The CEO's Christmas Proposition / His Expectant Ex. Catherine Mann

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Ms. McShay. The guest presently occupying Mr. Logan’s suite hasn’t yet departed.”

      “But you indicated there would be no problem with early check-in.”

      “I didn’t think there would be, madam. Unfortunately, the present occupant’s flight has been canceled, and he’s requested a late checkout pending other arrangements.”

      “How late?”

      “He’s one of our platinum customers,” the clerk said with a look that pleaded for understanding. “We have to give him until four o’clock.”

      Smothering an extremely unprofessional curse, Devon turned to her client. Logan had shrugged off the irritating glitches so far, but the crease between his brows suggested his patience was stretching thin.

      Hastily, she dug in her purse for the key card to her room. It wasn’t a VIP suite, but it did have a spacious sitting room, a separate bedroom and that incredible down comforter.

      “Why don’t you go up to my room and relax?” she said with determined cheerfulness. “You can give me a list of what you’ll need until your luggage gets here, and I’ll hit the shops.”

      If his luggage got here. Judging by his clipped response, Logan considered the possibility as remote as she did.

      “All I need right now is a shirt that doesn’t look like it’s been slept in. White or blue. Neck, sixteen and a half, sleeves thirty-two.”

      Whatever that translated to in German. Devon had enjoyed several mild flirtations and one serious fling during her year at the University of Salzburg but hadn’t gotten around to purchasing men’s clothing. Sternly, she banished visions of sending Logan into his meeting with Herr Hauptmann wearing a shirt with a collar that choked him or cuffs that dangled well below his suit coat sleeves.

      “White or blue,” she repeated. “Sixteen and a half. Thirty-two. Got it.”

      Summoning a breezy smile, she handed him the key.

      “It’s room four-twelve. I need a few things, too. I’ll look around the shops for a couple of hours. Stretch out and make yourself comfortable, Mr. Logan. I’ll buzz the room before I come up.”

      His incipient frown eased. “We’re going to be spending the next five days together. Please, call me Cal.”

      Devon hesitated. She and Sabrina and Caroline had all agreed they needed to maintain a strictly professional relationship with their clients. Especially ones as powerful and influential as Caleb John Logan, Jr.

      On the other hand, he was the client. Refusing his request wasn’t really an option after the annoying glitches they’d encountered so far.

      “Cal it is. See you in a few hours.”

      She dragged out the shopping as long as she could and dawdled over coffee in the lobby café until close to twelve-thirty. Just to be on the safe side, she called Herr Hauptmann’s office to confirm the meeting was still on for two o’clock before searching out a house phone. Her client answered on the second ring.

      “Logan.”

      “I’m sorry to wake you, but we’ll need to leave soon.”

      “No problem. I’ve been crunching numbers.”

      “I have your shirt.”

      “Great, bring it up.”

      As the elevator whisked upward with noiseless efficiency, Devon’s thoughts whirled. She’d ordered the limo for one. Hopefully the roads would be sanded and relatively clear. She’d better arrange backup transportation to Berlin tomorrow, too, just in case the airport was still shut down. She’d check the high-speed train schedules, she decided as she rapped on her room door, and…

      When the door opened, her thoughts skittered to a dead stop. Cal Logan in cashmere and worsted wool could make any woman whip around for another look. Shirtless and bare-chested, he’d give a post-menopausal nun heart palpitations.

      Two

      As their limo crossed the centuries-old stone bridge leading into Dresden’s Old City, Devon was still trying to recover. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten up close and personal with that much naked chest.

      “What’s going on?”

      Logan’s question banished her mental image of taut, contoured pecs and a dusting of black hair that arrowed downward. Blinking, she saw him lean forward to survey the town square just across the bridge.

      It was one of the most beautiful in all Europe. Although almost eighty percent of Dresden had been destroyed during two days of intense bombing in World War Two, decades of meticulous restoration had resurrected much of the city’s glorious architecture. The monumental Baroque cathedral with its openwork dome tower dominated a three-block area that included a royal palace, a magnificent state opera house and the world-famous Zwinger, a collection of incredibly ornate buildings surrounding a massive courtyard once used to stage tournaments and festivals.

      It wasn’t the architecture that had captured Cal Logan’s attention, though, but the outdoor market in full swing despite the miserable weather. Shoppers bundled in down jackets, ski masks, stocking caps and earmuffs roamed rows of wooden stalls crammed with handicrafts.

      “It’s a Christkindlmarkt,” Devon told him. “A Christmas market. Most towns and cities in Germany have one. The tradition dates back to the early 1400s, when regular seasonal markets took place throughout the year. The Christmas market evolved into the major event, where locals would gather to sell homemade toys, ornaments and foodstuffs.”

      Thus initiating the commercialization process that had expanded over the years to its present mania. As a historian, Devon admired the medieval atmosphere of this lively town square. The self-proclaimed Grinchette in her had to work to see past the throngs of eager shoppers.

      “Dresden’s market is one of the oldest in Germany. And that—” her nod indicated the wooden structure dominating the square “—is the tallest Christmas pyramid in the world.”

      Most traditional, multitiered wooden Christmas pyramids were tabletop size. Carved figures depicting the Nativity decorated each of the tiers. Candles sat in holders at the pyramid’s base. When the candles were lit, warm air rose and turned the propeller-style fan at the top, causing the various tiers to rotate.

      What had begun as traditional folk art designed to delight children with the dancing shadows cast by the rotating figures was now a multimillion-dollar industry. Wooden Christmas pyramids were sold all over the world, and less expensive versions were machine cut instead of hand carved. Dresden, however, had taken the traditional concept to new and ridiculous heights.

      Okay, maybe not so ridiculous. As the limo inched along the jam-packed street leading past the market, Devon had to concede the fifty-foot pyramid with its life-size figures was a pretty awesome sight.

      Cal Logan evidently thought so, too. He twisted around for another glimpse of the busy square.

      “I’d like to hit some of those stalls after the meeting with Herr Hauptmann.” He settled back in his seat and caught her surprised expression. “I have nine nieces and СКАЧАТЬ