Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ watched as he approached her now, looking so clean-cut and handsome—not a rebel at all. But she knew that exciting body still lay under the suit coat and hints of that crazy untamed spirit still lurked in his eyes if you looked hard enough. The packaging had changed, but he was still the same guy.

      Was she still the same girl? Not on your life.

      CHAPTER TWO

      “WHAT are you doing on this floor?” Darcy asked for lack of anything better to say.

      Mitch shrugged. “I got a message from Bill Monroe.” He noted the startled look on her face in reaction to that news. “You, too?”

      She nodded. A feeling of dread was beginning to build inside her. If this was what she thought it might be …

      He inclined his head. “Lead on, McDuff,” he muttered.

      She bit her lip and led the way into her boss’s office. Bill rose and shook hands with Mitch, murmuring a greeting. Still standing, he got to the point.

      “Darcy, I hate to lose you. But you’ve been assigned to the new department Mitch will be heading.”

      She blanched, though by now she’d been expecting this very thing. “What?” She shook her head.

      Surely this wasn’t written in stone yet. “No.” She turned to Mitch appealingly. “No!” Surely he would do something to stop this.

      And he looked as though he wanted to. “Interesting,” he said. “But there’s been some mistake. You see, I won’t need an assistant. I’ve already got a secretary picked out and—”

      “Darcy isn’t a secretary. She’s a property analyst. And her area of expertise resides smack dab in the center of your new project.” Bill dropped an armful of folders on the desk as though that settled the matter. “You can take these with you.”

      Darcy’s heart sank. That meant Mitch was taking over the Bermuda Woods development. She’d been working on that one for months. There was no way she was going to get out of this, was there? She stared into Mitch’s eyes and he stared right back into hers. She’d forgotten how gorgeous those eyes were, deep blue and dangerous as the sky on a stormy day. Those eyes were the first thing that had intrigued her when she’d met him in Paris. She winced.

      Don’t think about Paris, she told herself sharply. Not now.

      “You know, I really can’t do this,” she said, looking at her boss brightly, giving it one last try. “I’ve got a desk full of work. Mr. Grayson is waiting for my report on the Clemson release.”

      The older man glowered at her. “Sorry, Darcy,” he said stiffly. “You’ve been assigned to Mr. Carver. You can take it up with the board, but as far as HR is concerned, you’re working up there now.”

      She swallowed hard and tried to smile. The man was droning on, giving Mitch some last-minute instructions on paperwork, but she wasn’t listening. This was disastrous. She couldn’t work for Mitch. She could barely look at him. Once he’d found out about the twins …

      “They want these forms to be filled out before you leave this evening,” Bill was saying to Mitch. He sent a regretful look Darcy’s way. “I hate to see you go,” he told her, “but my loss is Mitch Carver’s gain.” He smiled at the younger man. “Her expertise is going to be invaluable to you. You’ll see that soon enough.”

      Nice words, but she hardly heard them. She took up the folders and carried them back to her own desk, the one she was going to spend the day clearing out. Mitch came behind her.

      “Want me to carry some of those on up for you?” he asked.

      When she flashed him a look, he added, “Look, Darcy, I’m not any crazier about this than you are.”

      She turned on him, thinking if that was really the case, he could have tried a little harder. “You ought to have some pull, being the boss’s son and all. Can’t you do something about this?”

      He grimaced, raking fingers through his thick hair distractedly. “I’m pretty much in the position of the returning prodigal right now. I don’t have too many favors owed me. But I’ll see what I can do.”

      “Good.” That seemed to be all she wrote as far as rays of hope were concerned. She didn’t think holding her breath until she turned blue would be effective at this point. “You’ve got to do something.”

      “Do I?” Turning back toward her, he cocked an eyebrow.

      “Yes. Of course. You know we can’t work together.” “Can’t we?”

      He looked genuinely puzzled and she realized he had no clue why she might feel that way. Not yet, anyway. Once he knew about the twins, he would understand. She was going to tell him … just as soon as she figured out how.

      But that was just the problem. She had no idea what his reaction would be. She knew he didn’t want a family. He’d been very clear on the point that night when it had seemed they were opening their hearts to each other. So he wasn’t likely to take this as good news. She’d assumed he would resent her dropping this bombshell in his lap—maybe even try to wriggle out of facing it. But he didn’t know about them yet, so why was he acting as though he wanted to keep distance between them as much as she did? She could think of only one possible reason—he was afraid she might want to resume their affair and he didn’t want any part of that.

      Just the thought of that sparked a flash of anger, but she pushed it back. After all, wasn’t that exactly what she was feeling as well?

      “I’ll do what I can,” he was saying, turning to go. “I’ll let you know.”

      She nodded and watched as he strode toward the elevator.

      “Who’s the hottie?” asked a voice at her elbow.

      She started, then grinned feebly at Cindy, her officemate who had come up to stand beside her.

      “Looks like he might be my new boss,” she said ruefully.

      Cindy laughed, shaking back her thick, ebony hair. “Oh the agony of it all,” she said, amusement dancing in her green eyes. “Listen, I’m willing to take your place if it will make you feel better.”

      “I’ll keep that in mind,” Darcy said, wishing that sort of trade was actually possible. But once she’d heard what Mitch’s assigned area would be, she knew she was on shaky ground for a transfer. This was her project. Getting him transferred would be more logical. And that hardly seemed likely.

      Still, there had to be some way.

      Mitch should have felt right at home in the sleek offices of ACW Properties. His grandfather had started the company sixty years ago. His father had been CEO of the San Antonio branch ever since he could remember. He’d played in these halls as a child, had part-time jobs here in high school, did a summer internship. And in those days, it had all seemed natural to him.

      But his relationship with his father had been destroyed shortly after his freshman year at college. In reaction, he’d rejected every part of the life his family had expected him to follow. Coming back now had been a bitter СКАЧАТЬ