Barbara Dunlop - Christmas Secrets

For some reason, her thoughts turned back to Cole Parker. In the car Saturday night, he’d said it was her responsibility to take control of the company for Zachary. She’d disagreed with him at the time, but the advice stuck with her.

She let the memory take shape, and his image came clear in her mind. The streetlights had played across his handsome face. He was sexy in a suit, sexier still in his blue jeans the next morning at the penthouse. And the memory of him holding Zachary? The tenderness had touched a chord deep down inside her. It shouldn’t have turned her on, but it did. The truth was, everything about Cole turned her on.

All that probably meant she shouldn’t take his advice.

She looked at Max, bringing herself back to the present. She had to agree that letting Roth plunge the airline into debt wasn’t in Zachary’s best interest. Any thinking person could see that. And what Max said was true. At the moment, she was the only person who could legally appoint a new board member.

If she didn’t do it, no one could.

“Who?” she found herself venturing. “If I was to appoint someone, who would that be?”

It had to be someone they could trust. It also had to be someone who didn’t have to fear Roth if he won the custody battle. It had to be someone who understood the airline, who brought true value to the board and who could be strong in the face of divided loyalties, uncertain times and extraordinarily high stakes.

She couldn’t think of a single person who fit the bill.

“You,” Max told her softly.

“No.” She gripped the back of her chair and shook her head. “No.” It was unthinkable. “No.”

“You underestimate yourself, Amber.”

“Coco chose me because she knew I would love Zachary. She had no idea it would put me in this position with the company.”

“Coco had no idea about anything,” said Max.

Amber didn’t know how to respond to that. Her sister wasn’t the most analytical person in the world. It was fair to say that Coco had operated on emotion rather than logic. It was also fair to say that Coco had never really grown up. She’d wanted what she’d wanted, and she’d usually wanted it right away. She’d never spent much time worrying about the impact on others.

“There’s no one else,” said Max, spreading his palms.

“There has to be.”

“It’s one vote. You take the appointment. You go to one meeting. You vote. You leave. And the new president takes over the reins.” He glanced around her small office, all but wrinkling his nose. “You can come back here an hour later and take over your regular duties.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my job.”

“Nobody’s saying there is. Though not many new billionaires would keep working in this particular office.”

“I’m not a new—”

“Amber, please. I can see that your instinct is to be humble. But you’re Zachary’s guardian. Anytime you want to exercise it, you have control of a billion-dollar company.”

“Temporarily.”

“Maybe. But maybe not.”

She slid back into her chair, propping her elbows on the table. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s very simple.”

She couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t dare let her head run away with any aspect of the situation. There was too much at stake for her to let her guard down.

She tried to explain her feelings to Max. “I can’t let myself think it’s real until it’s really real. You know?”

“Amber, this is no time to be superstitious.”

“I can’t jinx custody of Zachary. I can lose anything else, but not him.”

“Coast Eagle needs you to step up.”

Her stomach went hollow, and her pulse began to pound. It wasn’t exactly what Cole had said, but it was close. Two apparently smart men were telling her the same thing.

“How long do I have to decide?”

“Twenty-four hours. After that, we may lose MacSweeny.”

“Let me think about it.”

Max gave a sharp nod. Then he rose. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Max is a very intelligent lawyer,” said Destiny over Zachary’s cries.

They were in the penthouse kitchen, Amber jostling Zachary and Destiny doling out linguini and salad.

“You’re a smart lawyer, too,” said Amber.

“Sure, but I’m looking after your interests. Max is looking after the interests of Coast Eagle. From the perspective of what’s in the best interests of the company, you should absolutely take the board appointment.”

“And from the perspective of me?”

“You’ll make a lifelong enemy out of Roth.”

“I’ve done that simply by breathing.”

Destiny grinned, while Zachary’s cries increased.

Amber jiggled harder. She was growing exhausted. “I swear, if I had Cole Parker’s phone number, I’d call him up and beg him to come over.”

“He’s the other Alaska guy?”

“Yes, the one who put Zachary to sleep Sunday morning without lifting a finger.” Amber knew she should feel miffed by that, because it sure didn’t seem fair.

Destiny picked up her phone. “I’ve got Luca’s number.”

“Yeah, right,” Amber chuckled.

But Destiny raised her phone to her ear. “Luca? It’s Destiny.”

“Don’t you dare,” said Amber.

Destiny stopped talking and smiled. “Thanks.”

Amber shook her head in warning.

“That’s not why I’m calling,” said Destiny. “No. It’s really not. I’m looking for Cole.”

Amber shook her head more frantically, moving closer.

“Not even close,” said Destiny. “Tell him Amber needs him to put Zachary to sleep.”

“She’s joking,” Amber called out, causing Zachary to cry louder. She turned away, walking toward the living room. “Shh, shh, shh,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Hi, Cole,” said Destiny from behind her. “Yes, Amber needs the baby cavalry. Can you come?”

Amber couldn’t believe this was happening. Cole was a stranger. You couldn’t ask a stranger to drop everything, drive over and soothe your baby. The world didn’t work like that. With any luck at all, he’d be bright enough to say no.

“They’re on their way,” called Destiny.

“You’ve lost your mind.”

Destiny set down her phone and moved to the wine rack recessed in the kitchen wall. “How’s Zachary been doing with the nanny?”

“Sometimes he’s good with Isabel, sometimes not. Evening is always the worst. We’re been helping each other, but tonight’s her night off.”

Perusing the shelves, Destiny chose a bottle. “Do you think maybe we could give him a little of the merlot?”

“I wish. But definitely pour me a glass.”

Destiny located the corkscrew, peeled the foil and opened the bottle. She moved two glasses to the center of the island and poured, placing them next to the two plates of linguini.

Then she slid onto a stool while Amber jiggled her way back to the island.

Amber knew there was no point in sitting down. Zachary had a built in altimeter. His preferred height was precisely five feet off the ground, not four feet, not four and a half. And his preferred swaying arc was approximately nine inches. Any deviation from the pattern brought an immediate vocal protest.

Luckily, Amber had become adept at simultaneously standing, swaying and eating. She lifted her fork and swirled a bite of the seafood linguini.

“Say I was to appoint myself to the board,” she ventured.

“Say you were.”

“Would it hurt my custody argument? I mean, would it look like I was the kind of person who used Zachary to gain power in Coast Eagle?”