For Her Son's Sake. Katherine Garbera
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Название: For Her Son's Sake
Автор: Katherine Garbera
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781472049698
isbn:
“That’s so true. But I’m okay. I don’t need to discuss any of this today,” she said.
“Why not? I freaked out when Dec came back into my life,” Cari said. “And I tried to deal with it on my own, but I finally realized I needed you and Jessi to help me out. We’re stronger together, Em. We always have been.”
She wanted to lean on her sisters but she had no idea what she would say to them. She had to find a way to keep her job, stay away from Kell and never again kiss him. It was complicated.
She walked passed Cari and Jessi and put her handbag in the bottom drawer of her desk before sitting down and facing them. On her desk was a picture of Sammy smiling up at her with his little toddler face. He was so sweet and precious to her. She couldn’t afford to be anything other than successful in her bid to create a new role for herself at Playtone-Infinity Games.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” she said. “I’ve got a solid idea.”
“What is it?”
“Taking our charity arm and turning it into a foundation with a full-time chairman.”
“Great idea,” Jessi said. “So that’s a job for you but what will the foundation do?”
“I’ve been playing around with a prototype reading app with Sammy,” Emma said. “It’s tailored to his way of learning. I gave Kell a top-line view of what I’m thinking and he said it was worth pursuing.”
“I think it is, too,” Cari said. “Who’s doing the coding?”
Emma had studied computer programming in college so she had a rudimentary knowledge of how to code. “I have. But it’s very basic. I wanted to play with it myself and see if it would fly before I put our staff to work on it.”
“I’ve got two guys coming off a project this week. I could allocate them to you,” Cari said. As head of development it was her job to keep all their staff working.
“I don’t have a budget yet. I need to put something together for the next board meeting and once I get approved I would love to have your staffing help.”
“I’ll get Allan to help you with the budget,” Jessi said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. If he says no, he’ll answer to me,” Jessi said.
Emma felt surrounded by the love of her sisters and realized that even though she’d felt alone and isolated earlier, they were here for her. They had her back and always would.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m a little too used to handling everything on my own.”
“We know. It’s your own fault because you made it too easy for us to just do our own thing and not really have to help you out. But this merger has been tough on all of us,” Cari said.
“And if we’ve learned anything, it’s that we need each other,” Jessi added. “We got your back, big sis.”
When her sisters left her office, Emma pretended that the only real concern she had was her upcoming presentation to the board. But she was lying to herself. And she knew it. She couldn’t stop thinking about Kell and how his hands had felt on her body. The ache deep inside of her reminded her that she wasn’t going to be able to forget that for a long time.
Sammy sat off to one side of the other kids and looked down at the tablet in his hands at the childcare center on the Infinity Games campus in Malibu. It worried Emma. He wasn’t antisocial, but he only engaged when he wanted to. She’d considered lecturing him on it or trying to correct his behavior but Helio’s mother said he used to do the same thing when he was growing up.
There were times when Emma missed Helio so much. They’d had a whirlwind courtship and a glamorous marriage in Dubai before he’d started the Formula 1 racing season. Then he had the accident that ended his life, and it was all over. So they hadn’t really ever lived together. It was moments like this when she saw him so clearly in her son that she felt the emptiness.
“Your secretary said I could find you here,” Kell said, coming up next to her.
“Why are you looking for me?” she asked, blinking to clear away any lingering emotion from her eyes before turning to look at her nemesis. He hadn’t lost all his hair overnight as she’d hoped. Or developed a big potbelly. Instead he was just as handsome as he’d been yesterday in the elevator. And if the way her pulse quickened was any indication, she still wanted him.
“Allan came by this morning with some financials on your new idea and I thought it might be a good time to discuss it,” Kell said.
“Why did Allan bring my numbers to you? I was planning to present them tomorrow.” She’d been working almost nonstop on the business plan for the foundation. Now that she didn’t have to concentrate on keeping Infinity Games in the black she felt sort of free. And the foundation had been a dream of hers for a long time, one she’d never been able to talk her grandfather into pursuing.
“They’re better than you expected. Allan and Dec have recommended we skip tomorrow’s meeting and let you get on with the project,” Kell said. “If we can go back to your office, I have some new targets I’d like to discuss with you.”
That was good news. She glanced back into the nursery and noted that Sammy was watching her where she stood in the doorway. She smiled over at him and he put down the tablet and got to his feet in that awkward toddler way of his.
“I can’t go back just yet,” she said. “Sammy and I have a morning appointment for a snack.”
“This might be why your company failed,” Kell said. “You’re on the clock.”
“I started working at six a.m. so I think a ten minute break is acceptable.”
“It might be, but business should always come first.”
“That you think so might be why you’re all alone,” she said quietly. “It’s only for ten minutes and I’m sure even the great and powerful Kell Montrose can wait that long.”
The look he gave her was frosty and hard. But underneath it she could see that she’d hurt him. She had to remember what she’d learned yesterday—beneath his all-business exterior Kell was a real man. She remembered what he’d said about his mother and thought that maybe because he hadn’t had a bond with her, he didn’t realize how important it was.
Before he could say anything though, Sammy came over to them where they stood just inside the doorway by the coatrack.
“Mommy,” he said, launching himself at her.
She scooped him up in her arms and hugged him close. Then she kissed the top of his head and set him back on the ground. He kept his tiny hand in hers.
“Hi,” СКАЧАТЬ