The Boss's Pregnancy Proposal. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ a place that’s treated me so shabbily?”

      He looked pained. “Please, no more self-righteous speeches. I thought you desperately needed this job. What happened to all your tales of woe?”

      She started to speak, then thought better of it and shook her head. But she turned back, because she’d forgotten her orchid again. It would be completely ridiculous to leave it behind after all the trouble she’d taken to get it.

      “You weren’t really lobbying to get your job back, were you?” he said, eyes narrowing. “You were just trying to make me feel bad. Is that it?”

      She looked up at him and didn’t answer. What could she say? He was only partly right.

      For some reason, this seemed to anger him. His hand gripped her arm, fingers curling around it.

      “Just between you and me, Ms. Stevens,” he said coolly, staring down into her eyes in a way that made her heart pound, “I don’t feel bad. I never do.”

      Her breath caught in her throat. She prepared to yank her arm away from his grip, but he released her before she had the chance.

      “Just be here first thing in the morning,” he said. He glanced at the open calendar on his desk. “Oh, wait. Damn. I’ve got a couple of important meetings in the morning. It’ll have to be after lunch.” He looked up at her. “How about two o’clock? Right here in my office.”

      She couldn’t muster any more of the superior smile shtick. Her lips were beginning to ache. So she made do with a superior shrug. “I’ll think about it.”

      He saw right through her facade. “I’m sure you will,” he said, his voice tinged with just a touch of sarcasm. “And while you’re at it, think about this.” He gathered her pot shards and the still-perky orchid plant and stuffed them into a drawer in his desk. “You don’t get your orchid unless you show up.”

      She sprang toward him, as though to rescue her plant, but he was ready for her this time and she stopped herself at the last second to avoid another close contact with his large, hard body.

      “You can’t do that,” she cried in outrage. “That’s my property!”

      It was his turn to try the superior smile.

      “And you are here after breaking into my property. So I guess we’re even again.”

      She felt like pouting. Jaw rigid, she held out her hand. “May I have my orchid, please?” she said.

      “You know, I don’t think I’m going to let you take it.”

      She glared at him. “That’s despicable.”

      A half smile was curving his full lips. “I think I’m going to hang on to it to make sure you come back tomorrow.”

      “That’s…that’s like blackmail.”

      He considered her charge. “No, more like bribery.”

      “Whatever. It’s illegal.”

      He smiled. “So sue me.”

      “I just might do that,” she said, though they both knew there wasn’t a chance in the world of that happening. “And you know what? If I’d had the chance, I’m sure I would have fired you.”

      And with that nonsensical statement of defiance, she turned and stormed off, taking the stairs again because she needed to work out her anger on something physical in order to keep from killing the man.

      

      It was long past midnight. Grant still sat behind his desk, staring moodily at the dark window. His sister, Gena, had come and gone, working her medical magic, and now half of his face felt numb. But that wasn’t what had him brooding. His encounter with Callie was nagging at him like a burr under a saddle. He’d mulled it over and he’d come to a decision.

      Callie Stevens was the perfect woman to have his baby.

      He remembered when he’d brought it up to her before. Her reaction had been extreme in his opinion. She was so calm and logical about most things. Why wasn’t she logical about this? The entire plan the way he’d presented it to her would be to her benefit—that was just so obvious. And yet he knew if he came at her from that perspective again, she would react just as irrationally as she had before.

      There was only one thing for it: he had to figure out how to appeal to her better nature and get her to see things his way. What was he going to do if she didn’t show up tomorrow at two o’clock? What if she decided that she didn’t really want to work for him and her orchid wasn’t worth another run-in?

      He couldn’t wait for that. He would have to go to her before she had a chance to develop a real program of opposition. He didn’t know where she lived but there must be a record of that in the files.

      That was what he would do. He looked at his couch and grimaced. He would catch a few hours’ sleep, take a shower in the washroom and take her orchid plant to her. That would make a good excuse. He shouldn’t have kept it anyway. That was a foolish thing to do and he regretted it. He would stop off and pick up some doughnuts to take along as a peace offering. Just a friendly visit. That way he could get the lay of the land, see how things were with her where she lived. Maybe get an idea from her situation. Become friends with the woman.

      He shrugged. It was worth a try.

      

      “So, is he incredibly sexy?”

      Tina Ramos was keeping a straight face, but the mischievous light in her dark eyes gave her away. She sat on the well-worn couch, her legs folded in around her, a cup of steaming coffee in her hands.

      Callie stared at the friend who shared her apartment with her. They were sitting in the living room, watching Tina’s thirteen-month-old daughter play with a round plastic toy on the floor in front of them. Callie had just finished telling Tina about what had happened the night before when she’d gone in search of her abandoned plant.

      “Sexy? What? Who?” Despite her words, she knew she sounded artificially dismissive. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

      “Grant Carver, of course,” Tina said with affected nonchalance. “We already know he’s incredibly handsome.”

      Callie was astonished. “Oh, really? And just how do ‘we’ know that? I’ve never said a thing about his looks.”

      “And never noticed either, I suppose.”

      “Well…”

      “Oh, come on, Callie.” Tina was laughing. “You should see the way you look when you talk about him.”

      “That’s crazy!” Blood was rushing to her cheeks. She could feel it. It had to be because this line of conversation was so darn annoying. Had to be. “I’ve never thought twice about the man.”

      Tina’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, is that it? I guess I mistook the look.”

      “I guess you did.” She threw up her hands and wailed, “Tina…!”

      “Oh, СКАЧАТЬ