One Special Moment. Brenda Jackson

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      An hour later, Colby found herself pacing the confines of her hotel room after reading the report once again. She'd hoped she had misread the document last night, but, unfortunately, that hadn't been the case.

      Time was running out. Sterling would probably be returning to his room any time now and would seek her out for a decision…a decision she still had not made.

      She paused long enough to take in a deep frustrated breath as she tried weighing her options. She had considered telephoning the president of Morton Industries to plead with him to leave Wingate Cosmetics alone, but deep down she knew Sterling was right when he'd said it wasn't all about money. The man also wanted to get even.

      She began pacing the floor again.

      Surely there was something someone could do. She refused to believe the situation was as hopeless as Sterling claimed. Wingate Cosmetics' board of directors consisted of a number of highly intelligent men. Surely one of them could come up with a solution. And the only way to find out was to come clean and tell James everything. Only then could he come up with a plan to save his company without Sterling's help, which was contingent on her agreeing to his proposal.

      She picked up the phone and began dialing. There was a three-hour time difference between California and Virginia. So James would be at the office. Efficient as ever, his secretary, Shirley Timmons, picked up the phone on the second ring.

      “Wingate Cosmetics, may I help you?”

      “Hi, Shirley, it's Colby. Is James in?”

      “No, Colby, he didn't come into the office today.”

      “What! Is something wrong?” she asked, frowning. She'd never known her brother to miss a day from work.

      “Not that I know of. He called this morning and asked me to clear his calendar and reschedule all of today's appointments. You may be able to reach him at home.”

      “Thanks, I'll do that.”

      After ending her conversation with Shirley, Colby quickly dialed the telephone number to her brother's home.

      “Hello?”

      “James, are you all right? Is anything wrong with Cynthia?”

      She heard his soft chuckle. “No, honey, everything's fine.”

      Inwardly, Colby sighed. “Then why aren't you at work?”

      “I decided to take the day off,” he said. “The company can do without me for at least one day. Cynthia had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to be there.”

      Colby nodded. She was glad he'd finally put Cynthia before Wingate Cosmetics.

      “I'm glad.”

      “So am I. All of my hard work has paid off and the company is doing super these days. I'm at a point where I can finally relax and devote more time to Cynthia. She deserves that and more. I don't know how I could have made it the last couple of years without her.”

      Colby agreed. Cynthia loved James very much, and during the past few years she had been a patient and understanding wife while James devoted most of his time to making the company a success. “How's she doing?”

      “The doctor said everything's looking okay, but she's not out of danger yet. The first four months are the most crucial, so she's at a delicate point right now.”

      Colby heard a tinge of worry in her brother's voice. “I'm sure things will be fine,” she rushed in to assure him. She knew just how much having this baby meant to both James and Cynthia. It was Cynthia's third pregnancy, and the other two times had ended with her losing the baby by the fourth month.

      “All we can do is to continue to pray and hope for the best. I believe things will work out for us this time,” he said.

      “I believe that, too.”

      “How's California?”

      “Nice.”

      “And how's that friend you went to see?”

      His question reminded Colby of the reason she was here and the little lie she'd told him and Cynthia as to the reason she was coming to California.

      “Just great.” She took a deep breath. “Look, James, I have to go now, someone is waiting for me. Give Cynthia my love and tell her I'll call her back later today. Enjoy your day off work.”

      “All right, hon. You take care. Love ya.”

      “Love ya, too.”

      Colby hung up the phone knowing there was no way she could share any bad news about the company with James now. He had his hands full worrying about Cynthia. She also knew what her decision would be and her heart sank.

      Going into the bathroom, she undressed and put on her robe. She felt a slight headache coming on and decided to lie down for a while. Walking across the room, she dropped down on the bed and felt an unwilling trembling of her lips. She flopped down on her back when СКАЧАТЬ