Linda Howard - Sarah's Child

But she wasn’t just any woman. He couldn’t use her and then toss her aside. Apart from the fact that they had to work together, he wanted more from her than that. A one-night stand wouldn’t do it with her; he wanted to unlock all her secrets, thrill time and time again to the sweet, hot way she melted against him. He thought of having an affair with her, and was surprised to suddenly find himself wondering if an affair would be enough to satisfy him. He wanted to know everything about her; he wanted to completely shatter her cool control and learn all the things that he could do to give her pleasure. He was adrift, and he needed Sarah right then more than he could comprehend, in all ways.

It was more than just physical, he realized abruptly. He could talk with her; she was intelligent, amusing, but there was the added bonus that he didn’t have to talk to her, because she had a quality of serenity that made silence possible. Whenever he looked into the shadows of her exotic green eyes, he had the feeling she understood everything, without words.

But she was a dedicated career woman; she’d made it pretty clear over the years that she did just fine on her own, thank you, without a man making demands on her time. She’d probably reject out of hand any hint of seriousness from him, so he had to keep it light, casual, let her become accustomed to being in his company. He had doubts, though, about his ability to keep it light whenever she turned into his arms and answered his kisses so ardently. He wanted to throw her across a bed and kiss her from her head to her feet, feast his senses on the sleek womanliness of her body. But what would she say?

Maybe she wouldn’t reject an offer of an affair. She was, after all, a modern, adult woman; if her response to him was anything to go by, she was willing to have sex with him, but he knew from working with her that she kept her personal life strictly separated from her business life. That would be one strike against him, but he thought he could eventually convince her. He’d take it slowly with her, not rushing her, letting her lower all those defenses of hers. He couldn’t say why, but he sensed that she was wary with him, deep inside where he couldn’t see. Perhaps she was wary with all men. Diane had wondered aloud sometimes if Sarah hadn’t had a married lover and been burned pretty badly by him.

There was a well-camouflaged vulnerability about her, and he wondered what fool had been stupid enough to have all that pale glory in his bed and let her slip away from him.

Sarah hadn’t expected to hear from Rome again that weekend, so when she answered the phone the next afternoon and heard his voice, a thrill of pleasure sang through her. Before she could do more than say hello, however, he cut across her greeting.

“Sarah, Henry’s had a heart attack, a bad one.”

Shocked, Sarah almost dropped the phone, and she tightened her grip on it. Her boss hadn’t seemed the sort to be struck by heart trouble. He was a small man, wiry to the point of thinness, and very active. He was an avid golfer, jogged every day, and in Sarah’s memory had never indulged in any of the excesses people were warned against. He wasn’t the dynamic man that Rome was, but Sarah was fond of him. “Will he live?” she finally asked quietly, going straight to the most important question.

“It’s touch and go. His wife called me; I’m at the hospital now.” Someone in the background said something to him, and Rome said, “Hang on a minute.” He covered the receiver with his hand, reducing his words to a muffled jumble of sounds. Then he came back to her, his voice brisk. “He took some reports home with him this weekend that we’ll need Monday morning. Can you go over to his house and pick them up? The housekeeper will let you in.”

“Yes, of course,” she agreed automatically. “Which reports do you need?”

“The Sterne financial statement, and the projected growth pattern. Look, go through his briefcase and pull out whatever you think we’ll need. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“But what hospital is he in—?” Sarah began, only to be cut off by a click. Well, there wasn’t anything she could do now anyway. She’d find out more the next morning, and perhaps then there would be a more definite prognosis than “touch and go.” Distressed by her boss’s sudden illness, she quickly combed her hair, then drove over to his house. As instructed, the housekeeper let her in, and the tiny little woman told Sarah the details. Mr. Graham had seemed fine that morning, and had played nine holes of golf. After lunch, he’d complained of pains in his left arm, then abruptly collapsed.

“It can come at any time,” the housekeeper said solemnly, shaking her head. “You just never know.”

“No, you never do,” Sarah agreed.

It was the next morning, when she was called to an unusual meeting in Mr. Edwards’s office, before Sarah realized that Mr. Graham’s heart attack could drastically affect her own job. Rome was present too, his dark eyes concerned as he watched her.

Sarah darted a quick glance at him, quivering as she thought of the way he’d kissed her, then just as quickly looked away. She couldn’t meet the intensity of his gaze and keep her mind on her job, and that was distressing. No matter how much pressure she’d been under, she’d always been able to perform her duties; it was upsetting to realize that Rome could throw her off balance with just one look.

“Sarah, sit down, please,” Mr. Edwards invited, his shrewd eyes kind as he watched her. Sarah had always gotten along with Mr. Edwards, but he’d never before asked her to attend a meeting. She sat down and calmly folded her hands in her lap.

“Henry won’t be back,” Mr. Edwards said gently. “I’ve talked to his doctor personally. If he takes it easy, avoids stress, and doesn’t have another attack, he may live a number of years, but he won’t be able to work. He’s going to take an early retirement. Rome is being promoted to senior vice president.”

Again Sarah risked a quick glance at Rome, to find him still watching her with that unnerving intensity. He leaned forward in his chair and offered, “I can’t hire you as my secretary. Kali has been my secretary for years, and of course she’ll move up with me.”

That wasn’t a surprise. Sarah gave him a gentle smile that ripped through his insides, causing his fist to clench suddenly. She hadn’t expected to be his secretary; it would never have worked anyway. She simply couldn’t have worked so closely with him, every day. It had been bad enough just seeing him occasionally. “Yes, of course. Am I being fired?”

“Good lord, no!” Mr. Edwards said, startled. “No, don’t think that at all. But we wanted to give you a choice. I’m bringing a man in from Montreal to replace Rome, and his secretary doesn’t want to relocate. If you want the job, it’s yours, and he’s agreeable. If you’d rather transfer to some other department, just say so. You’ve done an outstanding job for Spencer-Nyle over the years; the choice of jobs is yours.”

Sarah thought of transferring, but she really liked the intense atmosphere of the executive offices, where decisions were made that affected thousands of people. The challenge kept her interested, and though she was in proximity to Rome, the fast pace of her work tended to keep her mind off him during the day.

“I’d like to be his secretary,” she finally answered gravely. “What’s his name?”

“Maxwell Conroy. He’s been directing our Montreal office very competently. I believe he’s English.”

“Yes,” Rome confirmed. Probably Rome had already pulled Maxwell Conroy’s personnel file from the computer and memorized every word of it.

“Good,” Mr. Edwards said heartily, rising to his feet and signaling that they were dismissed. Rome followed Sarah out the door, but didn’t return to his own office. He was close behind her as she went into her office, and he closed the door behind them. Feeling absurdly nervous, Sarah moved away from him and sought refuge behind her desk.