Maid for the Billionaire (22 page)

Death wasn’t something Stephan normally
celebrated, but this one had its perks.

"Is everything set for tonight?" Stephan
Andrade asked without looking up from the screen of his laptop
while he typed in one last sentence. He'd completed the final
presentation himself, more than an hour ago, but wasn't satisfied
with it. Nothing new there. He hadn't brought his family back from
the edge of financial ruin by doing anything half-way.

"If by everything, you mean do I have my
overnight bag packed and sitting under my office desk in case I go
into labor while checking for the third time that your itinerary
for the next few days is set? Then, yes," his secretary answered
ruefully, easing her very pregnant body down onto his white Maxolta
sofa and propping her swollen ankles up on one if its pillows.

"Good," he said absently, then stopped and
rubbed the back of his neck with one hand when her words sunk in.
"Maddy, you shouldn't be here today; you're on maternity leave. I
could have had made the arrangements myself.”

"You were already snapping at everyone in the
office. I thought I should help out before you had a mutiny. If I
didn't know how important this deal was to you, I would have called
Uncle Vic and told him that you need a parental intervention.”

His father would love that phone call. Victor
Andrade was in his early sixties and had moved back to Italy, but
that hadn’t slowed him down. He flew across the Atlantic on a
regular basis, enjoying his retirement in a villa on the Amalfi
coast while keeping track of his family in New York. Luckily,
Stephan’s mother reeled her husband in now and then or Stephan
would never get any peace.

"No need to involve my father; your husband
already called me twice this morning," Stephan said.

That brought a smile to the brunette’s face.
Not a difficult feat. Madison D’Argenson was habitually,
chronically, in a good mood. She said it was part of her charm.
Luckily, she was equally efficient and detail oriented, or she
would be a highly paid mailroom clerk instead of Stephan’s
secretary. She said, "He's supposed to be concentrating on the new
restaurant opening, not worrying about me. The baby isn't due for
another week. What did he say?"

"The usual threat—I'd better not work you too
hard in your condition or he'll poison my next plate of
tortellini."

His younger cousin laughed at that, but
Stephan didn't join her. Her joy echoed through him, a hollow
reminder of how much he had changed. He was only six years older
than Maddy, but he felt ancient next to her.

Her enthusiasm could be exhausting.
Unabashedly, she grabbed life with both hands and shook it until
she got what she wanted, rewarding those around her with the
sweetest smile that had probably ever graced the planet when she
won, a smile that usually crumbled any residual opposition.

When she’d come home from a year of studying
abroad in the South of France with an unknown French Chef in tow,
Stephan had voiced his concerns and he hadn’t been alone. On paper,
Richard D’Argenson hadn’t been impressive. Maddy’s response? She’d
gathered the family from brothers to cousins—and informed them that
Richard was there to stay and that they would love him.

They were married in less than a year and
pregnant soon after that.

Richard had won Stephan’s respect by refusing
to accept financial backing for his restaurants and for allowing
Maddy to continue to work at Andrade Global. Even as a newlywed,
Richard hadn’t been put off by how protective the Andrade men were
of their women. He was devoted without being controlling, and he
fit into the family just as Maddy’d proclaimed he would. Most
impressive was the fact that he was constantly learning traditional
Italian cuisine from Maddy’s mother so he could feed multiple
generations of the clan at her parents’ house each Sunday. How
could they not love him?

Even when he threatened to poison you.

Usually it was amusing. Today, it was
annoying. There was too much riding on this deal for Stephan to
allow himself to get distracted. In just a little over twenty-four
hours, he'd be pitching his proposal to China's Minister of
Commerce, and if all went well, Andrade Global would be an
international player, and the infamous Dominic Corisi would be
scrambling to survive the financial fallout.

Maddy eased her feet back onto the floor and
said, "I actually had a good reason to come in and interrupt you
this time."

Stephan crossed the room and, with a
gentleness that not many outside his family would associate with
him, assisted his petite cousin as she struggled back to a standing
position. "You really should go home, Maddy. Whatever it is can
wait until I get back in a few days."

Yes, the deal was important to him. In fact,
it was all he had thought about since he'd first heard that Dominic
was going to make a bid to the Minister, but Maddy was family, and
family, to an Andrade, was everything.

Maddy rested a hand on the sleeve of his
jacket. "No, this can't. I'm worried about you."

"Me?" His head pulled back with pride.

"Yes, don't lose yourself in China,
Stephan."

"I don't intend to lose." He knew by her
wince that his tone had been harsh.

Not that it stopped her.

She said, "That's not what I mean and you
know it." Her voice softened with concern. "Are you going to
Beijing for the right reasons?"

Why was she doing this now? He checked his
watch. About forty-five minutes until scheduled takeoff. It wasn’t
like his private jet would leave without him, but he had meetings
lined up for when he landed and making them depended on getting
there ASAP. "If Andrade Global succeeds in winning this contract
-"

"What, Stephan? What will change? You've
already more than made up for what your father lost..."

"My father didn't
lose
anything. It
was stolen from him." She knew this.

"And China is all about making Dominic pay
for that, isn't it?"

Oh, yes
. "Dominic should pay for what
he did to my father - for what he did to all of us. Isola Santos is
a mockery of what it once was. I've offered Dominic money for it
many times, but this time I won't be the one asking. When I'm done
with Dominic, he'll be
begging
for whatever I'm willing to
give him in trade just to pay for the lawyers he'll need to sort
out the mess I'll leave for him in my wake."

It felt good to say it out loud.

After all these years, Dominic had finally
miscalculated and left himself vulnerable. By including influential
investors from around the world in on his push to create a viable
network for China, Dominic had put his personal wealth at risk. His
investors were not going to be pleased at all when Stephan offered
the Chinese government the same service for a third less cost, with
more freedom to implement the restrictions they wanted. Unlike
Dominic, Stephan didn’t care if he had any control over the
software once it was purchased. All that mattered was closing his
rival out of that market.

"You don't have to do this," Maddy said
urgently.

"Yes, I do." It was that complex and that
simple. He put his hand lightly on her back and nudged her toward
the door. "You worry too much, Maddy. I'll be back before the
weekend. Just tell the little one in there that he or she has to
wait for me."

Maddy refused to budge. "Stephan, I still
have something to tell you and it's important."

He looked down with quick concern. "Is it the
baby?"

Maddy placed her hand over her large bump.
"No, the baby is fine, but I came in here to tell you that Nicole
called earlier. She asked if you were here and if she could see you
today."

"Nicole?"

"Nicole Corisi. Odd, that she would want to
see you today, isn't it?"

"Yes, odd," he parroted, while his mind
raced. What would Dominic's little sister want? He had been careful
to keep the details of his planned coup under wraps until now. Only
the closest members of his team knew what he was about to do, and
half of them were already in China laying the groundwork for his
presentation. Had information leaked to the Corisi camp? Did Nicole
intend to ask him to back off her brother?

"I hope you told her that my schedule is
booked,” he said.

Maddy tapped finger on her chin. "Her father
passed away recently. I couldn't say no. Weren't the two of you
friends at one time? Maybe she needs someone to talk to."

An image of Nicole dancing shyly before him
in the dim lighting of Lucida's seaside balcony dance floor near
Coney Island would not be denied; her long black hair blowing
lightly across the cleavage her little red dress revealed. Those
dark gray eyes laughing up at him in response to something he’d
said. After months of chasing her, she'd conceded to one date. All
his ribbing about how seriously she took herself and her attire had
produced this deliberate, physical dare. Without her office armor,
she was…
dangerous.
Her moves were inexperienced, but deadly
all the same.

He'd never wanted a woman more than he'd
wanted her that evening.

He never had since.

Perhaps if the night had culminated in the
usual fashion, she might have faded into the blur of women he had
known. But news of Dominic's bid for his father's company had come
out that evening, ending whatever they might have had before it had
begun.

Taking her from him. Leaving him with a
feeling of something unfinished.

No they had never been friends.

On any other day, he would have met her — if
for no other reason than to see if she could still affect his
breathing with just a look. He'd be willing to indulge himself for
a day, or a week, or however long it would take to get her out of
his system.

Oh, yes, on any other day he wouldn't have
minded comforting her.

But not today.

Not the day before he exacted his revenge on
her brother.

"Although it is sad about her father, there
is nothing I have to say to Nicole that she would want to hear," he
said.

"You must be a little curious about what she
wants."

"I don't have time for this." Stephan checked
his watch again. "I’ve got less than an hour before I fly out. Call
her back and tell her that I can't see her."

Maddy didn’t move into action as he’d
expected. Instead, she gave him one of those argument-melting
smiles and said, "That would be a little awkward since she's
sitting right outside the door."

Stephan rocked back first with shock, then
forward as anger began to burn deep within him. He wanted to roar
his frustration, but his cousin's delicate condition held his
tongue. Later, there would be plenty of time to talk to Maddy about
how she shouldn't interfere. She knew damn well he didn't want to
see Nicole.

Get it over quickly and get out.
"Two
minutes. She has two minutes."

Maddy’s smile only widened, revealing that
she not only knew what he was thinking, but also that she wasn't
afraid of him. She turned to walk back to the door and said over
her shoulder, "Oh, and Stephan, she's even prettier in person than
she is in the picture you keep hidden in your desk."

"He's as ready as he'll ever be to see you,"
the very pregnant woman said with some humor to Nicole as she held
the outer door to Stephan's office open behind her, one hand
resting atop her well-rounded stomach.

"Thank you," Nicole responded stiffly and
stood, mustering her resolve, but unable to make her feet move
forward toward the door. The persuasive words she'd rehearsed on
her way over flew out of her head.

He's never going to say yes to this. I'm
wasting my time.

"Are you ok?" the woman asked, stepping away
from the door and looking up at Nicole with concern.

You don't have to do this.
Memory of
the fervent plea made earlier that day by Thomas Brogos, her
father's long time lawyer and friend, held her immobile a moment
longer.

Yes, I do,
she had answered.

Everything she loved, everyone she loved,
depended on getting Stephan to agree to her outrageous request. She
couldn't fail today.

"I'm ok," Nicole said even while her body
betrayed her by threatening to increase the tears she kept blinking
away.
No,
her mind screamed.
I'm not ok. Nothing is
ok.
Nothing had been in a very long time and, if this didn't
work, nothing ever would be again.

"I know this is none of my business, but I
just want you to know that I'm out here if you need me."

Oh, God, I'm such a wreck that a pregnant
woman is worried about me now?
Taking a deep breath, Nicole
willed her feet to carry her through the door and into Stephan's
office.

Stephan Andrade, ex-spoiled rich kid, now
corporate shark and owner of enough diversified computer software
companies that no one was quite sure how his empire wasn't
considered a monopoly, rocked back in his sleek office chair and
steepled his fingers in a mockery of contemplation. Light from the
immense office window behind him cast a shadow across his face,
concealing any emotion which might have shown in his eyes.
Manhattan’s skyline cut a ragged silhouette across the horizon, as
harsh and unforgiving as the man who had not bothered to stand when
Nicole had entered his domain. An oversight and slight breach of
etiquette for some, the lack of movement was nothing short of a
slap in the face from a man who prided himself on his traditional
old-world upbringing.

It didn't help that he was still
gorgeous.

If life were fair at all, Stephan would have
been rounder in the middle with a receding hairline. Several inches
above six feet, he was a striking mixture of his Scandinavian
mother and his Italian father — thick blond hair, eyes so blue they
caught ones attention from across a room, and a natural muscular
physique that most men spent hours in gyms trying to emulate. But
life wasn't fair, and his good looks were just as necessary to
ignore this time around as they had been seven years ago.