Friday's Child (8 page)

“Her teacher?” Derek shot him a surprised look. “Why was she there?”

“Because it was Chloe's party and she wanted her invited. She's very attached to Miss Rose.”

“I had a teacher named Rose once,” Derek reminisced.

“Actually, it was Sister Mary Rose. She wore long black-and-white habits and shoes just like the ones Bernie always wears.” After a moment of reflection, he added, “Looked a lot like Bernie, as a matter of fact.”

“I can guarantee you that Kate Rose looks nothing like Bernie,” Michael said wryly. “She's actually quite…intriguing.” Yeah, that would explain the amount of time he'd spent thinking about Kate since they met. He was intrigued by her. She was gorgeous, sexy and strong-willed.
There was a sensitivity about her that lent her an air of vulnerability, but the lady had made it clear that she called her own shots.

And she had his hormones kicking into overdrive every time he got within ten feet of her.

Derek let out a chuckle. “Oh, my friend, if you're finding yourself intrigued by a schoolteacher, you have definitely been alone too long. Why don't you come with me some night and we'll find you some real reasons to be intrigued?”

“No thanks. That scene wore thin quickly.”

Derek shook his head in bemusement. “There's no accounting for taste. How long are you going to be here? Do you need help with anything?”

Michael shook his head. “I got that bug worked out of the system we were stumped on. It's ready for you to take over. I'm just going to finish up a few more things here, and then starting tomorrow, I'm going to be working at home on FORAY. Anything you need, you can reach me there.”

Derek nodded. “I'll do that. And I'm going to be working on something else for you, too, Michael. I've given this a lot of thought, and I've decided that you need to get out more. I'm going to find someone perfect for you. A real nice, old-fashioned girl.”

Sending his vice president a jaundiced look, Michael noted, “I've seen your dates, Latham. You don't know any nice, old-fashioned girls.”

“Well, no, not personally,” Derek agreed cheerfully. “But I do know lots of women. Who know lots of other women…” He waved a hand carelessly.

“Don't bother,” Michael advised him. “I don't need any help.”

Derek's parting chuckle still rankled long after he'd left the office. Michael jammed papers into file folders and then placed them in some sort of order in the file cabinet located next to his desk. He didn't know why he was being treated like some pathetic date dork lately, but his recent absence from the frenetic social scene was by choice. Since Chloe had come to live with him, he'd been busier than ever. Settling
into their life together had taken up all his time, and now that they had some sort of routine worked out, casual dating didn't seem worth the effort. Besides, he hadn't met a woman in the last few years who could hold his interest for more than a few minutes.

Except for one. His hands stilled and he leaned against the file cabinet reflectively. Kate Rose had definitely sparked his interest, among other things, from the first second he'd laid eyes on her. Even at the school, when he'd been angry, even when he'd been focused on having her removed from her job, he'd been aware of her in a way that hadn't been totally comfortable.

He slammed the file drawer shut. One arm was still draped over the edge of the cabinet, and his fingers drummed against the front of the drawer restlessly. She was a mouthwateringly attractive woman. Not beautiful like the coolly remote faces that graced magazine covers. But much more real. More approachable. More touchable.

His fingers tingled at the thought. Because he did want to touch Kate. Very much. She had everything he'd ever thought he wanted in a woman. Looks, brains and a good sense of humor. And the icing on the cake was that she already cared about Chloe. Really cared about her. She knew how to talk to children like they were people, not the way some adults talked down to kids as if they were alien life-forms.

He dropped down in his chair. As he'd told Derek earlier, he found Kate intriguing. Had from the start. He'd already half planned to pursue her, but he could see now that wouldn't be a good idea.

No, he mused, tipping back in his chair and perusing the ceiling, pursuing Kate Rose wasn't the answer. Dating her was out. He'd been crazy to even consider it. He didn't want another casual relationship in his life. He didn't want anything casual with Kate at all.

Bernie and Derek had been right all along. What he needed was a wife.

He examined the idea. Instead of the amusement he'd felt when Bernie had first mentioned it, and his irritation with
Derek's harping on it, the idea now seemed…right. Now that he was considering Kate for the position.

It was perfect. The chair came upright with a loud squeak, and he slammed his hand on his desktop. No, it was better than perfect, it was ingenius. He'd marry Kate Rose. She was exactly what he needed in his life, exactly what Chloe needed. And the fact that she torched his hormones by merely entering the room was a sweet little side benefit.

He considered the matter from every angle, with the fierce concentration he usually reserved for the minuscule details of preparation for a hostile takeover war. He'd have to approach her very cautiously, of course. He'd have to take it slow, win her trust. And then, of course, her love.

The thought filled him with a surge of heat. The idea of being loved by Kate Rose fired currents beneath his skin like warm rivers of electricity. He was more convinced than ever that he'd just come up with the most brilliant idea he'd ever had.

Fingers drumming on his desk, he plotted and polished his strategy, much as he did when he was readying for corporate warfare.

The thought of failure never even entered his mind.

“W
ell, of course I agree that you need to work on FORAY from a secure computer,” Derek allowed. “I'm just saying it's damn inconvenient. Especially now with the takeover deal heating up.”

“Jake has things under control,” Michael said calmly. Jake Winslow, the firm's lawyer, could be counted on to handle all the details as they came up.

“How often will you be in the office?”

Michael shrugged. “Whenever I need to be. You can keep things running there, can't you?”

Derek grinned. “You know it. Bernie is in seventh heaven at your absence.”

“I think it's been the best two weeks of her life. She's got my number for the times when she feels the need to reach out and nag someone. Which she does,” he added wryly, “on a regular basis. She thinks I'm playing hooky.”

“Which you're not, of course.”

“What do you think?”

“I think,” Derek announced, rising from his chair and strolling around the room, “that the deadline for FORAY is
a killer, and you don't have a minute to waste.” Contrary to his words, he slouched against one of Michael's bookcases, clearly in no hurry to leave. With his hands in the pant pockets of his Italian suit, he resembled a
GQ
advertisement for CEO wanna-bes.

“Which makes it difficult to justify prolonging this conversation with you.” Nodding at the sheaf of papers on the table beside him, Michael said, “Take those files back to Carla and tell her things are a go. She can start a marketing strategy for promoting the new home computer security system. You did a good job on it, Derek.”

“Thanks. If you need any help on FORAY…”

“I'll let you know.”

Derek gathered up the papers he'd brought for Michael's signature and placed them back in his briefcase. “Shouldn't Chloe be home by now?”

“She's upstairs,” Michael said. “Every day for the past week and a half she's been holed up in her bedroom after school. She's redecorating.”

Derek's eyebrows rose. “Alone?”

“She has help,” Michael said cryptically. Glancing at his watch, he added, “Shouldn't you be getting back to the office? Maybe you can catch Carla before she leaves for the day.”

“I'll just go up and say hi to Chloe on my way—” Derek's sentence was interrupted by the sound of small feet running down the hallway.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Chloe burst into the room. “We finished painting. And now my wallpaper can go up, and then the carpeting will come, and my room's gonna be awesome!” She stopped for a breath before adding, “Hi, Mr. Latham.”

“Hi, squirt. What's this I hear about you redecorating your room?”

Chloe nodded enthusiastically. “I had to get help, because Daddy's hopeless.”

Derek chuckled. “So I've often said.” In an aside to Michael, he asked, “Which of those interior design businesses that I recommended did you decide to go with?”

Before he could answer, another voice asked, “Michael, do you have some place I can rinse out these brushes?” Kate peeked into the room. Her hands were full of brushes and a paint can. She was clad in jeans and an oversize man's shirt. It was one of his, and the sight of her had satisfaction curling through him. She hadn't wanted to wear it, but he'd insisted, citing a worry about her with Chloe in an enclosed area with fresh paint. The solution he'd suggested had been too practical for her to refuse. But practicality didn't explain his reaction. He liked the sight of her wearing his clothes, liked it very much.

As a matter of fact, he liked the sight of her, period. Wayward strands had escaped the hasty knot she'd confined her hair in and now curled around her ears, across her forehead. A smudge of paint decorated one cheekbone. She looked capable, efficient and faintly mussed. She was adorable.

“Well, well, no wonder Michael's so content to work at home,” Derek murmured, his eyes gleaming. Stepping forward, he said, “Hello, I'm Derek Latham, Michael's vice president.”

The hair on the back of Michael's neck rose as he watched Derek spring into action. The man was polished, there was no denying it, and he'd seen the effect that adroit charm could have on women. Derek wasn't discriminating; he felt the need to impress every woman he came across. And Kate made a definite impression herself, even dressed as she was. He watched her carefully for her reaction, but Derek's introduction elicited nothing but polite interest. His muscles un-bunched slowly.

“Derek, this is Kate Rose. She's been kind enough to take pity on Chloe and help her fix up her bedroom.”

“It's nice to meet you,” Kate said politely.

Derek stared at her. “Kate Rose.”

She exchanged a look with Michael. “Yes.”

“You're…Chloe's teacher?”

She nodded, but Derek's gaze swung to Michael, as if to validate her answer. When Michael inclined his head, Derek looked back at her. “Well, I have to tell you, Kate, that if
I'd had a teacher who looked like you when I was in the first grade, I would have been heartbroken to be promoted to the second.”

His voice carefully bland, Michael said, “Chloe, why don't you help Miss Rose find Trask. He'll show you where to wash the brushes out in the basement.”

“Okay.” Chloe was plainly delighted to have a reason to escape the adult conversation. “C'mon, Miss Rose.” She dashed from the room, and Kate followed her.

Derek watched them exit, then turned to his boss with a wide smile on his face.

Michael waited with resignation for his reaction. It wasn't slow coming.

“Well, you've been even busier than I thought. What have you been up to, working during the day and getting tutored at night?” His chuckle was loaded with meaning.

“You've got a predictable mind, Latham. You know how hard it is to say no to Chloe. Kate was kind enough to agree to help her out with her bedroom.”

“When she finishes in Chloe's bedroom, will she be starting in yours?” Derek inquired.

With effort, Michael kept his temper in check. The fact that it took effort didn't escape him. He was used to the innuendos and the one-track mind Derek could have when it came to women. But he never recalled wanting to bury his fist into the man's perfect capped teeth for making a suggestive remark before. “You're way off base, Derek. She's a nice woman, going out of her way for a student. It would be a stretch, even for you, to make something dirty out of it.”

Derek held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, just kidding. She's a damn good-looking woman, though. I know that hasn't escaped your attention. I take back everything I said before about schoolteachers. I could easily become—what was your word?—intrigued by her myself.”

“I don't think you're her type.”

Derek gave him a knowing grin. “Staking a claim, boss?”

Irritation, tightly banked only a moment ago, seeped into his voice. “If you don't get out of my den in five seconds,
you're going to be free to stake a claim yourself—in the unemployment line.”

Unperturbed, Derek reached for his briefcase. “On my way.” At the doorway, he paused. “If you learn anything new, you'll teach me, right?” He ducked out of the room, chortling at his own wit.

Michael dropped back into his chair, staring at the wall broodingly. He didn't spend a lot of time in self-analysis, but even he could recognize the emotion that had threatened to choke him as soon as Derek had laid eyes on Kate. Although unfamiliar, it was easily identifiable. Pure, unadulterated jealousy.

Serious, gorgeous, sexy Kate Rose had something that set his pulse pounding.

And Derek had been right about one thing. He was definitely staking a claim.

 

“Pay me?” Kate could feel her blood pressure rise threateningly. Her eyes narrowed and shot daggers at Michael.

“You will not pay me for helping Chloe. I wanted to do it, and I enjoyed myself. I was happy to…”

The rest of her words were muffled by the placement of Michael's fingers against her lips. Amusement curled his mouth and tinged his words. “You didn't let me finish, Kate. May I finish?”

Shock held her immobile for a few seconds at the feel of those warm fingers, large, yet curiously gentle, pressed against her mouth. Even after she gave a stiff, self-conscious nod, he seemed slow to remove his touch. When he did, his fingers left a lingering warmth in their wake.

“I wasn't offering to write you a check. Not that your help hasn't been worth it,” he added. “But I would like to do something to repay you for all the time you've given to Chloe. So how about it? Will you have dinner with me? If you like seafood, Masterson's Wharf is great.”

Kate blinked at him, trying to still the foolish leap of her heart that his words had elicited. Michael Friday moved in a world that was totally outside of her experience. The man had
the wealth and power to be a player in corporate takeovers and multimillion-dollar contracts. He emanated energy and confidence. He was also, undoubtedly, the most mind-numbingly, knee-shakingly sexy man she'd ever had occasion to meet. Have dinner with him?

“No,” she heard herself say, as if from a distance, “I can't have dinner with you, Mr. Friday.”

“
Mr.
Friday,” he repeated, his voice husky. “Have I been demoted? A few minutes ago I was Michael.”

Feeling a blush heat her cheeks, Kate persisted. “I don't need any repayment. I helped because I wanted to.”

“I don't want you to think of the dinner as repayment, Kate,” he chided. “It would hardly do justice for all you've done for us, at any rate. But you're right, I would like to at least thank you.”

She shook her head again with finality, fighting off an absurd sense of disappointment. It had been surprisingly difficult to work here almost daily for the last couple of weeks with him around. He'd had a habit of showing up to check on her and Chloe's progress unexpectedly, sending her pulse scampering. Now that she was finished with the help she'd promised the little girl, there should be very little reason for the two of them to see each other.

Just then an earsplitting shriek sounded and the front door slammed. Michael winced and sent her a crooked smile. “Speak of the sweet little devil…” He began to talk rapidly as Chloe's footsteps came closer. “I promised to take Chloe to the movie tonight, and tomorrow I have to work all day. She'll be at her mother's after school. I could pick you up at six-thirty, I'll get reservations for seven. We'll be two adults having a quiet, uninterrupted meal. C'mon, Kate, how about it?” He finished the sentences in a rush, just as Chloe slid to a halt beside them, her voice still raised with excitement.

“Dad, Dad, Miss Rose, guess what? I taught Rosy to eat sugar cubes
right
out of my hand, and it doesn't hurt at all, it kinda tickles, and know what I'm going to teach her next? Guess! Guess what?”

Michael fixed her with a look of polite interest. “To roll over?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Da-a-d! I'm going to teach her to come when I whistle, that's what. Hank is teaching me to whistle, and listen to this.” She screwed up her face, stuck a finger in both sides of her mouth and blew. The sound that emerged was reminiscent of a screech from a set of bagpipes. Michael winced again, and Kate recoiled a little.

After a moment, Chloe took her fingers from her mouth and looked from one to the other of them eagerly. “Well, what do you think?”

“You're a very…enthusiastic whistler,” Kate said gravely.

“I can tell you've been practicing.”

The little girl nodded. “Uh-huh, and Hank says if I keep on practicing
day and night,
I'll be so good Rosy will know my whistle and come to me.”

“Not in the house, okay, small fry?” her dad said. “Do your practicing outside, all right?”

“But, Dad!” Chloe wailed. “Hank says day and night. And Miss Rose always says if we want to be good at something we have to practice, right, Miss Rose?”

Kate smiled gently and said, “I think it's time for me to go.” She headed toward the door, pausing to retrieve her coat from the front closet.

“Are you in a hurry, Kate?” Michael inquired, trailing after her with his hands shoved in his jeans pocket. Chloe chose that moment to try another whistle, and a pained look settled on his face.

“Lots to do,” she replied, slipping into her jacket. As Chloe whistled again, her pace quickened.

Michael's hand beat hers to the doorknob, halting her escape. “Coward,” he murmured, his lips close to her ear.

Kate turned her head and looked at him uncertainly. What was he referring to? Her hasty departure or her refusal of his dinner invitation? His body seemed to surround her, even though they weren't touching, and he felt like a furnace. The warmth lured her; all she would have to do was lean back a
fraction of an inch and she'd be pressed against him, would feel that heat firsthand. She held herself rigid.

“Am I going to have to send the whistler home to serenade you, or are you going to have dinner with me?” he asked.

She slid a glance at Chloe, who looked ready to launch into another high-pitched noise. The idea occurred to her that her opportunities to speak to Michael were diminishing as Chloe's room neared completion. And she very much wanted to find out if he was any closer to taking her advice about making a doctor's appointment for his daughter.

Her gaze met his. His eyes were alight with purpose, and she knew that he had never accepted her refusal; giving up wasn't something this man would do easily.

“What do you say, Kate?” he asked again.

His gaze tracked her lips as they formed the words.

“I say…yes.”

 

Kate had ample time to regret her decision as she got dressed that evening. Michael's nearness must have overpowered her usually logical thinking processes, she decided. She should have set up a conference at school to discuss Chloe with him, although with his propensity for missed appointments, it was just as likely that he would forget it. She and Chloe were almost done with her bedroom, and there was only one more week of school left. After that, she would never have occasion to see Michael again. She owed it to the little girl to push aside her uneasiness at being alone with Michael and use the opportunity to discuss his decision with him.