in two weeks and is determined to move to L.A.”

Scarlett’s curiosity sharpened. “What’s wrong with L.A.?”

“It’s not the city, it’s her chosen career path.”

“Instead of me dragging it out of you one question at a time, why don’t you just tell me what’s really going on. And why you wanted her to shadow Harper.”

Sharing family troubles with outsiders went against the grain, but he desperately needed help. Anyone’s help. Even Scarlett’s.

“Madison ran away to Los Angeles over spring break. She’s determined to become an actress.”

Scarlett’s full lips twitched. Over the years he’d noticed how well she could read people. Normally he concealed how easily she riled his temper and his hormones, but in this case his sarcastic tone had given too much away.

“The scandal that must have caused your family,” she deadpanned.

“She’s only seventeen.”

“And she could’ve fallen into someone’s evil clutches.”

Logan didn’t appreciate that she was having fun at his expense. “Thankfully that didn’t happen.”

“What did happen?”

Not a damn thing. Madison had moved in with a boy she’d met in New York City the summer before and signed up to take an acting class. She’d even gotten a callback for a commercial.

“Her father found her before she got into trouble and brought her back to New York.”

“Why don’t they just let her follow her dream?” Scarlett poured herself a little more coffee. “Being an actress isn’t the worst job in the world.”

“Paula and Ran don’t think it’s the proper career for a girl as bright and capable of going places as Madison,” he explained. “They want her to go to college and get a degree.”

Other than a brief narrowing of her eyes, Scarlett’s expression remained tranquil. “I didn’t go to college and I think I’m doing all right.”

So said the former child actress whose exploits had kept the paparazzi awash in scandalous photographs for several years. Scarlett’s support of Madison’s acting dreams was exactly why he hadn’t asked her for help.

“You also had a billionaire grandfather bring you to Las Vegas and hand you a hotel to run.”

He didn’t realize how insulting that sounded until her seductive charm vanished in a flash of annoyance. For the first time ever, Logan believed he’d been granted a glimpse of the genuine woman beneath the mask. And it heightened his already keen awareness of her desirability. He inhaled slowly and let his breath leak out as he wrestled his libido under control. As his blood continued to pulse hot and slow through his veins, he had to repeat his breathing exercise.

Damnation. Why the hell did she have to be so utterly gorgeous?

She had flawless pale skin, dramatic bone structure and a body built to drive a man insane: large firm breasts, tiny waist, lean long legs. The way she moved invited everyone to stare. And her mouth... Her lush, red lips were crafted for kissing.

“You’re right,” she drawled, her temper giving the words a sarcastic bite. “It’s unrealistic to think I would be running Fontaine Richesse if Grandfather hadn’t gotten this crazy idea that his granddaughters should compete for the CEO job. I’d still be in L.A., auditioning for roles, working when I could and waiting for the part that would reenergize my career. But I would still be a success and I would be happy.”

“Look, I only meant that you never would have been considered as Fontaine Richesse’s general manager if you hadn’t been Ross’s daughter.”

For the first time in five years, she’d let him see how much he’d upset her. But all too quickly, she regained her equilibrium. “And you’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t think I belong here.”

“I’m not sure you do.”

She looked astonished. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being honest for once. You’ve looked down on me from the moment we met.” The directness of her gaze demanded he respond with frankness, but his mother had not raised him to insult women.

“I don’t look down on you.” That wasn’t entirely true. Despite the hotel’s success, he didn’t think she was in Violet and Harper’s league when it came to running a company the size of Fontaine Hotels and Resorts.

“But you don’t approve of me, either,” she prompted.

“It isn’t that I don’t approve.”

“What is it, then?” She battered him with a determined stare. “You’re friendly with my sisters.” She paused a beat. “You must have something against me.”

“I have nothing against you.”

“You believe both Violet and Harper have what it takes to be become the CEO of Fontaine Hotels.” She paused for confirmation, but he gave her nothing but stony silence. “And you don’t think I do.” Again she’d read his mind. When he still didn’t respond, her eyes warmed to soft moss. “They’ve both worked exceptionally hard to get to where they are. I’m a clueless actress. You feel protective of them.” She regarded him with a half smile. “You are a good friend, but you don’t have to worry. I don’t have any business experience, which means I have no chance of besting either of my well-educated, incredibly capable siblings. Grandfather was merely playing fair when he included me in the contest.” Her husky voice raked across his nerve endings. She was putting herself down to prevent him from doing so. “I’m so glad we’ve cleared that up.”

They’d cleared up nothing. He was no more comfortable around her or capable of being friendly with her than he’d been five minutes earlier. But what more could he say? He wasn’t about to tell her that she’d bewitched him.

“Getting back to your niece and her determination to avoid college,” Scarlett continued, her manner becoming brisk and efficient. “What were you hoping she’d discover by shadowing Harper for a couple weeks?”

“That the business world wasn’t as much of a drag as she thinks it will be.”

Scarlett had a musical laugh, rich with amusement. “And you chose Harper, the workaholic, for her to shadow? She’ll die of boredom before the first day is over. She’d do better with Violet.” She paused and tapped a spoon on the pristine white tablecloth. “Of course, with Tiberius’s death, this isn’t a good time for that.”

“I agree.”

Which brought them back to her. The reality hung unspoken between them.

“Why don’t you show her all the interesting aspects of your security business?”

She’d struck right to the heart of his troubles. “Every time I try to engage Madison, she rolls her eyes and starts texting.” He made no attempt to hide his frustration. “I thought maybe someone outside the family would have better luck.”

Scarlett scrutinized Logan’s grim expression. Figuring she’d probably annoyed him enough for one day, she held back a smart-aleck remark about the situation requiring a feminine touch. “You’re probably right to think she’ll be in a better frame of mind to listen to a disinterested third party.”

A disinterested third party with a master’s degree in business like Harper, or ten years of hotel and casino management experience like Violet. Not a former child star who had none of the skills required to run a world-class hotel. Logan had been right about that, but his low opinion of her stung. Not that he was wrong. Or alone in his estimation of her failings. She was sure that the same thought had crossed the minds of a dozen hotel and casino owners in Las Vegas. But she hated his disdain more than all the others put together.

Uncomfortable with the direction her thoughts had taken her, Scarlett glanced around her sister’s office. The room was a little over the top for her taste. It was almost as if Harper had been feeling insecure when she’d brought in the expensive furnishings and accessories. Which was ridiculous. If anyone could build and run the most successful Fontaine hotel in Las Vegas and become the next CEO, it was Henry Fontaine’s only legitimate granddaughter.

“Of course, if you want someone to tell her how hard it is to make it as an actress in Hollywood, I’m your girl.” Scarlett tossed her napkin onto the table. “When did you wish her reprogramming to begin?”

Logan scowled at her. It was one of several unhappy expressions he wore whenever they occupied the same space. “If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll wait until Harper or Violet is free.”

“I think you’re a little too desperate for that.” Drawing upon a fifteen-year acting career, Scarlett slapped on a winning smile and stood. “I may not be your first choice for this project, but I’m what you’re going to get.”

“Fine.”

Logan got to his feet and towered over her. “I’ll drop Madison off this afternoon at your office. Say, around one?”

“I’ll be waiting.” She moved away, eager to escape his overwhelming presence, but hadn’t taken more than four steps before his hand caught her wrist.

“Thank you.” Logan’s fingers were gentle on her skin.

He’d never touched her before. The contact sizzled through her like lightning. Unnerved by the strength of her reaction, she twisted free with more vigor than necessary. “It’s too late for you to start being nice to me, Logan.”

His deep brown eyes developed a layer of ice. “Fine.”

He scanned her from her messy updo to her hot-pink toenails, missing nothing in between. Her heart thumped like a runner’s feet against the pavement and tension knotted her shoulders. Every time she got within fifty feet of the guy, she turned into an excited teenager with an enormous crush.

And he seemed completely immune.

At six feet two inches tall, the muscled hunk had a commanding presence. He wore his wavy black hair long enough to graze his collar. Bold eyebrows, a strong nose and a square jaw didn’t make him classically handsome, but they combined to produce a face worth staring at. His chiseled lips lingered in her daydreams even though when she was around they were always set in a grim line.

“Can you at least wear something business-y?” he demanded, a muscle jumping in his cheek. “Madison needs to spend time with a professional career woman.”

Holding perfectly still beneath his criticism was challenging as a combination of sizzling heat and disquieting tingles attacked her composure. In a flowing ankle-length dress cut low in front, and strappy gold sandals, Scarlett knew she looked more like a guest of her Las Vegas hotel than the manager.

“I don’t do business-y.” She turned on her four-inch heels and strode out of the office, fleeing from feelings of inadequacy.

With his long legs, Logan had little trouble keeping up. “Surely you have something in your vast wardrobe that looks professional.”

“What makes you think I have a vast wardrobe?”

“In five years I’ve never seen you wear the same thing twice.”

Stunned that he’d noticed what she wore, much less remembered, Scarlett spared him the briefest glance. “I’m flattered that you’ve been paying attention,” she remarked, using her most flirtatious manner to hide her decidedly smitten response to his observation.

“Don’t be. Part of my job as a security expert is to pay attention to details.”

“Well, aren’t you a silver-tongued devil,” she quipped, stepping into the elevator that would take her to the second floor and the skyways that linked the sisters’ three Fontaine hotels.

Logan’s sleeve brushed her bare arm as he reached past her to punch the button for the lobby. As the doors closed, he lingered in her space, awakening her senses to the coiled strength lurking in his muscles.

Before she considered the imprudence of her action, she poked her finger into his firm abs. “You sure know what to say to make a girl feel special.”

She expected him to back off. He’d always kept his distance before. To her shock, he shifted closer. Such proximity to his straightforward masculinity had a disturbing effect on her equilibrium. She had to fight to keep from leaning against him for support.

“Don’t you ever get tired of acting?” he mused, his casual tone not matching the dangerous tension emanating from him.

Gathering a shaky breath, she forced the corners of her mouth upward. “What do you mean, acting?”

“The various women you become to fool men into accepting whatever fantasy you want them to believe.”

Was he referring to the facade she used to keep Logan in the dark about the way he stirred her body and soul? He was completely mad if he believed she was going to give up her one defense against him.

“Don’t you mean the one I use to manipulate them to my will?” she taunted, her breathless tone coming easily under the influence of Logan’s domineering presence.

Scarlett prided herself on being able to read men. Usually it was pretty easy. Most of them enjoyed being powerful and having beautiful women available for their pleasure. Even the ones who appeared as sweet as lambs harbored a little caveman inside them.

Logan didn’t fall neatly into the bucket where she lumped the rest of his gender. He seemed genuinely immune to her wiles and that’s why she provoked him at every opportunity. She was challenged by his lack of physical attraction to her. And in a twisted way, because she knew he’d never step across the line, his indifference gave her the freedom to let her sensuality run free. It was quite liberating.

“One of these days someone is going to see past your flirtation to the truth,” Logan warned, his voice a husky growl.

She arched her eyebrows. “Which is what?”

“That what you need isn’t some tame lapdog.”

“I don’t?”

“No.” Espresso eyes watched her with lazy confidence. “What you need is a man who will barge right past your defenses and drive you wild.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she retorted, struggling to keep her eyes off his well-shaped lips and her mind from drifting into the daydream of being kissed silly by the imposing Logan Wolfe.

“You can lie to yourself all you want,” he said. “But don’t bother lying to me.”

It wasn’t until he captured her fingers that she realized she’d flattened her palm against his rib cage. She tugged to free her hand, but he tightened his grip.

The sexual tension he roused in her went from simmer to roiling boil. “Let me go.”

“You started it.”

She wasn’t completely sure that was true. “What’s gotten into you today?”

His lips kicked up at the corners. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you lose your cool. I like it.”

How had he turned the tables on her in such a short time? She pressed her thighs together, but this action made the ache worse, not better.

What you need is a man who will barge right past your defenses and drive you wild. Thank goodness he’d never find out just how much she liked the sound of that.