Fortune's Secret Heir Read online

  Ella’s hand and Phillips’s hand reached the thing at the same time, and the sight of her auburn head so close to Phillips’s dark brown one sent something cold shooting through Ben’s chest.

  When he heard Ella’s husky laugh and saw Phillips’s appreciative smile, he set his icy pilsner glass on the bar with a thud and strode across to their table.

  Before Ella had more than a second to notice his presence, he smiled into her face. “Surprise, sweetheart,” he greeted her, and leaned down to kiss her smooth, soft cheek.

  Her eyes went round, but to her credit, she didn’t yank away from him too quickly. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

  “Surprising you,” he responded smoothly. He shot her companion a man-to-man look. “I ended up with some free time and wanted to surprise my fiancée. Looks like I succeeded.”

  Phillips looked almost as slack jawed as Ella as he popped out of his chair so fast he nearly tipped it over. “Mr. Robinson.” He stuck out his hand. “It’s an honor.”

  Ben shook the guy’s hand. Briefly. And with a lot harder grip than necessary. “Mind if I steal Ella for a few minutes?” His words were a question but his tone was not, and Phillips would have had to have been an idiot not to realize it. “Then you can get on with your business.”

  “Of course I don’t mind. I had no idea you two were engaged.”

  “It’s recent.” Ben wrapped his hand around Ella’s, tugging lightly. “She swept me off my feet so fast, we haven’t even had a chance to pick out her ring. Have we, honey?”

  “It’s been fast all right,” she said, sounding a little choked. But she didn’t pull her hand away from his and she set her napkin beside her plate and stood. “I’ll be right back, Randy.”

  “Sure. Take your time.”

  Ben didn’t wait to see Randy Phillips sit again. He tugged Ella after him right out of the restaurant. Only then did he release her hand.

  Or rather, only then did she yank her hand away from his, like touching him was akin to touching a hot stove.

  “What are you doing?” She kept her voice low, giving the few people milling around outside the restaurant entrance a wary look. “If you didn’t trust me to handle the meeting, you could have just said so from the beginning and saved the effort of bringing me to Boston with you.”

  “It’s not you I didn’t trust. It’s him.”

  She blinked. “Why?”

  “You’re a smart girl. Figure it out. The guy was obviously coming on to you.”

  “So what if he was? Don’t you think that’s to your advantage if he likes me a little? He was already talking about his personal life without me even having to prompt him.” She propped her hands on her slender hips, which were closely outlined by the narrow blue suit she wore. “Now he thinks I’m engaged to the boss!” She practically hissed the term.

  “He’s here on a job interview.”

  “A fake one.”

  “He doesn’t know that. And he’s flirting with you. What kind of man does that during a business meeting?”

  She snorted softly. “Most men, in my experience.” Her soft words dripped sarcasm. “I’m not a complete babe in the woods, you know. I have had guys flirt with me before. I was handling Randy just fine until you swooped in and ruined it.”

  His jaw tightened. “I don’t care if he’s my half brother or not. He was leering at you.”

  She gaped. “He most certainly was not leering. We were two adults getting to know each other a little over a delightful lunch. What on earth did you expect? That I’d somehow ferret out his personal background and the identity of his birth father while pretending to review his professional résumé?”

  Ben was used to controlling the situation. And he unquestionably was not controlling this one. “You’re here at my request. Which makes your safety my responsibility.”

  She looked even more astounded. “Randy designs computer software. And if his excitement about doing so is any indication, he could even be an excellent addition to your company for real. How does that put my safety in question when we’re in full view of at least fifty other people?”

  “He was flirting,” Ben said softly through his teeth.

  Her cheeks flushed, making her eyes seem an even brighter shade of blue. “You flirted with me the first time we met,” she reminded him. “I survived that just fine, too!”

  Her boldness surprised the hell out of him. “I didn’t flirt with you.”

  She pressed her lips together, giving him an incredulous look. “Firsts are always memorable,” she finally said. “You said that to me that night at Kate Fortune’s birthday party. Maybe you don’t remember it. You probably don’t remember it, because you’re...well, you...and I’m just me. But you did, and at the time we both knew it was a very loaded comment. For someone not flirting.”

  He was never going to win this particular debate.

  Primarily because Ella was right.

  He had flirted with her that night. He remembered every single moment of that evening, just one short week ago.

  And he did not like seeing Randy Phillips flirt with her now.

  Or maybe he didn’t like seeing her flirt back.

  And he definitely didn’t want to think real hard about how many “firsts” she’d had or hadn’t yet had in her life. Because he was supposed to be her boss. And that was supposed to put her out of range of his wholly unprofessional thoughts where she was concerned.

  He scrubbed his palm over his jaw. “Fine,” he said abruptly. “Go finish your lunch.”

  “Salvage the lunch, you mean,” she muttered. “What if he goes and tells someone you and I are engaged? You’re one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. You think news like that won’t get out?”

  “I don’t care if it does. Engagements come and go faster than the seasons.”

  She blew out a breath. “Maybe in your world,” she said before walking back into the restaurant.

  Ben’s hands curled as he fought the impulse to follow her. To stop the charade with Phillips before it went an inch further.

  Instead, he went back upstairs to his suite.

  He contacted the concierge to make sure his unfinished beer was billed to his suite.

  And then he began pacing again.

  But this time it was because—once again—he couldn’t get the thought of firsts with Ella out of his head.

  Chapter Eight

  Ella stood outside the door of Ben’s room and drew in a long, steadying breath.

  After his entirely unexpected intrusion on her “interview” with Randy, she’d found it nearly impossible to concentrate on anyone but Ben once she’d left him outside the restaurant. She’d returned to the table and done her best to salvage the meeting, but mostly, Randy had only wanted to talk about Ben and his father’s meteoric success with Robinson Tech.

  She’d come away guiltily confident that the man wanted a chance to work for Robinson Tech.

  And he’d also offered, even without being asked, to keep Ella’s engagement to Ben confidential.

  She almost broke into a sweat just thinking about being engaged to Ben. In fact, she felt so flushed, she pulled off her blazer and folded it over her arm before briskly rapping her knuckles against the door of Ben’s room.

  He answered it so quickly, she fell back a startled step.

  His eyes raked over her from the top of her head to her toes, making her wonder what on earth he was looking for.

  Signs that Randy had tried ravishing her in the hotel restaurant?

  Her spine stiffened and she met his eyes, though it made her vaguely breathless in the process. “Do you want me to stand here in the hall and tell you what he said?”

  He grimaced and stepped out of the doorway so she could enter, and when she heard the door click s
hut again, she almost wished she had remained in the hall.

  Her room was luxurious.

  His room—well, it was a suite of rooms—was like something out of a movie. She could even see through the windows that it possessed a snow-covered terrace easily as spacious as the room she’d been given.

  “Well?”

  She looked over her shoulder, realizing her feet had carried her toward those windows. Ben was standing halfway across the room, his arms folded across his chest, making the fine white fabric of his shirt stretch over his shoulders.

  The tailored suits he wore were very adept at hiding what she was realizing were very muscular shoulders.

  And behind him, through French doors with glass insets, she could see the bedroom, with its very wide bed.

  She dragged her eyes away and focused instead on the fan of glossy travel magazines arranged on the coffee table situated in front of a plush, upholstered couch. “His mother met her husband in Colorado Springs, where they were both working as civilians at the US Air Force Academy. I don’t know if they met before or after Randy’s birth, which also occurred in Colorado Springs.” She moistened her lips, feeling Ben’s eyes on her like a physical thing. “Randy did say that his maternal grandmother once told him his mother had had an affair with your father when she worked for him in Texas, but he says his mother never confirmed that.”

  “Assume she did.”

  “Yes.” She dared a quick glance at him, before studying the closest magazine cover featuring a glorious sailboat. “Randy thinks it’s pretty funny, considering your supposed interest in hiring him. After your—” she waved her hand “—arrival, he didn’t say much else about his family. He was too busy raving over your and your father’s achievements. He really has a man crush on your brother, Wes. Says his creative mind is off the charts.”

  “It is.” He unfolded his arms and tugged his tie loose. “Go ahead and say it. I have only myself to blame.”

  She sucked in her lower lip, not responding.

  He tugged his tie loose. “For God’s sake, sit. You’re making me nervous.”

  She couldn’t imagine him nervous under any circumstances, but she perched gingerly on the edge of the couch, rearranging her blazer on the cushion beside her so she wouldn’t get caught ogling her boss.

  In the silence of the room, the slither of his tie sounded loud when he pulled it free and tossed it on top of the sailboat magazine. “Did you fess up that there was no job?”

  She looked at him then. “Of course not!” She looked away just as quickly, though, when he absently flicked open the top few buttons of his shirt. Heaven help her if she ever saw him shirtless, considering the fluttering going on inside her stomach at the mere glimpse of his bare throat.

  She stared fixedly at the sailing magazine, over which his silver tie was draped. “I told him we, um, we had a few more candidates to meet and we would be in touch.”

  He sank down in the chair opposite her, stretching out his long legs and threading his fingers together across his abdomen. “Fine.”

  She dared a glance upward as far as his thumbs, which he was pressing together. “Are you? Going to be in touch?”

  “Should I be?”

  She let out a faint huff. “The point is to find out if he is your brother, isn’t it? Or have you decided against that just because you took exception to his behavior toward me?”

  He pressed the tips of his thumbs to his chin and studied her for a moment, his hooded expression unreadable. “You think he’s worth pursuing?”

  For some reason, her stomach tightened. “The time lines seem to point that way. I suppose I could steal his water glass or something after he’s drunk from it so you could test his DNA. That’s a real thing, isn’t it?” She knew she was prattling on, but couldn’t seem to stop herself. “And not just something off of television shows?”

  He dropped his hands to his abdomen again and leaned his head back against the chair. His eyes were nearly closed, only narrow slits of deep blue visible between his dark lashes. “My last brush with DNA testing had more to do with cheek swabs and saliva than water glasses.”

  Before she could contemplate that odd statement, his legs jackknifed and he pushed up from the chair in a blur of motion. “Call him back. Set up a meeting here for tomorrow morning.”

  “Here, here?” She glanced around the suite that his long legs were eating up as he’d begun pacing. “Or here at the hotel?”

  He stopped in front of the French doors and pushed them open. “Here,” he said, disappearing into the bedroom. He did not close the doors after himself. “Call him now,” he instructed. “Phone’s on the desk.”

  She blamed the flood of butterflies in her stomach on the hotel room setting, and retrieved the business card Randy had given her before they’d parted and went over to the desk. “So you’re going to meet with him yourself tomorrow,” she said loudly while she poked out the numbers on the fancy phone.

  “Possibly.”

  His voice was closer and she looked back to see he’d returned to the living area from the bedroom. And he’d changed from his white shirt into a wheat-colored pullover sweater that looked so rich and soft it was probably cashmere. He’d also exchanged his trousers for faded blue jeans that accentuated his long legs.

  “Possibly?” she repeated faintly. He looked as if he’d walked off the cover of the sailboat magazine.

  “You’ll start off and we’ll play it by ear.” He went back into the bedroom, which showed her that the rear view of his blue jeans was as excellent as the front view.

  She exhaled silently and quickly redialed the number, since her distraction with him had caused a mess of her first attempt.

  Randy picked up after only a few rings and she quickly relayed Ben’s request for another meeting. They agreed on a time and that was that. She hung up and retrieved her blazer from the couch. “He’ll be here at nine,” she told Ben when he reappeared in the doorway with the bed behind him.

  “Fine. Get changed and meet me in the lobby.”

  She hesitated. “What’s the plan?”

  “Getting you an engagement ring, of course.”

  Her jaw loosened.

  His dimple flashed. “You should see your face,” he said drily. “I’m kidding. Obviously.”

  “Obviously,” she repeated over the odd ringing inside her ears.

  “The city you’ve never seen awaits. Plus, I need to pick up some chocolate for Bonita from this place on Newbury Street. If I go back to the office without something for her, she’ll make my life miserable for a month.”

  “No, she wouldn’t.”

  “You haven’t met her,” he said and headed for the door. “Come on. Get moving. Daylight doesn’t last long here this time of year.”

  “It’ll only take me a few minutes to change,” she assured him, and hurried through the door.

  * * *

  When she was gone, Ben pushed the door closed and silently banged his head against the wood panel a few times.

  Having Ella in his hotel suite hadn’t been the most brilliant idea he’d ever had. He was in near danger of needing a cold shower. Walking around Boston on a cold winter day would suffice just as well.

  He grabbed his overcoat and checked his messages on the elevator ride down to the lobby. The second he showed his face, Serena, the concierge who’d checked them in, approached. He’d dealt with her many times on previous visits. She was one of the best, and even though he’d been tempted often enough over the years to see if she was interested in spending time together outside of her job capacity, he hadn’t.

  “What can I help you with this afternoon, Mr. Robinson? Tickets for the Celtics game tonight? A comedy group? Symphony?”

  “Not this time, Serena. But you can call Johnny for me.”

  “Right
away.” She pulled out a small walkie-talkie and spoke into it before tucking it away again in her side pocket.

  “Looks like business here is going well. The place is packed.” He hadn’t been able to book the presidential suite, which was his usual preference. But on short notice, he supposed he couldn’t blame them.

  “We’re gearing up for the wine festival,” she said, glancing around the teeming lobby. “When are you going to bring a division of Robinson Tech to Boston?”

  He laughed. The question was a long-running one that dated back to before Ben had been appointed COO. “Like I’ve told you before, you’d have to take that up with my old man.”

  She smiled brilliantly but Ben barely noticed because he’d caught sight of Ella stepping off the elevator. She’d changed out of the simple blue skirt and white blouse into jeans that hugged her hips and a thick turtleneck that clung to her curvy torso. She’d also pulled her hair down from its braid and it waved, a gleaming, vibrant red, long past her shoulders.

  She looked young and carefree and impossibly, irresistibly appealing.

  “Ahh,” Serena said softly. “I see now what entertainment you’re seeking.”

  He gave her a look rooted in a decade of stays with the hotel when she’d been only a reservation clerk and he an entry-level account manager with Robinson Computers. “Don’t you have something more important to do?”

  She smiled knowingly. “Nothing is more important than seeing to the comfort of one of our treasured, long-standing guests. Perhaps the usual strawberries and champagne in your suite later?”

  He exhaled noisily. There was nothing usual about Ella. “Go away, Serena.”

  She chuckled and walked away, greeting Ella with a smile as they passed.

  Then Ella reached him and began pulling on the black peacoat she’d worn earlier.

  And that reminded him... “Serena,” he called, and the concierge immediately about-faced and returned to them. “Ms. Thomas needs a scarf and hat to use. We’ll be walking a bit, too.”

  “Certainly.” Serena turned to Ella. “Do you have a preference of colors?”