The Illegitimate Heirs: Caleb, Nick & Hunter

Biting her lower lip to stop its trembling, she hastily reopened the computer file containing her résumé. There was absolutely no question about the matter. She had to find another job as soon as possible or risk losing what little sense she had left.

The following Tuesday afternoon, Caleb sat at his desk, wondering what on God’s green earth Emerald Larson had gotten him into. He didn’t have the vaguest idea of how he was supposed to deal with one of Sker-ritt and Crowe’s best clients. His night classes at the University of New Mexico weren’t scheduled to start until the end of next month. He somehow doubted the business administration courses he’d signed up for would start out covering the interaction with clientele, anyway.

He drummed his fingertips on the desk’s polished surface. He hadn’t been able to find anything on conducting meetings with clients in the management manual, either. The damned thing only covered supervising employees and ways to improve their work environment. It was completely useless for learning how to deal with clients.

But whether Caleb knew what he was doing or not, it didn’t change the fact that Raul Ortiz wanted to meet with him. Caleb had taken over running the financial consulting firm that had helped Ortiz Industries create one of the best employee investment plans in the state, and he suspected that Ortiz wanted to make sure Caleb passed muster.

When he heard A.J.’s voice through the door connecting their offices, Caleb’s spirits lifted. The woman might be driving him crazy trying to figure out what made her tick, but he’d read her personnel file. She really knew her stuff when it came to financial planning and marketing analysis. He’d also discovered that she’d graduated from high school at the age of fifteen and had acquired her master’s degree in investment banking and business administration by the time she was twenty.

If he took her with him when he drove down to Roswell, surely the meeting with Ortiz would work out. He was good with people and A.J. was a whiz at any-thing to do with accounting and financial planning. Together they should make a hell of a team.

Caleb took a deep breath and rose to his feet. He hated feeling inadequate at anything. But he had decided up front that he was going to have to rely on the people working for him until he took courses and got a basic understanding of the business Emerald had given him. It looked as though that reliance was going to have to start sooner than later.

Opening the door between their offices, he smiled when A.J. glanced at him over the top of her computer screen. “I just got a call from a man down in Roswell,” he said, walking over to slump into the chair in front of her desk. “He claims to be our most satisfied client.”

“That would be Mr. Ortiz,” she answered, nodding. “He’s one of our most valued patrons.”

“That’s what he said.” Caleb chuckled. “I get the idea he’s also one of our most outspoken clients.”

“I’ve never known him to mince words,” she said, pushing her glasses up her pert little nose. The action drew attention to her remarkable eyes and Caleb had to remind himself that he’d entered her office for a reason other than staring into her baby blues.

“So you’ve dealt with him before?”

She nodded. “Mr. Skerritt took care of Ortiz Industries’ employee investment program, but he assigned me to advise Mr. Ortiz on his own personal retirement package. Why do you ask?”

“He wants me to drive down to Roswell tomorrow for a get-acquainted meeting.” Trying to sound nonchalant, Caleb added, “I’ve decided I’ll take you with me.”

“Me?” Her eyes widened behind her oversize glasses and the panic he saw in their depths reminded him of a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Was the thought of spending time with him that upsetting?

“Is there a problem, A.J.?”

“Why? I mean, I can’t possibly—” She suddenly closed her mouth and simply stared at him.

As he returned her gaze, Caleb did his best to keep his attention on the issue at hand and off her perfectly shaped lips. “I realize this is on the spur of the moment, but I don’t see that we have any other choice. Since I’ve just taken over here, I don’t know diddly-squat about Ortiz or our business with him. And until I’m up to speed on the individual accounts of our clients, I’d rather not run the risk of losing them.”

His argument made sense to him. He just hoped it sounded reasonable to her.

Watching her nibble on her lower lip as she mulled over what he’d said, it was all he could do to keep from groaning. Why did he suddenly find her mouth so damned fascinating? Hadn’t he learned a damn thing about professional, career-minded women?

“What time is the meeting?” she asked.

Was it his imagination or was there a slight tremor in her voice?

“Ortiz wants to give me a tour of the manufacturing plant tomorrow afternoon, then have dinner around six or seven.”

“It would be too late for us to drive back tomorrow evening and I have two phone meetings early the next morning.” She sounded extremely relieved when she added, “I’m sorry, but I really think my going with you would be impossible. We’ve been courting these potential clients for several months and there’s the possibility of losing them if I reschedule the calls.”

He wasn’t about to give up that easily. “Where are they located?”

“Mr. Sanchez is in Las Cruces and Mrs. Bailey is in Truth or Consequences.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“If I remember my high-school geography, those two places aren’t that far from Roswell,” he said, thinking fast. “Call and tell them we’ll be in their area day after tomorrow and that we’d like to meet with them in person. It’ll show that we’d really like to work for them, as well as free you up to go to Roswell with me. Then we’ll drive back after dinner Thursday evening.” Deciding to beat a hasty retreat before she could find another excuse, he headed for the door. “I’ll come by your place around ten in the morning.”

“Th-that won’t be necessary,” she said, stopping him. When he turned back, she added, “I have to come in tomorrow morning to tie up a few loose ends. We can leave from here.”

Caleb could tell she wasn’t happy, but that couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t particularly proud of having to rely on her expertise to keep from looking like a fool in front of a client.

“Fair enough,” he said, nodding. “I’ll have Geneva make a reservation for tomorrow night in Roswell.”

“That should be reservations—plural—as in two rooms.”

“Of course.”

Heading out the door to speak with their secretary, Caleb couldn’t help but grin. He clearly made A. J. Merrick as nervous as the parents of a four-year-old talking to the preacher after Sunday services.

The next two days had the potential to prove ex-tremely interesting and in a way he hadn’t counted on. Not only would he get to see how A.J. dealt with clients, he had a feeling he just might see that cool selfcontrol of hers slip, as well.

Three

After an uneventful drive down to Roswell, a tour of Ortiz Industries and a highly successful dinner meeting with Mr. Ortiz, all A.J. wanted was the solitude of her motel room and a nice, hot, relaxing bath. Thoroughly exhausted from tossing and turning the night before, she’d spent the entire day in Caleb’s disturbing presence and she was more than ready to put a bit of distance between them.

“Why don’t you check in for us while I get the bags from the back of the truck?” he asked as he stopped the pickup in front of the motel entrance.

She opened the passenger side door. “I assume the rooms are under the firm’s name?”

“Yep. Geneva said she reserved the last two rooms in Ros—” He stopped abruptly when a family of glowin-the-dark aliens with oval-shaped heads and big, unblinking eyes walked past the front of the truck and got into a blue minivan.

“This is festival week,” A.J. explained. She couldn’t help but laugh at the incredulous expression on his handsome face. “You’ll probably see a lot of that sort of thing.”

“I saw the banners when we drove through town.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t realize they went to extremes with the alien thing.”

Getting out of the truck, she nodded. “It’s the anniversary of the Roswell Incident. People from all over the world converge on the town the first part of July to attend seminars, share the experiences they’ve had with extraterrestrials and participate in a variety of activities, including a costume contest.”

Caleb chuckled when another alien, this one with tentacles and silver eyes, waved as he drove past in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. “Sounds like we’re lucky Geneva found rooms for us.”

“I’m really surprised she did on such short notice.”

A.J. closed the truck door and, breathing a sigh of relief that she’d soon have a little time to herself, entered the motel lobby and approached the desk clerk. “I’m with Skerritt and Crowe Financial Consultants. I believe you have a couple of rooms for us.”

The smiling teenage girl behind the counter snapped her gum, then blew a bubble as she checked her com-puter screen. “Actually, we have you down for one room with a couple of beds.”

“There must be a mistake,” A.J. said, shaking her head. She knew Geneva Wallace was far too capable to make that big of an error. “Could you please doublecheck the reservations?”

Shrugging, the girl keyed in the information again. A moment later, she looked up, shaking her head. “It shows only one room reserved for the Skerritt and Crowe folks. But like I said, it does have two beds.”

A.J.’s temples began to throb. “Do you have another room available?”

The girl smiled apologetically. “Sorry. This week’s been booked solid for months. In fact, if we hadn’t had a late cancellation, we wouldn’t have had this room for you.” Snapping her gum, she looked thoughtful. “I’d say the closest motel with rooms available would probably be down in Artesia. And that’s real iffy.”

“Is there a problem?” Caleb asked, walking up to stand beside A.J.

“Apparently there’s been a mix-up and they only have one room for us.” She suddenly knew how Dorothy must have felt when the tornado picked her up and she came over the rainbow, crashing down in the land of Oz. “With the festival going on there aren’t any rooms available for miles. It looks like we’ll have to drive on to Las Cruces tonight.”

To her astonishment, Caleb shook his head. “It’s al-ready dark, we’re both tired and some of the roads be-tween here and there are two-lanes. Driving in unfamiliar territory under those conditions wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Desperation began to claw at her insides. Had he lost his mind?

“We can’t stay in the same room.”

“You can have the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.” He made it sound so logical.

“The room has two double beds,” the teenage girl spoke up helpfully.

“We’ll take it,” he said, setting their overnight cases down to reach for his wallet.

If she thought she’d felt desperate before, A.J. was a hairbreadth away from an all-out panic attack. Tugging on his arm, she led him over to the seating area of the lobby for a private discussion.

“You can’t be serious.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“What happens when the employees at the firm find out that we spent the night in the same room?”

He shook his head. “Unless one of us tells them, they’ll never know.”

“Don’t fool yourself. What do you think is going to happen when you turn in the receipt to accounts payable?” she asked, knowing that once word got out there was only one room on the bill, the gossip and speculation would run rampant.

“I’ll put it on my credit card instead of Skerritt and Crowe’s.” He sounded so darned reasonable, she wanted to stomp.

“But—”

He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. “I agree, it’s a major pain in the butt that we can’t have our own rooms. But we’re both adults, A.J. We can handle this.” Before she could stop him, he removed his wallet from his hip pocket and handed a credit card to the girl behind the counter.

Her heart did a backflip. Maybe he could deal with the situation, but she wasn’t so sure about herself. Spending the entire day with him, first in the close confines of his pickup truck, then in the meeting with Mr. Ortiz, had more than taken its toll.

From the moment they’d left the Skerritt and Crowe offices that morning, her senses had been assaulted by the man. The scent of his woodsy aftershave, the timbre of his deep voice and the occasional brush of his arm against hers when he opened doors for her had charged every cell in her being with a restlessness she refused to define. If she had to spend an entire night in the same room with Caleb only a few feet away, there was a very real possibility she’d be a raving lunatic by morning.

As he sat on the side of the motel bed, Caleb took off his boots, then picked up the television’s remote control and absently flipped through the channels. He had to get his mind off the woman changing clothes in the bathroom.

Glancing at the closed door, he shook his head. He’d put in a hell of a day listening to her soft voice and watching her move with a catlike grace that he found absolutely fascinating. But it was the few times they’d brushed against each other that had him feeling like he was about to jump out of his own skin. What was there about A.J. that sent his hormones racing through his blood like the steel balls in an pinball machine?

She was the consummate professional and gave every indication that she was totally immersed in her career. And he’d learned the hard way to avoid her type like a bachelor avoids a widows’ convention. So why was she all he’d been able to think about from the moment he’d laid eyes on her? What was there about her that he found so damned compelling?

Her clothes certainly weren’t provocative or meant to entice a man. And although she was far from homely, A.J. sure didn’t wear makeup or style her hair in a way to make herself look anything but plain.

He frowned. It was as if she was doing everything she possibly could to keep from attracting attention to herself.

That’s what he was having the devil of a time trying to figure out. A.J. didn’t look or act like an executive. Leslie Ann Turner, the woman he’d been involved with a few years back, had been the perfect example of a corporate climber and taken great pains to look attractive at work, as well as when they’d gone out on the town. They’d met by accident when he’d attended a farm symposium at one of the downtown Nashville hotels and she’d stopped by the lounge after work for drinks with her girlfriends. He’d asked her out and that had started their two-year affair. She’d been a junior executive then and hadn’t yet developed a thirst for power and position, nor had she looked down on him because he’d had nothing more than a high-school education.

But as time had gone on and she’d gotten a few promotions under her belt, that had changed. She’d stopped asking him to attend corporate parties with her and had adopted the attitude that the measure of a man was determined by the number of diplomas he held. And it really hadn’t come as a big surprise when she’d dumped him like a blind date on a Saturday night.

However, as hard as it had been to face the fact that she apparently thought he wasn’t good enough for her, he did have her to thank for a lesson well learned. A career woman wasn’t anyone he wanted to become involved with, no matter how compelling her baby blues were.

But A.J. didn’t seem to possess the same barracuda instincts, the same do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-ahead attitude that Leslie Ann had. Hell, there were a couple of times when he’d been outlining the policy changes, then later when he’d asked her to help with the break room renovations, that A.J. had almost looked unsure and vulnerable.

As he sat there pondering his uncharacteristic fascination with A.J., the bathroom door opened. Looking up, Caleb’s jaw dropped and he felt like he’d been blindsided by a steamroller. With her owlish glasses off and her long, auburn hair down around her shoulders, A. J. Merrick was a knockout.

He swallowed hard as she walked past him to the other bed. Her emerald silk pajamas and robe enhanced the red highlights in her hair and were the perfect contrast to her flawless porcelain complexion and baby-blue eyes.

“The bathroom’s all yours,” she said with a wave of her delicate hand.

She still hadn’t looked his way and he was damned glad. He’d been staring at her like a teenage boy stared at his first glimpse of a Playboy centerfold and there was no doubt in his mind that she’d think she was sharing a room with some kind of nutcase.

Suddenly feeling as if the walls were closing in on him, Caleb stood up. “I’m not all that tired,” he lied. “I think I’ll go down to the restaurant and get a cup of coffee.” Edging toward the door, he asked, “Do you want me to bring something back for you?”

“No, thank you.”

“Will you be okay here alone?”

She turned her incredible baby blues on him. “Sure. Why do you ask?”

He wasn’t about to tell her that she looked prettier and more feminine than he’d ever imagined. Nor did he want to admit that he felt like a prize jackass for running like a tail-tucked dog.

“Just checking.”

She hid a huge yawn with one delicate hand. “I’ll probably be asleep before you make it downstairs.”

The thought of what she might look like with her long silky hair spread across the pillow, her dark lashes resting on her creamy cheeks like tiny feathers, made his body tighten and had him reaching for the doorknob in less than two seconds.

“Night,” she called.

“Uh, yeah, night,” he muttered, closing the door behind him. He was halfway down the hall before he realized his boots were still sitting on the floor beside the bed in their room.

He stopped dead in his tracks. “Well, hell.”

“Flashback?”

Turning, Caleb found a tall, skinny man, with what looked like a piece of tinfoil molded to his bald head, standing behind him. “Excuse me?”

“I asked if you were having a flashback from your last encounter with them,” the man said, pointing toward the ceiling. “Some of us have flashbacks from time to time. Especially if the encounter was a really close one.”

When Caleb caught on that the gentleman was referring to E.T., he shook his head. “No. This was more like a first-time sighting.”

“I can totally relate. It can be a pretty disconcerting experience the first time you see them.” Grinning, the man reached up to adjust his foil skullcap. “But as time goes on you’ll find yourself looking forward to it and even hoping for an encounter of the third kind.”

Caleb nodded. He was already anticipating how soft and feminine A.J. would look when she woke up tomorrow morning. And just the idea of a close encounter with her of any kind made him hard as hell.

When the man continued on down the hall, Caleb turned and walked back toward the room. “You have no idea, buddy. No earthly idea at all.”

The moment the door closed behind Caleb, A.J. collapsed onto the side of the motel bed. She’d felt his gaze follow her across the room when she’d walked out of the bathroom and her knees still felt as if they were made of rubber. How on earth would she be able to close her eyes, let alone get a wink of sleep?

All she could think about was what he’d wear to bed and how he’d look first thing in the morning when he woke up. And just knowing that he’d be sleeping a few feet away sent shivers up her spine and made breathing all but impossible.

A.J. glanced around the room in near panic. She needed to get her mind off her disturbing boss. In desperation, she picked up the remote control and switched the television to a classic film channel. It would defi-nitely be in her best interest to try losing herself in the plot of an old movie. Maybe then she’d be able to for-get that she was about to spend the night in the same room as the sexiest man she’d ever known.

When she realized the film was An Affair to Remember, she took off her robe, pulled back the covers and crawled into bed. Even though she’d seen the movie at least twenty times and always ended up sobbing her heart out, it was one of her all-time favorites.

Settling back against the pillows, she managed to for-get about her current situation as she braced herself for the movie’s ending. And sure enough, when the hero discovered why the heroine had failed to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building, A.J.’s tears began to fall.

Unfortunately, Caleb chose that very moment to return to the room. “I forgot my—” He stopped abruptly. “Are you crying?”

Mortified that he’d caught her in a lessthan-profes-sional moment, she stared at the television screen. “N-no.”

To her horror, he walked over to the side of her bed and sat down. “Yes, you are.” He took her hands in his. “What’s wrong, A.J.?”

“N-nothing.” She’d known he’d be returning in a short time. Why on earth had she chosen to watch a movie that never failed to make her cry buckets?

“Look at me, sweetheart.” The gentle tone of his voice caused her tears to fall faster. Why wouldn’t he just go away and leave her alone?

“I… can’t.” Dear God, could the day get any worse?

It had been years since she’d allowed anyone to see her shed a tear. But here she was crying like a baby. And in front of her new boss, no less. She’d never been more humiliated in her entire life.

Why couldn’t he find what he’d forgotten and leave? At least, long enough for her to pull herself together.

He cupped her cheek and turned her head until their gazes met. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t realize you were this upset by the situation. Please don’t cry. I’ll sleep in my truck if it will make you feel better.”

His sincerity touched her deeply and for reasons she didn’t care to analyze, she couldn’t allow him to think her emotional display was because they’d be spending the night in the same room. “It’s… the movie.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he turned back to smile at her a moment before he reached out and took her into his arms. “That one always does a number on my mom, too.”

“W-what are you doing?”

“It’s all right, Alyssa.”

The sound of his deep voice saying her name with such tenderness sent a shock wave straight to her core and she didn’t even think to push away from him. “How did you… know my name?”

“It’s in your personnel file.” He pulled her to him, then smoothed his hands down her back in a comforting manner. “And don’t go getting any ideas about me replacing you. I reviewed all of the managers’ files.”

“Why?” God help her, but with his strong arms wrapped around her and her cheek pressed to his wide chest, she wasn’t sure she cared why he was going through hers or anyone else’s file.

“I was trying to decide what team-building activities would best serve each manager and their department.” His warm breath stirred her hair and sent shivers streaking up her spine. He hugged her close. “Cold?”

Unable to form a coherent sentence, she nodded. Even if she could have found her voice, she wasn’t about to tell him the real reason she trembled.

But when he pulled back to look down at her, she knew he wasn’t buying her excuse for a minute. “Are you sure?”

With his intense hazel gaze holding her captive, she wasn’t sure of her own name, let alone what he’d asked her. “W-what was the question?”

“It doesn’t matter, Alyssa.” His sexy drawl caused her insides to feel as if they’d been turned to warm pudding and as he slowly lowered his head, she couldn’t for the life of her remember why it should.

As his mouth brushed over hers, her heart skipped several beats. She should call a halt to this insanity and send him outside to spend the night in his truck. But for reasons she couldn’t begin to explain, she wanted Caleb’s kiss, wanted to feel his hard body pressed to her. And when he settled his lips more fully over hers, she threw caution to the wind and melted against him.