LITMIR.BIZ

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he’d avoided being anything more then friends with her. They had been around each other by default so many times, and Robert might have thought they were more than just friends. Robert was wrong. The Brittany he knew was flaky and self-centered, a woman who went through fiancées the way a lizard shed its skin. He’d probably been as shocked as Robert when she’d finally married Matt Terrell and actually settled down to her art career and a family that included a nine-year-old boy.

      People changed. He knew Zane Holden had. The man he’d met before he married Lindsey, was vastly different from the one he was facing now. Business was still business, and he was good at it. But now his wife and child were his top priorities.

      “I guess it’s rough,” he said, for lack of anything better to say about morning sickness. He couldn’t begin to imagine Eve in Lindsey’s condition. And it hit him that he’d never once envisioned Eve as a mother at all.

      “Amen to that,” Zane dropped down in his chair. He sat forward, his elbows on the piles of papers sorted on the top of the desk and looked up at Jack. “How old is the little girl you’re taking care of?”

      He had to think for a minute. “Four.”

      Zane smiled slightly. “Cute age.”

      Victoria was cute. Her mother had been pretty in a delicate way, and Victoria looked a lot like her mother. And Eve had said she was like a little doll. “Yes, a cute age,” he said, and put the papers he’d brought with him on top of the work Zane had been doing. “I got a call from Griggs,” he said, trying to get back to business and forget about why Eve and he hadn’t even discussed children. “I think he’s going to be able to get Sommers involved in this whole business.”

      “Terrific,” Zane said, taking the printout Jack was offering him. “No way can we make this work with a middleman doing the talking and someone leaking the information before it’s set in stone.”

      “I hope he can influence Sommers.”

      “Word is, little influences E. J. Sommers beyond his play toys and a good party. You’d never guess the guy was a genius.” Zane sat back and glanced at the clock. “Matt should be back from court soon, then we can all sit down and go through this.”

      “Court?”

      “Nothing serious, just clearing up some things about the adoption of Anthony. As soon as he gets back here, we’ll—”

      His words were cut off when Lindsey came out of the side room. Jack had seen Lindsey in February, around the time she’d found out she was pregnant and he’d thought she was pretty, in a slender, wispy way. But right then she looked miserable, her pregnancy showing despite the loose white shirt and leggings she was wearing. Her skin was as white as parchment, her eyes were smudged with shadows and an expression of discomfort etched her face.

      “I’m so sorry,” she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “I know what you’re doing is really important, but I can’t stay here. I need to go home.”

      Zane moved quickly, crossing to put his arm around her protectively and spoke in a low voice, “That tofu was a huge mistake.”

      She looked up at him, and surprisingly there was a faint smile on her pale lips. “Now you tell me.”

      He hugged her to him and spoke to Jack over her head. “Do me a favor and cover for me here until Matt gets back from court. Let Rita know I’m going home, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours?”

      “No,” Lindsey said, protesting weakly. “I can go by myself.”

      Zane acted as if she hadn’t spoken and when he did, Zane saw the morning going down the tubes. “I’ve got a call coming in from Tokyo,” Zane said over his shoulder as he helped Lindsey walk to the private elevator set off to the right in the room.

      “Shegata?” Jack asked.

      “Yeah. He’s got information on EJS that he thinks we might be able to use.” Zane pushed the button to go down to the parking garage and the door opened immediately. He and Lindsey got in, then he turned with his wife in his arms and looked back at Jack. “You can work in here, and take the message. Just plug into the network. Matt should be back within the hour.”

      “Take care,” Jack said as the elevator door slid shut.

      The door had just closed when the phone rang on Zane’s desk. He reached for it, expecting the Japanese call, but it was Rita and she was obviously surprised to hear him answering Zane’s private line.

      “Mr. Ford?”

      He explained about Zane and she didn’t sound surprised. In fact, she said, “I’m impressed that she lasted this long.”

      Jack was impressed that Lindsey had even thought she could come into the offices in her condition. “I’ll be in here working, so send Mr. Terrell in when he arrives.”

      “No problem, but I was ringing to let you know you have a call on line five. I called Miss Ryder, finally got through, and she insisted that she had to talk to you right away.”

      He didn’t like the feeling he was getting. Eve usually respected business, no matter what. “Put her through,” he said.

      The next thing he knew, Eve was on the line, that breathy voice, the slight pout in her tone. It was good to hear her voice again, but he’d been right to feel that something had to be wrong when she started with, “I’m sorry to have to insist on talking to you, but things on this end are in a mess.”

      He glanced at the clock. It was late at night in London. His stomach tightened. “Is something wrong with Victoria?”

      “Not with the girl, exactly. It’s Mrs. Ferris.”

      Jack hadn’t had an e-mail from the woman this morning and had actually been relieved after ploughing through three or four every day since he’d left. “What is it?”

      “Her sister’s having an operation and she’s the only one who can help her. She gave notice that she’s taking off very soon. She’s in quite a tizzy and you need a new nanny.”

      He was actually relieved when she got to the bottom line. A new nanny? He didn’t like the idea of Victoria having to get used to another nanny so soon, but Eve would be there and it wouldn’t be for more than a few weeks. “Okay, as long as you’re there, a new nanny isn’t the end of the world.”

      “It’s not that simple, love.”

      He closed his eyes and exhaled. “Then tell me why not?”

      “I’m not going to be here myself.”

      “What?”

      “Well, I was bored without you here, and Sonny and Lex asked me to go to their place in Acapulco. They’re expecting me and they made plans. I thought that since Mexico is close to Texas, I could go down there, get some relaxation, then when you’re done there, you could fly down to meet me and well…”

      This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. “What about Victoria?”

      “Well, there’s no way she can go along with me, nanny or not. I mean, Sonny and Lex have those horrid little dogs and I don’t think any of them like children. But, don’t worry. The service that sent Mrs. Ferris says they don’t have one for a permanent position at this time, but they can send temporary staff, maybe for a day or two at a time, and they said they’ll be sure that someone will always be here.”

      He’d thought that going on holiday was to include Victoria, but if she was in London with a round-robin of baby-sitters, Eve in Acapulco and him here…no, that wouldn’t work. He couldn’t do it. This wasn’t what he’d promised Ian and Jean at all. “What do they mean, someone will always be there, moving around every day or two? What are we talking about, nanny musical chairs?”

      She laughed, a throaty sound that jarred him. He wasn’t trying to be funny. “Oh, love, don’t be ridiculous.”

      Ridiculous

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